first minister

Chapter 66 Verification (for further reading)

Standing outside the Yunfu where people come and go, Xia Jingyun felt that the hustle and bustle around him had quietly disappeared, leaving him alone to bear the overwhelming pressure.

The wind is blowing from all directions, and the chill is biting.

"Brother, brother!"

Zhang Dazhi's hesitant call woke him up from his contemplation.

Xia Jingyun came back to his senses, took a deep breath, collected himself, and began to think about countermeasures.

Now go to Empress Defei and arrest the Zheng family father and son?

It is indeed a solution, but the teacher came out of nowhere, and nothing happened, so why arrest people like this?

What's more, the real problem is that this is just my own guess, what if it's not like that!
So, the first thing to do now is to confirm.

Xia Jingyun thought for a while, then looked at Zhang Dazhi, "Brother, can I trouble you?"

"Brother, you still want to call me this old brother, this kind of friendship, even if I go up the mountain of swords and down the sea of ​​​​fire, I won't frown!"

Xia Jingyun took out a bank note from his bosom, "Please help me to buy some cooked meat and pastries. Buy more. It doesn't need to be too good. You can eat it directly and fill your stomach. I plan to go to the labor camp. After buying it, we will meet at the gate of the labor camp, as soon as possible."

Zhang Dazhi was puzzled and couldn't figure it out, but since Xia Jingyun said so, it's not a big deal, so he nodded in agreement,
Xia Jingyun pressed his mind and entered the mansion. Not long after, he led the ten-person team out of Yunfu again.

This group of people sent Xia Jingyun off three times in a row, and with Xia Jingyun's heart-touching words that day, they had a lot of affection for the new nobleman, and happily followed him away.

"Master Xia, where are we going?"

Xia Jingyun laughed twice, "Go to a labor camp outside the city, and I will trouble you brothers to protect me."

"Don't dare to do it, don't dare to do it, please don't worry, Mr. Xia, for the matter of your duty."

A group of people came to the gate of the labor camp and waited for a while, then Zhang Dazhi and his disciples led two carts full of goods, sweating profusely, to meet them.

Then everyone went directly to the labor camp.

When the labor camp manager saw Zhang Dazhi, he ran over quickly, but when he saw Xia Jingyun, his expression changed suddenly, and he knelt down in fear to say hello.

Xia Jingyun reached out to lift him up, and said with a smile: "There is no need to be polite. I came here today because I heard that these laborers have finished their work, but due to the current situation, they can't return home, so I bought some meat and pastries. I came to express my condolences. The Mid-Autumn Festival will be full soon, so we can talk about comfort."

Naturally, the steward dared not have any opinions, "Mr. Xia is benevolent, and the laborers must be grateful."

Then the steward first called out everyone in the male labor camp, sat on the ground, and then asked the supervisors to surround them vigilantly with whips to prevent any changes.

He turned sideways and smiled flatteringly, "Young Master Xia, please?"

Xia Jingyun stepped forward, his eyes swept over everyone present.

There are not many faces that I have an impression of. I don't know if I didn't remember a few, or the ones I knew were almost dead.

"Everyone, some of you may still know me. More than 20 days ago, I was a laborer in this labor camp just like you."

On the numb and dirty faces of the workers, there was a slight fluctuation in their expression like stagnant water, and then they returned to dead silence.

Xia Jingyun didn't take it seriously, and said to himself: "Now the Empress Concubine De is here. She is ordered by His Majesty to bring a well-trained army and important officials of the central government. The army is going to suppress bandits, and the important officials are coming to punish corrupt officials. They want to open up a clear sky for our Sishui Prefecture!"

"I am also the beneficiary of the arrival of Empress Defei this time. Those who know me should remember that my whole family was dispatched here, but now, our unjust case has been vindicated, our ancestral property has been recovered, and life is getting better again."

"What I mean by this is that I hope everyone will not give up hope. Now, the most difficult time has passed. Those corrupt officials, local tyrants and evil gentry who made us become like this will be punished, justice will be done, and our grievances will be vindicated! Everything will be fine!"

The words finally stirred up some waves and anger on the faces of these workers, and a glimmer of hope ignited in many people's eyes.

At this moment, a voice rang out from the crowd, "My lord, you have the ability. You have such a good thing when you meet a noble person. For people like us, there is no such good thing! It's not bad if you can survive!"

This sentence is like a basin of water, quietly extinguishing the light in the eyes of the workers.

Xia Jingyun, who had been paying attention to the scene, immediately locked on to the speaker and waved, "Brother, can you come up and talk?"

The man panicked immediately, "My lord, please forgive me, but the small ones are just unintentional words."

Xia Jingyun smiled, "Don't worry, I'm here to condolence, not to hurt you."

When the man was pushed up by a supervisor, Xia Jingyun found a chair and asked him to sit beside him.

Then, he reached out and took the dirty hand of the other party.

He said with emotion, "Looking at these hands, I couldn't help but think of the days in the camp. I was short of food and drink, and I was exhausted. I thought every day, if I could eat one more cornbread, that would be great. Whoever can give me a bite of meat is my reborn parents."

Seeing Xia Jingyun shaking hands without hesitation, and listening to Xia Jingyun's words that deeply resonated with them, the hearts of the workers gradually moved closer to Xia Jingyun.

Xia Jingyun waved at the right time, and Zhang Dazhi and his apprentices cooperated with the supervisors to distribute meat and pastries to everyone.

Smelling the long-lost smell of meat, many people almost shed tears.

"I sometimes think about what mistakes we ordinary people have made, what sins we have committed, and we should suffer such crimes for nothing. When I think about it, I feel resentful and resentful. I hate the local tyrants and evil gentry, I hate corrupt officials, I hate the court. I wish I could rise up and kill all the rich and officials, seize their property, occupy their wives and concubines, eat their flesh and lay their skins on their skins."

As soon as these words came out, not only the workers below were taken aback, but the Wudang Army sergeant, Zhang Dazhi, the labor camp manager and others all changed their faces.

Fortunately, Xia Jingyun got a but.

"However, when I saw those bandits and bandits doing all kinds of evil, burning, killing and looting, and turning from a person into a beast who only knows how to indulge desires, I knew that my thoughts were extreme and wrong."

"What is the imperial court? The imperial court is a kind of order. What is the meaning of order? It is not to make the weak like lambs, but to let the strong know the bottom line. It forcibly restrains the strong who can do whatever they want into the scope of order, and then can protect the weak, so that our whole world can operate in an orderly manner. Just imagine, if the imperial court is gone and there are mountain kings everywhere, what will happen to us. The big fist can easily deprive us of money, wives, daughters, and even lives. Those with small heads can only be enslaved, squeezed, and slaughtered like livestock. Could those days be better than now?"

"So, we can't lose order."

Xia Jingyun tried his best to relieve the depression and anger in the hearts of these workers. It was not only brainwashing, but also his true thoughts.

Breaking up all order, happy grievances and hatred sounds refreshing and comfortable, but that kind of tragedy is definitely the nightmare of most ordinary people.

Otherwise, why would there be a saying that he would rather be a dog of peace than a person in a troubled world? It is the blood and tears of those who have come here.

"Fortunately, His Majesty has now noticed our Sishui prefecture. The concubine de concubine is here. When she comes, there will be a clear sky! The people she brings will wipe out these corrupt officials and give us back a clear and sunny sky!"

And while he said these words, he kept holding that man's hand, visualized in his mind, and finally waited for the picture that flashed before his eyes.

In the night, this man was leaning against the entrance of a large hall, holding a knife in his right hand and covering his abdomen with his left hand, with blood flowing from his fingers.

There were shouts of killing everywhere, and among the corpses all over the floor, most of them were laborers with yellow faces and emaciated faces like him, and then there were sporadic sergeants of the Wudang Army wearing armor and holding weapons.

Seeing that they were all about to be slaughtered, there was a louder noise, and a team wearing armor and holding weapons rushed out from the dark alley opposite.

With the cover of a round of arrow rain, he rushed over.

There was no way for this man to hide, and two sharp arrows were stuck in his body in an instant.

At the moment when his life was passing rapidly, he heard a loud shout from the hall he had attacked just now.

"Zheng Yuanwang! How dare you collude with bandits!"

He raised his eyes and saw that the last scene in his life was the team that suddenly appeared, stepping on the corpses of these workers as a ladder, and launched a fierce attack towards the main hall.

At the end of the picture, Xia Jingyun suddenly felt extremely weak and dizzy, his eyes went dark, and he almost fell off the chair directly.

"Master Xia!"

The chief beside him hurriedly supported him with a concerned look on his face.

Fuck, this is too exaggerated. Sure enough, I will use it less in the future.
Xia Jingyun stabilized slowly, waved his hands, then glanced at the men beside him and the workers below, and said seriously: "Everyone, I hope you cherish life and the future. There is always hope in life. We must not be the ones who break order and profit."

"Finally, I wish everyone an early return home and an early reunion with their families."

After finishing speaking, he let go of his hand, patted the man on the shoulder, and led him away.

The laborers silently looked at this noble young man who is not what he used to be. Although he didn't feel much about what he said, he gave us meat!

Good people, good people's words should still be listened to.

Whether you understand it or not, a seed is still planted in your heart after all.

Coming out of the labor camp, Xia Jingyun had been acting as if nothing had happened, but when he walked to the door and there was no one around him, Xia Jingyun's expression changed suddenly. Looking at Shi Chang, he said eagerly, "Take me to your general, hurry up!"

(End of this chapter)