Dingtao County is an important town in the Central Plains. There is an endless stream of merchants coming and going every day, and countless people go in and out of the city gate. Yang Gao did not stop the people who were coming in and out. Soon someone rushed to the county government office and reported the matter to the county magistrate.
When the county magistrate Yang Xi heard that his eldest son was killed at the city gate, he was filled with grief and anger. He vomited a mouthful of old blood and fainted on the spot. The county magistrate Lu Heng ordered people to send Yang Xi back to his residence and find a doctor for treatment. At the same time, he organized people to rush to the city gate to control the situation.
. . . . . . . . . .
Da da da! ! !
There was a sound of horse hoofbeats in the city. Yang Gao looked sideways and saw a short-built county magistrate leading a group of government servants hurriedly to the city gate, shouting: "You good men, please don't get excited. This is Lu Heng, the magistrate of Dingtao County. I will definitely handle today’s matter impartially. I also ask these good men not to be impulsive and let go of the soldiers guarding the city as soon as possible."
Lu Heng is a smart man. He has been the county magistrate in Dingtao County for more than half a year. He knows the character of Yang Min and Zheng Ke very well. However, due to the prestige of the Zheng family in Xingyang, he can only keep a close eye on many things. Close one eye.
When he heard the news that Yang Min and Zheng Ke were killed, he actually knew very well who was right and who was wrong. In order to prevent Yang Xi from killing innocent people after waking up, he hurriedly led people to the city gate to control the situation.
Yang Gao on the other side heard Lu Heng shouting loudly and looked sideways, only to see that Lu Heng was short in stature and had a big green mark on the left side of his cheek. His appearance was really unflattering.
Seeing Lu Heng's appearance, Yang Gao finally understood why he felt so familiar when he heard the name Lu Heng. This Lu Heng was a Jinshi in the first imperial examination. At that time, there was a controversy between the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty because of his appearance. Xiao Yu, Pei Ju, Su Wei and others believed that letting this person be an official would damage the image of the officialdom, and strongly demanded that he be exempted from office. Get rid of this person's reputation.
However, Yu Yunwen and Zhang Juzheng believed that Lu Heng could pass the Jinshi examination based on his true talent and had no defects in moral character. It would be unfair to remove him based only on his appearance and would not use the imperial court to elect talents in the future.
The views of Yu Yunwen and Zhang Juzheng received strong support from Yang Gao, and finally Lu Heng entered the list with the 13th place in the second class.
After thinking of Lu Heng's identity, Yang Gao had another question in his mind: "If I remember correctly, in the list of people who went to the Central Plains to fill official vacancies submitted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs last year, Lu Heng should be a candidate for the county magistrate of Dingtao County. How come you were demoted one level and became county magistrate?"
While Yang Gao was puzzled, Lu Heng, who was riding up, also recognized Yang Gao. He was immediately horrified and his face suddenly turned pale. He hurriedly rolled his saddle and dismounted, taking three steps and two steps at a time. He walked up to Yang Gao, knelt down on one knee and saluted respectfully: "I am here to see your Majesty, Prime Minister Lu Heng of Dingtao County!"
"What? Your Majesty!"
Lu Heng's voice was so loud that Liu Cheng and other defenders heard it clearly. They were so frightened that they knelt on the ground and kowtowed with a "bang bang bang" sound: "Your Majesty, please atone for your sins. This villain is blind and blind." Taishan, you have a lot, please forgive the mistakes of the little people!"
Yang Gao smiled slightly and quickly stepped forward to help Liu Cheng up: "Get up quickly, I am not a savage beast, why are you so afraid of me? Those who are afraid of me should be those evil servants who run rampant in the countryside and regard our Sui Dynasty laws as nothing. !”
As Yang Gao spoke, he glanced at the followers of Yang Min and Zheng Ke. Just now, these people were arrogantly shouting that they wanted to cut themselves into pieces. Now they were like eggplants beaten by frost. They stood there fearfully and kept shaking, not even daring to breathe.
"Take them all down, subject them to strict scrutiny, and handle matters in accordance with the law!"
Yang Gao ordered coldly, ignoring the wails of several slaves, and slowly turned to look at Lu Heng, and said in a deep voice: "Master Lu, you are the first imperial examination scholar after I ascended the throne, why did you fail to live up to my expectations? , allowing the evil young man to ignore the imperial ban, ride horses for fun in the street, and disregard human life!"
Lu Heng had long been dissatisfied with Yang Xi, who indulged his son in committing evil acts and amassed wealth. At this time, he betrayed him without hesitation: "Your Majesty, it's not that the subordinates are not loyal to their duties, but that someone is actually obstructing them. Yang Min and Wang Ke Er The man was tyrannizing the people in Dingtao County, and Xiaguan had prepared to investigate and deal with it many times. However, one of these two people was the son of County Magistrate Yang Xi, and the other was his nephew. Whenever Xiaguan prepared to investigate and deal with the matter, he would do everything possible. Various methods were used to obstruct the handling of the case, and in the end the matter had to be dropped!"
This was what Yang Gao was waiting for, and he immediately said: "When an official does not make decisions for the people, but instead seeks personal gain for himself, what is the use of such a county official? The decree is passed, and Yang Xi will be dismissed from the post of county magistrate of Dingtao County immediately. The county magistrate Lu Heng took over the post of county magistrate."
Lu Heng was immediately overjoyed and hurriedly kowtowed and thanked you: "Thank you so much for your Majesty's attention. Even though I'm a mess, I can't repay Your Majesty's kindness!"
Yang Gao nodded slightly and said in a deep voice: "Lu Aiqing, since Yang Xi dares to commit evil in Dingtao County, I'm afraid he himself can't be clean, right?"
Lu Heng nodded and said, "Your Majesty, Yang Xi has been embezzling and amassing money in less than a year since he took office. All the ministers have neglected to report this matter, but there is no news at all!"
Yang Gao's face couldn't help but become solemn when he heard this, and said secretly: "It seems that there are still many rats in the Central Plains that destroyed the foundation of our Sui Dynasty. The great victory in the Central Plains only eliminated the enemies on the surface, and there were even more hateful enemies. Hide behind the scenes!”
After a long time, Yang Gao took a deep breath to calm down a little, then turned to Lu Heng and said: "Lu Aiqing, you have worked with Yang Xi in Dingtao County for nearly a year, so you must know him very well. I order you to investigate thoroughly. Regarding this thief’s corruption, you must make him spit out every cent he has taken from the people.”
Lu Heng adjusted his clothes and said loudly: "I will definitely live up to your majesty's trust!"
. . . . . . . . . .
In the mansion of the county magistrate Yang Xi, Yang Xi, who had fainted due to grief over the death of his eldest son, finally woke up under the rescue of several doctors. Now he was lying on the bed and looking up at the blue sky, with a deep look in his eyes. Feeling hatred and grief, he bit his lips and said secretly: "Min'er, you have to watch out on the road to hell. My father will definitely cut your murderer into thousands of pieces to pay homage to your spirit in heaven."
Just when Yang Xi was gnashing his teeth to vent, Lu Heng had already barged in with a group of government servants. Several servants tried to stop him, but Lu Heng pushed them away without mercy.
Yang Xi couldn't help but look gloomy when he saw this, and shouted: "Lu Heng, if you don't go and catch the murderer of my son, why are you bringing people here to me?"
"Your son's murderer?"
Hearing this, Lu Heng curled up his lips and revealed a sneer: "Do you know why your son died?"
Yang Xi was slightly stunned when he heard this, and then shouted again: "I don't care why Min'er died, I just want the murderer of my son to pay for my son's life!"
"Paying for your son's life? What a joke!"
Lu Heng snorted disdainfully: "The reason why your son died is because Your Majesty caught him riding a horse at the city gate in violation of the prohibition. After being stopped by Your Majesty, he not only did not repent, but repeatedly made treasonous remarks against Your Majesty. Mr. Yang , do you want His Majesty to pay for your son’s life?”
"What? Your Majesty?"
When Yang Xi heard this, his face turned pale in an instant. After a long time, he suddenly gritted his teeth and said seriously: "I didn't expect that it was the treacherous son who violated His Majesty's prohibition for some reason. He really deserves to die! Mr. Lu, I was in a state of chaos because of the death of my eldest son. Just now My words were very offensive to Mr. Lu, I hope you can forgive me!"
Lu Heng chuckled and said: "Mr. Yang is really a good ****. It's a pity that His Majesty already knows all about your activities. No matter how you act, it will be in vain. I am here to investigate you thoroughly over the years with the holy order." If you know your illegal activities, please tell me now."
"ah!"
Yang Xi was an old man over fifty years old, and the death of his eldest son had already made him a little unbearable. At this time, after hearing Lu Heng's words, he rolled his eyes, opened his mouth and shot out a blood arrow, and fainted again.
