Judge of the Lamp

Chapter 818 The Choice between Peach and Conscience

Under Xu Zhiqiong's torment, Shen Shuliang fell asleep and realized the method of sealing the body.

But after realizing it, he can't control the direction of use, and the first victim is himself.

Peeping at Zhuo Ling'er taking a bath, he would never say it in his life, but just now he said it so happily.

What he said was very different from what he thought, but he couldn't help himself to express it correctly.

This is the most basic skill of closing the orifice, the spirit of sealing the connection, and everything that can be connected inside and outside becomes unknown.

Shen Shuliang grabbed Xu Zhiqiong, and while weeping, he described Zhuo Linger's characteristics: "Zhuo Zhonglang, white, with broad shoulders, narrow waist, and a strong conscience..."

Zhuo Ling'er stood by the side of the street and looked towards this side.

Xu Zhiqiong covered Shen Shuliang's mouth, and brought him back to the officials' house.

After staying in the staff house for more than an hour, Xu Zhiqiong helped Shen Shuliang undo the technique.

Shen Shuliang cried to Xu Zhiqiong: "That bastard Wei Yi took me to see it. I didn't know that there was a hole in the room next door to Zhuo Zhonglang. I really didn't know..."

Xu Zhiqiong straightened his expression and said: "If you don't know a word, this matter is over?"

Shen Shuliang slapped himself: "I am willing to be punished by Chang Shi, Chang Shi can punish me however I want, Chang Shi, this matter must not be revealed, I am an honest person, if this matter spreads, my reputation will be ruined." It's all ruined."

Xu Zhiqiong sighed and said, "Forget it, don't say anything about it yourself, tell me where the hole is first, and I'll plug it up myself."

Shen Shuliang learned the technique of sealing the orifice, which solved an important problem. Xu Zhiqiong was discussing the technique with Shen Shuliang when someone came to report him. Qian Limu came back with more than 200 people.

Before Xue Yun complained about the lack of people, Xu Zhiqiong asked Qian Limu and Zhuo Linger to go out to recruit people. Zhuo Linger recruited more than a dozen people in the past two days, but Qian Limu remained silent.

Unexpectedly, when he made a move this time, he attracted more than 200 people.

Xu Zhiqiong went out to look at these people. Among the more than 200 people, more than 180 were men, and there were less than [-] women.

Except for the ninth-rank judges, they have no other cultivation bases.

In terms of physique, they are not outstanding, most of them are sallow and thin.

Looking at the clothes, the coarse cloth is ragged and patched, and they are all poor farmers.

Why do these poor peasants come to be judges?

Before Xu Zhiqiong could ask, Zhuo Ling'er spoke first: "Qian Changshi, didn't my little sister say you, are you willing to lead someone of this quality into the Taoist sect?"

Qian Limu walked to Xu Zhiqiong's side, and said in a low voice, "Brother, I can't help this time. If I don't bring them back, these people will die."

"What happened?"

Qian Limu told the story.

These poor people are from Tuodan County, Jizhou.

Jizhou, Xu Zhiqiong has been there, it is a serious poor place, when the women in the family cook, a grain of rice can't wait to break it in half and put it in the pot.

This year, Tuodan County suffered from insect infestation, and the harvest was less than half of what it used to be.

The magistrate of Jizhou knew that the harvest in Tuodan County was not good, so he ordered the county magistrate to collect taxes in advance, one grain counts, and collect all the grain to deal with the imperial court's autumn tax.

Some farmers resigned to their fate and handed over all their grain, but their livelihood for this year was also cut off.

There are also some young peasants who refuse to accept their fate, relying on the fact that they are not married and have no family ties, they take their food and go to the deep mountains, thinking that they are savages, and they will not hand over the rations for life.

In normal times, whoever wants to be a savage can do it, and the government will never stop him.

But when it comes to handing in food, how can they be easily let go!

The magistrate of Jizhou personally intervened in this matter, and determined that these people resisted the Fu, and they will all be dealt with according to conspiracy!
Their grain must be returned to the warehouse!
These evil people must be severely punished, and their heads are rolling, so as to make an example to others!

At first, these farmers thought that the roads in the mountains were dangerous, and the officers and soldiers could not find them.

But they are too naive. Not only can the officers and soldiers find them, but they also know how to deal with them. Once the water source is cut off and the road is blocked, they will be trapped alive.

Qian Limu said to Xu Zhiqiong: "Brother, if I don't care about them, they are waiting to die. The entire Yelang Kingdom can't tolerate them. If we don't take them to the Taoist gate, where else can they go?"

Zhuo Ling'er stopped talking, and saw a fifteen-year-old girl with tears in her eyes, trying not to cry, she stepped forward and patted the girl on the shoulder and said: "She is strong and courageous, I accept it, and be a girl." Apprentice, very good."

After saying that, Zhuo Ling'er looked at the other girl again: "She's a little thinner, she looks smart, I'll take this too."

This was for Xu Zhiqiong, she was afraid that Xu Zhiqiong would not accept these poor people.

Xu Zhiqiong walked back and forth a few steps in front of the crowd, lowered his eyes, and asked, "Who gave you the guts, are you so rebellious? How dare you refuse to pay the food?"

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, and a young man shouted: "That's our food for survival, we can't pay it."

Xu Zhiqiong came up to the young man and said, "I'll ask the government to spare you once. I won't chop your head off, and I won't arrest you and put you in prison. I'll let you go home and live an honest life. Do you still dare not pay the food?"

The young man was silent for a while, watching a girl shouting: "No! What can we do at home? There is no food to eat, how are we going to live? Aren't we still waiting to starve to death? I won't pay!"

Xu Zhiqiong yelled angrily: "It's so crazy! Are you really not paying?"

A skinny young man next to him gritted his teeth and said, "Just don't pay!"

Xu Zhiqiong shouted loudly at the crowd: "Are you really not paying?"

The crowd hesitated for a while, and shouted a few times:

"No."

"I, I don't pay either."

"No, I won't pay."

Xu Zhiqiong sneered and said, "What's the matter? If you ask a few more questions, you'll be cowardly? After all, aren't you still scared?"

"What are you afraid of!" A man in his 20s gritted his teeth. "We just want to live. There is no way to survive. What else is there to be afraid of!"

Xu Zhiqiong shouted: "Are you really not afraid?"

"Don't be afraid!" The voice was a little louder than just now.

Xu Zhiqiong said again: "Are you really not paying the food?"

"No payment!"

The sound is not only loud, but also tidy!

"Do you want to live like a person?"

"Alive!"

The voices of more than 200 people echoed above the Department of Punishment.

"Okay! Bring the seeds!" Xu Zhiqiong praised, turned to Chen Zhengming and said, "Take them to have a full meal first, and then give each of them a room.
Find high-quality fabrics, and buy a new dress for one person,

Go to Gongshuyan, each of you will receive a weapon,
Get a good night's sleep tonight, and practice tomorrow for me. From today on, live like a human being! "

"Obey, Chang Shi!" Chen Zhengming's voice also raised a lot.

A group of judges, rubbing their fists beside them, always feel itchy all over, wanting to do something.

Standing on the balcony, Xia Hu looked at the group of new judges, and murmured, "I don't know if they can shout as loudly as they did today."

Xu Zhiqiong jumped onto the balcony, stood beside Xia Hu and said, "Food is the capital of their lives. If they dare to fight for this morsel, they dare to fight for a way out."

Xia Hu shook her head and said, "But now that they have food, do they still have the guts to kill?"

Xu Zhiqiong smiled slightly: "With food, if someone snatches it away, they can kill it even harder."

Xia Hu sighed: "Looking at their bodies, I don't know if they can withstand the tempering of the ninth rank."

Xu Zhiqiong hugged Xia Hu from behind, and said with a smile: "Peach, I want what I want, and my conscience also wants what I want. You can't have both. Those who give up their conscience and take peaches, this is called choosing!"

Xia Hu was stunned for a while: "Why do you sacrifice your conscience for peaches?"

Xu Zhiqiong sighed and said: "A lady's peach is very majestic, but her conscience is quite weak..."

Xia Hu raised her foot and kicked Xu Zhiqiong to the bottom of the balcony.

It happened that Gongshuyan came to Xu Zhiqiong and brought Chang Shiyin over.

Xu Zhiqiong frowned and said, "It took so many days to make a seal!"

Gong Shuyan blinked his eyes and said: "This long history seal is not easy to make. With this thing, the cultivation base of the fifth rank and below can be abolished. The materials used for the workmanship are quite exquisite."

Xu Zhiqiong took the Changshi seal and said, "Go to Xia Zhonglang, get some money, and build two Changshi halls."

As soon as he heard that the business was coming, Gongshu Yan Huanhuan happily went to find Xia Hu.

Xu Zhiqiong called Chang Decai and asked, "How's the inquiry about Qiu Fu going?"

This year's Autumn Fu is very important to Xu Zhiqiong.

Chang Decai said: "Qin Yan has sent news that this year's tax will be increased by [-]% of the land tax."

Qiancheng Kingdom received [-]% of the land tax in previous years, but this year it will increase by [-]%, which means it will receive [-]%.

Xu Zhiqiong said: "Why do you want to add a Fu?"

Chang Decai said: "I don't know the specific reason, Qin Yan is still investigating."

Xu Zhiqiong shook his head and said, "Stop inquiring, tell Qin Yan to be more careful."

He went to Shu Wangfu and asked Hong Zhenji directly why.

Hong Zhenji added a glass of wine to Xu Zhiqiong: "Although the land tax collected by the imperial court has always been [-]%, the state donations and county donations in various places add up to [-]%, so the talents paid by the people every year have always been [-]%. With [-]% of the harvest, barely make ends meet,

Shenjun said that the land tax is a gift from all the people to the imperial court, and it cannot fall into the private pockets of the prefectures and counties, so [-]% of the land tax should be collected. "

Xu Zhiqiong said: "So, the common people still have to pay [-]%?"

Hong Zhenji pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "The state and county are not willing to suffer after all."

Xu Zhiqiong was taken aback: "They don't want to suffer a loss, and they still have to charge [-]%, so they only keep [-]% for the common people?"

Hong Zhenji was silent for a long time and said: "This kind of thing has happened before. People, there is always a way to survive."

Xu Zhiqiong smiled wryly and said: "Maybe some people think that this [-]% is too much, isn't this the way of grace?"

Hong Zhenji added another glass of wine to Xu Zhiqiong: "Mr. Yun, let's not talk about these things while having wine."

……

At dawn the next day, Xu Zhiqiong returned to the Punishment Division and saw a group of old judges training the new judges.

Advance and retreat, offense and defense, every move, every move has to be taught from scratch.

Xu Zhiqiong looked at it for a while, shook his head and said, "If you continue to learn like this, it will be too slow to become a talent. Call all the old judges."

Zhuo Ling'er got the order to gather everyone together.

Xu Zhiqiong said to the crowd: "Everyone, are you familiar with the prefects of all states?"

Everyone was startled and nodded one after another.

Don't you know me well? I have walked past the magistrate's house several times for destroying and adding Fu twice.

Xu Zhiqiong said again: "You set off immediately and send news to the states that this year the land tax will be exempted."

"Free?" Bao Huailuo blinked and said, "How can it be free?"

"I say free is free." Xu Zhiqiong adjusted his breath and calmed the surging power in his body, "One old one, bring two new ones, and teach them how to do this job."

(End of this chapter)