"At worst, I still have two hundred and sixty taels of silver seized from the bandits. I can buy some polished rice, which is enough for us to have porridge for several days.
The officers must have quite a bit of silver on them, but that was what they earned from selling our grain.
It is also evidence of collusion with robbers, so we can't touch it now.
Don't be too smart and act now.
Without the silver as evidence, they will definitely deny collaborating with the bandits."
Everyone knows what the consequences of not admitting it are.
Everyone remembered and warned themselves that if they wanted to make any moves, they should stay away from the officers, for fear of getting involved and causing any misunderstandings.
The officers carrying the stolen money...
[My dad is awesome!]
This approach is good for applying both soft and hard tactics.
Meng Shuyan really admires her father. He is clearly a very smart second-generation rich man.
Just now she was thinking of taking all the money from the different people.
At this moment, Mr. Meng looked at his youngest son with great satisfaction. His son had indeed grown up and was capable of great things.
After hearing what Meng Shijie said, everyone felt that he was right and no one wanted to run away.
No one wanted to cause any trouble, so they all slept quietly in the tent.
Some tents were damaged during the fight with the bandits and could not be used, so they simply took the guards' tents and used them.
Meng Shijie called out a few strong men to keep watch.
To prevent those police officers and bandits from causing any more trouble.
They had woken up in the middle of the night, and after a fight, they had been treating the wounds of the wounded. These people didn't rest for long. It felt like they had just a short nap and it was dawn.
The men went to collect firewood and came back, and the women took some rice from the cart and cooked thick porridge for everyone.
Anyway, their food had been exchanged by these bandits, and this was what was left, so it was understandable that they ate some now.
Everyone had a full meal early in the morning, packed up and started on their journey.
To prevent the robbers and police officers from causing trouble, they would simply grab the hems of their clothes or sleeves and stuff them into their mouths.
Some people simply took off their shoes and stuffed them in their mouths.
They formed two large groups and walked in the front.
The injured, the seriously ill, the elderly, the weak, women and children all rode in the carriages, so the journey was faster.
In the afternoon we finally saw a town - Wen County.
So many people suddenly gathered at the gate of the county town that the soldiers guarding the gate immediately came down to stop them.
The team immediately made way for Meng Shijie.
Now Meng Shijie is their leader.
In fact, Meng Shijie was quite annoyed and he didn't want to get into these troublesome things.
But now I have to go.
Meng Shijie showed the soldier the ID cards (identity certificates) of these people that he had taken from the chief officer.
"Sir, we are all going to move to the Luzhou area.
But we encountered robbers last night and they stole our food.
We haven't eaten for two days. Please, County Magistrate, make a decision for us!"
Meng Shijie took the lead and knelt down towards the county town, with a group of people kneeling behind him.
"You guys wait here for now. I'll report to the Lord and we'll talk later."
The soldier didn't know about the migration.
He is just a gatekeeper. This matter is of great importance and cannot be ignored. The county magistrate must be informed.
He didn't dare to make any decision rashly.
The county government office was not far away, and the soldier ran, and the county magistrate of Wen County came over in person soon.
When Meng Shijie saw the person, he immediately stepped forward.
"I greet you, sir. Here are some of our credentials."
The county magistrate knew it was true at a glance.
He had already received notice from above that six or seven hundred people would pass through their Wen County.
"You said you encountered robbers?"
"Yes, sir."
"Were all the officers who escorted you killed in the battle?"
The county magistrate did not see the following officers, so he asked a question.
Meng Shijie moved aside, and several members of the Meng family behind him also moved aside.
The county magistrate looked at the officers who were tied up in a chain, and the twenty men in black clothes behind the officers who were probably robbers, and his mouth twitched.
"What's going on?"
"Let's go to the government office first."
On the way, Meng Shijie started talking from the day it rained, and when he arrived at the yamen, he just explained the whole story.
As for the affairs of the officers, he did not conceal them or exaggerate them.
"How can this be possible!"
The county magistrate sat on the armchair and slammed the gavel.
"Bring them all up here!"
Even if some people escaped, Meng Shijie's group still had nearly 700 people.
There were so many people that they filled the gate of the county government office.
The people of Wen County wanted to come and see the excitement, but they couldn't see anything.
Fortunately, Meng Shijie and his friends met the Wen County magistrate. It is not known whether he did not want to take responsibility or was really an honest official.
The robbers were tortured directly, and even the three leaders among the police officers were not spared from having their fingers pinched.
Others who were not tortured were frightened into confessing everything.
The result was naturally that the officers colluded with the bandits and embezzled the food rations of 721 people, as well as the personal travel expenses issued by the local people.
Meng Shijie and the others don’t know this yet.
It turned out that anyone who migrated would receive at least eight taels of silver per person for travel expenses, and another twenty taels of silver for five families to buy cattle, as well as seeds and other things.
All of them were embezzled when they were in Taiyuan Prefecture.
However, those were not embezzled by these thirty officers, but by those who confiscated property in Taiyuan Prefecture.
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