The yamen runner said hurriedly: "Master Dou, I went to Tianjia Village to collect rent. I was stopped by these unruly people, and this guy even dared to hit me." Then he pointed at Zhao Huan.
Dou Dachui raised his head nonchalantly and glanced at Zhao Huan: "Who are you, Excellency? Why don't you kneel before me?"
Zhao Huan said coldly, "Who do you think you are? A mere county magistrate, and you think you're worthy of me kneeling before you?"
"How dare you!" Dou Dachui slammed the gavel. "How dare you, you unruly commoner, insult this official! Come on! Drag me out and give me twenty lashes of the cane."
As the yamen runners were about to pounce, Zhao Huan shouted, "Wait! Let me ask you, Langya County has been suffering from a severe drought for three years. Why didn't you report this to the court and ask for disaster relief?"
Dou Dachui glared and said, "Who said I didn't report it? I already reported it to Haizhou Prefecture. But then there was no follow-up. Why should I be blamed?"
Zhao Huan was shocked. If what this guy said was true, then the governor of Haizhou must have concealed something.
Zhao Huan vaguely felt that what he encountered this time was not that simple, and it might be a case of widespread corruption.
Zhao Huan angrily said, "As a government official, you should plead for the people. Langya has suffered a severe drought for three years, and the people are suffering. Add to that the locust plague, and Haizhou doesn't care. Why don't you send someone to Bianjing to file a complaint?"
Dou Dachui was taken aback. "Hey, where did you come from? Why should I listen to you? I'm telling you, I spent so much money to hire this high-ranking official. If I don't get my money back, I'll be losing money! Drag these ignorant people out and give them forty lashes each!"
"Get started!" Zhao Huan shouted.
Linghu Yunlong used all his strength to break the rope around his wrist and snatched the long sword from a yamen runner's waist. That long sword was exactly what he was wearing, and it had just been snatched away by the yamen runner.
With a sword in hand, the world is mine. Linghu Yunlong cut the ropes from Nangong Lian'er's hands with a single blow, and Nangong Lian'er rushed forward. With three punches and two kicks, the two of them knocked the yamen runners to the ground.
Dou Dachui was shocked. He stood up from the main hall and said, "You, you, what do you want to do?"
Zhao Huan smiled and said, "Nothing, I just want to beat you up."
Linghu Yunlong strode onto the table in the lobby, picked up the bean hammer and threw it down the hall.
Zhao Huan sat in the hall of the government office with dignity. He raised the gavel and said, "Langya County Magistrate Dou Dachui, I have a question for you. There is a locust plague in the county. How will you deal with it?"
Dou Dachui was shocked. He was the county magistrate, but now these unruly people had turned the tables and driven him out of office. This dandy-looking fellow had actually taken the seat of justice and become the county magistrate.
The worst thing is that these useless yamen runners under his command are no match for these people.
Dou Dachui lay in silence in the hall, while the yamen runners, who were beaten to a pulp by Linghu Yunlong and Nangong Lian'er, hid aside.
Zhao Huan was furious. He threw the green sign on the table and said, "Drag this incompetent official out and give him twenty lashes of the cane!"
Linghu Yunlong grabbed the two yamen runners and threw them into the hall. He drew his sword and pointed it at them: "Take up your sticks! If you don't hit me lightly, I'll kill you!"
The two yamen runners understood that these were a group of desperate criminals. If they did not do as they were told, their lives would be in danger.
So the two men picked up wooden sticks, and Linghu Yunlong kicked Dou Dachui over. The two yamen runners looked at each other, raised their boards and started to beat him with a crackling sound.
Dou Dachui howled in pain: "Lu San, Gao Er, you two hit me so hard, I'll teach you a lesson later!"
It turned out that the two yamen runners were named Lu San and Gao Er. They thought that since they were forced to beat the county magistrate, they would never be able to do this job again.
The two men remembered that Dou Dachui usually ordered them around like dogs, so they decided to go all out and beat Dou Dachui up.
After twenty strokes of the board, Dou Dachui lay on the ground like a dead pig, foaming at the mouth.
Zhao Huan slammed the gavel and said, "All officials, listen! Send people to each village immediately to deal with the locusts. Round them up and capture them, and mobilize the people to exterminate them."
These yamen runners were at a loss and were forced to obey orders by Zhao Huan using a trick.
The sparrow took over the dove's nest, and now the Langya County government office had become Zhao Huan's. Surprisingly, none of the yamen runners dared to resist.
Dou Dachui was imprisoned in the county jail. As soon as Linghu Yunlong left, Dou Dachui whispered to the jailer, "Go quickly to the Haiqu military camp and find the commander, Huang Shifan. Tell him that there are unruly people in the county jail plotting rebellion."
The jailer was a die-hard fan of Dou Dachui. He was shocked when he heard this and dared not stay. He immediately escaped from the prison and ran towards the north of the city.
Huang Shifan, commander of Langya, was commanding the coastal defense in Haiqu Town. Pirates were harassing Haiqu Town from time to time, so the imperial court sent a garrison here to prevent pirate attacks.
Huang Shifan was also shocked when he heard this. Someone actually dared to occupy the county government office and beat the county magistrate. To put it seriously, this was a case of gathering people to rebel, and the whole family would be exiled.
Huang Shifan did not dare to delay and led a team of hundreds of soldiers to Langya County to encircle and suppress the rebellion.
Zhao Huan ordered his officers to go to each village to trap and capture locusts. These officers would not have obeyed Zhao Huan, but their families all lived in the county town.
Zhao Huan pulled out the county yamen record book, in which the names of every official's family were registered. If anyone dared to disobey orders and escape, Zhao Huan and his men, veterans of the brutal killing spree, would exterminate their entire family.
Because they threatened his family, these yamen runners did not dare to obey Zhao Huan's orders.
Zhao Huan ordered each village to implement the burning and burying method and the digging and seeding method to control locusts.
The so-called burning and burying method involves digging trenches and lighting bonfires at night. When the locusts see the flames, they will fly towards them like moths to a flame and be burned to death. The people will then bury them.
The most effective method is to dig out and destroy the place where the locusts lay eggs, which can solve the problem once and for all.
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