The prince is more stable

Chapter 503 Rescuing Farmers
Han Wei still couldn't believe that Zhao Xiaoqian would actually send troops to hunt them down and interrogate them.

impossible!
They were commissioned by the Bian Jing court, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were imperial envoys. How could Zhao Xiaoqian have the courage to go against the court?
Two thousand soldiers from the Dragon Guard Camp surrounded the officials, but Han Wei was not afraid at all. Instead, he looked even more arrogant, and his eyes were full of contempt.

They are all crude warriors, what's so scary about them?
Emphasizing civil officials over military officials has been a rule since the founding of the Song Dynasty. Civil officials are born nobler than military generals. This is a consensus among the government and the people. No matter how powerful a military officer is, would he really dare to kill a civil official?
"You are under the command of Prince Hejian, but you surrounded us without asking why. This alone is enough to dismiss you from office." Han Wei stared at Zhe Keshi and said.

Zhe Keshi looked at him coldly and said slowly, "Are you from Bianjing? Are you here to measure the farmland and relocate the farmers and refugees?"

Victor Han nodded: “That’s right.”

Zhe Keshi also nodded: "Then I didn't find the wrong person, it's you."

Han Wei and Wang Yuan were startled and looked at each other quickly, with some uneasiness in their eyes.

Could it be that Zhao Xiaoqian discovered something so quickly?
However, thinking of the big men in Bian Jing behind him, Han Wei's courage grew again.

"I am the Transport Commissioner of the Western Hebei Route. My rank is much higher than yours. Do you think a crude warrior dares to attack me?"

Zhe Keshi was too lazy to waste time talking to him. He waved his hand and said, "Capture them all. Those who resist arrest will be killed!"

Two thousand soldiers immediately surrounded him. Han Wei couldn't help but take a step back and said sternly, "How dare you! I'm sent by the emperor, and the ministers of the political hall have personally authorized me to be the imperial envoy to Bianjing. If you dare to arrest me, it's tantamount to treason!"

Zhe Keshi sneered, "I'm just a crude warrior. I can't win against you in words. If you have any grievances, please return to Zhending City and speak to my Highness the Prince in person."

Two thousand soldiers surrounded them, arrested most of the officials, and tied them up.

The officials were horrified. They didn't expect Zhe Keshi to be serious. Many officials had never been treated like this in their lives. Their faces immediately turned pale as paper. Some officials struggled and cursed loudly.

One of the officials took advantage of the soldiers' unpreparedness, struggled to break free from their grip, and ran into the wild.

Seeing that someone dared to resist arrest, Zhe Keshi's face suddenly darkened and he shouted in a low voice: "Kill him!"

A rider on a fast horse galloped out and caught up with the official who was fleeing in panic. He stabbed the official with the pike in his hand. Before the official could scream, his back was pierced through. He fell to the ground, twitching and screaming, and soon died.

This bloody and cruel scene immediately silenced all the officials. They dared not resist anymore and obediently allowed the soldiers to tie them up.

An official glared at Han Wei and suddenly cursed, "Didn't you say that coming to Zhending Prefecture would be a safe bet? Didn't you say that after this trip, there would be a bright future? Mr. Han, is this the bright future you were talking about?"

Han Wei and Wang Yuan were trembling all over, the scene of the official being killed just now still lingering in their minds.

Only at this moment did they realize that Zhao Xiaoqian was so determined to question them. Was he planning to turn against the powerful people in Bianliang?

But why?
He had been informed in advance and all the benefits had been placed before him.

With such huge benefits, and in Zhao Xiaoqian's territory, the powerful people in Bianliang had no intention of bypassing him. Everyone was sincere in wanting to pull him in to share the cake.

Why did Zhao Xiaoqian still want to arrest them?

Han Wei couldn't figure it out, and he would never think about ordinary people even if he was beaten to death.

The rules of the game in his mind were that only the upper class were qualified to play, so until this moment he still stubbornly believed that the problem lay in the distribution of interests among the upper class.

"I'll go back. I'll go back to Zhending City with you!" Han Wei said without hesitation.

Under the sword, he no longer dared to put on the airs of a civil servant. The blood of the slain officials had not yet dried. The bloody fact told him that the soldiers of the Dragon Guard Camp in front of him would not buy it. They only had military orders in their eyes.

Secretly shocked by Zhao Xiaoqian's control over this army, Han Wei also decisively admitted defeat.

If he resisted or refused to obey again, he had no doubt that Zhe Keshi's knife would pierce him through.

The country has been at peace for a long time, and officials have never seen such a scene. Today, they finally experienced the cold-blooded cruelty of the Song Dynasty's army. It was different from the verbal battles in the court. They would really draw their swords if they disagreed with each other.

Seeing Han Wei surrender, Zhe Keshi nodded with satisfaction, then turned around and ordered: "Cut off the head of the murdered official and preserve it with lime. His Highness has ordered that he must be found alive or dead, and no one can be left behind!"

Han Wei and other officials felt cold all over and looked terrified.

They finally realized that from this moment on, their own destiny was no longer in their control, and the one who controlled their destiny was the owner of this land.

…………

Zhending City Government Office.

The officials in the government office had been busy for several days, so Zhao Xiaoqian simply stayed there.

This matter is very serious. It is unknown how many lives were killed by Han Wei. Zhao Xiaoqian must dig deeper. The population data of the nine counties under his jurisdiction needs to be counted, and the county magistrates of the nine counties must also be strictly examined.

More importantly, Zhao Xiaoqian was waiting for news from search teams from all sides.

Officials such as Han Wei and Wang Yuan must be questioned, the relocated farmers must be found, and relevant evidence must be collected, otherwise it will be difficult to explain clearly in the court in the future.

Even busier is Zhao Xin from the Imperial City Division, who is so busy that he looks like a normal person.

After the incident, Zhao Xiaoqian called him over and scolded him so harshly that Zhao Xin became two inches shorter.

There was reason for the scolding. The Imperial City Administration was negligent and only focused on Han Wei and other officials. They didn't expect that someone would take action behind the scenes and relocate the farmers without anyone noticing.

To atone for his crime, Zhao Xin had been practically going mad for the past few days, constantly pressuring his subordinates in the Imperial City Office to order searches for Han Wei, Wang Yuan, and the farmers. Finally, on the third day after the incident, Zhao Xin rushed to the government office.

"Your Highness, there is news!" Zhao Xindao said.

Zhao Xiaoqian stood up immediately: “Have you found Han Wei and the others?”

"We found thousands of farmers. The Imperial City Division found a resettlement site for relocated farmers in a valley more than a hundred miles north of Zhending City. There were about five thousand farmers gathered there, all of whom were relocated from the villages of Zhending Prefecture by Han Wei's order."

Zhao Xin sighed and said, "Those farmers are being rounded up and detained. Each person is only given a straw mat and two coarse breads a day. It's a good thing it's summer. If it were winter, I don't know how many people would have died."

Zhao Xiaoqian asked coldly, "What are the casualties among the farmers?"

Zhao Xin lowered his head and said, "In the resettlement site we discovered alone, over a hundred of the five thousand farmers have died."

"Who are the people guarding the farmers?"

"The Imperial City Police interrogated them on the spot. There were about a hundred people guarding them, all armed. They were the guards and servants of the various powerful families in Bianjing."

Zhao Xiaoqian's expression grew increasingly grim. "Those corpses in the villages under the jurisdiction of Zhending Prefecture must also be their doing."

"Yes."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and said, "Have the government send a team of officials to bring the farmers back. They should be well fed and well-dressed on the way. Don't treat them badly."

Zhao Xin hesitated for a moment, then said, "His Highness specifically instructed the Imperial City Bureau to keep an eye on the person he's looking for... that old man surnamed Ge, who is also at that resettlement site."

"Mr. Ge is here too? That's good. We finally escaped danger." Zhao Xiaoqian breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Xin stammered, "Your Highness, Mr. Ge's condition is not good..."

Zhao Xiaoqian was startled: "What happened to him?"

"He had a broken leg and two broken ribs. Although we've treated him, he's already quite old..."

Zhao Xiaoqian gritted his teeth: "Fuck!"

After saying this, Zhao Xiaoqian hurried out, saying, "You lead the way, I'll go there myself!"

After leaving the government office, Chen Shou and other imperial guards had already prepared their horses.

Zhao Xiaoqian jumped on his horse, and the group quickly left the city and headed north.

…………

On the galloping horse, Zhao Xiaoqian could only hear the sound of the wind.

His expression was calm, but his eyes were filled with anger.

After the five thousand farmers were found, people were sent to pick them up, but after hearing the news about Ge Laozhang, Zhao Xiaoqian decided to go there in person.

In fact, he and Mr. Ge didn't have much interaction. They had only met twice. Maybe Niao Niao was more familiar with Mr. Ge, but not by much.

But for some reason, when mentioning Father-in-law Ge, Zhao Xiaoqian always recalled in his mind the time when he first entered the Prince's Mansion and refused to enter the main hall for fear of dirtying the floor. He insisted on sitting on the stone steps outside.

He still remembers the scene of himself sitting on the stone steps with Mr. Ge, eating buns and having a pleasant conversation with him.

Zhao Xiaoqian and Ge Laozhang were not close friends, but Ge Laozhang left a deep impression on him, and he always unconsciously cared about this vicissitudes of life old man.

Perhaps, Mr. Ge is just a microcosm in Zhao Xiaoqian's mind. This microcosm not only represents his own outline, but also the appearance of millions of poor peasants in the Song Dynasty.

They rode their horses at full speed and covered the distance of over a hundred miles in just half a day.

Zhao Xiaoqian dismounted and found two low hills in front of him, with a long and narrow valley in the middle of the hills. Walking into the valley, the light was dim and a cold wind blew from time to time, which was indeed a bit cool in the summer.

The valley was densely packed with people, some lying and some sitting. They were all ragged old people, women and children. There was hardly a young and strong laborer to be seen. Many thin children were held by their mothers, crying loudly, while more of them were looking at him with numb expressions.

Zhao Xiaoqian pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.

It was Han Wei and his men who made the farmers suffer, but Zhao Xiaoqian was ultimately the official in charge and represented the imperial court. He was also responsible for the suffering of the farmers.

In front of thousands of people, Zhao Xiaoqian was silent for a moment, and suddenly bowed to the farmers.

"I won't explain the reason. As the prefect of Zhending, Zhao Xiaoqian, I apologize to all of you elders. I know that an apology is far from enough. Now, listen to the news. I will avenge you!"

In the crowd, the eyes of the numb people gradually showed a hint of warmth.

Then it was as if someone opened the floodgates, and as Zhao Xiaoqian finished speaking, people's emotions finally burst out.

Soft sobs began to be heard in the crowd, and then the sound grew louder and louder. Thousands of the elderly, the weak, women and children could no longer hold back their tears and burst into tears. The ignorant children were at a loss and cried along with the adults.

Buddha said that all living beings are filled with sorrow and suffering.

(End of this chapter)