Chapter 88: Serving the People
The person behind answered, "No one lives there anymore. The girl left in a hurry, so her cousin helped sell the house and gave it to Xu Jinli from Xujia Village. But Xu Jinli later passed the imperial examination and went to the city to become a teacher. No one cares about the house anymore."
Zhao Yan stared at the house for a long time, and only left after Wang Zhubu gently reminded him.
It wasn't long before they finally arrived at the field Wang Aniu had mentioned. Zhao Yan took the local records, which read: Owner: Wang Aniu. Location: Fourteen fields behind the reed marsh. Size: 240 square kilometers (one mu).
Zhao Yan immediately had someone measure the size again. It was 160 square meters in total, so a large piece was missing.
What's more, there was a sign in the field at that time: "Chen Ergen's Field".
Seeing that this man really wanted to seek justice for Wang Aniu, the villagers told the story one by one, and several of them said they could testify.
One person said, "I can testify that Chen Ergen came over that day with a hoe and tried to hit Ah Niu. Ah Niu was afraid of being beaten to death, so he ran away. The next day, the field became Chen Ergen's."
"Yes, yes, I can testify to that. Chen Ergen was afraid that he would cause trouble, so he went to Wang Aniu's house, called him out, and beat him up. That's when his hand was severed. Wang Hu was watching that day, too."
Wang Hu said, "Yes, this Chen Ergen relies on his large family to bully us. In addition to Wang Aniu's family, he also seized an orchard of mine where we planted several jujube trees. He was jealous and took it away too..."
At the same time, several voices appeared, all stating Chen Ergen's crimes.
"Sir, he even stole my eggs. I finally saved up forty of them, and he took them all..."
"Sir, this lackey stole eight ducks from my house. I raised them at home and wanted to buy them to pay tuition for my grandson's studies..."
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Zhao Yan listened carefully and finally said, "I know everything about you. I will report to the county magistrate when I get back. You just need to go to the county government office tomorrow and ask someone to write down his crimes. Poultry, fruits and vegetables are all farmers' property. We will never let the thieves go just because the quantity is small or the property is small."
Everyone applauded when they heard him say this. Chen Ergen then took a closer look at Zhao Yan and suddenly realized, "I know who you are. You're Yu Huatang's lover. She was married to you before. You're just using your public office to settle a personal grudge. I'm going to report you to the governor. You're disrespectful and harboring personal grudges! I don't accept these charges, and I won't admit them. I'm going to sue you! You're deliberately trying to harm our Chen family!"
For a moment, everyone fell silent and looked at Zhao Yan.
The people behind who originally said they looked familiar were also whispering underground.
"I told you, I was not mistaken, it was him that day."
"Oh, will this person still help us?..."
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After a long moment, Zhao Yan sneered, "You're right. Yu Huatang was married to me before. Even if I'm avenging my personal grudge today, what does it matter? The crime you committed is a fact, and it has nothing to do with who my wife is. You Chen family bullied her like this before, and now you're bullying the neighbors. I must punish you severely! Either you live honestly, or if someone reports you, I will punish you severely, preferably imprisoning you for ten or eight years. What else can you do!"
He turned back to the group of villagers and said, "He's right! I'm the new governor. My last name is Zhao, and I'm also the ex-husband of your Miss Yu. I'm here today to investigate Chen Ergen's evil deeds. Everything I just said stands, and I approve of your complaint. I promise everyone here that I will seek justice for you and severely punish this bully!"
Some people in the crowd were delighted, while others asked, "Is he really the governor? He didn't lie to us, did he? Will he collude with the Chen family and attack us later..."
"Oh, he's the governor! I saw him behind Yu girl last time..."
"Then I, I'm going to file a complaint too..."
Zhao Yan continued, "As long as it's reasonable and true, the government office will accept it."
Seeing this, Chen Ergen, who was standing by, started crying and throwing a tantrum on the ground. He couldn't believe that he was really going to go to jail.
Far away from the crowd, standing on the ridge of the field were two people. They were Wang Shunian and Yu Jian and were watching this scene quietly.
After getting Zhao Yan's guarantee, the villagers followed Wang Zhubu to report their names and waited until the next day when they were on duty at the government office to write the petition.
In the afternoon, Wang Shuniang told Yu Hui what happened today. Yu Hui snorted coldly and continued what he was saying, "This person, is he so kind?!"
Wang Shuniang knew that Yu Hui had a very unpleasant quarrel with the governor last time, so she didn't dare to say anything this time. She also wanted to wait and see whether this man had really changed.
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The reaction caused by the last incident was quite good. Recently, the government office received dozens of petitions, some related to Chen Ergen and some related to other matters.
As Wang Zhubu sorted things out, he said, "Sir, if this continues, within half a month, the people will probably call you Lord Justice."
Zhao Yan did not value these false reputations, but he also knew that Wang Zhubu said this to tell him that with reputation among the people, it would be much easier for him to do things in the future.
When all the case files were reviewed in the afternoon, Yan Quan rushed in from outside and said as soon as he entered the door, "Sir, something happened!"
"The Persian envoys were originally going to the capital, but this time the officials in Hangzhou Prefecture said that every time the envoys came, they would hold a competition in the capital, which was nothing new, so this time they were sent directly to Quanzhou Prefecture."
"Your Excellency has been busy investigating cases recently. Last time, the imperial court documents came directly to me. I originally thought it was a trivial matter, but today I realized that this time, we in Quanzhou Prefecture are being asked to respond to the challenge."
Zhao Yan took the document from Yan Quan, read it over, and said calmly, "Since they want to take the written test on the lantern festival, we will accept it. Lord Yan, there is no need to worry too much."
"We'll arrive in three days. During these three days, go post documents and tell all folk artists that anyone willing to fight will receive a silver subsidy from the government, regardless of whether they win or lose. We will also report this to the court."
Yan Quan sighed and gestured to Wang Zhubu, who understood and explained, "Your Excellency may not be aware that in previous years, few people participated in this kind of competition. Three years ago, a delegation of foreign vassal states held a carpet weaving competition in the capital, and everyone who took the test lost. Although the court gave them rewards, it was like destroying their reputation for the craftsmen. After that, all the craftsmen who participated in the competition changed their professions."
Zhao Yan knew that the people valued their skills and paid more attention to public opinion than the government. After all, the government only asked them to help temporarily, and whether they won or lost, the most they would get would be mentioned for their achievements. But once the craftsmen lost, they would lose their jobs.
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