Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 668 Explicit Instructions

"My lord." Fang He carried the cloth bag for selling plasters into the study.

Meng Changqing snapped out of his reverie and asked, "Why are you back?"

Fang He took a breath. "Brother Zhou told me to come back and tell you in person." He patted the cloth bag on his body. "The ointment is sold out, so I came back to restock."

"Is there anyone guarding the new prefect's place?" Meng Changqing asked.

"He Youming is keeping an eye on it."

"Sit down and talk." Meng Changqing got up and poured him tea.

Fang He was not reserved and sat down opposite Meng Changqing.

Meng Changqing patiently waited for the other person to drink two sips of tea before asking, "How is the situation?"

Fang He put down his teacup and adopted the posture of a storyteller. "This new prefect is quite bold. He arrived in Bishan County in the morning and set up a stage outside Xunxian Town in the afternoon to confront those barbarians face to face."

Meng Changqing was definitely a qualified listener. "Oh?" She turned and pushed the two plates of snacks on the table in front of Fang He. "Continue."

Fang He used to be not good with words, but that year he went out alone to deliver the pension money. He had to talk along the way, and his personality changed after he came back. He started talking non-stop and could chat with anyone.

Meng Changqing was suspicious. At first, she thought that a stranger had put a human skin mask on him. But where in the world could there be such a sophisticated skin-putting technique? She asked several people who were familiar with Fang He to spy on him, but they did not find anything unusual.

He has simply changed his personality.

Meng Changqing simply let him go out to sell plasters.

They claimed to be selling plasters, but this was just a cover to facilitate their gathering of information from the streets and alleys.

“Those people are also citizens of Daliang. In my opinion, they are no different from those savages outside.”

"You didn't see them? Those people were dressed strangely, with hair stuck in their heads and bones hanging from their waists, I don't even know what kind of bones they were..."

Fang He explained in great detail, from the clothing of the people in Xunxian Town to the key points of the conversation between the two sides, and Meng Changqing listened with great interest.

"Even if the Prefect were to compromise and only request that the county government officials be stationed in Xunxian Town, those people still refuse?"

Fang He nodded. "Those people are very tough. They absolutely refuse to come out themselves and absolutely do not allow outsiders to enter. They say it was agreed upon when the Great Liang Dynasty was founded that they would live their own lives and the government would not interfere."

"And then?" Meng Changqing asked. "How did Prefect Zheng respond?"

"This won't do, that won't do, so how about we ask you to change your old customs? Would you be willing?" When Zheng Jie said this, he knew very well that it was meaningless.

Those inside can't get out, and those outside can't get in; they are still in a relatively closed environment.

Even if they promise right now that they will never use human sacrifices to the mountains again, who can prove it?
But what he didn't expect was that these people were extremely arrogant and wouldn't even deign to give him false promises.

"Give it or leave it!" These words were not spoken by the young man, but by the one who looked the oldest among the four chieftains. He clearly knew how to speak official jargon. "If you're not going to give it, then shut up."

“Of course, I am sincere in giving, but you are not sincere in taking it. When you come out to exchange things, you know to barter, so how dare you take things from the imperial court with your bare hands?” Zheng Jie’s tone became more and more serious.

Upon hearing this, two of the four bandit leaders on the opposite side got up and left.

The remaining two were muttering to themselves, but the young man had already left with the other two, and Zheng Jie couldn't understand what he was saying. The other one sat calmly, not saying a word, just looking at Zheng Jie.

Zheng Jie turned to Luo Mao and asked, "Who on your side can understand their language?"

Luo Mao waved to a person in the distance, and the person immediately ran over quickly. "He's from Xiaoshan Town..." Before he could finish speaking, Zheng Jie interrupted him again, "Stop rambling, let him hear what you have to say."

The middle-aged man from Xiaoshan Town respectfully said to Zheng Jie, "He's cursing you; he's using different words to curse you."

Zheng Jie took a deep breath and slammed his hand on the table. "Get out! You shameless bastard!"

Unfortunately, the person on the other end couldn't understand, and Zheng Jie didn't need the translator from Xiaoshan Town. He picked up the teacup in front of him, splashed it on the face of the wailing village chief, and shouted, "Get out!"

Indeed, when there is a language barrier, using gestures is a more direct way to communicate.

But this was too direct, which frightened Luo Mao so much that he nervously gestured to the constables behind him: Get ready to step forward and protect us at any time.

The person whose tea was splashed slammed his fist on the table and started cursing. Of course, Zheng Jie couldn't understand what he was saying, and the situation between the two sides instantly became tense.

Zheng Jie was prepared to fight on the spot. He was young and impulsive, and in his anger, he could throw all his prior plans aside.

Fortunately, the chieftain on the other side finished cursing and then told his men to go back, showing no intention of fighting the government.

As soon as the person who was swearing left, the one who had been sitting quietly followed suit.

In the blink of an eye, only Zheng Jie and Luo Mao's men remained at the scene.

"My lord," Luo Mao thought to himself, "see, you can't accomplish this even if you come! Let's go back first and think of another way."

Fang He could only say this much to Meng Changqing.

"The meeting ended on bad terms," ​​Fang He said. "When Prefect Zheng turned around, his face was so black it could drip ink."

In other words, the talks were a waste of time and only exacerbated the conflict between the two sides.

Meng Changqing twirled the teacup in his hand. As Fang He had said, the last person to leave could be persuaded to stay.

It's unclear what Zheng Jie was thinking. Did he feel his self-esteem had been hurt and immediately decide to resort to force, but then consider other options?

"You've worked hard," Meng Changqing said to Fang He. "It's getting late now, so don't bother running around today. Rest in the county for the night, and then go to the pharmacy to get the ointment tomorrow."

"Yes." Fang He stood up, preparing to take his leave.

Before he could even finish his sentence, Meng Changqing asked, "Is the ointment selling so well?"

"Our plasters are cheap, and many people buy two when they see them," Fang He said. "Sir, our plasters are quite effective. I've been in Liangzhou City for a few days, and to make it easier to observe, I haven't moved an inch. Many people bought some one day and came back to buy more the next, saying that our plasters are very effective!"

Meng Changqing said, "It's not as good as they think. It can only relieve a simple headache or fever. You should also be careful outside. The main purpose is to gather information. Our county government doesn't expect you to make a fortune selling plasters."

"Yes, yes, I know."

After meeting Fang He, Meng Changqing went back to sleep, but Zheng Jie couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

Difficult things won't become easier just because someone else is in charge.

Imagine if Luo Mao could persuade those people in Xunxian Town with words, he wouldn't have let them develop to this point.

What to do? Zheng Jie decided to try again with the last chieftain who left.

The next day, he went to Bishan County again and gave Luo Mao a clear instruction to bring the chieftain who left last day to the county government office.