Winter nights are dark, especially early mornings, the streets are long gone, and the silence is terrible. The study of the county government of Chaoxian County was lit with candlelight, the county commander Xiao Qingchuan was correcting the official document under the dim candlelight, only to see that his face was black and thin, his eyes were red, his body was thin, the cold wind in winter poured in from the window paper full of holes, the candle flame was swaying, and it seemed to be blown out by the wind, he hurriedly stood up, picked the wick with a bamboo stick, and the flame lit up all of a sudden, the cold wind blew on his body, and he felt that his body was a little cold, so he put on a cloak full of patches, and sat down again to continue to correct the official document.

Since Zhang Xianzhong's peasant army left Anhui three months ago, the imperial court sent him here to serve as a county commander, and after taking office, he saw that the city wall was dilapidated and the people's livelihood was withering, he immediately commanded his subordinates to devote themselves to reconstruction, and he only slept two hours a day. The old servant Xiao San walked in with a basin of hot water: "Master, you should rest, you work so hard every day, your body is unbearable, you should ask a master to help you handle official business." Xiao San said distressedly, looking at Xiao Qingchuan, who was less than thirty years old, his sideburns turned white, and his eyes were suddenly red. Xiao Qingchuan put down the brush in his hand, sighed softly, and laughed at himself: "Master, how can I invite such a meager salary, master, I am born to work hard." Something was written again as he spoke. Xiao San muttered: "Master, you know that you have a meager salary, why do you still take out your own money to help those poor people?" We can't even open the pot in this house. ”

When Xiao Qingchuan heard this, he frowned and said, "Master, as the parents of the people on this side, the officials can't see that under my rule, one person is hungry and the other is poor!" By the way, isn't there still a few acres of thin fields in Uncle Xiao's hometown, find a time to sell these thin fields, so that we can spend some time. "What is your memory, sir, as early as a month ago, you instructed me to sell the fields of my hometown, and the silver obtained from the sale of the land was distributed to those who gave away the eldest daughters and little daughters-in-law according to your orders." Xiao San replied in a low voice. Speaking of this, Xiao Qingchuan's heart ached, because this was Xiao Qingchuan's obscure heart disease

There are several bandits nearby, it is said that it is the old department of the thief Zhang Xianzhong, and now the strongest bandit Qiu Dahu and his gang around Chao County are the original Zhang Xianzhong's subordinates. When Zhang Xianzhong's army was in Anhui, it could kill the people miserably, especially the women, and the gang of thieves attacked a place and wantonly humiliated women. Zhang Xianzhong actually issued a military order, as long as the women of any family obeyed these soldiers, the family could survive, as long as they were resisted, the whole family would be killed, so most of the women near Chao County had suffered from the scourge. Originally, I thought that Zhang Xianzhong was gone, and the people of Chao County could breathe a sigh of relief, but they didn't expect Qiu Dahu's bandits to come last month and make a request, saying that they were locals and could not attack the county seat, but asked Chao County to give him more than a dozen women as a reward, limited to five days, otherwise they would slaughter the city. Chao County's big and small officials, businessmen, gentry, panicked, the county commander Xiao Qingchuan sent a henchman, Xing Ye rode a fast horse to Wuhu Prefecture to ask for help, but Zhizhou Lin Hengzhi replied that Wuhu was also a bandit, and public order had deteriorated, and there were no soldiers to send, so he was asked to organize some villagers to resist Qiu Dahu's bandits. However, the people of Chao County have long been killed by Zhang Xianzhong's army, and the county government recruited only more than 20 young and strong villagers for three days, plus the county government to arrest Kuai and some soldiers, only 60 people, not outside the city, but nearly 600 bandits, and most of these bandits are extremely vicious people who lick blood with knives, and fight hard with bandits, isn't it an egg to hit a stone? He remembered that the squire and the common people knelt in unison at the gate of the county government on the fifth day and demanded that he agree to the bandits' demands. He beat his chest in the county office, humiliated and hesitant, and tortured him all the time, either sacrificing some women or being slaughtered with a broken city? In this dilemma, he chose to compromise. Subsequently, they were coerced or voluntarily given to Qiu Dahu 16 women who had been abused. He still remembered that when he was sending these women out of the city, Liu Xiaoqi, the son of Daddy Liu, in the south of the city, watched his daughter-in-law walk out of the city and exclaimed: "God, I would rather devote myself to being a pig and a dog in the next life, and I will no longer be the people of this Ming Dynasty." After saying that, he hit the wall and died. His daughter-in-law turned to look at Xianggong's corpse, and there was no sadness in her eyes, only determination and hatred, endless hatred!

Xiao Qingchuan thought of this, rubbed his temples with his hands, twisted a hot towel to wipe his face, and tried to calm his emotions a little. There was a rush of footsteps, and Ma Lin, who was catching the head from outside, shouted in the front yard: "Master, hurry up, go to the city gate, and a big man has come to our Chao County." "What—what big guys? It's worth your such panic. Xiao Qingchuan said dissatisfiedly in the house: "Ma Toutou, you have been a head catcher for ten years, and you are also a big person, how do you do things, always panic?" Ma Lin stepped into the door of the study and said: "My county commander, you have taught me a lesson, and there will be opportunities in the future, but now it is really 100,000 urgent, and the township Yong who patrolled the defense just now told me that there was an army of the imperial court outside the city, saying that the prince who entered Beijing on an order to escort a large number of things to pass through our Chao County wants to enter the city to rest and rest for one night." "Can you take a closer look? Didn't Qiu Dahu's gang of bandits disguise them?" Xiao Qingchuan was bitten by a snake for ten years and was afraid of the well rope. Ma Lin rubbed his hands anxiously and said loudly: "Ah, my eldest lord and villain's eyes are snow-bright, and the armor is distinct, I have seen Wen Mu, the little prince of King Gui of Hengzhou, that little prince is heroic and extraordinary, and besides, there is a father-in-law next to him, how can it be fake?" Oh, then come with me to the city gate to meet you. Xiao Qingchuan put his mind at ease and tidied up his official clothes.

The gate of Chaoxian County opened with a "squeak", and Zhou Renyuan and his party rode into the county seat of Chaoxian County, and because they had been sitting in the carriage for many days, they had back pain, so they also changed horses to ride. A group of people hurriedly came on the street in front, and when Wen Youwu saw him, they knelt down together: "Chaoxian County Commander Xiao Qingchuan (County Chengmei Shaoru will be the head of Qin Dahai and Ma Lin) to meet the little prince!" Zhou Renyuan said "um", pointed to Gao Qiqian beside him and said, "This is Gao Qiqian's father-in-law next to the emperor." "Meet Grandpa Gao!" And they prostrated and shouted again. The strange Zhou Renyuan didn't tell them to get up, they could only kneel. Gao Qiqian looked at Zhou Renyuan, smiled and said to the people on the ground: "Get up!" It's strange to kneel on this cold day, it's uncomfortable, if there is anything, let's go to the county government first!" Zhou Renyuan nodded his hair and said, "Get up, go to the county government first!" Xiao Qingchuan and his entourage stood up, kneeling on the cold stone bricks, it was indeed not very comfortable. They thought to themselves, how can we offend this little prince, how do you think that he is not good, Xiao Qingchuan looked up at Zhou Renyuan who was riding on a horse, Zhou Renyuan was also staring at him, his eyes were angry, and there was a hint of murderous intent, he couldn't help but jump, his eyes hurriedly dodged to the side. What made him even more worried was that when the group behind Zhou Renyuan passed by him, the eyes that looked at him were either angry or contemptuous, and a thick man who looked like a pro-soldier also spat at him. When Xiao Qingchuan saw the people who were following the army closely, he was about to faint and understood everything, because following behind him was the more than a dozen women in this county town who sent Qiu Dahu a month ago, and more than a dozen bandit-like people who walked with their heads bowed, and Liu Xiaoqi's daughter-in-law who committed suicide by hitting the wall was also among them. As panicked as he were, there were also county Cheng Mei Shaoru and the head catcher Ma Lin, because they all knew what was going on with these women? Could it be that this little prince has already eliminated Qiu Dahu with these more than 300 soldiers? All these women were saved by them? It's hard to save your life after this! Everyone was lost and didn't know when they had arrived at the county office, Zhou Renyuan waved his hand and ordered: "Everyone rest first, pay attention to the safety of the convoy." General Shen, you send a few clever brothers to the city tower to keep an eye on the peace here. "Shen Tieshan went out to make arrangements. There were not many rooms in the county office, and Xiao Qingchuan hurriedly asked someone to clean up the already dilapidated county school on the side and arrange for the sergeant to stay.

After everyone was arranged, Zhou Renyuan looked up at the big plaque of "Mirror Hanging" in the hall on the chair in the lobby of the county government, and then looked at Xiao Qingchuan, who was shivering coldly in single clothes and serving under the hall, stunned. There was a contradiction in his heart, this Xiao Qingchuan didn't seem to be a corrupt official, and he only had a single dress in the cold weather. The boots on his feet are still patched, so how could he make such a move that people and gods are angry about, is there another hidden reason in it? "Xiao County Order-" Zhou Renyuan broke the silence, Xiao Qingchuan's face changed, he thought in his heart that he should come, he would always come, knelt down under the hall, and said miserably: "Little Prince--Xiaguan-Petty official is guilty." "Look up!" Zhou Renyuan snorted, watching Xiao Qingchuan slowly raise his head, seeing that his face was black and thin, his eyes were red, his temples were white, his face was like death, and he couldn't help but feel a little unbearable in his heart: "Alas, you go down first." I'll talk back tomorrow morning. Zhou Renyuan sighed and waved his hand. Xiao Qingchuan kowtowed and walked out compassionately. This is Wang Fuzhi walked in to take a look, and Xiao Qingchuan, who walked out, came to Zhou Renyuan and asked in a low voice: "Has the little prince not decided what to do with this Xiao County Order?" Zhou Renyuan nodded. "This Xiao County Order is indeed a little strange, I just asked the county Cheng and the head catcher, they said that Xiao County Order is a good official, less than two months after taking office, repairing the city wall, training the township Yong, caring about the people's welfare, and being honest and honest, it is said that the rice in his poor family is going to run out." "Uh, then how could he do such a hurtful thing?" Zhou Renyuan said strangely. Wang Fuzhi coughed lightly: "It's not Qiu Dahu who was destroyed by us, Mencius said, 'Sacrifice yourself for righteousness', but this Xiao County Commander chose his body instead of righteousness." Zhou Renyuan couldn't help but laugh: "Don't you scholars all want to 'sacrifice your life for righteousness'?" Why doesn't it sound like that?" Wang Fuzhi felt a little tired of standing and talking, so he sat on the chair next to him, ignored Zhou Renyuan's ridicule, and continued: "It depends on what you say? There are two sides to everything, if the bandits asked for Xiao County's order to save the safety of the entire county at that time, if he agreed, then he is a model of 'sacrificing his life for righteousness', but now it is the sacrifice of these innocent women who has preserved this county, then Xiao County's order is doing something that hurts heaven and reason. Little Wang Ye said something unpleasant, if you were from the position of Xiao County's order, what would you do?" Of course, it's a fish to the death with the bandits!" Zhou Renyuan said in a deep voice. Wang Fuzhi smiled: "According to the temper of the little prince, of course he will do this, it is nothing more than fighting for his life, but in the temper of Xiao County Ling, a weak scholar shepherds the people, he will not be as happy as the little prince." He is faced with the eternal problem of whether to kill one person and save ten people, or kill ten people to save one person, not to mention that if he kills these ten people, he still doesn't know if he can save this person?" Wang Fuzhi took a sip of tea and stared at Zhou Renyuan, hoping that he could give an answer. Zhou Renyuan listened to Wang Fuzhi's words, his head was really big, is it just that? That's all the humiliation of these women? He waved his hand and said, "And Brother Nong, I have to think about your words." Wang Fuzhi made a move out. Zhou Renyuan was alone in the face of this dim candle flame and fell into contemplation - Xiao Qingchuan was also working hard in the study room of the county government over there, and the first two words of the book were "confession"!

Early the next morning, the pedestrians on the street were chaotically talking to each other, and some people shouted: "It's not good, it's not good, the county commander himself is kneeling in the lobby with shackles, everyone go and see!" So the crowd rushed to the direction of the county government in twos and threes. In the hall of the county government, Xiao Qingchuan wore this heavy shackle and knelt down in the lobby. Zhou Renyuan, who was sitting above, was watching Xiao Qingchuan's confession, and Ma Lin hurriedly came in to report: "Oh no, many people from outside the county government are emotional, are you closing the door, and your subordinates are afraid of any trouble!" Don't close, these are my people of the Ming Dynasty, what are some terrible orders, go down and let these people in, just so that this prince will come to an open trial. Zhou Renyuan didn't raise his head and continued to read the confession. Ma Lin was stunned, your little prince is not afraid of me, what are you afraid of, and hurriedly shouted with the official at the door: "Don't get in the way, the little prince ordered all of them to come in." With a "boom", the people poured into the yamen, crowding the outside of the hall and filling it to the brim. A bold citizen shouted, "What crime have we, Lord Xiao, committed? He is a Qing official, this is not the time for Emperor Wei of the Apocalypse to make trouble, you guys buckle your hats indiscriminately, beware of us, the people, if you don't agree!" Suddenly, the crowd was raging, and it seemed that Xiong Tianlin was about to rush into the lobby, so he couldn't stand it, and rushed out of the door and shouted: "Our little prince is trying the case here, who dares to make a noise, and whoever is demagogic again."

Watch out for his little life. The crowd exploded again, and some people exclaimed: My god is a prince, in the eyes of the county magistrate, it seems that the county magistrate has committed a big thing, and it is better not to join in the fun, and some people are shouting: "What's wrong with the prince?" Even if the emperor comes up, he can't wronged Lord Xiao!" It is! That's it!" The crowd echoed. Xiong Tianlin saw that hey, these people really dared to make trouble, and he didn't even pay attention to the little prince, so he took out the matching knife. "Old bear stand down!" Zhou Renyuan shouted in the hall, he stood up and came to the outside of the hall, and said loudly: "Folks, don't be restless, this king is the little prince of King Gui's mansion, Zhu Youlang passed through Chao County and found a great grievance, come and bring those women and Xiao County Decree out!" The crowd saw more than a dozen women being taken out one by one, and immediately cried, "Xiaolan Aju's daughter-in-law-", these women also threw themselves into the arms of their family members, crying. Xiao Qingchuan also lowered his head in pain at this time, and tears flowed for a long time. "Everyone should understand what this king just said about this great grievance!" Zhou Renyuan said. "Little prince, this is not the fault of the county commander, this is all our voluntary sacrifice of our daughter, it has nothing to do with the eldest lord!" A few old men knelt on the ground and said. "What voluntary? Xiao County Ling has already explained in his self-confession that most of these women were coerced, how could it be voluntary?" Zhou Renyuan said angrily. These old men suddenly cried at Xiao Qingchuan and shouted: "Master, why are you so confused, Xiao Lao'er was really unacceptable at first, but for the safety of the people in the city, Xiao Lao'er later figured out that this is his daughter's life." Besides, you didn't give us ten taels of silver per family as compensation, and I heard that this silver was still obtained by you selling the fertile land in your hometown. Sir, we don't blame you, blame this bandit, this incompetent court!" After speaking, he cried and cried. Zhou Renyuan, Wang Fuzhi, Shen Tieshan and the others were full of shame when they heard this, and the high and hidden anger in the room suddenly came out, pointed at these old men with a sharp throat and trembling all over, and shouted: "It's really the opposite, you Diao people are really bold, you people dare to insult the court with wild words, pull these Diao people down to my father-in-law, and cut them down." "The two guards from the capital are preparing to come forward to arrest a few old men." Wait for the father-in-law, you want to kill first, kill the officials, and let these folks go. Xiao Qingchuan raised his head and shouted at Gao Qiqian. Hehe, I said, you, Xiao County, made yourself die to the brink of death, and you really don't know whether to live or die for these people. "Raise up the subliminal hatred." Eh, the high father-in-law and the anger will not be too late to wait for Xiao Wang to say a few more words before dealing with these people. Zhou Renyuan came out to play a round. Gao Qiqian motioned for the guards to retreat all the way, Zhou Renyuan was decisive in killing, but he admired this little prince a little in his heart, and he still had to give Zhou Renyuan a smile on this face: "Little prince, please say that our family is angry, but these people have no king, no law, and no court." "That is the loyalty of Father-in-law Gao to Daming and to the emperor, and when the little king sees the emperor, he will definitely tell Father-in-law Gao in front of the emperor." Zhou Renyuan smiled. "That's our family's duty, don't dare to take it!" At this time, Gao Qiqian's heart blossomed, and the original anger also disappeared.

Zhou Renyuan turned around and bowed down to this group of people, "Folks, the court is incompetent, this king has been taught, this king apologizes for the emperor and the court for everyone, and says sorry to everyone for our Zhu family." Everyone suffered. This worship stunned these old men, and the crowd whispered, Wang Fuzhi smiled and nodded, raising his mouth and opening his mouth, the boss thought to himself, this little prince is crazy, how can a prince bow his head to the people and admit his mistakes? Xiao Qingchuan knelt on the ground and looked at Zhou Renyuan blankly, is this little prince the hope of our Ming Dynasty?" But-!" Zhou Renyuan suddenly pointed to the crowd and said loudly: "You people are also guilty, and you are the head bears of Meixian County, and your guilt is greater than that of this Lord Xiao!" As he spoke, he pointed to the county official standing on the side. "Huh?" The crowd smashed the pot again, and these named officials "pounced" and fell to their knees with frightened faces. "Do you think that this Chao County is Lord Xiao in charge, so everything is returned to him, you are also court officials, when the county is in trouble, the people are in trouble, you don't think about how to help Lord Xiao, but instead with the merchants, the gentry and the people forced him to do this hurtful act, these women are your family? If one of these women is your family, I will kneel down on the spot to pay my respects to him with this dignified royal respect! Is there any?!" Zhou Renyuan stared fiercely at the county official who was kneeling on the ground. These officials, look at me, I look at you, with a bitter face, and said in unison: "The lower officials are guilty!" Zhou Renyuan spat on these people with a "bah", "And you, Lord Xiao asked to recruit the people of Xiangyong Mancheng, and there are only less than twenty young people to participate, where are the other young people?" I think there are no less than 50 young people here today, and where were you then? Your sisters and daughters-in-law are human beings, are these miserable women who are bullied by others not human beings? Can you send it to the bandits to spoil and be insulted? Where is your conscience, and where is justice and justice?" The more Zhou Renyuan spoke, the more angry he became, and he stomped on the ground, and a crack opened on the green bricks on the ground. The people in the crowd who said these words bowed their heads one after another, and the younger ones were even more ashamed, eager to burrow into the cracks in the ground. The women and their families wept loudly again. Zhou Renyuan looked around at everyone and continued with gloomy faces: "I see that you have all lost one thing, and that is courage!" You have lost even the courage to defend your hometown, you are not worthy of being a man, if you all over the city, thousands of people poured into the tower, those bandits would dare to be so arrogant, dare to make such an angry demand? Will these women still be insulted by those bandits? You're bloodless cowards and cowards!" Some of the people cried: "Lord, don't say it, don't say it, the grass people know their guilt, woo-" All the people knelt down and cried loudly, crying for the heavens and the earth. Xiao Qingchuan was overwhelmed with grief when he heard this, and cried out: "The little prince is an incompetent official, an incompetent official, a subordinate official who only asks for a death to atone for his crimes, the lower official is sorry, the court is sorry, the emperor is sorry!" The people begged in unison: "Lord Wang, you will spare Xiao County's order, it's all our fault, we are willing to die in exchange for Lord Xiao's life." "Don't just say death, death is alive, there are more meaningful things to do, remember, without courage and hope, you are no different from death. Remember, Daming will give you courage and hope, but more importantly, you must give yourself courage and hope!" Zhou Renyuan said in a deep voice: "Everyone listens to the judgment of Chaoxian County, although Xiao Qingchuan has made a big mistake, but he thinks of his mistake, and he is well-governed, sympathetic to the people, is an honest official, and should be punished for three years, allowing him to continue to serve as the county commander, and the county Cheng Mei Shaoru, as a county magistrate, does not think about educating the people, but is incompetent in case of trouble, but forces the county magistrate to immediately dismiss his post and never hire." As a military general of the imperial court, Xiong Dahai did not understand military affairs, and there was no way to face bandits, so he immediately dismissed his post and demoted him to an ordinary soldier, and he chose another capable person for his general position. As a county headhunter, Ma Lin recruited township warriors without any results, and from now on he has been demoted to a catcher and another headcatcher. Are you convinced?" I'll be served!" The crowd replied in unison. "It's good to be convinced! Order the county government to draft a document to report the judgment to the state government. Zhou Renyuan said. Gao Qiqian quietly pulled the corner of Zhou Renyuan's clothes and said in a low voice: "Little prince, your judgment is reasonable, but it is very inappropriate for you, a prince of the clan, to participate in local government affairs." "It's okay, isn't there a Gao Gonggong here to help?" Zhou Renyuan patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile. When Gao Qiqian heard this, he immediately turned into a bitter gourd face, and said in his heart, You are sure to eat me!

Zhou Renyuan came to Wang Fuzhi's side and said happily: "How is it, and how is my case, Brother Nong?" Wang Fuzhi smiled and gave a thumbs up: "Gao Gao is really high!" But how did you sentence a few of the county commanders so severely?" Zhou Renyuan whispered to Wang Fuzhi: "And since Brother Nong entered the city last night, we only received the self-confession of Xiao Qingchuan, the county magistrate, can you see the confessions of those people?" Wang Fuzhi suddenly realized. A sentence popped out of Zhou Renyuan's mouth: "This is called confession, leniency, resistance and strictness!"