The prince is more stable

Chapter 395 The Water That Carries the Boat
There are many talented people among the people, but what are more talented than them are the Crouching Dragon and the Phoenix Chick.

Once a crowd gathers, they become excited and dare to say anything without restraint, just to attract attention and to be given the glorious title of "well-informed people".

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't expect that he was criticized by thousands of people just for coming out to clarify the facts, and he was even made into a remnant of Liu Qianliang.

Although he was angry, Zhao Xiaoqian really couldn't do anything to this group of people. He was of a different status, so why should he bother with these fools?

Just like what Lao Guo said, if someone insists that coal must be burned to launch a rocket, any expert who even looks at him for even a second will consider him the loser.

Facing everyone's accusations, Zhao Xiaoqian was angry for a while, but suddenly he laughed.

"Okay, okay, I was wrong. The Dragon Guard Battalion did kill 100,000 rebels that night. It's true. I saw it with my own eyes."

Everyone saw that Zhao Xiaoqian did not refute at all, but changed his words immediately without any principles. This behavior of joining when you can't beat them is really shameless.

Everyone wanted to continue the attack, but they no longer had a reason. Everyone had joined in, so what could they do?
So everyone snorted in disappointment, ignored him, and continued to discuss the current affairs that they cared about.

"...Our new prefect seems to be a little different from other officials."

"He's only been in office for a few days, but he's already taken down all the officials in the Zhending government office. His methods and schemes are definitely different from those of other officials."

A mysterious insider appeared in the crowd: "You only know that he is the new prefect, but you don't know how prominent and noble he is in Bianjing. He is a county duke and a relative of the current official. How can someone like Liu Qianliang compare to this status?"

"You know about last year's Song-Xia War, right? Do you know who led the army to capture the capital of Western Xia? That's right, it was our new prefect, the Duke of Zhao."

"Do you know who the soldiers who followed Duke Zhao to capture the Xixia capital were? That's right, they were the Dragon Guard Battalion stationed outside the main camp on the eastern outskirts of Zhending City. These 30,000-plus Dragon Guard soldiers have become Duke Zhao's personal guard, and he takes them with him wherever he goes."

There was a sudden exclamation from the crowd, and it was unclear whether they were amazed at Zhao Xiaoqian's identity or at the well-informed information of this insider.

Zhao Xiaoqian still stood outside the crowd in a low profile, listening to their discussions with a smile.

It's quite interesting. It's like looking at yourself photographed by someone else. There's a strange yet familiar sense of division.

"This Duke Zhao is no ordinary man. In the Song-Xia War, the ruler of Western Xia was forced to submit to the Song Dynasty, ceding territory and cities and paying tribute year after year. In the hundred years since the founding of the Song Dynasty, we have never enjoyed such an advantage. This is all thanks to Duke Zhao."

"The Emperor favors him greatly. Even the Prime Minister has to show some respect to him. It would be easy for him to deal with a villain like Liu Qianliang. He has only been in office for a few days and he has already taken action against Liu Qianliang. It shows that the two are not on the same level. The Duke of Zhao can destroy him with a wave of his hand."

Zhao Xiaoqian was listening to others boasting about him with great interest, feeling quite pleased when someone in the crowd suddenly sighed and said, "What business does the achievements of kings, princes, generals, and ministers have on common people like us? Duke Zhao is certainly powerful, but he is, after all, the Duke of the current dynasty."

"All he sees is the country and the people, but he is oblivious to the suffering of the people. I hope he is not the next Liu Qianliang, otherwise the people of Zhending Prefecture will have to continue to suffer."

Everyone was stunned and looked at the person who spoke.

The person who was speaking was an old man, his face was covered with wrinkles. In the cold winter, he was only wearing a relatively thick coat with patches all over it. He stood with a hunched back and dull eyes, and the vicissitudes of life caused by poverty came to his face.

Zhao Xiaoqian also looked at him intently.

The old man smiled faintly and said, "I've lived for so many years, and I've seen many officials come and go. When they take office, they all claim to work for the benefit of the people, but what happens in the end? They are still greedy when it comes to corruption, ruthlessly levying taxes and levies on the people, and finally leave office with a lot of money."

"I've finally come to terms with this. No matter how much merit an official has achieved, it's only to rise to prominence. A truly good official is one who can benefit the people, work harder for their well-being, and ensure they have enough food and clothing, without worrying about food and clothing."

"You've boasted for so long, but I have a question for you: the old ones have left, the new ones have come, but have we, the people, benefited?"

"No, right? Then stop bragging about this and praising that. Don't wait until the day when you all gather here and unanimously curse the person who boasted in the first place. That would be hilarious, ridiculous, haha!"

The crowd was silent.

Those insiders who had just been happily praising Zhao Xiaoqian were suddenly speechless.

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at people's expressions quietly, then looked deeply at the old man who was speaking.

He is a sensible man, and his life has not been lived in vain.

For thousands of years, the simple idea among the people has been that if an official is replaced, the people will have a good life.

This kind of naive idea is very common, but the fact is that their expectations are slapped in the face again and again, and they rekindle their hopes again and again, waiting for the arrival of the next official.

Xing, the people suffer.die, the people suffer.

In this era when literacy was a minority, few could see through this. The quiet crowd had lost the lively atmosphere of discussion just now, replaced by a sense of depression, like a dark cloud hanging over everyone's hearts.

The newly arrived Duke of Zhao is of much more noble status than Liu Qianliang. From another perspective, isn't his appetite also much bigger than Liu Qianliang and the others?

Liu Qianliang fell, but it turned out that Duke Zhao was even more greedy and more vicious than Liu Qianliang. Wouldn't the people of Zhending Prefecture have no way to survive?
When everyone was worried about the future of themselves and their loved ones, Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't help but speak again.

"Everyone, rest assured. The new prefect shouldn't be a bad guy. Not only is he handsome and charming, but he's also kind-hearted and wouldn't do anything immoral to the people. Especially since... he's really handsome!"

People looked at him again and frowned.

"You little brat, how can you be so arrogant? Have you ever met the Duke of Zhao? You're just talking nonsense."

Zhao Xiaoqian said seriously, "I have seen him, really. Otherwise, how could I have the confidence to describe him as 'handsome and romantic'?"

People scoffed.

The two sisters beside Zhao Xiaoqian hugged his arms, one on the left and one on the right, and giggled.

"They don't believe me even when I tell them the truth. This group of people is hopeless." Zhao Xiaoqian smiled bitterly at the two sisters helplessly.

Genji leaned over to whisper in his ear, "The Duke is handsome and charming. We sisters will definitely believe him. It doesn't matter whether others believe him or not. It's not them who are enjoying the Duke's favor every night."

Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion: "Don't talk nonsense in broad daylight. You're an adult, and you dare to drive casually..."

At this moment, a thunderous cheer suddenly came from the end of the street.

Zhao Xiaoqian and the crowd were stunned and couldn't help but look towards the end of the street.

A group of people were cheering loudly, with ecstatic smiles on everyone's face. Some even raised their heads and howled as if to vent their feelings. Some were laughing, some were crying. The street, which was not very busy originally, was now crowded with people.

As everyone was stunned, they saw a commoner running towards them like crazy, shouting excitedly as he ran.

"The prefect requested an imperial decree, and the emperor has granted it. Farmers and merchants in the nine counties under the jurisdiction of Zhending Prefecture will be exempted from taxes for three years! Haha, three years of tax exemption!"

The people around Zhao Xiaoqian were stunned for a moment, and then suddenly became ecstatic and cheered loudly like everyone else.

A policy of the imperial court may be just two short sentences in an official document. They will never know how profound and significant the impact of these two sentences is on the fate of ordinary people.

The crowd who had just been reminded by the old man, after their joy, looked at the old man.

An idle man said with a grin, "Old man, I'm afraid you've made a mistake this time. Did you hear that? The prefect has personally asked the emperor for permission to exempt us from taxes for three years. This official is a good official!"

The old man who had a pessimistic look on his face just now now had his wrinkles smoothed out and revealed a happy smile.

"Haha, I was mistaken. I wish I could do this more often. This Duke Zhao is truly no ordinary person."

There was a sound of hurried footsteps behind me.

Zhao Xin appeared behind Zhao Xiaoqian, clasped his fists and said respectfully, "My Lord, military intelligence has arrived from the Liao Kingdom. Please return to the government office immediately."

Zhao Xiaoqian's expression tensed, and without saying anything, he turned around and left with the two sisters.

After Zhao Xiaoqian left, the crowd that had been rejoicing just now suddenly fell silent. After looking at each other, the old man finally reacted and slapped his thigh heavily.

"He... that young man, is actually the Duke of Zhao? He actually came incognito to listen to our discussions. Oh! I am offended, I am offended!"

"So he is the Duke of Zhao. He is indeed young and exudes nobility from the inside out. How come I didn't see it..."

"He just said...he's handsome and romantic?"

There was a snapping sound, and another person shouted sharply, "Did he say something wrong?"

"...That's right."

(End of this chapter)