River.
A cold wind blew, and the tents outside the city gate were empty.
Those bustling craftsmen were all gone at this moment. Several doors were open. Inside were the civilian laborers who transported the wood, the craftsmen who processed the wood, the corvees who were responsible for transporting the wood to the capital, and even the officials who were watching them, etc.
There was no trace of them.
There were fallen leaves that were too late to clean up and danced back and forth in the empty tent with the wind.
The official road with people coming and going finally became quiet.
The city gate is open.
There were more than twenty poles erected outside, with heads stuck on them.
The bloody head was stuck outside the city gate, with wide eyes and a distorted expression.
On the city wall, rows of heads were hung, like wind chimes, swaying left and right with the wind, making a collision sound, but the sound was not crisp, but a bit dull.
There were six soldiers at the city gate, staring at the surroundings with indifferent expressions.
Some soldiers walked out of the city gate pushing a cart. The cart was filled with various corpses. A deep ditch was dug inside the original craftsman camp. The soldiers were seen expressionless.
Throw the body into a ravine and bury it.
There were several bloodstains on the roads in the city, and these bloodstains spread all the way to the deepest part of the city.
A group of people slowly appeared outside the city.
The leader was riding a tall horse, with knights guarding him on both sides. Behind him, there were more than a hundred scribes, some on horseback and some in chariots, all different, rushing towards the city.
Most of these scribes were young, and there were a few who were slightly older. The older ones basically rode in cars, while the younger ones rode horses.
As they walked on the road, they were talking passionately about what they were going to face next.
The conversation never stopped.
When they approached the city gate, the soldiers who had already received the order quickly came out and led them into the city.
Lu Dan hurried to the city gate, and there were only six officials behind him.
Including these seven people from Lu Dan, we have all the officials in Hejian now!
Hejian is the seat of the three-level government offices of state, county and county, but the three-level government offices can only provide seven officials, which is really a bit exaggerated.
The rest of the people, except for a few high-ranking officials who were taken away and the traitors who were caught, were the mediocre officials who were dismissed.
The government offices in Yingzhou have been paralyzed.
Lu Dan walked forward quickly, looked at the young official riding a horse, and bowed to him.
"Don't drive Lu Dan to Yingzhou to pay homage to the governor!"
Riding on the horse was none other than the newly arrived governor Pan Zihuang.
Pan Zihuang is the son of the famous general Pan Le. Pan Le defeated Hou Mo, Chen Chong, and Hou Jing. He is definitely among the top famous generals in Daqi. He was once ordered to govern Yingzhou, and he was well known in the local area.
reputation.
Pan Zihuang was still very young. He married a princess and became the Prince Consort of Da Qi. When Gao Jun left Yecheng, he also left with him.
This time, when the temporary governor of Yingzhou was to be drafted, Gao Jun recommended him to Zu Jue. Pan Zihuang was a steady man. Different from other domineering and arrogant nobles, his style was simple and he was considered an alternative among the nobles. He did not do anything.
What kind of ridiculous things were done in line with the style of Daqi? In addition, his father used to serve as the governor of Yingzhou and had some reputation in the local area. He could make use of it. At the same time, this was also to win over those normal nobles.
The Beidao court does not attack all nobles. Even the top nobles who are crowned kings will be appointed as long as they are normal.
Pan Zihuang kept a low profile in the frontier fortress. He didn't like to make friends and spent his days in silence. He couldn't be said to have outstanding political achievements, but at least he didn't make mistakes. Moreover, his status was equal, and he didn't have the problem of insufficient qualifications and status to be the governor.
Pan Zihuang looked at Lu Dan calmly and nodded.
Lu Dan stood up and introduced several people behind him. Three people were from the county government office and two were from the county government office.
Pan Zihuang was not a good talker, so he led them to the government office without saying much to them.
On the other hand, the scribes following behind were particularly excited at this moment.
The Law School became more and more mature under Gao Jun's rule. From the academic content, to the time, to the final assessment and selection, it became more and more formal, and it began to be infinitely close to the official assessment in the Southern Dynasty.
This batch of officials is different from the past. They have received the latest teaching. Each of them has stayed in the school for four months and passed the examination with high scores.
Lu Dan and others followed Pan Zihuang, looking back at those people from time to time.
Judging from their appearance, they really don't look like officials at all.
There are only two types of officials in Daqi.
The first type is extremely cruel, the most capable of killing people. As a sharp knife in the hands of officials, he shows no mercy to the people, and his eyes reveal a cruelty. He usually brings two pawns with him, and then he starts to transform into a deadly bloody official.
, ghosts see sorrow.
The second type is extremely humble. They have no backing and their own situation cannot be guaranteed. They do things in a haphazard manner and have no energy at all. They are in a state of complete decadence.
But the people Lu Dan saw now were high-spirited, guiding the country, and felt like officials.
Lu Dan did not look at them for too long. He followed Pan Zihuang on foot and introduced the current situation to him.
"At present, there are only two counties in Yingzhou, Hejian and Zhangwu, and three counties."
This is the result of the indiscriminate establishment of prefectures and counties. Three counties became two counties, and were divided into one prefecture. This was one of the reasons why Zu Jue wanted to re-divide.
The houses on both sides of the road were exceptionally quiet.
There are several ruins piled up in the distance, some of which are still smoking, and the soldiers are still pulling out corpses from somewhere.
Lu Dan wiped the sweat from his forehead and couldn't speak clearly.
Yesterday, Hu Changcan and Kou Liu arrived. They first killed the officials, and then began to attack the notorious wealthy families in the three counties. A total of five families were exterminated, and the rest were arrested and many were taken away.
Hejian is a relatively wealthy place in the north, with fertile land, high forest and food output, but over the years, the Yingzhou government office has always needed food assistance from Jizhou and Dingzhou to survive, and the many expenses of maintaining the government office,
To this day, I don’t know how much I owe Jizhou, but the officials don’t care. They don’t want to pay it back anyway.
As for why it has become difficult to live in a place that was originally wealthy, and why do the grain tributes need to be shared equally by the common people?
According to the local government, the people in Hejian were too lazy. Even though they were granted so much farmland, they just refused to cultivate it diligently, resulting in insufficient grain production.
In the past, there were officials who wanted to solve this problem. The predecessor Xu Dun was one of them. He wanted to send people to thoroughly investigate the distribution of farmland. They investigated several times and changed people three times, but no problem was found. The fertile fields outside were thousands of miles away.
A first check showed that the fields were cultivated in a good way, but in the autumn the grain harvest was insufficient and there was nothing that could be done.
Until now, Kou Liu plowed this place directly and turned it into a white field.
The roughness of his actions and the ruthlessness of his style were something Lu Dan had never seen before. This was completely a barbarian style, relying on the strength of his troops, ignoring the rules, and just killing.
Brutal, bloody, and one-size-fits-all, it directly paralyzed the whole place, but Lu Dan actually thought it was good.
The chief officials who did nothing were gone, the officials who were jumping up and down were gone, their eagle and dog accomplices were gone, and the few big insects sucking blood in the local area were directly exterminated.
Knock down and rebuild?
Lu Dan thought and looked at the bloody road in the distance.
Everyone returned to the same empty official office.
Pan Zihuang didn't take a break and immediately gathered everyone in the lobby to discuss the next thing.
He took out the appointment letter and first appointed two new governors and three new county magistrates, and then went down one level. After the list of officials was determined, he asked Lu Dan to read out the list of officials.
Before arriving, all officials had been assigned errands.
Lu Dan has never seen anyone act like this in his life.
He watched Pan Zihuang make arrangements for officials at all levels in less than half an hour.
The Jun Cheng standing next to him was stunned at this moment.
The two looked at each other and did not dare to speak.
Pan Zihuang asked them to re-investigate the population, farmland and other matters in the three counties, and then let them go out.
Lu Dan walked out of the lobby in a daze. The other officials were talking fiercely at this moment, and the county magistrate also walked out.
The two of them stood at the door of the lobby, looking at the noisy scene inside.
The surname of Jun Cheng is Xitu. Just from the surname, you can tell that he is an old Xianbei.
However, this Jun Cheng didn't look like Lao Xianbei at all. Like Lu Yao, he already looked like a Northern scribe.
He was one of the few who survived the Yingzhou clean-up. He himself had made no mistakes and had written several times to oppose the spring corvee. Therefore, he was suppressed and did not suffer any embarrassment.
He said slowly: "Mr. Lu, I have lived half a century, and I have never seen anyone do anything like this."
"I came here yesterday and killed all of them. I was unreasonable and used swords and weapons to show off my violence. Today I directly arranged for the officials. Why is this like child's play??"
Lu Dan curled his lips, "Child's play? Child's play wouldn't kill so many people."
"But this is too chaotic. How can the government be governed like this? Leading the army, killing when asked, and then arranging new officials. Even the creeps wouldn't do that, right?"
"The creeps really do this. If any tribe disobeys, they will be killed today and a new leader will be appointed tomorrow."
Shitu tugged at his beard, his eyes full of uneasiness.
"I really don't understand. King Pengcheng is a wise king. Logically speaking, he shouldn't do such a thing. If officials in the county have made mistakes, they should send people to investigate and find out one by one.
The same goes for the wealthy clans who have made mistakes. How could they be detained and interrogated?"
"It should be that there are too many weeds."
Lu Dan has held positions in many states and has considerable qualifications. Although he is not as old as Shitu, he has been exposed to many more things than Shitu.
He said slowly: "When Mr. Xu first came, he had the same idea as you. He wanted to find out the affairs of the officials first and confront them one by one, and then deal with the problem of powerful people and conduct a thorough investigation of the cultivated land."
"But the obstacles are too great. We work together and resist together, and it's difficult to move forward."
"Although General Nakou's behavior is a bit cruel, he can at least start to do something."
Shitu sighed, "Maybe, but doing something so cruel may not be the right way."
A few of them stood outside the lobby, looking at the excited people inside, unable to get in at all.
The newly appointed officials could not yet see their talents, but they were very eager to end the meeting in the lobby and quickly led their subordinates to their own official offices.
To start doing things.
Lu Dan and other old people were trapped among these people, and the first thing to do was to conduct a thorough investigation.
The original farmland and population documents of the government are completely different from the real situation today and are directly invalidated.
Lu Dan had never been so busy. In the next few days, he was working day and night. As a special agent, he had to travel back and forth between the two counties to report the latest situation to the governor.
Several counties have begun large-scale thorough investigations. The new officials are completely different from those in the past. They do things quickly and methodically.
This thorough investigation has always been the most difficult thing to figure out, but at this moment, no problems have been encountered. After all, all the problems have been hung on the city wall.
Officials in the entire state and county were filled at once, and county and township officials began to be recruited from the private sector and corresponding assessments were set up.
The paralyzed Yingzhou started to operate again, and the operation speed was more fierce and rumbling than before.
Cangzhou, Fuyang County.
The city gate was closed tightly, and soldiers on the wall could vaguely be seen running back and forth.
On the plain directly opposite the city, Hu Changcan stared at the city in the distance with a straight face.
The soldiers set up a temporary camp here, and someone was building siege equipment. Kou Liu stood next to Hu Changcan, staring into the distance with a smile.
“They really won’t open the door??”
Hu Changcan asked angrily: "Isn't this an attempt to rebel?"
Kou Liu laughed loudly, "Hu Gong, they all saw what we did in Yingzhou, and they knew what would happen if we let us enter the city, so they would naturally try their best to prevent us from entering the city. This has
What are you so angry about?"
Hu Changcan said nothing, and the anger in his eyes became more and more obvious.
Kou Liu advised again: "Don't be angry. Isn't the reason why my brother asked me to follow you just to deal with such a thing?"
"There are more than 5,000 elite men under my command at the moment. With such a small city, it is simply wishful thinking to keep me out of the city gate. Mr. Hu, please rest in the camp first and take a nap until you wake up."
When you come, I will set up a seat for you in the official office."
When Hu Changcan heard this, he turned around and left without saying anything more to Kou Liu.
Kou Liu sneered and stared at the city in the distance.
Previously, he was guarding Shuozhou and watched his brothers perform meritorious service in various places, and he felt indescribably helpless in his heart.
Finally, it was my turn to show off my skills.
He hurriedly asked the sergeant to bring his horse and went to check on the military craftsmen who were making catapults in front.
The army is now making full preparations to attack the city.
But on top of Fuyang Wall, officials and local nobles were in chaos.
The governor of Cangzhou was Gao Yun, the king of building the city.
Gao Yun was born into a clan and was adopted as Gao Yongle's son when he was young.
As for Gao Yongle, he was the man of god who was rewarded for not opening the city gate to Gao Aocao.
Gao Yun is actually pretty good, he is not a traditional pseudo-Qi clan member, and his behavior is relatively normal, but that's all.
After learning that Kou Liu and others entered Yingzhou and killed hundreds of people there, the nobles and officials of Cangzhou quickly surrounded the clan king, hoping to use him to fight against Liu Taozi.
After all, this is a clan member, and it is still different from an ordinary governor.
Gao Yun is now being roasted on the fire.
He looked at the army in the distance who were concentrating on building catapults, and then turned to look at the local army around him. The legs of these county soldiers who could not get enough food and salary were trembling, and some could not lift their crossbows.
, all relying on the nobles’ private soldiers and slaves to support the scene.
Gao Yun couldn't help but swallowed his saliva and looked at the few confidants around him.
"Everyone, I still think that the city gate should be opened. Several officials in Yingzhou were only taken for interrogation and not dealt with. If they are really fighting against the bandits, it will become a rebellion."
"Your Majesty!! They are the rebels!"
"Beidao Xingtai only has the power to control a few frontier counties. Could Cangzhou also be under his jurisdiction?"
"The general didn't bother with the temple, but sent his soldiers to attack the city. They are the ones who want to rebel! We have asked the temple for help. As long as we can stop them for a moment, when this matter gets serious, the general will have to withdraw his troops."
These confidantes swear by it.
Gao Yun knew in his heart why they said that. Some of them were simply from the local rich families. The officials from Yingzhou were sent to Pingcheng, but almost all the damn rich people were killed, and they knew that their own family was not clean either.
, refused to open the city no matter what, and the others had colluded with the local nobles for a long time and did a lot of evil things. Gao Yun basically tolerated them as much as he could.
Of course they didn't dare to let Kou Liu and others enter the city.
Gao Yun took a few steps back and then said: "The main reason is that the sergeants under the general's command have gone through many battles. They are elites and there are many of them. How can we stop these people under our command?
"
"We were captured first before the temple could send troops."
They seemed to notice Gao Yun's wavering. Several of them put their hands on the hilts of their swords and surrounded Gao Yun.
"Your Majesty, the enemy is just outside the city. How can you say something that shakes the morale of the army?"
"I heard that the benevolent are invincible. Now we are protecting the city with the right way and are loyal to His Majesty. However, the rebels outside the city want to break the city and separate the rule. Even though our troops are weak, we have righteousness at our side. How can we lose?"
Gao Yun stopped talking.
He already understood that nothing he said was of any use, and if he continued to speak, he might die in the hands of the enemy.
He decided to remain silent.
But the next moment, war drums sounded outside the city, and a huge catapult roared.
"Bang~~~"
The city wall suffered the first round of bombardment, and in just the first round, the county soldiers on the city wall dropped their weapons and fled screaming. The defense line was in chaos. In order to stop them, some slaves and private soldiers even fought with their own people.
Chapter completed!