I, Altria, only want to rule China.

After all, Liu Xianpeng had been in the military, so he knew how to hit people in the most painful way, even if he deliberately avoided the fatal parts.

But when the Jinyiwei pulled Liu Xianpeng away, Gao Dajin had been beaten like a pig's head, and his face was as red as a dye shop, with all kinds of colors including black, red, green, and purple.

But Gao Dajin, who had been beaten, seemed to be hysterical. He suddenly pointed at Liya and laughed wildly: "What do you think? Is it possible for ordinary people to come up with such a plan as mine?"

"You tyrant! I clearly have the talent for managing and playing music, but what are those school examinations you have set up? I have all these talents but nowhere to display them. Isn't it your fault?"

"As the saying goes, a real man cannot eat from five cauldrons when he is alive, but he should be cooked in five cauldrons. Even if I die now, it can be considered a worthy death. Isn't it a pleasure? Hahahahaha!"

Just as he was laughing, Gao Dajin suddenly couldn't laugh anymore because Leah was still staring at him expressionlessly.

Only after Gao Dajin calmed down did Liya laugh and say, "What? Do you want to use your ability to impress me with the story of the pearl covered in dust, so as to escape this disaster today?"

At this point, Liya couldn't help but shook her head and said with a smile: "What a pity, if there was another emperor here, your trick might have been useful, but unfortunately you happened to meet me."

Pearl covered in dust?

There are more than 100 million people in the entire Wu Kingdom. Once she promotes sweet potatoes and corn, this number will grow explosively in a few years.

By then, there will be a lot of so-called talents. What is a Gao Dajin who bullies the common people?

Liya shook her head and asked the inspector standing in the hall: "According to the law, what crime should Gao Dajin be punished for?"

The Chief Censor bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Gao Dajin has harmed the people. This is his first crime. He should be executed according to the law. Gao Dajin intended to disrupt the relationship between the workers and to alienate the people from the court. This is tantamount to treason. This is his second crime. According to the law, he should be tortured to death, have his property confiscated, and be executed along with his entire family. The heavier of the two crimes should be punished together. I think he should be tortured to death, have his property confiscated, and be executed along with his entire family."

, clan exterminate!"

Liya hummed, tapped the table with her fingers, and then said, "There is no need to execute the entire clan. Imprison Gao Dajin's entire family, send them to the capital, and hand them over to the three judicial departments for trial and judgment, and execute them in the autumn."

As Leah finished speaking, the people watching in the hall also shouted happily: "Good kill!"

"The thief Gao should be executed!"

"Should!"

But as they shouted, the slogans turned into a uniform "Your Majesty is wise!"

Of course, Gao Dajin’s imprisonment does not mean that the case is over. The Jinyiwei and Jingyiwei will interrogate him next to find out who are the people who are in collusion with Gao Dajin.

Liya wrote an article and had it sent back to the capital.

"What secrets are hidden behind increasing wages to guide workers to increase working hours?"

This is an article written by Leah, and it is also Leah's first shot against capitalists.

How could Gao Dajin, who was hiding in Yongcheng County, come up with so many ideas and derive so many strategies from these ideas?

So, rather than saying that Gao Dajin is a bad person, it would be better to say that he is both stupid and bad.

There is also the issue of the house at the back, which also needs attention.

To avoid the situation like in later generations, where people cannot afford to buy houses and even dare not have children.

After finally leaving Yongcheng County, Liya continued her journey to the south of the Yangtze River.

For Liya, she was on a secret visit, so she was not in a hurry. She stopped along the way, sometimes staying here for two days and there for three days. It was quite enjoyable.

Unfortunately, Liya's good mood came to an abrupt end when she just arrived at a village near Anhui.

At the entrance of the village, a woman was lying with her legs spread out, beating her thighs with her hands, and crying out from time to time.

There were several women standing nearby, trying to persuade her, but they could not stop her from crying. A group of young men also gathered together a dozen steps away from the women.

Many people were holding sticks and hatchets, and some local militiamen were holding flintlock rifles. From time to time, some people would raise their arms and shout something.

As luck would have it, the appearance of Leah and her group seemed to have set a target for the young and strong men in the village. When someone pointed at Leah, the young and strong men each took up their swords and guns and surrounded Leah and her group.

This scared the Jinyiwei who followed Liya half to death.

Under normal circumstances, when the emperor went out in search of someone, secret agencies such as the Embroidered Uniform Guard would definitely be the first to take action, and they would have to find out the conditions of the villages and towns they passed through along the way.

Any danger had to be resolved in advance. If it was a situation like Gao Dajin's, troops would have to be mobilized specifically, and the emperor would only be allowed to get involved after ensuring that everything was foolproof.

Now, according to the information reported by the Jinyiwei, this unknown village in front of us is a safe place where one can pass through with a few followers.

As a result, when Leah was about to reach the village entrance, she found that the young and strong men in the village were holding sticks and flintlock rifles and discussing something at the entrance of the village.

Chapter 235: Abduction and Trafficking

To put it simply, this was the fault of the Jinyiwei. To put it more seriously, a few thousand heads would probably be considered too few.

However, when they saw Leah and her group clearly, one of these young men immediately separated himself and walked up to Leah and the others empty-handed.

This made the Jinyiwei around Leah feel a little relieved.

Since only one person was sent out, and he was unarmed, without a stick or flintlock rifle or anything like that, it meant that something had suddenly happened in the village, and not that someone was targeting Her Majesty the Queen Leah.

When the man came closer, he bowed to Leah, who was surrounded by the ladies, and said, "Excuse me, did this lady pass by this road?"

After Liya nodded, the man continued to ask: "Excuse me, young lady, have you met anyone along the way? Have you seen anyone with a child about two or three years old?"

Liya thought about it and confirmed that she had not met such people along the way before she spoke: "I have not met any along the way. May I ask this big brother, what happened here?"

The man slapped his thigh and sighed, "To be honest, Miss, another two-and-a-half-year-old child has gone missing from our village. These damned thieves, who knows where they took these children, it's so hateful!"

Liya was a little confused. A child was lost in the village?

Or again?

Does this mean that there are children being abducted in this village, and more than once?

This is a bit strange. You know, the laws of the Wu State are extremely strict regarding many crimes, and can even be said to be extremely cruel.

For example, those who specially kidnapped other people's children and then deliberately maimed them to gain sympathy from others, once they were caught, the criminals, regardless of whether they were the master or the servant, would all be tortured to death, their homes would be confiscated, and their entire families would be exterminated.

The most common provision in Wu State's laws, "Those over seventy and under seven years old are not subject to this rule", was deliberately deleted, which was three times more severe than treason and disrespect.

At least, Leah didn't see any disabled children begging along the way, and she didn't even see many beggars.

You must know that under Leah's policy, once a disabled child is found in Wu State, he will be sent to an orphanage, and those who can do some work will be arranged to do some work.

Those who really could not work were taken care of by people sent by the government. Healthy beggars were not allowed to beg and were directly taken to the construction sites to work.

In short, being a beggar in Wu State is a very dangerous thing, and crippling a child to make him a beggar is a serious crime that will involve the death of the entire family.

Although it is impossible to completely eliminate the phenomenon of child abduction, such incidents have decreased significantly due to the threat of torture and extermination of the entire family.

The problem is, according to what this man said, there has been a case of a child going missing in this village before?

After thinking for a while, Liya asked simply, "Big brother, from what you said, it seems that there are children missing in the village, and more than one?"

The man was obviously in no mood to explain to Liya slowly. He just nodded and said, "Since something like this happened in the village today, I won't keep any of you guests."

Liya quickly stopped the man and said, "Wait, how long has the child been missing? My family has some connections, and they have some connections with the county magistrate and the county magistrate here. Why don't you tell me what happened, and I'll ask someone to help you track it down, okay?"

The man, who was a little impatient at first, immediately performed the face-changing trick in Sichuan Opera after hearing what Liya said, and said with gratitude: "That would be great, young lady, if you can help our village find the child. Everyone in Wangjia Village will be grateful for your kindness, and even setting up a longevity tablet for you would not be a problem."

Liya didn't really believe this last-minute promise, and even if she did, she wouldn't care too much. She just asked again, "How long has the child been lost? The shorter the time, the greater the chance of finding him."

The man quickly replied: "Miss, the child has been missing for about two hours."

Liya hummed, and after thinking about it secretly in her heart, she turned her head and ordered the Jinyiwei on the side: "Zhiyong, you quickly send people to check. With the village as the center point, within a radius of 50 miles, even if it is a rat hole, you have to dig it up for me!"

"Yes, ma'am."

As Leah finished her words, the Jinyiwei responded and waved to the distance. At his call, more than a dozen people appeared not far away and ran away in four different directions.

"Miss, those people just now were..." The man looked at the departing men in black in surprise. How could they appear out of nowhere?

"They are the people sent by my family to protect me. Don't worry, brother." Leah smiled at the man.

"So that's the case. Miss, please come to the village and sit down." The man's face showed even more joy. With so many people helping, maybe they could find the lost children.

And Leah didn't hesitate and followed the man into the village.

As they walked, Liya asked, "I just heard from you, brother, that a child was lost in this village before?"

The man said, "Miss, in our village, one or two children go missing every one or two years. Even if we report it to the authorities, the child still cannot be found."

Liya nodded and then asked, "Is it a boy or a girl that is missing? Or both?"

The man said, "Who would steal a girl? Nowadays, brothels are strictly controlled and they don't allow girls to be kept as children, so no one would steal a girl."

Liya hummed, and then asked, "As for the missing child, was it in your village or in the nearby villages?"

The man replied: "All lost!"

Hearing this, Leah nodded thoughtfully.

When Leah followed the man into the village to find out what was going on, the Jinyiwei who had received Leah's orders went crazy.

No matter why, a child was abducted right under your Majesty's nose, and this was the Jinyiwei's dereliction of duty!

How could the Jinyiwei, who always claimed to be His Majesty's personal soldiers, tolerate this?

In order to find the missing child in the shortest possible time, these Jinyiwei directly found the Jinyiwei personnel nearby, and notified the nearby imperial guards and police guards, and directly blocked the entire area within a radius of 50 miles with this village as the center!

Just as Leah said, they checked, even rat holes had to be checked thoroughly, government offices, private residences, shops, inns, all were turned upside down, even the mountains and wilderness had to be checked.

The Jinyiwei used such a drastic search method that it was inevitable that they would alert the thieves who kidnapped children.

Chapter 236: Evil Law

At this moment, in an unknown corner, a thief holding a child was a little panicked: "What should I do? All the people here are the imperial eagle claws, and they are about to search here."

The other thief looked at him angrily and said, "Don't ask me, I don't know. Damn it, whose child did we kidnap? Why is it so precious... that the Jinyiwei was dispatched?"

The thief holding the child whispered, "The more valuable he is, the more miserable our death will be! So what should we do now? Should we throw him here? Or should we just kill the child and put an end to it all?"

Another thief who heard this felt a little disappointed. How could his teammates be so stupid?

Thinking of this, he slapped the thief holding the child and shouted in a low voice: "Are you crazy? If we abandon the child, those imperial guards can take the child back to report, and we still have hope of survival. If you kill the child here, how can those imperial guards let it go?

"Then what do you think we should do? We can't carry such a burden with us. It's hard to hide." The thief who was slapped listened to the other party's words and felt that what the other party said made sense.

"Listen to me, we will put the child in a conspicuous place on the road and let them find the child. Once they find the child, they will naturally disperse. From now on, we will stay away from that village." Another thief said after thinking for a while.

Then he said with some displeasure: "Damn it, this is really weird. This village with the surname Wang actually has such a precious child? Could it be that someone in the upper echelons raised this place as an illegitimate child?"

The thief holding the child shuddered violently and said with a sad face: "Brother, please don't scare me. I heard that these Jinyiwei are all very powerful. What if...

Another thief slapped the thief holding the child again and shouted in a low voice: "You are so powerful! So many children have been lost in the past few years. As an official, you won't ask the Jinyiwei for help?

"Let me tell you, Jinyiwei are also human beings, they have to eat, drink, defecate and urinate. Even if they have abilities that ordinary people cannot match, they are still mortal after all. Don't worry, as long as we are more careful, they will not find out about us."

The thief holding the child finally felt relieved and began to slowly follow the senior brother he mentioned towards the direction of the main road.

Then the two of them immediately threw the child on the side of the road and found a place to hide.

The development of the matter was indeed just as the thieves' senior brother had expected. After discovering the crying child, the Jinyiwei only continued searching for a while before ending the search, which made the two thieves breathe a sigh of relief.

When Liya was being entertained in the village, the lost child was taken to her by Liu Zhiyong.

"Brother, is this the lost child from your village?" After Liya nodded to him, Liu Zhiyong asked the man next to him.

After taking a closer look, the old man shouted excitedly, "Yes, yes, yes! This is the one that Wang Er's family lost!"

Liya then smiled and nodded, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Wang, to take the baby to Wang Er's family. I have something else I want to ask Brother Wang for advice later."

The man nodded quickly, then carefully took the child from Liu Zhiyong's hands and ran out of the house in a hurry.

Not long after, the man came back with a young man with a simple and honest look.

As soon as he entered the house, the young man knelt down on the ground with a plop, kowtowed and said, "I am Wang Er, thank you for your great kindness!"

After bowing his head again, Wang Er continued to bow and said, "If it weren't for you, my son would never be found. You not only saved my son, but also my whole family!"

After standing up, Wang Er bowed heavily once again: "I have nothing to repay you with, but I am willing to stay by your side forever and let you command me!"

Liya snorted and said, "You don't have to stay with me. You have to take good care of the child in the future. I can help you find it this time, but you may not be able to meet me next time!"

Although the child was lost due to thieves, parents have a greater responsibility. If the child had been in their sight, how could he have been lost?

Wang Er quickly nodded in agreement, and thanked Liya profusely before leaving.

After Wang Er left, Liya instructed Liu Zhiyong: "Count all the children who have been lost over the years. What are their characteristics, their ages, their zodiac signs, their birth dates, etc.? Count them all for me."

"Also, check to see where in the surrounding area there are cases of missing children, and see if there are similar cases in nearby state capitals."

Liu Zhiyong immediately accepted the offer and turned to leave. The remaining men were stunned. After a long while, they asked tentatively, "Miss, do you suspect something is going on here?"

Liya laughed and asked, "All the nearby villages have lost children, and they lose children every one or two years. Do you think this is normal?"

When asked by Leah, the man hesitated.