Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 608 Major Case
After seeing Liu Fu off, Old Yuan stood alone by the field in a daze, feeling very complicated.

There is sympathy for his fellow townsmen, but also a subtle sense of pleasure in enjoying privileges because his son is a student on government stipend.

"Eating dog intestines, I'm actually good at studying. I've made my fellow villagers dare not bully me."

He murmured with pride and spat a mouthful of thick phlegm on the ground. He looked up and saw a few people riding horses towards him on the official road. He squinted his eyes and took a closer look. He hurried over.

"Goro is here."

Old Yuan wanted to learn to say a few words like "I am honored to have visited this remote place". It's not like he had never heard others say it before, but when it was his turn to say it, he kept rubbing his hands and couldn't open his mouth.

Du Wulang didn't care about these customs. He smiled and said, "I brought my friends out to hunt."

Old Yuan looked up and saw a person behind Du Wulang. He couldn't help but exclaimed in his heart, what a person who was like a god from heaven. Only the son of a prime minister could meet such a remarkable man.

"Well, the little family is just ahead."

"Lead the way."

When they got there, Old Yuan bent over and walked to the side of Du Wulang's tall horse, saying, "Wulang, step on me and get off the horse."

Before he finished speaking, Du Wulang had already jumped off the horse. Old Yuan wanted to help another nobleman, but the other man was much more agile than Du Wulang and didn't need his help.

In fact, what Old Yuan didn’t realize was that there was a team of guards following him in the woods farther away.

Because the person who went out with Du Wulang today was not someone else but Xue Bai.

"Go in and have a look."

Xue Bai walked into the thatched cottage naturally, nodded to the old woman who was drying wheat, and took a quick look inside. Seeing that the house was bare and there was no place to sit, he casually sat down on a large rock in the house.

"Was this house built after you returned to your hometown and settled down?"

"Yes, sir." Old Yuan said, "The house here was burned down during the war, and the owner died, leaving only a few walls. We, the settlers, helped each other build the house, and the materials were all left over from the demolished temple."

Xue Bai asked a few more questions about Old Yuan's situation after returning home. Finally, the topic fell on this spring seedling loan. He asked him whether everything went smoothly from farming to harvesting, whether he expected to repay the money in the fall, how much surplus grain he had, etc.

This question was very serious and made Old Yuan a little nervous. He said everything was going well.

"Thanks to this spring seedling loan, I was able to plant the land. With the harvest, my life will be better."

Xue Bai paused, then asked, "Is it the same in other families?"

Old Yuan hesitated, turned his head to look at Du Wulang, and finally answered hesitantly: "Some people who borrowed the Spring Seedling Loan did not work hard to farm, and gambled away the money, and they can't pay it back."

He said this because he didn't want to get into trouble, because the county clerk had specifically come to remind him to be an honest person. If he reported bad things about "Mr. Hu" behind his back, he might be afraid that the other party would not be telling the truth.

In this world where officials protect each other, if something goes wrong, I’m afraid it will delay my son’s exam.

"Anything else?" Xue Bai asked, apparently he came prepared.

Du Wulang also said: "Just tell me what you have to say."

Seeing that Engong had spoken, Old Yuantou just said: "Some people didn't get the Spring Seed Loan, so they borrowed money from others. The interest rate was a bit higher, and they couldn't pay it back."

Xue Bai was not surprised and asked, "What are the details?"

"..."

After leaving Old Yuan's house, Du Wulang couldn't help but say, "From your looks, you must have known that there was a problem with Shou'an County's spring seedling loan, and that's why you asked me to go hunting today? I'm afraid you're hunting corrupt officials."

"Yes." Xue Bai said, "Hunting is when you aim at the target."

"Since you know everything, why do you want to question Old Yuan in detail?"

"See how the villagers feel," Xue Bai said. "How much they fear the local officials and how much they are willing to confess."

"Oh."

The two walked for a while longer, and Du Wulang suddenly said, "You've started using the word 'fellow villagers' again recently."

"if not?"

"You used to say it like this, but later on you used 'common people' or 'people' for a while. How should I put it? The meaning is the same, but the feeling is different."

"Be more cordial?"

"Can't tell."

Xue Bai climbed onto the horse and smiled unconsciously.

After he arrived in the Tang Dynasty, he gradually wanted to be an emperor, and in the process he gradually became tainted with a lot of feudal bureaucracy. Recently, he has figured out a lot, and often recalls what he did before crossing over.

At this moment, Du Wulang could feel the change in his mentality, which made him feel relaxed and relieved.

Even the horse under his crotch could sense his master's intentions. As soon as he lightly tapped his heels, the horse spread its hooves and galloped happily in the direction he wanted to go.

"Where are we going?" Du Wulang asked.

"The fish won't bite, let's go hook it up."

~~
Shouan County Office.

Zong Han opened an exquisite sandalwood box, and a refreshing fragrance filled his nose. Inside was tea that was beautifully wrapped in gold foil paper.

"Master, this is new tea from Jiangnan. It is very valuable." The third manager of the Cui family stood aside and said with a smile.

"Good tea."

Zong Han thought that the current emperor was indeed talented in eating, drinking, having fun, and writing poetry and songs. In addition to playing dominoes and cooking, he also invented the method of making tea. As a result, the price of tea soared, and many people made money.

If the emperor could focus on these matters when governing the country and stop messing around with unnecessary things, the Tang Dynasty would surely become more prosperous and elegant.

"Thank your Alang for me." Zong Han said, "The Cui family doesn't need to worry too much about the rent and labor service this year. We have paid 20% more than in previous years. I believe the Luoyang Prefecture will not embarrass us anymore. After all, they don't want to hit a smiling person."

"Yes."

"The emperor is so close, it's always better to be cautious."

"Of course I am cautious. Ah Lang has been keeping a tight rein on his children and servants lately."

Zong Han had been the chief clerk in Shou'an County for twenty years. He was not worried about the local prominent families like the Cui family. They were all people who knew their limits and followed the rules.

On the contrary, he was not very confident about the county magistrate who had only been in office for two years, so he whispered a reminder.

"The county magistrate has overreached this time. I'm afraid something might happen. Tell Mr. Cui not to get involved with him."

"Is it about the Spring Seedling Loan?" The third steward whispered, "Alang has heard about it too. The county magistrate may be a little too impatient."

"It's okay for him to be anxious, it's not a bad thing." Zong Han said, "The emperor's new policy has just been issued, and he took the knife in the front, which shows that we are in line. In the future, the court's control will eventually relax, and the long-term interests will eventually be ours."

"Yes, Ah Lang always said that we need to have a long-term vision. There are many people who gain power suddenly, but how many of them can keep it for a long time? What the world lacks most are people who are willing to accumulate slowly."

"Mr. Cui is very far-sighted. He is worthy of being a famous family with a thousand-year heritage."

As he was speaking, a minor official came in quickly and whispered something in Zong Han's ear.

"Master, someone saw Du Wulang arrive in Shou'an County."

Zong Han was not surprised. He stroked his long beard and said thoughtfully, "He came so soon? Either the county lord is unlucky, or his activities have not been hidden from the eyes and ears of the court."

The third manager felt a little gloating.

Most of the time, these local tyrants kept their distance from county magistrates from outside, because they knew that they would not stay for long.

"Then I will go back and remind Alang."

Zong Han nodded and watched the third steward leave. After thinking for a while, he called over the clerk and ordered him, "Go and inform the county magistrate that Du Wulang has arrived in Shou'an County."

"Here."

"Wait." Zong Han stopped the clerk again and said, "Wait half an hour before going."

~~
Although Du Wulang had been to Jinping Villa several times, he was not very familiar with Shou'an County. On the contrary, Xue Bai seemed to know where to go and led him all the way to the east of the city.

Shou'an County is located close to Luoyang in the east and close to the Luoshui Wharf. It has convenient water and land transportation and is home to many wealthy families.

As the road became wider and cleaner, the Cui family’s mansion in Shou’an County appeared in front of us.

"Is the loan shark Mr. Hu from the Cui family?" Du Wulang couldn't help but ask, "If I were to guess, he should be the chief steward of the Cui family, right?"

"I didn't ask you to guess." Xue Bai smiled.

He came out for a secret visit today and he seemed to be in a good mood.

Passing by the Cui family's grand gate, Xue Bai did not stop, but continued forward until he saw another even more luxurious house.

"what."

Du Wulang was surprised. He did not expect that there was a family in Shouan County that was more imposing than the aristocratic Cui family. But it was a pity that it only had imposing style but lacked the artistic conception and connotation.

In comparison, the Cui family would deliberately leave some mottled exterior walls, lush vines, and quaint plaques, never deliberately showing off their wealth, but rather their family education. The family in front, on the other hand, shows off their wealth everywhere.

But no matter how rich he is, a local tycoon in a small county can never compare to the powerful and wealthy in Chang'an.

"Is this the Hu family?" Du Wulang said, "But I don't know who is so arrogant that he even dares to touch the new policy set by the emperor."

Xue Bai said: "You haven't heard of this person, which means you are of low level."

"what?"

Du Wulang thought the joke was boring and said sarcastically, "You are low-class for coming here in person to get angry with a local rich man."

"Go knock on the door."

"Oh."

Du Wulang then dismounted and walked forward, but was soon stopped by two strong servants.

The Hu family has six sturdy men guarding the gate, which is considered to be very impressive in this county.

"who?!"

"I want to meet that... Mr. Hu."

"Who do you think you are? You also want to see our Alang."

Du Wulang scratched his head, turned around and looked at Xue Bai. Seeing that Xue Bai had already walked up, he whispered to him, "Do you really have to meet him like this? Show your identity?"

"No."

"Okay." Du Wulang had no choice but to say loudly: "I am a student of the county school, and I am here for the Spring Seedling Loan..."

"roll!"

Before he finished speaking, the sturdy man shouted and spat.

Seeing this, the followers behind them hurried forward and were ready to take action.

"What are you doing?!" The Hu family guard immediately asked, "Does this unruly person want to cause trouble?!"

As these words were spoken, the gate of the mansion opened and six men armed with clubs rushed out.

"Where did these unruly people dare to cause trouble?!"

Although Du Wulang was usually timid, he was not afraid of this kind of guard. He muttered, "Well, I have become a troublemaker."

He told himself not to worry about these details, and said: "I don't want to cause trouble, I just want to see Mr. Hu and ask about the interest."

"You owe my A-Lang a debt? Then pay it back! It is only natural to pay back a debt."

"I owe?"

Before Du Wulang could retort, Xue Bai casually handed him an IOU. Du Wulang had no choice but to continue, "I do owe money. I borrowed two thousand coins at a monthly interest rate of 2%. Now I have to pay it back..."

"Three thousand two hundred coins."

Xue Bai asked, "What if we don't have money?"

"If you don't have money, then just detain the person and ask the family to pay for the redemption!"

"Try it."

"Get them!"

Du Wulang was afraid of an accident, so he said quickly: "Don't rush to do it, let us see Mr. Hu, we will discuss it after we see Mr. Hu!"

The commotion here gradually grew louder, attracting many people to watch. Someone ran to the county office and shouted, "The Hu family is going to arrest the county school's students!"

Du Wulang yelled while pulling Xue Bai back, almost pleading, "Stop playing, in case you get hurt."

"Don't worry, you won't get hurt."

During the argument, a steward of the Hu family came out. He saw at a glance that Xue Bai had an unusual aura, so he shouted, "Stop!" He came forward and looked at Xue Bai's clothes, and seeing that it was a cheap cloth robe, he felt relieved. He then looked at Du Wulang, who was wearing silk, and did not sense any strong aura from him.

"Come in and talk."

"Okay." Xue Bai responded readily.

The Hu family's steward nodded indifferently, turned around and left.

He was wearing silk, the material of which was better than that of Du Wulang, and he felt that he looked more imposing. He strode into the side hall and sat down in the first seat on the left.

"You stand still." He said calmly.

Du Wulang actually stood there, thinking to himself that it would not be appropriate to let such a person take care of things, so maybe he should sit down on purpose.

But when he looked at Xue Bai, apart from a hint of mockery at the corner of his mouth, there was no sign of unhappiness on his face, and he really just stood there.

"You are students of the county school, which means you are also disciples of the county lord?" asked the steward of the Hu family, but he was drinking tea while speaking without even looking at them.

"Yes." Du Wulang said.

"That's right." The Hu family steward continued to play with the teacup and said, "If you can pass the imperial examination and become an official in the future, even if you can't be as noble as a noble official with family connections, you will still have a bright future, not bad."

Du Wulang couldn't help but say, "You are so arrogant that you are criticizing us."

“It’s a different realm.”

The Hu family's steward took a sip of tea, smacked his lips twice, closed his eyes and savored it, leaving the two of them there.

After a while, he finally opened his eyes and looked at Xue Bai. He raised his finger and pointed, and started commenting.

"You are not bad. You have a good appearance and a good demeanor. Your family background... must be poor, but it doesn't matter. You are lucky today. I plan to introduce you to my A-Lang."

"Oh?"

The Hu family steward felt that the young man was pretending to be calm in front of him, so he smiled meaningfully and said, "If my Ah Lang takes a fancy to you, I can promise you a future. The daughter of the Hu family is plump and has a rich and noble fate that you have never seen in your life."

Xue Bai asked: "What about the money owed?"

"You don't have to pay it back. You just need to marry into the Hu family."

"You didn't even ask who I was."

"It's not important." The Hu family steward waved his hand and looked at the teacup again, saying lightly: "What's important is whether Alang is willing."

Xue Bai asked: "You took the spring seedling loan from the court to help poor farmers and lent it out at high interest rates. Aren't you afraid of being beheaded?"

"This place is still fifty miles away from the Eastern Capital." The Hu family's steward said, "You think too highly of yourself. Commoners like you are nothing but ants in the eyes of the emperor."

"It seems you have nothing to fear."

"Just take it as such."

Xue Bai said: "I will go to the Eastern Capital to file a complaint."

"Haha." The Hu family's steward was amused by him and asked back, "Do you know who I am, A-Lang?"

"Who is it?" Du Wulang asked. He was really curious.

The Hu family steward raised his hand and said slowly: "The Lord of Shou'an County, the County Master, is my Alang's nephew."

"Okay." Du Wulang said, "You're almost scaring me to death."

"Let me tell you, even if this matter is brought before the emperor, it is because those unruly people borrowed money from Chunmiaodai and lost it all in gambling, and then borrowed money from me, Alang."

Du Wulang said: "But we have evidence..."

"You have no evidence." The Hu family's steward interrupted him firmly, "No unruly citizen would dare to speak in front of the government, and all the officials would keep silent. This is the rule of Shou'an County. What I, Alang, say is the law of Shou'an County."

Du Wulang smacked his lips and asked, "Are you really not afraid of the court investigating?"

"The court can't investigate. Do you think Shou'an County is the only one doing this? Let me tell you, Shou'an County is the only one doing this in the world in the most secretive way."

"Pah, pah, pah."

Du Wulang couldn't help but applaud him and asked, "Can we meet Mr. Hu?"

The Hu family steward pointed at Xue Bai and said, "At you, Alang will come over, wait."

I didn't expect that Mr. Hu would be so grand and the wait would last a long time.

Du Wulang asked: "Hey, what will you do if we don't pay you back?"

"There are plenty of ways to make you pay back."

Finally, a servant of the Hu family rushed in and whispered in the ear of the steward of the Hu family: "Steward, the chief clerk sent someone to say that Du Wulang has arrived in Shou'an County."

"Did you go to Yuan's house? Send someone to intimidate the old man and tell him that his son's future is in the hands of the county magistrate."

After the Hu family steward finished speaking, he glanced at the two people in front of him and said, "You scholars are the ones who love to cause trouble the most."

Not long after, there was a commotion outside, and then another servant rushed in and said, "Manager, something bad has happened! The students from the county school are calling us!"

"Then beat them out!" The Hu family's steward set up a table and cursed, "With so many guards, can't they beat up a few scholars?"

"But they are..."

"They were raised by the county, which means they were raised by the Hu family! Beat up those ungrateful bastards!"

Xue Bai saw this and said to Du Wulang, "Don't let those students get hurt."

"it is good."

The two of them walked out.

The Hu family's steward was furious and shouted, "Where do you want to go? The debt has not been paid yet!"

Two guards came to stop them, but Xue Bai immediately grabbed their heads and smashed them together with a bang. Then he turned around, picked up the Hu family's steward, and slapped him hard in the face, making him dizzy and headache.

"you dare……"

"Oh!"

Xue Bai grabbed the Hu family's manager and smashed his head on the table, breaking it into pieces.

Outside, a group of guards rushed over at this time. Du Wulang quickly picked up the broken teacup on the ground and put it on the neck of the Hu family manager, shouting, "Who dares to move?"

The moment before, Du Wulang was still thinking that it was really demeaning for His Majesty to use these hands that had conquered the world to beat up a slave of a local tycoon; the next moment he felt that being able to fight alongside His Majesty meant that his martial arts were quite impressive.

~~
"Hit him!"

"Dog slave, die!"

Outside the mansion, Lin Ji was leading a group of students in a fight with the guards.

He came from the Jimin Society. Not only did he do farm work and study, he also learned martial arts and even served as a militiaman. When fighting, he was not only agile but also ruthless. He knocked down two guards by himself.

However, only a few students from the Jimin Society knew how to fight. People like Yuan Zhiyuan had been weak since childhood and had long been knocked to the ground and kicked by the guards, making them scream and cry.

The fight was in a mess, when suddenly...

"stop!"

The guards turned around and saw two students escorting their guards.

Yuan Zhiyuan was rolling on the ground holding his head when he felt the blows on his body become lighter. He looked up and couldn't help shouting, "Wulang!"

The Hu family steward was still threatening and intimidating Du Wulang, shouting, "If you dare to touch me, you're dead..."

The next moment, he was startled, his face turned pale in an instant, and he murmured, "You, you, you, are you Du Wulang?"

On the other side, Mr. Hu, who had hurried over, happened to hear the three words "Du Wulang". His face changed drastically and he hurriedly stepped forward and smiled apologetically.

"Hahaha, the flood washed away the Dragon King Temple. It turns out that the world-famous Du Wulang has come. I am Hu Bugui, and I am honored to meet Wulang."

In Hu Bugui's opinion, there is still room for improvement as long as Du Wulang can be appeased.

On the field, Lin Ji looked at the man standing next to Du Wulang, an expression of uncontrollable admiration rising on his face.

He knew that this incident had become a big deal, so big that even if someone like Hu Bugui had ten lives, it would not be enough to be beheaded.

~~
Cui family.

After hearing the report from the third steward, Cui Yu called over a few of the Cui family members and said slowly, "The emperor is determined to reform. I asked Cui Youfu to persuade him, but he couldn't stop me. The Cui family is not far from Dongdu, at the foot of the emperor. We can't openly oppose him, so we should just obey him."

"Yes."

"Today, Du Wulang is here again. He is a puppet being pulled by the emperor. His coming means that the county magistrate's loan for spring seedlings has been exposed."

Cui Jing asked: "What about the Cui family?"

"This is a good thing." Cui Yu said, "The emperor is young and has lofty ambitions. He is looking forward to making achievements. Now that there are results, the county magistrate will be promoted. The emperor will be satisfied, and his excitement will pass, and he will be at peace."

"Uncle is right."

"Choi-dong."

"exist."

"Go to the county and meet Du Wulang. I have also collected some evidence of the county magistrate's corruption and abuse of power. You can take it with you."

"Yes."

Cui Dong stood up, took the account book, turned around and walked out.

However, a servant came over rashly, brushed past him, and rushed to the hall, saying, "Alang, it's bad, something happened in the county."

"Don't panic, I already know that Du Wulang is here to handle a major case..."

"It's a major assassination case!"

"What's the matter?"

"The emperor is here in person! A major treason case has occurred in Shou'an County to assassinate the emperor!"

“What?!” Cui Yu stood up, forgetting that he was already old, and said in shock: “A major assassination case?!”

The matter was obviously much more serious than he had expected. It had evolved from an ordinary case of corruption and abuse of power into a major case of treason. As the local boss, the Cui family could not hide away.

Cui Yu's eyes were dull for a long time before they finally regained their brilliance. He immediately shouted to Cui Dong, "Go and see Wu Lang! Hurry up!"

"Yes."

Cui Dong ran away, mounted his horse and galloped away.

He passed by the Cui family's manor and saw a steward meeting those fugitives who wanted to escape from the Cui family and hide in the Cui family.

"It's not impossible to work for the Cui family..."

Cui Dong didn't hear the noise in the manor, he went straight to Shou'an County.

~~
Shouan County.

Xue Bai was unwilling to return to Dongdu immediately, so he was immediately protected in the county office.

He was very patient, waiting for the important officials of the court to arrive.

At that time, he would carefully repeat to them what the Hu family's steward had said.

After finishing the work, Du Wulang finally relaxed and sat there chattering.

"I'm glad you're not hurt. The only thing I was worried about was that you were hurt. But I know what you were thinking, but I didn't expect a local tycoon to be so arrogant."

Speaking of this, Du Wulang was also filled with emotion, and added: "There is actually such a crazy person, putting on airs in front of the emperor, it's absurd and ridiculous."

"Funny?" Xue Bai asked, "Do you think it's funny?"

"Not really." Du Wulang said, "I just wonder how there could be such a stupid person."

"I don't think it's funny."

Xue Bai, on the contrary, lost his initial interest and spoke in a somewhat grim tone.

"I don't think it's ridiculous, because this is the norm. It's because I came today that he looks stupid."

As he spoke, he became increasingly angry and a murderous aura emerged from him.

"You may think he is arrogant today, but he is already being polite to us. In places I cannot go to or see, in every county and city in the world, there are many people who are even more arrogant than this!"

(End of this chapter)