197 Impartial and incorruptible
The officials and attendants of the provincial governor’s office who had come to welcome Xia ping ‘an did not expect that Xia ping’ an would dare to kill someone the moment he arrived in Dao state. Furthermore, he had beaten someone to death in public. Of course, what they did not expect even more was that so many people had gathered at the city gate in such a short time. Xia ping ‘an had made the people of Dao state city so excited.
The Black Mass of people knelt on the ground, all asking Xia ping ‘an to give them justice.
The people of the state of Dao had been hard at work for a long time, and they finally welcomed an official who dared to make decisions for the people. Everyone was excited.
everyone, get up. Xia Pingan looked at the mass of people kneeling on the ground around him and walked straight to the carriage. He stood on the carriage mountain so that everyone could see him and hear him. since yang city is the provincial governor of Dao province, we will never allow anyone in Dao province to harm our people. If you have any grievances, you can tell me. I will seek justice for everyone! he said.
Hearing Xia ping ‘an’s words, the people around the city gate became more and more restless.
A white-haired old man stood up shakily and cupped his hands at Xia Pingan. He said, ” my Lord, the toughest thing for the people of Dao state is to pay tributes to the Imperial court. From Emperor Yang of Sui to today, in the past 100 years, many people of Dao state have lost their families and children. Whose relatives, friends, and ancestors have not encountered such a thing?
every ordinary family lives in fear and trepidation. When someone is pregnant, they don’t dare to let anyone know or can only quietly escape far away from home. They are afraid that the child will be caught by the government and turned into a dwarf to be presented to the Imperial court. The officials in the government office are like wolves and tigers. Every year, they will go to all parts of Daozhou to check the household records. When they see children from poor families, they will take them away in the name of the government. Anyone who dares to stop them will be an enemy of the Imperial court and disrespects the Emperor. There are at least dozens of families separated from their flesh and blood, and at most hundreds of families. The most tragic thing in the world is this. I ask Your Excellency to seek justice for the people of my Dao state!”
last year, the tofu maker next door, the Qian family, committed suicide by jumping into a well because their child was taken away. The men in the Qian family have all gone crazy. It’s too tragic, ” someone said.
that’s right. All the pregnant people in our village ran to the mountains and built wooden houses in the mountains. They don’t even dare to return to the village, aww!
“That woman in Fang Yuan Hutong, she’s the one who went crazy after her child was taken away, and she wants to feed anyone she sees, Yingluo.”
The surrounding people of the Dao state began to talk.
So many families do this every year? Xia Pingan’s heart trembled slightly.
Although he already knew that the people of the state were living a miserable life, and that some of their children would be captured by the government and trained to be dwarves to be presented to the Imperial court, Xia ping ‘an did not expect the people of the state to be so miserable. So many families suffered every year.
This was the true state of the people of Daozhou who lived in the so-called ” Golden Age of the Tang Empire. for these people in Daozhou city, they could not feel the ” Golden Age of the Tang Empire. for more than a hundred years, the greatest hope of the people of Daozhou was that their children would not be taken away and turned into dwarves.
However, such tragedies happened again and again in the Dao state, becoming something that the officials of the Dao state acquiesced to.
“If the children of poor families are taken away by the government, what about the children of rich families?” Xia Pingan asked directly.
the rich are also afraid. When an official comes to check the account book, they can only bribe him with gold and silver, and serve him with good food and drink. Only in this way can their children avoid disaster. The poor have no money to bribe, so they can only let the officials take their children away! The old man replied.
“Where did those people take the children of the common people of the Dao state?” Xia Pingan continued to ask.
the children who were taken away are in the long cloud villa outside the city!
“All the children are there?”
yes, all the children are there. They trained the children who were taken away in the long cloud villa to become dwarves!
“Where is the Changyun villa?”
Your Excellency, the long cloud villa is on the long Cloud Mountain five miles away from here!
Xia ping ‘an looked around and said loudly, ” good. Since this is my first time coming to Daozhou, I’ll go to the Changyun villa and see what kind of Dragon’s pool and Tiger’s Den it is. It dares to swallow the flesh and blood of countless people in Daozhou every year. All bailiffs, lead the way. We’ll go to the Changyun villa and have a look!
Sir, we know where the long cloud villa is. We’ll lead the way!
The surrounding people started to get excited.
Xia ping ‘an ordered Zheng Jiao and Xue Yue to bring the woman who had blocked the road to complain to the carriage. He walked and turned in the same direction as the people. He no longer returned to the provincial governor’s office, but headed directly to the long cloud villa outside the city.
The officials who had received Xia Pingan at the provincial governor’s office had no choice but to follow Xia Pingan to the long cloud villa when they saw this.
The procession was vast and mighty, and the people in it were all excited. As for the officials who had followed Xia Pingan along, they had a premonition that something big was going to happen in Daozhou city today.
Along the way, the people of Dao state who saw the team knew that Xia Pingan was going to long cloud villa, so they joined him one by one. Many people even took hoes, Sickles, sticks, and other things to follow Xia Pingan to long cloud villa. The number of people in the team increased, and in the end, there were thousands of people, which was quite a spectacular sight.
The five-mile journey was actually less than three kilometers. After walking for more than half an hour, the long cloud villa appeared in front of Xia Pingan.
It was a Manor that covered an area of dozens of acres, with green trees and tall courtyard walls. It was quite large.
The people of the long cloud villa had already received the news. When Xia ping ‘an and his men arrived outside the villa, there were already people waiting for their arrival on the road.
A man in his 50s, dressed in a luxurious silk dress and a Minister’s hat, was guarding the intersection with dozens of strong men holding knives, guns, and clubs.
At the sight of so many people, that man slightly changed his face while those servants behind him became restless. However, that man was still calm as he turned around and threw a glare at them. After hearing that, those servants became calm.
The man stared at Xia ping ‘an, who was leading the crowd, and a smile immediately appeared on his face. He seized the initiative and opened his mouth.
I heard that Sir yang is going to the Dao province to take up his post today. I wonder why Sir yang has brought so many people to my Changyun villa. I was just thinking of finding time to visit you at the provincial governor’s office.
That man said to Xia Pingan with a smile in a well-behaved and sensible way. However, he was not that polite to those commoners who came here together with Xia Pingan. In the blink of an eye, that man had changed his face. With a solemn look and cold eyes, he reproached those commoners in an overbearing manner, ” what are you pariahs doing here? don’t you know that our Changyun Manor is an important place in Daozhou city? ” The Emperor in Chang ‘an is still waiting for the tribute from the long cloud villa. Paying Tributes is the most important thing in Daozhou. It is an opportunity for us to express our loyalty to the Imperial court and the Emperor. Can you afford to affect the tribute of Daozhou? Are you trying to rebel? get lost! If you dare to cause trouble, be careful that your families will be destroyed, and no one will be able to protect you!”
That person’s aura was as fierce as a Wolf or a Tiger. Many of the commoners beside Xia ping ‘an were so frightened by him that they took a few steps back and looked at Xia ping’ an one by one.
Xia Pingan narrowed his eyes and looked at the man. The words that the man had just said to the commoners were actually meant for her to hear. He was threatening her.
“Who are you?” Xia Pingan asked directly.
The man turned around and looked at Xia Pingan with a smile. He cupped his hands and said, ” Lord yang, I’m Zhuang Chao, the manor master of long cloud Manor, the Squire of Daozhou city, and also the chief of this place. Our Zhuang family has been rooted in Daozhou city for more than ten generations and has been loyal to the Emperor and loved the people for generations. I don’t know if you’ve been bewitched by a villain, but we, long cloud Manor, have never done anything illegal!
Oh, is that so? why did I hear that many children who were kidnapped from Daozhou city were hidden in your Changyun villa? ” Xia Pingan asked.
Zhuang Chao’s face was serious. What do you mean, my Lord? the children in my long cloud villa are all Tributes. They are to be trained to be the dwarf figurines in the training city to represent the state and present them to the Imperial court. How can you call it hiding? Last time, the observer came to our villa and encouraged us, asking us to do our best to complete the important task of paying Tributes issued by the Imperial court. If we don’t train those dwarf figurines and delay Daozhou city’s tribute, the Imperial court and the observer will blame us. Can you bear the responsibility?”
“What a glib mouth, to actually threaten this official!” Xia ping ‘an laughed out loud, but his face turned cold. no matter how glib your tongue is, the court’s laws are not something you can reverse with a few words. According to the court’s laws, the contributions of all counties will be made from local produce, and the price will be silk. The number of Tributes can not exceed 50 rolls, and the market will be filled with official items. The tributes will be thin, and the items will be easy to supply. This is the rule of the sacred dynasty. The children in your long cloud villa were all plundered. How can they be considered as Tributes? the Minister of Justice, Wang Qi, has already been executed. Do you think I don’t dare to kill you? If the Imperial court and the observer want to blame me, just come. I even dared to impeach Pei Yanling at the risk of my life, so why would I be afraid of your threats? You colluded with Wang Qi to hide and abduct children. You’re guilty of the most heinous crime and deserve to die!”
Zhuang Chao’s expression changed. Just as he was about to say something, Xia Pingan was quick to react. He grabbed the Tang sword at Xue Yue’s waist and slashed.
Under the gazes of the officials from the provincial governor’s mansion and thousands of commoners, Xia Pingan’s sword directly cut through Zhuang Chao’s neck. With a bit of shock, Zhuang Chao’s head immediately fell off and rolled on the ground.
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