Chapter 42 A Farce

  Bao Zhedong, although slow to realize the shift in power, gradually came to understand that he had the name of a county magistrate but not the actual authority. This was quite common throughout the Ming dynasty, where the power of county-level administrative and judicial organs was largely divided among clerks, but this did not mean that the parent officials would let themselves be manipulated at will.

  For more than two years, Bao Zhedong's performance has been excellent. After all, under Lin Chunhong's governance, the money and grain handed over by Zhijiang have never been delayed, business taxes have increased several times, and various criminal cases have decreased significantly. It can be said that Bao Zhedong should be satisfied with this. He has been an official in Zhijiang for two years, and after another year, relying on his excellent performance every year, he will make efforts to promote himself, and promotion should not be a problem.

  However, Bao Zhedong, a scholar who emerged from the imperial examination with honors, could not tolerate Lin Chunhong's arrogance. Moreover, as Lin Chunhong's power grew stronger by the day, Bao Zhedong had to take action in self-defense. Furthermore, over the past year, a group of local gentry had been visiting him non-stop, saying that Lin Chunhong was being arrogant and bullying good people, and asking County Magistrate Bao to take charge and uphold justice for the people, explicitly stating that if County Magistrate Bao stood up for the people's rights, they would be willing to offer their services.

  Bao Zhedong felt that he had the upper hand and occupied the moral high ground, so he made up his mind to compete with Lin Chunhong.

  Of course, Bao Zhedong was able to pass the imperial examination and become a jinshi, and he did things in a fairly regular and lawful manner. He first invited Zhuang De Xi, Shou Tao, and Yu Hong, together with him, to discuss and form a united front against Lin Chunhong within the county government.

  Tan Jie Xi and the other two arrived, Bao Zhe Dong looked worried and sighed: "In the past, under your careful management, the government office was clean and honest, and deeply loved by the people. Your homes were also bustling with activity... Alas, now it's deserted and quiet... Alas, the world is getting worse year by year..."

  Tan Jie Xi and the other two were stunned, their hearts racing like a stormy sea. These three were all cunning, as soon as Bao Zhe Dong dropped his pants, they knew what kind of fart he was going to let out. Did Bao Zhe Dong want to deal with Lin Chun Hong?

  The three of them didn't say a word, all staring at Bao Zhedong with surprised and uncertain expressions, as if they were about to write on their faces: "You charge forward, I'll reap the benefits."

  Bao Zhedong couldn't help but feel a surge of anger in his heart, and with great difficulty, he suppressed the unspoken flames. He looked at Tan Jie Xi with a piercing gaze and said: "Tan Da Ren is highly respected and deeply loved by the local villagers, and has always been very close to them. However, this year, these villagers have been deceived by the cunning merchant Zheng Tian Cheng, making it difficult for Tan Da Ren to control his finances?"

  Lin Chunhong gradually took over the right to collect taxes and grains on behalf of the village elders and Li Jia, greatly reducing Tan Jie Xi's opportunities for embezzlement. Bao Zhe Dong watched this with interest, hoping to stir up Tan Jie Xi's sense of shared grievance.

  Tan Jie Xi's eyelids twitched, and he thought to himself: This Bao Zhe Dong is clearly trying to win me over to deal with Lin Chun Hong, but I definitely can't agree to it. Lin Chun Hong is not someone to be trifled with, what's the harm in taking a little less silver? At worst, I'll just switch to another place to work as an official. Whatever happens, I won't risk my life to play with Lin Chun Hong.

  Tan Jie Xi let out a hearty laugh and said, "The taxes haven't been reduced, I'm delighted to have it easier, alas, as one gets older, energy is not what it used to be, being able to save some mental effort is naturally something to be cherished."

  Tan Jie Xi clearly rejected Bao Zhe Dong's request, leaving Bao Zhe Dong extremely disappointed. He stared at Tan Jie Xi for a long time before turning to Shi Chao and He Miao and saying: "The power of arrest and prison administration belongs to the imperial court, and it cannot be usurped by petty people. If the investigating censor's office were to pursue this, the two of you might not be able to escape the crime of harboring and conniving. What are your thoughts on this?"

  Bao Zhedong pointed to the document on the table, which clearly read "Hubei Governor's Office". Shi Chao and He Huan were local snakes in Ezhou, and after the bowmen arrived, their power was squeezed out. They had long been dissatisfied with Lin Chunhong, and now Bao Zhedong's intimidation and temptation made them even more unwilling to oppose him. They vowed: "The imperial law does not allow us to be trampled on, we must argue and fight for justice, at least let Ezhou have a clear sky."

  Bao Zhedong was fairly satisfied with Shi Chao and He Hui's attitude, and immediately summoned a group of officials to make plans for dealing with Lin Chunhong.

  Anything, as long as there are many people involved in the planning, can't be kept secret. Bao Zhetong's unusual movements were soon known to Lin Chunhong.

  "This guy Zhe Dong's strategy isn't bad, tightly grasping the fact that we're seizing control of the county government's judicial power. Not only did he order the local gentry and village heads to collect evidence, but also pulled in Shi Chao and He Miao as his henchmen. He even personally submitted a memorial to the Provincial Inspector's Office, speaking in a threatening tone. Hmm, not bad, not bad at all! A three-pronged approach!"

  Lin Chunhong received Wang Yi's report and did not hide his ridicule of Bao Zhedong, saying to Zhou Wang and Wang Yi: "Bao Zhedong has achieved stability, accuracy and ruthlessness, trying to use the power of criminal law to stimulate the nerves of the imperial court. We can't neglect this point, at least we should settle the problem in the Hubei Provincial Inspector's Office, otherwise, once it gets out of hand in the capital, the situation will be uncontrollable, the imperial court will be in chaos, and no one knows what will happen."

  Zhou Wang nodded in agreement, while Wang Yi bowed his head and obeyed, like a sealed gourd. In front of Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang, Wang Yi didn't even have the right to speak, he just had to listen and act accordingly.

  As expected, Lin Chunhong ordered: "Wang Yi, you must keep a close eye on these local tyrants and evil gentry in the next few days. Report back immediately if they collect any evidence!"

  Wang Yi took the order and left, leaving only Zhou Wang. Zhou Wang finally showed a worried look and said: "How can the Procuratorate be settled? It's hard for us to get involved with that place!"

  Lin Chunhong smiled and said: "This depends on you, sir. All the officials in the world are one family. I believe that there is no matter that cannot be settled with money!"

  The words revealed strong self-confidence, and Zhou Wang's mood slightly calmed down. Zhou Wang continued: "Things in the officialdom have always been changing, we must make all-round preparations."

  Lin Chunhong took out a thick stack of paper, covered in tiny characters, and said to Zhou Wang: "We still have this, it's all about the corrupt officials of Jingzhou Prefecture, Yiling State, and Zhijiang County. If the Censor-in-Chief wants to take action against us, we'll find a way to get this material directly to the Emperor's ears, stir up the waters, and there are plenty of big fish here, the court won't care about us small fries."

  Zhou Wang secretly felt a chill in his heart, thinking: "If this material is revealed to the world, I'm afraid even the Surveillance Commissioner will be too busy to take care of himself. How can he have time to deal with Bao Zhe Dong? This Lin Chun Hong is so young, but his Taoist skills are more profound than Zhang Dao Huan's. Where did he learn this skill from?"

  Lin Chunhong didn't know Zhou Wang's mind, and he muttered to himself: "This matter can't be easily let go of Bao Zhedong, we have to get some benefits..."

  Bao Zhedong never expected that collecting solid evidence would be so difficult!

  Under the oil lamp, his eyes were bloodshot as he carefully examined the so-called evidence sent by the rural gentry. The more he looked, the more disappointed and angry he became. When he saw the case of Cai Hu Village "good citizen" Cai A San being beaten to death by angry villagers, he could no longer hold back. He swept all the evidence to the ground with one hand and shouted loudly: "What kind of crap evidence is this? I'd rather die than use this stuff!"

  Bao Zhe Dong had a deep sense of powerlessness, he felt that there was an invisible net that had him wrapped tightly, and if he didn't play by Lin Chun Hong's rules, he would be strangled to death!

  Ordinary days, Bao Zhedong had heard that Lin Chunhong's claws were rampant in the village, from time to time beating people to death and throwing them into pig cages. He endured until now just waiting for this opportunity, looking forward to overthrowing Lin Chunhong with one blow.

  Who would have thought that among the evidence collected by these rural gentry, there would occasionally appear some phrases: "The villagers were enraged and beat him to death", "The villagers were furious and tied him up with stones, throwing him into the river"...

  "Are all of you ungrateful people under my rule!" Bao Zhedong grew angrier as he thought about it, and shouted loudly.

  Bao Zhedong had expected this, and with the arrival of these evidences at the Surveillance Commissioner's office, the crime of dereliction of duty was considered established. To say nothing of promotion, demotion to a commoner would be considered a light punishment.

  However, Bao Zhedong had no way to retreat and agreed to the gentry's request to submit a memorial to the Provincial Governor's office. If he were to go back on his word without reason, he would inevitably offend these gentry. Bao Zhedong didn't need to think about it to know that at that time, his orders might not even be able to leave the county yamen.

  Bao Zhedong was afraid, and after thinking about it, he didn't use any of the evidence collected by these gentry. On the contrary, he falsely accused Lin Chunhong and others of being rioters, which aroused great indignation among the people.

  What Bao Zhedong said is also true. After all, many of the hooligans and gangsters who were not punishable by death were thrown into Baili Island to serve hard labor by Lin Chunhong without even going through his signature or seal.

  The shadow of failure grew thicker, and Bao Zhedong was well aware that with such flimsy evidence, Lin Chunhong could not be brought down. Now he could only pin his hopes on Lin Chunhong being unaware of the matter, maintaining the status quo until Ren Man's transfer.

  Wang Yi's efficiency was extremely high, and Lin Chunhong observed every move of Bao Zhedong with piercing eyes. The bribe of 1,000 taels of silver took effect, and soon the reprimanding document from the Surveillance Commissioner's office arrived in Zhijiang, stating that minor evils should be decided by the county magistrate, and that all officials in Zhijiang should unite sincerely...

  Following the footsteps of the writing, Lin Chunhong arrived at the second hall of the county government office, where Bao Zhedong usually worked. Lin Chunhong had a smile all over his face and was holding a large stack of case files in his arms.

  "Thanks to Mr. Bao's support and guidance, he pointed out some of my mistakes, I am deeply grateful. To express my gratitude, I would like to offer a small gift, please accept it with a smile!"

  After finishing speaking, Lin Chunhong put the case file on Bao Zhedong's desk and sat down with a loud noise, looking at Bao Zhedong with a smile that was not quite a smile.

  Bao Zhe Dong's face turned red and white, his hands trembling as he took a file, looked at it, and suddenly changed color. He stood up abruptly, pointing at Lin Chun Hong with great anger: "Lin Dian Shu has deceived people too much!"

  These files are the dossiers of local rascals, with both human and material evidence complete, only lacking the county magistrate's seal. Lin Chunhong brought these files over, his intentions clear as day, aiming to force Bao Zhedong to sign and affix his seal.

  Lin Chunhong slowly stood up and smiled: "Lord Bao has spoken too much, I indeed have some improper behavior in my daily work. Lord Bao is broad-minded and pointed out my mistakes. This can be considered as mending the fold after losing the sheep."

  Bao Zhe Dong understood Lin Chun Hong's words: As long as the seal is used, past grievances will be written off, and if you still want to continue causing trouble in the future, settle both current and past accounts together!

  Bao Zhedong was willing to accept Lin Chunhong's terms, but his pride made it difficult for him to accept the fact, and he hesitated.

  Lin Chunhong paid no attention to Bao Zhedong's feelings and continued: "In the countryside, there are local tyrants and evil gentry who bully and exploit the people, arousing great indignation among the masses. This matter still requires Master Bao to take charge."

  "You..." Bao Zhedong had just collaborated with the local gentry to oppose Lin Chunhong, but now Lin Chunhong was asking him to deal with these very same local gentry. He couldn't take it, and the anger he had been suppressing suddenly flared up. Just as he was about to launch into a tirade, Lin Chunhong interrupted him.

  "Please don't be impatient, Mr. Bao, and listen to me finish speaking. Next month, Baili Zhou will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the river embankment project, and we would like to invite you to attend and cut the ribbon. Additionally, considering your honesty and simple living as an official, I have decided to transfer some shares of the Yiling warehouse to you, hoping that you won't refuse."

  The implication is quite clear: if Bao Zhedong agrees to deal with those local tyrants and evil gentry, Lin Chunhong will give him the political achievement of building the river embankment and also transfer to him the shares of the coveted warehouse!

  Bao Zhedong's heartbeat became more and more intense, finally he lowered his noble head, gritted his teeth and said: "Bring the case file over, this official will sign and stamp it!"

  The farce ended here, and from then on, under the nod of County Master, Lin Chunhong increased his crackdown on local tyrants and evil gentry, gradually controlling every inch of land and population in Zhijiang.