Chapter 227 You Are a Good Official
Fearing a second round of attacks, the bandits quickly entered the stronghold through the mountain gate.
Hawkeye stood outside the mountain gate and cursed, "Officer Zhou! My Black Eagle Village was living a peaceful life. After the snowstorm, all the brothers have been doing spring plowing and sowing. We also want to be good citizens, but you are going too far. You are forcing our village to return to its old ways!"
"No!" Zhou Huaining said helplessly, "You misunderstood. Shooting the arrow just now was really not my plan!"
Hawkeye snorted, "Do you think I'd believe you? If it weren't for Xiao Jiuer today, my Black Eagle Village would have faced annihilation. You attacked the Black Eagle Village first, then went back on your word. I, Hawkeye, will remember this!"
"Boss, stop talking and come back!"
The bandits were worried that Hawkeye would be injured by a hidden arrow, so they dragged Hawkeye back to the mountain stronghold.
Zhou Huaining looked at Hawkeye's departing back, feeling lost, and turned to walk towards the other side.
"Young master has suffered, it's all because of my incompetence!" The leader of the guards hurried forward and cut the ropes that bound Zhou Huaining.
Zhou Huaining came to the Ye family's coal hill.
When the guards saw him coming, they all knelt down, "Sir!"
Zhou Huaining was so angry that he shouted: "Who told you to shoot arrows? Did I tell you to shoot arrows? Why did you act on your own initiative?"
The guards lowered their heads and remained silent.
"It's my fault," the guard leader said, clasping his fists. "I thought you were here to suppress bandits, and this move would be a perfect opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop. I didn't realize your plans had changed. Please forgive me."
"Of course I'm going to punish you!" Zhou Huaining shouted, "Go back and get fifty lashes! Take your men and get back to the capital!"
"Sir, you can't do that!" the guard leader knelt down and said, "Sir, please give me some more beatings. We are here to protect you. We can't leave you and go back to the capital!"
"I don't want your protection anymore!" Zhou Huaining snorted.
"How long are you going to keep messing around?!" Zhao Xingjian's face turned pale.
Zhou Huaining was stunned, looking a little aggrieved, "Brother, I...
Zhao Xingjian looked at the head of the guards and said, "You should go back to the county government office first."
The head of the guards glanced at Zhou Huaining and said, "Sir..."
"Get out of here!" Zhou Huaining said unhappily.
The guards retreated quickly as if they had been pardoned.
To be honest, they didn't want to stay in this weird and scary place for a moment. They would rather go back and get beaten.
"Senior brother, was it Wu Yong who came to find you?" Zhou Huaining put on a smiling expression.
"Zhou Huaining, no one is laughing with you." Zhao Xingjian said with a serious face.
"Brother, you blame me for punishing them? But they disobeyed orders and made rash decisions, so they should be punished!"
"They were certainly wrong to fire their arrows today, but that was also due to your poor command!" Zhao Xingjian said sharply, "If you had a complete and thorough plan, how could you have been held hostage? And how could the guards always act without a leader and act on their own?"
“Senior Brother…”
"Don't call me Senior Brother! If you were my real brother, I would have beaten you today!" Zhao Xingjian said sternly, "How could you be so ignorant of your own limitations, bringing over a hundred guards to suppress bandits without any real plans? You should be thankful that you encountered the Black Eagle Village. If you were the truly vicious and ruthless criminals, you would have died a hundred times already!"
"Brother, I know I was too reckless in this matter," Zhou Huaining said, "but I also want to achieve great things..."
"Achieve great achievements? Zhou Huaining, you can fool others, but you can't fool me!" Zhao Xingjian was angry and heartbroken. "If you really wanted to achieve great achievements, you should have followed your father to the army to gain experience earlier. Being a deputy general now wouldn't be difficult. Why do you indulge in sensual pleasures and make the Marquis worry about you so much?"
"Brother, do you think I don't want to?" Zhou Huaining's eyes were red, like a wronged child.
"I once begged my father to take me into the army to train me. But he said I was born timid and cowardly. Not only could I not become a general, I couldn't even fight in battle. What can I do? I am a useless person. I can't do anything except eat, drink and have fun!"
"But, Mr. Zhou, you are a good county magistrate!" Ye Yanping strode over with the sleeping little kid in his arms.
"You don't have to laugh at me..." Zhou Huaining almost cried out.
Ye Yanping said seriously, "You are the most beloved and well-respected county magistrate in Xianchuan County over the years. Whenever you go to the town, you will hear the people praising you."
Zhou Huaining glanced at Ye Yanping, grinned, and his lips trembled.
"Yan Ping, are you the one laughing at me too? Don't you look very honest and loyal?"
Ye Yanping said: "I am not laughing at you, I am telling the truth."
Zhou Huaining held back his tears, his expression strange. "But, I clearly didn't do anything! They are fools. I just beat up the person who bribed me. I just gave them a little money to shovel snow, and they are actually grateful..."
"You haven't done nothing, you've done a lot!" Ye Yanping exclaimed. "What you just said, from the perspective of an ordinary citizen like me, is already a rare and precious good deed!"
Ye Yanping was very excited and Zhou Huaining was stunned.
"Officials have always been corrupt and accepted bribes, exploiting the people. Where have officials ever beaten bribe-takers and used their own money to reward the people for their hard work?
You cracked down on bribers, giving hope to those who had been wronged for a long time; you gave money to the people, which might not be a big deal to you, but it was timely rain for them! You said you didn't do anything, but you've already surpassed countless officials who "did too much"! In my opinion, Ye Yanping, you are a good official! "
Zhou Huaining looked at the impassioned Ye Yanping and wiped his eyes. "You...are you really that talkative? Why do I act like I don't know you?"
Ye Yanping said embarrassedly: "This is what I really feel. I've been holding it in my heart for a long time, and now it just comes out naturally!"
Zhou Huaining glanced at Zhao Xingjian secretly, and Zhao Xingjian snorted, "Yan Ping is right, you are doing a good job as the magistrate of Xianchuan County!"
As the saying goes, give a slap in the face and then give a sweet date. Zhao Xingjian was deliberately encouraging Zhou Huaining.
"Your Excellency the County Magistrate!" Ye Yanping looked at Zhou Huaining with burning eyes.
Zhou Huaining was startled, "Didn't we agree not to call her that?"
"The County Magistrate is the hope of all the people in Xianchuan County. I beg you to protect these people. They have suffered so much over the years!"
"I, I, I..." Zhou Huaining kept backing away. "I have some official business to attend to. I'm going back to the county government office first!"
After turning around and walking a few steps, he stopped and said to Zhao Xingjian: "Brother, although you scolded me today, I am very happy!"
Zhao Xingjian turned his head to look at him, but saw that he had already run down the mountain.
An extremely excited voice came over, "Brother, next time if you want to hit me, just go ahead and hit me!"
Ye Yanping nodded: "Mr. Zhou's personality is indeed good!"
Zhao Xingjian shook his head: "But I suspect he has masochistic tendencies."
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