Chapter 45: Investigating Corruption with Wisdom, Comforting the Common People with Benevolence
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After formulating a preliminary plan, Li Chengyin decided to personally investigate the surrounding counties and uncover the truth. He knew that hearsay could not be trusted; only what one witnessed with one’s own eyes was certain. Only by investigating in person could he obtain solid evidence and expose the dark truth hidden beneath the surface.
Thus, on a hazy moonlit night, Li Chengyin dressed in black and slipped quietly into the county town, as elusive as a ghost in the darkness.
He evaded the guards patrolling the streets and moved with ease through the narrow, tangled lanes. His gaze was sharp as he carefully observed everything around him.
The townspeople all wore faces of sorrow, their eyes filled with weariness and despair. By contrast, the mansions of the powerful and wealthy blazed with lights, while laughter and merriment rang out without end.
Investigating in secret, Li Chengyin discovered that matters were indeed just as he had expected. The officials who held power were all consumed by greed, ruthlessly exploiting the common people.
They invented one pretext after another to impose harsh taxes and levies. After laboring throughout the year, the people found nearly all their grain and money stripped away from them.
Many households had been reduced to utter poverty, unable even to secure the basic necessities of food and clothing. Their lives had fallen into desperate straits, and the people could scarcely survive.
Li Chengyin watched it all in silence, his anger burning fiercely within him. Yet he knew that now, more than ever, he had to remain calm.
Without revealing his intentions, he secretly sent men to gather evidence of the officials’ embezzlement and corruption. Every account book and every witness statement was carefully recorded.
After several days of arduous investigation, he finally obtained sufficient evidence and exposed the crimes of the corrupt officials one by one.
Before long, Li Chengyin decisively ordered the arrest of every official who had abused his power and committed wrongdoing.
To avoid alerting the powerful minister at court, he devised a plan. Publicly, he announced that the officials would be sentenced to death.
He then arranged for Pei Zhao to escort Lin Wei and the other officials back to the capital under cover of night.
Throughout the journey, Pei Zhao acted with exceptional caution, taking every possible precaution to ensure that nothing went wrong.
With the corrupt officials brought to justice, the situation in the surrounding counties gradually began to improve.
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When news that the corrupt officials had been punished spread throughout the surrounding counties, the people learned that Li Chengyin had secured justice for them, and their hearts filled with gratitude.
On a bright and sunny day, the townspeople spontaneously gathered in the central square. Men and women, young and old alike, knelt and bowed repeatedly toward the place where Li Chengyin stood, offering their thanks. Tears glimmered in their eyes as they praised his benevolence, their heartfelt gratitude impossible to conceal.
Li Chengyin gazed at the scene before him, moved yet burdened by what he saw.
He knew that although the people had temporarily escaped the oppression of the corrupt officials, the shadow of drought still hung over the land, and their lives remained difficult.
He therefore decided to petition the throne at once for the relief grain to be redistributed, hoping to ease the people’s immediate suffering.
Li Chengyin personally composed the memorial, detailing the disaster afflicting the surrounding counties and the hardships endured by the people. His words were earnest, and his feelings sincere.
He dispatched a trusted aide to carry the memorial to the capital at full speed, while he remained in the county town, anxiously awaiting the court’s reply.
As they waited for the imperial decree, Li Chengyin and Xiaofeng did not remain idle. They went deep into the fields, carefully examining the parched earth, dried-up streams, and empty wells.
Li Chengyin’s brow furrowed as he pondered a solution. Xiaofeng stayed beside him, gently offering comfort, support, and strength.
After surveying the area, they decided to work together to reopen the wells and channels, so that the underground water might once again rise and nourish the parched land.
Li Chengyin and Xiaofeng personally led the people, taking up their tools and beginning the excavation.
They paid no heed to the blazing sun. Sweat soaked through their clothes, and their hands blistered and bled, yet they refused to give up.
With everyone working together, the wells and channels were finally reopened. Clear spring water slowly surged forth, and in that moment, the people erupted in joyful cheers.
Next, Li Chengyin organized skilled craftsmen to construct waterwheels.
He personally took part in designing and assembling them. Drawing on his intelligence and understanding of mechanical principles, he ensured that the waterwheels could operate with maximum efficiency.
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The waterwheels turned, lifting water from the wells and channels into the fields, where large-scale irrigation began.
Meanwhile, Xiaofeng led the women and the elderly in rebuilding their homes.
She directed everyone as they cleared away the ruins, carried timber and stones, and reconstructed the houses.
Though Xiaofeng was a woman, her resilience and fearlessness earned the people’s profound admiration.
Under her leadership, one house after another gradually rose from the ground. The structures were simple, but they were filled with hope.
As time passed, the imperial decree finally arrived, approving the redistribution of relief grain.
Li Chengyin immediately organized its reception and distribution, ensuring that every household received enough food.
Through the combined efforts of Li Chengyin and Xiaofeng, this land, once devastated and awaiting renewal, began to function once more.
In the fields, tender green shoots broke through the soil, heralding new life and hope. In the villages, smiles returned to the faces of the people, and their lives gradually began to follow a stable course.
Afterward, merchants’ cries rose and fell through the streets, while children’s laughter once again echoed through the lanes. In the fields, the people worked tirelessly, sowing seeds of hope and awaiting a harvest yet to come.
Standing atop a height overlooking the county town, Li Chengyin gazed at the landscape slowly returning to life, his heart filled with countless emotions.
He knew that this was merely a small victory in his struggle against the dark forces at court.
Yet he firmly believed that, so long as he persevered and relied upon wisdom and strategy, one day he would completely eradicate that evil power, restore the Li Dynasty to an age of peace and clarity, and enable all the people beneath Heaven to live happy, peaceful, and prosperous lives.
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