How dare a county official be so bold?
Hearing this, Wei Maolin felt his pen itching again, "Can you tell me in more detail what's going on?"
Tang Hai looked at Wei Maolin with some caution, and subconsciously felt that this man's temperament was somewhat similar to those of the corrupt officials in Xiakou County, but also somewhat different, as if he was more dignified.
He subconsciously didn't want to answer Wei Maolin's question, but the guards outside with long swords were still watching him covetously, so he had no choice but to answer.
"I know that everyone outside is yours. I can tell you everything I know, but can you promise that you will not use this to attack Xiayun Village or tell the government what we have done?"
"As long as what you do does not harm the interests of Dayong or the people, I will not expose you." Wei Maolin said.
"Okay, listen carefully." Tang Hai explained, "Taxes have increased this year, and grain production is not as abundant as in previous years. Our people have learned from the county government that the grain collected this year is not enough to meet the government's demands. The higher-ups are pressing for more, so the county magistrate has come up with this idea to collect the grain reserves from each village so as not to affect his achievements this year."
"What happens after that? Will the county magistrate no longer care about the lives of the villagers under his jurisdiction?"
"He doesn't give a shit." Tang Hai couldn't help but curse, "County Magistrate Lu's term of office will end this year. I heard that he has already used his connections to get him transferred out of Xiakou County soon!"
What was stolen was this year's new grain. Every household must have some grain in stock, so they won't starve to death in the short term.
By the time people really die of starvation in the future, Xiakou County will no longer be under the jurisdiction of County Magistrate Lu.
What a good calculation.
"What a wicked thing." Wei Maolin couldn't help but curse along.
Tang Hai looked at him in surprise. This middle-aged man with an official air was different from those useless officials in the county. He had a real personality.
"It's just immoral!"
Tang Hai spat and puffed out his chest, "So we in Xiayun Village took advantage of the time when the dog officials transported the grain away and robbed the granary, and distributed it back to the villages. We were doing justice for the people!"
"What happens next?" Wei Maolin interrupted his complacency.
"Have you ever thought about whether several villages and hundreds of mouths can keep this secret?"
Then he said seriously: "As long as one person fails to keep this secret, your newly established village will be wiped out by the government."
"You just said that this batch of grain is related to whether Magistrate Lu can be promoted smoothly. If he fails to be promoted because of this and continues to stay in office, he will definitely investigate the whereabouts of this batch of grain. By then, can you fight against Magistrate Lu and the government?"
Tang Hai and the others' expressions froze instantly.
"There is another possibility." Wei Yunlan took over the conversation, and after Tang Hai and the others looked at him in surprise, he continued, "Perhaps the villagers in these villages have concealed your Xiayun Village very well, but with so much extra grain in the village, it will always be exposed. When County Magistrate Lu finds out, he may directly put the blame for the theft of the granary on the villagers."
"By then, he won't even have to find someone to secretly steal the grain. He can just accuse the villagers of stealing from the granary and get the grain back."
“…”
Tang Hai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "Then according to your opinion, what should we do now?"
"Hide the grain first, at least until this storm is over, and then deal with this batch of grain."
"Or, think of another way to arrange the origin of this batch of grain, such as obtaining it from your business trips. Then you can use the grain to help fellow villagers, and even if the county government becomes suspicious, they will be helpless."
Tang Hai frowned and thought hard. Wei Yunlan asked a question, "How many people are there in Xiayun Village now? Are they all villagers from nearby villages?"
"There are 43 people in total, all of them are from nearby villages." Tang Hai said, slapping his forehead and pointing at the smallest one among the six people in his group, "Oh, that's Xiaoshuan, his family is from Xiakou County."
The successful theft of the granary was thanks to Xiaoshuan. His father offended the county magistrate and was accidentally beaten to death. He was in charge of guarding the granary in the county government.
Without waiting for Wei Yunlan to continue asking, Tang Hai continued, "I am the second in command of the village. The first in command is my eldest brother Tang Chuan. He is currently leading people to guard the remaining food and wait for us to return."
After saying that, he looked at Wei Yunlan hopefully, "Miss, do you have a way to solve our current troubles, such as the traveling merchant you just mentioned?"
"Yes, but don't rush. You should hide the grain first. Tomorrow morning, you and the boss will come to Hanjia Village to see me."
"Okay, thank you for your trouble, young lady!"
When Tang Hai and others left again, they covered their faces with veils again, took advantage of the night to sneak into the bitter-leaf forest west of the village, and soon disappeared.
The people from Tianshu Pavilion did not stop them, but sent two of them to follow them quietly.
The yard became quiet again, but no one could fall asleep again.
Village Chief Han and his wife were still immersed in the shock. "I never thought that the young men from our villages were so bold. That's the county government, and they dared to rob it. I don't know if there are any young men from our village among the forty-three people..."
"I see that the child of the old Zheng family at the entrance of the village and the two boys from my second uncle's family have been away from home recently." Village Chief Han muttered silently.
The village head's wife sighed, "If they hadn't been pushed too hard, the young people wouldn't have learned these bandit behaviors. Alas, a stronghold is a stronghold, and it needs a stronghold to be a stronghold. I wonder where they put this house nearby?"
While Village Chief Han and his wife were discussing this, Wei Yunlan had already found out the answer.
"Xiayun Village is located three miles inside the entrance of Yandu Gorge. They took advantage of the unique geographical environment of Yandu Gorge and opened up several abandoned caves as their base."
After Qi Xu finished speaking, his eyes revealed some confusion, "Miss Wei wants to use people from Xiayun Village?"
Forty-three people are not too few, but not too many either. They are all untrained and far less useful than the people in Tianshu Pavilion.
Wei Yunlan saw the meaning in Qi Xu's eyes and nodded, "Yes, I have this plan."
The relationship between Tianshu Pavilion and the Wei family was only about the 25,000 taels of silver. She couldn't always rely on the power of Tianshu Pavilion, and had to start building her own team before entering Beiguan.
Aren’t those forty-three heroes of Xiayun Village who are not afraid of power and are full of righteousness just ready-made candidates?
It just so happened that she had a way to make their batch of food reasonable.
It would be a pity for the 43 of them to become bandits. It would be better for them to form a caravan for her to travel between Beiguan and Yandu Gorge!
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