Chapter 23 The Magistrate Was Very Annoyed

  The team from the Zhao residence had barely left the gate when, especially with a string of servants from the Zhuangzi estate tied up behind them, they caused a stir in the countryside. They hadn't expected that the normally low-key Zhao residence would suddenly do something so 'big'. A bodyguard was like a god in the countryside, and now he was being dragged along behind a horse like a dog. The clever ones ran back and forth to deliver messages to their masters, while the timid ones began to wonder if they should return the land they had occupied. But there were also those who looked down on them, daring to seize the county magistrate - wasn't this just asking for death?

  The whole team set off with a swagger, Zhao's sedan chair was very spacious, and four or five children could sit in it without feeling crowded. There was a foot warmer under his feet, the curtains were closed, and not even a thread of cold wind could blow in. He sat in the swaying sedan chair, drowsy, and eventually lay down to take a nap.

  Cai Jing, after entering the prime minister's position, in order to consolidate his own position and control military power, established four auxiliary capitals: Bi, Zheng, Cao, and Gong. Each garrisoned 20,000 troops. He appointed relatives and subordinates as prefects of these strategic locations around the capital. After a brief dismissal from office, he reappointed his trusted follower Chen Tang as the military governor of Gong Prefecture.

  It's not far from the provincial city, nor is it close. After walking for nearly an hour, the team entered the city gate. The soldiers guarding the city knew that they were either wealthy or noble and didn't dare to stop them. The whole team rushed straight to the provincial government office. The provincial government office was the most prosperous place in the state, with a population of 100,000 troops stationed in the city, making it a large city. Shops lined both sides, and vendors came and went, calling out to sell their wares without stopping.

  In the Song Dynasty, the management of officials was very humane. Except for specific days, officials did not have to sit in the hall every day. If there were no major events, they could work in the back hall. Today was a rest day, and the gates of the prefecture and county government were all closed. The queue of people filing complaints arrived at the gate of the yamen, and someone rushed forward to submit their petition.

  In the yamen of Zhao Daifu, a small servant in charge of miscellaneous affairs came forward and knocked on the door with a 'ding ding' sound. As the saying goes, 'even if the wheels of a carriage are not guilty, they should be killed'. The yamen runners had very little salary, and usually relied on taking bribes and extorting money to make a living. The gatekeeper opened the door a crack and asked impatiently: "What do you want? Is this how one knocks on the gate of the yamen?"

  "We're going to report this!" The little servant was also 'lacking in virtue', you should have at least made an announcement, but not only did he not say anything, his tone became even more arrogant. He didn't even give them two coins, nor did he crack a smile, and instead said stiffly:

  "Get out, see you tomorrow!" The door was slammed shut with a loud "bang", and no matter how hard he knocked, nobody bothered to respond.

  Zhao Che was still holding the sedan curtain, waiting to receive the official, but the other side hadn't even opened the door, leaving a large group of people stranded on the street. Zhang Yan arrived at the prefecture's office, and his courage grew, he began to shout loudly, causing Meng Tao to slap him in the face. Seeing that someone was going to call out for the door, but afraid of losing face, he jumped with rage. Zhao Che nudged Pan Long beside him, signaling him to go and call out for the door.

  Pan Longke didn't bother with trivial matters, and in two steps he was on the stairs and at the door. His massive fist pounded against the door, causing not only the door but also the doorframe to shake violently. The noise was like that of more than a dozen big drums beating simultaneously, and it was so loud that even people hiding in the back room felt their ears ringing.

  "Open the door, or I'll tear it down!" Pan Long pounded a few times and then shouted inside.

  The effect was immediate, the gate creaked open and more than 20 yamen runners rushed out with their swords drawn. "Who's looking for death? Who dares to break down the gate of the prefecture?" a team leader shouted angrily, he too had been infuriated by this, who would normally dare to slam on the door like that?!

  "Go and get your county magistrate out here, our master is going to file a lawsuit!" Pan Long, this rough man, didn't know how to handle things either, and with one push, he knocked the squad leader to the ground.

  "Ah, the wild ones have arrived!" The bailiffs saw their leader being beaten and two of them charged forward with knives. Pan Long didn't let them cut him down, instead he grabbed their wrists, squeezed hard, and the knives fell to the ground. He took a step forward and rammed his shoulders into their chests, sending both men flying through the gate. Zhao Zhan closed his eyes, thinking that being knocked around by Pan Long was no better than being butted by an ox. This time he wouldn't die, but he'd have to lie in bed for several days. In this era without light, it was hard to say how many bones were broken.

  The commotion at the gate immediately startled the people on the street, and a crowd of onlookers swarmed over. The yamen runners were all enraged, having been beaten in front of their own gate under the watchful eyes of the public, losing face in a big way. They were determined to regain their dignity, otherwise they would have no way to survive in this place.

  But someone just wouldn't let them have their way, they had just surrounded Pan Long when they heard someone shouting from below: "The King of Ying Tian, the Commander-in-Chief of Huai De Jun is here, you dare to be presumptuous, quickly call out Chen Tang to receive him!" Seeing the joyful look in Zhao Shi's eyes, knowing that the timing was almost right, he immediately shouted in a shrill voice.

  What are the yamen runners best at? It's bullying the weak and fearing the strong. As soon as they hear the reported name, they know their face is gone, and this beating is in vain. The team leader immediately struggles to get up, while calling for someone to quickly report inside, and opens the gate wide, himself 'pu tong' kneeling in front of the sedan chair, the ready-made words come immediately, "Your humble servant deserves death, blind dog eyes, does not recognize the king's carriage, please forgive your humble servant!"

  Chen Tang felt uneasy from the moment he got out of bed, his eyelids twitching wildly. He managed to review a few official documents, but couldn't sit still any longer. "Could something have happened at Zhang Yan's place? No way, a small landowner with no backing dared to hit the son of the county magistrate, and letting him off lightly by just making him lose some money was already a great act of leniency on his part. A county magistrate who ruins families, a prefectural magistrate who wipes out entire households - if he dares not show respect, Chen Tang has plenty of ways to make him bow his head!"

  "Fortunately, the East Mountain has risen again. This year's New Year's gifts are more than last year's. The common people all say that the end of the year is difficult to pass, and as a prefect, I'm not doing well either. Last year, Master Xiang's birthday gift was 50,000 guan, and now that I've secured this position as a prefect, I must give no less than that amount for New Year's! Chen Tang sat back down, took a sip of tea, "This beating came just in time, not only did the New Year's gifts have a good outcome, but I also gained 100 hectares of good land. Good!"

  Thinking of this, Chen Tang's mood was greatly improved, but he was soon interrupted by the huge noise from the front hall. "What happened outside? Go quickly!" He shouted to the yamen officer guarding the door.

  "Report to your honor, an accuser has arrived outside and got into a conflict with the gate guard!" The bailiff replied.

  "Get this rascal out of here!" Chen Tang shouted in anger, his interest ruined. But before the bailiff could even investigate and reach the door, another bailiff rushed in, flustered, saying: "Reporting to Your Honor, a man claiming to be the Duke of Yingtian has arrived outside to file a complaint and requests that you immediately receive him!"

  Chen Tang got a headache after listening to this, these days the noble and wealthy families are the most difficult to serve, if you're not careful, you'll lose your official position. This prince might be eyeing someone's daughter or land, saying he's suing, but actually letting himself play the villain, snatching from others' hands.

  "Open the gate wide and welcome!" Chen Tang said, pinching his nose. To say nothing of a prince, even an ordinary member of the royal family he couldn't afford to offend. The Prince of Ying Tian was someone he knew well - the 'Dragon Son' born to the Emperor and Zheng Guifei. This time, Cai Chengxiang's reinstatement as prime minister was precisely due to his connection with Zheng Guifei.

  "Governor Chen, you're so arrogant! You made our king stand at the gate for half a day, do you know your mistake!" Chen Tang had set up his ceremonial guards and was lined up to welcome them, but he was scolded by an imperial attendant. He didn't dare talk back, and smiled as he slipped two gold leaves into Xian Xi's hand, "Sir, thank you for your hard work, buy some wine with this!"

  "Hmph, hurry up and drive!" Seeing Xi's nose pointing towards the sky as he hummed a sound, that attitude made Zhao Yan want to go up and kick him twice.

  "Prefect of Gongzhou, Chen Tang, pays his respects to Your Highness!" Chen Tang took two quick steps forward and bowed with a smile, "It's fortunate that during the Song Dynasty, in most cases, subordinates don't need to kneel when meeting their superiors; a bow will suffice."

  "It's all right!" Zhao Che finally got out of the sedan chair with a relieved smile, supported by Ping Xi.

  "Your Majesty... Your Highness!" Chen Tang bowed deeply, his head almost touching the ground. He raised his head to take a look at the king and thought that he was a bit too young. Although he had some reservations in his heart, he didn't dare to be slow in his movements. He led Zhao Che into the main hall, personally offering him hot tea, and then led a group of officials to pay their respects again.

  "Magistrate Chen, no need for formalities. Yesterday, I was attacked by a group of scoundrels and nearly lost my life. Today, another mob stormed the palace, intent on harming me. Now that they've been captured, do you still need to preside over justice?" Zhao Yi struggled to sit up straight, put on an air, and spoke in a stern tone, but somehow it all seemed a bit comical. He waved his hand for the attendant to bring over the indictment papers.

  "Yes, yes, to dare to harm the king, this official will severely punish without pardon!" Chen Tang took over the indictment paper, with a straight face and a suppressed smile, said in a serious tone.

  "Father..." Chen Zian heard that the king had arrived and wanted to join in the excitement, he poked his head out and saw Zhao Chu sitting there, unable to help but shout out loud.

  "Your Highness, this is my young son Chen Zian, he doesn't understand etiquette!" Chen Tang didn't notice his son giving him a signal with his eyes, and while introducing Zhao Tie to him, he pulled him over and said: "Zian, quickly pay your respects to the king!"

  "Your Highness, what's wrong?" Jian Xi suddenly discovered that Zhao Che's face had greatly changed, and he was terrified, hastily asking.

  "He... He's the one who trampled me with his horse and shot at me with an arrow yesterday!" Zhao Yi's hand trembled as he pointed at Chen Zi'an, stuttering as he spoke, while his body kept retreating behind Xian Xi.

  "Protect the master, capture the villain!" Seeing that the two servants were getting more and more in sync, he flashed his body to block Zhao Chu's view and shouted loudly. The four sumo wrestlers standing behind Zhao Chu immediately stepped forward, they didn't eat for nothing, Pan Long and Xue Bao protected Zhao Chu, Zhang Feng kicked out with one leg, since he was called "One Whip", his skill was in his legs! Chen Zi'an hadn't even reacted before he was kicked flying, Song Hu wasn't idle either, as soon as he landed, it was a "Vajra Pestle", one foot stomped on his chest, Chen Zi'an's eyes rolled back, already exhaling more than inhaling!

  "Brother-in-law, save me!" As soon as they entered the government office, Zhang Yan became even more unscrupulous. Meng Tao was also a terrible person. Hearing the commotion coming from inside the main hall, he casually swung his arm and 'accidentally' hit Zhang Yan's chin, allowing him to break free from his restraints and rush into the main hall.

  "Zhang Yan..." Chen Tang had not yet recovered from the shock when his younger brother-in-law rushed in again, hugging his leg and shouting.

  "Chen Tang, you must clarify things. What is the relationship between you and the thugs who attacked the Wang mansion? Did you instruct them?" Jian Xi shouted at Chen Tang, who stood there like a wooden chicken.