On this day, the county government office hall.
Zhao Yuanzhou is sitting behind the desk.
There was a map of the county laid out in front of him. Several key locations on the map were circled with cinnabar and densely marked with small characters.
At this moment, Zhao Yuanzhou is holding a charcoal pen and sketching a sketch of "relief for work" in an open space.
Let the able-bodied victims dig canals, build roads, and build walls, and exchange labor for food, which can not only rescue the victims, but also build up the county's infrastructure, killing two birds with one stone.
At this moment, a harsh noise suddenly came from the front office, breaking the tranquility of the back hall.
"Get out of here! You blind slave!"
"Stop! You can't go in! This is the county government's back hall..." The old concierge standing outside the door yelled to stop him, his voice full of anxiety.
"Fuck you!" A rough curse was followed by the muffled sound of heavy leather boots hitting the human body, followed by a cry of pain and the sound of falling to the ground, "If you dare to stop me again, I will chop off your head!"
Immediately afterwards, the arrogant and domineering voice raised its tone. "Zhao Yuanzhou! The imperial envoy is here! Come out and pick him up!"
"Huh?" The charcoal pen in Zhao Yuanzhou's hand stopped in mid-air. He raised his head and looked outside the hall.
The footsteps outside the hall were chaotic, there were at least dozens of people, and there was also the sound of metal scraping against armor.
"What's going on?" He frowned, his ears moved slightly, catching the movement outside, and said to himself, "Why does this voice sound so familiar..."
"Could it be that... Huang Laosi is back?" Zhao Yuanzhou's brows twisted into the Chinese character "Sichuan" and his pupils shrank slightly.
He put down the charcoal in his hand and called out in a deep voice, "Xiong Da, Xiong Er, go out and see what's going on outside."
"Zhao Yuanzhou! Don't bother!" Huang Laosi's sharp voice came through the door again, and his tone was full of gloating and pride, "The two dogs you raised can't save themselves now!"
After the words fell, Huang Laosi carefully supported an old man in his seventies and walked in from outside the hall.
The old man was wearing a first-class official robe embroidered with clouds and wild geese on a crimson background, with a jade belt around his waist and a "black gauze" on his head.
His beard and hair were all white, and his old eyes were slightly squinted. They were half-closed after entering the door, as if he was concentrating with his eyes closed, as if everything that happened in this room was not worth opening his eyes to see.
Zhao Yuanzhou looked at that official robe, his heart full of doubts.
First-class official robes, this is the uniform worn by high-ranking officials in the court, but he did not receive any message that an imperial envoy was coming.
According to the rules, when an imperial envoy goes on a tour, the counties along the way should receive documents three days in advance. Let alone an imperial envoy of this level, he has to prepare for the pick-up half a month in advance.
Without issuing a document or delivering an edict, he quietly led his troops into the county government office.
Where are you here for inspection? This is here to kill people!
Zhao Yuanzhou was sitting behind the desk, not moving at all.
He glanced at the old man in official robes calmly, and then at Huang Laosi's triumphant face. The anger in his heart began to burn quietly, but there was no trace of it on his face.
When Huang Laosi saw that Zhao Yuanzhou not only did not "come down to greet", but even raised his buttocks, he immediately felt that he had lost face in front of his uncle.
He released his supporting hand, stepped forward, raised his chin, pointed the riding crop at Zhao Yuanzhou's nose, and shouted loudly:
"Zhao Yuanzhou! Blind your dog's eyes!"
"Didn't you see the imperial envoy arriving?!"
"Why don't you get down and kneel down to catch me!"
"Humph." Zhao Yuanzhou glanced at him coldly, then looked at the chaotic scene in the yard, and asked in a cold voice, "Huang Laosi, what are you doing?"
"What are you doing? Haha!" Huang Laosi raised his head and laughed twice, then suddenly put away his smile, and the smug look on his face almost overflowed from the pockmark on his face, "Zhao Yuanzhou! Your good days are over!"
He put the riding crop on the ground, took a step forward, pointed at the tip of Zhao Yuanzhou's nose, and said word by word:
"I have already reported the fact that you supported bandits, preyed on the common people, and blocked cars and robbed roads!"
"If you are sensible, take off your official uniform, kneel down and wait for your fate!"
"Otherwise... hehe, I want you to die without a burial place!"
Zhao Yuanzhou understood everything the moment he heard these words.
"Feeding bandits" and "feeding the common people" are all crimes committed by Luo Zhi.
Huang Laosi climbed up to his uncle who was a high official. The two of them made up a story and got the so-called "imperial envoy" order, which was to take advantage of this famine year and put him Zhao Yuanzhou to death.
Dengfeng County now has food and water, and it is a piece of fat that makes people jealous. Huang Laosi's so-called uncle may also be interested in this piece of fat.
"Huang Laosi." Zhao Yuanzhou's voice turned cold, "You said that I feed bandits, prey on common people, and block cars and rob roads. Do you have any evidence?"
"Evidence? Of course there is!" Huang Laosi was waiting for this question.
He turned around suddenly and shouted at the door, "Come here! Bring me the witness!"
"Yes!" The four soldiers heard the sound and immediately took the two "witnesses" forward.
"Go in!" The two men were forced by the sword and staggered into the hall.
"Little sister?! Godmother!!" Zhao Yuanzhou stood up after seeing their appearance clearly.
His voice suddenly rose, and he said angrily, "Huang Laosi! What do you mean?!"
"What do you mean? What could I mean?" Huang Laosi looked back at the old man in official robes who was still concentrating with his eyes closed.
The old man didn't even raise his eyelids. His attitude was clearly to let him play freely and let go of the trouble.
Huang Laosi got this acquiescence, and became more courageous. His nostrils were almost raised to the sky, and he longed out his voice in a weird and sinister manner. "These two people are the ones who testified against you, sin! People!"
"Zhao Yuanzhou, Zhao Yuanzhou, you have two choices now." Huang Laosi said slowly, "First, plead guilty and beg for mercy."
"In this case, for the sake of my old friendship, I can put in a few kind words for you in front of my uncle, be a little more lenient to you, and maybe even give you a way to survive."
He paused deliberately, waiting to see the expression change on Zhao Yuanzhou's face.
Seeing that Zhao Yuanzhou remained silent, he chuckled, walked slowly in front of the two women, reached out and pulled out a long sword from a soldier's waist.
Huang Laosi took the sword in his hand, weighed it, tilted his head, and used the tip of the sword to lift the girl's drooped chin.
The girl trembled all over and was forced to raise her head. Tears rolled down from her eyes and slid down the blade of the sword.
"As for the second one..."
Huang Laosi narrowed his mung bean eyes, licked his chapped lips, looked greedily at the girl's pale face, smacked his lips and said:
"I heard... you are getting married to your god-sister?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, what a pity."
"It's a pity that such a charming beauty will die because of your ignorance of Zhao Yuanzhou..."