Thief Emperor

Chapter 55 The imperial envoy is coming!

Li Yun had never seen this person.

But it's possible to guess.

This person is probably the landlord of Lijia Village, who owns half of the land in Lijia Village, and the context of the incident is also clear.

Skinny Monkey and his companions came down the mountain to buy land from him, but he disagreed, so the people in the village scared him.

If this situation had happened in the past, most of the landlords would have bowed their heads and admitted defeat and would not have gone against the bandits. But now it is different. Qingyang County now has a leader named Li Dadu, who has wiped out two groups of bandits in less than two months!
Even with the support of officials, the trade routes throughout Qingyang County were unobstructed.

At this moment, the story of Li Dadutou had already spread throughout Qingyang, so the landlord of Lijiazhuang actually went directly to the county town to ask the county government to suppress the bandits.

In the past, such a thing would have been unthinkable.

Once you enter the yamen, no one can leave without paying a few coins.

In other words, Mr. Li made the entire Qingyang see the light after the clouds and fog were cleared.

At the same time, it also brought a little trouble to my "career".

After thinking for a moment, he smiled brightly: "What's your last name?"

The middle-aged man quickly said, "My surname is Zhao."

Li Yun continued with a smile: "In Lijiazhuang, how can you have the surname Zhao?"

"My ancestors migrated here."

The middle-aged man surnamed Zhao smiled and said, "We have lived in Lijiazhuang for two generations."

Li Yun then remembered that Liu Bo had mentioned to him the story of the landlord of Lijiazhuang a few days ago.

Several decades ago, there was a famine in Qingyang County and the crops failed. The Zhao family took some money and bought a lot of land at low prices. They not only owned land in Lijiazhuang, but also in other villages.

It’s just that his family settled in Lijiazhuang.

Of course, this kind of behavior cannot be said to be cunning. After all, at that time, the Zhao family's money did save many lives. However, relatively speaking, it was not so authentic.

Li Dadu glanced at the middle-aged man, then said with his hands behind his back, "Let's go in and talk."

Mr. Li did not have his own public house, or office, in the county government, so he took the landlord Zhao to a pavilion in the back government office. After both of them sat down, Li Yun coughed and said, "I will ask you about the specific situation now, and you answer truthfully."

"Yes Yes."

The fat man nodded hurriedly.

"What is your name?"

"Zhao Tong."

Li Yun said slowly: "You said someone wants to occupy your land. How are they going to occupy your land?"

"Captain Li, you will understand."

Zhao Tong was a little excited and said, "They are going to buy my family's land for eight strings of cash per mu! How can we sell the land inherited from our ancestors? A few days after I sternly refused, they brought people to my house to cause trouble and beat up my two farmhands!"

"He also threatened that if I didn't sell the land, bandits would come down the mountain one day and rob my family!"

Zhao Tong gnashed his teeth and said, "They are clearly colluding with the bandits. Please ask Captain Li to take people to arrest them immediately!"

Li Yun frowned and said, "It's just a verbal threat. It's not like there are really bandits in your house."

"The county government is currently suppressing bandits everywhere and is short of manpower. Without the exact location of the bandits, we don't have the spare capacity to send anyone over."

"Go back and wait for news."

Li Dadu waved his hand.

Zhao Tong gritted his teeth, took out a silver ingot from his bosom and held it in his hand: "Captain Li, I know the rules. This is a little filial piety from me."

Li Yun glanced at the silver ingot. Although it was not in circulation, it could be exchanged for about five or six strings of cash.

It's quite a big deal.

Li said righteously, frowning and said, "Look, does Bendu's avatar look like a person who is greedy for money?"

"If I were greedy, how could I risk my life to lead a group of yamen runners to fight bandits everywhere? Wouldn't it be fun to collect money from people everywhere every day?"

Captain Li stood up and snorted, "Originally, I was thinking of sending someone to your house to check on the situation, but I never thought you would look down on me like this!"

After that, he walked away.

Zhao Tong hurriedly chased after him, bowed and kowtowed repeatedly: "Captain Li, I was wrong, I was wrong..."

"Look, can you come to our farm sometime to take a look? Even if it's just to scare those thieves!"

Li Yun stopped and looked back at him.

"When bandits really come to your house, I will lead people to wipe out the bandits and eliminate the harm to the people!"

…………After finally getting rid of the landlord Zhao, Li Yun had not rested for long before he was called to the study of Magistrate Xue by people from the county government.

"The County Lord."

When Magistrate Xue was called, Captain Li saluted obediently with his fists clasped.

Master Xue looked up at him and asked, "Where have you been for the past half month?"

Li Yun smiled and said, "Your Excellency, I was injured on duty a few days ago and went home to recuperate."

"I have already reported this matter to the county government before I left."

Mr. Xue looked at him indifferently and continued to ask, "Where is your home?"

Li Yun sighed: "It's in Lijia Village at the foot of Cangshan Mountain. It's a pity that I've been away from home for too long. The house at home is gone. I have been staying at the homes of relatives and friends during this period."

Mr. Xue groaned.

"Didn't you say you wanted to wipe out the bandits for your fellow villagers? I heard in this county that there is a group of bandits on Cangshan Mountain. When will Captain Li go to wipe out the bandits on Cangshan Mountain?"

Li Dutou's face was serious: "As long as the county lord gives the order, I will immediately lead people to Cangshan to suppress the bandits!"

Suppressing bandits is one thing, but whether it can be done successfully is another matter.

Magistrate Xue could naturally understand what Li Yun meant. He glared at Li Yun unhappily and said, "Sit down and talk."

This is what it means to pass the test.

Mr. Li sat down with a smile and asked, "The county magistrate asked me to come here. What do you want me to do?"

"The court is about to send an imperial envoy down."

Mr. Xue said slowly.

Li Yun was startled and asked, "Is it because of Shidai?"

Magistrate Xue nodded silently: "Almost. Among the states near us, only Xuanzhou has seen rebellion. Although Governor Tian submitted a petition, the court still needs to send an imperial envoy to investigate the situation."

Li Yun curled his lips and said disdainfully: "During this period of time, I have seen a lot of officialdom affairs. The imperial envoys sent by the court are nothing more than eating and drinking, and then taking some benefits and leaving. As long as we serve Governor Tian well, what's the big deal?"

“It seems a little different this time.”

Mr. Xue did not refute Li Yun's words, but said: "People in the state said that the imperial envoy sent here is a young nobleman who is not short of money."

"And because you are young, you may have to ask all the questions to the end."

"It is even possible that they will not send a letter to our local government office, but will sneak over to Xuanzhou to investigate. Governor Tian has sent a note asking us in Qingyang to fully cooperate with the state and not make any mistakes."

Mr. Li lowered his head and drank a sip of tea, saying indifferently: "Just come, it's not our Qingyang's business anyway. If the court investigates, it will only be the state and Shidai that will be investigated."

"We in Qingyang are doing a great job, aren't we?"

Li Yun smiled and said, "The county magistrate has already sent the tax increase, right?"

Master Xue glanced at Li Yun and continued, "This matter has little to do with Qingyang, and it has nothing to do with me either, but it has something to do with you, Li Zhao."

"After all, you participated in the entire process of Shidai's anti-civilian movement."

"If the imperial envoy wants to make a secret visit and wants to find someone other than Shidai, then you are the best candidate. Therefore, the state has specially written a reply note for you. Please take a look."

He pushed a document in front of Li Yun.

Li Yun took it and read it, then frowned.

"Three hundred coins..."

"The villagers in Hexi have always been fierce and undisciplined. They killed the imperial envoy of the government army. This is intolerable..."

After reading a document, Mr. Li looked up at Magistrate Xue and smiled with a hint of sarcasm: "It's really watertight."

"County Master, if the imperial envoy asks me, how should I answer?"

Mr. Xue had a blank expression on his face.

"Now that I have shown you this note, my mission is complete."

"How you reply is up to you, but there is one thing I want to remind you of."

Magistrate Xue took a deep breath and looked at Li Yun.

"If you are not 100% sure that you can overthrow Governor Tian, then you can only reply according to this message."

He said silently.