Chapter 1112 The new official takes office and burns the fire
After expelling his own army, Ding Kui's territory was not threatened by foreign enemies for the time being. The more than 8,000 armed red troops who defended the country could not stay at home to eat. It happened that Ding Kui wanted to expand his territory, so he divided into four groups and sent them to the county town, Chunlu City, and Dongcheng.
Xiongcheng and Dingjiang City.
Hengfu City and Juyang City still need soldiers and horses to be garrisoned. Zhong Wei only sent a total of 6,000 Red Army troops to protect the country. Each city was allocated 1,500 people, of which 1,200 were city defense troops and 300 were soldiers.
Public Security Department officer.
It is not convenient for the city defense army to use all external troops and horses, so some must be recruited from the local area. The Public Security Bureau officers are not so particular.
The commanders and main officers of the city defense army were either appointed by the city lord, the county guard, or directly appointed by the state army and horse department. However, the people sent by Ding Kui did not fall into the above three categories, and their legality was questioned by the local powerful.
Shu Wu had a set of experience in governing the local area, and he knew very well what local powerful people were afraid of, so Liu Yu's helpless people could not make trouble in front of him.
After the county town was in ruins, the new governor had no choice but to go out on patrol to avoid further conflicts with the eldest princess.
One day he went to Dingjiang City and found many people gathered at the city gate. When he came closer and asked, it turned out that some people were dissatisfied with the city gate guards and collected the city gate tax.
"Why don't you want to pay the city gate tax?" He squeezed into the crowd and asked a man who was arguing with the guard.
"Who are you? Why do you care about my business?" The man's attitude was arrogant and he did not pay attention to Shu Wu's dress.
"Humph, I am the governor of Nanqiu County. This place is my jurisdiction. Why do you call me this official?" Shu Wu walked up behind the guard.
The city gate guards immediately gathered around him, and an officer who looked like a captain asked: "I'm sorry for my humble eyesight, but do you have a name tag?"
Although it is rare for someone to impersonate a county magistrate, if they have not seen one before, they need to be verified according to the procedures.
Shu Wu took out a jade plaque, threw it to the officer, and said, "Look carefully and send someone to find me the commander of the city defense army and the director of public security."
The officer looked carefully, then handed back his hands, and responded: "As expected, the county governor is in front of you. I will send someone to invite you immediately. You, you, go and ask the commander-in-chief and the director to come over, and say that the county governor is here."
"
In any case, the county governor is the highest official in his jurisdiction, and everyone who eats official food in the area must respect it.
"You, you, are you the county guard?" The man spoke awkwardly, his face turned green and white, and he unconsciously took two steps back.
"Who is he?" Shu Wu ignored the man.
"This man is the patriarch of the Li family in Lijia Town, and his name is Li Cu." The officer replied respectfully.
"Why are you making trouble here?" Shu Wu pretended not to know the reason at this time.
"Lord Sheriff!" Li Cu said before the officer, "It's not that the common people are making trouble, it's that they came from nowhere and occupied Dingjiang City and insisted on collecting the city gate tax." He bowed to Shu Wu and bowed to the ground.
.
"Hey, where did the city defense army come from and when did it come under your control? Furthermore, it is customary to collect the city gate tax. Why do you insist on collecting it when it comes to you? How dare you say that you are not making trouble
!" Shu Wu's official power was fully displayed.
"No, it's unfair! That's not what I meant, sir." Li Cu panicked all of a sudden.
He never expected to meet the county guard here, and the county guard was still speaking on the side of the informal city defense troops. When Shu Wu was questioned, he had no words to answer.
Shu Wu is right. The legitimacy of the city defense army cannot be questioned by ordinary people. Even if it is really illegitimate, it will naturally be managed by local government, state government or imperial court. This is the power of the ruler.
"How dare you be so cunning! How dare you not kneel down and answer the case before the county magistrate!"
A round-faced officer walked out of the city gate, wearing the uniform of a commander, and pointed at Li Cu from far away and shouted.
"Commander Niu Erbing of the Dingjiang City Defense Force, please see Mr. Shu."
The former commander of the eighth battalion has now become the commander of the city defense army. He is an officer trained by the Ding family and is a direct descendant. He is naturally the first choice when he needs to be assigned to serve abroad.
Just last night, he received a message from Liu Yu: Nanqiu County has taken office and will go to Dingjiang City for inspection in the near future. You must deal with it carefully. If it does not hinder your work, you will be treated as a guest. Otherwise, ignore it. What should you do?
What else to do.
Liu Yu would not explicitly say that Shu Wu was one of his own, and the fewer people knew about it, the better. However, he was worried that the people below would act recklessly, so he still sent a hinting message.
Niu Erbing knew that Shu Wu was coming, so he had been walking around the South City Gate in the past two days. He was actually hiding behind the city gate just now, secretly observing the governor's words and deeds.
When he heard Shu Wu reprimanding Li Cu, he felt that this man was speaking for him and was not as difficult as he had imagined, so he ran out to pay homage to him as a superior.
"Well, very good. After I took office, are the people here so unruly?" Shu Wu said while scanning the people around him.
The people who were watching the excitement quickly dispersed. Those who wanted to enter the city obediently paid the city gate tax and entered the city. Those who wanted to leave left without looking back. Except for the people brought by Li Cu, they were afraid of accidentally offending the county governor. If they could avoid it,
avoid.
"My lord, most people are peaceful, but this Li Cuo somehow insists on going against the government, taking the lead in refusing to pay the city gate tax, and inciting his tribe to fight against the officers and soldiers. His behavior is no different from that of a traitor.
The humble official sent people to investigate and found that the Li family in Lijia Town did not flee when our own army invaded. Instead, they cooperated very well with our own army, asking for food and money. They were suspected of defecting to our country. Many people in Lijia Town knew about this.
It’s not a trap set up by subordinates.”
Most of what Niu Erbing said is true. The Li family never left Lijia Town when our country occupied it. It is unclear whether they really defected to our country.
"You are so slanderous!" Li Cuo's eyes widened, "You are the one who is rebellious, and your whole family is rebellious!" He pointed at Niu Erbing's nose with his trembling arm.
"Why did you refuse to pay the city gate tax if you weren't rebellious? Didn't Dingjiang City collect it before? Or did your Li family never have to pay it?" Shu Wu lowered his face and put his hands behind his back.
"This!" Li Chu was speechless for a moment, but he quickly responded, "According to the kingdom's practice, the first one or two years after a war are tax-free. How can they exploit the disaster-stricken people like they do!" He still pointed at Niu Erbing.
.
"How brave! You were rude to Shangguan, so I got you tied up!" Niu Erbing's temper got worse.
"How dare you!" More than a dozen Li family members gathered behind Li Cu.
At this time, soldiers ran out of the city gate and saw that there was at least one squadron in the formation.
"What's wrong? The Li family still dares to violently resist the law!" Shu Wu pointed at Li Cu, "Whether Dingjiang City is tax-free or not has to wait for the court to decide, how can you replace the court? Until there is a formal decree, everything will be business as usual!
The city defense army will not embezzle the money they collect from you. Even if there is a tax exemption decree, all taxes collected will be used to rebuild Dingjiang City, and the kingdom will not be greedy for a single copper from you!"