Chapter 967: Questioning the politics of Suiyang Prefecture, the real storm

Gao Yang looked at the commoners outside the Yamen, took a deep breath, and his voice echoed through the Yamen.

"I have the trust of the Emperor, who bestowed upon me the Sword of the Son of Heaven and ordered me to inspect the entire Da Qian. I have been conducting secret visits along the way and entered Suiyang Prefecture!"

"I thought that since the current Emperor is working hard to govern, the commoners of our Da Qian would surely be able to live a good life with food to eat and clothes to wear!"

"But on this trip, what I have seen and heard along the way is simply shocking!"

These words caused the eyes of the commoners to turn red.

Everyone having food to eat and clothes to wear—it sounds extremely simple to say, but to achieve it is as difficult as ascending to heaven, like a dream that is out of reach!

Gao Yang said with sarcasm, "I stepped into the territory of Qingshui County and intended to go to Suiyang City, but it was getting late, so I stayed for the night at this Wang Ermazi's inn!"

"But who would have thought that this well-known 'Great Philanthropist Wang' was actually running a black shop that kills people for money!"

"They specialize in robbing passing merchants, then dumping their bodies in the wilderness to seize their wealth!"

"I had previously received news that many merchants had gone missing in the Qingshui County area. I thought it was done by mountain bandits or birds of prey in the mountains, but I didn't expect it was humans!"

"Great Philanthropist Wang not only boiled the merchants' bones for soup but also made meat buns to sell to passing poor merchants; it is simply devoid of conscience!"

As soon as these words fell, they stirred up a thousand waves.

The commoners who had lived in Qingshui County for years naturally knew about the missing merchants.

But they didn't expect that the culprit behind all this was Wang Ermazi's inn!

And intercepting passing merchants was already a lucrative business, but Wang Ermazi was still not satisfied and even acted as a treacherous merchant!

Meat buns—that was the favorite of countless commoners in Qingshui County!

The commoners widened their eyes, all gritting their teeth!

Especially the merchants who made buns felt as if the sky had collapsed.

"Wang Ermazi did not know my identity and wanted to intercept and kill me to seize my wealth and silence me. Fortunately, I saw through it and luckily saved my life."

"Afterward, I learned a shocking piece of news from his own mouth: the reason he could stand tall in Qingshui County for decades without falling was because he had the backing of the Qingshui County Constable, Private Secretary, and Magistrate!"

"I did not believe it. The Emperor had just issued a decree for the Censorate to inspect the world and strictly investigate all illegal activities, and I even more so did not believe that under the bright sky, there could be collusion between officials and merchants!"

"I came to the Yamen to report the crime and expose all this, wanting to bring this Wang Ermazi to justice, but this Li Wenzheng said that the heavens are high and the Emperor is far away, and that he is the heaven of Qingshui County, and he is the greatest rule of law in Qingshui County!"

"I was beaten into prison and suffered torture!"

As he spoke, Gao Yang turned his back; his white prisoner's uniform was stained with blood, looking shocking, and the back of the uniform was torn open, revealing two ferocious whip marks.

Of course, the blood on the prisoner's uniform was stained from Li Quezi's body and smeared onto the whip marks on his back, so it looked extremely horrifying.

"Hiss!"

In an instant, the commoners who heard this were all horrified!

So the truth was actually like this!

They stared at the two whip marks on Gao Yang's back and the blood-stained white prisoner's uniform, their scalps going numb.

Meng Ziyi, Lu Hanhai, and Zhang Zhong looked at each other, their bodies standing straight.

At this moment, they seemed to understand the Living Yama's fury!

Gao Yang slowly turned back and said lightly, "Two whip marks are just a trivial little punishment on my body, but I won't take off the prisoner's uniform, lest I scare you."

"I executed Li Wenzheng because he deserved to die, and because there is a soaring fury in my heart!"

"The Emperor once said: the ruler is the boat, and the people are the water; water can carry the boat, but it can also overturn it! In the Emperor's heart, Da Qian is a tree that is growing vigorously, but the commoners of the world are the roots, the water of life!"

"If the roots rot, the tree has no water to irrigate it, so how can it grow into a towering tree?"

"Trivial little punishments—what do they count for me? They are just a bit of wind and frost. What truly makes me angry is that these corrupt officials are actually digging up the roots of our Da Qian and cutting off our water!"

"On this point, I absolutely cannot tolerate it!"

As these words fell, it was like a huge storm covering the sky and the sun, suddenly ravaging the hearts of the onlookers.

They stared at Gao Yang one after another, their eyes turning red.

So in the hearts of some people, they were not the lowest class, the lowly people who deserved to be exploited, but the roots of a great tree, the water irrigating the tree!

They were extremely important to the entire Da Qian!

Immediately, pair after pair of eyes radiated burning flames, as if they were about to become tangible!

Meng Ziyi's expression changed greatly, full of horror.

He looked at Gao Yang with fear, his heart churning with huge waves.

The Living Yama, what does he want to do?

The hearts of the people are restless; this is clearly not the end for the Living Yama!

Gao Yang stared at the commoners present, his voice suddenly raised by eight degrees, like thunder exploding in the nine heavens.

"If one place is like this, then what kind of filth is hidden in the entire Suiyang Prefecture, with its 13 counties, 56 townships, and 682 villages!"

"What kind of suffering are the commoners of the various counties of Suiyang enduring?"

"Since I have come, and since I bear the imperial mandate, I absolutely cannot sit idly by!"

"Therefore, I have decided to stand up for the people. Three days from now, in the very center of Suiyang City, I will build a 'Questioning Hall' to question the politics of the entire Suiyang Prefecture!"

"The persons in charge of all 13 counties, 56 townships, and 682 villages in the entire prefecture must gather in Suiyang City and wait for my summons!"

"Those with merit will be heavily rewarded! Those with faults will be dealt with on the spot, punished on the spot!" ===== CHAPTER 969 =====