Lord Yuan

Chapter 168 Yuan Shao is furious

When Yuan Shao brought Wen Chou and Huang Zhong, who was curious about everything in sight, to Changli County, the seat of the Liaodong vassal state, he vaguely saw what seemed to be his former chief Shi's brother standing at the door.

He walked up to it and looked at it again and again before confirming that it was indeed him.

It's just that, how did it end up like this?

The loose and fluffy hair looked as if it had not touched water for a long time, causing a lot of dark dirt on it. In addition, his face was haggard and looked completely different from that of a young man, as if he had experienced some kind of disaster.

Didn't he arrange for him to be in the captain's mansion?
Yuan Shao stopped, his mind moved, and he seemed to have thought of something, and asked: "Why is Zhang Cheng standing here? Is it possible that he is not used to living in the Duwei Mansion?"

The man who was replaced by Zhang Cheng listened to this strange yet familiar voice, and then slowly raised his head, and saw Yuan Changshi through the gaps in his hair. He immediately burst into tears, fearing that in front of him As if Yuan Shao was running away, he grabbed his sleeves with both hands, fell to his knees on the ground and begged bitterly.

"I hope Yuan Changshi will make the decision for me and my brother!"

Kneeling on the ground, Zhang Chengzheng was the former Chang Shi who had gone to the Xianbei tribe to negotiate. At this moment, he looked like a refugee with the lowest social status. His miserable appearance made people feel pitiful.

Yuan Shao heard this and asked in confusion: "What's wrong with your brother? Hasn't he been sent back by the Xianbei people? Could it be that someone else comes to bully you? This is the Duwei's Mansion. Who dares to cause trouble here?"

Of course, because it belongs to Liaodong, the Li people here are actually very tough, and they have troubled the Duwei Mansion more than once or twice.

Zhang Cheng wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes with one hand, stood up tremblingly and said with a cry: "Exactly, those people must be the Zhao family. They took advantage of me to go shopping and put a bag on me in a dark corner. I started, and then there was a beating with sticks. At that time, I felt like the world was spinning, everything was dark, and I couldn't see anything. They didn't leave until I was beaten until I couldn't stand up at all."

Then he lifted up the hair on his forehead again, pointed at the injury and said aggrievedly: "Not only that, even if they beat me, they would still try to bully my sister-in-law, if Xun Langjun from Duwei Mansion hadn't happened to pass by. , my sister-in-law is about to commit suicide by drowning herself in the river."

When he thought of this, Zhang Cheng felt the anger in his heart rushing straight to his forehead, his eyes bulged, and he said with despair and hatred: "The most important thing is that those bastards who are worse than pigs and dogs actually killed my brother at night. His grave was dug up, exposing his body. There are many wild beasts here, my brother."

"My brother was completely eaten by those wild beasts! There is only one skull left!"

Zhang Cheng howled in pain, which could be heard very clearly in the entire Captain's Mansion. Officials from top to bottom showed their heads to watch, only to find that Yuan Changshi had returned. They immediately retracted their heads and just opened their ears. Stick to the wall and listen.

"For such a perverse act, it is not an exaggeration to cut him into pieces with a thousand knives! I hope Chang Shi will make the decision for me and my brother!"

Yuan Shao also didn't expect that after the war had ended, something like this would still happen on his own territory. The nature was extremely bad. Once word spread, he really didn't know what the consequences would be.

Yuan Shao suppressed the anger in his heart, but anyone could see the coldness in his eyes. He took a deep breath and said softly: "Where is the captain now? There is no one in such a big captain's mansion to deal with this matter. It won’t work!”

Anyone could see Zhang Cheng's miserable appearance and his recent experiences. Now that he heard about such a thing, Huang Zhong on the side suddenly became furious and gasped rapidly.

It's okay to commit murder in the street, but he was bullying a weak woman. Fortunately, he was saved by the man named Xun, otherwise another life would have happened.

And the most important thing is that this group of people is so bold as to dig someone's grave. No matter where this is done, it is a treasonous act. If someone finds out, they will be furious, and it is not impossible to exchange their lives for lives. occur.

But now, it is obvious that Yuan Jun has made his own decision, and it is not his turn to worry about it. He only needs to follow Yuan Jun's instructions.

Zhang Cheng grinned and laughed at himself: "The captain has not been to the captain's mansion for dozens of days. Even other officials in the mansion have never dealt with me fairly. Only Mr. Xun Lang has ever approached me." I have discussed this matter and told him the reasons and the general process. However, he is not an official official of the Duwei Mansion and has no responsibility to mobilize the officers and soldiers of the Duwei Mansion."

"As for the other officials, they are just sitting on the sidelines. My brother used to be his colleagues, but now he has ended up like this. It's really true that good people don't live long, and bad people live happily!"

Zhang Cheng's words made Huang Zhong and Wen Chou behind him look a little ugly. Although they knew that the other party was scolding with hatred, but the scope of the scolding was a bit large, they always felt as if they were scolding Yuan Jun and blaming him for not helping. He wants justice.

Yuan Shao didn't care at all. Everyone was angry sometimes, and no one wanted to see this happen.

Of course, as the head of the Liaodong Kingdom, he has reasons and responsibilities to deal with this matter, whether it is for others to see or for his own heart.

Originally, he was still worried about how to deal with the powerful gentry, so that they could obediently give up some of their rights and interests, so that he could more completely control this area.

Unexpectedly, this thing came to my door today.

It can not only strengthen the reputation of Li Shu that Yuan Shao lacks, but also can intervene in this matter through military force in an upright manner.

As the chief historian, he had the approval of the captain and could act expediently in his absence and personally lead the officers and men of the captain's mansion.

The most core force is the frontier soldiers who fought bloody battles with the Xianbei people. Yuan Shao's reputation is far more advantageous and more controllable there than in the Duwei Mansion.

Not to mention that Yan Liang, who has been awarded the title of God of War, is still one of his followers.

The powerful gentry, that is, the interest groups gathered together and became a larger interest group, but in front of all the soldiers on the frontier, there was still no chance of turning over.

And this is also the reason why Yuan Shao must take the initiative in the army.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shao put away his thoughts and just patted Zhang Cheng's shoulder lightly, not caring about the dirt on it.

The determination in his eyes made Zhang Cheng, who had been begging here for more than ten days, feel that the savior had arrived.

When he first came to the Captain's Mansion, he regarded Yuan Changshi as his No. 1 choice, the absolute candidate who could help him redress his grievances and resolve the matter. However, Yuan Shao was still on the road at that time, so he could only choose to retreat. As for the next best thing, the captain was not there either.

As for the officials in the government, none of them could be trusted. When they heard about this, they all shook their heads and refused for fear of getting angry.

Zhang Cheng was already desperate.

Fortunately, Yuan Shao finally came.

Yuan Shao changed the topic and locked his eyes with Zhang Cheng who was crying in front of him. He suddenly grinned and said, "Can you use a knife?"

Zhang Cheng, who was a little confused by this question, widened his eyes. He didn't know what it meant. Huang Zhong, who was behind him, stepped forward and grabbed Zhang Cheng's shoulders and reminded him: "Yuan Jun is asking you if you know how to kill livestock?"

The shoulder that Huang Zhong grabbed angrily felt as if the bones were about to break, and his face twisted into a ball in pain. After being reminded, Zhang Cheng came back to his senses and trembled: "Yes, we must Yes!" Zhang Cheng turned around slowly, and the pain on his shoulder made him hiss uncontrollably.

Huang Zhong snorted coldly because he hated the iron. He could no longer hold back the anger in his heart and just wanted to find a place to vent his anger.

Zhang Chengru was released, and it was unbelievable that the people who followed Chang Shi were all such brave people.

Just like Yan Liang and Wen Chou before, two people could defeat more than 30 people with bare hands, and the one in front of him seemed to be no less willing, which made him feel more at ease.

"You go find a place to wash up first. After you rest, I will help you get justice after I finish handling the matters at hand." Yuan Shao said softly. He walked in front, followed closely by Huang Zhong Wenchou. , leaving Zhang Cheng, who was crying with joy, pounding his fists excitedly on the spot.

The other officials in the Duwei Mansion all returned to a serious attitude at this time, staring at the documents and memorials in front of them, looking like they were doing business in a business-like manner.

Yuan Shao didn't care about this. They naturally had their reasons for not wanting to participate in this matter, but this did not mean that Yuan Shao did not keep these people in mind. It was just that it was not their turn to deal with them yet.

Chang Shi's workbench is at the back of the Duwei Mansion, symbolizing the second-in-command in the Duwei Mansion. However, Xun Chen knew nothing about what happened just now. He was still immersed in handling the government affairs submitted from below.

Most of them are about the amount of those taxes.

Xun Chen lowered his head and checked carefully. From time to time, he would show a trace of doubt, and then make a mark next to it.

It wasn't until Yuan Shao came forward that Xun Chen belatedly saw the reflection in front of him. Then he raised his head and realized that Yuan Shao was coming, and he suddenly smiled.

He stood up respectfully and vacated Chang Shi's seat.

"You continue to sit down. It's your turn to do this, but what's the mistake?" Yuan Shao gestured with one hand.

Xun Chen was flattered and still stood and replied: "There is nothing else, except that these taxes never match the accounts. As for what the problem is, it is difficult for Chen to find it for a while."

As if thinking of something, Xun Chen took out another document from the side.

"The figures above are statistical figures, which are very different from the actual population of the subject country. According to the officials in the past, it seems that the statistics have always been based on about 6 people. As for the extra 10 people, It's like it disappeared and taxes never increased."

Xun Chen sighed and continued: "Most of the [-] people belong to the vassal country of Xianbei, Wuhuan and other foreign tribes. According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, they belong to their own tribes in the country and can live according to their customs. The Han Dynasty does not add too much." Jurisdiction means simply assigning an official to take charge of local internal affairs.”

"But the strange thing is that these tribes have been stationed in vassal countries on and off for decades, but they have never seen a lack of tax revenue there."

Taxation is related to the financial power of the local county government and even the county government. It is a top priority, especially in the Liaodong region where the population is relatively small. This directly reduces most of it, which means that the money that can be supplied to the Duwei Mansion will be less. Very few.

Then I think about why Captain Gongshamu never mentioned this matter proactively. In addition, there are very few frontier soldiers wearing full equipment. Most of them are retired veterans from the previous term. All these things are connected together. It's like there's a big hand controlling it from behind.

Didn't the captain know about so many gaps?Doesn’t the former Changshi know?Don’t the officials below know?

Absolutely impossible, there must be something fishy in this.

Yuan Shao could not tolerate people evading taxes on his territory. Moreover, all the taxes should have been collected, but due to some special reasons, the tax amount did not match up. Over time, it resulted in a backlog of bad debts.

The officials don't care, and the people below have paid their taxes on time, so where did the tax money go?

Corruption is on one's own head.

If I hadn't done some meritorious deeds by chance, and had been rewarded by the governor of Youzhou, so that I could have more money to purchase items and supplement the weapons and equipment of the frontier soldiers, it would have been impossible to fight the Xianbei people wearing scraps of metal like before. We know whether there will be a final victory in the Liaodong Battle.

I'm afraid I won't be able to hold it for even an hour.

Anger burst out in his chest quickly, and Yuan Shao sneered: "Check it down, get to the bottom of it, and deal with it wherever the problem lies. It's those foreign tribes who haven't paid the full amount of taxes and ordered them to pay back. If the officials sent are corrupt, they will be punished." Investigate these officials. If there is corruption in the captain's mansion, investigate the captain's palace."

"What if the captain himself was involved?" Xun Chen reminded from the side that this was the captain's mansion. No one would believe him if he said he didn't know these things.

Yuan Shao did not hesitate and said loudly: "Investigate, no matter who is blamed, until the end of the investigation, even if the captain did such a thing, he must be accounted for."

Obviously, these things have accumulated together, causing Yuan Shao's anger to reach a critical point.

The first arrival of the new year has exposed so many problems to him. It will be even more difficult to control the entire Liaodong in the future.

This matter must be resolved with thunderous means.

Xun Chen's face gradually became serious. He knew the importance of this matter, but he had to remind Yuan Shao something.

This is Liaodong, not the mainland. The biggest officer here is the captain. What should be done if he is finally traced to him? Is it possible that he should really be sent to the governor of Youzhou?This is not realistic.

What's more, the powerful forces of these local gentry are complicated and their interests are intertwined with each other. One move affects the whole body. Yuan Shao has not yet completely become the decision-maker of the Liaodong vassal state. If he deals with some of them at will, it will inevitably cause panic and fear in others.

Xun Chen's idea is to gradually implement it and use differentiation methods to make those interest groups fight on their own. In this way, the pressure on the Duwei Mansion will be instantly reduced.

Yuan Shao shook his head and said: "No, if Gong Shamu was also involved, I will have a way to make him explain honestly. As for those powerful gentry, they are just big local snakes. I have killed a few of them." With their size, they will probably be much more honest."

Xun Chen gave a helpless smile. This was like the way the Yuan family's children handled things, but it was completely different from the previous pursuit of stability and step-by-step approach by Yuan Jun. After his return to Runan, the changes were so great.

After saying that, Yuan Shao took out another letter from his body and handed it to the surprised Xun Chen.

"This is written by Mr. Xun."

Then he spoke again: "Where is Mrs. Zhang now?"

(End of this chapter)