I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 411 Kill well

Chapter 411 Good kill

Two weeks later, at the Forbidden City.

Zhu Youjian's face was ashen; he was furious. For the past two weeks, the Shaanxi officialdom had been in an uproar, with everyone rolling up their sleeves to impeach Wang Wenzhou. But Wang Wenzhou hadn't written a single memorial to defend himself. Zhu Youjian knew Wang Wenzhou well; given his temperament, he would never remain silent.

In the past two weeks, wherever Wang Wenzhou went, he executed the local officials, killing a total of one prefect and fifteen county magistrates. In Shaanxi, there were eight prefectures, twenty-three counties, and ninety-five districts. In just half a month, Wang Wenzhou had killed nearly one-sixth of the local officials.

In Shaanxi's officialdom, officials were living in constant fear. Local officials were terrified, and Wang Wenzhou, this mad dog, had become a butcher of officials, killing wherever he went.

Sun Chuanting was furious and led his army in hot pursuit of Wang Wenzhou, wishing he could tear Wang Wenzhou apart alive. However, Wang Wenzhou's forces were all cavalry, and Sun Chuanting's main force simply couldn't keep up. Sun Chuanting dared not take a small number of cavalrymen to reason with him; in his view, Wang Wenzhou had gone mad, and he feared that with too few men, he would be beheaded by Wang Wenzhou's sword.

This is why the memorials impeaching Wang Wenzhou came like a torrent; almost every day, Zhu Youjian would receive a pile of memorials accusing Wang Wenzhou of illegal activities. Although the memorials detailed numerous crimes committed by Wang Wenzhou, Zhu Youjian firmly believed that Wang Wenzhou would not speak without reason.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian did not order Wang Wenzhou to be prosecuted, and the memorials impeaching him were kept in the palace without being issued. Zhu Youjian was very puzzled. Logically, Wang Wenzhou should have written to him to explain why this was the case. But Zhu Youjian did not receive any memorials from Wang Wenzhou.

By this time, Zhu Youjian could no longer tolerate it. If Wang Wenzhou continued like this, all the local officials in Shaanxi would be killed. Zhu Youjian then ordered Wang Chengen to investigate the matter.

Upon investigation by the Eastern Depot, Zhu Youjian learned that Wang Wenzhou had not failed to submit a memorial, but rather that it had been detained by the Grand Secretariat. Zhu Youjian was furious. If he hadn't deeply trusted Wang Wenzhou, the charges against him brought by the officials in the past few days would have been enough to send Wang Wenzhou to his death hundreds of times over.

This memorial was withheld for half a month. The handwriting on the memorial was neat and beautiful. Based on Zhu Youjian's understanding of Wang Wenzhou, Wang Wenzhou could not write such beautiful characters. It must have been written by Wang Wenzhou's wife or concubine, but the tone was that of Wang Wenzhou.

"Brother Zhu, I have just arrived in Shaanxi. Although it has not been long, what I have seen and heard these past few days has been truly shocking. The people of Shaanxi are living in dire straits. As someone who has grown up in a noble family and never had to worry about food or drink, I never dreamed of such a thing."

I once read in history books: "They exchanged children to eat, they dismembered bones to cook." I always thought these descriptions were too exaggerated. Humans aren't beasts, how could they be so inhumane? But after seeing it for myself, I realized that those few words in the history books were just simple descriptions; after reading them, I was utterly heartbroken.

One day, I passed through a village in Gaoling County. Nine out of ten houses were empty. I happened to meet an old man and struck up a conversation with him. He told me that in recent years, the village had suffered from disasters year after year, and the people were in dire straits. The county magistrate had not only failed to provide disaster relief or reduce taxes, but had instead added insult to injury by levying three taxes.

I am utterly indignant! This damned magistrate doesn't treat the people like human beings at all! How can he be so indifferent to their lives? Doesn't he know the saying, "The people can carry a boat, but they can also capsize it?"

"Sigh..." Upon seeing this, Zhu Youjian sighed softly. Wang Wenzhou truly understands my heart. It seems these corrupt officials really deserve to die!

"The young man asked the old man why nine out of ten houses in the village were empty. The old man replied that many villagers were forced to their deaths because they could not pay the three taxes. Later, most of the young people fled, and now only some old, weak, sick and disabled people are left in the village."

The young man was very puzzled. How could the yamen runners act in such a way? He asked the old man how the yamen runners were forcing the villagers.

The old man pointed to the slogan on the wall and said: "Take a look for yourself."

When the younger brother saw this, he was absolutely furious.

If you don't pay your dues, your house will collapse; if you underpay, your house will be demolished and your cattle taken away. If someone drinks poison, you won't take the bottle; if someone hangs themselves, you'll be given the rope.

According to the old man, these slogans weren't just meant to scare the villagers; the yamen runners did the same thing. Over four years, more than a dozen villagers committed suicide, all because they were driven to it by the yamen runners.

Brother Zhu, you know my temper. I wish I could kill all those damned yamen runners right now! They're forcing the people to their deaths; they're bringing shame to the court and to you!

"Bang!" Zhu Youjian slammed his fist on the table in anger, shouting, "He deserves to die!"

Wang Chengen quickly brought over a cup of tea and comforted him, "Your Majesty, please calm down and have some tea to soothe your throat."

Zhu Youjian took a sip of tea and continued reading Wang Wenzhou's memorial.

"Suppressing his anger, the young man listened to the old man recount his experiences over the years. Over the years, the old man's family of eight had dwindled to just him, leaving him all alone."

The younger brother asked the old man how his relative had died.

The old man immediately burst into tears.

The old man's four-year-old granddaughter was the first to starve to death. After her death, she was exchanged with a neighbor. It was truly a case of exchanging children to eat!

The old man's 26-year-old eldest son was beaten by yamen runners for refusing to pay the three taxes and died from his injuries.

The old man's wife, unable to bear the hunger any longer, ate tree bark, ate too much, and died from abdominal distension.

The old man's eldest daughter-in-law hanged herself due to excessive grief.

The old man's second and third sons, along with their wives, fled Gaoling County two years ago and have not been heard from since; their fate is unknown.

The younger brother asked the old man how he survived. The old man smiled bitterly and said, "I eat everything, even excrement, as long as it fills my stomach."

My face flushed red with embarrassment; I was truly ashamed to admit that I was an official appointed by the imperial court. I had also served as a county magistrate and knew that to the common people, the county magistrate was like a god. The county magistrate here, who made the people live like this, truly deserved to die.

I left some loose silver, hastily took my leave, and headed to the county town to question Shen Zizhen, the magistrate of Gaoling.

Zhu Youjian already knew that Shen Zizhen had been beheaded by Wang Wenzhou. At this moment, he nodded with satisfaction. Shen Zizhen truly deserved to die! Well done!

"When I first entered the city, the streets were deserted. I later learned that Shen Zizhen dared not let the people out, fearing they would complain to me."

The younger brother then pretended to leave and subsequently went on a clandestine visit.

During that time, I bought a girl. Brother Zhu, you know, I can't resist beautiful girls.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Youjian smiled. This Wang Wenzhou was truly a womanizer!

"This girl sold herself to bury her father. After I bought her, I learned from her that her father had been killed by the yamen runners. Because the people knew that you, Brother Zhu, were compassionate and had stopped levying the three taxes, they went to the yamen to ask Shen Zizhen for the extra three taxes."

Brother Zhu, can you imagine? Shen Zizhen delayed the collection of the three taxes for ten years! Yes, you read that right, ten years!

"Smash!" Zhu Youjian picked up the cup and smashed it on the ground, cursing, "He deserves to die! Well done!"