Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 207: Strong Attack
Su Ming came back to his senses, his face solemn, "You are now being targeted by the Wu State. I'm afraid you will be in danger in the future..."

Su Ming was thinking about whether to send his personal guards to secretly protect Lu Zheng, but then he remembered the order from above, which made him feel troubled.

He felt that the matter should be reported and explained clearly.

If Lu Zheng had been an official, he would have been promoted long ago due to his achievements.

For students, they can even make an exception and go to the Confucian Temple to improve their literary spirit.

How could Su Ming not cherish such a talent, a young talent under his command?
Lu Zheng smiled upon hearing this, "Compared to national affairs, my personal safety is nothing. Those Wu people won't put too much thought into me. Even if something happens to me in the future, it's just a minor incident, nothing to worry about."

"I'm here today to inform the Governor, not to seek any protection. I simply want you to take this opportunity to conduct a thorough investigation and remove the dirt from Hongzhou City."

Lu Zheng was not worried about his own safety at all. He had enough confidence to deal with danger.

Unless the State of Wu dares to spend the money and send masters above the four realms to deal with him.

Otherwise, if you send some small shrimps over, they will not be enough to deal him a few punches or hammers.

Su Ming's mind moved. He heard that Magistrate Li of Kaiyang County had used a similar case to deal with the problem.

He couldn't help but look at Lu Zheng and sighed, "I heard that you learned the way of Meng Sheng, cultivated a righteous spirit, and dared to sacrifice your life for justice. You are truly a great talent!"

Su Ming paused, then continued, "It's the time of the Autumn Examination. After the results are announced, the title of Juren will be conferred... I would like to recommend you for promotion and have you go to the Confucian Temple with me to receive the title. With your merits, it won't be difficult for you to become a Juren. Are you willing?"

Lu Zheng thought that he was already a successful candidate in the imperial examination, so there was no need to go to the Confucian Temple to get some literary atmosphere.

The last time I went to the Confucian Temple, I mainly wanted to open a Wen Palace.

Lu Zheng said, "I appreciate your kindness, sir. I still want to cultivate my own righteousness."

Seeing that Lu Zheng was unmoved by this matter and quickly refused, Su Ming was surprised.

If it were him, he would have hesitated for a while.

Su Ming asked again: "Are you really unwilling?"

Lu Zhengdao said, "Leave it to those who need it. I've heard that some students lack the literary talent to pass the imperial examination. It's not that they don't have talent, but they have a strong focus on one subject and possess real talent. Those people need this opportunity more than I do."

Su Ming couldn't help but shake his head and smiled, "You don't ask for anything, which makes it difficult for me."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "I still have something to ask for."

"What?" Su Ming's eyes moved.

Lu Zhengdao said, "We pray for long-term peace and prosperity for the people... Kaiyang County is implementing some new policies, and we hope the governor will support them."

"Well, what?" Su Ming couldn't help but ask.

Lu Zheng presented the booklet and then slowly explained it.

Su Ming was flipping through the booklet while listening to the lecture, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Okay, okay, are these...what you came up with?"

Su Ming looked at Lu Zheng with burning eyes.

He knew Kaiyang County, and the county magistrate Li Yuan would definitely not have thought of this.

Lu Zhengdao: "It's just a summary of the experience of our predecessors."

Su Ming asked curiously, "How is Kaiyang County now?"

Lu Zhengdao: "These policies have just been implemented, and we won't see any results until next spring at the latest."

"That's it..."

Su Ming thought that time would pass quickly. If Kaiyang County could achieve good results, it could be promoted to other states and counties.

"This is a good strategy for governing the country." Su Ming couldn't help but say excitedly.

Lu Zhengdao said, "President Xiao said the same thing. But even though it's a good policy, it still depends on the person who implements it. Otherwise, it will become a burden to the people and won't last long."

Su Ming deeply agreed with this. No matter how powerful the soldiers were, they needed a good general to command them, otherwise they would not have much combat effectiveness.

He carefully put the booklet away and prepared to read it slowly later.

Su Ming said, "I will have someone investigate today's incident and eliminate all the assassins still hiding in Hongzhou City. How long will you stay in Hongzhou City?"

Lu Zhengdao: "I don't know, I have some things of my own to do, sir, don't worry about me."

"Forget it. You can kill so many monsters and ghosts, and even kill the divine consciousness of the God of Rivers. You are not those scholars with little martial arts power. You'd better be careful." Su Ming said.

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "Then I will take my leave."

Su Ming said, "Since you still have something to do, I won't keep you any longer."

Lu Zheng bowed and said goodbye, then left the room.

When I arrived at a place outside, I met Zhang Bo and Chen Liang.

When Chen Liang saw Lu Zheng coming out, he couldn't help but ask, "What did you talk about for so long?"

Lu Zhengdao: "It's okay. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Chen Baiwei from now on."

"Chen Liang, come here!"

Su Ming's voice came from a distance.

Chen Liang was startled when he heard this and whispered, "I'll be over first. When I'm free later, let's have dinner together. It's my treat!"

After saying that, Chen Liang rushed to the room where Su Ming was.

Lu Zheng and Zhang Bo left the provincial government office directly.

When Chen Liang saw Su Ming and saw that no one was around, he smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, what do you want to talk to me about?"

No one else in the entire provincial government knew that this Baiwei, who was temporarily transferred here, was actually Su Ming's brother-in-law.

Su Ming wrote a letter without looking up. "Go to my residence and call Si'er. Have him organize a thorough investigation of the killer... The city gates are under martial law. No suspected cultivators are allowed to pass."

"This..." Chen Liang scratched his head and whispered, "There are quite a few people coming to the state capital now, and there are also many from other places, even from abroad. They want to leave, and it's hard to stop them."

"Keep your eyes sharp and remember the situation of those who were allowed to leave." Su Ming said, "Send more people and take those spirit dogs raised by the state government with them." "Okay!"

Chen Liang thought to himself that this was going to be serious.

……

A village in Tong County.

Outside the village, there was a burst of hurried horse hooves sounds.

Following the sound, I saw a group of armored officers and soldiers riding horses towards me, each with an expressionless face and a fierce look.

When some villagers saw this scene, they were so frightened that they crawled away.

When these officers and soldiers arrived outside the village, they dismounted, some holding long swords, some holding iron crossbows, and strode into the village.

Some officers and soldiers shouted, "Don't be afraid, fellow villagers! Someone is colluding with evil spirits to bring disaster to the village. We are here to catch the thief!"

That being said, the villagers had never seen such a scene before. They were so scared that they closed their doors and windows and hid themselves.

A group of officers and soldiers quickly arrived in front of a manor and surrounded the manor.

"Smash the door!"

County Magistrate Zhou stood in front of the door with a cold voice.

Upon hearing this, one of the subordinates strode forward and slammed the door, making it bang loudly.

When the people inside saw the situation, they were all shocked and panicked.

A servant's legs were trembling, and he went to call his master tremblingly.

"boom……"

The thick door suddenly cracked open, and a crack appeared.

In the manor, an old man with half-white hair saw this and hurriedly said, "My lords, what happened? Why are you attacking our family?"

Seeing how tough these officers and soldiers were, the old man didn't know what they had done wrong.

County Magistrate Zhou said coldly, "Your family is suspected of colluding with demons and ghosts. Come with us."

"It's unfair! How dare we, the common people, collude with evil spirits!" The old man cried out in injustice. "Why do you officials look so unfamiliar?"

He used to go to Tongcheng often and was familiar with some officials. He had even met the county magistrate and had a good relationship with him. Why did they suddenly come to arrest them?
Moreover, the officers and soldiers in front of him were very unfamiliar.

County Lieutenant Zhou said, "We are officials from Kaiyang County, and we have been tracking them all the way here."

Upon hearing this, the old man hurriedly said, "You are officials from Kaiyang County. How could you cross the border? If you want to arrest us, you must have a document from the Tong County government. Do you have it?"

County Magistrate Zhou thought that this wealthy family knew a lot.

He really didn't have any documents from Tong County. After all, he had agreed to distance himself from the Tong County magistrate on this matter.

County Magistrate Zhou couldn't help but sneer and said, "The country has its own laws. You have committed a serious crime, so we can't arrest you?"

"My son is a scholar with a good academic record!" the old man said in a trembling voice, "How could you..."

County Magistrate Zhou said calmly, "That's your son, not you. Even if it were you, so what? Princes and nobles who break the law must also be punished! Charge in! Anyone who dares to resist or escape will be killed without mercy!"

The officers and soldiers rushed in with great momentum and broke into the room.

Suddenly, the whole village was in chaos, with cries and screams rang out.

They arrested people as soon as they were told to. The officers and soldiers acted quickly and arrested the entire family, young and old, and drove out the remaining servants and irrelevant people.

The county jail is not big and cannot accommodate too many people.

Immediately afterwards, the manor was sealed off.

Two officials were specially responsible for searching the entire village carefully, and then put all the gold, silver and money they found into storage bags.

Not long after, a group of people escorted the people and quickly left the village.

The rest of the villagers didn't dare to show up until the officers and soldiers had gone far away.

Everyone was whispering to each other, and when they heard that the entire family of the village landlord had been arrested, they felt a bit gloating.

County Lieutenant Zhou looked at the full storage bag and felt satisfied.

Fighting the landlords and the rich makes money quickly!

He watched everyone rush to Kaiyang County, then he changed direction, walked for a while, and came to a secluded place.

There was a carriage parked there with several guards outside.

"County Magistrate Zhao, the matter here has been settled!"

County Magistrate Zhou greeted him with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuming opened the car window and looked at County Captain Zhou with complicated eyes.

In the end, he chose to cooperate with Kaiyang County.

"You killed someone?" Zhao Yuming asked.

County Magistrate Zhou laughed and said, "We are officials, not bandits or monsters. How can we kill people at will?"

County Lieutenant Zhou paused, then added, "Besides, the crimes Magistrate Zhao brought up, such as seizing good farmland and forcing innocent people into slavery... If they don't die, they should be exiled. Even if someone dies, it's no big deal. We'll take care of it!"

Collaborating with demons and ghosts is an excuse to arrest people, but those wealthy families have actually committed many crimes.

Zhao Yuming didn't dare to take action, for fear of implicating too many people. After all, those bigwigs all had some connections, and it would be difficult to convict them even if they were guilty.

One stick won't kill someone, but it will cause trouble.

But the officials of Kaiyang County dared to do so because they had someone to back them up and they were not afraid of anything.

(End of this chapter)