"I'm here to inspect the Jiannan Prefectures in order to apprehend the traitors who have colluded with, bribed, and colluded with other tribes to rebel …"
Huang Jingrong's face was as dark as a stormy cloud, and his voice was cold and laced with killing intent. But to these chieftains, it was no different from playing the lute to a cow.
If these threatening words were spoken in the Chinese officialdom, the officials who heard them would immediately feel their hearts tremble. They would be afraid that they would be dragged into this, and they would immediately feel uneasy. But in this place, Huang Jingrong's words were even worse than a fart. The people who drank continued drinking, and the people who ate continued eating. There were even people who played finger-guessing games.
Huang Jingrong was furious. Slamming his palm on the table, he bellowed, "I have already obtained conclusive evidence! According to the name list I have obtained from the Bureau of Punishments, a total of 329 tribes have been exiled to Yao Province, totaling more than 4,800 people. Where are these people? Yesterday, only seven tribes were executed, totaling a mere 36 people! Where are the rest? "
Huang Jingrong coldly swept his eyes over these headmen who, in his opinion, were not much better than bandits. He said in an awe-inspiring voice, "Someone is harboring criminals. Just based on the fact that they are harboring criminals, this imperial envoy can judge them as accomplices. Moreover, since they are able to do this, how do we know they are not accomplices? I will definitely investigate this matter, and no matter who I find, I won't let them off lightly! "
The voices of the crowd softened a little, but those who were drinking, eating, whispering, and patting each other's shoulders were still as lively as ever.
Huang Jingrong took a roundabout approach and said, "Don't think that I can't do anything to some people just because they are far away. All lands under the heavens belong to the emperor, so who can escape the rule of the emperor? Once I find out who is colluding with the vagabonds, I will definitely apprehend them and bring them to justice! "
Huang Jingrong glanced at the crowd coldly and said, "Perhaps, there are some who are confident that their tribes are strong enough to stand against the soldiers of Yao Province. But if the imperial court were to dispatch the heavenly soldiers, do you think you will have the strength to stand against them? Right now, Wang Xiaojie's expedition to Anxi is about to return victorious! If the Sage were to issue a decree to command this returning army to Jiannan to exterminate the bandits, with the momentum and sharpness of a great victory, there would be no one who could stand against them! "
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Wen Hao hurriedly raised his cup and said, "It must have been tough for you to come from afar. Today, the chieftains of the various tribes have arrived to welcome you back. Imperial Envoy, please accept a toast from us first. As for official business, we can talk about it later, right? "
Wen Hao smiled and gave Yun Xuan a meaningful glance. Provincial Governor Yun immediately stood up and pulled out a small silver knife from his waist with a smile. The knife was incomparably sharp and flickered with a cold light.
A vermilion table was placed at the front of the hall, and on top of the table was a huge bamboo tray. On top of the tray was a roasted whole goat that was glistening with a golden glow. The whole goat here was made from the finest two-year-old goat. After chopping off its head and hooves, removing its innards, egg yolk, salt water, turmeric, cumin powder, pepper, and flour, it was then baked in a hot pit. The fragrance of the meat wafted into the air, making one salivate at the sight of it.
Yun Xuan used his silver knife to slice off a few slices of the juiciest meat of the goat and served it on a plate to Huang Jingrong. With a smile on his face, he said, "Imperial Censor Huang, try this roasted goat. This is a local delicacy!"
The goat meat was still steaming, and before it was served, a rich fragrance of meat assaulted Huang Jingrong's nostrils. However, Huang Jingrong noticed that the chieftains didn't seem to be reprimanding him with respect, and this made him even more furious. Upon seeing Yun Xuan serving up the goat meat, he immediately made use of this opportunity to reprimand them, "His Majesty has already issued a 'ban on slaughter'. As officials of the imperial court, do you all still not know about it? What kind of crime is it to defy an imperial decree? Take it down! "
Yun Xuan was rebuked in front of everyone and couldn't help but feel vexed. He cursed in his heart, "Damn it, when this official set up a banquet to welcome you yesterday, the table was filled with meat and wine, but I didn't see you acting so righteously!"
However, in front of so many people, he naturally couldn't refute. He could only obediently obey and wave his hand, ordering the servants to take away the whole roasted goat.
Huang Jingrong pointed at the meat and wine on the banquet and said, "Take away all the meat! The 'ban on slaughter' issued by the sage is a sign of mercy towards all living beings. As officials of the imperial court, we should set an example. You all even dare to ignore the decree of the sage, it's no wonder … "
Huang Jingrong pointed his finger slowly and reprimanded without stopping. When his finger pointed at a certain spot, his voice suddenly stopped.
He saw a young lady. This young lady was wearing a moon-white blouse, a red waistcoat, and a short embroidered apron around her waist. She was wearing wide-legged blue pants, and her figure was as graceful as the clouds under the moon. Her jet-black hair was tied with a red ribbon, and the snow-white tassels under the flowery headscarf brushed against her beautiful and charming face. Her face was like the full moon, her eyebrows were like distant mountains, and her lips were like a pair of tender and beautiful flower petals. What a beautiful young lady of the barbarian race.
The young lady was standing behind the guest at the head of the table. Huang Jingrong's eyes were at the top of his head, and he kept sweeping his gaze across the people in front of him to display his power. He actually didn't notice that there was such a lovely beauty right beside him.
The young lady in white bent her slender waist and was whispering something to the red-chested man sitting at the banquet table. After she finished speaking, she smiled charmingly and stood up, walking briskly out of the room. Huang Jingrong's greedy eyes chased after the young lady's lithe and graceful back until the young lady completely disappeared through the door. Only then did he reluctantly withdraw his gaze and stared at the man with all his might.
He didn't know if that abnormally beautiful young lady was the middle-aged man's concubine or daughter, but he already had the greedy thought of taking her into his own room. Xun Er was naturally restless. When she heard that her eldest brother was replacing her father to visit the imperial envoy in Yaozhou, she pestered him to come along.
Just now, she had been chatting with Governor Wen Hao's womenfolk for a while in the back residence and wanted to go stroll around the streets. She specifically ran over to tell her eldest brother, but she didn't expect that Huang Jingrong would see through her and actually have designs on her.
Huang Jingrong temporarily suppressed his lustful thoughts and continued to display his official authority, ordering people to remove all the meat. This official banquet was originally focused on big fish and meat. If the meat was removed, what would be left on the banquet table? Did he want everyone to turn into rabbits and chew on a basket of turnip grass?
When the chieftains saw that this imperial envoy was being so unreasonable, they were all unhappy. After three rounds of wine, they all bid their farewells and left, not caring at all about Huang Jingrong's increasingly ugly expression. The welcoming banquet ended on bad terms.
Huang Jingrong saw the rudeness of the crowd and was secretly resentful. He only thought about how he would teach these chieftains a lesson. He might even have to use the methods he had used in Feng Province to capture a chieftain or chieftain and kill one to serve as an example to the others!
… …
"The officials here are too outrageous, all of them with no respect for the law. Governor Wen, Provincial Governor Yun, you two have failed to educate them and will not be able to escape punishment!"
Huang Jingrong walked into the back residence with his hands behind his back, reprimanding the governor and provincial governor along the way.
Yun Xuan smiled and said, "Imperial Censor Huang, it hasn't been long since this prefecture submitted to the imperial court. Most of the officials and chieftains are wild and hard to tame. Imperial Censor Huang, don't be angry. They are just used to being wild and don't understand the system of the imperial court. They didn't mean to look down on you. "
Huang Jingrong gave a heavy humph and said, "This imperial envoy is patrolling Yao Province. The officials of Yao Province and the chieftains of the various tribes have invited this imperial envoy to a banquet. This is an official social event, but in the end, even the female guests can openly walk around the hall. What kind of propriety is this?"
Yun Xuan asked curiously, "It can't be. Most of the chieftains don't have female relatives with them. Even if they did, they would be placed in the back hall. Why would they come to the front hall to roam around?"
Huang Jingrong said, "Why not? This imperial envoy saw it with my own eyes. It was the chieftain on the first seat to the left of the seat of honor. At the time, that female was standing behind him and talking. She turned a deaf ear to this imperial envoy's lecture. Yes, she was about sixteen years old and was dressed in white … "
Wen Hao let out a soft 'ah' and slapped his forehead. "I remember now. That was the daughter of the chieftain in the smoking period. She didn't have a proper name and only had a nickname, Xun'er. She came with her big brother."
Wen Hao said with a face full of smiles, "Imperial Censor Huang, this is a misunderstanding. If it was her, even if she came to see the imperial envoy as a representative of the smoking period chieftain, it would still be completely in accordance with etiquette. Because here, the wives and daughters of the chieftains all have authority, just like the officials of the imperial court.
If the chieftain passes away and his son is still young, the maidservant (the chieftain's wife) can act as regent. If the chieftain doesn't have a son, his daughter can also inherit the position of chieftain. She can also marry into the family of another chieftain's son to inherit the position. Therefore, Xun'er entering and leaving the main hall is not against etiquette. "
"The daughter of the smoking period chieftain?"
Huang Jingrong secretly memorized this name and repeated it twice. He suddenly felt that it sounded familiar. He thought about it carefully and suddenly remembered. He couldn't help but cry out, "Ah! This imperial envoy remembers now. I saw him in Yao Province. Xun Qi is a chieftain of your Yao Province. Why didn't he come to see this imperial envoy? Instead, he called his children over? "
Wen Hao hesitated for a moment and said, "Er … this governor had sent an invitation to Chieftain Xun Qi. It was just that Chieftain Xun Qi felt unwell, so he ordered his eldest son to represent him to see the imperial envoy."
Wen Hao's tribe's strength was not as strong as Xun Qi's, but he was the governor of this province and the highest ranking official in Yao Province. Usually, when he interacted with Bai Man, many unpleasant things must have happened. Therefore, there was no need for him to cover up for Xun Qi in front of Huang Jingrong. These words were not true and his tone was very forced. Huang Jingrong could naturally hear that Xun Qi was looking down on him and was being disrespectful.
Originally, Huang Jingrong didn't want to let Xun Qi off just because of this matter. Now that he was thinking about his daughter, this thought became even more intense.
"If I make Takenori a traitor, wouldn't Takenori obediently hand over his daughter in order to survive?"
Huang Jingrong felt that it was more and more wonderful. He couldn't help but stroke his beard and laugh!
… …
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