There was silence in front of the Chen Mansion.
The head of the Chen family, who was originally knocked aside because the officers and soldiers rushed into the house, still stood on the same spot, but was empty from the neck up.
The blood, like a fountain, dyed the bright red door panel even redder.
There is a coquettishness about it.
The blood-stained head of the head of the Chen family, with disheveled hair, rolled down the steps in front of the mansion, rolling all the way to the feet of the wealthy gentry in Chenliu County who were already like quails.
The rolling heads stopped.
The wealthy gentry made a gasp of air, and even a few elderly people were frightened to the point of weakness.
If it weren't for the support of someone around him, he would have been so frightened that he fell to the ground and fainted.
Everyone stared at Pei Benzhi, who had his back turned to everyone.
Even the general of the Yulin Guard Right Army Camp, who was in charge of the army, looked at Pei Benzhi's back in surprise when he saw the human pillars that were constantly gushing blood.
The general of the Youjun camp had no idea that Pei Benzhi, a Confucian magistrate who looked at Wenwen as weak, could brazenly commit such a murderous act in front of everyone.
In an instant, an idea appeared in the mind of the general of the right army camp.
As long as Pei Benzhi survives the disaster this time and is not impeached, he will definitely become a big shot in the court of Yingtian City in the future.
No!
He will definitely survive this disaster and impeachment, and he will definitely become a big shot in the court!
No matter what the people around you think about what just happened.
At this moment, Pei Benzhi felt surges of emotion in his heart.
The smell of blood so close to Chi Chi almost made him want to vomit. It was only because he was worried about what he had to do at this moment that he could not bear to lose his dignity.
kill.
In the laws of the Ming Dynasty, no one can kill without the review of the Three Laws Division and the imperial approval of the emperor Zhubi.
However, in actual operations, imperial envoys with imperial orders often choose to kill people to solve problems.
The soldiers of the border army will also choose to kill people to protect the peace of the border.
But now Pei Benzhi is not an imperial envoy, nor is he a soldier of the border army.
He was the magistrate of Chenliu County in the seventh rank of the Ming Dynasty.
However, Pei Benzhi had to do this.
Turning his back to everyone, he let out a long breath of turbid air in his chest.
Pei Benzhi held the bloody knife in his hand, slowly turned around, and walked to the edge of the steps in front of Chen's house.
Several servants of the Chen family who were huddled behind the door of the mansion looked frightened. They huddled together and did not dare to step out of the door to collect the body of their master.
From the courtyard to the east of Chen Mansion, there were bursts of sounds.
Presumably, it was because the officers and soldiers had found the Chen family's food reserves.
Pei Benzhi stood on the steps and smiled.
Pei Benzhi had a weird smile on his face after killing him. Wherever he looked, a group of gentry and wealthy people lowered their heads in fear, not daring to look at each other for fear of causing Magistrate Pei to behead him with a knife again.
Suddenly, Pei Benzhi found that he liked this way of handling things.
Originally serving as an official in Chenliu County for eight years, he engaged in being kind to the people in front of him, suppressing them and exploiting the people step by step. Although the results were effective, they were never as good as they are now. ….
As long as you say something now, these people will definitely complete it without compromise and meticulously.
then.
Pei Benzhi spoke.
"Everyone, I killed Thief Chen to save you."
When the wealthy gentry heard Pei Benzhi's voice, they couldn't help but tremble.
Without any prior discussion, all the wealthy gentry knelt on the ground.
"Pei County's great kindness will be remembered by all the small people like us, and we will never forget the kindness of the county."
Pei Benzhi shook his head and sighed softly: "You still don't understand why this county said it saved you."
. "
Among the gentry kneeling on the ground, someone raised his head.
After thinking about it several times, he finally decided to cooperate with Magistrate Pei.
"Please also ask Pei County to release him."
Pei Benzhi smiled slightly: "Chen thieves took advantage of the great disaster to occupy the fields of our people in Chenliu County, hoarding grain and grass, and intending to drive up prices. This move is contrary to the imperial decree and is a crime of disobedience that affects the nine tribes. Today you and Chen Is the gathering of thieves within the nine clans of thieves?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"I would also like to ask the county magistrate Mingxiao. We are neither related nor related to that thief Chen, nor do we have any contact with him."
Pei Benzhi sneered and walked down the steps with the knife.
The general of the right army camp behind Pei Benzhi stared at Pei Benzhi who walked in front of the group of gentry with slightly moving eyelids.
Until now, General Youjunying finally understood what Pei Benzhi wanted to do.
He wanted to use the head of the Chen family to scare the monkeys and scare the wealthy gentry in Chenliu County.
Sure enough, it was just as the right army camp general thought.
Pei Benzhi, who came closer, looked at the wealthy gentry kneeling in front of him with compassion.
"Today Chenliu County is short of food. You all want to borrow food from the county government, but you are confused by the Chen thief and almost have a relationship with the Chen thief. Didn't it mean that when the county's rescue came, we were relieved of your difficulties?"
Pei Benzhi almost turned the entire story upside down, and all the wealthy gentry couldn't help but ponder.
It's still a matter of borrowing food.
The reason for killing the head of the Chen family was to borrow food. Now, the reason for talking to them now is to borrow food.
Can I borrow food and kill everyone here?
As a result, between the possibility of not dying and the need to borrow food, these wealthy gentry who were almost frightened out of fear once again hesitated.
Pei Benzhi's eyes couldn't help but sink.
Just at this time.
In Chen's mansion, officers and soldiers rushed out.
When he arrived at the gate of the mansion, he immediately shouted: "The Chen Mansion is checking the grain for 8,900 dan."
Just a break.
On the street in the distance, another group of officers and soldiers came towards Chen's mansion.
As they approached, some officers and soldiers shouted: "The Sun family of Chenliu County donated 5,723 dan of food."
From then on, more and more officers and soldiers rushed to the outside of Chen's mansion from all over.
"The Wang family in Chenliu County donated 3,234 dan of food."
"Chenliu County farmers donated 7,616 dan of grain."
"..."
"..."
One by one, the officers and soldiers arrived in front of the Chen Mansion and loudly reported the amount of food donated by each family. The number was accurate to single digits.
As each family was reported out, many people from the wealthy gentry family in front of them who had hesitated just now fell to the ground.
This is not borrowing food. ….
This was never a food donation.
They are robbing food with their own accounts!
The three officials of Chenliu County, the magistrate, the chief registrar, and the clerk, who were worried and led their troops to the city to borrow food, rushed to the door of Chen's mansion with their accounts and accounts filled with joy, unable to conceal their joy.
"Your Excellency, the people of our county are not short of food!"
Pei Benzhi nodded, looked at the wealthy gentry in front of him, whose eyes had lost their light, and sneered.
At this moment, I saw the head of the Chen family and took the food from these people. They were my accomplices and they were tied to me.
Pei Benzhi chuckled and said, "Everyone, please get up. If you can help me today, I will remember it in my heart."
After finishing speaking, Pei Benzhi turned to the county magistrate and said: "Since all the good people have donated food, the accounts should be exchanged to each family as soon as possible."
Chenliu County Magistrate, who was sweating profusely from running, opened his mouth, observed the look and expression of his magistrate again and again, and finally found the key point in this sentence.
As soon as possible rather than immediately.
That is to make a copy of the accounts and keep them for future use.
county
Cheng nodded: "I obey the order."
…
"Your Highness, this is where the embankment burst downstream of Lanyang County. The swamp in front of it was formerly Xidi Bay under the jurisdiction of Lanyang County."
On the rolling Yellow River, a team walked along the river bank from south to north and stopped in front of a huge levee breach. Pan Deshan, a doctor in the Qingli Division of the Capital City of the Ministry of Industry of the Ming Dynasty, pointed his fingers and spoke in a solemn tone compared with Kanyu in front of him.
Pan Deshan looked to the northwest, then turned to look at the emperor's grandson beside him.
He continued: "Your Highness, fifty miles to the northwest is Lanyang County. Seventy miles to the southeast is Ningling County, Guide Prefecture. One hundred and twenty miles southeast is Shangqiu, the city of Guide Prefecture."
After the incident in Xuzhou Mansion, Zhu Yunxi arranged everything and continued to lead the accompanying officials and provisions from the imperial court to Kaifeng Mansion.
At this moment, standing on the embankment of the Yellow River, Zhu Yunxi looked at the breach in front of him with a solemn expression, his eyebrows twitching.
According to what the emergency report said, this breach was caused by that damn bastard thing in Lanyang County.
It is precisely because of this breach that the disaster in the Six Prefectures has been aggravated.
Zhu Yunxi said in a deep voice: "I saw the river channel and the breach with my own eyes, what do you think?"
Pan Deshan looked back at the accompanying officials, then turned to look at the emperor's grandson. He whispered: "Lanyang County has no river control at all."
As he spoke, Pan Deshan took a shovel from the hands of Yutian, the manager of Taisun Mansion, and then shoveled it heavily on the embankment, then stretched out his foot and stepped on it, pressing down on the wooden pole with both hands.
Pan Deshan shoveled up the loess on the embankment.
Then Pan Deshan squatted down and used his hands to pull away the shovelful of loess.
Finally, he raised his head and looked at the gloomy Emperor Taisun.
Pan Deshan said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, this soil is ironclad proof that this section of the Yellow River embankment in Lanyang County was not reinforced for the entire year last year. However, the imperial court has already allocated money and grain for river maintenance as usual."
Zhu Yunxi's face became more and more gloomy. He stepped forward lightly and kicked the loess on the embankment that Pan Deshan had pulled away, but he couldn't see anything. ….
But Pan Deshan dared to say in front of the accompanying officials that Lanyang County had not regulated the river, so something must have been missed.
Pan Deshan continued: "If the embankment had not been blown up here, the breach upstream would have relieved most of the flood pressure in the river. In this way, only the breach upstream would have been blocked. But if the embankment was blown up here, it would not be possible at all. It does not have the effect of unloading the force on the river, but instead allows more river water to pour out, causing more river water to flow into the land of the Six Prefectures."
Zhu Yunxi's eyes dropped, and he looked at the breaches that had been gradually blocked by the people of Lanyang County in recent days, and asked: "Now that you are here, what are you going to do first?"
Pan Deshan thought for a while and looked up at Zhu Yunxi: "If I are to govern again, the first priority is to resume farming. Although it is impossible for the six governments to collect all the summer and autumn taxes this year, if we resume farming as soon as possible, we can still maintain a crop of grain harvest. The common people will have a better time this year.
As for the two execution sites, now that the water has receded, it is not a problem. Just plug it again before winter. "
Zhu Yunxi couldn't help but smile.
He pointed at Pan Deshan.
"I asked you to regulate the river, but you have to resume farming."
Pan Deshan smiled slightly, clasped his hands, bowed, and stepped aside.
Zhu Yunxi shook his head and looked at the Lanyang County river workers who were still under the river embankment, carrying earth bags and bricks on the breach of the river embankment. His eyes looked a little solemn.
These river workers, even when they saw their own team under the banner of the Emperor's Order, had no reaction, their eyes were calm, as if the only thing in front of them was the breach that had never been repaired.
That's numbness.
Zhu Yunxi saw the numbness on these river workers and people.
This is the most direct and worst impact that a stupid official has on the court.
Because of what this stupid local official did, the people would naturally think that the court would do the same.
The people's hearts are being polished away bit by bit.
He turned and looked at the accompanying officials behind him.
"Go with me to the Lanyang County Government Office to see what the local officials of the Ming Dynasty are like."
…
Lanyang County County Government.
The county government office was empty, without the prostitutes who used to come to sing every day.
There was no one around, as if the government office under the imperial court had gone bankrupt and closed its doors.
In the middle of the front hall, a man with disheveled hair sat.
In front of the man, there was a wooden table with a stone pot on it. There were pickles and tofu cooked in the pot, but there was no fish.
Because all the river workers in the county will no longer send fish to the county government.
The charcoal fire in the stove under the stone pot was burning very red, and the pickles in the pot were constantly rolling over the old tofu.
The salty aroma of pickles, mixed with the smell of old tofu, floated in the yamen.
As he got closer, he could finally see the disheveled man's appearance.
It was Cao Zhisheng, the magistrate of Lanyang County, Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan Province.
Not long ago, the county magistrate Cao Zhisheng, who was still watching the rain, listening to music, eating pickles, tofu, fish soup and drinking wine, has lost his former charm.
Cao Zhisheng was holding a bowl in his hand, and the only sound in the county government office was the gurgling sound of soup boiling in the stone pot in front of him. ….
With a long sigh, Cao Zhisheng raised his head and filled a bowl of pickled vegetable and tofu soup with a spoon.
After eating and drinking half the bowl in small sips, the borrowed flavor was always missing. Cao Zhisheng finally put the bowl down quickly and turned to look outside the Yamen anxiously.
There was also no one outside the Yamen. Only on the streets farther away, people could be seen cleaning and carrying debris from time to time.
However, Cao Zhisheng knew very well that on both sides of the yamen gate, river workers came to keep an eye on him every day to prevent him from escaping.
[In view of the general environment, and about this, Lanyang County's county magistrate, chief registrar, and magistrate knew everything about it, but they never interfered. They even took everyone in the county government out of the city long ago. , the excuse is to control the disaster.
But Cao Zhisheng knew very well that he had been abandoned by everyone.
Even Kaifeng Mansion gave up on him.
If we follow the normal steps, he should be arrested by someone from Kaifeng Mansion and taken to the government prison, waiting for the imperial envoy to arrive, or the decree to arrive, and then decide his life or death.
However, now, Kaifeng Mansion has sent food and money, but it seems to have forgotten him, the magistrate of Lanyang County.
Today, Cao Zhisheng finally knew why he was imprisoned in the Lanyang County government office.
Because the person coming from the imperial court is the grandson of the emperor who oversees the country.
They hope to use themselves to ease the anger of the emperor's grandson.
Abandoned son.
Cao Zhisheng finally understood his final role.
As a result, I became increasingly uneasy.
"The peak of the flood is approaching, so the county is doing nothing wrong by blowing up embankments to release floodwaters so as not to cause more floods downstream!"
"The Kaifeng Prefecture does not provide money or food. How the county builds the embankment is wrong. It is also the fault of the Kaifeng Prefecture."
"There is nothing wrong with this county!"
"The emperor's grandson cannot kill this county!"
Cao Zhisheng suddenly looked crazy and stood up with his hands on the table.
With a clang, the entire table was overturned to the ground by Cao Zhisheng, and he was already running towards the back house of the county government.
In the blink of an eye, Cao Zhisheng was already dragging a large piece of sheets to the front hall of the Yamen.
He raised his head and looked at the beams under the roof of the front hall, wrapped in sheets that had been torn into pieces and tied together, and threw them upwards with all his strength. The sheets circled the beam and fell.
Then Cao Zhisheng tied the two ends of the bed sheet tightly together, moved a stool under it, tried to secure it, and looked around.
Cao Zhisheng ran back and forth in the front hall of the Yamen like a madman, and soon he had a kitchen knife in his hand.
.
He held the kitchen knife in front of a piece of bed sheet, and when he was about to cut it, Cao Zhisheng's eyes suddenly lit up and he stopped.
Then the kitchen knife in his hand, which was originally perpendicular to the bed sheet, became tilted.
Cao Zhisheng gritted his teeth and kept rubbing the bed sheet with the edge of the knife. Only when the whole bed sheet became a thin layer with only silk threads connected together did he feel relieved.
After all this was done, Cao Zhisheng stood on the stool, holding the sheets in his hands, hanging his neck lightly in the middle of the sheets, staring outside.
Time suddenly slowed down.
I do not know how long it has been.
Finally, there was a noise outside the Lanyang County government office.
Someone was vaguely saying hello.
Cao Zhisheng's eyes lit up.
"I'm dead! You want me to be your scapegoat, but I won't do what you want!"
After cursing angrily, Cao Zhisheng held the sheets with both hands and kicked the stool down with his feet, and his whole body sank immediately.
Zhu Yunxi walked into the Lanyang County government office with murderous intent.
When he walked into the county government office, surrounded by the magistrate, registrar, officials and representatives of river workers in Lanyang County, he saw Cao Zhisheng hanging in the lobby of the county government office, his body drifting in the wind. Swinging.
Everyone was stunned at the scene.
The people in Lanyang County were even more shocked.
Is this Cao Zhisheng committing suicide out of fear of crime?
Or was he trying to pull off a deathbed trick in which he was forced to die unjustly?
Just when everyone didn't know what happened.
There was a clang.
Cao Zhisheng, who was still swaying in the wind, suddenly hit the ground hard in front of everyone.
Immediately, a painful groan came from the lobby of the county government office.
"Hey, young...".
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