After Lin Zhongmo finished speaking, he smiled bitterly and said: "The local tycoons in Guangdong are all the patriarchs of large families. Without the support of the clan, they cannot become local tycoons. So the two are actually a group of people."
"This is a battle with me!" King Chu licked his lips excitedly and said: "I just want to eliminate gangs and eliminate evil, and I didn't name who I wanted to deal with, but they couldn't wait to jump out first. This is not
Aren’t you asking for it?”
"Yes." Daotong nodded and said: "When ordinary people commit crimes, the government will deal with them. Only their children, relying on the protection of their clans, make the government helpless after they commit crimes. As a result, they become more and more emboldened and unscrupulous. Not to mention all the grievances in Guangzhou City.
This group of people probably made it."
"Isn't this just right?" Lao Liu said with a smile: "If you want to sleep, someone will give you a pillow."
As he spoke, he asked the two of them: "There were a lot of lawsuits and reports received during the half-day yesterday, right?"
"Totaling the five yamen together, excluding the duplicates, family disputes, marital discord and other minor matters, there are a total of 1,520 cases, most of which involve human lives." Lin Zhongmo replied quickly.
"That's enough." Zhu Zhen said solemnly: "To receive reports of so many serious cases in half a day shows how many injustices the people of Yangcheng have suffered in the past!"
"But the officers who summoned the defendant today will most likely return empty-handed." Daotong sighed: "They said the suspects had received the news a long time ago and hid in their clan's village."
"The people here in Guangdong, because the government is weak, have to rely on their own clansmen to protect themselves. Therefore, most of the people live in a large village. The village has built walls, some have built watchtowers, and even dug trenches. There are villages
Ding is guarding it day and night, not letting outsiders in." Lin Zhongmo explained.
"Oh, it's similar to the earthen buildings with enclosed houses in Fujian." Lao Liu suddenly said.
"There are often thousands of men in their clan, even tens of thousands at most, and there are only a few official officials. Even if they let them in, they would not dare to go in and take away the people." Daotong smiled bitterly and said: "There is no one to collect the bodies of those who died inside.
.”
"No wonder the local tycoons in Guangdong are so arrogant. It turns out that this is where they have the confidence." Zhu Zhen smiled nonchalantly and said, "It's a pity that times have changed. If you want to rely on a mere village to fight against the imperial court, you are simply overestimating your capabilities."
"When you go back, classify the cases according to clans and make a list of suspects to be arrested in each family." He said in a deep voice and ordered his fellow Taoists: "Then go to the door to arrest the people in person!"
"Yes." The two of them quickly agreed in a deep voice. Zhu Zhen looked at Tao Tong again and said: "But you are a little magistrate, so it is inevitable that others will look down upon you."
"Yes." Daotong smiled bitterly, feeling hurt a hundred thousand times.
"Well, isn't there a vacancy in the position of Inspector? I will order you to temporarily take up the post of Inspector!" Then the King of Chu said again.
"I obey!" Daotong immediately felt no hurt. Although he was just an agent, he was still a provincial official!
"Don't you have soldiers at the Chasi Yamen? Tomorrow you will go door-to-door to arrest people. Your attitude must be tough," the King of Chu said in a loud voice:
"Tell them that you are under the orders of the imperial envoy. Anyone who dares to resist arrest is a rebel!"
"Yes!" Daotong responded excitedly and asked, "Then what?"
"Then you go to the next house." Zhu Zhen said and came up with another idea: "Oh, by the way, before you leave, you can use red paint to draw a big circle on the wall of his house, and write a big... in reverse
!”
"Just draw a circle around the rejected family, write the opposite word, and label them all as rebels. Tell them that now their whole family is guilty!"
"What next?" Daotong asked again. It's not that he likes to break the casserole and ask for the truth, but His Highness the King of Chu's tricks are always so evil. If he doesn't ask clearly, he will really feel unsure.
"After that, I will ask Marquis Yongjia to destroy them." Zhu Zhen did not hide anything. He never played any conspiracy, he only played scheming, and he was not afraid of the other party knowing.
"Yongjiahou is in the same group as them..." Lin Zhongmo said in surprise.
"Just ask him if he listens," Zhu Zhen waved his hands domineeringly: "If he doesn't listen, he is also rebelling!"
"Good guy..." Lin Dao and the two gasped together. His Highness really likes to label people as treason.
"Don't they like to commit rebellion at every turn?" Lao Liu said with a smile: "Isn't it a coincidence? I like to suppress rebellion. Now it's 'sitting on the mortar with a sharp ass - it's the right number'. Let's
Let’s see which one is their specialty in rebellion, or my specialty in counterinsurgency!”
"Hi..." The two of them thought that these were just nonsense jokes. But they really couldn't laugh when they encountered such a person who was afraid of chaos in the world.
~~
After coming out of the pavilion, Lin Zhongmo first clasped his fists and said: "Congratulations to Daozhengtai. You have been promoted from the head of a county to the head of a province. It is really an official legend."
"Uncle Fang, please don't make fun of me. This is just a temporary title that His Highness gave me for the sake of convenience." Daotong made a fool of himself and hurriedly waved his hands to avoid it.
"Hey, as long as you do it well, it's not just a matter of His Highness to remove the word 'Department'?" Lin Zhongmo said with a smile: "Of course this errand must be done well."
As he said this, he was a little confused: "This is a declaration of war with the local tyrants in Guangzhou. If one person doesn't get it right, he will be in doom."
"Haha, don't worry, Uncle Fang. Anyone else would definitely think twice before taking action. But Dao Tong has already died once. His Highness gave me this life. Any hesitation would be an apology to my own conscience."
"That's true." Lin Zhongmo nodded and said, "We can only follow His Highness until the end, but can the situation in Guangdong really be fought as His Highness wishes without breaking it?"
Daotong smiled and said: "I have confidence in His Highness. Since he said it's okay, nothing will happen."
"Alas, Your Highness has never seen how skilled those local tycoons in Guangdong are in revolting and causing trouble. They either want to be emperors, or in the name of self-protection, they declare overnight that they no longer obey the government, and they will make you miserable until you die." Lin Zhongmo
But he was not as optimistic as he was, and said with a sad face:
"What's even more troublesome is that His Highness wants to label Marquis Yongjia as a rebel. Zhu Liangzu has a hundred thousand troops to conquer the south and thirty thousand troops stationed in Guangdong. He is about to attack Yunnan. Who can touch him at this time?
"
"Well, I'm really afraid that our Highness will take it for granted and the trouble will get out of hand..." He said with a long sigh: "When the chaos in Guangdong affects the overall situation, the Emperor may not necessarily protect anyone."
"Of course, Your Highness Bao, do you still need to ask?" Daotong's voice raised slightly.
"Yes." Lin Zhongmo nodded quickly, and did not dare to say the second part of the sentence, "No matter how big the trouble is with the King of Chu, nothing will happen. At worst, we just slap our butts and leave, and we will take the blame."
"Don't worry, Uncle Fang," Daotong reassured him: "Although His Highness is young, he has been on his own for many years. What big storms have he not seen? He does everything carefully. If you dare to do this, you are confident that Guangdong can be guaranteed."
Not messy.”
"Oh, I hope so." Lin Zhongmo sighed countless times. He was really worried...
