amaotonovel Chapter 1043 Black Sesame Dumplings, So Black They're Multicolored
Chapter 1043 Black Sesame Dumplings, So Black They're Multicolored
Yang Shaofeng clicked his tongue with regret and said, "Next, we will first interrogate the county magistrate, registrar, and clerk of Xinghua County, and then interrogate the old man Liu and the second master Xu that Guo Huai confessed to."
At this point, Yang Shaofeng spat again and said, "What nonsense! A dignified county magistrate actually calls two country bumpkins 'Master' and 'Second Master'? Doesn't he feel ashamed?"
It's embarrassing enough, but the real problem is that they didn't even manage to uncover any valuable targets.
To put it bluntly, this case in Xinghua County is a typical example of local officials colluding with local gentry to run rampant in the countryside, exploit the people, and disregard the law.
In terms of scale, it is nowhere near the scale of cases like the Plow Case, the Ironware Case, and the Child Case, which involved tens of thousands of people, and it is far inferior to the original historical cases such as the Hu Weiyong Case, the Blank Seal Case, the Guo Huan Case, and the Lan Yu Case.
The reason why such a large-scale operation was mobilized was only partly due to the fact that Zhang Liuliu and his group were intercepted and killed.
The vast majority of the reason was the connection between the "Hongwu Great Proclamation" and the killing of the Embroidered Uniform Guards—this was not only a blatant provocation against the authority of the "Hongwu Great Proclamation," equivalent to slapping Deng Xiaoping in the face in public, but also a threat to the people of the world.
"Look, so what if the emperor favors you?"
"If you dare to tie up an official and take him to the capital to file a complaint, that's what will happen to you, Zhang Liuliu!"
In terms of the severity of the subsequent impact of the case, this case in Xinghua County is even more serious than major cases such as the Empty Seal Case, the Hu Weiyong Case, and the North-South List Case.
Therefore, the Zhang Liuliu case in Xinghua had to be blown out of proportion, had to involve a wider range of people, and had to result in the deaths of more people. The heads of the officials and gentry were used to tell the people, "Don't be afraid of those corrupt officials, and don't be afraid of those gentry. The emperor and the court are on the side of us ordinary people."
Zhu Biao's eyes darted around, then he suddenly chuckled and said, "Brother-in-law, how about we stop the interrogation for now?"
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback and asked, "Aren't we going to interrogate them?"
Zhu Biao nodded and said, "Yes, let's not investigate for now."
"The current situation in Xinghua County is that Guo Huai and his nine clans have been arrested, but the county magistrate, registrar, clerk and those local gentry have not been arrested yet, so the commotion is not very big."
"When we came, we used the name of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, without directly mentioning the Crown Prince's Palace and the Prince Consort's Mansion. The Duke of E and his men have not yet set off."
"In other words, the officials and gentry of Xinghua County are currently unaware of my father and Prime Minister Li's true intentions, so there is a time lag."
"Let's take this opportunity to wander around Xinghua County, take a look, and then reveal that my younger brother and brother-in-law are both in Xinghua County."
"In this case..."
Zhu Biao smiled meaningfully: "There's no shortage of audacious idiots in the world."
“If we make a big splash, those officials and gentry who were already getting restless might just jump out on their own.”
"As long as we maintain good contact with the Duke of E, I think we should have a great chance to wipe out those idiots in one fell swoop."
"..."
Zhu Biao spoke with a grin about his plans.
Yang Shaofeng gasped in shock.
As expected of the famous black sesame glutinous rice balls, they are so black that they are almost multicolored!
There's a joke circulating online about how to mitigate the impact of the four major cases of the Hongwu era. Countless online Jia Xus suggested, "The best approach is to time-travel to become a doctor, treat Empress Ma and Zhu Xiong Ying, but not completely cure them. Then, commit suicide while they are still recovering, and find a way to shift the evidence to the officials and gentry of the Ming Dynasty." This way, a massive "Hongwu Imperial Physician Case" could be successfully fabricated, and the original four major cases of the Hongwu era would be successfully reduced to four minor cases.
According to the method proposed by this guy, Black Sesame Dumpling... it is indeed very likely that a "Hongwu Crown Prince Case" will be fabricated.
Given Old Deng's doting nature, if he didn't slaughter all the officials and gentry in Jiangnan until the rivers of blood flowed, it would only be fair to say he was soft-hearted.
The Hu Weiyong case, the Empty Seal case, the Guo Huan case, and the Lan Yu case are all inferior to the "Crown Prince case" concocted by Black Sesame Dumplings.
After considering it for a moment, Yang Shaofeng said, "How about this, let's go to Zhang Liuliu's house first."
"After we get back, we'll go to that Fuxing Restaurant that Guo Huai mentioned again—since Guo Huai confessed that the account book was hidden in the courtyard behind the Fuxing Restaurant, it means that the Fuxing Restaurant is also involved."
"Let's stick to what we agreed on before. First, let's use the name of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. We'll just change the title of the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the garrison commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so that the officials and gentry in Gaoyou can be prepared."
……
As soon as they arrived near Xujiazhuang, Yang Shaofeng and Zhu Biao instinctively sensed that something was wrong.
Whether it was the young and strong leading oxen to plow the fields, or the elderly and children picking up the rice ears, sorghum and other grains left in the fields after the autumn harvest, almost everyone was just working mechanically.
Even though Yang Shaofeng and Zhu Biao brought quite a commotion with their men, the young and old people working in the fields only turned their heads to glance at them.
Only the younger children dared to stay far away and timidly observe Yang Shaofeng and Zhu Biao's group.
Yang Shaofeng frowned slightly and said, "Your Highness, don't you feel that they seem to be farming just to survive, giving off a lifeless vibe?"
This is damn wrong—on the way from the capital to Xinghua County, passing through prefectures and countless villages, I have never seen such a lifeless scene.
Or rather, to what extent must the people of Xujiazhuang have been oppressed to live such a numb life?
It's like the villagers of Xujiazhuang know nothing about anything other than farming.
Zhu Biao unconsciously clenched his fist and spat, "Damn it, what's the difference between this and Hu Yuan's time?"
Yang Shaofeng grunted in agreement, then dismounted and walked straight toward the old man who was picking up rice in the nearby field.
"Uncle, I..."
Before the old man could finish saying, "I want to ask you something," he had already knelt down, trembling. Then, like dominoes being toppled, more and more people slowly knelt down.
Yang Shaofeng's heart sank to the bottom.
Because of the official robes he was wearing?
Or was it because of the presence of his group?
Old Deng had been calling for the abolition of the old customs of the Hu and Yuan dynasties since the first year of Hongwu's reign, prohibiting people from kneeling at every turn. But what about the people of Xujiazhuang?
If Xu Family Village is like this, how many Xu Family Villages are there in the entire Jiangnan region?
Guo Huai, that dog, deserves to be torn to pieces!
Yang Shaofeng quickly walked to the old man, knelt on one knee, held the old man's shoulder, and said in a deep voice, "Grandpa, please get up. If you keep kneeling like this, you'll shorten my lifespan."