Late Han Dynasty: Did the Yellow Emperor truly descend?

Chapter 27 Corruption in Government

Li Sheng listened quietly for a while, then suddenly spoke.

"Anything else?"

Everyone was taken aback.

What else?

What else?

They looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion. They had already told the truth—that they had been forced by the thieves—wasn't that enough? What else did this official want to hear?

The crowd fell silent.

After a brief silence, a young voice suddenly rang out from the back of the crowd.

"Even if the thieves didn't force us, we wouldn't survive!"

The voice carried a hint of despair, as if something that had been bottled up inside for too long was finally being squeezed out.

All eyes turned to the source of the sound.

Li Sheng's gaze also locked onto the young man in the crowd.

In his early twenties, he was so thin that his cheekbones were prominent, and the sallow complexion on his face was particularly striking in the morning light. His clothes were tattered and torn to shreds.

There was no fear in his eyes, only a cold indifference of resignation.

"You, step forward."

Li Sheng accurately pointed out the man speaking in the crowd.

The young man paused for a moment, seemingly not expecting that his casual remark would be mentioned.

People around him instinctively stepped aside, making way for him.

He gritted his teeth, dragged his feet to Li Sheng, and bent his knees to kneel down.

"Speak while standing."

Li Shengdao.

The young man stopped, head down, hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"Explain yourself clearly."

Li Sheng's voice was neither hurried nor slow.

The young man remained silent for a while before finally looking up at Li Sheng.

"Fine, I'll say it."

His voice was trembling, but it didn't sound like he was afraid.

"Sir, in our village, there are ten households. After harvesting the crops and paying the taxes last autumn, the grain left wouldn't even last through the winter. Many families have run out of food and have to dig for wild vegetables and peel tree bark. The children are crying from hunger. My father was sick for more than half a year, but we didn't have money to see a doctor, so we could only tough it out at home. He passed away last month, and there wasn't even a single grain of rice left in the pot when he died."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"What about the Wang family? The Wang family has grain. The granaries in the fortified village are piled high. We're starving, looking at the grain inside those high walls, but it belongs to them, and we can't touch it."

At this point, the young man's voice suddenly rose.

"It's not that we haven't tried to borrow grain. But the Wang family requires land as collateral when they borrow money or grain. They demand three dou back for every dou borrowed, and if we can't repay, they use our land as collateral. That's how we lost our land! A perfectly good piece of land, the Wang family just took it away whenever they wanted. That's when my father fell ill!"

The young man's eyes reddened, but he didn't shed a tear.

"The thieves came this time, saying that if I went with them I would get food. I didn't want to come, but my mother was hungry and my brother was hungry. I thought that even if it cost me my life, I had to make sure they got a full meal."

He's finished speaking.

Whispers rippled through the crowd.

Before Li Sheng could speak, Wang Mao stepped forward with a cold expression.

"Brave warrior, do not be deceived by these unruly people!"

Wang Mao pointed at the young man, his voice carrying a hint of sternness.

"Wang kindly lent him grain to save his entire family's lives, and not only is he ungrateful, but now he's turned around and accused my Wang family of extortion! Where is justice? Brave men, see this clearly! Such accomplices should be executed on the spot!"

After he finished speaking, he took a deep breath, slowed his tone slightly, and added a sentence in a leisurely manner.

"Wang and the Xu family of Xiapi have always been on good terms. If Lord Xu knew about this matter, he would certainly support Wang in handling it impartially."

He emphasized the words "Xu family" very heavily.

Li Sheng looked at Wang Mao quietly.

Then, he slowly began to speak.

"Who said I'm a government official?"

His voice wasn't loud, and his tone was even calm, but his words, when spoken, were like a boulder thrown into water, creating ripples.

Wang Mao was stunned and couldn't respond for a moment.

"I have never claimed to be a government official."

Li Sheng repeated it, his gaze as calm as a deep pool of water.

The courtyard fell silent once again.

Wang Mao's expression froze for a moment, then a hint of doubt flashed across his face, followed by a tentative look.

"Brave warriors...aren't government officials? Then what about their leather armor, and this group of men...?"

Seeing the Wang family patriarch's expression, Liu Wu and his brothers burst into laughter.

"The government? Those spineless officials are still holed up inside the city!"

Then Liu Wu suddenly changed the subject and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Li Sheng.

"If it weren't for our eldest brother's suggestion, you would all have been ravaged by the bandits by now!"

When the villagers learned that Li Sheng and his men were not soldiers sent by the county, their mood instantly turned from sorrow to joy.

The good thing is that they don't have to worry about being accused of thievery and then being punished by the government.

Sadly, it's still unknown how these thugs will deal with them!

Don't go from one "wolf's den" to another "tiger's lair".

After Li Sheng finished speaking, the room fell silent for a moment.

The people kneeling on the ground looked at each other, their fear still lingering, now tinged with bewilderment.

Not a government official?

So, who exactly are these people wearing leather armor?

Li Sheng slammed his iron halberd into the ground, the shaft embedding itself in the soil and standing upright.

He looked around, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"We are the local militia of Dongping Village."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the people.

"Dongping Village is located just south of the county seat. My surname is Li, and my given name is Sheng. I am the leader of the local militia in Dongping Village."

The people whispered amongst themselves.

"It seems some of you know about Dongping Village, but that's alright."

Li Sheng's voice was calm, as if he were talking about something completely ordinary.

"What I want to tell everyone is that the government in the county town has abandoned all the people outside the town."

These words struck the crowd like a stone.

"What?"

"How could the government..."

The people all raised their heads, their eyes filled with anger.

Strangely, few people questioned the news that Li Sheng had told them.

Clearly, time has proven that everyone knows what kind of people the government really is, but they are just unwilling to expose it.

Li Sheng didn't say much, but just gave Liu Wu a wink.

Liu Wu understood, took two steps forward, and said loudly.

"We've already been to the county town. The city gates are packed with fleeing people. The government only lets people in, ignoring everyone outside. All the county soldiers are holed up inside the town; not a single one has come out to meet the enemy. Even the patrols have been withdrawn!"

Zhao Hu also chimed in with a curse.

"Those officials only care about their own lives; they don't care about the lives of us common people outside the city! Just the other day they were making us donate money and pay taxes, saying it was to protect the borders and keep the people safe, but it turns out they're only protecting themselves!"

As the people listened, their anger intensified, quickly turning into an indescribable despair.

A middle-aged man slapped his thigh suddenly and said through gritted teeth.

"I knew it! I knew those corrupt officials couldn't be trusted!"