New and dark light years

Chapter 481 I Laugh at That Paper Prince's Lack of Wisdom
Xiao Chunzhu spent five days leading two thousand soldiers to Guicheng.

Guicheng was originally named Zhancheng. It was originally the land of the Nanman people. Later, it was conquered by Emperor Taizu of Qi, who slaughtered all the Nanman people and occupied the place as a grain-producing area.

They then relocated the Qi people to cultivate the land, and within just over a decade, they had taken over the area. More than a hundred years later, both the Qi people and the southern barbarians considered Gui County to be genuine Qi territory.

The gates of Guicheng are already closed.

There were many soldiers on the city wall.

Xiao Chunzhu sent someone forward to shout a message, while also dispatching several swordsmen and shieldmen to protect him.

As a result, they were met with a hail of arrows. Fortunately, several shield guards formed a fish-scale shield formation to protect them, otherwise they would have been riddled with arrows.

The captain who had stepped forward to shout returned in a panic.

Xiao Chunzhu asked him, "Did they say anything before they shot the arrows?"

"They didn't say anything. As soon as I mentioned the name of the military governor, they started shooting arrows."

Xiao Chunzhu snorted: "Just as you predicted, the whole of Gui County is rotten to the core. They actually blocked the governor's army from entering the city twice."

"What should we do then?" The captain looked around and then whispered, "Should we take over this city? The governor will surely reward us."

Xiao Chunzhu was somewhat tempted, but after looking at the height and size of Guicheng, he shook his head and said, "Although we have strong combat power, we have too few people, only two thousand. It will be difficult to break through this high city."

"If the Northern Barbarians can do it, so can we," the captain said confidently.

Xiao Chunzhu shook her head again: "There is no need for that. Jincheng will also be the territory of the Jiedushi in the future. If it is destroyed, it will be a huge loss."

"Right."

Xiao Chunzhu pondered for a moment and said, "Let's go and see what other counties are like. If we can get in, we'll take control of them for now. If they won't open their gates, we'll make a note of them and let the adults decide on them later."

"The Commander's words are a prudent suggestion."

Xiao Chunzhu laughed heartily: "I learned this from the adults. We can't compare to the adults' ingenuity."

The captain laughed too.

Who among the Jin County army dared to disobey Li Lin?

Who dares to disagree?

……

Meanwhile, Li Lin was sitting in the courtroom of Beishan County.

For the past few days, he has been reviewing the case files in the county government office, and the more he reads, the more alarmed he becomes.

At the same time, he also sent some of his personal guards in disguise to inquire about the specific situation in the county town.

Then he learned a fact that made him very angry.

Beishan County is truly rotten to the core.

Tian Wending was being sidelined without realizing it, while Gao Yuan... knew it but dared not do anything.

At this moment, the two of them were standing in front of Li Lin.

Li Lin picked up a book from the table and threw it forward, using a clever technique.

Everyone was hit on the forehead by the corner of the book, their skin was broken and blood was flowing down.

Neither of them dared to cry out in pain; they could tell that Li Lin was on the verge of exploding.

"I knew it... The population outflow from Beishan County has been so severe in recent years, it turns out they're all a den of snakes and rats."

Tian Wending picked up the booklet at his feet, ignoring the blood on his forehead, and began to read it.

The more he looked, the more horrified he became, and his hands trembled even more.

Blood dripped from his forehead onto the book, leaving dark red spots, but Tian Wending seemed oblivious.

The events recorded in the booklet were so bloody and dark that he almost lost his ability to think and react.

Gao Yuan also picked up the booklet, but he didn't look at it because he knew what was written inside.

Li Lin's gaze swept coldly over the two men, finally landing on Gao Yuan: "Magistrate Gao, it seems you know about these things."

"Yes, I know almost everything," he said, bowing his head.

"Why..." Li Lin then waved his hand and said, "That's right. How can a county magistrate like you fight against these people? You've already done your best to preserve yourself without colluding with them."

Gao Yuan bowed his head and said, "The military governor is wise."

He felt like crying.

Just as Li Lin said, he really did his best.

Moreover, his defection to Li Lin was not a case of being a fence-sitter; he genuinely wanted to gain power and then try to change the situation in Beishan County.

But now, Li Lin has already investigated the matter thoroughly.

"There's no need for him to bother anymore."

At this moment, Tian Wending raised his head and looked at Gao Yuan beside him: "Why didn't you mention these things to me before?"

“I’ve given you hints a few times, but you didn’t understand,” Gao Yuan said. “I’ve been investigating these past few days, but I didn’t expect the adults to be so fast and get the evidence against them before I did.”

Tian Wending closed his eyes. He hated himself more and more now. Lord Li was right. He was a good-for-nothing.

What do you mean by benefiting the people... it's clearly harming them.

Li Lin breathed a sigh of relief: "I am quite pleased that neither of you has committed any unforgivable acts. I have already sent men to mobilize troops; the entire county government will be wiped out in one fell swoop."

Tian Wending nodded; he felt that all of these people should be killed as well.

Gao Yuan said, "But without the yamen runners... it will be difficult to maintain order in Beishan County."

"It's alright. If we raise the monthly salary of the yamen runners, many people will be willing to come and do the work," Li Lin said coldly.

Not long after Li Lin finished speaking, three thousand soldiers from Jin County surrounded the entire county government office.

Subsequently... the entire county government office, with more than two hundred yamen runners, was arrested.

As the county magistrate, Gao Yuan spent an entire day sentencing each of them for their crimes.

The next day, more than 130 yamen runners were taken to Caishikou and beheaded.

It attracted a large crowd of onlookers.

With each head chopped off, cheers erupted from the surrounding crowd.

Then some people wept with joy and knelt down in the direction of the county government office.

More than 130 people were beheaded in batches, and it took nearly two hours to finish.

At Caishikou, the stench of blood was terrifying, and bloody liquid flowed into the distance from the roadside ditch.

As the last man was brought out, he shouted with his neck stiff, "My brother-in-law is the prefect of Gui County! Who dares to kill me? Who dares to kill me? My brother-in-law will avenge me! All of you will have your homes confiscated and your entire families executed!"

This County Magistrate Zhang was the one who secretly sidelined both the County Magistrate and the County Commandant.

He colluded with the yamen runners to create an information isolation zone, completely separating Tian Wending from local affairs.

If he doesn't want Tian Wending to know something, then Tian Wending will never know.

He wanted Tian Wending to know something so that the latter could find out.

After Li Lin took over the county government office, he wanted to use the same trick again, but unfortunately... Li Lin didn't trust anyone in Beishan County at all. He always used his own people to investigate things, which is why the other party was exposed.

The yamen runners were almost all Zhang the County Magistrate's men.

A large number were killed, and a small number were imprisoned.

Most of the new yamen runners have already been recruited.

Although Gao Yuan's abilities were not outstanding, they were at least competent. He led the yamen runners to eliminate the trouble left behind by Magistrate Zhang.

Several days later, Xiao Chunzhu returned.

He met Li Lin in the backyard, cupped his hands and said, "Sir, Gui County won't let us in, but we control many small towns nearby. For each town we control, we leave a hundred soldiers to garrison it, lest they change their minds. Now I only have six hundred men left under my command."

"Send a message by carrier pigeon to Jin County, instructing Ji Bo and Mu Yi to each lead 10,000 troops to Beishan County to meet me."

Xiao Chunzhu's face was full of joy: "My lord, are you planning to take Guicheng?"

Li Lin snorted: "Not only that, I want to cleanse the world and restore a bright and clear sky to Gui County."

Looking at Li Lin's stern appearance, Xiao Chunzhu bowed down with heartfelt admiration: "Your humble servant obeys."

Ten days later, 20,000 soldiers from Jin County arrived in Beishan County.

Li Lin issued tasks to the three military commanders.

Instead of rushing to conquer Guicheng, they used Guicheng as a center to begin a thorough investigation into official corruption in various counties of Guijun.

Whether you are a county magistrate or a wealthy man.

Whether you're a member of the underworld or a local gangster, if you're found to have committed any heinous crimes, you'll be arrested. The punishment will be swift and severe; once the facts are established, you'll be taken to the execution ground the very next day and beheaded.

It won't drag on until the third day at all.

A whole month!

In Gui County, a large number of officials and yamen runners were arrested and beheaded at the execution ground.

A large number of gangsters and criminal elements were eliminated.

In just one month, the security situation in Gui County improved significantly.

The people are most pleased with this.

There are even nursery rhymes being sung about it.

The Gui River is clear and its blue waves are calm.
Li Jiezhen, wielding the Frost Thunder.

The miasma was cleared and the wasteland swept away for eight hundred miles.
The moon shines brightly under the clear sky.

Generally speaking, if a local nursery rhyme spontaneously emerges, it means that something big has happened there.

Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, it's a big deal.

This major anti-corruption and anti-organized crime campaign has also brought other benefits.

Li Lin actually managed to uncover two organizations.

One is a branch of the Zhuxian Society.

Under the siege of thousands of troops, a master named Tao Dawei was besieged and killed, while more than 300 members of the Zhuxian Society were also annihilated.

Secondly, in Lang Son County, an unidentified organization was found to be harboring Zheng Hu.

Furthermore, the government troops, in cooperation with the twelve martial arts masters they had previously invited, captured Zheng Hu, who was hiding in Lang Son County.

At this time, Zheng Hu was already bound hand and foot and imprisoned in the Beishan County jail.

When Li Lin arrived, Zheng Hu was so hungry that he was dizzy and looked like he was about to die.

Upon entering, Li Lin first smelled the peculiar stench of the prison, followed by the odor of insects.

Li Lin looked at Zheng Hu with a calm expression.

"Did you handle the incidents involving the people of Dafeng Village and several other villages, as well as the events in Luoping Town?" Li Lin asked.

Zheng Hu, barely able to lift his head with a bruised and swollen face, looked at Li Lin and asked weakly, "Are you the Paper Prince?"

He then laughed nonchalantly, "So handsome, even better looking than a woman, he must be the Paper Prince."

Li Lin frowned: "Answer my question."

"Didn't you find out?" Zheng Hu said indifferently, "I've been caught, so I admit defeat. Kill me if you want, behead me if you want, stop talking nonsense."

Li Lin looked at the other person.

Zheng Hu also stared at Li Lin without any hesitation.

Then Li Lin said, "Then so be it."

After saying that, Li Lin turned to Gao Yuan and said, "Tomorrow, behead him and all those people whose origins are unknown, to appease the spirits of the people of Dafeng Village and the like."

"Yes!"

Zheng Hu looked at Li Lin and laughed nonchalantly.

Moreover, the laughter grew louder and louder, carrying a mocking tone.

Li Lin ignored him and turned to leave.

Then he went to the backyard, where twelve people were waiting.

Those were the martial arts masters that Li Lin had previously invited.

Upon seeing Li Lin, they immediately bowed and clasped their hands in greeting.

Li Lin sat down, looked at them, and said, "You guys acted quickly; you caught the man faster than I expected."

The twelve people all said they dared not.

Li Lin said, "I keep my word. I will give each person a bottle of pills, and they can choose one from the Youth Preservation Pill, the Body Strengthening Pill, and the Vitality Pill."

The twelve people were overjoyed.

Women all chose the Youth Preservation Pill, while men all chose the Vitality Pill.

At the same time, the twelve people divided the three hundred taels of silver equally according to how much effort they had put in.

Just as these martial arts practitioners were about to leave, Li Lin suddenly said, "Would you like to take on another mission?"

The twelve were overjoyed, and An Tusen cupped his hands and said, "Of course we are willing."

Li Lin nodded and said, "Tomorrow, Zheng Hu and those few people of unknown origin will be beheaded. You will hide in the mass grave outside the city. We will throw their corpses there. Your task is to monitor these corpses. If you can find anything, that would be best."

Upon hearing this, everyone instinctively gasped.

The four women immediately decided they didn't want to take on the task.

The eight men, however, were completely unconcerned; they looked at the Vitality Pills in their hands with longing in their eyes.

"My lord, could we possibly obtain another bottle of Vitality Pills?"

"Antoine asked."

Li Lin pondered for a while.

The Qi-regenerating pill was not difficult for him to refine.

He recalculated the difficulty of the task and the value of the Vitality Pill before saying, "Okay."

The group was overjoyed and eager to try their skills.

Since Zheng Hu refused to say anything, he was naturally beheaded.

His body, along with those of several others, was then dumped in a mass grave before evening.

The eight men had been lying in ambush at the mass grave.

This place is filled with yin energy and is rife with strange and eerie things.

However, Li Lin gave them several bottles of Imperial Powder, which could effectively protect them from the invasion of the strange and powerful.

The moon was very round and bright that night.

The moonlight, as cold as ice, spills across the world.

Zheng Hu's body and head were wrapped in a straw mat and carelessly thrown on the ground.

During the day, the mat is very quiet.

At midnight, the mat began to move slightly.

And the movements are getting bigger and bigger.

The people lying in ambush felt a chill run down their spines.

Not long after, the mat was lifted.

Zheng Hu, who had no head, sat up.

Many insects emerged from his neck, crawling densely all over his body and searching the vicinity. They quickly found Zheng Hu's head and transported it back to the side of the body.

At this moment, the corpse's hand groped around for a while, found the head, and immediately put it on its own neck.

Then, the eyes on his head opened.

Zheng Hu burst into laughter.

The sound seemed particularly eerie in the silent mass grave.

At the same time, the several men of unknown origin standing nearby were also resurrected in the same way.

The group gathered together, their eyes filled with surprise, but also with disdain.

Zheng Hu laughed loudly, "I laugh at that Paper Prince's stupidity. He actually thought that if he cut off our heads, we would die? We are no longer mortals, hahaha."

The others also laughed.

Their appearances changed at this moment, and their faces became more and more like insects, with pointed cheeks and smooth, yellowish-brown skin, like the shell of an insect.

They turned to leave, but at that moment, one of the men suddenly turned around, looked into the shadows, and shouted, "Who's there!"

Then, a red fox darted out of the bushes and fled.

Zheng Hu and his group breathed a sigh of relief.

(End of this chapter)