"Huang, Wang, Tan, Yang, Pan, Xu, Li, the seven major Tumu families in Sicheng are all here." When Cen Ling said these words, his eyes flickered, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
Gao Pragmatic had a calm expression. In terms of his status, the big chieftain was worthy of attention, and the chieftain... No matter how big the chieftain was, if he was not recognized by the court, he would always be just a chieftain, without the authority to dominate one side.
Of course, Cen Ling had already told him about the so-called seven major Tumu families in Sicheng Prefecture when he came here.
After Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, the power of the Cen clan chieftain in Sicheng had already crossed the north bank of the Hongshui River, and the jurisdiction was expanded. Jiafen Pavilion was further divided, and the subordinate chieftains inherited the local position. For example, the Huangma family moved to Luohu, north of Linjiang River. At that time, there were three pavilions in Bajia. The Wang family guarded Sang, Changhai Shijia, the Qin family and the Yang family respectively guarded Shanglin Bajia, and the Pan family and the Xu family guarded Lu respectively. In the eighth part of the city, the Li family guarded the second part of Tian'e.
Each chief had a hereditary local position, each recruited tenants, each cared for his people, and was under the control of Tuzhou, forming a political and economic governance system in Sicheng Prefecture from Tuzhizhou to Touhou, Jiamu, and Tingmu.
However, the Cen family's ruling system in Sicheng was considered too harsh by Gao Pragmatic.
The Cen chieftains in Sicheng issued taxation stamps according to their own wishes and were not restricted by the imperial system. Their powers such as recruiting soldiers and civilians, and adjudicating civil disputes were also not restricted by the imperial system.
According to Cen Ling's previous introduction, in Sicheng Prefecture, whenever a civil dispute was brought to the state office, the chieftain would not only ask for fees for the service and straw sandals, but also had to pay one or several chief husband gifts.
When a criminal case arrives at the police station, in addition to the fees for meals and straw sandals, they also have to pay fees for the red robe ceremony and standing in the hall to arrest the case. Criminal suspects in custody are charged varying amounts of money for entry and exit.
The chieftain's torture tools include handcuffs and shackles, sticks, whips, iron ropes, standing cages, shackles, etc. There are many names. The native people must not disobey the chieftain's orders.
The chieftain restricted the residence, dress, and behavioral rules of the native people. They were not allowed to build high-rise houses. The houses built by the native people in the same location must be lower than the houses of the chieftain's official family. They were not allowed to go out on horseback, but could only walk. They were not allowed to wear long shirts, horse robes, or horse robes. White clothes can only be worn in black, gray and blue clothes; you cannot hold an umbrella to go to the fair, and a married woman cannot sit in a sedan chair.
The native people cannot have banquets with the villagers of the Cen family. When going out with the villagers, the native people cannot walk in front of the villagers.
Native people were not allowed to study in government-run schools and were not allowed to take part in the imperial examinations. When local people see a member of the chieftain's family, they must kneel half down; when they see a member of the chieftain's family, they must kneel down; when they see a chieftain, they must kneel on the ground and kowtow. Whenever the chieftain goes on patrol, the native people must kowtow to greet him at the roadside - this is the same as the native people of Siming Prefecture kowtow to Huang Zhiting.
The mountain road up the mountain is not very steep, but it is very long. The two sides saw each other from a long way away, and it took almost half an hour to walk towards each other before they met.
The patrol team did not stop at all, moving forward at a leisurely pace, but the team in Lingyun City began to change when they were about a mile away from the patrol team. The large group of people divided into two sides and lined up beside the road.
The seven big Tumu who were sitting on their horses also dismounted and walked forward to greet them. After the highly pragmatic patrol team approached, they were led by a forty-year-old Tumu and said in unison: "Sicheng Tuzhou." Huang Ma, the garrison officer of Tumu and Lingyun City, brought the six Tumu of Sicheng to visit the press platform, and press the platform for gold and safety!"
As he spoke, all seven people knelt down and kowtowed. The wolf soldiers standing beside the road behind them also knelt down as they did. At the same time, the seven earth eyes kowtow once, and the wolf soldiers kowtow three times.
This rule was not the rule of the court, and Gao Pragmatic didn't bother to pay attention to it. He gently pinched the horse's belly, stepped forward and sat on the horse, looking down at the seven earth-eyed people kneeling in front of him, but he was in no hurry to let them get up.
None of the Seven Earthly Eyes dared to act rashly, they just knelt down.
Gao pragmatic looked at it for a while and then asked in a very dissatisfied tone: "Which one is Huang Ma?"
The middle-aged man kneeling in the first place lowered his body a little lower and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Huang Ma, please press the tai Jin'an."
"Are you Huang Ma? Very good. I have something to ask you." Gao Pongyong said in an indifferent tone: "Since I came to Sicheng, why didn't Cen Shaoxun, the local magistrate of Sicheng, come to greet me?"
Huang Ma remained motionless and replied: "Replying to the press conference, the local magistrate of this state, Cen Gong, has been unwell in recent years. He is ill and cannot be in the wind or see people. Therefore, he cannot come to greet the press conference, but he has given instructions to the officials and others. Receive him properly and sincerely apologize to the press on his behalf."
Gao pragmatic snorted softly: "Can't be in the wind, can't see people? What kind of disease is this?"
Huang Ma seemed to have been prepared and replied: "Replying to the press, this is caused by a kind of miasma. This disease is contagious. The patient needs to lie in a clean room with the backlight and no strangers. Otherwise, people who are not sick can also If you contract the disease, it will cause ulcers all over the body, regardless of the location.”
Gao pragmatic rolled his eyes and thought to himself: Are you bullying me for not knowing medical skills? Is this leprosy you're talking about?
However, he did not intend to dwell on this matter. He just said coldly: "Since Cen Zhizhou is infected, let's temporarily exempt him from the crime of disrespecting the superior. But as subordinate officials, why don't you have the right to welcome me? Could it be that you think that the imperial court is powerful? Why can’t we reach your Sicheng Prefecture?”
Well, this is just a matter of looking for trouble. Things like Jieying can only be regarded as unspoken rules, and there is no requirement from the court.
However, Huang Ma was still able to hold back and replied: "The reason for holding the ceremony is not because the officials and others are disrespectful to the ceremony, but because chieftains from all over the world have gathered in Lingyun City in the past few days. When they heard that Duke Cen of Zhizhou was ill, they all wanted to When I went to visit him, it happened that Duke Cen was so worried that he would not be able to greet him in person that his illness worsened. As officials of the Tumu family, the officials and others did not dare to leave for a moment, so they missed the time to welcome him. , I, the officials and others deserve to be punished by death, please take the opportunity to convict me."
These words were naturally typical official nonsense, but Gao Pragmatic seemed to take them seriously and said calmly: "Oh, then what do you think, how should I punish you?"
No matter how good-tempered Huang Ma was, she couldn't help it anymore. Although she was still kneeling, she straightened up and said, "Then it depends on the meaning of the ceremony. Is it the official's decision?"
Gao Pangshi seemed to have never seen him before, and said calmly: "What grade of official are you?"
Huang Ma was startled and didn't understand what Gao Pragmatic meant, but she still replied: "If you follow the regulations of the imperial court, you will be lowered to the eighth rank."
Gao Jingshi showed a smile and said calmly: "Eighth rank...Huang Tumu, Huang Shoubei, do you know that the patrol censor has the power to make decisions on small matters for local officials of sixth rank and below?"
Huang Ma's heart skipped a beat, and she suppressed her shock and replied: "Xiaguan is in a remote wilderness, so I don't know much about it."
Gao pragmatically said calmly: "Then I might as well tell you that if you say you deserve to die, I can really get your wish without even asking for an edict."
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Thanks to book friend "Sha Mang" for your monthly ticket support, thank you! My son's kindergarten will open tomorrow, and I will be responsible for the pick-up and drop-off, so the update time tomorrow may change, and it probably won't be as punctual as this month. It's hard to say for the time being, so I'll let you know first.
