I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

While the Eastern Depot was in chaos, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already rushed to Qidong County in Jinan Prefecture, where Chen Dayong was located.

Upon arriving in Qidong County, the group headed straight for the county government office. Luo Yangxing gave a signal, and his officers, like hungry wolves, rushed forward and banged on the door.

"Who is it!"

The bailiffs opened the gate and saw a group of people barging in without asking any questions.

"Hey, hey! Who are you? Stop right there..."

brush!

A flash of cold light, and a gleaming steel knife was held against his neck.

"Get out of here!"

The constable was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he scrambled to make way for them.

In the back hall of the county government office, Magistrate Zhang Dequan was fast asleep with his concubine in his arms when he was suddenly dragged out of bed.

"How dare you! I am an official appointed by the imperial court, how dare you..."

Before Zhang Dequan could finish speaking, he was slapped so hard that he saw stars.

"Open your dog eyes and look at what this is!"

Zhang Dequan looked closely and saw a bronze token in front of him with the three large characters "Jinyiwei" (Imperial Guard) written on it.

He panicked immediately, thinking to himself, what merit or ability did I, a county magistrate, have to alarm the Imperial Guards in the capital?

"So what if I'm a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard? I am..."

Before the words were finished, the token was flipped over, revealing the six large characters "Commander Luo Yangxing".

"It was Commander Luo... Commander Luo! It was a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding..."

Without a moment's hesitation, Zhang Dequan immediately rolled off the bed and bowed.

Luo Yangxing turned and sat down, then asked, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard is the Emperor's personal army, serving His Majesty. Does Magistrate Zhang not even respect His Majesty?"

Zhang Dequan knelt down abruptly, kowtowing repeatedly: "This humble official dares not! This humble official would never dare!"

"Alright, I have something to ask you!"

Luo Yangxing went straight to the point: "In your Qidong County, there's a man named Chen Dayong who serves in the Dengzhou Garrison. Do you know him?"

"This, this... there are so many soldiers in the garrison, I really can't remember them all..."

Zhang Dequan's eyes darted around as he quickly pondered who this Chen Dayong was.

This has alarmed His Majesty, who has dispatched the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to personally investigate.

Luo Yangxing sneered and asked, "Surely you remember the compensation for the fallen soldiers?"

Cold sweat beaded on Zhang Dequan's forehead, but he forced himself to remain calm and said, "The compensation money was naturally paid on time, without any delay!"

"Is that so?" Luo Yangxing narrowed his eyes. "Bring me the ledgers for the distribution of compensation. I, the commander, want to inspect them myself."

Zhang Dequan's expression changed, and he said with an awkward smile, "These kinds of account books are trivial and complicated. I will have someone organize them before presenting them to Commander Luo for review..."

"Snapped!"

Luo Yangxing slammed his hand on the table and said sternly, "This is my final warning to you. If you dare to make any more excuses, you will be disobeying orders!"

Zhang Dequan's legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground, but he still stubbornly tried to argue: "Commander Luo, you are wise, I had no such intention. It's just that the accounts are complicated and I was afraid of taking up your time..."

"Whoosh—"

Luo Yangxing drew his embroidered spring knife, its cold light flashing as the tip pointed directly at Zhang Dequan's throat.

"Those who disobey the imperial decree will be executed without mercy!"

Zhang De turned ashen-faced and finally broke down: "Spare...spare my life! I'll order someone to fetch the account books right away!"

A moment later, the clerk nervously brought over several account books.

Luo Yangxing casually flipped through the book and saw that it was filled with detailed records of the distribution of pension funds, and there seemed to be nothing unusual on the surface.

"That's all?"

Zhang Dequan nodded repeatedly: "Yes, it's all here..."

Luo Yangxing snorted coldly and suddenly threw the account book at Zhang Dequan's face: "You audacious official! How dare you try to fool me with false accounts!"

Zhang Dequan was terrified and collapsed to the ground: "Your Honor, please investigate! This...this is indeed the county government's account book!"

Luo Yangxing stopped wasting words and waved his hand, saying, "Search! Turn the county government office upside down!"

The Imperial Guards immediately scattered and searched. Before long, they found no account books, but instead carried out a large wooden box from a secret room in the back hall. When they opened it, they found it was full of gleaming silver.

Luo Yangxing demanded sternly, "Magistrate Zhang, what is your annual salary?"

Zhang Dequan was completely ashen-faced, unable to refute any further, and collapsed to the ground, trembling.

"Take them away!" Luo Yangxing ordered. "Take them, along with the county magistrate, the registrar, and the clerks, all back to the capital for questioning!"

The Imperial Guards, like wolves and tigers, bound the group and prepared to take them away. Zhang Dequan, however, still tried to argue: "I implore Commander Luo to investigate thoroughly. This humble official only accepted some benefits; I would never dare to embezzle the pension funds!"

"Whose favors did you receive?"

"That's right, that's right... the gifts from some merchants in the county, you know..."

"I understand your mother!"

Luo Yangxing kicked him to the ground and cursed, "You dare to be stubborn even when you're about to die! If you don't confess, I won't escort you back to the capital; I'll just chop you up right here!"

Zhang Dequan trembled all over, but still gritted his teeth: "Although I have accepted some bribes from merchants, I would never dare to touch the money earned by the soldiers who risked their lives for me!"

"I see you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin! Guards!"

Luo Yangxing narrowed his eyes, then suddenly sneered, "Clean up the main hall of the county government office; I want a joint trial in court!"

As the bailiffs nervously set up the courtroom, the county magistrate, registrar, and other convicts were brought to kneel below. Hearing the news, more and more people gathered, completely surrounding the county government office.

Snapped!

Luo Yangxing sat upright in the main hall and slammed the gavel down heavily.

"Zhang Dequan, I ask you, have the compensation funds for the fallen soldiers been paid out?"

Zhang Dequan pressed his forehead to the ground: "Reporting to Your Excellency, they've all been distributed..."

Snapped!

Luo Yangxing slammed the gavel again and roared, "Do you recognize Chen Dayong, the soldier from Qidong County?"

"Reporting to the Commander, this humble official does not recognize him, and does not know if this person is a relative of the Commander or..."

"Bullshit!"

Luo Yangxing's face turned ashen. He slammed the account book onto the desk: "This account book clearly states in black and white that Chen Dayong received a pension, yet his widow, Chen Wangshi, is in the capital and hasn't seen a single penny! How do you explain this?"

Zhang Dequan, his neck stiff, retorted, "Commander Luo, are you going to convict me based solely on the testimony of a woman? I have served in office since the third year of the Tianqi reign (1623), for over twenty years. If you handle this so hastily, aren't you afraid of inciting public outrage?"

Luo Yangxing, his face dark with rage, roared, "Guards, use torture!"

"Wait!"

Zhang Dequan shouted, then asked, "Commander Luo, did you bring an official travel document?"

Luo Yangxing was stunned when he heard this. He had left in such a hurry that he had forgotten to have His Majesty sign the travel permit.

Zhang Dequan immediately burst into laughter and said, "Commander Luo detained an official of the imperial court without authorization and even tried to torture me. Aren't you afraid that I will report this to the court and have you, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, punished for abusing your power?"

"You, you... how dare you! I'll beat you up today, and see how you report this to the authorities!"

Enraged, Luo Yangxing jumped up, grabbed the bamboo tube of sticks, and prepared to throw it down into the hall.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from outside the hall: "My lord, I'm innocent!"