Chapter 104: The Fictional County Magistrate
g Lin shook his head and said, "No matter who they were before, the moment they stormed into our village and started looting our money, grain, and supplies, they became bandits!""Times are hard, and e...Before Zhao Kang could speak again, Yang Lin added another sentence.
"The last one who doubted the authenticity of the imperial decree was Zhao Deyi, he is already dead!"
Hiss——!
Zhao Kang gasped in shock.
The threat in his words was blatant and unmistakable.
At this moment, Zhao Kang understood that whether the imperial edict was real or fake no longer mattered.
"What do you want to do"
Zhao Kang stopped looking at the imperial edict and turned his gaze to Yang Lin.
Yang Lin took out a thick wad of paper from his sleeve and placed it on the table.
These are the pieces of evidence that Zhou Kun and Zhao Deyi committed, a total of ninety-eight sworn statements, all signed and sealed.
Zhao Kang hurriedly took it over and flipped through it.
Upon seeing this, he gasped in shock and slammed his fist on the table. "They are so bold! I never thought they would commit such atrocities!"
What do you want to do
Zhao Kang gazed strangely at Yang Lin.
He came to find me on purpose, he must have something to ask for, right
Yang Lin's face was heavy: "There is both eyewitness and physical evidence. I only hope that the lord will uphold justice."
"Acting impartially, that..."
Zhao Kang frowned.
Just by taking a quick glance, he could determine that if the law were to be applied impartially, half of them would be sentenced to death!
As for them, it was easy to execute them according to the law.
This way, you'd offend all the prominent families like the Zhou and Zhao clans!
What Zhou and Zhao families have done, how many other families haven't done it
Don't even talk about him! If you really look into his own family, they're not clean either!
The river is only a small place, barely the size of a palm. Traditionally, prominent families have always given each other face. Now, if they truly use the law to kill someone, it would be like offending every single wealthy family!
"How about it, Lord Zhao Not willing" Yang Lin narrowed his eyes and asked faintly.
Zhao Kang stared intently at Yang Lin: "Tell me honestly, what do you want"
Zhao Kang knew very well that if Yang Lin just wanted to kill someone, or eliminate Zhou Kun and Zhao Deyi's family, he had already done so.
Now that you're looking for yourself, there must be other motives!
Yang Lin smiled and said, "Zhao Da is a smart man, so I won't beat around the bush. I plan to make a deal with Zhao Da."
"I helped Zhao Da gain power, and Zhao Da helped me place several people in the government."
Zhao Kang sneered, "Boost me to power Lord Yang, you have such big aspirations! This official asks you, even if you were truly a baron, without any official position, how could you elevate me"
He didn't believe from the bottom of his heart that Yang Lin was a real nobleman, but what could he do now Who would dare to go against someone with such powerful fists
"Simple."
Li Yuyao spoke, "According to the Daqian Law, officials of rank eight and nine, who want to be promoted, need to take the exam for three years, scoring excellent, and having a recommendation from their superiors, then they can be promoted."
"Zhao, I presume, knows that getting good scores and completing the three-year assessment is not difficult. The real difficulty lies in receiving a recommendation from one's superiors."
"Coincidentally, my younger sister is the daughter of Han Feng, the magistrate of Nanyang County. As long as the magistrate recommends her, Zhao Lord wanting to be promoted would be as easy as turning his palm."
Zhao Kang was startled.
He didn't take Yang Lin seriously at first.
Now that I think about it, it doesn't seem impossible at all!
"But why would you help me get promoted" Zhao Kang asked.
Yang Lin smiled and said, "As I said, everyone takes what they need! I plan to have Uncle Zhao San follow Lord Zhao and act as his deputy, learning the ways of governing from him; I also have a brother who will be arranged in the criminal department, also as a deputy." "When Lord Zhao is promoted in the future, Uncle San can take over the position of county magistrate; my other brother will also take over the head of the criminal department."
Zhao Kang took another sharp breath of cold air.
He now fully understands.
Yang Lin is trying to ally himself and bypass the county magistrate!
One controls all civilian affairs in the county, and the Department of Punishment and Law Enforcement controls all military force.
If the two sides work together, they can completely defy the county magistrate's orders in words but not in deeds!
If the county magistrate were truly sidelined, then I would effectively become the head official of Jianghe County!
Zhao Kang couldn't help but feel moved.
However, he was shrewd. Although Yang Lin's offer was tempting, it was not easy to bypass the county magistrate and control the entire county.
This isn't pretend play, the county magistrate isn't a pig. One mistake and they'll both be in ruin!
After much deliberation, Zhao Kang asked, "I can control government affairs, but can you control the three ranks of yamen officials"
The river has no garrison, and the three shifts of yamen clerks are the entirety of the county town's armed forces. Whether one can firmly control the three shifts of yamen clerks is the key.
Yang Lin knew that if he didn't show the other party his strength, they naturally wouldn't dare to make a rash decision.
"Uncle San, please tell Zhang Ping to bring three clerks from the third division." Yang Lin said to Zhao Fu貴 beside him.
Hearing Zhang Ping's name, Zhao Kang was startled.
Zhang Ping is just a clerk in the strongman's battalion. Could he have already been subdued by Yang Lin
Soon, Zhang Ping arrived with three others, rushing into the teahouse. He first bowed to Yang Lin respectfully, then as if he had just noticed Zhao Kang, he cupped his fist in greeting toward him.
"See, sir! It is Master Zhao."
Zhao Kang was even more surprised.
He knows all the people who came here.
Besides Zhang Ping, the other three were, respectively, a standing clerk, a quick clerk, and Zhang Ping's original deputy.
They... were all taken care of by Yang Lin
“Now that Zhang Ping is temporarily in charge of the Criminal Justice Department and Zhao Deyi has passed away, the position of County Magistrate will remain vacant for at least half a year. This gives us enough time to completely take control of the entire department! In the future, it wouldn't even be impossible to get Zhang Ping promoted to County Magistrate.”
Zhang Ping was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked him again.
"Thank you, Lord! I will always be loyal to you!"
Yang Lin nodded. "Zhao Da is our own person. From now on, this Jianghe County will be entrusted to you all. As long as you work for me, I won't treat you badly."
Zhang Ping was also taken aback.
Even the County Magistrate Zhao is one of our own
In that case, wouldn't it be undermining the magistrate
As all were officials who had served for many years, Zhang Ping immediately grasped the key point!
Yang Lin waved his hand and then let Zhang Ping and the others leave.
Zhao Kang was utterly shocked at this moment.
Yang Lin actually managed to control all the yamen servants of the third class!
How did he do that
How could the three clerks possibly listen to him
Zhao Kang could never have imagined that last night Yang Lin, using a carrot-and-stick approach, had managed to bring everyone onto his side. In the end, he offended both Zhou and Zhao families, leaving these officials with no other choice!
Although Zhao Kang is still not quite sure what happened, the fact that over a hundred yamen officers are outside, and Zhou Kun's family and Zhao Deyi's family have already been arrested, all point to…
Yang Lin has taken control of the situation!
At this point, Zhao Kang let out a long sigh and clasped his hands together, saying: "Alright, I'll follow your instructions! This case, I assure you, will be handled impartially according to the law!"
The moment he uttered the title "Lord," his attitude was clear.d into Yang Lin's arms, revealing the long wound on her back, with blood still gushing out."Qiyun, Qiyun!!"A surge of intense grief and anger struck Yang Lin's skull, awakening the dormant emotions wi...