knife

Chapter 412 Fulfilling the Mission
Lin Rong had just raised his glass to his lips when a huge commotion erupted outside. He slammed the glass down on the table and roared, "What's going on?"

With a loud crash, the two main doors of the hall, along with their frames, collapsed to the ground. Several people, all guards from outside the hall, lay on the fallen doors.

To Lin Rong's bewilderment, the man who strode in with his hand on his waist sword was actually Zhang Yuan, the garrison commander of Yongxing County.

Zhang Yuan has always been very sensible.

Zhang Yuan came from a poor family, and Lin Rong originally looked down on him and didn't take him seriously.

If it weren't for his elder brother Lin Hong's instructions, he wouldn't have lowered himself to befriend this commoner.

Yes, in Lin Rong's eyes, even if Zhang Yuan was the highest commander of the imperial army stationed in Yongxing County, he was nothing more than a commoner.

Lin Hong, the eldest brother, said that Zhang Yuan and his men were among those who fought alongside the Empress Dowager in Xiangcheng and were the most loyal to her. Therefore, the Empress Dowager placed them at the lowest level to manage and train the army.

Don't underestimate Zhang Yuan's group. They may seem inconspicuous, but if something really happens, a large gathering of them can create an extremely terrifying force.

It was for this reason that Lin Rong deliberately made an effort to get to know him.

In recent years, Zhang Yuan has also been very accommodating.

Lin Rong was smugly convinced that he had already won Zhang Yuan over.

People from the lower classes, how high can their horizons be?

A little money is enough to make them submit.

But today it seems I was wrong.

"Zhang Yuan, what are you doing?" Lin Rong slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

Zhang Yuan stood in the courtroom, glaring angrily at Lin Rong, and said sternly, "By order, arrest Lin Rong, the magistrate of Yongxing County, and bring him to trial!"

Lin Rong laughed loudly, "Zhang Yuan, have you gone mad? Listen to orders? Listen to whose orders?"

Everyone else in the room burst into laughter, while outside the courtyard, the sounds of clashing weapons and fighting drifted in—Zhang Yuan's men were clashing with Lin Rong's private army.

"Zhang Yuan colluded with the evil cult and betrayed the Emperor's grace. His crime deserves to be punished. Everyone, what are you still hesitating for? Let's all take action together and capture this traitor. That would be a great achievement!" Lin Rong shouted sternly.

Inside the hall, several people sprang to their feet and pounced on Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan used to have a high status in Yongxing County, but that wasn't because of his martial arts skills. He was only at the sixth rank of Qi Control, which was just passable. In fact, he was a bit overqualified to be a captain.

There are several people in this hall whose martial arts cultivation is higher than his.

In Lin Rong's view, taking down Zhang Yuan was a piece of cake.

To catch the thief, first catch the king. After capturing Zhang Yuan, his hundreds of armored soldiers would naturally no longer pose a threat.

Zhang Yuan chuckled and retreated instead of advancing. Behind him, two ordinary-looking soldiers came forward to greet him.

Then, to Lin Rong's astonishment, these two unremarkable soldiers quickly and easily knocked down the men who rushed at them.

Two Xuan Yuan Eighth Grade.

When did Zhang Yuan acquire a Xuan Yuan Rank 8 expert under his command?

You can't find a single one in the entire Yongxing County.

Zhang Yuan has indeed colluded with the evil cult.

Regardless of why Zhang Yuan turned against him, the previous accusation that he colluded with the evil sect was just a pretext, but now it seems that it might actually be true.

But if that's the case, why doesn't Zhang Yuan just open the city gates and let those demonic cult bastards in? Wouldn't that solve everything?

Tens of thousands of rioters—that's a huge force—if they storm into the city, the advantage of the armored soldiers will be minimized.

There were certainly other experts in the hall, but seeing the man who had rushed out earlier being subdued so easily, they dared not move. They could only watch helplessly as Zhang Yuan, knife in hand, walked towards Lin Rong.

With a clang, the waist knife was drawn and pressed against Lin Rong's neck, the immense force causing Lin Rong to slump back into the chair.

"Gentlemen, I, Zhang, am here on orders to arrest Lin Rong." Zhang Yuan looked at the people in the room and said sternly, "I ask that you all cooperate with my actions, otherwise it would be unwise to bring disaster upon your families."

"Captain Zhang, how do we know you haven't joined the Demonic Sect with ulterior motives?" someone questioned in the hall.

Within the State of Chu, it was not uncommon for officials to collude with the Demonic Cult, or even to be members of the Demonic Cult themselves.

Before the words were even finished, the two men who had just made their move simultaneously pulled out two waist tokens and displayed them to everyone.

Heaven's Net!

Everyone in the room gasped.

Why is Tianluo targeting Lin Rong?

Lin Rong is backed by Lin Hong, a high-ranking official of the Great Chu!
Lin Rong, sitting at the head of the table, could hardly believe his eyes.

Unlike the others in the hall, he had a broader and more extensive knowledge.

These two waist tags are indeed from Tianluo, but there are differences within Tianluo itself.

Those two Heavenly Net waist tokens had special cloud patterns on them; they belonged to the inner guards within the Heavenly Net, who were the Empress Dowager's trusted confidants.

Why would the Tianluo Inner Guard come to a small place like Yongxing? Aren't they always in Danyang?

Lin Rong trembled violently.

Something must be wrong.

Lin Rong surrendered without resistance, and the others in the hall naturally lost their will to resist. Soon after, the resistance outside the hall also collapsed, and Lin Rong's confidants and loyal followers were captured one after another.

Those who had previously been drinking and chatting with Lin Rong in the hall and dared to lay a hand on Zhang Yuan immediately switched sides after seeing the Tianluo waist token, expressing their loyalty to the Great Chu and their willingness to serve the Empress Dowager.

They didn't know the two men who had attacked them, and they didn't dare to approach them casually. They were only familiar with Zhang Yuan. Given the current situation, why weren't they going to quickly build a relationship with Zhang Yuan?

It's obvious that Tianluo trusts Zhang Yuan.

With the cooperation of these people, the riots in the city were quickly quelled, and everything returned to calm. However, without anyone noticing, Yongxing City had changed hands, with Zhang Yuan, the garrison captain, temporarily taking over as county magistrate.

Lin Rong sat in his study, relieved that he hadn't been thrown into jail. It seemed his elder brother Lin Hong still had influence.

Why did the Heavenly Net Inner Guards find him?
The Tianluo Inner Guards were usually people close to the Empress Dowager. They investigated major cases of treason and only those who posed a threat to the Empress Dowager would be summoned to their aid.

Is a mere county magistrate worth the Imperial Guards taking action against?

Could it be that my elder brother is plotting a rebellion?
Suddenly a possibility occurred to Lin Rong, and he couldn't help but shudder.

This is impossible, right?
If my older brother really had this idea, he would at least have shown some signs to me, his younger brother. But in my opinion, my older brother has been planning how to take things a step further!

Just like this year, my elder brother was planning how to launch a surprise attack to see if he could take Xiangcheng.

In the last Battle of Xiangcheng, both sides suffered heavy casualties. In the end, the Great Chu captured Fancheng, but Xiangcheng was still in the hands of the Southern Garrison Army and was now controlled by He Zudao. If Xiangcheng could also be captured, it would be a complete victory and make up for the regrets of a few years ago.

No reason!

Lin Rong was completely baffled.

The study door opened, and a person walked in.

Lin Rong looked up and saw not the two people from before, but someone he didn't recognize. With a thud, a chair was placed in front of him, and the person sat down opposite Lin Rong.

"I'm not familiar with you, but I am quite familiar with your older brother," the man said with a smile.

"And who are you, sir?" A glimmer of hope rose in Lin Rong's heart: "Our Lin family has always been loyal to the imperial court and has never had any disloyal intentions."

"Perhaps. But what I'm about to ask you, if you don't answer honestly, the consequences could be dire!" The man said with a forced smile, "Right now, your subordinates are also being interrogated, but they don't receive such favorable treatment. You know Tianluo's interrogation methods, so don't expect them to help you hide anything. Confessing yourself is the best way to gain leniency. Besides, Lin Rong, as long as it's not treason, other matters really aren't a big deal, are they?"

Lin Rong nodded blankly.

"What do you want to know? I will answer all your questions without reservation."

"Very good, that's a good attitude. Shall we start by talking about the recruitment of soldiers in Yongxing County before the Battle of Xiangcheng?" the man said with a smile.

Jiang Ping sat there, idly flipping through the county annals of Yongxing County.

As he watched, a cold smile crept onto his lips.

Look, look, over the years, how many of the county magistrates here have the surname Lin?
Moreover, anyone with the surname Lin can stay in this position for a very long time.

Not many people with the surname Lin are able to complete their full term of office.

Looking through the list, those who are well-known in the county are mostly surnamed Lin.

No wonder!

No wonder the old couple said that the mountains, forests and rivers all belonged to the Lin family, and they didn't even dare to go up the mountain to hunt wild game. After so many years of development, is Yongxing County really considered part of the imperial court?

Moreover, how many places like this are there in the entire Great Chu?

With a bang, Jiang Ping threw the county gazetteer onto the table.

Does it appear to be a dazzling display of beauty, but in reality, it's all show and no substance?
Li Dachui was right!

The female cicada in my arms suddenly trembled.

Take out the small box, open the lid, and the mother cicada flaps its wings and takes flight, hovering in the air.

Has Li Dachui managed to convince those people outside the city?
They're really efficient at getting things done.

Fortunately, things aren't slow on our side either.

The riot was quickly quelled, and now it's time for the interrogation.

Everything is progressing in an orderly manner.

The female cicada started circling around the room, which meant that Li Dachui was very close. Jiang Ping pushed open the door and went out.

Li Dachui appeared on a rooftop outside. In front of him, Zichan flew over with a buzzing sound, and he, with a few leaps, landed in front of Jiang Ping.

"Jiang Jiang, you have fulfilled your mission. You have one day to resolve the issues within the city!"

“No need for a whole day, one night will suffice!” Jiang Ping said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)