Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 342: Go straight to Huanglong, a wonderful supporting role
"My Lord, Dr. Zhang's trick is really good! He actually uses stamping on people's hands to identify the recipients of the reward!"
In a three-story tavern half a street away from the county government office, which overlooks the street in front of the government office, Zhu Tingfang saw the guys who fanned the flames being brought forward one by one. The initial chaotic atmosphere turned into joy and excitement of receiving a reward. He also heard Zhang Shou personally praising everyone's bravery in capturing the thieves and asking them to wait in the front street for a while, as the reward money would arrive soon. He could not help but nodded approvingly.
When the news of the fire at the city gate came, he immediately led his men to rush over, but they split into two groups halfway. One group went to check the fire scene, and he only brought two guards back. He also found two people sneaking around at a street corner, who seemed to be lookouts. From this, he judged that the person behind the scenes should have hired more people to lookout, so he actually took a detour and quietly entered the tavern.
But he saw Zhang Shou and his party's carriage coming back from the palace from afar, and he should have caught the eye of the lookout, but he found that the rioters still did not disperse, which made him feel a little strange. But then he thought that although Zhang Shou had made a great reputation in less than a year, in the eyes of people like the eldest prince, he might still be regarded as a weak boy who was just lucky.
Furthermore, people might think that Zhang Shou is not him, has never led troops, and has never dealt with chaotic people. Even if there is a master like Ah Liu, the law cannot punish the masses, and it is not certain that the instigator hiding in the crowd can be caught. But these people never expected that such an ugly old man would appear and break the situation, and then Zhang Shou used another extremely rogue trick!
Zhu Tingfang stroked the scar on his face and laughed, "Zhang Shou's response was indeed good. What a great reward for capturing the thief. It seems that I don't need to go out in person!"
The guard who had just spoken looked at the other guard and said flatteringly, "Young Master, you are worrying too much. The future husband that the young lady has chosen is a handsome man with extraordinary character. How could these street urchins be able to plot against him?"
"You're wrong. This has nothing to do with his extraordinary character. To be honest, it's because Zhang Shou himself comes from the common people and can get along with ordinary people without any airs, so he can use them like an arm. If that old guy hadn't jumped out to disrupt the atmosphere just now, do you think that the little bounty Zhang Shou offered could really impress everyone?"
At this point, Zhu Tingfang turned around and saw the guard smiling awkwardly, as if he was embarrassed because he had flattered someone. He said with a half-smile, "I transferred you to follow me because you can fight, not because you can flatter. Don't learn these things in the future! Although I'm not as good at winning people over as Zhang Shou, with you here, are you still worried about not having enough people?"
Among his personal soldiers, there were very few who were originally from the Duke of Zhao's mansion, because when he was driven away by his father to lead the army, he only had two family generals by his side. Now, many were his former subordinates, who had been captured with him, shared hardships and escaped from a death sentence, and knew each other well.
When he said that, the guard immediately touched his nose and said awkwardly, "That guy Lao Xi taught me all this. I thought he was always good at talking, so I wanted to learn from him how to flatter people. I didn't expect that I would be rejected by the eldest master the first time I tried!"
"So many of you came with me to Cangzhou, but I only picked him to go around and find out the situation. Do you think it's because he's better at flattery and talking? This time I'm going to use his ability to say one thing to one person and another thing to another. His smooth talk was practiced among the people. When it comes to scheming and playing tricks, no one can compare to him."
"You are asked to play tricks on others with words and tricks? Can you do it?"
At this point, Zhu Tingfang saw that the two of them couldn't help but blush, so he said calmly: "I have already sent people to guard the six mansions that are in collusion with the eldest prince. If they all stay at home quietly, that would be the best. And if all the people around the eldest prince are captured by Xian Yunhe and others in one fell swoop, without any omissions, that would be even better. But what if there are fish that slip through the net outside?"
"What's more, Xu Cheng has been operating in Cangzhou for so long. Although I have captured him in one fell swoop, as long as there are still followers on the run, trying to stir up trouble and stir up trouble, it will be hard to prevent them."
The two guards looked at each other. The guard who had just flattered the enemy wanted to flatter him, but when the words came to his lips, he learned his lesson and could only laugh dryly, "Old Xi is indeed good at bragging, but it is too risky for him to do such a big thing alone. The eldest master should have sent one or two more people to help him."
For example, I am definitely better than that boastful guy!
Zhu Tingfang immediately laughed: "He volunteered, saying that being alone is enough. He said that some people think they are doing things secretly, but they don't know that they can't hide it from the thugs, ruffians, and beggar leaders who make a living in the market... Because any disturbance may endanger their living environment, so these people have always been the best at observing unusual movements."
"He also said that many unsolved mysteries, once they encounter an iron-faced chief judge, will also arrest the vagabonds and put them in jail, torture and interrogate them, and often lead to the discovery of the truth. The reason for each case is that these vagabonds know how to seek benefits and avoid harm, and will not speak out what they see or hear... Anyway, one more or one less person around me is insignificant, so I let him go and give it a try."
At this point, Zhu Tingfang casually put the teacup on the table and said with a half-smile, "I just hope that he can drill a hole in the web of the nine classes in Cangzhou for me. That would be a good result. I didn't expect that he found clues when the head of the Jiang family made a fuss before. This time, he got the news that someone was coming to cause trouble early!"
The two guards' eyes widened immediately, and they were all delighted: "So, the eldest master wants to take advantage of others to divert the tiger away from the mountain so that we can attack Huanglong directly?"
"Yes, let's go straight to Huanglong!" Zhu Tingfang laughed and said meaningfully, "Let's go, don't worry about the county government, just leave it to Zhang Shou!"
At the gate of the county government office, Zhang Shou stood at the gate to comfort everyone because the reward had not yet arrived and he was worried that he would be considered untrustworthy.
He was handsome, elegant and of outstanding demeanor. Now he adopted an approachable attitude and spoke to the Cangzhou locals in a tone that made people feel like spring breeze. Even those who could not talk to him could not help but feel that the imperial envoy sent by the court was gentle and amiable.
Zhang Shou certainly knew that officials these days had to keep a distance from the people in order to maintain a sense of mystery... The problem was that Zhu Tingfang had already been set up as a person who should be kept away from strangers. He was just a 17-year-old boy, and he was not the future magistrate of Changlu County in Cangzhou. If he continued to act mysterious and powerful, he would be digging a hole for himself.
Moreover, at this moment, the old salted fish on the other side was bragging to others about how profound his knowledge was as a doctor of the Imperial College, how he was in the emperor's heart, how he was humble and calm, and how he could educate the playboys... Anyway, he was bragging so much that he didn't even recognize himself. But because of this, he gained more and more respect from all directions.
Amidst all the respectful and admiring gazes, someone couldn't help but shout out, "So according to what you said, isn't Dr. Zhang a figure like Mr. Xu?"
Zhang Shou had already discovered last night that in Cangzhou, those wealthy families with hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets were indeed prestigious, but that was only because of their wealth and status. The one who was truly respected and loved was Mr. Xu, who opened a private school to teach students without charging tuition. Therefore, although Zhu Ying was proud last night, after Zhu Tingfang left them in anger, he went to comfort Mr. Xu in the middle of the night.
It can be said that the brother and sister have one villain and one good guy - except that the villain is the beautiful young lady, and the good guy is the murderous young master. It's really hard to say what to say...
Zhang Shou himself was not in a position to answer these questions which seemed like doubts but were not, but Lao Xianyu had his own way.
He dragged Zhu Er to him and said with a smile, "Dr. Zhang is the future son-in-law of Duke Zhao who just returned from the north! This one is the second son of Duke Zhao, the younger brother of the current imperial envoy, General Mingwei."
The old man didn't care how confused Zhu Er's expression was, and his saliva was flying everywhere.
"He used to be a famous playboy in the capital. But since Dr. Zhang came to the Imperial College and took charge of Banshan Hall and Jiuzhang Hall, he, a student who used to skip classes every day, was forced by his family to attend classes in Banshan Hall. In less than half a year, he became the acting head of the hall. Not only did he make progress in his studies, but he also became a very righteous person..."
Zhu Er was furious at Lao Xianyu's previous comments, but when Lao Xianyu started to praise him, he could not help but puff out his chest and belly, acting very arrogant. But when he heard Lao Xianyu's so-called righteousness, saying that he could not stand the eldest prince's misbehavior, so he sneaked into the palace despite the danger, and then added a lot of fictitious deeds to him, he felt a little scared.
Just when he was worried that Old Salted Fish would blurt out what he had said to persuade the eldest prince to turn the situation around, he did not expect Old Salted Fish to point at him and say, "The most important thing is that the second son Zhu is here to investigate the farming conditions near Cangzhou . He is afraid that those greedy guys will occupy the grain fields because of the huge profits from the cotton fields..."
Zhu Er wanted to point his finger at his nose - he came to Cangzhou with such a noble purpose? How come he didn't know it?
Zhang Shou had never expected that Lao Xianyu could piece together a story based on just a little information he had heard. People who didn't know the inside story would probably just believe it! Although it was amazing, he had already experienced Lao Xianyu's mouth, so he could only split his attention for fear that people would start to talk nonsense.
Sure enough, after using Zhu Er to flatter Zhang Shou and causing people to exclaim in admiration, Lao Xianyu suddenly changed his tone and started talking about the spinning machine again, as if he realized that people's mood had gradually changed because the reward had not arrived.
"But Dr. Zhang's greatest strength is not teaching and educating people, so he made the prodigal son turn over a new leaf. He also has talents that others don't have. He drew the blueprints and asked someone to make the new spinning machine! He originally thought that such a tool that doubles efficiency will definitely benefit weavers and spinners all over the world, but he didn't expect that the eldest prince volunteered to come to Cangzhou, but colluded with those unscrupulous wealthy families for his own selfish reasons..."
Even though Zhang Shou had always thought that he was actually very thick-skinned, he couldn't help but shout, "Okay, stop criticizing me. The emperor will make his own decision on the eldest prince. General Mingwei will deal with those innocent textile workers. As for those innocent textile workers, I will take responsibility and properly arrange for their resettlement."
"They lost their jobs, their homes, and fell into hardship. Ultimately, it was all because I underestimated them! It's my fault."
Everyone was originally being led by Lao Xianyu. After seeing Zhang Shou stop Lao Xianyu, he frankly admitted that he would take responsibility and said it was his fault. Many of them were real spectators who were led by the nose, but there were also spinners, cotton farmers and their families who had followed Xian Yunhe to make trouble and were released after Zhu Tingfang arrived.
Compared with the arrogant and domineering eldest prince, the greedy Changlu County Magistrate Xu Cheng, and those wealthy families who would do anything to achieve their goals, most people felt that this heartbroken and elegant young man was really wronged.
Old Salted Fish even shouted at the right time: "Dr. Zhang didn't intend to hide this good thing to make a fortune, but wanted to use it to benefit the world. But it turned out to be like this. It's really a waste of his hard work!"
Zhang Shou was very clear that this old and wrinkled salted fish supporting actor was not arranged by him in advance, but even so, he had to secretly admire the old salted fish's rhetoric. Sure enough, under the baptism of words that they had not discussed beforehand but coordinated perfectly, the crowd didn't know who shouted.
"Dr. Zhang, you are great. I believe in you!"
Zhang Shou was stunned at first, and then when he looked in the direction of the voice, he was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. The one who was shouting... well, it was a girl!
However, the advantage of having someone take the lead is that in a moment, similar voices are everywhere. But there are often women's voices in between, and he can't help sweating on his forehead. It was not until he raised his hand that the crowd finally quieted down, and then he said loudly: "General Mingwei has already agreed with Mr. Xu from Wendao School in Cangzhou to borrow a few students from him."
"Starting tomorrow, Wendao Academy will send two students here every day to help you write petitions. As long as you have been wronged in the past, you can ask someone to write and submit it. But there is one rule: no false accusations or falsifications. Those who violate the rules will be punished. General Mingwei once destroyed the Northern Tartar Firearms Camp during the Northern Expedition and gained a great reputation. He will never tolerate any injustice!"
Zhang Shou deliberately promoted Zhu Tingfang's reputation, and when he found that the crowd finally showed some awe, he continued: "As for the things you just said, General Mingwei will also investigate them carefully. The crimes of those people will be investigated. We will never condone them, but we will never wrongly accuse good people!"
"As for the claim that all the money was spitted out, it is fanning the flames. Please don't fall for it!"
At this point, Zhang Shou heard Ah Liu's voice behind him, and he immediately raised his voice and said, "Okay, the bounty has been delivered. Everyone who has just had their hands stamped, come up and claim your reward!"
