Xie Ming

Chapter 106: Night Interrogation at the Yamen Gate, Wu Dequan

Xiao Jingchuan saw that Xu Jizu was afraid of saying something wrong and was afraid to speak.

So he gave some guidance and comfort.

It turns out that this encouragement and consolation did have some effect.

After all, Xu Jizu was a native of the local mountains, so he must know more than Xiao and Qiu.

So, just after Ji Zu started talking, the three of them talked by candlelight at night, and had a long and detailed discussion and judgment.

It was not until 23:30 p.m. that a new return route was finally decided.

Jiyi County - Laishui Shigui Mountain - Beituo - Jiulong Town.

This route goes north and the total length is estimated to be about two hundred sixty to two hundred seventy miles!
The return journey takes at least five days!
It does take a long time, but the benefits are also very obvious, which is that we can completely avoid the bandits coming from the direction of Zijing Pass!

After that, it was already late at night, but Xiao Jingchuan and others were not lucky enough to fall asleep.

Gu Changting's tinnitus caused by the bombardment was gradually getting better, so Xiao Lang asked him to arrest the county magistrate and bring him to the yamen, saying that he had something to say.

Not long after, the magistrate of Yi County was escorted back to the hall. Xu Jizu looked at the situation and realized that he had nothing to do for the time being, so he bowed and left. Only Xiao Jingchuan and Qiu Zhizhong were left in the hall.

"General! The county magistrate is here!"

After Changting made the report, a fat old man in his fifties or sixties was restrained in front of him. The man was only wearing shirt, and it seemed that he was pulled directly from the bed by Changting.

Seeing this, Xiao Lang and Zhizhong looked at each other, found chairs to sit down, and picked up the shelf.

"kneel!"

While Gu Changting was shouting the order, he also raised his foot and kicked the county magistrate from behind, kicking him to the ground in front of the hall!

"Hey, ouch!"

"Good, good men, all of you good men!" The county magistrate felt pain and begged for mercy with a grin.

"I have no grudges against you in the past or today, please spare my life, please spare my life!"

As he spoke, the county magistrate bowed and saluted, which made people look extremely shocked.

"Humph!"

"As the parent official of a county!"

"You should be doing your best to protect the well-being of the people, but you just cower and act like a cuckold!"

"The superiors do not know how to be loyal to their country, and the inferiors do not know how to sympathize with their people!"

"In the Ming Dynasty, there are too many people like you, which is why the people are resentful and the thieves are taking advantage of the situation!"

Xiao Jingchuan spoke slowly and calmly.

The county magistrate, however, was still busy observing and thinking carefully. When he heard the commander in front of him say the word "thief", he thought to himself that this team might not be Li Zicheng's party, so he panicked and tried to explain.

“Ouch, ouch!”

"This gentleman doesn't know anything!"

"The bandits are so powerful, and our small county has so few soldiers and generals that we are simply powerless to resist them!"

"In order to prevent the bandits from entering the city and killing innocent people, I, I have no other options!"

"I have no choice but to temporarily give in to the thief and put up with him!"

"For more than a month, I have been struggling to keep the city going, hoping that someday, a wise man from the Ming Dynasty will come to relieve the suffering of the people and save them from disaster!"

The old county magistrate was quite eloquent. When Xiao Jingchuan heard it, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly and he sneered twice.

"Oh, by the way, this gentleman looks very heroic and imposing, he must be an ordinary person?!"

"I wonder if the imperial general who broke up the troops happened to come here by chance?!"

The county magistrate went a step further. While flattering him, he also pretended to be impressed and looked for an opportunity to find out Xiao Jingchuan's true intentions.

"Hehehe"

"Old Xiao, did you see that?"

"Although this county magistrate is not a high-ranking official, he is very smart!"

"He's quite a difficult guy to deal with!"

Qiu Zhizhong, who was sitting nearby, held the freshly brewed tea and blew the hot steam out of the cup, as if speaking casually, quite nonchalantly.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lang smiled knowingly, not buying into the old county magistrate who was kneeling in front of him.

"Haha, you are really good, little county magistrate!" "Well, let's make some rules!"

"It is said that without rules there can be no order, right?"

"For the rest of the conversation, I'll ask the questions and you'll answer them!"

"You must answer truthfully and in detail!"

"If you continue to talk nonsense to me, play tricks on me, and try to get information from me, I will kill you immediately!"

"If what you said is untrue, you should be executed immediately!"

"If you know the truth but don't report it, you will be executed immediately!"

"You, heard it clearly!"

At the end of his speech, Xiao Jingchuan suddenly pulled out a knife from his waist, poked the tip of the blade into the ground, placed his hands on the hilt, exuding a murderous aura, his eyes fixed on the other person's face!
"what"

"I understand, I understand, I understand!"

When the magistrate of Yi County looked up at the scene, he was startled for an instant, then slumped back, trembling all over, and answered with great fear and trepidation.

"Well, that's good! Let's get started!"

"What's your name and what's your job?" Xiao Lang started with the simplest question.

"Ah, my name is Wu Dequan, De means benevolent, Quan means perfect."

"My official position is the magistrate of Yi County in the capital, a seventh-rank official."

Having said all, Wu Dequan didn't dare to say more, but he was worried whether the other party would be satisfied with what he said, so he stopped talking, feeling uneasy and embarrassed. He wanted to laugh but didn't dare to, and was left there shivering!
Xiao Jingchuan paused intentionally to observe the other party's behavior.

After a long while, he spoke again with satisfaction.

"How many people are there in Yi County now?" Xiao Lang asked.

"Ah, the household registration in the city..."

"In the 2927th year of Chongzhen, Yi County actually had 27160 households and a population of ."

"Well, this year, the bandits have invaded our territory repeatedly, and now they have occupied our county for more than a month!"

"The original household registration will naturally decrease."

"But due to the successive years of famine, the refugees from other counties and provinces have continued to flee, so it is really difficult to get an accurate figure!"

"Yes, I hope you can forgive me!" Wu Dequan stumbled but his response was still quite honest.

After Xiao Lang listened quietly, he began to ask again.

"So, how are the people in the city living now?"

"It is said that the Dashun Army, the rebel army, only kills the rich and powerful, but provides aid to the poor people. Is this true?" Xiao Jingchuan said.

Upon hearing this, Wu Dequan turned his mind, organized his words, and showed hesitation on his face.

Seeing this situation, Xiao Jingchuan continued speaking.

"Humph, Wu Dequan, don't speculate on my thoughts just because I mentioned the word thief in my words!"

"What's going on? Tell me the truth. If you insist on using empty words and flattery to cover it up, I've just said that you will be killed without mercy!"

When he heard the word "behead" again, Wu Dequan was so frightened that he raised his hands.

"No, no, I dare not, I dare not!"

"To be honest, I will tell you the truth. The Dashun bandits have been stationed in the city for more than a month. During this time, we have killed quite a few of the rich and powerful!"

"Yes, for ordinary people, then... then it is still quite preferential treatment."

"Although soldiers occasionally cause trouble, but... but in the end, they haven't caused too much trouble!"

"Well, then again, the harvest has been bad in recent years, with frequent disasters."

"Even in a small county like ours, the damage was quite severe!"

"People...people sometimes die of starvation and cold."

"Most households have no extra food left to survive."

"Last year, the disaster was severe. The people had limited food reserves. After a winter, the war broke out again at the end of this year. It was a war!"

(End of this chapter)