Miss and farmhand

Shen Jingzong didn't believe it was as simple as a governor rushing to pay New Year's respects to his junior brother who was out of office.

The governor is an official dispatched from the capital. There must be some important matter that the higher-ups know about, which is why they would specifically send the governor to take a look and inquire.

Huang Xingtong introduced himself as the governor, not bothering to conceal his official title, which meant he couldn't hide it anyway. He would have to reveal his identity sooner or later, so his visit could only be on official business.

If they're coming, fine. The fact that they didn't seek out the county magistrate means they don't trust him. Going to Huang Xingtong is even worse. What grudge does Huang Xingtong have against him? I'm sure he has a bunch of rumors and dirt on Huang Xingtong to report.

He underestimated Huang Xingtong. For so many years, he had been hiding in the countryside and had no intention of entering officialdom. He thought Huang had really given up on the idea of ​​taking office. He didn't expect that Huang was just patient and well hidden, and that Huang would trick him today.

As the village drinking party was drawing to a close, Shen Jingzong again took the initiative to approach Zhao Yuze, this time with prepared words, inviting him to proceed to the government office. For county magistrates like them, the governor held absolute authority, the superior of the superior. As a county magistrate, he naturally had to report on his duties to his superior annually, receive his instructions, and fully cooperate with whatever purpose his superior had in coming or what personnel he needed to deploy.

"Today I only see the governor alone. I heard he's been staying at Zhi Rong's house these days? I'm afraid the governor brought too many people, which might disturb Zhi Rong. After all, Zhi Rong doesn't hold an official position now, so it's not appropriate for him to be bothered. Please come with me, governor."

Zhao Yuze glanced at Huang Xingtong, his eyes clearly conveying some meaning, and Shen Jingzong became increasingly flustered as he couldn't understand what he was seeing.

"No need, I didn't bring any help. I came alone, just to visit some old friends on the way during the New Year."

If Shen Jingzong believed it, then something was amiss.

But Zhao Yuze would rather tell such a clumsy lie to appease him than let him do this favor.

This is a big problem.

An investigation is necessary. Since Zhao Yuze was being evasive, he had no choice but to send people to investigate his motives himself. It couldn't possibly be something as trivial as Xiaoshidang that would reach the highest levels of society.

After Zhao Yuze left, Huang Xingyu asked, "Is it possible that someone here deliberately leaked the information, embellishing it and reporting it to the emperor, which attracted the governor's attention?"

Shen Jingzong knew he was referring to Huang Xingtong. But that was impossible. It would take time for Huang Xingtong to send a letter back and forth, and it would also take time for the messenger to arrive. By any calculation, the time he sent the letter was before Xiaoshidang. What news could have been sent out at that time that would have attracted the governor to come in person?

He felt that Huang Xingyu was dissatisfied and deliberately smeared his younger brother.

Actually, Huang Xingyu was right this time, at least half and half.

The letter Huang Xingtong sent out was an earlier one, written at Huang Chu's suggestion, investigating coastal defense issues. Moreover, it wasn't delivered directly to Zhao Yuze at the time, since the two hadn't been in contact for many years, and Huang Xingtong wouldn't think of him first if he needed something.

He initially sent the letter to someone in the capital, but fearing local troubles, he leaked it beforehand. It was later proven that Ji Zheng had connections with various local government offices. The situation in the capital was slightly better; they were unaware that the maritime unrest in Jiangnan had gradually escalated to such a massive and uncontrollable extent.

But the irony is that, over the years, the land has been divided into fragmented regions with clear hierarchical levels of provinces, prefectures, and counties, and information and personnel do not circulate among them; but the sea is interconnected, with no clear boundaries. Pirates can go to Jiangnan today and to eastern Fujian tomorrow, or even north.

When Huang Xingtong's letter arrived in the capital, it was during a period of turmoil caused by Japanese pirates in Jiaozhou, Liaodong.

The imperial court was still in a state of urgency and anger over the turmoil in the Bohai and Yellow Seas when someone from the south suddenly came to inquire: "I'm just asking, I don't mean anything by it, but don't you think the coastal defenses in Jiangnan have been a bit lax lately?"

Those gentlemen who received the letter were immediately on high alert. They couldn't even wait to reply to Huang Xingtong to ask for more details. They turned a small matter into a big one. You asked if the coastal defense had been relaxed, and I directly spread the information that the coastal defense had been bribed during the morning court session.

What's even more coincidental is that although these people were all Huang Xingtong's friends, they worked in different government departments and rarely interacted due to their busy official duties. They hadn't even informed each other beforehand. It wasn't until the morning court session that Huang Xingtong, who had intended to use this exclusive scoop to bolster his resume, was surprised to find that someone else had stolen it!

This matter was won by a fellow student from Huang Xingtong's mentor's faction. This person was a Hanlin Compiler like Huang Xingtong back then, and is now the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Just because this person won the jackpot doesn't mean the others can't have a share. Even those with inside information, who might only be providing corroborating evidence, want to get involved, leading to a chain reaction of problems without any prior consultation.

One courtier said that this could be considered an isolated case, but since several people were saying the same thing, it should be investigated no matter what.

The matter eventually fell to Zhao Yuze after going through many twists and turns.

Zhao Yuze himself was from Shandong, a master of the Six Arts of Confucius, specializing in horsemanship and archery. A burly man from Shandong, he was already furious that the Japanese pirates in Liaodong had ravaged his own family. If he weren't just a civil official, he might have considered abandoning his pen for the sword. Now that he had this opportunity, and hearing that the Japanese pirates in Liaodong and Jiangnan were from the same group, he rushed over, ready to make his mark.

Who would have thought that it was Huang Chu's foresight that caused this disaster? The Japanese pirates in Jiangnan haven't even arrived yet!

It wasn't that they hadn't found anything else. Zhao Yuze, with his martial spirit and decisive nature, first went to the government office, then directly inspected the coastal defenses. His men, who had come with him, were all working overtime during the two days of the Lunar New Year, checking people and accounts at the garrison. They checked their own people before any foreign enemies arrived. They firmly refused to believe the information was wrong; a thorough investigation was bound to uncover something!

If Shen Jingzong had paid even a little attention to coastal defense, he wouldn't have failed to notice that there hadn't been any news from the coastal defense garrisons this year. In his mind, the coastal defense under his jurisdiction was just a bunch of sycophants; only those who could make money for him were considered his own people. The imperial coastal defense couldn't bring him any benefits, and even if he bribed them, they would be of no use. They were just a bunch of parasites who ate whatever they could get their hands on.

Even now, with Zhao Yuze himself showing up, Shen Jingzong, knowing there's something wrong, doesn't immediately check his own coastal defense posts; it's purely out of habit. He sends people out to gather information, but their inquiries don't even touch the coastal defenses; instead, they focus on the docks and Xiaoshidang. He's only concerned with checking how clean he handled the Xiaoshidang case and the Zhou family's files, worried that his financial dealings will be exposed, his mind filled with thoughts of his ill-gotten gains.

Even the fact that Zhao Yuze was staying at Huang Xingtong's house could only be attributed to Huang Xingtong reporting him to the authorities.

In fact, from beginning to end, he noticed that Huang Xingtong's sudden involvement in Shanghai's actions was unusual, but he never seriously thought about why.

He completely failed to grasp the crux of the matter: that Huang Chu was the instigator.

This is the worst kind of corrupt official.

Zhao Yuze was not a corrupt official; he was a capable and clear-headed one.

He asked Huang Xingtong about the letter at Huang's house, asking why he was concerned about coastal defense. Huang Xingtong didn't lie, but subconsciously concealed Huang Chu's involvement in his words.

The attempt to cover it up was futile. Zhao Yuze immediately realized that the key to the problem lay with Huang Chu.