"General." A quarter of an hour later, a soldier came in with a bloody human head and threw it at the feet of all the family heads. They were so frightened that they all backed away. Their faces were pale, their whole bodies were shaking, and their eyes were full of fear.
To be honest, they had never thought about actually confronting the Zhao State. Even the Yan State was not Zhao's opponent, let alone the powerful families like them.
They just hope to obtain some benefits through resistance, such as occupying a large number of fields and servants as in the past, and gaining the right to speak in Liaodong.
As for Zhao, all they want is taxes, so they can just hand them over as usual.
Everyone gets what they need, and no one suffers.
They have always cooperated with Yan State in this way.
The wealthy families in Liaodong feel that Zhao Guo should also agree. Even if they don't agree, the worst they can do is to take a step back. As long as Liaodong is still in their hands, they will have the bargaining chip to negotiate with Zhao Guo.
But reality shattered their illusions.
Zhao Guo didn't take them seriously at all. Even the strongest He family was just a low-class family in Zhao Guo's eyes, let alone other families.
"Huang Yi." Li Mu looked at his thousands of generals.
"The end is here." Huang Yi took a step forward, cupping his fists and said.
The heads of the family looked at Li Mu tremblingly, not knowing what order this killer would give.
"Lead the army to Ping County and capture the Su family. All three clans will be beheaded. Nine clans will be moved to the Great Wall to fill in the borders." Li Mu ordered.
"No." Huang Yi said, clasping his fists, turning around and striding out of the lobby.
"Mr. Wu'an, please be merciful and merciful. The head of the Su family is already dead, and the three members of the Su family must be beheaded. Isn't this punishment a bit too severe? I heard that the king is famous for his benevolence and righteousness. Even ordinary soldiers, the king will not
I'll take it lightly. Aren't you afraid of the king's punishment if you act like this?" an official said in a deep voice.
"The rebellion is already very merciful by not killing the nine tribes, so why should it be too harsh?" Li Mu said coldly.
"We will definitely jointly impeach Mr. Wu An." Another official said.
"Don't worry, it will be your turn soon." Li Mu glanced at the other person, his cold eyes frightening the other person to back away.
"I don't know who killed the magistrate of Ping County, but I am sure that the murderer is one of you. If no one comes forward, I will kill them one by one and copy them one by one.
If you don’t believe me, I can’t find any evidence.” Li Mu said loudly, “Someone is here, drag the head of the Lu family out and behead him.”
"Wait a minute, I said, I said." Hearing this, the head of the Lu family was so frightened that he knelt on the ground.
"Master Lu, you have to think clearly," an official said urgently.
"Wait a minute." Li Mu pointed at the official who just spoke, "Drag him out first and behead him."
"I am an official of the imperial court, you cannot kill me." The official said loudly, but the Great Wall Army only obeyed Li Mu's orders and did not care who he was and dragged him out mercilessly.
"If you don't accept it, go to the king to impeach me, and I can give you travel expenses to Handan." Li Mu said.
All the family heads were filled with hatred and wanted to kill Li Mu, but there was nothing they could do.
After a while, a soldier came in carrying a human head.
"You can say it now." Li Mu pointed at the head of the Lu family and said.
"The common people answered truthfully. I wonder if the general can let our Lu family go." The head of the Lu family knelt on the ground and said.
"Do you think you are qualified to negotiate terms with me?" Li Mu looked at the head of the Lu family jokingly.
"I said it was the county prime minister He Li who sent someone to kill him. He said he was just testing the court's reaction. If the court pursues the case, he will arrange for someone to come forward to take the blame. Because the He family is not based in Ping County, He will not be implicated in any case.
If the court does not pursue the case, he will find a way to replace the magistrate of Ping County with one of his own, and gradually control Liaodong. To this end, he also called together all the heads of our famous families, asked all families to advance and retreat together, and signed and signed.
"The head of the Lu family said quickly.
"Where's the list of signatures?" Li Mu asked.
"It's in He Li's hands," said the head of the Lu family.
"He Juncheng, what else do you have to say now?" Li Mu looked at He Li.
"I dare not say that I am loyal to the State of Zhao, but I can also say that I have no regrets for the State of Zhao. After the State of Zhao occupied Liaodong, I, the He family, were the first to stand up and cooperate with the State of Zhao in measuring land, clearing acres, and reunifying the country.
Weights and measures. If the governor punishes me for He's crime just because of the villain's slander, won't he be afraid of being reviled by the world? Who will dare to seek refuge with Zhao in the future?" He Li said in a deep voice.
"What Jun Cheng said makes sense. I wonder if anyone else has anything to say?" Li Mu looked at the other family heads and officials.
"The Patriarch of the Caomin Fan family is willing to testify. How can he bribe assassins to assassinate the imperial officials?" Another Patriarch stood up.
"My head, the Gongsun family, is also willing to testify..."
"My head, the Duan family, is also willing to testify..."
…
Soon, all the family heads stood up, and even some officials who were good friends with He Li also stood up.
He Li's face became paler and paler, his body trembled slightly, and he pointed at everyone with his trembling right hand, unable to speak.
"...Don't you even know how to keep your plans secret?" Li Mu looked at He Li and asked silently.
He Li said nothing. If Zhao Guo sent officials to investigate according to normal procedures, he could guarantee that none of the family heads would be leaked. Who would have thought that he would encounter Li Mu who did not act according to common sense.
It was just a county magistrate who died, but he led five thousand elites to fight directly, and is still surrounded outside.
Li Mu didn't even say a word, he killed the family head first and then the officials, cleanly and neatly.
The heads of these ordinary wealthy families had never seen such a scene before. They were so frightened that they cried out and said something.
"Fan Zeng, Sima Shang." Li Mu looked at Fan Zeng.
"My subordinates are here." Fan Zeng and Sima Shang said with fists clasped.
"You two immediately led troops to the He Mansion, surrounded the He Mansion, and found the list of names signed by all the family heads." Li Mu said.
"Nuo." The two said, leading the troops and rushing towards He Mansion.
He Mansion is in Xiangping County, not far from the county government. An hour later, Fan Zeng and Sima Shang found the list in He Mansion and brought it over.
"Gongsun Chen, Duan Yang..." Li Mu called the names one by one. Every time someone's name was called, his face suddenly turned pale and his legs trembled.
In addition to the heads of wealthy families, most officials also signed it. In the entire county governor's office, except Fan Zeng, there were only three people who did not participate in this matter.
"Everyone on the list will be beheaded. Their families' homes will be confiscated, and the three clans will be moved to the Great Wall to fill in the borders. The He family is the chief culprit. Three clans will be executed, and the nine clans will be moved to the Great Wall to fill in the borders." Li Mu announced loudly.
The faces of the various family heads and officials lost all color and collapsed on the ground. They just knew the information and did not report it. They were at best accomplices. Why should they be punished so severely? Even the Qin State, which has the most stringent laws, would not do this.
"Governor, is this a bit too harsh?" Fan Zeng asked, cupping his fists.
"Harsh? I am protecting you and all the officials of Zhao State. Today they can kill the magistrate of Ping County, tomorrow they can kill you, the governor of Liaodong County, and the day after tomorrow they can kill me, the governor. This general is in the extraordinary realm,
And with the Great Wall Army as your own army, you are not afraid of being assassinated. Do you have military protection? Do the tens of thousands of officials in our Zhao Kingdom have military protection?"
"The king has said that the army is for external use, not for internal use. Even if it is for internal use, it is impossible for our Zhao State to equip every official with personal soldiers. So what about the personal safety of our Zhao State officials? The only way is to
Kill, stop killing. This is the first case in Liaodong. Only the most severe and harsh punishment can scare everyone in the world and not dare to kill the officials of our Zhao State. Otherwise, in the future, our Zhao State will annex other countries and officials will continue to do so.
And was assassinated to death." Li Mu said in a deep voice.
This matter is not just as simple as killing an official, but that some openings cannot be opened. The imperial court is the backing of all officials of the Zhao State, and must provide life safety guarantees to all Zhao State officials. Only in this way can they be able to work for the Zhao State with peace of mind.
Life safety, just like salary, is the most basic and basic requirement.
If the State of Zhao cannot even provide life safety guarantees to officials, then don't blame the officials for colluding with the local people. We are all human beings, and we all have only one life. Everyone seeks advantages and avoids disadvantages.
Just like in history, South Vietnam killed the Han envoys and slaughtered them into nine counties; King Wan killed the Han envoys and headed to the north of the county; North Korea killed the Han envoys and killed them immediately.
This is not just revenge, but also a kind of confidence, the confidence of the country, the confidence that the country gives to the messenger.
Even if I am an envoy from the Han Dynasty, I am more valuable than your king. If you dare to kill my Han envoy, you must be prepared to subjugate your country.
"My subordinate understands." Fan Zeng took a deep breath and said sincerely.
Those family heads and officials looked ashen. If even Fan Zeng couldn't stop Li Mu, who else in Liaodong could stop him.
"Drag them all out and behead them." Li Mu waved his hand and said, "In addition, send this matter to Handan and say that I will recommend it to be published in a slanderous newspaper so that everyone in the world will know about it."
"General, I'm afraid this will affect your reputation." Sima Shang said worriedly.
"If you can make some nobles shrink back, if you can make some officials strengthen their hearts, then a mere reputation won't matter." Li Mu waved his hand and said nonchalantly.
"General, justice." Fan Zeng said, cupping his fists.
"General, I will kill them right now." Sima Shang looked at He Li and others angrily, and led the Great Wall Army to escort them out.
"He Li has been cooperating with the government of Zhao State, but he didn't expect that he would secretly assassinate the officials of Zhao State." Fan Zeng watched He Li gradually disappear from sight and sighed.
"Did Governor Fan really not expect that?" Li Mu looked at Fan Zeng. The other party was able to rush to He Mansion within an hour, find the list, and bring it back. It was obvious that he was well prepared. It's just that Fan Zeng and him have different powers and different personalities.
, destined to have different ways of solving things.
Li Mu believed that Fan Zeng could handle the matter well even if he didn't come.
But Fan Zeng's so-called handling of the matter is definitely not a result that satisfies him.
So here he is.
"I just felt that He Li's behavior was a little unusual, so I paid attention to it. Without the general, I might still be struggling now." Fan Zeng said with a smile.
"Sometimes it's a good thing to hide your clumsiness, but sometimes it's not a good thing to hide your clumsiness. There are many geniuses in the younger generation of our Zhao country, and they have far more experience than you. This is a big world, and all the opportunities you can think of are possible.
If you keep hiding, you may never catch up." Li Mu patted Fan Zeng on the shoulder, stood up and walked outside.
Zhao Kuo once praised Li Si and Feng Quji for their talents as prime ministers, and also said that Fan Zeng had the talents of prime ministers. However, in Li Mu's view, compared with Li Si and Feng Quji, at least for now, there is still a big gap.
of.
The abilities of Li Si and Feng Quji have won the recognition of all senior officials in Zhao State. Compared with Gongqing, their only difference is their qualifications.
Most of Zhao's senior officials have only heard Fan Zeng's name and don't even know what he looks like.
"My subordinates have learned a lesson." Fan Zeng was silent for a while and said respectfully.
Three days later, Li Mu left Sima Shang behind, assisted Fan Zeng in ransacking his home and moving the wealthy and prominent families, and he rushed to western Liaoning with two thousand Great Wall troops.
Although the wealthy families in western Liaoning also made some moves, they were nothing compared to those in eastern Liaodong. They wanted to raise prices and arouse public resentment, but in the end, even the market was occupied by the Zhao Chamber of Commerce, and nothing was gained.
I also lost a lot of money.
For these wealthy families, Li Mu did not order their homes to be confiscated like in Liaodong, but he only asked all wealthy families to hand over their hidden fields and servants, and cooperate with the government to complete household registration. Anyone who concealed anything again would be severely punished.
"Any more questions?" In the lobby, Li Mu looked at all the heads of famous families below.
"No." Everyone's heads shook like rattles.
News of what happened in Liaodong had long been reported in the past few days, and they were extremely lucky that those idiots in Liaodong assassinated the county magistrate before they did, blocking the disaster for them. Otherwise, it was hard to say whether they would be alive now.
"I am not a murderer, and I, the State of Zhao, have no intention of exterminating you all. You can go to Hebei and ask about the nobles who are attached to our State of Zhao. Compared with a few years ago, which one is not several times stronger? Some of them are
He even obtained a fief and was on par with his ancestors. The king once said that all Xia are one, whether it is Yan or Zhao, they are all China, regardless of each other. As long as you make enough contributions, you can also get a fief. You can think about it yourself
, which is more important, the immediate benefit or the fiefdom." Li Mu said to everyone.
…
In the palace, Zhao Kuo was spanking Zhao An with a belt. This guy actually threw firecrackers into the teacher's carriage after school today. As a result, the horse pulling the carriage was frightened when he heard the explosion of firecrackers and pulled the carriage all the way.
The carriage was successfully pulled into the river.
Then the teacher complained to Zhao Kuo...
"Papa, do you dare to do it again?" Zhao Kuo asked as he pumped.
"I don't dare anymore." Zhao An cried.
"Your Majesty, this is a letter from Lord Wu An." At this time, Liu Ping came over.
At this moment, Liu Ping is the best person in the world in Zhao An's eyes.