Chapter 168
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Soon, porridge distribution points were set up in various places within Xiapi County.
The aroma of food spread throughout the city, and the refugees lined up to receive the grain. The remaining supplies were sent to the surrounding counties and prefectures from Xiapi as the center.
Yuan Le Jun ordered others to take care of the disaster relief, and he assigned Chu Hechao to handle the placement of the army. He then had a private conversation with Ouyang Ting in the Xuzhou Governor’s residence. Shortly after, local influential families from Xuzhou came to request an audience with him.
Ouyang Ting looked at Yuan Le Jun, who casually placed his teacup on the table, and asked, “How many people have come?”
“They all came and are waiting outside the residence to meet you,” one of the servants said boldly. “Among them, many are from families who had previously refused to give our lord grain.”
“Enough, don’t say more,” Ouyang Ting scolded the servant and then asked Yuan Le Jun, “Le Jun, do you want to meet these people?”
Yuan Le Jun gave a cold smile and replied, “No.”
Ouyang Ting knew that his disciple was angry on his behalf and felt understanding and a bit of persuasion. “By coming to pay their respects to you, they are trying to show goodwill. If you refuse to meet them, they may have trouble sleeping and eating.”
“Let them have trouble sleeping and eating,” Yuan Le Jun remained unmoved and said indifferently, “Since I arrived in Xuzhou, they rushed to see me. It shows that they know their previous actions have offended me. Teacher, people are like this, always taking chances and bullying the weak. The local influential families in Xuzhou have been acting recklessly for a long time. It’s time for them to be afraid.”
Ouyang Ting looked deeply at his disciple and felt that Yuan Le Jun had changed greatly compared to a few years ago in Luoyang. He had become more resolute, cunning, and imposing.
Without saying much more, Ouyang Ting sent the servants to reject the visits from those influential families who wanted to meet Yuan Le Jun.
Among the families that were turned away was the Liu Family. The head of the Liu Family’s legs stiffened when he heard the words “not seeing guests,” and he felt both fearful and angry. But he dared not show a hint of anger on his face, hastily leaving the gifts and departing.
The other families were the same. They not only brought gifts for Yuan Le Jun and Chu Hechao but also grain and silver, which Ouyang Ting had tried to borrow but was refused. After receiving the news, Ouyang Ting’s mood was complicated and full of emotions.
Human nature is like this, nothing surprising.
However, Yuan Le Jun did not accept the gifts from these families. He returned all the grain, silver, and gifts.
Ouyang Ting hesitated to speak but finally asked in a low voice, “Le Jun, although you have brought back a lot of relief grain, in the face of this disaster, there’s no such thing as too much food, only too little. Since these influential families have sent grain, why did you return it?”
Yuan Le Jun shook his head and said, “Teacher, I can’t accept their things. Once I do, it will be difficult for me to hold them accountable.”
Hold them accountable?
Ouyang Ting’s eyes lit up, and he asked, “What do you plan to do?”
“In the letters exchanged with me over the years, you mentioned the order to allocate funds for cleaning river channels and building embankments in each county every year. Since maintenance is carried out annually, the river embankments should not be so weak as to cause such severe flooding. Even in the case of a flood, it should not cause such serious damage to most of Xuzhou,” Yuan Le Jun had long had suspicions. “Moreover, Xuzhou is suffering such a severe flood, but Yangzhou and Qingzhou have no issues. Could it be that the rain only falls in Xuzhou and the water only flows there?”
Ouyang Ting’s expression gradually turned serious. “Are you saying this flood might be man-made?”
Yuan Le Jun nodded lightly.
Ouyang Ting sighed, taking a few deep breaths before calmly saying, “If you want to hold them accountable, it won’t be enough to just go after the officials. Investigating this matter will inevitably lead to the massive influential families in Xuzhou. Once you touch one of them, the entire Xuzhou will be in chaos.”
Touching one will affect the whole body. Dealing with one influential family will naturally lead to resistance from other families.
This was also the reason why Ouyang Ting had a hard time making progress in Xuzhou.
Firstly, if Yuan Le Jun were to take action, the officials would unite, and the influential families would retaliate. These families all maintained their own armed forces, which were akin to small armies. Secondly, the powerful families in Xuzhou had close ties with Chen Wang. If Yuan Le Jun were to take action, it was feared that Chen Wang might use this as an opportunity to attack him. Thirdly, Yuan Le Jun had no legitimate reason to take action against the influential families.
Yuan Le Jun was well aware of the points of concern for Ouyang Ting. He looked straight into Ouyang Ting’s eyes and said seriously, “Teacher, precisely because of these reasons, we cannot let this slide. You cannot hold Xuzhou accountable, but I can. I suggest you temporarily hand over the authority to govern Xuzhou to me so that I have the power to thoroughly investigate the cause of the flooding in Xuzhou.”
Ouyang Ting was taken aback, “I can give it to you, but Le Jun, do you really want to investigate thoroughly?”
“It’s a must,” Yuan Le Jun’s eyes darkened. “Teacher, we just arrived in Xuzhou and witnessed the Cairen Market.”
He briefly described the horrifying scenes he had witnessed, and although his words were calm, they made Ouyang Ting feel as if he had seen it with his own eyes. Ouyang Ting’s hands trembled slightly, and he muttered, “The counties outside Xiapi have already reached such a point…”
And the source of all this disaster might be due to man-made actions after a struggle for political power.
Ouyang Ting felt a heavy weight in his heart. He opened his mouth, but he couldn’t say a word. He felt overwhelmed with helplessness.
“It’s truly ridiculous…” Ouyang Ting closed his eyes, and tears streamed down his aged face. “After the flood comes the autumn harvest! They directly flooded the fields that the common people were about to harvest. Those were the crops that they had grown for a year! Most of Xuzhou’s fields were submerged; how much grain has been lost? How many people could have been fed by it? The poor people dare not eat a bit more every day, and the results of a year of hard work were ruined in an instant… It’s truly hateful!”
He felt an itching hatred!
If it were a natural disaster, it would be one thing, but if it was man-made, who could accept such a thing?
Ouyang Ting’s face turned cold, showing a sharp edge. “Le Jun, you’re right, this matter cannot be ignored. But you need to think carefully. Your reputation has always been good, and you have a reputation for benevolence and righteousness. Forcing the gentry will only damage your reputation. You should know that when we talk about people in the world, we’re actually referring to the gentry. The power of the pen is held by scholars, and the pen and tongue in people’s hands can be weapons that kill without a trace. If you move against the influential families, they will surely use their pens to vilify you. By then, your reputation for benevolence and righteousness will turn into a reputation for cruelty.”
Yuan Le Jun smiled.
In the dimly lit room, there was a faint trace of dust floating up and down in the air.
With only the two of them, master and disciple, in the room, both of them had relaxed a lot, and even some things could be said more openly.
“Teacher, the reason I pursued a good reputation in the past was that I needed it to climb the ranks and gain more power,” Yuan Le Jun spoke calmly. “But now I have three provinces and an army of over 500,000 soldiers. I am already known as Duke Wen, the inheritor of a distinguished lineage. I have reached a point where I no longer need to care about my reputation when making decisions. I pursued a good reputation in the past for the sake of my career and to save more people. But if I only care about my reputation and restrain myself, then I would be putting the cart before the horse. The influential families in Xuzhou are just that, what can they do? At most, they can write books and criticize me, but they wouldn’t dare say it to my face.”
Yuan Le Jun seemed to find it amusing and smiled again. “In chaotic times, whoever has the power and resources also has the power to upset the table. Teacher, I already have such power.”
Ouyang Ting fell silent for a moment. He keenly sensed something from Yuan Le Jun’s words. It made his breathing quicken. After a long time, he struggled to say, “Le Jun, do you mean to go against the Emperor…?”
Yuan Le Jun looked directly at him and asked in return, “Teacher, how many people in this world truly care about the common people? Do you think Chen Wang and the Emperor are among them?”
Ouyang Ting gave a wry smile. How could that be possible?
He saw the flames of ambition burning fiercely in Yuan Le Jun’s eyes.
However, those flames were not driven by personal desire but for the sake of the people and the country.
Ouyang Ting’s lips trembled as he said, “Alright, Xuzhou, Xuzhou is now in your hands…”
Yuan Le Jun began to take control of the county soldiers in Ouyang Ting’s hands. He swiftly took command of Xuzhou and the surrounding cities, closing the city gates and cutting off all communication between the interior and exterior of Xuzhou. After that, he started to purge Xuzhou, beginning from Xiapi.
His arrival had caused a great commotion. Xuzhou was a vast territory and had already been infiltrated by the forces of Chen Wang. It was likely that his actions would quickly reach Chen Wang’s ears. However, Yuan Le Jun showed no fear. On the contrary, he accelerated his actions, aiming to completely rectify the officialdom and the influential families of Xuzhou, and seize control of the region before Chen Wang could react!
When the Liu family learned that Yuan Le Jun had taken control of the seal of the Governor of Xuzhou and had started investigating the flooding, they were terrified. They immediately sent someone to secretly send a letter to Chen Wang. However, they found the city gates closed, and they couldn’t leave.
The head of the Liu family erupted in anger, but he was powerless and could only wait anxiously to see what Yuan Le Jun would uncover.
As time went on, more and more officials and influential families fell under the sword. Yuan Le Jun acted decisively and thoroughly, surrounding the estates and armed forces of many influential families before they could react, beheading them and displaying their heads as a warning.
After killing the influential families, he confiscated their stored grain, gold, and silver to aid the refugees and assimilated their armed forces into his own.
His actions were swift like lightning. With the county and regional soldiers under control, and with Chu Hechao’s support, within just a month, the influential families of Xuzhou lived in constant fear and apprehension.
As Yuan Le Jun delved deeper into the investigation, he discovered that the flooding had hidden secrets. Many river embankments had been intentionally sabotaged or built with shoddy workmanship. The people involved were all thrown into prison, and Yuan Le Jun forcefully inserted himself into the dark web of Xuzhou, resulting in a bloody crackdown. The streets of Xiapi were washed with blood multiple times.
Yuan Le Jun wasn’t the type of person to condemn everyone without evidence, but the treacherous influential families were filled with anxiety. They knew they had done wrong and were well aware that Yuan Le Jun would eventually come for them. They joined forces to resist him.
However, they couldn’t match Chu Hechao’s army, and Yuan Le Jun showed no hesitation. He was unafraid of bad reputations. These influential families tried to gather in secret, not knowing what to do. They could only seek help from Chen Wang.
As long-established families stationed in Xuzhou for centuries, when they gathered their efforts to pass the information to Chen Wang, even Ouyang Ting had no way to stop them, let alone Yuan Le Jun, who had just arrived in Xuzhou a month ago.
Upon learning that the message had been safely sent out, the head of the Liu family breathed a sigh of relief. He felt grateful that once Chen Wang knew about the matter, his life might be spared.
After sending the message, the head of the Liu family anxiously waited each day, hoping to receive a reply from Chen Wang. But after several days passed, he still hadn’t heard back from Chen Wang. Instead, Yuan Le Jun arrived with his soldiers.
The soldiers forcibly pushed aside the Liu family’s servants and burst into the main hall, pressing the head of the Liu family down to the courtyard.
In the courtyard, Yuan Le Jun sat leisurely on a chair brought in by the soldiers, his back straight like a green pine. He was dressed in a graceful and elegant green robe, displaying an air of nobility. He looked down at the head of the Liu family, who was forced to kneel in front of him, his expression calm and indifferent.
The head of the Liu family struggled desperately, his forehead covered in cold sweat. “What do you want to do, Duke Wen?” he pleaded.
Before he could finish his questioning, cries of other members of the Liu family rang out from behind him: “Who are you? Where are you taking us? Do you know who we are?” “Release me at once!” “Grandfather, save me!”
As soon as they saw the head of the Liu family in the courtyard, the other members of the Liu family exclaimed in shock. Before they could plead for help, the soldiers roughly pressed them to kneel behind their head.
The sound of knees hitting the ground echoed loudly, making them realize that the situation was far from ordinary. They swallowed their curses and pleas for help, leaving only a faint sobbing.
The head of the Liu family felt fear and unease in his heart. He swallowed hard and asked, “I don’t know, Duke Wen, what is the meaning of this?”
Yuan Le Jun smiled at him.
His smile usually appeared gentle and amiable, disarming people’s defenses. However, at this moment, his smile sent shivers down the spine of the head of the Liu family, and his fearful heart rose to his throat.
“The reason I came to find the head of the Liu family, don’t you know it?” Yuan Le Jun said slowly, “The embankments of Xiapi, Liangcheng, Huailing, and Quyang counties… were they not damaged by your bribery of the county officials?”
The head of the Liu family’s pupils dilated, and a chill swept through his entire body.
Yuan Le Jun, he knows, he knows everything.
His face turned pale, and he stammered, “I, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Yuan Le Jun looked down at him, his expression calmly chilling, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t know, I know.”
He stood up and ordered, “Take them to the front of the Governor’s residence and explain the reasons to the people before beheading them and displaying their heads as a warning.”
“Wait!” The head of the Liu family exclaimed in terror, “I am a subordinate of Chen Wang. How dare you kill me? Duke Wen, do you really dare to challenge Chen Wang?”
Yuan Le Jun paused, turned around, and glanced at him with a faint smile, “What do I have to fear?”
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