Duke of Zhenguan

Seeing the magistrate of Yanshi County collapsed on the ground, drenched in sweat, Lin Chuan put down the account book in his hand and bowed to the governor of Luozhou:

"Prefect Wang, why don't you have someone come and recalculate it?"

The governor of Luozhou's expression was quite interesting, turning from green to white in an instant.

If it weren't for the fact that the ashen-faced magistrate of Yanshi County on the ground was once his protégé, he would have suspected that Cheng Yaojin had already used some means to pull the man over.

Otherwise, how can we explain how a teenager could calculate the autumn tax accounts of an entire county in less than a quarter of an hour?

But they really did figure it out!

Looking at the stack of account books Lin Chuan had prepared, and then at the county magistrates under his command, whose eyes were darting around, the Prefect of Luozhou took a deep breath, bowed to Cheng Yaojin, and said:

"General, may I speak with you in private?"

"please!"

Cheng Yaojin smiled and nodded, then followed the governor of Luozhou to the duty room next door. Before leaving, he nodded approvingly at Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan showed no interest in looking through any other account books. He put down his pen, sat down behind his desk, and politely addressed the clerk beside him:

"I'm a little thirsty, would you please fetch me a glass of water?"

"Please wait a moment, my lord!"

The clerk respectfully responded and turned to walk quickly outside.

A moment later, someone brought in a cup of hot tea and bowed, placing it in front of Lin Chuan.

"Please, my lord, have some!"

Lin Chuan took a sip of the tea; it was ginger tea, and the taste was a bit strange.

Just then, a loud "bang" came from next door.

Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, Cheng Yaojin withdrew his foot and calmly said:

"I'm so happy, I couldn't contain myself!"

Seeing the wooden plank kicked away, the governor of Luozhou's face fell, and he awkwardly bowed to Cheng Yaojin.

"I request that the General stay in Luozhou for two days. I will take care of it immediately!"

"That's more like it!"

Cheng Yaojin reached out and patted the governor of Luozhou on the shoulder, saying with a smile.

Returning to the main hall from the hole he had been kicked out of, Cheng Yaojin picked up the account book Lin Chuan had calculated and stuffed it into the arms of the governor of Luozhou, saying:

"Governor Wang, please keep this account book. I'll take the rest with me. I'll stay in Luoyang for two days, and then set off back to Chang'an early the day after tomorrow!"

"Your humble servant understands!" The governor of Luozhou, holding the account book, cupped his hands with a wry smile.

Let's go!

Cheng Yaojin patted Lin Chuan on the shoulder with a smile.

Just as the two reached the door, the magistrate of Yanshi County, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly struggled to his feet, bowed to Lin Chuan, and said:

"Military Advisor Lin was able to spot the discrepancy in the accounts with just a glance. I would have found it hard to believe if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Could Military Advisor Lin please enlighten me?"

"It's a secret technique of our sect, inconvenient!" Lin Chuan shook his head.

The magistrate of Yanshi County was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly, slowly took off his official hat, and then suddenly rammed his head against a pillar.

After a muffled thud, the magistrate of Yanshi County slowly collapsed to the ground, white brain matter mixed with blood slowly flowing out from his shattered skull.

Cheng Yaojin glanced at him, waved to Lin Chuan, and quickly walked outside.

Back at the inn with Cheng Yaojin, Lin Chuan's mind was still filled with the image of the Yanshi magistrate dying by hitting his head against a pillar.

"I saw you weren't having enough fun at Chenlou yesterday, Xiaochuan. Shall we go play some more later?" Cheng Yaojin suddenly asked softly.

"Uncle Cheng..." Lin Chuan said awkwardly.

"What's the big deal? Back then, Father took me to brothels too! You've done a great service today. Don't even mention going to a brothel; I'd even allow you to buy two young ladies!" Cheng Yaojin glanced at Lin Chuan and said speechlessly.

"This is my nephew's job!" Lin Chuan shook his head.

Cheng Yaojin's interference made the bloody scene from before disappear from my mind immediately.

"Back when I was at the Prince of Qin's residence, I witnessed Yan Qiju's abilities firsthand, and I thought he was no ordinary person. But after seeing your skills today, I realize there are always people more capable than you!" Cheng Yaojin sighed softly.

"Uncle Cheng, don't you want to know how your nephew did it?" Lin Chuan asked with a smile.

"You already said it's a secret technique of our sect, why would I ask?" Cheng Yaojin shook his head.

"Actually, it's not some secret technique of the sect. The reason why I could tell that there was something wrong with those accounts at a glance is because all normal accounts have one thing in common, that is, the frequency of appearance of numbers one through nine decreases in that order!"

If something doesn't conform to this rule, it's likely to be problematic!

As for the subsequent accounting, those are just some accounting methods. I'll explain them to Uncle Cheng in detail when there's a chance later!" Lin Chuan explained simply.

"The numbers decrease from one to nine? Shouldn't they all appear about the same number of times? Why is that?" Cheng Yaojin asked subconsciously.

"I don't know why either, but that's just how it is!" Lin Chuan said with a wry smile.

"No exceptions?" Cheng Yaojin asked, still unwilling to give up.

"As far as I know, no!" Lin Chuan nodded.

Cheng Yaojin thought for a moment, then asked with a serious expression:

"Ogawa, do you mean that this method can also be used to check for problems in the Ministry of Revenue's accounts?"

Lin Chuan nodded silently.

Cheng Yaojin's gaze towards Lin Chuan immediately turned serious, and he solemnly said:

"You shouldn't have told me this method. After returning to Chang'an, tell His Majesty about it, and whatever you do, don't tell anyone else!"

Lin Chuan was stunned for a moment, then said with a wry smile:

"Uncle Cheng, is it really that serious?"

"Boy, why do you think I stopped you from continuing your investigation?" Cheng Yaojin asked softly.

Lin Chuan shook his head.

"There is no place in this world that is completely clean, whether it is Luozhou or the Ministry of Revenue. If I really investigate thoroughly, Luozhou may not rebel, but the imperial court's orders will no longer reach the countryside!"

Unless I lead my men to slaughter all those powerful clans!

"But if I were to do that, my entire family would be wiped out!" Cheng Yaojin said softly.

That's true," Lin Chuan nodded and asked with a smile:

"What did Uncle Cheng and Governor Wang discuss?"

"Luozhou shall pay two years' worth of grain tax, and shall not collect an additional grain from the people."

The trade routes and waterways within Luozhou must not be allowed to have any more accidents.

All prominent families involved in this matter must personally submit a petition to the imperial court to apologize!

After Cheng Yaojin finished speaking, he reached out and patted Lin Chuan on the shoulder, then continued:

"Besides eliminating those bandits, according to Lao Fang and Changsun Wuji, they only want them to ensure that the trade routes and shipping lanes in Luozhou don't suffer any more trouble, and then they won't pursue the matter further!"

Compared to ensuring the smooth flow of trade routes and waterways and paying back taxes, the greatest achievement of Cheng Yaojin and Lin Chuan on this trip was that the powerful clans involved personally wrote to the imperial court to apologize.

Li Shimin was undoubtedly a monarch with great talent and ambition, but he had Xianbei blood, which meant he suffered a lot of humiliation when facing powerful families who considered themselves the orthodox Han Chinese.

Now we've managed to turn the tide.

"Will they agree?" Lin Chuan asked softly.

"You won't agree? Kid, if you're in the right, are you just holding that knife to show off?" Cheng Yaojin said coldly.

"I've learned a lot!"