I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 168 The World Has Suffered for a Long Time
Mianchi is located in the Yellow River Basin, with tributaries such as Jianhe, Hongyang and Jiankou flowing through it, and rich water resources and fertile soil. Along the way, Wang Jing saw many cultivated fields and wheat waiting to be harvested.

But the farmers in the wheat fields all had pale and haggard faces, as if they were squeezed dry pickled mustard greens. They did farm work with numb eyes, and there was no hope in their eyes for being human at all.

Zhou Tai was surprised when he saw this: "I've heard that Mianchi is rich in coal mines and has many coal fields, but why are the people here so poor?"

Wang Jing's face was as gloomy as water and he didn't say a word.

Because some answers are often very simple, even so cruel that it is hard to look directly at them.

Arriving at the county town, Wang Jing broke into the county government office without saying a word, sat directly in the county magistrate's seat, and said in a cold voice: "Tell the county magistrate to come out and see me."

Looking at the elite soldiers wearing armor and holding swords behind them, the yamen runners looked at each other and did not dare to resist at all. They were so scared that they pissed their pants and obediently did what Wang Jing said.

Soon, the county magistrate Zhu Shao was invited over.

He didn't know that his death was imminent. When he met Wang Jing, he still had a defiant expression on his face. He glanced at Wang Jing's armor with contempt, put on the airs of a celebrity, and asked arrogantly, "Who are you and what do you want from me?"

Wang Jing did not take Zhu Suo's rudeness to heart. What really made Wang Jing angry was that the people's livelihood in Mianchi County had declined to such an extent, and Zhu Suo, as the head of a county, had an unshirkable responsibility.

Therefore, Wang Jing did not look at him well, and began to introduce himself in a cold voice: "General of the Yanhan Imperial Court, Wang Jing, Wang Yuanxu."

"Lord Qi?"

Originally, Zhu Ruo thought that Wang Jing was just a rich young man working in the military, but when he heard that it was Wang Jing himself who came, he was stunned and his eyes almost fell out of their sockets.

He had never seen Wang Jing in person, and Wang Jing was too young, so Zhu Suo looked down on him.

Now when he heard that it was Wang Jing who came in person, he was almost scared to death, and quickly bowed and saluted: "I didn't know that Marquis Qi was here, I am sorry for not coming to greet you from afar, please forgive me."

"Oh? What if I don't want to forgive you?"

Wang Jing looked at Zhu Ruo who was still hunched over and didn't let him get up. Instead, he sneered and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.

A strong sense of uneasiness came over him like an overwhelming tidal wave. Zhu Ruo suddenly felt as if he was underwater and had difficulty breathing. He was so frightened that white sweat broke out on his back.

"I don't know why I offended Lord Qi. Please tell me."

Zhu Shao had naturally heard of Wang Jing's reputation.

He dares to pretend to obey the new policy but actually go against it because he can get benefits by doing so.

But even if he was given ten times the courage to confront Wang Jing head-on, he would not dare to do so. After all, he became an official to bring honor to his family and make a fortune. He had not lived enough, so how could he dare to stroke Wang Jing's beard?
Although Zhu Suo was now as cowardly as a dead dog, Wang Jing did not treat him well. Instead, he laughed angrily and asked, "Re-measure the land and conduct a population check. You have not fulfilled either of my two requests. Tell me, do you think you have offended me?"

"Marquis Qi, please listen to my explanation!"

Wang Jing would never listen to his excuses. If a county magistrate really wanted to do something, he would always think of a way.

Even if there are powerful families who try to obstruct you, won't you seek help from them?

He can't even report a problem. Such an official is either bad or stupid. There is no other possibility. So Wang Jing didn't bother to listen to Zhu Suo's explanation: "Don't waste your nonsense. I know what you are thinking. Officials are worried about offending their colleagues and local nobles. But you are the only ones who are not afraid of offending me."

Wang Jing's cold gaze fell on Zhu Suo, and his tone was murderous: "You don't think that I have a good temper and won't get angry even if I'm offended, right?"

Under the gaze of Wang Jing's murderous eyes, Zhu Suo trembled like a quail waiting to be slaughtered.

Zhu Suo was still trying to argue, but at this moment a man walked in from outside. This man was dressed in brocade and looked wealthy. It was Ding Feng, a wealthy businessman from outside who had been very active in Mianchi County in recent times.

"Secret Guard Ding San, greetings to the Lord."

As soon as Ding Feng opened his mouth, Zhu Suo's face turned pale and his body trembled. He even cried out in shock: "Ding Feng, aren't you a coal miner in Mianchi? How can you be a secret guard? "

The fierce power of the secret guards has long been known throughout the country, and local officials in the capital area are all terrified at the mention of them.

Nowadays, the number of secret guards is constantly increasing. They are not only responsible for external intelligence gathering and assassination operations, but also internal surveillance, which makes many people with guilty consciences feel uneasy.

Therefore, when Zhu Suo heard Ding San introduce himself, he immediately knew that he was probably finished.

Ding San is naturally not his real name. All members of the secret guard use the Heavenly Stems as their surnames and call each other by code names. As for their real names and identities, they have always been kept secret from the outside world.

The reason why Ding San dared to show up in front of Zhu Suo was that Zhu Suo was already dead.

The dead cannot reveal secrets.

Wang Jing remained seated, "Ding San, tell me what Magistrate Zhu has not finished talking about."

"Yes."

After Ding San bowed, he began to tell everything he had seen and heard since arriving in Mianchi: "The county magistrate Zhu Shao colluded with the wealthy Wei Bin to seize 816 acres of good farmland from the people in the past seven years, and forced 32 farmers to death. Three years ago, Zhu Shao also sold the coal field that was originally operated by the government to Wei Bin at a very low price. The two of them formed a partnership and made a profit. The original artisans have fled because they can't bear the exploitation..."

All the incidents and murders were said to have ruined the county magistrate's family.

Without a doubt, it was Zhu Suo.

Under his governance, the power of the wealthy families in Mianchi County grew, while the interests of ordinary people were constantly encroached upon.

When Wang Hong took office, he saw that something was not right in Mianchi County, so he sent people to check the accounts.

As a result, the county government warehouse, which was in good condition, caught fire the next day, and all the account books were burned, including the fish scale book that Wang Hong had specifically requested to be checked, which was completely burned. Wang Hong was in a state of fire burning the warehouse, and there was no evidence to prove his guilt.

You must know that the fish scale book records the ownership of the land. Wei Bin has been seizing many fertile fields in the county by bribing Zhu Suo over the years, which is essentially illegal.

It’s just that Zhu Shao used to have absolute control over Mianchi County, and no one came to investigate, so there was no need to burn the fish scale book.

But now when Wang Hong wanted to check, the fish scale book immediately turned into ashes.

Even a fool can see that there is definitely something wrong here!

Wang Jing looked at Zhu Ruo coldly: "Did all the account books really get burned?"

Zhu Suo gritted his teeth but chose to continue to be stubborn: "I didn't check for a while, which led to the warehouse leaking water. Everything was indeed burned."

Wang Jing sneered, "That's a good idea. I don't have to find someone to do the accounting. Come on!"

Immediately, a team of armored soldiers came in and obeyed orders respectfully.

The lobby of the county government office was originally supposed to be the home ground of Zhu Suo, the magistrate of Mianchi County.

However, at this moment, the one who made the decision was Wang Jing, the fierce dragon that had crossed the river. As for Zhu Shao, the local snake, to say that he was a worm in front of the powerful Northern Army was a compliment to him.

After Ding San finished counting Zhu Suo's crimes, Wang Jing looked at him and asked coldly: "Now, do you have anything else to add?"

Zhu Ruo's lips were dry and he couldn't utter a word.

The above alone are enough to make him die seven or eight times. Although there are some omitted parts that have not been mentioned, even if they are mentioned, they are just to make up the number.

What is the difference between a person dying once and dying ten times?

However, Wang Jing not only wanted to kill people, he also wanted to destroy their hearts.

"Don't think you can die here. Your family will also be exiled to Bingzhou. I will send your whole family to dig coal. I don't know how many of them can survive the first three years."

When he heard that they were going to be sent to Bingzhou to mine coal, Zhu Shuo's originally dull expression suddenly changed, with a hint of anger and madness in his despair: "Lord Qi, don't let your family be in trouble. It's against the rules for you to do this!" People often died in many coal mines in Bingzhou, and because it was heavy physical labor, ordinary people would not be able to bear it after three to five years, let alone the pampered sons of Zhu Shuo's family?
If we really send him there, I'm afraid he won't be able to survive the first three months, let alone the first three years.

"Oh, you remember the rules now? Unfortunately, it's too late."

Wang Jing ignored Zhu Suo's questioning, and would not feel sorry for his family. After all, rules are only used to protect those who abide by the rules.

What's more, exiling the families of criminal officials to enrich the frontier population was already a common practice in the Yan and Han dynasties. However, in the past, doctors were not subject to punishment, and ordinary civil officials would not be treated in this way unless they offended the emperor.

But Wang Jing is not a Confucian scholar, and now he has fallen out with the aristocratic families. Why would he care about the unspoken rules among the bureaucrats?

Wang Jing then ordered a group of soldiers: "Take him back to Luoyang for trial."

"As ordered!"

Beheading him directly would be too easy for Zhu Shao. Wang Jing wanted to use the formal punishment method to destroy his reputation first and then execute his life.

Not only kill people, but also destroy their hearts!

After dealing with Zhu Shao, Wang Jing asked Ding San again: "Tell me about the situation in Mianchi."

Ding San had been lurking here for some time. With the help of his identity as a wealthy businessman, he secretly investigated a lot of useful information. At this time, he told Wang Jing one by one: "My lord, the largest wealthy family in Mianchi County is the Wei family, and the current head of the family is Wei Bin."

Wei Bin, who was born in the Wei family of Mianchi, used money and connections to collude with the county magistrate Zhu Shao. For ten years, he ran rampant in the village and bullied the common people. He basically did all the bad things that a wealthy family in the late Han Dynasty could do, such as bullying men and women, forced buying and selling, etc.

No matter what era, ordinary people are like fish on the chopping board of the powerful.

This situation became even more serious at the end of the dynasty.

Because agricultural production was the main industry in ancient times, the means of production that landlords monopolized were generally land, and the social resources that they monopolized were mostly grain.

These two things can directly take people's lives!
As the saying goes, when people are poor, they will think of change. If the people have no place to live and no food to eat, they will rise up in rebellion.

In fact, the Yellow Turban Rebellion of the imperial dynasty was caused by this, and the large number of refugees was the mass basis for the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. As for Fang Xiandao's goal of establishing a Taoist country on earth and overwhelm the imperial power with religious power, it was just a pusher behind the scenes.

Compared with the strategy of confiscating all landlords or even killing them at the beginning of a certain dynasty, Wang Jing thought that his strategy was already very moderate and proposed a solution of establishing workshops and making profits through commercial trade.

Some of the noble families and powerful clans chose to accept it.

But it was obvious that the Wei family belonged to an old party faction that was stubborn and unyielding. They even secretly opposed the court's new policies, refused to check the land and register the population, and made a clear statement of non-cooperation.

"Since you don't cooperate, you are the enemy."

Wang Jing planned to take action against Wei Bin, and the excuse was too easy to find. The Wei family had been rampant in Mianchi County for so many years, and they must have reclaimed a lot of unregistered land and concealed population data from the government.

As long as we find fault seriously, we can definitely make the Wei family suffer a heavy loss if they don't die.

However, before Wang Jing could make a move, Zhou Tai suddenly came in from outside and said, "My lord, Wei Bin has rebelled!"

At this time, outside the county town, Zhu Suo was rescued by Wei Bin who came after hearing the news.

"Brother Yancai, why are you in such a mess?"

Zhu Shuo looked at Wei Bin with horror: "You are surrounding the county with your men. Are you planning to rebel?"

Wei Bin showed a ferocious smile on his face: "Brother Yancai, Marquis Qi wants to destroy my Mianchi Wei family. Do you think I have any other choice?"

As soon as Wang Jing entered the county, Wei Bin received the news. When he heard that Zhu Shao was dismissed from office, he realized that he would have to rebel or else he would be killed by Wang Jing as a warning to others.

It would be fine if he was just a monkey, and Wei Bin could tolerate it, but he understood that with Wang Jing's usual tough style when facing aristocratic families and wealthy clans, he would definitely target the entire Wei family.

But Wei Bin didn't want to be the chicken that was killed, so he picked up the knife and planned to kill Wang Jing like a chicken.

When Zhu Suo found out about his idea, he was immediately horrified and said, "Are you crazy? Rebellion means your family will be confiscated and your entire clan will be exterminated!"

Wei Bin was used to being a tyrant in the county. Although he had heard of Wang Jing's deeds, he did not take it seriously. After all, information was blocked in that era, and storytellers liked to exaggerate and add fuel to the fire when telling stories.

Therefore, Wei Bin had no clear idea of ​​how high Wang Jing's martial arts skills were, and he simply treated most of the legends about Wang Jing as jokes.

It is not surprising that he has this kind of thinking pattern as a local rich man. After all, he is used to being a bully in his own home. He is a frog in a well and has no idea of ​​the vastness and breadth of the world.

Therefore, Webin now has a mysterious confidence in himself, believing that he can fight back and that he can win!
Zhu Suo's dissuasion was regarded as weakness by Wei Bin, who even mocked him, "He only brought a thousand people with him, and he has no army to protect him. Now that he is blocked in the city by me, he will surely die."

Zhu Shao thought that even if he returned to Luoyang, he would be executed, and his family would be exiled to the border counties of Bingzhou. After all the traveling, it was even a question whether he could make it to Bingzhou alive!
The anger in his heart was ignited by resentment and resentment. Zhu Suo was naturally unwilling to surrender, and immediately gritted his teeth and said fiercely: "It's a dead end anyway, I might as well rebel with you!"

The reason why Wei Bin saved Zhu Suo was that he wanted a counselor to give him advice. Seeing that Zhu Suo agreed to join the uprising, Wei Bin was overjoyed and asked him for advice on the spot: "Tell me, what should we do next?"

Zhu Suo was a scholar after all, and he was not stupid. After thinking for a while, he suggested: "You should immediately contact other powerful families in the city to discuss a joint uprising. Otherwise, you will be alone and weak, and you will definitely be wiped out by the official army sent by the court."

"What about Qi Hou? How should we deal with him?"

Zhu Suo was furious when he heard this. "Wang Jing is a martial artist, and is best at killing generals and seizing flags in the midst of thousands of troops. You'd better not show up yourself. In my opinion, you should send a trusted person to lead the troops to besiege Mianchi County to prevent Wang Jing from escaping. As for attacking the city, you can give it a try, but don't force it. Once you lose too many troops, everything will be over."

After this analysis, Wei Bin suddenly felt that he had a plan in mind: "Haha, with Brother Yancai's help, I will definitely be able to kill Wang Jing in this battle and win a great victory!"

Wei Bin has already begun to fantasize about how to obtain the greatest political benefit after cutting off Wang Jing's head.

All I can say is that ignorance is bliss. He has no idea how terrifying the person he is fighting against is.

Even if you want to rebel, you have to have a legitimate reason and a legitimate reason.

Therefore, Wei Bin summoned all his men to discuss important matters, and he began by saying, "The noble families of the four counties have suffered from the king for a long time. The so-called new policies are actually tyranny that harms the country and the people, and Wang Jing is even more of a vain minister who deceives the king. Now I, Wei Shibang, am willing to eliminate this great harm for the world. I wonder if there are any brave men willing to take the head of Marquis Qi for me?"

"There is no one in Guanzhong, which has caused Wang Jing to become famous. With my two brothers here, he has no chance to act so recklessly!"

"That's right. My two brothers are willing to be the vanguard and we must take down Wang Jing'er's head and present it to the head of the Wei family!"

Two sturdy men in plain clothes holding eyebrow-pointing knives walked out in front of Weibin. They were both tall and strong with solid muscles. They looked exactly like the same person, but were so ugly that they looked like they were carved from the same mold.

They were the brothers Wei Shen and Wei Qian, from Guzang, Liangzhou. They committed murder and robbery in the local area and were wanted by the government with nowhere to escape. Three years ago, they fled to Mianchi, accepted Wei Bin's protection, and became his subordinates.

The two brothers were quite capable, and their weapons were both a long-handled broadsword weighing about 46 pounds.

The blade is narrow, with a single-sided edge that is pointed and sharp, and a slanted and wide back. Because it resembles a person's eyebrow, this kind of knife is also called an eyebrow knife. It is mainly used for chopping in combat, and it tests the user's arm strength.

The brothers Wei Shen and Wei Qian had led the horse bandits to defeat the government troops who were surrounding and suppressing them many times when they were wreaking havoc in Guzang, and finally broke through successfully, so they did not take Wang Jing seriously at all.

He felt that he was a horse thief, and even if he couldn't win, the worst that could happen was that he would run away, so he volunteered to fight and even made a big promise before the battle.

Wei Bin praised the two men's bravery and not only gave them a large amount of money, but also personally poured wine for them to see them off: "Drink this cup to the full, and I wish you two a victorious return!"

"Hahaha, just wait and see. After this battle, my two brothers will become famous all over the world!"

Wei Shen jumped on his horse, put his long sword on his back, and left with a loud laugh.

His younger brother Wei Qian followed closely behind, leading the 500 cavalry and 3,000 infantry that Wei Bin had finally assembled, and charged towards Mianchi County.

(End of this chapter)