When Zhang Jiuli led his men to kneel down, he didn't realize anything was wrong. It was just a greeting gift. Maybe he could still greet Li Xiang later, but the situation now was different from what he expected.
After receiving the imperial edict from the court, he gathered his men together. They lived like local tyrants. The emperor was far away and no one cared about them. But if there was something happening in the court, it had to be handled properly, otherwise someone in the court would notice them.
When Li Xiang went to Nanzhao to get married, there were a lot of things to do here, so Zhang Jiuli told his subordinates that no matter what Li Xiang’s request was, they should try their best to handle it. It would only take more than half a year anyway, and after Li Xiang returned to Chang'an, the scenery here would return to its original state.
The people below all agreed very readily. After all, they were all vested interests. When they were first assigned here, no one wanted to come here. But after coming here, they found that although this place was poor, they lived very comfortably. There was nothing to deal with in normal times, and they just needed to enjoy life. So they served the prince away, which meant that our good days were coming again.
Although they had heard of Li Xiang's great reputation, they had nothing to fear. This place was different from other places in the country. If someone who was not familiar with the local conditions came here, they would probably have difficulty moving forward, especially if they had no connections with the chieftain. They might be killed after leaving.
So even if they made any mistakes, the imperial court would give them a break based on the actual local conditions. Generally speaking, delaying tax payment is a serious crime, and local officials dare not do so, but they don't care. They just need to submit a memorial to the imperial court, explaining the weather and other man-made conditions here, and the imperial court will basically allow it.
So they thought that Li Xiang was just a passer-by and would go to Nanzhao in half a month at most. When Li Xiang came back, they would give him a generous gift and say hello to the chieftains in the meantime, asking them not to provoke Li Xiang. Then the matter would be completed perfectly, and it was very likely that the court would reward him.
But now Li Xiang wouldn't let them get up. They immediately sensed something was amiss. A polite greeting should have led them to get up immediately. Many of them had been to the Golden Throne Hall and personally received by Li Yuan and Li Shimin, where there weren't so many rules. So what was this Crown Prince trying to do? Was he trying to show us his power?
Zhang Jiuli wanted to look up, but at this moment he felt the pressure around him. This was a kind of pressure from a superior. He had never felt it before, but now he could not move at all.
As for the others, let alone now, their psychological endurance is not as good as Zhang Jiuli's. They don't understand how they have offended His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. It has been a whole cup of tea, and we are still not allowed to get up. The ground outside Chengdu city is not flat, and there are many small stones that hurt them.
"Your Highness."
Xiao Yu will continue to be an official here in the future. If he goes too far, he may not be able to govern next time, so he has to say what he needs to say. Others can remain silent, but he cannot. When we are in danger, you, as our chief officer, don't say a word. How can we work for you in the future?
"Where is the Mianzhou governor?"
Although Xiao Yusheng spoke, Li Xiang must establish his authority today. Li Xiang was very angry along the way. Although there were not people starving to death everywhere, when passing through Mianzhou, the entire village was deserted. Isn't this what you, the local official, should do?
Li Xiang specially ordered people to investigate. It turned out that the governor of Mianzhou had annexed all the local land. All the common people were tenants of his family. When he encountered some weak and elderly people, this guy simply let them fend for themselves. He almost ate up all the bark on the mountains.
"Your humble servant, Wang Bowang, greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
An official in his forties crawled out from the crowd. This man was the governor of Mianzhou. He looked righteous, but who would have thought that this guy had occupied all the good farmland in the state.
"I heard that Lord Wang's fields stretch for a hundred miles. I wonder if that's true. I came from the north, and it's said that wherever I pass, they belong to your family. But the entire village next to your fields is deserted. How do you explain that?"
Li Xiang was already suppressing his anger. If this guy had not appeared in front of so many officials, if he had appeared in Mianzhou at that time, Li Xiang would have immediately ordered his warriors to take his head directly. Would there be any need to say so much?
"this……"
When Lord Wang heard this, he knew that Li Xiang had already figured it out. After all, Li Xiang came from the north. However, in order for Li Xiang to arrive in Chengdu safely, he had people clear a road, and both sides of the road were also made to look peaceful. Why didn't Li Xiang take that road?
Normally, he should have been waiting for Li Xiang in his own base, but he was afraid that Li Xiang would punish him, so he hurried to Chengdu, hoping that the officials here could work together to protect him.
They had already planned to fool Li Xiang with the story of a natural disaster or man-made disaster, but they hadn't expected Li Xiang to know so much and get so angry right away. Who would dare to plead for you at this time? If they pleaded for you, wouldn't that just shift the blame eastward? Wouldn't we all be risking our lives?
"There's nothing much to say, right? Since you have nothing to say, then it's my turn to speak. As an official appointed by the court, you don't take the people into consideration and have seized all the land in the state for yourself. Hundreds of people die of starvation every month. This is the land you manage for the court. If that's the case, then you don't have to worry about it anymore..."
After hearing what Li Xiang said, Lord Wang was so frightened that he fainted. They had all heard of Li Xiang's methods. Let alone your mere state, what can those foreign Khans do? They are all in Li Xiang's hands. He can kill them at will and it is so easy to destroy a country. How can you compare with them?
Confiscating the property, exterminating the entire family, and sending them into exile...
This was Li Xiang's arrangement. All the male members of the family were executed, and the women were exiled to Gaochang...
Li Xiang immediately killed the chief executive of Mianzhou. The officials below him had to conduct a thorough investigation. This was quite a show of force...