Outside Tai'an City, a small village next to the river beach!
There are thatched houses next to each other, although the thatched houses look very shabby.
But the planning is very neat!
Because this small village is a refugee resettlement village planned by the imperial court in Tai'an Prefecture.
The entire village was built according to fixed models!
However, this village, which used to be full of vitality and full of hope, is now in mourning.
Full of despair!
Today, the fields they worked hard to cultivate were taken away by Master Zhou.
Mr. Zhou even destroyed the wheat seedlings they planted in order to grow cotton.
Seeing the green wheat seedlings being trampled and destroyed, many people wanted to fight against the Zhou family members.
However, how could they, a group of farmers with hoes and shovels, be a match for the servants specially raised by Master Zhou.
Not long after, they were beaten to a bloody head!
Some people even had their bones broken on the spot!
A group of people had no choice but to carry the wounded back to their village.
The wounded were gathered together and placed in the same thatched hut for easy care.
One by one, the wounded screamed in agony, and the people taking care of the wounded around were even more excited and busy.
"Dad, are you okay, Dad!"
"Uuuu...Brother, nothing can happen to you!"
"Grandpa, speak, Grandpa!"
"..."
The sound of crying kept sounding, which made people feel irritable.
The respected old village chief sat aside, smoking a dry cigarette, with an expression of deep helplessness on his face.
"Village chief, what do you think we should do about this matter?"
"Yes, the village chief, Hanwa, Liuzhu, Tietou...their injuries are not serious. We need to ask a doctor to take a look."
"..."
The old village chief sighed helplessly and knocked the pot on his pipe.
The wrinkles on his face seemed to tell the anxiety and vicissitudes he had experienced in his life.
"It costs money to hire a doctor, and now we have no money!"
The old village chief was very helpless.
They were originally refugees. When the court resettled them, they gave them seeds and farm tools, clothes, and helped build thatched houses...
But I didn’t give them any money!
Originally, they thought that after this year's summer wheat crop was harvested, the taxes and rent were paid, and the rest could be exchanged for some money.
Now, not to mention changing money, even the land related to their wealth and lives has been taken away by others, but they have no way to do it.
He even had his bones broken if he tried to stop him!
However, in the end, the old village chief sighed and said.
"No matter what, people are the most important!"
"Each family will pool their money together when they go back and see how much money they can raise. No matter what, we have to ask a doctor to come back and treat Hanwa and the others."
"If it doesn't work, just sell the farm tools issued by the imperial court!"
"If we go back and make some agricultural tools made of wood or stone, they will be barely usable."
Saying this, the village chief knocked the pipe pot vigorously.
He sighed and said.
"No one can live in this shitty world!"
Of course, the old village chief had no ill feelings towards the imperial court.
After all, it is true that the imperial court divided their fields, built houses, distributed seeds and farm tools, and distributed relief grains to them.
Without the relief from the imperial court, they might not be alive now, and they would all starve to death!
What they are really helpless about is this damn world!
No matter how good the court's policies are, the collusion between the landlords, gentry and officials can destroy everything.
"Village chief, what should we do with our fields?"
A man with bruises on his face couldn't help but ask.
The village chief gritted his teeth and said.
"Complaint!"
"When Hanwa and the others recover this time, we will go to Beijing together to file a petition!"
"I don't believe there is no justice in this world!"
But just at this moment, there was a sudden noise outside the house.
Dressed in brocade clothes, Zhou Yuan walked squarely into the thatched house surrounded by a group of servants.
A servant came up and gave the old village chief a kick and sneered.
"Haha, complain?"
"You old man still want to file a lawsuit?"
"Kicked all the brains out!"
"My master also has people in the capital! Who do you think you are?"
As he spoke, he kicked the old village chief several times in succession as he curled up on the ground.
The old village chief was getting old, and his health was not as good as before. After being kicked several times in succession, his whole body was in pain.
Zhou Yuanwai watched this scene and motioned to his servant to hit him hard.
On the other hand, he said in a yin and yang manner, hypocritically.
"Oh, don't do it, don't do it!"
"We are all civilized people. How do we respect the old and love the young? Don't do anything!"
Seeing the old village chief being beaten, other people in the village couldn't bear it anymore, and conflicts broke out immediately.
The two sides fought again, but it was very obvious that the villagers still suffered.
Just at this moment, a group of government officials ran out of the village.
Seeing the chaos here, the leading yamen officer took out his iron ruler and came up to maintain order.
"What are you doing? What are you doing?"
"Everyone stop!"
The government officials relied on their official robes to separate the two groups without any scruples.
One of the servants of the Zhou family wanted to continue beating people with a stick, but with a snap, an iron ruler struck him mercilessly.
The servant was in pain and immediately let out bursts of screams.
The yamen official who hit the man glared and cursed.
"What to do? What is this?"
"Want to die? Attack court officials?"
"Why the hell are you trying to move again?"
The servants of the Zhou family were beaten, but they could only suffer the consequences.
Because what they are facing now is not a group of untouchables, but officials wearing official clothes, who to a certain extent represent the court's government servants.
[Recommended, the Huanyuan app is really useful for chasing books. Download huanyuanapp here. You can try it soon.]
After the two groups of people were separated and everything calmed down, the leader of the Yamen stood up and said.
"According to the order of the magistrate, all parties involved in this matter are immediately notified to file a lawsuit in court regarding the land on the riverbank!"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Who has questions?"
He glanced around and saw that no one was speaking, so the leader of the Yamen nodded and said.
"Since everyone has no problem, then let me do it!"
After saying that, he turned around and took the lead in the direction of Tai'an Fucheng.
Zhou Yuanwai came forward and wanted to get close to him.
"Little brother, I wonder if Mr. Su asked me to wait for the lawsuit to be brought to court. Is there any problem?"
The leader of the Yamen just said coldly.
"You'll find out later!"
After saying that, he strode towards the direction of the government office.
The people behind him had no choice but to keep up.
Sensing the not-so-good attitude of the yamen servant, Zhou Yuan suddenly felt a little unsure in his heart.
This...isn't this what the hell happened?
…
Zhou Yuanwai and his party were quickly taken to the court.
The leader of the government office bowed to a young official sitting behind the big eucalyptus and said.
"Lord Qi, my subordinates have brought everyone back!"
The official sitting behind the big eucalyptus raised his eyelids slightly and spoke.
"Very good, get ready to ascend to the throne!"
Zhou Yuanwai looked at the Ming Dynasty official who was sitting in the position of prefect but was a complete stranger to him, and felt his scalp numb.
Lian Hu looked away from everyone in the hall and spoke.
"Ascending to the Hall!"
As his voice fell, the water and fire sticks in the hands of the government officials banged on the ground, making a dull sound.
"mighty!"
"mighty!"
"..."
With a snap, the gavel fell mercilessly to the table.
"Who is in the hall?"
The old village chief, who had been beaten up by a group of Zhou family servants, stood up and began to complain about the injustice he had suffered.
Including the Zhou family’s occupation of the fields distributed to them by the imperial court!
As the old village chief continued to tell the story, Lian Hu's expression became increasingly gloomy.
He really didn't expect that Su Wenze could act so carelessly.
He dared to make profit from the policy of resettling the refugees that His Majesty personally ordered!
But it is really shocking and shocking!
When Zhou Yuanwai saw this, he began to sweat on his forehead.
While he was thinking about the solution, he was also thinking about where Su Wenze had gone.
Why did the sitting official of Tai'an Mansion turn into a young man he had never seen before...
No, he seems to have seen this young man before!
He seems to be a promotion officer who was sent to Tai'an Prefecture years ago. He has always been a little transparent before!
Lian Hu raised the gavel and slapped it again. After a loud noise, he spoke to Zhou Yuanwai with a gloomy face.
"Zhou Qi, do you know your guilt?"
When Zhou Yuanwai heard this, he swallowed subconsciously, but he still spoke.
"I don't know what I did wrong. I violated that Ming law!"
He was going to fake it to see if he could get away with it.
He knew that it would be unrealistic for him to take possession of the land by the river this time, and now he just hoped that he could get away with it this time.
Then go back and give the new seat officer a sum of money to put this matter aside!
Lian Hu sneered and said.
"Resettling refugees and stabilizing local order are major affairs of the imperial court and are important measures for the administration of local officials designated by His Majesty."
"As a result, you dared to collude with local corrupt officials, occupy the land used by the imperial court to resettle refugees, and undermine the imperial government's affairs."
"Can this be said to have not violated the imperial law? Do you really think that the laws of the Ming Dynasty are just decoration?!"
Zhou Qi took out a land deed from his arms, presented it to Lian Hu, and said.
"My lord, I have the title deed for the land by the river. Legally speaking, the land by the river belongs to me."
"Is it reasonable for me to want to take back the land?"
Zhou Qi now only feels lucky that he got the title deed before he started to occupy the land, otherwise he would not be able to quibble with it now.
Unexpectedly, after Lian Hu saw the land deed, the expression on his face changed instantly.
He just said with a sneer.
"Haha, interesting, really interesting!"
"How dare you send a forged land deed to me?"
"Are you blind?"
Originally, Zhou Qi was only charged with embezzling land, but now he was charged with stealing the imperial seal.
Zhou Qi still wanted to quibble, but Lian Hu said coldly.
"Su Wenze has already explained everything, what else do you want to quibble with?"
While speaking, Lian Hu threw a stack of interrogation documents at Zhou Qi's feet.
On the stack of documents were the preliminary results of Su Wenze's interrogation, as well as his signature.
Zhou Qi picked up the document and took a look at it. His vision immediately went dark and he almost fainted.
Lian Hu began to pronounce the crime and announced the relevant punishments.
"He committed crimes against Zhou Qi, occupied acres of land, bribed officials, undermined the implementation of the imperial government, and ordered domestic slaves to beat innocent people, leaving them maimed..."
"Several crimes are punished concurrently. I will fight for thirty years and be sentenced to twenty years in prison!"
"All property shall be confiscated, and all immediate family members shall be exiled to Nanyang."
When Zhou Qi heard this, he pretended to have fainted.
When he opened his eyes again, the others were already being escorted to a labor camp.
The Ming Dynasty did not support idlers, so they were sentenced to twenty years in prison. To put it bluntly, they were reformed through labor for twenty years.
In these twenty years, people will definitely be used to death.
Otherwise, there would be no way to repair so many major projects in the Ming Dynasty!
As for human rights...
Sorry, criminals do not deserve human rights until their rehabilitation is completed!
…
Nanjing, Forbidden City, Wenyuan Pavilion!
Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick!
The crisp sound of the telegraph sounded in Wenyuan Pavilion, and the telegraph transcriber crouched down to write, and strings of coded characters were transcribed on the paper.
Then, it is deciphered according to the special code book, and the coded characters are translated into paragraphs of text.
Zhu Hongyu stood in Wenyuan Pavilion and kept pacing.
The expression on his face is also full of expectation.
More than a year has passed since Zhu Hongyu ordered the construction of the telegraph network.
Now, the telegraph lines connecting the capital of the Ming Dynasty and the provincial capitals have finally been initially connected.
Today, we are testing the feasibility of the telegraph network!
Not long after, a telegram was deciphered and presented to Zhu Hongyu.
On the white rice paper, there is a line of text written clearly.
"Long live our emperor, may our country live forever! - Fang Shengzhou, Chief Minister of Guangdong."
An obvious smile appeared on Zhu Hongyu's face.
Immediately afterwards, telegrams were deciphered one after another and presented to Zhu Hongyu.
"Long live our emperor, may our country live forever! --- Jiang Yuan, Chief Minister of Guangxi."
"Long live our emperor, and our country will last forever! - Chief Envoy of Fujian..."
"...——Chief Envoy of Jiangxi Province..."
"...——Huguang Chief Envoy..."
"..."
As congratulatory messages from the chief envoys of various provincial governments arrived one after another, a smile was clearly visible on Zhu Hongyu's face.
Then he burst out laughing.
"ha!"
"Ha ha!"
"Hahaha!"
"From today on, even if you are thousands of miles away, news can arrive instantly!"
"From today on, even if there are thousands of rivers and mountains, government orders can be reached in one day!"
Seeing this, everyone around Zhu Hongyu bowed down one after another.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
"Long live my emperor, may the Ming Dynasty live forever!"
"Long live my emperor, may the Ming Dynasty live forever!"
"..."
Zhu Hongyu said with a flick of his sleeves.
"Ping Shen, all Ping Shen!"
"All those who have contributed to this experiment will be rewarded generously!"
Zhu Hongyu is in a pretty good mood right now.
A train, a telegram!
The combination of the two can give Zhu Hongyu a powerful civilization that can reach far beyond the Han and Tang Dynasties!