The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

The sudden turn of events startled Guan Xing, who quickly shouted, "Quickly, help the old man up, lest he fall!"

The old woman is quite old; if she falls, she could be paralyzed from the waist down.

Shen Yi, who brought her back, was also startled. He quickly stepped forward to support her and advised, "Old lady, be careful, don't get agitated."

Who wouldn't be agitated when facing an enemy? The old woman nimbly dodged Shen Yi's help and ruthlessly struck Gu Qi's forehead with her cane.

Gu Qi was unarmed and unable to retreat from the crowd, so he crossed his arms to block while cursing, "Old man, don't go too far. Your granddaughter jumped into the river and died on her own. What does that have to do with me?"

After saying that, he raised his foot to kick the old woman, but Guan Xing, who had squeezed into the crowd, kicked her down first.

While helping the old woman up, Guan Xing glared at Gu Qi and scolded, "Kid, I didn't know you were such a tough guy, you even hit an old woman?"

Gu Qi was intimidated by his gaze and didn't dare to go forward again.

Guan Xing ignored him and instead turned to comfort the old woman, saying, "Don't be impulsive, old lady. Tell me if you have any problems. I'm the highest-ranking official here."

Upon hearing this, the old woman knelt down with a thud, grabbed Guan Xing's sleeve, and wailed, "General, you must do justice for me! My husband was killed by bandits, and my son died in the Battle of Red Cliffs with Grand Commander Zhou (Zhou Yu), leaving me and my granddaughter to depend on each other for survival. But this damned..."

"Six months ago, my granddaughter got married. On the way to her husband's house, she encountered Gu Qi, who was collecting rent in the countryside. That bastard actually led his men to beat my grandson-in-law to death and then..."

"My poor granddaughter couldn't take the shock and jumped into the river to commit suicide. She was my only granddaughter. How can I go on living like this..."

Guan Xing suddenly looked up and glared at Gu Qi, his eyes filled with murderous intent, and asked in a chilling tone, "Gu Qi, what else do you have to say?"

He even preyed on the bride; this beast doesn't deserve to be human.

Gu Qi trembled with fear, but didn't know how to refute it. He could only shout, his voice trembling with fear, "I already said that the girl jumped into the river and died because she couldn't think straight. What does it have to do with me?"

Guan Xing sneered, "So you're admitting that you murdered someone's grandson-in-law and raped someone's granddaughter?"

Gu Qi was speechless and unable to refute, so he could only yell again: "So what if you admit it? She's just a woman. So what if I played with her? Besides, what's it to you? It's none of your business!"

Guan Xing was so angry he laughed. He had never seen anyone so arrogant. He snorted and said, "I am a general personally appointed by the King of Hanzhong. As an official of the Han Dynasty, it is my duty to uphold justice for the people of the Han Dynasty. How can you say it has nothing to do with me?"

"As for you, do you think I won't dare to deal with you just because the Gu family is protecting you? Guards, seize this villain!"

Two soldiers quickly stepped forward and took Gu Qi away. Guan Xing continued to ask the old woman, "Grandma, besides Gu Qi, who else bullied your granddaughter that day? Point out all the people who were there, and I will avenge you."

The old woman shook her head and said, "I have never seen that group of people. I only heard from the villagers that it was done by Gu Qi. I really don't know who else they were."

"But Gu Qi is no good. Every year when he goes to the countryside to collect rent, he eats and takes things, beats and scolds people. He even bullies the village head's daughter. The villagers are all afraid of the Gu family's authority and dare not speak out."

Ninety percent of the land in Wu County belonged to the four major families, and most of the people who had no land to cultivate became tenants of these four families.

Tenant farmers' job was to farm, so naturally they couldn't all crowd onto the manor. Instead, they were scattered across various villages. As a result, collecting rent became a huge undertaking that required specialized personnel to manage it.

The lackeys responsible for collecting rent changed completely when they arrived in the countryside. They acted like bullies, even more despicable than the county yamen runners.

Upon hearing this, Guan Xing's face grew even darker. He glared at Gu Qi and asked, "Who else was with you that day? Confess and I'll give you a quick death."

Gu Qi stiffened his neck and sneered, "You think you can make me betray my brothers? You're dreaming."

"So you're willing to take the blame alone?" Guan Xing sneered. "That makes things easier. Just execute him."

Two soldiers pinned him down, while another soldier drew his sword and slashed down with force.

Gu Qi finally chickened out and shouted, "You can't do this! I'm a dog of the Gu family. Even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner. I'll talk, I'll talk! It's Gu Ba, Gu Jiu, Gu Shi!"

As soon as he finished speaking, three people in the crowd collapsed, their legs giving way.

Now that's settled, there's no need to argue anymore. The soldiers rushed into the crowd, dragged the three men to Gu Qi's side, and made them kneel in a row. Only after being forcibly pressed down did the three men react, cursing, "Gu Qi, you cowardly bastard, you actually betrayed us?"

Guan Xing said, "Since you've already betrayed them, you shouldn't mind betraying them again. The four of you can report each other. If you don't want to talk about your own crimes, then talk about other people's crimes."

Four people: "..."

You can do that? You're so uncouth!

With knives at their throats, the four men naturally couldn't care less about anything else. Gu Qi said impatiently, "General, please understand that the rape of the girl was Gu Shi's suggestion, and I was forced to do it."

"You're talking nonsense." Gu Shi retorted immediately, "General, I'm reporting that two years ago, when Gu Qi first went to the countryside to collect rent, a family couldn't pay their rent, so he burned down their house, forcing the entire family of three to starve to death."

Gu Qi cursed, "Bullshit! What does it have to do with me that the fire was caused by Gu Ba? Half a year ago, you went to a brothel without paying and even beat the girl who served you to death. As a result, you were detained in the brothel. It was the Second Young Master who ransomed you. Two months ago..."

Gu Ba roared in equally exasperatedly, "Gu Qi, you son of a bitch! I started the fire, but you gave the order. Don't try to pin this on me!"

The four of them started pointing out each other's shortcomings, leaving everyone in the audience stunned.

Shen Yi couldn't help but exclaim, "This scene is truly spectacular! The captain is indeed brilliant!"

Guan Xing turned his head and glared at him, scolding him impatiently, "Then what are you standing there for? Hurry up and write it down, and have them sign and put their fingerprints on it after the statement is completed."

"Oh, oh..." Shen Yi turned to leave, but Guan Xing suddenly pulled him back and asked, "Where are the other victims? You've been going through all this trouble and this is the only victim you've brought back?"

Shen Yi said with a bitter face, "I also wanted to bring more, but the other victims were afraid of the Gu family's power and dared not come forward to identify them. Only this old woman's whole family died, and she was old and had no future, so she dared to take a gamble."

Guan Xing remained silent. This was the helplessness of local officials in the face of the gentry; even if local officials wanted to do things, they could not get the support of the people.

Because in the eyes of ordinary people, officials will leave when their term of office is over, but it is different for aristocratic families and local bullies. They have been here for generations. Just because they can't deal with you now doesn't mean they can't deal with you in the future.

Guan Xing gritted his teeth and said, "Since the victims are unwilling to come, let's take the initiative to find them."

"Grandma, where do you live? How many households are there in your village? How many people have been bullied by Gu Qi and his gang?"

The old woman replied, "I live in Luoshi Village. There are more than a hundred households in the village, and almost all of them have been bullied by Gu Qi and his gang. There is even a family that is a distant relative of Gu Qi. That damned Gu Qi doesn't even spare his own relatives."

This kid is really something...

Once she climbed the social ladder by marrying into the Gu family, she thought she was superior to everyone else and didn't even respect her own relatives.

Guan Xing shouted angrily, "Gan Xun, stay and guard the manor. The rest of you, take these villains to Luoshi Village and bring Gu Mu with you."

"By the way, Gan Xun, keep a close eye on these servants. There might be villains like Gu Qi among them, they just haven't been caught yet."

Upon hearing this, the servants' expressions changed drastically, and many of those with weak willpower collapsed to the ground.