This was Huang Shifan's first meeting with Zhao Huan, or to be more precise, his first meeting with the emperor.
"Huang Shifan, I do not want to tell anyone about my incognito tour this time, so as not to cause disturbance to the local area. Do you understand what I mean?"
Huang Shifan was so excited that he stuttered: "I understand. Your Majesty, you want to know how many corrupt officials there are in the Song Dynasty."
Zhao Huan smiled and nodded: "That's right, I am here to catch corrupt officials. It's best if these corrupt officials don't meet me, because if they do, it will be their doom."
Huang Shifan said respectfully, "I understand, I understand. Dou Dachui is indeed a corrupt official. However, military officials are not allowed to be involved in politics. Although I have long disliked him, I can do nothing about it."
Zhao Huan stated his purpose: "I command you to return to the capital as soon as possible and report the famine here. Have Li Gang and his men convene a court meeting and quickly allocate relief funds and grain to Langya County."
Cao Dongsheng handed Zhao Huan's imperial edict to Huang Shifan, who bowed and accepted it.
Huang Shifan left the Langya County Office and returned to Haiqu Town with his soldiers. With Zhao Huan's imperial edict, he prepared to enter the capital.
The jailer who had reported the incident was still in Haiqu Town, awaiting news of Huang Shifan. When Huang Shifan returned, the jailer hurriedly approached and asked, "General Huang, have you rescued our county magistrate? Can you eliminate this traitor?"
Huang Shifan gave him a cold look and said, "Drag this fellow out and chop him up!"
The jailer was shocked. He was a die-hard Dou Dachui loyalist. Dou Dachui was imprisoned. He had fully expected Huang Shifan's troops to be dispatched and bring Zhao Huan and his gang of rebels to justice. But for some reason, Huang Shifan returned and attempted to chop him down.
The jailer yelled, "General, you are wrongly accusing me! Why? You are wrongly accusing me!"
Huang Shifan sneered: "Unjust? Do you know who is the one who grabbed Bean Hammer, that bastard official?"
The jailer shook his head blankly, not knowing what was going on.
"That's the current emperor!" Huang Shifan saluted with his fists clasped.
The jailer was stunned, then he was so scared that he trembled all over and couldn't speak.
Huang Shifan's face changed: "Drag this guy out and behead him!"
The soldiers dragged him out of the tent and killed him with a knife.
While in prison, Dou Dachui was still hoping that the garrison troops in Haiqu Town would come to rescue him, but before the reinforcements arrived, he was taken to the lobby for interrogation again.
Sitting in the hall of the county government and interrogating corrupt officials was Zhao Huan's favorite thing to do. A group of yamen runners stood on both sides, holding wooden sticks: "Mighty!"
Dou Dachui was shaking with fear. In the past, he was the one who could turn white into black and black into white by banging the gavel while sitting in the hall.
Now the situation has changed, and there is this vicious monster sitting in the hall. He is beaten with a stick and tortured at any time. Thinking of Dou Dachui makes me shudder.
"Dou Dachui, I have a question for you. How many taels of silver did you spend on hiring this county magistrate?" Zhao Huan asked as he slammed the gavel.
Dou Dachui trembled and stretched out three fingers: "Ten thousand taels."
Zhao Huan was shocked by the amount of money. But he remained calm and said, "Who did you give the silver to? Tell the truth!"
Dou Dachui was no fool. If he told him who it was, the case would be confirmed. He remained silent and refused to answer.
He didn't answer, but Zhao Huan had plenty of ways to make him confess: "Come on, put on the clamps!"
When Dou Dachui heard the clamp, he immediately trembled with fear: "No, no, no!"
Although he had never tasted the pain of being clamped, he had often used it on those unruly people. It seemed that the feeling was truly worse than death.
The two yamen runners were Lu Asan and Gao Er.
The two men took the clamp and put it on Dou Da Hammer's calf. They pulled the ropes at both ends. The clamp began to tighten.
Dou Dachui didn't feel anything at first, but then his calves started to feel tighter and tighter, and finally numb. Then came this excruciating pain that went right down to his bones, as if his legs were broken.
Zhao Huan sat in the hall and said: "I want to see whether you are stubborn or stubborn!"
Dou Dachui had never suffered such torture before, and soon he started screaming like a pig being slaughtered: "I confess, I confess!"
Zhao Huan waved his hand, and the two yamen runners stopped splinting. Dou Dachui's forehead was covered in cold sweat, the pain was unbearable. He shuddered and panted for a long time: "I will..."
Zhao Huan said angrily, "If you dare to call me a villain, I will cut off your tongue."
Dou Dachui was shocked. "Yes, I gave 10,000 taels of silver to Yang Wenzhi, the former governor of Haizhou Prefecture, in three installments. This, this is how I got the position of magistrate of Langya County."
Zhao Huan smiled slightly. "Where is the former governor, Yang Wenzhi, now? And who is the current governor?"
Dou Dachui wiped his sweat and said, "Yang Wenzhi has retired and returned to Heying Town. The current prefect is Han Tiexin."
Zhao Huan thought to himself, you dog official, even if you retire and return home, I will still capture you and tear you into pieces.
Zhao Huan slammed the gavel again and said, "I have another question for you. Langya County has been suffering from a severe drought for three years. Why didn't Han Tiexin report this to the capital?"
Dou Dachui knelt on the ground and cried bitterly: "I really don't know this, please help me!"
Zhao Huan knew that no further questioning would yield any results, so he slammed the gavel and said, "Come here! Quickly go to Heying Town and arrest Yang Wenzhi!"
The yamen runners Lu Asan and Gao Er received the order and left, and Zhao Huan became the lord of Langya County.
Lu Asan and Gao Er left Langya County and went fifty miles west to Heying Town, where Yang Wenzhi, the former governor of Haizhou, retired and returned to his hometown.
Yamen runners were not given horses, so the two of them walked to Heying Town. Lu Asan said, "Second Brother, this self-appointed County Magistrate Zhao has ordered us to arrest Yang Wenzhi. Are we really going now?"
Gao Er chuckled: "Don't you think it's fun to work with County Magistrate Zhao?"
Lu Asan felt the same way: "Exactly. Although County Magistrate Zhao's title is not legitimate, he's a master of catching beans and hammers. Helping the people kill locusts is really fun to work with him. Especially when he's hitting the beans and hammers with the board, I feel so damn good."
Gao Er chuckled and said, "That's right, Master Dou was screaming in pain. I never thought he would end up like this."
Lu Asan suddenly became worried: "You said that County Magistrate Zhao's background is unknown. Will we be arrested as traitors by the imperial court?"
Gao Er shook his head. "That shouldn't be the case. Didn't you see how the Haiqu Town commander personally led his troops to surround the county government office today? And in the end, he respectfully led his troops away."
Lu Ahsan was overjoyed: "Are you saying that County Magistrate Zhao has an extraordinary background?"
Gao Er nodded and said, "It's probably true. This County Magistrate Zhao is either an imperial envoy or a royal relative. We can definitely follow him. Yang Wenzhi has caused great harm to the people in the past. We must teach him a lesson this time!"
Lu Asan slapped his thigh and said, "Yes, this old bastard has embezzled so much money, we absolutely cannot let him go!"
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