Chapter 16 Can't Cook

  Liu Xin and others' emotions calmed down a bit, and he opened his mouth to say: "I want to ask everyone, should this Hejian Taishou be in charge of the people or in charge of the army?"

  Zhang Jun saw that Li Cheng and his iron rod had both died unjustly, and Li Lin was likely to be in a precarious situation. With a sense of relief, he was about to stand up and respond when someone suddenly stood up and said: "Your Honor, Hejian is not a border county, and there is no separate position of regional commander. The military should also be under your jurisdiction. The governor is responsible for the army on horseback and the people on foot."

  Liu Xinhuan smiled and asked: "Well, who are you?"

  "That man replied: 'Greetings, sir. I am Wang Lei, currently serving as a History Officer in the Household Department.'"

  Liu Xin nodded and said: "Not bad, well said, Lord Wang please sit down."

  Wang Lei bowed again to Liu Xin and said: "Thank you, sir!" Then he sat down.

  Liu Xin quietly observed the gaze of the officials looking at Wang Lei, with some showing disdain, others envy, and some eager to try. He lightly coughed and said: "Everyone, do you know where these soldiers on my left and right are from? They are all guards from the county governor's mansion. As the county magistrate, I am in charge of the military when I'm on horseback and the civilians when I'm off horseback. However, I only dispatched two gatekeeping soldiers, who abandoned their posts at night, almost causing my wife to be harmed. They have already been executed by me. When this official returned to the city late at night, there was only one soldier guarding the west city wall. Who should be responsible for these matters?"

  Zhang Jun thought of standing up, but someone else had already taken the lead. A man stood up and said: "Your Honor, I am Chen Jin, currently serving as the Historian of the Bandit's Court. The recruitment, training, deployment of troops, as well as the supply of clothing, armor, weapons, drums, and rations are all under the responsibility of the Military Historian. The defense of the city gate is the responsibility of the Military Lieutenant."

  "Oh, so it was him who was causing trouble. It seems his death was also a result of his own doing. Lord Chen, as the head of the thieves and bandits department, I suppose capturing thieves and solving crimes falls under your jurisdiction. Let me ask you again, has there been any recent cases in this county of horse bandits robbing civilians of their food?" Liu Xin nodded again and continued to ask.

  "Reporting to Your Excellency, capturing thieves is within my official duties. According to reports from various counties, there have been three incidents of bandits robbing civilians' food this month. Fortunately, no one was injured, only newly harvested grain and a small amount of money were lost. I am arranging for personnel to investigate everywhere, and as soon as there is news, I will report to Your Excellency."

  Liu Xin looked at Chen Jin with satisfaction and said, "Lord Chen has handled it well. Now that it's autumn harvest time, we can't take the bandits' robbery of the people's grain lightly. Most of the people's families only have enough stored grain to last until next summer's harvest. If they are robbed, their lives will be in disarray. We need to inform each county to make preparations, comfort and assist the people who have been robbed, and also organize the militia to take turns patrolling, just in case. As long as the fence is tightly woven, we don't have to worry about wild dogs getting in."

  All the officials laughed when they heard Liu Xin's words, and the dull atmosphere just now was swept away. After everyone's laughter stopped, Liu Xin continued: "Mr. Chen, you have to think more about this matter, if there are not enough people, you can borrow soldiers from the government. By the way, who is in charge of the government soldiers?"

  Chen Jin took the opportunity to stand up and continue answering: "Your Honor, a military camp should have two lieutenant colonels. After Li Lin became the senior lieutenant colonel, Li Cheng found an excuse to remove the other lieutenant colonel from his post, so now all the officers and soldiers are under Li Lin's command."

  Liu Xin hesitated for a moment before saying, "General Chen, please take a seat." He then turned to Zhang Jun and said, "Zhang Zhangshi, I'll have you temporarily take charge of this military camp for now. Once I've selected the right person, I'll appoint a new commander."

  As soon as this was said, it clearly told everyone that Li Lin was finished, and the stone in Zhang Jun's heart finally fell to the ground. The depression of wanting to show off twice but being robbed of the limelight earlier also disappeared without a trace. He stood up and repeatedly promised.

  Liu Xin said, "Zhang Changshi, Li Lin is still tied up in the government office, what should be done with him? And Li Cheng colluded with **, led troops to break into the governor's mansion, intending to assassinate the official, which is equivalent to rebellion. Now they have all been killed on the spot. How should this be reported to the imperial court? I think these matters can also be handled by you."

  Zhang Jun's heart burst with joy, he had been suppressed by Li Cheng for a long time and usually didn't dare to speak much. Today, he finally got the chance to turn the tables and become the master. He immediately expressed his gratitude: "Please rest assured, Lord, that Li Cheng and his nephews, as well as those few accomplices, have been committing evil deeds in Hejian for a long time. I have already gathered evidence of their crimes and was about to report it to you, but you have already eliminated the harm for the people. On behalf of all officials and citizens of Hejian, I would like to thank you, Lord!" After finishing speaking, he paid his respects to Liu Xin with a grand bow. The other officials also stood up and bowed down.

  Liu Xin couldn't help but smile inwardly, these people were indeed like wall grass, now they all surrendered one after another. He also stood up, his face sinking, and said: "This official only punishes the main culprits, those who follow are not pursued. Whatever you gentlemen did in the past, this official doesn't care about it at all. However, from now on, you must be diligent and not slack off. If someone commits a crime again, don't blame this official for being ruthless. That's all for today, everyone can withdraw."

  All the officials, having gone through today's ordeal, no longer dared to harbor any thoughts of resistance and retreated one after another. Zhang Jun approached Liu Xin and said: "Your Honor, Li Cheng's crimes are heinous, his family should be confiscated and exterminated, please instruct accordingly."

  Liu Xin thought for a moment and said: "Then let Zhang Changshi lead the way to search his house, as for his family, just move them all to the countryside."

  Zhang Jun had been oppressed by Li Cheng for many years and was eager to take revenge, originally intending to sell all of Li Cheng's family members into slavery, but seeing Liu Xin's arrangement, he did not dare to mention it again and could only retreat with a yes.

  Liu Xin returned to the backyard, only to see Chen Jin bringing several yamen runners, trying to unlock the handcuffs behind Li Lin's back, but they couldn't open them no matter what. Liu Xin saw this and found a tree branch, walked up front, and with three or two strikes, opened it. Chen Jin hastily thanked him and led the people away, taking Li Lin with them.

  Liu Xin saw that everything was settled, so he ordered Dian Wei to go back and rest. However, Dian Wei refused to sleep and still held the pair of large iron halberds, leaning against a tree in the courtyard. Liu Xin had no choice but to follow him, thinking to himself, "He's indeed worthy of being called the number one bodyguard, he's really doing his job."

  Back in the room, Liu Xing saw that Ma Yun was still asleep and hadn't gotten up yet. He himself felt a bit sleepy too, afraid of waking her up, so he lay down in the outer room.

  Liu Xin rushed for a day and night, and after returning, he went through another turmoil. Now that he has finally calmed down, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He was indeed exhausted today, but thanks to long-term exercise, his body is strong and resilient. If it were someone else, they might not have been able to hold on. He slept until the Jade Rabbit rose in the east before waking up, only to see Ma Yun sitting at the head of the bed, looking at him with concern.

  Liu Xin sat up, grasped Ma Yun's hands and stared at her face left and right. Ma Yun was looked at by him with a straight heart, pulled out his hand and touched himself, worriedly asking: "What's wrong with my face?"

  Liu Xin said with a serious face: "There is a flower on your face, a rose."

  Ma Yun looked at Liu Xin with a serious face and suddenly burst out laughing: "You, always playing poor mouth, get up and go eat quickly."

  Liu Xin also smiled and rubbed his belly: "Well, I'm really a bit hungry. Today I want to taste my wife's cooking skills."

  Ma Yun said with difficulty: "I've done many things, but I haven't cooked this meal."

  Liu Xin whispered a few words in her ear, and Ma Yun's face turned red. She glared at Liu Xin and said, "A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory."

  Liu Xin laughed complacently: "Let's continue tonight."

  The next morning, Liu Xin got up on time again, still looking refreshed and spirited. As he walked out of the gate of the governor's mansion, he saw Hu Cao Shi Wang Yue leading several clerks, who had set up a stall in front of the gate according to his instructions. Next to it stood a wooden sign that read "Governor's Personal Army Recruitment Office". This was something Liu Xin had arranged for after dinner the previous night, and he didn't expect them to move so quickly and already have everything set up.

  When Liu Xin came out, Wang Lei hurriedly welcomed him and said: "Your Excellency is back, I have arranged everything according to your instructions. I have also sent people to post notices in various places in the city and subordinate counties."

  Liu Xin said with satisfaction: "Not bad, quite thoughtful. In that case, the position of Bing Cao Shi is still vacant, and you can temporarily take over the responsibilities."

  This military supplies officer is a lucrative position, handling large amounts of grain, grass and military equipment every year, with some regular money to be made, much better than the civil officer, otherwise Li Cheng would not have handed over this position to his trusted aide. Wang Lei was overjoyed when he heard this, on one hand he could make some extra money, on the other hand it also showed the magistrate's trust in him, and hastily said: "Don't worry, sir, I will definitely not disappoint you."

  Liu Xin has now completely taken the stage, ignoring Wang Lei's humble and submissive attitude, only nodding slightly, without saying anything else. Wang Lei was very tactful, gave Liu Xin a courtesy, then walked aside, continuing to busy himself with arranging his stall.

  Liu Xin walked around his own mansion, thinking of Zhang Jun, and called two soldiers to lead the way to see how Li Cheng's house was doing. Li Cheng's county governor's mansion was only separated from the prefectural governor's mansion by a street, and they arrived soon after walking for a short distance. The county governor's mansion was quiet, with two soldiers standing guard at the door, holding guns and dozing off. Liu Xin frowned slightly, thinking that the quality of the Hejian army was indeed poor, and it seemed that a major reshuffle was needed.

  After the commotion yesterday, Liu Xin's reputation in Hejian was greatly enhanced. The soldiers on guard saw him and knew that this handsome young man was the new governor, hastily standing up straight. Liu Xin didn't pay attention to them, pushed open the gate of the provincial governor's mansion, and walked in with his feet raised. Only to see that the courtyard in the front hall was filled with wealth taken from Li Cheng's house, some were packed in boxes, and some were piled on the ground in a mess, there were no account books around, not even a guard was arranged. Liu Xin looked at Zhang Jun with disdain, no wonder he had been suppressed by Li Cheng for so many years, and his work was not reliable at all.

  Liu Xin walked through the front yard and into the inner courtyard, where many people were crowded together on the ground, including men and women, old and young. These people were all tied up with ropes. The air was filled with a strong smell of urine. Liu Xin frowned and walked around them to continue inside. However, he saw two soldiers sitting in front of the gate of the county magistrate's residence.

  Two soldiers were whispering to each other, occasionally bursting into a suppressed laugh. Suddenly they found someone standing in front of them and looked up to see the official uniform, realizing it was the prefect who had arrived. They hastily scrambled to their feet and paid their respects.

  Liu Xin asked: "Where is Zhang Jun?"

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