Chapter 142: Renovating Liangzhou City, the First City in Hexi

The three citizens who reported the incident were called to different rooms.

"Do you know the identity of the assassin? If you tell me his specific identity, I will reward you with ten strings of cash."

Li Xuan personally questioned one of the assassins.

"General, I saw him claiming to be a servant of the great Ma family, and he really likes to drink at the Dahe Tavern."

The citizen told Li Xuan this important clue.

Dahe Tavern is one of the most famous taverns in Guzang City. It is said that when the great poet Wang Wei was the judge of Hexi Jiedushi, he often came here to drink. To this day, the tavern still hangs a painting of Wang Wei's masterpiece "The desert smoke rises straight, the long river sets in the round" left by him.

In addition to this commoner, Li Xuan questioned two other commoners, and they all said they were slaves of the wealthy Ma family.

One of the common people also saw him at the Dahe Tavern, and another saw the assassin uttering harsh words during a fight.

After learning the exact result, Li Xuan rewarded the three civilians with ten strings of cash each!
Immediately, Li Xuan summoned Lu Sigong to the government office.

"Gu Zang Ling Lu Si respectfully pays homage to the governor."

Lu Sigong is about thirty-five years old and looks ordinary.

In fact, he was an expert in financial management. Even though Guzang had many problems, he was still able to rely on the geographical advantages of Guzang City to create the highest tax revenue outside the capital.

"I was so upset when I heard that County Magistrate Lu was in danger. I felt relieved when I learned that County Magistrate Lu was fine. Such a thing happened outside Guzang City in broad daylight. They even dared to assassinate the county magistrate. What kind of oppression will those poor people and helpless Hu merchants suffer!"

Li Xuan told Lu Sigong not to be so polite.

I was lucky to escape with my life at the critical moment.

Lu Sigong was formerly known as the "Swordsman", but in fact his swordsmanship was average.

Swordsman is just a spirit, and he always upholds it.

"Thank you for your concern, Governor. They are just some scoundrels."

Seeing that Li Xuan cared about him so much, Lu Sigong was deeply moved.

Even though he was given a name by the saint himself, he was ultimately just a small county magistrate.

His father, Lu Taiyi, was once the magistrate of Taiyuan, which enabled him to enter the officialdom through family ties.

But his father's rank was neither high nor low, and he had been an official in the county since he entered the government through family background.

The saints may have given names on a whim and then forgotten them.

In fact, this was indeed the case. Li Xuan knew that even if Lu Sigong was promoted during the Tianbao period, he would be promoted from a county magistrate, and would be transferred to a place closer to Chang'an as a county magistrate in the future, and would not be reused.

Lu Sigong began to rise only after Li Heng ascended the throne.

"The assassin who assassinated County Magistrate Lu was a servant of the Ma family, a powerful family in the city. Is the Ma family so arrogant?"

Li Xuan asked Lu Sigong about the origins of Guzang Ma and how he had offended Ma and aroused his murderous intent.

"Reporting to the governor, the Ma family is one of the most famous families in Hexi. In the past, they have always tried to please the former governor and rewarded the army with meat. It may be that the evidence of the Ma family and other big families' crimes that we have recently searched for is too obvious, and there are many spies from the powerful families in the county government, so they were asked to kill them."

Lu Sigong implicitly told Li Xuan that Ma was also involved in the military.

If it weren't for the strong support from the ruthless Li Xuan, he wouldn't dare to do this.

"It is understandable for the big families to reward the troops. But they cannot exploit the people's wealth to reward the troops. Do they still want to be protected by the army? Or do they still want to command the army at a critical moment?"

Li Xuan slapped the table.

When Lu Sigong saw Li Xuan's attitude, he felt relieved.

For example, the former governor Fu Menglingcha was quite supportive of Ma.

Rewarding the army with beef and mutton will indeed make the Chishui army look at the Ma family in a different light.

When a person does good for someone else, he or she may be obliged to do good for him or her. At critical moments, you can also do something helpful.

"Today I went to the market, and it seemed to be bustling with people and prosperous. But secretly it was full of dirt and filth. For a piece of silk, regardless of how much the vendors earned, they had to pay 100 coins to the vendors first."

Li Xuan was very dissatisfied with this and he wanted to know who would get the money.

"The market clerks, the chief secretary, did not allow his subordinates to manage it, and said that the merchants voluntarily paid for the escort. The big families in Guzang were all involved, and the officials of the prefectural governor's office were in cahoots with them."

Lu Sigong said to Li Xuan.

He had a detailed strategy of the market officials in his mind and knew that such actions would damage the reputation of "Liangzhou City" and would cause disasters in the long run.

The vendors dared not speak out, not even to point out mistakes.

After all, the Jiedushi didn't care about it before. The Changshi gave the order, and he, a mere county magistrate, had no way of interfering.

"Since the establishment of Wuwei during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Guzang City has been the lifeline and gateway of the Silk Road. Even if it cannot be compared with Chang'an and Luoyang, it can always be on par with Yangzhou, Suzhou and Yizhou. I hope that Han and Hu merchants can choose it as one of their destinations, or at least a place to stop and rest, instead of taking a detour when they see Guzang City."

Li Xuan knew that it was not an exaggeration to say that Liangzhou City was as famous as Yangzhou City in this era.

"The governor has a unique vision. This is also the wish of the local officials below!"

Lu Sigong felt that what Li Xuan said was absolutely right, and he believed that Guzang City still had great room for development.

First of all, the scale of the city is second to none in Helong.

The Macheng River, which originates from the southern mountain of Guzang, flows through Guzang City and flows into Xiutu Lake and Baiting Sea respectively, stretching for more than a thousand miles.

In addition, the area is surrounded by oasis plains, which is suitable for agricultural development.

There was a constant stream of merchants passing by.

It would be a great pity if we mess up such advantageous conditions.

"General Li, the Chief of Wuwei wishes to see you."

At this time, the assistant official reported to Li Xuan.

"Let him in!"

Li Xuan gave an order.

The Chief Secretary of Wuwei was named Guo Zhengwu. Logically speaking, when Li Xuan was in charge of the affairs of Wuwei County, Guo Zhengwu was almost the chief official of Wuwei.

Few Jiedushi would handle county affairs personally, even if they were the prefect or commander-in-chief of a county.

But when Li Xuan was talking with the Chief Secretary Guo Zhengyu, he was evasive and his answers made Li Xuan very dissatisfied and not to Li Xuan's liking.

More than half a month ago, Li Xuan asked Guo Yuyu: Are there any powerful people causing chaos in the county?

Guo symbolically replied: No, Wuwei County has always been a peaceful and prosperous place.

Li Xuan asked Guo again: How are people living?
Guo symbolically replied: The people live and work in peace and contentment, and every household has surplus food.

Li Xuan asked Guo Yuyu again: How are the businessmen? Are they satisfied with Guzang City?

Guo Yuyu replied: All merchants passing by must stop in Guzang City to rest. Even if they don't arrive, they can sleep outdoors without worrying about their safety.

These three answers are so beautiful, and precisely because they are so beautiful, they seem so imperfect.

Li Xuan also knew what kind of person Guo Yuyu was.

As expected, Li Xuan finally asked him three questions: What is the price of rice in the city these days? What is the price of salt? What are the prices of silk and cloth?

Guo Zhiming couldn't answer this simplest question.

Guo answered these three difficult questions clearly and logically.

When Li Xuan entered Huangshui City, he asked Shangguan Qing, the chief historian of the Governor's Office, a similar question.

In contrast, Shangguan Qing did not shy away from saying that there were some powerful people in Xiping County.

He also knew how to report the prices of grain, cloth and salt.

However, there were few people in Xiping County, and under Li Xuan's nose, the powerful did not dare to cross the river or commit crimes openly.

Because of the war and training, Li Xuan did not take the initiative to capture them.

Wuwei County is different. The more people there are, the more complicated the issues are.

Although they were somewhat restrained when Li Xuan arrived, they still had a sense of luck.

"Meeting General Li!"

After Guo Yun entered the main hall, he bowed to Li Xuan.

When he saw Guzang magistrate Lu Sigong sitting in the lower seat, his heart skipped a beat.

"Master Guo, what do you want from me?"

Li Xuan's attitude towards Guo Yuzhi was obviously not as good as that towards Lu Sigong.

"I heard that Li Shuai went to the market today and encountered some unpleasant things. I failed to discipline him properly, so I came to apologize to Li Shuai!"

Guo bowed to Li Xuan to symbolize his "sincere feelings".

"What do you mean, Mr. Guo? I have never been to the market!"

Li Xuan stared at Guo Yuzhi and spoke slowly.

"This……"

Guo Zhiyao was confused.

According to the description given by the city official, she looks very much like Li Xuan!

But Li Xuan flatly denied that it was him, and he couldn't force Li Xuan to admit it!
"By the way, what does Mr. Guo want to apologize to me for?"

Li Xuan went back to the subject and asked Guo about it.

"No...no more."

Guo Zhiyu did not dare to reveal what happened at the market.

"Snapped!"

"It seems that the market clerk is managed by Guo Changshi! He dares to extort a hundred coins for a piece of silk. What on earth is he trying to do?"

Li Xuan suddenly slammed the table and questioned Guo Mingyu.

"It was because I didn't supervise strictly that the scoundrels took advantage of the situation. Please forgive me! There are scoundrels like this in every city. I will punish the illegal acts severely!"

Guo symbolized that he would bow again quickly.

He also said that he had not been to the market, and that they were making fun of him, but he did not dare to get angry. He could only blame it on the scoundrels who bullied the market, and deliberately emphasized that it was not only Guzang City, but other cities also had such scoundrels, and it was very difficult to manage.

He didn't understand why a noble royal family and the ambassador of two towns would stoop to the common people.

No one expected that Li Xuan would ignore military affairs and only focus on government affairs.

It is said that Li Xuan has only been to the Chishui Army Camp two or three times during his time in Hexi.

"Let's put it this way for now! Does Guo Changshi know about the assassination of Guzang Ling?" Li Xuan raised his hand to let Guo Yuzhi stand up and asked him this question. "I just heard it!"

Guo Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, stood up and answered.

"I have found out that the assassin is Ma's servant. What do you think?" Li Xuan asked Guo Yunyu again.

"I think this servant secretly had a grudge against Magistrate Lu, so he carried out the assassination. Ma is well-known in Guzang, so he should not do such a thing!"

Guo Yuzhi gritted his teeth and said to Li Xuan.

"The slave system makes slaves and masters closely connected and share the same interests. How can a slave offend the county magistrate?" Li Xuan sneered.

Under the slavery system, the fate of slaves was linked to that of their masters.

Even if the master committed a crime, the slave could not go to the funeral, otherwise he would be exiled, unless it was a serious crime such as rebellion.

If the master sues the slave, even if it is a false accusation, the slave is still guilty.

Therefore, under such a system, it was unlikely that a slave would offend a reputable county magistrate.

Not to mention that when he was arrested, he committed suicide without hesitation.

"It's possible that the Guzang magistrate accidentally offended such a villain, which led to his revenge!"

Guo symbolically insisted.

"Replying to Commander Li, I am sure that I have never seen that servant of the Ma family!"

Lu Sigong stood up and said.

But now there is no evidence and Ma has denied it, so it cannot be used as evidence from a legal point of view.

"Mr. Guo, you seem to have a good relationship with the Ma family. Are you so eager to prove their innocence?" Li Xuan suddenly asked Guo Zhengyu.

"I am only acting impartially. The Ma family supports the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people in Wuwei and supports the border troops. They are extremely important to the stability of Guzang."

Guo replied to Li Xuan with an awkward smile.

At this time, Luo Xing entered the government office, and then came to Li Xuan and whispered to him: "Qi Lang, you are very smart. Sure enough, someone intercepted the merchant. The brothers rushed out suddenly, arrested those people, and now sent them to the Jiedushi court."

"County Magistrate Lu, Chief Clerk Guo, please follow me to the court!"

After hearing this, Li Xuan stood up and gave instructions to Lu Sigong and Guo Yingzhu.

Guo Zhiyao felt uneasy, wondering why Li Xuan asked them to go to court!
A moment later, they arrived at the Jiedushi's court. Seven or eight men with sneaky looks and shifty brows had their hands tied and were kneeling in a neat row at the bottom of the court.

Li Xuan came to the main seat and sat down, and asked loudly: "Who asked you to commit murder in broad daylight?"

Several men looked at each other, but no one gave in.

"Drag them out and give each of them twenty beatings with the military stick!"

Li Xuan waved his hand. For this kind of stubborn person, he would use the great memory recovery technique.

When these scoundrels heard this, they immediately panicked. The military stick was no joke, and they might be beaten to death if they were not careful.

Seeing a group of soldiers running out to drag them away, a rogue shouted: "I say, I say..."

"It's too late. Beat him with twenty military sticks first. If he refuses to confess, beat him with fifty more!"

Li Xuan ordered him to be dragged out.

"what……"

The next moment, shrill screams echoed throughout the court.

Soon, the soldiers dragged the rogue, who looked like a dead dog, to the court.

They fell to the ground one by one, groaning in pain.

"Will you recruit?"

Li Xuan asked these scoundrels again.

"I confess. It was the servant of the Ma family who asked us to catch the merchant."

"It has nothing to do with us. The servants of the Ma family gave us one string of silver each and asked us to complete the task!"

"Please, General, don't hit us anymore!"

The rogues spoke one after another.

They are all idle and uncultivated rogues in Guzang City. They usually work for the big families, bully the weak and do evil.

As long as the money is paid, there is nothing they dare not do.

After Li Xuan took charge of Hexi, they suffered a complete setback.

"Master Guo, could it be that this is also the act of Ma's servant acting on his own initiative?" Li Xuan asked Guo Yuzhi with a smile.

"Maybe... we still need to find out the truth."

Guo spoke hesitantly, but in his heart he was actually cursing at Ma.

He is really looking for trouble. Don't you know there is a tiger in the center of Guzang City? Have you forgotten that outside Yan City, hundreds of powerful sons were killed at the command of a single order?

Or do they really think that a little beef and mutton can make the Chishui Army obey them and go against Li Xuan?

"Liao Shisan, take people to Ma's house, capture the servant they identified, and interrogate him thoroughly!"

Li Xuan handed the matter over to Liao Zhengrong.

"As ordered!"

Liao Zhengrong took the order and left.

In any matter, the big picture can be seen from the small. As long as there are clues, the whole picture can be expanded.

And either don't take any action, or do something to the end.

"Mr. Lu, send people to arrest all the market clerks and county soldiers and interrogate them. I will dispatch a hundred soldiers for you!" Li Xuan gave the order to Lu Sigong, the magistrate of Guzang.

Li Xuan didn't believe that the city clerks didn't embezzle. The powerful servants were almost able to collect money openly.

"Li Shuai, isn't this a bit inappropriate? They are from our government!"

Guo Feiyu quickly persuaded Li Xuan.

"You think, or I think?"

Li Xuan stared at Guo Yunzhi.

As a chief historian, do you dare to question him?

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have done it.

Huangshui City does not have the conditions for development.

But Guzang City is different. He wants to eradicate its ills and bring new vitality to Guzang City.

Guo Mingyu didn't dare to look Li Xuan in the eye and could only swallow back the words he was about to say.

Afterwards, Guo Zhiwu and Lu Sigong left the Jiedushi government office together.

Among them, Lu Sigong also carried Li Xuan's military orders and dispatched the Chishui Army stationed in the city.

"County Magistrate Lu, you must act with caution! Once you do something, it will be too late to regret it. Don't push yourself into a dead end!"

At the gate of the Jiedushi government office, Guo Hui called out to Lu Sigong.

He was very angry!
Although Lu Sigong was not very obedient in the past, he was generally tolerable and did not offend the interest groups in Guzang City.

Now that Li Xuan has arrived, Lu Sigong seems to have secretly straightened his back and dared to confront them.

Do you really think that you can do whatever you want just because a saint gives you a name?

"When Guzang City was at its wits' end, Governor Li arrived. Today, I am at my wits' end, but I also jumped into the water to save my life. The Governor's arrival in Guzang is like an eagle flying to Jinan. He will surely eradicate the evil tyrants and restore the clear skies of Liangzhou City."

Lu Sigong was unwilling to show weakness in the face of his superior.

He knew that Guo Zhizhu had a good relationship with the Ma family and other powerful people. Now that Li Xuan was backing him up, he did not hesitate to disobey Guo Zhizhu's words.

After saying that, he left quickly.

So as not to waste time.

"I knew that when he came to Hexi, things wouldn't be peaceful!"

Guo Mingyu said bitterly.

No matter how stupid he was, he could see that Li Xuan was very dissatisfied with him.

If a prefect is dissatisfied with his subordinate, the chief secretary, the chief secretary will often have difficulty in taking any action.

What's more, Li Xuan was a provincial governor who held more than a dozen official positions and commanded hundreds of thousands of troops.

"Perhaps Imperial Censor Liu can persuade him!"

Guo Yuzhi suddenly thought of Liu Zhu, the censor who was temporarily living in Guzang City.

The Censor-in-Chief can not only supervise officials, inspect counties, correct criminal cases, and regulate court ceremonies, but can also inspect military operations and camps.

Although the rank of the Censor-in-Chief was not high, even the Jiedushi had to be taken into consideration.

Li Xuan's series of actions alarmed the wealthy families in Guzang City.

There was no political activity by Li Xuan in Huangshui, and they thought that Li Xuan came to Hexi only to handle military affairs.

Unexpectedly, after a month of silence, they finally took action.

Lu Jianke first arrested the city officials and soldiers in the market.

He also summoned many merchants and foreign businessmen.

With Li Xuan's order, any Han or Hu merchant who had been oppressed could go to the governor's office to file a complaint.

Once verified, the losses will be recovered.

At the same time, Liao Zhengrong also took away several servants of the Ma family.

The next day, with Li Xuan's permission, Lu Sigong arrested several county officials.

After interrogating Ma's servants in the Jiedushi's government office, they also arrested Ma's housekeeper, the son of a family patriarch.

Therefore, the rich were terrified and everyone was in danger.

In addition to the 5,000 Chishui soldiers in the city, Li Xuan dispatched another 5,000 Chishui soldiers into Guzang City, and the entire city went into a state of alert.

(End of this chapter)