Duke of Zhenguan

Audit?

The governor of Luozhou glanced at Cheng Yaojin, then subconsciously looked at the group of armored men behind Cheng Yaojin.

Apart from one young man who was also wearing armor and had a somewhat refined air, the others were all burly and strong. Who would be responsible for checking the accounts?

Before the governor of Luozhou could react, Cheng Yaojin continued:

"By the way, before checking the accounts, I have one more thing to ask of Governor Wang!"

The governor of Luozhou, being a high-ranking official in charge of a region, quickly regained his composure after a brief moment of distraction and bowed, saying:

"Please give your orders, General!"

"When we were suppressing these bandits, our men captured some prisoners. After interrogating them, we found out that some people in Luozhou were actually colluding with these robbers!"

This is the list. I would like to ask Governor Wang to help me invite these people over so I can have some questions for them!

"Don't worry, Governor Wang, I won't wrong an innocent person. But if anyone is indeed colluding with the thieves, I will bring them back to Chang'an to report!" Cheng Yaojin said in a deep voice, then took out a piece of paper stained with dark red blood from his sleeve, opened it, and handed it to the governor of Luozhou.

The governor of Luozhou looked at the names written on the dark red paper in front of him, one after another, with blood or cinnabar written on them, and his face turned ugly. He hesitated as he reached out his hand.

"If Governor Wang finds it inconvenient, I can have my men invite him, as long as Governor Wang doesn't impeach me for overstepping my bounds!" Cheng Yaojin said calmly when he saw the Governor of Luozhou hesitate.

The governor of Luozhou hesitated for a moment, but ultimately accepted the paper:

"I'll have someone go and invite them!"

Cheng Yaojin nodded and said with a smile:

"Thank you for your trouble, Governor Wang!"

"This is not the place to talk. Please, General, move to the Governor's residence!" the Governor of Luozhou said softly.

"please!"

The governor of Luozhou has personally led a group to find the people on the list, while the deputy governor of Luozhou is leading a group to clear the way.

Five hundred cavalrymen marched into Luoyang in a grand procession, causing chaos and panic wherever they went. Pedestrians scrambled to the sides to avoid them, fearing they might suffer a terrible misfortune.

Lin Chuan rode his horse behind Cheng Yaojin and asked in a low voice:

"Uncle Cheng, isn't the army forbidden from entering the city without orders?"

"Ha, they'd have to dare come to me for it!"

Cheng Yaojin said with a cold laugh, then whispered to Lin Chuan:

"Boy, don't be fooled by the imposing title of Right Martial Guard General. That's only in Chang'an!"

This is Luoyang. Whether my words carry weight as the Grand General of the Right Martial Guard are still uncertain. And what if someone doesn't cooperate if I don't bring these men with me?"

Lin Chuan silently bowed to Cheng Yaojin, and only then did he understand some things.

Luoyang was originally an important city in the Central Plains. When Emperor Yang of Sui built the Grand Canal, he built Tokyo in Luoyang County, where the Tongji Canal and Yongji Canal intersected, making Luoyang the heart of the Grand Canal.

This time, Li Shimin and a group of powerful officials transported grain from Hedong, Shandong, Jiangnan and other places into Guanzhong, and Luoyang was a necessary stop on their way.

Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Changsun Wuji and others were all first-rate talents in governing the country. Lin Chuan only took the lead, and they formulated some measures to encourage merchants to transport grain into Guanzhong.

The most important measures were to reduce or exempt commercial taxes and to strictly order all prefectures and counties to strengthen patrols of trade routes to ensure their smooth operation.

The grain robbery that occurred in Xiashi County was not only because it targeted Empress Zhangsun's subordinates, but also because their actions were a slap in the face to the imperial court.

Without giving the Luozhou officials any time to react, Cheng Yaojin arrived in Xiashi County and wiped out two thousand bandits like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, with more than a thousand people being killed.

When Cheng Yaojin and the cavalry captain each led four hundred cavalrymen into the valley, the two thousand bandits surrendered their weapons with almost no resistance. However, Cheng Yaojin waited until half of the bandits had been killed before ordering the capture of the prisoners.

This is the attitude of the imperial court.

Now, it depends on the attitude of Los Angeles officials.

Li Shimin had only been on the throne for a little over six months and had barely managed to straighten out the court, but the local officials were all appointed during the Wude era.

Judging from the attitude of the governor of Luozhou and the officials in Luozhou, the officials in Luozhou were quite sensible.

"I really don't have the talent for being an official!"

Lin Chuan chuckled to himself as he thought to himself, "I only just realized all this."

The governor's mansion was very large; the front courtyard alone was enough to accommodate the five hundred cavalrymen brought by Cheng Yaojin.

He ordered the cavalry captain to lead the cavalry to garrison in the front courtyard, while Cheng Yaojin, accompanied only by Lin Chuan and fifty personal guards, followed the Prefect of Luozhou to the main hall of the governor's mansion.

Fifty guards stood watch outside the gate. Cheng Yaojin sat in the main seat with his horse in a grand manner, Lin Chuan sat to Cheng Yaojin's left, and then came a group of officials including the Prefect of Luozhou, the Chief Secretary, the Military Advisor, and the Six Military Advisors.

Since Wang Ling, the governor of Luozhou, was not present, Yu Shizhi, the deputy governor of Luozhou, took on the task of entertaining him.

After taking his seat, he had hot tea and snacks served, and respectfully addressed Cheng Yaojin:

"This is local camellia, General, please try some!"

"Excellent tea!"

Cheng Yaojin took a sip of the tea and praised it loudly in perfect unison.

As a result, the atmosphere in the main hall gradually became more lively.

The weather in April was getting hotter and hotter. Even though it was already evening, he was still sweating profusely despite wearing a suit of armor. But with so many people around, no matter how uncomfortable he was, Lin Chuan obediently endured it.

After chatting idly for half an hour, Yu Shizhi, the Prefect of Luozhou, glanced at the sky outside, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Cheng Yaojin, and tentatively asked:

"General, you and your soldiers must be tired from your long journey. Shall I have someone prepare some light wine for you and your men to help them relax?"

Cheng Yaojin was completely unlike his aloof self outside the city; he smiled and asked:

"Wouldn't that be too much trouble?"

"No trouble at all, how could it be troublesome? I'll have someone prepare it right away!" Yu Shizhi said with a smile.

In less than an hour, Yu Shizhi personally led people to carry buckets of steaming rice, mutton, and various vegetables to the front courtyard of the governor's mansion.

The five hundred cavalrymen took turns eating in the open space in the front yard, behaving in an orderly manner. Cheng Yaojin and Lin Chuan were naturally treated specially, with not only fine wine and meat, but also two young ladies serving them.

After eating dry rations for the past two days, Lin Chuan finally had a hot meal. He didn't care about being polite and buried his head in his food.

Seeing that Lin Chuan was eating rather unrefinedly, Cheng Yaojin picked up a wine jar and poured Lin Chuan a bowl of wine, saying in an annoyed tone:

"No one's going to take it from you. If you wolf it down like this, won't Prefect Yu and Chief Secretary Yuan think we've been neglecting your food?"

"General, as the saying goes, a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home. Lin, the military advisor, is at the age where he is growing, so it is only natural that he has a good appetite!" Yu Shizhi said with a smile.

"Sigh, if I hadn't thought of bringing him here to broaden his horizons, I wouldn't have brought him out to embarrass myself!" Cheng Yaojin sighed dramatically.

Lin Chuan, unaware of why Cheng Yaojin had suddenly become addicted to acting, took a big gulp of sweet rice wine from his wine glass and grinned foolishly.

The meal lasted for more than an hour. It wasn't until nightfall that the Prefect of Luozhou led his entourage into the main hall, bowing respectfully to Cheng Yaojin.

"General, everyone on the list has been brought back!"

"Would you be so kind as to take me to see him, Governor Wang?" Cheng Yaojin asked with a smile.

"General, please!" Governor Wang nodded.

Lin Chuan and Cheng Yaojin followed the governor of Luozhou to the front courtyard, where they saw the governor's yamen runners escorting three ashen-faced men to the gate.

Several other constables were carrying boxes, from which a dark red liquid was seeping out, dripping down.