Reborn as Murong Fu: This Time I'm the Protagonist

Chapter 558 Zong Ze Reunited
At Murong Fu's command, two burly soldiers stepped forward and, like eagles snatching chicks, grabbed Huang Renbiao and stripped him of his official robes. In the blink of an eye, the once imposing and powerful Master Huang was like a chick stripped of its feathers, shivering in the early spring wind.

Although Master Huang had been stripped of his official robes, he remained stubbornly defiant, cursing, "Murong Fu, you are nothing but a favored official, not even a proper Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination). Once you gain power, you dare to act arrogantly, insult your colleagues, and disregard the law! If I ever escape this predicament, I will definitely impeach you severely!"

Murong Fu laughed heartily: "How dare he roar in court and insult his superior? According to the laws of the Great Song Dynasty, he should be flogged fifty times on the spot! Men, come and beat him hard!"

The constables and officials standing by, intimidated by Master Huang's usual imposing manner, exchanged glances, none daring to make a move. For a moment, the scene was tense. Then, Tong Guan stepped forward, snatched a thick stick, as thick as an adult's wrist, from a constable's hand, kicked Master Huang's obese body to the ground, and cursed, "You heartless bastard, how dare you speak so disrespectfully?"

With that, he swung his arm and struck Master Huang hard on the back. Huang Renbiao screamed like a pig being slaughtered, struggling violently, but he was held down by two soldiers and couldn't break free. Tong Guan was quite strong; although he was disabled, he was stronger than most strong men. Since he wanted to show off in front of Murong Fu, he didn't hold back at all. Fifty heavy blows were delivered, leaving Huang Renbiao in a state of near death. At first, he could still howl like a pig being slaughtered, but later he could barely breathe, and his life was almost over.

Murong Fu waved his hand and said, "Call a doctor and give this fellow a good look. Don't let him die. Take him to the back hall. Once he's recovered, throw him into the imperial prison!"

Although his men did not understand Murong Fu's intentions, they still helped the fat man to the back room to rest.

The officials, both high and low, were uneasy, seeing that their superior had almost been beaten to a pulp over a few words. But then they saw Murong Fu walk up to a low-ranking official in light green robes, bow, and say, "County Commandant Zong, how have you been? It's been a year. How did you end up being transferred from Jiangnan to this Jingdong South Circuit? And still in the rank of county commandant?"

The lowly eighth-rank official, recognizing the familiar voice of the person before him, dared to raise his head and scrutinize the newly arrived superior. Upon closer inspection, he was utterly astonished: "It's you! My lord!"

Realizing his slip of the tongue, he immediately bowed and said, "I apologize for my offensive words, sir!"

It turned out that this unassuming county magistrate was none other than Zong Ze, whom Murong Fu had met in Jiangnan. After years of wandering and wasting time, he was transferred from Jiangnan to the north, but he was still just a county magistrate. This was only because he was not good at flattering his superiors and had no strong backing, so he ended up in the same lowly position.

Murong Fu smiled and said, "After meeting you in Jiangnan, I was deeply impressed by your talent, Lord Zong. You possess the qualities of a prime minister and a pillar of the nation. Even being promoted to a minor post would be a waste of your abilities. To serve as a mere county magistrate is like casting pearls before swine. However, I do not have the authority to appoint the heads of the Transport Commissioner and the Censorate at will. But currently, the position of Prefect of Qingzhou is vacant, and there is no one to act as his successor. I wonder if you, Lord Zong, would be willing to share the burden for His Majesty, serve me, and shoulder the responsibilities of the prefect of this prefecture?"

After Murong Fu finished speaking, he looked at Zong Ze with a smile, waiting for the other party's reply.

Upon hearing this, Zong Ze was first taken aback, then overjoyed: "How dare I not do my utmost to share the burdens of the court and relieve your troubles, sir!"

Murong Fu's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Lord Zong, you'd better think this through. Right now, there are no fewer than 100,000 disaster victims outside Qingzhou City, crying for food. If this isn't handled properly, these could turn into 100,000 rebels. That would be a huge mess. You might lose your official hat before you even have a chance to keep it on. This official hat isn't something you can easily wear!" Zong Ze confidently replied, "If the disaster relief efforts are ineffective and chaos ensues, you can take my head, my lord, to appease the people!"

Murong Fu clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "Excellent! Lord Zong is indeed a great talent of the nation!"

Are you kidding me? Someone capable of cleaning up the mess in Kaifeng during the Jingkang Incident couldn't handle these small-scale disaster victims? Who would believe that?
"In that case, I hereby appoint County Magistrate Zong as Acting Prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture, with full authority to handle all disaster relief matters in Qingzhou Prefecture. If he performs well and handles matters properly, I will report to the Emperor upon my return to the capital and formally appoint Lord Zong as the Governor of a prefecture."

Upon hearing this, Zong Ze was overjoyed. He had jumped three ranks from a minor county lieutenant to become the chief official of a prefecture. Although there was still a "deputy" in his title, seasoned officials knew that the "deputy" in his title implied a possibility. Moreover, he had such an opportunity to prove himself. If he did well, the "deputy" title would most likely be removed!

Although Zong Ze was not a peerless talent, he passed the imperial examination in his early thirties and ranked among the top. He was confident in his talent, but unfortunately, he had no connections in the court and could not get a good official position. After several years of hardship, he was still just a minor county magistrate who had to bow to every official he met. He had long been filled with resentment.

He never expected that the young master Murong, whom he had only met once in Jiangnan, would now be a high-ranking official, a regional governor, and would even speak so highly of him. He immediately felt a sense of kinship. These days, he had seen more and more disaster victims, but under the leadership of that fat pig Huang Renbiao, Qingzhou Prefecture was letting the disaster victims freeze and starve to death without providing any relief. Public resentment was boiling over, and there was a great deal of tension in the air. He saw this and was very anxious.

Zong Ze bowed deeply and said, "On behalf of the 300,000 people of Qingzhou Prefecture, I thank Lord Murong!"

In the back hall, Huang Renbiao was unconscious until the middle of the night. When he slowly woke up, his wives and concubines, having heard the news, had been keeping vigil for half the night and had also been crying for half the night.

Huang Renbiao rolled over, feeling a piercing pain all over his body. Thinking of the humiliation he had suffered over the past half day, a surge of anger welled up in his heart, and a murderous intent rose wildly. He shouted, "Summon Steward Li!"

A short while later, a middle-aged man around fifty years old came over: "What are your orders, sir?"

Huang Renbiao angrily said, "Take a gift of ten thousand taels of silver and go to Black Wind Stronghold to find Chief Long! Make him lead his men down the mountain!"

Steward Li was taken aback: "Master, killing the imperial envoy is tantamount to treason, a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. Master, please think it over carefully. You must not do such a thing!"