Chapter 209: Rebellion in a Small County 2
The summer night sky is dotted with stars. On the roadside, insects are chirping and frogs are croaking.
Su Ruojin caught a villager who had escaped from the gate of the county government office and questioned him. The general meaning was similar to what Shu Tong said when he came back. The reason for the commotion now was mainly because many people had no food to eat.
The villagers said, "If there is an official in charge, he can open the grain store so that everyone can buy some grain and fill their stomachs. However, these black-hearted merchants and landlords are unwilling to open the store, so the people have no choice but to go to the county government to ask the official to open the granary."
The magistrate was killed, the county lieutenant fled, the chief clerk and the county magistrate took refuge in the mountains. Su Ruojin suspected that there was no food in the granary of Weizhou County. Otherwise, according to reason, the new emperor's edict should have been received long ago, and the county lieutenant could not have failed to send troops to maintain order in the county.
She asked some more questions about the conversations between county officials and the common people, and only stopped talking when the villagers had nothing to say.
Generally, the government office is composed of a team including the magistrate, the county magistrate, the chief clerk, the county lieutenant, and the registrar.
The magistrate is the chief official of a county, who is of the seventh rank, commonly known as the seventh-rank sesame official. But in fact, for ordinary people, this may be the highest-ranking official they can come into contact with, so he is also called the parent official.
The county magistrate’s assistant is a county magistrate and is an official of the eighth rank.
The county lieutenant, like the county magistrate, was an assistant to the county magistrate and was in charge of public security and catching thieves, which was equivalent to the modern public security bureau chief.
Zhubu, an assistant clerk in charge of documents.
The Dianshi was an assistant official in a county, but he was not in the mainstream and had no rank. He was just a clerk.
Before Su Ruojin and his party arrived at the gate of the county government office, they heard shouts and screams amid the flames... the sounds of banging... and the cries and roars of women and children, all mixed together, as if the end of the world was imminent.
Su Yanli jumped off the carriage. His face was no longer gentle and elegant, but serious and solemn. He walked towards the crowd step by step.
Su Ruojin looked towards the chaotic yamen gate while keeping an eye on his father, and found that his expression at the moment was not as weak and incompetent as he thought. On the contrary, in the flames that shot up into the sky, his back was straight as a green bamboo, bright and clear, as he walked faster and faster.
Just now in the carriage, she had been asking the villagers about the situation at the county government gate. In fact, she was asking him all the questions, and he seemed to have heard them all. So how would he respond at this moment?
As a daughter, how can I help him without making a sound?
Su Ruojin looked at Zhang Shun and Cui Can, signaling them with her eyes to quickly half-sheath their swords and follow Su Yanli. The two had been running Su's Morning Tea for three years and had a tacit understanding with the young boss. They immediately understood her look and straightened their backs, looking mighty and powerful, like door gods and guards.
Su Ruojin leaned close to Mangzhong and whispered something to him. Mangzhong looked at her in surprise at first, then listened to a few more words and nodded solemnly to indicate that he understood.
She quickly turned around and waved to Shu Tong.
Shu Tong hurriedly followed, lowered his head, and let the young master lean close to his ear. It was too noisy in front, and he was afraid that he could not hear clearly what the young master said. When he heard the second sentence, he widened his eyes and looked at his young lady in disbelief. Is this possible?
Su Ruojin nodded and told him to act quickly regardless of whether it was possible or not.
"Okay." Shu Tong glanced at the adult who was about to squeeze into the crowd, nodded, turned around and drove away in a carriage.
The noise, knocking on the door, shouting... the roar in the night made people feel frightened, as if they were standing on the boundary between life and death, unable to move forward or backward.
Hu Dianshi could no longer shout and was supported by his wife against the wall, barely able to stand. He called his children and grandchildren to help stop the knocking on the granary door. All of them had lost their voices from shouting or were pushed and beaten by the angry citizens. Seeing that the county government door was about to be knocked open, he shook his head helplessly. It was over... everything was over!
He glanced at the county magistrate's family members who were squeezed against the wall and were in mourning. If they didn't leave, they would be trampled by the crowded crowd. Why bother... Why bother...
The magistrate’s teenage son desperately protected his grandmother and mother… “Please stop pushing us, stop pushing us, or we’ll all die…we’ll all die…”
"Bang... Bang... Come on, brothers, it's about to start, it's about to start..."
Seeing that the heavy iron gate of the county government office was about to be knocked open, the excited crowd became more and more agitated. The people at the back were anxious, afraid that they would not be able to grab food, and they squeezed forward desperately. The shouts... and cries... became sharper and rushed towards the dark night sky.
Bang... bang...
With a loud bang, the door of the county government office was finally knocked open.
The noisy and bustling crowd suddenly became as quiet as if cut by a knife.
Thousands of common people all looked towards the gate of the county government office which usually frightened them. There is a saying that the government office faces south and one cannot come in without money. Once common people come here, they realize that they are either in trouble or have committed a crime, and the sky is about to fall.
Now, in the light of the fire, the door was completely open to them. They could step in with just one step and find food to survive.
I don't know who woke up first and shouted, "Brothers, charge, grab the food!"
"Go... Go... If you're slow, it will be gone..."
A large group of people rushed in. Seeing that the people behind could not squeeze in, they began to pile up and trample each other. Mangzhong got the night watchman's gong from somewhere, banged it three times, and shouted loudly, "Lord Su, the official from the capital, is here. Anyone who dares to act rashly will be beaten."
The noisy crowd was startled by the sudden sound of the gong and the powerful male voice, and everyone looked towards the sound of the gong.
Mangzhong stood on a broken chair and looked down at him, "Lord Su, the official from the capital, is here. Why don't you kneel down and salute?"
Everyone followed the young man's gaze towards the young man standing beside the chair, only to see him standing with his hands behind his back, looking calm and composed, with a dignified look.
My restless heart seemed to calm down all of a sudden. You looked at me, I looked at you. Have officials from the capital been sent?
Seeing that no one was moving, Mangzhong shouted, "You guys want to go to jail?"
Old Shi, who was on the verge of dying, finally caught his breath. When he heard the loud voice, his eyes lit up. He pushed his wife's hand away, ran to Su Yanli and knelt down, "Hu Yongshou, the clerk of Weizhou County, greets Lord Su."
Even the old official knelt down, and the crowd who were stopped outside the door followed suit and moved in front of Su Yanli, kneeling together.
They knelt but no one greeted them. They were numb and confused. If the court officials came, would they be distributed food?
Just when someone wanted to ask a question, someone who had rushed into the yamen first rushed out with his hands raised and yelling, "It's bad... It's bad... There's not a grain of food in the yamen's granary, we're going to starve to death..."
What? There's not a grain in the granary?
The crowd kneeling on the ground suddenly stood up. They were so angry and desperate that they were about to lose their minds. They saw these people were so jealous that they wanted to eat people.
At the young lady's signal, Mangzhong quickly struck the gong again, "Quiet... Quiet... Lord Su..." For a moment, Mangzhong almost didn't know what to say and was sweating with anxiety.
Su Ruojin quickly ran to the Grain in Ear, pulled him down, stood on a chair, and started to beat the gong, "Quiet... Quiet..."
The crowd that was about to eat people quieted down again. They were startled by the young lady standing on the chair. The pretty girl in green Russell stood lightly on the chair, graceful and elegant, like the little disciple of Goddess Guanyin, and she calmed people's uneasy hearts at once.
Seeing the crowd quiet down again, Su Ruojin clasped his fists towards everyone and said, "Dear fellow villagers, someone has cooked porridge outside the city and is waiting to distribute it. You can go get some to fill your stomach."
Normally, when everyone heard there was food, they should have rushed away in a swarm, but no one moved.
The middle-aged man who rushed in first and came out first to shout that there was no food sneered, "Did you pull the food outside and pretend to be kind to give out porridge?"
"Yes, did you guys take away the grain in the county government's granary and divide it up?"
Su Yanli's brows moved, he looked elegant and dignified. Looking at the middle-aged man who was speaking, he unconsciously took a step back and thought, this is really weird, he is obviously a weak scholar, how come his mother has such authority.
Unexpectedly, her father had such a strong aura. Su Ruojin didn't have time to give her father a thumbs up. She quickly jumped off the chair, walked to Su Yanli, and asked his father to say something in a low voice.
Su Yanli did not understand what his daughter said, but asked her using lip language: Ajin, where is the grain from the county government?
Su Ruojin certainly didn't know who stole the grain, or whether it was robbed by rioters or bandits. But from the current situation it was obvious that the county magistrate was dead, so it definitely couldn't have been him. But seeing so many people knocking on the door of the county government office just now and finally opening it, it meant that most likely the grain was not stolen by rioters or bandits, but was definitely taken away by middle-level and above personnel in the county government office.
Su Ruojin nodded in a pretentious manner, "Okay, sir, I understand."
Su Yanli looked at the dense crowd of people. They were not his students and had no idea how to deal with the matter.
Su Ruojin turned around, stood on the chair again, and said to everyone, "Just now, the master told me that he had just come from the capital and had not yet contacted Huang Dianli and other county officials. After he met with the relevant officials and understood the situation, he would definitely give everyone a clear answer."
Just came from the capital? Everyone stood still in disbelief.
Su Ruojin glanced at his father and asked him to take over the role.
Su Yanli's thoughts have always followed his daughter, and of course he quickly received her hint. Could he respond to her wild imagination like he did at home?
It was unknown whether it was out of habit or a tacit understanding between the father and daughter, but Su Yanli half-knelt and bowed to the sky, "I eat the food of the emperor and worry about the emperor. My emperor has just ascended the throne and a new order has been issued. All the riots committed before the new emperor ascended the throne will not be investigated. However, the death of the county magistrate, the disappearance of food, the escape of the county magistrate, the county lieutenant, the chief clerk, the crime of blasphemy, and the riots committed after today must be sent to prison to make the law clear."
There was actually someone in charge of the overall situation in Weizhou County. Hu Dianli seemed to have found a backbone. He burst into tears and knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty's grace is great. I thank you, Lord Su. Lord Su, please find the murderer who killed the county magistrate. I will cooperate with you with all my strength."
this……
The few people who led the riot and demanded food looked around secretly, and then looked at the two patrol officers who were beaten to death by them. They no longer wanted to stay, their eyes rolled around, and they were ready to slip away.
Su Ruojin had been paying attention to the crowd. The county magistrate was clearly dead, and the county chancellor and others had either fled or left, so why were there still people making trouble in front of the county government office? This was clearly something that would lead to no results, but some people still did it. Why?
The civilians behind might really be starving because they had no food to eat, but why were they gathering together to make a fuss in the county government office? What could a clerk do for them?
Su Ruojin made a gesture to Zhang Shun and Cui Can, and the two understood. One of them stayed to protect Su Yanli, while the other quietly merged into the crowd.
After paying homage to the emperor, Su Yanli stood up, faced the crowd, glanced at them with a righteous look on his face, and then looked at his daughter.
Su Ruojin hurriedly hugged everyone, "Everyone, Lord Su means that the porridge outside the city is ready, but the quantity is limited, first come first served, and the rest will have to wait until tomorrow morning to be distributed."
When they heard that there was not much porridge available and it was first come first served, they immediately turned around and ran out of the city because those who were really hungry had no time to wait.
One runs, everyone runs.
After a while, almost everyone at the yamen ran away, leaving only a hundred or so people.
Su Yanli looked at the corner of the wall at the entrance of the yamen and walked forward quickly.
Hu Dianli hurriedly trotted after them and said, "Sir Su, these are the family members of the county lord. The county lord's house was robbed by the thieves, and there is not even enough money to pay the county lord a fine."
He sighed repeatedly.
The Su family's father and daughter frowned at the same time. The county magistrate's family had no money, so would the burial be impossible without Hu Dianli's help?
Hu Dianli seemed to have heard what the Su family father and daughter were thinking. "It's not that I don't want to help, but the county government is in chaos and I don't know where to start. If the court doesn't send anyone, I'm afraid I'll follow the county lord."
(End of this chapter)
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