"What? The banditry here has become so serious? Didn't you say there are only four to five thousand bandits? How come there are problems in nearby counties?"
Liu Xia asked in surprise.
When Wu Jiajun heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned. Liu Xia could say such words as four or five thousand, so he obviously didn't know the situation here and how bad it was.
"Four or five thousand? Young Master, look at the state of this county. Can four or five thousand bandits cause trouble?"
Wu Jiajun said disdainfully.[
The folk customs of the Tianji Dynasty are fierce and everyone is martial. If four or five thousand bandits continue to invade, even if the government does not care, the people's families will organize resistance. Otherwise, the people themselves will also resist. It is really not possible to cause trouble with this person.
A situation where people are in danger of themselves.
"Then the state government doesn't care? The Metropolitan Procuratorate doesn't care either. And the Yudaotai doesn't care either?"
Liu Xia asked again.
When Wu Jiajun heard what Liu Xia said, he glanced at Liu Xia again. At this moment, Wu Jiajun seemed to realize that this Liu Xia was not an ordinary person.
Most people, when they heard that the commotion here was so serious, would have packed up their things and left.
But Liu Xia kept asking questions here, and from his questions, one could hear his understanding of the imperial system, and he said with an added perspective:
"This young master, who are you?"
"It doesn't matter who I am, I'm just asking you, why doesn't the state government care?"
Liu Xia smiled.
"Prefecture capital? Huh, don't mention it. When banditry broke out here at first, the prefecture capital reported to the court and sent troops to encircle and suppress them. As a result, after several encirclement and suppression campaigns, there was no improvement. On the contrary, the trouble became worse and worse. The emperor dismissed several high-ranking officials.
, the result was good. After a few times, the masters above simply concealed their secrets and refused to avenge them. Even if they did, they would just be avenged.
As you said, there are four to five thousand people. Of course the court will not pay attention to it. As time goes by, the banditry here becomes more and more serious, and the big bosses are even more afraid to retaliate. If they have connections, they all leave here through connections.
This problem is left to the next person. When the next person comes, he will leave it to the next person. They just pat their butts and leave. The only ones who suffer are the people here."
Wu Jiajun was a little excited when he said this. He didn't seem to care that he was also a court official, just like a common person, and cursed.
When Liu Xia heard this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Lies are like snowballs, they will naturally get bigger and bigger.
At this point, those state officials no longer dared to take any more action, and could only report good news but not bad news to protect their own Usha.
And if these bandit troubles are so serious, God knows if they are colluding with local officials and aristocratic families?
The emperor is not a god, he is just a mortal. These officials below deliberately want to hide him. How can he know the true situation here in Longdu?
As for the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Yushitai, there is no need to say more.
Liu Xia originally suspected that the situation here was related to Tuoba Lingyun. If he covered it up and refused to report it, the emperor would have no idea about it.
As for the officials at the Yushitai, they had no backbone to begin with. Seeing that no one was speaking out, they naturally did not dare to speak out. It was only natural that such a commotion would occur.[
"Master Wu, it stands to reason that the emperor exempted this place from taxes. Even though the land here is poorer, the banditry should have been so serious. Is there anything fishy in this?"
Liu Xia was silent for a moment and asked again.
"Hey, this young master, you don't know something. Although this place is poor, it is not as vast as a thousand miles away. Moreover, this place is rich in resources. Although the food production is not good, the fishery and animal husbandry can also be developed. In more than ten years,
Before, although we couldn't say that we were wealthy here, the people still lived and worked in peace and contentment. However,
, since the banditry broke out, the economy here has been fragile. Coupled with the annexation of land by aristocratic families and the corruption of officials, it has collapsed directly. The people are panic-stricken, so they can only go to the mountains to become bandits. The more bandits there are, the more business here will be.
Then it collapsed, and as a result, the people became poorer and poorer and couldn't have enough to eat, so they naturally rebelled."
At this point, Wu Jiajun became excited again and said angrily: "What's even more annoying is that although the imperial court has exempted taxes here, due to years of suppressing bandits, the local finances cannot make ends meet, so they can only use clever names to levy taxes in disguise. This is completely
They cut off the people's livelihood. Those who could escape escaped, and those who couldn't escaped became robbers. When you entered the city, you saw a group of beasts."
After hearing this, Liu Xia completely understood.
If the state officials dare not report it to the court, the court will not allocate funds to suppress the bandits. And the banditry here is so serious. In order to protect themselves, they also have to protect the city, right?
Therefore, this expenditure can only be exploited from the people. The more serious the banditry is, the more the local economy will collapse. It is understandable that it is like this.
"Then what extent has the banditry here reached?"
Liu Xia asked curiously.
"Qiu County, Mao County, and the vicinity of Shanchuan Town have all become the territory of those bandits. In Yuntian Ridge, there are more than 10,000 bandits in Tianlei Village alone. There are at least seven other bandits in other cottages.
Eight. Miscellaneous, at least more than 30,000. This is all on the surface. Some local people are good citizens during the day, but at night they join gangs and go out to be robbers. If you include them, huh, what?
There are also 50,000 to 60,000 people."
Wu Jiajun analyzed with a wry smile.
Liu Xia really took a breath when he heard this.
Fifty or sixty thousand people are no joke. If there is a rebellion, even the city of the state capital will not be able to defend it. No wonder those officials don’t dare to report it anymore. Who knows how many people are going to get rid of this trap?
People are going to lose their heads.
"Master Wu, since it is so difficult and dangerous here, why do you still stay here? Who else is there in the county government?"
Liu Xia couldn't help but asked curiously.
"I can't leave. I'm the only one in the county government now."
"Why?"
"Why? I was originally a martial arts student. I first trained in the southwest border guard army, and then I came here to fill a vacancy and became the county magistrate. When I came, the banditry here was already serious. At that time, I was still high-spirited, thinking about the salary of the emperor, and for
You share your worries and actively organize
I used troops to suppress bandits. In the end, I offended my boss. This was still a small matter. Later, during a bandit suppression, a bandit leader was killed. After that, the group of bandits took revenge crazily. The bandit suppression army I organized,
Without supplies, we didn’t last long before the entire army was destroyed.”
Speaking of this, Wu Jiajun's eyes welled up with tears. Apparently he thought of something sad.
"Later, they captured me alive and humiliated me in every possible way. I was so angry that I begged to die. The result!"
Wu Jiajun immediately clenched his fists and said: "In the end, in order to humiliate me, they released me. And they made a promise that as long as I take one step away from Qiu County or commit suicide, they will have people come to massacre the city. I am a dignified official of the imperial court.
, raped by a group of people
After being humiliated like this by a thief, it would be better to die. However, whenever I think of the people here, as their parent and official, I can't do justice to them and keep them safe, but I can't harm them either, because I let them continue.
Disaster once."
"It's so arrogant, it's so arrogant."[
At this moment, Dabao couldn't stand listening anymore. The rampage of these bandits was really outrageous.
A dignified court official who was bullied into this kind of virtue is probably the only one in the entire Dragon Soul Continent.
As for Wu Jiajun, a good man who endured humiliation and heavy burdens, he was worthy of the title of "parents and officials".
Liu Xia took a deep breath. The situation here is far more terrifying than he imagined.
It is unrealistic to rely on the three to four thousand Tiger Guards to wipe out the banditry here.
Although the imperial court wanted to suppress the bandits, there were only three to four thousand people. According to Liu Xia's estimation, it was just an imperial edict for local officials to suppress the bandits.
I'm afraid it's the same whether it's suppressed or not.
If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you really wouldn't believe what happened here.
For the current plan, we can only report to the emperor in advance and then make plans.
Wu Jiajun saw that Liu Xia's face was uncertain, but she had no intention of leaving, so he persuaded her again: "Master, take your people and leave. I am begging you."
"Master Wu, I will not leave."
After saying this, Liu Xia showed his official seal.
Wu Jiajun took a look, and felt a little confused at the moment. He knelt down on the ground and saluted quickly: "Weak minister Wu Jiajun, please see Prince Weiyuan. The prince is a thousand years old, a thousand years old, a thousand years old."
"Master Wu, get up quickly."
At that moment, Liu Xia helped him up and said, "To be honest with Mr. Wu, I am actually here to suppress the bandits this time. Now that I'm here, if I don't destroy the bandits, how can I go back to do my job?"
"But my lord, you only have a small number of people. If anything happens, I can't afford it."
Wu Jiajun was even more anxious now.
"Haha, if something really happens to me here, wouldn't it be great if the secrets here are exposed to the world?"
"Oh, what time has it been? Your Majesty is so rich that you can't make such a joke."
"Don't worry, since I dare to come, I'm not afraid of them. I'm curious about what this bandit can do. Let them come here. You can rest assured. With me here, I can step into Qiu County.
step."
Liu Xia said calmly.
Wu Jiajun saw that he only had these fifty or sixty people. If the bandits really came, how could they resist them?
However, this young man was the prince after all, and he did not dare to say any more. He was just worried that if he offended bandits, those bandits would enter the city, and it would be the people here who would suffer.
"Master Wu, please be patient. I'm going to write a memorial first. I'd like to hear more about the situation of bandits here later."
Liu Xia smiled lightly.
"As commanded."
Wu Jiajun said hurriedly.
Liu Xia returned to the room, took out paper and ink, and hurriedly wrote the memorial.
The emperor must be informed of the situation here in Preaching Dragon City.
As long as the court pays enough attention, the bandits here can be wiped out.
Moreover, Liu Xia had a vague feeling that the bandits here had made such a fuss that it was not just a simple problem of bandits.
We can no longer take it lightly.
After finishing writing, Liu Xia sealed the memorial with wax, turned around and said, "Dawei, take this memorial back to Longdu immediately. Be sure to hand it to Chen Mo in person."
"As commanded."
At that moment, Tong Dawei took the memorial and turned to leave.
"Wait, it's too dangerous for you to be alone. Inform Zhang Zong and ask him to go on the road with you. Be quick, but be safe."
Liu Xia instructed.
"You will eventually understand."
Tong Dawei knew that Liu Xia was risking his life by staying here. If this memorial was not delivered to Longdu, God knows what would happen.
Naturally, he did not dare to be careless, so he hurried out of the room, released the golden eagle, and notified Zhang Zong and others to gather in Qiu County.