Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 113

Chapter 113 County Magistrate Mie Men (2) First Guard
This was a battle without suspense, and the outcome was already determined at the same time as it started.

Hearing Lu Zhen’s words, Zhuang Ding, who was already frightened to death, lost his fighting spirit. When he saw the officers and soldiers attacking with their swords and spears, his hands and feet became weak, he couldn’t lift his club, and he couldn’t take a step forward.

Normally, they did look fierce and unusually fierce, but that was only when they were facing ordinary people who had no ability to fight back. They really encountered officers and soldiers who were even fiercer than them. These Zhuang Ding immediately displayed the meaning of the words’bullying good and fearing evil ‘vividly.

Especially when two of their companions mustered up the courage they didn’t have left to face the officers and soldiers and were struck to the ground by their knives, the remaining people were so frightened that they immediately dropped their weapons and knelt on the ground. Although they were loyal to the Guo Clan, they still scored points. Now that loyalty would take their lives, there was no need to hesitate.

The officers and soldiers rushed over aggressively. As a result, almost no one resisted. This made them feel rather uncomfortable. They could only kick Zhuang Ding, who had knelt on the ground, out of breath with a hateful kick. At this moment, these people didn’t even dare to dodge. They could only forcefully take a kick and then fall to the ground pretending to be dead. Being kicked was more comfortable than being hacked to death by a knife.

Guo Rong, Guo Wei, and Guo Xiong were also dumbfounded when they saw this result. By the time they regained their senses, several knives had already been placed on their necks, and if there was any movement, the officers and soldiers wielding the knives would end their lives.

Only when the situation was completely under control did Lu Zhen enter the courtyard. His gaze only shifted on the three of them and landed on Guo Rong, who was dressed in the most luxurious clothes. “You must be Guo Rong, the villa master of Guo Jia Villa, right?”

Although Guo Rong was panicking, he still forced himself to look back at Lu Zhen and asked, “Who exactly are you? You dare to intrude into my house to slander me? There is no grudge between us!” Although these words were considered tough, his trembling voice still showed his fear.

“Villa Master Guo is really a forgetful person. Just now, the people from Crouching Tiger Village intercepted and killed this official halfway. Turning around, they forgot about this matter. I’m really worried about you.” Lu Zhen shook his head and said mockingly.

Hearing this, Guo Rong’s expression changed. Sure enough, something happened! The other two people beside him were even more frightened, their entire bodies trembling, their eyes filled with despair. As insiders, they naturally knew what kind of calamity this failure would bring.

Although Guo Rong was terrified to the extreme, he was still forcefully supporting himself, “I … I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know anything about Crouching Tiger Village. My Guo Clan has always been law-abiding and has never had anything to do with bandits, let alone the government …”

“Really? Looks like Manor Master Guo is planning to refuse to admit his guilt?” Lu Zhen didn’t show the slightest bit of anger when he said that. He still smiled.

“Even though the grass-roots people are ordinary people, the government must prove that they want to convict me!” At this point, Guo Rong had no choice but to walk a path until it was dark. It was innocent to bite him. Fortunately, he discovered that there weren’t any people from Crouching Tiger Village here, so they probably didn’t fall into each other’s hands, so he still had room to maneuver.

As long as he could not produce any solid evidence, even if he went to the government to fight a lawsuit, he would still be able to protect himself with his years of operation in Guangchang, plus a bit of effort from head to toe.

Seeing his eyes flicker, Lu Zhen had already guessed what he was planning. He sighed and said, “Yes, I really can’t give any evidence now. As for the witnesses, those thieves from the Crouching Tiger Village were all killed on the spot. Naturally, the dead can’t testify against you. What should I do?”

Li Hun frowned when he heard this. County Magistrate Lu seemed to be a little too arrogant. He shouldn’t have killed everyone before, but now it was a little troublesome. Even Li Xian looked at Lu Zhen puzzledly, not understanding what kind of medicine he was selling in his gourd.

Only Lin Lie didn’t have the slightest bit of doubt. He believed that Lu Zhen must have planned this long ago. This point of view wasn’t a problem at all.

Just as Guo Rong thought that he had stabilized the situation, Lu Zhen suddenly sneered, “If the government wants to convict someone, it would be best if someone were to testify against them. But what if this official is unreasonable?”

“You … What do you mean?” Lu Zhen spoke with a strong killing intent, causing Guo Rong’s heart to suddenly tighten. If it weren’t for someone holding him back, he would probably have retreated.

Lu Zhen’s expression suddenly turned cold, “Investigate, Guo Rong, the Guo Clan Villa’s Villa Master, and a bunch of people in the Villa colluded with the mountain bandits to intercept and kill the officials, guilty of complicity in the rebellion. Write an order, immediately kill them! Kill them!”

“You” Guo Rong did not expect that Lu Zhen would suddenly convict him of such a crime, so he was panicking and still wanted to argue. However, the soldier behind him did not give him this chance. When Lu Zhen’s word’kill ‘was spoken, the knives in their palms were already waved. A cold light flashed, and three heads with faces full of shock and panic fell to the ground amidst the miserable screams.

These soldiers were the ones who had been attacked by the people from Crouching Tiger Village, so they naturally hated the Guo Clan to the bone. Now that Lu Zhen had given the order, they didn’t think too much about it and just slashed out with one blade, which could be considered as taking out a mouthful of anger for themselves and their deceased brothers.

The three of them were killed in the blink of an eye. Not only were the surrounding Zhuang Ding scared silent, even the ordinary soldiers were dumbfounded. Only at this time did Li Hun vaguely guess Lu Zhen’s thoughts. Killing someone would be considered a complete conviction for the Guo Clan. No matter how much the local government wanted to protect them, there was no need for them to fight Lu Zhen because of some dead people in front of such a result. This drastic plan was truly accurate and ruthless, causing people to tremble with fear. Only at this time did he finally understand why Lu Zhen, the county magistrate, was able to gain such fame in Shanxi. It was difficult not to be famous for his methods and courage.

Guo Rong’s eyes were wide open when he died, and it was obvious that he could not die in peace. He would never understand why he ended up like this.

In fact, he made a big mistake from the beginning. He forgot the old saying that the people do not fight with the officials. Even if this official was just a passing county magistrate, if an ordinary citizen wanted to be his enemy, his fate would definitely not be too good.

The endurance of local officials had given him the misconception that he had some property and some wealth that he could be lawless. Now, Lu Zhen had used a blood lesson to tell him that this was not the case at all. In front of the machine of state violence, a commoner like him was just a bunch of bugs that could be crushed at any time. It was not worth mentioning at all.

Moreover, Lu Zhen’s revenge on the Guo Clan was far from over. After ordering his men to kill Guo Rong and the others on the spot, he turned his gaze to the other Zhuang Ding, causing everyone to panic. Some even kowtowed and begged for mercy, “My lord, please spare my life. I’m just a servant who obeys orders. I don’t know anything …”

“All of you, get up and bring the officers and soldiers to check the entire Guojiazhuang Garden. Take down all the people in charge of the family and bring them out to be held accountable!” Lu Zhen ordered as he pointed at the people in front of him.

Those people had long been frightened to death by this bloody slaughter. How dare they not obey? They hurriedly agreed to stand up and obediently brought a group of officers and soldiers and rushed back into the mansion.

Lu Zhen then added, “Since the Guo Clan has committed the crime of conspiracy, their property should be confiscated. All of you should be found by this official!”

“Yes!” When the officers and soldiers heard this, their spirits lifted and they hurriedly agreed. They were too clear about what this meant. They could get a lot of benefits from raiding other people’s houses.

That’s right. Not only did Lu Zhen come here today to kill, he also wanted to rob his family. It was said that the county magistrate who plagiarized the clan and the prefecture governor who exterminated the clan would do both of these things together today.

Very quickly, screams and tears could be heard from inside, but the women from the Guo Clan’s inner mansion were dragged out by the Guan Jun who had rushed in.

Facing these people’s screams for mercy, although Lu Zhen’s heart was a little uneasy, he quickly suppressed himself. This was the path they had chosen. Since they had lived a carefree life because of this identity, they would have to pay a corresponding price for it. Today was the time for the price to be fulfilled.

Many women in disheveled clothes, as well as other servants and stewards of the inner mansion, were dragged out. Afterwards, some of the gold, silver, and belongings were ordered to be carried out by the officers and men and placed in the open space of the front yard. After a while, he put away several boxes of property. Based on this calculation, the Guo Clan really had a lot of money.

The officers and soldiers stared at these things with coveting and greedy gazes, but because Lu Zhen was present, they did not dare to snatch them away. One had to know that they only received three to five taels of silver a year. If the property in front of them were to be divided, how could they receive several years of income?

Lu Zhen’s gaze was not on these things, but on all the people who were brought out of the inner mansion. After the last person was escorted out, but he was still not the person he wanted to see, his brows furrowed. “Just these people? Nobody else?”

“Exactly … Exactly. We searched the entire manor and found no one else.” A soldier leading the troops hurriedly replied.

Lu Zhen immediately turned his head to the other side and said, “Tell me, where is your Young Manor Master Guo Que?” That’s right, what he was looking for was precisely this culprit!

Ever since they entered Guojiazhuang, this Young Master Guo had never appeared. Of course, Lu Zhen didn’t want to let go of this hateful fellow.

“I … My young master left the manor at noon today. I heard he’s staying at my uncle’s house for a few days …” A manor steward carefully replied.

Hearing this, Lu Zhen couldn’t help but lower his head to look at Guo Rong, who had long since died. “This Manor Master Guo really has some foresight.”