Officials came twice, and each time they clashed with the villagers and refused to negotiate.
Blasting the mountain to open a road and provide convenience for passing caravans is a good move to benefit the people. However, the government is acting tyrannically and is trying to force all the villagers to death!
"Thank you, sir. We are not unreasonable. Giving up our ancestral heritage will take time. All the houses and land have been confiscated. If we drive people away without paying a penny, how will the villagers survive?"
The village is very close to the official road. The villagers rely on farming and selling some food to passers-by to barely fill their stomachs and have little savings.
"If the village is occupied, hundreds of people will have to eat coarse food and become homeless!"
The ancestral tomb is gone, the ancestral hall is gone, and the roots are lost.
After the old man finished speaking, he stamped his feet, beat his chest, and burst into tears.
He was already very old, half buried in the ground, and had no worries.
The old man had already made up his mind that if the government insisted on having its way, he would take a rope and go to the county government office to hang himself in protest the next morning.
The old man was crying and his face was sad and desperate. The villagers were silent after hearing this, and everyone followed suit and wiped their tears.
There were no educated ancestors in the village, they were all honest farmers. When they saw the officials, they trembled and felt inexplicably shorter.
Every time I dealt with him, before I could even express my demands, I would be scolded by the yamen runners. My mind went blank and I wanted to argue, but I was too tongue-tied to say anything.
"Thank you, sir. Please help the villagers!"
The old man insisted on kneeling down and kowtow. Seeing this, the villagers behind him knelt down and were too sad to speak.
They thought that the imperial envoy would come with a grand ceremony, and they had heard rumors about Xie Zhao in the past. Lord Xie was their last hope.
When I met him today, I didn’t expect that Lord Xie was so clear-headed. He is a great man worthy of admiration.
"Please stand up quickly, fellow villagers. I cannot accept this position."
Xie Zhao took another step forward and helped the old man up. His expression was calm, but he exuded a cold yet gentle temperament. It seemed contradictory, but not inconsistent.
The old man straightened up and said sincerely, "There is hot water in the village. If Lord Xie and Madam Xie don't mind, you can go to the village and sit for a while."
There are three or four villages near the official road, where people intermarry and have close interactions with each other.
"The old man's surname is Zhai, and he lives in Zhaijia Village, which is closest to the official road."
Since Old Man Zhai received the news that the mountain was going to be blown up, it was like a bolt from the blue.
He was completely panicked and had no choice but to stake out the official road every day.
Finding the imperial envoy to file a complaint was the idea suggested to Old Man Zhai by a passing caravan.
"I heard you were passing by. I've been waiting for you for more than ten days. The village has already vacated the house and cleaned it up..."
Old man Zhai pulled at his clothes nervously, fearing that the high-ranking imperial envoy would dislike the conditions in the village.
Jiang Yuzhu looked around and could see the villagers' joy at Xie Zhao's appearance. The government's long-standing oppression in the hearts of ordinary people had made them extremely silent.
"Uncle, my husband is an easygoing person, you don't have to worry."
Jiang Yuzhu said a few words of comfort, and she and Xie Zhao came down from the official road and walked into the village along a country road paved with cobblestones.
At the end of September in the lunar calendar, the midday breeze was refreshing, and flowers and plants were planted on both sides of the path, showing the elegance of the villagers.
Although the houses in the village are all thatched, every household is tidy.
At the entrance of the village, there were still groups of little kids who had no idea what sorrow was like, running and jumping. When they saw unfamiliar faces, they would hide behind their parents to peek.
Seeing Jiang Yuzhu looking at him, the little boy shrank his head shyly.
"Ningxiang, there are cakes and candies in the carriage. Give them to the little kid."
Jiang Yuzhu gave the order, and Ningxiang immediately understood.
Although the villagers sound very pitiful, we cannot believe one-sided words. It is relatively easier to find out from the little kid.
After Jiang Yuzhu finished a cup of heat-clearing dandelion tea, Ningxiang hurriedly replied, "Madam, every word Old Man Zhai said is true."
Several surrounding villages are about to be occupied, and the villagers have no choice but to make the worst-case scenario plans.
The most valuable pigs and donkeys in the house were sold for silver, and the chickens and ducks were slaughtered, pickled and dried just to make it easier to take them on the road.
"Those little kids don't understand. After hearing the troupe perform, they want to go to the capital to file a complaint with the emperor."
Ningxiang couldn't help but show sympathy, but her words were filled with indignation. "The villagers are being bullied because they're too honest. In Ruyang, County Magistrate Cao is a corrupt official who extorts money from the people. All the larger restaurants and shops in the county are owned by County Magistrate Cao and his relatives."
Magistrate Cao relied on his position as the local leader to shield his relatives from doing evil, causing great suffering to the people in his jurisdiction.
"Xiao Tao's father went to work for a wealthy family in the county. One winter day, he fell from the roof and broke his leg. The wealthy family refused to pay him a cent and even withheld his wages, saying it was unlucky. How ridiculous!"
Ningxiang grew angrier as she spoke. "Xiaotao's father went to the authorities to file a complaint, but he had nowhere to turn and was beaten with a stick instead."
The wealthy families had close contacts with County Magistrate Cao. Whenever the Cao family held any banquet, they would bring valuable gifts to visit.
Magistrate Cao benefited from this and became a powerful protective umbrella for the evildoers.
"Little Tao Niang is weak, and Dad is lame. If the government blows up the mountain, I'm afraid we'll have to rely on begging to survive."
Ningxiang walked around and exchanged candies for a lot of useful information. She also had a sharp tongue and talked a lot, which made Jiang Yuzhu understand the difficulties of the villagers more deeply.
"There's a wealthy building in the county, owned by Magistrate Cao's brother-in-law. He's absolutely ruthless!"
There is a Yin-Yang menu in Fugui Building, which is specifically designed to trick passing caravans.
You may get a cheap quote when dining, but when you pay the bill after eating, it is often several times higher.
When the caravan started to cause trouble, Magistrate Cao immediately sent officials to handle the situation.
The people do not fight against the officials, and when a caravan is cheated, they usually consider it their own bad luck.
"I heard that a plate of jade cabbage costs two taels of silver!"
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