You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 17 The only way to keep a piece of land from growing weeds is to plant crops.
Early summer of 1649.

Tianqiao Street was packed with people watching a rare public trial.

On the high platform, the three officials took their seats in turn. Jiang Qingyun sat in the center, flanked by the magistrates of Daxing and Wanping counties.

"Lord Jiang is young and promising, and his future is limitless."

"Lord Shang and Lord Wu are both experienced and wise in governing the country. They are also in charge of this southern city with me. I hope they will cooperate with me in the future."

"Easy to say, easy to say."

After a series of insincere and pointless official pleasantries, we finally got to the main topic of the day—the public trial of the gang leader of Nancheng.

……

At first, the two county magistrates of Jing County regarded it as a routine trial.

Until Zhao Zesheng, deputy commander of the South City Military Command, shouted:
"Bring the 'feces bully' Shi Erliu and his 11 henchmen onto the stage."

Bound hand and foot, Shi Erliu, the dung lord, looked down at the sea of ​​black heads below and thought it was ridiculous that officials would actually target the stinking dung business. Was money really that hard to earn these days?

"All citizens of the southern city, listen carefully! Anyone who wishes to sue Shi Erliu, step forward now. The yamen will handle your case and deliver a verdict on the spot!"

Whispers rippled through the crowd, but no one dared to volunteer.

Zhao Zesheng:
"Let me remind you, the night soil collectors forcibly collect a monthly fee from the merchants in the southern part of the city. If they don't pay, they dump the night soil carts in front of their shops. Many of you have suffered losses from this; are you afraid to seek revenge?"

There was a buzzing sound coming from below.

Finally, a man selling breakfast couldn't hold back any longer. He pushed aside his wife, who was trying to stop him from being the first to speak up, and stepped forward.

“Sir, I’m going to sue him. Last May, I wanted to pay less of my allowance, so they dumped sewage all over the floor, which caused me to not have any customers for half a month.”

"And I!"

"I'm going to sue him too!"

A group of shopkeepers were filled with righteous indignation.

Zhao Zesheng finally breathed a sigh of relief and said in a friendly tone, "Come up, everyone. I'll record each of you."

With the first brave person daring to try it, countless others followed suit, and the positive situation that adults had hoped for finally materialized!
……

According to the Qing Dynasty Code, the Military Affairs Department had no power to adjudicate cases.

The southern part of the city is divided along a central axis; the eastern part belongs to Daxing County, and the western part belongs to Wanping County. Therefore, according to the principle of territorial jurisdiction, the case of Shi Erliu, the magistrate, falls under the jurisdiction of Daxing County.
Jiang Qingyun: "Magistrate Wu, according to the rules, this person should be judged by you!"

Wu Jinyan, the magistrate of Daxing County, quickly glanced through the petition, picked up the gavel, and was about to strike when Jiang Qingyun stopped his arm.

"Brother Jiang, what... what do you mean?"

"Old Wu, don't rush. Tell me first, how do you plan to sentence me?"

“He was publicly punished with 20 strokes of the cane as a warning to others.”

"Isn't it too light?"

"Oh dear, that's no light punishment. Twenty strokes of the cane will leave the skin torn and bleeding. The main problem is that the latrine-collecting business in Beijing can't do without this guy surnamed Shi. Now quite a few places are stinking."

After saying that, Wu Jinyan made a move to slap the object, but Jiang Qingyun held his arm firmly.

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

……

Jiang Qingyun's eyes gradually turned cold as he stared at Wu Jinyan.

"Magistrate Wu, I suspect that Shi Erliu is connected to Vigtang, the commander of the East City, who was killed that day!"

Are you threatening me?

"I also suspect that Shi Erliu is involved in the smallpox outbreak in the capital. It is very likely that he accepted bribes from the Yongli Emperor and deliberately released poison while cleaning out the night soil of each household!"

"absurd."

"Can you guarantee that you haven't? If you dare to give a written guarantee, then you can sentence me however you want today."

Jiang Qingyun's aggressive attitude immediately made Wu Jinyan, the magistrate of Daxing County, back down.

"Then how do you suggest the verdict?"

"Shi Erliu shall be executed! The rest of the thugs shall be exiled to Ningguta."

"Okay, okay, whatever you say."

Once a person is humiliated, they will only be humiliated again. Wu Jinyan was like a puppet on a string, sentencing five people to death or imprisonment at Jiang Qingyun's "strong suggestion".

……

Zhao Zesheng was bold and courageous.

"Bring up the vegetable barbarian Mi Youhe."

"An investigation revealed that Mi Youhe gathered 23 thugs to violently control the vegetable supply chain in Nancheng, and beat and killed 7 fellow vegetable vendors over three years. Now, those who need to seek justice are seeking justice, and those who need to file a lawsuit are filing a lawsuit."

Moment~
A commotion erupted below, and several vegetable vendors stepped forward to plead their case.

Jiang Qingyun flicked the still-wet ink on the petition with his finger: "Magistrate Shang, it's your turn to uphold justice."

Shang Zhou, the white-haired magistrate of Wanping County, spoke with a kind and approachable manner: "Commander Jiang, whatever your verdict, I will carry it out. They're just a bunch of troublemakers; it's not worth ruining the harmony among colleagues."

"Senior Shang is so generous; I am ashamed of my own lack of generosity."

When Mi Youhe heard that he was sentenced to immediate execution, his eyes widened in astonishment.

"I refuse to accept this!"

The next second, he was hit in the face by the scabbard and was covered in blood, and the crowd below cheered again.

The public trial lasted for two hours.

The cheers of the people came in waves, and everyone in the entire southern city knew about it, celebrating that "a righteous official named Jiang has come to the southern city."

The entire Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the martial arts world) forces in the southern part of the city were completely destroyed. A few who managed to escape also packed their belongings and fled overnight. The Jianghu people in the Zhili region were all silent in fear.

……

"My lord, everyone outside is saying you're like Bao Zheng descended from heaven, upholding justice for the people, bringing peace and prosperity to the southern city," Zhao Zesheng said happily.

"Zesheng, sit down and have some tea," Jiang Qingyun said with a smile. "Tell me, what will happen next after the Jianghu forces in Nancheng disappear?"

"It will also give rise to new martial arts worlds."

"That's right, it was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Sir, at worst we can wait for them to reappear before we cut them down. Anyway, we have the knife handle in our hands."

"It's not that simple. I'm just a minor commander with limited power. These days, everything I do depends on the circumstances. If the east wind doesn't blow in my favor, even if I had three heads and six arms, I wouldn't be able to accomplish anything."

Silence~
Zhao Zesheng, who had served as an official for many years, knew this was the truth.

"Zesheng, what are your plans for settling those dozens of relatives and fellow villagers who came from your hometown to seek refuge with you?"

"Not ready yet."

"Let me arrange it!"

Zhao Zesheng's eyes widened.

"Zesheng, let me teach you a piece of advice: the best way to keep a piece of land from growing weeds is to plant it full of grain."

……

"Wash your feet and get ashore!"

Following Jiang Qingyun's instructions, Zhao Zesheng quietly arranged livelihoods for the 31 people in Huangzhuang and the 43 people in Zhaozhuang in Dingxing County, Baoding Prefecture.

In the southern part of the city, people from Baoding were present in every public sector prone to the emergence of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and江湖义气, a code of honor among outlaws and江湖义气).
People from Baoding have one characteristic—loyalty.

They knew they were just nominally in charge and didn't dare to actually act as managers, handing over any excess profits monthly.

These farmers export order and ideas.

All the previous oil-slick workers were dismissed, and honest newcomers to the city were recruited.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the southern part of the city was refreshed.

……

Before I traveled through time, a senior once said: The simplest manifestations of power struggles are just two things—eating and holding meetings.

Jiang Qingyun wholeheartedly agreed.

Therefore, the Nancheng Military Command frequently held meetings and ate meals together.

Jiang Qingyun would put forward some undiscussed plans, which was a form of reconnaissance. If centrifugal forces were to emerge within the faction, someone would inevitably jump out and try to advise him from a reasonable perspective.

(End of this chapter)