Zhao Hanzhang's actions made the mob panic. They held sticks and hoes and wanted to rush forward, but they did not dare.
Ji Yuan rode on horseback, and Qiu Wu and others surrounded Zhao Hanzhang to prevent them from rioting.
Ji Yuan said loudly: "Rebellion is a serious crime that can kill the whole family. Why don't you put down your weapons quickly!"
"We're all going to die anyway, so it won't be a loss for us if we have a few people to support us before we die!"
"Yes, we are going to starve to death, so it would be easier to behead us."
"Bah, who said you are going to die?" Zhao Hanzhang said: "I can testify for you that you killed people in anger because you were killed by the county magistrate, not rebellion. The court is fair, and I can protect you from death."
"Hahahaha, the court is fair," a man laughed and came out from behind the crowd. He was thin and had sharp cheeks, but his eyes were bright. He held a cold sword in his hand and stared at Zhao Hanzhang and said, "The court is fair.
, then where do we get such heavy taxes? You officials clearly want to force us to death, brothers, don’t listen to him... Huh?"
He looked Zhao Hanzhang up and down in surprise, his face darkened, "Where did the girl come from and pretended to be an official? Catch her!"
Only then did everyone realize that the person standing in front of them and talking to them seemed to be a girl wearing armor. Immediately, some people became bold and rushed towards Zhao Hanzhang.
Qiu Wu wanted to step forward to protect him, but Ji Yuan stopped him and asked Zhao Hanzhang to deal with it on his own.
Zhao Hanzhang threw the people he was carrying into the arms of the people who came up to him. The spear in his hand swept through their waists and legs like a dragon, beating them until they were sore all over and unable to move.
Seeing Zhao Hanzhang's martial arts skills, the leader's eyes narrowed, and he clenched the knife in his hand and was about to take action. Ji Yuan said in time: "Everyone, my girl is indeed an official. She is the magistrate of Xiping County. She got it from He Cishi himself.
admittedly."
The common people were lagging behind in information and did not know that the magistrate of Xiping County was a woman, but there were some who were well-informed, such as the leader.
He looked at Zhao Hanzhang in surprise and asked, "Are you Zhao Sanniang from Xiping County?"
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, looked him up and down and asked, "Is your Excellency Chen Wan?"
"I didn't expect Mr. Zhaoxian to know about me."
Zhao Hanzhang: "I have admired his great name for a long time."
She put the spear behind her and asked, "Can we talk now?"
Chen Wan raised his head and sighed: "Zhao County Lord is a good official, but we are not lucky enough to meet him. It is too late to talk about it now."
"We've never even talked about it, so how do we know it's too late?"
"We killed the county magistrate, besieged the county government office, and robbed so many wealthy households. We can no longer survive. We can only take advantage of the situation and fight to survive for a few more days."
"That's right, we will never put down our weapons if we can live longer."
Chen Wan in turn persuaded Zhao Hanzhang, "Mr. Zhao is a good official. We will not embarrass you. You can go and we will never stop you."
Zhao Hanzhang smiled slightly and said: "If I say that I have a way to protect you, and I am also willing to give you food relief to help you tide over the difficulties, will you be willing to surrender to Fu'an?"
Chen Wan didn't say anything, but the person behind him already shouted: "You can't believe what an official says."
Zhao Hanzhang only stared at Chen Wan.
Chen Wan remained motionless, "Zhao County Lord is just the magistrate of Xiping County, can you take charge of Aoyang County? Moreover, we also killed the county magistrate. This is a major event in Runan County."
Zhao Hanzhang said: "I swear in the name of my grandfather."
When Chen Wan heard this, she was really moved.
He thought for a while and hesitated, especially since there were so many people behind him. His chest rose and fell sharply and his fists were clenched tightly, "...We surrounded County Magistrate Sun all day and night, fearing that he had already
Hate us so much..."
Zhao Hanzhang: "I will solve it. From now on, the magistrate of Aoyang County will not be named Sun."
Chen Wan's eyes flashed slightly, and he was still hesitating. A bloody rioter ran from a distance, ran directly into Chen Wan's arms, pointed in the direction he came from, and shouted: "Brother, there are many officers and soldiers coming over there.
Arrested all our people..."
Chen Wan immediately looked at Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang nodded to him with a smile and said, "That's my younger brother. I didn't do anything serious. Please forgive me Chen Yishi."
"So, Sanniang is not incapable of suppressing the rebellion." Zhao Hanzhang, who had been smiling and persuading just now, suddenly straightened his face and scanned the audience sharply, "Sanniang came to Aoyang last year and killed a Liu
Wu, Liu Jing was seriously injured. After more than half a year, my soldiers and horses in Xiping are stronger again. Maybe you think you are three points more powerful than the Xiongnu army?"
When everyone heard this, they took two trembling steps back.
Chen Wan saw everyone's timidity. He knew that whoever was timid first in a battle would lose. Here today, they couldn't win even if they didn't surrender.
Seeing Chen Wan's wavering, Zhao Hanzhang said loudly: "And the reason why I didn't take action, but persuaded him to surrender first, is not because I pity my soldiers, but because I pity you!"
"I know that the taxes issued by the imperial court this year are too heavy, but this is not the original intention of the imperial court. This is all the result of the county magistrate's bullying and concealment." Zhao Hanzhang said: "The imperial court does not know that our Runan County has suffered a minor disaster in the past two years.
As a result, the people were displaced and the population dropped sharply, so the taxes issued were calculated based on the total population in previous years."
"The taxes that used to be paid by ten people now need to be borne by two people. This is why everyone is overwhelmed. This is all the fault of the county magistrate, so I understand your indignation and do not want to confront each other."
Zhao Hanzhang sighed deeply and said: "Now that the culprit is dead, I am also willing to vouch for you and report it to the court to recheck this year's taxes."
"I can swear that if I can't clear your names, then I will ask you all to move to Xiping County and protect each other with the Zhao family. How about that?"
The Zhao family is the largest aristocratic family in Runan County and the most prestigious. Its name is much more useful than Zhao Hanzhang's.
In many places, it is normal for common people to recognize aristocratic families but not the emperor.
Although Chen Wan was not from Runan County, he also knew the reputation of the Zhao family in Runan County. He looked back at the excited crowd and finally nodded.
Zhao Hanzhang raised his lips slightly, stretched out his hand and said: "Then please put down your weapons first."
Chen Wan thought for a moment and threw the sword forward. As soon as he put down the weapon, the people behind him followed suit.
Zhao Hanzhang breathed a sigh of relief, strode forward, held Chen Wan's hand, and laughed loudly: "Okay, Chen Wan is worthy of being a righteous man. Please come with me as a guard and ask all the righteous men in the city to put down their weapons.
How about the people who follow us go out of the city and wait?"
Chen Wan narrowed his eyes, "Leaving the city?"
Zhao Hanzhang said meaningfully: "Yes, get out of the city, otherwise how can I send Magistrate Sun away?"