Chapter 100: The Execution of Imperial Officials
"The Saint has ordered me to serve as the interview and disposal envoy, just to investigate a case, the case of the pirate Wu Lingguang!"

After Gao Wei was taken away, the meeting hall fell silent for a full quarter of an hour.

When the officials were on pins and needles, Li Xuan finally spoke.

"General, not only was the pirate Wu Lingguang captured by you, but his lair was also destroyed."

Tang Xingcheng came from a powerful family, so he had to remind Li Xuan.

"The pirate Wu Lingguang was destroyed. This is only the beginning of this case. Yuyao and Linhai counties clearly had the ability to wipe out the pirates, but they deliberately condoned them and allowed the pirates to wreak havoc for eight years. Therefore, the governors of the two counties were dismissed from their posts. During these eight years, all officials who served as governors of the two counties will be brought to justice."

Li Xuan swept his eyes across the frightened faces and spoke slowly.

He not only wanted to use Wu Lingguang's pirate case as a starting point, but also wanted to implicate a group of other evildoers.

"General, that absolutely did not happen. Wu Lingguang was just too cunning..." Tang Xingcheng hurriedly explained.

"Take it!"

Li Xuan waved his hand again, and the Qianniu guards around him stepped forward, untied Tang Xingcheng's fish talisman, and dragged him away from his seat.

No matter how much he shouts, it's useless!
"General, this shouldn't be the case!"

Seeing this, Yuyao's Fenghua Wei couldn't help but persuade him, as he also came from a powerful family.

Li Xuan glanced at him and continued waving.

Another official was stripped of his fish token and dragged out.

Li Xuan was not joking. This meant that they would be dismissed from their official positions and even their lives would end.

This series of actions made the officials who wanted to show off quickly retract their heads and no longer dared to speak nonsense.

"Oh!"

Li Xuan suddenly slapped the low table in front of him, causing all the officials to tremble.

"I don't understand. What is there to dispute about something with irrefutable evidence? The sage already knows that Yuyao and Linhai counties allowed Wu Lingguang to rob the people. He also collected five strings of money from the people, forced them to become refugees, and annexed their land."

Li Xuan snorted coldly and looked at these court officials.

None of these "parent officials" are clean.

Seeing that they still didn't want to admit it, Li Xuan made a gesture to Jiang Hong.

“General, spare us. As soon as we entered here, we were coerced. The powerful and wealthy are so powerful that they have formed an alliance with the governor. We can only succumb to their tyranny…”

Jiang Hong immediately stood up and fell to the ground, confessing everything the tyrant had done.

For example, the patriarch of the powerful Qian family, who already had more than ten concubines, still robbed decent women.

For example, a servant of the powerful Xun family beat a tenant farmer to death simply because of a verbal conflict.

For example, the children of the powerful Li family could roar in the court at will and enter and exit the government office as if it were their own backyard.

For example, the son of the patriarch of the powerful You family often beat innocent people over a disagreement.

There were also other things that Jiang Hong exposed, such as the government collecting too much taxes and other exorbitant levies.

All the officials were stunned. Is Jiang Hong crazy?

But in the current situation, what's the use of being tough?

Li Xuan "forced" Huang Wangheng to death and removed Gao Wei from his official position.

Not only did he have special privileges, he was also followed by 10,000 imperial guards.

"A rush grows among hemp, it is straight without support. White sand is in the dye, it becomes black with it. Linhai and Yuyao counties are indeed like rotten wood."

Li Xuan used a classic satire to satirize the officials present.

They looked at each other in bewilderment. Some officials wanted to confess like Jiang Hong and beg for leniency.

Some of them are already powerful forces. Do we want them to betray their families?

"The powerful have more land than they can cultivate, yet they still plunder it by trickery and force. As the ancients said: A wren nests in a hole, but on a branch; a mole drinks from a river, but only to fill its belly. Since desire cannot satisfy the appetite, let them die of overeating."

"The Wu Lingguang pirate case was sinister and vicious, and it is beyond the reach of justice."

"Why are the powerful so arrogant? I think it's because the blood of the Han Dynasty didn't flow through here!"

"Qiang!"

"This sword is like the Shangfang Sword for beheading horses. Any official who dares to disobey orders, or incite the people, will be executed immediately!"

Li Xuan said this as he drew out the sword bestowed upon him by Li Longji.

The sword light seemed to be reflected in everyone's heart.

"I will not bring an unjust case, nor will I implicate the two counties' true noble families!"

"However, as long as they are involved in the Wu Lingguang pirate case, no matter which family they are from, even if they are from the noble family, they will all be arrested. Anyone who resists will be charged with treason!"

As soon as Li Xuan finished speaking, all the officials shuddered.

Although Li Xuan said that other big families would not be implicated, those lands were divided up by most of the powerful people in the two counties.

Isn't this equivalent to eliminating the most powerful people in the two counties?
"General, you are also a well-educated person, why do you do such cruel things? Don't you know the fate of cruel officials? Do you know how many noble families will be implicated?"

When Si Tian of Linhai County saw Li Xuan's ultimate goal, he angrily criticized him.

"Can a fair enforcement of the law be called a cruel official? You killed so many people, don't you deserve to die?"

Li Xuan retorted and finally stopped hiding it.

“How can the untouchables compare to us?”

Linhai Sitian blurted out stupid words because he lost his mind.

Even if there is evidence, the big families in the two counties cannot be implicated.

"You treat civilians as dirt, and I treat you as dirt."

Li Xuan sneered and said loudly, "If there is any official whose family is related to Wu Lingguang's pirate case, please come forward."

"We are officials appointed by the imperial court. Can you still kill us all?"

A dozen officials also stood up.

"Hehe! You still think you are an official appointed by the imperial court!" Li Xuan looked at them and immediately ordered: "Drag them into the courtyard and behead all of them except the governor of Yuyao."

A team of Qianniu Guards rushed in and took all the officials away.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

These officials who came from powerful families shouted and screamed, and their heads tumbled down in fear and disbelief.

Wouldn't it make Li Longji hate us if we bring them back to Chang'an and hand them over to the Dali Temple?
Li Longji gave Li Xuan the power to execute first and report later, which was to allow Li Xuan to kill more people and kill all those who bullied the emperor and the powerful.

Since you have chosen this step, you must show Li Longji your decisiveness in killing.

Finally, all he needed to do was bring a few important people like Wu Lingguang and Gao Wei back to Chang'an and question them with Li Longji.

The other officials were all shocked, this was serious.

"Do you remember what I just said? The opportunity to atone for one's sin is hard to come by." Li Xuan reminded the officials present again.

It’s not that we don’t want to hold them accountable, the government affairs of the two counties must operate normally.

The county magistrate can be absent, but the basic needs of the two counties must be maintained, otherwise the two counties will become more chaotic.

"As ordered!"

The officials fell to the ground one by one, willing to obey all of Li Xuan's orders.

If you don't obey, you will lose your head.

Li Xuan had already assigned the Qianniu Guards. While Li Xuan was discussing other county affairs with officials, he ordered the purge of the powerful in Linhai City.

Qian Mansion.

"Open the door! Open the door quickly!"

A general of the Qianniu Guard led hundreds of Qianniu Guards to surround the Qian Mansion and beat on the vermilion gate with knife handles.

"Patriarch, what should we do?"

The servant dared not open the door.

"Open the door first!"

The Qian clan leader was ready to find out the reason, as it would not be a good idea to keep blocking him.

"I wonder why you generals are here?"

The Qian clan leader asked with a nod.

"By order of General Zuo Qianniuwei, all adult men in the mansion shall be arrested, and women and children shall be locked up in the mansion and not allowed to enter or leave. Anyone who resists shall be killed without mercy!"

The general did not respond to the Qian clan leader's words. He gave an order and the Qianniu guards rushed into the Qian Mansion.

"Someone, stop the soldiers!"

When the Qian clan leader saw that Li Xuan was really going to deal with them, he couldn't help but get angry.

The frightened Qian clan leader wanted to ask his servants to block the way first while he escaped through the back door.

Not to mention the backdoor, there is nowhere to escape even if you climb over the wall.

The servants in the Qian Mansion were afraid of the Qianniu Guards, and they only wanted to protect themselves with their knives, and did not dare to fight with them.

The Qianniu Guards would not tolerate them. Dozens of Qianniu Guards wearing iron armor came forward with guns.

Those servants were defeated at the first blow.

Suddenly, blood flowed in Qian's house. Various shouts were heard!

When the Qian clan leader learned that he could not escape through the back door, he collapsed to the ground and was captured by the Qianniu Guards.

Not only the Qian Mansion, but also the powerful people who were accused of being related to Wu Lingguang's pirate case were attacked by the Qianniu Guards.

The ten thousand Qianniu guards were finally put to use.

On the streets, Qianniu Guards can be seen running back and forth everywhere.

The vendors dared not go to the streets and the people did not dare to go out.

Although some big families were not involved in the Wu Lingguang pirate case, they were still terrified. Whenever a Qianniu Guard passed by their door, they would break out in a cold sweat.

"The fifteenth one. Come to think of it, are there any others?"

When Qianniuwei reported to Li Xuan that he had controlled fifteen powerful families, Li Xuan asked these county officials.

"Linhai is a big city, and there are noble families who do not associate with the powerful. Although there are still big families, they have not encroached on the land of the people along the coast, nor have they bullied men and women."

Linhai Biejia said tremblingly.

As soon as they looked up, they could see headless corpses lying all over the place outside.

These people came in with them.

"Since this is the case, I will confiscate all the property, land, and real estate of these powerful people on behalf of the court. Those who have committed evil and are evil slaves will be punished even more severely. When the matter of the two counties is settled, they will be beheaded and displayed to the public. Their families will be made slaves."

Li Xuan did not choose the method of cruel officials, but only executed the guilty.

"The general is wise!"

The officials dared not say no.

"All the powerful people in the counties, please report the details!"

Li Xuan asked the county magistrates of Linhai County.

"Although some of the powerful people are not good, they are out of reach in the case of Wu Lingguang pirates."

A county magistrate said cautiously.

"Since they are powerful, let's deal with them together. Why keep them to harm the people?"

Although Li Xuan would not wrongly imprison people, the powerful would not be wrongly imprisoned.

The powerful people in the county are also very arrogant.

"Yes!"

The county magistrate nodded quickly, and the others also knew what to do.

"General, what about the sons of the powerful soldiers in the county?"

Linhai Beijia asked Li Xuan again.

"Identify the county soldiers. Regardless of whether they are powerful or ordinary county soldiers, those who cause trouble should be detained first."

The soldiers in the inland counties and prefectures are not trained and have loose military preparations, making them most likely to become rogues.

In the afternoon, the county magistrates of Linhai County returned to their respective counties.

But when they went back, they were followed by hundreds of Qianniu Guards.

For three days, the whole Linhai was in a state of solemnity.

A total of thousands of people were arrested, and thousands of women and children were detained.

Li Xuan asked Chen Hu to preside over the trial and arrest of the powerful people, with the cooperation of other officials.

Death row prisoners are held separately.

Li Xuan led 3,000 cavalrymen to Yuyao County, whose population was half that of Linhai.

The enemy has been alerted, and the remnants of the powerful people in Linhai will spread the news to Yuyao County.

The powerful people in Linhai County were caught off guard and captured in an instant, and those who resisted were killed.

Li Xuan estimated that the powerful people in Yuyao County would not surrender.

Even a rabbit will bite when it is desperate. If you know you are going to die, you will fight hard.

(End of this chapter)