"Lu Yan, the magistrate of Shannan County, has acted perversely and against the will of Heaven and the people during his three years in office, and has repeatedly embezzled taxes from the imperial court."
"His rebellious intentions are now crystal clear."
"Liu Changsheng, a former scholar and local gentry from Shannan County, led the entire county's people in submitting a memorial to the imperial court, requesting Your Majesty's wise consideration!"
Inside the bumpy carriage, the female official read aloud the words from the Book of the People.
Empress Chen Qingwan of the Great Ning sat on the jade couch, her delicate brows furrowed and her beautiful eyes wide open.
Lu Yan, the magistrate of Shannan County, entered officialdom from humble beginnings and obtained his position through donation.
This is all because the area south of the mountains is poor and the people are fierce. Over the past ten years, none of those who have taken up posts in the south of the mountains have died a good death. That's why Lu Yan was able to get a real official position.
Over the past three years, Lu Yan has lived a good life, but from Shannan County to the imperial court in the capital, there has been no shortage of memorials impeaching him.
This time, the locals, led by local gentry, submitted a petition to the authorities, demanding that Lu Yan be brought to justice.
This aroused Empress Chen Qingwan's curiosity about this county official she had never met before, so she chose to visit him incognito, wanting to see for herself how this man surnamed Lu had incurred the wrath of both gods and men.
“This Magistrate Lu once wrote a letter to defend himself, saying that the reason for intercepting tax revenue was that Shannan was located in a remote area, and the roads were frequented by bandits. Escorting official silver would be too conspicuous and not worth the effort. Therefore, the silver was left in the local area and used for the development of the village.”
"If this is true, then it is understandable. Keeping the tax revenue locally to benefit the people is a good strategy."
Chen Qingwan spoke up.
Lu Yan took charge of Shannan, and the region enjoyed a rare period of peace for two or three years. There were no peasant uprisings or barbarian invasions, which was truly remarkable.
If possible, Chen Qingwan would still be willing to give Lu Yan a chance.
The lady-in-waiting listened to her words and turned to a new page.
"The Book of Ten Thousand People says that Lu Yan intercepted tax revenue and did not use it to benefit the people, but instead used it to build a large county government office. He even claimed that the county government office in Shannan County would be built to be more luxurious than the governor's office in the provincial capital!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Qingwan's face grew even more gloomy.
Withholding tax revenue could be considered a matter of adapting to local conditions, but building large-scale county government offices is an act of corruption, no matter where it is located.
"Since I ascended the throne, I have repeatedly issued orders that government offices at all levels must not be extravagant and wasteful, and officials at all levels should govern with benevolence and love for the people, and must not be greedy for enjoyment. Lu Yan has indeed gone too far."
"However, no large-scale riots have occurred in Shannan County over the past three years, which shows that he has also put some thought into people's livelihoods..."
Chen Qingwan continued to try to find evidence for her judgment.
"His Majesty!"
The lady-in-waiting turned to the last page.
"The Book of Ten Thousand People also says that Lu Yan confiscated the land of the people of Shannan County and prevented them from farming! He also built brothels and entertainment venues and forced the people to enter the taverns and entertainment venues to serve high-ranking officials and nobles."
The female official said, somewhat shocked.
"What did you say?"
Chen Qingwan could no longer sit still. With a look of anger on her face, she snatched the book from the people.
A glance revealed the written evidence, in black and white, irrefutable.
In Daning, agriculture is valued and commerce is suppressed; farming and reading are considered fundamental. Taverns and brothels are considered the lowest of the low.
Lu Yan is so deceitful and cruel to the people, putting the cart before the horse. What does he care about the law of the country, the way of the sages, and the principles of heaven and the social order?
That's absolutely outrageous!
"Qiao'er, how far is it from Shannan County?"
Chen Qingwan closed the book of ten thousand people, shut her eyes, and took a deep breath.
"About ten miles away."
"That's what the lady-in-waiting Qiao'er replied."
"I want to see for myself how Lu Yan acts so recklessly! If what's written in this book is true, I will kill him!"
Chen Qingwan said angrily.
The master and servant were sulking.
I only felt that the carriage beneath me was going much faster.
Qiao'er lifted the carriage curtain and looked out the window.
"Your Majesty, the roads here are very strange."
The road, strange?
Under heaven, all land belongs to the emperor; all roads in the country were built according to the standards of the founding emperor. How strange could it be?
Chen Qingwan looked out the car window.
One glance was enough to fill him with shock.
The road trodden by the wheels was neat and smooth, even smoother than the marble bricks of the imperial palace.
Looking up, a yellow line was drawn in the middle of the dark blue road. Horse-drawn carriages traveling east and west split on both sides of the yellow line according to their direction of travel. Yellow, blue and green iron signs were erected along the roadside.
The yellow metal sign reads, "All vehicles must keep to the right. Violators will be fined and have their driver's licenses revoked."
The blue iron sign depicts two carriages colliding, with a large red cross above it and the words "There are thousands of roads, but safety is the first priority" written below.
The tallest and largest green iron sign has a white arrow in the shape of a cross on it, and the words "Ten miles from Shannan County" are also on it.
Chen Qingwan and Qiao'er were stunned by the scene outside the window, as if they were seeing a Western spectacle from a dream.
Where did this come from?
Is this still part of Daning's territory?
Qiao'er realized what was happening, lifted the carriage curtain, and asked the driver, "Old man, are you sure we're not going the wrong way? We're going to Shannan County!"
Upon hearing this, the old coachman immediately understood. Having driven the carriage for so many years, he was already used to such questions.
"It's going to Shannan County. Don't the road signs say so? It's about ten miles from Shannan County."
"You two young ladies must be from out of town! You may not know that what you see was all repaired by Lu Qingtian from our county."
"It's said that Lu Qingtian withheld taxes from the imperial court in order to build the road, and almost lost his head!"
The old driver smiled, wrinkles appearing on his dark face.
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