Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 15 Pavilion Gathering
Yan Yi slowly withdrew his gaze from the night sky and asked, "What did you say?"

Cao Qiu coughed lightly and continued, "Zhao Ping and his three companions are all from Pengcheng. Last autumn, Cao Cao attacked Tao Qian in Pengcheng. To avoid the fighting, the four of them fled to Wujun and took refuge with the Fei family. Since they were strangers, the Fei family asked them to bring a group of followers to gather at the pavilion, and then sneaked in to rescue them under the pretext of rescuing a friend. They also told us all about their introducer and contact on the Fei side, and we have Sun Ke's original confession as evidence."

"Rescue a friend?" Yan Yi smiled broadly, "That's a good excuse."

People of this era admired the spirit of the ancient knights. Breaking into a pavilion at night to rob and rescue a criminal was against the law, but if it was done to save a friend, it would be a matter of valuing loyalty over personal safety, and it would easily gain people's favor and sympathy, and the nature of the act would be somewhat different.

"Our dynasty allows the people to gather and file complaints. These people surrounded the pavilion and refused to enter, so it's hard to convict them." Cao Qiu smiled. "But breaking into the pavilion at night and robbing the prison is a serious crime, punishable by death. No excuse will help."

"It's just the death of a few diners, which is insignificant to the Fei family." Yan Yi said lightly.

"Could it be that the young master wants to take advantage of this opportunity to confront the Fei family?"

Cao Qiu pondered secretly and swallowed his saliva, but did not dare to ask. He just stood there and laughed dryly.

Yan Yi glanced at him and said, "Tell me, if we investigate this matter further, what else can we gain besides forcing the Fei family to give up a few scapegoats?"

Cao Qiu thought for a moment and said, "As the saying goes, losing money can ward off disaster. It's inevitable that the Fei family will lose some money."

Yan Yi chuckled and asked, "On the way here, I heard you say you came from a humble family. May I ask when you arrived in Wucheng, and where were you first assigned?"

Cao Qiu nodded, a look of reminiscence on his face. "I am from Yuhang, this prefecture. I moved to Wucheng with my father twenty years ago, and initially worked in the Household Department."

Yan Yi nodded slightly: "Sir, you are well versed in arithmetic and know the whole story. I will leave this matter of gold and silk to you."

Cao Qiu was shocked. If this matter fell on him, wouldn’t he offend the Fei family?
"Don't you want to, sir?" Yan Yi's face darkened and his eyes turned cold.

Cao Qiu felt like he was being roasted on a fire. He looked up inadvertently and happened to meet Yan Yi's eyes. He immediately avoided him as if he had been electrocuted.

That look was cold yet somewhat casual.

Cao Qiu suddenly realized that if he offended the Fei family, he could still survive, but if he offended the person in front of him, Wucheng would have no place to stand. Who was he? If he just said he didn't want to, would the other party not be able to find someone else to do the job?

He broke out in a cold sweat and said quickly, "I am willing, but I don't know to what extent you want to carry this out."

Yan Yi smiled and said, "That depends on your ability, sir. The Fei family's immoral and illegal deeds are probably far more than just this one."

Cao Qiu nodded. His heartbeat had just settled down when he heard Yan Yi say, "There are several other families, like the Shen, Wang, and Han families. Sir, why don't you go visit them too?"

Cao Qiu was completely numb, and trembling, he said, "I am only an assistant official in the Household Department. If I don't do my job well, I am afraid I will disappoint the young master's high expectations."

"I just asked you to visit them. What does your official position have to do with it?" Yan Yi said calmly, "If your family is upright and law-abiding, you don't have to go."

"It seems that the young master wants to ask for money privately from these families. However, it's hard to decide how much to ask. If he asks too little, it will be difficult to report. If he asks too much, he might offend these families severely."

Cao Qiu pondered secretly, his thoughts gradually diverging: "I'm going to offend them anyway, so I might as well ask for more. If I do things well, the young master will naturally appreciate me. As long as I have the young master's protection, why should I be afraid of these powerful families? Maybe my future will turn around."

Yan Yi let him daydream there, yawned, and turned back to the house.

The next morning, the sky was clear and cloudless. Within half a day and a night, a wooden platform, fifty or sixty feet long and wide, had been erected on the open ground outside the western wall of Wuheli.

The platform is solid but simple. Many of the woods that make up the platform have not even had their bark peeled off. When people walk on it, they can feel the uneven texture under their feet.

But it was this inconspicuous platform that attracted residents and refugees from all over Geqiting to gather here from the first light of dawn.

Even people from the nearby Pingwang Pavilion came after hearing the news.

The official road was bustling with people of all kinds. Most of them were common people in brown and linen clothes, but there were also some children of wealthy families riding horses and carriages.

"Is what these people say true? Did Young Master Yan really execute a few military households?"

"It's absolutely true! I saw the head yesterday, in a box, with the eyes still open. I heard they've also arrested a few corrupt officials. Let's go see what they do with them."

"What else can we do to him? Pay a ransom and he'll be released. There are corrupt officials everywhere, each one more abominable than the other!"

"You can't say that. You can chop off that head, but you can't chop off this head?"

"If they do, I will join the army under the young prince and maybe I can kill a few corrupt officials in the future."

The execution of the soldiers who plundered the people and the investigation of the corrupt officials had a profound impact on the townships and villages. Both corrupt officials and criminals were direct participants in the exploitation and plunder of the people, inflicting the most brutal and profound harm on them, and the people hated them to the core.

However, the world has been in ruins and the people have suffered for a long time.

The people were depressed, yet saw no hope. That was why they reacted so violently when they heard someone was punishing corrupt officials and criminals. They would rather waste a day just to come and see for themselves.

As for the sons of wealthy families who rode horses or carriages, their purposes and intentions for coming here were completely different from those of the common people.

Some of them were acquaintances of the Fei and Shen families, some had come from the county to see the excitement, and some had come specifically at the behest of their clan elders. They were all wary and curious about Yan Yi's current behavior, wanting to see what the young master of the Yan family was planning.

Even the big market held in Geqiting every ten days is far less lively than today.

By the time the sun was almost at its highest point in the sky, the wooden platform was already surrounded by crowds of people, clearly divided into three groups.

The wealthy families, big families and rich people from each village gathered on the north side of Mutai, and used vehicles to block the surrounding area and arranged guards to prevent the surrounding refugees and common people from getting close.

The common people, followers and farm slaves gathered on the west side of the wooden platform, very quietly. From time to time, they cast complex glances mixed with hatred, awe and envy at the back of the vehicle, or looked at the refugees opposite with sympathy.

Most of the refugees were on the east side of Mutai. Some of them were pushing carts and leading animals, and the scene seemed a bit chaotic.

On the outskirts of the crowd, more than two hundred soldiers in leather armor were maintaining order.

These soldiers were originally sent by the military commander to Renfeng Township to deter and capture bandits who were plundering the people. However, the military commander saw too many refugees along the way and, fearing something might happen, he led his troops to rush over.

drive!
As twenty riders came galloping, they cleared a passage through the crowd and led directly to the wooden platform. The atmosphere suddenly became lively.

(End of this chapter)