Splendid peasant girl busy farming

4413 - Look at what this is

Others don't know Luo Fengtang's itinerary, but Ye Yi does.

The master bid farewell to his wife from Changping Village on the tenth day of the first lunar month. The master originally planned to go directly back to Tianhai County for a secret investigation, but he received a secret letter from the capital on the way.

The master then changed direction and went to the capital to meet the emperor in secret.

What the master said to the emperor, Ye Yi didn't know, but what Ye Yi knew was that the master must have consulted the emperor about the Tianhai County affairs, and the emperor must have confessed something.

"How about the old man you brought back a few days ago?"

Luo Fengtang suddenly asked Yeyi.

Ye Yi came back to his senses and said: "Reporting to Master, the old man's injuries have been almost healed. He woke up two hours ago and said he wanted to see Master. At that time, there was no arrangement because Master was going to a banquet."

Luo Fengtang stood up, "Take me to see him now."

Ye glanced at the bowl of hangover soup on the table, "Master, you drank two jars of wine at the banquet..."

Luo Fengtang smiled disapprovingly, "Two jars of wine are nothing, let's go."

Ye Yi took a serious look at Luo Fengtang's eyes, his eyes were really clear, without any hint of drunkenness.

The master is the master, and there is nothing wrong with poisoning the two jars of wine.

It seems that when Vice General Xie was here earlier, the master's intoxicated appearance was a disguise?
Master!
The admiration in Ye Yi's heart grew a little bit, and he clasped his fists together: "Obey!"

Then he turned around to lead the way for Luo Fengtang, and the two quietly came to the back of the other garden under the cover of night.

The most dangerous place is the safest place. The old man was placed in a corner of the other garden as a kitchen army.

Staying in the shadows outside the house at night, Luo Fengtang entered this unremarkable room alone.

In the room, a hungry old man was sitting on the bed, seeing Luo Fengtang coming in, the old man struggled to get out of bed and kowtow to Luo Fengtang, but was stopped by Luo Fengtang.

"Old man, there is no need to perform such a great gift, you can just sit on the bed." Luo Fengtang said.

His approachable attitude was completely different from that general who was cold and arrogant during the day so that no one dared to approach him.

The old man sat back and looked at Luo Fengtang with tears in his eyes.

"General, you saved this old man. This old man should be grateful to you, but this old man really doesn't want to live anymore. My family is gone, so I'm left as an old man. I don't have much hope for living..."

The old man's words made Luo Fengtang frown together.

"Old man, don't say that, your family members are alive and hope you can live." Luo Fengtang said.

"Because they died so badly that they couldn't rest in peace, they hope you can avenge them so that they can rest in peace!" Luo Fengtang said again.

This old man was rescued on the way to Tianhai County some time ago. At that time, the old man fell in the grass by the side of the road, dying, with stab wounds on his body.

Hearing Luo Fengtang's words of comfort, the old man waved his hands with fear on his face.

"Revenge? How can you get revenge, General? They are all the parents and officials of our place. The sky is high and the emperor is far away. Their words are more effective than the emperor's words. Who dares to take revenge?" said the old man.

"From the spring of last year to this year, in a whole year, my family's six large tile-roofed houses, ten acres of land, three pigs, one cow, and twenty or thirty chickens, ducks and geese in the backyard were all converted into tax revenue. The endowment was confiscated by them."

"We have to pay taxes to build a house, we have to pay taxes to marry a wife, we have to pay taxes when we harvest in autumn, and we have to pay taxes after the Chinese New Year in winter."

"Our family is really out of work. The last time someone came to collect taxes, my son couldn't hold back his temper and beat one of the rent collectors to death,"

"He was beaten to death by mistake. If he doesn't fight back, my son will be beaten to death by them."

"As a result, my son was caught in the prison. Before I sold the house to get some connections, and before I went to court for trial, my son was beaten to death in prison!"

"My old lady couldn't bear this blow, and died of illness within two days. Those people were still mixing with our local hooligans. They colluded with the officials and gangsters. They came to my house at night and knocked the old man unconscious. Touched into my daughter-in-law's room and defiled my daughter-in-law..."

"My good daughter-in-law is a good girl with a strong personality. She couldn't bear this insult. At dawn, she asked the neighbors to send my grandson to my grandparents, and she hung the roof beam herself."

"Old man, I don't accept it. I wanted to come to the Tianhai County sheriff to beat the grievance drum. I was caught by two guards just after I knocked a few times. I just saw my pleading paper, and the sheriff beat me up without asking any questions. Board, throw me outside."

"They beat me openly, drove me away, and secretly ordered those gangsters in the county to come to trouble me. Tianhai County really can't stay here anymore. I want to escape as an old man, but I was hunted down all the way. Fortunately, I met the general You guys!"

Hearing the old man's history of blood and tears, Luo Fengtang frowned tightly, his eyes were cold, colder than an ice cellar.

"Old man, you must live well. For your son and daughter-in-law who died unjustly, and for your grandson who is still alive, you must live well. I will help you pay for this blood debt!"

Luo Fengtang raised his hand, held the old man's hand tightly, and said word by word.

The old man stared fixedly at Luo Fengtang, "General, you, can you really help the old man seek justice? But, they are all officials, and they have big backers behind them..."

Luo Fengtang said: "Who is their big backer?"

The old man blurted out: "It's the Great General Protecting the Nation, Luo Fengtang. I heard that those taxes that have been multiplied several times are just to honor the Great General Protecting the Nation, and to save food and grass for the soldiers and horses..."

Luo Fengtang's eyes dimmed, and he asked the old man: "Old man, can you read?"

The old man nodded: "In the early years, because I had to manage accounts, I learned Chinese characters for two years."

Luo Fengtang took off a token from his waist and turned it over for the old man to see.

"This is... Luo? You, you are..."

"That's right, I am Luo Fengtang, the Great General Protecting the Nation." Luo Fengtang said.

The old man was so startled that his eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets, he trembled all over, grabbed the teacup on the side table with both hands, and was about to smash it at Luo Fengtang.

Luo Fengtang took out another sword from behind, with a groan, the sword body and the scabbard separated.

The passing cold light hit the old man's eyes, he turned his head sideways and raised his arms to cover his eyes.

Luo Fengtang's voice sounded again next to his ears: "Old man, look at the words engraved on this sword!"

The old man squinted his eyes, stared at the sword for a while, and read a few words: "Shang, Fang, Bao, Jian!"

"This... is this the Shangfang sword that only the emperor has in the opera?" The old man was even more astonished, and asked in a trembling voice.

"I knew it, old man, I knew that the Great General Protecting the Country is a hero, and he wouldn't fish our people with those corrupt officials..." The old man was so excited that he burst into tears, but a faint light ignited in his cloudy eyes .

Luo Fengtang glanced behind him and made a silent gesture to the old man.

Then he inserted the sword into the scabbard, and said to the old man with a calm expression: "I am Luo Fengtang, the great general who protects the country, and I am also an imperial envoy appointed by the emperor. I have been ordered to thoroughly investigate the high taxes in Tianhai County. Bestow Shang Fang with a sword to kill corrupt officials at the top and gangsters at the bottom, to uphold justice and avenge the injustice of the people!"

(End of this chapter)