Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 114

Chapter 114 Sect Extermination County Magistrate (3) Second Shift
Seeing Lu Zhen’s unfriendly expression, the people in Guo Jia Village were even more frightened to the point that their faces turned ashen. They kept shaking and begging for mercy from the soldiers guarding them. They only said that they were just servants, and what the Villa Master and the others had done had nothing to do with them.

Their reactions naturally fell into Lu Zhen’s eyes, which made him laugh coldly. He immediately ordered, “Go, gather all the villagers in this manor here, and say that this official has something to ask them.”

“Yes!” Immediately, a soldier received the order and began to call out the villagers who were hiding in their homes and peeking over.

Seeing them standing outside the door with bright weapons in their hands, although the villagers’ hearts were filled with fear, they still obediently walked out in the end. They were much more sober than Guo Rong and the others. They understood their identities and should obey everything when facing the government.

Half an hour later, hundreds of villagers from Guojiazhuang were brought to Lu Zhen. When they saw Guo Rong and the others who had died in the pool of blood, their faces turned pale from fear. They could not even speak and only kowtowed to the adults in front of them.

“All of you, stand up. As the official of the Imperial Court, although I am not an official here, I will not do anything to embarrass the local people.” Lu Zhen raised his hand and said. He completely ignored the corpses that he had killed behind him, and they hadn’t completely cooled down yet.

Seeing that Lu Zhen was indeed not as violent as he imagined, everyone finally calmed down and looked at him with some doubts, not knowing what instructions he had.

Lu Zhen smiled indifferently, “Today, this official only brought people into the Guo Clan Manor to get rid of harm for the people. As you wait here, you should naturally know what kind of evil deeds the Guo Rong Clan has done. Now, this official has gathered you here for this matter!”

At this point, he suddenly drew his hand to the side and surrounded the trembling servants of Guojiazhuang. “You must know if they made any mistakes and what they did. This official wants to know about this. Just say it. At that time, this official will make the decision for you!”

This time, everyone finally understood Lu Zhen’s intentions. Looking at the panicked and pleading gazes of the Guo Clan members, they felt a strange sense of pleasure assaulting their hearts. In the past, these fellows relied on their own status to dominate the manor, robbing people’s property, robbing people’s wives and daughters from time to time. In truth, these manors probably hated these fellows the most.

After some hesitation, someone finally pointed at one of them and shouted, “He … he pulled out all the wheat I worked hard to plant half a month ago because my family was temporarily unable to pay the rent. My father wanted to stop him, but he vomited blood. He still hasn’t got up yet …”

When that person heard this, he was immediately shocked. Just as he was about to argue, Lu Zhen gave him a look. The soldier behind him immediately kicked him and knocked him to the ground. Then, he raised his saber and landed. The man’s words turned into a miserable scream before he died.

This result caused everyone to exclaim again, but then, the expressions of the villagers became excited. Normally, enmity erupted at this moment. Immediately, someone pointed at the Zhuang Ding of Guojiazhuang, who was being held captive, and complained about his injustice.

As expected, Lu Zhen did not disappoint them. As long as the crime was big enough, he immediately ordered someone to kill the evil person with a single knife. In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen corpses had appeared on the ground, causing the hearts of the remaining people to tremble. They were unable to even utter a pleading word.

After witnessing Lu Zhen’s methods of killing more than ten people without blinking an eye, even the villagers’ eyes were filled with fear. The people behind him would no longer testify. As long as there was a big grudge, he had already pointed it out. The other small grudges should not be exchanged with one’s life. After all, the hearts of people were born out of kindness.

After asking the crowd again and finding out that no one had committed any more great evil, Lu Zhen waved his hand and removed the steel saber from the necks of the remaining people. As soon as the pressure disappeared, these people immediately lay on the ground and repeatedly kowtowed to him to thank him. They had already shattered their courage and were extremely lucky to be able to escape death.

Lu Zhen snorted, “Although you haven’t done anything serious, you must have used your power to bully others. Today, I will spare your lives for the sake of your good fortune. I hope that you can change your ways in the future. However …”

Hearing Lu Zhen’s words, the hearts of the servants finally relaxed. But when they heard that he had suddenly taken such a turn, their hearts were suspended again, and they looked up uneasily.

“This official still has one more thing I want your help with. I’m sure you know best which people in the Guojiazhuang are the masters, which are the servants, and even the innocent people who have been kidnapped. Let’s help this official identify them.” Lu Zhen continued.

It turned out that it was such a small request, which caused everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. Even according to Lu Zhen’s intentions, he could tell that a few of the young women he had brought out of the Guo Clan’s backyard were pitiful women who had been snatched into the manor by Guo Que.

Lu Zhen couldn’t help but sigh when he saw this. Immediately after, his gaze turned to the shivering Guo Family hostesses and he said, “All of them have been executed.”

Seeing this, Li Xian couldn’t help but hesitate to advise, “My lord … they’re just women, and they don’t usually do anything evil …”

‘”You don’t understand. Since they are the masters of the Guo Clan’s backyard, their food and clothing usually come from the sweat of ordinary villagers. Even if they are not evil, their actions are no different from those of Guo Rong and the others! Kill them!” Lu Zhen said coldly without any intention of compromising.

Since his words had reached this point, the sergeants did not hesitate anymore. Gritting his teeth, he raised his saber and fell to the ground, killing all of the weeping and sorrowful women.

Seeing this thunderous method, not to mention the people from Guo Jia Village, even the ordinary soldiers were shocked. Only then did they realize how much killing intent this seemingly gentle county magistrate possessed. Even they, who were soldiers, could not compare to him. The county magistrate who said that the sect had been annihilated only today knew that what he said was true.

The Guo Clan was completely finished after this killing. Apart from that young master Guo Que who had escaped to an unknown location, everyone else had already died in this scene.

Lu Zhen apparently had no intention of stopping. He then said to the villagers, “You guys have been exploited by the Guo Clan all day. This official will make the decision for you today. Have you seen those?” As he spoke, he pointed to the books, deeds, deeds, and other items that had been seized and piled up together, and said, “These are all returned to you. From now on, you will be free.”

“Ah” The villagers were stunned for a moment before they quickly understood. They bowed to Lu Zhen excitedly and kowtowed to him sincerely. Although the people who killed the Guo Clan were satisfied and relieved, the benefits to these villagers weren’t too great. But now, Lu Zhen had given these things to them, which could be considered to have helped them greatly and given them a large sum of property.

After Lu Zhen waved his hand, everyone stepped forward and picked out the deeds and other items that belonged to their families according to the fields planted in their homes.

Seeing this, Lu Zhen unconsciously revealed a strange smile. Never would he have imagined that he would have used the method of dividing the land between the rich and the poor hundreds of years ago. I wonder if this point will be mentioned in future history?

Just as it was bustling with activity, another noise came from outside. Then, a group of dozens of officers and men hurried over under the lead of two officials and a military attach é. When they saw the blood and corpses everywhere in the courtyard, as well as the chaotic scene, these people immediately cried out in shock.

After seeing that all the soldiers here were officers and men, the official in the lead had a gloomy expression on his face. “Where exactly did you come from? How dare you act so lawlessly and kill innocents in our Guangchang territory!”

“Your Excellency is wrong. We are not killing innocents indiscriminately, but we are destroying the thieves who colluded with the bandits and killed the officials of the Imperial Court!” The one who said this was Lu Zhen. When these fellows arrived at the entrance of the manor, he had already walked over.

“Who are you?” The official was shocked and forcefully suppressed his anger as he asked.

‘”This official, Guang Ling County Magistrate Lu Zhen, went to the capital on the orders of the Imperial Court, only to be intercepted and killed by bandits here …” Lu Zhen cupped his hands with a faint smile as he briefly explained the matter. Finally, he asked unintentionally, “This official is very strange. Why are you ignorant as a local official when there are such criminals in your county? And not long after what happened here today, you brought people here so quickly. I am really puzzled by the doubts.”

Hearing this, the expression of the officials on the other side changed greatly, and fear even flashed through their eyes. Although Lu Zhen’s words weren’t completely clear, the implication that the other party had colluded with the Guo Clan was at least that he had allowed the Guo Clan to be the cause of the disaster was already very clear.

The county magistrate of Guangchang wanted to refute, but when he saw the Guo Clan’s property piled up in front of him, he was speechless. He didn’t know how much evidence Lu Zhen had, and whether there was any material evidence of his collusion with the Guo Clan. If he really tore his face apart, even if he were to fight a lawsuit, he would definitely not have a chance of winning.

Moreover, looking at the soldiers with sharp eyebrows and crossbows in front of him, as well as the government servants and patrolling soldiers that he had brought with him, this official felt even more uncertain.

Seeing that he really understood what he meant and hesitated to back down, Lu Zhen smiled even more relaxed. “This lord doesn’t know who you are, can you tell me first?”

“This official… I have indeed heard of the names of County Magistrate Gong Chang and County Magistrate Lu for a long time. Now that I have seen them, they are indeed young heroes!” This person’s face had changed and he said politely.