Chapter 211 The Legendary Lord Lu
Poison is not something you can just buy casually. For ordinary people, buying arsenic was extremely difficult. It had to be registered, the reason had to be inquired, and even reported to the authorities.
Not to mention the more potent poisons, which are simply out of reach for the average person. Poisons like Gelsemium elegans are reserved for the royal family.
The only people who are well-trained, can commit suicide with hooked lips, and want Lu Chenyang to die are Emperor Qianyuan's secret guards.
Zhao Xi was so angry that she was shaking all over. Someone actually wanted to murder her family!
That dog emperor! A sneer appeared at the corner of her mouth.
She is his ancestor!
Zhao Xi was furious and didn't feel any fear because the other party was the emperor. She only knew that the person was trying to harm Lu Chenyang, and that was unforgivable.
After this assassination, the group became more cautious.
The army was originally supposed to escort the troops back halfway, but this time Lu Chenyang had a legitimate reason to lead the army directly into Beijing.
The five thousand soldiers were all the elite of the Lu family army. They had sharp weapons, shining armor, and an oppressive aura.
However, on the way ahead, there was no such blatant assassination, but a secret assassination.
When the army passed through a county town, Lu Chenyang took his men in to rest and also wanted to see how the people in the city were living.
After entering the city, there were beggars everywhere and people selling their children on the streets.
The skinny man knelt on the roadside with his two children, begging for a kind-hearted person to buy his children and give them a chance to live.
Lu Chenyang was heartbroken when he saw this scene.
He turned around and asked Tan Feng, "Hasn't there ever been a war here? Why are there still so many people selling their children?"
Tan Feng had already inquired about it and lowered his voice to say, "There's no war, but the court has increased various taxes in the past two years, so..."
Lu Chenyang knew about this. In the past two years... or rather, in recent years, the court had increased taxes under various pretexts. For example, they collected taxes once on Emperor Qianyuan's birthday, blatantly claiming it was a tribute to the emperor.
Paying tribute to local officials could be considered excessive taxation, but paying tribute to the emperor was considered loyalty. If you didn't pay, were you planning a rebellion?
Then there were wars everywhere. How could the imperial court not need silver to fight a war? If they won, they might even get spoils of war, but the imperial court always lost.
War is the fastest way to gain wealth, somewhat similar to robbery.
Although the battle between Lu Chenyang and King Nanyang was extremely brutal, it also yielded great gains.
The imperial court could not win the war and had no benefits, so it could only exploit the people.
Since the war-torn areas could not be taken back, the only option was to look for places without war. As a result, even the people in the peaceful areas were suffering and their lives were in dire straits.
It has reached the point where children are being sold.
Seeing this tragic scene, Zhao Xi thought for a moment and said, "My parents sold me because they wanted to treat their son's illness. They were bad. But those who are selling their children now are doing so because they can't make a living and want to find a way for their children to live. They are not bad."
Although it is the same thing, the purpose is different. Zhao Xi feels that these parents are excusable.
Lu Chenyang nodded lightly, but his heart was heavy: "You are right, this is a man-made disaster, but the culprits are those in power."
At this moment, Lu Chenyang was filled with anger, with nowhere to vent it. Angry at Emperor Diqianyuan's incompetence, angry at the court's inaction.
Has Dagan really reached such a point?
Lu Chenyang thought about it, called Tan Feng over, and whispered a few words to him.
Tan Feng looked at him with a little surprise, but nodded in agreement and turned to leave.
Lu Ning said, "Sir, there is an inn ahead. I have already arranged it. Let's settle down first."
Lu Chenyang nodded in agreement.
When the group entered the inn, Lu Ning had already had the area cleared. With the assassin incident, he felt it was better to be cautious.
When the innkeeper saw that Lu Chenyang and others had an extraordinary aura, he knew that they were of extraordinary status. He served them carefully and did not dare to ask any more questions.
After the group settled down, Yan Xing looked at Lu Chenyang and asked, "Do you want to take them away?"
Lu Chenyang looked at him in surprise. He didn't expect that he could guess his thoughts.
Yan Xing chuckled. "Have you forgotten? When we were on our way to Lingnan, you did the same thing. Seeing the people's suffering, you took them with you to Lingnan. At that time, I was thinking that your Lingnan was surrounded by miasma, a remote and poor place, and full of evil people. It was like leaving a wolf's den and entering a tiger's mouth."
That was when they first met, and many years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Lu Chenyang also felt a little nostalgic. He nodded and said, "Well, now that I've seen it, I can't just sit back and do nothing." He sighed softly and said, "A little help is better than nothing."
Yan Xing said, "Why don't we take them to the capital? It's a bit too far to send them back now."
Lu Chenyang said: "Forget it, let's send him back to Quzhou."
Yan Xing knew that Lu Chenyang did not trust Emperor Qianyuan, or rather... did not trust him and the prince.
Yan Xing's eyes flashed, but he didn't say anything.
Tan Feng immediately sent people to spread the word throughout the city that Lu Chenyang was passing by. If anyone wanted to leave with him and be resettled in Ningzhou, they could come to the yamen and Lord Lu would take them away.
One soldier was smart and bought a few gongs. Then the soldiers went around beating the gongs to spread the word.
"Lord Lu passed by here and felt sorry for the suffering of the people. Lord Lu intends to save you from suffering. If you are willing to leave this place, you can go to the government office to register, and Lord Lu will take everyone away."
The soldiers walked through the streets shouting, and the already numb people looked up blankly, wondering what they heard.
Lu Chenyang's name is now a household name in Dagan, and everyone knows him. This is largely due to the contributions of the several caravans under Lu Chenyang.
Every time Chen Songyuan asked them to go out to do business, he would ask them to deliberately publicize Lu Chenyang's great achievements. This is how their reputation was accumulated bit by bit.
Moreover, Lu Chenyang's deeds were all genuine, and his reputation for loving his people like his own children spread. Later, Lu Chenyang defeated the King of Nanyang with a smaller force, and his reputation became even greater.
They had all heard of Lu Chenyang. According to legend, he loved his people like his own children. He provided them with food, built them houses, reduced taxes, and opened schools where children could study for free. Even the people under his rule were paid for their labor service.
At first, no one believed it. These things seemed too incredible. How could such an official exist? How could such a person exist?
Even the legendary Bodhisattva wouldn't be so merciful, right?
However, more and more people were saying this, and even everyone who had met Lu Chenyang was full of praise for him. People who had been to Lingnan and Shu also talked about how wonderful it was there, and how the people there lived a carefree and happy life.
More and more people believe that there really is an official in this world who is as good as a Bodhisattva.
Lord Lu...the legendary Lord Lu.
A glimmer of light flashed in the originally numb eyes of the people. They listened to the soldiers' high-pitched voices and instinctively walked towards the yamen.
Tan Feng had already sent people to set up two tables outside the yamen. People came from all directions, looked at each other, and fearing that this was a dream, they all rushed towards the two tables.
The Lu family soldiers nearby stepped forward to maintain order: "Everyone, don't push, take your time, and line up. Anyone who doesn't line up will be kicked out!"
In order to intimidate the people, the soldier whipped them to the ground.
But this did not scare the people. As the rumors said, Lord Lu's Lu family army never robbed the people, let alone bullied them.
It’s just as the rumors said.
They suppressed their anxiety and began to queue up in an orderly manner.
A long line formed in front of the government office, and the people were scrambling to leave with Lu Chenyang. Such a big thing naturally couldn't be hidden from the local county magistrate.
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