The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 101: Heyin Rebellion (Please pre-order!!!)
"Master Sima is guilty of heinous crimes!!"

"Sima Shi was in his prime, holding a crucial position, yet he often feigned illness and stayed away from office. He commanded a powerful army, yet he lacked the proper etiquette of a minister. His ministers loathed him, and men of high esteem despised him. This was known to everyone under heaven; this was his first crime!"

"Sima Yi dealt with the enemy, reclaimed land, and prepared food supplies, hoping to one day subdue them. Sima Shi, as a minister and Sima Yi's son, failed to inherit his father's legacy and gave up before defeating the enemy. This is his second crime!!"

"Sima Shi was unable to deal with the foreign invaders, his army was defeated, and years of preparation were destroyed in an instant, causing unrest throughout the country and countless casualties among the people. This is his third crime!!"

"Sima Shi"

On the South Platform of Heyin County, Guo Ze stood on it, holding the imperial edict and reading it loudly to the crowd.

There were hundreds of people standing in the audience, led by County Magistrate Wang.

Except for the seven or eight strong men behind County Captain Wang, the rest of the people did not seem to have any fighting ability.

The composition of these people is quite complex. You can see rangers with swords, prisoners with inscriptions, hungry refugees, and even merchants.

They stood in a chaotic manner on the stage, with no formation, no armor, and of course no weapons. They seemed to have no idea why they were standing there.

Guo Ze was reprimanding Sima Shi for his crimes from above, while they were saying their own words below.

The scene was extremely chaotic.

Guo Ze listed Sima Shi's twelve crimes in detail and criticized him as worthless.

He then praised the current emperor and encouraged everyone to help the emperor get rid of the traitors.

As for the reaction from the people below, well, there was no reaction at all.

County Magistrate Wang's face looked quite ugly.

The brave men around him also had despair on their faces at this moment.

We were ripped off!!!
County Magistrate Wang was called Wang Yuan, and he was from Xinfeng. Although his family was not prominent, they were rich farmers and had some property.

When he was young, he had already become a well-known ranger in Xinfeng area. He led a group of brothers to do evil all day long. Later, he committed a crime and was wanted, and left his hometown.

He escaped from pursuit in the home of a powerful man, and later became a minor official in the village through someone's recommendation.

Later, relying on his "little family property", he gradually rose to the position of county lieutenant.

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, although official titles could not be bought and sold openly, officials in prefectures and counties had the power to recommend and promote people, so transferring officials at the county and township levels was not a difficult task at all.

Wang Yuan is not old, but unfortunately, his official rank has reached the end.

To be able to reach the position of county lieutenant now, his family property has been drained out, so he is still very lucky.

Otherwise, with his family background, his career as a township official would have been over.

Wang Yuan is ambitious, but he has no channels for advancement. Don't think that no one is eyeing the position of county magistrate. Those aristocratic families may not look down on it, but apart from the aristocratic families, there is also something called the powerful. The local powerful people in Heyin see an outsider sitting in the position of county lieutenant, and they don't know how much they want to replace him.

The struggle between local officials and local tyrants was particularly fierce at this moment, and Wang Yuan had suffered a lot of humiliation over the years.

Wang Yuan had been hesitating, wanting to leave but reluctant to give up his past efforts. The soldier who was killed by the son of a local wealthy family was a fellow ranger who had followed him in the past, which made Wang Yuan quite angry.

He planned to kill those people to avenge his companions, and then escape with the rest of them.

Anyway, this is not the first time he has run away.

The knights of the Wei Dynasty all had ample experience in escaping, especially those like him who had served as officials. They knew how local officials caught thieves and were very confident in killing people and escaping.

Later, Guo Ze took office and directly executed those people.

This deeply touched Wang Yuan.

When chopping off those men's heads, Wang Yuan's suppressed emotions seemed to be released, and Guo Ze's words further aroused his ambition.

How can a man of honor live in this world in mediocrity?

The lawless Wang Yuan immediately decided to do something big with Guo Ze. Regardless of whether this matter succeeded or not, he would become famous all over the world. As for death, what was there to fear?
Besides, Guo Ze comes from a prominent family after all, and he can see further than himself. If he is not sure, will he do something that will bring disaster upon himself?
Wang Yuan has great trust in Mr. Guo, who comes from a prominent family.

But today, this Mr. Guo completely shattered Wang Yuan's unrealistic fantasies.

Because Mr. Guo rebelled.

When he asked Wang Yuan to gather everyone to the south of the city, Wang Yuan began to dissuade him. Although Wang Yuan had not read much, he knew in his heart that
This is not how you start a rebellion! !
Seeing Guo Ze's confident look, Wang Yuan really thought that he had some good ideas. He thought that Guo Ze would use his position as the county magistrate to secretly gather enough people, and then gather the officials in the county together to wipe out the whole gang.
But things did not develop as Wang Yuan had expected.

He contacted some wanderers, merchants, criminals, refugees and the like, no more than 400 people, most of whom were old, weak, sick and disabled and had little fighting ability. Mr. Guo could not wait to gather everyone together and read out Sima Shi's crimes.

Wang Yuan looked at Guo Ze above him with gritted teeth.

He still read out the imperial edict in his hand with such righteousness, his expression excited and his eyes red.

He spoke very well and the edict was also well written.

Sadly, this didn't do anything.

The number of people gathered in the audience had begun to decrease, and some people secretly left.
And Mr. Guo was still chattering on and on about the imperial edicts.

The rangers around Wang Yuan could no longer bear it.

"Brother, run! Guo Ze is going to kill us!"

“Run now!!”

"If that doesn't work, go kill him now and use his head to exchange for military merit."

For a moment, Wang Yuan was also shaken, but he quickly dismissed the idea, "No. Even if we kill Guo Ze, with our background, we won't get any credit for his achievements. It will definitely be swallowed up by the state and county officials, and we will definitely be chopped off to make up for the loss!"

“What should I do then?!”

Those people's faces were full of despair.

"Guo Ze is just messing around! He doesn't even know how to rebel!"

Wang Yuan gritted his teeth, looked at the messy crowd behind him, made up his mind, and walked quickly towards the stage.

Guo Ze was reading the imperial edict in his hand when suddenly someone snatched it from his hand. Guo Ze was stunned and looked up to see Wang Yuan with a complicated expression.

"Lord Wang, what are you doing?"

Wang Yuan took a deep breath. "Mr. Guo, we can't go on like this. The officials in the county government haven't been cleared out yet. There are still powerful families and wealthy people in the city. It's useless to tell these people we've gathered. We have to persuade them with benefits!"

Guo Ze shook his head and said stubbornly: "How can the king's army be used for profit? A king who is loyal to the king should be loyal, just and just, and powerful."

"Alright, alright, a grand march, but we can't delay any longer. We must send troops to the county government office now, seize control of the officials, and then equip these people. I can lead them to attack the powerful people in the city, plunder their food, distribute it to the people, and coerce them."

"What?! We are fighting against traitors! We are the king's army, how can we rob and coerce others? If the virtuous people in the city knew about Sima Shi's crimes, they would definitely help us."

At this moment, Wang Yuan finally woke up.

Stupid! Pedantic!
This man is simply incapable of leading us to accomplish great things. Perhaps he is truly loyal to the emperor, but his mind is simply too pedantic to be true. If we continue to listen to his nonsense, we will be in vain!

"Mr. Guo! I'm sorry!"

"what?"

"Peng~~"

Before Guo Ze could react, Wang Yuan suddenly attacked and punched Guo Ze in the face. Guo Ze cried out in pain and covered his face. Wang Yuan threw him to the ground and called a subordinate to tie him up.

After doing all this, Wang Yuan looked at the stunned crowd below.

Wang Yuan drew his sword and shouted angrily, "Brothers! Sima Shi is going too far! I have been appointed General by imperial decree! Join me in attacking the county government! Kill the powerful people in the city! Take away the food! Take away the wealth! Take away the women!!"

"If you dare not obey, I will kill you!!"

“Follow me!!!”

Wang Yuan roared, and his subordinates also screamed and immediately rushed towards the county government office.

The crowd below the stage was still bewildered. Wang Yuan signaled to his men, and they immediately drew their swords and slashed at several of the men who remained motionless, shouting, "The general has given the order! How dare we disobey?!"

Those people were so frightened that they dared not stand there any longer. They rushed out shouting.

A farcical rebellion began just like that.

(End of this chapter)