Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 73 Hard to Kill
"County Lord, we don't have anything like this in our mansion. I hope you can see clearly."

"This mansion may not be as clean as you say."

Gao Changgong looked into the distance dimly, "I will not leave. I will report to the court. The matter here has not been investigated clearly, and the truth of the murder is unclear."

"I know that your Murong family has done evil, so I deliberately killed people and then framed them, just to disturb Cheng'an's peace and force me to leave."

"I will report these to the emperor truthfully, and I ask the emperor not to listen to any of your family's reports."

There was still no displeasure or anger on Murong Zeng's face. He smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"My family has no grudges against the county magistrate, so why is the county magistrate pressing us?"

"My family has always been friendly to others and has never made enemies with anyone. Now that the county lord has led his army into our house, we dare not resist at all."

"If you are still angry and want to kill us to vent your anger, I dare not say anything more."

"I am just a family slave. The gentleman in the family can barely be considered a member of the Murong family. The rest are just slaves and servants. You can slaughter them at will without any complaints."

Murong Zeng leaned his head out slightly, closed his eyes, and made a gesture as if waiting to die.

The fire in Gao Changgong's chest burned even more fiercely.

Just as he was about to speak, Lu Qubing spoke first.

"Lord Murong, you are the one who is being aggressive."

"They said the servants went crazy and killed each other, but the wounds of the dead were mostly the same, which means they were done by the same group of people. As for the witness, he is in Murong Mansion now, right?"

"He had to say whatever the Murong family told him to say. Maybe someone wanted to frame the Murong family, but those people were definitely killed by the Murong family."

"You didn't even spare a seven-year-old child. Why? Are you afraid that the county magistrate will pardon the dead, causing them to take back their mulberry fields? Are you afraid that the county magistrate will pardon the slaves, allowing them to take back their granted land and break away from you?"

"Are you afraid that the county magistrate will measure the cultivated land and find those unregistered public fields? Or are you afraid that the county magistrate will thoroughly check the business register and find those merchants in the two cities who never pay taxes?"

"Are you afraid that the county magistrate will find the ranch outside Dongcun? Are you afraid that the mine in Liujia Village will be discovered?!"

"Are you afraid that all the prisoners in the prison will be found in these places?!"

"Are you afraid that the properties of the four wealthy families who died will be discovered to have changed owners?!"

Lu Qubing's voice became louder and louder, and his tone became more and more urgent.

Finally, Murong Zeng's expression changed.

He had been smiling all the time, but now he couldn't smile anymore. There was obvious anger on his face, "You are slandering me."

"Snapped!"

All I heard was a sound of breaking air.

The horsewhip fell heavily on Murong Zeng's face. Murong Zeng staggered, covering his face. Blood flowed from between his fingers. He raised his head.

Gao Changgong put away his whip and said coldly: "If you insult an official, you should be caned."

After being hit, Murong Zeng came to his senses, and the anger on his face disappeared. "Thank you, Lord County, for the whip! Lord Lu, I made a mistake, please forgive me!"

Lu Qubing sneered, "How clean do you think your house is?"

"You think that what you have done is perfect and no one can know about it? In Cheng'an, who doesn't know about the good things you have done?"

"The Murong family is a kind-hearted family. When disaster strikes, they give porridge to save people. A bowl of wheat can be exchanged for a large mulberry field. They are even more merciful and leave these people to farm for them, allowing them to survive and receive the land grant. The arable land has increased many times. They are really kind-hearted people!!"

Murong Zeng laughed and clapped his hands, "Lu Jun said it well!"

"As for the situations you just mentioned, they are indeed not uncommon. As far as I know, there is a big family in Yangping! The Lu family, their ancestors once served as General Fu Bo, Commandant Fengche, and many others. Later, many of them served as prefects and governors, and they have held official titles for generations!"

"What their family did in Yangping is exactly the same as what Lu Jun said!!"

"Could it be that Lord Lu has heard and seen it?!"

There was no sign of abnormality on Lu Qubing's face.

"If the Lu family of Yangping behaves in this way, it should be handled by the officials of Yangping. It is not the responsibility of Cheng'an. I only take care of Cheng'an's affairs."

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

Murong Zeng nodded with an inexplicable smile in his eyes.

Gao Changgong spoke again, "You should think more about your family's situation. I will report everything that Lu Jun said truthfully."

"Also, several bodies were found in your house. Until the investigation is complete, no one in your family is allowed to go out."

"Zhangsun County Lieutenant!"

"My subordinate is here!"

"You will lead your men immediately to guard all the crossroads in the east of the city. Starting today, this place will be under martial law and no one is allowed to enter or leave."

"only!!"

Murong Zeng said nothing and looked at them calmly.

Gao Changgong grabbed the reins tightly, turned around and left without waiting for everyone.

Liu Taozi ordered the troops to retreat, allowing Yao Xiong and others to leave with the corpses found here, while Chang Sun took the rest of the troops to deploy defenses around.

At this moment, Murong Zeng suddenly stepped forward and stood in front of Liu Taozi. He looked up and looked at Liu Taozi on horseback.

"Liu Youjiao"

As he spoke, he suddenly revealed a strange smile.

"Goodbye."

Liu Taozi rode on a green lion and looked around the entire mansion. Suddenly, the corner of his left eye twitched and a hint of ferocity flashed in his eyes.

"Goodbye."

Everyone left. Murong Guang appeared beside Murong Zeng without knowing when. He looked into the distance and suddenly asked, "Mr. Zeng, if we do this, will we offend the county lord to death?"

Murong Zeng smiled and touched his arm.

"Don't worry, just wait a little longer."

Lu Qubing rode his horse and walked behind Gao Changgong, but he no longer had the same confidence as before.

"Now you have confirmed the court's prejudice against you because you are young and irritable. You led a large army into the home of a county duke. And what about them? They treated you with courtesy and made a big deal out of a small matter. When this matter got to the court, they wanted to transfer you away even more."

"You shouldn't be so impulsive."

Gao Changgong smiled and said, "It's OK. The imperial edict will be issued immediately. At least I have the evidence and preparations, so I can delay it for a while. If I don't go to his house, facing the imperial edict, do I dare to refuse it publicly?"

Lu Qubing rubbed his forehead and said, "But you are framing me. To put it in a broader sense, this is a crime of deceiving the emperor. I don't believe that the Murong Mansion can really find the body."

"This is giving the other party a handle directly. Brother Taozi, did you order this?"

Lu Qubing looked at Liu Taozi and said, "You are going to harm the county lord!"

"I told him to do it."

Gao Changgong said, "I want to delay the time and continue to implement what I want to do. Lu Jun, you don't have to worry about these things."

"We will continue as planned. No one can stop us."

Lu Qubing wanted to say something but stopped himself and could only sigh.

Liu Taozi dismissed the county soldiers, and everyone got busy.

The atmosphere was still somewhat depressing. Even though they broke into the other party's mansion and the county magistrate even whipped the other party, none of this made anyone feel relieved or relieved.

They didn't even know how to deal with this big clan. Even though they had the command of the entire county's army and possessed the strongest combat power, they seemed to be very powerless in the face of such an opponent.

After Gao Changgong returned to the county government, he issued an order.

He promoted Zhang Li to be his own clerk.

Although the county magistrate was a low-ranking official position, it was still a huge breakthrough for Zhang Li.

Zhang Li was sitting in the Youjiao Mansion when he received this imperial edict, which surprised him greatly.

The official who came to deliver the order bowed and said, "This is the first time that the county lord has been sent out to serve as an official. We are all old soldiers who only know how to kill people and have little experience in politics. I hope that Mr. Zhang can give us more guidance in the future."

Zhang Li wanted to stand up and return the gift, but was dissuaded by the man.

After he left, Zhang Li was still a little confused. Yao Xiong smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang, you have really soared to the sky. The clerk of Gao County is no ordinary clerk. You can walk sideways in Cheng'an now!"

Zhang Li shook his head and looked at Taozi who was sitting in the main seat.

"My Lord, my many plans today seem crude and mean in front of you. I look like a mean person. I am really unworthy of this position."

Liu Taozi replied calmly: "The county magistrate has not spent decades as a dangerous county official, so his ideas and strategies are naturally very 'moral', but your ideas are definitely not vulgar."

"Thank you, Mr. Liu."

Zhang Li lowered his head and asked again, "So how does the county lord plan to deal with the Murong family?"

"I don't think he has much confidence in defeating the Murong family. He just wants to delay time, take the opportunity to do what he wants, and then leave."

Zhang Li shook his head. "What's the point? Even if it's done, once he's gone, won't it be the same as before?"

He couldn't help but ask again: "What does Mr. Liu think?"

Yao Xiong grinned and said, "What else could my Liu Gong think? Before you came, he was telling us what to do."

Yao Xiong suddenly stopped talking and looked at Liu Taozi.

Liu Taozi nodded.

Yao Xiong continued, "Let's talk about how to massacre the Murong family!"

"The county road official has too many things to think about and too many concerns, but my Liu Gong is different. Just kill him."

Kou Liu said, "It's difficult. In the entire southeast corner, every household is their people. There are a lot of slaves in the mansion, and they are all elite. I think it's difficult to sneak in quietly, let alone kill them."

"Even if we call in the county soldiers, I'm afraid it will be difficult to force our way in, let alone just a few of us."

Tian Zili interrupted him, "Don't say such cowardly words!"

He looked at Liu Taozi and said, "Brother, I am willing to bring people into their house and kill Murong Zeng and Murong Guang for you!"

(End of this chapter)