My Sims of the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Xu Xianzhi stepped out of the side gate of the government office with the newly drafted proclamation to reassure the people.

He was pondering how to explain the complicated terms of the salt stove price reduction and compensation to the salt farmers when he was suddenly interrupted by a commotion.

Looking up, one could see a dark mass of people surging towards the salt field. They were dressed in coarse clothes and short jackets, with dark skin, and carrying iron shovels for boiling salt. They were excited and were heading towards the main gate of the prefect's mansion. The leading group of young men had flushed faces, waved their arms, and shouted.

"...Why should we leave!"

"Let the prefect come out and explain himself!"

"We'd rather die by the salt stove!"

Xu Xianzhi's heart sank; his worst fears had come true.

He quickened his pace, intending to go around to the main gate to appease the situation, but saw that Chen Da, the captain of the guards on duty in front of the prefect's mansion, had already given a stern order.

"This is a restricted area of ​​the government office. Trespassers will be executed! Stand back!"

His response was met with an even stronger roar and a surge of forward footsteps.

These salt farmers, who usually risked their lives against wind, waves, and fires, possessed a fierce and courageous nature. Coupled with the current public outrage, they were completely oblivious to the gleaming swords and spears.

Chen Da's face turned ashen. He drew his sword with a swift motion and pointed it forward.

"Archers! Anyone who comes within fifty paces of the gate will be executed on the spot!"

More than ten crossbow bolts were coldly raised and aimed at the crowd.

The real killing intent finally calmed the boiling crowd, but they still stopped fifty paces away in the middle of the street.

No one dared to move forward, but no one retreated either. They remained locked in a stalemate, and the angry shouts turned into questioning and cursing.

Seeing this, Xu Xianzhi was about to bite the bullet and step forward when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps and exclamations from the other side.

Tan Lin had arrived. He had just finished supervising a group of Ganyu refugees boarding a ship at the dock and was rushing back, obviously having heard about the commotion at the salt fields.

Two minor officials carrying official documents followed behind him.

"Get out of the way! This is official business!"

Tan Lin tried to squeeze through the edge of the crowd to enter the government office, which immediately displeased the salt merchants who had come to cause trouble.

"That's him! That Assistant Magistrate!"

"He's the one who let the outsiders take over our stove!"

"..."

The pent-up anger instantly found the perfect outlet.

The crowd suddenly turned and surrounded Tan Lin and his entourage.

The officials and servants brought by Xu Xianzhi tried to stop him, but were instantly pushed aside.

The salt farmers pushed and shoved, shouting and cursing. It's unclear who started it, but a fist slammed into Tan Lin's face, followed by more hands reaching out.

"Protect the clerk's history!"

Xu Xianzhe shouted loudly, but he had too few men around him and was unable to break through the human wall.

The guards changed the direction of their crossbow bolts, but because of the crowd, they hesitated to fire, and the situation completely spiraled out of control.

Just as Tan Lin was pulled to the ground, and several iron rakes were about to smash down,

"That's enough!"

Xiao Heng had appeared on the high steps of the mansion gate at some unknown time.

He was dressed in a black casual suit, his hand on his sword, with his bodyguards standing tall behind him.

He didn't look at the disheveled Tanlin on the ground, nor at the anxious Xu Xianzhi; his gaze fell directly on the faces of the salt farmers who were brandishing their tools and had ferocious expressions.

There was no anger in his eyes, only a bottomless chill and weariness.

"So you think the salt stove is more important than your life!"

Xiao Heng spoke slowly.

"Since you feel this prefect is unfair, and since you don't want to produce salt!"

"Then there's no need to go."

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Heng's face turned fierce, and he raised his left hand and waved it forward lightly.

There was no roar, no clear order to kill.

But Chen Da, the captain of his personal guard who had been with him for a long time, immediately understood.

With a clang of blades being drawn, dozens of guards surged down the steps from both sides of Xiao Heng and instantly cut into the crowd!

The target was clear: the young men who had led the beating and shouted the loudest at Tan Lin.

A flash of light, a burst of blood—all happened in the blink of an eye.

The captain of the guard's blade flashed, and a head filled with astonishment flew into the air!

There was no fighting, no pursuit, just a cold-blooded decapitation.

The crowd froze completely, their anger replaced by boundless fear, and the blood on the ground spread rapidly.

Xiao Heng then turned his gaze to Tan Lin, who was being helped up by his guards, and then swept it over Xu Xianzhi, whose face was pale.

"Storming government offices and assaulting officials is tantamount to treason."

"The ringleader has been executed; the rest—"

He glanced at Chen Da.

"Take them all down and escort them to Xiaozhu Island, where they will be placed under Han Yong's command. Effective immediately, they will be incorporated into the labor camp. No one may leave until the island's defenses are completed."

"promise!"

Chen Daying obeyed the order and led his men to tie up the remaining hundred or so salt farmers who were already terrified.

Xiao Heng stopped looking at the carnage-like scene, turned around and walked into the mansion, leaving only one sentence floating in the bloody air.

"Tell everyone that these are the rules. If you want to live, follow the rules. If you don't want to live, this is what will happen."

Xu Xianzhi watched Xiao Heng's figure disappear through the door, then looked at the corpses being quickly cleared from the ground, and the salt workers being dragged along the dock in a chain. He felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

"Wenyuan, expedite the relocation process as planned. Anyone who again gathers to disobey orders, spreads rumors, or obstructs the relocation, regardless of the reason, will be punished in accordance with this precedent!"

Xu Xianzhi's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he only bowed deeply.

"...I accept the order."

"Tan Gongcao".

Xiao Heng looked at Tan Lin, who shuddered and almost knelt down.

"Is the injury serious?"

"It's alright, thank you, Lord Xie..."

Tan Lin's voice was still trembling.

"It's good that you're alright. What you did before wasn't a big mistake. But after this incident, you should know the meaning of fairness. From today onwards, you will also serve as the commissioner for the salt fields on the island. These people—"

He pointed in the direction they were being taken away.

"You will also be responsible for the livelihood and resettlement of him and his family on the island. Can you manage that well?"

Tan Lin was stunned. He had just been almost beaten to death by these people, and now he was supposed to be responsible for settling them down?

But he immediately understood a deeper meaning from Xiao Heng's calm gaze.

He took a deep breath and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"I will do my utmost to live up to the trust placed in me by the Prefect!"

"Go take care of the business."

Xiao Heng waved his hand and turned to walk into the mansion.

The right hand, which had been resting on the hilt of the sword, began to tremble slightly after stepping through the gates of the mansion, but then gripped it even tighter.

That evening, after reporting the latest progress of the relocation, Xu Xianzhi hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

"Your Excellency, was what happened during the day too cruel? Although the salt merchant was at fault, his situation is understandable. Such harsh measures may damage Your Excellency's reputation for benevolence and alienate the people."

Xiao Heng did not answer immediately; he walked to the window.

I gazed at the dark night sky outside and the scattered lights on the distant sea for a long time.

"Wen Yuan, do you think they're wrong?"

Xu Xianzhi was taken aback and did not answer.

"What did they do wrong!"

Xiao Heng asked and answered his own question.

"They just don't want to give up the salt-making workshop they can see right now, and they don't want to leave the comfortable life they've just settled into. If it were you or me, what would we choose? We would probably do the same. Seeking advantage and avoiding harm, seeking survival and fearing change, is only human nature."

He turned around and looked at the young Xu Xianzhi.

"Then do you know why this is so? Why they would rather cling to these few salt stoves than believe in the path to survival I have laid out for them? Why do they have so little natural reverence and trust in the government, the imperial court, or even the name of the Jin dynasty?"

Xu Xianzhi frowned in deep thought, vaguely realizing something, but unable to articulate it.

"Look at Deng Jing. His father, Deng Qiang, was a famous general of the Di-Qin state with outstanding achievements. Wang Meng was a genius of the Han people, yet he devoted himself to Fu Jian until his death."

"Wen Yuan, think about it. Deng Qiang and Wang Meng were exceptionally talented in their time. Jiangdong was not without wise rulers and virtuous ministers at that time, so why were they willing to serve Fu Qin with all their might and die for him? As for Deng Jing, why did he choose to risk wandering rather than return north after learning that his father's former subordinates might be purged by Fu Fang?"

Xiao Heng didn't say anything more, because saying anything more would be the same as his previous boastful question about whether the Jin Dynasty would perish.

Now, no matter what, he is the Prefect of Donghai Commandery in the Great Jin Dynasty. If he wants to establish his own independent regime, he needs someone to rely on to develop it slowly, which is the shortcut.

The study was deathly silent. Xu Xianzhi remained silent, but the intelligent young man quickly figured it out.

"The people do not know the country because the country is not a country; the people have no regard for the court because the court has no regard for the people!"

Xiao Heng was very satisfied, but then suddenly said something else, but it was laced with endless sarcasm.

"If the people are like this, then what about the noble families in Jiankang, those who live in a drunken stupor, discussing mystical doctrines and caring only for their own family and clan interests? Do they still know about the country? Do they still want to serve the country?"

Xu Xianzhe opened his mouth, but found his throat dry and unable to make a sound.

The teachings of Confucian classics and the framework of the ideals of scholars in his mind were shattered. He finally shook his head with difficulty and bowed deeply to Xiao Heng.

Without a word, he turned and left silently. Xiao Heng watched as the innocent brilliance of youth in his eyes was gradually replaced by a bloody realization.

Xiao Heng felt that he was being somewhat cruel, personally pushing a young man who might have had pure ideals into this cruel reality.

Outside the window, dark clouds obscured the moon, and there was not a single spark.

Only on the distant horizon, the tide rises, growing ever closer and clearer.

......