Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 147

Chapter 147 Cut Its Wings (2)
A county magistrate wanted to overhaul three of the yamen’s servants, but there wasn’t any problem with that. Not to mention that Lu Zhen had found a few reasons this time, but there was no reason. As long as he spoke, the three of them would only leave sadly, not even have a chance to bargain.

Actually, Lu Tu was well aware of this. He just didn’t expect County Magistrate Lu to be so merciless in his actions. This was clearly aimed at him! However, even if he was angry, he didn’t know what to do when facing Lu Zhen, who had a tougher attitude than him. He could only turn around and leave hatefully.

When he left angrily, Zeng Guang, who was at the side, revealed a thoughtful expression. It seemed that his choice this time was the right one. When the county magistrate of the main hall was determined to turn against the county magistrate, Lu Xiancheng, who was a subordinate, was obviously at a disadvantage.

This was Zuo Erguan’s sadness. Although the difference in rank between the two sides was not too big, and they had been operating in the yamen for many years, there was a real conflict. Zuo Erguan was still not a match for the official. This was also the reason why Lu Tu had tried his best to find the county magistrate’s position, and even wanted to pit Lu Zhen down.

Lu Zhen only smiled faintly, as if he didn’t treat Lu Tu’s anger as a child. Instead, he turned to look at Zeng Guang and said, “Zeng Zhubu, what do you think Lu Xiancheng will think when he returns?”

“Ah … this lowly official can’t guess.” When he said this, there was indeed a trace of doubt on Zeng Zhubu’s face. Of course, he could imagine that Lu Tu would be angry after returning. He just didn’t understand why Lu Zhen would ask him such a question.

“This official thought that he would treat me and you as enemies, because the three people who were slaughtered by me are all his trusted subordinates. This can be considered to have broken one of their arms.” Lu Zhen said with a smile.

“This … Xiaoguan didn’t do anything.” Zeng Guang subconsciously cried out in injustice.

Lu Zhen nodded, “Yes, you did not say anything, much less do anything, but he doesn’t know. People, they were brought in after you came to see me, and then I changed them in front of you. If you were him, what would you think of this?”

Zeng Guang’s eyes immediately widened, his face filled with disbelief. Previously, he thought it was strange. Why did the county magistrate call him here just to chat? Then, he reformed Ying Ding and the others in front of him. So it was to provoke the relationship between him and Lu Tu.

That’s right, Ying Ding and the others weren’t tipped off by Zeng Zhubu at all. He was a person who had been kept in the dark. When Lin Lie pulled a few yamen attendants to a meal, he immediately asked a small question, which was why Lu Zhen suddenly made such a move.

After understanding all of this, Zeng Guang felt a little annoyed at first, but very quickly, he was replaced by fear. The county magistrate in front of him was too scheming, and he accidentally fell into his scheme.

Thinking about it carefully, all his actions were linked one by one. First, by letting Lu Tu carry the blame on Shun Tian Manor and weaken his momentum in the county government. Then, he took advantage of his two hearts to pull himself here, and then reformed Ying Ding and the others to let Lu Tu see his existence, so as to play a divisive role.

At this time, even if he was willing to put down his face and explain to Lu Tu, he probably wouldn’t believe that he was just a spectator in anger. Moreover, he didn’t want to do this. In these past few years, he had been suppressed by Lu Tu, so he had had enough of the days when he could only obey orders.

Seeing his expression change, Lu Zhen laughed again, “Zeng Zhubu, I wonder if all your documents have been sorted out now?”

Zeng Guang was shocked. He was going to force him to stand in line. Although it was only a few days, the situation was completely different from before. It was the same saying. This was the capital. No matter how old Lu Tu was, he could only follow the rules in Beijing. Once the rules were followed, he would definitely not be a match for the county magistrate, Lu Zhen.

After a moment of silence, Zeng Guang finally lowered his head and said, “Sir, those files have been sorted out. Tomorrow, no, I will send them over this afternoon for you to take a look.” He finally decided to stand on Lu Zhen’s side.

Lu Zhen nodded with satisfaction, “Very good, Zeng Zhubu, you are indeed a smart person. Then you should go back first. I will make the decision for other matters myself.”

“Yes! Xiaoguan, please leave.” Zeng Guang bowed respectfully before slowly retreating. Before closing the door, he glanced at Lu Zhen inside and found that his eyes were still flickering with a heart-shaking light, but he didn’t know what he was planning.

@ @ @ @

“What did you say? Zeng Guang sent those documents to Lu Zhen to flip through?” When Lu Tu, who was sulking, heard the news from his subordinates, his face darkened and his breathing became somewhat chaotic.

“Yes … I saw it with my own eyes. Zeng Zhubu personally brought a lot of documents into the county magistrate’s public house!” After that person answered, he hurriedly lowered his head and didn’t dare to look at his master’s face.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Tu felt a chill run down his spine, and he trembled in the heat of July. If he had only suspected it before, now he was sure that all of this was true. Zeng Guang had indeed fallen towards Lu Zhen.

Lu Tu couldn’t understand why Zeng Guang had made this choice. Didn’t he always work with him to suppress the county magistrate? Why did he make a completely different choice this time?

He felt so tired that he couldn’t even get angry for a while, so he waved his hand and said, “You go down first. I want to think about it.” It was time for him to think about how to deal with the situation before him. The county magistrate in front of him was much more vicious than all the bosses he had met before.

He had originally thought that even if Lu Zhen wanted to make a move, he would still take his time because of some misgivings. But now, it seemed that this young man completely ignored everything else and vowed to drive him out! What made Lu Tu panic was that this time, he actually didn’t know how to fight back, because his greatest reliance had been dispersed by now.

When he returned just now, he saw that the gazes of the surrounding servants were completely different from before. There was less reverence, but more intentions of watching. Obviously, other than the few subordinates he trusted the most, no one else would be able to follow him and the county magistrate!

What can we do to turn the tables? Should we create a disturbance that could cause a sensation in the capital, or should we directly showdown with it? Just as he was hesitating, someone knocked on the door again. “Sir …” It was the subordinate who had just left. His tone seemed to be very flustered. This made Lu Tu’s heart tighten. “Come in and talk.”

After that person entered, Lu Tu looked at his nervous expression and asked, “What happened again?”

The subordinate swallowed hard and said anxiously, “Just now, a few of our brothers were taken down by that Lin Lie. He said that they did not do a good job and wanted to punish them!”

Hearing this, Lu Tu stood up again. But at the same time, he woke up and stopped. However, two fires burned in his eyes and he roared in a hoarse voice, “Lu Zhen, you’re bullying me too much!”

Indeed, he hadn’t expected Lu Zhen’s actions to be so fast that he didn’t even have time to react. Under the circumstances that Kai Ge had reformed Ying Ding and the others, and he did not retaliate, he actually dared to take advantage of the others. This was really not treating him like a child!

“Your Excellency, what should we do? We still need to make a decision.” His subordinates were already panicking, because if they continued like this, it would probably be his turn very soon.

In fact, not only did he feel panicked, Lu Tu was also very panicked. Although the documents that Zeng Guang had handed over had all been tampered with, Zeng Guang could not keep them together, so what else had he left behind? Once this fellow really had the heart to betray him, Lu Zhen would have sufficient evidence to attack him.

I have to find a helper! Yes, look for Yue Liqiu! At the very least, he hadn’t leaned over yet, and he had some friendship with him over the years. As long as he made some benefits, the two of them would still have the strength to fight together!

Thinking of this, Lu Tu couldn’t sit still any longer and immediately wanted to go out to talk to Yue Liqiu. However, just as he walked to the door, he saw Yue Dianshi shishi walk around from the other side and arrive at Lu Zhen’s county magistrate’s house.

Originally, the two of them ‘public houses were next to each other, and Lu Zhen’s public house was on the other side. If Yue Li Qiu wanted to see Lu Zhen, he had to pass by his door. But now, this Yue Dianshi actually would rather walk two more feet than pass by him, and his thoughts of betraying him were obvious.

When he discovered that Lu Tu was staring at him, a trace of panic flashed across Yue Liqiu’s face. However, he quickly turned his head around and ignored Lu Zhen’s angry eyes and walked straight into Lu Zhen’s public house.

Lu Tu was completely stunned on the spot. Yue Liqiu’s actions had already made his position clear. Like Zeng Guang, he chose to stand on Lu Zhen’s side.

In just one day, all of his allies had turned their backs on their opponents, causing Lu Tu’s heart to sink to the bottom. This was the cruelty of the officialdom. Once he was at a disadvantage, others would choose to leave without hesitation.

After standing there for an unknown amount of time, a frenzied smile suddenly appeared on Lu Tu’s face. Afterwards, he looked up and laughed heartily. It was both desolate and filled with madness and determination. This laughter caused the surrounding servants and the clerks in the signing room to be shocked. Many people looked at him with strange eyes.

However, Lu Tu seemed as if he hadn’t noticed and continued to laugh wildly. When he stopped laughing, his eyes were cold. “Do you think I lost just like that? It’s not that simple. I’ll let you know that there’s a price to pay for all of this!” There was a hint of madness in his murmur …