a new day.
After Xu Yunyan worked for most of the night, ambushing the troops that should be prepared along the way, Li Chengqian looked at the haggard Xu Yunyan and cupped his fists.
"Master is busy."
Xu Yunyan shook his head.
"Your Highness, it seems that there is really a big problem this time, and we must deal with it properly. Otherwise, if some people get angry, we will lose more than we gain.
】
His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, is in charge of the future of our Tang Dynasty. I ask His Royal Highness to gather the large forces immediately and leave it to General Mo to deal with these matters. "
As soon as Xu Yunyan asked for instructions, Yuchi Gong was also beside him. Xu Yunyan was preparing to ask Li Chengqian to ensure his safety and temporarily retreated. Changsun Chong did not look like the coward before. He also looked at Li Chengqian with fists in his hands, striving for Li Chengqian to go and fight with the large army. Convergence.
However, Li Chengqian opposed this.
"You treat me like this, can't I go out with you? What's more, all you do is for my Tang Dynasty and for my good. I can't let your good intentions go to waste, can I?"
Li Chengqian insisted on going, and everyone could only sigh helplessly here, but Changsun Chong quietly came to Xu Yunyan to give way.
"Master, are you really ready? Our loud arrows shoot into the sky and cannot be heard two or three miles away."
??????????????????As soon as Changsun Chong finished speaking, Yuchi Gong said something in an angry tone.
"Why don't we just surround the county with our soldiers? Under such circumstances, let's see what kind of cruelty these people dare to do."
"no!"
As soon as Yuchi Gong finished speaking, Li Chengqian objected.
"We can't see the real situation of the working people underneath, let alone how these officials are committing such atrocities."
"But His Highness the Crown Prince..."
Li Chengqian looked at his confidants who kept admonishing him, and had no choice but to temporarily allow them to pay attention to their safety.
Finally, the rules were set. Li Chengqian could not be persuaded to go back no matter what. Li Chengqian also did not agree with the army's expedition. Everyone had to carefully guard Li Chengqian here, contacting the team behind at any time and laughing with the simple and kind-hearted people in Zhaojiacun. Rush towards the direction of collecting food.
This time Li Chengqian did not ride a war horse, and no one in Zhaojiacun found the whereabouts of the war horse. He didn't pay attention to these things, but rushed towards the county seat with a sad face.
Seeing these people with such sad faces, Li Chengqian laughed and laughed with them.
"What's wrong with you guys? Are you reluctant to part with this food?"
After Li Chengqian asked his doubts, everyone shook their heads.
"If you don't want to part with this food, Your Majesty will keep us safe, so we should hand over the food."
This sentence made Li Chengqian feel so painful in his heart.
"Yes, His Majesty keeps you safe and you hand over the food, but the amount of food you hand over has exceeded what His Majesty asked you to hand over."
Just when Li Chengqian felt uncomfortable, these people continued to talk here.
"It's just that we are close friends. There are many things that we can't decide on."
"Oh, I'd love to hear the details."
After Li Chengqian said something, he became even more curious.
"How come you people can't afford to pay the imperial rations? Looking at the rations they paid, every bag is not quite full? How come there are changes? Why is this?"
However, these working people did not say anything after Li Chengqian asked, and shook their heads, which made Li Chengqian even more curious.
"What's going on? Why is it so weird?"
The man from Zhaojiacun could only smile, "Young master, I hope you will understand it once you see the scene. We don't dare to say more casually, for fear that we will say the wrong thing."
At this time, Li Chengqian looked at Xu Yunyan in confusion. Xu Yunyan spread his hands, looking like I didn't know and I had never paid the imperial ration. Although Li Chengqian knew that Xu Yunyan had lived in the local area for a while, he was an official when Xu Yunyan first went to the local area. Could it be that there were those who were blind and could not measure up to him?
That doesn't exist!
Just as Li Chengqian and his entourage followed the people who paid grains to a fenced-off area next to the county seat, marking the place where grain payments were made, they lined up to enter the scene.
There was a platform in the center of the scene. On the platform, several dentists were handling the tools for collecting grains. Behind the dentists, there were dozens of strong men, loading the taxes paid into racks after racks. Among the carriages.
Each time a carriage was loaded and rushed towards the county town, this suddenly made Xu Yunyan and others even more curious.
There is obviously no need to pay royal rations, so why are so many people here paying royal rations? And no one seemed reluctant.
Those who had successfully paid the royal rations were all smiles and walked out with a smile, while those who had not paid were actually hung on the tree next to the square, looking like salted fish, hanging there with their heads downcast. He kept begging for mercy.
Seeing this, Li Chengqian's anger suddenly rose.
But before Li Chengqian could scold them, he was pulled back by Xu Yunyan.
"Your Highness, please don't be angry. We still don't know why they were hung on this tree."
Li Chengqian lowered his voice and looked at Xu Yunyan talking here.
"Master, do you still need to ask? You don't need to pay for the imperial rations. Even if there is something wrong with the food they paid, they won't be treated like this, right?"
However, Xu Yunyan shook his head after Li Chengqian said this.
"Your Highness, it seems that things are not that simple. Look at the people next to them kneeling and crying and begging these government officials. It is definitely not that simple."
Indeed, there were two government officials enjoying the shade in the shade under the tree. In front of them, more than a dozen people knelt there, crying and begging. While kowtowing to them, they pointed to the people on the tree, hoping that the people hanging on the tree could be released. The man let go, but the officer remained unmoved.
Seeing this, Li Chengqian became even more angry. He took a few steps forward and finally heard clearly what they were saying.
"Master, the food we paid is really enough. Why is it not enough when we weigh it at home and come here? Can you please put down our food and we can go back to get the food for you?"
When these people said this, Li Chengqian looked at the yamen servant.
"It turns out that there is not enough food, but it wouldn't be enough to hang people up like this, right?"
But just after Li Chengqian said this, the government official snorted coldly.
"There is not enough food and grass? How dare you say that our food harvesting tools are wrong? You are talking such nonsense, shouldn't you hang it on a tree as a warning? If you dare to roar here again, we will punish you with the crime of roaring in court. Look What did you say at that time?"
The officer scolded him so hard that the people in front of him cried pitifully as they kept begging for mercy.
Just as they were begging for mercy, a little baby suddenly ran out of the crowd, ran towards the man hanging next to the tree and hugged his legs.
"Dad! Please let my father go quickly."
After the little baby shouted a few times, and the man hanging on the tree kept begging for mercy, the baby was here again begging these government officials to let him go, and these government officials looked at the little baby and didn't know what they were thinking. Suddenly he stood up and kicked him.
"Little kid, go away. If you dare to act like this, be careful of the county magistrate punishing you. You will become a headless ghost before you can get a wife. Then you will know that you are alive."
These government officials were so vicious. After kicking the child out and seeing the child struggling to get up, Li Chengqian wanted to step forward and chop the government servant in front of him with a knife, but Xu Yunyan held him back.
"Your Highness, please be patient. The people in Zhaojiacun will arrive soon to collect their food. Let's go and see what happened to these two people. Let's make a decision only after we have complete evidence.
What if we rescued these people, revealed their identities, and turned them into fair recipients of food, then we wouldn't know what was going on. "
Xu Yunyan persuaded Li Chengqian earnestly here, which finally made Li Chengqian's anger a little less.
"Master said yes, we should still go and see what tricks they have up to them."
After Li Chengqian said this, he and Xu Yunyan moved forward to the villagers of Zhaojiacun. They watched the man who had warmly talked to them in Zhaojiacun yesterday carrying a sack of grain to several government officials who were collecting grain.
"My lord, this is one hundred catties of taxed grain from Zhao Erniu's family in Zhaojia Village. Have you counted it?"
After the man from Zhaojiacun named Zhao Erniu came forward carrying a sack, the government officials looked at him.
"You can carry a hundred kilograms of grain and grass with your body. You're not fooling us, are you? You've been here before, so please let me know."
After Zhao Erniu was ridiculed, he didn't show any dissatisfaction. Instead, he looked at these government servants talking here.
"How dare these young officials deceive you? We are very famous in the village. It's definitely a hundred pounds. It will only be a little more." There will definitely be no less.
We poor people have no other abilities. Even if we are strong, carrying this sack of food is no big deal! "
Zhao Erniu was here chatting with these government officials, and the government officials looked at him and stretched out his hands.
Zhao Erniu didn't know why he was rubbing his hands here, but these yamen servants stretched out one hand. After a few seconds, they took back their hands in silence, and then waved their hands and said viciously.
"Excessive title!"
After a leader spoke, he saw two government servants opening a drawer on a nearby table and taking out a weighing weight. The other took out a weighing rod from the table and pointed at the people behind him.
"Come here and weigh me."
After the yamen servant spoke, several strong men who were loading the truck hurriedly came over and weighed them with the newly brought out weights by the yamen servant.
The hook caught Zhao Erniu's grain bag and began to weigh it. Suddenly, these government officials roared.
"You are so brave, look how much this is? It's obviously ninety pounds, but you dare to say it's one hundred pounds. Where did you put those ten pounds of grain and grass?"
This suddenly surprised Zhao Erniu.
"That's not right, sir, that's wrong. I've obviously done well and said this is a hundred kilograms. Why is it ten kilograms less? This is impossible!"
Zhao Erniu was shocked here, and the other men in Zhaojia Village were also surprised.
But the officer pointed at the scale and said, "Do you think this is ninety pounds?"
Zhao Erniu came closer and took a look.
"This...is this ninety pounds? How could it be like this? How could it be like this?"
Zhao Erniu was as anxious as an ant on a music pot, and these government officials looked at him, "What can I say now? Do you want to use money to make up for the difference in food or to transport food back?"
"My lord, my family has no extra food."
Zhao Erniu said this suddenly, and the government officials looked at him and ridiculed him fiercely.
“If you don’t have extra food, just use money to make up the difference.
Your food is for the emperor. Is it the price of the imperial food? But it's quite expensive. One kilogram counts as fifty for you. If you bring me five hundred coins, I'll make up for it for you. "
"What? Five hundred cash? How could this be? The most expensive food now is only three cash per catty. How can you ask for such an exorbitant price?
Fifty cents can buy nearly twenty kilograms of food and grass! "
Zhao Erniu shouted in surprise, but the government officials snorted coldly.
"What do you know? This is imperial food for the emperor. Could it be the ordinary food you are eating?"
