In the future, Earth becomes a relic of the mythical era.

Chapter 199 A shocking case
"Who are you? Why are you thanking me?"

Xie Lingxin sized up the person in front of her.

He was around thirty years old, with a robust physique and vigorous energy, clearly indicating that his martial arts skills were not weak.

The man announced in a loud voice, "I am Zhang Zhihong, the magistrate of Mengjin County!"

"The county magistrate of Mengjin?"

Xie Lingxin looked somewhat surprised: "What are you doing here?"

"Young master, you just killed the tyrannical official, saving the lives of hundreds of people in Qiao Family Village, including my own worthless life. I have come here to express my gratitude!"

Zhang Zhihong repeated it again.

Xie Lingxin's eyes flickered slightly: "What did you say? I don't understand."

Zhang Zhihong slightly opened his mouth.

In truth, he wasn't entirely certain that the giant tiger was related to the boy.

He had only just realized that, apart from those killed by the giant tiger, a small number of people had died inexplicably.

Judging from the marks, it seems somewhat like the legendary sorcerer, the Yin spirit who killed people.

This boy was the only unusual person he found in the village.

He gritted his teeth: "Young master, the man on horseback you just killed was Wang Yanqing, the transport officer of the Shence Army!"

Xie Lingxin frowned: "The Shence Army? The eunuch faction?"

Zhang Zhihong's eyes showed surprise.

The Shence Army was the Northern Imperial Guard.

What is the Northern Secretariat?

All the officials in the imperial court were sitting in their offices south of the capital.

Therefore, the various departments of the imperial court were called the Southern Office.

North of the imperial city lies the Inner Palace, where the eunuchs resided; it was called the Northern Office.

It is no secret that the Shence Army is under the control of the Northern Army.

However, there are probably very few who dare to openly refer to themselves as "eunuchs".

Even among the high-ranking officials in the imperial court, few dared to utter these two words in public.

Based on those two words alone, he was certain that the young man in front of him was definitely not an ordinary "commoner".

This further confirms that the giant tiger from before was ordered by the young man before him.

Although he was shocked that the boy could command such a powerful monster, he had no intention of investigating.

Zhang Zhihong said, "That's right, young master. Behind this man is Tian Quancao, the commander of the Shence Army."

"Young master, if you kill this man, Tian Quancao will certainly not let it go!"

Tian Quancao?
Xie Lingxin looked at Suzhen.

Su Zhen whispered, "This servant has not heard of it. However, the Du Yuhou is in charge of martial law and supervising the discipline of the Shence Army. He cannot be entrusted with this position without a trusted confidant. This person should still have Wang Shoucheng's trust."

Su Zhen had served Li Rui for many years, and no matter what, Li Rui was still a prince.

His bloodline destined him to be surrounded by people who were not simple.

Over time, Su Zhen became intimately familiar with everyone who had ever been close to Li Rui, and she was also well-versed in the ranks and positions of officials in the court, as well as the various factions within it. All of this was done in an effort to protect Li Rui.

Despite her insignificant strength, she accomplished far more than her station would suggest.

In contrast, "Li Rui" is completely unknown.

Only then did Zhang Zhihong notice the seemingly frail girl beside Xie Lingxin, and surprise flashed in his eyes.

How could a maidservant know so much about the Shence Army?

What is the origin of this young man?
Wang Shoucheng's man?
Xie Lingxin's eyes flickered.

It seems I've unwittingly gotten involved in some big event again.

"Get up now."

Zhang Zhihong stood up as instructed and said, "This young lady is quite insightful. She is right. Tian Quancao is indeed Wang Shoucheng's adopted son!"

Xie Lingxin glanced back at the house and walked towards the courtyard: "Come with me."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhihong quickly followed behind.

Then he was startled again.

Why do I listen to him so much?

Xie Lingxin came outside the courtyard and casually sat down on a rock.

Before he could make a move, Su Zhen would quickly and deftly brush the dust off the stone with her sleeve.

Zhang Zhihong watched this scene, lost in thought.

Xie Ling thought to herself, "What exactly happened? Tell me the whole story from beginning to end."

"What do those people want? And why are you here?"

The thought had barely formed in Zhang Zhihong's mind when he heard the question. Without thinking, he respectfully replied, "Young master, I would never dare to deceive my benefactor."

"I am indeed the magistrate of Mengjin County. I was originally in charge of checking passing ships in Mengjin. A few days ago, I stopped a private boat."

"Because they discovered he was smuggling salt, they seized the boat, but who knew..."

It turns out that Zhang Zhihong has messed with someone he can't afford to offend.

The ship he seized belonged to the Zheng family, a local powerful clan.

Smuggling salt was actually a common occurrence on the Grand Canal.
There are too many people who can embezzle funds during the canal transport process.

Waste grains, salt, and iron are all highly profitable!
Powerful families and even aristocratic clans would probably find it hard not to covet this lucrative opportunity.

Everyone knew the truth, so they turned a blind eye, shared the good fortune, and everything went smoothly.

Zhang Zhihong, however, was a stickler for the rules. Even though he knew it was a private ship belonging to a powerful figure, he still insisted on detaining it.

Not only did they seize the boat, but they also arrested all the people and reported it to the Mengjin government office.

The magistrate of Mengjin County was no pushover either, daring to offend the Zheng family and wanting to punish them according to the law. A court hearing was naturally inevitable.

Zhang Zhihong thought the matter was over, but before Zheng could be brought to justice, he was assassinated by Zheng.

Only then did he realize that the person he had detained was the young master of the Zheng family.

Given the power of the opposing side, as long as there are no witnesses or physical evidence in court, no one can convict them. Naturally, they will destroy the evidence and kill to silence witnesses.

Although Zhang Zhihong was only a county lieutenant, he was quite capable and was a martial arts master of the third level.

Having escaped an assassination attempt, he has been living in hiding ever since.

He was also a man of principle, and now that things had come to this, he was willing to go all the way.

Let's just get rid of that scoundrel Zheng!
But during his assassination attempt on the young master of the Zheng family, he inadvertently discovered a shocking case!
"Young master, are you aware of the great flood that struck Bianzhou two years ago?"

Zhang Zhihong paused slightly.

Xie Lingxin habitually looked at Su Zhen.

Su Zhen shook her head; she had never heard of it.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhihong became even more certain of his guess.

He then said, "The imperial court is unaware of this matter."

"The year before last, the Chenliu dike in Bianzhou breached, hundreds of boats capsized, nearly 10,000 canal workers drowned, and the canal transport was interrupted."

"The floodwaters inundated Bianzhou city, reaching almost to the lintels, and nearly 100,000 people were affected along the riverbanks and within the city!"

"In addition to the collapsed houses that killed people, the famine and epidemic that followed the disaster, at least hundreds of thousands of people have suffered!"

"Afterwards, someone discovered in the breach that the wooden stakes used to build the dike, which should have been made of cedar, had been replaced with locust wood, with a price difference of at least 300 coins per stake! Moreover, they were all rotten wood, which would collapse during a flood!"

"Nearly 80 zhang of the dike had almost all the stone materials used. I later found out that some powerful people and officials had privately taken the stone slabs to sell or take them home to build houses!"

"A large number of holes and rat carcasses were also found in the stone embankment. It is inferred that the embankment had been hollowed out by rats and turned into rat burrows long before that. Coupled with the shoddy workmanship in various aspects, it naturally collapsed when the flood came!"

"After this disaster, the rivers around Bianzhou were littered with corpses, and people on the banks resorted to cannibalism!"

Zhang Zhihong said, his eyes bloodshot, "This isn't over yet!"

"After this disaster, the canal transport officials only reported it as a common flood, concealing the cause and the number of dead and injured, and demanded disaster relief funds and grain from the imperial court."

"The money and grain distributed by the imperial court for disaster relief fell into the hands of those people, and by the time it was sent out again, it had all turned into moldy, stale millet mixed with other grains!"

"They also forcibly conscripted disaster-stricken children into slavery! And sold them to high-ranking officials and nobles!"

"The powerful and wealthy families in Bianzhou are reselling disaster relief grain at exorbitant prices to the affected people,"

“Those high-ranking officials and nobles even used relief grain to exchange for the famous courtesans they kept. This became a trend in the area, with prices clearly marked. One boatload of relief grain could be exchanged for three courtesans!”

"boom!"

Zhang Zhihong slammed his fist into the ground, leaving a deep dent, his eyes blazing with fury: "A ship full of relief grain! How many lives could that save? In their eyes, it's nothing more than three prostitutes for their amusement!"

Su Zhen was so frightened that she covered her mouth with her hands, her whole body trembled, and her eyes were filled with tears.

I can hardly believe that such a tragedy could happen in the world, or that there are such audacious and unscrupulous officials!
Xie Lingxin said in a deep voice, "Is everything you said true?"

Zhang Zhihong said in a deep voice, "These were all discovered personally over several days, traveling thousands of miles to investigate them!"

"Now, corpses litter the Bian River and its banks."

"The Bian River was littered with the corpses of children, all of them wearing signs of indenture around their necks!"

"Those were all child slaves forcibly conscripted by the Shence Army in collusion with powerful local lords!"

"As long as the imperial court sends people to investigate, the truth will naturally come to light!"

As he spoke, he knelt down with a thud, his knees hitting the ground with a loud thud, and said with red eyes, "Zhang Zhihong dares to be so bold as to ask the young master to make the decision!"

"Give the people of Bianzhou justice! Give the souls of those who perished in Bianzhou justice! Find a way for the survivors to live!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

As he spoke, he kowtowed heavily three times in a row, his voice deep and resonant.

In the blink of an eye, blood spurted from his forehead.

Xie Lingxin's hands were hidden under her sleeves, her knuckles already white from clenching them.

On the surface, however, he remained nonchalant: "I'm just an ordinary citizen, why are you asking me for anything?"

"Zhihong doesn't know the young master's identity, but the young master's demeanor and bearing are extraordinary!"

"Even the young lady beside me is not someone an ordinary family could have!"

"I dare to guess that the young master is of noble birth, possesses a compassionate heart, and also has ruthless methods!"

"I'm at my wit's end; I don't know how many more days this worthless life I have left."

“It doesn’t matter if one person dies, but what have the people of Bianzhou done wrong? And what have the tens of thousands of laborers and porters from Qiaojia Village and Mengjin done wrong?”

Xie Lingxin closed her eyes and remained silent.

Zhang Zhihong was so anxious that he didn't know what to do.

At this moment, Su Zhen couldn't help but ask, "You mean Qiao Family Village, the porters of Mengjin? What does that have to do with this matter?"

"Also, those people I saw earlier didn't seem to be there to conscript laborers; they seemed to be there specifically to kill people."

"Young lady, you guessed correctly!"

Zhang Zhihong said, "I cannot find out the specific whereabouts of the disaster relief funds and grains issued by the imperial court."

"But someone discovered that 200,000 shi of grain among them had been transported to Hebei by the Shence Army under the guise of grain merchants and entrusted to the Grand Canal Gang."

"To prevent this matter from being exposed, the Shence Army ambushed and killed the Cao Gang members on their way back. The young leader of the Cao Gang is now missing and his fate is unknown!"

"In addition, all the boatmen, porters, and canal workers involved, whether directly or indirectly involved, were also among those to be silenced!"

"what!"

Su Zhen asked incredulously, "You mean, they're going to kill all of them? Even the innocent villagers, women, and children of Qiao Family Village won't be spared?"

Zhang Zhihong said, "This is the style of the Shence Army: better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free!"

(End of this chapter)