Top Scholar

Chapter 144 A two-pronged approach
"So are they weak, or bandits?" everyone asked hastily.

“Bandits!” Su Lu asserted. “Don’t forget the He brothers’ case.”

“That’s right.” Cheng Xiucai glanced at Su Lu, thinking to himself, “It’s not easy for me to show my face at your house, so don’t keep stealing my lines.”

“Da He is my son-in-law, so naturally I wouldn’t stand idly by in his case. Last year, I even went to the county to review the case files,” Cheng Xiucai continued.
"There are many suspicious points in this case... For example, how come not a single person on the entire ship survived after it hit the reef? Don't you find that strange? It was winter when the accident happened, and the Chishui River was already in its dry season at that time. The current was not rapid, and the water was only three or four feet deep. How could they all be completely wiped out?"

“That’s how it is.” Su Lu had just experienced the treacherous rapids of the Chishui River and remembered it vividly. “I remember the boatman saying that at this time of year, as long as you jump off the boat in time, your chances of survival are still very high.”

“That’s right.” The eldest uncle nodded and said, “Not to mention the boatman, even the He brothers and their crew are all from Erlangtan. Which one of them can’t swim?”

"What did the government say?" asked the eldest son of the Cheng family.

"The case file says that because the accident happened at Dabingtan, which is already within the territory of Hejiang County, it was County Magistrate Jiang who led the team to investigate. According to his investigation report, the section of the river where the accident occurred is located at a bend, with rapid currents upstream and hidden reefs downstream, making it particularly dangerous."

"Only fragments of the boat and wine jars were found at the scene, indicating that the ship broke apart after hitting the reef," Cheng Xiucai continued. "However, the bodies of the deceased were not found, leading to the assumption that they were salvaged by the local savages. Given the savages' cannibalistic practices, this deduction is not unreasonable..."

The proprietress, who had been quietly listening at the door, now slipped out.

Su Youcai sensed something was wrong, and when he turned around, the proprietress was indeed gone, so he quietly followed her out...

He saw the proprietress weeping in the backyard. Su Youcai sighed inwardly and did not immediately go forward to comfort her, but simply stayed silently by her side.

~~
The others, however, showed no reaction. To them, the cannibalistic nature of the Sheng Miao was as normal as a tiger eating a person. In short, they didn't consider the Sheng Miao as one of their own…

"The deceased's family accepted this explanation, and the case is closed," Cheng Xiucai continued.

"You accepted it too?" the crowd asked.

"What can I do if they don't accept it? Although I've been a lawyer, I still need someone to sue. The county says it was an accident, so who can I sue?" Scholar Cheng said with a wry smile.

“At that time, it was just me and Chengcheng in the county. What could we possibly do? Besides, if it was an accident, there was no point in investigating further. If it wasn't an accident, it would be dangerous, and we might even lose our lives. So we had no choice but to go back…”

“Indeed…” No one laughed at him for being a coward, because the facts had proven that Cheng Xiucai’s choice at the time was wise. If the father and son had insisted on investigating further, they might have ended up in the same footsteps as the He brothers.

"But this time it's different!" Scholar Cheng raised his voice and said to the crowd, "This time we outnumber them and are not afraid of the bandits using force!"

“We brought more than a dozen strong young men.” At this moment, the old man of the Cheng family told the Su family, “Your old clan leader is also on his way with three hundred clansmen. However, we are coming by boat, while they are coming on foot. They probably won’t arrive until tomorrow…”

"And Commander Ma also said he would bring people along," Su Youjin added.

"This time we are strong enough! We don't care what kind of bandits or thieves they are, we are not afraid of any of them!" The old man said in a deep voice, "New grudges and old scores, this time we will settle them all!"

“That’s right, times have changed. This time, I’m going to go all out and give them a good lesson!” Now emboldened, Scholar Cheng gave the order:
"What I need now is the coroner's report on the body in this case, detailed information about the deceased and his widow, including their social life, business situation, debt situation, and most importantly—whether they colluded with criminals!"

“Okay, we’ll go check these!” the Su brothers replied loudly.

"Be sure to pay attention to safety," Cheng Xiucai instructed.

“There are two kinds of security,” the old man said gruffly. “One is to do it secretly, without letting the other party find out.”

"This is difficult, Father," Su Youjin said with a sigh. "We're fighting on foreign soil, the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. How can we not be detected under their noses?"

"Then let's make a big show of it, put everything out in the open! Let's see if those bandits dare to fight us right under the noses of the whole county!" The old man was bursting with heroic spirit, dreaming of the bugle calls echoing through the camps!

"That's right, we must make a big scene! Only when it's big enough will the county magistrate not dare to cover it up!" Scholar Cheng also said decisively.
“I will formally file charges in the Ho family case last year! As the deceased’s father-in-law, it is only right for me to file this lawsuit! At the same time, as a lawyer, I will help you fight Arima’s case—trying to combine the two cases into one! So that one plus one is greater than two!”

"Alright!" the crowd responded in unison. The old man then divided the able-bodied men from both families into three groups, each with their own duties, to set out the next morning!
~~
That night, finding accommodation became a problem.

The courtyard was bought by the eldest son of the Cheng family for the young couple. Who would have thought so many people would come? The courtyard was already full after Su Lu's family settled in, and the others had to find other places to stay.

That very evening, the landlady went to the main street and knocked on the doors of two neighboring inns, telling the owners she wanted to book the entire place. With all the staff home for the New Year, there were hardly any guests. Now, someone wanted nothing but a place to stay, and the two owners were naturally overjoyed. Thinking the landlady was just comparing prices, they started arguing heatedly: "You offer 20% off, I'll offer 30% off; you offer 30%, I'll offer 40% off..."

As the saying goes, rivals are enemies, especially when the shops are right next to each other. When they're offering discounts, it's more brutal than a fight. I don't care if I earn less, as long as you don't make any!
Finally, the proprietress couldn't stand it anymore and stopped the two owners, saying, "Stop arguing, I'll take care of both of you. It's the New Year, don't ruin the harmony."

"This lady is so generous!" The two shopkeepers immediately stopped arguing. Half price was practically a steal! Besides, they didn't have to do anything...

Later, seeing that there were fewer than twenty people staying at the inn, with each family having fewer than ten guests, the two owners felt embarrassed. Of course, they couldn't offer any further discounts, so they allowed them to use the firewood in the yard without paying...

The next morning, the landlady led Su Youcai and his brothers on a shopping spree, buying rice, flour, cooking oil, vegetables, and meat from all over the world. The three hundred tribesmen had come for horses and Erlang wine, so their food and lodging had to be arranged.

~~
Su Tai naturally joined the busy group, but Su Man and Su Lu were not among them, because they had to go to the county school for classes.

Of course, the two types of classes are not the same...

Before dawn, Instructor Hai arrived in the county school's carriage to pick up Su Lu.

Su Lu was already dressed and said goodbye to the old man with his older brother: "Grandpa, we're going to the county school."

The old man snorted and said to Su Lu, "If you ask me, he shouldn't be going to teach in the county until his uncle's case is resolved!"

Before Su Lu could speak, Su Man shook his head and said, "Grandpa, let's keep things separate. The county magistrate promoted phonetic symbols for political achievements, but it is also the hope for children in the mountains to learn to read and write. Hongzhi cannot sacrifice the well-being of the people for the sake of his own family."

“Brother is absolutely right.” Su Lu nodded and said, “The phonetic symbols are not just mine. They also have Mr. Zhang’s selfless contribution and the headmaster’s strong recommendation. I can’t use them as a tool to blackmail the county. That would disappoint them.”

"More importantly, we can't disappoint the county magistrate," Cheng Xiucai's voice rang out. He had stayed overnight at the Cheng family's house last night, which had put him in a much better mood, and his voice was noticeably louder.
“This is his territory, and his attitude plays a decisive role.”

"You think you know everything?" The old man snorted, not insisting on his opinion. "Fine, you scholars have your way of doing things, and we warriors have our way of doing things. Let's see who's more effective."

"It's only effective if we use both literary and military methods together," Cheng Xiucai corrected. "Do you understand the importance of a two-pronged approach? I guarantee the county magistrate will have a lively New Year."

"Old rascal, you're really good at talking..." The old man refrained from arguing, as he was indeed no match for Cheng Xiucai in terms of stirring up trouble.

~~
The Hejiang County School was built on Fengyi Mountain, the highest point in the county seat and considered the most auspicious location in the entire county, its name chosen to signify "the arrival of the phoenix." Unfortunately, since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the county has not produced a single Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), so the locals generally believe that the concept of feng shui is meaningless...

The county school adopts the traditional layout of temple on the left and school on the right. Along the central axis are the Lingxing Gate, Pan Pond, Ji Gate, Dacheng Hall, and other buildings such as the Shrine of Famous Officials and the Shrine of Local Worthies.

The teaching area is located on the west side of the Confucius Temple. The core building is the Minglun Hall, which faces south and has five bays. This phonetic symbol training course will be held here.

This training course was unprecedented in scale, with a total of two hundred trainees attending under the strong supervision of Magistrate Lu!

Among them are sixty current community school teachers from Hejiang County, Yongningwei, and Chishuiwei, as well as one hundred and twenty "prospective teachers" recently recruited by Magistrate Lu who have not yet taken up their posts.

Magistrate Lu plans to build 120 new community schools next year. For Hejiang, a county facing difficulties due to its busy, complex, and challenging conditions, this is an all-out effort, and success or failure hinges on this one project!

Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, he was unable to return in time and the county magistrate had to deliver the speech on his behalf.

Although Magistrate Cao was a high-ranking official, he had no real power and never got to show his face. Magistrate Lu would only remember him when he had to do dirty work or take the blame. Naturally, Magistrate Lu was very unhappy about this.

However, he was no match for Magistrate Lu, who was practically a local tyrant, and could only helplessly submit. Therefore, Magistrate Cao had no interest whatsoever in Magistrate Lu's grand plan for education, and after offering a few perfunctory words such as "we must live up to your expectations" and "educate the people," he returned home.

The county school's instructor, Shui, was a notorious slacker. The students in the county school were all there because they had no hope of passing the provincial examinations and were just there to coast along and collect their stipends, so the school officials were naturally happy to have an easy time. Old scholars like Instructor Shui, with no hope of a future in the imperial examinations, had lost all interest in any official duties.

He didn't even know what phonetic symbols were, and thought he was going to be taught fanqie (a method of indicating pronunciation in traditional Chinese characters). As a result, he rambled on and on, leaving the teachers in the audience completely confused... They were already annoyed at being called to class during the Lunar New Year, and this only made them more irritable.

Before classes even officially started, the Minglun Hall was already filled with an atmosphere of restlessness.

Hai Xun, standing at the door, shook his head repeatedly, thinking to himself that it would have been better not to arrange a speech at all. He looked apologetically at Su Lu, wondering if this fifteen-year-old boy could keep the group of irritable old gentlemen in check.

(End of this chapter)