My lord, spare his life!

Under other warlords, food distribution and management would always be a headache, but not under Zhang Yang. Xiao Sui didn't have to worry about the grain getting damp and moldy, nor about it being tampered with, nor about the accounts not keeping to balance.

All she had to do was ensure that the soldiers were well-fed and didn't get sick from the food.

To put it bluntly, even if the army's food was maliciously poisoned, the responsibility wouldn't fall on Xiao Sui; their lord, Zhang Yang, would be fully responsible. This amount of work is nothing compared to Xie Shu's situation—it's like a paradise, a heaven of leisure.

With Zhang Yang's reminder, Xiao Sui knew what to do.

"Are they trying to poison the food?"

That's a bit naive.

After more than half a year of investigation, Zhang Yang also realized that a red name didn't mean everything. She had no concrete evidence, only that the magistrate harbored ill will towards her. She said, "This magistrate dislikes me."

Ordinary food can be avoided, but the other party is using the pretext of rewarding the army, pitifully squeezing out food from their already impoverished home to send to curry favor with the foreign warlord. If Zhang Yang refuses without showing compassion, it will only alert the enemy.

Regardless of whether he had any ulterior motives, Zhang Yang intended to play along.

The magistrate led his men back to the county government office in the city.

As soon as I returned, someone came up to greet me and ask me questions.

"My lord, what did that man surnamed Zhang say?"

Surrounded by the crowd, the county magistrate sat down, took a sip of tea, and sighed as he relayed Zhang Yang's words. The crowd's faces were extremely grim. They hadn't expected that even after they had humbled themselves so much, Zhang Yang would still push his luck, proving to be even more greedy than those warlords.

One person angrily smashed the table.

He was so angry that veins bulged on his forehead, and he cursed, "Was that Zhang thief in her past life a gluttonous beast? We were smart enough not to send a single soldier to stop her, and this is how she treats us? She even wants to steal the foundation our ancestors worked so hard to build! How can we face our ancestors a hundred years from now?"

"Yes, it's the savings of generations passed down to me. It took countless trials and tribulations to build it into what it is today. She thinks she can just take it all away? Those old scoundrels may be greedy, but their appetites were limited; they could at least satisfy their hunger with a little effort. But she wants to take everything!"

"We even raised provisions to reward the army and curry favor with her."

You can't hit someone who's smiling at you.

The man surnamed Zhang ate their food, wiped his mouth, and then slapped them. How could anyone tolerate that? I really don't know where Zhang's good reputation came from; he is clearly a heinous criminal.

"...I'm afraid the commoners who rushed to deliver the two pigs were also people she arranged, putting on a show to fool us."

The more they talked, the more excited they became.

The magistrate sighed, "Zhang Boyuan didn't rule it out completely. If you gentlemen can produce a clear account book of your family's wealth, she will accept it."

He had barely finished speaking when someone immediately objected.

"My lord, what's the difference between saying this and not saying anything at all?"

"Absolutely! Why should an outsider inspect our own accounts? Who does Zhang Boyuan think she is? She can't overstep her bounds like this! If this precedent is set, every household passing through will have to produce their accounts for inspection. We write our own accounts, but how they're inspected, and whether there are any problems, is entirely up to her. She's not trying to uphold justice for those lowly tenant farmers; she's clearly using their names to extort money from us! We can't agree to this!"

After saying that, he adopted an attitude that left no room for negotiation.

The others echoed in unison.

In times like these, it's even more important to stick together.

After everyone finished speaking, the magistrate remained silent. The men exchanged glances, and one of them casually remarked, "Your family's five or six acres of land—the origin of that is unclear, isn't it?"

These five or six hectares of land are not all located locally.

They didn't know about the others, but some of the land was donated gradually by various families, and they remembered it was all decent land. The magistrate wasn't a bad person, but he wasn't exactly clean either.

The magistrate's face turned pale.

Seeing this, the others did not continue to provoke them.

Over the years, they had gotten along quite well, and facing the same difficulties, they had no interest in attacking the county magistrate.

That damned Zhang Boyuan was insatiable!

The plump middle-aged man sitting in the corner sighed: "Let alone Lord Ling, even among our own family, how many can truly explain their origins?"

Some people argue, "...That's two or three generations ago! How can you clearly explain account books from decades or even centuries ago?"

"It hasn't been that long..."

In chaotic times, few families can maintain a stable lineage for so many generations.

Especially in smaller, more fragmented regions, the regimes changed hands more frequently, meaning the initial accumulation of wealth was far less clean. If Zhang Yang were to examine all the account books, every single one of them would be tainted with corruption, some even dried-up clumps of excrement…

"Whose side are you on?"

"Of course I'm on our side, but the people on the other side... they have at least ten thousand men. If they all rush in and each of them takes a knife, they can chop us into mincemeat." They weren't afraid of Zhang Yang herself, but of the soldiers she commanded.

"...We can't just sit here and wait to die!"

Their biggest fear was losing both their money and their lives. This Zhang fellow was utterly inhuman; they had gone out of their way to curry favor, yet he treated them with such disdain.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Proceed according to the original plan!"

"Are you crazy? What if we get caught?"

If you can't win a direct confrontation, use a roundabout strategy.

Their original plan was to lure Zhang Yang's troops in and then poison them. Zhang Yang's men were a bunch of inexperienced soldiers who had never seen anything good before; they were confident they would be hooked by the combination of fine wine, delicious food, and beautiful women. They didn't even expect to kill them, just to render them incapable of fighting. They had also selected several young and beautiful women to present to Zhang Yang for his enjoyment.

Looking at those warlords who died violent deaths, they either couldn't control those above them or those below them. Taking a two-pronged approach would surely yield remarkable results!

Driven by self-interest, no one was willing to sit idly by and wait for their doom.

They discussed the plan, with the county magistrate occasionally interjecting.

The magistrate said, "Sending a beauty is probably not an option."

The portly middle-aged man asked, "What's wrong? Is she not up to it?"

The magistrate choked for a moment: "Whether it's suitable or not, how would outsiders know? Compared to her, the women you've found are nothing but ordinary beauties. If she really accepts, who knows who will benefit whom?"

Everyone: "..."

This is indeed a problem.

However, it's not a big problem.

One of them coughed and said, "When it gets dark, we blow out the lamps and see what's really going on. Strip away the skin and you're just 206 bones, flesh, filth, hair, and intestines. If Zhang is truly a snake in the heart but a bodhisattva in appearance, that's fine too, there are some extraordinary people among the beauties."

It's clear that he has a lot of confidence in the people he's chosen.

The magistrate closed his eyes and chose to mute himself.

Each family was tied to the same boat. Despite the shortage of food supplies in the city, they still showed the utmost sincerity in rewarding the army, sending load after load, including a hundred adult black pigs. These pigs were lively and healthy, all well-fed and strong.

You can tell at a glance that it's not poisonous at all, and it doesn't even cause any disease.

The county magistrate, accompanied by the county clerk, personally delivered the gift list.

Besides food and drink, there were dozens of sets of decent-quality armor and over a hundred pieces of long and short weapons. Zhang Yang noticed a group of thirty young men and thirty young women at the end of the gift list: "Who are these people?"

The historian explained: "It was a reward for the soldiers' hard work, to relieve their fatigue."

Zhang Yang's hand, holding the gift list, froze: "To relieve fatigue?"

The magistrate bowed his head, and the clerk whispered, "Lord Boyuan is kind and benevolent. The privately owned entertainers in the county who are registered are grateful for his kindness and wish to repay him with their lives."

Zhang Yang has also developed some skills over the past six months.

Instead of reacting immediately, she asked, "Is this a common practice?"

The clerk peeked at the county magistrate and then said, "This, this is indeed the usual practice. If we don't give it to them, plenty of people will come asking for it."

If they don't give it, they're being ungrateful, and the people in the city will suffer.

They were just some entertainers in the camp, no matter what.

Zhang Yang then asked, "Anything else?"

Upon hearing this, the magistrate's eyes flashed with a hint of regret and slight mockery for some reason, and he then pulled out another gift list. This gift list was much shorter than the previous one, listing names with simple notes such as gender, appearance, and age.

There were more than ten beauties, roughly half of whom were men and half women.

Magistrate: "Does Lord Boyuan like it?"

Zhang Yang accepted the gift list: "Of course I like it."

The magistrate looked at her and, together with the registrar, bowed in gratitude.

Zhang Yang wouldn't stay here long, only planning to rest for a whole day. The black pig that was delivered was fine, but the alcohol had been tampered with. This alcohol was more intoxicating and had a stronger flavor than regular sake, and those who didn't drink often wouldn't even notice.

Xiao Sui: "Using the alcohol to cover up the poisonous act inside."

Zhang Yang casually picked up a jar, shook it a couple of times, broke the seal, took a sip, and smacked his lips: "It's anesthetic."

She saw a debuff appear under her head.

Xiao Sui couldn't stop him in time: "How can you do this, my lord?"

What if it's highly poisonous? Wouldn't I die from it?

Zhang Yang said, "Having military doctors examine it all is a waste of time. I can tell what kind of poison it is just by tasting it. If they were capable of obtaining large quantities of deadly poisons that kill on contact with blood, would they need to band together like this? Tsk, cunning and calculating, yet they can't figure things out..."

Xiao Sui: "..."

This is indeed a very convenient method.

Zhang Yang popped a pill into his mouth: "It won't kill me."

Xiao Sui: "..."

Fan Shuyan, who misleads students, should come and see what kind of good students he has produced! Xiao Sui wanted to advise him, but in the end, she chose to complain. She smiled and gently waved her fan, saying nothing more.

Zhang Yang asked, "Have those people been dealt with?"

"They've been put together, and the military doctors have examined them. They all have some kind of health problem." Xiao Sui knew that Zhang Yang disliked this barbaric approach, so she didn't say anything about the magistrate sending these people here to harm them. "They are indeed pitiful people."

Zhang Yang didn't reply, but only asked, "Do the soldiers know about this?"

After learning this, do you have any complaints about Zhang Yang?

Xiao Sui waved her sword fan and said, "Everyone was just thinking about having meat and soup today, so they didn't think about anything else."

Zhang Yang: "You're downplaying the important points."

"...There are indeed some discontented voices."

Zhang Yang nodded and said, "This time, I won't ask who made those sounds, but next time, if you feel itchy somewhere, go get a stick and hit where it itches. If you think the force isn't strong enough, I don't mind helping out."

Xiao Sui: "...Yes."

She didn't know where her lord had learned such harsh words, but she also knew that Zhang Yang disliked joking. Outsiders were best advised not to take anything that came from the other person's mouth lightly.

Xia Gengshi also received a large bowl of meat.

It's a bit of a shame that the poisoned drinks are undrinkable.

"My lord, are you in a bad mood?" Even a fragrant braised pig's trotter couldn't make the lord happy, which shows that the other party was really in a bad mood.

"Yeah, I'm not happy."

Xia Gengshi wiped his mouth and asked, "My lord, who should we kill?"

Zhang Yang: "..."

Every place is different, and Zhang Yang's methods for cracking down on Tianyue's illegal operations cannot be copied verbatim here; they must be adapted to local conditions. She bit her brush, rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought, her mind a jumbled mess, her vision filled with rows of names on the gift list. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and the angrier she became, the more she wanted to kill those with red names (indicating they were considered untrustworthy).

"...Tonight I will unleash a bloodbath!"

The poisoned wine intended as a reward for the army has arrived, and Zhang Yang even ordered the cooks to slaughter a hundred black pigs. The magistrate and his gang are definitely going to make their move tonight. Perfect timing, it's a perfect opportunity for her to vent her anger and prevent her from suffocating.

Not long after, He Zhi requested an audience.

The other person's expression was incredibly strange and interesting.

"What's wrong?"

Who can make He Zhi change his expression?

Zhang Yang subconsciously thought of her adopted daughter, Lü Yuan, but Lü Yuan wasn't in the camp; she was leading the vanguard scouts outside. Before she could come up with an answer, He Zhi whispered, "Someone outside the camp requests an audience."

"Who is it?"

"This person claims to be exposing a conspiracy."

Zhang Yang became interested upon hearing this: "Let's meet him."

The newcomer was an overweight middle-aged man who had lost control of his weight, dressed in a silk robe. Upon arrival, he first bowed deeply before introducing himself. Zhang Yang asked him with some curiosity, "Whom do you intend to denounce?"

"To expose the county magistrate and a group of wicked villains plotting against the government."

Zhang Yang: "???"

The fat middle-aged man, filled with righteous indignation, revealed all the details of the county magistrate and his accomplices' conspiracy, including the fact that the drinks were drugged.

"Why should I believe you? Why can't it be a scheme within a scheme?"

The overweight middle-aged man had clearly come prepared.

He presented several thick volumes of important account books.

Zhang Yang: "What are these?"

"It's some meager property from the family."

Zhang Yang: "Aren't you afraid of my reputation?"

The portly middle-aged man said sincerely, "To be honest, Master Boyuan, I am afraid. I know that my family's situation is not clean, but I know right from wrong and I know how to seek advantage and avoid harm. I only hope that after I make a contribution, I can protect some of the ancestral property so that I can meet my ancestors after I pass away."

Some are not clean, and some are clean.

If he had made a meritorious report, how could Zhang Yang have confiscated his property?

Zhang Yang remained noncommittal but was willing to give him a friendly look, which pleased the portly middle-aged man, and the two chatted amiably. However, the strange expression on He Zhi's face did not disappear. Knowing that he still had something to say, Zhang Yang made an excuse to send the portly middle-aged man away first…

"Is there anything else?"

"This isn't the only one who has reported and exposed the wrongdoing."

Zhang Yang: "...How many people are there?"

He Zhi said with a strange expression, "I'm afraid... these people have all come sneakily... better to die for others than for myself..."

He noticed something amiss and separated these people.

Even someone as indifferent as Zhang Yang couldn't help but laugh: "Fine, I'll see them all. It's late at night, let's watch the show."

If your teammate's crime is confirmed, you can only gain merit by reporting him yourself.

It's surprising that everyone has this idea.

The last person I met was the county magistrate.

Zhang Yang asked, "You also don't want to go along with them?"

Magistrate: "Oh?"

Zhang Yang raised an eyebrow but remained silent, letting the magistrate figure it out himself.

The magistrate's expression was priceless: "..."

Lu Yuan sent someone back with the news, which was also the main reason why these people were so eager to betray their teammates—the military strength in Hu County was weak, and several families fled overnight with two or three thousand private soldiers to escort their property. In other words, the county magistrate and his men knew very well that they couldn't turn the tide.

Then I'll have to sell out my teammates.

But that's what my teammates think too.

? ?|??w?`)