Republic of China

Chapter 338: Shocking and enlightening
Wu Rong has been very upset recently, and even his urine turns yellow.

It's not easy to be a county magistrate. Back then, he sold all his property and wanted to make ten pots of egg drop soup with one egg. He tried his best to squeeze into the Central Plains. His money was not wasted. He went through Zhang Zongchang's connections. Who the hell is really related to him?

However, with the blessing of this "identity", buying an official position was relatively smooth. In more than a year, he became the county lord, and it was a real important town.

But there are unforeseen circumstances.

Who could have thought that the Zhang family would produce such a thing as Guo Guizi? After a mess, the Fengtian Army had lost most of its vitality. It was very likely to sweep across the world. But now, the Northern Expedition Army in the south and several warlords who always like to jump back and forth have joined forces to beat the Northern Expedition Army back again and again. The county magistrate with the label of "Zhang family" is in trouble.

Run with us?

How many vacancies could be left for them north of the Yellow River? Besides, the fruits of their hard work were all in Zheng County.

It's not a good idea not to run.

He only has two and a half battalions of armed forces, and one-third of them are just collecting empty salaries. When the Northern Expedition Army takes over Zheng County, will it be his turn to continue to be the top leader?

So running is for sure, but you have to open up your horizons and run further.

For example, France.

As an old power and a real victorious country, it is definitely a good place to go.

But fucking hell, it happened again.

It is said that there is a crazy man with a slicked-back hair next door, and he is extremely aggressive in his actions. Although the people who helped transfer the assets said not to worry and there will definitely be no fight, who can be sure of what will happen in this world?
However, most of the assets have been transferred, and it is too late to regret and move to another place. One can only seize the time to make as much money as possible before leaving. After all, the people in the Central Plains can always suffer a little more.

What do you say?

Hey ~
Something fucking happened again.

I've never seen how capable the people under my command were before, but this time they managed to catch a rebel without any reason, and they would rather kill the wrong person than let the red bandit go. What happened in Shanghai on April 12 some time ago has already explained the attitudes of all parties.

The Fengtian Army’s top brass ordered a thorough investigation to find out where there were hidden dangers of color north of the Yellow River.

The Northern Expedition Army also sent people to pass on the message that they wanted to take the prisoner away so that they could personally interrogate him and reward him handsomely afterwards. If they were concerned about the Fengtian Army's blame, they would at least torture him severely to pry out all the secrets.

Pry your mother! Pry your mother!
Everyone knows that those people are elusive. If we really make enemies, we might be killed without knowing why.
In order to make it more difficult to rule the people, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and act decisively.

So when Wu Rong learned that Nanyue Village had not collected a penny, he became furious and started to scold Xu Jie, who was just bowing and nodding. No relative within the five degrees of mourning escaped.

The evil demon massacred the village?

Why are you massacring the whole village when my taxes haven’t even been collected yet?
Wu Rong didn't care what happened at all, he only cared about money.

Does the manner of death matter?
Death is death. You buy an official position not to become a judge.

"Please calm down, Your Excellency. Please calm down, everyone in Nanyue Village has really died. I saw it with my own eyes."

"Why did you choose to die before you left? I think you have invested your money elsewhere. Tell me, was it Jiang Xipi or Feng Christ?"

puff-

Xu Jie slid to his knees, enjoying the smoothness, it was thunder without rain, but the big snot bubbles were big enough.

"Your Excellency, I am wronged! How could I do such a foolish thing as betraying my own people? It is indeed impossible to collect taxes from Nanyue Village, but I thought about it. The village was not hit by bandits or floods, so the gold and silver in the houses must still be there. If I look carefully, I should be able to find a lot of land deeds. If I sell them to others, wouldn't that be more extortionate than collecting taxes? Even more than the head tax?"

"Hmm? That makes sense. Come on, my good brother!"

Zhao Sanyuan was in no mood to watch the lame love drama between two mediocre and corrupt officials. He just stood beside the big vase and picked flower branches.

To be honest, given the current situation in Henan Province, it would be a relief if officials did not take the lead in looting.

When I entered the office building, I heard that not only was Tang Shengzhi's Northern Expedition Army about to reach the Yellow River, but Feng Yuxiang in the west had also marched out of Tongguan. The two groups were preparing to meet in Zheng County to make the final decision on Henan Province. You can imagine how chaotic the situation was in the local area.

"Hey, hey, hey~ Are you nagging me? Do you know how much this costs? Let me ask you, I heard from Xu Jie that you are quite good at that, right? Ha, it's the Republic of China now, and feudal dregs are not welcome. What's going on in Nanyue Village? Tell me everything!" Wu Rong was finally in the mood to deal with the country bumpkin in the corner, but his face turned black after taking a look. If he didn't speak up, the pot of famous flowers would be broken.

Zhao Sanyuan tilted his head slightly, and before he could speak, Lao Kang beside him immediately took over the conversation, "I heard from Xu Jie about the county magistrate's birth year before. You are born under the Wood sign, and the shape of these flowers and leaves resembles a sword edge, and they are placed in the northwest direction. If you keep them there for a long time, you may suffer from lung and intestinal diseases."

"Master, please have some tea!"

People change their faces so quickly, especially in official circles. It is hard to imagine how fawning those who have status and position in the eyes of ordinary people are in front of true masters unless you see it with your own eyes.

He talks about feudal dregs all the time, but behind closed doors he is more fanatical than anyone else.

After a brief chat, Lao Kang hinted that his family had a very powerful backer in Fengtian, but he didn't say who it was specifically.

Do you believe it?

Of course Wu Rong didn't believe it.

But the key point is that you really have the ability.

The prisoner is very stubborn and no matter how we interrogate him, we can't get any information out of him. It would be great if we could find another way to pry him open. We can keep him and report to the North, and pass the secret to the South. We don't offend anyone and can get through this difficult period.

Even if it's useless, it's never a bad thing to make friends with capable people. I've been having nightmares frequently recently and have been falling down without knowing why, so I have to ask if there's anything to it.

Of course there are some rules. As soon as Zhao Sanyuan and Kang Muang entered the room, they saw several ghosts on the windowsill, behind the screen, and under the desk, staring at him fiercely. However, he was protected by the "national law", so ordinary ghosts could not do anything to him for the time being. Once he was dismissed from his official position, they would definitely settle all the new and old grudges together.

But neither brother was interested in helping him.

Believe it or not, no one can escape the consequences.

"In that case, please take a rest for a night, and it won't be too late to interrogate you once you have recovered your spirits. Why don't you come to me tonight——"

Before Wu Rong could finish, Zhao Sanyuan waved his hand impatiently, "I have something urgent to do, so I will go to the prison tonight. I am not taking this job because I am good at interrogating prisoners. I am just trying my best to help. Fewer civil unrest means fewer casualties."

Do you really think I don’t know your little tricks?

When I go to your house for a dinner in the evening, I'm afraid there will be a lot of things waiting for me.

As I said, Henan Province is in too much chaos right now. I'd be grateful to help in any way I can without asking for any reward. Besides, Henan Province is still under the jurisdiction of the Beiyang Government on paper. It's just a piece of cake for me to help the Zhang father and son.

Seeing Zhao Sanyuan's firm tone, Wu Rong didn't say anything more. For him, making money was the most important thing at the moment. After letting the warden take the two brothers to the prison, he sent Xu Jie to Nanyue Village to grab the land, but he must not let others get there first.

It was almost dusk and the sky was not yet completely dark, but the Zheng County Prison was extremely cold.

The candlelight inside was bright, but the eerie feeling made people feel more depressed.

"Don't be surprised, gentlemen. The prisoner is imprisoned in the deepest part of the prison. It will take some time to walk."

The warden is a gentle and refined man who seems to have little to no gloom. His behavior and speech are more like that of a politician than Wu Rong.

In fact, according to normal procedures, he was the most qualified to be the county magistrate of Zheng County at that time, but money can make everything happen.

Kang Muang walked and observed, and asked: "This place should not have been built after the Republic of China, right?"

"Sir, you are very knowledgeable. This was built in the second year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Emperor. Zheng County was an important town at that time. After the city was captured, many relatives of the Shun army were captured. The old prison could not accommodate them, so a new prison was built. But then again, the Qing soldiers were too lazy to capture prisoners at that time. Many relatives chose to surrender for fear of being slaughtered, and were sent to prison with their families signed."

A cold snort, neither light nor heavy.

The warden looked towards the younger gentleman, and it was not difficult to guess what he was thinking.

Dashun, Dashun, how ironic.

But he guessed wrong. Zhao Sanyuan's snort was not because he disdained Dashun, but because there were only a few prisoners in this deep prison, but there were dozens of times more jailers.

There are people in the army who find all kinds of ways to collect salaries without doing any work, and they try their best to get into the army when there is no work to do.

"The cell for serious criminals is at the end. How do you two gentlemen plan to conduct the trial?"

Kang Muang said somewhat awkwardly: "In fact, we don't know how to interrogate. Please go through the procedures first. My brother and I will dress up in disguise and observe beside you."

The warden nodded slightly and told the jailer to prepare for the interrogation.

The crisp sounds of metal became more and more frequent, and just by listening to the sound one could tell that the shackles must be very heavy.

At the end of the cold and gloomy place, seven or eight jailers were escorting a famous man.

This man was very majestic. Even though he was hunched over, he was still eight feet tall, and the jailers around him seemed so insignificant.

Height?
more than.

It's magnanimity.

The prisoner was pressed on the bench, but he did not cry for mercy at all. Strictly speaking, when he saw the warden surrounded by candlelight, he immediately straightened his back, as if he was the one who was upright.

Zhao Sanyuan secretly admired that he was a tough guy. Even though the shackles were heavy, his body was covered with scars, and some parts of his clothes were bleeding, he never lowered his head.

What can't such a person accomplish? Why must we mobilize the people to revolt?

The warden waved his hand and the jailer stepped forward to remove the prisoner's shackles, but left the shackles on his feet to prevent him from causing trouble.

"I have carefully checked your background recently. The more I check, the more regretful I feel. You lost your father at a young age. You were born in a poor family, but you worked hard and were admitted to the first industrial school in the province. You have told more than one person that you want to serve the country through industry. You could have become an engineer or something else. Why did you have to get involved with the rebels?"

The prisoner looked up and looked directly at the warden.

His eyebrows were straight and thick, his eyes were bright as stars, and his beard was long and mixed with coagulated blood, almost hiding his lips, but it was not difficult to see that he was smiling.

"Your question is reasonable. I once dreamed of becoming an engineer, but later I found that the knowledge I learned could not cure Yanhuang's disease, so I had to find another way."

"Disease? How can there be a disease in such a great country like the Republic of China?"

"Sir, you don't have to ask questions when you already know the answer. You are one of the few officials in Zheng County who have insight and knowledge. Can't you see that China has a ulcer attached to its bones?"

"Looking back through history, we can see that the beginning of every dynasty was not smooth sailing, nor was it smooth sailing for a long time. There will always be problems, but if everyone goes to extremes when they encounter problems like you, then you are harming the country. In my opinion, it is you who are sick, it is you."

slam-la-

The sound of the shackles colliding suddenly became violent.

The prisoner stood up with the help of a wooden chair, and his back was more than eight feet tall.

Although he was standing tall, he did not look down on the warden and continued to look directly at him.

"Since the 20th year of Emperor Daoguang's reign, the foreign powers have been bullying us, bandits are rampant, the officials in the government have been seeking power and accepting bribes, and the people at the bottom have been hurting the country. The court is incompetent and has been living in disgrace. It has ceded 8 million miles of land. The great Chinese people, who are rich in natural resources, have been despised by other nations and looked down upon by foreign races. Isn't that a problem?"

"After the Xinhai Revolution, the traitors occupied important positions, mumbling and plotting, grabbing the money earned by the people's hard work for their own consumption, opening the way for bribery in elections, and setting a precedent for collusion. They have no patriotic concept, and they treat the people like straw dogs, ignorant of the world trend, so that they are in chaos. Isn't it sick!?"

"Still not satisfied! They have provoked innocent people, pretending to be a republican, and have behaved like a thief, causing wars to rage everywhere, and the sound of war is heard everywhere. This is the worst form of militarism!"

"Do you want to serve your country and your compatriots?"

"Everyone has turned their backs on morality and pursued private interests. Wars have broken out one after another, the financial system has been severely damaged, and the capital has been mortgaged for loans, causing the people to suffer. Even if there are bamboo shoots in the south mountain and grievances in the sea, there is no one to complain!"

There is no enthusiasm, only heartache.

There was endless sorrow and urgency in the prisoner's eyes.

However, not everyone can understand these thought-provoking words.

The jailers each held a torture instrument, and if the prisoner dared to take a step forward, they would pin him down. As for what they said, no one knew.

The warden remained silent for a long time, gradually avoiding the other party's knife-like gaze.

Kang Muang was stunned where he was. He felt from the bottom of his heart that this person was extraordinary and every word he said was full of gems.

So what does Zhao Sanyuan think?
To be honest, I have read few books and have limited cultural knowledge, so I could not understand many sentences, but I could still tell that the other person was saying something profound, and the most important thing was that I was shocked by his demeanor.

The prisoner glanced at the two young men beside the warden whose temperaments were totally different from those of the jailers.

"You two, no matter whose high-ranking family you come from, you have nothing to say to me during any interrogation."

The warden turned to look at Kang Mu'ang, who then looked at Zhao Sanyuan. Things had come to this point and the show could not go on.

"Why are you looking at me? Who knew he could tell with his thick eyebrows and big eyes?"

As soon as the prisoner heard Zhao Sanyuan's words, he understood everything.

This accent is most likely from the Beiyang people.

Zhao Sanyuan patted the warden on the shoulder and said, "Brother, get some wine and food. I want to chat with him."

"Are you sure, sir? Do you need to arrange more guards?"

"He's like a blood gourd, what can he do to me? I think none of the torture instruments here will work on him. Don't torture him randomly in the future. Try to do some good deeds."

The moon is high in the sky.

The deepest part of the prison.

A pot of Du Kang wine, two plates of side dishes, and three old men staring at each other.

The tall and strong prisoner originally thought that the punishment was for strength, but the way it unfolded was really confusing. Was it some newly invented form of punishment?
Zhao Sanyuan was thinking about how to start the conversation. The other party was not very old, definitely younger than Lao Liu. After his ear-opening speech just now, it seemed difficult for him to directly ask him why he was rebelling.

Since his younger brother didn't speak, Kang Muang kept it to himself.

No one spoke or moved their chopsticks, the atmosphere was indeed weird and awkward.

In the end, maybe because the prisoner had been hungry for too long, he was the first to pick up his chopsticks before his stomach started growling.

As soon as he picked up his chopsticks, the atmosphere suddenly relaxed.

Zhao Sanyuan tried to organize his words, "Brother, I think I have some knowledge of people, but you don't look like a vicious person. Tell me, what's going on?"

The prisoner asked back, "Who are you?"

"We are just enthusiastic citizens. We heard that there is a villain who is always rebelling in the prison, so we wanted to come and help. It is always good to have less war. We are not officials."

"Oh? I'm curious how someone who is not an official can contact a serious criminal like me. Without Wu Rong's approval, no one in Zheng County would dare to let you see me. Tell me first, how did you convince Wu Rong?"

Zhao Sanyuan sighed quietly and narrated the tragedy of Nanyue Village.

While the two were chatting, Lao Kang took out a needle bag and helped the prisoner treat his wound. Everything seemed so natural and harmonious.

The three of them had no idea what kind of waves would arise in their future life and death due to this unexpected event.
(End of this chapter)