" Chen Qing Lord Chen, you've arrived just in time!"
Liu Yiqi below was crying with tears and snot streaming down his face. As a respectable official, his appearance at this moment was truly unsightly. However, this time his words were sincere.
Despite how much he used to look down on Chen Qing, even publicly humiliating him behind his back, after experiencing those terrifying events yesterday and spending a freezing night at the bottom of the dark well, he was already on the verge of collapse. Now that Chen Qing's face appeared at the well's edge, it was incredibly dazzling to him. At this moment, he would even be willing to call him "father."
Not only him, but even the usually aloof and arrogant Scholar Gu was now in tears, crying, " Lord Chen, you've finally arrived!!"
Chen Qing chuckled and shook his head at the group of spineless fellows, ignoring them completely. Instead, he turned to a Human Dao, "Is this lady a relative of the brave man at the wellhead?"
The woman then pushed her way out from the group of men, excitedly shouting, "Sir, it's me! That's my husband, Iguchi! How is he? Is he alright?"
At this moment, the woman's eyes were visibly red and swollen, and her clothes were disheveled, making her look quite pathetic.
Chen Qing didn't doubt that the group of people were still doing something at the bottom of the well at this time, but his face was still gloomy.
The woman was disheveled because she had taken off most of her clothes and wrapped them around her child, while the group of grown men were wrapped in their own long robes, each looking after their own affairs. Chen Qing could understand this selfishness in human nature; he himself was a selfish person.
But the situation here is different. The woman's husband clearly sacrificed himself, covering the retreat alone, and was bitten to death. In this situation, if a group of grown men can't do anything else, at least they should at least put together a couple of men's clothes. This is what happens when you're educated.
"Sister-in-law, take the child to the bucket first, and we'll pull you up."
The woman nodded quickly upon hearing this, but before she could come up, Gu Beiquan stepped forward and grabbed the rope of the bucket!
"What is Lord Gu trying to do?" Chen Qing asked, frowning.
" Lord Chen," Gu Beiquan hurriedly said, "It's so cold here, may I come up first?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Qing laughed in exasperation, "Does Lord Gu mean to come up before those women and children? Is this the kind of principle you've learned from books?"
Even Gu Beiquan's frozen face showed a rare blush, but he still gripped the rope tightly and said, " Chen Qing, pull me up first."
"What if I refuse?" Chen Qing said coldly.
"I knew it! You wanted to take this opportunity to get revenge on me!" Gu Beiquan said, trembling. "Pull me up first, otherwise, these women and children won't be able to get up either."
"Ha!" Chen Qing chuckled, unable to contain his laughter. "It seems Lord Gu has indeed caught a chill; his brain's been frozen. First of all, I have no grudge against you, so there's no question of taking this opportunity for revenge. If I wanted to take revenge on you, why would I need an opportunity? When can't I deal with you?"
Gu Beiquan: "."
"And then," Chen Qing's tone turned cold, "If you think I'm going to hurt you, do you think it makes any difference whether you come up first or last? What right do you have to resist?"
"I"
"Let go!" Chen Qing's voice was icy cold. "I'll only say this once!"
Gu Beiquan gritted his teeth, but couldn't withstand the pressure and let go. Seeing this, the woman next to him quickly grabbed the child and climbed into the bucket.
Chen Qing gently raised his hand, and his men quickly stepped forward to pull the rope and lift the person up.
"I thank you, sir!" After emerging from the well, the woman trembled all over, but still knelt down and kowtowed to express her gratitude while holding her child.
"No need for formalities. I'm sorry I'm late, causing you to suffer." Chen Qing took off his coat and draped it over the woman. "Go and see your husband quickly."
Upon hearing this, the woman quickly grabbed her child and ran towards where the burly man had fallen. Seeing her husband's miserable state, she frantically rushed to him, crying, "Husband! Husband! Please don't abandon us!"
The burly man slightly opened his eyes, glanced at his wife and the child whose face was ashen with cold, forced a smile, and tried to look at Chen Qing with gratitude.
Chen Qing nodded slightly and comforted her, "Don't worry, madam, your husband is a brave man, and I will do everything in my power to help him!"
"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!" Upon hearing this, the woman gratefully pulled the child along and continued kowtowing.
Chen Qing turned to Chen Ying, "Take some men, start a fire, and cook some meat porridge. Remember, don't use river water; use the well water we brought with us. Feed some to the child and the woman."
"Okay," Chen Ying nodded in agreement, but then looked into the well again. "Sir, what about... the people inside?"
Chen Qing glanced at Chen Ying with a lingering look. "If I wanted to seal the well, what would you do?"
Chen Ying was taken aback upon hearing this. After hesitating for only two seconds, she bit her lip, cupped her hands, and said, "I am already a member of the Chen Household family, so of course I will listen to my husband!"
"Is that so?" Chen Qing nodded slightly, not entirely believing it, then waved his hand and said, "Save them all."
"Yes, sir!" The soldiers below all breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they certainly listened to the prefect, they were still quite hesitant to participate in killing officials.
Chen Qing didn't care. A few spineless bastards weren't worth getting his men in turmoil. It was a good opportunity to seize their official seals.
Half an hour later, the other officials in the well were pulled up. Chen Qing glanced at them and saw that there were seven people in total: in addition to County Magistrate Gu Beiquan, there were two County Lieutenants, one County Assistant, three Registrar, and one Instructor Liu Yiqi.
The people of Spirit Deer County suffered heavy casualties, while these spineless officials are still alive and well—it's truly ironic.
Chen Qing approached and took a closer look, then covered his nose and said, "Oh, so you've been drinking, sirs? It seems you haven't taken my warning letter seriously at all!"
The group blushed with embarrassment, including Liu Yiqi, who quickly smiled apologetically, "We were foolish and ruined everything. Fortunately, you, sir, turned the tide and saved the day."
"Don't flatter me like that," Chen Qing sneered. "I don't have the ability to turn things around for you. You lot ignored my warning letter, and even at a time of crisis for the county, you gathered to drink and make merry. Now, Spirit Deer County has become a living hell. Do you know your crimes?"
A cold glint flashed in Liu Yiqi's eyes, but he took the lead in kneeling, and the others followed suit, crying, "We know our crimes, Your Excellency, please spare our lives!"
Gu Beiquan, however, managed to steady his trembling legs and said with all his might, " Chen Qing, we are, after all, officials of the imperial court with official ranks. Even if we are guilty, it is the court that should send officials from the Court of Judicial Review of Judicial Review to try us. You have no right to convict us, much less to execute us first and report later!"
Chen Qing looked at the other person with amusement. Why did this guy always seem to think he wanted to kill him?
"I cannot presume to presume to conduct trials on behalf of the Court of Court of Judicial Review, but given your actions, you are no longer qualified to govern Spirit Deer County. I will confiscate your official seals. Do you accept this?"
The men were taken aback, but without hesitation, they knelt down and offered up their official seals. They were indeed to blame for this disaster, and even if they were not executed, they would be exiled after the report was submitted to the court. They did not expect to keep their official positions.
Liu Yiqi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. As long as the other party didn't act recklessly now, they would still have a chance to turn things around once they arrived in the capital. After all, they had the right to speak, and Chen Qing's words weren't entirely absolute.
I need to remind those idiots Gu Beiquan and Qi to stick to the same story, lest they actually go back and confess to everything.
Chen Qing collected the official seals one by one and looked at Gu Beiquan. Gu Beiquan hesitated for a while, but finally handed over his official seal as well. The official seals of the Great Jin were extremely small, about the size of a thumb, and officials usually carried them with them.
These are essential administrative tools, but given the current state of Spirit Deer County, they wouldn't dare stay and continue administering the area. It's best to hand over the official seals and head to Liuzhou first, ensuring their safety.
For some reason, the moment Gu Beiquan handed over the official seal, he felt as if something important had disappeared. This gratitude was so strange that he clutched the seal tightly, reluctant to give it up.
Seeing the other party's hesitation, Chen Qing smiled slightly and took it directly. At this moment, from his perspective, the official aura on the several people disappeared, and their official careers were completely ruined!
At the same time, the original Power of Divine Investiture Central Plains their official seals became their own!
It must be said that while the disaster in Jiangnan put him in great danger, it also gave him a great opportunity.
Seizing official seals is one of the ways for Divine Path Style players to quickly gain control of local areas. It is generally difficult to do, and there are only two ways. The first is that the official holding the official seal is willing to pledge allegiance to you, and then the authority to grant imperial decrees for the area under his jurisdiction and the Power of Divine Investiture in the official seal will also belong to you. The second is, as in the case here, voluntarily giving up the official seal.
The second method, while seemingly simple, is actually quite complex. It requires the other party to feel that it is in accordance with the law and to willingly hand it over, rather than forcibly taking it. This is generally difficult to achieve, but nowadays...
Looking at the official seals that had been handed over, Chen Qing immediately felt the considerable Power of Divine Investiture when combined, and he was instantly satisfied.
Perhaps this is a method; if we can collect enough official seals using this method, I might be able to seize control of Jiangnan during this crisis!