In a chaotic and famine-stricken era, I picked up an empress to be my wife.

Liu Wenyuan could feel the powerful sense of oppression in Shen An's words.

He couldn't resist the pressure and didn't utter a single word.

"Since you're not saying anything, that means you agree. I'll be waiting for your message in two days!"

Shen An then let go of his grip and turned to move the items seized from the house, stacking them one by one onto the carriage.

Liu Wenyuan felt a sense of relief wash over him, a bitter smile curving his lips as he muttered to himself, "He's definitely not an ordinary person."

But the more this is the case, the more I want to drag you onto my pirate ship!

He immediately composed himself, put on a smile, and jogged over to lend a helping hand.

Half an hour later, the two returned to the yamen to report.

Zhu Shigui, that corrupt official, pretended to frown and said, "How come there's so little stuff after confiscating the property?" His words were full of the implication that "you two must have swallowed it."

Shen An and Liu Wenyuan knew he was crying wolf, but they could only put on smiles and swear one oath after another that they had not embezzled anything!

After much persuasion, Zhu Shigui finally clicked his tongue and reluctantly nodded, saying he believed him.

But then he sighed and patted Shen An: "Officer Shen, Magistrate Liu is an old man, and everyone trusts him."

You've only just arrived and you've already run into this mess.

While the local government may believe you, others may not.

"Alright then, from now on you don't need to come to the yamen every day. Your monthly salary will still be paid, and you'll still be the head constable."

Shen An sneered inwardly.

So that's where they were waiting.

Zhu Shigui initially said he would give us a three-month adjustment period, but now we don't even need to come to the county government anymore.

However, this was exactly what Shen An wanted.

He had to admit that Zhu Shigui, that corrupt official, might not have any other skills, but he was an expert at scheming in officialdom.

Liu Wenyuan stood with his hands hanging down the whole time, not saying a single word on behalf of Shen An.

He needed Shen An to swallow this bitter pill so that he could be forced to join forces against Zhu Shigui!

In the jail cell, Zhang Meng heard that the ransacking of the house only brought back a pile of junk, and he refused to believe it even if he were beaten to death!

Ma Tianming's assets must have been embezzled by Shen An and Liu Wenyuan in collusion.

But he was quickly replaced by excitement. That night, he went to teach Shen An a lesson and, while he was at it, robbed Shen An of the money he had embezzled. Wouldn't that money be his?

He became more and more excited as he thought about it, and couldn't contain himself as soon as it got dark. He led twenty-three constables from the fast squad and rode towards Qingtian Village.

On the other side, Shen Anzheng, Shen Xiaoqi, and Zhao Long were squatting in the courtyard, wolfing down the food prepared by Dugu Meng.

Dugu Meng leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching them eat, and felt a warm glow in her heart.

"It's terrible! A dozen or so government officials are riding fast horses into the village!"

Old Zhao burst through the door, his face contorted with wrinkles.

Shen An didn't even look up. He picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and slowly chewed it before speaking: "Uncle Zhao, calm down."

"Haven't all the people been arranged? Once they arrive, I'll signal by smashing a cup, and you can proceed immediately!"

Old Zhao's face was full of fear: "Officer Shen, are we really going to attack government officials?"

"It wasn't possible before, but now I'm the head constable. If they come to cause me trouble, that's considered insubordination!"

"I can teach them a lesson, and even the county magistrate can't interfere!" Shen An patted Old Zhao on the shoulder: "After you're done beating them up, I have a surprise for you."

The reason Shen An had Old Zhao and the others take action was that he wanted to dispel their fear of the government!

In this way, they will have the courage to follow when we raise our arms and call to arms in the future!

Old Zhao had been oppressed by the government for a long time and harbored resentment, which was fueled by Shen An's words.

He was going all out, so he gritted his teeth, nodded, and turned to disappear into the night outside the courtyard to lie in ambush.

Soon, the door was kicked open from the outside.

Zhang Meng strode in and saw Shen An still sitting there calmly picking at his food. His temper flared instantly: "Shen An, you fucking have the nerve to eat? Do you know you're going to get a beating later?"

"Hey, isn't this Zhang Meng?" Shen An put down his bowl: "You weren't satisfied with the beating this morning, so you're coming here to get beaten up again tonight?"

The veins on Zhang Meng's temples bulged: "Shen An, you fucking look carefully! I brought twenty-three men! You really think that just because you're a lousy constable, I won't dare to touch you?"

"Then why are you still standing there gossiping? Get your hands on me." Shen An leaned back in his chair and spread his hands.

"Damn it!" Zhang Meng turned around and roared at his men, "All of you, get him! Cripple this piece of trash!"

"Chief Zhang, shouldn't we force him to return the money we confiscated?" a constable asked, leaning closer.

"After we've beaten everyone up, this whole house will be ours, won't it? Stop arguing! Do it!" Zhang Meng's eyes reddened, and he drew his sword, pointing it at Shen An: "I'll do it myself!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen An grabbed the bowl on the table and slammed it to the ground.

"Snapped!"

Hundreds of corpse carriers poured out like water, filling the courtyard in a dense, dark mass.

Zhang Meng paused, then, recognizing them as nothing more than corpse carriers, threw his head back and laughed loudly: "What kind of tough guy do you think you are! A bunch of lowly slaves, daring to surround me? Get out of my sight, or I'll kill you all tonight!"

Normally, if a constable wanted to kill a corpse carrier, it would only be a matter of talking.

When those corpse carriers saw them, which one of them didn't bow his head and call them "master"?

But tonight, after Zhang Meng finished shouting his words, not one of the group backed down; instead, they took two more steps forward.

"Are you deaf? Get out!" Zhang Meng roared again.

"Make your move! If anything goes wrong, I, Shen An, will take responsibility." Shen An's voice came from behind, not loud, but every word was clear and distinct.

The corpse carriers rushed forward like a floodgate had been opened.

Zhang Meng tried to shout again, but the stick had already struck his face.

He was knocked backward by the blow, swallowing all the words he was about to say.

The twenty-three constables were surrounded by hundreds of people and had no chance to fight back.

In less than fifteen minutes, they were all lying on the ground, curled up and groaning.

Zhao Long grabbed Zhang Meng by the hair and dragged him in front of Shen An, pressing him down to make him tilt his head back.

"Did it feel good to be hit?" Shen An stood up from his chair and asked, looking down at him.

Zhang Meng finally understood.

That bastard Shen An has taken over all the corpse carriers in the entire Qingtian Village.

He came here to kick the door and cause trouble; he was just asking for trouble.

To deal with Shen An, we'll need to do it elsewhere!

He immediately softened his voice: "Officer Shen, haven't I already had enough of a beating? You've vented your anger, can't you just ignore me?"

"No."

Shen An squatted down and pointed to the broken pieces of the bowl on the ground: "The door was kicked down, and the bowl is broken. Pay up before you leave."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Meng quickly nodded: "I'll compensate you! I'll buy a nice door and some bowls later!"

"No need for that trouble, just give me the money. You get fifty taels, and everyone else gets twenty taels." Shen An straightened up and dusted off his hands.

"Fifty taels?!" Zhang Meng exclaimed, his eyes bruised and swollen. "What kind of door and bowl are worth that much?"

"An ebony door, a bowl priceless, this price is too good for you."

As Shen An spoke, he turned his head and glanced at the panting corpse carriers in the courtyard: "I won't take a single penny of the compensation money; I'll give it all to you."

Whether they compensate you or not depends on whether you want it or not.

As soon as he said that, the corpse carriers' eyes lit up. So this was the surprise Shen An had given them!

They felt incredibly satisfied after beating the officials, and it seemed like they were addicted to it, so this time they were even more ruthless than before.

It wasn't just about the money; it was also about venting the anger that had been building up over the years from being trampled underfoot by these officials.

Zhang Meng carried it for a short while before yelling for a stop and repeatedly demanding compensation.

"Write an IOU, and I'll send someone to notify your family. You can only leave once the money arrives." Shen An's tone left no room for negotiation.

The silver was delivered before dawn, and Shen An distributed all the money to the corpse carriers.

The hands of the corpse carriers trembled the moment they received the money.

The way he looked at Shen An completely changed.

Following this person, it seems they can act with impunity and obtain things they've never had before!

Standing inside the room, Dugu Meng was also shocked. Was this Shen An's method of winning people over?

Great!

After Shen An released Zhang Meng and the others, these guys ran outside the village shouting, "Shen An, you just wait!"

Shen An's expression remained completely unchanged. If it weren't for Zhu Shigui, Zhang Meng and the others wouldn't have survived last night.

It would be even better if they continued to cause trouble; that would be a good opportunity to squeeze more money out of them!

Having not slept all night, he turned around, went back into his room, and fell asleep immediately.

I was awakened by the sound of the door being pushed open in the late afternoon. Old Liu Hei was already sitting in the yard drinking three cups of tea.

Hei Lao Liu cupped his hands and said, "Officer Shen, the bones and wood have been brought back."

But the beef tendons and deer tendons are a bit of a problem; they were all snapped up by the Fire Phoenix of Qingyang County half a month ago.

I went to her and said I wanted to buy it, but she wouldn't sell it for money unless I traded it for this item.

He took out a sheet of Xuan paper and unfolded it, which was covered with some black dust.

Shen An recognized it at a glance; it was the blood residue charcoal he was selling.

The old man continued, "Fire Phoenix also said that a big shot is searching the world for someone who sells blood residue charcoal. If we can find the seller, she won't charge a penny for beef tendons or deer tendons."

Brother Shen, I know you're very capable. Do you think you could find out who's selling them?

Shen An frowned slightly. Was an important person looking for him?

In this cannibalistic world, this doesn't necessarily mean anything good. Shen An asked, "Do you know the name of that important person?"