Liu Mi looked hesitant.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Ting on the side was the first to say: "Yes, Wu Guinian colluded with the rebel Zhang Wanxian, cooperated inside and outside, and dared Chi's army to enter the county. This led to a catastrophe. Liu Tong and I will judge soon. Report to the imperial court."
He urgently needs someone to take the blame. How could he miss such a good opportunity?
"This...is indeed true."
Zhao Ting said so, and Liu Mi could only nod in agreement.
Wu Guinian said angrily: "Zhao Ting, you are a treacherous person who wants to confuse right and wrong. Right and wrong are just, and they are at their own mercy. I have a clear conscience!"
Han Zhen smiled slightly and said slowly: "It doesn't matter what you think. If the emperor of Kaifeng Mansion thinks you are colluding with the rebels, then that's the case."
The two of them, one was the magistrate of the state and the other was the general judge. They jointly submitted a letter, and the witnesses and material evidence were all there, so there was no reason why the officials did not believe it.
As a witness, you can just pull out one of the prisoners of war outside. The physical evidence will be even simpler, just forge a few letters.
Once he is confirmed, Wu Guinian's reputation will be completely ruined, and it will also bring harm to his family.
A flash of panic suddenly flashed in Wu Guinian's eyes, and he shouted: "Impossible! Official family, official family..."
He wanted to say that the officials were wise, but as he spoke, he lost confidence.
According to the temperament of today's officials, I am afraid that after receiving the memorial, they will not send anyone to verify it at all, but will directly imprison his family members...
For a moment, Wu Guinian felt despair in his heart.
He originally wanted to die generously and gain a good reputation, but after the other party said a few words, he became a traitor who colluded with the rebels. There is no chance that he will be recorded in the history books and be infamy for thousands of years.
The point is, there's nothing he can do about it.
"You treacherous sycophant, I will fight you!"
In despair, Wu Guinian roared and rushed towards Zhao Ting.
Zhao Ting didn't expect that the other party would make a sudden move, and he was thrown to the ground without warning.
This Wu Guinian was in his prime, while Zhao Ting was in his forties and had always been pampered. He was no match for him. He was pinned to the ground and received a set of king's punches, while he kept wailing and screaming.
At this moment, Wu Guinian was like a madman, using all kinds of moves.
Suddenly, a big foot came towards me.
boom!
Wu Guinian fell to the ground on his back, bleeding from his mouth and nose.
After kicking Wu Guinian down, Lao Jiu stood aside quietly and stopped taking action.
Liu Mi came to his senses at this time and quickly helped Zhao Ting up.
"How can this not make sense? How can it not make sense!"
Zhao Ting was in an extremely embarrassed state at this time, his court uniform was in a mess, the right-angled turban on his head was missing, his right eye was punched hard, and his face was covered with scratches and slap marks.
Looking at Wu Guinian who was crying and wailing in pain on the ground, he became angry: "I am going to kill you!"
"Lao Jiu!"
Han Zhen winked.
Hearing this, Lao Jiu immediately understood, pulled out the knife from his waist with a clang, and handed it over.
Looking at the hand knife in front of him, Zhao Ting was suddenly stunned.
What he just said was just angry words, how could he really dare to kill someone.
Seeing that he hesitated to take the sword, Han Zhen chuckled and said, "Zhao Zhizhou, let's do it."
Goulon!
Zhao Ting swallowed and forced a smile: "This... Mr. Han, please don't be joking."
"Naughty?"
Han Zhen suppressed his smile and said in a serious tone: "If Zhao Zhizhou doesn't want to take action, then I have to do it myself. However, if I take action, not just Wu Guinian will die!"
Zhao Ting and Liu Mi were both shocked, both of them heard what he meant.
This year of Wu Gui is their certificate of submission!
If the two of them don't take action, they will die together with Wu Guinian.
"Zhao Zhizhou, my patience is limited."
Han Zhen's voice sounded again.
Zhao Ting was heartbroken, took the knife tremblingly, and walked slowly towards Wu Guinian.
Wu Guinian ignored his wailing, kept moving back with his elbows on the ground, and said with a stern expression: "Zhao Ting, I am an official of the imperial court, you dare to kill me?"
"Why not?"
Zhao Ting roared and stabbed down with the knife.
"ah!!!"
Wu Guinian suddenly let out a scream, and bright red blood flowed from his lower abdomen where he was stabbed.
Han Zhen turned to look at Liu Mi and ordered: "Liu Tongpan, it's your turn!"
Knowing what would happen if he didn't take action, Liu Mi gritted his teeth, took the knife, and stabbed Wu Guinian in the heart, killing him on the spot.
Bang!
The knife fell to the ground, and Liu Mi felt as if he had collapsed.
He had never even killed a chicken, let alone killed someone.
But if Wu Guinian is not killed, he will be the one who dies.
A dead Taoist friend is not a poor Taoist!
All the officials outside the lobby were frightened.
First they watched a farce, and then Zhizhou and Tongpan joined forces to kill the manager and join the army in front of them.
This... is simply appalling.
The next moment, Han Zhen continued to say: "Wu Guinian is only a member of the army. It is impossible for him to put the dare Chi army into the city alone. He must have accomplices! Zhao Zhizhou and Liu Tong are clearly aware of the situation and should know Who are your comrades? Why not make a list and leave it to me to deal with."
As soon as these words came out, the officials outside the lobby were so frightened that their scalps felt numb.
Zhao Ting and Liu Mi couldn't help but feel happy, knowing that this was a good time to eradicate their dissidents.
The two of them have now completely boarded the pirate ship, so they will naturally do their best to prevent anyone from leaking the news.
"That's how it should be."
Thinking of this, the two of them spoke in unison.
After that, the two of them walked to the front of the hall, picked up their pens and started writing a list.
Outside the lobby, an official became anxious and shouted loudly: "Liu Tongpan, Mr. Liu, I am so sincere to you!"
This is so urgent that I even use the word "adult", which is a complete loss of face.
There is no other way. If you don't express your feelings as soon as possible, once you are on the list, not only will you lose your head, but you will also be charged with colluding with the rebels, which will bring harm to your family.
"Zhao Zhizhou, my subordinates have always respected Zhizhou."
"Mr. Zhao, you are so noble. From now on, I will only look up to the adults and hope to do my best!"
"Master Liu..."
At this moment, the officials of the state government who used to be aloof and superior in the past, for the sake of their wealth and lives, completely lost their literary character, and flattery was heard endlessly.
A sneer flashed in Han Zhen's eyes, and he quietly enjoyed the scene before him.
The so-called literati and court officials are nothing more than that.
As long as the butcher's knife in your hand is sharp enough, there is no way to rebel against a thief.
Not long after, Zhao Ting and Liu Mi worked together to draw up a list.
After blowing on the ink on the paper, he handed it over.
After taking the list, Han Zhen glanced at it briefly, and then asked: "Are you sure there are no fish that have slipped through the net?"
"It should be gone."
Liu Mi thought for a moment and shook his head.
Hearing this, Han Zhen called out: "Lao Jiu!"
"The general is here!"
Lao Jiu immediately took a step forward.
Han Zhen ordered: "Assist Zhao Zhizhou to arrest the rebels who are colluding with the rebels. If there is resistance, kill them on the spot!"
"Got the order!"
Lao Jiu answered with cupped fists, and then led the soldiers to follow Zhao Ting.
At this moment, Zhao Ting held the list in his hand and looked at the frightened eyes of those officials, feeling a different kind of joy in his heart.
These officials either took advantage of the fact that there was someone in the court or a prominent family background, so they looked down upon him and ridiculed him in every possible way in private.
Right now, I can kill him with just a thought!
"Zhang Pei!"
As Zhao Ting read out a name, an official in the crowd suddenly turned pale, and he collapsed on the ground as if his bones had been removed.
Lao Jiu waved his hand, and two soldiers immediately came forward, took the official's arms one on the left and the other on the right, and pulled him out of the government office.
"Don't kill me, don't kill me..."
Outside the government office, Zhang Pei's screams stopped abruptly.
"Ma Pan!"
"Zhao Ting, you treacherous sycophant, you will die a happy death, even if I am a ghost, I will not let you go!"
As the names were read out one by one, some were yelling and cursing, some were crying and wailing, and some were kneeling down to beg for mercy.
After reading sixteen names in a row, Zhao Ting put down the list in his hand.
Seeing this scene, the remaining officials couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, rolled up their sleeves and wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads.
At this time, Han Zhen said: "Everyone, please come in!"
After hearing this, dozens of officials immediately walked in and stood respectfully in the lobby.
Han Zhen smiled and said: "You are all talented people. From now on, you should work hard and help me manage Yidu County."
This sentence of pillar of talent is not ironic.
Let's put it this way, there are only a few officials who can be selected from hundreds of thousands of people, successfully pass the Jinshi examination, and can fill the real vacancies.
It is said that the Northern Song Dynasty was a paradise for scholars. They are wrong. Strictly speaking, it was a paradise for scholar-bureaucrats.
Those who pass the Jinshi examination are scholar-bureaucrats, otherwise they are just a sour scholar. The two cannot be confused.
For scholars, the Northern Song Dynasty is the most comprehensive in all dynasties.
It was rolled up to the point where it could lift as many people as dogs.
As for scholars, there are countless.
Therefore, these officials are all elites.
If you use it well, you will be a capable minister and official.
If it is not used properly, it means corrupt officials.
To put it bluntly, the conduct of officials depends on the attitude of those in charge.
Not to mention Li Shimin, putting these people in Zhao Da's hands will definitely be different from now.
"We will do our best!"
All the officials in the lobby bowed and saluted.
"Don't worry, I am not a murderous person. As long as you do your job carefully, you will be fine. But if anyone has thoughts that they shouldn't have, don't blame me for being unkind." Han Zhen said. , his eyes swept over Zhao Ting and others one by one.
Put villain first, gentleman second, this is Han Zhen's principle of dealing with things.
Let’s talk about the rules first, and talk about friendship later.
All the officials were frightened by what he saw, and they all responded quickly.
"You must have worked hard from last night to now. You should go back and have a good rest first to recuperate your energy."
Before the officials could express their thanks, Han Zhen continued: "By the way, I will send you a letter to my hometown and pick up my family members as soon as possible. If something goes wrong in the future, my family will not be harmed."
There were all smart people present, and there was no way to hear what he was saying.
Something wrong?
Oh, it’s just a riot!
"Let's go."
Han Zhen waved his hand.
All the officials bowed again, and then walked out of the lobby with their own thoughts and walked towards their own mansions.
Zhao Ting and Liu Mi did not leave, knowing that Han Zhen still had something to say to them.
Seeing the anxious look in their eyes, Han Zhen couldn't help but smile and said: "It will be the end of the month in two days, and your dividends will be sent to your house in full!"
Give me a sweet date with a stick.
We can't let the horses run without letting them eat grass, right?
At this moment, the two of them were feeling insecure and needed some substantial benefits to stabilize their emotions.
(End of chapter)
