Yang Wenzhi was well aware of the dirty dealings he had with Dou Dachui, and the so-called Zhao County Magistrate. The officers were unaware of this, but he knew that it was the current emperor.
The imperial seal on the rice paper explained everything, and the officer Lu Asan could barely recognize a few characters, but they would not look at which family's seal was stamped on the arrest warrant for no reason. Besides, the officers might not understand the meaning of the words "Bengtian Shouming Zhibao" on the jade and gold seal.
The only one who can receive the mandate from heaven is the current emperor. How can Yang Wenzhi not be afraid?
If he were arrested, his family fortune would be in jeopardy, and he might even have his entire clan executed. Going there would be extremely dangerous, so Yang Wenzhi gritted his teeth and said, "I'll go with you!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Asan knew that Gao Er's words were true. This County Magistrate Zhao must be someone very important, otherwise Yang Wenzhi wouldn't have followed him so easily.
In Langya County, Zhao Huan sat in the main hall, with Nangong Lian'er, Linghu Yunlong, and Cao Dongsheng standing on either side.
A group of yamen runners holding wooden sticks stood on both sides of the lower row, and kneeling on the ground were Yang Wenzhi and Dou Dachui.
Dou Dachui was still in a dream, and he didn't know Zhao Huan's origins. But when he saw Yang Wenzhi kneeling beside him, he was already terrified.
"Yang Wenzhi, why don't you tell the truth quickly!" Zhao Huan slammed the gavel.
Yang Wenzhi panicked and said, "Your Majesty, I deserve to die."
When these words were spoken, Dou Dachui and a group of yamen runners were shocked. Only then did they realize that Zhao Huan was actually the current emperor.
The next thing was much simpler. Dou Dachui wanted to continue to argue, but when he heard that the person sitting in the hall was actually the current emperor, he immediately told the whole story of his buying an official position.
Yang Wenzhi had been an official for over a decade and was well aware of the infighting and struggles within the officialdom. He tried to argue for himself, but since he owned half of the land in Heying Town, he had no way to defend himself.
Zhao Huan stood up and read out the verdict: "Dou Dachui has taken advantage of the people by buying his position and illegally increasing taxes. His property must be confiscated and he must be beheaded in public!"
Dou Dachui slumped on the ground and bought a position as a county magistrate. In the end, he didn't make much money and even lost his life.
Zhao Huan continued, "Yang Wenzhi, the former governor of Haizhou, you have been corrupt, accepting bribes, and selling official positions for money. I order the confiscation of all your property and the return of the land to the people. Yang Wenzhi must be beheaded!"
Yang Wenzhi was dejected. He thought he had retired and returned to his hometown, his past corruption and bribery forgotten. He worked hard to acquire land, become a wealthy man, and stop associating with officials. But he never expected that his crimes would be exposed again.
The next day, the entire Langya County knew that the new county magistrate was actually the current emperor. The first thing the emperor did when he arrived in Langya County was to chop off the dog official Dou Dachui and kill the former prefect, which really pleased everyone.
When Dou Dachui and Yang Wenzhi were beheaded, countless people came to the execution ground to watch. As the executioner raised his sword and struck down, the two corrupt officials met their due end.
…
Zhao Li, after days of sailing, the dragon boat fleet has arrived at the Sea of Japan.
One has to admire Zhao Huan's preparations for the dragon boat. The compass and weather forecast system helped them a lot.
Although the compass was already available in the Song Dynasty, and there are records of its use in navigation, geography teachers would observe the stars at night and the sun during the day. When it is cloudy, they would use the compass.
However, the use of compasses was not yet widespread, so Zhao Huan taught them the simplest method: rub an embroidery needle back and forth on a magnet, then thread the needle through a piece of paper and place it in a bowl of water to clearly determine the direction.
Zhao Huan had already marked the general route for them. The difference was that this map wasn't precise; it only vaguely indicated the locations of the seven continents and four oceans. Zhao Huan had drawn this from memory, so it wasn't entirely accurate.
The so-called weather forecast system was a modern method of weather forecasting that Zhao Huan had taught them. Furthermore, the Jiaozhou Navy recruited a group of experienced fishermen from the coastal areas to use traditional methods to forecast the weather.
Zhao Huan understood the importance of weather to a navigator. The Yuan Dynasty's conquest of Japan was ultimately thwarted by the weather. Therefore, he repeatedly warned sailors to exercise extreme caution when sailing in windy conditions. If anchored along the coast, sailing in bad weather was strictly prohibited.
Zhao Li and Pan Bufeng were impressed by the emperor's well-organized speech. The food on board was even more diverse, with pickled cabbage and dried fruits, all designed to provide the crew with sufficient vitamins.
Even so, this also helped Zhao Li and others a lot. The emperor's knowledge of navigation left everyone stunned.
It is said that when Pan Bufeng followed Wang Xiaohu to cause chaos, Liu Guisheng, as Wang Xiaohu's accomplice, managed to escape.
Liu Guisheng, with his remaining defeated troops, traveled by boat and went through untold hardships to reach Japan.
After arriving in Japan, Liu Guisheng quickly established connections with Japanese political circles.
Japan admired China and obeyed Liu Guisheng's orders. Emperor Toba of Japan trusted him even more and appointed him as Grand Marshal.
The Retired Emperor was similar to the retired emperor of the Song Dynasty. Emperor Toba gave the throne to his son, Emperor Sutoku.
Emperor Sutoku was extremely dissatisfied with Liu Guisheng. He felt that Liu Guisheng was a selfish, profit-seeking villain. He was inconsistent with the legendary Chinese nation of propriety. Therefore, Emperor Sutoku treated Liu Guisheng with cold words and no enthusiasm.
So Liu Guisheng could no longer sit still, and he joined forces with Emperor Toba to bring down Sutoku.
You have to admire Liu Guisheng's ability to deceive people. He deceived the incompetent Emperor Toba into abolishing the throne of his own son, Emperor Sutoku, and enthroning Emperor Torini.
Liu Guisheng used the skills he learned as an official in the Song Dynasty to deal with the Japanese, and it worked every time.
Emperor Torini was a cowardly and incompetent figure, comparable to Emperor Ai, who ate meat porridge. After Emperor Torini ascended the throne, Liu Guisheng rose to power. He first plotted to poison Emperor Toba. Besides Fujiwara no Tadahiro of the Fujiwara clan, whom Liu Guisheng feared, Liu Guisheng actually held all of Japan's military and political power.
The fleet of Zhao Li and others first arrived at Nagasaki. When the fleet docked off the coast of Nagasaki, the Japanese people were horrified.
They had never seen such a large lineup, and the huge merchant ship was like a small mountain.
Especially when the main ship, which was more than 100 meters long, docked, many Japanese people began to kneel on the ground and worship it. They believed that it was a heavenly ship sent by God.
Zhao Li was happy. He saw that these barbaric people knew that the uncivilized Japan was the easiest to fool.
Now that he has come to Japan, it would be unworthy of the reputation of Zhao Li if he doesn't cheat him out of tens of thousands of taels of silver.
Fortunately, there was already sporadic trade between the Song Dynasty and Japan, and Zhao Li had a Japanese translator on board his dragon boat. Otherwise, the language barrier would have been a major problem for communication.
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