Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 359: Convincing people with virtue is heartbreaking

"Meet the Governor!"

Xie Kang, Xie Yuxia and his son knelt down respectfully under the hall.

Chen Qingsi looked at the two people who took the opportunity to pay homage and said, "You two came here specifically to see the governor, saying that you have important matters to discuss, but you don't know what they mean?"

Xie Kang kowtowed and said: "My father and I have always admired Tian's grace, and we have come here to report to the Governor that the Kun family in Xiongjin City has colluded with the rebels and murdered the Governor. They must contribute."

Chen Qingsi narrowed her eyes and said, "Get up and talk!"

After Xie Kang and Xie Yuxia Xie En stood up, Chen Qingsi asked: "Is there any evidence?"

Xie Kang said: "There is no clear evidence, but it is very suspicious. The governor can know the authenticity with just one investigation."

"Say!" Chen Qingsi asked immediately.

Xie Kang said: "The Kun family is in the medicinal materials business. They lost a large amount of medicinal materials a month ago and were attacked and robbed by the rebels."

Chen Qingsi asked: "The rebels are causing chaos everywhere. It's not worth mentioning that anything has been robbed."

Xie Kang said with a smile: "That's true, but the place where the Kun family was robbed this time is very strange. According to normal circumstances, the Kun family's medicinal convoy should have passed through Mouzhi from Gaoxi and then north to Tangshan and Lushan before arriving at Xiongjin. But But they transferred from Mouxi to Gulu, and then went north to Quanzhou Acuo. The road was muddy and rugged and not suitable for transporting supplies. "

Seeing Chen Qingsi nod in approval, he continued: "The most important thing is that the medicinal materials intercepted by the Kun family are not ordinary cold-resistant and cold-repelling medicines as he said, but they are for hemostasis, sword wounds, and injuries. Frozen herbs.”

When Chen Qingsi heard this, he knew that if what Xie Kang said was true, there must be something fishy in it.

Although medicines for stopping bleeding and sword wounds are common medicinal materials, they are niche medicines. This is especially true for medicinal materials for frostbite. In Baekje, most people who can afford medicinal materials do not leave their homes in winter.

If you want to make money, you should prepare more medicinal materials to keep out the cold.

Unless used for military purposes...

Especially now that the rebels have no shelter from the cold and are hiding in the mountains and forests, they rarely suffer from severe frostbite injuries.

Frostbite medicine is extremely important to them.

As far as Chen Qingsi knew, the Tang Army's medicinal materials were all shipped along with the grain.

It goes back to the time of Su Dingfang's Eastern Expedition. No one could have imagined that Su Dingfang could end the battle in two months. The imperial court prepared sufficient supplies and left them in the Baekje warehouse.

These medicinal materials were obviously not prepared for the Tang army.

Chen Qingsi asked strangely: "These should be secrets, how do you know so clearly?"

Xie Kang bowed and said: "I don't dare to deceive the Governor. The Kun family and my Jie family have been feuding for hundreds of years, and they are like fire and water. The medicinal materials business was originally my Jie family's business, but the Kun family took advantage of it and took it by force. . My Jie family knows far more about the inside story of selling medicinal materials and transportation than the Kun family. The villain has long known from the medicine farmers that the Kun family contacted them to prepare more frostbite medicinal materials, but I have already suspected it. The former Protector had a good relationship with the Kun family, and the younger one didn’t dare to say anything about it.”

Chen Qing nodded in agreement with this statement, clasped his hands and said, "Okay, as long as what you say is true, not only the Kun family is robbing the medicinal materials business, but all the Kun family's business can be handed over to you..."

Before he could finish speaking, both father and son were already kneeling on the ground.

Xie Kang said excitedly: "The Xie family would like to thank the Governor for his great kindness..."

Chen Qingsi waved his hand to stop him and said: "I haven't finished speaking yet. There is no free lunch in this world. I can give you everything you want. The prerequisite is that you must prove that you have the qualifications and can do things for me. I At present, the governor does not care for idle people."

"Understood!" Xie Kang said: "My father and son will serve the Governor wholeheartedly."

"Go down!" Chen Qingsi waved his hand and asked Xie Kang to retreat.

Chen Qingsi then called Zhao Chiman and asked him to check the Kun family and interrogate the Kun family for colluding with the rebels.

Chen Qingsi emphasized: "The Kun family's collusion with the rebels may not be true. However, I need to light a fire to establish my authority. Since the Kun family is suspected, whether it is true or not, it is him."

Since he has arrested all nine wealthy gentry, there will definitely be no thunder and rain.

Although Chen Qingsi did not agree with Fang Renyu's method, Fang Renyu was the Protector of the Tang Dynasty after all. Since it was useless for him to treat virtuous officials, he would convince others with virtue. Well, yes, martial virtue.

No matter what, we must eliminate the two thorny families and teach them how to speak and do things.

Zhao Chiman did not regard the Baekje people as his own, so he agreed to go.

Chen Qingsi made a murderous arrangement, and then invited Hei Te Changzhi over for a drink and poured out his bitter feelings with him.

"I originally wanted to implement benevolent government, but the rebel forces are strong. Even in Xiongjin City, there are wealthy gentry who want to take my life. The Kun family directly supports the rebels. They use their monopoly on medicinal materials to use various methods to stop bleeding, wound wounds with swords, Frostbite herbs support the rebels. If someone is not severely punished to scare the tyrants, everyone will be like the Kun family, which will only cause greater turmoil and hurt more people. Don't blame General Black Teeth."

His teeth are always black and his mouth is bitter, so what can be said?
Zhao Chiman acted quickly, and he did not wrong the Kun family.

After all, Baekje is a country that has existed for hundreds of years. Although the country is small and has little culture, there are still some die-hard people who are unwilling to accept the new rule and secretly provide money to support the Baekje Restoration Army. From a perspective, it is natural.

The Kun family is one of them.

Zhao Chiman's interrogation skills were excellent, and with the evidence provided by his acquaintances, he quickly came up with the result.

Chen Qingsi showed no mercy to them. All the participants and the core members of the Kun family were killed. The men of the Kun family were exiled to Jiaodong to mine, and the women were shipped to Liaodong to be sergeants' wives, concubines or maids.

His killing immediately calmed many people.

Especially the other eight gentry who were imprisoned in prison.

When their lives were threatened, they did not dare to put on airs and tried every means to plead for mercy and express their loyalty.

Chen Qingsi remained unmoved until the head of the Teng family, Teng Ziqing, couldn't bear the fear and revealed to Chen Qingsi that the He family in Gusha City supported the rebels with money and food.

The Fuji family has business dealings with the He family, and Fujiko Kei was hinted that they would contribute to the destruction of Baekje together. But Fujiko Kei was timid and did not participate, but he had no intention of snitching. But now that disaster was approaching, he couldn't care less.

Chen Qingsi quickly released the Teng family from imprisonment, and at the same time dealt with the He family just like the Kun family, showing no mercy.

Following the example of the Teng family, the other seven families also fell into entanglement.

Baekje is not big. There are only five major cities in the core, located in the east, west, south, north and center of Baekje.

The powerful people in Baekje have close interactions with each other, including cultural exchanges, business contacts, and marriages. If there is any abnormality between them, everyone can detect it, but it is impossible to hide it from everyone. of.

Just like the Wu family who is in the grain business.

There is a shortage of 20,000 kilograms of grain in the Wu family's granary. No one knows where it went. But 20,000 kilograms of food have disappeared. How is it possible to hide it from everyone?

The Wu family was afraid of harming Chi Yu and being implicated, so they committed suicide.

Chen Qingsi reciprocated by killing all the family heads, and then appointed the informant as the new family head.

As a result, the remaining six families became even more panicked.

There is no shortage of sixth sons in the family who are eyeing their position. Even if they have a clear conscience, they cannot avoid someone making a fool of themselves.

Those who know the inside story tell the inside story, and those who don’t know the inside story write an order of allegiance and swear allegiance.

The most interesting thing is Master Huitong. He heard the news somewhere and was so frightened that he picked up Chen Qingsi’s smelly feet and said that Chen Qingsi was a holy son of the Buddhist family, the great disciple of the Buddha, the reincarnation of the wisest Shariputra. Baekje educates all people.

Chen Qingsi actually felt a little resentful when he heard this. He was a little displeased with Buddhism in his heart. Talking of him as some kind of holy son would not please him. However, the whole country of Baekje believed in Buddhism, so Chen Qingsi endured the discomfort and let him go, letting the other party publicize that he, a Buddhist, was here to educate all people.

After this farce, not only the gentry in Ungjin City, but also the entire Baekje gentry became honest.

That's how people are.

If you respect him a little, sometimes he will feel that he is great. They don't know what it means to be obedient until they are slapped in the face.

When Fang Renyu saw this turn of events, he had no other thoughts except to curse "a bunch of idiots".

"Grand Governor, I have a generous gift for you, please accept it!"

Xie Kang had an apologetic smile on his face and held an ancient wooden box in his hand.

Chen Qingsi didn't like Xie Kang, but he knew that at this time, Xie Kang was the most useful and trustworthy person.

Because what Xie Kang did was no longer tolerated by Baekje. Only when the Tang Dynasty ruled Baekje could their Xie family survive here.

If the Tang Dynasty really failed, the most it would do is withdraw from Baekje as it had done in history, and the Jie family would be reduced to ashes.

If it's easy to use and can be used, then use it, even if you don't like it.

Chen Qingxi smiled and asked: "What baby!"

Xie Kang opened the wooden box and said: "Baekje ginseng, this is a three-hundred-year-old ginseng. It is an ancestral treasure of my family, so I will give it to the governor. This ginseng is the most precious, and it is best used to hang one's life. No matter how heavy it is If you have an injury, just put one piece in your mouth and your energy will come back immediately.”

Chen Qingsi also knew the preciousness of ginseng, especially this kind of wild ginseng. Its special effects are completely incomparable with those of artificially cultivated ones in later generations. She came and said curiously: "It is indeed rare, but they say that it is a thousand-year-old ginseng and a thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum. But I don't know that there is one." There is no thousand-year-old ginseng.”

He asked casually, but Xie Kang was inexplicably startled and hurriedly said: "I have never seen a thousand-year-old ginseng, but I have seen an eight-hundred-year-old ginseng. It used to belong to my Jie family. Half of the ancestral treasure was used, and the remaining half was snatched away by the damned Kun family. "

Chen Qingsi became interested and said, "The Kun family has been destroyed. Didn't you try to get it back?"

"Why not?" Xie Kang said: "If I could get it back, I wouldn't use these 300-year-old ginseng to smear the governor's eyes. The 800-year-old ginseng that the Kun family snatched is gone..."

"Missed? What happened?"

Chen Qing was stunned.

Xie Kang said: "The younger one didn't know. When they searched the Kun family that day, the Kun family themselves discovered that the eight-hundred-year-old ginseng was missing, and they didn't know where it went... At first, the younger one thought it was an old thing from the Kun family. Ling hid it and went to the prison to inquire. His expression was not a lie, because it might have been stolen by someone a few days ago..."

Seeing that Chen Qingsi was a little confused, he quickly explained: "Some time ago, a man knelt in front of Kun's house for two days, begging to buy old ginseng, saying that his great-grandfather was in urgent need of old ginseng to save his life, and caused quite a stir. The Kun family is not bad at all. The money was not sold. Lao Shen was still in the Kun family at that time, and the assassination happened soon after. "

Chen Qing nodded and said, "Since you can't see me, there's no need to force it. I'll accept the gift."

Chen Qingsi didn't have the habit of accepting heavy gifts, but in this case, if he didn't accept it, Xie Kang might not have the energy to do anything for it, so he would reluctantly accept it.

The affairs of the wealthy gentry have come to an end, and half of winter has passed.

Chen Qingsi looked at the wind and snow outside, knowing that as soon as winter passed, these peaceful days would also be broken.

Chen Qingsi took the map of Baekje and asked Fang Renyu to be called.

"Grand Governor!"

Fang Renyu gave a slightly complicated cry.

Although I felt very uncomfortable, I had to admit that Chen Qingsi's unreasonable methods were far more effective than his step-by-step approach.

"My father-in-law is here just in time! Spring is only a month away. After this spring, the rebels will definitely come back. I need to consult you on some issues."

Fang Renyu perked up and reassured his boss that the opponent was indeed far better than him, so he had nothing to say.

What about the military?
That's different.

I am a martial artist, so there is nothing to be ashamed of.

He was born as a military commander and has experienced many battles, so there is no reason he cannot compare to this. I have nothing to do, but the other party can still have a way to defeat the enemy?
"How many rebels are there now? Is there a realistic estimate?"

Fang Renyu thought for a while and said slightly irritably: "Maybe 30,000, maybe 40,000. They grew very fast. At the beginning, there were only 3,000 people in the Bo rank, and then there were more and more. After more than half a year of fighting, we killed No less than ten thousand thieves were killed, but the more they fought, the stronger they became."

"forty thousand!"

When Chen Qingsi heard this number, she smiled happily.

"Forty thousand, less than expected!"

When Fang Renyu saw Chen Qingsi's wisdom, his heart pounded. Could it be that he really had a way to defeat the enemy?
He didn't know whether to be happy or sad, so he asked with some temptation: "Does the Grand Governor have a way to defeat the enemy?"

Chen Qingsi answered the unexpected question: "Have you ever thought about it, Mr. Fang, that the rebels are developing so fast, where do their food, grass and weapons come from? It is said that in the first battle, each of them had sharp swords. Our army has actual control over the major strongholds in Baekje, and the domestic smelting facilities They are all under control. Where do they get their equipment? We cats are sheltered from the cold, so where does this food come from?”

Fang Renyu was startled and said: "It should be supported by the Japanese country or Goguryeo. The Japanese country is the most likely. The leader of the rebels is the hostage sent to the Japanese country by Baekje. It is 80% likely that the Japanese country will be present when they come back."

Chen Qingsi spread the map on the desk and said: "If the opponent is hundreds or thousands of rats, the governor really can't do anything to them. Now they have 40,000, isn't that easy?"

Fang Renyu looked happy when he heard this, but then he thought about it and felt as depressed as death...

(End of this chapter)