You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

County Chief Chen stretched out his hands from a distance, his enthusiasm as if he were seeing a long-lost brother.

Lin Feng smiled and extended his hand, neither humble nor arrogant: "County Chief Chen, I'm late, I've kept you waiting."

Their hands were clasped tightly together.

County Magistrate Chen felt that Lin Feng's grip was incredibly strong, making his finger bones ache, but his smile only grew brighter.

"Not at all, Commander Lin did a great service to the people last night, and I am both impressed and grateful."

As County Chief Chen spoke, he pulled Lin Feng by the hand and led him upstairs, completely ignoring Zhao Dashan and the others who were following behind Lin Feng with murderous intent.

Several county government clerks who tried to stop him immediately shrank back to the corner after being glared at by Zhao Dashan's fierce eyes and seeing the dark muzzle of the submachine gun in his hand.

The group entered the county magistrate's office as if it were empty.

Lin Feng sat down on the sofa with an air of nonchalance.

Without saying a word, Zhao Dashan and another guard stood at the office door, one on the left and one on the right, like two door gods.

The implication was clear: if even a single hair on my commander's head were to fall from his body, none of you in this room would survive.

County Magistrate Chen glanced at the two menacing figures at the door, his eyes twitching slightly. The reprimands he had prepared were completely forgotten.

Circumstances are beyond our control!

"Come, come, Commander Lin, try my newly arrived Longjing tea, it's from before the rain, it's very fragrant."

County Magistrate Chen personally poured tea for Lin Feng, adopting a very humble attitude.

Lin Feng took the teacup, took a sip, and looked at him with a half-smile: "County Magistrate, this is fine tea. But you probably didn't call me here just for tea, did you?"

"That's natural, that's natural."

County Chief Chen rubbed his hands together and took out a document and a red envelope from his drawer.

"Commander Lin, this is a commendation order just issued by the Provincial Security Command. It recognizes your merit in eliminating the bandits in Erlong Mountain."

He pushed the red envelope in front of Lin Feng: "This is a bonus of two thousand silver dollars allocated by the province. In addition, there are four boxes of rifles and twenty thousand rounds of ammunition, which are already on their way. The province's intention is to encourage the security regiment to continue its efforts in maintaining local peace and tranquility."

"Two thousand silver dollars?"

Lin Feng picked up the red envelope, weighed it in his hand, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

"The bigwigs in the province are really 'generous' when it comes to spending money."

He cursed inwardly, "Are they trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

Last night I ransacked the Wang family's place and got sixty or seventy thousand in cash alone. That's not even enough to fill a tooth gap for me.

However, even a mosquito's leg is still meat.

Lin Feng casually stuffed the red envelope into his pocket, but his gaze lingered on County Chief Chen, his eyes becoming somewhat amused.

He was thinking about a problem.

In the famous movie "Let the Bullets Fly" from my previous life, County Magistrate Ma Bangde said:

When a county magistrate takes office, he must devise various pretexts to win over wealthy gentry and collect taxes and donations. Only after they pay can the common people follow suit. After receiving the money, the wealthy gentry's money is returned in full, while the common people's money is split three-seven.

There's also that classic line: "I spent 200,000 to buy an official position, and I'm only taking office to make my money back."

The county magistrate in front of us, Chen, has been in charge of Qing County for many years, and Qing County is a well-known prosperous place in Zhejiang Province.

How much did he actually make?

A number suddenly popped into Lin Feng's mind: 8864, 6.4 million?

"hiss……"

Lin Feng gasped.

Six million four hundred thousand silver dollars.

It should be noted that the "Ninghai" light cruiser, which the Nationalist government ordered from the Japanese, had a displacement of 2500 tons. It was the mainstay of the Republic of China Navy at the time, and its cost was only 432 million silver dollars!

If I really had 6.4 million, it would be enough for me to build ten infantry divisions, plus a tank regiment.

Thinking of this, Lin Feng's gaze towards County Chief Chen changed.

That's not looking at superiors, that's looking at a walking fat sheep, a moving gold mine!

County Chief Chen felt a chill run down his spine from Lin Feng's green eyes.

This kid... why does he look like he's about to eat someone?

He instinctively shrank back, forcing a dry laugh, "Commander Lin... what's wrong? Do you think the bonus isn't enough?"

"Huh? Oh, hey? Quite a few, quite a few."

Lin Feng snapped out of his daze and composed himself.

He also knew that 6.4 million was an exaggeration, probably just an exaggeration in the movie to make the lines easier to say.

County Magistrate Chen was, after all, just a county magistrate. Even if he were to embezzle a little, he could only amass a few tens of thousands of silver dollars at most.

However, tens of thousands of dollars is still money.

"Ahem, County Magistrate, let's put the bonus aside for now." Lin Feng leaned forward, exuding a powerful aura. "Let's talk about the Wang family."

When the Wang family was mentioned, County Magistrate Chen's expression immediately turned somewhat unpleasant.

He sighed and said with a troubled expression, "Commander Lin, it's not that I don't want to help you. It's just... the Wang family is a very complicated place."

"Oh? How deep?"

"Although Wang Fuhai is dead, his eldest son, Wang Wenyuan, is currently working in the Hunan Provincial Government, and I heard he's a section chief. Moreover, the Wang family has many old friends in the provincial capital, and their network of relationships is intricate and complex."

County Chief Chen lowered his voice: "Last night's commotion, although it was under the guise of catching traitors, didn't follow proper procedures. Now, people in the province are already looking into it."

"And..." County Magistrate Chen pointed out the window, "those dead Japanese ronin. The Japanese consulate in the provincial capital has already lodged a protest with the provincial government, saying that they were legitimate businessmen who came to Qing County to do business, and were... killed by mutinous soldiers."

They demanded that the perpetrator be severely punished and that compensation be paid for the losses.

"Legitimate businessman?"

Lin Feng sneered and slammed his hand on the table: "Merchants who come to do business with Type 38 rifles and grenade launchers? They're here to risk their lives, aren't they!"

"I know, I know," County Magistrate Chen quickly reassured them, "but diplomacy is no small matter. You know the attitude the higher-ups have towards the Japanese right now... they're going to tolerate it as much as possible. If this gets out of hand, we won't be able to handle it."

Lin Feng saw that County Chief Chen was timid and hesitant, and he knew exactly what was going on.

This old fox is thinking of backing out.

Lin Feng has already swallowed up the Wang family's ill-gotten gains. The remaining real estate, while tempting, also carries significant risk. County Magistrate Chen is afraid of taking it but not living to enjoy it, and he wants to absolve himself of all responsibility.

"So, what does the county magistrate mean?" Lin Feng narrowed his eyes.

"What I mean is..." County Chief Chen carefully chose his words, "Can we handle this matter discreetly?"

Since the Wang family has already... gone like that, their remaining assets should be seized and the results of the investigation by higher authorities should be awaited.

As for the collusion with the Japanese, we can keep that to ourselves. To the outside world... we'll just say we wiped out a gang of ruthless bandits.

"hehe."

Lin Feng smiled.

Is this an attempt to frame him and turn the ghost-fighting hero into a warlord who indiscriminately kills innocent people?

dream.

However, Lin Feng did not turn hostile on the spot.

He knew the course of history.

Today is February 7.

After tonight, all diplomatic protests and acts of forbearance will become worthless.

Colluding with the Japanese is a heinous crime!

Moreover, the higher authorities have already made a veiled statement. The reward money and weapons and ammunition issued for suppressing bandits in Erlong Mountain are not much, but if the province really has a problem with him killing Japanese soldiers, it is impossible for them to issue a reward money and commendation order.

"Since the county magistrate has concerns and is unwilling to participate, then let's just forget about it."

Lin Feng stood up, straightened his uniform, and his tone turned cold:

"However, the evidence of the Wang family's collusion with the Japanese invaders is conclusive. To prevent any remaining members from lurking, our security force will conduct a comprehensive seizure and search of all of the Wang family's businesses in the county—shops, salt fields, and mines. Is that alright?"

When County Chief Chen heard that Lin Feng was no longer going to make him take the blame, but only wanted to seize his property, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as he isn't dragged into diplomatic disputes, everything else is negotiable.

"No problem, no problem. Commander Lin is doing this for the safety of Qing County, I fully support him." County Magistrate Chen quickly expressed his support, even picking up his teacup, "Come on, Commander Lin, I'll offer you tea instead of wine, wishing you every success."

This is how you serve tea and see guests off.

Lin Feng didn't waste any words and turned to leave.

He stopped at the door, turned back to look at County Chief Chen, and said meaningfully:

"Your Excellency, the weather is about to change. You'd better hold on tight to your official hat."

After saying that, he led Zhao Dashan and the others and strode away from the county government office.

County Chief Chen was left alone in his office, watching Lin Feng's retreating figure, feeling inexplicably uneasy.

"The weather's changing? What's changing on such a sunny day?"