Half an hour later, Lu Feng dragged Li An to the County Yamen.
The sight left the many Yamen Runners and Constables inside the County Yamen momentarily stunned.
When everyone realized the man in Lu Feng's hands was Li An, the Great Chieftain of the Caobang Gang, they were all shocked.
Several Yamen Runners immediately went to inform the Three Captains.
Soon, the Three Captains arrived in the main hall. Lu Feng saw them and tossed Li An over, saying,
"Three Captains, today, Li An, the Great Chieftain of the Caobang Gang, led a group of his men in a brazen attack on me, a Constable, on West Street. I think he's trying to rebel. Please inform the County Magistrate of this matter."
His words left the three men stunned. Captain Wang, in particular, looked at Lu Feng with a little more wariness.
Li An was considered a well-known expert in Qinglu County. They hadn't expected Lu Feng to beat him into such a state.
When Li An, lying on the ground, heard Lu Feng's words, he immediately endured the pain and retorted, "Cough, cough... Three Captains, don't listen to Lu Feng's nonsense. Our Caobang Gang is a respectable organization. Why would we rebel?"
Lu Feng glanced at him and continued, "Oh? Then what do you call leading Caobang Gang members in a public attack on me, a Constable? Isn't that an attempt to rebel?"
"I..."
Lu Feng's words left Li An at a loss for an answer. Just then, Captain Wang, standing nearby, suddenly spoke.
"I think this matter needs further investigation. Besides, the Caobang Gang under Li An's management is one of the major taxpayers in Qinglu County. They shouldn't be involved in rebellion."
Hearing Captain Wang say this, Li An immediately latched onto him like a drowning man clutching at a lifeline. "Exactly! Captain Wang is right."
The other two Captains could see that Captain Wang wanted to protect Li An, so they didn't voice their own opinions.
Just as Lu Feng was about to say something, a voice rang out from beyond the hall.
"Li An, shouldn't you be overseeing the docks and river transport on West Street? What are you doing at the County Yamen?"
At this, Lu Feng and the Three Captains all turned toward the voice.
Four figures stood at the entrance to the hall: County Magistrate Wang Lichuan, County Assistant Zhou Yongsi, Chief Clerk Lu Yan, and Strategist Wang Jun.
Seeing them, Lu Feng and the Three Captains all cupped their hands in salute.
The four entered the hall and looked over Li An, kneeling on the ground, and Lu Feng, standing to one side.
County Magistrate Wang Lichuan took the seat of honor and spoke first. "What's going on here? Who will explain it to me?"
At that, Lu Feng cupped his hands again and recounted what had happened that day.
Wang Lichuan raised an eyebrow as he listened, then turned to Li An and asked, "Li An, do you have anything to say about what Lu Feng just told me?"
Although Li An was badly injured, he was a Seventh-Rank Martial Artist and could still hold on. He retorted, "County Magistrate, what Lu Feng said is false. I never intended to rebel. Today on West Street, we only had a verbal dispute, and then Lu Feng suddenly attacked me and left me badly injured. He's framing me!"
A murderous glint flashed in Lu Feng's eyes at Li An's response. If he'd known the man would turn around and accuse him, he should have killed him right there on West Street.
But County Magistrate Wang Lichuan wasn't a fool. He said a few words to the Strategist beside him, who quickly left the hall. No one knew where he went.
Wang Lichuan then turned to the two men and said slowly, "Since your accounts differ, wait until I send someone to investigate the situation on West Street."
At that, Li An thought, This is bad. Anyone investigating will be able to tell what happened from the traces left on West Street.
Seeing this, Li An immediately looked to County Assistant Zhou Yongsi for help.
Zhou Yongsi showed no reaction on his face, but he walked over to the County Magistrate and whispered a few words to him.
A short while later, Strategist Wang Jun returned to the hall and gave the County Magistrate a detailed report on the situation on West Street.
The County Magistrate nodded slightly when he was done, then looked at Lu Feng. "Lu Feng, I've already heard about what happened on West Street. How would you like this matter handled?"
Lu Feng was slightly taken aback. The County Magistrate was asking him how he wanted the matter handled, but he was only a lowly Constable. What authority did he have to decide it?
He had brought Li An back today to intimidate Captain Wang and, while he was at it, make sure Li An was punished.
Now that the County Magistrate was asking what he thought, he probably didn't want to take things too far.
Lu Feng cupped his hands. "County Magistrate, I'll leave the decision entirely to you. This subordinate wouldn't dare presume to speak."
The County Magistrate was very pleased with his answer, and turned to Li An. "Li An, today you led a group of men in attacking Lu Feng. You knew he was a Constable of this County Yamen, yet you still dared to act so brazenly. Under the Great Yan Law, you should be sentenced to execution after the autumn harvest!"
Li An, kneeling below, was so frightened he didn't know what to do.
Then the County Magistrate continued, "But since you are one of this county's major taxpayers and have helped provide livelihoods for thousands of commoners, I'll sentence you to three years in prison and order you to compensate Lu Feng one thousand taels of silver for his mental anguish!"
When the verdict was delivered, Li An suddenly felt as if he'd escaped death. He immediately kowtowed. "Thank you, County Magistrate, for sparing my life!"
The County Magistrate then turned to Lu Feng and asked, "Lu Feng, are you satisfied with how I've handled this?"
Lu Feng considered it briefly, then replied, "I'm satisfied."
"Heh. Since you're satisfied, that's how we'll handle it."
After saying this, the County Magistrate left the hall with the Strategist. County Assistant Zhou Yongsi gave Lu Feng a cold look, then followed them out.
Just then, Chief Clerk Lu Yan, who hadn't said a word until now, gave Lu Feng a look, signaling him to follow.
Lu Feng left the hall too and followed him to the Chief Clerk's room.
As soon as Lu Feng entered the room, Lu Yan said, "Lu Feng, you've gotten yourself into trouble."
Lu Feng furrowed his brow and asked in confusion, "Lord Lu, are you talking about Li An?"
"Exactly!" Lu Yan sighed. "Do you know who's behind the Caobang Gang?"
Lu Feng shook his head. "I don't. Please enlighten me, Lord Lu."
"The man behind the Caobang Gang is County Assistant Zhou Yongsi. You brought the matter of Li An before the County Magistrate today, so Zhou Yongsi will naturally hold it against you. That's why I said you've gotten yourself into trouble."
Lu Feng furrowed his brow. He'd already guessed that Li An had some connection to County Assistant Zhou Yongsi, but he hadn't expected the big shot behind the Caobang Gang to be the County Assistant himself.
Seeing Lu Feng frown in silence, Lu Yan continued, "Although you've offended the County Assistant, as long as you can become the new Captain, the County Magistrate will take notice of you, and you'll have the power to protect yourself."
After hearing this, Lu Feng immediately understood what he meant. He cupped his hands in thanks. "Thank you, Lord Lu, for looking out for me. I'll work hard to become the new Captain."
But Lu Yan shook his head. "You've misunderstood. I haven't been looking out for you. You have to fight for everything yourself."
Lu Feng looked puzzled. Lu Yan had been helping him ever since he asked for leave last time, not to mention the registration and now this warning. Didn't all that count as help?
Seeing his expression, Lu Yan continued to explain, "I'm only following the rules. You can consider me a neutral party."
"A neutral party? Do you mean there are factions within the County Yamen too?"
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