Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 115

Chapter 115 It’s All Right. Get Out of Here
“So it’s County Magistrate Gong, but Lu Zhen is rude.” Lu Zhen cupped his hands again. He then looked around and said, “What exactly happened here? I really need to explain it to the county magistrate. Please excuse me for a moment.” As he spoke, he walked towards the other corner.

After a moment of hesitation, Gong Chang followed. After the two of them stood still, he looked at Lu Zhen and said, “County Magistrate Lu, this place is under the rule of my Guangchang County. Even if his Guo Clan really did something wrong, you should come to the yamen to inform him first. Then there shouldn’t be such a misunderstanding.”

Lu Zhen smiled and looked at the other party, “County Magistrate Gong’s words are reasonable, but this official is somewhat skeptical.”

“What is it?” Gong Chang’s eyebrows suddenly jumped.

Lu Zhen lowered his voice slightly, “Are you really willing to uphold justice for me in Guangchang County? I’m afraid that if you really went to the county government, people would have already gone to Zhuangkong.”

“You” Gong Chang wanted to get angry, but in the end, he didn’t say anything. He just stared at the young hateful fellow in front of him, Luck.

‘”There are some things I didn’t want to say. Why is the Guo Clan here so lawless in Gushan Town? They even dared to attack me, a court official. Isn’t this because they believe that they have a backer and can calm down easily even if something happens? I wonder if County Magistrate Gong thinks so.”

Speaking of this, Gong Chang could no longer refute it. He could only look at Lu Zhen with a sad expression, “Looks like County Magistrate Lu, are you going to take down my Guangchang County as well?”

“If that’s the case, I wouldn’t have told you so much.” Lu Zhen gently shook his head, “You’ve seen what’s happening here. If I really want to take you, I won’t be able to protect you with the help of the palace magistrate and county magistrate.”

“Then what do you mean?” Hearing this, Gong Chang’s expression turned slightly better.

Lu Zhen smiled and said, “So I said so much in order to hope to help the county magistrate. As far as I’m concerned, the Guo Clan has been here for many years and is not too respectful to your county magistrate. It’s not too much to say that they are a thorn in your heart.”

Gong Chang silently admitted this. This county magistrate had only been in Guangchang for a few years, but Guojiazhuang had already operated here for several generations. Naturally, his influence was not something a grade seven county magistrate could contend against. Therefore, the county government had to follow the instructions of the Guo Clan when it came to matters around Guo Clan Village and Gushan Town.

To say that his county magistrate did not have the slightest intention of objecting to this, it would be too self-deceiving. Of course, he had also obtained a lot of benefits from it. The two sides were still safe and sound, but their relationship could not be said to be truly intimate.

Lu Zhen glanced at the other party and continued, “The people of Guojiazhuang are getting bolder and bolder because they are strong. If they dare to attack the county magistrate today, you can guarantee that they will not attack the main hall of this place next time …” After seeing the other party shiver, he said, “So, does County Magistrate Gong still think that their deaths are wrongly wronged?”

“Even so,” Lu Zhen waved his hand before he could say anything, “I know what County Magistrate Gong is afraid of. Indeed, no one can hide such a big incident from you today. It will soon spread. As County Magistrate Guang Chang, the pressure on you is naturally not small.”

Gong Chang looked at Lu Zhen again, hoping that this person would give him an explanation. As expected, Lu Zhen did not disappoint him, “Actually, this matter is also easy to handle. As long as you and I sign together, send a document to the Datong Prefecture Government, designate the various crimes of Guo Jia Village, and then point out that it was you and I who cracked this case together, I think your county magistrate will naturally not have any trouble.”

Not only was this not troublesome, but it was also a great contribution! Gong Chang, who understood this, was immediately moved, and his expression relaxed a lot. But then, he thought of one more thing, and that was why Lu Zhen gave half of the credit to him. They didn’t have any friendship at all.

Lu Zhen had already guessed his thoughts and explained, “I have my own considerations in doing so. After all, I am not a county magistrate of Guangchang. If I do something like this, there will always be criticism. But if your county magistrate asks me to help, then things will be easy to explain.”

Only then did Gong Chang understand. At the same time, he looked at the young man in front of him in surprise. This fellow was much younger than him, but in terms of his meticulous thinking, his understanding of the official circles far surpassed that of his predecessor. No wonder he was famous throughout Shanxi’s official circles, no wonder he was even appreciated by the Imperial Court, so he was going to the capital.

Seeing that he was moved, Lu Zhen added another bargaining chip to protect his safety, “Also, most of the land in Guojiazhuang has been divided among the villagers here, but this villa and his family’s property are still left, which can be confiscated by Guangchang County.” “There’s also the grain stored in their warehouse. Apart from I intend to give some to Deputy General Li over there, I can also give the rest to the county government’s grain warehouse. I wonder what county magistrate Gong thinks?”

This time, Gong Chang was truly moved. Guangchang had always been poor. The treasury of the county government was so empty that it could run away from rats all year round. Now, if he could fill the Guo Clan’s money, it would be like sending charcoal in the snow to the county magistrate.

If he had hesitated just now, he would no longer have any misgivings, “County Magistrate Lu Gao Yi, this official will definitely remember this matter in his heart …”

“County Magistrate Gong’s words are wrong. This Guojiazhuang affair was done by you and me. No one owes anyone this.” Lu Zhen quickly corrected.

‘”Yes, yes, yes. I was too happy to say anything. This Guojiazhuang villager has always done evil. This time, he colluded with bandits in the mountains to assassinate County Magistrate Lu. Only then did this county join hands with you to exterminate them!” Gong Chang was also an obedient person, so he quickly nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Lu Zhen finally smiled at ease, and the last bit of worry disappeared. With such a local county magistrate tied up, there would be no worries in the future about this matter.

As a result, in the blink of an eye, everyone from Guangchang County who came to help Guojiazhuang became Lu Zhen’s accomplices and began to search the manor even more closely.

In this way, many things that could not be found before had also come out. Even though Guo Jiazhuang was located in such a poor place, it was really quite rich. There were more than ten thousand taels of cash in cash, and there were countless other items like grain and farmland.

Lu Zhen wasn’t too greedy about this. He just smiled and gave the money to the soldiers with a wave of his hand.

None of these sergeants had expected Lu Zhen to be so generous. Every single cent of the silver here was worth ten years’ pay. Naturally, everyone was grateful. It would be great if they could continue to work with the county magistrate in the future. Even Li Hun smiled from ear to ear when he saw the white silver, golden copper coins and grain.

Although the people of Guangchang County didn’t get much cash, they also got a lot of benefits. Just the Guo Clan’s property was enough for them to share in the profits. Moreover, everyone knew that as long as the county government’s life was easy, everyone’s future days would definitely not be bad, so they naturally had a good impression of Lu Zhen and the others.

In this way, everyone became the beneficiaries. Only the Guo Family’s master butler became dead and was dragged away by the people of Guangchang County. Presumably, the corpses of these people would be thrown on the streets early in the morning today or tomorrow.

A slaughter that annihilated the sect eventually became a great good thing that everyone praised and was pleased with. Seeing all of this happening in front of them, Li Xian and the others looked at Lu Zhen with even more reverence. County magistrate Lu had used facts to demonstrate what it meant to flip a hand over a hand over a rain.

When all the dust settled, Li Hun and a group of soldiers also brought a large amount of grain, carrying a bulging bag of money and silver in their bosom. As for Lu Zhen and the others, they also set off along the same path to meet up with Chu Yunrong and the others who were waiting in the mountains.

However, on the way, Li Xian still said uneasily, “Lord Lu, this matter is still somewhat regretful. That young master Guo who stirred up trouble is actually not in the villa. Will he become a future trouble?”

“There’s no need to worry about this.” Lu Zhen frowned and smiled relaxedly, “He is just a playboy who bullies others. Now that his home has been destroyed and his father has been killed, I’m afraid he won’t even be able to survive in the future, let alone seek revenge from me.” And … do you think those people from Crouching Tiger Village will let go of the people who caused them to be almost annihilated? I believe that as long as he dares to return to Guojiazhuang, he will definitely fall into the hands of these fellows. At that time, his fate … “As he said that, he sighed twice.

The few people beside him nodded their heads after thinking about it. Indeed, a Guo Que was nothing without the support of his clan, and there was no need to spend any effort to target him.

As Lu Zhen spoke, he turned around and warned everyone, “We only need to know what happened today. It’s better not to tell anyone about it. Especially with Yun Rong and the others, don’t mention this slaughter.”

Everyone hurriedly answered. Indeed, the cruel side that County Magistrate Lu had displayed earlier was better not to let anyone close to him know.

Lu Zhen felt relieved when he saw that he deserved to be serious. His heart wasn’t bloodthirsty, but what happened before made him feel depressed, which was why he suddenly erupted. He didn’t want Chu Yunrong and the others to know about this dark side, so he didn’t scare them.

Half a day later, they returned to the mountain and met up with the anxious Chu Yunrong and the others. Then, they set foot on the road to the capital again.

On the third day after they left, a trembling youth stood in front of Guo Jiazhuang, his face filled with disbelief and confusion. Just as he was unable to accept everything in front of him and didn’t know what to do, a few black shadows suddenly pounced over from behind him and ruthlessly pressed them to the ground. “We’ve been waiting for you for a long time, Young Master Guo!”