In troubled times, heavy punishment should be used.
Chen Mu was not a good person, and he did not want to waste time.?
It was his creed to use martial arts to control the world. If he wanted to eliminate Bingzhou before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he had to thoroughly investigate the officials in Bingzhou.
Bingzhou Cishi Mansion.
In the meeting hall!
Chen Mu looked at Zhang Yi and asked,"Governor of Bingzhou's Nine Prefectures, is there anyone with a good reputation?"”
"It has been a year since I became the governor of Bingzhou!”
"In this year, I resisted the Wuhuan four times and the South Xiongnu twice. I sent people to ask for help many times, but none of the nine county governors supported me. As a result, the people of Shangjun, Xihe, Wuyuan, and Yanmen suffered heavy casualties.”Zhang Yi said respectfully.
"Zhang Yi, you're using your position to take revenge!”A prefect shouted.
"Wen Yuan, take the seal of the Northern Battlefront Marquis and tell the soldiers they brought that those who follow me will be paid a hundred coins a month and a bucket of grain. Those who disobey will be executed!”Chen Mu said indifferently.?
"Here!"
Zhang Liao shouted and walked out of the city with a brocade box and dozens of soldiers.
"Chen Mu, are you rebelling?" Suddenly, the Governor of West River shouted angrily.
"Rebellion?"
A cold glint flashed across Chen Mu's eyes as he snapped,""Before I came to Bingzhou, I was looking at the taxes from the Great Minister of Agriculture. The taxes you paid to the court were not even comparable to a county of the Si Li.”
"This!"
"This!"
The councilors turned pale and did not know how to answer.
The people of Bing Province were suffering, but not to this extent. The reason why they paid so little tax was because they blamed all the crimes on the looting of the Hu. They ate the harvest of the people and cheated the court of the food they provided for disaster relief.
Chen Mu suppressed the anger in his heart and said in a deep voice,""Zhang Yi, how many soldiers are left in Bing Province?”
"Bing Province has 30,000 soldiers that can fight. As for the people's livelihood, it can only be expressed in terms of suffering!”
"The commoners have been robbed and have no food to eat. They have even started to eat tree bark. The government office has no money to repair the city and the houses of the commoners. Now that winter is approaching, who knows how many commoners will freeze to death. I have the intention to seek blessings for the commoners of Bing Province, but I have nothing useful in my hands!”Zhang Yi lamented.
"A bunch of bastards!"
"Zhang Yi, immediately write a document for me that concerns the people of Bingzhou and send it to Luoyang!”
"I'm writing a notice to inform the people of Yanmen that I will provide them with money, food, clothing, and seeds for next year's sowing if they repair their houses or cities!”Chen Mu said indifferently.?
"Now the granary of the Provincial Governor's Office is empty and all of it has been given to the people of Yanmen. There is no money or food to use!”Zhang Yi said with a red face.
Chen Mu waved his sleeve and said," I will think of a way to get the money and food. You should go and write the document and the notice immediately. Tomorrow, we can start repairing the houses. The people who are working as a form of relief can come and collect the money and food!"”
Zhang Yi's eyes lit up and he said gratefully,""The people of Bing Province have the Marquis of Northern Battlefront.”
"Humph!"
Chen Mu snorted coldly and looked at the prefect of the nine counties without saying anything for a long time.?
Two hours later.
Lu Bu and Zhang Liao walked in from the gates.
"General, the 3,000 cavalrymen led by the prefects of the nine prefectures have all submitted and joined our army!" Zhang Liao shouted.”
"Very good!"
Chen Mu nodded and shifted his gaze to Lu Bu.?
Seeing this, Lu Bu said bitterly," General, the people of Wuyuan are suffering, but the Wang family owns hundreds of acres of fertile farmland. Their houses are even more luxurious than the residences of the three lords in Luoyang. Bula has brought back nearly 100,000 stones of grain, 5,000 stones of gold, and 200,000 stones of money. We also found an illicit letter between Wang Zhi and Qiu Liju, the Wuhuan Chanyu. This person offers nearly 10,000 stones of grain to the Wuhuan every year!”
"Gulp!"
Chen Mu took a sip of tea and sneered,""What a great man, what a great prefect of the Great Han Dynasty. I wonder if you are like Wang Zhi, exploiting the people, devouring the grain and silver of the imperial court, and colluding with outsiders!”
"Pa da!"
All the mayors collapsed to the ground. Only one of them stood in the hall and looked at Chen Mu with a neither servile nor overbearing expression.?
"Who are you?" Chen Mu narrowed his eyes and asked.”
"Ding Yuan, an official of Jiuyuan County, has come with Wang Zhi, the prefect of Wuyuan, to pay a visit to the Marquis of Zhenbei!" the man said respectfully.”
"Ding Yuan?"
Chen Mu's heart skipped a beat. He instantly activated the Appraisal Eye to check his attributes.
Character: Ding Yuan
Commander: 71
[Strength: 74]
[Intelligence: 45]
Political Affairs: 78
[Loyalty: 35]
"Interesting!"
Chen Mu's lips curled into a smile. He did not expect Ding Yuan to still be a mere county magistrate. He was not only good at politics, but he was also good at martial arts and commanding. He was even 35 years loyal to Chen Mu.?
"General, did I do the right thing?" Lu Bu asked nervously.”
"Da!"
"Da!"
Chen Mu knocked on the table and said calmly,""Fengxian, select 800 cavalrymen from the military camp outside the city and go to the governor's manor of the other counties to count their assets. Send me a document every time you go. You must return to the Yin Mansion within a month!”
"Here!"
Lu Bu heaved a sigh of relief and replied.
Chen Mu looked at Ding Yuan and said," Ding Jianyang, I'll give you a thousand cavalry. How long do you need to gather the troops of the various counties?"”
" Reporting to Northguard Marquis," Ding Yuan said respectfully." I can gather the troops of the nine counties in Bing Province in at most a month and a half!"”
"Wenyuan!"
"Take Ding Yuan and send out a thousand cavalry to gather the military power of Bing Province!”
"After that, bring the letter that Fengxian brought back to interrogate Wang Zhi. Within three days, I want to know how long he has been conspiring with Qiu Liju and whether it has anything to do with the shortage of food for the expeditionary army!”Chen Mu said with killing intent.?
"Here!"
Zhang Liao's eyes flashed with hostility.
They had been looking forward to this day for too long. The Ten Attendants of the Regular could not be moved yet, but Wang Zhi could. As long as they followed the clues, they would be able to find the mastermind behind the scenes who had harmed the vanguard army sooner or later.
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