Pig Killer

Chapter 375

"Then you might as well sentence them to death!" the little emperor snorted.

"No, no, no... We won't kill innocent people." Huang Zhongchang looked at him with clear eyes.

The little emperor looked up at him with an incredible look on his face, obviously not believing him.

"Of course we are doing justice for those who are guilty and deserve to be put to death," Huang Zhongchang said righteously.

"Tsk..." The little emperor curled his lips in disdain and blurted out, "You can represent the sky."

"It seems that you, the emperor, are not that good." Shen Hui'e said bluntly.

Upon hearing this, the little emperor puffed up his cheeks and looked at her angrily.

"Why are you not convinced?" Huang Zhongchang looked at the little emperor with amusement and said seriously, "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world."

Huang Zhongchang looked at the high stone steps, climbed up, and stepped into the majestic hall.

Civil and military officials knelt on cushions in an orderly manner.

Huang Zhongchang didn't waste any time talking to them. He sat on the steps below the dragon throne and went straight to the point. He prepared pen and ink, and each of them went to a small dark room (there was no shortage of rooms in the palace after all), to confess his crimes.

The civil official was shocked when he heard this, and then started cursing.

Huang Zhongchang waved his hand and dragged them down into the small room. "By the way, we won't let them eat grass roots or tree bark. There are abundant wild vegetables now. Let's steam wild vegetable dumplings for them. What do the common people eat? They should also try it."

The civil officials were all dragged away. Huang Zhongchang looked at the military generals and asked, "Are the Northwest Border troops adequately supplied with food and grass?"

No one responded. What does this mean?

"Why are my questions so difficult to answer? Or you just don't understand." Huang Zhongchang looked at them with amusement and said.

"The Northwest has been out of food for half a year."

Huang Zhongchang nodded when he heard this, "Then there will be enough food for the people in the city."

"The people in the city have run out of food."

"What about the granary?" Huang Zhongchang continued to ask.

"There is not a single grain in the national treasury granary."

"Mr. Huang wants to send grain to the warehouse, but there is no grain to send."

"No food!" Huang Zhongchang raised his lips and smiled slightly, "If there is food, there must be more than enough."

"The people in the city have run out of food."

"At the minister's home!" Huang Zhongchang said as he looked at them, holding his chin with one hand.

"It's not good for Mr. Huang to do this!"

"Not good!" Huang Zhongchang put his index finger on his lips and looked at them. "What do you think these starving people will do if they know that the granaries of the officials are full?" He ran his index finger across his chin and said, "Besides stealing food, what else will they do?"

"You...you..." The generals stared at him in astonishment, stammering.

They know it all too well.

"What's wrong with me?" Huang Zhongchang looked at them with a smile and said, "My soldiers are all camped outside the city. Without military orders, they will not set foot in the city. If there is a riot in the city, it has nothing to do with me." He swept his eyes over them and said, "You deserve it. You reap what you sow! In short: you deserve it!"

Huang Zhongchang smiled and said, "I don't need to teach you how to choose!"

"I'll surrender, I'll surrender." The generals immediately surrendered. This guy was so ruthless and cruel.

"Beat the gongs and drums to notify the common people in the city to open the granaries and release grain. Register any good sons from the families who are joining the army in the northwest and give them an extra ten kilograms of corn." Huang Zhongchang looked at them with his dark and bright eyes and said.

After Huang Zhongchang issued the orders one after another, with the example of Hezhong Prefecture, the soldiers began to act in an orderly manner.

As for the military officers in the center of the hall, they were imprisoned together with the civil officials. "By the way, give them the account books."

"What for?" the little emperor asked curiously.

"Let them settle accounts and quarrel!" Huang Zhongchang said, looking at the little emperor with a smile, "They can quarrel till the end of time."

"You are so mean." Shen Hui'e looked at him with a mixed feeling of laughter and gave him a thumbs up.

"Is it as easy as you think?" The little emperor looked at them with disbelief.

"Don't believe it! Go and see for yourself." Huang Zhongchang looked at him with a smile on his face.

"You are opening the granaries to release grain, aren't you afraid of false reporting? The common people are very cunning." The little emperor glanced at him and said.

"All soldiers who join the army are registered. If you dare to lie, you must bear the consequences." Huang Zhongchang looked at him with a cold look in his eyes.

"You are really good at winning people's hearts." The little emperor snorted.

"But you are not willing to do such a simple thing as winning people's hearts." Huang Zhongchang looked at him deeply and said.

The little emperor felt embarrassed when he heard this and pursed his lips.

"The granaries in the homes of the civil and military officials are full and even moldy, but they are unwilling to share with the common people in the city." Shen Hui'e snorted coldly, "If we give them food, the common people in this city will pick up kitchen knives and fight to the death. How can we enter the city so easily?"

"Is it as exaggerated as you say, moldy?" the little emperor said in disbelief.

"You don't believe it, right? You'll know later." Shen Hui'e looked at him with her deep and penetrating eyes.

"What if there is not enough food?" the little emperor said deliberately.

"Believe me, it's enough, more than enough." Shen Hui'e looked at him with clear and bright eyes.

"What if it's not enough?" said the little emperor unconvinced.

"Summer harvest is coming soon." Huang Zhongchang said to him with a smile on his face.

"It's still about collecting taxes." said the little emperor unhappily.

"Necessary taxes are what we should pay, but your family keeps increasing taxes." Huang Zhongchang looked at him with his dark eyes and said, "The people are so hungry that they have no choice but to sell their children and land. Shouldn't this kind of court be overthrown?"

"Can you promise that you will never increase taxes?" the little emperor snorted.

"I can guarantee that I will not increase taxes this day." Huang Zhongchang said with a gleam in his eyes.

"What about your descendants during your reign?" The little emperor looked at him dissatisfiedly and said, "You are bullying children!"

"You've figured it out, you're still a kid!" Huang Zhongchang looked at him with amusement and said, "Hasn't your family's tax remained the same since your ancestors? Has it remained the same?"

"Then... no." The little emperor sighed and looked at him and said, "When my father was in power, taxes were not increased. It was only during my brother's first two years in office that taxes were increased again and again."

"That's it. Things are constantly changing. Nothing is static." Huang Zhongchang looked at him gently and said, "Everything has a limit, and the taxes shouldn't all be levied on the common people."

"What do you mean?" The little emperor looked at him with his eyes wide open and said, "If it is not imposed on the common people, then it will be imposed on the civil and military officials and nobles."

"There is an account book. You will know when you look at it later." Huang Zhongchang looked at him with his dark eyes and said, "The child knows how to read, right?"

"I've learned that." The little emperor puffed out his cheeks and said anxiously.