He Hanzhi smiled.
"There are many unsolved cases in various parts of Great Ling, and the Government Office cannot solve them all. However, as officials, we should act for the people and for justice. Therefore, you can put yourselves in the shoes of the chief official and consider how to handle these cases."
After all, there are actually many cases like this.
Zhang Rongfang understood.
Great Ling is, after all, an ancient society. Putting aside everything else, the various ferocious beasts and poisonous insects in the Lin Li alone can cause a large number of disappearances.
Given the lack of surveillance systems and internet connectivity, it's understandable that the crime-solving rate is far lower than in modern society.
In such a situation, how should he, as the presiding officer, handle these kinds of cases?
This is the assignment/test question given by the teacher this time.
"Alright, today we'll learn more about common ways to handle an unfamiliar, unexpected case."
He Hanzhi took the opportunity to begin teaching targeted governance methods on how to handle cases.
What surprised Zhang Rongfang was that the most effective of the series of methods he gave was actually paranoia! Simply put, it was to guide people to attribute the cases that happened to them to supernatural things.
Then Hua Qian to build shrines and temples for gods and ghosts.
This successfully shifts people's resentment and fear about the case into a trivial matter that can be resolved with Hua Qian.
It's clear that He Hanzhi is extremely experienced in this area, and he demonstrates his techniques with great expertise.
However, Zhang Rongfang completely disagreed with this type of method.
He has always believed that since he is in a position of power, he should fulfill his responsibilities while wielding the power and convenience of that position.
Such guidance is undoubtedly perfunctory.
However, the fact that He Hanzhi would teach them this method so openly clearly indicates that it is a common practice in the officialdom of Great Ling.
Soon, an hour passed, and the lesson ended.
Zhang Rongfang slowly stood up, bowed to see the teacher off, then tidied up his notes and put them all into his book basket.
"Brother Rong Fang, would you like to go to Joyful Celebration Restaurant for a drink together?" someone invited.
It was Dai Yan, who attended class with me.
This person was tall and slender, with delicate features, and was seventeen years old. Among the six students, he, like Zhang Rongfang, had no powerful family background or connections.
His father was a close friend of the Prefecture Lord Suda Heqi. Because he was involved in a murder case, his whole family died, leaving him the only survivor. He was later taken in and raised by Suda Heqi.
Zhang Rongfang only had his older sister Zhang Rongyu; the rest of his family had disappeared, his parents had died early, and he was also Barbarian Confucian scholar.
Even with his brother-in-law's full support and recommendation in the future, it is unlikely that he will be appointed as a senior official.
So the rest of the people present didn't even bother to be familiar or polite to the two of them.
After all, we'll be from completely different social classes in the future.
Although Zhang Rongfang and Dai Yan are currently attending classes in the same courtyard as them, many years later, when Zhang Rongfang's sister falls out of favor and Dai Yan's parents' affection gradually fades away...
What awaits them is the fate of returning to their original social class.
By then, it would be good enough if the two of them could even keep themselves fed and clothed.
"Let's go, let's have a drink together." Zhang Rongfang didn't refuse.
After the two finished tidying up, they left the courtyard, exited the Commerce Affairs Office, and found a table to sit down in the lobby of the nearby Joyful Celebration Restaurant.
After ordering, Dai Yan sighed.
"After hearing what the teacher said today, I realize that life is truly too tiring."
Being an official is difficult; being a good official is even more difficult.
"Who says otherwise? Alright, Brother Dai, have you made any progress on that matter from last time?" Zhang Rongfang poured Mare Milk Wine for the two of them.
"Yes, I've inquired. Someone in the Zen Heart Literary Society is willing to take on this task, but their asking price is a bit high," Dai Yan replied.
This was the first time he had helped Zhang Rongfang with something since they became acquainted: to find a scholar who understood the Locked Script.
This matter, of course, is not free.
Because Dai Yan was not Mu Chi Family, although she had enough money to eat and wear each month, she couldn't ask Suda Heqi and the steward for extra expenses.
So Dai Yan wanted money, while Zhang Rongfang wanted people to do things for him, and the two hit it off immediately.
In reality, Zhang Rongfang did not make much use of the Golden Wing Tower forces in Wushan Prefecture.
It is only used occasionally in intelligence gathering.
The Heavenly Maiden Tong Zhang instructed him not to get involved in the parts of the Statue statues or the secrets of the Ling Ting, so he only studied the Locked Script to prepare for what was to come.
Golden Wing Tower discovered that very few people knew how to Locked Script, and the most recent one was in an exchange group called Zen Heart Literary Society.
This literary society mainly consists of young people from poor families who are talented.
And Dai Yan happened to be one of them, so he simply asked Dai Yan to come forward and hire her to teach him.
"How much?" Zhang Rongfang asked. Last time, he Scripture Silk in his hands, but because he was illiterate, he couldn't understand the truth and missed the opportunity.
Now, he must prepare in advance.
"One hour a day, three ounces a day!" Dai Yan held up three fingers.
"Sure." Zhang Rongfang didn't even blink; this amount of money really wasn't expensive.
In the eyes of a martial artist like him, who would spend tens or even hundreds of taels of silver each time he bought medicine, this amount of money was well worth it to learn the profound Locked Script.
"Alright, I'll get back to you this afternoon. However, since that person is a woman, I might be worried about teaching her alone. I'd like someone to accompany her. Would you be willing?"
"Sure." Zhang Rongfang nodded; it was only natural.
After the two reached an agreement, Zhang Rongfang gave them a prepared red envelope and sent it over.
Ten taels of silver were included as a referral fee, which was Zhang Rongfang's payment to Dai Yan.
Dai Yan accepted the gift, ate her meal, and then got up to take her leave, hurrying off to the Zen Heart Literary Society to reply.
Zhang Rongfang sat alone at the table, slowly drinking.
Inside the restaurant, the main hall was bustling with activity, and most of the tables were full.
The waiters carrying dishes came and went, and the waiters announcing the names of the dishes sang in a melodious, rhythmic way.
A group of scholars at the central table kept toasting and reciting poems, their eyes filled with tears, reluctant to part, as if it were a farewell banquet.
In the corner, several bodyguards, their faces covered in dust, sat with their hands on their sword hilts, silently eating egg buns and drinking water.
Zhang Rongfang paid the money and got up to leave.
Suddenly, his gaze drifted past the entrance of the restaurant and landed on a person, causing him to pause.
Immediately, he strode out of the restaurant and quietly turned into a nearby alley.
Soon, another person followed them in.
What brings you here?
Zhang Rongfang looked at the gray-robed woman in front of him with surprise.
The woman wore a gray cloak to shield her from the wind and dust, her leather boots were covered in mud, and her hair was dusty and grimy, as if she hadn't washed it in a long time.
As they approached, they could smell a strong stench of sweat. "My lord!" The woman looked at Zhang Rongfang, her face filled with barely suppressed emotion.
"Upon receiving the letter from you, sir, I learned that I had been transferred here, so I immediately arranged everything at home and rushed here."
However, halfway through the journey, the caravan under my command encountered bandits, and my men almost..."
Her face held a look that was hard to describe.
"Moreover, during the escape, the money bag was lost at some point."
Zhang Rongfang was speechless. The woman in front of him was Qing Su, Tanyang's old subordinate.
He never imagined that Qing Su, who majored in the Golden Roc Secret Record, would be made to look so disheveled by the robbers.
"What kind of robber could drive you to this state?" he asked in a deep voice.
"It's Sweeping Mountain Tiger," Qing Su replied quickly.
Sweeping Mountain Tiger were a notorious gang of robbers around Wushan Prefecture.
They were few in number, but each of them was extremely powerful, and because they did not have a fixed stronghold, it was difficult for the Government Office to hunt them down.
"Now that we're here, let's settle down first." Zhang Rongfang felt that there weren't any capable people to use in Wushan Prefecture.
Qing Su arrived just in time. Although her strength was a bit weak, only at the Fourth Grade, her movement technique was comparable to that of an ordinary Sixth Grade expert.
Such footwork will not be a hindrance in most situations.
"Yes!" Qing Su's eyes lit up immediately, and she straightened up.
After taking Qing Su back to her own courtyard, Zhang Rongfang gave her some money and told her to go out and take care of herself.
Then, using the Xiao Hong Bird, he notified his subordinates in Wushan Prefecture.
Having been here for so long, he has probably learned what he needed to know.
Wushan Prefecture has no major Daoist or Buddhist forces; the main powers are all occupied by the Three Great Families and their vassals at various levels.
Yue, Huang, Shangguan.
All other gangs and organizations are subservient to the power controlled by these three.
Now, it's about time to meet the leader of the assassins from Wushan Prefecture.
Zhang Rongfang didn't understand what Heavenly Maiden Tong Zhang meant by giving him two hundred assassins. Could it be that there were people and forces in Wushan Prefecture that even the experts of the Golden Wing Tower couldn't handle?
However, since you've given it to me, I'll accept it; it might come in handy later.
The Xiao Hong Bird quickly flew away with the bamboo tube, disappearing into the distance of the sky.
Before long, Qing Su returned to the courtyard. She had changed into a completely fitted gray-black leather outfit and wrapped a gray cloak around her entire body, looking much more refreshed.
"Stand behind me," Zhang Rongfang said calmly, glancing at her.
"Yes." Qing Su clasped her hands in a fist and quickly stood behind Zhang Rongfang.
"How did you come up with the idea of coming here?" Zhang Rongfang asked casually.
Since we needed time to kill while waiting for someone to arrive, we chatted casually.
"Actually... when you first left, I was also a little scared and worried."
"Worried?" Zhang Rongfang looked at her face.
Without the mask, Qing Su was more pleasing to the eye than I had imagined. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but she had a refreshing and heroic air about her.
"Tanyang has taken up the new White Eagle, not me," Qing Su replied. "Besides, given your qualifications, I shouldn't let go of the opportunity so easily now that I've seized it!"
Zhang Rongfang stared at the other person for a moment, and then slowly nodded.
"You've come from afar to join us, good."
Bang bang bang.
Just then, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.
"Come in," Zhang Rongfang said. "The door isn't locked."
The courtyard gate was quiet for a moment, then it was slammed open with a loud bang.
A burly man, over two meters tall, entered from outside the door, his head slightly bowed.
The newcomer was dressed in all black, wearing a leather waist protector, with two thick chains wrapped around his arms, and his hair was a mess, as if he hadn't washed it for dozens of days.
As soon as he entered, he closed the door behind him and looked at Zhang Rongfang in the courtyard.
"I am Duan Gu. I have received orders to transfer. Where is the military tally?"
Zhang Rongfang took a black Feather Token with a fierce pattern from his waist.
He threw the Feather Token, which was only half of its original size. The other person caught it, took out a piece from their own person, which was also half of its original size.
The two pieces fit together perfectly.
Duan Gu tossed the military tally back and looked up at Zhang Rongfang.
"Having a military tally alone is not enough. My lord, Wushan Prefecture is not a safe place. The higher-ups sent you here, probably to keep order here."
"To keep things in order? What do you mean?" Zhang Rongfang, slightly surprised.