"I want to ask you, the imperial court's decree is very clear. After receiving the imperial decree for disaster relief, officials in various prefectures immediately opened warehouses to release grain for disaster relief.
The imperial edict was issued by the imperial court on October 24th. It was a three-hundred-mile expedited journey. The journey from Beijing to here is only more than two thousand miles. In other words, the edict has been received for at least half a month. How dare you say that Meng Yuan County Didn't receive it? "
"Secondly, you said that the rebels were among the refugees. Do you believe this excuse?
Thirty miles away is Tongguan, with tens of thousands of troops stationed there, and thirty miles away is the Tongguan garrison. In this case, if the rebels come to attack here, do you think they are stupid or you? "
"Third, to take a step back, even if there are rebels inside and the city gate cannot be opened, then why not set up a porridge shed outside the city to give the people a sip of porridge?"
"So, if you don't open the city gate, either you have embezzled the food from the official warehouses in the city and you cannot release food for disaster relief, or you have colluded with the gentry in the city and are afraid that the refugees will riot and rob them. In order to protect them, you simply Don’t open the city gate.”
"Are you wronged? How can you be wronged by the people who are starving to death outside the city?"
After Yuan Keli finished speaking, he looked up at the people around him, and his face darkened again: "Lin Jianhua, I will give you one more chance to tell the truth, otherwise don't blame me for being punished."
Lin Jianhua collapsed to the ground, his face pale.
"Drag him down and beat him!"
Looking at Lin Jianhua's expression, Yuan Keli frowned, and with a wave of his right hand, the two Jinyi guards dragged him down like a dead dog. In just a moment, he heard Lin Jianhua's screams.
After half a cup of tea, Lin Jianhua was dragged back again and began to explain.
The general situation is that after the drought broke out, the gentry and merchants in the city saw the skyrocketing price of grain, and they thought of the eight thousand kilograms of grain in the county granary.
They sold the grain in the granary at a price three to five times higher than the market price, and then used the money to go out of Tongguan to Henan and other places to buy grain and fill the granary.
But they saw huge profits, and the grain they bought continued to be sold at high prices. When the imperial decree came down, the grain they bought to fill the granaries was still on the way.
So they came up with a way to delay time. Who would have thought that they would just be bumped into by Yuan Keli.
After hearing this, Yuan Keli was so angry that he was shaking all over. He really didn't expect that the officials would be so bold, and almost the entire army was wiped out.
Pan Minglong was not involved, but he did not report the information.
"Lin Jianhua, the magistrate of Mengyuan County, colluded with the gentry and businessmen in the city to steal the granary, regardless of the life and death of the people, causing hundreds of victims to starve to death. It was a heinous crime.
Someone came and dragged Lin Jianhua out and beheaded him in public. His head was hung at the entrance of the market as a warning to everyone. His family members were taken to jail and interrogated strictly. Anyone who knew anything about it would be killed! "
When Lin Jianhua begged for mercy, Cui Ming killed him with a single blow.
After dealing with Lin Jianhua, Yuan Keli looked at the night in the distance with his hands behind his back, as if waiting for something. The scene was strangely quiet.
In just a moment, the rumble of footsteps was heard in the distance, accompanied by the neighing of horses.
Everyone was a little frightened, Pan Minglong looked ugly, and stepped forward and said: "Mr. Ge, we don't know who is coming, so let's go to the city first!"
As soon as he finished speaking, an angry shout came from the distance: "I, Teng Zao, the commander of the Tongguan Guards, came to Mengyuan County on the orders of Yuan Kelige's veteran. People outside the city must not panic!"
The sound was still far away at first, but by the time it finished, horses could be vaguely seen galloping towards them.
The visitor jumped off the horse and clasped his hands in fists: "Mr. Yuan Ge, we meet again."
"Teng Zao, after more than ten years apart, you are now in charge of Tongguan Guard."
"Mr. Ge, the imperial edict came from the court a few days ago. My father was still talking about it, saying that he would go to you for a drink after you were busy for a while. I didn't expect to meet you here."
"Let's talk about it later. Let's deal with the matter at hand first."
Yuan Keli shook his head, and then said seriously: "Teng Zao, leave a thousand Tongguan guards to guard the people outside the city, and the rest will follow me into the city to arrest corrupt officials and profiteers. I will tell you the details on the way."
"Pan Minglong, I'll give you a chance to make a crime and meritorious service. Open the city gate, lead the way, and cooperate with General Teng to arrest all the people Lin Jianhua confessed to!"
With the shock just now and the presence of Tongguan guards, the city gate quickly opened, and Pan Minglong rushed into the city with Tongguan guards.
"Fellow fellow villagers, you have heard what happened just now. Now I am going to deal with the matter. There will be a porridge shed before dawn at the latest. Please wait patiently."
"After everyone enters the city, please keep quiet and do not disturb the people. If anyone wants to take advantage of the chaos to rob, steal, or fight, don't blame me for being ruthless."
After making arrangements, Yuan Keli, Cui Ming and others also followed into the city.
The city suddenly became lively, and countless people were woken up and looked outside through the doors and windows.
With Pan Minglong leading the way, the arrest process went very smoothly. Even though Pan Minglong resisted, he just kept talking and dragged him away if he didn't cooperate.
At midnight, dozens of disheveled people gathered in the lobby of the county government office, and many of them were grabbed out of bed.
"Pan Minglong, are you looking for death? Do you know who I am and how dare you arrest me? Believe it or not, I will let you shed this layer of dog skin tomorrow?"
"Inspector Pan, I have treated you well. What are you doing now? Where is County Magistrate Lin?"
"Who are you? How dare you break into my house? Are you looking for death?"
"Who gave you the courage to come to my Li Mansion to cause trouble? Let Lin Jianhua come out to see me."
"Pan Minglong, you are avenging a private vendetta, I'm going to fuck you..."
…
Everyone in the lobby began to curse, as unpleasant as they wanted.
Pan Minglong in front had a sneer on his lips, and he didn't get angry in the face of everyone's 'greetings'. The more cheerful he was scolding now, the more miserable his death would be in a while.
In the back hall, Yuan Keli's face was livid. When he arrived at the lobby of the county government office, these people could curse like this. They could call the county magistrate by his name, which showed how arrogant he was.
This is true for the magistrate, let alone the common people.
After listening to Yuan Keli's description, Teng Zao, the commander of the Tongguan Guards on the side, touched his chin and thought for a while: "Mr. Ge, there is something fishy about this matter. This Mengyuan County Li..."
"Mr. Ge, all 21 people Lin Jianhua confessed have been arrested and brought to justice. The entire residence is under the control of Tongguan Guards. Please move to the front hall, Mr. Ge."
Just as Teng Zao was about to tell his guess, Pan Minglong walked into the back hall and handed a booklet to Yuan Keli.
Yuan Keli glanced at the roster and headed towards the front hall.
With his arrival, the people who were still cursing in the lobby instantly became quiet, and Yuan Keli's eyes were full of coldness.
"Come here, open the mouth of the person who just cursed angrily twenty times!"
After hearing Yuan Keli's order, Pan Minglong stepped forward and grabbed a businessman's collar, giving him a series of fatal slaps. After twenty slaps, the man's face was swollen.
Others headed by Jin Yiwei are also like this, and some of their teeth have been knocked out.
"Conspired to conspire in the imperial grain depot, ignore imperial decrees, and ignore the lives and deaths of the people in the fish and meat village. Dozens of people die outside the city every day and you turn a blind eye. Are you still worthy of being human?"
When the more than 20 people who were wailing in the hall heard Yuan Keli's scolding, they were quiet at first, then furious, and then their eyes were full of fear.
They are certainly not stupid if they can do this. If they can gather so many people in the county and have Teng Zao, the commander of the Tongguan Guards, accompany them, then this person must have a lot of background.
