Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 49

Chapter 49 Each with Its Own Response
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“Pa!” With a crisp sound, a sturdy man was slapped so hard that he staggered horizontally and almost fell to the ground. But even so, he still didn’t dare to have the slightest bit of resentment, and quickly returned to his original position. He lowered his head and lowered his hand, as if he admitted defeat.

All of this was because the one who hit him was General Xiao Mo, who was stationed in the Guang Ling County garrison camp, and he was just a confidant general under his command. After slapping him fiercely, the anger on Xiao Mo’s face did not diminish much. He still glared at his subordinates fiercely, “Trash! It’s because you didn’t get things done that day that I’m so passive today!”

“This lowly position knows its wrongs!” The man replied dejectedly, his heart filled with bitterness.

A month ago, when Xiao Mo found out about Lu Zhen’s return, he learned a lesson. And today, he had eaten Lord Grandmaster down on the other party’s body, or brought up the old matter again, and used himself to operate. This made him really suffer, so he could only silently endure it.

To be honest, he felt that he hadn’t failed in what happened that day. Although he couldn’t stab him to death with a single knife, he watched as Lu Zhen fell from a cliff that was nearly twenty zhang tall. It was a cliff that was about twenty zhang long, and it was a desolate place. Who would have thought that this fellow would actually be able to survive?

However, now that the facts were before him, he naturally couldn’t distinguish between them, so he had to bear the consequences of not being able to handle things properly.

After scolding him a few times and hitting him again to vent his anger, Xiao Mo looked sideways at the subordinates beside him and said, “Tell me, what should we do next?”

“Chief, there’s only one way to deal with this. Take advantage of his lack of power, quickly eliminate him.”

“That’s right, Your Excellency. Since this lowly position allowed him to survive because of his negligence, this lowly position is willing to go again. I will definitely kill him to avenge today!”

“No!” Just as these subordinates opened their mouths to kill Lu Zhen, an old man dressed completely differently from them immediately interrupted them, “You’re doing this to cause more trouble for the Chief, not to solve it.”

“What do you mean?” Xiao Mo thought highly of this old man and asked curiously.

When the others saw him ask, they swallowed the objection and looked at the old man with peculiar eyes. The old man sighed and said, “Sir, I’m afraid the news of today has spread throughout the city. Everyone knows that you suffered a great loss at the hands of County Magistrate Lu, and the two sides have already formed a grudge. If he, Lu Zhen, suddenly dies, I’m afraid everyone will think that you are the murderer. We absolutely cannot do such a thing without confessing!”

Xiao Mo was not an idiot. After he pressed down on his anger and listened to the other party’s words, he revealed a thoughtful expression. “That’s right, this is indeed not the time to attack him. Moreover, when I left, he deliberately mentioned the matter of grain …” At this point, a trace of worry appeared in his eyes.

“Then we can’t do anything to him. If we can’t assassinate him, he will definitely shake this matter out. At that time …”

Xiao Mo felt even more uncertain. This was a performance that rarely happened to him in the past. “What’s so good about this? Even if we don’t make a move, I’m afraid he will still report this matter …”

The old man shook his head after a moment of thought, “Things aren’t that bad. From his willingness to point this out in person, it can be seen that there is still room for manoeuvre. Or perhaps, he was afraid that he would offend the general manager too much this time, so he used this matter as a protective talisman to threaten the general manager.”

Xiao Mo nodded unconsciously. But then, he said uneasily, “Even so, it’s not a big deal. What should I do if he holds something against me like this?”

The old man stroked the messy white beard under his chin and thought, “Actually, this old man does not think that things have reached an irreversible stage. Do you still remember the request he made more than a month ago?”

Xiao Mo naturally remembered this matter, “Are you asking me to agree to it?” However, he couldn’t afford to take out such a large sum of money, so he couldn’t help but add in his heart.

This idea was also seen by the old man: “Not completely agree, but to use the money to stabilize him, let him not act recklessly. Since he is greedy, then there is still a talk. As long as we take out a few hundred taels of silver to pay to stabilize him, we naturally have the means to deal with him.”

“What method?” Knowing that the old man had always been tactful, Xiao Mo’s spirits lifted.

“A county magistrate’s salary is less than fifteen taels of silver a year. If the superior yamen finds out that he has suddenly gained several hundred taels of silver, what do you think they will do?” The old man narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“Wonderful! Kill by borrowing a knife!” Xiao Mo couldn’t help but slap the table and exultantly said. Although it was no longer the same as it was in the Great Ancestor’s time, if officials were convicted of corruption, their fate would not be too good.

The old man’s eyes glittered, “In addition, we can ask the county government’s Hou Xiancheng and Shen Zhubu to join hands on this matter. With their sophistication, they will definitely know how to choose.”

Indeed, although Lu Zhen had been in the limelight recently, his strength was still far inferior to Xiao Ba’s. Those two bureaucrats would always choose a path that was more advantageous to him. Moreover, Xiao Mo could even use the position of magistrate to lure them, much less refuse to cooperate with him.

“Just do as Elder He said. I’ll pay more to make them work for me. I don’t believe that I can’t get rid of a grade seven county magistrate like him!” Xiao Mo said fiercely. This matter really made him very angry, he only wanted to viciously retaliate back.

“Your Excellency is wise. However, we still need to take precautions, just in case.” Elder He added.

“What do you mean?”

“Judging from what happened today, County Magistrate Lu is not a stupid person, so it’s hard to guarantee that he won’t be the first to take action. Therefore, we still have to be careful, in case he sends someone to report the matter to Datong.” Elder He gave his own meaning.

“Alright, you” Xiao Mo pointed at the unlucky guy just now and said, “If you messed up before, you should pay for it. This time, you have to watch someone die. Not a single person from the county government can escape from under your nose. Do you understand?”

“Yes, this lowly position will definitely go all out!” That person hurriedly agreed, ready to monitor the official road day and night.

Xiao Mo’s expression was only slightly better at this moment. With this arrangement, he should be able to eradicate Lu Zhen’s heart and stomach trouble very quickly.

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Xiao Mo had made up his mind to go inside the county government, but it was clear that he had underestimated the two officials who had always kept a low profile.

At this moment, the two of them were gathered together, using tea instead of wine, whispering about what had happened today.

As the same Liuguan, because the two of them had stayed here for a long time, their roots were deeply rooted. At the same time, they understood the principle of mutual benefit. The two of them had already worked together several years ago, and many things would be discussed.

Now that Lu Zhen had suddenly appeared, the two of them had no choice but to be cautious.

Amidst the curling steam of tea, Hou Xiancheng made a gesture of invitation, and then drank all the tea in the cup in one gulp. The Shen Master Book on the other side also raised its cup and drained the tea from it.

After putting down the cup, Shen Zhubu said, “Our county magistrate Lu really showed his face this time.”

“But we also caused a big disaster. We actually dared to completely tear apart Xiao Mo’s face. Our days are not going to be easy.” Hou Xiancheng said.

“He won’t blame our entire county government for everything, right?”

“Impossible? Xiao Mo looks rough, but his heart is actually very narrow. It’s not too much to say that he will definitely repay his grievances. Will he swallow this breath this time?”

“But” Shen Zhubu wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Hou Xiancheng, “Of course he won’t openly attack us, but it’s hard to guarantee that he won’t start with us to deal with County Magistrate Lu. What do you think we should do when the time comes?”

This time, Shen Zhubu really couldn’t come up with an idea, and his face was full of embarrassment. “Our county magistrate Lu isn’t a good person, so it won’t be easy to make an enemy of him.”

“This person is much more powerful than the original one. He quietly threw Zheng Fu into prison first, and then even Xiao Mo couldn’t do anything to him.” Hou Xiancheng sighed, “To tell you the truth, I regret not being able to break through it that day, but now it is difficult to ride a tiger.”

“Indeed, his climate has already reached its climax. It will be very difficult for us to uncover his identity. He might even bite back and accompany Zheng Fu.” Shen Zhubu said with deep fear. Obviously, Lu Zhen had left quite a shadow in his heart.

“So we can only pretend that we don’t know anything.” Hou Xiancheng concluded.

“By the way, what do you say about the matter just now? Then Xiao Mo is not something that you and I can offend.”

“We mustn’t involve too much in this matter … and judging from our own interests, Lu Zhen’s victory is the best thing!”

“You mean …”

“To deal with somebody courteously but without sincerity!” The two of them exchanged glances and said what they thought in their hearts almost at the same time. Then, they both laughed.

Being neither offended nor offended was the best way to deal with this matter. But to do this, instead of offending both sides, was a test of martial arts. Only these two experienced old fogeys at the bottom of the yamen would be able to grasp the limits of this.

Afterwards, Hou Xiancheng said, “Moreover, we have to favor our county magistrate Lu on some crucial matters. We must help him win.”

“To be honest, I’m very curious about what he will do next. I heard that he went to the prison to arraignment Zheng Fu. I wonder what he will ask.” Shen Zhubu said softly.

“Well, it’s probably related to Xiao Mo’s weakness.” As he spoke, Hou Xiancheng filled the tea for the two of them and made a gesture of invitation.

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Before the new day arrived, the third watch finally came out! ! ! ! ! Then, passers-by frowned and realized that the matter was not simple ~ ~ ~