The prince is more stable

Chapter 502: Searching for Criminals
The deeper Zhao Xiaoqian investigated, the more serious the matter became.

One-third of the farmers in the nine counties under its jurisdiction were relocated, with a total population of at least 40,000 to 50,000.

Originally, the relocation of farmers was an imperial decree, and there was no doubt about it. However, in some villages, not a single person was left. What was even more infuriating was that the officials from the government office found the bodies of villagers in other villages.

Currently, there are more than 30 deaths recorded in the data, and the fate of the farmers who have been relocated is still unknown.

Looking at these shocking figures, Zhao Xiaoqian felt angry, but he also realized that Han Wei and others did not treat farmers as human beings at all.

It would be more accurate to say that it was the relocation of a group of livestock rather than the relocation of farmers.

They don't care whether the animals are dead or alive.

This still made Zhao Xiaoqian extremely angry.

He led the Dragon Guard Battalion to conquer a vast territory and eliminated the border troubles that had plagued the country for a hundred years. From then on, the Liao people dared not go south to graze their horses, and he had formed a deterrent to the Liao Kingdom in terms of military strategy.

The people in the border town finally waited for a peaceful day, and they were extremely grateful to Zhao Xiaoqian, the border commander. Everyone saw the dawn of hope for the future.

It is undeniable that Zhao Xiaoqian was also immersed in the pleasure of being appreciated. While expanding territory for the country and bringing peace to the people, he felt that his life had also achieved the value of being recognized and respected.

However, all of this was ruined by the powerful people in Bianliang.

The Liao people were driven away, but there were still people who wanted to kill them, and those who wanted to kill them were actually officials from their own country.

"When a country prospers, the people suffer. When a country perishes, the people suffer." This is probably the true fate of the people of Zhending Prefecture.

But why should the people suffer?
The people are doing their duty by farming and paying taxes to the court honestly. Who have they offended?

Looking at the data in his hand, Zhao Xiaoqian's face became more and more gloomy.

In the end, Zhao Xiaoqian slammed the paper in his hand heavily on the table, his expression cold and frosty.

"I'm going on a killing spree! Even the most powerful backing can't stop me from killing people!" Zhao Xiaoqian shouted angrily.

…………

The iron hooves clanged and the flags fluttered.

The 20,000 soldiers of the Longwei Camp were ordered to leave the camp and head to various directions on the south bank of the Juma River.

Inside the Song army camp, all horses were silent, flags fluttered, and countless soldiers and horses filed out of the camp at the command of their generals. The Liao army scouts on the opposite bank who had been monitoring the movements of the Song army were horrified and hurriedly mounted their horses and galloped towards Xijin Prefecture.

It has to be said that the actions of the Song army in the past six months have made the Liao Kingdom highly nervous. Any unusual troop movements could trigger a chain reaction in the Liao Kingdom.

But what the Liao Kingdom did not know was that this time the Song army was ordered to leave the camp, and their target was not the Liao Kingdom, but their own officials.

Zhao Xiaoqian's military order clearly stated that the Longwei Camp, led by Zhong Jianzhong himself, would dispatch 20,000 troops to conduct a carpet search of the newly occupied territory on the south bank of the Juma River, and must find Han Wei, Wang Yuan and dozens of other officials from Bianliang.

Military orders are different from political orders. After a political order is issued, there is still room for delay, laziness, and lip service, but military orders are like mountains. Every word the commander says in the order must be carried out by the soldiers under him without fail, otherwise they will be subject to strict military law.

After receiving the order, Zhong Jianzhong did not dare to delay and immediately ordered the troops to leave the camp. The 20,000 soldiers were divided into eight groups to form an airtight net-like search on the south bank of the Juma River.

On a plain more than a hundred miles away from the camp on the south bank of the Juma River, Han Wei and Wang Yuan, along with more than twenty officials, were measuring the fertile farmland.

This land was once occupied by the Liao Kingdom, but the Liao Kingdom was a country that combined farming and nomadism. The land they occupied was originally suitable for farming, but a lot of it was wasted by them. Some was left barren, and some was used to grow alfalfa and for grazing cattle, sheep, and war horses.

After Zhao Xiaoqian and his Dragon Guard Camp occupied this land, it became excellent farmland for the Song Dynasty, especially because of its advantageous geographical location, located in a flat and vast plain area, which was more suitable for growing crops.

Han Wei and Wang Yuan became more and more delighted as they watched.

Naturally, they themselves could not gain much benefit from this fertile land. As a transport envoy and a vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue, their identities were not qualified to participate in the game of dividing up the land.

But when the big guys ate meat, Han Wei and Wang Yuan could taste some of the soup.

This little bit of soup is enough to fatten them up.

Not to mention anything else, just the arable land and farmland divided up by the big guys, if even a little bit slips through their fingers, it would be enough for their descendants to have no worries about food and drink for generations.

What's more, the two of them helped the bigwigs in Bian Jing to accomplish such a great thing, and their future careers will be extremely smooth. These hidden benefits make them even more motivated.

"What a fertile land! The Liao people are so stupid. They don't use much of such excellent land for farming. Do they really think that raising sheep and cattle can make them rich for generations? Ha!" Han Wei's face showed sarcasm.

Wang Yuan sneered, "After all, they are uncivilized barbarians, uninstructed by our sages. Their actions are not elegant, and their swords are only slightly sharper. In the end, they were still defeated by the Prince of Hejian."

Mentioning the Prince of Hejian, Han Wei couldn't help but reveal a look of worry, and whispered, "I wonder if the Prince of Hejian knows about our actions. I heard that he was not a good-tempered person when he was in Bianjing. He even dared to go against Prime Minister Zhang and was very favored by the emperor. If he accidentally finds out about this, it will be bad."

Wang Yuan smiled nonchalantly and said, "No matter how favored the prince is or how bad his temper is, don't forget that he is still an official after all. Officials should be sensible. This matter is being watched by dozens of powerful people in Bianjing. Even if the prince of Hejian is dissatisfied, what can he do?"

"When the prince was in Bianjing, he didn't form a clique or participate in government affairs. He was what is called a 'lone minister'. Even if this matter is leaked, what else can he do except report it to the emperor?"

"But these lands concern the interests of dozens of powerful people. Under the pressure of everyone, even the emperor has to compromise. In my opinion, in the end, it will just be left unresolved, and the emperor will have no choice but to acquiesce." "If the emperor can't even pursue the matter, what else can the prince do?"

After listening to Wang Yuan's analysis, Han Wei gradually felt relieved. The worry on his face disappeared, and his chest straightened up unconsciously.

When dozens of powerful people break the law together, it becomes impossible to distinguish right from wrong.

The powerful are the law of the land, and the law is strict. When faced with such overwhelming power, they must give way.

This is the nature of this world.

Therefore, when people encounter injustice, the so-called "law" and "justice" that they often talk about are actually powerless and naive. The world is not what they imagined at all.

Han Wei squinted his eyes and looked at the more than 20 officials who were working hard to measure the land in the distance, and his heart became more and more pleased.

These are fertile fields that have been passed down through generations! I can’t even imagine how prosperous the descendants of these great men will be.

You know, their happiness is beyond the imagination of even the Transport Commissioner and the Minister of Revenue...

Then Han Wei suddenly remembered something, turned his head and lowered his voice and said, "The farmers and refugees who moved from Zhucheng, Hebei, are there any problems with the resettlement place?"

Wang Yuan smiled indifferently and said, "It's too easy to resettle those untouchables. Just find a sheltered valley, give them a straw mat, and give them two meals of wild vegetables and coarse grains every day. That's enough."

"Finally, these farmers will select a group of the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled to distribute land to them, as a show for the prince and the court. However, the remaining young and strong laborers will be forced to sign death contracts and become serfs on the farms of the powerful officials in Bianjing..."

"In the future, not only will we be able to exempt ourselves from so many taxes, but the produce of the cultivated land will not have to be distributed among the untouchables, and the rich and powerful will take it all. Then you and I will have accomplished a great feat."

Victor Han whispered: “How many people died in those places where farmers were resettled?”

Wang Yuan said calmly, "Death is inevitable. Some untouchables were beaten to death for refusing to accept injustice, some still wishfully hoped the court would actually allocate them land, and some, the elderly, the weak, women, and children, were exhausted from the journey or fell ill. So far, approximately four to five hundred people have died in over twenty resettlement sites."

Han Wei said coldly, "Be nice to them. Don't let too many people die. Otherwise, it will be hard to explain to Bian Jing. If the Prince of Hejian finds out, it will be even harder to deal with. Don't forget what we promised him."

Wang Yuan scoffed, "So what if the prince knows? You and I are just running errands for others. If the prince wants to investigate, he will have to bring all the powerful officials in Bianjing to justice, and I'm afraid he doesn't have the ability to do that."

Han Wei smiled at him, and both of them looked more confident.

Measuring such a large amount of farmland is a physically demanding job. More than 20 officials measured it for most of the day but failed to finish even half of it.

Han Wei was thinking about setting up a tent here tonight and making do for the night, when everyone suddenly heard a burst of hurried horse hooves.

The horses' hooves rumbled in a brisk rhythm, and everyone could even hear a sense of anxiety from the sound of the hooves.

At the end of the vast plain, dust and smoke billowed, and a cavalry of about two thousand people rushed towards Han Wei and other officials.

Han Wei squinted his eyes and looked at him for a while, then his expression changed. For no reason, he felt a little uneasy.

For some reason, he always felt that this army had bad intentions and that something big was about to happen.

Gradually, the troops were getting closer and closer, and the yellow dust in the sky rose and fell with the horses' hooves, and gradually spread to the vicinity of Han Wei and others.

In the hazy dust, only someone from the opposite cavalry could be heard shouting excitedly.

"General, we've spotted a group of people of unknown origin. They're all wearing imperial uniforms. They must be the people His Royal Highness is looking for!"

Han Wei and Wang Yuan's hearts suddenly skipped a beat, and they immediately felt that something was wrong.

Then Victor Han heard a rough and loud voice laughing from the opposite side.

"God has mercy on me. I deserve it for making another contribution. I've surrounded them!"

In a moment, yellow dust covered the sky, enveloping Han Wei and others.

Han Wei and Wang Yuan were choked and coughed continuously. From the sound of horse hooves, they could tell that the cavalry had surrounded them all.

The horses' hooves landed and the dust gradually dissipated. Han Wei waved away the yellow dust while looking around, only to see a burly general on horseback wearing iron armor, staring at them with cold eyes.

Han Wei was nervous, but he still mustered up the courage to put on an official air and shouted sternly, "Who are you? How dare a lowly warrior be so rude to an official of the imperial court? You should be punished!"

The general on horseback was not moved at all. He just sat up straight, holding the saddle with one hand, and spoke in a cold tone.

"I, Zhe Keshi, commander-in-chief and vanguard officer of the Dragon Guard Battalion under the command of Prince Hejian, am here by order of His Highness the Prince to apprehend the officials responsible for taking human lives. Now, state your names and positions, then surrender. Those who violate the law will be executed immediately!"

Han Wei opened his eyes wide in disbelief: "The Prince of Hejian wants to question us?"

"That's right. I will take you to Zhending City and interrogate you." Zhe Keshi stared at Han Wei's eyes and smiled coldly, saying, "If you don't understand what I'm saying, I have a stick to help you understand better."

(End of this chapter)