Registrar Zhao Wenkai pointed to several portraits and said to Qin Chuan, "These are the troublemakers the county magistrate wants to arrest. They insulted and beat the village elders and village head, and refused to be disciplined. Yesterday, the Yang family sent someone to report the case. Yesterday, they arrested some troublemakers, and some escaped. These are the ones who escaped. Clerk Qin, take your men to Yangjia Village. Someone there will meet you."
Qin Chuan put away the portrait, nodded, and immediately went to find Zhao Bantou.
Upon seeing the order, Zhao, the head constable, immediately mustered twenty constables and followed Qin Chuan to Yangli Township.
This time, Qin Chuan specially brought Li Aniu along, after all, this mission seemed to have some risks. It was said that these "troublemakers" had even kidnapped people and were determined to fight against the Yang family to the death.
They set off at the beginning of the Si hour and arrived at Yangli Township at the end of the Wei hour, where they met the Yang family members who came to meet them. One of them was a steward from the old master Yang's mansion.
Old Master Yang was the father of Yang Weicong, the Minister of Works during the reign of Emperor Yang. He was over seventy years old and approaching eighty. It was said that every newly appointed official in Yuhang had to visit this old man.
Qin Chuan had naturally met this old master Yang before, but right now, he neither planned nor had the time to visit the old master again. Instead, he followed the steward to capture the "troublemakers".
After walking about five more miles, we came to a village. Along the way, we could see some low-lying farmland with short, green rice seedlings, which contrasted sharply with the already mature rice.
Zhao Bantou pointed to the low-lying rice paddies and said to Qin Chuan, "These fields were flooded. The rice seedlings that were already half-ripe were all ruined by the flood. After the flood, they simply cut down the flooded rice and used it as fertilizer. This year, these fields can only yield late-season rice."
Even though Qin Chuan didn't understand farming, he could understand what the man meant, so he asked, "Since the people have suffered a disaster, why isn't the county providing disaster relief? The people's harvest this year is clearly not enough to feed them. Shouldn't the county report the disaster and provide relief immediately?"
"Sir, are you familiar with the imperial court's system of allowances for maintaining integrity?"
Zhao Bantou's sudden question caused Qin Chuan to fall silent. After a moment, he asked, "What does this have to do with the anti-corruption allowance system?"
Zhao Bantou stopped and continued, "Is the clerk unfamiliar with the new system of the court? The imperial edict clearly states that the assessment and promotion of officials are linked to their performance, and the Ministry of Personnel's Performance Evaluation Department will verify their performance. Think about it, with such a major flood in Hangzhou, if it is reported to the higher authorities, all the officials in Hangzhou will have no hope of being promoted."
Qin Chuan was stunned after hearing what Zhao Ban Tou said.
Unexpectedly, the entire Jiangzhe region's governor's office, prefectural governor's office, and county magistrate's office collectively concealed the true number of deaths, all for the sake of their own official positions!
He was the one who formulated the system of "anti-corruption allowance" and the system of promotion based on political achievements. How could he not be familiar with these systems? What greatly disappoints him now is that officials really don't care about the people and treat human life like dirt.
"Clerk, hurry up, we need to get back to the county office tonight, don't be late."
Upon hearing Zhao Bantou's reminder, Qin Chuan quickened his pace and followed the Yang family steward to the village head's house.
When the village head saw the official in charge, he hurriedly came out to greet him.
"Oh, Sir, Chief Squad Leader Zhao, I welcome you all to the office. Please come inside and have a cup of tea!"
“We won’t drink the tea. We’re here on orders from the county to arrest the man for Old Master Yang,” said Zhao, the head constable.
At this moment, Qin Chuan handed several portraits to the village head.
After glancing at them, the village head said, "These people are indeed from this village, but weren't they arrested yesterday for having a falling out with the Yang family?"
Zhao, the foreman, said, "Yesterday, the Yang family captured several of them. These are fugitives. Have you seen them?"
He shook his head inside: "I don't know anything about this."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ban Tou was displeased and threatened, "Do you know about the 'collective punishment' system of this dynasty? If you don't, believe me, I'll drag you into the jail right now!"
He was wearing a pained expression: "Chief Zhao, I really don't know. The matter arose because Old Master Yang wanted to buy the land at a low price. You should ask Old Master Yang about this..."
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
Zhao Bantou glared at the village head, his eyes wide with fury: "You think the troublemakers were forced into rebellion by Old Master Yang? I think you really don't want to live anymore!"
"No, no!" the village head hurriedly replied. "There is a hunting forest five miles southeast of our village, and there is a hunter's hut in the forest. These 'troublemakers' must be hiding there."
"Lead the way!" Zhao Ban Tou glared at him fiercely.
The village head gave Zhao Bantou a disgruntled look and had no choice but to lead the way.
The group arrived at the hunter's cabin that the village head had mentioned.
Before they even got close, a cold arrow shot out.
The arrow missed its mark and landed on the ground in front of Zhao Bantou. It was clearly intended only to warn the newcomer, not to kill.
"You audacious scoundrels! How dare you shoot arrows at the officials! I think you all have a death wish!"
After a stern shout, Zhao, the head constable, ordered several constables to draw their bows and nock their arrows.
The men were taken aback that the government officials would bring archers, and they immediately cowered, shouting, "Chief Zhao, wait!"
"Why aren't you surrendering? Are you still going to resist?" Zhao, the squad leader, shouted.
At this moment, Qin Chuan was standing behind the constables when he saw a shirtless man holding a hunting bow jump down from the roof of the hunter's hut. He held his hands up, with the bow in his right hand, and slowly walked towards them.
"Chief Zhao, we were all forced into this situation by the Yang family, so why are you pushing us further?"
"Li Laosan, if you continue to be so stubborn, you'll be sentenced to death!"
"Chief Zhao, the Yang family killed one of our men yesterday. How do you plan to settle this score?"
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