Punishing the Magistrate of Heshui County
After the slaughter of the previous night, everyone had matured a great deal, and an iron-blooded air clung to them.
"You performed well this time. You can go to Lan Xin later to collect the rewards I've prepared for you. I hope you'll keep up the good work!"
"Thank you for your rewards, Master! We are willing to serve you to the death!"
After commending the guards, Zhang Sheng went to the stone chamber on the back mountain.
It had been temporarily converted into a prison for the mountain bandits, and those captured the day before were being held inside.
"Have they all confessed?"
"Master! They've told us everything. There aren't many people left at their hideout now, just some guards at the stronghold."
"Good! Take some men over there and finish them all off. Bring back whatever you can carry from the stronghold too."
"Yes, Master!"
"Oh, right! How is the bandit leader? Is he dead?"
"Not yet, but he's badly wounded. If he doesn't get treatment soon, I'm afraid he won't last much longer."
"As long as he's alive. I'll go take a look. He's still of some use."
Zhang Sheng had them take him to see the bandit leader. When he saw him, even Zhang Sheng had to admire his tenacious hold on life.
"Speak! Who sent you?"
"Heh! Kill me or carve me up, do as you please. What do you mean, who sent me? I just took a fancy to this place!"
"How dare you! Still talking tough!"
Seeing that the bandit still dared to be so arrogant, the guard beside Zhang Sheng prepared to step forward and teach him a lesson, but Zhang Sheng held out a hand to stop him.
"Mm! Stand down. Heh! Even if you won't talk, I can guess a thing or two. Was it Lord Jia of Heshui County who sent you here?"
"Lord Jia, Lord Whoever! I don't know him!"
"Tsk, tsk! He's neither your kin nor your friend, so why cover for him? As long as you're willing to expose him, I might spare your life."
"Are you trying to fool a three-year-old? Oh! I almost misspoke. Don't you look like a little brat yourself? Haha! Cough, cough!"
Zhang Sheng had originally thought it was better to have one less problem than one more, so he wanted the bandit leader to bite out Lord Jia's name.
That way, he could use the authorities' power to eliminate Lord Jia without having to act personally.
But he hadn't expected the bandit leader to be so unyielding, and he couldn't help getting a little angry.
He prepared to step forward and show him what was what, but before Zhang Sheng could act, the bandit leader suddenly changed his tune.
"It's not impossible to get me to talk. You just have to agree to one thing."
Hearing this, Zhang Sheng thought there might be a chance, so he tamped down his anger for the moment.
"What is it? Speak!"
"I just want to know if it's true there's treasure here."
"Lord Jia told you that? Heh! How stupid!"
Faced with Zhang Sheng's mocking words, the bandit leader realized they had been deceived. Not only was there no treasure here,
there was also a group of terrifying people living here. So he no longer clung to that last bit of pride.
"You're right. Lord Jia did send word to our stronghold that treasure was hidden here. That's why we came.
"Now that I've told you, I hope you'll give me a quick death."
"Is there any evidence?"
"Heh! Do you think they'd give me anything I could use against them?"
Bang!
Seeing that there was nothing else to ask, Zhang Sheng knocked the bandit leader unconscious.
Then he gently brushed his right hand over the man's chest. After a flash of green light, the bandit leader's wounds were almost completely healed.
"Master! Why not just kill him? Why treat him?"
"He can't die yet. We still need him to warn that Jia fellow."
Zhang Sheng had his own considerations. If he were all alone, he could simply go to Lord Jia's door and make him disappear.
But he couldn't do that. The imperial court still held authority, and if he rashly made a county magistrate disappear,
it could very well lead to a series of troubles. Now that he had the bandit leader in hand,
he didn't fear that Jia would disregard him. When the world truly descended into chaos, it would be time for him to die.
After getting to the bottom of the whole affair, Zhang Sheng decided to make a trip to the county yamen.
If he didn't show County Magistrate Jia what was what, the man would think he was easy to bully!
In the past, he had always walked to the county town. Now that his circumstances had improved, he naturally didn't want to walk anymore.
Zhang Sheng mounted a swift horse and headed straight for the county town.
Traveling on horseback was fast. In less than half a shichen, Zhang Sheng reached the city gate. It was still midday, and he couldn't very well go to the county yamen, so he could only wait until night.
The night seemed especially dark, which gave Zhang Sheng the perfect opportunity to act. After disguising himself a little,
he quietly left the inn and soon arrived at the county yamen. Just as he was about to go in and pay Lord Jia a visit,
he suddenly noticed the two stone lions by the entrance. An idea struck him, and he grabbed one by its base and lifted it.
Then he placed it at the entrance to the county yamen, blocking the main gate completely.
After doing all this, Zhang Sheng went into the inner courtyard to look for Lord Jia. It was so dark that he couldn't tell where Lord Jia lived at first.
Only after searching several more rooms did he finally find him.
Zhang Sheng quietly forced the door open and slipped inside. Sure enough, Lord Jia was fast asleep, his arms wrapped around his concubine!
Zhang Sheng hadn't come to admire someone's sleeping posture. He went straight over and knocked Lord Jia unconscious,
then carried him out of the room and quickly left the county yamen, heading for the city gate.
Once there, Zhang Sheng found a rope and hung Lord Jia up, then tucked a warning letter he had written into his robes.
After doing all this, Zhang Sheng returned to the inn to rest.
The next morning, Zhang Sheng had only just woken up when the noise outside caught his attention.
"Have you heard? Lord Jia of our Heshui County was hung up at the city gate all night. The soldiers opening the gate found him and took him down."
"I heard too. They say Lord Jia offended the greenwood and was targeted for revenge."
"Serves him right! He hasn't done a single good thing since he came here!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down. Aren't you afraid someone will hear you and report you?"
Perhaps because they were afraid, everyone suddenly lowered their voices, but the incident still had the people of the whole county clapping and cheering.
"Come look! The county yamen's main gate has been blocked by a stone lion!"
When everyone heard there was more excitement to see, they ran toward the county yamen, afraid they would miss it if they arrived too late.
Meanwhile, the county yamen was on high alert. They hadn't expected anyone to be bold enough to abduct the county magistrate
and hang him at the city gate to humiliate him in public. This was simply a challenge to the yamen's bottom line.
"Go find him! You must find this scoundrel!"
Even now, Lord Jia was both shocked and afraid. He hadn't expected that a night's sleep would nearly be the end of him.
Frightened as he was, however, his mind was as clear as a mirror. The letter the scoundrel had left behind had laid everything out.
If making the affair public hadn't been bad for everyone, his corpse would probably have gone cold by now.
After learning that his deeds had been exposed, Lord Jia was also certain that Zhang Sheng might have sent someone to do this.
But now he had bitterness he couldn't speak of and could only swallow it himself.
The great fury he was showing now was all for appearances, a show for the imperial court and the people under him.
Otherwise, if he acted as though nothing had happened, there really would be trouble.
As for making trouble for Zhang Sheng, he no longer dared. After all, if Zhang Sheng could take him away without a sound,
then he could make him disappear without a sound too. Lord Jia didn't dare gamble with his life. He still had a bright future ahead of him.