I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 321 There is a traitor in the county!

At the east gate of Wuqiao County, Zhang Xian Cheng, Wang Haoxian and other county officials looked ahead from time to time, seemingly waiting for something.

"General Yang should be arriving soon."

Zhang Xiancheng sat on the chair, but his mind was looking into the distance.

The Ming Dynasty valued civil service over military affairs, and military generals automatically treated civilian officials as inferior.But Yang Zhaoji was a third-rank official, and he was beyond the power of a county magistrate to offend.So he brought everyone here to wait early, lest he lose etiquette.

"Don't worry, County Magistrate. The messenger who just came back said that there are still two miles to go and we should arrive soon."

Wang Haoxian, who was standing next to him, was calm and composed. After hearing the county magistrate's question, he slowly explained.

"When General Yang arrives later, we will have people hand over the food and grass. Don't let the people from the Beijing camp cause trouble for us. They are people who can go to Datian to listen. If they just write a letter to impeach me, that's it. It can make us walk around without food."

Zhang Xiancheng nodded when he heard this. He was very satisfied with this official Wang. He actually got the food and grass together so quickly, which really saved him a lot of worry.

Wang Haoxian naturally knows this truth, but now he is very strange. Logically speaking, the Beijing camp passes by Wuqiao County and sets up camp directly, and the county can directly deliver the grain and grass to the military camp.

But yesterday, General Yang suddenly came to report that the military camp was depressed and he would lead his people to Wuqiao County to stay one night.

This made Wang Haoxian wonder if this was obviously against the rules. Wasn't Yang Zhaoji afraid that officials would hear about the impeachment?

When he told this information to Zhang Xiancheng, Zhang Xiancheng didn't take it seriously and thought Wang Haoxian was making a fuss.It's not up to them to control where the Commander-in-Chief wants to live. They just need to provide good hospitality.

Wang Haoxian could not refute these words. He thought that the thoughts of the court officials were beyond their ability to guess, so he could only secretly say that he was overthinking it.

"唔唔唔"...

The sound of horse hooves suddenly came from a distance. Everyone looked closely and saw a group of cavalry galloping towards the east gate.

"coming."

"Quick, quick, help me up and get ready."

Seeing this, Zhang Xiancheng quickly stood up from his seat, straightened his appearance, and called everyone to come forward, for fear of being rude.

"law···"

The cavalry team stopped in front of everyone's eyes, swirling dust, but everyone ignored their efforts to find the real owner Yang Zhaoji.

"Hahaha, you must have been waiting for a long time."

A hearty and resonant laughter came from the cavalry team. Everyone followed the sound and saw a burly general wearing bright armor striding from the front.

"Zhang Jinzhong, the magistrate of Wuqiao County, brings the officials from Wuqiao County Yamen to pay homage to the General."

"Please get up quickly. The army has set out here, and I have already troubled you to provide food and grass. Now I am shameless enough to come and stay for one night. I hope you will bear with me."

When Zhang Xian Cheng saw what Yang Zhaoji said, he immediately smiled and said:

"How dare you, how dare you. It is our duty to serve the imperial court, so why bother? Now that the food and grass have been prepared, they will be sent to the army camp later. General Yang can follow me to the city to rest, I have prepared I’ll give you a banquet to wash away your dust.”

While Yang Zhaoji listened to Zhang Xiancheng's words, he looked at the people behind Zhang Xiancheng intentionally or unintentionally.

"Okay, County Magistrate Zhang lives up to his name and serves the court loyally. I must show my merits to the court. I just don't know who is responsible for raising food and grass for you so that I can arrange for someone to take over."

Hearing what Yang Zhaoji said, Zhang Xian Cheng turned to point at Wang Haoxian and said:
"Master General, this matter is presided over by Wang Haoxian, the household secretary in this county. He has been running around to raise food and grass for the past few days and has endured a lot of gray hair. I won't bother the soldiers later, so I will ask Wang Haoxian to bring the food. Just head to the military camp.”

Wang Haoxian heard this and immediately raised his hands and said:
"Your Excellency, the county magistrate is right. This matter should be dealt with as little as possible. Let the soldiers rest and do not bother you anymore."

Only then did Yang Zhaoji see Wang Haoxian, the true leader, and secretly wanted to see how respectful and honest he looked. Who would have thought that this was the leader of the Eastern Mahayana Sect, a branch of the White Lotus Sect.

"No need, I have already brought the soldiers over, let them be responsible for escorting them. Secretary Wang and County Magistrate Zhang will accompany us to have a meal. Everyone present should come. We will need your help for something important later."

Everyone looked at each other in confusion after hearing this, and secretly figured out what major event Mr. Yang was talking about.Wang Haoxian was also confused as to what kind of medicine Mr. Yang was selling in his gourd.

"Then as far as General Yang is concerned, let the soldiers be responsible for escorting the food and grass. All officials above the Yamen Secretary level will be present today."

Zhang Xian Cheng was stunned when he heard this. He thought that Yang Zhaoji might be coming from a bad person. What else could they all do to help the general?But since he said so, he couldn't refuse, so he quickly waved his hand and said:

"General Yang, I have already hosted a banquet in the government office. General Yang is working hard in boats and carriages. Why don't we have a meal first?"

"Okay, as Zhang Xiancheng said, let's go in first and then talk."

Yang Zhaoji nodded upon hearing this, and then winked at the deputy general behind him.The deputy general understood immediately and turned around and walked back not knowing what he was going to do.As if nothing happened, Yang Zhaoji followed Zhang Xiancheng and others into Wuqiao County with his personal guards.

Zhang Xian Cheng knew that Yang Zhaoji was coming, so he had already cleaned up the streets and sent officers to patrol, lest anyone bump into Yang Zhaoji.When everyone arrived at the county government office, someone had already prepared two tables of meals.

"I made Zhang County Cheng spend a lot of money today. I'm afraid it cost a lot of money this time."

"No, no, this money will be deducted from the salary of the humble position. Please don't worry, Commander-in-Chief."

Yang Zhaoji laughed when he heard this, and he was not polite when he saw this, and directly called everyone to take their seats.

But Wang Haoxian on the side felt more and more strange. He found that as soon as he entered the county government office, two teams of soldiers led by Yang Zhaoji controlled all exits.Especially the back hall of the county government. Originally, the county government officials could not enter at all. He looked around and saw that there were about a dozen personal guards guarding the hall. This was obviously unreasonable.

This made him gradually feel uneasy. As the saying goes, if you don't do anything wrong, you won't be afraid of ghosts knocking on the door.But he is a person with a "criminal record". Now that he sees General Yang asking for something and sending people to guard him, he seems to be making a big move, so he can't help but feel suspicious.

Not only Wang Haoxian, but everyone else present also noticed the strange movements in the surroundings and couldn't figure out what General Yang was up to.

"General Yang, it is a great honor for Wuqiao County that you can come here today. Since you are here, you have to drink to your heart's content. Come, on behalf of the people of Wuqiao County, I would like to toast you a glass of wine."

Although the surrounding atmosphere was strange, Zhang Xiancheng seemed to turn a blind eye to it. He had already raised his glass and was about to make a toast to show his friendship as a landlord.

"Okay, I'll toast you all too."

Yang Zhaoji also raised his glass in response, which seemed to be a sign of respect for Zhang Xian Cheng. Seeing this, everyone else also stood up to accompany the drink, showing a scene befitting the guest of honor.

After a while of drinking and drinking, Yang Zhaoji began to enjoy the meal, feeling attracted by the table of food.

Seeing that Mr. Yang was in a good mood and didn't want to cause trouble, everyone was relieved and started eating with chopsticks.

But after a while, everyone's expressions became strange.The county government office in Wuqiao County is not big, and the cries outside the county government office can be faintly heard in the back hall.

But when everyone was eating, they did not hear the usual cries, but some sporadic cries for help.When Wang Haoxian and others heard this, they secretly looked at Yang Zhaoji, wanting him to ask what was going on.

But Yang Zhaoji didn't care about the eyes of the people around him, he was still feasting, and toasting and chatting with Zhang Xiancheng from time to time, making the atmosphere very awkward.

"Let me in, I have something important to report to the county magistrate."

At this time, a voice sounded from outside the back hall door. Everyone looked and saw a scribe who wanted to enter the back hall, but was stopped by Yang Zhaoji's soldiers and refused to let him in.

Just when everyone was doubtful, they saw another scribe running over anxiously, wanting to enter the inner hall but was stopped.

When Wang Haoxian saw the second person, his heart suddenly thumped and he secretly screamed.

This person is the scribe of his office, and more importantly, he is a member of the Eastern Mahayana sect. He is his confidant and follows him to deliver information every day.

Seeing how anxious he looked now, Wang Haoxian knew that something must have happened outside.

"Sir, Commander-in-Chief, I see that there are scribes waiting outside. They seem to want to report something. Why don't you let them in?"

Zhang Xiancheng listened to the shouts outside, and now looking at the anxious expression of the clerk outside the door, he felt that he could no longer ignore it and pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Yang Zhaoji seemed to have reacted just now, but he had already expected what he would say, and said without raising his head:

"If there is anything important, food is the most important thing for the people. If you have anything to do, let's talk about it after dinner."

Zhang County Cheng was about to speak after hearing this, but he saw Yang Zhaoji staring at him coldly. He was suddenly startled and broke into a cold sweat, and he did not dare to object anymore.

"Mr. Yang is right, eat first, eat first, and then talk after eating."

After saying that, he picked up his chopsticks and winked at Wang Haoxian and others, asking them to use their chopsticks quickly and not be left in the cold.Wang Haoxian wanted to speak when he saw this, but Zhang Xiancheng immediately told him to stop talking with a look, so he had no choice but to give up.

In this awkward atmosphere, everyone ate for a while.At this time, there was another burst of footsteps from the main entrance of the back hall. Everyone followed the sound and saw Yang Zhaoji's deputy general walking in slowly. After nodding to Yang Zhaoji, he guarded behind Yang Zhaoji.

At this time, Yang Zhaoji finished eating with satisfaction, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, clapped his chopsticks, looked around at the people who had stopped moving their chopsticks, and then fixed his eyes on Zhang Xian Cheng.

"Zhang County Cheng, I remember I said before entering the city that I might need your help here today, do you still remember?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jinzhong immediately stood up and cupped his hands and said:

"Of course I remember this. I don't know what the Commander-in-Chief needs us to do. We will definitely cooperate fully and don't dare to neglect."

"Okay, just wait for your words."

After hearing this assurance, Yang Zhaoji also smiled strangely, then looked around at the crowd again, his face suddenly serious and said:
"Before I came here, I received a secret report from the Jin Yiwei that there was someone rebelling against the party in Wuqiao County!"

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(End of this chapter)