I am a prince in Zhutian Films

Chapter 210 People’s Heart
"Kicked out, why? Who is this new county magistrate?"

Lu Zhi was silent for a moment, then suddenly frowned and asked, "Sir, are you from the royal family?"

"Yes."

"Then what does the young master think of us Beili people?"

Chu Zhao didn't even think about it and blurted out, "Now Anshan is the territory of my Western Chu. As long as the people under Anshan's rule, whether they are from Beili or others, they are all the people of my Western Chu."

Lu Zhi nodded, his frown relaxed, and he sighed, "This new county magistrate is from the royal family of Western Chu. I heard that he is your majesty's uncle. As for driving us out, it is because the court wants to relocate the people of Western Chu here."

Chu Zhao knew the situation in Yuelu City very clearly.

Yuelu City had long been unable to afford the continuous migration of former residents of Western Chu, and it was his national policy to transfer a large number of the former residents of Western Chu to other places.

It just so happens that Anshan is closest to Yuelu, so the imperial court will naturally transfer a large number of people to Anshan City.

Of course, in addition to this reason, it is probably also related to the historical hatred between the two countries.

But no matter how many reasons there were, this one-size-fits-all approach of driving out everyone in the city still made Chu Zhao furious.

You know, Anshan is the county closest to the base camp Yuelu City, but from what he saw along the way, Anshan is the worst governed county among all the recovered cities.

Chu Zhaoqiang suppressed his anger and said, "Brother Lu was once the mayor of Anshan City. He knows Anshan quite well. In your opinion, how many people can Anshan accept on the basis of the original situation?"

"This..." Lu Zhi thought for a while before he said, "Anshan City can actually accommodate quite a few people, but most of the land under its jurisdiction is in the hands of aristocratic families. Unless the Western Chu court drives them away, this is almost impossible."

"Why isn't it possible?"

It seems that this prince of the Western Chu royal family does not understand the government affairs and is obviously a marginal figure. Can he help us solve the problem?
Lü Zhi thought so in his heart and could not help but sigh: "My lord, you don't know that the court, especially the newly established court of Western Chu, especially needs the support of the noble families. To be honest, the reason why I surrendered to Western Chu was not entirely for the consideration of the people under my rule, but mainly because the noble families in the city surrendered to Western Chu first, and we were unable to resist the Western Chu army."

Chu Zhao nodded and continued to ask, "If Brother Lu is now the magistrate of Anshan County, and 100,000 people have moved here, are you confident that you can handle the problems in Anshan and let everyone live in harmony?"

Lu Zhi was stunned: "Master, do you have such great power?"

"It's just a county magistrate. I can still make the decision." Chu Zhao smiled faintly and said, "Brother Lu, you can talk to me about your ideas. If I think it's feasible, the county magistrate of Anshan County will be you, Brother Lu."

Lu Zhi was shocked and his attitude became much more respectful. He replied, "In fact, the decree issued by the Western Chu court has already properly solved the problem raised by Master Chu. It's just that the decree has been passed down to the lower levels, and I think Master Chu also understands it."

It's nothing more than taking a one-size-fits-all approach because it's troublesome, or pretending to obey but actually going against the rules, or doing superficial work and so on.

Simply put, it is lazy and inefficient governance.

Or else, once they gain power, they become arrogant.

Seeing Chu Zhao nod, Lu Zhi continued: "Originally, I wanted to go to Yuelu City in person, but my wife is seriously ill... In fact, as long as the Western Chu court can unify its policies, there will be no big problem."

In addition to this kind of flattering words that sound very empty and pretentious, Lu Zhi also talked in detail about many of his ideas on farmland, epidemic prevention, integration of the people of both sides, and so on.

Chu Zhao nodded repeatedly and Shen Xiduo sighed.

At least in his opinion, it was a waste of talent for Lu Zhi to be the magistrate of Anshan City. He was clearly a pillar of talent who could become the minister of one of the six ministries in Tianqi City.

The conversation lasted for more than half an hour. By then, the sky was already bright and the refugee camp had become bustling.

Chu Zhao said goodbye to Lu Zhi and took Shen Xiduo and the guards for a stroll in the refugee camp.

It can be seen that food in the refugee camp is in very short supply. Due to the shortage of food, the residents in this refugee camp are generally pale and thin, with a weak complexion.

Chu Zhao frowned all the way, and then returned to the residence of Lu Zhi's family. He asked directly: "Brother Lu, I just took a look around and found that food is very scarce here. Didn't the court distribute relief food to you?"

At this time, Lu Zhi was cooking porridge with his wife and children. The rice grains in the pot were clearly visible. Hearing this, he said sarcastically, "The new county magistrate wanted to drive us away in the first place, so why would he distribute food to us?"

As he spoke, Lu Zhi took a deep breath and eased his emotions: "In fact, the Western Chu court also distributed relief food to ordinary people at the beginning, and was very good to the people. Anyway, judging from the decrees issued by Western Chu, it is far inferior to the Northern Li court. At least I don't regret it, and I am even glad that I surrendered to Western Chu. I am just a new county magistrate."

Lu Zhi paused, sighed, and sneered, "It's not that relief was not distributed, it's just that the people who received it were not ordinary people."

Chu Zhao was about to speak when suddenly a quarrel was heard outside the refugee camp.

Hearing the voice, Lu Zhi's face showed resentment, and he said to his daughter who was standing in front of the stove with her finger between her teeth, "Xin'er, protect your mother well, Daddy will be back soon!"

After saying that, he picked up a wooden stick and rushed towards the direction where the noise came from.

Without asking, Chu Zhao also knew that there was a conflict between the government officials and the people in the refugee camp.

He hurriedly followed Lu Zhi, but saw Lu Zhi pause, frowning and saying, "Mr. Chu, you should not wade into this muddy water."

"Just take me to see it." Chu Zhao said in a deep voice.

His face was extremely gloomy, and his aura was completely different from the smiling face just now, which made Lu Zhi feel a chill. He subconsciously obeyed his words and took him to the place where the noise came from.

Just as Chu Zhao expected, he saw hundreds of uniformly dressed soldiers in conflict with a group of ragged refugee men in the distance.

The former were all armed with sticks, while the latter were of various types, some with bare hands and some holding various objects as weapons. The two sides fought each other and destroyed the huts of the Xudong refugees. The scene was extremely chaotic.

Judging from the situation, the refugees have the upper hand, but this is normal. After all, according to Lu Zhi, there are 40,000 to 50,000 people here. Although they are all ordinary people, there are also strong people. How can a mere few hundred soldiers be a match for so many refugees?

"Stop it all!"

After Lu Zhi's loud roar, the chaotic scene gradually calmed down.

It can be seen that he still has considerable prestige.

Among the soldiers, a man who seemed to be the leader clasped his fists towards Lu Zhi and said, "Lord Lu."

Lu Zhi's face was a little cold: "Master Zhao, do the government really want to kill us all?"

"Mr. Chu said that everyone must move to another place before the New Year's Day this year, otherwise..."

The official surnamed Zhao did not say anything else. He shook his head and sighed, and advised: "Master Lu, you have a bright future ahead of you. Why do you want to hang out with these peasants?"

"They are the people under my rule. I surrendered to Western Chu in order to protect them from the war and give them a place to settle down. How can I ignore them for my own selfish reasons?"

Lu Zhi said this with great righteousness, then snorted coldly and said, "Chu County Magistrate colluded with the aristocratic families in the city, oppressed the common people, and ignored the imperial court's orders. I will go to Yuelu to sue him."

"The county magistrate is your majesty's cousin, so how could your majesty punish him? Besides, how could Lord Lu make it to Yuelu alive?" A soldier with a pointed face and monkey cheeks sneered, and he looked like a lackey of a wealthy family in the city.

"Really? I want to see how this uncle can cover the sky with one hand."

Chu Zhao led a group of people out. His voice was not loud, but everyone present could hear it clearly, so that everyone turned their eyes to him at the same time.

The people in the refugee camp showed some doubts in their eyes, and many of the soldiers also looked surprised, but some of them knew Chu Zhao. After all, when he was in Yuelu City, Chu Zhao often wandered around the streets.

As a result, more than a hundred people knelt down and said, "We pay our respects to Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?!"

"Your Majesty Xi Chu?!"

For a moment, everyone stared at each other and talked in low voices, and the scene became noisy again.

Chu Zhao looked at the official named Zhao who was standing right in front of him and said in an irrefutable tone: "Go back and tell my uncle to come to me within one stick of incense."

"Yes Yes……"

The official surnamed Zhao ran towards Anshan County without thinking.

"Master Chu, you...you are the Emperor of Western Chu?"

Lu Zhi widened his eyes and looked at Chu Zhao in disbelief, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight. His hand, which was pointing at Chu Zhao, was shaking slightly.

"Let me introduce myself again, Chu Zhao, the Emperor of Western Chu." Chu Zhao smiled and then joked, "But Lord Lu, shouldn't you call me Your Majesty instead of the Emperor of Western Chu?"

I thought Chu Zhao was just an important member of the royal family of Western Chu, but who would have thought that he was the emperor.

Lu Zhi suddenly found himself a little stupid. He had heard that the Western Chu Emperor Chu Zhao was handsome beyond compare, and the man in front of him was also extraordinarily handsome. Why didn't he dare to think about that man?

Lü Zhi was stunned for a moment, then knelt down immediately: "I, the humble servant Lü Zhi, pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

When he knelt, everyone followed suit.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

Then the scene became noisy again. The refugees rushed over and begged Chu Zhao to help them and make decisions for them.

The scene was so chaotic that it was as if there were millions of ducks buzzing in his ears, causing Chu Zhao, a great and free master, to have his ears tremble. He had no choice but to shout, "Everyone, everyone, please be patient. Now that I am here, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer to your questions."

After hearing Chu Zhao's solemn assurance, the nearby refugees shut up and the scene became quiet.

Seeing this, Chu Zhao nodded in satisfaction, turned to look at Lu Zhi, and before he could finish his words, Lu Zhi bowed with an embarrassed look on his face and said, "Your Majesty, I have offended you just now, I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

In the previous conversation, although Lu Zhi highly praised the decrees issued by the Western Chu court, he had some complaints about the emperor who was a hands-off boss. Coupled with the finger just now, it was no problem to say that he was disrespectful.

However, Chu Zhao would never care about such a small matter, and said with a smile: "It's okay, ignorance is not a crime." Chu Zhao smiled and waved his hand, glanced at the refugees present, and ordered: "Lord Lu, they believe in you, so you choose some representatives and we will hold a meeting to discuss it on the spot. I still say that as long as they are the people under my rule of Xichu, whether they are from Xichu, Beili, Beique, Nanjue, etc., I will treat them equally."

"Your Majesty is kind."

Soon, Lu Zhi selected more than one hundred representatives.

The crowd formed a circle and started chatting, and more refugees surrounded them and listened quietly.

Almost all the people present were common people, and what they cared about were issues such as housing, land, taxes, and so on, that is, issues of food, clothing, and shelter.

As for travel, Anshan County is actually not small, and it is full of ordinary people. To them, Anshan County is probably the whole world.

At least, that was the case for more than 90 percent of the people present.

Chu Zhao has answered many questions that concern ordinary people along the way, and now he can answer them with ease.

However, there were too many questions, and it was impossible to answer them all within one stick of incense. So when the Anshan County Magistrate arrived, he just replied indifferently and asked him to kneel outside.

The sun was at its zenith when a question-and-answer session was hastily concluded. The new magistrate of Anshan County was seen kneeling on the ground.

"Your Majesty, I am Chu Xuan, here to see you."

Chu Xuan, a member of the Western Chu clan, was from Huangsha Town, the ancestral land of the Western Chu people. He was only a few years older than Chu Zhao, but in terms of seniority, he was indeed Chu Zhao's uncle, and the only one of the younger generation who was older than him.

Chu Zhao looked at his uncle who was kneeling in front of him and asked with a smile: "Uncle, have you ever been to the academy to study?"

Hearing Chu Zhao calling him uncle, Chu Xuan was stunned for a moment, lowered his head and said respectfully: "I have been there."

"Then let me ask you, what are the duties of a county magistrate?"

Chu Xuan was silent for a moment, and then replied honestly: "Your Majesty, let's lead the people under your rule to live a good life."

"Very good." Chu Zhao nodded and instructed: "Lift it up and look around carefully to see what kind of life they are living?"

Chu Xuan didn't dare to look up. He still knelt there with his head down, and buried his head even lower.

Seeing this, Chu Zhao shouted angrily: "Look up!"

"Yes..." Chu Xuan was shocked and subconsciously raised his head and looked around as he was told.

What caught his eye were the collapsed straw huts nearby, the frightened eyes of the guards recruited from the aristocratic families who served as soldiers, the resentful eyes of the refugees in the distance, and the ice-cold, murderous eyes of His Majesty in front of him.

"My uncle, how dare you order my people to be driven out of their homes? You are more patient than I am!"

"Your humble servant... admits his guilt..." Chu Xuan kowtowed repeatedly.

Chu Zhao said calmly, "I remember that there are only you and your grandfather left in your branch, but fortunately, before he passed away last year, your wife gave birth to a child, so your branch is not extinct. I will treat your wife and children well."

Hearing this, Chu Xuan was completely stunned and stiff, and then he kowtowed and begged: "Your Majesty, please spare my life, Your Majesty, please spare my life, they are all Beili..."

Before he could finish his words, Chu Zhao spat out a cold word.

"cut!"

A blood-stained guard swung his sword without hesitation, and blood gushed out instantly, and the head rolled down.

Kill now?
Lu Zhi and Shen Xiduo looked incredulous.

He is a member of the royal family. Can you just kill him?
If it were in Beili, even if a member of the royal family committed an unforgivable crime, he would not be killed like that.

Just as the two were stunned, Chu Zhao said, "Lü County Magistrate, pack up and ask all the representatives today to gather some people and follow me into the city."

"Sir, obey the order!"

Three days later, at Caishikou in Anshan City.

Countless onlookers gathered here, including the expelled natives of Anshan City, as well as the Western Chu people, Beique people, and even Western Hu people who migrated here.

They were all summoned by Chu Zhao to attend the public trial, and the subjects of the trial were the aristocratic families in Anshan City.

Of course, these people are not all of them. Some of the noble families in the city are quite good.

Chu Zhao did not kill these people, but asked them to "voluntarily" donate a little bit of land in their homes.

In short, it is the routine of beating the rich and dividing the land.

Three quarters past noon.

In the presence of everyone, Chu Zhao threw out a fire sign.

For a moment, heads rolled down, blood flowed everywhere, and the smell of blood filled the air.

Chu Zhao stood up and patted Lu Zhi's shoulder as he tried to hold back his retching. "Lord Lu, I'll have to trouble you from now on."

Lu Zhi nodded heavily, bowed and said, "I, your humble servant, will not disappoint your majesty!"

"Well, work hard. Don't worry, I will never treat any meritorious official unfairly." Chu Zhao smiled and said, "Let's go."

"Your Majesty, your humble servant respectfully sees you off!" Lu Zhi saluted again and shouted loudly.

As he shouted, the people present also shouted.

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

"Long live your Majesty!"

"West Chu forever!"

"..."

The people lined the streets to see them off, everyone had a sincere smile on their face, and they kept following Chu Zhao and his group, as if they had no intention of leaving.

The scene of the streets emptying out and seeing people off with laughter really stunned Shen Xiduo who was accompanying them.

You know, among these people, there are not only people from Western Chu, but also people from Beili.

Noticing Shen Xiduo's strangeness, Chu Zhao smiled faintly and said, "Why, you don't understand?"

Shen Xi regained his composure and nodded honestly: "It is indeed a little hard to understand, but in just over a month, how could they..."

"Abandoning your homeland?"

Shen Xiduo nodded, sighed deeply, and said with sincere admiration: "Your Majesty has a good method."

Chu Zhao shook his head: "You are wrong."

"Oh, what did I do wrong?"

"It's not that I'm good at it, it's that your Beili court is too harsh on the common people. The Beili court has the aristocratic families and the wealthy families, but not the ordinary people at the bottom. Don't you know that the people are the foundation of a country?"

Chu Zhao sneered and said, "Do you think the people care who the emperor is?

No, they don't care.

What they care about is their three meals a day and whether they can live a good life.

Why is there so little resistance wherever our Western Chu army passes? Is it because we are strong?
Of course this is part of the reason, but the main reason is that Beili has lost the support of the people."

Shen Xiduo was silent.

Chu Zhao smiled and continued, "You may not believe this, but I have never organized any riots in Beili in these years, but why do rebellions still happen in Beili from time to time?

Because many civilians really can't make it.

Their own country is exploiting them so much that they can't even survive. What do you want them to do to show their patriotism?

It is said that family, country and the world are one, and there is a country only when there is a family.

You have to let them have a home first before they can love their country.

This is the will of the people!"

Chu Zhao said solemnly: "Only when the people can fill their stomachs and become rich in both material and spiritual aspects, will the family-state world be transformed into the national world, that is, everyone is willing to fight for the country."

Shen Xiduo was stunned for a moment, and murmured: "Everyone is willing to fight for the country... Is this possible?"

Thinking of the motherland in his memory, Chu Zhao nodded without hesitation, and finally sighed: "However, this road is long and arduous."

(End of this chapter)