Thinking of the tragic scene on the day the border town was breached, Lu Yanzheng quickly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his gaze was cold and sharp. With a flick of his wrist, his long sword was already at Zhu Youcai's neck. "Tell me, where are the 60,000 shi of grain and provisions?"
"General, spare my life!" Zhu Youcai was so frightened that his legs trembled, cold sweat poured down his forehead, his lips quivered, and he dared not move an inch.
Lu Yanzheng pressed the sword against his neck. "If you don't talk, believe me, this general will take care of you right now?"
"I believe you, I believe you..." Zhu Youcai looked at him in fear, his hands trembling uncontrollably, his feet tentatively taking a step back, "The provisions are here..."
Just as he was about to speak, the floor tiles beneath Lu Yanzheng's feet suddenly collapsed, and he fell straight down!
While Zhu Youcai took the opportunity, he turned the vase at the entrance of the dark room, and the floor tiles closed up again.
Before the floor tiles were fully installed, Zhu Youcai squatted down smugly and looked at Lu Yanzheng below, laughing, "General Protector of the Nation? Hahaha... It's just a title bestowed casually by Prime Minister Su, a mere figurehead. Do you really think you can go against Prime Minister Su?"
"It's two zhang high down there, no matter how skilled you are, you can't get up there! General Lu, you should stay down there..."
Zhu Youcai watched triumphantly as the floor tiles were about to close, feeling relieved. He had finally gotten rid of the sword hanging over his head!
However, before he could finish speaking, a sword tip suddenly appeared from the crack in the floor tiles, and in the next instant, the floor tiles were shattered by the longsword!
The flying pebbles hit Zhu Youcai, and a sharp pain shot through him. He jerked back and cried out, "Ah!"
In the blink of an eye, Lu Yanzheng burst out from under the floor tiles. In the instant the dust settled, Zhu Youcai didn't even see how he moved before the long sword was once again pressed against his neck.
“I don’t know if I can go against Prime Minister Su, but I do know,” Lu Yanzheng looked at him coldly, “that I can take your life right now!”
"General, spare me! Spare me!" Zhu Youcai was truly terrified; the rumors had misled him!
How could Lu Yanzheng possess such exceptional skills? Wasn't he said to come from a poor, remote farming family in Yongshan County, a place where a scholar might not even emerge once every ten years? How could such a master like Lu Yanzheng possibly have been raised there?
At this moment, Zhu Youcai was deeply questioning the meaning of life.
Lu Yanzheng didn't want to waste any more words with him this time. He lightly sliced his long sword across the man's neck, and blood flowed freely. "If you don't tell me the whereabouts of the 60,000 shi of grain, I will have your head rolled off the bridge right now!"
"I'll talk! I'll talk..." Zhu Youcai cried out in pain, trembling as he shouted, "All the grain and provisions have been transported to Qiongzhou Prefecture by Prime Minister Su's men!"
Lu Yan frowned. "Qiongzhou Prefecture?" He looked sharply at Zhu Youcai. "All the grain and provisions have been transported away?"
He didn't believe that a corrupt official like Zhu Youcai wouldn't have made a profit from it; that old fox was definitely not telling the truth.
Sure enough, Zhu Youcai's gaze flickered slightly. "How could this humble official dare to lie to the general? Those 60,000 shi of grain and provisions really were transported away!"
If he is lucky enough to escape this calamity today, he can find a way to bring out the group from Qinggang Mountain and recover the lost 10,000 shi of grain and all that silver. That batch of things must not fall into Lu Yanzheng's hands!
Lu Yanzheng sneered, "It seems you really won't shed a tear until you see the coffin. Then this general will grant your wish!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Yanzheng quickly twirled his longsword, and the next moment, Zhu Youcai's right arm was completely severed!
Zhu Youcai stared blankly at his arm lying on the ground, momentarily bewildered, looking at Lu Yanzheng in disbelief, "You...you..."
"Zhu Youcai, you have been in Yongshan County for three years. During that time, how many exorbitant taxes and levies have you imposed on the people? I don't need to read them all to you, do I? In addition to plundering the people's wealth, you have also privately withheld the grain and pay that the court is supposed to give to the border troops. Starting from one thousand shi of grain per year three years ago, it has increased to an unknown amount now. Tell me, if I submit this evidence to the court, will Prime Minister Su be able to protect you?"
Lu Yanzheng looked at Zhu Youcai as if he were looking at a dead man.
"I am an official appointed by the imperial court! How dare you, Lu Yanzheng?!" Zhu Youcai clutched his wound, glaring at Lu Yanzheng with eyes wide with fury. If looks could kill, Lu Yanzheng would have been dead countless times over.
Lu Yanzheng curled his lips indifferently, "An official appointed by the imperial court? Zhu Youcai, if you don't reveal the whereabouts of the border army's provisions and pay..."
Seeing Lu Yanzheng raise his sword again, Zhu Youcai completely cowered and desperately retreated, "I'll talk, I'll talk! Of the 60,000 shi of grain and provisions, only 50,000 were transported to Qiongzhou. The other 10,000 were robbed by me and the bandits from Qinggang Mountain..."
"Bandits from Qinggang Mountain?" Lu Yanzheng suddenly remembered the group that had committed murder and arson in Dingshui Village tonight. "Was their leader a one-eyed man?"
“Yes, yes, that’s him! His name is One-Eyed King, and he’s been working for me for the past three years…” Zhu Youcai knew that if he didn’t speak up, he would die right there. If he did, there might still be room for negotiation. So he told him all about the deal he had made with One-Eyed King.
After hearing everything he had said, Lu Yanzheng's anger flared up. He swung his sword and severed Zhu Youcai's other arm, his thin lips uttering a few words, "You deserve to die!"
But he wouldn't let him die so easily; that batch of 10,000 shi of grain was too important to the border troops!
"Ah!" Zhu Youcai screamed again, losing his balance and falling heavily to his knees, his knees cracking softly.
"General, spare my life... I've already told you everything..." Zhu Youcai endured the pain and kept kowtowing to Lu Yanzheng, begging for mercy.
If he can survive, he will definitely avenge himself!
Just then, Qin Shen rushed in with a group of yamen runners on New Year's Eve duty. "General, the entire county yamen has been taken under control. Those who resisted have been tied up by our men. What's the next step?"
"The corrupt official Zhu Youcai has been brought to justice. I hereby order you to temporarily take over the county government and ensure the normal operation of Yongshan County," Lu Yanzheng said calmly to Qin Shen.
Qin Shen glanced at Zhu Youcai, who was still kowtowing even though he had no arms. Although he really didn't want to be tied up in the county office, he had no one by his side now, so he could only immediately cup his hands and reply, "Your subordinate obeys!"
After saying that, Qin Shen said to the people behind him, "Tie up Zhu Youcai and lock him in the worst cell!"
"This..." The constables hesitated to take action.
Lu Yanzheng glanced at them and said, "I will take full responsibility for this matter. I will submit the evidence of Zhu Youcai's embezzlement to the court immediately. He is now a wanted criminal. If any of you want to release him, you will be aiding and abetting evil. I will not let him off easily!"
The constables exchanged glances before daring to step forward and quickly bound Zhu Youcai.
Zhu Youcai kept begging for mercy until he was taken away, but Lu Yanzheng didn't even give him a second glance.
"General, have you inquired about the whereabouts of the provisions and pay? The border troops are still waiting for food to cook, and we don't know how long the provisions that Eagle and the others brought back from the Western Qiang will last..."
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