In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 76 Rebellion

Li Hu and Li Ying's eyes fell on Xu Zhiwen, their expressions shocked!

Anyone with a bit of status in Taiping County knew that Magistrate Xu Zhiwen was just a figurehead, a scholar with an official position but no real power. Li Hu and Li Ying thought so too.

However, Xu Zhiwen's performance at this moment was clearly contrary to their understanding. He broke off a piece of bluestone with his bare hands, something that even an eighth-rank martial artist could not do!

This means... this county magistrate, who is considered a mascot, is actually a seventh-rank martial artist.

A seemingly weak and powerless scholar is actually one of the top seventh-rank martial artists in the entire Taiping County...

"The county magistrate has been hiding his true intentions very well!"

Li Hu stared intently at Xu Zhiwen, even he had never sensed any vital energy in Xu Zhiwen's body.

Xu Zhiwen smiled and said, "To be honest, Master Li, I have been good at martial arts since I was a child. My father originally hoped that I would learn martial arts, but my mother hoped that I would study literature. The two elders could not agree, so they made a compromise and let me cultivate both literature and martial arts!"

From a young age, I studied in the mornings and practiced martial arts in the afternoons. Fortunately, I had a good aptitude for both academics and martial arts, and managed to achieve some success in both.

Some achievements...

Li Hu's lips twitched. It was only because he didn't understand Earth's internet slang that he was angry and started cursing Xu Zhiwen about Versailles.

Damn, he's skilled in both literature and martial arts, passed the imperial examinations, and even became a seventh-rank martial artist...

At this moment, Li Hu felt a sense of injustice, thinking that others could become seventh-rank martial artists by practicing both martial arts and literature, while he, who focused solely on martial arts, found it so difficult to advance to the seventh rank, even needing the help of the Blood Feather Chicken...

Li Hu almost shed tears of weakness; it was just too damn infuriating.

"Now, does Master Li believe what I said?"

Xu Zhiwen ended his Versailles act and asked.

"I have a question, and I wonder if Your Excellency could answer it for me?"

"Please say."

"Why is the county magistrate so determined to deal with the three major families?" Li Hu asked.

"Master Li, you must have seen those refugees outside the city, right?"

"Of course I have seen it."

Although Li Hu rarely went out, he still visited the refugees who gathered outside the city and even arranged for people to distribute porridge outside the city.

"My background is not good."

Xu Zhiwen suddenly changed the subject and started talking about his family background: "My father was just the son of a merchant with a little money. He spent money to learn some basic moves at a martial arts school. My mother also came from a humble family. I have personally witnessed how difficult it was for my parents to support my studies and martial arts training. I also know how difficult it is for ordinary people at the bottom of society."

"I am dull-witted. I have read countless books over the years, but I have not fully grasped all the principles in them. However, I have learned some principles from them."

“I have never farmed the land, yet I have grain to eat; I have never raised chickens or ducks, yet I have meat to eat; I have never chopped firewood, yet I have an endless supply of firewood to burn! And all of this is the result of the hard work and sweat of countless ordinary people.”

“My salary comes from the people, and now those people outside the city who once supported me are starving to death every day. This makes my conscience uneasy, so I have no choice but to ‘borrow’ the Zhu family’s grain to help them.”

After hearing Xu Zhiwen's words, Li Hu fell silent. He had speculated countless times about the reasons why Xu Zhiwen was eliminating the Zheng family, and most of his guesses were based on interests and power.

But I never imagined that... Xu Zhiwen's reason for wanting to eliminate the Zhu family was so simple, just for the refugees outside the city, simply because he couldn't bear to watch the people starve to death!

At this moment, Li Hu couldn't help but feel a deep respect. In his more than forty years of life, he had seen countless corrupt officials and powerful people who fought endlessly for power and profit, but he had never seen an official like Xu Zhiwen who was only thinking about the people.

"How does the magistrate intend to eliminate the Zhu family?"

Li Hu asked.

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhiwen's eyes lit up. Since Li Hu inquired about eliminating the Zheng family, it meant that he intended to stand on his side.

"I have already made all the necessary arrangements..."

Xu Zhiwen calmly explained his plan, and Li Hu and Li Ying nodded repeatedly. The county magistrate's plan had a high success rate, and both of them thought it was very feasible.

but……

Li Hu's eyes darted around, and he asked, "After eliminating the Zhu family, how does the county magistrate plan to allocate the Zhu family's resources?"

Everything has to be about interests. Although Li Hu is a kind-hearted person, he would never risk dealing with the Zhu family just to benefit the people.

"I had already considered this matter beforehand."

Xu Zhiwen said confidently, "After the Zhu family falls, all their grain and land will belong to the government, while the Fuhu Boxing School, which helped me, can obtain all of the Zhu family's medicine shops and medicinal fields."

The Zhu family's businesses were mostly in grain and medicinal herbs. This was true not only for the Zhu family, but also for the three major families in Taiping County.

The county magistrate took the grain and land, while the medicinal herbs went to the Fuhu Boxing School. Li Hu could accept this arrangement, so he nodded and agreed: "Then it's settled! After the Zhu family falls, the medicinal herbs will be mine, and the grain will go to the county magistrate."

"very good!"

Xu Zhiwen stroked his beard, a broad smile on his face. With Li Hu's addition, he felt more confident about eliminating the Zhu family.

As a result, the atmosphere in the courtyard became more relaxed. Li Hu asked Li Ying to brew a pot of tea, and he and Xu Zhiwen sat facing each other, drinking tea and chatting.

"correct!"

Just then, Xu Zhiwen seemed to remember something, took out a piece of paper covered with writing from the inside of his clothes, and handed it to Li Hu, saying, "Master Li, you might want to take a look at this."

Li Hu took a look and his pupils immediately trembled.

The paper doesn't have much content, but what it contains is quite astonishing!

"There's actually a rebellion in Liangzhou?"

Li Hu spoke in a hoarse voice, as if talking to himself.

The contents of the paper were probably copied by Xu Zhiwen from the official gazette, and it contained news of a rebellion in Liangzhou.

In Liangzhou, a young man conscripted to serve in the Great Wall army, dissatisfied with the government's actions, brazenly gathered his acquaintances and killed the government officials escorting him. He then rallied all the other conscripted men, shouting a deafening slogan: "The emperor, prime minister, nobles, and officials are nothing more than mortals like us! Why do they stand high above us, enslaving us? Today, I, Yang Zheng, will rebel against them and drag this dog emperor off the throne!"

Perhaps it was because Yang Zheng's words were so persuasive, or perhaps it was because the people of Liangzhou were already dissatisfied with the court's actions, but Yang Zheng's rebellion went exceptionally smoothly. He gathered conscripted young men and refugees, and captured one county town after another. Every time he entered a county town, his first act was to kill all the officials and clerks in the town, and then open the county town's granaries and distribute them to his subordinates and the poor people in the town.

This move made Yang Zheng very popular, and his rebellion gained more support from the poor.