Du Qi stared at Zhang Feng who had fallen to the ground and continued, "As an official of Xia Xia, you are the registrar of a county. You hold an important position. Within the borders of Xia Xia, all the officials are well-paid and honest. You no longer need to worry about food and clothing, and you have enough money to use. Yet you still want to oppress the people and abuse your power. You are not worthy of being an official of Xia Xia. "
Zhang Feng quickly got up and knelt on the ground. He kowtowed and said, "My King, I am guilty. However, I implore King Xia to forgive me. I am willing to atone for my sins by performing meritorious deeds."
Du Qi asked, "Very well. Let me ask you, in Gaochang County, who is involved in this matter? If you tell me honestly, I might be lenient. "
Zhang Feng shook his head and said, "No one is involved. I am the only one who is involved in threatening the Wang family. In fact, the Gaochang County Magistrate has been concerned about the situation of the Wang family's carriage. "
Du Qi heard about the Gaochang County Magistrate and asked, "Did the Gaochang County Magistrate violate the law?"
"No!"
Zhang Feng shook his head and answered.
Du Qi asked, "Are you sure?"
Zhang Feng said, "No. The Gaochang County Magistrate is extremely honest and fair in handling matters. He is deeply loved by the people. He has a high prestige among the people. "
Du Qi was slightly relieved and continued, "What about the other officials of Gaochang County?"
Zhang Feng said, "No one is corrupt."
Du Qi said, "The entire Gaochang County yamen is filled with honest people. You're the only one who's so unscrupulous and blinded by greed. You deserve to die! "
Zhang Feng begged for mercy, "My King, please forgive me."
Du Qi said, "You are an official of Xia Country, yet you knowingly broke the law, which makes your crime even worse. Especially as a registrar, you are openly extorting the people. Your crime is punishable by death. "
Zhang Feng's body was trembling.
He did not want to die.
Du Qi knew that his execution of Zhang Feng was a little harsh. Zhang Feng's crime did not warrant death, but this was the first case that Du Qi had investigated. In order to make an example out of him, Zhang Feng had to be punished. In particular, Zhang Feng was incomparably domineering earlier. If not for Du Qi, the Wang family would have been completely finished.
Zhang Feng deserved to die.
Du Qi said, "With me, if you have a first time, there will be a second time. Mordor, execute Zhang Feng. "
Du Qi ordered.
Following Du Qi's order, Mordor took a step forward, raised the iron rod in his hand, and smashed it down. The iron rod smashed into Zhang Feng's throat, and with a cracking sound, his throat shattered. Zhang Feng fell to the ground, dead.
After Zhang Feng was beaten to death, the remaining thugs who were still alive were all trembling with fear. When they looked at Du Qi, their eyes were filled with fear. Now that Zhang Feng was dead, they were probably in danger.
Du Qi looked at the guards and said, "Since you were ordered to do this, I won't punish you. Go back to the city immediately and inform the County Magistrate of Gaochang County to come to Koushan Village immediately. This Prince will wait for him here through the night. "
"Yes, yes!"
The attendants hurriedly replied.
Du Qi continued, "Of course, you can refuse to pass the message. If you don't do it properly, you will be wanted and face the punishment of the authorities. Once the County Magistrate comes here, this matter will be over. "
"Yes!"
The guards hurriedly responded. It was excellent that they could not be punished just by informing the County Magistrate.
The crowd left like a swarm of bees.
Only Du Qi, Mordor, Shangguan Yi, and the others were left in the Wang family's courtyard. Wang Gan, Wang Li, and the others were all nervous and had lost their previous calmness. Previously, they only thought of Du Qi as the County Magistrate. Although the County Magistrate was also an official, it was not particularly powerful and was also a parental official.
Du Qi was Emperor Xia. This was different because Emperor Xia was the ruler of the entire Xia Xia. Everyone had to listen to Du Qi. Therefore, Wang Gan and the others were restrained and did not dare to speak.
Du Qi smiled and comforted them, "Elder, there is no need to be restrained. I am not a scourge. The reason I am out on patrol is to understand the local situation in detail. If you have any difficulties, you can tell me. If you have any suggestions, I will not be calculative. If you don't say anything, I will not know and it will be easy for things to go wrong. "
Wang Gan said respectfully, "Emperor Xia, I understand."
Wang Li, Wang Yi, and the others also stood respectfully at the side.
However, even though Du Qi said so, Wang Gan and the others were still restrained. They were quite reserved when they talked. Du Qi did not force them and waited quietly.
When it was close to dawn, the Gaochang County Magistrate arrived.
The Gaochang County Magistrate's name was Yan Zhengyi. He was already resting at night. After he was woken up and received the news from the guards, he became nervous. Du Qi summoned him in the middle of the night. Especially when Du Qi did not summon him in the palace but in the village of Kao Shan.
This made him even more nervous.
Yan Zhengyi understood the details of the situation and knew that it was Zhang Feng who extorted the carriage operator Wang Gan who was killed on the spot. He was relieved because as the County Magistrate, Yan Zhengyi enforced the law impartially. He had never violated the law and had never taken bribes. Therefore, he did things with a clear conscience.
Yan Zhengyi dared to meet Du Qi. He rushed all the way and arrived at Kao Shan village in the early hours of the morning. He came to the gate of the Wang family. Yan Zhengyi paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and took the initiative to enter. When he saw Du Qi in the courtyard, he bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
Du Qi said in a deep voice, "You came at the right time. What do you have to say about Zhang Feng?"
Yan Zhengyi said, "Your Majesty, Zhang Feng extorted the people because I was not strict enough and did not manage the county officials well. This led to Zhang Feng's incident. I am willing to take responsibility for this. "
Du Qi said, "You indeed have an unshirkable responsibility for Zhang Feng's incident. If you were not strict enough and did not understand the nature of the officials under your command, you would not have been so corrupted. "
Yan Zhengyi said, "I know my mistake."
Du Qi said, "Considering that you were not involved in this incident, I will not treat you harshly. However, I want to ask you if you have arranged for the people's rewards for giving birth to the third and fourth child. "
Yan Zhengyi said, "It has been arranged."
Du Qi asked, "Are you sure?"
Yan Zhengyi said, "Your Majesty, this subject has indeed arranged for this matter. This matter can be investigated."
Du Qi said, "The news I received is that the people of Gaochang County are completely unaware of the rewards for giving birth to more children. The people only know that the government encourages and promotes having more children, but there is no news of any rewards. "
"Impossible!"
Yan Zhengyi shook his head and said flatly, "In Gaochang County, there are 382 women who gave birth to their third child, 216 women who gave birth to their fourth child, and 18 women who gave birth to their fifth child. The county government has already issued the rewards for these people, so it is impossible that they did not receive any rewards. "
Du Qi asked, "This Prince wants to ask you something. Do you know who has been awarded the reward up until now? Also, have you verified the specifics of these people? "
"Never!"
Yan Zhengyi smiled embarrassedly.
The rewards were reported to the higher-ups one by one, and finally summarized to the county government. Then, the officials would arrange the rewards. Yan Zhengyi was very clear about the number of people.
It was just that Yan Zhengyi had never verified it himself because he felt that it was impossible for there to be a problem.
Du Qi continued, "Since you have not verified it, then go down and verify it carefully. This Prince will wait for your result on this matter. Anyone who falsely claimed the rewards and made a false report will be killed without mercy. If you can't handle this matter properly, then when this Prince investigates it again, the one who will be killed will not be the people below, but you. "
Yan Zhengyi's heart trembled when he heard it.
He knew that Du Qi was angry. All along, Du Qi had attached great importance to the people's livelihood and the people of the entire Xia County. But now, there was a situation where someone falsely claimed the rewards and even made a false report. Yan Zhengyi had no choice but to pay attention to it.
Yan Zhengyi solemnly said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. This subject will immediately investigate it thoroughly. As long as it is a child who has been reported and registered, this subject will visit them one by one to understand the situation. As long as there are people who have taken bribes and perverted the law, this subject will punish them severely. "
Du Qi said, "This matter will be dealt with strictly. If anyone is found to be fraudulent, kill them without mercy."
"Yes!"
Yan Zhengyi immediately replied.
Du Qi said, "Considering that it's not easy for you to come here, and it's getting late now, you can stay here tonight."
Yan Zhengyi shook his head and said, "No, this subject must rush back immediately. After thoroughly checking the list tonight, this subject will investigate the situation of all parties tomorrow morning to ensure that the investigation of this matter is completed in the shortest time possible."
Du Qi nodded and did not insist.
Yan Zhengyi left after receiving Du Qi, while Du Qi stayed in the Wang Family to rest and stay overnight.
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