Chapter 263 Accountability of County Officials
Chapter 263 Accountability of County Officials
Yang Jishan was shocked and shouted, "Who are you? How dare you assassinate me?"
You Junda sneered, "You don't even know me, and you dare to pretend to be County Lieutenant Yang!"
Xiao Xia instantly entered the barrier-breaking state, and he immediately sensed murderous intent upstairs.
He was furious and tore off the scabbard of his sword, using the long-handled straight sword to block Yang Jishan's way.
The other warriors drew their swords, and Yang Jishan realized that his ambush had been discovered. He shouted, "They discovered it!"
Then there were a lot of running footsteps upstairs and in the backyard. Xiao Xia swung his knife and cut off the throat of the fake Yang Jishan. He shouted, "The situation is unclear, let's go!"
At this time, a large number of warriors in white rushed down from the upstairs, and dozens of warriors also appeared in the backyard. Xiao Xia kicked the door open and rushed to the street with his men.
Just then, a few ox carts carrying the goddess passed by outside, and a large crowd of people followed on both sides, drooling.
Xiao Xia led his men and rushed through the crowd. Behind them, hundreds of sword-wielding warriors rushed out of the restaurant. Hundreds of white-clothed warriors also rushed out from the alleys on both sides of the restaurant, shouting and yelling. The crowd suddenly became chaotic, and tens of thousands of people were terrified and ran in all directions.
In the chaos, Xiao Xia and his men had disappeared, leaving only the hats they had thrown behind on the street.
A man walked out of the restaurant. He was tall and sturdy, with a fierce look and holding a golden-backed broadsword. It was Li Zitong.
Xiao Xia and others were discovered when they entered the city, so Li Zitong devised this plan, luring Xiao Xia and others into the restaurant, and then pretending to be the county lieutenant Yang Jishan, luring Xiao Xia to the second floor alone and separating him from his men, making it easier to kill him.
Unexpectedly, they didn't know that Luoyang's chief constable You Junda was also with Xiao Xia. The chief constable and the county lieutenant had a lot of dealings, and You Junda had naturally met Yang Jishan, and was exposed all of a sudden.
Seeing that the target had run away, Li Zitong narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Order me to search the entire city. I will not give up until we find them!"
At this time, two hundred white-clothed warriors appeared behind him. Unlike other white-clothed warriors, each of these white-clothed warriors had a red scarf tied on his arm. They were the men Li Zitong brought from Tongbai Mountain.
He and his brother Li Zifa brought a total of 500 elite men, all of whom were strong and good at fighting. Of course, they came to the Mahayana sect just to eat meat.
Unexpectedly, the Mahayana sect was going to take away wealth worth 300,000 strings of cash, which immediately made Li Zitong furious. He was not a core member of the Mahayana sect and did not know what was going on.
But there was one thing he was very clear about. Song Zixian had promised to give him 50,000 strings of cash. Now he wanted to take away 300,000 strings of cash. What should he do with his 50,000 strings of cash?
What made Li Zitong particularly angry was that Song Zixian was only willing to give them 700 strings of cash in the end, treating him like a beggar.
Let's just go all out. Since Song Zixian is ruthless, don't blame Li Zitong for being unjust.
Now he took the opportunity of capturing twenty people from the imperial court to disperse a large number of warriors, and he created an opportunity for himself.
At this time, a warrior came to report: "My lord, the second lord is fighting with the soldiers loading the ship outside the city!"
The time has come, Li Zitong waved his hand, "Let's go!"
He rushed towards the Mahayana Temple with two hundred men.
Xiao Xia and his men hid in a civilian house. Outside, white-clad warriors holding swords were seen searching everywhere. Xiao Xia asked You Junda, "I just saw a large building in the north. Is it the Mahayana Temple?"
You Junda shook his head. "The Mahayana Temple is at least three miles away from here. What you saw was the county government office, which is fifty steps to the north."
Xiao Xia thought for a moment and asked again, "Do you think Yang Jishan is still in the county government office?"
You Junda smiled and said, "He should be at home. Usually when the Mahayana sect holds such a large gathering, the county magistrates will take a holiday and stay at home. But if you want to find the county magistrate, it is very easy. The backyard of the county government is the county magistrate's official residence."
"What's the magistrate's name?"
"My name is Pei Wen'an!"
Xiao Xia was stunned. Wasn't Pei Wen'an dead?
He forged a letter in Jiangdu to frame his own father, and his grandfather ordered his entire family to be executed. How come he is still alive and is now the magistrate of Yique County?
Xiao Xia understood immediately. Luoyang was the territory of the King of Han. The Pei Wen'an here must be that Pei Wen'an. They couldn't be people with the same name and surname.
Or perhaps it was because Concubine Chen interceded and spared Pei Wen'an.
"Does the envoy know Pei Wen'an?" Xiao Xia nodded. "Although I have never met him, I have dealt with him before. I will go to visit him now and ask this fatherly official how he treats the people of Yique County well."
Xiao Xia and his men climbed over the wall into the backyard of the county government office, walked around a rockery and entered the back garden, only to see two officials sitting in the pavilion playing chess.
You Junda recognized the two at a glance and quickly said to Xiao Xia: "The older one is Pei Wen'an, and the younger one is Yang Jishan."
Xiao Xia said to his warriors: "You guys rest here, I'll go meet them!"
Xiao Xia walked towards the pavilion alone.
The people playing chess in the pavilion were the county magistrate Pei Wen'an and the county lieutenant Yang Jishan. Pei Wen'an escaped death thanks to Concubine Chen's intercession and was arranged by King of Han Yang Liang to serve as the county magistrate in Yique County.
Yang Jishan made a move and said, "It's such a mess outside, how can the county lord tolerate it?"
Pei Wen'an smiled bitterly and said, "What should I do? I have asked the Mahayana Sect many times to stop, but they agreed verbally but never changed. I complained to Huang Zongguan several times at the beginning of the year, hoping that he would send troops to stop the Mahayana Sect's misconduct, but he never responded. I can't do anything!"
Suddenly, a clear voice came from the side, "Pei County Lord is taking advantage of others because he took money from the Mahayana Sect!"
Pei Wen'an's face darkened and he looked back, only to see a young man in warrior uniform appearing in front of the pavilion. He had never seen him before.
Pei Wen'an was stunned, "Who are you?"
Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "We had a fight over a letter in Jiangdu. Does Pei Gong still remember?"
Yang Jishan beside him suddenly blurted out, "You are Xiao Xia!"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "How does County Lieutenant Yang know me?"
Pei Wen'an suddenly broke out in a cold sweat on his back. He knew who the young man in front of him was.
Pei Wen'an was about to call for help, but Xiao Xia waved his hand and said, "Mr. Pei is a smart man, it's better not to call for help. I don't have the intention to kill you now."
At this moment, someone in the distance shouted, "Who are you?"
Xiao Xia took out the Imperial Censor card and showed it to Pei Wen'an, "Those are my men. Tell them to be quiet!"
Pei Wen'an quickly shouted: "Don't make a fuss, they are my guests!"
The distance became quiet again.
Xiao Xia sat down and said, "I came to Yique County to wipe out the Mahayana sect on the order of the emperor. You two are officials appointed by the court. I don't care what you did in the past. I only care about your current attitude. This is your last chance to make merit and atone for your sins!"
The two looked at each other and said together: "We are willing to do our best to assist you in handling the case!"
Pei Wen'an sighed and said, "Actually I really want to manage it, but I really can't. When I took office last year, they had already grown big. Huang, who obviously has the army to manage it, has an ambiguous attitude. I don't know how much bribes he took to indulge these cults. I went to him again and again, but he refused to send troops to suppress them."
Xiao Xia glanced at Pei Wen'an coldly, "Isn't County Magistrate Pei the counselor of His Royal Highness the King of Han? How could he say such shameless words!"
Pei Wen'an immediately said in dissatisfaction: "I am no longer his counselor in Jiangdu, so how can my words be so shameless?"
Yang Jishan explained for Pei Wen'an, "I can testify that County Magistrate Pei really hates Mahayana Buddhism. He rejected the Mahayana Buddhism's bribe of 3,000 strings of cash. He only took office last October, and as soon as he took office, he discussed with me how to eliminate this evil cult. It was because of our joint letter to my father that the emperor knew about the spread of these evil cults, and Envoy Xiao came here on the emperor's orders."
Xiao Xia nodded. "You are the son of Prime Minister Yang. I believe you don't know the secrets here, but I didn't expect that Magistrate Pei would not know it either?"
Pei Wen'an asked anxiously, "Is the Mahayana School related to His Royal Highness the King of Han?"
Xiao Xia laughed, "County Magistrate Pei obviously knows that!"
Pei Wen'an shook his head quickly, "No! I don't know, this is my guess. Huang Yaokuan's attitude was ambiguous, and I felt something was wrong. I began to suspect that it was related to the King of Han, but I had no evidence, and I didn't dare to say anything nonsense to Prime Minister Yang."
Xiao Xia said calmly: "I can tell you two clearly that the King of Han is using the Mahayana religion to make money!"
(End of this chapter)