Chapter 607 [Second Update]
Forty lashes of the cane!
Everyone gasped instantly. This number... If the person doing this had used all his strength, the person would have been buried directly after forty blows.
The most important thing is that it is obvious from the King of the North that he has no intention of reconciling the matter.
The Pinggang County Magistrate glared and asked, "Your Highness, are you planning to abuse the power of lynching?"
Well, that's how they dealt with the King of Yan in the past. Although the King of Yan lived a bit extravagantly, he was very timid in this regard. He generally didn't dare to manage the county magistrates. It had become commonplace for these county magistrates to contradict the princes, and everyone was not afraid of the King of Yan at all.
He also brought this habit here. The King of the North does carry many legends with him, but what does that have to do with them?
The King of the North is just one person, can they, with so many people, really let him turn the world upside down?
Unexpectedly, Liu Tan showed no fear after hearing this. He simply laughed and said, "If that's what you insist on saying, then so be it. I have abused lynching. Go ahead and sue me if you have the guts."
Everyone: ???
Dou Sibo stood aside and sneered, "Sue? Even if you report it to Chang'an, His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince might still be disgusted with you for making His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory angry."
Dou Sibo might not be good at other things, but he knew very well how much the emperor loved the King of the Northern Territory. After all, there were people who wanted to come to Yan State to be the prime minister.
People with high official positions are of course unwilling to come to such a remote place, but there are even more people who just waste their time in Chang'an. Those people have no status in Chang'an and their lives are just so-so. But if they can become the prime minister of Yan State after arriving in Yan State, their lives will definitely be much more comfortable than in Chang'an.
Even if we take a step back, in Chang'an they still have to worry about offending high-ranking officials and nobles, but when they arrive in Yan State, the prime minister is second only to the emperor. How cool and majestic is that?
Wasn't Dou Sibo chosen because he wasn't cunning and was obedient enough?
Even before he came, he was separately summoned for talks by the emperor and the crown prince. The emperor's approach to talking to him was rather roundabout, and he simply asked him to work diligently and assist the King of the North.
Well, the focus was probably on assisting, but Dou Sibo didn’t think there was anything wrong at the time.
But later he was called by the prince again. This time, His Royal Highness the Prince made it very clear and told him not to go against the wishes of the King of the North. The King of the North's ideas were the ideas of the Emperor and the prince. If he was not honest, he could forget about staying in Yan State.
This is also the reason why Dou Sibo dared to complain to Liu Tan.
Do you really think the King of the North came here alone? Do you think these idiots will believe that if they bully the King of the North, his own father and brother will send people to deal with you?
However, the King of the North is not easy to bully.
He smiled and told people to go and file a complaint. Only then did the county governors remember that this person... was not Liu Dan.
At first, they had a good relationship with the former prime minister of Yan State. Once the King of Yan wanted to do something, they would join the prime minister in submitting a memorial to the court. However, every time they submitted a memorial to the King of Yan, they would receive a reprimand from the emperor.
So they are used to complaining about anything, but now this person... doesn't seem to be afraid at all.
Liu Tan ignored the words of the Pinggang County Magistrate and ordered his men to take action directly.
The prefect of Pinggang County was indeed a fierce man. Seeing that he could not be intimidated, he started to resist.
He lived up to his height and weight, and he really looked presentable after getting into position.
It's just... it looks like that. Liu Tan brought an elite group this time. They may not look that tall and strong, but in fact, they are all lean. When they take off their clothes, each of them has eight-pack abdominal muscles.
There was no need for a large number of people. Four of them rushed forward and pinned him to the ground within three moves.
The prefect of Pinggang County is considered a capable fighter among the prefects of Yan State, and the people of Yan State are originally tough. His martial arts value is considered high here, not to mention in the Central Plains.
Unexpectedly, he met a tough guy. When he was pressed on the stool and beaten, he was still dazed.
When the other county governors saw that the people who were carrying out the caning were actually two of the four men just now, and that they used all their strength in each blow, they had a bad feeling in their hearts.
If Liu Tan did not show leniency, the prefect of Pinggang County would probably not survive.
At first, the prefect of Pinggang County was very tough and didn't say a word, but after being beaten many times, he gradually couldn't bear it anymore. At first he was humming softly, and then the sound gradually became louder. At this time, no matter how stupid he was, he realized that the King of the North was serious.
The prefect of Pinggang County began to beg for mercy very flexibly, but Liu Tan seemed not to hear him. He sat there and watched quietly, with no expression on his face, and his calmness was chilling.
As the number of beatings increased, the voice of the Pinggang County Magistrate gradually became smaller, and later he fell into a semi-coma, with only unconscious humming left.
The county governors felt a sense of embarrassment. The Guangyang County Governor couldn't help but step forward and whispered, "Your Highness, please have mercy."
Liu Tan closed his eyes and said calmly, "Anyone who pleads for mercy will be punished the same way."
The county magistrate who originally wanted to plead for mercy subconsciously took a step back. They felt sorry for the county magistrate Pinggang, but that didn't mean they would risk their lives for this person.
After a while, the Pinggang County Magistrate fell completely silent. The two soldiers who were carrying out the beating insisted on finishing the beating. Then they squatted down to feel the Pinggang County Magistrate's breath, and then stood up to report: "Your Highness, the prisoner is dead."
Liu Tan opened his eyes and said, "Drag him away and clean him up."
Everyone felt a chill in their hearts as they looked at his expressionless face. At this moment, Liu Tan's eyes turned to them again. At the same time, he picked up the paper and said, "Let me see who's next."
The county governors were so frightened that their courage almost collapsed. Some of them even had their legs trembling, as if they would collapse at any time.
"Li Kangcheng." Liu Tan mentioned the name.
The Guangyang County Magistrate trembled all over and said quickly, "Your Highness, I am here. I did not intend to violate the rules. I beg Your Highness to forgive me for General Li's sake."
Liu Tan looked up at him: "General Li? Li Xi?"
The Guangyang County Magistrate nodded frantically immediately: "That's right, he and I are distant relatives. According to seniority, I am his uncle."
Liu Tan: ...
He felt that Li Xi might not really want this uncle.
However, this also explains why this young man always looks fearless. Does he think that they will tolerate him because he is close to the Li family?
Liu Tan put down the paper and said, "If that's the case, then you should understand my temper better. You actually dared to act like this. You're committing a crime knowingly and making a mistake. You deserve an even greater punishment."
Li Kangcheng: ???
He seemed a bit unpleasant. Wasn't it said that the King of the North was very caring towards his own people? Why did this become an even greater sin for him?
But the good thing about Li Kangcheng is that even if he did something wrong, he just talked too much. Liu Tan felt that he was testing his bottom line.
In this case, let Li Kangcheng know his bottom line.
Liu Tan said, "Fifteen strokes of the cane."
Li Kangcheng's face turned green. Although he was a member of the Li family, he was not born to be fond of martial arts, so he was basically a weak scholar. After fifteen beatings, he would be crippled if not dead.
However, he was a relatively intelligent person, unlike the stubborn governor of Pinggang County. He immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your leniency."
Liu Tan looked at him for a while, then suddenly smiled and glanced at the two people who were carrying out the execution. The two people immediately understood.
So after Li Kangcheng was beaten with the stick for fifteen times, although his buttocks were swollen, he was not killed and was not disabled. This made Li Kangcheng tearful and very moved.
The remaining county magistrates understood what was happening and began to apologize.
Liu Tan also treated everyone equally and gave each person fifteen strokes of the cane, but some people were beaten harder and some were beaten lighter.
The only one who was not beaten was probably the governor of Liaoxi County, because among these people, only the governor of Liaoxi County was silent from beginning to end. Well, his name was Yang Momo.
Yang Chenmo took the exam honestly. Although his level might not be that good, Liu Tan's requirements for the county governors of Yan State were not as high as those of the Northern Border State. As long as they were obedient, it would be fine.
So not only did he not punish Yang Momo, he even praised Yang Momo.
Of course, there is no need for rewards. Yang Momo just did the right thing and he is not meritorious. We cannot give them the illusion that being obedient is meritorious. Otherwise, if everyone is obedient in the future, should we reward him or not?
After all this trouble, Liu Tan looked at the room full of wounded men lying on stretchers and said perfunctorily, "I had originally wanted to host a banquet for you all, and have a happy gathering with you all, but now it seems that it is not the right time. You should all go back and recuperate first, and we will discuss this again after your injuries have healed."
County Magistrates: ...
After the county magistrates were carried away, Dou Sibo excitedly said, "Your Highness, you have a good method. This time, they should be completely obedient."
Watching the criminal being beaten to death with sticks is much more shocking than beheading him directly.
Beheading was the one that happened then, but caning was the torture for all.
Liu Tan shook his head and said, "That may not be the case. Some of these people have the despotic demeanor of desperate criminals. They may be scared now, but they may not really behave themselves. They might even act rashly."
Dou Sibo's smile gradually disappeared after hearing this, and he couldn't help but frown: "But...if that's the case...what should we do?"
Liu Tan glanced at him and said, "What can I do? If you don't obey, I'll beat you up."
There was no need for any of that or any other tricks like giving them a slap and then giving them a sweet date. Liu Tan just wanted to beat them until they were no longer brave enough to do anything tricky.
He just doesn't believe that the person under his command is sick, and he has someone protecting him from above. How could he be bullied by these useless things?
Dou Sibo was a little worried at first, but now that he saw that His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory was confident, he calmed down.
This is his good point. As long as he has a backbone, he can do things step by step and will not be affected at all.
After dealing with the county governor, Liu Tan had a lot of other things to do. He said to Dou Sibo, "Send someone to explore Jicheng first and find out how many knights there are here."
The so-called knights-errant are often no different from hired killers. Knights-errant use force to break the law. It is true that some of these people are chivalrous and righteous, but there are also some who take human lives lightly.
In the past, Liu Tan wanted to tolerate those chivalrous men and severely punish those desperate criminals, but later he found that sometimes there was actually no difference between the two.
When chivalrous men are doing justice, they are also desperadoes in another sense.
So what Liu Tan has to do now is to clean up the atmosphere in Yan State. Since he doesn’t have time to deal with other places for the time being, he might as well deal with Jicheng first.
Dou Sibo was still somewhat useful in general affairs. Liu Tan didn't tell him what to do, but he had a plan in mind and left after receiving the order.
Liu Tan directly allocated him a fifty-man elite group and asked him to use them with care.
After he left, Liu Tan turned around and started writing a letter.
This letter was written to Huo Guang, mainly asking about the current development of black gunpowder. If it is a little more stable, then he can send some over. If it is not easy to send, then he can send the new formula and also send some bows and crossbows.
When Liu Tan came here, he only asked the elite regiment to bring simple armaments. He originally thought that they came here to govern the State of Yan, not to fight to the death with their own people. It would be enough for the elite regiment to be equipped with crossbows. Why would they need so many armaments?
Besides, it’s not like Yan State has nothing at all, right?
But he never expected that Liaodong County was actually taken away by someone and no one knew about it. It was outrageous.
Anyway, he had just arrived in Yan State, and the first thing he had to do was to find out the details and know the situation of the people. It would not be appropriate to make any big moves, so it would be better to take advantage of this opportunity to take back Liaodong County.
However, it is estimated that Liu Tan will have to pay for this military action himself, and it is the Northern Border Kingdom that pays for it. Yan Kingdom has nothing to do with the Northern Border Kingdom, so how will the treasury there keep accounts?
Liu Tan was angry while writing the letter. He thought that he might need to spend some money when he got here, but it didn't matter. His father would subsidize him anyway. Besides, Yan State was not completely empty-handed. It was close to the sea and had mountains. There were actually quite a few resources here, so it was not difficult to develop the economy.
The initial investment is made, and you can always make it back in the later stage. Not only can you make it back, but you may also be able to carry out some cooperative projects with the Northern Country. Then we can make progress together, which is also good.
But fighting a war is different from administrative spending. Fighting a war is not called spending money, it is called burning money.
Liu Tan was angry here, while the county governors over there were disabled but strong-willed. Even after being beaten, they still insisted on getting together to come up with bad ideas.
Of course, the Liaoxi County Governor and Li Kangcheng are no longer among these people.
The Liaoxi County Magistrate has never been in cahoots with them, but Li Kangcheng realized that he had some relationship with Li Xi anyway, so Liu Tan should not make things too difficult for him.
And just looking at Dou Sibo, you will know that if you are obedient, the King of the Northern Territory will take care of you, otherwise... this will be the fate of the prefect of Pinggang County.
So this time he had no intention of continuing to hang out with these people. Of course, the main reason was that he was different from those people. He had a good background.
The Li family is considered a large family. In addition to Li Xi, there are many people who serve as officials all over the country, and his family also has some property.
Most of those county magistrates came from poor backgrounds and became county magistrates through recommendations. They had to take care of a whole family by themselves and were greedy for money, so naturally they were reluctant to give up.
At this time, a group of people gathered in his room, led by the Yuyang County Magistrate. The Yuyang County Magistrate said, "There is only one way out now, and that is for everyone to work together and write a petition together!"
The Jijun prefect asked hesitantly, "But... will it really work?"
The Yuyang County Magistrate said, "How can it be useless? If it were just one person, it would naturally fall on deaf ears, but with so many of us, even His Majesty would have to be cautious."
Everyone thought so too. These few people could basically represent the State of Yan. As for the missing three, one had died, one had always been mute, and the other had some relationship with the King of the Northern Territory, so naturally, it was unreliable.
So a group of people began to write a joint memorial.
The beating just now did scare them, but it was someone else who died, not them, and they were unwilling to just sit there and wait for death.
Liu Tan had already placed spies in the post station. After hearing that they had submitted a joint memorial, he didn't care. He smiled and turned around to write a letter to his father and his brother.
Who doesn't know how to file a complaint?
Originally, both parties who filed the complaint regarded this as a normal quarrel, but no one expected that Liu Che's reaction would be so big.
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