The Great Seminary

Chapter 268 Man proposes, God disposes

In the main hall.

The main deity within Zhang Gui's head, 'Tai Sui Entering the God,' trembled slightly, even though it wasn't under his control.

Two extremely fine streams of black liquid, like snot, slowly flowed out of Zhang Gui's nostrils.

It transformed into mycelium, constantly reaching out in the direction from which the constables had come.

"Could it be that some treasure that could benefit me has actually been born?!"

Is it such a coincidence?
Is this what they call 'having good fortune on your side,' where heaven and earth conspire when luck comes your way?

A thought flashed through Zhang Gui's mind: he would stop pretending to be a big shot.

He reached out and tugged at his nose to cover up his actions, forcefully stuffing the roots that 'Tai Sui Enters the Spirit' had protruded back into his nostrils.

He stood up abruptly and walked towards Magistrate Fan.
"Lord Fan, this is a matter of life and death."

What's more, now there's been a shocking case where an entire family of a high-ranking official has been wiped out!

Let's put our misunderstanding aside for now.

"It's best to go to the scene of the crime first and calm the public."

In times of peace, when the government wields immense authority, what murders have occurred, and what rumors have circulated?

As long as the magistrate intervenes, he can easily grab a few people who are spreading rumors and give them a few lashes.

Naturally, things will calm down.

But now, on the eve of a major upheaval, the general public can clearly feel that their lives are in grave danger.

They were all actually in a state of panic, but the world around them hadn't descended into chaos yet, so they forced themselves to suppress it.

But at this moment, if a spark were to fall upon people's hearts...

It could easily ignite a wildfire and cause moral collapse in an instant, so we really have to be on guard.

"That's exactly right, we must do everything we can to keep the people's hearts at ease!"

Magistrate Fan, a graduate of the imperial examinations who had passed three examinations, naturally understood this principle and nodded vigorously in response.

He turned and ran towards the outside of the yamen.

At the same time, he loudly ordered:
"Dudu, go and gather all the constables under your command and keep an eye on Kong Liu of the Chaishan Gang."

Also, Officer Yao, tell him to take some men and keep an eye on Jiao Datou of the Chisha Gang…”

Zhang Gui followed behind Magistrate Fan, watching him run all the way but still manage to arrange things in an orderly manner, and couldn't help but nod in approval.

Unfortunately, "Man proposes, God disposes."

The pent-up public sentiment, suppressed for too long, finally erupted into chaos due to the instigation of some "malicious individuals."

"The entire Liu family was killed by men sent by Magistrate Fan."

Grandfather wanted to be a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty and be remembered in history, but he wanted to make all the people of our city die with him!
When Magistrate Liu learned of this, he refused to die, so Magistrate Fan took drastic measures.
"Impossible, Magistrate Fan is such an upright and honest official, my grandfather said he lived for over a hundred years and never saw another one as good as him..."
"It was precisely because Master Fan was such a good official that he killed Magistrate Liu, who wanted to defect to Yuanshan."

That's why they want to drag all of us down with them.

Haven't you heard the story of Yue Fei in the teahouse? The tyrannical emperor killed Yue Fei's entire family.

Didn't he still cut off his own head in the eye of the storm?

A good official who can do such a thing is one in a hundred years.

But are you really willing to bring your whole family, young and old, to become lackeys in those folk tales and legends, following a virtuous official?

The discussions on the street grew louder, more outrageous, and more uninhibited.

The way people looked at the government officials changed subtly from awe to reverence.

When Magistrate Fan arrived at Magistrate Liu's residence in one go, there were already several layers of people blocking the entrance.

"Make way, make way! The old man is here, why aren't you making way for me?"

The accompanying yamen runners hurriedly went to chase the people away.

Because Magistrate Fan's reputation among the people, built up over several years, could not be dissipated in a short time.

So when he appeared, the general public who had come to watch the spectacle naturally hurriedly stepped aside.

Yet, there were still a dozen or so men, dressed in shorts and revealing the bulging veins on their arms, and with dragons and phoenixes tattooed on their chests, blocking the doorway despite the freezing weather.

Upon seeing this, the yamen runner's face darkened, and he drew the iron ruler from his waist, ready to step forward and show off his power, but was quickly stopped by Magistrate Fan.

It's under a tea stall shed at the intersection of Baibuwai Street.

Jiao Datou and Kong Liu, the two leaders of the two major gangs in Shanhai County, secretly glanced in the direction of Magistrate Liu's residence and muttered to themselves.

"Sixth Master, you said you only prepared for one night before suddenly launching an attack to overthrow Magistrate Fan."

Isn't this a bit too hasty and unreliable?

"Brother Jiao, this is not something to be done hastily."

County Magistrate Liu is a high-ranking official of the eighth rank in the imperial court, holding the second most important position in our Shanhai County.

The fact that his entire family is dead is not as simple as burying the Zhang family of Dice in 'Ghost Alley' on the mountain...

"Oh, Sixth Master, please don't bring up things that are hard to talk about. Can't you just get straight to the point?"

"Okay, okay, what I mean is, the death of Magistrate Liu's family is no small matter."

Blaming it on Lao Fan is like a thief biting you and leaving a deep wound.

Taking advantage of this chaos, we might be able to bring him down.

"If we take over the county town back then, it'll be a completely different world."

"Here we go again. I don't believe that just because we take over a small county town, we can fly to the sky."

Jiao Datou smacked his lips on his strong tea and muttered something.

"Brother Jiao, I've said it so many times: although Shanhai County is small, once we take it over, we'll be conquering the city and seizing the land."

Even if those mountain villages and strongholds outside gather millions of people, those who surrender to Yuanshan are righteous people.

It's not the same thing.

However, the local officials and chieftains outside are indeed very powerful.

Fan Qingbo was able to suppress them with his reputation, but we might not be able to.

We still need to discuss this with that Manager Jiang from the 'Ci Ren Hui' and ask him to make a connection.

It would be best to combine the internal and external aspects.

"But that Steward Jiang is not someone to be trifled with. The deaths of Magistrate Liu's family are most likely related to him."

That's the 'Earthly Fiend Tribulation,' the Earthly Fiend Tribulation!

"So what? So what? Jiao Datou."

Kong Liu, who looked ten times more refined than the head of the family, suddenly laughed.

"We grew up together in Guizi Alley, eating meals from many families. We've even eaten raw meat from the dead. What are we afraid of?

Are there any orphans in the world who want to survive, even in the face of greater calamity?

"That's true." The big-headed dragon paused for a moment after hearing this, then nodded slightly and remained silent.

His attention wandered, and he no longer focused on Magistrate Fan. He inadvertently caught sight of Zhang Gui, who was standing behind Magistrate Fan and surrounded by a number of guards.

"Oh dear, who is that?"
"Sixth Master, I was momentarily distracted. How did this person end up here?"

"You mean that guy in the straw raincoat with his armored soldiers, putting on airs? I saw him a long time ago."

Don't worry about it.

"Why shouldn't we care? They seem to have quite a background."

"The armored soldiers accompanying that man were not wearing the official armor, and they were all wearing soft armor."

They must have been trained in the manner of sailors.

It must be the offspring of some notorious pirate who went out to gain experience; it's impossible that he would favor the government.

Don't worry.

(End of this chapter)