bullyxtreme Chapter 20 The Entrustment
Chapter 20 The Entrustment
"Registrar Yang, has something else happened?"
Xue Tao noticed that Yang Chengde's expression was off and hurriedly asked him a question.
Although these people called themselves gentry, their land and wealth in Yanggu County were already inferior to those of the Zhu family. Now, they were being forced to take another cut, which caused resentment among many of them.
Seeing the change in Yang Chengde's expression, fearing that something else might go wrong, Xue Tao quickly spoke up.
Yang Chengde's expression softened, and he composed himself: "It's nothing, just some private matters. Please discuss it further while I go and take care of it."
After saying this, Yang Chengde walked straight out and met the clerk who had come to deliver the message.
"Registrar Yang".
The visitor bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.
Yang Chengde waved his hand: "No need for formalities. You mean, the magistrate went to look for the account books from recent years?"
"Indeed." The man nodded. "Recorder Zhu is stalling for time, but it seems he can't hold out much longer. Please, Chief Clerk, go back quickly."
"No rush."
Yang Chengde turned his back and fell into deep thought.
After pacing back and forth a few times, he turned to the person who came and said, "No, I cannot go back. You should go back and tell Zhu Lushi that the county magistrate is, after all, the head of the county. Since he wants to check the accounts, it is only right that he does so. Let the county magistrate check them, and you must not stop him."
"But......"
The visitor seemed somewhat guilty.
Yang Chengde glared at him: "What? You have a problem with that? Then go and stop the magistrate from investigating!"
The visitor was startled and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "I understand, I'll go back now."
Seeing that Yang Chengde had given no further instructions, the messenger hurriedly returned to the county government office.
Yang Chengde watched him leave with a deep look in his eyes.
At this time, it would be best for him not to show up. Otherwise, if there were any discrepancies in the accounts, and Li Chong questioned him directly, a poor explanation from him could easily give him ammunition.
On the contrary, if he doesn't show up, and Li Chong really finds out something, he can remedy the situation in time.
Moreover, Yang Chengde simply did not believe that Li Chong, alone, could find anything out from so many account books.
After a moment of contemplation, Yang Chengde turned and went inside, asking everyone, "How did it go? What do you all think?"
Everyone then proceeded to complain without going into details.
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A messenger also arrived from County Commandant Fu Shun's side to deliver the news.
After the meeting ended, Fu Shun claimed he was going to do official business, but in reality, he was drinking with his men.
Before the banquet, it was inevitable that Li Chong would be cursed a few times.
Fu Shun was in a bad mood. He had already been very kind to Li Chong, but he still didn't get any good results. Li Chong wanted to seize power, and the first thing he did was to target him.
If it were really about suppressing bandits, then all his men would be under Li Chong's command, so what benefits would he, as the county magistrate, possibly get?
That's why Fu Shun was so furious.
"Boss Fu, if you ask me, there's no need to be in such a hurry," a man next to Fu Shun said, holding a glass of wine. "The bandits of Dafeng Mountain are so clever. What makes that newly appointed scholar surnamed Li think he can suppress bandits? We've been here for years and we still can't handle that group. What makes him think he can wipe them out?"
"Besides, where would he get the money to fight bandits? Let's just drink and watch him make a fool of himself."
Hearing his subordinates' words of advice, Fu Shun felt much better.
That's the logic.
Fu Shun loudly urged, "Let's not talk about those unpleasant things anymore, let's drink!"
"Hey, magistrate!" A bailiff rushed in. "The magistrate... he really did have someone put up a box at the entrance of the county government office with a donation notice on it. It's already spread throughout the county."
Fu Shun's eyes widened: "What? He really did that?"
After receiving confirmation from the visitor, Fu Shun was in a great mood.
"Hahaha!" Raising his wine glass and laughing heartily, Fu Shun said with no small amount of pride, "It seems that our county magistrate has ruined his brain from all that studying. He actually believes in that stuff? Fundraising? It's amazing that he could even think of such a thing."
As soon as he finished speaking, the people around him echoed his sentiments, their words full of mockery towards Li Chong.
After laughing for a while, Fu Shun called over someone: "Go and keep an eye on things, see if anyone comes to donate money. If someone causes trouble, you know what to do, right?"
"I understand."
"Hmm." Fu Shun nodded in satisfaction, took out a string of copper coins from his pocket and tossed them over. "This is a reward for you. If you do a good job, I'll give you another reward."
Watching the person leave, profusely thanking them, Fu Shun sneered inwardly.
"You damn bastard, you won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences! I'll see how many copper coins you can donate!"
"Come on, let's drink!"
The group of people drank together again.
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Li Chong didn't need to guess what Yang Chengde and Fu Shun were up to; he knew they were probably talking about him right now.
However, Li Chong didn't care.
Regardless, he was still the magistrate of Yanggu County. Even if the two men were dissatisfied with him, he had to follow the rules of the imperial court and at least not make a big fuss about it on the surface.
As for scheming behind the scenes, Li Chong was well prepared.
Although his current base in Yanggu County is shallow, this also means that Li Chong has fewer points of attack that the other two can use against him, which is an advantage in itself.
Li Chong flipped through the books Zhu Binghe had brought him, remaining noncommittal.
Li Chong silently looked at the text and numbers above without offering any opinion.
But it was precisely his calm demeanor that made Zhu Binghe, who was standing to the side, feel somewhat uneasy. What exactly had Li Chong figured out? Or had he not figured it out?
It was precisely because he didn't know the answer that he was in even more torment.
"Your Excellency," Zhu Binghe bowed carefully, "Do you have any questions? I can explain them to you."
Li Chong shook his head: "It's nothing. I said I was just taking a look. With so much data on fields, I can't really see anything special just by glancing at it. I'm just getting a general idea."
Despite this, Li Chong always had a faint smile on his lips, which made people feel uneasy.
After a while, Li Chong stood up and said, "I've seen enough, so I won't disturb Zhu Lushi's work any longer. I'll take my leave now."
Zhu Binghe was stunned for a moment, then quickly caught up with Li Chong: "Your Excellency, what are you saying? As long as Your Excellency gives the order, we will naturally do as you say. How can you say it will have any impact?"
"Heh." Li Chong smiled at him, but did not answer, and stepped out of the house.
As he was leaving, a minor official happened to walk towards him.
Upon seeing Li Chong, the man immediately shrank back and greeted him from the roadside: "Your Excellency."
Li Chong glanced at him and said, "Hmm."
Then, he left without looking back.
When they reached a place where Zhu Binghe couldn't see them, Li Chong turned around and glanced back. This Zhu family, who sell medicinal herbs, is quite interesting.
Back at the rear office, Li Chong met Cui Shi, who had set up the donation box.
He directly instructed, "Go get my calling card and arrange a meeting for me."
Cui Shi was puzzled when he heard this. They didn't know many people in the county. Who was Li Chong trying to invite?
Meeting Cui Shi's questioning gaze, Li Chong slowly said, "Xue Tao, the head of the Xue family in Gangzi Village."