A few days later, Deng Fugui arrived.
When Deng Fugui arrived at the prefectural governor's office, Yuan Yuncai announced that he had taken over as the prefect of Jiangyang County.
Although the official appointment document for Chang Sui has not yet been issued, the words of the Princess Chang represent the court, and the emperor's words are not to be taken lightly.
Like any new broom sweeping clean, Deng Fugui was no exception, unleashing a series of swift and decisive measures from the inside out.
With the massacre of civilians by Qi Bainian concluded, Deng Fugui seized upon Qi Bainian's treason to investigate all officials in Jiangcheng, including those who had prior knowledge of the matter and those who had colluded with Qi Bainian.
Miao Shaohua's first charge against Qi Bainian was that Qi Bainian colluded with the Tu and Lu families to embezzle the private property of ordinary people. Deng Fugui ordered a thorough investigation into the businesses of the Tu and Lu families. Although this was not conducive to his foothold in Jiangcheng, this move won the hearts of the people.
In addition, Deng Fugui strengthened the defenses along the eastern coast and sent troops out to sea fifty li to suppress pirates. This order was a common practice for the newly appointed governor of Jiangyang County. Suppressing pirates had always been a routine task for Jiangyang County.
In addition to these three fires, Deng Fugui lit a fourth one.
Purge the Southern Zhou spies from Jiangcheng!
Deng Fugui's reasoning was simple: Qi Bainian ran to Southern Weekly as soon as he got into trouble, which meant he must have had prior contact with Southern Weekly.
How can we allow Southern Zhou spies to remain in Jiangcheng and become a backup plan for corrupt officials in our Great Jing?
But Zhao Cheng felt that Deng Fugui's actions were probably because of his presence as a treacherous spy from the south.
They want to use my luck as the Southern Spy Star to get rid of the Southern Zhou spy.
Deng Fugui, you're so cunning!
Zhao Cheng had not met Deng Fugui for several days since he arrived. Before the imperial appointment was issued, it was Yuan Yun who went to support Deng Fugui.
It wasn't until the imperial court issued the appointment letter that Zhao Cheng secretly arranged to meet with Deng Fugui.
There were only Zhao Cheng, Zhao Yan, and Zhao Wu in the private room of the restaurant. When Deng Fugui and Chai Xin came in, they knelt down before Zhao Cheng without any hesitation.
"Deng Fugui knelt down to express his gratitude to the young prime minister for his patronage!!"
Zhao Cheng was startled and quickly went over to help Deng Fugui up, shouting, "Lord Deng, don't get me into trouble! If someone sees this, how am I supposed to live?"
Deng Fugui chuckled, the hair on the black mole on his nose trembling, and said, "I know what I'm doing. I only dared to act this way because the Princess wasn't here!"
"I kneel and thank the young prime minister for his guidance..."
Just as Chai Xin was about to kneel down, Zhao Cheng kicked him and roared, "Don't follow this old bastard's example!"
Chai Xin didn't dodge, willingly taking Zhao Cheng's kick, and then bowed deeply with clasped hands.
Zhao Cheng accepted the compliment and nodded.
The firewood wasn't brought by Deng Fugui; it was arranged by Yuan Yun at Zhao Cheng's request.
Now that Li Dai is the prefect of Yanchuan City, it is no longer meaningful for Chai Xin to continue serving as the patrol inspector in Yanchuan City. Deng Fugui will be facing Qi Bainian's loyal followers, and having Chai Xin, one of his own, with him will be of greater help to Deng Fugui.
Therefore, Chai Xin felt the same gratitude towards Zhao Cheng as he did towards Deng Fugui.
Zhao Cheng patted Deng Fugui on the shoulder and said with a smile, "I've always kept that matter in Yanchuan City in mind, and this is me fulfilling my promise."
Deng Fugui said, moved, "This is too big..."
Zhao Cheng affirmed, "You can hold on to it."
Deng Fugui knelt down again and said, "This humble official will forever follow the lead of the Young Prime Minister and the Right Prime Minister!"
"Bullshit! You're a Dajing official, you should be loyal to the country!" Deng Fugui finally lost his temper and kicked Deng Fugui, saying, "If you kneel again, I won't eat this meal!"
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Deng Fugui quickly stood up, glanced at Zhao Yan standing to the side, and exclaimed in surprise, "Third Master is here too!"
Zhao Yan clasped his hands in greeting to Deng Fugui.
“What Third Master? He’s so young, just call him Third Young Master!” Zhao Cheng sat down first.
Deng Fugui laughed and said, "There are no outsiders here, and you all know that the Right Prime Minister is a role model for me throughout my life..."
“I know you’re my dad’s lapdog, but you’re an elder, you don’t have to treat us younger generation like this.”
Although he said that, Zhao Cheng spoke in a lecturing tone, saying, "You are now the head of a prefecture, no longer a minister who is idle and retired. You must have the proper demeanor."
"This humble official will keep in mind the young prime minister's teachings!"
"Alright, let's get down to business." Zhao Cheng looked at Zhao Yan and said, "Third brother, pour wine for the two gentlemen."
"Yes!" Zhao Yan replied sternly.
Deng Fugui was alright, but Chai Xin became reserved and said, "Third Master... Third Young Master, please sit down and eat with us?"
Zhao Cheng said, "The third brother came with me this time; he is my attendant."
Upon hearing this, Chai Xin dared not say anything more, understanding that Zhao Cheng was grooming his younger brother.
After Zhao Yan poured wine for the three of them, Zhao Cheng picked up a cup and said, "Lord Deng, I won't say much else, but I have two things to tell you."
"Please speak, young prime minister." Deng Fugui listened attentively.
Zhao Cheng tapped the table with his finger, and Zhao Yan continued to pour wine for the three of them.
Zhao Cheng said, "Your third-in-command in the prefectural governor's office, the prefectural commandant Shang Dongyang, has been privately raising a hundred-man elite guard. Are you aware of this?"
Deng Fugui looked surprised and shook his head, saying, "I don't know anything about it."
Chai Xin's expression turned wary, his killing intent fully revealed. He said, "Young Master, are you worried that they might harm the Lord?"
Zhao Cheng nodded and said, "At first I thought these hundred assassins would come for me, but it's been so long and Shang Dongyang hasn't made a move yet, so there are only two possibilities."
"One possibility is that Shang Dongyang no longer wants to have any connection with Qi Bainian and wants to continue working as a county magistrate in a down-to-earth manner."
"The other possibility is that Shang Dongyang is not confident in taking action against me, so he can only change his target to someone else."
Zhao Cheng looked up at Deng Fugui and said coldly, "As soon as Lord Deng arrived in Jiangcheng, he used swift and decisive measures to purge the internal forces. This is bound to make Shang Dongyang nervous. He, Zeng Peng, Liu Ying, and others are all Qi Bainian's confidants. If they join forces to fight you to the death, you will be in big trouble."
Deng Fugui pondered for a moment, then said, "I've remembered the young prime minister's reminder. As for firewood, are you confident?"
After thinking it over carefully, Chai Xin said, "I dare not speak so confidently about this matter!"
Deng Fugui glared at Chai Xin and cursed, "Please excuse my foolishness, young prime minister!"
Zhao Cheng shook his head and said, "Lord Chai's concerns are valid. This is not Yanchuan City after all, and you have only been in Jiangcheng for a short time. You can't even find out about Shang Dongyang's hundred assassins, so how can you be sure that everything will be foolproof?"
"The second thing I want to say is that I need Lord Deng's help. In return, I will provide you with intelligence and military support."
Zhao Cheng glanced at Zhao Yan and Zhao Wu and said, "If things really come to light, Lao San and Zhao Wu will help you."
"This...this...I'm so grateful to have troubled you, Third Young Master and Brother Zhao Wu!" Deng Fugui quickly raised his cup and said with a smile, "This humble official toasts the young prime minister!"
After drinking it, Deng Fugui quickly asked, "The matter that the young prime minister asked me to handle involves the Tu and Lu families, right?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
