Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 201 I will give you a great fortune!

The head of Cai Village showed a bitter look on his face and said, "If you can negotiate for a favor from our Cai Village Cheng Su Tongpan, we will definitely do our best if you give us orders in the future. If you can't negotiate, we will not dare to resist and will withdraw our people from the river bank today."

Su Yun looked surprised and said, "If you are so easy to talk to, why did you wait until now to give in?"

Chief Cai said bitterly: "We don't have the guts to go against the imperial court, but we had no choice. In that conflict, many people were killed. If we had backed down at that time, I'm afraid the government would have entered Cai Village and arrested people immediately.

As a last resort, I can only make a big fuss and see if there is any improvement.

I thought that if someone else handled the matter this time, it might be handled more gently, but I didn't expect you to be even tougher than that Magistrate Li. You even threatened to ban me from taking the imperial examinations for ten years. If I continue to resist, you might really confiscate my property and exterminate my clan.

We in Caicun have backbone, but we are not ignorant villagers. After all, we have lived under the emperor's feet for thousands of years, so we know when to advance and when to retreat.

Today, we surrender, Su Tongpan, whether you can negotiate or not, today... no, right now, Cai Lin, go to the riverbank and remove the young and strong men from the riverbank... no, go directly to the river and clean up all the fish ponds and lotus ponds!"

Chief Cai looked at Su Yun and said, "President Su, someone will come and surrender tomorrow. I hope you can show some mercy."

Su Yun nodded and said, "You know the times and how to advance and retreat. With you as the patriarch of the Cai family, it's no wonder that the family is so large and can still be maintained.

Chief Cai, if you give me a favor, I will also give you a favor. I will not sentence those of you who surrender tomorrow to serious crimes. I will only convict you of manslaughter. I think you will be sentenced to four to five years at most, or as little as two to three years, and you can be released.

As for the expenses for the burning and burial of the dead and injured civilians, as well as the medical expenses, we in the Southern Court will take care of them, so you in Cai Village will not have to bear them."

Chief Cai shook his head and said, "The civilians are all innocent. This is indeed our fault. If we do something wrong, we must take responsibility for it. Judge Su, we in the Cai family will correct our mistakes as soon as we know them. We will bear the cost."

Cai Lin said: "Chief, we also suffered casualties..."

"Shut up!" Chief Cai scolded, "If you say it's our fault, then we have to bear the consequences.

From the beginning I disagreed with occupying the river channel to raise fish and grow lotus roots. With that much time, why not do something else?
Now that such a big incident has happened, all the young people in the village are implicated, and now you are satisfied?"

Cai Lin burst into tears. He was the village chief and the village private school teacher. No one knew better than him how serious the matter was.

Children in their teens will be in their twenties in ten years. If they are not allowed to take part in the imperial examinations for three times, will they still be able to persist in studying?

Scholars who are now in their twenties and thirties are not allowed to take the imperial examination for ten years. By then they will be in their thirties, forties, and fifties. It is likely that they will have no hope of taking the imperial examination in their lifetime.

After this blow, it seemed that Cai would not be able to take part in the imperial examinations for only ten years, but his literary career might have been interrupted as a result. If he wanted to rise again in the future, it would take several decades.

When Chief Cai saw Cai Lin crying, he also burst into tears. The five people from Cai Village all cried very sadly.

Chief Cai lost his composure for a short while, then stamped his feet and said, "Why don't you go!"

Cai Lin stomped his feet, ran out of the house, and cried.

Chief Cai wiped his tears, bowed deeply to Su Yun, and said, "Excuse me, Judge Su. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave first."

As they spoke, the four of them bowed in unison, turned around and prepared to leave.

Su Yun suddenly said, "Wait a minute."

Several people turned around and looked at Su Yun.

Su Yun pointed at a chair and said, "Come, sit down and talk."

There was a hint of joy between the brows of Patriarch Cai, and he said repeatedly: "Yes, yes."

The four of them took their seats.

Su Yun pondered for a moment and said, "It is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them. Cai's attitude is acceptable, and he is not a stubborn and unruly person.

Reading is education. If you cut off your path to the imperial examination, it will only make the people of Caicun give up and become barbaric and unruly in the future..."

The four members of the Cai family all looked happy.

"...I am not a cruel person. Since you have admitted your mistakes, the ban on participating in the imperial examinations for the past ten years can be abolished..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the four members of the Cai family slid down from their chairs and fell to the floor. Even the head of the Cai family knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Su Yun.

Su Yu did not help them, but continued: “…but other punishments are necessary. The murderer will come and surrender, and he will be sentenced according to the law;
Caicun must be responsible for compensation for the deaths and injuries of civilians;

Caicun must restrain itself from now on and not occupy the river for business purposes. If similar incidents occur again, the imperial examination ban will be truly enforced!"

Chief Cai and his companions cried with joy and kowtowed repeatedly to express their gratitude.

Deng Qi was horrified by what he saw.

My own young master, his skills...tsk.

Prefect Li led an army of thousands of civilians to attack the border, and many people were injured or killed. He brought fully armed yamen runners with him, but Caicun still refused to submit and even blocked the river!

But what was this? Su Yun had made the respected clan leaders and village chiefs of Cai Village cry and laugh with just his mouth. Now they were kneeling and kowtowed, shedding tears of gratitude...

Why is the gap so big!

Deng Qi suddenly remembered that he had set a trap for Su Yun. It seemed that he was forced into a dilemma by Su Yun's few words... Oh, he couldn't afford to offend him.

"...Master Deng?"

"Deng Qi!"

Deng Qi was startled and quickly looked at Su Yun. Su Yun nodded at him and gestured to help up the Cai clan leader and others.

Deng Qi hurried over and helped up the tearful chief Cai.

Su Yun said in a gentle voice: "Okay, Chief Cai, you guys should go and clean up the mess quickly."

Deng Qi looked at Su Yun, and Su Yun said, "Master Deng, you accompany Patriarch Cai and the others there, and report to me after you're done."

Deng Qi quickly helped Chief Cai out, and the group quickly went to the river bank in a carriage.

When they arrived at the river bank, they saw Cai Lin confronting thousands of young and strong men from Cai Village.

Cai Lin's face turned pale, but the young and strong men were filled with indignation.

When they saw Chief Cai coming, the young and strong men started to get agitated.

"Grandpa is coming! Grandpa is coming!"

"Grandpa, Uncle Alin said that scholars from our Cai family can no longer participate in the imperial examinations. Is this true?"

"Grandpa, are we going to withdraw now? Are we going to surrender now?"

"Grandpa, we can't retreat. They are bullying us like this. If we retreat, how can we survive on both sides of the Cai River in the future?"

"Grandfather! Grandfather!..."

The river bank was bustling with activity.

Deng Qi felt a little weak on his feet, because many young and strong men saw that he was wearing official uniform and glared at him.

Chief Cai pried open Deng Qi's hands, slowly straightened his back, and his eyes became sinister as he glanced from left to right. The young and strong men caught in his gaze fell silent, and some even lowered their heads.

But in a moment, the bustling river bank suddenly became quiet, and only the sound of river water hitting the bank could be heard.

Chief Cai raised his head slightly and said, "President Su is merciful. The ban on the imperial examination has been lifted. The scholars in our village can continue to take the imperial examination!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the young and strong men's eyes changed from confusion to surprise, and the next moment, cheers broke out.

After the crowd cheered, Chief Cai pointed to the fish pond and lotus pond and said, "Let's tear it down."

Cai Lin hurriedly said, "Quick, tear it down!"

The young and strong men cheered and jumped into the river one after another. They selected the fish pond and the lotus pond and began to quickly dismantle the pond embankment.

Chief Cai looked at it for a while, then bowed to Deng Qi and said, "Chief Deng, you came here suddenly today and didn't have time to ask about the origins of Su Tongpan. Now that the matter has been resolved, can you tell me what kind of person Su Tongpan is?"

Deng Qi smiled and said, "Why is Chief Cai asking about this?"

Chief Cai said quickly: "Don't misunderstand, Chief Deng, I am just curious. Alas, I have never been convinced by anyone in my life, but today I am really convinced.

This Su Tongpan looks very young, but his skills... Oh, I am really impressed.

"I was manipulated like this today. I was manipulated all over the place. It was all up to Su Tongpan. In the end, I still felt that Su Tongpan was magnanimous. Sigh, I am really convinced, really convinced!"

Deng Qi felt a sense of pride when he heard Clan Leader Cai's repeated admiration. He stroked his beard and said, "Speaking of Jianzhou, you may not be familiar with it since you are not in the officialdom. So I will tell you something you may know."

Chief Cai raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh, could it be that Judge Su is also famous among the people?"

Deng Qi laughed and said, "Can Chief Cai read?"

Chief Cai nodded and said, "I do know a little bit. When he was young, he was also a scholar, but he failed in the examinations many times, so he had to become a farmer."

Deng Qi nodded and said, "If you can read, you might as well read Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

Chief Cai murmured, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms? Judge Su Tong? Su Yun!"

His eyes suddenly widened and he said in a lost voice, "He is Su Yun, the author of Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"

Deng Qi smiled and nodded.

Chief Cai was horrified and kept saying, "It turned out to be him! It turned out to be him! No wonder, no wonder!
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is full of intrigues, and its author must be a mysterious person. I, an old man, am actually fighting with such a person. It is not unfair for me to lose, it is not unfair for me to lose!"

Deng Qi saw the horrified Chief Cai and felt sad. He said, "You have a good attitude. Although you seem to have lost, you have also won. Jianzhou has been very merciful today. You must remember this kindness." Chief Cai looked up at Deng Qi and said, "Master Deng, do you have anything else to say?"

Deng Qi laughed and said, "If you knew Jianzhou's tactics in the officialdom, you would know how merciful he is today. Your ancestors of the Cai family have accumulated merits."

Patriarch Cai felt in his sleeve and took out something, then stuffed it into Deng Qi's sleeve without anyone noticing.

Deng Qi touched the texture and shook it to feel its weight. He smiled a little more and whispered, "It's not hard to find out. You can ask the officials and you will know what Su Tongpan did in Kaifeng Prefecture."

Chief Cai whispered, "Don't bother two masters with one matter. Please continue speaking, Chief Deng."

Deng Qi nodded and whispered, "I won't talk about Su Tongpan's background, talents, etc. I will just tell you what Su Tongpan has done in the past month since he took office. You will know once you hear it.

Hehe, on the first day of taking office, there was a head of the Six Departments, who used the excuse that there was no Tongpan Hall in the Southern Court, and set a trap for Su Tongpan to choose a public office by himself, and move to whichever hall he chose. Su Tongpan directly asked for the public office of the Six Departments, which directly forced the head of the Six Departments into a dilemma. "

Chief Cai was surprised and asked, "Aren't you also the head of the Six Departments? Did your predecessor have to be transferred out of the post of head of the Six Departments because of this?"

Deng Qi chuckled and said, "It's either my predecessor or me. I have no other choice but to turn from darkness to light."

Chief Cai: "..."

Deng Qi laughed and said, "The second thing is that when Jianzhou joined the Southern Court, the subordinates, such as the Left and Right Offices and the Government Office, did not take him seriously and treated him as if he did not exist. Not only did they not go to greet him, but even after he joined, no one went to see him or report to him. Guess what happened?"

Chief Cai asked curiously, "What happened?"

Deng Qi laughed and said, "The governor arrested the judge of the left hall Du Wuwang, the judge of the right hall He Ruining, the prosecutor of the left hall Yin Haian, the prosecutor of the right hall Chai Yi, and hundreds of officials from the left and right halls, and sent them all to the Dali Temple!"

"W-what!"

This time, Chief Cai felt really terrified.

It's not that Patriarch Cai is completely ignorant of officialdom. It's just that he has grown older and less concerned in recent years, so he doesn't ask much about official affairs.

But after all, he is a commoner under the emperor's feet and the head of a clan, so how could he not understand these things?

The Left and Right Halls of the Southern Yamen have always been second only to the prefect's office, but they were all taken down at once by the Tongpan!

Moreover, in the past 120 years of our dynasty, there has never been a report of anyone who directly took down the two yamen, from the chief officials to the assistant officials to the clerks!

Regardless of whether it is appropriate to do so, the key is that you have to have the ability to do so!
Judge Su, who looks so handsome and young, has such amazing skills and is extremely ruthless!

Patriarch Cai suddenly felt a shudder of survival: Today was really lucky, if one wrong step was taken, the Cai family would be in danger!
Chief Cai looked at Deng Qi and saw that Deng Qi was still not satisfied, so he quickly asked, "Anything else?"

Deng Qi chuckled and whispered, "You have dealt with Li Zhifu a lot, so you know how powerful he is. He has also had some exchanges with our governor."

Chief Cai quickly said, "Please give me some advice."

Deng Qi whispered: "If Magistrate Li wants to manage the Huimin River, he needs the help of the Left and Right Offices, but the Left and Right Offices are of low status and have great power, and they have repeatedly blocked his way.

It happened that at this time, the provincial governor and the assistant magistrate took office, and they usually had to personally inspect the treasury and property.

Prefect Li used this to threaten the Left and Right Offices, forcing them to agree to manage the Huimin River.

However, Li Zhifu's behavior was naturally disrespectful to Jianzhou, but Jianzhou was magnanimous and did not take it seriously.

He also fully supported Magistrate Li in managing the Huimin River and helped him mobilize funds and manpower. He only advised Magistrate Li to proceed step by step, communicate well with the people, and not to incite civil unrest.

You all know what Magistrate Li did.

Hehe, this time Su Tongpan came out to deal with the aftermath, and Li Zhifu's path to becoming a prime minister has been cut off."

Patriarch Cai was shocked again when he heard this. In his opinion, this must be another plan of Su Yun.

As for how he did it, although he didn't quite understand and Deng Qi couldn't tell him, but he was very clear that the corrupt official Li Qingchen was also overthrown by Su Yun!

This person is so terrifying!
Today, I was really lucky. If I had been a little more cautious, I would have taken even half a step into the gates of hell. The Cai family would probably have been seriously damaged or even wiped out!
Thinking of this, Chief Cai broke out in a cold sweat in June.

Deng Qi whispered, "I'm not trying to scare you with these things. You can find out by asking around. Haha, you can also find out about the origins of our Jianzhou. I'm afraid that after you find out, you will have to prepare three kinds of animals and fruit boxes to thank the gods and Buddhas for letting your Cai family escape this disaster."

Chief Cai bowed his hands repeatedly and said, "When we go back, we must thank our ancestors for their blessings."

After Deng Qi said this, he did not stay for long and went back to report to Su Yun.

However, Chief Cai stood on the river bank and directed the young and strong men to dismantle the pond embankment. He not only required the young and strong men to clean up the pond embankment thoroughly, but also directed them to work for a few more days to clear out all the silt in the river channel in the Cai Village section.

In the past few days, the Cai family has also sent food to the grain ships that have docked. The head of the Cai family went on board and expressed his apologies to the captain one by one.

Several young men who accidentally killed people were sent to Nan Ya to surrender after returning home to say goodbye to their families.

At the same time, Patriarch Cai personally escorted the compensation money to the Southern Yamen and even knelt down and kowtowed to the family of the deceased, making the whole thing flawless and giving Su Yun enough face.

Su Yun saw everything that Patriarch Cai did, and he did not blame the young and strong men who surrendered themselves too harshly.

There is no good mouth when scolding, and no good hand when fighting.

It is normal to kill people in a gang fight. It's not that these young men are unforgivable. They have apologized and paid compensation, so this matter is considered over.

Su Yun asked the government to impose the lowest penalty, which was in line with the attitude of Patriarch Cai.

Patriarch Cai was also filled with gratitude and privately sent a generous gift to Su Yun's house.

The gift was very generous. Ah Hui estimated its value and it was at least eight hundred strings of cash. This was a huge expense for the Cai family.

The Cai family suffered a great loss this time. All the fish ponds and lotus ponds had to be demolished, and the compensation for the dead and injured was at least thousands of strings of coins. Thousands of strings of coins were given to Su Yun, and the food and other expenses for the young and strong men...all of it was money.

However, the Cai family, from top to bottom, did not have much complaints - after all, not allowing the imperial examination was everyone's nightmare!
Whether or not one can read is the foundation for a family's prosperity.

Although the Cai family has never produced a Jinshi, as long as one can study and take part in the imperial examinations, the family will not be defeated.

Although the Cai family has never produced a Jinshi, as they are educated, they always have more prospects for the future. There are members of the Cai family who work as clerks in the county. Clerks may not be a big deal in officialdom, but in the eyes of the common people, they are also big shots!
If the imperial examinations were really banned, then the descendants of the Cai family would never have a chance to succeed.

Moreover, Su Yun's identity was also discovered, and what happened after he entered the officialdom was also spread among the Cai family members.

After listening to this, they knew that the Cai family had fought against such people before, and that each of them performed almost the same as the Cai clan leader, so they could only secretly feel lucky.

Therefore, they were convinced by the decision made by Patriarch Cai.

If it were like what happened to Cai Lin, whether the Cai family could still stay would be another matter.

Chief Cai is old, and after the torment and running around in the past few days, he fell ill and is bedridden, unable to get up.

On this day, I felt a little better, and suddenly a tribesman came to report.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! Judge Su is here!"

Chief Cai sat up in shock from his illness and asked, "Is it a revenge? Did he bring the imperial guards?"

The tribesmen quickly supported Chief Cai and said, "No, no, Chief, don't panic and ruin your vitality."

Chief Cai hurriedly said, "Help me up. I want to personally welcome Su Tongpan."

The tribesmen quickly helped Chief Cai up, washed him up, and then hurried out to greet him.

Su Yun walked through the village and saw that the people of Cai Village were in decline. He had an idea in his mind. As expected, Cai Village was not rich, otherwise it would not have fought with the government over those fish ponds and lotus ponds.

Well, that's understandable.

If Caicun was wealthy and still occupied the river, he would just turn around and leave, as if he had never been there.

After walking for a while, they saw Chief Cai coming towards them. Su Yun saw that Chief Cai looked sick and knew that the old man had been under a lot of pressure recently.

Su Yun quickly asked Chief Cai to take him home, and in a friendly manner asked Chief Cai to sit down and talk.

After just such a short journey, Patriarch Cai was already panting and sweating profusely.

Su Yun exchanged pleasantries with Chief Cai in a friendly manner, and then said, "The cleaning of Huimin River has been completed, and I have also reported this to the court. I would like to thank Chief Cai for his support on this matter."

The head of the Cai clan quickly bowed and said, "It is our Cai clan that would like to thank Su Tongpan for showing mercy and leaving us a way out. We would also like to congratulate Su Tongpan for this great achievement and hope that he will be promoted soon."

Su Yun laughed and said, "Okay, okay, it's all over now. Your Cai family has also suffered heavy losses this time.

I saw your people in Cai Village today, and the people’s livelihood is in dire straits. It’s not easy for everyone.”

The Cai clan leader smiled bitterly and said, "If it weren't for this, we in the Cai clan wouldn't have done such a despicable thing. As the saying goes, poverty breeds evil schemes, and wealth breeds consciences. We were really too poor to do anything else, so we had no choice but to do this. But no matter what, it's all our fault. We in the Cai clan will never dare to do it again!"

Su Yun nodded and said, "It is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them. It is a great virtue to act in a dignified way. The Cai family has a scholar, and there will always be a day for them to rise in the future."

Chief Cai nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, that's right. I will definitely discipline my clansmen in the future and don't do anything that violates the law again."

Patriarch Cai thought that Su Yun came here today to deal with the aftermath of this matter, and expressed his opinion repeatedly.

Su Yun smiled and said, "I didn't come here today to warn you, the Cai family, but to solve some problems."

Chief Cai said quickly, "Please give us your instructions, Judge Su. We, the Cai clan, will certainly fully cooperate."

Su Yun smiled and said, "Patriarch Cai, I am not here to cause trouble. Instead, I am here today to make your Cai family rich, or in other words, to find a way to make the poor people on both sides of the strait rich."

"Ah?" Patriarch Cai and other members of the Cai family were a little surprised.

Chief Cai said cautiously, "President Su, please tell me in detail."

(End of this chapter)