Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 521 Not asking for trouble
Everyone believed that facing the collective attack of the 18 county magistrates on his side, Qian Li had no choice but to compromise.

However, a cold voice suddenly sounded.

"The county magistrates, when they were held accountable for not doing their job well, they actually dared to threaten the governor. They are so bold."

"Who! Which bastard dares to insult us like this!"

The county magistrates were furious. They looked around and found that the voice came from the dirty follower behind Qian Li. They became even more furious.

"You are just a mere attendant guard, yet you dare to speak disrespectfully to an official appointed by the imperial court? I think you are the most daring one!"

"Governor Qian, you are just an follower and you are so excessive. If you don't give us an explanation today, we will never give up!"

Qian Li snorted coldly, "You won't give up? I won't give you this explanation, so what are you waiting for?"

County Magistrate Meng was already very blunt at this time: "You are a great governor, how dare we do anything to you? But you slandered us first, and then ordered your followers to speak rudely. If this matter is not explained, we can only take sick leave and recuperate. At that time, the matter of disaster relief in other counties will be left to Governor Qian to worry about."

The threat was evident in his words.

Qian Li was not afraid at all: "Slander? If I didn't have sufficient evidence, how dare I say that?"

County Magistrate Meng and others turned pale when they heard this.

"What evidence does Governor Qian have?"

Qian Li clapped his hands and shouted, "Bring him in!"

Soon, a group of people of different ages, covered in mud, came in one after another from outside the door. As soon as they came in, they knelt down in front of Qian Li.

"We, the common people, greet Governor Qian."

Magistrate Meng seemed to have guessed the identities of these people, but he remained calm and asked, "Who are these people? What do you want to do if Governor Qian lets them in?"

Qian Li ignored him and said softly to the people, "Don't panic, just tell me the grievances you complained about when you stopped me. I will take care of it for you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Governor Meng said in a sinister tone: "Who are you? If you dare to lie, my Meng family will never sit idly by."

As soon as he said this, the people trembled all over, looked up at him, then looked at Qian Li, and finally lowered their heads, not daring to speak.

Magistrate Meng glanced at Qian Li with a smug look on his face.

At this time, Liu He said: "Don't be afraid, fellow villagers. As long as you can prove this, he will be punished even if his entire clan is exterminated. If you cannot prove it, given his character, you will inevitably suffer from him in the future."

"You... you are just a follower, how dare you..."

Magistrate Meng was furious and was about to scold, but was interrupted by Qian Li with a stern voice.

"you shut up!"

The people looked at each other and finally made a decision.

"Okay, I say. Two days ago, the county magistrate issued a notice saying that the Yellow River had burst its banks, and the river section west of our county might also be in danger of bursting its banks. Therefore, the people of our Daliushu Village and several surrounding villages, as well as some refugees, should be gathered in our village. It is said that our village is on the easternmost side of the city, not only farthest from the Yellow River, but also with a hillside behind the village, so it is convenient to evacuate at any time."

"We didn't suspect anything and waited in the village. He had promised that the government would take care of our food rations in the next few days, but after everyone gathered, he never mentioned it again. The people from other villages were fine, but the refugees relied on us to survive. At that time, I felt that something was wrong and wanted to go to the government to inquire, but who would have thought that this bastard would..."

At this point, the villager began to get a little agitated.

"He actually ordered the city gates to be closed and no one was allowed to enter or leave. We had no choice but to return to the village. After a discussion, we prepared to go to the mountains for shelter. Unexpectedly, when we were packing our bags last night, a flood suddenly hit and the whole village was flooded in an instant. Of the more than 1,400 people, only the fifty or so of us managed to escape to the mountains."

His eyes were red at this time, full of anger, and he stared at County Magistrate Meng.

"It was him, this bastard. Not only did he not send anyone to rescue, he also personally led his troops here and gathered all the bodies of the drowned people in a charity cemetery. Later, the flood became more and more severe, the charity cemetery was flooded, and those bodies floated out and were seen by you, the governor. Now we have a place to seek justice... Sir, you have to help us..."

"Please, Your Excellency, please make the decision..."

County Magistrate Meng looked a little nervous at this time. What this man said was absolutely true. He completely believed that these dozens of people were the survivors of Daliushu Village.

"It's hateful that someone actually escaped. Why didn't we think of going up the mountain to search and kill the survivors? It's really hateful!"

He was filled with hatred in his heart and turned to look at Qian Li, and then a hint of ferocity flashed in his eyes.

After listening to the villagers' complaints, Qian Li nodded.

"Mr. Meng, do you have anything else to say in your defense?"

Magistrate Meng was no longer afraid at this time: "Prefect Qian bullied people by taking advantage of his power, colluded with the people, and slandered me. I have nothing to say."

"Hmph, I guess you don't have anything to say." Qian Li clapped his hands: "Someone come!"

Soon, teams of yamen runners came running in.

Qian Li pointed at Magistrate Meng and the others and said, "Capture all 18 of these magistrates and take them to Jinyang City for detention."

Unexpectedly, these officers did not take any action after hearing the order. Instead, they looked at each other with hesitation on their faces.

"you……"

Qian Li looked at them in surprise.

"Hahaha……"

Magistrate Meng laughed out loud towards the sky.

"Qian Li, Qian Li, you are so stupid that this county magistrate looks at you in a new light. Have you forgotten? In the beginning, it was my Meng family who took the initiative to surrender to Liu He in Lin County, and that's how I got the position of county magistrate. Because of this, my Meng family's power in the city was almost not damaged at all."

"In addition, I have worked hard over the years, and my Meng family has deep roots in this city. Although there are many loyal people among these officials, including the county soldiers guarding the city, who even worship Liu He, how can they have the courage to resist my Meng family?"

After hearing what he said, Qian Li calmed down.

"What? Do you think that the Meng family alone can resist the general?"

County Magistrate Meng shook his head: "Of course not. How could I be such a fool without self-awareness? However, I, the Meng family, cannot do it, but the Yuan family can."

As soon as these words were spoken, the other seventeen county magistrates all showed expressions of approval on their faces.

Qian Li finally understood: "So you all colluded with Yuan Shao and many noble families. If I am not mistaken, the Yellow River bursting was caused by you, right? Otherwise, with the strength of Bingzhou's monitoring of various river sections, it is impossible to dig up so many riverbanks at the same time."

County Magistrate Meng readily admitted, "Yes, it was after months of planning that we succeeded. However, we dare not take all the credit for such a great achievement. This plan was personally sent by Mr. Chen of the Yingchuan Chen family."

Qian Li nodded: "Well, that makes sense."

Magistrate Meng was a little surprised to see that he was not panicked at all.

"Why? Death is imminent, why aren't you afraid?"

Qian Li was stunned: "Why should I be afraid of death for you bastards? Now that you have confessed all your crimes, I should celebrate."

Magistrate Meng burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, there are only two of you, how can you kill me?"

After saying that, he glanced at Liu He behind Qian Li.

"Can you rely on a mere follower like you? Humph, if he were Guan Yu, perhaps we would be a little afraid of him. Unfortunately, Guan Yu is in Shangdang. If he dares to come, the Jizhou army will approach and Shangdang will be lost in an instant, which will just be a good achievement for us."

Liu He slowly raised his head: "Oh? Are you really so confident?"

Magistrate Meng looked at him with disdain: "Of course. Even without the help of these officials, the eighteen magistrates alone are enough to capture the two of you. You are just a servant, and you want to kill me to gain merit? You are simply foolish..."

Before he could utter the word "delusion", his voice suddenly stopped.

Everyone only felt a flash of cold light, and then blood rose into the sky.

By the time the other 17 county magistrates saw the situation clearly, County Magistrate Meng had turned into a headless corpse, lying in front of them.

"Ah... murder... quick, come quickly, catch this thief!"

Dozens of officers swarmed in, and the villagers panicked and hurriedly hid behind Qian Li and Liu He.

"Quick, capture them both and you'll be rewarded 5,000 coins!"

The officers were originally a little hesitant about arresting Qian Li, but when they heard about such a huge reward, some of them gritted their teeth, stamped their feet, and rushed forward.

Seeing that someone had taken the lead, the others were unwilling to miss out on the five thousand coins, so they also rushed towards Qian Li and Liu He.

"How dare you! Who dares to come up here?"

Qian Li shouted loudly, then moved to Liu He's side and bowed.

"Your humble servant Qian Li greets the general!"

With just this one sentence, everyone stood there in a daze!
(End of this chapter)