Early in the morning, many people gathered in an open space in the east of the city. They stared curiously at the wooden platform that had just been erected.
There were seven or eight government officials standing on the wooden platform, each holding a stick and looking fierce.
There were three or four guys who were tied up and kneeling on the ground shivering. Two of them had bruises on their noses and faces, and they had obviously been beaten.
The dazzling sunshine failed to stop the curiosity of the people. Some sharp-eyed people recognized these guys at a glance as rogue bullies in the city. They usually wandered around the city when they had nothing to do.
In the past, these guys were idle and doing evil, and no one cared about them. Why have they become like this dead today?
Zeng Lingchuan and Wu Xiang, who were standing on the wooden platform, looked at the rogues coldly, making them dare not move.
To honest and responsible people, they are gangsters and bullies who cannot be offended.
But the two of them have been soldiers. Even if they are deserters, they have fought against the Beiyan barbarians knife-on-knife and gun-on-gun. Isn't it a piece of cake for them to deal with a few rogues?
Amidst the noise, Gu Sinian walked up to the stage step by step and shouted loudly:
"Fengchuan County folks and neighbors, please be quiet! I have something to say!"
The audience quickly fell silent, looking at the young stranger curiously.
Gu Sinian cupped his hands and clasped his fists:
"Your Majesty, Gu Sinian, is the new Dianshi of Fengchuan County. You are so polite!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the chirping voice sounded again:
"Is he the Dianshi guy who implemented the land leasing order?"
"Didn't you say that he was greedy for Arata? How dare you come out? Aren't you afraid of provoking public anger?"
"Yesterday I heard someone saying that he had been arrested. How could he be released so quickly?"
"As a pianist at a young age, there must be someone behind him. He might have taken over all the wasteland."
"Don't talk nonsense. I think this baby has a kind face and doesn't look like a bad person."
"What I'm saying is that my family rented the land without spending a single copper. He is a good official."
The crowd had all kinds of things to say, some good and some bad, but everyone was curious about what was going on today?
"Ahem."
Gu Sinian cleared his throat:
"I know that there have been a lot of rumors in the city recently. Everyone is guessing how much land I have acquired and how many benefits I have obtained. They even say that I became rich overnight.
Today, I tell you clearly that I have not occupied an acre of land and have not received an extra copper!
To this day, I, Gu Sinian, don’t even have a house in the county. I live in a side house of the county government! "
The whole audience was silent, and everyone was full of suspicion.
How can you prove your innocence with just a few words about this kind of thing?
Gu Sinian took out a thick stack of paper from his arms and held it up high:
“This is the wasteland calculated by the county!
There is a clear record of who each acre of land was leased to and how much the rent was. If you don’t believe it, you can read it for yourself. I don’t have an acre of land under my name, Gu Sinian!
If you are still dissatisfied, you can take it to Mr. Chen for verification, or even to the Langzhou official.
My body is upright and I am not afraid of slanting shadows. I have a clear conscience! "
As soon as these words came out, most people began to believe what Gu Sinian said. Who in the public would dare to tell lies?
Gu Sinian put away the letter and looked at the guys kneeling on the ground:
"Who are these people? Many of you should know them.
They were the ones who spread the rumors about me in the city. They were the ones who made trouble in the fields and went around with a fake land deed to bully good people!
We will not wrongly accuse a good person. It is you who spread rumors and cause trouble! "
"explain!"
A resounding word "said" frightened the gangsters to tremble, and they nodded tremblingly:
"Yes, yes, it's us."
Several people who have already been beaten understand that refusing to admit guilt at this time will only make things worse.
"It turns out that these guys started the rumor and almost wronged a good person!"
"Mr. Gu rents land to poor people. There are people spreading rumors about such a great deed. What a bastard!"
"They are all bastards, well caught!"
The people were excited and roaring, and some people threw rotten vegetable leaves on the stage.
Many people in the crowd have been bullied by them, and some small businessmen and vendors have been cashed out by them many times without any reason. No one bothered to report to the officials. Over time, everyone was afraid of these thugs because they had backers.
I saw them being arrested today, why don't you beat them up?
Gu Sinian shouted loudly:
"Let's talk about whether such a person should be arrested!"
"It should be caught!"
"Should I be punished?"
"Deserved punishment!"
"According to the laws of our court, defaming officials, roaming the countryside, gathering people to cause trouble, and forging land deeds are all serious crimes!
You cannot bear these charges.
Come on, let’s talk about it in front of our fellow villagers today. Did you do it yourself, or was it instigated by someone behind your back?
If you tell me, you can get rid of the crime. If you can't tell, you will have to endure thirty water and fire sticks today and then go to jail! "
The few scoundrels looked sad and didn't dare to reply a word.
say what? Did Wang Zitong instigate it? Once Wang Zitong is revealed, his life will definitely not be saved.
If you don't say anything, you'll get a stick and lose half your life.
Everyone wants to save their lives first.
Just on the side of the square, Wang Zitong, the mastermind behind the scenes, was watching all this with a gloomy face, his face so dark that it was about to drip with ink.
These gangsters who dare to cause trouble naturally have something to rely on, and he helped get those fake land deeds.
Moreover, Wang Zitong warned the government officials in advance that if someone reported to the government, don't arrest them, just pretend to go for a walk.
The leader of the yamen is Song Ping, but Wang Zitong's words still work inside, so those scoundrels have nothing to fear.
However, several people inserted by Gu Sinian quietly arrested the man in the middle of the night and caught him off guard.
As long as he receives the news early, he can remove these rogues.
The dog-headed military advisor Zhang Qingcai turned pale and said cautiously:
"Boss, these scoundrels are all weak and afraid of the strong. What if they can't bear the beating and turn us in?"
Zhang Qingcai knew that these things were shameful, and it would be a serious crime to put them on the table!
If the ruffians turn them in, they may lose their heads.
Wang Zitong gritted his teeth and said:
"Let our people carry out the execution, be ruthless, and leave no one alive!"
The gloomy words made Zhang Qingcai tremble and he nodded heavily:
"good!"
Dead people are the most reliable.
"Don't tell me!"
Gu Sinian's eyes slowly swept across the audience:
"If you don't tell me, there will be no chance~"
Gu Sinian knew that Wang Zitong must be hiding somewhere and watching, and he said these words to him on purpose.
The few rogues remained silent, and the common people were eagerly waiting to see if Gu Sinian would really deal with these rogues, because in the past, no one dared to mess with these people when they roamed the countryside.
Could this young Dianshi really be so tough?
Gu Sinian had a cold face and waved his hand:
"Hit me! Thirty punishments with the cane!"
"promise!"
Before Zeng Lingchuan and others could even take action, many government officials stepped onto the wooden platform and started beating them without saying a word.
"Bang bang!"
"Ahh~"
"Spare your life, spare your life!"
"Bang, bang!"
"ah!"
"Well done! Kill them!"
These government officials were really cruel. The sticks hit their flesh, and there was a burst of wailing when the stick was struck. After a while, their skin and flesh were torn apart.
The people in the audience were jubilant and applauded, but Gu Sinian's brows furrowed.
He could see that these people were arranged by Wang Zitong, and they were very ruthless, and they were rushing to kill them.
But Gu Sinian didn't stop him because he knew that these gangsters deserved their death, and since these people had taken action, they would never give the gangsters a chance to speak again.
After a while, two more dead bodies appeared on the stage, and the other two people completely fainted. The whole place was silent. At this moment, Gu Sinian looked more like a cruel official.
Beat them to death, beat them to death alive!
Gu Sinian walked forward slowly, pointed at the corpse on the ground and shouted:
"From today on, whoever dares to obstruct the implementation of the land rental order, and whoever dares to embarrass the hard-working farmers, will be punished!"
"good!"
The whole house cheered!
…
"asshole!"
"Son of a bitch!"
"Crack!"
"Bang bang!"
Wang Zitong was furious and smashed the chairs and stools in the room, his face was livid with anger.
Gu Sinian's actions today forced Wang Zitong to kill those thugs. After doing this, who else in the city would dare to do things for him in the future?
But if they don't die, they will expose Wang Zitong sooner or later.
Zhang Qingcai was so frightened that he didn't dare to say a word. Wang Zitong had a very violent personality, so don't turn around and take it out on him.
"It's all your fault!"
But Wang Zitong, who was afraid of what would happen, was furious and glared at Zhang Qingcai:
"What a great idea you came up with! We stole the chicken but lost the rice!"
"Asshole! You can't be that little bastard!"
"thump!"
The angry Wang Zitong raised his leg and kicked Zhang Qingcai.
"Tou, Wang Tou, I was wronged! I have always been loyal to you!"
Zhang Qingcai said with a sad face:
"Who knew that Gu Sinian would be so skillful? He sent people to arrest them without saying a word. We didn't receive any notice."
"This bastard!"
Wang Zitong cursed loudly and then asked:
"What's going on with the Li family? Why are there no movements from the big families who are causing trouble?"
In fact, Wang Zitong had no communication with the Li family, but there was a tacit understanding between the two parties, which was to get a share of the land rental order at the same time and put pressure on the county government.
On the one hand, it is for profit, and at the same time, it can be regarded as a joint effort to suppress external officials.
Now that Wang Zitong is silent, he can only count on the Li family to make big moves.
Zhang Qingcai said cautiously:
"Gu Sinian seems to have allocated land to them. Those big households don't want to cause trouble anymore~"
"Divided the land? Did he compromise?"
Wang Zitong frowned:
"Then how much will we be allocated? One hundred acres or eighty acres?"
If I could divide some space, I could barely calm down the anger in my heart.
Zhang Qingcai trembled and replied in an almost inaudible voice:
"One, not even an acre of land was given."
"What?"
Wang Zitong suddenly burst into laughter:
"Not an acre of land?"
"Yes, it is."
"Gu Sinian, you are going too far!"
Wang Zitong was so angry that he almost spit out a mouthful of blood and said through gritted teeth:
"From today on, our relationship is closed.
If I can’t kill you, I, Wang Zitong, will never be a human being! "
