Chapter 50

"Go and see Magistrate Cheng."

When Magistrate Cheng heard the news, he was so angry that he almost exploded. It had taken great effort to smooth over the incident from last year, and he had hoped that the road construction would bring him some political achievements. But now, this had happened again.

However, he knew this was no small matter. Due to the events of last year, the people were already harboring resentment. If this situation escalated, it could lead to a rebellion. He immediately set out for Wang Family Village with a dozen bodyguards and several officials.

But when he saw the villagers, he was both amused and angered.

The scene was far from friendly.

To the people of Wang Family Village, the Zhenwu Camp from last year was like a band of black bees, but the troops sent this year were even worse. At least the black bees didn't act openly. The government had been hunting them down all year, scaring the villagers into silence. As a result, they had lost all trust in the government.

Wang Ju led everyone out to greet them.

But the villagers' faces were grim, some deliberately showing their bloodstained clothes, and others holding knives and bows.

Wang Ju waved his hand, "Villagers, quickly greet Magistrate Cheng."

The villagers responded half-heartedly, greeting Magistrate Cheng.

Of course, Wang Ju didn't believe that Cheng Kan would handle the situation as brutally as Cheng Ping. Cheng Kan might still be unhappy, but the troops' actions were wrong. However, as officials, they were supposed to maintain their authority, and the people's resistance was even more wrong.

The world is indifferent, treating all things like straw dogs. The official-centric mindset means that officials are indifferent, treating the common people like straw dogs.

As an official, the first duty is to uphold the dignity of the officials, which is to respect the hierarchy!

Some say that Emperor Renzong of Song improved in his later years, thanks to the rise of many literary figures who gradually forced him to cede power, leading to a system somewhat like democracy. Wang Ju, however, disagreed. The internal governance of the Song Dynasty should thank people like Chai Rong, Zhao Kuangyin, and Zhao Guangyi. This led to the saying about Zhao Pu and the peculiar incident during Emperor Taizong's reign where a villager lost a piglet and actually rang the drum at the court, alarming Zhao Guangyi. As long as the rules were followed, the internal governance of the Song Dynasty wouldn't be bad.

Whether it improved or not depends on the economy and people's livelihood. These two aspects were deteriorating rapidly.

The model of governance by scholars and the emperor together is not a democratic model. It's just that the scholars successfully seized more power from the emperor, but this power was not passed on to the people. The people still had no rights, so how could it be a democratic model?

The people are still like straw dogs!

"What is going on here?"

"Magistrate Cheng, the situation is as follows..." Wang Ju recounted the events.

"However, Magistrate Cheng, you know that the swords forged in the village are not real Xia swords. They sell for only a few dozen strings of cash, and the cost is high. Even though we made some money, it was all used for household expenses and to forge weapons for defense. As for the sheep, we do have a few hundred, but they are all lambs. This person deliberately confused the issue, claiming they were real Xia swords and omitting the lambs, making the village seem much wealthier. Moreover, he himself provided a thousand bolts of silk."

"You say he provided a thousand bolts of silk just to frame you?"

"Not entirely. We questioned the captives, and there was another reason. The village is located on the border, and great wealth is not necessarily a good thing. Rarity makes things valuable, and too much of something makes it common. Therefore, he intentionally limited the number of swords forged. But from another perspective, these swords, which cost only a few dozen strings of cash, could be worn by many people in the Song Dynasty. If they could forge five hundred or a thousand swords a year, the profit would be enormous. Therefore, he also demanded that the blacksmiths in the village be captured alive, to obtain the sword-forging technique. He could take revenge and gain the technique, so why not do it?"

The reason was clear.

Such a major incident must have a motive.

"Fortunately, we heard the news in advance, and it seems they were planning to send six or seven hundred men."

"Why didn't you report it to the authorities?"

"Magistrate Cheng, you are a distinguished official of our great Song Dynasty, not a mediocre one. You should understand that in such a situation, reporting to the authorities would be futile. No one would believe us, and it would only alert the enemy. Why suffer for nothing?"

This was a way to give Cheng Kan a way out. Otherwise, Wang Ju would have said that reporting to the authorities would be useless, as few would care about the lives of people in the borderlands. Just look at the people south of Tumen.

"Especially when we came back and asked for the situation, Cheng Zhi immediately accused us of wanting to rebel."

"Magistrate Cheng, the people in the border regions suffer greatly. Living in such harsh conditions, human life is like a straw dog. We endure military service, labor service, and heavy taxes, but we are still citizens of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, I wrote down the key techniques for forging swords and handed them over to the government, hoping for a strong nation. Death is inevitable, but it should be meaningful. A rebellion means what? They would use this as a pretext to act, using our heads to claim credit and accusing us of treason. Magistrate Cheng, what can we do?"

Cheng Kan's face turned pale.

It wasn't just possible, but very likely.

If they didn't act, the village would be destroyed by these corrupt troops.

If he didn't understand the consequences, wouldn't this young man be anxious?

If he could reason, it would be easier. Shi "Brother" took a deep breath.

Cheng Kan strode into the village.

Inside, there were still dozens of captured troops.

A bodyguard gently tugged at his sleeve.

The harsh environment and the villagers' hostility were different inside the village.

"No problem," Cheng Kan said calmly.

When Wang Ju ordered the legs to be shot, he knew this young man had left a way out for the village. If there was a way out, the situation could be handled promptly without further trouble.

The situation inside the village was grim. Many villagers had died, and the bodies were arranged in two rows. On the east side were the women lying on the ground moaning and a dead body. On the west side, there were more dead bodies and many injured.

Cheng Kan grunted again. This was deliberately arranged for him to see.

It was already late in the day, and the sun was setting. Why were the bodies still here?

But it was clear that the injuries on the east side and the old man were caused by the troops!

"Magistrate Cheng, we are innocent!" Cheng Ping shouted.

Cheng Kan glared at him coldly. "Why did you come to Wang Family Village?"

"We came to rescue them, but we didn't know these stubborn villagers were planning to rebel."

"Shut up!"

On the way, he had already rushed to Weilin Village to gather information. Shi Gan had also provided a summary of the situation. Although the accounts varied, Cheng Kan had a clear understanding of the events, including Cheng Ping's attempt to claim credit, which had been confessed by the troops in Weilin Village.

Claiming credit wasn't the worst part; the worst was their cowardice. They had been so aggressive at first, but when arrows hit their legs, they dropped their weapons and surrendered. Could such troops be trusted in battle?

"Who killed Wang Lao Liu?"

" Him, him, him..." Wang Ju pointed at seven people.

These seven had stabbed Wang Lao Liu to death with their knives.

"Take them out and execute them."

"Magistrate Cheng, spare us!" the seven men screamed.

Screaming wouldn't help. Not only had they disgraced themselves, but even the veterans in Qingjian City had been executed by Cheng Kan for their misconduct.

Cheng Kan looked at Wang Ju.

Wang Ju remained indifferent.

"Flowers cannot be confined within the garden walls; a branch of red apricot blossoms reaches out. What a beautiful poem, what a refined little poem."

"The willow shadows gather on the curved shore, the wave reflections are sparse. The green in the brows comes to rest in the mirror. This poem is extremely gentle, but it was written by Emperor Taizong of Tang. The water is vast, the willows are gentle, the village is far, and the apricot blossoms fly in the slanting sun. The southern spring is over, and the heart is broken. The duckweed covers the riverbank, but the person has not returned. This beautiful poem about the southern spring was written by Kou Lai Gong. The quality of poetry does not necessarily reflect the character of the person. If it did, Emperor Li Houzhu of Southern Tang would have been a great ruler."

"Remarkable young man," Shi Gan thought.

A child could speak so confidently to a high-ranking official like Cheng Kan, not only reasoning logically but also quoting poetry effortlessly. He must be a prodigy!

This was a view of admiration. The opposite view was that this young man was lawless and wild!

Even Cheng Kan had this thought.

What a terrible day, and now he had to deal with a terrible young man!

No more beating around the bush: "Are you satisfied?"

He still hadn't released the captives.

"Magistrate Cheng, I know my limits," Wang Ju sighed. In China, one must learn to be humble. He didn't want this to happen: "In the past, Cao Baochen governed the army strictly in Qin, leading to many victories. However, people criticized him. But would the emperor be pleased with such lax discipline? As a distinguished official, you should report this to the emperor."

"Boy, this is my concern, not yours. Release the captives!" Cheng Kan demanded.

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