The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Pan Yun's feet were hanging outside the ox cart, swaying back and forth. The Ten-Li Pavilion was hidden behind the trees, appearing and disappearing.

Her eyes swept across the dense woods on both sides of the road, and she couldn't help but smile: "Master Yu, look, our Yushan County has beautiful mountains, good water, and good trees."

Yu Qian glanced thoughtfully at the trees on both sides of the road and nodded, "They are very lush."

Pan Yun: "Hiding one or two hundred people is like hiding a mosquito. You can't see it at all."

Cai Sheng: …

Cold sweat began to break out.

The ox cart stopped and Pan Yun got off swiftly, while Cai Sheng stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

Yu Qian felt that the court officials should not be embarrassed too much, so he reached out to help.

Cai Sheng thanked him repeatedly, rolled up his sleeves to wipe the sweat off his face, and asked nervously, "Where are Song Dalin and Wang Xiaojing?"

Pan Yun looked up at the sun and smiled, "No hurry, it's not time yet, Master Cai, how about walking around and seeing the scenery first? It's a rare trip out of the city, don't waste your time."

Cai Sheng always felt that Pan Jun's words were full of hidden meanings, so he forced a smile and said, "No, no need, just wait here."

Just as he finished speaking, a noise was heard from the other end of the road, and several people leaned over to look towards the end of the road.

Then I saw two people coming out from the corner, followed by a group of people carrying swords, hoes and shovels. A conservative estimate was that there were about 100 to 200 people.

Cai Sheng: …

Pan Jun burst out laughing.

Cai Sheng suppressed his anger and asked, "Pan Miaozhu, we agreed that there would be only two of them, why did you bring so many people?"

Pan Yun immediately stopped smiling and said righteously, "That's right, he's too much. I'll talk to him later."

Pan Yun said, "Master Cai, please don't misunderstand me. I was telling you exactly what I said. I didn't expect Song Dalin to bring so many people with him. Alas, I am incompetent. He didn't listen to me, and I couldn't do anything about it."

Yu Qian said: "Nothing, we are here to negotiate, not to fight, too many people are useless."

"This won't do. What if these unruly people don't abide by martial ethics and hold you hostage?" Cai Sheng regretted it so much that he wished he could drag Yu Qian back to the city right now.

He should not have agreed to negotiate outside the city, he should have led people into the city.

Pan Yun comforted him and said, "Don't worry, sir. They have people, don't we have people too?"

Cai Sheng: "What's the use of us having only ten people?"

"Eh? Were the people in the forest not arranged by you? In that case..." Pan Yun tossed the stone in his hand, his eyes cold, "Could it be that Lieutenant General Fang is plotting rebellion and wants to use Song Dalin to get rid of the imperial envoy? If so, I will go and kill the ambush troops in the forest to help you."

Pan Yun was about to turn around when she finished speaking, but Cai Sheng quickly pulled her back. His face flushed under the gazes of Yu Qian and Pan Yun, and he said timidly, "I, I am just in case..."

Song Dalin and his men had already come up to them, and Yu Qian warned them in a low voice: "Stop making trouble."

The two of them stopped playing silently.

Song Dalin glanced at Pan Yun and Cai Sheng, then looked at Yu Qian, clasped his fists and said, "You are the imperial envoy from the capital, Yu Qingtian?"

Yu Qian quickly returned the greeting and said modestly: "I don't dare to be called an honest official, but I don't dare to let down the people."

Song Dalin said with a gloomy face: "Any official who dares to say that he does not let the people down is a clean official. If Yushan County had a county magistrate like you, why would we rebel?" Pan Yun said that they would complain first when they met the imperial envoy to let him know that they did not rebel because they were disloyal to the emperor or disrespectful to the court, but they were forced to rebel.

Therefore, the people Song Dalin brought with him were specially selected, and each of them had his own reasons for rebelling.

She said that Cai Sheng had already made arrangements, and as long as Yu Qian did not go back on his word, the amnesty would be a sure thing, and the next step would be to get rid of Cai Sheng while recruiting him.

They were really fed up with this county magistrate, so naturally they wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.

Song Dalin immediately scolded Cai Sheng for quarters of an hour, then he stepped back and gave way to his brother Wang Xiaojing, who was even more miserable than him.

Wang Xiaojing wiped away tears and said, "Sir, it was because of Cai Sheng's forced labor that my second uncle died. He was only nineteen years old and should have been married this year. He spent seven years learning carpentry and had just graduated."

The people behind came up one after another and explained to Yu Qian why they were rebelling.

"Sir, we are also human beings, and our family members are also human beings. Don't we deserve to live?"

Yu Qian's mouth moved, his eyes were red and he couldn't speak.

Cai Sheng, who was standing by, blushed and opened his mouth several times, but no sound came out, and he couldn't even move his body.

He was so angry that he knew it was Pan Yun who did it.

He glared at Master Wu with a look of disappointment. He could not move, and there was no way he would go up to stop them. He let these unruly people say so much!
Master Wu just kept his head down and said nothing.

When everyone had finished speaking, Pan Jun flicked her fingers lightly, and invisible energy hit Cai Sheng, and he instantly regained his ability to move.

He rushed forward, fell to his knees with a thud, and wailed, "My lord, I am innocent - I know nothing about these things. It is true that I issued the labor service, but I did it for the people. If I had not imposed the labor service to repair the riverbanks, bridges and roads this year, I am afraid that the storm and flood would have been even more serious.

As for the additional two coins of tax, it is even more unfair. It is a request from the government office. How can I refuse it?"

Cai Sheng screamed: "This is all unjust—"

Yu Qian looked down at him, and after a moment he nodded gently and said, "I know. I will report the matter to the court truthfully afterwards. The most urgent task is to negotiate the matter of amnesty."

Yu Qian asked Song Dalin: "I wonder if Pan Miaozhu has conveyed our sincerity?"

Song Dalin nodded with a cold face: "She said that although it is not satisfactory, if you can really do what you said, we are willing to be recruited."

The two sides discussed the conditions and confirmed that they received the same feedback. Yu Qian said, "As long as you are willing to surrender, I will immediately write to the court to exempt you from the crime. As for the labor and taxes, Magistrate Cai has already erased them for you. If..."

"It's not us, it's Yushan County, Guangfeng County, Kaihua County and Changshan County. Our brothers all come from these four counties."

Cai Sheng: "...I am just a county magistrate, do you think I am a prefect?"

Yu Qian only hesitated for a moment and said, "I will write a letter to His Majesty. You can just come and surrender without worry."

Song Dalin looked at Pan Yun.

Pan Jun nodded slightly at them.

Song Dalin: "I'm not afraid that you will go back on your word. At worst, we can go back on it again!"

Pan Yun frowned slightly, and Yu Qian also frowned, but soon relaxed his brows and nodded to Song Dalin, saying, "Since it has been agreed upon, you should have everyone come to the government office to register and then disperse. The court will not hold people accountable for past crimes. A notice will soon be issued to exempt people from labor service this year and to follow the old rules for future labor service.

The two-cent tax silver for Yushan County can be announced later, and the other counties will be delayed. I will ask for instructions from Your Majesty and the court before I can make an announcement." (End of this chapter)