Chapter 12: Collusion
In fact, what Liu Hu didn't say was that being the Grand Tutor was only the first step. When he had accumulated enough prestige in the future, he would directly become the Regent. Dorgon of the Qing Dynasty had already taken this path, so he only needed to follow his path.
The two chatted for a few words and then came to the county government office. Neither of them beat the drum to complain. Instead, Luo Fanchen directly took out the token in his arms and threw it to the bailiff at the door, and then stopped talking.
The shadow of a tree is like a person's reputation. In such a small place, the reputation of the Qingyiwei is much more useful than that of the Taishi. When Liu Hu established the Qingyiwei, he referred to the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty. However, the Qingyiwei has more power and is more loyal than the Jinyiwei.
The bailiff took the token from Luo Fanchen. In the middle was a big "Qing" character with two poisonous snakes coiled around it. At the intersection of the two poisonous snakes, a purple bead was particularly eye-catching.
The beads above represent levels. The common ones are white, yellow, blue, and purple, but the purple beads are unique and only Luo Fanchen owns them in the world.
The bailiff didn't know what the color purple represented, but he could see the Blue Guard's token clearly. He quickly told the person next to him to go back to the backyard to inform the master, and he led them in personally.
The county magistrate is more knowledgeable than his subordinates. Moreover, since he is able to serve under the emperor, he must have some skills.
He could name all the important people in the capital city easily, if not by name. Besides, Luo Fanchen was so easy to recognize.
He never raises his head when walking and never bows his head when bending down. There is no other person as arrogant as Luo Fanchen.
The person who could march in front of Luo Fanchen with the Four Square Steps and not be killed by Luo Fanchen must be the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty - Liu Hu.
The county magistrate did not dare to neglect him. The old man was nearly fifty years old, but his movements were not vague at all. He took two steps at a time and came to Liu Hu. He bowed and said, "Your humble servant Ma Liao, I pay my respects to the Grand Tutor. May the Grand Tutor live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years."
Liu Hu just made a slight gesture, then came to the chair where the county magistrate should have sat, picked up the gavel on the case with ease, slammed it heavily and said, "Which law in our country stipulates that hawking in the downtown area is not allowed?"
The blow was so powerful that the county magistrate trembled in shock. Not knowing how he had offended the Grand Tutor, he had no choice but to report the truth: "There is no law in our country that forbids hawking on the street."
"Just now I was buying candied haws on the street. The market inspector was so powerful that he chased the vendor away with just one word and even stole all the candied haws." Liu Hu thought of his daughter's disappointed expression and felt resentful.
The county magistrate thought that the Grand Tutor came this time to investigate his secret collusion with the Thirteenth Prince, corruption, and exploitation of the people, but he did not expect that it was just for a few strings of candied haws.
He wiped the sweat off his face instinctively, let out a long breath, and said to the yamen runner behind him, "Go, call all the market inspectors over to me."
Liu Hu folded his arms across his chest, looked at the county magistrate coldly, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said nothing, watching the county magistrate's performance quietly.
Jianshi and others had just returned from patrolling the streets and ran into the servant who notified them. When they heard that the county magistrate was summoning them, they hurriedly took them and the candied haws to the county government office.
"Mr. County Magistrate, it's not our brothers' fault for not doing their best. It's really those vendors who are blind and don't know how to show respect to you." The voice came before the person arrived. Just this sentence scared the county magistrate so much that his back felt cold and he broke out in a cold sweat.
Just as he was about to explain, the mayor continued, "But it 's not without gain. I heard that your granddaughter loves this candied haws, so I snatched it back specially to honor you."
The county magistrate now wanted to die. He blamed himself for pampering these people too much, which led to his nonsense on such an important occasion.
"I deserve to die, please punish me, Grand Tutor." The county magistrate didn't dare to stand any longer, and knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, confessing his sins.
Because the county magistrate knelt down, the supervisor did not see the county magistrate on the ground, but saw Liu Hu behind the desk. He sneered and said, "What? You come here to complain because you didn't buy the candied haws? Let me tell you, in the whole county, I am..."
Without giving the city supervisor a chance to speak, the county magistrate jumped up. The old man was already over fifty years old, but his legs and feet were very nimble. He slapped the city supervisor in the face and angrily shouted, "Why don't you kneel down to the Grand Tutor?"
"T-Tai Madam, Taishi? Godfather, please stop kidding. Taishi is such a person. How could he possibly come to our place? Wasn't he attending the Prime Minister's birthday party a few days ago?"
The county magistrate pinched the market supervisor and said, "You are such a bastard, kneel down and beg for mercy, or you will die."
The mayor was still wondering, but seeing that his godfather didn't look like he was joking, he also knelt on the ground and looked at Liu Hu with some curiosity.
The man in front of him was in his twenties, with sword-like eyebrows, eagle eyes, a straight nose, lips like warm jade, well-proportioned facial features, and a radiant demeanor. His every move revealed the domineering aura of a superior. This aura was not innate, but came naturally from being in a high position for a long time. He was exactly like the legendary Grand Tutor.
Liu Hu heard it clearly. He didn't expect that a small county magistrate knew that he was attending the prime minister's birthday party. Communication was not well developed in ancient times. It was not like in later generations where one could just open their phones and check the hot searches to get gossip. If one wanted to know the news, one had to pay a price.
His whereabouts were discovered only because someone was watching him and told the county magistrate. Thinking of this, Liu Hu stood up slowly and said, "I didn't expect the county magistrate to care about me so much. I am really flattered."
Listening to Liu Hu's gentle voice, the county magistrate did not feel a trace of warmth.
“I also heard it from a passing merchant. I wrote it down because I care about the Grand Tutor.” The county magistrate lowered his head to the ground, not daring to raise it at all.
Liu Hu really wanted to kill the county magistrate, but the magistrate was so sincere in admitting his mistakes that if he killed him, he might lose the support of the people.
After all, he is claiming to care about me. If I kill him because of my poor supervision of the market, it might cause chaos.
"You can escape the death penalty, but you can't escape the punishment of life imprisonment. I'll fine you half a year's salary. In addition, you will be allowed to set up stalls along the street from now on."
"The world is stable, and heroes are standing side by side. It seems peaceful, but in fact it is full of . You and I serve in the same dynasty. We should hide our achievements in obscurity, stop doing things when we can, delete useless words, keep to ourselves and avoid others, and take things with clean and cheap expenses. Only in this way can the country be stable and peaceful for a long time."
Hitting people with a stick and then giving them a sweet treat is Liu Hu's usual tactic. It is also the most effective way to win people's hearts and it has always worked.
Sure enough, after hearing Liu Hu's words, the county magistrate burst into tears and said, "I will remember this!"
Seeing that the purpose of his trip had been achieved, Liu Hu did not want to stay any longer and left the county government office directly. Luo Fanchen was sharp-eyed and took the opportunity to carry the candied haws on his shoulder while everyone was kneeling on the ground.
After Liu Hu left, a figure walked out from behind the county government office. If Luo Fanchen was present at this time, he would definitely recognize that this person was his biological elder brother, Luo Chenghui.
"Okay, everyone has left, why are you still sticking your butt out?" Following closely behind, another handsome young man came out. He had some similarities with the current emperor. It was the Thirteenth Prince mentioned by the county magistrate.
The county magistrate looked back nervously and found that Liu Hu had disappeared. He quickly stood up and thanked the two people in front of him.
Long before Liu Hu came, the two people in front of him had already warned themselves that if they met the Grand Tutor, they must not talk back, but must humbly confess their crimes. Only in this way could a big matter be turned into a small one. Unexpectedly, it was exactly as the person in front of them had expected.
"You must have made a lot of money over the years. It's time to pack up and return home." Luo Chenghui looked at the county magistrate and said casually.
The Thirteenth Prince Xiao Leng knew that this was too hurtful, so he explained, "Liu Hu is so smart. He didn't kill you today because he was afraid of losing the support of the people. I guess he is arranging the Qingyi Guards to investigate the evidence of your corruption over the years. Within three months, you will be dead. It is better to resign voluntarily and be more decent."
The county magistrate was not willing to give up. Although he had made a lot of money in recent years, who would dislike having too much money? He said unwillingly, "But I see that Liu Hu has forgiven me today, and he said it so clearly, I think he has forgiven me."
Luo Chenghui sneered and said, "What do you think is the purpose of Liu Hu's trip? Tanghulu, Tanghulu, don't you understand?"
"I don't know." The county magistrate shook his head. He knew what candied haws were, but he could not imagine its deeper meaning.
"What does a candied haws look like? There are many hawthorns on a string. It is meant to string out a bunch of corrupt officials. You are just one of them on the candied haws." Xiao Leng smiled bitterly.
Putting aside his stance, he still admired Liu Hu very much. He was smart, capable, and ambitious. However, he was not a member of the Xiao family after all, so how could he tolerate him?
"Good words cannot persuade a damned ghost. I have said all I should say. We will say goodbye now and see you in the rivers and lakes." After saying this, the two men did not stay for a moment, fearing that the Green-Uniform Guards would come to monitor the county magistrate, so they jumped out through the back door and left.
On the way, Xiao Leng was worried, and Luo Chenghui was also upset, wondering: "Is Liu Hu coming here for the secret treasure in the mountain?"
"Impossible. Everyone knows that the Grand Master is weak and not suitable for martial arts. He can't even draw a stone bow. What's the use of the secret treasure? Besides, he is not a man of martial arts." Xiao Leng analyzed it in detail. Although Liu Hu is fond of martial arts, he doesn't know martial arts.
Luo Chenghui also knew Liu Hu's "name". The weapons in his home were arranged like an armory. Unfortunately, he didn't know any of the eighteen martial arts. He was just a collector.
"But, my second brother is next to him. Could it be that he came here for my second brother?" Luo Chenghui's eyes were a little angry when he thought about his brother.
If he hadn't used a trick in secret, the position of the head of the Damo Luo family would have belonged to his younger brother. As long as his younger brother is alive, he will not be able to sleep or eat well!
Xiao Leng also somewhat agreed with Luo Chenghui's words. Liu Hu had a very strong relationship with the people around him. If he said that he came for Luo Fanchen, it made sense.
Thinking of this, Xiao Leng stopped and said to Luo Chenghui: "Why not just do it once and for all? Take this opportunity to strike first and kill Luo Fanchen."
This was exactly what Luo Chenghui was waiting for. The two of them hit it off and started to discuss countermeasures.
