The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 179 Protecting the Surname

“My lord, you taught us to abide by the law and the rules. As the commander of the First Cavalry Army, I cannot lead the way in violating the conscription law.”

Zhao Yun smiled and said to Chen Er, "That's right. The law must have its authority, and we who are in power need to abide by the law even more so so that we can gain the trust of those below us."

Chen Er nodded and said that he had just overlooked this point. Now that Zhao Yun had reminded him, he would not let Zhao Yun disrupt the conscription process. The example set by those above is not just a matter of words.

If Zhao Yun, as a general, broke these rules, then many more people would surely follow suit.

Chen Er said to Zhao Yun, "Yes, we are no longer in the early stages of our business. The makeshift team we had back then is no longer suitable for the current situation."

“We already have a relatively sound system, and it is essential to follow the rules. However, Da Hu and the others are definitely still relatively backward in terms of cultural knowledge, so you still need to remind them later that they need to learn cultural knowledge in order to go further.”

"Yes, my lord, I understand," Zhao Yun said to Chen Er.

"Let's go, let's see what kind of tyrant this so-called Chen family really is." As the two talked, the group got closer and closer to Meishan Town, and they could already see the faint outline in the distance.

"Giddy up!" Chen Er led Zhao Yun and his group to speed up and gallop towards Meishan Town. Meishan Town was now under the control of the Second Battalion of the Dragon Cavalry (the Dragon Cavalry Battalion is just a general term for the dragon cavalry, and the Second Battalion is an organizational unit).

When Chen Er and his men entered Meishan Town, Zhang Jie, the battalion commander of the Second Battalion, immediately walked up to Chen Er and Zhao Yun and said, "Greetings, leaders."

"Hmm!" Chen Er and Zhao Yun casually returned the greeting, then asked Zhang Jie, "Where is he? Take me there."

Zhang Jie immediately reported the situation to Chen Er. The Second Battalion had some friction with the Meishan Town militia company when entering the town. Fortunately, the militia company leader reacted quickly and ordered his men to lay down their weapons.

Otherwise, Meishan Town would probably be bleeding today. When He Hu, the militia leader, saw hundreds of cavalry surrounding the Chen family, he knew that the Chen family's end was near. This must be because the Chen family had offended some big shot outside.

Or perhaps their past misdeeds have been exposed. He Hu is not a good person, but he is not a bad person either. In fact, he had wanted to overthrow the Chen family before, but unfortunately, someone from the Chen family was serving as the county magistrate.

With extensive connections, He Hu was just a former junior officer from Qingzhou. It was already quite an achievement for him to return to Meishan Town as the head of a militia company. Moreover, he was only serving as the head of the company on a part-time basis. If a major war broke out, he would immediately return to the county to resume his position as a platoon leader in the county garrison battalion.

In addition, most of the militiamen were members of the Chen family clan or servants of the Chen family. He Hu had no way to fight against the Chen family and could only try his best to protect the people of Meishan Town.

"Are you the head of the militia company in Meishan Town?" Chen Er walked up to He Hu, who nodded and replied, "Yes, leader."

"Then you must know a lot about the Chen family?"

Chen Er asked, "This president has a soldier's sense of justice. With Zhang Jie's report, Chen Er believes that this president is probably not a member of the Chen family."

"Reporting to the leader, I am quite familiar with the Chen family's situation, and I also have some evidence of the Chen family's illegal and oppressive behavior towards the people."

When He Hu saw that Chen Er's breastplate and shoulders bore the rank of colonel, he knew that his day of reckoning had come. A colonel in the cavalry was practically equivalent to a prefect. He quickly said to Chen Er, "I have been looking forward to this day for a long time."

Following that, He Hu explained in detail to Chen Er and Zhao Yun what he had learned about the Chen family during his year as the head of the Meishan Town militia, and that there was still a lot of evidence to be found in the subsequent investigation.

A dozen minutes later, Chen Er's face was full of rage. He couldn't hold back anymore; he was going to kill someone!

"Immediately bring all members of the Chen family who have been involved in murder cases to the stage in the center of town. He Hu, you take men and notify all the townspeople to assemble at the stage in the center of town within half an hour. At the same time, temporarily detain all members of the Chen family in the militia company. You select people who have no problems to carry out the mission."

"Yes, sir! I guarantee the mission will be accomplished!" He Hu shouted loudly.

He had finally waited for this day.

Half an hour later, a public trial exactly like the one in Huai Shu Township was held in Meishan Town, except that the public trial in Meishan Town was larger in scale and had a more far-reaching impact.

More than 20 members of the Chen family who had committed murder or other heinous crimes were executed, and more than 10 others were punished with strokes ranging from 40 to 80 strokes of the cane.

The Chen family incident in Meishan Town had a profound impact on Qingzhou and even the entire local area. After the public trial, Chen Er no longer concealed his identity and directly revealed it at the county government where Meishan Town was located, taking down the former county lieutenant who had been protecting the Chen family and was now the battalion commander of the county garrison.

When the story of the Chen family in Meishan Town was intentionally publicized to various places, the governance of Qingzhou improved significantly, and many local officials who relied on the remoteness of the capital quickly changed their governance methods.

Township officials, in particular, who had similar practices to the Chen family, immediately abolished taxes that should not have existed.

Some people did provide appropriate compensation to the people in order to silence their complaints.

More than half a month later, Chen Er, who had arrived in Xuzhou, received a report from Qingzhou. He smiled and said to Zhao Yun, Gao Shun and others, "This is the result I wanted. To deal with those who abuse their power, we must use force to tell them that not only do they have power, but the law will also punish them."

Three days later.

"We pay our respects to Your Highness, Prince Wei!" Kong Sheng, the current head of the Kong family, had already received news of Chen Er's arrival and had been waiting for him outside the mansion since early morning. "You're too kind, sir!" Chen Er quickly helped Kong Sheng up and said, "I apologize for my intrusion."

"It is an honor for us that the King of Wei has graced our humble abode. There is no need for us to be so nosy."

Kong Sheng said that he understood Chen Er's purpose. Chen Er's visit was a good thing for the Kong family, and he was overjoyed. Besides, given Chen Er's status, he couldn't possibly have any objections.

"King Wei..."

“Hey, sir, please stop calling me King Wei. Just call me by my courtesy name, Mingde.” Chen Er’s words immediately bridged the gap between the two.