Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 66

Chapter 66 Case Closing And Aftermath
On the fifteenth day of the first month, when the citizens of Guangling County were celebrating this once-a-year Shangyuan Festival, Hu Sui, the Great Harmony Commander who had been staying here for more than ten days, finally led his troops and left.

This time, he was going to patrol the surrounding border towns and cities. He had already stayed in Guang Ling for too long. However, he had gained a lot from staying here. Not only did he know the depths of the army’s weaknesses, he had also obtained such a powerful weapon that could affect the future battle. He left with satisfaction.

The manufacturing process of this airship was not complicated, and it did not require any drawings. Only the craftsmen who had seen it would be able to grasp its structure in a short period of time. Therefore, the airships made by Lu Zhen’s command post were left in the local barracks, while the craftsmen who were involved in the construction were transferred to their side by General Hu. This was naturally a good opportunity for them.

When Commander Hu left the city, not only did he receive a farewell party from the generals in the army, he also received a young official, County Magistrate Lu Zhen. This was clearly his reward to County Magistrate Lu, because logically speaking, a small county magistrate was not qualified to appear here, and with this exceptional move, Lu Zhen would definitely have some fame in the army. As such, the newly promoted general manager naturally didn’t dare to disrespect him anymore.

Lu Zhen was well aware of this, so before Hu Sui got on his horse and left, he bowed respectfully and said, “I wish Lord Commander a pleasant journey!”

Hu Sui took a deep look at the young man and smiled, “Lu Zhen, I can tell that you are not an ordinary person. I will wait to see how much you can achieve in the future!” After saying that, he drew his horse and galloped off.

They quietly watched as they disappeared onto the long road. When they turned around, the smile on Lu Zhen’s face had already disappeared, and a faint killing intent followed. It’s time to settle the accounts from before!

@ @ @ @

Why would Lu Zhen risk so much to break into the barracks to deal with Xiao Mo? Just because he knew how much threat Xiao Mo posed to him, a careless person would die without a burial ground, just like County Magistrate Lu.

Therefore, Xiao Mo would do all of this because the Zheng Clan’s people interfered! Lu Zhen did not forget this point for a moment.

Previously, because Xiao Bao had always protected them, even if Lu Zhen took down Zheng Fu, he didn’t dare to do anything to the Zheng Clan. However, they weren’t grateful for the rewards, and they even tried to contact Xiao Mo to continue scheming against him. Lu Zhen would never let go of such an enemy.

Now that Xiao Mo was dead and the Zheng Clan’s last backer in Guang Ling had fallen, he no longer had any scruples.

On the 16th day of the first month, after the county government resumed its normal work, several proclamations appeared at the entrance of the county government and at the main roads and city gates. Beside them, the clerks of the county government were constantly reading and explaining the contents of the proclamations.

To put it bluntly, the people in the county who suffered from the Zheng Clan could go to the county government to complain. The magistrate would accept each and every one of them and return justice to everyone.

Trees fall and monkeys scatter, and people walk in the cool tea. Once Zheng Fu was thrown into prison, his former subordinates already had other thoughts. Now that even their backers were dead, they had no worries. In order to show their loyalty to County Magistrate Lu, who had regained power, these people worked even harder to deal with the Zheng Clan.

Under their painstaking publicity, the citizens of the county who had suffered from the Zheng Clan came to their door one after another. For a time, the county government was bustling like a city, and it was really lively for several days.

It was also the Zheng Clan that did the worst in the area. After confirming the county magistrate’s true intentions, all the cases were reported to Lu Zhen’s desk-the cases of stealing property, robbing wives and daughters, and even assassinating people for a small profit. Soon, dozens of cases were piled up. It was no exaggeration to describe the Zheng Clan’s sins in the area.

Of course, there were evil deeds done by Zheng Fu and his servants, as well as evil deeds committed by his father, Zheng Hai, and others. The citizens endured for too long, and once they caught the opportunity, they would naturally not let go of any enemy.

Looking at all of this in front of him, Lu Zhen was also enraged. Without much hesitation, he waved his hand and ordered people to take the Zheng Clan and bring all the criminals listed above into the county government for questioning.

Zheng Hai didn’t expect the retribution to be so fierce. He wanted to delay a few more words, but the servants who rushed in front of him took the chains and took them away. They pulled the former history of the county government back to the county government like a dog.

As for the others, they were beaten to the county government with big sticks, but those who dared to resist were beaten up. All of a sudden, the Zheng Clan cried out in pain.

One had to know that these servants were just dogs that the Zheng Clan’s subordinates casually ordered around, but now they were even more ferocious than anyone else. There were even two servants who wanted to resist because of their disrespectful words, but they were actually beaten to death by them at the entrance.

As the so-called county magistrate and sect exterminator said, these words were indeed true.

In such a situation, Zheng Hai finally knew that he was finished. Therefore, when Lu Zhen began to try this series of cases in the lobby, the old man, who knew the methods of the county government, was very bachelor and accepted all the charges.

Within a few days, the Zheng Clan case was quickly concluded. Zheng Hai, his sons and nephews, and some of the steward slaves were all convicted and sent to prison. These people would only wait for County Magistrate Lu to report to Datong Prefecture before making a final decision. However, as long as the Imperial Court did not issue an amnesty edict, these people, including Zheng Fu, who had been in prison for many days, would not be able to escape the result of the autumn beheading.

Although the Zheng Clan should also have some backing in Datong Prefecture, their backing definitely did not dare to risk putting themselves in front of so much conclusive evidence to justify it.

Sure enough, a few days later, the government sent a reply, agreeing to Lu Zhen’s interrogation and even ordering the Zheng Clan to plunder all of their property. This clan of officials that had been in Guangling County for decades had completely collapsed, and all of their properties had naturally been put into the treasury of the county government.

At the same time, Lu Zhen also brought people to copy Xiao Mo’s house in the county. This person had really amassed quite a bit of wealth. He was even richer than the Zheng Clan that had accumulated over several decades. He had over ten thousand taels of silver. As for the land, it was needless to say.

After the two clans copied it down, not only did the county government obtain the unanimous praise of the people, but it also earned a large amount of substantial income. Not only did the originally stretched warehouse quickly fill up, but even the people in the yamen also benefited a lot from it.

Lu Zhen naturally turned a blind eye to this. He knew very well that the small amount of pensionable silver set by the county government was not enough to support those officials’ servants, so he pretended not to be able to see any of their small actions. Moreover, he had also obtained a lot of benefits from these two copies of the house. In addition to the three hundred taels of silver he had obtained from Xiao Mo, he was now worth eight hundred taels of silver.

Eight hundred taels of silver might not be considered much if placed in a few decades, but now, it was already a considerable asset, especially in a remote place like Guang Ling. Whether it was people or officials, it was a large sum of money.

Apart from these visible benefits, Lu Zhen also reaped two benefits that he couldn’t see–

Firstly, the county government had already respected him and bowed to him. A county magistrate who could uproot an old family of officials who had operated in the county government for many years, not only did he not receive punishment, but he also obtained a lot of respect from the hearts of the county magistrates.

Even officials like Hou Xiancheng and Shen Zhubu were respectful when they saw Lu Zhen, the young county magistrate, and didn’t dare to slack off at all. They didn’t even dare to raise any more questions about their identities. It was better for them to be rotten in their stomachs, or else they would only bring disaster to themselves and their families.

The second was the gratitude and respect of the people of He County towards Lu Zhen. A good county magistrate, Great Master Qingtian, who could make decisions for the people and not protect each other, would naturally be worshipped by the people. Actually, the requirements of the Great Ming people for officials were really very low. As long as he did not exploit himself, being able to do things fairly would be enough to make them feel grateful.

County Magistrate Lu, who had overfulfilled his mission, had not yet demonstrated his ability to govern the area, but he had already won the support of all the people.

This first month, the people of Guangling County were all immersed in joy. They were all looking forward to the beautiful life they could see in front of them. They felt that under the wise leadership of the county magistrate, everyone would definitely be able to live a happy life.

No one would have thought that a conspiracy was already brewing in front of them …

@ @ @ @

He Wukui lowered his eyebrows and sat there, coughing gently.

Because the fishy smell in the tent was too strong, and he had a year-round asthma, so he was not used to it. But even so, he still endured the pain, because he was here to ask for help.

It was a pity that he had said so much before, but the tall Mongolian man in front of him was still unmoved, and he didn’t even stop eating that piece of mutton.

“Patriarch Yutai, now that the Zheng Clan and we have killed our Lord Chief, the business between your clan and Daming will be completely cut off. Don’t you really want to do anything?” After enduring for a while, He Wukui finally spoke again.

After stuffing the last piece of meat into his mouth and swallowing it, Yu Tai patted his hand and expressionlessly said, “Do you want me to attack Guangling County for the sake of our entire tribe or just for revenge?”

He Wukui’s heart sank when his wolf-like gaze shone on him. However, he still forcefully said, “The two of them actually came to a conclusion. I did it for the sake of both our president and your tribe.”

“Is that so? But a siege is a death wish.” Yu Tai said coldly, “As for buying and selling, there’s always another way to do it.”

“You don’t know the methods of the new county magistrate called Lu Zhen. He will definitely not let anyone do business with you in secret.”

“Is that so?” Yu Tai’s eyes flashed with a strange expression, “But the price is still too high.”

“Don’t worry about that. I have a way. Many people in the army are unwilling to accept Xiao Jiang’s death. At that time, I will ask someone to help you open the Broad Spirit City Gate.”

He Wukui’s words caused Yu Tai’s heart to tremble, and his eyes lit up, as if he was moved.