Traveling to Ancient Times: My Space Contains Weapons

Chapter 380 The Great History of the Frontiers: Squeezing the People's Wealth

It turns out that Zhou Shixun's ascension to the throne was not a peaceful one.

Internally, the Red Swallows fight for power and profit; externally, small countries harass and disrupt.

Just as Chi Yanfei was launching an attack on Zhou Shixun, Yunbian was attacked by neighboring small countries.

So, with no time to spare, Zhou Shixun sent one of his veteran generals with a troop to support Yunbian City.

Unexpectedly, the small country only harassed the enemy and did not launch a large-scale attack.

Naturally, he was driven out of Great Xia by this veteran general.

After Zhou Shixun ascended the throne, this old Jiang was also promoted and became the governor of Yunbian City.

And this veteran naturally settled down in Yunbian City, spreading his influence and guarding the borders of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Under the leadership of this veteran general, Yunbian City experienced unprecedented prosperity, and the people lived in peace and contentment. Everyone was grateful for his kindness.

Little did they know that the old general was only on the battlefield in his old age, and he passed away just as he finished dealing with the clouds.

At this time, the old general's eldest son, Zhu Hongyi, who is now the owner of this palace, turned out to be an uneducated and dissolute young man.

After the old general died, he squandered the family business in less than a year, but he did not change his years of dissolute lifestyle, and he still had a whole family to support.

So he began to rely on the power of the garrison and slowly started to do whatever he wanted.

Not only did they force Yao Xiuming to increase taxes on the people, but they also demanded that Yao Xiuming hand over 80% of all his annual income to the various prefectures.

Yao Xiuming was helpless, after all, the military power of the entire Yunbian region was in the hands of others.

Therefore, he had no choice but to agree to Zhu Hongyi's request.

From then on, the people of Yunbian were plunged into misery.

Zhu Hongyi not only failed to restrain himself, but instead began to enjoy the feeling of being high and mighty even more.

From then on, he committed all sorts of evil deeds in Yunbian City, forcibly abducting women, arbitrarily beating and killing civilians, and doing all kinds of atrocities.

This also earned Zhu Hongyi the title of "Living Yama".

What's most hateful is that he forced Yao Xiuming to take his youngest daughter as a concubine, and she eventually died a violent death under his manipulation.

Looking at Yao Xiuming, who was crying and sniffling, Chu Chen frowned and asked.

"With such behavior, you didn't report it to His Majesty?"

"Hey, of course there were, but every time, he discovered it and then managed to smooth things over by maneuvering in the court."

Upon hearing this, Chu Chen thought to himself, "Zhou Shixun can't possibly be that kind of person."

In Chu Chen's eyes, at least for now, Zhou Shixun is a good emperor who loves his people like his own children.

But why let this matter go unchecked? It's hard to know what's going on in people's hearts. Chu Chen began to waver.

If Zhou Shixun was truly a tyrant who allowed his subordinates to run rampant, then how should he treat himself?

Chu Chen pondered this carefully in his mind.

A short while later, Chu Chen had a new idea in his mind.

If I kill this person, I wonder how Zhou Shixun's attitude towards me will change?

If what Yao Xiuming said is true, then killing someone whom everyone should kill is justified.

This can be considered a good deed done for the people of Yunbian.

However, I shouldn't just listen to one side of the story; I should take another look and investigate further.

So he spoke to Yao Xiuming and said, "Lord City Lord, please calm down. Those who do evil will be punished by Heaven."

"It's getting late. How about I stay at your city lord's mansion tonight?"

"Young Master Chu, I would be more than happy to accept this dilapidated place of mine!"

Seeing that Chu Chen did not immediately express his opinion, Yao Xiuming could guess what was going on.

If Chu Chen were to help based solely on his own words, the chances of bringing down Zhu Hongyi would probably be slim.

Since he was able to move into his own city lord's mansion, it means that Chu Chen took this matter to heart.

However, Yao Xiuming was also secretly worried that if Chu Chen and Zhu Hongyi had known each other for a long time, then he would be the one to suffer.

However, rumors circulate that the young master Chu before them is a truly benevolent person and should not be someone like Zhu Hongyi.

Yao Xiuming was also gambling at this moment, betting that Chu Chen was a good person.

After being led to a room by Yao Xiuming, Chu Chen closed the door behind him and sat on the bed to think.

If Yao Xiuming is telling the truth, should I really pursue that so-called "Grand Historian of the Frontier" project?

This had two advantages. First, it helped the people of Yunbian escape their suffering.

Second, test Zhou Shixun to see if he would punish him.

Little did Chu Chen know that Zhou Shixun had been kept in the dark about everything Zhu Hongyi had done so far.

Every time Yao Xiuming submitted a memorial, it was secretly intercepted.

This caused Zhou Shixun to harbor some resentment towards Yao Xiuming, saying that he was not diligent in his duties and never submitted memorials.

"Since that's the case, then tomorrow, let's take a stroll around Yunbian Street. We're just killing time anyway."

I will be staying in Cloud Edge City for some time, at least until the intelligence network is fully established before I can leave.

The next morning, Chu Chen pushed open the door, and two thin maids came in with hot water, towels, and other items to help him wash up.

Looking at the two thin girls, Chu Chen felt a pang of pity.

"I don't need to be served. You two can rest."

As she spoke, she walked towards the washbasin, washed her face, filled it with water, and began brushing her teeth.

The two little girls stared blankly at Chu Chen as he performed his actions. Although they had never seen it before, in their minds, this must be something only noble people could enjoy.

Looking at the dilapidated mansion, the two women sighed inwardly. Although they had entered the prestigious city lord's mansion, their lives were not even as good as some wealthy families.

As the saying goes, people have different fates. I've heard that the maids in the city lord's mansion outside are living very well.

After Chu Chen finished washing up, he looked at the two people who were staring blankly and said, "I have nothing to do today, how about you two show me around Yunbian City?"

"I am at your disposal, young master."

"Alright, let's set off then!"

Chu Chen put his things down and walked towards the door.

Upon seeing this, the two maids quickly came up: "Young master, you haven't had breakfast yet!"

"Haha, no, you two take me to find some delicious food in the cloud-side. The bland, watery food at home is tasteless."

Upon hearing Chu Chen's words, the younger maid looked at her older sister with wide, sparkling eyes.

Then she whispered, "Sis, we don't have the money to eat out."

The voice wasn't loud, but Chu Chen, who was very attentive, heard it clearly.

He thought to himself, "This city lord's mansion is really poor. They can't even afford to pay for hospitality. No wonder the maid's clothes are patched on top of patched."

So he quickly said, "Come on, what are you two standing there for? I'm treating you to some good food and drinks today."

At that very moment, in the adjacent grand palace, a subordinate was lewdly reporting to Zhu Hongyi…