Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 146

Chapter 146 Cut Its Wings (1)
In the past two days, the atmosphere in Daxing County suddenly became strange and tense.

After Lu Tu was sent by the county magistrate to report three cases to the Shuntian Prefecture, his entire body looked very gloomy, causing even his trusted aides to not dare to approach him casually. Everyone was trembling with fear, afraid that if they did something wrong, they would be punished by Lu Xiancheng.

However, there were also some who deliberately opened their relationship with Lu Tu. For example, Zeng Guang, who was also Zuo Er Guan, and Dian Shi Yue Li Qiu. They had actually delayed what Lu Tu had arranged earlier. When their subordinates went to urge them, they even directly replied that they had something important to do and sent them away.

When all of this was seen by those who wanted to see it, many people in the county government knew that the situation had changed. It seemed that Lu Xiancheng, who had been in charge of the county government for all these years, had encountered a real opponent, so they had to leave a path for themselves.

The more people had such thoughts, the worse Lu Tu and his subordinates’ situation became. At this time, Lu Xiancheng and the others could not punish the people below angrily. Otherwise, they would only push people out and suffer from their own losses. Until this time, some people finally understood a truth. It turned out that the county magistrate was not a county magistrate after all. If he really wanted to seize power, he would be nominally weaker by more than one head.

The distracted Lu Tu didn’t want to see the change in the faces of the servants who had been respectful to him, so he spent the whole day in his public house thinking of countermeasures. However, after a few days, he did not have much clue. Unless he dared to use some extraordinary methods, it seemed impossible to deal with Lu Zhen within the rules.

Could it be that he really wanted to take this risk? At this moment, he was pacing around the room with his hands behind his back, his expression so gloomy that he could drip water. But in the end, he still didn’t dare to make this decision, because he knew very well what would happen once the matter was exposed.

This was Beijing City under Emperor’s feet. How many eyes were staring at them? As long as anyone wanted to investigate, they would definitely be able to find out the truth. And if anything really went wrong with Lu Zhen, with his status as an official of the Imperial Court, a yamen like the Ministry of Justice would definitely investigate to the end.

However, not taking action would only strengthen Lu Zhen’s momentum in the county government. In a few days, the county magistrate had already pulled away two obedient subordinates from his side. If he continued, if he did not react in the slightest, more people would probably follow the wind.

Suddenly, Lu Tu’s footsteps stopped, and he had already changed his mind. Although he had no choice but to use Lu Zhen as a county magistrate, he could still set an example to Zeng Guang and the others. Everyone had worked together in the county government for so many years, and they knew their foundations very well. As long as they made use of them, it would be enough to ruin their reputation. This way, he could remind those who were about to move and let them know how powerful he was!

Thinking of this, Lu Tu revealed a smile that he hadn’t seen for several days. However, this smile looked a little gloomy. He hurriedly returned to the table and took out a piece of paper to quickly write something. Perhaps because of his excitement, he soon felt thirsty, but the teacup at hand was already empty, so he rushed outside and called out, “Someone!”

The door opened, which surprised Lu Tu. He wasn’t arrogant enough to let people guard outside at any time, so why did he immediately enter? However, when he saw the expression on the visitor’s face, his heart sank, because this person seemed to have something urgent to report, “My lord, something has happened.”

“So what?” Lu Tu calmed down before asking, appearing very calm. At this time, he had to behave calmly in front of his subordinates. Otherwise, it would only cause more people to feel uneasy and leave him.

“Previously, Zeng Guang went to see County Magistrate Lu, and not long after, he took the three brothers of Ying Ding in!” The man hurriedly reported.

“What?” This time, Lu Tu could no longer remain calm. As he spoke, he suddenly stood up from his seat and stared fiercely at the trusted aide in front of him, his face filled with anger and disbelief.

Because he knew too well what Ying Ding and the others meant to him. These three government servants were all trusted aides promoted by him. There were too many unsightly matters left to these three people, and now they were actually brought up by Lu Zhen! If Lu Zhen asked anything, his situation would be even worse.

“Zeng Guang!” Lu Tu immediately spat out these two words from between his teeth. He had just made this plan, but this fellow had already attacked first. Sure enough, this person was his biggest hidden danger!

He had no doubt that it was precisely because of Zeng Guang’s disclosure in front of Lu Zhen that Lu Zhen suddenly attacked! However, he was still a little puzzled, “Ying Ding and the other three were so obedient? Were they easily taken down by Lu Zhen? Or was there someone else in the county government who was already on his side?”

This was indeed very important. If it was the latter, his situation would be even more dangerous, and it was very likely that he would be attacked soon.

“The other servants just stood by and watched. They were taken down by the cripple named Lin Lie who had just been inserted into the county government. When they attacked, the three of them were knocked over by that fellow one by one, so he could only obediently bring them to see County Magistrate Lu.” As the man spoke, there was a trace of fear in his eyes.

Hearing this answer, Lu Tu took a deep breath and said, “No wonder he dared to make such a move. It turns out that he has a capable person with him.” At the same time, his heart was filled with sadness and anger. The people in the county government were indeed just a bunch of grass on the wall, but now they were just watching from the sidelines!

“Sir, what should we do?” The trusted aide asked in horror. He was obviously afraid that he would follow in the footsteps of his three companions, so he desperately needed to find a sense of security from Lu Tu.

Feeling this, Lu Tu did not think much and said, “Come, follow me to see County Magistrate Lu!” Now, regardless of whether he was willing or not, whether he was prepared or not, he had to face Lu Zhen head-on. Otherwise, if all of his trusted aides ended up like this, the others would only grow faster.

That person quickly agreed, turned around and opened the door for him, then followed Lu Tu nervously towards the county magistrate’s mansion not far from him. Yue Liqiu only looked up when he passed another room beside him, and then he lowered his head and started to get busy again. When this scene landed in the eyes of the surrounding servants, there was another strange expression and eye contact.

If it was in the past, even though Yue Li Qiu would not bow to him, he would still greet him. But now, he completely ignored Lu Xiancheng, which meant that there was no need to say anything.

Lu Tu was angry in his heart, but he didn’t dare to cause any trouble. He could only snort coldly and shake his hand and directly arrived at Lu Zhen’s public house. Just as he was about to push the door open and enter, he suddenly thought of something. The movement in his hand suddenly stopped, and then he winked at the subordinates beside him, signaling them to knock on the door.

In the past, when he saw those county magistrates, they would directly enter the house. Although the other party was unhappy, he was helpless against them. But now, Lu Xiancheng, who was at a disadvantage, did not have such confidence and could only act according to the rules.

The door opened, but to Lu Tu’s surprise, there were no Ying Ding and the others inside. Only Lu Zhen and Zeng Guang looked at him with a faint smile.

Seeing him come in, Lu Zhen smiled as if nothing had happened. “Lu Xiancheng has something important to do. Why are you looking so anxious?”

“I…” After taking a deep breath and stabilizing his mood, Lu Tu continued, “Xiaoguan heard that a few of the servants in the yamen were taken away by someone beside you. I wonder what they did wrong, why did you treat them like this? And, where did they go now?”

‘”Oh, you’re talking about those three people just now. They actually dared to ask for money from the people who came to the county government two days ago. That’s why I ordered Lin Lie to call them over for questioning. Unexpectedly, they were brave enough. Lin Lie was ordered to summon them to actually dare to fight him. How outrageous!” Lu Zhen replied calmly.

Was it because of such a trivial matter? Lu Tu was a little confused. Lu Zhen shouldn’t have made such a small mistake if he wanted to take care of them. But very quickly, his expression changed and his heart sank.

Because Lu Zhen continued, “Originally, this official only wanted to teach them a lesson and ask them to hand over the money they received. But luckily, they actually dared to disobey the orders of their superiors. I, Daxing County, absolutely cannot have such people who do not comply with the law. Therefore, after reprimanding them, this official removed them from the county government.”

“What …” Lu Tu couldn’t help but ask loudly, “Sir, you actually sent Ying Ding and the others away?”

“What? Is there anything wrong with this official doing this? The county government is not comparable to other places. A few lowly servants of his actually dare to contradict this official. This official is already merciful enough not to hit their boards. Don’t tell me that you, Lu Xiancheng, have any dissatisfaction with this?” Lu Zhen asked.

Lu Tu was speechless, but his face was green and white, and his hands and feet were even colder. He finally knew how powerful Lu Zhen was and how unreasonable he was. He actually used such an excuse that he didn’t need any evidence to get his three most useful subordinates out of the yamen, yet he couldn’t even bring out any objections.

In the end, he could only say, “But they are the elders of the county government. They have done meritorious deeds for the county government many times before. Aren’t you afraid that everyone’s hearts will get cold if you do so?”

“Even if they had contributed, they were rewarded at that time. Moreover, merit is merit and demerit is fault. This official will not show any mercy because of this!” Lu Zhen replied firmly. The aura he exuded completely suppressed Lu Xiancheng in front of him!