Thief Emperor

Chapter 48 It’s natural
At nightfall, Cao Rong, the state's Sima, finally arrived at Hexi Village.

Sima was an official in charge of the military affairs of a state.

It sounds glorious, but on the one hand, he is under the control of the governor, and secondly, the local states do not actually have much local military force for him to control, so this official position seems a bit awkward.

Therefore, in the Zhou Dynasty, the position of Sima of local states was often used to demote officials. If an official in the capital offended the emperor, he would be kicked out and demoted to the position of Sima in the local area.

These exiled officials may have never exercised the management of Sima even once during their several years in office.

However, this Sima Cao in Xuanzhou was not an official demoted from the capital, but the brother-in-law of a certain important figure above, who was placed in this position by the important figure.

This is not surprising.

After all, if he really was a nobleman from the capital, he would not have accepted money from County Magistrate Xue Song.

In other words, Xue Song couldn't see anyone at all.

Sima Cao was not very tall, he could even be said to be short. He was wearing an official uniform and had a very ugly look on his face. As soon as he arrived, he scolded Guo Han, the Dianshi of Shidai, to death.

"What do you guys do for a living?"

Cao Sima spoke with an accent from another province, his face red with anger: "Shidai has supported dozens of you, but a few rebels broke into the county town and killed the magistrate!"

He looked at Guo Han fiercely and cursed: "Why don't you kill you too, those traitors!"

Guo Dianshi, who had previously put on airs in front of Li Yun, now lowered his head and dared not say a word.

Sima Cao continued to scold Guo Dianshi, and even scolded his parents. After he finally vented his anger, he looked fiercely at Hexi Village in the distance and said in a cold voice: "Is the village surrounded?"

“It’s all fenced in.”

Guo Han lowered his head quickly: "No one can come out."

Sima Cao took a deep breath and left with a wave of his sleeves: "Surround them first, and wait until Governor Tian arrives tomorrow morning, then we can make plans!"

Guo Han quickly lowered his head: "Yes, I obey your command!"

After watching Sima Cao leave, Guo Han straightened his chest again. He shouted to his subordinates, asked them to send more people, and surrounded the entire Hexi Village.

Li Yun and others are among them.

After a long night, the next morning, Governor Tian's sedan chair finally stopped at the entrance of Hexi Village. Cao Sima and several officials from Shidai went up to greet him. After Governor Tian got off the sedan chair, Cao Rong hurried forward and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets you, Your Excellency."

"Greetings to the envoy."

The Governor Tian, ​​who had three strands of long beard and looked very handsome, looked at Cao Rong, then looked at Hexi Village, but did not even look at Guo Han and others. He put his hands behind his back and walked towards an open space: "Brother Cao."

Cao Rong stepped forward quickly: "I'm here."

He hurried forward, and soon the two state officials moved away from the crowd and came to a secluded place.

Governor Tian stroked his beard, looked towards Hexi Village, and asked, "Have the thieves who committed the crime been caught?"

"We have captured more than a dozen people, and there are still about 20 people who have not been caught yet."

"It is said that several of them fled back to Hexi Village."

Cao Sima whispered, "Sir, should we arrest all the people in Hexi Village and torture them severely?"

Governor Tian shook his head slightly: "Du Ping is dead. He was an official appointed by the court. This matter will definitely alarm the court. You and I must report it to the court and make it clear."

"And the imperial court will definitely send an imperial censor to investigate this matter."

Governor Tian said silently: "If the censor finds out about Hexi Village..."

If the truth of this matter were to reach the imperial court, it would be a case of the government forcing the people to revolt.

What’s even more terrible is that Xuanzhou’s tax increase only collected 500 coins, while Shidai County’s tax increase collected 800 coins!
Although the eight hundred coins in Shidai have nothing to do with the state, the five hundred coins in the state...

It’s also overcharged!
In an era of severe information lag, these local officials were so unscrupulous.

Once the imperial court sends people down, officials at both the prefecture and county levels in Xuanzhou will probably be severely punished. After all, this is no longer a simple issue of corruption, but a matter of forcing the people to rebel.

Forcing the people to rebel would affect the foundation of the Great Zhou.

At that time, Governor Tian, ​​Sima Cao, and all the officials in the state, who have handled the tax money this time, will all be held accountable!
In fact, all officials at the Xuanzhou state level who have a say are not clean.

Even if one or two people want to keep clean, the others will drag them down, otherwise the rest of the money will not be secure.

Everyone is unclean.

Cao Rong was just a man who got to his position through nepotism. When faced with problems, he was far from being as calm as Governor Tian. Hearing this, he was already a little panicked. After looking at Governor Tian cautiously, he stammered, "What do you mean, sir?" Governor Tian looked at Cao Rong with some disappointment.

"Do I need to explain this matter clearly?"

"But...but..."

Cao Rong's voice trembled: "Sir, if the people above come down to investigate and find that there is no one left in Hexi Village, wouldn't it be... a little unreasonable?"

"Don't worry, there will naturally be people from Hexi Village who will come out to testify when the time comes."

"Moreover."

Governor Tian spoke calmly, without any emotion: "The imperial censors in the capital, or other angels coming down, won't take it too seriously. You and I should do our best. Besides, there is also Lord Zhu in the court."

The "Mr. Zhu" he mentioned was Cao Rong's brother-in-law.

Governor Tian said slowly: "Nothing will happen."

Cao Sima swallowed his saliva, his voice already stuttering: "Envoy, how should I explain this matter... this matter?"

Governor Tian frowned, somewhat displeased.

He felt that Cao Rong was too stupid.

However, for the sake of "Master Zhu", he suppressed his anger and said slowly: "The people of Hexi Village intended to usurp the throne, invaded Shidai County, and killed the officials of the court. After the officers and soldiers of the state rushed to Hexi Village, they fought all night and finally caught all the rebels and killed them on the spot."

He looked at Cao Rong and continued, "Remember, find the name of the leader among these rebels and report it to the court. Then you and I will submit our memorials to the court together."

"In this case, Brother Cao is at most responsible for failing to suppress the bandits, and I am at most responsible for not taking precautions."

Cao Rong was much calmer now. He let out a long sigh and whispered, "I understand."

"Sir, the soldiers from the prefecture will arrive in the afternoon. Should we use the soldiers from the prefecture or the officials from Shidai and Qingyang?"

"it's the same."

Governor Tian yawned and squinted his eyes and said, "It is well known that the rebels invaded the county and killed the county magistrate. We are the imperial court suppressing the rebellion."

"It's only natural."

"I understand."

Sima Cao bowed his head and clasped his fists: "I will arrange it right away."

…………

In the afternoon, Li Yun, who was chatting with Li Zheng outside Hexi Village, was called over by Guo Han, the historian of Shidai.

He followed Guo Han, and soon came to a middle-aged man who was short and looked to be in his thirties.

Also coming with Li Yun was Tu Heng, the chief of Shidai County.

Tu Heng is in his forties and looks quite capable.

After the two men arrived, Guo Han lowered his head and forced a slightly flattering smile on his face: "Sima, the heads of the two counties have been brought here."

"Ah."

Cao Rong, who was sitting on the chair, hummed, then slowly opened his eyes and looked at the two of them. After a while, he ordered: "The rebels have been shut in the village and are extremely vicious. If you go in rashly, it may cause heavy casualties to the brothers."

“Therefore, we have no choice but to force them out.”

"You two, go down immediately and take people to collect firewood and tung oil and place them at the entrances of various villages in Hexi Village."

"When it gets dark, I give the order and you will immediately light a fire and use smoke to drive the thieves out of the village."

Upon hearing this, Li Yun and Tu Heng looked at each other at the same time.

Mr. Li frowned even more.

The terrain of Hexi Village is relatively open. How is it possible to smoke out the people inside by just starting a fire?
Shidai Dutou Tu Heng hesitated for only a moment, then bowed his head and clasped his fists in salute: "I obey your command."

Li Yun, on the other hand, looked up at Cao Rong with a strange look, then nodded slowly.

"I obey your command."

(End of this chapter)