The officials from the Provincial Governor's Office who came to welcome Xia Pingan didn't expect that Xia Pingan would dare to kill people the moment he arrived in Daozhou. Of course, they didn't expect that so many people would gather at the city gate in such a short time. Xia Pingan could make the people of Daozhou City so agitated.
The crowd knelt on the ground and wanted Xia Pingan to seek justice for them.
The people of Daozhou had suffered for a long time. They finally welcomed an official who dared to seek justice for them. Everyone was agitated.
"Everyone, get up …" Xia Pingan looked at the people kneeling on the ground and walked to the carriage. He stood on the carriage so that everyone could see him and hear him speak. "Since Yang City is the Provincial Governor of Daozhou, we will not allow anyone to harm the people of Daozhou. If you have any grievances, you can tell me. I will seek justice for you!"
Hearing Xia Pingan's words, the people gathered at the city gate became even more agitated.
A white-haired old man stood up shakily. He cupped his hands at Xia Pingan and said, "Your Excellency, the people of Daozhou suffer the most when it comes to paying tribute to the imperial court. Since Emperor Yang of Sui until today, in the past hundred years, countless people in Daozhou have lost their families. Whose relatives, friends, and ancestors haven't encountered such things?
If someone is pregnant, they don't dare to let others know. Or they can only secretly flee to other places, afraid that the child will be captured and turned into a dwarf as a tribute to the imperial court. The officials in the yamen are like wolves and tigers. Every year, they will go to various places in Daozhou to check the household registers. If they see children from poor families, they will take them away in the name of the yamen. Whoever dares to stop them will be an enemy of the imperial court and disrespect the Emperor. Every year, in my Daozhou, there are at least a dozen families separated from their children, and at most a hundred families. This is the most tragic thing in the world. Sir, please uphold justice for the people of my Daozhou! "
"Last year, our neighbor, the Qian Family, who made tofu, committed suicide because their child was taken away. The men of the Qian Family all went crazy. It's too tragic …" someone said.
"That's right. The pregnant women of our village all ran to the mountains and built wooden houses there. They don't dare to go back to the village …"
"That woman in Circumference Alley went crazy after her child was taken away. She wanted to breastfeed everyone she saw …"
The people of Daozhou began to talk.
So many families every year? Xia Pingan's heart trembled …
Although he already knew that the people of Daozhou had miserable lives and that there would be children taken away by the government to be sacrificed to the imperial court, Xia Pingan had never imagined that the people of Daozhou would be so miserable and that so many families would suffer every year.
This was the true state of the people of Daozhou who lived in the so-called 'golden age of the Great Tang'. To the people of Daozhou City, they could not feel any 'golden age of the Great Tang'. For the past one hundred years, the greatest hope of the people of Daozhou was that their children would not be taken away and turned into dwarves.
But such tragedies had occurred time and time again in Daozhou. All the officials of Daozhou had tacitly allowed this to happen.
"If the children of poor families are taken away by the government, then what about the children of rich families?" Xia Pingan straightforwardly asked.
"The rich families are also trembling in fear. When the government comes to inspect their families, they can only bribe them with gold and silver and serve them with good food and drink. Only in this way can their children be spared. The poor families have no money to bribe them and can only let the government take their children away!" the old man replied.
"Where did those people take the children of Daozhou?" Xia Pingan pursued.
"Those children were taken away to Long Cloud Mountain Villa outside the city!"
"All the children were there?"
"Yes, all the children were there. At Long Cloud Mountain Villa, they trained those children into dwarves!"
"Where is Long Cloud Mountain Villa?"
"Your Excellency, Long Cloud Mountain Villa is located on Mount Long Cloud, five li from here!"
Xia Pingan looked around and loudly declared, "Good, this is the first time this official has come to Daozhou, so I will go to Long Cloud Mountain Villa to take a look. I want to see what kind of dragon's pool and tiger's den Long Cloud Mountain Villa is. It dares to devour the flesh and blood of countless people of Daozhou every year. All yamen runners, lead the way. We will go to Long Cloud Mountain Villa to take a look!"
"Your Excellency, we know where Long Cloud Mountain Villa is. We will lead the way for Your Excellency!"
The people in the surroundings all began to jump up enthusiastically.
Xia Pingan ordered Zheng Yi and Xue Yue to bring the woman who had blocked the road to complain into the carriage. He then walked in the same direction as the people. They did not return to the Provincial Governor's Office, but instead headed for Long Cloud Mountain Villa outside the city.
The officials of the Provincial Governor's Office who had come to greet Xia Pingan could only follow Xia Pingan to Long Cloud Mountain Villa when they saw this situation.
The procession was majestic and the people in the procession were all excited. The officials who followed Xia Pingan along the way had a premonition that something big was going to happen in Daozhou City today.
Along the way, the people of Daozhou who saw the procession knew that Xia Pingan was going to Long Cloud Mountain Villa. They all joined in. Many people took hoes, sickles, sticks, and other tools and followed Xia Pingan to Long Cloud Mountain Villa. The number of people in the procession increased. In the end, there were thousands of people. It was quite a spectacular sight.
The distance of more than five li was actually less than three kilometers. After walking for more than half an hour, Long Cloud Mountain Villa appeared in front of Xia Pingan.
It was a large manor that covered dozens of mu. It was covered with green trees and tall courtyard walls.
The people of Long Cloud Mountain Villa had already received the news. When Xia Pingan arrived outside Long Cloud Mountain Villa with his people, there were already people waiting for Xia Pingan on the road outside Long Cloud Mountain Villa.
A man in his fifties wearing a luxurious silk robe and a minister's hat was guarding the road with dozens of strong men who were holding sabers, spears, and sticks.
Seeing so many people coming at once, that man's face slightly changed. Those servants behind him also became restless. However, that man was still calm. He turned around and glared at those servants. After that, those servants calmed down.
That man fixed his eyes on Xia Pingan who was walking all the way here. He immediately revealed a big smile on his face and spoke first.
"It's said that Official Yang is going to take office in Daozhou Province today. I wonder why Official Yang brings so many people to my Long Cloud Mountain Villa. I was thinking of paying a visit to Official Yang in the Provincial Governor's Mansion."
That man said to Xia Pingan with a smile in an obedient and sensible look. However, he was not that polite to those commoners who came here with Xia Pingan. In a split second, that man had changed his face. With a solemn look and cold light flashing across his eyes, he started to scold those commoners in an overbearing manner, "What do you lowly commoners come here for? Don't you know that our Long Cloud Mountain Villa is an important place in Daozhou City? We're responsible for paying tribute to the imperial court. His Majesty in Chang 'an City is still waiting for the tribute from Long Cloud Mountain Villa. Paying tribute is the most important thing in Daozhou Province. It's a chance for us to express our loyalty to the imperial court and His Majesty. If you affect the tribute of Daozhou City, do you deserve it? Do you want to rebel? Get out of here! If you dare to make trouble, you lowly commoners will lose your lives. Nobody can save you then! "
That man's imposing manner was like that of a wolf or a tiger. Many commoners on Xia Pingan's side were scared by him as they moved back a few steps. At the same time, they all moved their eyes onto Xia Pingan.
Xia Pingan narrowed his eyes as he looked at the man. What the man had just said to the commoners was actually for him to hear. It was a threat.
"Who are you?" Xia Pingan asked straightforwardly.
That man turned around and looked at Xia Pingan with a smile as he cupped his hands towards Xia Pingan, "Lord Yang, I'm Zhuang Chao, the owner of Long Cloud Mountain Villa, the squire of Daozhou City and the village head of this place. Our Zhuang Family has been rooted in Daozhou City for more than 10 generations and has always been loyal to the emperor and loved the commoners. Lord Yang, you're here today. I don't know whether you've been bewitched by a villain or not, but our Long Cloud Mountain Villa has never done anything against the law!"
"Oh, really? Then why did I hear that you're hiding many abducted children from Daozhou City in your Long Cloud Mountain Villa?" Xia Pingan asked.
Zhuang Chao looked serious, "What do you mean, Lord Yang? The children in my Long Cloud Mountain Villa are all tributes. They're meant to be trained and sent to the imperial court on behalf of Daozhou City. How can you say they're hiding? Lord Yang, you're slandering our Long Cloud Mountain Villa today. It's really disappointing. Last time, Lord Observer even came to our Long Cloud Mountain Villa and encouraged us to do our best to complete the important task of paying tribute to the imperial court. If we don't train and train those dwarf figurines and delay the important task of paying tribute to Daozhou City, the imperial court and Lord Observer will blame us. Can Lord Yang bear this responsibility? "
"What a glib tongue! You're actually threatening this official!" Xia Pingan laughed loudly. His face turned cold, "No matter how glib your tongue is, the imperial court's laws are not something you can reverse with just a few words. According to the imperial court's laws, each county's tribute must be paid with the local produce and silk. The tribute must not exceed 50 bolts. Furthermore, official goods must be used to fill the market. The tribute must be thin and easy to supply. The Holy Dynasty has always used this system. In addition to this, it will also reduce the taxes. The children in your Long Cloud Mountain Villa are all abducted. How can they be considered tributes? Minister Wang Qi has already been executed. Do you think this official doesn't dare to kill you? If the imperial court and the Observer want to blame us, then feel free to do so. This official even dared to impeach Pei Yanling. Why would I be afraid of your threats? You colluded with Wang Qi and abducted children. You've committed a heinous crime. You deserve to die … "
Zhuang Chao's face changed. Just as he was about to say something, Xia Pingan reacted quickly. He grabbed the Tang Saber at Xue Yue's waist and swung it.
Under the gaze of the officials of the Daozhou Provincial Governor's Office and the thousands of people around, Xia Pingan's sword directly cut through Zhuang Chao's neck. Zhuang Chao's head, which still carried a trace of shock, immediately fell from his neck and rolled on the ground …
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