The Devil's Tribulation

Chapter 344 Li Dachun

Fancheng, a city in the Great Zhou, is one of the worst cities in the Great Zhou. A few years ago, the family of the old prefect Lu died suddenly, and the court was furious. They sent people to investigate for several months, but there was no clue at all, and finally nothing was done. Although the case was not solved, someone had to be in charge of Fancheng, so another person was sent to serve as the prefect of Fancheng. It is said that the new prefect is a native of Fancheng, and he is very young, less than 30 years old! This is a rare thing in the entire Great Zhou.

As soon as the new prefect arrived, he began to govern Fancheng. Many of the "mature illnesses" left by the old prefect were cured one by one by him. In the past, Lu Wannian added many heavy taxes to support the immortal master. The people under him also followed suit, which made the people of Fancheng suffer. In addition to paying taxes to the court, they also had to pay many miscellaneous taxes added by Lu Wannian. Even when they came back from going out, they had to pay "entry tax"!

Pan Chengfeng walked on the streets of Fancheng and said with a smile: "Dachun is still reliable. He has governed Fancheng very well in recent years. It is many times better than when I came last. Look at the faces of the people, they are all smiling with happiness~" Qian'er also echoed: "This new prefect took office three years ago. As soon as he arrived, he made drastic changes to the administration of officials and arrested many corrupt officials who dared to take advantage of the people. He also abolished all the unreasonable and heavy taxes. He won the love of the people in the city, and everyone called him 'the upright official'."

Pan Chengfeng loved to hear these things. Qian'er had already figured out Pan Chengfeng's thoughts and only talked about what Pan Chengfeng liked to hear. Especially some things about Dachun solving cases. Although solving cases was not the job of the prefect, Dachun really solved several major cases that his subordinates could not solve. There were also people who stopped the sedan chair to cry out for injustice. Pan Chengfeng was so excited to hear this that he kept praising Dachun.

Fancheng is the territory of the Zhong family. Even if they don't ask about these things, the people below have already compiled them into a case, waiting for the people above to ask. When Qian'er asked, a lot of information about the new prefect was brought up. Qian'er picked out some of the more exciting ones and told Pan Chengfeng. After listening to these things, Pan Chengfeng smiled and said, "When I left the village, Dachun was also preparing for the exam. Unexpectedly, he made it all the way to the palace exam. So, if you want to succeed, you still need pressure. After experiencing the destruction of the village, Dachun seemed to have grown up all of a sudden."

Qian'er asked, "Are you going to visit your childhood friend?" Pan Chengfeng shook his head and said, "It's enough to know that he is doing well. There is no need to disturb his life. We have to hurry~" Qian'er hesitated for a moment, but decided to speak out, saying, "In fact, the prefect encountered some problems, and he may not be able to handle it himself." Pan Chengfeng was stunned and asked hurriedly, "What happened?" Qian'er said, "He was caught up in a party dispute. It should be said that he was in the vortex of party disputes from the beginning."

Pan Chengfeng didn't understand, so Qian'er patiently explained: "In fact, the Great Zhou Kingdom has always had a dispute between the new and old parties. The new party is headed by the eldest prince and the third prince, and they have the support of the emperor behind them. The old party is headed by the crown prince and Prime Minister Zhang, and behind them are a group of old ministers in the court of the Great Zhou Kingdom." Pan Chengfeng knew that it would be strange if there was no political struggle in the court, and it would be normal if there was. So he asked: "Which side does Dachun belong to?" Qian'er smiled bitterly and said: "He is Prime Minister Zhang, a disciple of Zhang Zhao." Pan Chengfeng rolled his eyes and thought to himself: "This Li Dachun actually went to fool around with a group of old men! And he stood on the opposite side of the emperor."

Qian'er knew what Pan Chengfeng was thinking, and smiled bitterly: "Don't blame him. It has been difficult for children from poor families to become officials since ancient times, let alone ordinary people like Dachun who have no roots at all. He can't refuse, and he can't refuse Zhang Zhao's olive branch, otherwise he will never be able to make a name for himself in his life, let alone become the lord of a city at such a young age..." Pan Chengfeng sighed, he knew all this, so he asked: "Did he... do anything else that violated..."

Qian'er shook her head and said, "He still has some bottom line and is very good to the people, but there are some things he has to do. After all, Zhang Zhao married his granddaughter to him. He is completely tied to the prince and Zhang Zhao." Pan Chengfeng sneered, "If I want to pull him down, it will be useless even if Zhang Zhao gives his wives and concubines to Dachun!"

In Da Zhou Zhou City, Zhong Ying City, Sun Erleng was playing with his three children, all of whom were born to his second wife, Wei Mingwan. There was nothing else to praise about this woman, but she was really good at giving birth! Three children, two boys and one girl, one every other year. It was a great achievement for his old Sun family to have more children!

Wei Mingwan was pregnant, watching the father and son playing, her face full of happiness, but her little daughter was also holding a wooden sword and "fighting" with her two brothers, which made Wei Mingwan a little worried that it would be difficult to find a future husband. A guard came to the door, and seeing that his general was having fun, he did not dare to disturb him, but seemed to be in a hurry, and stood there uncomfortably. Wei Mingwan saw him and waved her hand, and the guard came over and saluted, saying: "Hello, Madam~"

Wei Mingwan said calmly: "What's wrong? You're like an ant on a hot pot. Tell me~" The guard said: "Madam, the food and wages for Fancheng are said to be delayed for three months. The first half of the food and wages have not been settled yet, and the second half of the year will be delayed again. If the general knows about this, I'm afraid he will really go to Fancheng to kill him." Wei Mingwan is no longer the little girl she was when she first married Sun Erleng. She knows that these things are inseparable from the struggles in the court. Although her father Wei Qing has retired, he can see things farther and more clearly than Sun Erleng. However, her father is getting older and older, and she can't bother him for everything.

Wei Mingwan thought for a while and said, "I know. I'll take care of it. Go down." The guard was relieved and hurried down. He was most afraid that the general would get angry. No one could persuade him except his wife. Sun Erleng knew that the guards were coming. When he saw the guards leave, Sun Erleng said to his eldest son, "Jun'er, don't bully your younger brothers and sisters when you play, or watch out for your butt!"

The eldest son, Sun Zhengjun, was already seven years old. He was chubby and obviously the offspring of Sun Erleng. He said seriously, "Don't worry, father. I will take them to kill the enemy right away!" Sun Erleng smiled and kicked Sun Zhengjun on the buttocks, saying, "Okay! I order you to lead the troops to investigate the enemy first. Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle!" The three little brats went to play with wooden swords and wooden shields. Sun Erleng returned to his seat and asked, "Is it about the food and money in Fancheng? How long will it take this time?"

Wei Mingwan smiled bitterly and said, "It's been another three months, and our soldiers are almost starving. The struggle in the court seems to be out of control for His Majesty." Sun Erleng laughed and said, "A few years ago, when I went to the capital to meet the emperor, the feeling that His Majesty gave me... Haha, it's impossible that he can't control the situation. I think His Majesty is making a big move." Wei Mingwan said, "Without food and wages, what will our 500,000 soldiers do? They have worked hard guarding the border. If they don't have food, clothing and wages, who would be willing to follow us? Follow the court?"

Sun Erleng stood up and said, "What else can we do? The Third Prince just had some military equipment shipped over. Let's sell it first to hold out for a while. I believe His Majesty will solve the problem for us soon." Wei Mingwan sighed and said, "Okay, don't smash the porcelain this time. Choose some cheap ones. We don't have much spare money at home!" Sun Erleng smiled and said, "Got it. The show has to go on~"

After a while, Sun Erleng's loud cursing was heard from the general's mansion, saying that he was going to Fancheng to kill Li Dachun's family, followed by some sounds of smashing things. The whole military camp knew that their general was going to fight the civil officials for food and wages, and the gossip that had been growing was slowly suppressed.

In Fancheng, at the prefect's residence, Li Dachun was holding a book in his hand, but his mind was not on the book. It was early autumn now, and the night wind was very cold. A beautiful young woman draped a dress over Dachun's shoulders and said, "Husband, be careful not to catch a cold. Are you still thinking about the border?" Li Dachun turned to look at his wife, reached out and hugged the young woman, and asked, "Is Jin'er asleep?" The young woman leaned her head on Dachun's chest and said, "He just fell asleep. He was nagging you to tell him a story before~" Dachun sighed, "He's already seven years old, and he still sticks to his parents all day. When I was a child..."

The young woman interrupted with a smile, "I know, I know, how can you be the same as Jin'er? Your father is a scholar, and his father is the prefect~" Dachun smiled and tapped the young woman's nose and said, "You are the only one who can talk." The young woman asked, "Were you still thinking about the border just now?" Hearing the young woman ask this again, Li Dachun let go of his wife and said, "Shuyao, I really can't understand why my father-in-law asked me to withhold the food and wages of the soldiers at the border. How can they guard the border for the country without food and clothing? When I think of the soldiers on the border starving, I can't sleep at night."

Zhang Shuyao was about to counsel Li Dachun, but suddenly her eyes went dark and she fainted. Li Dachun was shocked and hurriedly supported his wife, shouting, "Someone! My wife fainted! Someone come quickly!!" He shouted several times, but no one responded.