Wang Kuan yelled at this person who was once his subordinate and now blocked him from giving orders.
"Master Prefect, do you know who is standing in front of you?"
Putting down his arms, Wei Li called back from afar.
"Who are you?" Wang Kuan murmured in a low voice, looking away from the distance and looking at Xiao Chen, "You, who are you?"
Without saying anything, Xiao Chen slowly reached into his waist with his right hand and took out the purple plum blossom order: "Dongchang, Colonel in Purple Clothes."
"Colonel Ziyi, are you the imperial envoy?" Wang Kuan's heart was in his throat.
I originally thought that I could bring back 50,000 shi of grain to appease the people and at least stir up some tension with the imperial envoy. I then thought that I would lift a stone and hit myself in the foot.
"The emperor didn't say that I was an imperial envoy, he just asked me to bring people to Gongchang for disaster relief." Xiao Chen said with a smile.
Even the most stupid person can tell that Xiao Chen is the imperial envoy sent by the imperial court for disaster relief.
In Gongchang Mansion, the prefect was the largest, but that was when there were no visitors from the imperial court.
Now, the imperial envoy of the imperial court is standing in front of him, and he is still eloquent and arrogant. Isn't he looking for trouble?
No matter what, the mistake has been made. All we need to do is hold the other party steady and wait for my father to come in a few days to deal with him.
When he thought of his father, who was the Marquis of Dingxi, Wang Kuan felt much more relaxed.
He held his fists together and said to Xiao Chen: "Wang Kuan, the prefect of Gongchang, please see the imperial envoy."
"Kneel down." Xiao Chen said with a smile.
"Sir," Wang Kuan couldn't help being stunned, "the imperial court does not stipulate that you must kneel down and bow when you see an imperial envoy."
"I don't want you to kneel to me, I want you to kneel to the tens of millions of people affected by the disaster in Gongchang." Xiao Chen's tone slowly increased, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.
Although he was wearing a school captain's uniform, his posture with his hands behind his back and his back straight gave people an irresistible sense of majesty.
"Sir, I have returned with fifty thousand shi of food." Wang Kuan looked embarrassed.
At this moment, I must not kneel down.
When he knelt down, he was admitting that he did not collect taxes according to the court's regulations, but instead increased the taxes privately, leaving the people with no food left in their homes and no resistance to the drought.
When he knelt down, he was admitting that he had squandered all the grain reserves in Gongchang Mansion. As a last resort, he went to his father's house to borrow grain and took the opportunity to establish his father's prestige.
"Kneel down." Xiao Chen repeated without expression.
Seeing that Xiao Chen didn't give him any face, Wang Kuan felt a little angry.
What's wrong with the imperial envoy? His father is still a marquis, and he is a marquis personally named by Taizu.
Even if he is facing the current emperor, his father can refuse to kneel down and pay homage. After all, he is still a young prince. How can he lose his face by kneeling down to an imperial envoy who is only ordered to provide disaster relief?
With a cold snort, Wang Kuan said: "Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, you may not know that I am not only the prefect of Gongchang Mansion, but also the Young Marquis of the Dingxi Marquis family. I will not kneel to anyone except my father and the Emperor."
Xiao Chen stopped talking, slowly raised his right hand and waved it.
At the gate of the city, there was a sound of ripping clothes.
The two Dongchang captains used their feet to leap over the heads of the defenders and landed next to Wang Kuan.
Without saying anything, one person grabbed Wang Kuan's arm and twisted him to face the people. At the same time, one person kicked Wang Kuan in the crook of the leg.
With a "pop", Wang Kuan was kicked to his knees and fell to the ground.
Wei Li at the city gate felt his heart pounding as the prefect Wang Kuan was kicked to the ground.
Wei Li knew Wang Kuan's family background clearly.
If the imperial envoy did this, I'm afraid it would be really hard for him to explain to the Marquis of Dingxi.
"I am the young Marquis. If you treat me like this, you are committing trouble." Wang Kuan roared loudly while struggling.
Although he was kicked to the ground, Wang Kuan had no intention of submitting.
Not to mention the Gongchang Mansion, he was not afraid of anyone, not even the entire imperial court.
In his heart, there is a big brother, that is his father Ding Xihou.
Following Taizu to conquer the world, no one knows what will happen to Dingxihou once he is offended.
If he can persuade him kindly, he can still give the imperial envoy face and apologize to the people.
Using force like this, do you really think that your father is just a showpiece?
"Palm mouth." Under the horrified gazes of everyone, Xiao Chen slowly spit out two words.
As soon as he finished speaking, the two captains each took out one hand and slapped it on Wang Kuan's face with a crackling ear-scratcher.
After being slapped with more than a dozen ear scrapers, Wang Kuan had been beaten so hard that he was dizzy. There was faint blood oozing from his nose and the corners of his mouth.
His whole body was trembling, and the arrogance and arrogance he had just now had long since disappeared.
He lowered his head and panted heavily.
Putting down his hands behind his back, Xiao Chen walked to Wang Kuan's side, and with a "pop", he knelt on the ground.
Gong Chang and Wei Li, the magistrate at the gate of the city, frowned. How could the imperial envoy sing this?
Raising his head and scanning the faces of the stunned people, Xiao Chen slowly said: "If we had built water conservancy projects, this drought would not have happened, and so many people would not have been displaced and starved to death.
This is Gongchang Mansion's dereliction of duty, and I plead guilty to you on behalf of Gongchang Mansion."
As he spoke, he bent down and kowtowed to the people in front of him, who were all sallow, thin, and dressed in ragged clothes.
The common people had never seen such a formation before, and they were at a loss for a moment. You looked at me, I looked at you, and you didn't know what to say.
Standing up straight, Xiao Chen said again: "If we collect taxes according to the court's regulations and don't increase taxes privately, everyone's families will definitely have surplus food. Even in the face of drought, they can survive for a while. This is because the court's supervision is not strict.
On behalf of the Chief Secretary of Shaanxi Province, I apologize to everyone."
Saying that, Xiao Chen kowtowed again.
In the minds of the people, everyone knows that Gongchang Mansion belongs to the Chief Secretary of Shaanxi, but what exactly the Chief Secretary is is unknown to everyone.
Still at a loss, he looked at Xiao Chen who was kneeling on the ground, his eyes wide and a little frightened.
The people didn't understand, and Wei Li, who was a co-president of Gongchang, felt secretly cold in his heart.
This time, it is not only the prefect of Gongchang who has been sacked, but the Chief Secretary of Shaanxi may also suffer the consequences.
"The prefect of Gongchang ran out of grain reserves in Gongchang, which prevented the disaster relief porridge operation from starting for a long time. As a result, tens of thousands of people in Gongchang starved to death. At this critical moment of life and death, the court's disaster relief has not yet arrived.
No matter what the reason is, if a victim dies, it is the fault of the imperial court. I am here to apologize to everyone on behalf of the imperial court."
Xiao Chen bent down again, his whole body lying on the ground.
The crowd fell silent, and faint bursts of crying could be heard.
The crying seemed to be contagious, and gradually became one.
After a while, the entire people surrounding the city squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands, and began to cry loudly.
Amid the cries, vague accusations could be heard faintly.
"What's the use of asking for forgiveness? I am the only one in my family of five who died. Can asking for forgiveness restore their lives?"
"The dog magistrate secretly increased taxes. He wants to smash all our bones and make soup for us."
"We have worked hard all year long, but all the taxes we paid have been squandered. How many families are fed by this? Aren't you afraid of dying if you squander?"
"Our village is close to a mountain. If the water flowing down from the ravine can be channeled a little, the fields can be irrigated. If the government came forward to reject different opinions, the aqueduct would have been built long ago. Is there any need to suffer like this?"
"..."
Xiao Chen stood up, ignoring the two lumps of dust on his knees, and cupped his hands towards the people: "This is all the fault of the imperial court, causing everyone to endure this undue suffering. I heard that the drought in Gongchang, the emperor can't eat
Have a good sleep, the disaster relief food funds prepared by the Ministry of Revenue are on the way and will arrive in Gongchang soon. And all the existing problems in Gongchang will be solved by the imperial court."
"Now, what everyone has to do is to come to eat on time, and there will be enough food at the city gate. At the same time, receive treatment from the doctor, take good care of yourself, and then return to your respective villages. When everyone can go to work in the fields, we will build water conservancy projects.
Let Gongchang never experience such suffering as drought again."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, and thank you, the court." The people fell to the ground one after another.
The midday sun is scorching the earth, making people feel irritable.
But the continuous crying sounds were like the autumn wind passing over the mass graves, which made people heartbroken.
