There was silence in front of Chen's house.

Originally, because the officers and soldiers rushed into the mansion, the Chen family master was knocked to the side, and his body was still standing in place, but it was already empty from the neck up.

The blood, like a spring, dyed the red-painted door panels even redder.

There is a sense of enchantment.

The blood-stained head of the Chen family master, with its cloak scattered, rolled down the steps in front of the mansion with a gurgling voice, and rolled all the way to the feet of the gentry of Chenliu County, who were already like quails.

The rolling head stopped.

The gentry let out a gasp sound, and even a few old ones were directly frightened.

If it weren't for the support of the people around him, he would have been so frightened that he would have fallen to the ground and fainted.

Everyone stared at Pei Benzhi, who had his back to everyone.

Even the general of the Yulin Weiyou Military Battalion, who was the commander of the army, looked at the human pillar that was constantly gushing blood, and looked at Pei Benzhi's back in surprise.

The general of the right military camp did not expect that Pei Benzhi, a Confucian county magistrate who looked weak and weak, would be able to blatantly make such a murderous and beheading act in front of everyone.

In an instant, a thought had already appeared in the mind of the general of the right military camp.

As long as Pei Benzhi bears the disaster this time and is not impeached, he will inevitably become a big man above the court of Ying Tiancheng in the future.

No!

It is he who will inevitably resist this disaster and impeachment, and he will inevitably become a big man in the court!

No matter what the people around you think about what just happened.

At this moment, Pei Benzhi's heart continued to set off waves of surges.

The smell of blood that was close to him made him almost want to vomit, but it was because he was afraid of what he had to do at the moment, so he endured it and never lost his dignity.

Homicide.

In the Da Ming Law, no one can kill anyone without the review of the three legal divisions and the imperial approval of the emperor Zhu Bi.

However, in practice, the Qincha, who is under the emperor's order, often chooses to kill people to solve the problem.

The soldiers of the border army will also choose to kill people to protect the peace of the frontier.

But the current Pei Benzhi is not a member of the imperial court, nor is he a soldier of the border army.

He is the county magistrate of Chenliu County, the seventh grade of the Ming Dynasty.

However, Pei Benzhi had to do so.

With his back to everyone, he let out a long breath of turbid breath in his chest.

Pei Benzhi picked up the blood-dripping knife in his hand, slowly turned around, and walked to the edge of the steps in front of the Chen Mansion.

Several Chen Mansion family members who were huddled behind the door of the mansion looked frightened, and several people curled up and huddled together, not daring to step out of the mansion gate to collect the body of their master.

In the courtyard to the east of Chen's mansion, there were bursts of noise.

Presumably, it was the officers and soldiers who had found the Chen family's grain stockpile.

Pei Benzhi stood on the steps and smiled.

Pei Benzhi had the weird smile on his face after the killing, and everywhere he looked, all the gentry lowered their heads in horror, not daring to look at each other, lest they attract Pei County's order to raise a knife and cut off their heads again.

Suddenly, Pei Benzhi found that he liked this way of processing.

Originally, he was an official in Chenliu County for eight years, and he was engaged in being kind and pleasant with the people in front of him, and he suppressed them and exploited the people step by step, although it was effective, but it would never be like now. ….

As long as you say a word now, these people will definitely complete it meticulously without discount.

Thereupon.

Pei Benzhi spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this official killed the thief Chen to save you and others."

When the gentry heard Pei Benzhi's voice, they couldn't help but be shocked.

Without prior consultation, all the gentry knelt on the ground.

"Pei County's great kindness, all of us and other small people, remember the five insides, and never forget the county's kindness."

Pei Benzhi shook his head and sighed lightly: "You still don't understand, why this county said that it saved you

。」

Among the large gentry kneeling on the ground, someone raised his head.

After thinking about it several times, he finally decided to cooperate with Pei County's order.

"Please also ask Pei County to be released."

Pei Benzhi smiled slightly: "The thief Chen took advantage of the catastrophe to encroach on the fields of the people of Chenliu County, hoarding grain and grass, with the intention of driving up prices. This move is contrary to the will of the imperial court, and it is a crime of disobedience, and the sin affects the nine clans. When you have a banquet with the thief today, are you already in the nine clans of the thief?"

Everyone shook their heads one after another.

"Please also ask the county to know that we are not related to that thief, and we have no relationship."

Pei Benzhi sneered and walked down the steps with a knife.

The general of the right military camp behind Pei Benzhi stared at Pei Benzhi who walked in front of the gentry with his eyelids moving slightly.

Until now, the general of the right military camp finally understood what Pei Benzhi was going to do.

He wanted to borrow the head of the Chen family to kill chickens and monkeys and deter these gentry in Chenliu County.

Sure enough, just as the general of the right battalion thought.

Pei Benzhi, who came closer, looked at these gentry kneeling in front of him with compassion.

"Today, Chenliu County is short of grain, and you want to borrow the grain county government, but you are confused by the Chen thief, and you almost have something to do with the Chen thief. Isn't it when the county's rescue comes, that you will be relieved?"

Pei Benzhi almost turned the whole thing upside down today, and all the gentry couldn't help but groan.

Left and right is still a matter of borrowing grain.

The purpose of killing the head of the Chen family was to borrow grain, and talking to them at this moment was still to borrow grain.

Can you borrow food, can you kill everyone here?

So, between the possibility of not dying and the need to borrow food, these gentry who were already about to be frightened hesitated again.

Pei Benzhi's eyes couldn't help but sink.

Exactly then.

In Chen's mansion, some officers and soldiers rushed out.

When he arrived outside the gate of the mansion, he immediately shouted: "Chen's mansion has checked 8,900 stone of grain."

A sound just stopped.

On the street in the distance, another group of officers and soldiers rushed towards Chen's mansion.

When they got closer, some officers and soldiers shouted, "The Sun family in Chenliu County donated 5,723 stone of grain."

After that, more and more officers and soldiers rushed to the outside of Chen's mansion from all over the place.

"The Wang family of Chenliu County donated 3,234 stones of grain."

"The Chenliu County planter donated 7,616 stone of grain."

「……」

「……」

When an officer and soldier arrived at the gate of Chen's house, he loudly reported the number of grain donations from a family, and the number was accurate to single digits.

As the family was reported, many people in the large gentry who had only hesitated in front of them fell to the ground.

Where is this borrowing food? ….

How could this have been a food donation?

This is to use their own accounts to grab food!

worriedly led the soldiers into the city to borrow grain, but at this moment, they were full of joy with the accounts, and rushed to the door of Chen's mansion, the three county officials, the chief bookkeeper, and the warden, and it was difficult to hide the joy in their hearts.

"County Zun, the people of our county are no longer short of food!"

Pei Benzhi nodded, looked at the gentry in front of him, who had lost the light in their eyes, and sneered.

At this moment, he looked at the head of the Chen family and took the food of these people, they were his accomplices, and they were tied to him.

Pei Benzhi chuckled: "Everyone, get up, I can get you to help this county today, and this county will keep it in my heart."

After finishing speaking, Pei Benzhi turned to the county and instructed, "Since all the good families have donated grain, the accounts should be exchanged to each family as soon as possible."

Chen Liuxian County, who was sweating profusely, opened his mouth, repeatedly observed the look and expression of his county honor, and finally found the point in this sentence.

As soon as possible and not immediately.

That is, you have to copy a copy of your own accounts for future use.

county

Cheng nodded: "The subordinates obey the order."

……

"Your Highness, this is the breach of the in the lower reaches of Lanyang County. The piece of water in front of it was Xidi Bay under the rule of Lanyang County."

On the rolling course of the Yellow River, a team followed the riverbank, from south to north, and stopped in front of a huge embankment. Pan Deshan, the head of the Ming Dynasty Ministry of Industry, pointed his fingers, compared with the Kanyu in front of him, and spoke in a solemn tone.

Pan Deshan looked in the northwest direction, and then turned his head to look at the imperial grandson beside him.

He continued, "Your Highness, fifty miles northwest of this place is the county seat of Lanyang. Seventy miles to the southeast is Ningling County, Guide, and one hundred and twenty miles to the southeast is Shangqiu, the city of Guide."

Since the incident in Xuzhou Mansion, Zhu Yunxi arranged all the follow-up hands, and continued to lead the accompanying officials of the imperial court and grain and grass to continue to Kaifeng Mansion.

At this moment, standing on the embankment of the Yellow River, Zhu Yunxi looked at the breach in front of him with a solemn expression, and his eyebrows were bursting out.

According to what was said in the rush, this break was blown up because of that damn bastard thing in Lanyang County.

It is precisely because of this breach that the disaster situation in the land of Liufu has been aggravated.

Zhu Yunxi said in a deep voice, "I saw the river and the breach with my own eyes, what do you think?"

Pan Deshan glanced back at the accompanying officials, then turned his head to look at the imperial grandson, and he said in a low voice, "Lanyang County has no river control at all."

As he spoke, Pan Deshan took a shovel from Yutian, the head of Taisun Mansion on the side, and then shoveled it heavily on the embankment, stretched out his foot and stepped on it heavily, pressing down on the wooden pole with both hands.

A shovel of loess on the embankment was shoveled up by Pan Deshan.

Then Pan Deshan squatted down and pulled away the loess with both hands.

Finally, he raised his head and looked at the imperial grandson with a gloomy face.

Pan Deshan said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, this soil is ironclad evidence, this section of the Yellow River embankment in Lanyang County has not been strengthened for a whole year last year. However, the imperial court has already allocated money and grain for river affairs as usual."

Zhu Yunxi's face became more and more gloomy, and he stepped forward lightly and kicked the loess of the embankment that was pulled apart by Pan Deshan, but he couldn't see anything. ….

But Pan Deshan dared to say in front of the accompanying officials that Lanyang County did not control the river, so there must be some of them lost.

Poon continued, "If the levee had not been blown up, the upstream breach would have removed most of the peak pressure in the river, so that the upstream breach would have only been blocked. And the here was blown up, which did not relieve the force of the river at all, but allowed more river water to pour out, causing more river water to pour into the land of Liufu."

Zhu Yunxi's eyes sank, and then he looked at the gaps that had been blocked by the people of Lanyang County one after another in the past few days, and asked, "Now that you are in the place, what do you do first?"

Pan Deshan thought for a while, and looked up at Zhu Yunxi: "If the minister governs again, the first thing is to resume farming, although it is impossible for the six governments to collect all the summer and autumn taxes this year, but now to resume farming as soon as possible, we can still keep a grain harvest, and the people will be able to have a better year this year."

As for these two executions, now that the water has receded, it is not a problem. Just plug it up before winter."

Zhu Yunxi couldn't help but smile.

Stretched out his finger and pointed at Pan Deshan.

"Let you rule the river, but you will resume farming."

Pan Deshan smiled slightly, bowed with his hands together, and stepped aside.

Zhu Yunxi shook his head and looked at the river workers of Lanyang County who were still under the river embankment, constantly carrying bags of earth and bricks on the river embankment, and his eyes looked a little solemn.

These river workers, even if they saw their own team under the banner of the emperor's order, and did not react at all, their eyes were calm, as if they only had the breach in front of them that had never been repaired.

That's numbness.

Zhu Yunxi saw the numbness of these river workers and the people.

This is the most direct and bad influence that a stupid official has had on the imperial court.

Because of the actions of this stupid local official, the people would naturally think that the court would do the same.

The people's hearts have been polished clean little by little.

He turned to look at the officials behind him.

"Go to Lanyang County with Gu to see what my Ming Dynasty magistrates are like."

……

Lanyang County Ya.

In the empty county office, there are no prostitutes who came to sing songs every day.

It was even more empty, as if the yamen under the rule of the imperial court had gone bankrupt and closed down.

In the middle of the antechamber, sat a man with a disheveled head.

In front of the man, there was a wooden table, on which was a stone pot, in which pickled vegetables and tofu were boiled, and there was no fish.

Because the river workers in Manxian County will no longer send fish to the county government.

The charcoal fire in the stove under the stone pot was very red, and the pickles in the boiled pot kept tumbling on the pieces of old tofu.

The salty aroma of pickles, mixed with the taste of old tofu, wafted in the yamen.

When I got closer, I could finally see the appearance of the man with the cloak.

It is the county order of Lanyang County, Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan Province, Cao Zhisheng.

Not long ago, Cao Zhisheng, the county magistrate who was still watching the rain and listening to music, eating pickled vegetables, tofu and fish soup, and left wine, had lost his former demeanor.

Cao Zhisheng was holding a bowl in his hand, and the only sound in his ears was the gurgling of boiling soup in the stone pot in front of him. ….

With a long sigh, Cao Zhisheng raised his head and took a spoon and filled a bowl of pickled vegetable and tofu soup.

After eating and drinking half a bowl in small sips, there was always a touch of borrowed umami, Cao Zhisheng finally put down the bowl and turned his head to look out of the yamen with some anxiety.

Outside the yamen was also empty, only on the streets farther away, you could still see people cleaning and carrying sundries from time to time.

However, Cao Zhisheng knew very well that on both sides of the yamen, there were river workers who came to watch him every day, in order to prevent him from escaping.

[In view of the general environment, and in this regard, the county magistrate, the chief bookkeeper, and the warden of Lanyang County are clear, but they never interfere, and even took everyone in the county government out of the city a long time ago, under the pretext that it was to deal with the disaster.

But Cao Zhisheng knew very well that he was abandoned by everyone.

Even Kaifeng Mansion gave up on him.

According to the normal steps, he should be arrested by someone from Kaifeng Mansion at this time, and put in prison by the government office, waiting for the arrival of the imperial court's envoy, or the arrival of the will, and then decide his life and death.

However, now, Kaifeng Mansion has sent food and money, but it seems to have forgotten him, the county magistrate of Lanyang County.

Today, Cao Zhisheng finally knew why he was 'imprisoned, in this Lanyang County Yali.

Because the person who came from the imperial court was the grandson of the emperor of the prison state.

They hoped to use themselves to ease the anger of the imperial grandson.

Abandoned son.

Cao Zhisheng finally understood his last bit of role now.

As a result, my heart became more and more uneasy.

"The flood peak is coming, this county is not wrong to blow up the embankment and discharge the flood, so as not to cause more downstreams to collapse!"

"Kaifeng Mansion does not give money and grain, how to build the embankment in this county is also the fault of Kaifeng Prefecture."

"There is nothing wrong with this prefecture!"

"The emperor can't behead this county!"

Cao Zhisheng looked like he was crazy, and stood up with his hands propped on the table.

With a bang, the entire table was overturned by Cao Zhisheng to the ground, and he was already running towards the county government's back house.

In a blink of an eye, Cao Zhisheng had already dragged a large section of sheets to the front hall of the yamen.

He looked up at the beams under the roof of the vestibule, wrapped in the sheets that had been torn and tied together, and threw them upwards with all his might. The sheets went around the beams and fell down.

Then Cao Zhisheng tied the two ends of the sheet together, moved a stool underneath, tried to be firm, and looked around.

Cao Zhisheng ran back and forth in the front hall of the yamen like crazy, and soon he had an extra kitchen knife in his hand

。

He held a kitchen knife in his hand in front of a sheet of bed, and when he was about to cut it, Cao Zhisheng's eyes suddenly lit up and stopped.

Then the kitchen knife in his hand, which was originally perpendicular to the bed sheet, became an oblique angle.

Cao Zhisheng gritted his teeth and continued to rub the sheets with the edge of the knife, until the whole sheet became a thin layer, and only after the silk threads were connected together, he was relieved.

After all this was done, Cao Zhisheng stood on the stool, holding the sheet in both hands, hanging his neck lightly between the sheets, and staring out with his eyes.

All of a sudden, time slowed down.

I don't know how long it took.

Finally, there was a commotion outside the county government of Lanyang County.

Someone was vaguely greeting.

Cao Zhisheng's eyes lit up.

"Lao Tzu is not alive! You want Lao Tzu to be a substitute for the dead ghost, but Lao Tzu doesn't want to do what you want!"

After scolding angrily, Cao Zhisheng's hands holding the sheets were forced, and he kicked the stool down under his feet, and suddenly the whole person sank down.

Zhu Yunxi walked into the county government of Lanyang County with murderous intent.

When he walked into the county office surrounded by the county magistrate, the chief bookkeeper, the warden and a group of river workers' representatives, he saw a Cao Zhisheng hanging in the lobby of the front hall of the county office, his body swaying in the wind.

Everyone was stunned.

The people in Lanyang County were even more shocked.

Is this Cao Zhisheng going to commit suicide in fear of sin?

Or does he want to do a deathbed trick of being forced to be helpless and unjustly dying?

Just when everyone didn't know what was going on.

Bang.

Cao Zhisheng, who was still swaying in the wind, suddenly fell to the ground in everyone's sight.

Immediately, in the lobby of the front hall of the county government, there was a painful moan.

"Hey, you're young......".

Shredded pork and rice noodles