Chapter 58: Drag the Entire Front Row Out and Slice Them to Pieces

Hearing this imperial edict, the thousands of refugees kneeling on the ground were stunned at first, and then a wave of wild joy surged into their hearts.

They had guessed right; the Emperor had indeed come to save them! They would not starve to death!

In the crowd, a woman kneeling with her dying child cradled against her chest could not help the two streams of hot tears welling up in her eyes.

My child, you won't have to starve to death for now...

Even though their hearts overflowed with boundless joy, no one dared to make any celebratory cheers; they merely knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing, clumsily echoing the cries of "Long live the Emperor, long live, long live, long live!"

Just like that, the majestic imperial procession advanced toward the Tongguan County seat, which was not far ahead.

Tongguan was a vital thoroughfare connecting three provinces.

Bordering the Yellow River to the north and leaning against the Qinling Mountains to the south, it was a true gateway to the Central Plains.

Therefore, even with a procession of several thousand people, it did not appear overly crowded before the massive gates of Tongguan City.

Before the imperial procession even reached the city gates, the Magistrate of Tongguan County, accompanied by all the officials of the city, was already kneeling at the gate waiting for them.

Watching the imperial procession slowly approach, the group prostrated themselves on the ground and then, with utmost reverence, slowly shuffled forward on their knees.

When they drew close enough, the Tongguan Magistrate pressed his forehead tightly against the ground and shouted with tears streaming down his face:

"Your humble servant, the Magistrate of Tongguan County, together with all the officials within Tongguan City, kowtows to wish Your Majesty eternal peace and well-being!"

"Your humble servants did not know that Your Majesty would descend with your supreme persona to visit Tongguan in person, and we failed to make proper arrangements to welcome the imperial carriage. We deserve death a thousand times over, and we beg Your Majesty to forgive our crimes!"

Judging by the Magistrate's appearance, anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was so deeply moved by catching a glimpse of the Emperor that he was nearly moved to death.

Of course, these professions of loyalty could not possibly reach the ears of Zhu Youjian in the center of the procession.

An imperial guard riding a horse at the front of the procession cast a cold glance at the official, then turned his horse around to report backward.

Soon, the imperial guard who had turned back to deliver the message returned. Looking down at the officials prostrated on the ground, he proclaimed in a loud voice:

"His Majesty's imperial edict: From this moment onward, all officials of Tongguan County shall receive the refugees into the city for settlement and relief. Afterward, all officials shall immediately assemble at the county government office!"

"Your... your humble servants obey the decree!"

Hearing this edict, the Tongguan Magistrate and the gathered officials hurriedly cleared a path on both sides for the imperial carriage.

Exchanging a glance with the Vice-Magistrate, the Magistrate felt a slight sense of relief wash over him.

What they feared most was that the Emperor would arrive and, without a word, immediately charge them with crimes.

In that case, they might not even get a chance to offer an explanation.

But now, the Emperor had ordered them to handle the disaster victims first and then assemble at the county office, which meant things were proceeding pretty much as they had anticipated.

Once the disaster victims were settled, they could deploy their prepared rhetoric within the county office.

It was a pity, though, that a glittering pile of silver would have to be distributed to the poor...

Still, glancing at the stern and murderous elite guards accompanying the passing imperial carriage, the Tongguan Magistrate forcefully suppressed the sense of regret in his heart.

As long as the Emperor remained in Shaanxi, he must never engage in any corrupt practices again.

Anyway, the Emperor could not stay in Shaanxi forever.

He would just get through this present hurdle first and make up for the losses with interest later.

...

After entering Tongguan City, the accompanying guards cleared out the county government office, surrounding it tightly with multiple layers of defense. Zhu Youjian stayed inside the office to close his eyes and rest, while everyone else found their own places to recuperate.

Meanwhile, the original officials of Tongguan City were scurrying back and forth, busy settling the refugees who had just been waiting outside the city suburbs.

Presently, amidst a crowd of disaster victims, the Tongguan Magistrate was affectionately helping a withered, gaunt old man into a seat, and then personally presenting him with a bowl of thick porridge so dense that a pair of chopsticks stuck into it would not fall over.

"Old uncle, it's all my fault for being too busy with government affairs lately. I never imagined those wolf cubs under my command would dare to leave you neglected out in the suburbs!"

"Rest assured, old sir, within these couple of days, I will investigate exactly who was so bold as to commit such acts of bullying superiors and oppressing the people, and I will punish them severely without leniency!"

With that, he cupped his fists toward the surrounding refugees and said, "Everyone! You are now sheltered in this charitable sanctuary. If you encounter any further injustices, you may report them truthfully to this official, and I will surely seek justice for you!"

As his voice trailed off, the rest of the officials hurriedly knelt on the ground, pointing to the heavens and swearing oaths that they would never commit any acts of oppression against the disaster victims.

Otherwise, their entire families would drop dead immediately!

The surrounding disaster victims, having filled their bellies and regained the strength to speak, joined in with cheers of approval.

Among these cheers, a small fraction were genuinely from the heart.

It presented a picture-perfect scene of the close bond between officials and people, deeply moving.

The gaunt old man wore an expression of profound gratitude on his face, while in his heart, he was already cursing the eighteen generations of these officials' ancestors.

These bureaucrats were masters at putting on a show; if anyone were foolish enough to take his words seriously and seek justice—

The officials certainly wouldn't dare to do anything while the Emperor was present, but the moment the Emperor left, those victims would undoubtedly be retaliated against until their families were ruined and destroyed.

Though burning with extreme fury, the old man did not dare to show the slightest trace of it on the outside.

Officials had the survival ways of officials, and common people had the survival ways of common people.

Commoners do not fight with officials—this was a principle passed down for thousands of years.

Unless driven to a desperate, inescapable plight, they would never dare to offend the ruling老爷 (masters).

After all... they still wanted to survive!

...

About two or three hours later, the thousands of refugees who had just gathered in the city suburbs were finally completely settled.

The Tongguan Magistrate, leading all the officials of the city, arrived at the county government office.

Nominally, the official staff of Tongguan County only numbered a few dozen, but the clerks and runners were far more numerous.

To demonstrate the importance they attached to the Emperor's summons and their obedience to the edict for all officials to assemble, the Tongguan Magistrate brought hundreds of people to the county office.

At the same time, to reflect their awe of imperial power, the hundreds of people knelt and shuffled forward on their knees the moment they passed through the gates of the county office.

They crawled all the way into the main hall in this manner. Because there were too many people and the hall was not large enough, the courtyard outside the main hall was also completely filled with kneeling people.

The Tongguan Magistrate and the principal county officials were at the very front of the procession. When entering the main hall just now, the Magistrate had secretly stolen a glance at the imperial countenance, trying to fathom the Emperor's intentions.

Yet after just one glance, he instantly lost the nerve to make any superfluous movements.

The black-clad guards flanking the hall had gazes like fierce wolves and tigers, terrifying to behold.

And the young Emperor sitting centrally upon the chair ahead radiated an aura that chilled one to the bone.

The Tongguan Magistrate struck his head heavily against the floor in a loud kowtow, then spoke: "Reporting to Your Majesty! A total of one thousand two hundred and seventeen disaster victims outside Tongguan City have all been properly settled!"

"Among them, one hundred and thirty-five weaker individuals have already been placed under special care by your humble servant, and physicians have been summoned to treat them!"

"Furthermore, when these disaster victims first fled to Tongguan, your humble servant also carried out extensive relief efforts, only..."

Before he could finish reciting the speech he had carefully prepared beforehand, the Tongguan Magistrate heard a voice devoid of any emotion ring out from ahead:

"Drag out the first row, and execute them by flaying."