Looking at the trembling official kneeling in front of him, Zheng Mi Chang could not help but feel a flash of joy on his face. He did not let the official get up, but after looking at the scene, he sat directly on the main seat and looked in front of him. The people kneeling on the ground said loudly.
"I am Zheng Michang, the Chief Envoy of Zhejiang Province! What happened here just now? Tell us any grievances you have, and Mr. Gao and I will avenge you." After Zheng Michang said this, he nodded to Gao Hanwen, Signal him to come over.
Hearing that Zheng Michang revealed his identity, many officials who were kneeling on the ground were all dead. Zhejiang Chief Minister Zheng Michang! This is the largest official except the governor of Zhejiang Province. He is responsible for the administration and finance of the entire Zhejiang Province. He can be regarded as his boss's boss's boss.
And such an important member of the imperial court would actually appear in a small Dao'an village! In his words, he seemed to have a lot of respect for the tall and ignorant man, and he had made rude remarks before, which made this man unhappy.
"Yes, tell me what grievances you have! Master Zheng and I will redress your grievances."
Gao Hanwen took Zheng Michang's words, comforted everyone, and then sat down next to him.
Many villagers present had no idea that they were meeting a big shot. After whispering and discussing for a long time, someone finally got up the courage and said, "I...report to you, sir! We are all villagers of Dao'an Village. We were here last month." The officials have just collected the miscellaneous taxes in our village, and today they are coming to collect the exempted taxes. It is the autumn harvest now, and we have no food to pay."
The visitor was talking, paused for a moment, and continued: "Seeing that we had no food to pay, they beat Wang Er, Zhang San, and Li Mazi from our village half to death, and hung them upside down from this big banyan tree. They even put up a bucket of dung, and the old village chief came forward to argue, but he was beaten half to death by them."
"Please ask Mr. Qingtian to make the decision for us!"
After the visitor finished speaking, he knelt down, and then the entire villagers in Dao'an Village also knelt down.
"Is what the villagers just said true?" There was no emotion in Zheng Michang's tone, and his eyes swept over the many officials kneeling on the ground one by one.
"Your Excellency, Chief Envoy, we are just..." The leading official wanted to explain, but was interrupted by Zheng Michang.
"Shut up! You evil official! Come here, take them all to me and punish them severely!"
Zheng Mi Chang slapped the table angrily, his chest rising and falling because of his anger.
"yes."
The soldiers on the side took the order and quickly took away all the evil officials who had been extremely domineering in front of the villagers.
"Master Qingtian!"
When the villagers present saw that the culprit who caused harm to the village had been arrested, they couldn't help but burst into tears and banged their heads on the ground with a 'bang bang' sound.
"Everyone, please get up quickly. Since we are the officials of the imperial court, how can we let the people suffer unjust injustice?"
Zheng Michang quickly stood up from his seat, and together with Gao Hanwen, helped the villagers who were kneeling on the ground one by one.
Then the two declined the invitation from the villagers, stating that they still had official duties to attend to, and then Zheng Michang and Gao Hanwen left Dao'an Village with their soldiers.
When they reached a secluded place, Zheng Mi Chang retreated his soldiers and called Gao Hanwen aside. The two of them walked slowly along the field ridges.
"Did you just want to ask why these places are still collecting miscellaneous taxes and other miscellaneous taxes even though the imperial court has abolished them?" Zheng Michang said, looking at the scenery in the distance with an indifferent expression.
"Yes, Hanwen is very curious about this matter. When I think of what those villagers suffered, I..." Gao Hanwen gritted his teeth and clenched his fists involuntarily, his face full of resentment.
"After today, forget about this matter! Don't mention it to anyone, not even your teacher." Zheng Michang turned around and looked at the expression on Gao Hanwen's face, and couldn't help but feel funny in his heart.
"Why? Teacher, he is a cabinet minister. Besides, the sage said..."
"Huh, saint? The saint's books are for others to read, but they are useless for doing things!" Before Gao Hanwen could finish his words, he was coldly interrupted by Zheng Mi Chang with a sneer.
"If you bring this matter up today, let alone I can't protect you, not even Governor Hu or even Teacher Qi can protect you! Even so, are you still going to do it?"
"I...I..." Gao Hanwen hesitated for a moment.
"It's okay to hesitate. You are not a saint and cannot save everyone! Stay based on the present, do what you should do, and don't cause any trouble."
"Hanwen knows."
After listening to Zheng Michang's words, Gao Hanwen was silent for a long time and replied in a low voice.
"now it's right."
After he finished speaking, Zheng Mi Chang looked at Gao Hanwen with a little more appreciation.
…
In the middle of the night, Gao Hanwen suddenly woke up from his bed. Everything that happened during the day kept flashing in his mind: the arrogant and domineering evil officials, the people kneeling down begging for mercy, the dung buckets, the ropes, the injured villagers, the dying old man, the bright The sword, and the words spoken by Zheng Michang.
"Ahhhh!" Gao Hanwen held his head in his hands and cried out in pain.
In my mind, the scene where the teacher taught me before is still vivid: "Do you know what is the most important thing about being an official? Teacher, students don't know. Listen carefully, serve as an official for a long time, benefit the country, and the most important thing is not to get lost. Got your heart!"
"My true heart... my true heart..." Gao Hanwen repeated, his eyes gradually becoming brighter.
I saw him getting up from the bed, relighting the candle next to the desk, taking out the pen, ink, paper and inkstone that the teacher had given him before. After grinding the ink, he picked up the pen and wrote: "Teacher, student Gao Hanwen, how are you doing lately?" …”
At the same time, in Jinyiwei's prison.
Zhao Wenhua, the head of the Criminal Department who was previously very popular, was now wearing single clothes and sitting on a bed made of straw with disheveled hair. His body was covered with scars left by torture.
The straw has long been moldy and exudes a faint musty smell. In the corner, a huge mouse is squeaking. It is not afraid of people and looks directly at it. The walls are piled with unknown objects. Fecal matter, disgusting.
'Squeak'! With a heartbreaking sound, the cell where Zhao Wenhua was held was opened, and a figure wrapped in a black robe came in.
Zhao Wenhua turned a deaf ear to this and just said calmly: "What are you doing here, Mr. Xiaoge? If you come to inform me not to speak at will, please come back. I know what to do!"
The visitor let out a long sigh, then took off his black robe, revealing Yan Shifan's face.
"I came here this time, firstly, for this matter, and secondly, to practice it for you!"
After that, Yan Shifan called to the servant who had been waiting outside for a long time and brought the food in.
The food box was opened, and plates of dishes with delicious colors and flavors were placed in front of Zhao Wenhua. There was also a pot of fine wine and two wine glasses.
"Try it, this is a fifty-year-old wine." Yan Shifan said and poured a full cup into Zhao Wenhua's cup.
Zhao Wenhua did not doubt that he was there, so he picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
Seeing Zhao Wenhua finish the wine in the glass, Yan Shifan poured himself a glass: "To be honest, when my father was still serving as a sacrificial wine at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it was the happiest day in my life."
"Those days were indeed my happiest days." Zhao Wenhua recalled, picking up a chopstick of food, putting it in his mouth, and savoring it carefully.
"You can't eat such delicious food here. I'm going to be interrogated tomorrow. What crime are you going to convict me of?" Zhao Wenhua put down his chopsticks, looked at Yan Shifan, and asked softly.
"Death penalty." Yan Shifan responded after a pause.
"I knew it." After hearing this, Zhao Wenhua seemed to be relieved and leaned against the wall.
Seeing that Yan Shifan was about to explain, Zhao Wenhua waved his hands indifferently and interrupted: "Stop talking about those words. I, a dying person, don't want to hear these."
Then, as if he was reminiscing about something, Zhao Wenhua looked deeply and said quietly: "Mr. Xiao Ge, does he know how I got to this day?"
"Some things, once started, can never be stopped. This is true for me, it is true for you, and it is true for those clear streams."
Zhao Wenhua looked at Yan Shifan's face and said with a faint smile.
Seeing that Yan Shifan had no intention of talking, Zhao Wenhua picked up the wine glass and said: "Forget it, since you don't want to listen to me, an old man! Let's leave it at that. Take care."
"treasure."
Yan Shifan picked up the wine glass, touched it lightly, then turned and left without looking back, disappearing into the prison, and the door of Zhao Wenhua's cell was closed again.
