Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

"Lord Li, are you really going to use these people?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"They used to be Hu Guan's vicious dogs, but now everyone in the county avoids them like the plague. If you take them in, you'll probably get yourself into a lot of trouble."

"A vicious dog without a master will only become a stray, and stray dogs will do anything for food."

"But even stray dogs can bite."

"Then put ropes on them."

Li Ping sat on the wooden chair in the document room, holding a few torn pages that had just been removed from the original book.

Standing before him was Xiao Liu, the constable who had just helped him transport the grain.

Xiao Liu was hunched over, hands tucked into his sleeves, his face full of worry.

Li Ping smiled and laid out the torn pages on the table.

"Xiao Liu, go and fetch Shi Gan and Qian Duo. Tell them I'm inviting them for tea."

Xiao Liu responded and then retreated hesitantly.

After Hu Guan's downfall, the county government underwent a silent purge.

Lin Bing carried Chen Rang's instructions.

Hu Guan's former trusted yamen runners were all marginalized, their salaries were cut, and they were assigned the most arduous tasks.

These people are now like frightened birds in the county government office, living in constant fear that one day they will be falsely accused and thrown into jail.

But in Li Ping's eyes, these desperate stray dogs were actually excellent pawns.

They knew every rat hole in Xiyun County, which street's merchants were easy to bully, and which private roads offered shelter from the soldiers.

Most importantly, they are currently in dire need of both money and food.

A short while later, the door to the document room was pushed open.

Two figures walked in.

Walking in front was Shi Gan, a tall man with broad shoulders like a door panel, but he was looking down, appearing somewhat awkward.

Following behind was Qian Duo, a small, thin man with constantly shifting eyes. He knelt down with a thud as soon as he entered the room.

"This humble servant has plenty of money; I greet Lord Li!"

Seeing this, Shi Gan also knelt down, his knees slamming onto the bluestone slab with a dull thud.

Li Ping looked at the two of them and slowly picked up his teacup.

"Rise, both of you. My office is too small to accommodate your grand ceremony."

Qian Duo stood up with an embarrassed smile, patting the dust off his knees.

"Lord Li, what are your orders for summoning me? I will do anything, even go through fire and water, without hesitation!"

"Forget about climbing mountains of knives, I'm just looking for someone who can do math."

Seeing the large sum of money, Li Ping pushed over a sheet of paper covered in numbers.

"You have a lot of money; you used to help Hu Guan check the amount of smuggled salt."

"Your craftsmanship is quite good. These old, worn-out documents in the document room, dating back nearly three years, are giving me a headache. Could you help me sort them out?"

Qian Duo's face paled instantly when he saw the piece of paper.

That record contained his commission history for handling smuggled salt back then.

"My lord, I was forced by Hu Guan back then. If I didn't comply, he would break my legs!"

Qian Duo knelt down again, his voice trembling with tears.

"stand up"

Li Ping's voice turned colder.

"As I said, I'm asking you to organize the registers."

"As long as this booklet is properly organized, all those past grievances will remain buried forever."

"If you can't figure this out, my official document room's brazier is short of firewood."

Qian Duo shuddered and nodded repeatedly.

"Understood! I will handle everything thoroughly and will not miss a single penny!"

Li Ping turned to look at Shi Gan.

Shi Gan remained silent, standing there like a stone statue.

"Shi Gan, is your mother's illness any better?"

Shi Gan's body stiffened, and he looked up at Li Ping, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"Reporting to you, sir, I feel much better after taking the medicine."

"Is that packet of herbs enough?"

Li Ping asked casually

Shi Gan's eyes were slightly red, and he clasped his hands in a deep fist salute.

"Thank you so much, sir, for saving my life. From now on, my life belongs to you."

The other day, Shi Gan was so anxious because Lin Bingke withheld his military pay that he had no money to buy medicine for his elderly mother. He was so distressed that he kept banging his head against the wall on the street corner.

It was Li Ping who sent Li Da a packet of herbs and three taels of silver.

"What use would I have for your life? I am a scholar; I neither strike nor kill."

Li Ping waved his hand.

"However, I have been feeling uneasy these past few days, as I have a feeling that things are not quite right around the abandoned kiln in the north of the city."

"You're skilled; go and keep an eye on things over there for me, and note the number and time of the Bai family's private soldiers' daily patrols."

"Remember, never get into a conflict with them."

Shi Gan nodded

"Rest assured, sir, I will certainly handle it properly."

Li Ping looked at the two men, then took out two more approval slips from his sleeve and threw them on the table.

"Go to the official granary and find Uncle Zhou. Each of you should take two shi of grain back with you."

"Just say it's an advance on your salaries that I'm giving you."

The two men looked at the slips of paper, their eyes lighting up with joy.

At this critical time of food shortage, two bushels of grain would be enough to feed their family for two months.

"Thank you, sir!"

After the two men left, Li Ping leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples.

"One of these two is timid yet shrewd, making him suitable for investigating the Bai family's tax loopholes."

"A man of few words and immense strength, suitable to be used as eyes and ears."

With the addition of Zhou Bo, the greedy but shrewd man in the official granary, his smallest team was beginning to take shape.

However, that's not enough.

He needs to test these dogs to see if they're obedient.

three days later

As night fell, a solitary lamp was lit in the study.

Qian Duo carried a stack of neatly organized booklets and tiptoed in.

"Sir, the registers for the past three years have been compiled."

"I have discovered that the Bai family's medicinal herb fields in the east of the city produce a difference of 30% between their annual output and the reported tax amount."

Qian Duo handed over a sheet of paper written in extremely neat, tiny characters.

"These 30% of the medicinal herbs were all transported out of the city without being registered. I investigated along the route and it seems they all ended up in the black market in the north of the city."

Li Ping took the paper, glanced at the densely packed numbers on it, and nodded in satisfaction.

"This page is very well made; keep it safe and do not let a third person know about it."

"The petty person understands."

Qian Duo stepped aside

A moment later, Shi Gan also entered, still carrying the chill of the night dew.

"Sir, the investigation is complete."

Shi Gan pulled a rough blueprint from his pocket and laid it flat on the table.

"The Bai family's private soldiers are stationed over at the abandoned kiln, working in three shifts daily, with six men per shift."

"At the turn of midnight, there will be a gap of about 15 minutes where no one is guarding the place."

Li Ping looked at the rough but extremely detailed route map, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

Shi Gan may seem dull-witted, but he is extremely reliable in his work, even understanding the gaps in the handover process so clearly.

"well done"

Li Ping put away the blueprints and looked at Uncle Zhou sitting to the side.

Uncle Zhou also came today, carrying a cloth bag filled with moldy grains mixed with sand and stones.

"Lord Li, I have completed the task you asked me to perform."

Uncle Zhou chuckled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"In that fifty bushels of moldy grain, I mixed thirty percent sand and twenty percent rotten grass roots."

"Today, when Foreman Lin went to inspect the warehouse, he had just opened the bag when he was so overwhelmed by the musty smell that he cursed under his breath. He didn't even bother to look at it and immediately ordered me to move it away."

Li Ping laughed.

"Uncle Zhou, you've worked hard."

"Of the moldy grain that has been transported out, you take ten bushels and send them to the west of the city for those who fled. The rest, convert it into silver, and the three of you can divide it among yourselves."

Upon hearing this, all three showed joy and bowed in unison.

"Thank you for your generous gift, sir!"

Looking at the three people in front of him, Li Ping breathed a slight sigh of relief.

This first step has allowed us to gain a firm foothold.

With the help of these three people, he was not only able to secretly gather incriminating evidence against the Bai family.

They could also control the flow of grain from the official granaries and, incidentally, establish their authority among the fleeing households in the west of the city.

However, what Li Ping didn't expect was that in the dark corner of the county government office, a pair of eyes were watching him intently.

Beside the stable in the backyard of the county government office

A groom, head bowed, was slipping a tiny, secret letter into the crevice of the saddle.

This man was formerly one of Hu Guan's subordinates, but because he was cowardly, he did not participate in those evil deeds, which is why he was allowed to stay in the yamen to feed the horses.

But he also has another identity.

He was an informant for Hu Guan's eldest son, Hu Lie.

The coachman looked around to make sure no one was watching, then led the horse slowly toward the county government gate.

"Old Liu, it's so late, why are you taking the horse out?"

The guard at the gate asked casually

"This horse has lost some of its horseshoes. I'll take it to the blacksmith to have it checked, so as not to delay the adults' departure tomorrow."

The coachman answered with a fawning smile.

The guard waved his hand, signaling him to leave quickly.

The coachman led the horse quickly into the dark street.

Half an hour later, the horse was taken to a dilapidated temple outside the city.

It was handed over to a man dressed as a traveling merchant.

The man took the horse, immediately mounted it, and galloped off towards the direction of the towering mountains.

Deep in the mountains, in a secluded mountain village

The bonfire roared, illuminating the fierce-looking bandits all around.

Hu Lie was sitting on a tiger-skin chair, holding a long sword in his hand, slowly wiping it with a white cloth.

His face was somewhat sinister, and his eyes were filled with the fire of hatred.

"Young Master, news has arrived from the city."

A bandit strode into the hall and handed over the secret letter he had taken from the saddle.

Hu Lie took the secret letter, unfolded it, and looked at it.

The handwriting on the letter was extremely small: Li Ping had secretly gathered Hu Guan's old subordinates, and Shi Gan and Qian Duo were already under his command. He was also secretly investigating the Bai family.

Hu Lie looked at the contents of the letter, and the veins on his forehead throbbed slightly.

He slammed his longsword heavily on the table, making a piercing, sharp sound.

"Li Ping!"

"They killed my father, and now they want to recruit his former subordinates?"

"Do you really think that Xiyun County is up to a mere mortal official like yourself?"

Hu Lie stood up, looking at the group of bandits in the hall, a ruthless glint in his eyes.

"Pass down the order, tell the brothers to get ready."

"When the autumn tax is collected, I'll personally go down the mountain, twist this brat's head off, and offer it as a sacrifice to my father's spirit in heaven!"

The mountain wind howled through the hall, causing the campfire to flicker.

The secret letter gradually turned to ashes in the firelight.