"Whoever collides with a noble car driver will die!" Zhao Hua's voice was full of anger.
The middle-aged man in white lost his legs and sat slumped on the ground.
The city gate captain did not hesitate, shouted loudly, and led the city guards to attack them.
Although the combat power of these city guards is far inferior to that of the Quyang Army and the Shaohu Army, they are not comparable to the thugs raised in the homes of these wealthy families...
In an instant, corpses were lying on the ground at the city gate, with only the young patriarch of the Ziping clan still alive.
The farmers and merchants who were watching were greatly shocked. Some merchants who had been exploited by the Ziping family felt a bad breath in their hearts when they saw this scene, and they couldn't help but jump for joy.
A middle-aged man in white clothes named Pingyu slumped on the ground. He no longer looked as arrogant as before. His lips were trembling and his body was wet with urine.
The city gate captain held his sword and tried to strike, but was stopped by Zhao Hua.
Xiong Wuliang opened his eyes and sneered: "Aren't you very arrogant?"
Today's encounter taught Xiong Wuliang another lesson - in the future, whenever he goes out, even in his own fiefdom, he must take safety measures.
When Xiong Wuliang was pointed at by a serial crossbow just now, the hair on Xiong Wuliang's legs stood up!
Blanch!
If the Chu State's newly promoted Marquis Quyang died at the hands of a small wealthy family in his own fiefdom, it would really be a big deal!
Pingyu kowtowed very hard, and there were blood stains on his head... Xiong Wuliang had no intention of stopping. He just stood at the gate of the city, seemingly waiting for something silently.
Not long after, Hu Cong, under the guidance of several petty officials, arrived in a hurry.
At a glance, he saw dozens of corpses at the city gate, and Hu Cong's pupils shrank.
Looking up again, Hu Cong breathed a long sigh of relief when he saw that Xiong Wuliang was unharmed under the protection of more than a dozen Quyang Army soldiers and dozens of city guards.
"I'm here to pay my respects to my lord - I didn't know that my lord was coming, but I was far away to welcome him..." Hu Cong bowed respectfully.
Xiong Wuliang glanced deeply at Hu Cong and said succinctly: "What's going on?"
Hu Cong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, glared at Pingyu who was kneeling on the ground, lowered his head and confessed: "The lower official's lax jurisdiction has frightened the lord."
Xiong Wuliang waved his hand, and someone rushed forward and tied up Pingyu, who had collapsed into a puddle of mud.
After a while, Xiong Wuliang and his party entered the city lord's mansion under the guidance of Hu Cong. Hu Cong personally poured tea for Xiong Wuliang and Zhao Hua, then stood with his hands down, waiting for Xiong Wuliang's question.
"That person from the Ping family said that he is very familiar with you Hu Cong?" Xiong Wuliang narrowed his eyes slightly and could not tell his expression.
Hu Cong's heart skipped a beat, and after confessing his crime, he said honestly: "The Ziping family is a wealthy family in Ping'a, and many of the lower-level officials in Ping'a County are from the Ziping family... The lower officials are indeed no strangers to them."
"As for the low-level officials extorting merchants, lower officials have also heard about it."
“Not only in Ping’a County but also in Quyang County and Shansang County, blackmailing foreign merchants is also a common phenomenon.”
Xiong Wuliang frowned and said rudely: "Since you know, why don't you stop it?"
Hu Cong smiled bitterly: "The Lord doesn't know something -"
"For local big families like the Ziping clan, some are run-down nobles, and some are local wealthy families... The marriages between the various clans can affect the whole family."
"These wealthy families have monopolized the lower-level official positions... Without their assistance, my Ping'a County would be paralyzed."
"Therefore, I can only turn a blind eye to these wealthy families taking the opportunity to make money... Please punish me, my lord!"
…
After hearing this, Xiong Wuliang began to ponder——
This matter was more difficult to handle than he thought.
In this era, ordinary people had little opportunity to read and read - therefore, grassroots official positions were often monopolized by these local families who said they were big or small.
These families cannot produce the kind of powerful officials, but they can often monopolize local official positions and become local bosses.
The Chu State's once centralized power reforms failed, and the policy's efforts to combat and control these local clans have been very low - even many small families, whose families own earthen cities and castles, are simply lords without titles in the Chu State.
In many cases, the slightly weaker county officials also have to look at the faces of these local families.
According to Hu Cong, the phenomenon of petty officials extorting merchants has become a chronic disease common to the three counties.
These petty officials did not attack the locals, but only targeted the passing merchants. Firstly, these merchants did not dare to offend these local snakes, and secondly, because the profits from the trade were huge enough, it was still profitable to bear the exploitation... so they did not resist. These wealthy households were benefited for nothing.
Hu Cong cupped his hands and said, "My lord, this Ping clan has offended you. So there is no excuse to wipe them out...but for other clans, we cannot conduct a large-scale investigation."
"If their resistance is aroused and all officials work together to sabotage their work, it will be difficult to step down."
Xiong Wuliang frowned tightly, feeling very unwilling.
After a long time, Xiong Wuliang said in a deep voice: "Send the order——"
"The property and land of the entire Ziping family were confiscated and sentenced to ten years of hard labor."
"I hope this severe punishment can shock other families... and make them restrain themselves." Xiong Wuliang took a deep breath.
Xiong Wuliang had no good solution for these tangled local snakes.
If we were to uproot them impulsively, where would there be so many literate officials available? The fiefdom will be paralyzed by then.
Sooner or later, we have to deal with these families, but it doesn't work now.
Xiong Wuliang could only swallow this breath for the time being, and discussed with Hu Cong to decide on the location of the commercial port... After some calculations, Xiong Wuliang found that if he wanted to build a commercial port of the size described by Xiong Wuliang, he only needed to This is the first phase of the project and will cost at least ten thousand gold.
But if a good commercial port and merchant ships are built, it will greatly expand the scale of commerce - in the long run, it will definitely be a profitable investment.
Xiong Wuliang was free and easy. With a wave of his hand, he signed the note for money and food.
You will come back after all your money is gone.
It doesn't matter if the money is gone, there will be more money-giving boys in the future.
…
Xiong Wuliang and his party returned to Quyang County and Quyanghou Mansion.
At first glance, he saw Qu Yuan waiting at the door.
Huh?
This guy doesn't work conscientiously at his workstation. Why is he so idle today?
"My lord is in danger in Ping'a, Qu Yuan has heard about it... My lord is frightened!" Qu Yuan caught up with him in three steps and two steps at a time, and expressed his condolences to Xiong Wuliang very thoughtfully.
"Qu is sitting on pins and needles in the mansion. He only hopes that the Lord will return safely!"
"Thanks to the protection of ghosts and gods, the king is fine." Qu Yuan said.
Xiong Wuliang looked at Qu Yuan's face at this time and couldn't help but feel black lines on his head.
This Qu Yuan said he cared about him, but his old face was as happy as a flower.
What's going on? Did Qu Yuan's balsam pear face, which has remained unchanged for thousands of years, eat bee poop today? Why do you smile so sweetly?
Looking at that bright smile, he seems to be a little gloating about the attack on him?
…
