Prime Minister

Chapter 138, Section 137: [The Disappearance of Prefect Xue]

July 4th, outside the west gate of Xinghua County.

County Magistrate Luo Tong, County Assistant Magistrate Yang Mo, Registrar Mo Jingyu, Clerk Yan Lin and other officials gathered under the pavilion. In addition, more than ten respected elders from the county also represented them. Everyone eagerly awaited the arrival of Xue Huai, the Assistant Prefect of the Prefecture, and his entourage.

Luo Tong squinted slightly, his chubby face showing a hint of fatigue.

These days he has barely had a full night's sleep. On the one hand, he is working with his subordinates to fill in the gaps and make the county government's accounts look better so that Xue Huai won't discover any problems as soon as he arrives. On the other hand, with the support of those forces hidden in the shadows, he is stirring up trouble in densely populated areas of the territory, distorting Xue Huai's previous achievements in other regions into a waste of money and a grandiose scheme.

Information traveled very slowly in this era. Xinghua County was far from the Grand Canal and not a transportation hub. The farthest place many people had ever been in their lives was the county town. Most people's knowledge was not as extensive as that of Old Chen, who ran a tea shop in Lizhong Town. After all, the latter often saw passersby and could learn a little about the outside world from them.

"The county magistrate."

Yang Mo approached Luo Tong and whispered, "Everything has been arranged. Now we're just waiting for Lord Xue to arrive."

Luo Tong responded, but couldn't hide his unease as he said, "Do you think Lord Xue might not take the bait and instead attack us directly?"

"probably not."

Yang Mo comforted him, saying, "Judging from what the Liu family and the Salt Transport Office told us, although Lord Xue has dealt with quite a few people along the way, whether in Jiangdu County or Yizhen County, he has always maintained an attitude of 'if the people don't report it, the officials won't investigate.' For example, those dozen or so wealthy families in Yizhen County, haven't they done anything wrong? In the end, each family donated some silver, and Lord Xue turned a blind eye. It seems that as long as no one reports it, Lord Xue won't cause any trouble."

Luo Tong felt a little relieved upon hearing this, but the tension in his heart was still hard to calm down.

Seeing this, Yang Mo glanced at the village elders and said to Luo Tong, "Your Excellency, everyone here knows that Lord Xue is a ruthless man who turns his back on people. They are all willing to work with you. As long as we all work together, no one will be able to enter the county government to file a complaint."

"That's good."

Luo Tong said slowly, "When Lord Xue arrives later, you must not reveal any flaws. You must make sure he agrees to our flood control plan."

Yang Mo replied, "Of course, we have already discussed this with you, so please rest assured, Your Excellency."

Just then, a group of figures appeared on the straight road in the distance. Luo Tong quickly straightened his clothes, coughed lightly, and stepped forward.

The ceremonial guard of the magistrate gradually came into view.

Even with ample preparations and the county government's accounts being nearly flawless, Luo Tong's heart was still racing. After all, having done too many wrong things, he was afraid of being haunted.

Only when the procession approached did Luo Tong compose himself and greet them with a broad smile.

"Your humble servant, Luo Tong, the magistrate of Xinghua County, respectfully welcomes Your Excellency to our county!"

Luo Tong spoke in a loud tone, and the officials and elders behind him bowed respectfully.

However, Xue Huai's voice did not come from the other side.

An official walked through the yamen runners and came to Luo Tong and his group. He first bowed deeply, and then said with a smile, "Magistrate Luo, please excuse the formalities. I am Wang Gui, a clerk in the Yangzhou yamen, and currently the head of the affairs department established by Minister Xue."

Although the case of the Hu family in Qingshan Town was not yet closed, Hu Quan's position as an official was certainly not going to be kept. After discussing the matter with Tan Mingguang through letters, Xue Huai dismissed Hu Quan and promoted Wang Gui instead.

Upon hearing this, the group from Xinghua County looked surprised. Luo Tong looked behind Wang Gui and forced a smile, saying, "Wang, where is the esteemed Prefect?"

He thought Xue Huai wanted to give everyone a hard time, but Wang Gui shook his head apologetically and said, "Magistrate Luo, I don't know where Your Excellency is now."

Luo Tong was stunned, as were everyone behind him.

"This……"

Luo Tong even thought he had misheard, and asked somewhat rudely, "What do you mean by that, Commander Wang?"

"literal meaning."

Wang Gui said frankly, "Before leaving Baoying County, the governor instructed us to come to Xinghua County along the way, as he had business to attend to. We will follow the usual practice of inspecting various counties and gain a comprehensive understanding of Xinghua County. As for what important business the governor has, that is obviously not something we can comment on."

At this moment, Luo Tong felt as if he had punched cotton with all his might. If Xue Huai was not there, what was the point of all the methods that the Liu family and the Salt Transport Bureau had prepared?
All the previous arrangements were aimed at Xue Huai himself. As the highest-ranking official in Xinghua County, he would be held responsible for any problems that arose there. This was the reason why those people in the shadows were so confident.

It would be difficult for them to govern well and benefit the people, and to achieve political harmony and social stability. However, if they are only asked to exacerbate the conflict between the government and the people, and to make the people lose their minds due to grief and anger, that would be their specialty.

Luo Tong was still not giving up. He looked carefully at the group opposite him but did not find any outstanding young men around twenty years old. He only knew about the carriage in the middle of the group, but he did not dare to go forward to check. He could only look at Wang Gui and say, "Wang, when will Your Excellency come to Xinghua County? I have long admired Your Excellency and would very much like to hear your teachings in person."

Wang Gui wanted to laugh inwardly, but said solemnly, "Please forgive me, Magistrate Luo, I really didn't know your specific itinerary."

This wasn't exactly a lie. He and Kong Li accompanied Xue Huai on a tour of Xinghua County, and two days ago they returned along the same route to rejoin the main force. Xue Huai, on the other hand, disappeared into the Jiangbei Plain with Li Shun and Jiang Sheng, and even he didn't know their exact whereabouts.

Wang Gui knew that although he had gained Xue Huai's favor and been promoted to the position of prefectural magistrate, he still had a long way to go before entering Xue Huai's inner circle. Therefore, this was Xue Huai's test for him, and he could not afford to make any mistakes. Luo Tong was frustrated but helpless. Could he, a mere county magistrate, possibly force the officials under his jurisdiction?

At that moment, he could only force a smile and say, "Please, everyone."

Wang Gui nodded and smiled, "Magistrate Luo, please."

The group entered the county town and arrived near the county government office. Luo Tong had already ordered people to prepare a large courtyard to the left of the county government office for the people from the government office to live in.

After settling in briefly, Wang Gui and his group went to the second hall of the county government office to announce Xue Huai's order to Luo Tong. The gist of the order was that, following the precedent set by previous inspections of various places, the Xinghua County government office was to hand over the important account books from the past five years for review by the various clerks of the prefectural government office.

The magistrate and registrar of Xinghua County, along with the clerks, brought out the account books and handed them over to the other party. The handover was completed quickly, and the tense scene that Luo Tong had imagined did not occur. The officials of the prefectural government took the account books and returned directly to the courtyard in the east, even politely declining the welcome banquet proposed by Luo Tong.

After a short while, the hall quickly fell silent.

Yang Mo and Mo Jingyu exchanged bewildered glances, then simultaneously approached Luo Tong. Yang Mo spoke first, asking, "Your Excellency, what's going on here?"

"You ask me, who should I ask?"

Luo Tong replied irritably, he also couldn't understand what Xue Huai was trying to do.

At this moment, Clerk Yan Lin hurriedly approached and whispered, "Your Excellency, I was just responsible for settling those people. After a careful investigation, I confirmed that there was no one in the carriage, and Lord Xue was indeed not there. In addition to him, his two attendants from the capital were also not there."

Luo Tong looked around at everyone, frowned, and asked, "Where do you think Lord Xue is now? Could he be hiding in the city?"

That's possible. The problem is that even if Xinghua County is not as good as Yangzhou Prefecture, it still covers a large area. If Xue Huai intends to hide, how can they search for him without the officials and clerks of the prefecture noticing?
The key question is: why did Xue Huai choose to hide?

Seeing that everyone was speechless, Luo Tong could only wave his hand and say, "Alright, you all serve the people from the government office well, and make sure they don't give you any leverage."

The crowd responded, "We obey your command."

Luo Tong returned to the inner hall and saw Liu Song waiting there as soon as he entered the study.

"The county magistrate."

Liu Song bowed respectfully, his expression equally solemn.

Luo Tong, abandoning his previous politeness, said in a deep voice, "Manager Liu, I really can't understand how, with your respective strengths in Yangzhou, and the assistance of the Salt Transport Office and the Grand Canal Administration, you can't even keep an eye on a single person? How could a living person like Xue Tongzhi disappear without a trace?"

Liu Song knew he was in the wrong, but he had no way to express his grievances.

Xue Huai's journey was not a secret from the beginning. He was under the watchful eyes of the Liu family's hidden forces. From Jiangdu County to Yizhen County, and then north to Gaoyou Prefecture and Baoying County, even though the Liu family's forces dared not get close, they could determine Xue Huai's location from a distance.

The problem is that Xue Huai never deliberately concealed his whereabouts until he entered Baoying County; he only arranged for a carriage to be brought in.

Liu Song then realized that the carriage was not Xue Huai's way of seeking comfort out of exhaustion, but rather a small illusion, since it was impossible to detect the true situation inside the carriage from a distance.

He sighed and said apologetically, "Your Excellency, please calm down. This time, it was indeed my fault for not handling things properly."

"I am now in the same boat as you, and I have no chance to get off, so there is no need to say these words."

Luo Tong sat in the armchair, dejected, and said, "But what should we do now? All our preparations were aimed at Xue Huai. Now that the main character is gone, is there any point in continuing this charade?"

Since Xue Huai is not in Xinghua County, if a large-scale disturbance occurs here, then the county magistrate, Luo Tong, will be responsible, since he cannot shift the blame onto Xue Huai.

Liu Song understood this principle. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Your Excellency, we can only postpone the progress for now. I will find out Xue Huai's whereabouts as soon as possible."

Luo Tong then asked, "What if he never came to Xinghua County from beginning to end?"

Liu Song was speechless for a long time before finally managing to say with difficulty, "If Magistrate Xue really has the ability to foresee the future, then... we will have no choice but to give up."

Luo Tong stared wide-eyed and said, "That's it? What am I supposed to do then?"

He also wanted to take this opportunity to burn all the past losses and then push them all onto Xue Huai.

Liu Song looked at him helplessly and sighed, "What is the county magistrate's opinion?"

Luo Tong was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "No matter what, we must force Xue Tongzhi to show himself!"

(End of this chapter)