Ning Yirong gave Gou Dan the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then let Gou Dan take Lao Hei and the guards out.
The people of Donghua County were making a fuss when they suddenly heard someone shout, "The Grand Prince has arrived!"
The people were a little nervous.
Seeing the people looking somewhat stunned, the lead guard shouted, "The Crown Prince is here! Why aren't you kneeling?!"
The people quickly knelt on the ground.
Even after Gou Dan came out, he didn't let them get up. "You say Magistrate Jiang is corrupt, lawless, and oppresses the people, but do you have any evidence?"
No sooner had Gou Dan finished speaking than someone said, "Grand Prince, are you saying this to protect Magistrate Jiang?"
"Outrageous! The imperial court always relies on evidence when handling cases. Since you claim that Magistrate Jiang has committed many evil deeds, then produce the evidence."
"We have no evidence. If we had evidence, we would have gone to the capital to sue him long ago."
"Yes. How could we have any evidence? He can collect taxes whenever he wants, and conscript men whenever he wants. We wouldn't have gone to beg Master Shi if we weren't desperate to survive."
"Yes, Your Highness, you mustn't protect him."
"Your Highness, we kowtow to you. Your Highness, you must do us justice. We were driven to the brink of despair by him, so we tried to scare him."
"Grandson of the Emperor, if he were a good official, why would we all say he's bad?"
"Yes, Your Highness, we are the proof."
...
Dog Egg never expected them to resort to such shameless tactics.
Seeing that Gou Dan didn't know what to do, the leader said, "Grand Prince, please release those bandits. They are all good people; we asked them for help."
"Yes, Your Highness, please release them. They are all good people."
"Grandson of the Emperor, I beg you."
"Grandson of the Emperor, I beg you."
...
Ning Yirong had just asked Magistrate Jiang how many people were in the Shi family when Gou Dan returned. "Father, they've played a trick on us!" Yirong smiled. "So what are you going to do?"
"To catch the thief, first catch the king; I'm going to arrest the head of the Shi family."
"Then what?"
"..."
"Torture to extract confessions?"
"..."
“Special circumstances require special measures. Old Hei, go and make all the male members of the Shi family look like they are dead and bring them back, including the children.”
Old Hei responded with a "Yes" and left.
Magistrate Jiang feared it would incite a popular uprising. "Your Highness," he said, "the Shi family wields considerable power in this area. What if the nearby villagers also come here..."
"Therefore, we must act swiftly and decisively."
"...Your Highness is wise."
On the other side, Master Shi, the head of the Shi family, laughed loudly after hearing that Gou Dan had come out, said a few words, and then retreated. "Hahahaha... Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Even if he were the crown prince, he'd have to cower before me on my turf. Ha... uh!"
Before he could even finish laughing, a sword appeared on his neck!
Master Shi's face turned pale instantly. "You...who are you?"
"Old Black".
Master Shi felt a little relieved. "You...you can't kill me. I...I didn't do anything illegal."
Old Hei knocked him unconscious with a single slap.
So old and still so childish.
The people of Donghua County were clamoring for Ning Yirong to come out when they suddenly heard several screams from behind.
The people instinctively turned around and looked over.
After seeing what was going on, the people immediately fell silent.
Old Hei led his men, pulling ten cartloads of corpses, through the crowd of people.
There was a pool of blood on the chest of each corpse.
The people wanted to speak, but...
They know very well whether Magistrate Jiang has been levying taxes arbitrarily or not.
When Ning Yirong heard that it was quiet outside, he came out of the county government office with Gou Dan and Magistrate Jiang.
This time, the people knelt down without the guards even having to say anything.
Ning Yirong looked at them and said, "I know the Shi family has been kind to you, and I know you are grateful to the Shi family. But you cannot use this to distort the truth and slander officials of the court. You are all subjects of my father, and my father cares about you very much. He often sends people to various places to see how you are doing."
“If Magistrate Jiang were really as you say, my father would have chopped his head off long ago.”
"Alright, tell me, why are you slandering Magistrate Jiang?"
"If you tell the truth, I will forgive you. If you want to go down this dark path, then I will grant your wish."
"Don't think that just because you outnumber me you I won't dare to do anything to you."
How many people died during the war years ago?
"Having more or less of you makes no difference."
"Will you be my father's subjects, or will you be accomplices of the historians? The choice is yours."
"I will give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
"Light the incense!"
"yes!"
After the guards lit the incense, Ning Yirong sat down in the chair.
The chair was brought by Magistrate Jiang.
The people of Donghua County looked at the corpses of the male members of the Shi family, and at the incense sticks that were slowly shrinking...
Soon, some people couldn't hold on any longer.
"Your Highness, I want to be the Emperor's subject! I want to be the Emperor's subject!"
After someone started it, the others joined in shouting:
"Your Highness, I also want to be the Emperor's subject!"
"Your Highness, I also want to be the Emperor's subject!"
...
Ning Yirong waited until the incense had finished burning before looking at the head guard.
The head guard looked at the people of Donghua County and said loudly, "Alright, that's enough. His Highness knows your feelings."
The people of Donghua County quickly quieted down.
Ning Yirong looked at them and said, "Speak, why are you slandering Magistrate Jiang?"
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