Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 110: The Civet Cat Substitutes for a Yamen Runner

In Fenglin County, Zhao Yifu sat leisurely at the desk of the county government office, and then casually flipped through one account book after another, as if flipping through them casually, pausing only slightly before turning over each page.

Although he seemed careless, he had actually memorized the contents of every account book.

The chief clerk named Li Liang stood beside him, with a somewhat disdainful expression but a very respectful attitude.

This disdain showed that he did not recognize Zhao Yifu's achievements as a result of the imperial examination. He was even dissatisfied that Zhao Yifu could climb over his head and become the county magistrate right after taking office.

With this mentality, even if the chief clerk received the news that this person was one of his own, he would still feel a strong sense of hostility.

Zhao Yifu didn't care. He just quickly went through the account books and documents, then said calmly, "From these account books, it seems that the treasury is short of 70,000 taels of tax silver. This is mainly due to the arrears of the Qian, Zhao, Sun, and Wu families. Why were they confiscated at the time?"

As he spoke, he casually pulled out a few account books and placed them in front of him.

Li Liang's scalp tightened when he saw this. He realized that these account books were all forged...

Zhao Yifu said, "These account books don't match, but after multiple checks, we can still find some clues. To be honest, this is your job, Li Hanshan, to do the accounting. This is a big mistake."

Hanshan is Li Liang's pen name, and he himself is a snobbish and cold-hearted person.

When he heard what Zhao Yifu said, his first reaction was that the county magistrate wanted to teach him a lesson!
Li Liang smiled faintly and said, "These accounts are managed by County Magistrate Qi himself, so I don't know about them either."

Good guy, he directly put the blame on the county magistrate whose entire family was wiped out.

This is really interesting.

Zhao Yifu looked at Li Liang with interest and said, "Speaking of which, can you tell me how Magistrate Qi died?"

Li Liang glanced at Zhao Yifu and said, "How else could he have died? He was hacked to death by a group of strong men who rushed into the county government office."

"After all, Lord Qi has done a lot of things that have offended people while serving in this county. Many people hate him, and they can't tell who did it..."

Zhao Yifu shook his head and said, "Master Li, there's no need to say this. Killing a county magistrate is nothing serious. I just want to know how those people dealt with the aftermath after killing Master Qi..."

Li Liang said, "The specific information has been written on the report. If County Magistrate Zhao needs it, Liang can go get the backup."

Zhao Yifu waved his hand and said, "No need, I just feel that this method is too low-level."

"Uncle Wu."

Wu Zhong nodded beside him and said, "Master, this old servant is here."

Zhao Yifu said, "Take some time to subdue the bandits in the nearby mountains."

"There's no need to keep the bandit leader. He's probably someone else's puppet. Just kill him and replace him with a new one."

Wu Zhong was excited when he heard this. He said, "Don't worry, young master. It's just about subduing the bandits. This old servant is very familiar with this."

Li Liang felt something was wrong after hearing this, but he only felt a chill on his back.

He originally thought that the newly appointed county magistrate had so quickly joined the prefect's group and must be a villain who knew when to advance and when to retreat.

But now it feels like something is not right.

Zhao Yifu patted him on the shoulder and said, "To be honest, Brother Li, I've also had several county magistrates appointed in this way back home, but they all ended well."

"Uncle Wu, what did our family do back then?"

Wu Zhong smiled knowingly and said, "At that time, the master gathered the local militia and broke out from the village. When the county town was plundered, he drove out the bandits. So our Zhao family was even commended by the state government for being a good family."

When Li Liang heard this, he suddenly realized that the master and servant in front of him might not be good people.

He looked at Zhao Yifu in disbelief and said, "You...you aren't afraid..."

Zhao Yifu said nonchalantly, "What are you afraid of? I'm telling you I'm not afraid anymore. Brother Li, do you think it's so great just to be able to command bandits?"

Li Liang's face changed drastically, and he snorted coldly: "I don't know what you are talking about."

Zhao Yifu said, "Alright, let's not talk about this."

He took out a memorial with fresh ink and said, "Take a look at this memorial. How do you think it's written like this?"

"Since I'm in charge of remaking the Yellow Book of Fish Scales, I can write directly to the Ministry of Revenue to express my opinion. However, I'm afraid that my first submission may not be well written, so I'd appreciate Brother Li's corrections."

Li Liang picked up the memorial and began to read it, but the more he read, the darker his face became. He then tore it up and said, "What nonsense!"

He looked at Zhao Yifu with his eyes twitching, and said, "You are not one of us!"

Zhao Yifu laughed out loud: "Finally realized it?"

"But we can be our own people."

Li Liang's face was cold and stern. Of course they could be one of our own... If this memorial was really submitted, then they would be one of our own people.

What does it say?
Zhao Yifu said that openly. He was a newcomer who knew nothing. Fortunately, the chief clerk Li Liang exposed the darkness of the officialdom in Fenglin County and even Yugzhou for him.

Then, a lot of evidence of collusion between officials and gentry was discovered...

From Li Liang's perspective, this is a trap that will kill him.

So he tore up the memorial without hesitation.

Zhao Yifu reached under the table and took out another one, then said with a chuckle, "It seems you don't have any objections."

Having said this, he stamped it with his official seal, folded it, and put it in a mailbox.

Then he said to Wu Zhong, "Take it to the post station and send it to the capital."

Wu Zhong picked it up and left.

Li Liang couldn't stop it at all.

But he quickly sneered and said, "Do you think this will work? You can't send this letter."

This is a complete break.

Zhao Yifu smiled and shook his head, saying calmly, "It's okay. I'll send another similar letter through my own channels."

"It doesn't matter whether the first one that goes through the post station can get out or not, as long as this second one can reach the Yintaisi."

Li Liang felt cold all over after hearing this. Did he dare to bet on Zhao Yifu's "second channel"?

He dare not.

If the first letter does not arrive but the second one does, it will be a huge problem for the court.

What is the most fundamental thing for the court to maintain its rule?
In fact, they are the official roads that lead to every county government in Daxu, as well as the post stations along the official roads.

These post stations are used for routine information transmission. Local authorities have the responsibility to maintain them, but they are absolutely not allowed to get into the post stations.

Otherwise, what is the purpose of shutting off the imperial court's eyes and ears?!

Especially at this sensitive time when the rebellion in Jingshan Province has intensified...

If Fenglin County's post station system is also questioned, then the army sent to suppress the rebellion will probably have to turn around and take a look.

Li Liang clenched his fists tightly, but didn't dare to say a word.

Zhao Yifu stood up and grabbed him, saying, "Come on, gather the county officials and follow me to settle the accounts."

Li Liang struggled hard, but found that he could not get free.

He looked at Zhao Yifu in horror, feeling like a scholar encountering a soldier. But Zhao Yifu was not a soldier.

In other words, he fully experienced what it felt like to be "conquered by virtue"... The "virtue" here refers to "martial virtue".

Li Liang was dragged so hard that he had no ability to resist at all. Zhao Yifu dragged him directly to the main hall, and then he beat the drum in the main hall to gather everyone.

The county yamen runners quickly gathered around. They all looked at Zhao Yi Fu in confusion, and then their main attention was focused on Li Liang.

Before Li Liang could say anything, Zhao Yifu said, "I'm the newly appointed County Magistrate. My courtesy name is Junxin. You can address me by my official title."

"Just now, Chief Clerk Li handed over official duties to me. It turned out that most of the deficit in this county is due to the arrears of taxes by the Qian, Zhao, Sun, and Wu families. Therefore, I summoned you here today to collect those arrears."

"Hurry up, take more carriages and come with me."

However, the yamen runners looked at each other, and finally a squad leader came out and said, "Sir, my wife is in labor, I'm afraid I can't..."

Zhao Yifu waved his hand and said kindly, "Since you have something to do at home, then go ahead."

Then another person stood up...

The situation immediately became strange. It was obvious that everyone was looking for an excuse to run away.

Zhao Yifu took the initiative and said, "If you have any problems at home, just go. I'm the best at talking."

As soon as the words fell, someone said goodbye.

Then came the third, the fourth...

In the end, they simply didn't come to say goodbye to him, the county magistrate, and just left.

This has actually evolved into a silent protest.

Zhao Yifu watched them walk out, but smiled brightly at Li Liang and said, "It looks like they are all busy."

Li Liang also smiled dryly but did not say anything.

Because he was a little scared of Zhao Yifu.

If it was someone else, Li Liang could even start mocking him at this time.

But after he walked for a while with Zhao Yifu carrying him in one hand like a paper man, he was afraid that the embarrassed Zhao Yifu would crush him to death.

The reasons are all there: the thieves who attacked and killed the county magistrate have returned...

Originally, Li Liang shouldn't have had such worries, after all, Zhao Yifu had just arrived.

However, the various information he received since meeting Zhao Yifu made him feel that the county magistrate in front of him, who was a juren, was actually not much different from the kind of reckless man who would overturn the table at the slightest disagreement.

So he is very honest now.

Although he couldn't understand why Zhao Yifu, a scholar taking the imperial examination, gave him this feeling, he still followed his heart at this time.

Seeing that no one was around, Zhao Yifu said to the outside, "Little Beard, bring your men in. From now on, you will be the county yamen runners."

Li Liang looked outside in astonishment, and saw a middle-aged man with a thick mustache walking in with eight people of different heights, weights and bodies.

These people have changed into the uniforms of yamen runners. They look different from each other, but they always give people a very similar feeling.

If you look closely at those people's faces, you will find that their faces are too clean.

It's not the kind of clean that's meant to be clean, but the kind of clean that's free from worldly concerns.

When they looked at Zhao Yifu, they all looked well-behaved, obedient and submissive.

Well, these are all his cats.

And it’s the kind of cat that can transform into a human form!
Although he no longer looks cute after becoming a human, Zhao Yifu doesn't mind it. He knows it's all an illusion.

Zhao Yifu laughed heartily and said to the man with the mustache, "Bring our Li Zhubu with you, and come with me to collect the silver owed to you."

Li Liang still wanted to resist, but he was dragged away by the man with a mustache.

Can't resist at all.

He wanted to scream...

As a result, Zhao Yifu put his hand on his throat and he could not make any sound.

A clever use of the 'Voice Seal' sealed off all the sounds coming from his vocal cords.

Come to think of it, is this also a 'silent seal'?
Of course, this effect is actually similar to the "acupoint pressing" rumored in the martial arts world. It's not that Zhao Yifu doesn't know how to do it, but when he practiced the "Shou Ren Method", his whole body's true energy could not be released linearly, so he could only use the sealing technique, which could form a circuit of its own.

Zhao Yifu then looked at the man with the mustache and said, "Watch him carefully. If he doesn't behave himself, break his arms and legs."

The mustache man smiled and replied, "As you command, my lord."

Zhao Yifu felt a little awkward with this name, but he didn't have any requirements for the cats. It was already very good that they were so obedient and helped him with things, so he didn't ask for too much.

So a group of people...actually just two people and nine cats set off together.

At the county government office, a horse-drawn carriage and three wheelbarrows were used, and the cats drove them towards the Qian family's compound in the city.

This means they are really preparing to move the tax money.

Along the way, Zhao Yifu dragged the frightened Li Zhubu to sit next to him, holding his shoulders with one hand so that he could not move at all.

And Li Zhubu naturally understood what Zhao Yifu wanted to do. This was to create the established fact that Li Liang had "surrendered to the enemy"!
Unfortunately, no matter how hard he struggled, he could not break free from Zhao Yi Fu's arms. The iron-like arms made him feel suffocated.

Halfway through the journey, Wu Zhong, who had just returned from his errands, returned to Zhao Yifu and said, "Master, I've already delivered the letter to the post station. The postmaster said they'll arrange for someone to send it out immediately."

Zhao Yifu nodded, then said, "Go back and see how the county magistrate's residence is doing. We're going to stay there tonight."

Wu Zhong nodded when he heard this, then looked at the human-shaped cats dressed in yamen uniforms around Zhao Yifu. He still felt that it was unreal.

To be honest, when Zhao Yifu was on the road, he sighed: "It would be better if there were more people."

At this time, Wu Zhongzhen thought that his emotion was just emotion.

But who would have thought that the little mustache that he usually took good care of would suddenly speak up: "Master, can we, the raccoon tribe, help you with your worries?"

Wu Zhong was shocked at that time.

But Zhao Yifu was pleasantly surprised and said, "I knew you could speak. How many raccoon people here can transform into human form?"

The little mustache said, "A total of twenty-one raccoon tribes are available, and we are willing to serve the master."

Wu Zhong couldn't help but shout, "Master!"

Zhao Yifu waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I know they will speak to us sooner or later. After all, they have always been with me when I was practicing."

"Isn't it natural to become a spirit?"

Wu Zhong was very uncomfortable with the way such an incredible thing was said in such a matter-of-fact tone.

But who made him his young master?
Especially since the young master had a local lord who wanted to compete with him for the position of "the first retainer of the Zhao family", he had made up his mind to unite all the forces that could be united.

What happened to the raccoon spirit?
That's the raccoon spirit that I raised myself, there's nothing to be afraid of.

　There are two chapters today
　　
　
(End of this chapter)