Zhang Yang is a down-to-earth person. He can quickly complete whatever Zhang Yi orders him to do without any compromise, and he never asks too many questions. Seeing that the selection of county soldiers was going smoothly, Chen Chong had other things to do, so he left Xu Ci to assist him while he returned to the prefect's mansion.
As soon as he arrived in Xihe County, he went without stopping and immediately ordered: apart from the chief secretary, Wu Guanrong and others who had resigned with Xing Ji in Xing Ji Mansion, he summoned the current Li Shi Ling, Gao Lang Ling, Lin County Magistrate and the former Xing Ji. All the people under the government are officials. By the time they returned from the governor's office, officials at all levels had basically arrived. By rough calculation, there were still about forty people left, enough to hold a meeting.
There is no need to go into a lengthy meeting. After getting to know the subordinates, he introduced his entourage to them. Yang Hui served as the Registrar of Hanyang County for Fu Xie. Chen Chong believed in Fu Xie's vision, not to mention that Yang Hui had traveled thousands of miles to escort Fu Qian, so he simply let Yang Hui continue to serve as the Registrar of Xihe County. Xu Shu, Shi Tao, Meng Jian and others were still young. , and asked them to start with Yang Hui, starting with the documents.
As for the three disciples of Zheng Xuan, Chen Chong spent time with them and made arrangements after knowing their character. Liu Yanfeng had excellent appearance and good manners and wrote good articles, but he was not practical and had an aloof personality. He was really not suitable for entrusting him with important tasks. Chen Chong temporarily asked him to serve as a literary rafter; Sun Qian was eloquent and well-mannered. It was like a spring breeze. In just a few days, he was able to get along well with his colleagues. What was even more valuable was that he had a bottom line, discussed matters on the matter, and was not easily swayed. Chen Chong entrusted him with the responsibility of supervising the postal service. But money and money must be compared, and no one can pull him back if he is stubborn. It is just a good time to be a young man in charge of Chen Chong's money and food.
Wei Yan was puzzled and said: "Mr. Chen, everyone is performing their duties, but I don't see you giving me an official position."
Chen Chong stretched out his hand to pat his shoulder and said with a smile: "Didn't you promise to protect me and kill the enemy? Chang Wen, just practice martial arts and study hard and be an enemy of ten thousand people for me. If this trip goes well, you You are a young hero, the champion is reincarnated, I am afraid that Yun Changlai will also respect you three points in the future."
Wei Yan always knew Guan Yu's temperament. He was sympathetic to the people and sympathized with the head of Guizhou, but he was also arrogant. Except for a few people, he almost never admired others. His colleagues had a headache for him, but they were very satisfied with Wei Yan's temperament. He said excitedly: " Chen Jun, don’t worry, I will never relax for a moment, but when will Chen Jun send troops?"
Chen Chong shook his head with a smile and said: "Just wait a moment. I still have some arrangements before sending out troops. If I am not 70% sure, I cannot act rashly."
Then the meeting got down to business, and Chen Chong asked the magistrates of the three counties whether the family members of the rebels could be detained in prison. Whenever there is a bandit rebellion, if the relevant family members do not join the bandits, they will most likely be taken into custody by the government, and it is difficult for them to end well. Therefore, every time there is an uprising and rebellion, most farmers will choose to drag their families with them, but there are always exceptions. Not to mention that after being displaced and not knowing their future, and because it is difficult to leave their homeland, there are always many wives and children of the rebels who stay in the country. Moreover, the rebel army was so short of resources that the government did not have time to take care of the families of these rebels, so they could only detain some of them.
The three of them totaled up and found that about 500 people were detained. Five hundred people is not a small number. Even if Chen Chong is the prefect of a county, it is quite risky to deal with it. However, this risk is purely related to his official career and has no impact on Chen Chong. He directly ordered: The day after tomorrow, these five people All 100 people were brought to the prefect's mansion.
The magistrates of the three counties were completely unsure of the new envoy's thoughts, but it was not a difficult task, so they all followed the instructions truthfully. On the third day, a bizarre scene occurred in Lishi City. The gate of the dignified prefect's mansion was wide open. In the past, only officials and dignitaries could enter the Zhumen. Now, three batches of prisoners have entered, and most of the prisoners are young children and women. The disheveled figure does not look like a human being. The county citizens pointed in the streets and speculated: It was rumored that the prefect issued a military order to the governor to defeat the Baibo bandits in half a year. I am afraid that these rebels will not end well.
The prisoners escorted into the mansion obviously thought so too. After surviving for a few days in prison, all dignity and spirit were wiped out. All he wanted in his mind was to survive for a few more days. Now that he couldn't survive, with a sword at his side, there was really no hope at all. Many people were walking on the road, suddenly wailing and refusing to leave. In the end, the soldiers could only stand up and drag the people into the mansion.
However, there was no swordsman in the mansion as everyone imagined. There were only five large pots, each with seven or eight bamboo cages stacked on top. The soul-stirring aroma of noodles wafted out from the bamboo cage. The prisoners had never had a full meal in prison, but they barely managed to survive. Now that they smell the aroma, all of them have a sweet taste in their mouths. They move their index fingers and feel that they are in their stomachs. The soreness was excruciating. The government soldiers who escorted the prisoners usually only managed to get enough food and clothing, but this was the first time they smelled such a fragrance, and they couldn't help but swallow together.
Unknowingly, when Chen Chong, Wei Yan and others moved out the tables and chairs and Chen Chong finished setting up, they found that the scene was quiet. Everyone looked at him silently, their eyes full of flattery and hope. Yes, Chen Chong smiled secretly in his heart, everyone can see that I am here to be a living Bodhisattva.
He did not wear official robes on this trip, but was dressed as an ordinary Confucian scholar, with a white turban, a green rainbow on his waist, and a kind face. He looks like just an ordinary young scholar. He sat down and looked at everyone's eyes and knew that they couldn't listen to anything they said at this time, so he motioned to Wei Yan to open the bamboo basket first and pass out the steamed buckwheat buns first, including the yamen on site. One person.
When the cage drawer was opened, a stream of white hot steam steamed up, and the fragrance accumulated in the cage spread out, almost causing a commotion. Fortunately, most of the people present were women and children. Seeing the heavily armed soldiers, they had no desire to cause trouble. However, the government officials wanted to take advantage of the situation, but Chen Chong severely stopped them, and then ordered a new basket to be brought to the backyard. , said loudly to everyone present again: "Don't be anxious, everyone, eat a steamed bun first, there will be more after you finish eating."
Buckwheat is a coarse grain and is cheap, but this is the first time everyone has seen steamed buns: they are soft and hefty when you hold them in your hands. When you bite into them, they are steaming and scalding your mouth. After chewing a few more mouthfuls, the sweet and fresh taste comes to your heart. This sense of fullness and satisfaction made the poor people present suddenly feel the urge to burst into tears.
People at the bottom don't pay attention to how they eat, especially when they are very hungry, they just wolf down the food, and soon everyone's hands will be empty. Chen Chong smiled kindly, pointed to the basket behind him, and said slowly to them: "Don't be anxious, everyone. Look, we are still steaming buns here, and everyone will have something to eat later. I don't think I need to say more, Everyone should be able to tell that I am the newly appointed Governor of Xihe. You can just call me Chen Chong. There is still some time before the steamed buns are cooked, so Chen Chong wants to bother you first. Chen Chong also has something to ask of you. I hope everyone can help me.”
Although Chen Chong's identity had been guessed for a long time, the prisoners couldn't help but burst into confusion when they heard that this young man was the new prefect. Chen Chong waited for everyone to calm down and continued: "You must have heard that I just arrived in the county the day before yesterday, and I went to ask the governor for orders to eliminate the banditry in the county, and the governor agreed. But how to eliminate it? ? After thinking about it, I am quite worried and feel that murder is inevitable, so I arranged for the magistrates of the three counties to bring you here..."
Before the words were finished, several people on the field wailed: "It's unfair! Sir, we are not thieves! It's unfair! Please spare our lives, sir." However, a few peasant women said this, They couldn't help but cry in front of everyone. The other prisoners felt sad and turned their heads away, unable to bear to look.
Chen Chong walked down quickly, helped these people up, and said some kind words to persuade them, and said with a smile: "Why are you doing this? I haven't finished speaking, how can you be wronged?" On his sleeves It was stained with gray and black, but he didn't care. He stood up and looked around everyone, scanning everyone's eyes and faces, and suddenly sighed: "It's just that in today's world, how can it be summed up by the word injustice?"
"I know that there must be people here who have been wrongly accused. How can there be no wrongful convictions? It's just that all of you here abide by the king's laws and want to live. How can you really be completely innocent! Who has not resisted the tax? Who has not? What about escaping from prison?!"
At this point, the people present felt the same and even lowered their heads and shed tears. Chen Chong's emotions surged for a moment, and he couldn't control himself, but he was still smiling even as he cried: "I invite you all to come here because you understand this. It is really difficult for everyone to survive. Two hundred years ago, I There are 200,000 people in Xihe County, and now, only 20,000 are still in the records."
Chen Chong pointed to the papers on the table and sighed to everyone: "There are only 20,000 people in a county, how ridiculous! But even with 20,000 people, I have to lead troops to kill some of them. At that time, there were still 10,000 people here. Really?" Chen Chong said angrily: "It is truly absurd to govern the people in such a way that the seas and rivers can be clear!"
He calmed down his expression, bowed once to the prisoners, twice to the government officials, and three times to the sky. Then he forced himself to say calmly: "Therefore, I am willing to pardon you and let you go home. I just want you to do me a favor. If there is anyone at home, If you are a thief, I hope you can persuade him to come back. I don’t know anyone who is a thief in my family. I also hope you can persuade him to come back. As long as they leave the thief army, I will forget the blame and forgive them all!"
"If there are still people who continue to be thieves, I hope you will report the name of the thief to me when the time comes. No matter what happens to him in the future, I will not implicate you."
Chen Chong raised his hand and signaled Xu Shu and others to take out several boxes of wooden documents, which Chen Chong ordered to make overnight. There were no other signs on them, only a seal with the four characters "Yingchuan Chen Chong" on them.
Chen Chong sat back at the table and said with all the sincerity he could: "Starting from today, the door of my prefect's mansion will be open for two months. You will hand these wooden certificates to your husbands, fathers, and sons. No matter who he is, Whatever I have done in the past, as long as I hold the wooden document and enter here, I will put the past behind me, record every righteous man who comes back, restore their household registration, and help everyone resettle."
"I'll always be waiting here."
