198 Chapter 198
Zhuang Chao’s head had been chopped off by Xia Pingan, but his eyes were still wide open, as if he couldn’t believe that the newly-appointed provincial governor of Dao state would really dare to kill him.
The blood from the headless body’s neck spurted out a foot high. After swaying twice, it fell to the ground and smashed into a cloud of dust.
The servants of the Changyun villa who were holding knives, swords, and clubs were scared out of their wits when they saw this.
The officials in the provincial governor’s office were also shocked. They had thought that Xia ping ‘an was a civil official who had been demoted to Daozhou as a Remonstrant. They had not expected that Xia ping’ an would be so decisive that he was not inferior to a general.
Xia ping ‘an had already killed two people on the way back before they had even returned to the provincial governor’s manor.
This new provincial governor dared to fight the Prime Minister to the death in the Imperial court. It was said that the Crown Prince and the students of the Imperial College pleaded with the Emperor to spare his life. However, he was even more difficult to deal with in his place. Such means and courage were not something that ordinary people could fool.
A servant’s hand trembled and the stick in his hand fell to the ground. His face turned pale and he knelt on the ground, ” don’t, don’t, don’t kill me, Chengcheng!
Seeing some servants throwing their weapons onto the ground, all the other servants hurriedly followed suit and knelt down to beg for mercy.
The provincial governor had even killed the manor master of the Changyun villa. If he wanted to kill small fries like them, he could do it with a single sentence.
the main culprit has been killed, and the accomplices have not been pursued. It’s none of your business, Xuanji. Xia Pingan threw the bloody Tang sword to Xue Yue, who was also staring at him. Then, he said loudly to the people around him, ” lead the way to the manor and see where the children who were robbed are. Officials from the provincial governor’s office, follow me in to rescue the children who were robbed. All the bailiffs are to guard the entrances and exits of Changyun Manor. Without my orders, no one is allowed to enter or leave Xuanji.
When they heard Xia ping ‘an’s words, the old foxes in the provincial governor’s mansion who had been on tenterhooks suddenly heaved a sigh of relief. The provincial governor had said that the main culprit had been killed and that the coercing followers would not be pursued. This meant that he was not prepared to expand the investigation in Daozhou to involve them. If he really wanted to investigate, there were too many implications in this matter. The provincial governor had even brought them in to ” rescue the kidnapped children “, which meant that he treated them as his own people and gave them a chance to make a contribution.
Of course, if they followed the provincial governor in to ” rescue the kidnapped children “, then they would have enough evidence to prove that they had killed one person with a stick and a sword today. It meant that everyone had acknowledged that the children had been ” plundered “. In the future, on this issue, all the officials in the provincial governor’s office had to have a unified statement, advance and retreat together, and they would be responsible for their contributions together.
Those who didn’t follow him in might become the second Wang Qi. Under such circumstances, the provincial governor even considered having the bailiffs guard the main entrance of the manor to prevent the people from being incited to pillage, destroy, and burn the manor.
All the other officials in the provincial governor’s mansion respected and feared such a provincial governor. They dared not have any evil thoughts about him anymore.
Seeing that Xia ping ‘an was walking towards the gate of the villa with the servants, the officials from the provincial governor’s office also rushed in for fear of falling behind. The bailiffs from the provincial governor’s office also stood guard at the gate of the villa to maintain order and prevent the Restless people from entering.
“Where are the kidnapped children? take me to them!” Xia ping ‘an said as soon as they entered the manor.
When the servants in the manor saw a group of officials and bailiffs from the provincial governor’s manor rushing in with murderous intent, the “armed” servants in the manor were so scared that their faces turned as white as quails. No one dared to stop them, and they all stood aside with their heads lowered.
The manor was very large, and there was a rich atmosphere. After a group of Manor servants led them around seven or eight times, Xia ping ‘an finally arrived at the backyard of the manor and saw the children who had been kidnapped.
Even a person with a heart of stone could not help but tremble when they saw the scene in the backyard of the manor.
The history books recorded that the Daozhou trained dwarves by putting kidnapped children in jars to limit the growth and development of the children, allowing them to grow into dwarves and man-made disabilities. Xia Pingan had some doubts when he read about it in the history books, but now that he saw it, he could not help but cry.
This method of training dwarves was simply too brutal.
Xia Pingan saw that there were about fifty to sixty children, all of whom were placed in large and small iron cans. The tallest iron can was less than three feet tall, and the smallest one was only a foot tall. Only the children’s heads could be seen from the iron can. All of the children’s hands and feet were curled up in the iron can, like pickled vegetables, unable to move at all.
There were people watching, and those children who dared to cry in iron cans would be beaten with boards.
In addition to the children in the iron cans, there were also 20 to 30 dwarves who were less than one meter tall. Like clowns in a circus, they were being trained to learn all kinds of fancy acrobatic skills such as sword-playing, ball-dancing, handstand, rope-walking, beast-dancing, sparrows-dancing, pole-lifting on a carriage, man-beast fight, five tables, seven plates, Dragon-fish spread, Lion-playing, knife-swallowing, fire-spitting, and so on.
An old man was in charge of the training here. When the old man heard that Zhuang Chao had been beheaded by the new provincial governor, he immediately knelt down in fear. The people who were training the dwarves also knelt down and kowtowed in front of Xia ping ‘an. They were so scared that their faces turned pale.
The dwarves who were being trained didn’t know what to do, and could only stand aside in a daze.
“My Lord is wise, it’s really not just our business. I’m just here to listen to the heightslord’s orders and help the heightslord train the dwarf figurines to be presented as tribute to the Imperial court. We really don’t know anything else.”
Xia ping ‘an took a deep breath. get up first. Let out the children who are trapped in the iron cans, Yingluo.
“It’s, it’s, it’s Yingluo.”
Those people quickly released the children who were trapped in the iron cans one by one.
The children were trapped in small iron cans. They pooped and peed in the cans. Many of the children’s bodies had festered, and most of them had various skin diseases.
In one of the metal cans, there were also snakes and insects that were taken out along with the child. The child in the metal can already had wounds from being bitten by the snakes and insects.
why are there snakes and insects in the iron can? ” Xia Pingan asked the old man.
adults ... the old man explained to Xia Pingan as his body trembled. this is the way we train people. If they don’t listen, we’ll throw the snakes and insects into the iron can. The snakes and insects will bite but they won’t kill them. the other children will listen to us when they see things being thrown into the iron can of disobedient children. They won’t feel uncomfortable being locked in the iron can anymore, ” the old man explained.
It was psychological training to throw snakes and insects into iron cans. Normally, it would be unacceptable for children to be locked in iron cans; however, if they found no snakes or insects in their iron cans, they would feel very lucky and gradually develop the habit of being obedient and become dwarves both physically and mentally.
“How long are these children going to stay in the metal can?”
when they are 16 years old, their bodies will no longer grow, and they will no longer need to be locked up in the iron can. Then, they can be released to train all kinds of acrobatic skills.
“Do they usually sleep?”
“I’m sleeping while standing in the tin can.”
It took a dozen to twenty years to turn living, healthy children into dwarves, turn them into ‘Tributes’ and ‘specialties’, and send them to Chang’ an to entertain the Emperor and those wealthy families. This was the ugliest thing that had happened in the ‘Golden Age of Tang’, and it had been going on for more than a hundred years.
In Chang ‘an, it was a dispensable entertainment for the emperors, but when it came to Daozhou city, it became a huge mountain on the heads of countless people in Daozhou city. Whoever dared to oppose it would be the enemy of the Tang Empire, the Imperial court, the Emperor, and all the officials, local tyrants, and evil Squires in Daozhou city.
The local officials of Daozhou city, in order to be promoted, make a fortune, and please their superiors, had begun this “project” without caring about the lives of the local people, turning Daozhou, which originally did not “produce” dwarfs, into the “home of dwarfs” of the great Tang.
Xia Pingan wanted to kill someone, but he didn’t know who to kill.
After calming down, Xia ping ‘an directly gave an order to the officials beside him, ” go to the city and find a doctor to treat the children here. At the same time, seal up and count the property of long cloud villa. Then, find the parents of these children and let them come to collect their belongings.
When an official beside him heard this, he could not help but take a step forward and remind him in a low voice, ” Sir, it’s almost the day of the tribute. In the past, Daozhou would pay tributes to the Imperial court every year. If you let these people go, the observer and the Imperial court will ask why Daozhou doesn’t have Tributes. I wonder how you will deal with it? ” This isn’t a small matter, Yingluo.”
In this era, if a local official dared to stop paying Tributes to the Imperial court and the Emperor, it was not as simple as admonishing. This was challenging the order of the entire imperial court and the officialdom. It would definitely set off a monstrous wave, and at the same time, he would be under great pressure.
The official who had warned Xia ping ‘an was trying to make Xia ping’ an aware that this matter was not that easy to handle.
It was easy to let these people go now, but what about the tributes from the state of Dao? To the officials, paying Tributes was the most important thing.
Daozhou will not turn the children of the common people into dwarves this year, nor will they turn them into Tributes to the Imperial court in the future. The tributes will stop here. If the higher-ups want to investigate, I’ll bear all the problems and will not implicate you. Even if the Imperial court takes my head, my decision will not change, ” Xia Pingan said to all the officials in the provincial governor’s mansion in a powerful and resonating voice, ” as an official, I must benefit the people. This is my Creed. I will encourage all of you!
When the officials of the provincial governor’s office heard Xia ping ‘an’s words, they were all stunned. This provincial governor actually dared to stop paying Tributes.
Daozhou city’s refusal to offer Tributes was bound to shake the entire Tang’s officialdom and Chang ‘an.
In the midst of their shock, the officials from the provincial governor’s office looked at Xia ping ‘an again and had a different feeling. For the sake of the people of Dao state city, the new provincial governor had already put his life aside.
An official was silent for a moment. With a complicated look in his eyes, he suddenly bowed deeply to Xia Pingan and said, ” as long as you are still the provincial governor, I will follow your orders.
Your Excellency, I’m at your command! the other officials from the provincial governor’s mansion also bowed to Xia Pingan and said in unison.
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