Chapter 46
Lin'an Town.
After Xie Zheng sold the pork, he frowned and wiped his hands with a handkerchief.
Then he lifted his eyelids to glance at the sun and found that it was almost noon. His handsome brows wrinkled even deeper.
Lin'an Town is not far from the county seat, why did she take so long?
Xie Zheng closed the shop door and passed by Wa Market. He saw a Hu merchant selling various animal furs and some leather products on his stall. His eyes fell on a pair of wrist guards.
Seeing him staring at the wristband, Hu Shang called out, "Sir, do you want to buy a wristband? This wristband is made of deerskin, and it's really a good thing, but it's a little small for you. I have one made of deer skin here, would you like to take a look?"
As he spoke, he picked up a wristband that was several sizes larger and handed it to Xie Zheng.
Xie Zheng did not take it. He picked up the deerskin wristband and looked at it. He raised his hand and gently grasped it, as if he was measuring the size based on his memory. After a moment, he said to the merchant, "This is it."
He paid the bill, picked up his wristband and was about to leave when he heard a few people in the teahouse nearby talking and sighing.
"It's a pity for the dozens of lives lost in Majia Village. Those officials are such piece of shit!"
"I just hope that scholar can escape and expose all the bad things these corrupt officials have done!"
Xie Zheng stopped and looked over there. Hu Shang saw that Xie Zheng seemed to be interested in what those people were talking about, so he sighed and said, "It was a tragic case in Majia Village. A scholar in the village couldn't stand the government's brutal grain collection, so he wanted to take the whole village to the government office in Jizhou to kneel and beg for some grain seeds for the farmers. The villagers were afraid that the government would find out, so they set out last night. This morning, they were found on the official road and killed. All the villagers were hacked to death, and the scholar disappeared. I don't know if he was captured alive or escaped."
Xie Zheng's eyes flashed with coldness, and he asked, "Were the people in that village killed by the government?"
Hu Shang said, "Everyone guessed that it was. After all, they were all poor farmers. Even if the bandits wanted to rob people, they would rob the rich. They couldn't just block the way there and kill dozens of poor people just to sharpen their knives, right?"
"It's really strange. When the man from Majia Village died, the roads leading to Jizhou Prefecture were blocked by the bandits. How could it be such a coincidence? Aren't they afraid that someone would go to Jizhou Prefecture to file a complaint? The farmers in the neighboring villages of Majia Village have already packed up their belongings and said they are going to join the rebel king in Chongzhou."
Hu Shang also kept shaking his head as he spoke. He was not originally from Dayin and had traveled far and wide just to do some fur trade. But as a commoner, he couldn't help but sigh when he heard about such a tragic case.
Xie Zheng's eyebrows were furrowed. He was the one in power, so he naturally noticed that something was wrong.
The tragedy in Majia Village seemed like someone was deliberately forcing the people of Qingping County to rebel.
If the scholar had not died and had escaped, he would have reported the massacre to the Fuzhou Prefecture and even the capital.
In order to collect grain, the government forced the people into a state of desperation. The people knelt in the county government office, but the county magistrate ignored them. The people then planned to kneel in the state government office, but they were slaughtered on the way. Anyone who heard about such a tragic case would wish that they could grind the government officials to ashes.
The tragedy could arouse the anger of the world and force the people of Qingping County to rebel, which was undoubtedly a blow to the imperial court's military.
Thinking of the tragic cases reported during the grain collection in Taizhou, Xie Zheng's eyes became even colder.
It seems that all the tragedies caused by grain collection were deliberately instigated by someone behind the scenes.
The only beneficiary is undoubtedly Chongzhou Anti-thief.
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Jizhou Prefecture.
Wei Xuan sat in the main seat, watching his subordinates counting the grain and fodder collected from various counties with an impatient look on his face.
Soon, a guard reported: "General, the grain collected from Qingping County has not been delivered yet."
Wei Xuan's already bad mood became even worse. He kicked the dwarf in front of him away and shouted, "How dare you, a mere county magistrate, disobey my military order?"
He stood up with his sword in hand: "Come on! Recruit the troops! Follow me to Qingping County to collect grain in person!"
At this moment, another scout rushed in, "Report - Yanzhou, 800 miles away, urgent!"
Wei Xuan looked unhappy. Yanzhou was just a place with poor mountains and bad waters near Yanshan Mountain. It was the place where he had exiled his former subordinates from Xie Zheng. What urgent news could there be?
When he opened the letter and saw the familiar handwriting on it, the blood in his body surged forward at that moment.
The guards didn't know why their general looked so ugly all of a sudden. The next second, they saw Wei Xuan suddenly draw his sword and ruthlessly chop the tables that he had kicked over into two halves. His eyes were red with anger: "He is not dead! He deliberately waited until now to show up. He just wanted to see that I lost the battle and humiliate me!"
The confidant picked up the piece of letter that he had thrown on the ground, and was shocked to see the vigorous and arrogant handwriting on it, as well as the three words "Xie Jiuheng" at the signature.
Dayin Wu'an Hou, whose surname was Xie, given name was Zheng, and courtesy name was Jiuheng.
This character was chosen by his teacher, Master Tao, who said that the character "征" was too aggressive and was afraid that he would be too aggressive, so he used the character "九衡" to put some pressure on him. While others only needed to think twice before doing anything, he should weigh things nine times before doing anything.
Over the years, Xie Zheng has lived up to Master Tao's trust and has never been reckless on the battlefield. Although he became famous at a young age, he is as steady as an old veteran.
The imperial guards were Wei Xuan's confidants, so they naturally knew about the plot by the Wei father and son to depose Marquis Wu'an on the Chongzhou battlefield.
He immediately said: "Marquis Wu'an has been lurking until now, and he must have been secretly gathering strength to avenge the past. In his letter, he asked you to retreat to Huizhou and keep an eye on the northwest gate to prevent foreign enemies. It might be a treacherous plot. You should not stay in the northwest for long! The prime minister's transfer order will arrive soon, and it is best for the general to return to the capital first!"
Wei Xuan grabbed the guard by the collar and said viciously, "Am I afraid of him?"
The guards knew that Wei Xuan always liked to compare himself with Marquis Wu'an, and especially hated to see others say that he was not as good as Marquis Wu'an. But at this moment, they could not care less about offending him and said angrily, "Generals, don't fight for the moment! The Northwest has become so chaotic. The remaining 70,000 soldiers in Huizhou were brought up by Marquis Wu'an. Marquis Wu'an died. They thought that Marquis Wu'an was killed by the rebels in Chongzhou, and they obeyed your orders to avenge Marquis Wu'an. Marquis Wu'an is still alive, and we are prey to him in the Northwest!"
How could Wei Xuan not know that what his personal guard said was true? But the more he understood, the angrier he became. He had been oppressed by such a person since he was a child, and Xie Zheng was a thorn in his eye.
If he doesn't pull this nail out, he will never have peace in his life.
But in the end, Wei Xuan had to give in and left Jizhou Prefecture angrily with two thousand personal soldiers.
When He Jingyuan heard about this at home, he sighed, half with relief and half with shame.
Fortunately, the world-famous "killer general" was only cruel to foreigners, but had a kind heart towards the people of Dayin.
He also felt ashamed that as a local official, he allowed Wei Xuan to force the people of Jizhou into this state.
Zheng Wen often asked him: "Sir, how should we deal with the military supplies that have been collected?"
He Jingyuan said: "The seeds should be returned to the farmers. After the beginning of spring, we should not delay planting next year."
Zheng Wenchang should agree.
He Jingyuan asked: "I heard that there is a county that has not collected any grain. Do you know which county it is?"
Zheng Wenchang replied: "Qingping County."
Hearing this place name again, He Jingyuan's eyes darkened and he said, "County Magistrate Cui Shoude is a coward, how dare he not collect grain? This matter is probably a little strange, you take people to investigate."
Zheng Wenchang was about to clasp his fists when a guard suddenly rushed in and said, "My lord, something bad has happened. A scholar in front of the government office is beating drums to complain about injustice and composing poems to denounce the government for forcibly collecting military rations and slaughtering all the farmers. The whole city is in turmoil!"
He Jingyuan and Zheng Wenchang were both shocked.
Zheng Wenchang clasped his fists and said, "After receiving your order, I have sent people to monitor the soldiers under Wei Xuan who were collecting grain, and I have not found any of them killing anyone or stealing grain."
He Jingyuan only told the guard: "Bring the man here for me to question."
The guards took orders and left.
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Qingping County.
Fan Changyu's plan to kidnap the county magistrate was undoubtedly rejected by Mrs. Wang. She said helplessly: "There are more than a hundred county yamen runners in total. How can we kidnap the county magistrate?"
Fan Changyu was afraid of scaring Mrs. Wang, so he lowered his head and said nothing. What he was thinking was, no matter how many people there were, they couldn't follow the county magistrate twelve hours a day, and the county magistrate would always be left alone.
Mrs. Wang was about to say something when a loud noise came from the street ahead.
A group of fierce soldiers were parading a group of heavily tied-up people through the streets. When Fan Changyu saw the clothes on those people, he was shocked: "Aren't those the guys from Yixianglou?"
Mrs. Wang was also shocked: "Is the county magistrate going to take action so soon?"
Fan Changyu did not see Yu Qianqian among the people being escorted, so he quickly stepped forward and squeezed into the crowd to take a look.
The people watching nearby were also discussing: "Why were all the chefs of Yixianglou arrested?"
"I heard that someone died from eating the food at Yixianglou. The family carried the coffin to the door of Yixianglou to make trouble. In order to investigate the case, the government sealed off Yixianglou and took all the employees there back for questioning."
Fan Changyu stood on tiptoe to look at the team escorted by officers and soldiers, and finally saw Yu Qianqian walking in the middle with her hands tied. Yu Qianqian also saw her, and shook his head at her calmly, signaling her not to go over, and opened his mouth to silently utter two words.
Fan Changyu discerned from the shape of her mouth that the two words she said were "Baoer".
Fan Changyu looked carefully at the escort team and did not see the child. He knew that Yu Baoer must have been hidden somewhere by Yu Qianqian. Yu Qianqian made that mouth shape to her, wanting her to take care of Yu Baoer.
Mrs. Wang had already caught up with her. Fearing that she would act impulsively, she held her hand tightly and whispered in her ear, "No matter how close you are to the shopkeeper, don't go forward at this time. If the soldiers notice you, you might get into trouble."
Fan Changyu also understood this and forced himself to be patient and not move.
After the soldiers left, Madam Wang looked at Fan Changyu and said, "If you want a map of the county government and the county magistrate's residence, I can get it for you."
Fan Changyu knew that given the Wang family's situation, it was not easy for Mrs. Wang to say this, so he thanked her, said he would get it when needed, and walked quickly towards Yixianglou.
Yu Qianqian was arrested in Yixianglou, and Yu Baoer might have been hidden by her somewhere in Yixianglou.
When she reached the main street, Fan Changyu saw from a distance that the magnificent gate of Yixianglou was sealed. She went around to the back alley and saw that the courtyards where the servants of Yixianglou lived were also sealed. She glanced at the wall of the backyard of Yixianglou and was about to climb over it, but a hand stretched out from her side and grabbed her into a narrow alley between the outer walls of the two courtyards.
Fan Changyu grabbed the other person's collar with his backhand and was about to knock him to the ground with his arms. However, after smelling the bitter smell of medicine and stale candy on the other person, he suddenly loosened his grip.
She called out, "Yan Zheng?"
Xie Zheng lowered his eyes to signal her not to make a sound, and his eyes swept coldly outside the dark alley. Fan Changyu couldn't help but become alert as well.
The footsteps of a group of officers and soldiers approached from afar, guarding the back door of Yixiang Tower. "The county magistrate has ordered that as long as the murder case in Yixiang Tower is not solved, Yixiang Tower cannot be opened. Otherwise, the evidence will be destroyed. Guard this building strictly!"
Fan Changyu whispered, "Yu Baoer was not captured by the soldiers. I am worried that Yu Qianqian hid him somewhere in the building."
The two of them were very close to each other and could hear each other's breathing clearly. In order to avoid the soldiers guarding outside hearing anything, she lowered her voice to a very low level.
Xie Zheng felt as if there were bugs crawling in his ears. He frowned, stood up and walked a little further away from her, saying, "I arrived a quarter of an hour earlier than you. I've already gone upstairs and taken the person away."
Fan Changyu breathed a sigh of relief, and then he wanted to ask him: "Aren't you in the butcher shop? Why did you come to the county town?"
Xie Zheng looked slightly cold, and said, "After selling the pork, I saw that you hadn't returned for a long time, so I came to see you."
Fan Changyu said, "I'm fine, it's just that Manager Yu is in trouble."
After she told him about her and Yu Qianqian's speculation, she added, "I plan to kidnap the county magistrate to save Yu the shopkeeper. You take Yu Baoer and Ning Niang to find a place to hide. If I am caught, please take care of Ning Niang."
Xie Zheng frowned and looked at her: "Who gave you this stupid idea?"
Fan Changyu was confused by his retort. After thinking for a while, he felt that he was probably angry about his involvement. When he was about to leave, he stuffed two children into his pocket and said, "I just thought about it. I just mentioned the possibility of being caught. I must have taken action when there were not many people around the county commander. How could I be caught..."
Xie Zheng sneered: "Many farmers in the countryside have rebelled and are planning to tear down the county government and join the rebel king. Do you think the county magistrate is the mastermind and would put himself in such a dangerous situation?"
Fan Changyu understood what he meant. Even if he had the support of the county magistrate, he would not be able to save Yu Qianqian.
She thought about it but couldn't come up with an idea. She looked at Xie Zheng with clear and honest eyes: "What should we do? Who is the mastermind? Will it be effective if we kidnap him?"
Xie Zheng almost laughed out of anger when he heard that she had not given up her plan to kidnap someone.
He said, "It's useless to arrest anyone. Someone is trying to sow discord and force the people of Qingping County to rebel. Then they will bring in the Jizhou Prefecture soldiers to suppress the rioters. In this way, the rumor that the court is collecting grain to force the people to rebel will be confirmed."
Qingping County did not send the collected grain to Jizhou Prefecture. Given Wei Xuan's temper, he would definitely kill Qingping County on the spot. When he confronted the rebels, Wei Xuan might even have his men massacre the entire Qingping County.
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