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

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw that someone among the onlookers was crying out for justice.

Zhang Dequan secretly gloated, saying, "I have served as the magistrate of Qidong County for many years and am deeply loved by the people. Does Commander Luo intend to go against the will of the people?"

After speaking, he looked at the man who had cried out for justice, who was a ragged old man.

"What grievance do you have, sir? This county official will seek justice for you!"

The old man knelt down in front of the hall with a thud: "Your Honor! I am Li San, and my son, Li Gou'er, was also a soldier in Dengzhou Guard. He died in battle in Korea last year, and we still haven't received our pension!"

Zhang Dequan's face changed drastically, and he shouted sternly, "You audacious scoundrel! How dare you falsely accuse an official of the imperial court! Guards, drag him away and give him fifty strokes of the cane!"

The constables looked at each other, none of them daring to move.

Luo Yangxing coldly replied, "Magistrate Zhang, you have quite the airs of an official! I am the commander here; who are you to give orders?"

At this moment, another woman carrying a child squeezed through the crowd: "I am Zhao Wangshi, my husband Zhao Tiezhu also died on the front lines, and our compensation money... has not yet been received. I beg you, Your Honor, to grant me this justice!"

Then came the third, the fourth...

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen people were kneeling in front of the hall, all of them relatives of fallen soldiers, their cries shaking the heavens.

After Luo Yangxing and the others finished speaking, he slowly stood up and walked to Zhang Dequan, whose face was ashen: "Magistrate Zhang, now you know what public outrage means, don't you?"

Zhang Dequan trembled all over, then suddenly pointed at the county magistrate and roared, "County Magistrate Liu, you're in charge of distributing the pension money! Tell me honestly, where did the money go?"

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Liu was so frightened that his legs went weak and he knelt down on the ground.

"I'm innocent! The pension funds from Qidong County... we only kept the account books, I haven't seen any money!"

"You're lying! You clearly pocketed it, didn't you?"

"I...I really don't know..."

Zhang Dequan approached Magistrate Liu, grabbed him by the collar, and said in a deep voice, "I advise you to think carefully before you speak! According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, unless it is treason, your family will not be implicated. If you confess, your wife, children, and elderly parents may live. Otherwise, you know the consequences..."

County Magistrate Liu's face turned ashen, and he finally sighed helplessly, "It...it was me..."

Zhang Dequan quickly turned around and said, "Commander Luo, you heard it all, it was all Magistrate Liu..."

"Shut up!"

Luo Yangxing slammed his gavel and said fiercely, "He's just a minor county magistrate; how can he decide the allocation of funds and grain!"

Zhang Dequan met Luo Yangxing's gaze without flinching and said, "I beg Commander Luo to investigate thoroughly. This humble official truly knows nothing about this matter."

"What a convenient excuse of being completely unaware!"

Luo Yangxing angrily said, "County Magistrate Liu, I ask you, whose official seal is on the official document for issuing the pension?"

County Magistrate Liu collapsed to the ground, his voice trembling as he said, "It's...it's the official seal of the County Magistrate..."

Zhang Dequan hurriedly said, "You, you...you must have stolen my official seal, didn't you?"

At this moment, Magistrate Liu had a long face and didn't know what was going on, so he could only nod haphazardly.

Luo Yangxing's gaze was piercing as he asked in a deep voice, "County Magistrate Liu, since you admit to withholding the compensation money, I ask you, where is the more than 1,500 taels of compensation money due to the more than fifty fallen soldiers of Qidong County?"

County Magistrate Liu trembled all over, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, his eyes constantly glancing at Zhang Dequan beside him.

A cold glint flashed in Zhang Dequan's eyes, and he nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Reporting to Commander Luo, the silver... the silver has all been spent by this humble official..."

Where are the flowers?

Luo Yangxing slammed the gavel again, startling Magistrate Liu.

"Visiting...visiting brothels, drinking and eating, and...gambling..."

County Magistrate Liu stammered, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

Upon hearing this, the onlookers outside the hall erupted in uproar. Someone shouted, "You corrupt official! The silver earned by the soldiers' lives has been squandered by you on drinking, gambling, and whoring!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhang Dequan stepped forward, pointed at Magistrate Liu, and angrily rebuked him: "I entrusted you with the important matter of money and provisions because I thought you were usually reliable in handling affairs. I never expected you to be so greedy, even daring to embezzle the soldiers' hard-earned wages!"

He then turned to Luo Yangxing, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Commander Luo, these corrupt officials are truly unforgivable!"

Luo Yangxing glanced coldly at Zhang Dequan, offering no reply, but continued to press, "Fifteen hundred taels of silver, all spent in just six months? Magistrate Liu, I advise you to think carefully before you speak!"

County Magistrate Liu's face was ashen, his hands gripping the hem of his robe tightly, his knuckles turning white.

A glint of ruthlessness flashed in Zhang Dequan's eyes as he said, "If I were you, what face would I have to live in this world?"

Magistrate Liu trembled, then suddenly burst into tears, crying out, "I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"

Zhang Dequan feigned heartache: "If only you had known this would happen! Magistrate Liu, for the sake of our past camaraderie, I advise you to end it all yourself, to avoid further physical suffering!"

Upon hearing this, Luo Yangxing flew into a rage: "Magistrate Zhang! I am here to hear this case; when did it become your place to give orders?"

Just then, Magistrate Liu suddenly sprang up and rammed his head into a vermilion pillar on the side of the hall!

Stop him!

Luo Yangxing shouted, but it was too late.

With a muffled thud, blood spurted from Magistrate Liu's forehead, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

A captain stepped forward, checked his breathing, and frowned, saying, "Commander, this man is dead!"

Outside the hall, the crowd erupted in uproar. Some gasped, some sighed, and the families of the fallen soldiers wept uncontrollably.

Zhang Dequan sighed deeply, turned to Luo Yangxing, and bowed deeply: "Commander Luo, I failed in my duty of supervision, which led my subordinates to commit such a heinous act. I implore you to punish me!"

Luo Yangxing stared at Zhang Dequan for a long time, his teeth almost breaking, but he was helpless.

Now all the responsibility has been pushed onto a county magistrate, and there's no way to verify it. He says he lost money gambling, so how can we investigate?

Zhang Dequan added, "As for the silver embezzled by Magistrate Liu, this county will raise the funds separately. No matter what, it must be distributed to the bereaved family. I wonder if this will be enough for Commander Luo to return to the capital and report back?"

Luo Yangxing stood up, strode over to Zhang Dequan, and lowered his voice, saying, "You think you can get away with this by having no one to testify? When the Embroidered Uniform Guard wants to investigate a case, not even the Emperor himself can stop it!"

"Haha, hahaha..."

Zhang Dequan suddenly threw his head back and laughed, his laughter carrying a hint of madness.

He straightened his clothes and said meaningfully, "Commander Luo, you've been in officialdom for a long time. Don't you know that although the county magistrate is the deputy, their official ranks are only half a rank apart? What merit or ability do I have to make County Magistrate Liu willingly take all the blame?"

He leaned closer and lowered his voice, saying, "We're all officials in the same court, we'll see each other all the time. Now that things have come to this, I hope Commander Luo will know when to stop and not ruin the harmony."