Jinting Han people

Chapter 159: The Hu People's Murder Case in the Fight for Land (4k)

The county magistrate's life was busy. At three quarters past three in the morning the next day, Liu Xian had already gotten up and went to the county government office to handle official business.

After finishing the collection of rent and taxes last month, the county government is now busy with the miscellaneous tasks of requesting household registration this month.

Thanks to Liu Xian's lenient policies over the past year, the newcomers were given land to reclaim. They also rented cattle and horses for farming at low prices. Furthermore, most of Xiayang's wasteland was abandoned cultivated land, making it easy to cultivate. Merchants also lowered the prices of many commodities, leading to a rapid population recovery in Xiayang. In just one year, Xiayang's population had returned to over 3,600, effectively doubling in size.

During this period, the county officials collected and reported the newly inspected household registrations. They then compiled a list of the land distribution in each township and pavilion. Only after Liu Xian's approval and seal were these household registrations truly effective, and the land they occupied was recognized.

Liu Xian calculated the new fields opened this year and found that the numbers matched the household registration, so he stamped it.

Then came some expenses that were reported, requiring Liu Xian's approval. Apart from the usual expenses, there were three things that Liu Xian was particularly concerned about.

The first order of business was to reestablish schools within the county and find school administrators. In recent years, Xiayang's population had declined, and its finances were insufficient, so schools naturally fell into disrepair. Now that Xiayang was experiencing a resurgence, it was natural to reestablish schools. After all, in the eyes of the world, a flourishing literary style was the hallmark of political clarity.

Liu Xian agreed to this and didn't mind spending a little more money on it, but there was no final decision on where to rebuild the school. Liu Xian pondered for a long time and finally decided on the ruins of Xieli Palace.

The second task was to recruit ironworkers. Xiayang County had an iron mine, but it had been abandoned since the end of the Han Dynasty. Liu Xian had rebuilt the ironworks this year and had purchased a complete set of iron forging and smelting tools. However, even though the tools had arrived, few people in the county could use them.

Liu Xian's reply was to go to Linjin, the county seat, to recruit people. The salary could be higher, but the condition was that they had to be able to take apprentices.

The third thing was Liu Xian's own request, which was to build a Taishigong Temple in Xiayang. This would ease the relationship with the local powerful families and also serve as an opportunity to hold a literary gathering to expand Xiayang's reputation.

However, after some discussion within the county government, the main issue was that the ancestral hall must be more than simple, and holding a literary gathering would cost even more money. Although the county government's budget had improved, it didn't have that much spare money, so they asked Liu Xian if they could postpone it for two years.

Liu Xian's reply was that they could ask Feng and Tong for fundraising. After all, they would also benefit if this matter was successful. If it was still not enough, it would not be too late to postpone it.

By the time Liu Xian finished reviewing all the official documents, it was almost two quarters past the hour of the morning. The sky was just beginning to turn pale, like a lake dripping with ink. Lu Zhu had just brought him a bowl of bean porridge and two boiled eggs, which was Liu Xian's breakfast.

After finishing the meal, Liu Xian was about to leave the house again.

As a result, just after taking two mouthfuls of porridge, someone came running in hurriedly, shouting on the way: "Is the county lord here? I have an urgent matter to report!"

Liu Xian put down the bowl and took a closer look. It turned out to be Tao Quting asking for help. He put down the bowl and asked, "What happened?"

"County Master! Just two minutes ago, the Humo tribe and the He cadre started fighting again!"

"What? Didn't I tell them to wait until I get there today?"

"We can't help it. These barbarians are naturally brave. This morning, two tribes went to the river to fetch water, but when they met, they started cursing at each other, and then started fighting! Now the more they fight, the more people there are. I guess all the able-bodied men from both tribes should have arrived by now!"

"I really am..." Liu Xian was really angry and amused after hearing this, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.

He quickly gulped down the porridge in his hand and then said to the several county officials who had arrived earlier, "There's a commotion over there at the merit evaluation meeting. Go and call County Magistrate Zhang and Minister Xue. I'll go first! Have them follow later!"

After saying this, Liu Xian hurriedly took the feathered horse and rode it towards the Pavilion for Discourse on Merits.

The autumn wind was not as biting as the winter wind, but the horse's breath had already condensed into white mist. Liu Xian sat on the saddle and thought about countermeasures.

The two Hu tribes in Xiayang County, the Humo and Hegan, were Xiongnu who migrated from the north. Like most Hu tribes, they had become largely assimilated into Han culture, speaking Chinese, wearing Han clothing, and cultivating and weaving, much like ordinary Han people.

However, perhaps because they retained their tribal structure, these Hu people were quite aggressive and belligerent, compared to the Han people's inherent gentleness. If they disagreed, they would gather their friends within the tribe and then fight in the villages.

The Humo tribe and the He cadre were no exception. The reason why the two tribes were now fighting was nothing more than a conflict between two families.

There was a man named Humo Lan in the Humo tribe. One day, for unknown reasons, he fell in love with his neighbor He Ganran's one acre of dry land. He pestered his neighbor He Ganran and bought it at a high price. Then, that same day, he dug a hole in the dry land. After only digging about ten feet, water began to emerge from the ground, turning the dry land into a paddy field.

He Ganran was overwhelmed with regret upon seeing this. He refused to sell the land and went around telling everyone that Humolan was a rip-off. However, Humolan had been prepared. When he bought the land, he not only wrote it down in black and white, but also had someone witness it, with their fingerprints pressed in public. This left He Ganran completely at a loss, and despite his arguments, no one paid him any attention. However, the feud was established, and the two families were at odds from then on, with them giving sidelong glances whenever they met.

Logically speaking, such a thing would not develop into a major conflict between the two tribes. However, five days ago, Humolan and He Ganran went to the same mountain to chop wood, but Humolan did not return home that night.

Humolan's son Humosheng went to look for his father and found his father's body with a blood-stained stick beside him.

When encountering such a thing, Humo Sheng naturally thought that He Ganran was the one who killed the person, but He Ganran flatly denied it, claiming that although he saw Humo Lan, he left without saying a word. The two families had a big quarrel because of this, and finally both tribes knew about it.

With such a serious murder case, the two tribes naturally wanted to fight to the end. The Humo tribe reprimanded He Ganran for killing someone for an acre of paddy field, but He Ganran asked He Ganran to swear to heaven that he had absolutely not killed anyone.

Neither group could convince the other, and initially the leaders were talking to each other, but as they talked, they started to bring up old scores, and then started to argue with each other to build momentum, which got out of control. Finally, it broke out into a group fight between the two groups the day before yesterday.

Generally speaking, the county magistrate would not be involved in such internal unrest among the Hu people. At most, he would report it to the Zhengxi Military Commission for them to handle it at their discretion. Of course, the final result was usually nothing.

But Liu Xian certainly couldn't just sit there and watch a thousand or so people brawl. Forget about the impact on business. The Hu people were all interconnected and interconnected. If these two groups got too excited and recruited some Qiang and Hu bandits, and some Hu bandits came over, Xiayang's prosperity would be over.

Therefore, yesterday, after Liu Xian received the news, he immediately took forty county soldiers with Zhang Gu and Li Sheng, and rushed to the Lun Merit Pavilion where the two tribes lived before the situation broke out completely. Then he rushed between the two tribes and forced both sides to lay down their weapons.

After eliminating four gangs of horse thieves in Xiayang, Liu Xian had gained some fame among the two tribes. Furthermore, the revival of the Xiayang market had also benefited the lives of the Hu people. Therefore, under Liu Xian's persuasion, the leaders of both tribes were willing to give Liu Xian a favor and allow him to judge the right and wrong of the murder case. However, the patience of the two Hu tribes could only last one night, and they resumed fighting this morning.

Lun Gong Pavilion is located on a mountain plateau twenty miles north of Xiayang County, with Lingshui to the east and Yingshan to the west.

When Liu Xian passed by the houses, he could see from afar hundreds of people fighting by the Lingshui River, causing smoke and dust to rise and the sound of noise to fill the air.

By this time, it was already daybreak. Several officials at Taoqu Pavilion had been waiting for a long time. When they saw Liu Xian riding quickly, they immediately came forward and said, "County Master, please think of a solution quickly."

Liu Xian didn't say much, just told them to "follow", then whipped the horse again and sped towards the smoke and dust.

Soon, he saw a huge crowd of people, men and women, young and old, some holding stones, some holding hoes, some carrying sticks, all yelling and fighting each other. There was a reason for going back and forth, but the situation was so chaotic that no one knew who belonged to whom except themselves.

Liu Xian couldn't tell, but he saw some people with serious injuries, some with bruised faces and noses, some bleeding and some with broken bones. Fortunately, these people were cautious and didn't openly use swords and arrows, otherwise many people would have died.

"I'm Liu Xian, the head of Xiayang! Stop right there!"

Liu Xian said this loudly, but of course no one listened. The chaos in the scene made no one pay attention to the words of an outsider.

This made Liu Xian sigh slightly. He knew what to do next. So he rode his horse without stopping and galloped towards the crowd.

Fanyu was truly a rare steed. Though its coat was unattractive, it was tall and powerful, swift as a swift flight. When it ran, it resembled a gray dragon, carrying with it an unstoppable force of wind, causing anyone standing before it to either tremble in fear or flee far away. That was why Afule called it Fanyu, meaning it was faster than a bird.

Today was no different. When the clatter of Fanyu's hooves resounded, it was hard for anyone within a few feet to ignore it. Liu Xian's horse charged in, and those around him felt as if they were witnessing a mountain hurtling down, threatening to crush them. This physiological fear caused them to instinctively stop fighting and retreat to the left or right.

There were still a few people who were slow to react. Liu Xian directly drew out the Zhaowu Sword from his waist and used the scabbard to slap away those who had no time to dodge, causing countless people to exclaim in surprise.

So in just a few breaths, Liu Xian forced his way through the crowd and created a buffer zone, causing people from both tribes to stop fighting and look at the steed.

At this time, Liu Xian shouted again: "I am Liu Xian, the head of Xiayang! Stop it!"

At this time, the riot at the scene finally stopped completely.

"Where's Hu Morgan? Where's He Ganlin? Where are you two? Come out and see me!"

Liu Xian called out the names of the two tribal leaders. He was atop a large horse, his eyes wide open, and he exuded an air of authority. He barely needed the two to step forward; the subconscious glances of the crowd had practically betrayed him.

Hu Morgan and He Ganlin had no choice but to move closer from the crowd. They were both middle-aged men who looked strong and powerful. One was tall and the other had a broad waist, but in front of the strong and tall Fanyu horse, they seemed insignificant.

Liu Xian dismounted, sword in hand, and sternly scolded the two men, "What did you two say to me yesterday? Didn't we agree that you would let me investigate first and wait for the results? Is that how you're going to wait?"

Hu Mogen replied, "My Lord, there are some things that are beyond my control."

He Ganran also said: "Although I am the leader, I cannot ignore the voices of my tribe."

Obviously, what they both meant was that as leaders of the Hu tribe, they had to think what their people thought and worry about what their people worried about, so they had no way to stop the chaos that broke out today.

But this was just their excuse. To be frank, they had migrated from Bingzhou to Xiayang decades earlier. For over a decade, the successive Xiayang governors hadn't managed them at all, leaving the Han and Hu ethnic groups distinct. Hu Mogen and He Ganran both doubted Liu Xian could uncover anything, and the best approach was to get a conclusion quickly.

Liu Xian punctured their illusions and scolded them, "You're just playing the piano! Do you think I'll believe your nonsense? You care about the opinions of your own people, but don't you care about the opinions of the court?!"

After that, he ignored the two men, mounted his horse again, paced back and forth between the two groups of people, and said loudly:
"Fellow villagers! I know you're all angry! Some of you want revenge for your dead friends! I admire you for willingly risking your life for friendship! Some of you also vow to redress the injustices done to your living friends! This is justice! It's only natural!"

"What does this mean? It means you are all good people who value friendship and loyalty!"

"But now that such a contradictory case has occurred, someone must be lying! So one of you has been deceived by your friend's lies! Isn't it tragic to waste your feelings, even your life, on a lie?"

"So the most urgent thing is not to start a fight here, but to investigate the case thoroughly and find out who is telling the truth and who is lying! Let those who lie pay the price! Instead of watching them get deceived!"

"I am Liu Xian, the mayor of Xiayang. I am the heir apparent of the Anle Duke and a legitimate descendant of the Han Dynasty. In the name of my ancestor, Emperor Zhaolie, I promise everyone that I will get to the bottom of this matter!"

"When the time comes and I find out who is guilty, I will definitely arrest him first. Why would I need to mobilize your troops?"

"Everyone, go back first! The sun is so bright today. Why waste your time if you don't go to dry the grain and grind it into flour?"

"The two families involved in the case must stay! Our county's prison officer will be here soon to personally interrogate the case!"

Just like that, after Liu Xian's speech, the Hu people present looked at each other, saw that the leading leaders were silent, and felt that what Liu Xian said did make sense, so they left muttering.

After most of the people present had left, the prison warden Xue Xing and the county lieutenant Zhang Gu finally arrived with their men.

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(End of this chapter)