Chapter Eleven Taking Office on Horseback

  Leaving the snack stall, Liu Jinzhu said with a gloomy face: "Shan Ge, what can we do? Why don't we just give up on this muddy water and go our separate ways? The world is big, and there's still room for us to live."

  Upon hearing that even a small county like Jiangyou had so many gates, and listening to the waiter's words which seemed to be plotting against the two of them, Liu Jinzhu suddenly became timid. He had come here to enjoy himself, but now his heart was beginning to retreat.

  "What's there to fear?" Lu Haoshan glared at him, saying with some resentment: "We are officials, they are commoners, this world is still the Zhu family's world, do they dare to rebel? The good ones fear the lazy, the lazy fear those who don't care about their lives, we two have nothing but a life of rot, what else is there to fear?"

  As soon as Lu Haoshan scolded, Liu Jinzhu immediately lowered his head and admitted his mistake: "Actually, I was also worried about Brother Shan. Brother Shan, don't worry, no matter what, I, Liu Jinzhu, will advance and retreat with you together."

  Lu Haoshan nodded, and didn't say anything else. Liu Jinchu had also been tested before, he was greedy and afraid of death, and had all the bad habits of a small-time hoodlum, but in his heart there were still some principles and passion, at critical moments he could be relied on, this was also why Lu Haoshan kept him by his side. Talking about the situation in Jiangyou County, the words from Shopkeeper Er earlier not only didn't make Lu Haoshan retreat, but instead stirred up his fighting spirit, turning to Liu Jinchu he said: "I remember a great man once saying, to fight against heaven is endless joy; to fight against earth is endless joy; to fight against people is also endless joy. This time we'll have a good fight with these colluding local tyrants and evil gentry, I want to see if they're really as solid as iron."

  To fight against heaven and earth?

  Liu Jinchu was shocked to hear this, as the ancients were extremely reverent towards heaven and earth. Heaven and earth were considered more important than one's parents and the emperor, yet Lu Haoshan spoke of them with such disregard. Liu Jinchu had initially wanted to advise Lu Haoshan to show respect for the divine, but upon seeing his resolute gaze and the courage that seemed to rival heaven itself, he was momentarily infected by his boldness, clenched his fist and said: "Right! We're just a bunch of worthless lives, what do we have to fear from them?"

  After finishing speaking, he quickly asked in a low voice: "Shan Ge, what should we do now? Are we going to the county government office now?"

  "No," Lu Haoshan shook his head and said, "That shopkeeper said that Chen Gui is a tyrant in Jiangyou, and in Jiangyou, he can be said to have the power to cover the sky with one hand. When we arrive, our identities will be exposed, and it won't be convenient for us to do anything. Let's take advantage of the fact that no one is paying attention now and probe into their situation."

  After finishing, Lu Haoshan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he said in a voice that only he could hear: "I didn't come here just for two meals and a night's stay. Huang Taiji, Shunzhi, Li Zicheng, you'll have to wait for me."

  Their identities were not exposed, and the two of them were just ordinary passersby, with no one paying attention to them. This made it convenient for them to gather information and make moves without being noticed. If their identities were exposed, all their actions would be under scrutiny, making it inconvenient for them to do anything. Lu Haoshan decided not to rush into taking office immediately, but rather to first probe the situation and get a sense of the lay of the land, so that he could take down his opponents one by one later on.

  Lu Hao Shan finally understood why some officials, when promoted, liked to transfer their former subordinates along with them. Apart from personal relationships, having a few capable and trustworthy subordinates was also a good thing. Now, apart from Liu Jinzhu, who was loyal but lacked ability, he had no other helpers by his side. It seemed that this small Jiangyou County was not as simple as he had imagined.

  It's okay, life's journey can't be without some tempering and storms. This Jiangyou County is just the first whetstone for my own growth.

  Liu Jinzhu repeated his usual phrase: "Alright, I'll listen to Shan Ge."

  "But we should keep a low profile, Jinzhu. Let's find some soot and blacken our faces a bit more, don't draw attention to ourselves."

  "Yes, I'm listening to Shan Ge."

  Lu Haoshan: ......

  Seven days later, Lu Haoshan, dressed in a scholar's attire, accompanied Liu Jinzhu, and the two rode tall horses, walking spiritedly on the official road to Jiangyou County. At this time, Lu Haoshan had added a few more confident colors to his face.

  For several days, the two men, disguised as peddlers, went around Jiangyou County to gather information and collect news under the guise of collecting mountain goods. Until the deadline for taking office was approaching, Lu Haoshan ended his investigation. The ancients were indeed sincere, and the clever ones didn't have many descendants. They would often chat about family matters, say some ambiguous words, and get the information out. In just a few days, Lu Haoshan had a general understanding of Jiangyou County, so he wouldn't be easily deceived by his subordinates.

  To avoid arousing their suspicions, Lu Haoshan deliberately walked back nearly ten miles to find a secluded spot, took off his coarse hemp clothes, put on a silk shirt and a square scarf, washed away the soot and whiskers from his face, restoring his original appearance. As the saying goes, "A Buddha relies on golden decorations, a man relies on clothing." With a change of clothes, he instantly transformed from an unremarkable peddler wandering around to a refined scholar with a wealth of knowledge. And as a result, he attracted many young girls who secretly sent him flirtatious glances along the way.

  "Shan Ge"

  "How many times have I said it, call me Young Master outside." Lu Haoshan corrected immediately.

  Liu Jinzhu spat out his tongue and immediately corrected himself: "Young Master."

  "What's up?"

  "It's really great, Li Xiangcai got what he deserved. Now even his house has been burned down. If it weren't for his son being an official outside, they would have exterminated the whole family. It's truly exhilarating! We can also save ourselves a lot of trouble." Liu Jinzhu said with excitement on his face.

  While changing clothes, the two picked up a government gazette by the roadside. The so-called government gazette was something equivalent to a newspaper issued by the official authorities, which wrote about the court's decisions and many things from all over the country. In an inconspicuous corner, Lu Haoshan saw a piece of news that the bandits in Yongzhou Prefecture were rampant. A group of fugitives broke into Zhushan Village from a neighboring county and launched a surprise attack on Li's mansion, killing people and setting fires without sparing even children. After a long period of investigation, the government yamen cooperated with the guards to wipe out all the bandits in one fell swoop, a heroic feat.

  This solved a mystery in Lu Haoshan's mind. It had been several months since the two of them had tricked and killed Li Xiangcai, but the constables of Qi Yang County were useless and hadn't found any leads on the two men. Now he understood why - they must have been desperate, and desperate rabbits will bite people. The Li family was worth millions, and someone had been eyeing their wealth for a long time. Looking at the date above, it was indeed a coincidence that it was the same night they had lured Li Xiangcai out of his house. Perhaps the local county magistrate would have preferred to have one less thing to deal with, and even if he did find some clues, he would have blamed it on those mountain bandits. This way, there wouldn't be any trouble for Lu Haoshan and Liu Jinzhu.

  The two of them also felt a sense of melancholy upon hearing this news. At that time, in order to cover their tracks, they had always been using fake routes and fake identities to move around.

  Lu Haoshan sneered, "Now that I think about it, he died too comfortably. That fat pig made so much money from usury, who knows how many people were forced to sell their wives and children, causing families to break apart. If he had fallen into someone else's hands, I reckon his luck wouldn't have been so good."

  "Young master, we'll take revenge on Lu's behalf with our own hands, that's not bad either."

  Lu Haoshan didn't say a word, he just nodded lightly.

  After walking for a while, Liu Jinzhu said with some concern: "Young master, do you think Chen Gui and the others know we're coming to take office?"

  "I don't know, but they will soon find out."

  "Ah, why?"

  Lu Haoshan pointed ahead and said: "Look, they've sent someone to wait up front. Hmm, be quick-witted in a moment."

  "Yes, Mountain Brother, no, Young Master." Liu Jinzhu responded while watching several people dressed in catcher attire waiting by the side of the official road that must be passed to get to Jiangyou County, constantly sizing up passersby as if they were waiting for someone, and from time to time, there were also people coming forward to check the route certificates of those traveling merchants.

  Two men rode horses, swaggering forward. Before long, a constable stepped forth, made a bow and said: "Sir, judging from your appearance, you are not a local resident; do you have a travel permit?"

  Seeing the two strangers, dressed in local attire, the catcher immediately came forward to ask questions.

  "How dare you!" Before Lu Haoshan could speak, Liu Jinchu on the side shouted loudly: "My young master is the newly appointed magistrate of Jiangyou County. You have a big nerve, not only did you not come to greet him, but you also dared to block the county lord's way."

  "Lu Haoshan said with a hint of displeasure, "We took office to bring benefits to the people, how can we mobilize troops and cause trouble? Withdraw, do not be presumptuous."

  "Yes, young master."

  He was shocked at first, but then he was overjoyed and asked excitedly: "Is the young master the newly appointed county magistrate?"

  Waiting here is just waiting for the new county magistrate to take office. Now that I've finally waited for it, I'm overjoyed.

  Lu Haoshan bowed in the direction of the capital, then said with a serious face: "Lu Mou is not talented, but Emperor Sheng's favor is thick, and he was appointed as the magistrate of Jiangyou County in Long'an Prefecture. What, do you need to verify the official seal?"

  "I didn't dare, I didn't dare. It turns out that the county master has arrived. I was ordered to wait here for a long time and finally waited for you. To report to the county master, Chen County and Zhang Zhu Bo are looking forward to your arrival every day, but they have to deal with official business, so they didn't come to greet you. Master, please come this way. The back hall has been cleaned up early and is waiting for you to move in." The catcher said with a flattering face.

  Looking at the two men's demeanor, they don't seem like ordinary people. Moreover, in this era, there are hardly any who dare to impersonate officials, which is a capital offense. Even if it were to be verified, it wouldn't be something that a small-time constable could verify. His task was just to come here and escort the person, and they wouldn't verify anyway.

  Lu Haoshan and Liu Jinzhu walked straight to the Jiangyou County government office, surrounded by several bailiffs. Just as they set off, a panting bailiff rushed to report to Chen Gui, the county magistrate: "Your... Your Excellency, the new county official has arrived."

  Has it finally arrived?

  At this moment, Chen Gui was sitting reluctantly in front of the county magistrate's throne, in front of the Haitang screen, muttering to himself while gently stroking the exquisitely crafted red wooden chair.