Chapter 84

"Where is Ma Rcheng? Where is Ma Rcheng?" Yuan Shao shouted angrily, "Get someone to bring this governor over to me!"

"I'm here, I'm here!" Ma Rcheng came running out of the Cui family residence, his head drenched in sweat and a smile plastered on his face, clearly not wanting to offend either side.

Qin Feng was so angry that his whole body trembled. He asked Ma Rcheng, "Sell the shade of the trees? Is there such a thing in this world?"

Cui Shirren sneered, "General Qin, right? Although such a thing has never happened before, it is a fact. The shade of the trees belongs to us, and anyone who uses it must pay. If we follow General Qin's logic, the common people could come to the Cui family residence for free food and lodging, which would be unreasonable."

Ma Rcheng smiled and said to Qin Feng, "General, the shade of the trees does indeed belong to the Cui family."

Cui Shirren chuckled, "You rough people, trying to compete with my lord! It's like holding a lantern to go to the toilet, asking for trouble."

Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were immediately at a loss, as the shade of the trees belonged to the Cui family, and if they wanted to sell it, they had to pay. Liu Bei was overjoyed, his large ears flapping.

Old Wang stepped forward, trembling, and pointed, "There was no such sign before!"

Cui Shirren sneered, "Old man, don't speak recklessly. This sign has been here for many years. You're just making things up!"

Ma Rcheng interjected, "We need to investigate and gather evidence..."

"Ah!" Old Wang shouted in anger and fainted.

Qin Feng was burning with rage and said coldly, "Outside the wall, it is state-owned land!"

"Reasonable!" The people immediately perked up and looked at Cui Shirren.

Unexpectedly, Cui Shirren calmly pulled out a sheepskin scroll from his chest, unfolded it, and showed it to everyone, saying, "Three feet outside the wall all belong to the Cui family. Governor Ma Rcheng, please look, is this the seal of the governor real?"

"It's real, it's real," Ma Rcheng said, wiping his sweat.

Qin Feng was so angry that his whole body shook, and his head felt like it was about to explode. He said angrily, "Ma Rcheng, you know the truth, how do you rule on this matter?"

Ma Rcheng wiped his sweat again, hesitated for a moment, and said, "General Qin, the shade of the trees does indeed belong to the Cui family. They have set a clear price, which is reasonable..."

"You..." Qin Feng's hand touched his sword, clearly showing that Ma Rcheng and Cui Lie were on the same side, protecting each other.

Cui Shirren was extremely pleased and said, "General Qin, my lord said that you are just a military commander and should focus on your duties. Matters of the local area are not your concern. If you interfere, you will be violating the law. My lord, as the former Minister of Justice, will have no choice but to arrest and punish you."

Qin Feng's anger could not be expressed in words, and he was filled with disappointment in the current state of affairs. He vowed that one day he would rectify the chaos, punish the corrupt officials and local tyrants, and bring a clear sky to the people.

At this moment, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had already begun to retreat.

Cao Cao came close to Qin Feng and whispered, "Zijin, Ma Rcheng is clearly intimidated by Cui Lie's power. It seems there's nothing we can do."

Yuan Shao walked to the other side and whispered, "Zijin, Cui Lie is the Minister of Justice, in charge of the law. If we are charged with overstepping our authority, we will be held responsible. Let's... let's just give up."

The people around them were filled with disappointment. Those whose family members were arrested cried out loud, while those whose family members were not arrested felt the same pain, shaking their heads and sighing that the common people had no way to live.

Old Wang woke up from his faint and, along with Old Zhang and Old Zhao, came to Qin Feng, knelt down, and bowed repeatedly. When everyone thought they were still praying, Old Wang said, "General, don't be troubled. We thank you, General."

Old Zhang cried, "This is our fate, our fate..."

"Thank you, General, for your righteous help. Since it has come to this, we accept our fate, we accept our fate, wailing..."

Subsequently, the scene was filled with sorrow, and those who heard it were heartbroken, and those who saw it shed tears.

Cui Shirren laughed loudly, slapping the sign repeatedly.

Qin Feng looked at everything, the people accepting their fate, and Cao Cao and others retreating. But he, Qin Feng, would never accept his fate.

He coldly watched the arrogant Cui Shirren and others, and then looked at the weeping people with sorrow. If he gave the order, the villains would surely be bloodied. But if he did so, he would become a rebel, and would be besieged by Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, Cao Cao, and Yuan Shao. This life would probably end here.

"Is it really powerless?" In Qin Feng's line of sight, the surroundings were silent, only the villains' arrogant laughter and the people's painful expressions remained.

Inside the Cui family gate, Cui Lie hid in a corner, stroking his beard and smiling, "Qin Zijin, you are too young to compete with me. Don't think that some military achievements make you great. Tomorrow, I will report to the emperor, and with a wave of my hand, I will send you to a place of no return!"

"Zijin, let's go!" Cao Cao and Yuan Shao advised.

Liu Bei held back his laughter, thinking, "Qin Zijin, now your reputation is gone, and you have offended the Minister of Justice. If he reports you to the court tomorrow, your future is over."

Just as Qin Feng was provoked and his mind was a bit unclear, he suddenly saw several large trees three feet outside the Cui family wall, by the roadside. A flash of inspiration immediately crossed his mind. Therefore, to everyone's surprise, Qin Feng smiled.

Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were terrified and exclaimed, "Has he been driven mad by excessive stimulation?"

Liu Bei danced with joy, thinking that if Qin Feng was driven mad, his opportunity to replace him would come.

Qin Feng had a plan, and his agitated heart immediately calmed down. He helped the three old men who were kneeling in front of him to their feet, patted them to comfort them, and walked to the large trees three feet outside the Cui family wall, under the roadside trees, in front of everyone's eyes.

Everyone was puzzled.

Qin Feng smiled slightly, pointed to the trees, and said to Ma Rcheng, "Governor Ma, my cavalry needs wood to make siege weapons and arrow shafts. I see these trees are good. Would you be willing to part with them?"

Everyone thought Qin Feng had come up with a good way to deal with the Cui family, but they didn't expect him to ask for a few trees. They looked at the large trees, which were over ten meters tall, and thought that cutting them down would provide a lot of materials. They were so shocked that they almost fell to the ground.

Ma Rcheng, caught between the Minister of Justice and Qin Feng, chose the higher official. He knew the Cui family was not acting properly, but the current environment was like this, and he could not change it, only adapt to it. Ma Rcheng thought he had offended Qin Feng, so when he saw that Qin Feng needed wood, he immediately went over and said with a smile, "Sure, sure." He looked at the trees by the roadside and said, "Indeed, they are good wood. Since it's for military use, I will provide them immediately."

Under everyone's surprised gaze, Qin Feng nodded and smiled, "So, from now on, these trees belong to me?"

"Absolutely," Ma Rcheng smiled and nodded, and asked, "General, is it enough? If not, I can find more for you."

Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Liu Bei were completely stunned. Cao Cao exclaimed, "Is Qin Feng crazy? What does he need the wood for?"

Liu Bei finally spoke, sneering, "I think Qin Feng is just finding a way to back down."

Liu Bei's words were accepted by everyone. The people were disheartened and cried even more.

Qin Feng could not take care of the people at the moment. He needed to quickly determine the ownership of these trees, so he said, "Governor Ma, do we need to write a document?"

"No, no," Ma Rcheng waved his hands.

But Qin Feng also waved his hands and said, "Yes, yes, we must. After all, these trees are government property, and I am not using them for personal use. They are for the military to defeat the Yellow Turbans. We need an official document to make it clear that these trees are used by the military, not by me personally."

Everyone looked at each other and felt that Qin Feng was really crazy for pulling out these useless things.

Ma Rcheng immediately asked Cui Shirren for ink and paper, meaning to quickly get rid of Qin Feng. Cui Shirren hurriedly reported to Cui Lie, who was hiding inside the gate. Cui Lie, stroking his gray beard, could not understand Qin Feng's intentions and waved his hand, "Prepare it for Governor Ma. After getting rid of Qin Zijin, I will report to the emperor. Qin Zijin dares to cause trouble like this, he must be punished!"

A moment later, Ma Rcheng quickly wrote the document, took out the governor's seal from his chest, stamped it, and handed it to Qin Feng with a smile, "General Qin, is this okay? From now on, these trees belong to you."

Qin Feng blew on the precious Luoyang paper and chuckled. He needed this document. After all, Cui Lie was the Minister of Justice, one of the highest officials in the country, and a vice-national level figure in later generations. To deal with such a person, he needed a backup to block the higher-ups when they struggled. He glanced at Cui Lie's figure hidden inside the gate. "Old man, you'll see today."

Cui Lie, hidden inside the gate, looked at Qin Feng and stroked his beard, sneering, "Young man, daring to oppose me, I will report to the emperor and strip you of your position."

Thus, Qin Feng took the official document and walked back. Cao Cao and others, witnessing this, were at a loss for words. Instead, Qin Feng walked to the people and waved the document in his hand.

Just as everyone thought Qin Feng was going to say something about the Cui family, he happily shouted, "Fellow villagers, these five trees are now the property of the military. You can rest assured and enjoy the shade. I, Qin Feng, will not charge you."

This statement, with its huge contrast, was truly shocking.

"Ah!" Many elderly people, unable to withstand this huge shock, fainted.

Cao Cao and Yuan Shao stumbled, and Liu Bei, more dramatically, clutched his chest and said to his followers, "He's crazy, really crazy!"

Wailing... At that moment, the people thought Qin Feng had submitted to the power of the Minister of Justice. From now on, there would be no sincere officials for the people, and the sound of weeping and wailing echoed to the sky. Mobile users, please visit http://m.piaotia.net

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