Promise!

Chapter 140, explanation

"Hahahaha!" Zhuang Jin suddenly burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"why are you laughing?"

"I laugh at your shamelessness! What three generations of people from the east of the city? I think they're three generations of rats! Such despicable behavior, yet you, Commander Huang, dare to boast about it so grandly, not ashamed, but proud of it..."

"you you!"

"This is tantamount to... wanting to be a prostitute while trying to maintain a virtuous image!"

"you you you!"

"I have never seen such a shameless person!"

"what!"

Huang Tianjun's defenses were breached by Zhuang Jin's words. He glared angrily, wishing he could devour Zhuang Jin. However, the sharp pain on his face brought him back to his senses. In his anger, he said, "Jun'er, let's go!"

"Ah!"

Zhuang Jin watched the departing figures of the Huang father and son, sneered, and remained indifferent. He knew that these two would never agree to his request to be transferred out of the east of the city, but they still made the request, deliberately making things difficult and breaking down the negotiations so that he could take action later and make an example of them.

Having witnessed the arrogance inherited from Huang Jun and his son Huang Tianjun, he understood that among the people in the east of the city, although there were clear-headed individuals like Ou Wenzhong, there were also many like the Huang family father and son who were clueless, arrogant, and conceited. For such people, being amiable would only be seen as weakness; a slap would be more effective in bringing them to their senses.

"If I had agreed to accept the deeds to ten shops as a settlement, even if I had asked for more, it wouldn't have been enough to instill fear or pain in these people. Without pain and fear, they won't learn their lesson, and similar incidents could easily occur again in the eastern part of the city in the coming months."

'To resolve this once and for all, we must be ruthless this time and show that we're not to be trifled with. That way, those people will think twice before trying to test us in the future.'

"Peace sought through compromise will perish; peace sought through struggle will endure. Peace is won through fighting! Let's make an example of the Huang family, father and son, to deter others and secure peace and tranquility in the eastern part of the city from now on!"

With that thought in mind, Zhuang Jin went straight to find Ou Wenzhong.

……

"……That's it."

Zhuang Jin recounted the events with the Huang family father and son, then coldly said, "I'm only temporarily staying in the east of the city, and I have no intention of changing anything. It was Commander Ou who came to me... that's how we reached an agreement."

"But if you think that's all there is to it, that you can take advantage of me because I'm easy to talk to and easy to bully, and try to push your luck... Ha! Well then, I, Zhuang, don't mind testing your methods."

Upon hearing what had happened and hearing Zhuang Jin's words, Ou Wenzhong's heart skipped a beat. He quickly said, "Governor Zhuang, please calm down! Please calm down! Don't you know my character? This was absolutely not a deliberate test or violation of the rules..."

"It must have been those idiots who acted on their own..."

As he spoke, a murderous glint appeared on his face: "Don't worry, Commander Zhuang, if it's really as you say, I will definitely give you an explanation!"

"Okay, then I'll wait."

Zhuang Jin left these words behind, got up and left, knowing that his plan to use barbarians to control... no, to use rats to control rats had succeeded.

……

What happened next was quite comical.

Huang Tianjun returned and contacted his backers. He used euphemisms to describe the incident, ignoring his son's initial probing and attempt to frame Zhuang Jin, as well as his arrogant attitude when he approached Zhuang Jin. He only mentioned that Zhuang Jin had broken the rules and wanted to transfer his son away from the east of the city, implying that Zhuang Jin was being used as a scapegoat by his superiors. He requested that forces be mobilized to deal with Zhuang Jin. However, Zhuang Jin immediately went to Ou Wenzhong. After investigating and confirming the matter, Ou Wenzhong came over and overheard Huang Tianjun's words. His face immediately turned black with anger.

From a public perspective, for the sake of the overall situation in the east of the city and for the public good of this bunch of rats, the Huang family father and son, for their own selfish interests, disregarded the overall situation. They were short-sighted and as stupid as pigs!

Personally, Zhuang Jin was a result of his work and a reason for rewarding his application for advancement in the Shuluo Dan (a medicinal herb). How could these two want to sabotage it? This was hindering his progress! An enemy who obstructs his path is an irreconcilable foe!

“Huang Tianjun, go to hell…” Ou Wenzhong rushed out, interrupting him in a fit of rage, and stated the truth.

The same event, two versions. With the power of this group of rats in the east of the city, it was not difficult to confirm the truth. Soon the truth came out.

Then, Huang Tianjun incurred the wrath of the masses: Now, at this critical moment when the Shen family headquarters is making its move and life and death are at stake, Ou Wenzhong went to appease Zhuang Jin and reach a tacit understanding... It's one thing for you, Huang Tianjun, not to contribute, but you can't even manage your juniors in the family, letting them try to be clever and test things out on their own...

After being exposed, they clearly gave you face; you could have simply apologized and accepted the beating. But instead, you didn't know your place, acting arrogantly because of your age. Who do you think you are? You're used to being lawless in the east of the city, and everyone thinks they have to fawn over you?
In the end, after being humiliated by Zhuang Jin, they still showed no remorse, instead stirring up trouble and attempting to drag them down with them, hoping to use the entire power in the east of the city to retaliate... They were simply lawless!
To call any of these actions "stupid" would be an insult to the word!

Because of the extremely serious nature, egregious circumstances, and immense harm of this matter, the corrupt gang in the east of the city took a very serious approach to dealing with Huang Tianjun.

……

The next day, March 30th.

Ou Wenzhong came to him and said, "...The Huang family father and son will both be transferred away from the east of the city next month. Huang Jun will be assigned to the front line in the north of the city, while Huang Tianjun will be exiled to the south of the city, the most dangerous place adjacent to the Medicine King Gang...Is the garrison commander satisfied with this arrangement?"

"I am satisfied."

Zhuang Jin nodded slightly, but his heart skipped a beat: "Huang Jun is one thing, but Huang Tianjun, a mere garrison commander of the Eight Classics Ward, is being exiled to the south of the city just like that."

The implications behind this are quite ordinary: on the one hand, Ou Wenzhong must have powerful connections within the General Affairs Department, and their positions must be quite high, demonstrating the breadth of his influence and the depth of his influence; on the other hand, the fact that he was willing to give an explanation and was ruthless towards his own people proves that he has a certain degree of self-purification ability.

The combination of the two means that it is extremely troublesome and difficult to deal with.

"As long as Town Chief Zhuang is satisfied, that's good. In this matter, we were in the wrong. Therefore, all of the Huang family's assets will be considered as compensation..."

"That won't be necessary," Zhuang Jin interrupted, politely declining. These things were not easy to accept; if they were, it would drag them into trouble and make things difficult to explain.

"Haha, Town Chief Zhuang is as cautious as ever."

Ou Wenzhong seemed to have anticipated this, and didn't insist. After a pause, he said, "Since the garrison commanders of these villages are unwilling to accept them, let's exchange them for a message!"

"Last night, the Miao family's house caught fire. Miao Shao's entire family of thirty-three perished in the flames; not a single one survived..."

"This is truly unfortunate!"

Zhuang Jin sighed and gave Ou Wenzhong a deep look. He had asked Zou Qingfeng to investigate Miao Shao's family information, but before he could even take action, the forces behind this man had already done it for him.

'This saves me trouble, as I don't have to get my hands dirty... However, while this is both compensation and a warning, isn't it also a way of implying that my every move is being watched?'

Although they weren't enemies, this feeling of being out of control was still extremely unpleasant to him. He sighed inwardly, 'The realm of eight meridians on the surface but nine in reality is still not enough! If I openly possessed ten or twelve meridians, the forces behind this person would surely be much more wary and wouldn't dare to attack so blatantly... If I were at the higher realm of Meridian Opening, they wouldn't dare to do this even if they had the guts.'

So ultimately, it all comes down to strength, strength!

……

(End of this chapter)