Chapter 57: A Gathering at the County Office

  Five days later, Xu Wuxian County government sent Zu Fan to come to Zu's village, inviting Zu Zhao, Zu Li and others to consult on the matter of discussing bandits that day.

  In the past few days, the news of Zujia's family members crossing counties to catch thieves has spread in Xuwu and Lingzhi counties, and even caused a temporary heated discussion within the county. Firstly, after all, the Zu family did not have an official position, and spontaneously organizing to catch thieves was a matter worth debating; secondly, encountering such a large number of thieves just as winter had begun was indeed a cause for added worry.

  On the third day after the incident, Zu's family allocated silver to comfort the families of those who sacrificed themselves in this pursuit of bandits. This not only included the disciples of the Zu family but also the wandering heroes who came to assist at An Yang Pavilion. All the comforts were treated equally, and the disciples of the sect and the wandering heroes of An Yang Pavilion received the same amount of comfort. Those households with only one son were compensated twice as much.

  Under the initiative of Zu Zhao, the Zu family held a grand funeral for all the disciples who sacrificed themselves in the fight against the bandits. They buried their coffins together in the ancestral tomb and invited monks and Taoist priests to chant and perform rituals for more than 20 days. During this period, the Zu family set up banquets of over 80 tables every day, slaughtering sheep and cattle, serving fine wine and meat, and treating guests who came to pay their respects. Many neighbors, even those with whom they were not close friends, rushed to join in the festivities, knowing that the Zu family's banquet was unparalleled. They would cry and mourn for a while, then enjoy a sumptuous feast. This move was not just about mourning the brave souls, but also about spreading the word of the Zu family's heroic feat of fighting against the bandits.

  To some extent, the momentum of Zu Jia's night ride against bandits was spread through these successive banquets.

  Regardless of the controversy over the Zusha's move to discuss the bandits, because of their reputation, when Zu Zhao and others came to the county government at the invitation, all the officials in the county government were very respectful. Although the Zu family is a big family with great power and influence, they are usually polite and courteous, but today they seem more enthusiastic in their attitude.

  Having passed through the main hall, they arrived at a small reception room in the guest quarters.

  Zu Zhao and others had a half cup of tea here before Chen County arrived unhurriedly. After some polite exchanges, they sat down separately, and Chen County ordered the servants to bring another round of new tea. As they sipped their tea, they chatted idly for a while, but soon turned to the main topic. Chen County was not evasive at all, showing how much he valued this matter.

  With a long sigh over the hot tea, Chen County's face became solemn and serious, saying: "A few days ago, the young master led his clan to Luling County and defeated the bandits, bringing great joy to the people and honor to our county."

  Zu Zhao smiled faintly and humbly said: "Within the bounds of righteousness, it's a family matter, as a seven-foot-tall man from my Zu family, I should take on this responsibility."

  Madam Chen sighed and said, "The other day when I visited your home to pay my respects to the righteous martyr, I couldn't help but sigh. The young master of the family defended his home with his life, which is truly admirable and touching."

  Zu Zhaokui bowed and replied: "On that day, the county magistrate also took the trouble to write a elegy for my fellow clansmen who had died. If they are aware of this in the underworld, they will certainly be honored to receive it. We are already proud of this, and we absolutely will not disappoint the county magistrate's kindness."

  For this flattery, County Magistrate Chen felt very pleased and stroked his beard with a smile.

  At this time, Zu Ke on the side swallowed a cup of hot tea and said with a gloomy expression: "Hmph, we have made great efforts to eliminate the bandits, but in the end, it's still for others to take advantage of. Hmph, these treacherous thieves are even more hateful than those barbarian thieves!"

  The atmosphere in the small hall suddenly became solemn after hearing this. Zu Fan took a sip of tea, heavily put down his wine cup, and subconsciously glanced at Zu Ke, but didn't say anything.

  Just now, Chen County Jun suppressed his emotions and regained his serious expression. He said with a straight face: "To be honest, this matter does have its lessons to teach. Even if Zǔ Gōngzǐ was righteous in punishing the bandits, he should have had a long-term plan beforehand. Moreover, before the incident occurred, General Zǔ had already invited me to discuss it together, but why did the young master ignore the agreed-upon plan and act on impulse, resulting in all these inconveniences now?"

  Zu Zhao and others were not foolish, seeing Chen County suddenly change his face and speak in this tone, how could they not understand the true intentions of the other party? Zu Ke's emotions were already bad, and now facing Chen County's almost vicious complaints, her expression naturally became even more unpleasant. If it weren't for Zu Fan frequently making eye contact with her, she might have exploded on the spot. After all, Chen County was not like Wang County, and at home, they still had to show some courtesy.

  Chen Xianjun scooped up a bowl of tea from the teapot and filled Zuo Zhao's cup, saying calmly: "A few days ago, the prefecture sent down an official document, which had already decided to negotiate with the local garrison to assist in this suppression of bandits. At that time, we will work together with the two counties to coordinate with the government army, and I'm sure the bandits will not be able to escape. Unfortunately..."

  Zu Ke couldn't help but complain: "Doesn't County Magistrate Chen fear that when the government troops arrive, the bandits will have already fled upon hearing the news?"

  Chen Xianjun glanced at Zu Ke, a hint of displeasure flashing across his face, before turning to look at Zu Zhao and saying in a measured tone: "Young Master, this official has no other intentions, merely hoping that this matter can serve as a lesson."

  Zu Zhaos hesitation to speak was because he wanted to figure out what Chen Xianjun was thinking. He could roughly see that this time, the suppression of bandits should have been a joint effort between the two counties, in other words, after the fact, it would also be a shared merit for both counties. Now, precisely because of his unauthorized actions, he couldn't achieve the original plan of distributing merits, which naturally made Chen Xianjun, who had always been driven by opportunism, feel resentful.

  He slowly picked up the teacup and took a sip, his face calm and unruffled. In a steady voice, he said: "County Magistrate Chen, this time my family's efforts to wipe out the bandits with bloodshed ultimately didn't receive any approval from the prefecture. What we asked for and what we did were all just empty words, and in the end, it was all just a few words of consolation from County Magistrate Wang. It seems that now is not the time to discuss who was right or wrong about this bandit-hunting expedition. One could say that whether the hunt was early or late, there was no mistake. A plan is only a rough outline; as the Art of War says, 'An army has no constant formation, water has no constant shape.' A good general must be skilled at adapting to changing circumstances. Therefore, regarding the bandit-hunting expedition, from an emotional and rational perspective, no one was wrong."

  Currently, if even Chen Xianjun starts to blame the Zu family for acting arbitrarily and making a big mistake, then this matter will definitely be either big or small, and it may even be very unfavorable to the Zu family. At that time, Wang Xianjun can easily stir up trouble, and Chen Xianjun's side will add fuel to the fire, even if the Zu family has incredible abilities, they will still fall into a difficult situation. On the contrary, if we can win over Chen Xianjun to target Wang Xianjun together, then the situation will be reversed immediately.

  In any case, Wang Xianjun fabricated facts to argue that there was no way to argue, as long as he could grasp this point and not let go, he would be able to turn the chaos around. At that time, he would also be able to bring back corresponding benefits for Chen Xianjun, who must have been able to distinguish between the pros and cons.

  After hearing this, Chen County's eyes lit up for a moment before returning to normal. He calmly said: "Young Master's words, aren't they somewhat presumptuous? The prefecture has already heard the details of this matter and reported it. Liu Daifu and Zhang County from the neighboring county have already been in contact about this. What is right or wrong, what should be done early or late, will be clearly decided, why speak of other things?"

  Zu Zhao smiled and said, "Is the verdict clear? I'm afraid not. Facts are more important than eloquence. What happened that day, who can be clearer about it than me, Zu's family, who was closer to avenging our enemies? Wang Xianjun has a hidden motive, but my ancestors' sacrificed tribes will never agree. To say the least, this matter still needs to be presided over by Chen Xianjun for fairness."

  Chen Xianjun narrowed his eyes, hiding behind the rising steam of the tea bowl, looking mysterious and as if he was thinking about something. He naturally understood the meaning of Zu Zhao's consecutive words, and in recent days, he had been in contact with several elders of the Zu family, who had different opinions on Zu Zhao's leadership in capturing the bandits. Some praised him for his bravery, while others criticized him for not following the rules and going with the government troops. In Chen Xianjun's view, Zu Zhao now hoped to eliminate all negative comments and regain the honor that the Zu family deserved.

  For him, he can also benefit from it, and will not let the dwarf Wang from the neighboring county monopolize the credit, especially since that dwarf Wang is originally a free rider.

  Chen County Jun's serious face slowly revealed a smile as he drank a sip of tea, and said in a gentle tone: "Upon careful consideration, Zu Gongzi's words are not unreasonable. Facts speak louder than words. This time, Zu Gongzi shed blood and made great efforts, how can we let some cunning people take advantage of the situation? Although the Magistrate is worried about this matter, I believe that as long as Zu Gongzi can clarify things in person, there will still be a result."

  Zu Zhaowei bowed his head and thanked him: "With Chen Junxian's words, I feel relieved in my heart."

  County Magistrate Chen continued, "If my guess is correct, there will be news from the prefecture in a few days. At that time, I will accompany the young master to Pingjiang and try to clarify this matter."

  Zu Zhao smiled and said: "Thank you, Chen County Master. Since the case of the horse's calamity began, Chen County Master has been working hard without rest. This kindness will be remembered by me forever."

  Chen Xianjun smiled with deep meaning and humbly declined: "Oh no, it's just following the rules."

  Zu Zhao saw that the matter had already been discussed, and County Magistrate Chen would not go against this human sentiment. He must have thought that even if it was the same on the side of the prefecture, they also hoped to win the merit of discussing the bandits. Today's conversation is nothing more than County Magistrate Chen intentionally putting on a show to test him. He stood up and prepared to take his leave, and Zu Ling, Zu Li, and Zu Ke also understood the intention of today's conversation, and it was not worth arguing with County Magistrate Chen about this pretentiousness, even if the other party was being a bit pretentious or speaking in an official tone.

  At this moment, Chen Xianjun spoke again in a calm and unhurried tone: "Young Master, don't forget that the tenth of this month is the day for the imperial examination. It's the intention of this official, so I hope you will remember it well."

  Zu Zhao subconsciously glanced at Chen Xianjun, first with a expressionless face, then revealing a sincere smile, bowing and saying: "Thank you, Lord Chen, for your concern. I will not disappoint you."