Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

"Well, Chief Zhao, we were just..."

The wealthy businessman who spoke just now,

He hurriedly tried to explain.

Here

The Liangshan soldiers, who had long been unable to endure it,

They had already crowded around it.

"Slap all those bastards who were just being rude!"

Zhao Yuan snorted coldly.

He spoke and gave the order.

A group of Liangshan soldiers,

Immediately dismiss those servants who had abused their power.

He was knocked directly to the ground.

Then came a series of loud slaps!

Upon seeing this, the group of wealthy merchants and gentry...

They all shuddered.

Someone saw Zhao Yuan and Cheng Wan'er standing together.

My heart immediately began to waver.

Fearing that Liangshan would go back on their word,

Zhao Yuan stepped forward at this moment.

It was also to stand up for Cheng Jiaqiang.

But some people backed down.

However, some people were unwilling to accept this.

After gritting his teeth,

He stood up directly and questioned them loudly.

"Chief Zhao, your Liangshan is acting on behalf of Heaven and upholding justice for the people,"

"Then aren't we wealthy and powerful people also ordinary citizens?"

"Is the chieftain stepping forward now to show favoritism towards Prefect Cheng?"

"If that's the case, then Liangshan's banner of 'acting on behalf of Heaven' is a bit too..."

What follows,

The wealthy gentleman ultimately didn't dare to say it directly.

But regardless of Zhao Yuan,

Or the local people,

But they all clearly understood the meaning behind his words...

Chapter 652 The Tide Has Changed

"When did I say I was going to speak up for the Cheng family?"

Zhao Yuan snorted coldly.

"If it weren't for your servants' foul mouths, how would I have had the soldiers punish them!"

"Then, I wonder if the chieftain will step forward now..."

The wealthy gentleman hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped himself.

"You don't need to doubt anything,"

Zhao Yuan chuckled.

Then he clapped his hands.

After the crowd below the stage calmed down,

He then spoke up.

"As all the villagers know, we in Liangshan never let a corrupt official get away with it."

"Since we've put on this show in front of everyone today,"

"I just want to tell everyone that what happens to Prefect Cheng next depends entirely on how he treats the people on a daily basis."

"Everyone had better think this through."

"Prefect Cheng Wanli, how have you treated the villagers in the past?"

After saying this,

Zhao Yuan then turned and walked back off the stage.

And upon hearing him say that,

Just moments ago, the people were noisily discussing whether Cheng Wanli was a corrupt official.

They were all stunned for a moment.

At this time,

Because of Zhao Yuan's words just now

Cheng Wan'er finally calmed down and thought about it.

At this moment, I finally mustered up my courage.

He opened his mouth and spoke loudly to the audience.

"Fellow villagers, my father did indeed solicit bribes from the wealthy gentry of Dongping Prefecture!"

"But that was all because of the coercion by Tong Guantong, the Privy Councilor of Tokyo,"

"All the money obtained through bribery was sent to Tokyo."

"Although my father has a history of soliciting bribes, please remember that he has always cared for the people,"

"Please forgive my father for what he did!"

After saying this,

Cheng Wan'er gritted her teeth.

He bowed three times to the crowd of people below the stage.

Then he got up.

They came to Cheng Wanli's side.

And then,

The people who had come to their senses,

They started whispering amongst themselves again, each offering their own opinion.

“What Miss Cheng said is quite right. Even if Lord Cheng made a mistake, he has always been very good to us.”

"Yes, putting aside the fact that Lord Cheng wanted money, it was all because he was forced by that damned eunuch from Tokyo,"

"Even if Magistrate Cheng solicits bribes, he only goes to wealthy gentry and merchants,"

"These guys used to do all sorts of bad things and act like tyrants,"

"It's only been a little over a year since then, because of Liangshan, that they've quieted down a bit!"

"That's right, these wealthy merchants and gentry deserve it!"

...

The murmurs of the common people

This immediately changed the expressions of those wealthy merchants and gentry.

"How...how did the situation change so suddenly?"

"Don't you understand? That leader of Liangshan says one thing and does another; he's actually on Prefect Cheng's side!"

"But what do we do now? What if we fail to punish Prefect Cheng and end up getting ourselves implicated?"

.....

The group of wealthy merchants and gentry were immediately thrown into a panic.

These guys,

They were all clever people to begin with.

Back then, Liangshan raised the banner of "Acting on behalf of Heaven."

When the crackdown on corrupt officials in various parts of Shandong began...

These wealthy merchants and gentry of Dongping Prefecture

He immediately shrank back.

They started pretending to be kind people.

Because of the past six months,

They have indeed done a lot of good deeds.

Furthermore, no one filed a complaint.

Liangshan then refrained from punishing them...

Chapter 653 The Scale in the Hearts of the People

"Are we just going to let this go like this?"

A wealthy gentleman suggested in a low voice,

"what are you thinking?"

The other person said helplessly,

"If you back out now, do you think Liangshan will let us go?"

All the wealthy and powerful men remained silent.

Someone couldn't help but sigh.

"The Liangshan bandits and us wealthy families have never gotten along,"

"We could have just avoided them in the past, why did we have to go and provoke them?"

"Alright, what's the use of regretting it now?"

A wealthy gentleman said helplessly,

"If all else fails, we can figure out a way to protect Prefect Cheng later."

...

The group of wealthy gentlemen were whispering and discussing among themselves.

On this high platform,

Seeing that the time was almost up,

Gao Liang then stepped forward and said loudly,

"I'm sure you all know what happened with Magistrate Cheng,"

"We're going to ask you all one thing now,"

Was Prefect Cheng a good or bad official?