Star Trace Gate

At the beginning of Youshi.

The county magistrate and county magistrate of Funan County, along with seven or eight minor officials, had already arrived at the watchtower of Guancheng to receive orders. Accompanying them were several generals under Wang Shantang.

In addition to these local officials, there were more than 30 unfamiliar faces sitting in the main hall. They only drank tea and communicated in low voices. Li Yan and his three boys were also sitting near the door.

The county magistrate and others did not know this group of people at all, but according to Wang Shantang, these more than 30 strangers had all come from Kyoto specifically to do errands for the emperor, to catch thieves and look for King Huai.

In fact, this excuse was a bit far-fetched, because this group of people did not look like "Beijing officials" in terms of their appearance, habits, body shape, etc. Moreover, they had no documents and had no communication with local officials. They just surrounded Wang Shantang and listened to his orders. These behaviors were very abnormal.

However, the temple is small but the evil spirits are strong. These corrupt officials in Funan County are all old foxes active in areas seriously infested with bandits. Although he sensed something was wrong, he did not dare to ask or say much.

Dozens of people gathered in the hall, some sitting and some standing, making it a little crowded.

Wang Shantang stood in the center of the hall, with his hands behind his back, looking at the officials, and said with full vigor: "I am ordered by the emperor to catch the thieves who sneaked into the Bulao Mountain and find the little prince Huai of Qingliang Mansion within one day. Seeing that half a day has passed, there is still nothing to be found. If I fail to complete the task, you will be punished by the emperor."

Everyone was silent.

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures." Wang Shantang raised his eyebrows and said sternly, "Meng Yang, the captain of the Left Front Guard Battalion, has just led his troops to capture some suspects who are harboring thieves and people with supernatural powers. I have decided to behead these people in front of the city gate as a warning to the public. County Magistrate He, County Magistrate Dong, you two will take the county officials to preside over the beheading and announce to the city that anyone who dares to privately harbor thieves, strangers, or the young Prince Huai of Qingliang Prefecture will be sentenced to death once verified, and his relatives will be implicated as well."

After hearing this, all the officials in Funan County were sweating profusely.

The county magistrate cursed in his heart: "In less than a day, they arrested and beheaded people, and there is no evidence. This kind of atrocities will be dug up by the old and young men in Funan County in the future! Why don't you take charge, and make us do it?"

He was confused and even more suspicious, but he was clear-headed and did not refute.

Seeing that no one responded, Wang Shantang asked again, "Did you hear clearly?"

The county magistrate's forehead was covered with sweat. Just as he was about to reply and shirk responsibility, he saw an old man standing up from the left out of the corner of his eye.

The old man was about sixty years old, with gray hair, a hunched body, and looked extremely old.

This man was called Geng Zhong, nicknamed Geng Lengzi. He was the county magistrate of Funan County, a minor official of the eighth rank.

He was born in a time of war. Although his family was poor, he studied hard to learn the books of sages. However, he was unlucky and had a stubborn character. In his early years, he encountered the war in southern Xinjiang and the imperial examination was cancelled in the border areas. In his later years, his condition was not at its peak. As a result, he failed to pass the provincial examination until he was 42 years old.

Originally, he was planning to give up, but when he was forty-five years old, he attended the founding ceremony of the Lich Kingdom.

The world is united, and the emperor's grace is great.

One year, he left the troubled times and saw the peaceful world. He wanted to try again. If he could pass the exam, he wanted to do something for his hometown before he lay in the coffin.

And this time, he really succeeded, passed the provincial examination, and became the oldest tribute student in the year the country was founded.

After three years of service, he returned to his hometown and became a county magistrate in Funan County.

He officially entered the government at the age of 48, which, in the eyes of others, was the beginning and the end. But Geng Zhong himself felt that his years of study were not in vain. He was blessed by the emperor and was listed as a tribute student. Naturally, he had to use what he had learned throughout his life to be a good county magistrate.

In the inner hall of the watchtower.

Geng Zhong stepped out of the line. Although he looked very old, his voice was as loud as a bell. He said, "Sir Wang, I have three questions."

When all the civil and military officials in the room heard this, they were slightly stunned.

The county magistrate breathed a sigh of relief and kept wiping the sweat off his forehead. He thought to himself, "This Geng Lengzi will never let you down at any time. He is still himself, a rare flower in troubled times."

Wang Shantang was also stunned for a moment, and asked, "Why are you asking three questions?"

"First question. Why didn't they arrest the thieves who sneaked into the Bu Lao Mountain, but only arrested the civilians?"

"Second question. Even if the civilians are harboring the thieves, has Lord Wang found any evidence?"

"Third question. Who said that extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures? Was it the emperor or you, Lord Wang? If it was the emperor, did he revise the law? If it was Lord Wang, what right do you have to ignore the law and kill people based on your heart? Even if the evidence is irrefutable, according to the procedure, it should be submitted to the county government for trial first, and then reported to the Ministry of Justice for review, and finally beheaded in the autumn. You have no evidence, no law, and no reference. On what basis did you order the killing?"

These three questions about quality made everyone present drop their jaws in shock.

Did you see that? He questioned not only Wang Shantang, but also the Emperor...

Wang Shantang never expected that such a blind person would jump out at the scene. He thought to himself, you are just a small county magistrate, just do whatever you are told to do, why are you talking so much nonsense?

"Proof? I have the emperor's secret decree. Does that count as proof?" Wang Shantang asked coldly.

Geng Zhong tried his best to straighten his hunched back, looked at the other party with cloudy eyes and said, "It doesn't count. Even if there is a secret order from the emperor, we must act according to the law! You have arrested so many civilians, and there is no evidence. What if you kill the wrong people?"

Wang Shantang's forehead was bulging with veins, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Do you want to disobey my order?!"

The inner hall was quiet. There were at least a dozen colleagues from the county government standing behind Geng Zhong, but no one tried to stop him.

But he didn't care. He just clasped his fists and bowed, and said word by word: "I remember the last time someone was killed here for no reason, it was the invading soldiers from Daqian! They are the enemy! Lord Wang, are you the enemy?!"

This one sentence choked Wang Shantang so much that he almost jumped up and cursed.

The atmosphere in the hall was extremely awkward. All the officials put their heads in their crotches, and the group of unfamiliar "Beijing officials" also had expressions of watching a show.

Wang Shantang was silent for a while, then pointed at Geng Zhong and said, "You can't see the situation clearly, you are as stupid as a pig! I'll give you three seconds to fight with the county magistrate..."

"I saw it clearly, so I asked three questions." Geng Zhong interrupted again, "It is impossible for me to supervise the execution, and it is even more impossible for me to allow others to kill people wantonly in Funan County."

"Wow!"

Wang Shantang pulled out the sword of the general next to him, exuding a murderous aura: "Are you going or not?!"

"Don't go!"

Geng Zhong did not retreat after seeing the knife, but turned to look at the officials and generals and shouted: "There are so many people with supernatural powers in the city, but he did not arrest them, but closed the city and killed civilians! My lords, don't you think this is strange?"

The shouts echoed for a long time, but the officials lowered their heads even lower.

"You are serving as officials in this county because of the emperor's grace. The people under the city gate are not only the people of Southern Xinjiang, but also your people." Geng Zhong shouted: "Why do so many generals have doubts but dare not speak? Are the swords in your hands all made of paper?"

The inner hall was quiet, with only Geng Zhong's shouting echoing.

After a moment, two generals who were also confused were ready to step forward and say a few words for Geng Zhong.

"Shh!"

At this moment, Wang Shantang suddenly said coldly: "Damn it, you are looking for death! Where is the emperor's envoy?"

"Boom boom boom...!"

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of people with magical powers in the inner hall emitted fluctuations of aura at the same time and pressed towards the hall together.

"Gudong, gudong!"

Those officials who were powerless were unable to resist this force and just bent their bodies and fell to their knees.

Around them, the two generals who were about to step out of the line thought carefully, then immediately retracted their feet, knelt on the ground, lowered their heads, and said no more.

In the lobby, only Geng Zhong was holding on to the ground with his hands, using his old bones to resist the pressure on his body. Although he was lying on the ground, he did not kneel.

He raised his head, looked at Wang Shantang with anger and shouted, "You are falsely conveying the imperial edict! You want to rebel!"

Wang Shantang raised the steel knife and gritted his teeth, "You are very tough, right? Let me see how hard your neck is!"

Looking at the raised steel knife, Geng Zhong shouted: "You are paid a salary and earn the people's money... If you keep silent about this matter, you will be aiding and abetting the tyrant!"

"You are helping the tyrant!!"

The shouts echoed.

"puff!"

With one blow of the knife, the head fell to the ground.

Blood splattered on the uniforms of the surrounding officials. Everyone knelt on the ground, but no one looked up.

Facts have proven that even if one is stubborn, one cannot bend the sharp knife made of steel. Just like a person cannot change the original rules of the world, even if it is extremely small, no matter how hard he tries.

Geng Zhong, who started his career at the age of 48, had his head severed and lying on the ground with warm blood.

After Wang Shantang put away his knife, he was extremely upset. He took out the imperial edict from his arms and spread it out, saying, "Look carefully. Is this the emperor's handwritten secret edict?! The little prince Huai is very important to our southern border. At this moment, if anyone dares to incite people, Geng Zhong will end up like this!"

At this moment, it is almost a known fact.

Even if the officials below were stupid, they must have known that the imperial edict might be true, but there was definitely something wrong with Wang Shantang.

But the irony is that everyone knows that he might have problems, but they are all pretending, and no one jumps out to refute or question it.

Including the generals, they all knelt down and shouted: "We will obey the emperor's order, your Excellency's order."

Wang Shantang looked at everyone, thought carefully for a moment, frowned and said: "Forget it, I will personally supervise the execution, all officials in the hall, all go up to the tower with me."

"Yes!"

The officials responded very meekly.

Everyone stood up and followed Wang Shantang to the top of the city wall.

On the way, a general said to the county magistrate: "Master Wang... is not normal."

"It's normal, too normal." The county magistrate lowered his head and replied, "He has the imperial edict, and he is right. We are listening to the imperial edict...so, everything is normal, don't say anything more."

"Ah."

The general nodded slightly, turned his head to look at Geng Zhong in the inner hall, and a look of guilt flashed in his eyes.

……

A quarter of an hour later.

Everyone in the inner hall followed Wang Shantang to the top of the city gate tower.

Below, more than a hundred civilians were forced to kneel on the ground with their heads held down by soldiers.

Not far away, Ren Ye, who had just arrived here, turned his head and looked, and saw that there were crowds of people around him.

"Snapped!"

Mo Youqian grabbed his wrist and shook his head, saying, "Don't be impulsive. There are too many people here, and Wang Shantang and others are upstairs. Let's go in after this is over."

Just as he finished speaking, a young man in a black and white hat walked into Funan County, very close to Loushan Pass.