Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 689 The Big Black Pot: Can Black Sesame Dumplings Carry It?

Before Wu Zhendong could finish speaking, Yang Shaofeng's cold gaze silenced him.

Yang Shaofeng couldn't believe that these words could come out of the mouth of a prefect.

A dignified prefect is unable to deal with a few local gentry and gentry due to a complex web of relationships.

Who would believe such nonsense if it were said out loud?

You, Wu Zhendong, are an official of the Ming Dynasty, not some useless bastard of the Qing Dynasty.

Yang Shaofeng sneered and looked at Wu Zhendong, asking, "Does Prefect Wu mean it's difficult to deal with those gentry and merchants? What, are those gentry gentlemen relatives of His Majesty? Relatives of the Duke of Han and the Earl of Chengyi? Or friends and acquaintances of the Duke of Wei and the Duke of E?"

Wu Zhendong opened his mouth, unsure how to answer Yang Shaofeng's question.

They said those people were His Majesty's relatives, or perhaps the relatives and friends of the Duke of Han, the Earl of Chengyi, the Duke of Wei, and the Duke of E.

That's obviously a lie.

This kind of nonsense might be okay to fool ordinary people, but to use it to fool Yang the Madman is like walking straight into a knife's edge.

He said those people were neither His Majesty's relatives nor the friends and acquaintances of the Duke of Han, the Earl of Chengyi, the Duke of Wei, and the Duke of E.

Wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting that I have failed in my governance?

Wu Zhendong felt like he had lifted a stone only to drop it on his own foot.

Before Wu Zhendong could figure out how to answer, Yang Shaofeng sneered again, "Want to avoid offending everyone while still hoping to get promoted and make a fortune? There's no such thing as a free lunch."

"I will now give you two choices."

"First, you must find out all the mess in Huai'an Prefecture for me within three days."

"If officials have problems, deal with the officials; if gentry and merchants have problems, deal with the gentry and merchants."

"I want to see all the files in three days."

"Secondly, you don't need to do anything. I will personally deal with them and take care of you along with them."

At this point, Yang Shaofeng held up three fingers and laughed, "Three numbers, tell me your decision. One."

Wu Zhendong immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Damn it.

Rumors in the martial arts world say that Yang the Madman acts erratically and eccentrically, and seeing him today, it's clear that the rumors are true!

The question is, what should I do?

The second option is definitely not the way to go.

Choosing the first path would offend far more than just a few local gentry and merchants.

The more Wu Zhendong thought about it, the more confused he became.

Yang Shaofeng shook his head and said, "Three."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Shaofeng waved his hand behind him and ordered, "Men, seize Prefect Wu."

Wu Zhendong was terrified and cried out, "I will choose one! I will choose the first path!"

Yang Shaofeng sneered and said, "I said three numbers, and that's it. If you miss this opportunity, you'll never have another chance."

As Wu Zhendong struggled, he shouted, "The Prince Consort didn't count to two! It's not even three yet!"

Yang Shaofeng smiled, walked up to Wu Zhendong, patted Wu Zhendong's face, and said, "I counted them in my mind, is that not enough?"

Seeing Wu Zhendong's face turn pale, Yang Shaofeng smiled again, "Actually, you don't really have two paths to choose from. I was just teasing you."

Wu Zhendong's expression changed repeatedly, while Yang Shaofeng's expression gradually turned cold: "Wu Zhendong, do you think you've hidden yourself well enough that the Embroidered Uniform Guard hasn't caught you?"

After waving his hand to have Wu Zhendong taken away, Yang Shaofeng walked up to Du Xingchuan, the commander of Dahewei.

Du Xingchuan hurriedly bowed to Yang Shaofeng and said, "Your Highness, Prince Consort."

Yang Shaofeng grunted and said, "Wu Zhendong is troubled by the people's livelihood, but what about Commander Du?"

Du Xingchuan was completely terrified.

Wu Zhendong was arrested.

Will he, as the commander of the Great River Guard, end up with a good fate?

Du Xingchuan sighed inwardly, forcing himself to calm down, and bowed to Yang Shaofeng again, saying, "Your Highness, I am troubled because the Great River Guard has been embroiled in the child and ironware cases again."

"After all, there was the fire in the third year of Hongwu, and now we are involved in these two major cases. Even though I did not get involved with them, I cannot escape the blame for my lax discipline and incompetence in managing my subordinates."

"However, I have indeed not been involved with them, nor have I dared to embezzle salaries or exploit soldiers. I hope Your Highness will investigate this matter thoroughly."

Yang Shaofeng nodded again and said, "I will be going to Dahewei in a few days. Commander Du, why don't you come with me for the next few days?"

As Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Du Xingchuan breathed a long sigh of relief.

He cannot escape the blame for his lax discipline and ineffective management of his subordinates.

However, these two offenses would at most cost him his job, but they wouldn't kill him.

Compared to Wu Zhendong, whose entire family was clearly going to suffer, he was already considered lucky.

It's said that our old Du is quite capable, actually managing to escape from the hands of the infamous Yang the Madman.

Thinking of this, Du Xingchuan bowed again and said, "This humble servant will obey Your Highness's orders."

……

The cases involving children and metal objects have never ended.

The case was not closed when the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission was investigated previously.

Nowadays, cases are not closed when they are traced back to Zhili.

The case will not be closed even after investigations in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and even Guangdong.

In other words, a single case file could close the case, but the problems of child abduction and the outflow of ironware would certainly happen again.

Even if all the officials in Jiangnan were arrested and all the gentry and merchants were packed up and sent to Dengzhou Prefecture, it would be the same.

Because officials, gentry, and merchants are like leeks; once one crop is harvested, a new one will grow.

Endless.

There's no hope of solving this problem, but there are ways to stop it.

They brought down the local gentry, merchants, and officials involved in cases involving children and ironware.

Let the people know that these high-ranking gentry, merchants, and officials are actually human beings; they are also afraid, and they will wet their pants when faced with the butcher's knife.

Thinking of this, Yang Shaofeng's expression grew even colder, and he turned to Chang Xiaojiu and ordered, "Arrest them."

"Arrest all officials, local notables, and businessmen involved in the child and metal-related cases directly."

"Let's start with Shanyang County."

After Chang Xiaojiu agreed, Yang Shaofeng turned his head and looked towards the direction of the capital.

I wonder if you, Black Sesame Dumpling, can shoulder this huge burden?

Or are you, Black Sesame Dumpling, going to shift the blame onto Liu Bowen?

However, that old scoundrel Liu Bowen would probably be quite happy to take the blame for this.

Even Li Shanchang would probably be eager to recite it.