Needless to say, these family forces who want to show their muscles to the court are still quite aggressive and aggressive.
Apart from anything else, in these unstable years, it is possible to have such a large local industry and still maintain its existence. As long as there is no official backing, which one is not fought with fists and sticks?
Even if there is an official background, you must be able to fight, be able to resist, and be able to stand up and express your attitude.
These days, being strong in martial arts is the foundation for getting ahead. If you can't do it, you won't be able to keep it even if you have a fortune.
Back then, Liu Bei defeated all the invincible opponents in Zhuo County, and then he created a small world that belonged to him. Now, the new families in these places are all local kings who were involved in fighting. Every one of them has some ability.
If you say you don't let us keep slaves and we have to obey you, wouldn't that make us lose face?
Lao Du's blood, which had been dormant for many years, was aroused. Without saying a word, he joined the torrent of protests. He took his family to the county government to demand an explanation and see how hard the Luoyang court was.
No matter how good General Liu is, will he really use the army to deal with our own people?
Aren't you worried about the pressure of public opinion?
They knew that Liu Bei was very concerned about his reputation and acted in a very restrained manner. Therefore, people inside and outside Luoyang City were praising Liu Bei's reputation. With such speculation, they did not think that Liu Bei would kill him.
As a result, when they arrived at the county government, a group of angry family representatives looked at a group of heavily armed soldiers outside the county government and felt that something was wrong.
This group of soldiers wore armor and carried sabers. Some were holding spears, and some were holding crossbows. They looked at them with a vigilant attitude. The unique sharpness of the elites who fought in hundreds of battles made them stop involuntarily. Dare to move forward.
Does Liu Bei really want to send troops?
He wouldn't really dare to kill good people like them under the emperor's feet, would he?
Isn't it?
One by one, the family representatives began to beat their heads, and Lao Du, who came forward in person, also felt that the problem was a bit serious.
The road to the county government was blocked at the intersection. A county official stood here and said with a pleasant smile: "Do you want to visit the county magistrate? The county magistrate has an order. If there is something important, only one person per family is allowed. Enter, and no one else is allowed in.”
A group of family representatives looked at me and I looked at you, and they suddenly didn’t know what to do.
Lao Du and Xiao Du looked at each other.
"Father, what should I do?"
Lao Du looked at the heavily armed elite soldiers, swallowed, and gritted his teeth.
"We're all here, let's go into the dragon's den and the tiger's den! You wait outside, I'll go! If anything goes wrong, run away immediately, don't wait for me."
"Father, I..."
"Stop talking and obey!"
After all, Lao Du had worked his way up from the bottom, so he still had some courage, so he took the lead and walked out of the crowd.
"Du family from Xincheng County, please see the Ming court!"
"please."
The county official stepped aside and smiled.
The elite soldiers guarding the road all stared at Lao Du.
They were armed with sophisticated weapons, and although they did not make a fighting posture, nor did they look like they were going to kill anyone, their eyes were really intimidating.
Old Du calmed down and moved forward step by step. However, walking on the county road that he had visited dozens of times was particularly difficult today. Every step he took was a little frightening, for fear that the armed soldiers would carry him. Give him a dick.
Old Du thought to himself that he had gritted his teeth and shed blood step by step to get to where he is today. The number of lives in his hands was not thirty but twenty-nine. But for some reason, he just felt that the eyes of these expressionless soldiers were brighter than he thought. The eyes of the most ferocious villain he had ever seen were intimidating and frightening.
How is this going?
Walking forward under their gaze is like walking on a knife with thin wooden shoes, for fear that if the wooden shoes are pierced or cracked by the knife, you will be stabbed to death by the knife.
This feeling is really uncomfortable.
But the road that needs to be taken must still be completed.
Lao Du bravely walked to the door of the county government. He looked at the six soldiers on the steps of the county government and the strong man who looked like an officer. He hesitated for a moment, but still gritted his teeth and stood still. .
"Du family from Xincheng County, come to visit Mingting!"
He bowed to the county government and then walked forward. Every step he took was difficult and took a lot of effort.
When he walked to the burly officer, he felt that his heartbeat was about to break through the sky, and he could even hear the burly officer's breathing.
Fortunately, the brawny officer did not stop him, but when he entered the main entrance of the county government, two county officials searched him to make sure that he did not enter the county government with any sharp weapons.
After passing the last level and entering the county house that he was very familiar with, he breathed a sigh of relief for no reason, then unconsciously reached out and touched his forehead, feeling a sweaty hand.
Then he turned around and looked at the few people who came in together with him, and saw that each of them looked very unhappy.
This time, the mawei was a bit too cruel.
A group of concerned people met with the county magistrate Guan Jing in the county hall.
Guan Jing didn't have a good attitude toward them. He only treated them with a glass of water and no snacks or fruits. It still took him half an hour to come out to see them.
"I took office not long ago and am very busy with official duties, so I am late. I hope you will not blame me."
He looked calm and said in a business-like manner: "I still have a lot of things to do later, and I won't be in the county government for the next two days, so if you have anything to do, please come straight to the point and explain it clearly. Don’t waste everyone’s time.”
A group of people including Lao Du originally wanted to chat, but they didn't expect that Guan Jing came up to do business, which made them a little uncomfortable.
However, everyone has seen the world, so they quickly adapted to the rhythm of Guan Jing.
It was Lao Du who took the lead and saluted Guan Jing.
"I dare to ask the Ming court, is the imperial court's slave restriction order true?"
"It's already been made clear, and the whole of Luoyang knows it. How could it be false?"
Guan Jing seemed to think this was funny: "This is the emperor's order, how can it be false?"
"But... this slave restriction order is a bit too unhuman, isn't it?"
Lao Du smiled and said slowly: "Our family needs slaves in many places, including daily life, running the ship, and some chores for the entourage. We don't need slaves everywhere. Please limit the use of slaves. We will Without an official position, a person can only have three servants, how can this be used?"
Lao Du poured out his bitterness, and the other family heads also poured out their bitterness one by one, expressing to Guan Jing their various difficulties, various difficulties and obstacles in starting a family business, etc. Anyway, the main theme was bitterness and deep hatred.
After listening to what they said, Guan Jing's expression remained unchanged, then he picked up the water glass and took a sip of water.
"What does this have to do with the imperial court and the government? That is your family matter. What can the imperial court and the government do to interfere? Or do you think the imperial court needs to intervene and be responsible for these things? Or without these slaves, you will Are you going to starve to death?”
This rhetorical question stunned Lao Du and the others.
We've talked so much about feelings, but you didn't listen at all, right?
Lao Du was a little out of sorts.
"Ming Ting, this is not a trivial matter. With the slave restriction order, we have dismissed all the slaves. There are so many people. What do they eat and wear? Although we have no official status, raising these slaves can be regarded as giving them a meal. Eating helps relieve the court of a lot of burdens, doesn’t it?”
(End of chapter)
