Chapter 1507

"This action of yours, Master Registrar Wang, is perhaps a bit inappropriate..." Zhu Qi furrowed his brows, speaking quite tactfully.

"Master Seven, you don't know the inside story." Wang Yan shook his head and explained, "Right now, the province won't let us buy grain, nor will they let others sell it. The Riverway Yamen has sealed the grain market and won't sell a single grain to Chun'an or Jiande counties. Just yesterday, the people sent by the wealthy families of our county to buy grain in Hangzhou were arrested by the Riverway Yamen.

Master Seven, think about it: can those who come forward voluntarily to sell grain have any good intentions? They are just bullying the commoners who are ignorant of the situation, wanting to sell them grain of unknown origin so they can use it as a pretext later to manipulate my Chun'an County.

Since you are here today, Master Seven, I will have people interrogate them to clarify the reasons. You can then report it to the Emperor, Master Seven, and let the Emperor see how these officials are ruining the dragon's prestige and immortal virtue of his elderly self."

Zhu Qi wiped his beard, the grease on his hands making it shine brightly.

"Since that is the case, why don't we brothers interrogate them?" In Zhu Qi's words was absolute professional confidence.

He was certainly professional; the Northern Internal Security Service existed for exactly this. They were proficient in all activities related to investigation, arrest, and interrogation.

Wang Yan smiled and cupped his hands: "Master Seven is an expert in this field. Since that is so, I won't stand on ceremony with you, Master Seven. We'll handle the business after finishing our meal."

"I'm already full; let's go now."

"Master Seven, your heart is burdened by the suffering of the Chun'an commoners; how fortunate, how fortunate indeed. Please, Master Seven!" Wang Yan stood up and, leading Zhu Qi and the others, followed the minor official out, meeting the six bound individuals in the yamen courtyard.

Seeing Wang Yan and the others approach, these people began to wail. Even with their mouths gagged, one could tell they were crying out their grievances.

However, is it up to them to decide whether they are aggrieved or not?

Zhu Qi led his men, working in pairs, and also called upon people from the yamen to record and witness, ensuring the authenticity and reliability of the confessions obtained during the interrogation.

In less than an hour, these six people had been dealt with until they were no longer human in appearance.

Looking at the Japanese pirate before him named Inoue Juro, who looked like a dead dog, Wang Yan said: "Master Seven, you must report this to the Emperor. These Zheng Bichang and He Maocai, unworthy of being high officials of a region, actually dared to collude with Japanese pirates to frame the commoners!

Master Seven, this matter must be investigated carefully. Japanese pirates cause not only external chaos but also internal chaos. Why can the Japanese pirates never be wiped out? It must be that someone is colluding from within, passing information to the pirates, or even funding them. These people have gone mad; for money, they dare to do anything."

Zhu Qi let out a long breath: "Master Registrar Wang, rest assured; we will naturally draft a report on this matter to the Emperor."

"That is good."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile and then turned to give orders: "Dazhu, go buy grain from them; take as much as they have. Are you selling or not?"

"Selling, selling, selling, the grain is docked on the river."

"Fortunately, their faces weren't beaten too badly; it's not noticeable." Wang Yan laughed, "Go, Dazhu, bring the grain back."

"They still have hundreds of soldiers, Master Registrar Wang; you must think this through."

"With forty thousand commoners, should I fear their hundreds of soldiers? Of course, it is only because you are here, Master Seven, that we can act this way. Otherwise, those two treacherous villains, Zheng Bichang and He Maocai, would definitely pin the label of rebellion on Chun'an and directly ask the Governor's Yamen to mobilize troops for suppression. If you weren't here, Master Seven, we wouldn't be able to explain ourselves even if we were right; even if we had eight mouths, we wouldn't have a chance to speak."

Zhu Qi somewhat regretted being caught, because Wang Yan was too bold; how could he dare to do such a big thing?

Wang Yan noticed Zhu Qi's slight panic and smiled to reassure him: "Master Seven, do not worry; as long as you can testify for Chun'an, Master Seven, that is enough. If Zheng and He still have their wits about them at this time, they won't mobilize troops to suppress us by force; they don't want to truly incite the commoners to revolt.

The national policy of changing rice to mulberry was executed poorly, and they even forced the commoners to revolt; they would be unable to escape the blame even if they died ten thousand times. Therefore, they are already guilty and afraid. Since they failed to ruin my Chun'an, I estimate they will retreat and seek other methods themselves.

Moreover, even if they really mobilized troops, how many could they mobilize? The troops are all in the hands of Minister Hu, and they are for fighting Japanese pirates. Even if Minister Hu is also a man of Grand Secretary Yan, Minister Hu has the big picture in mind and will absolutely not incite internal chaos at this time, giving the Japanese pirates an opportunity."

"I hope so." Zhu Qi sighed, "If this really blows up, it won't be easy to clean up."

"Rest assured, it won't."

Wang Yan waved his hand, and Qi Dazhu went to organize manpower to follow these people who had come to lure them and buy the grain.

Rather than buying, it was more like seizing. Once the grain boats arrived at the Chun'an wharf, all the outsiders were tied up. The young and strong, who had been waiting for a long time, unloaded the grain from the boats and sent it to the grain warehouse to be stacked. After a count, they actually obtained two thousand shi of grain, enough for all the county's commoners to eat for a few days.

It was already midnight, and bundles of torches illuminated the dark night, shining on the busy young and strong men moving like ants.

Wang Yan sat in a chair drinking tea and said to Zhu Qi and the others with a smile: "It's truly like having a pillow delivered when you're sleepy; there's even the good fortune of grain falling from the sky. Second Master!"

"I'm here." Tian Youlu, looking very exhausted, walked over and reported voluntarily: "The grain will arrive before dark tomorrow. Third Master, I have truly run my legs off."

It is three hundred li from Chun'an to Hangzhou. He personally ran to the Riverway Yamen in the morning to threaten them, but didn't dare stay there long, so he rode three hundred li back. For someone like him who has gained weight and lacks exercise, riding a fast horse back and forth was indeed a bit of suffering; his legs were chafed, and he couldn't even stand steadily.

Wang Yan patted Tian Youlu's arm: "Second Master, your contribution is immense; the commoners of Chun'an will not forget your kindness toward them. Come, Old Liu from the Household Department!"

"Third Master!"

"Keep it in mind, release a bit more when releasing grain tomorrow night, so the commoners can have a full meal and sleep well."

"Yes." The head of the Household Department responded and went back to watch the grain being stored.

Just at this moment, a clamor arose on the river and the shore. Hundreds of fully armed soldiers came from the shore and the boats, surrounding the people who were moving the grain.

"Stop what you're doing! Everyone, kneel down for me!"

"I told you to kneel! Didn't you hear me?"

"Put down all the grain for me!"

A group of soldiers shouted, looking truly majestic.

"What great majesty. Master Seven, look, who takes the commoners seriously? But if you really talk about it, are these soldiers any better than the commoners? Aren't they all the same? They are just a group of people gathered together, their courage has grown, their hearts have become dirty, and they look down on the commoners."

Wang Yan clicked his tongue and shook his head, then waved his hand: "Come, beat the drums for me, let these military gentlemen see who has more people, and let these military gentlemen hear whose voice is louder."

As his voice fell, the rumbling of drums began, echoing far into the dark night, silencing even the cicadas.

Clusters of torches lit up in the dark night, illuminating the angry faces of the young and strong.

On the ideological front, Wang Yan never relaxed.

Chun'an was currently suffering, and production and daily life were all suspended. Apart from post-disaster cleanup work, there was nothing else to do. There were still quite a few scholars in the county; various child students, masters, and tutors could be found in abundance.

Based on the principle of not letting anyone be idle, those who couldn't work, or those on rotation, all received education from these scholars. They were taught to recognize characters, or the scholars told stories to the commoners, which could always pass the time, and they could learn a little something as well.

This time, Wang Yan didn't hide anything at all; he had people explain everything clearly to the commoners. So the young and strong all knew that if it weren't for the Third Master, these people would have framed them, dealt with them on the charge of colluding with Japanese pirates, and forced them to sell their land.

What is anger? If it weren't for their concern for the Third Master and the Third Master's official career, they would have killed these soldiers by now...

The dense torches dazzled the soldiers' eyes and also confused their hearts, which had been full of arrogance and contempt for the lowly commoners.

Wang Yan walked with his hands behind his back, leading Zhu Qi and the others through the crowd, and arrived inside the encirclement. Looking at the nervous soldiers holding their long spears in defense, he let out a sneer.

"The one in charge, come out and speak."

Among the hundreds of soldiers, two people wearing armor and holding their swords walked out.

"Audacious! You dare to surround government soldiers? Are you rebelling?" One of them started by making trouble.

Wang Yan turned his head to look at Zhu Qi: "Master Seven, look, how shameless is this person? Clearly, it is he himself who is a scoundrel, yet he still wants to pin a label on us."

"You... ah..." This person still wanted to speak, but his whole body flew up, and all his teeth fell out.

"You dare to hit someone?" The other officer stared in disbelief, "We are government soldiers from the Surveillance Yamen; this is Thousand-Household Xu. You dare to assault a superior officer?"

"Damn you!" Wang Yan slapped again, sending this officer flying as well, "You collude with Japanese pirates, yet you dare to talk to me here? And you others, if you don't want to die, put down your weapons and take off your armor. Otherwise, when your homes are raided and your clans wiped out, it will be too late for regrets."

The two people lying on the ground unable to open their mouths were both stunned; he said all my lines...

"Take off armor! Take off armor! Take off armor!"

The young and strong shouted loudly and simultaneously took a step forward to intimidate them.

The soldiers trembled, not daring to put down their weapons, but also not daring to act. It wasn't until Qi Dazhu and the others took the lead in actively seizing the weapons that this farce ended.

"Master Seven, please trouble yourself to interrogate them again; we must nail this matter down." Wang Yan shook his head, sighing, concerned for the country and the people, "His elderly self, the Emperor, has it hard; the officials below always do bad things in the name of the Emperor.

Take this changing rice to mulberry, for example; the Emperor just wants to build a palace, how much silver can it cost? How did so many deficits appear?

Isn't it because they all funneled it into their own pockets? They hide land and population, and don't pay taxes, acting more excessively year by year. The court's income is less year by year; in the final analysis, it all lies with them. As a result, they still make the Emperor bear the infamy. Bah!"

Zhu Qi was quite gratified: "Master Registrar Wang is loyal to the monarch and cares for the country."

"I am indignant for His elderly self, the Emperor; it is truly unreasonable, how can they bully their sovereign and father like this?" Wang Yan looked as if he were gnashing his teeth, "Master Seven, interrogate them severely; these two are not in low positions, and they must have participated in many things; who knows what major cases might be dragged out.

Of course, I am not afraid that the world won't be in chaos, but I want the Emperor to know who the loyal people are! Master Seven, please take more trouble; we have already gotten involved in such a big matter, so as to avoid trouble for all of us."

Zhu Qi asked curiously: "If we hadn't come, what would you have done?"

"Then it would have been troublesome; we couldn't let the Emperor be kept in the dark forever, could we? I decided to send it directly to Minister Hu and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so that it wouldn't spread everywhere, and the Emperor wouldn't be in a difficult position later."

"Master Registrar Wang has the Emperor in his heart; rest assured, I will report this matter exactly as it is, so the Emperor knows your intentions."

"Then many thanks, Master Seven." Wang Yan cupped his hands.

Thus, Zhu Qi and the others went to interrogate the group from the Surveillance Yamen; those two leading officers were naturally the two contestants in the drama who tried their best to kill Qi Dazhu, and even after Hai Rui was trapped in the prison, still wanted to set a fire to force Hai Rui out.

These two were considered He Maocai's trusted subordinates, and they certainly hadn't done fewer rotten things following He Maocai in the past...

Chun'an had detained the soldiers of the Surveillance Yamen, while Zheng Bichang and He Maocai, far away in Hangzhou, were still waiting with certainty for the news of success here...

"What did you say?" He Maocai widened his eyes, looking at the person who had returned to report.

"The commoners of Chun'an arrested the government soldiers sent over; not a single one was let go."

"Rebellion! Rebellion! How dare they? Ah? How dare they?" He Maocai paced back and forth twice, "You go, find out the news, and see if Chun'an is going to rebel!"

After giving the instructions, He Maocai hurriedly ran to find Zheng Bichang.

Currently, Zheng Bichang was the Governor of Zhejiang, governing Zhejiang. Hu Zongxian, just like in the original drama, only served as the Governor of Zhizhe, overseeing military affairs in the Southeast.

Zheng Bichang heard the news, and his face turned pale: "Rebellion?"

"They probably haven't rebelled." He Maocai shook his head and said, "Maybe they saw through our framing of them for colluding with Japanese pirates."

"Isn't that the same as being finished?"

Zheng Bichang let out an 'ooh', and slumped into his chair, "How could you not do such a small thing well, and cause such a big blunder?"

"Could I have imagined they were so bold? Especially that one surnamed Wang, I think he's truly mad!" He Maocai slapped the table heavily, "Old Zheng, saying those things is useless; the key is how we respond."

"Respond?" Zheng Bichang snorted, "It's too late to say anything now; the idiots you sent over will definitely spill everything like beans. That surnamed Wang is a madman; he dared to lift the lid before, do you think he won't dare to lift it now?"

"Tell me what to do..."

"What else can we do? Strike first to gain the advantage; you discovered traces of Japanese pirates, sent people to pursue them to Chun'an, and as a result, they were all arrested. Wang Yan is bold and reckless, ignores the law, and does not obey the orders of his superiors; report what he did truthfully. Also, tell Hai Rui about this, let Hai Rui quickly go to Chun'an to take office, and let them fight each other."

"Are you sure they can fight each other?"

"Hai Rui looks like someone who wants to seize power, and now all the power in Chun'an is in the hands of that surnamed Wang. Do you think they can get along? No matter what, Hai Rui is the Chun'an County Magistrate; he will suppress that madman surnamed Wang..."

He Maocai snorted: "Hai Rui is also a madman!"

"Then tell me what to do?"

"I will write an official document immediately and send it to the capital by eight-hundred-li express."

"Go quickly! Otherwise, when that surnamed Wang starts making trouble, it will be too late..."

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