Chapter 222: Grand Coordinator He Arrives!

Just as the head of the Zhan family was being dragged out by the Li family's private soldiers and thrown to the ground, with several large footprints added to his face, a large troop of men and horses came rushing here from the city's South Gate. The thunderous sound of hooves kicked up a cloud of dust, and the commoners along the way could not help but make way. The soldiers' armor was bright and distinct, their steeds were full of vigor, and their spirits were high.

Furthermore, there were two giant wolves accompanying the army, their size comparable to lions, their scarlet tongues dripping with saliva, scaring everyone so that no one dared to approach.

The flag-bearer in the lead held a large banner high, the bright red character "He" visible from far away.

The officials looked at each other in dismay; could it be, perhaps, surely not? In the blink of an eye, the army arrived at the Zhan residence. The handsome man in the lead lifted his chin, and naturally, a hundred cavalrymen, men and horses alike, charged into the Zhan residence to "mediate the fight."

The two giant wolves also roared and charged inside.

With them there, the heads of these two families would be able to sober up a bit faster.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the handsome man dismounted and walked toward the officials, asking as he did so, "What is going on? Is this how Dunyu welcomes me?"

A person emerged from behind him; it was none other than the Military Aide Peng Juan.

The latter hurriedly said to the officials, "This is the newly appointed Xiazhou Grand Coordinator, Lord He, who is also our superior."

He He Chunhua flipped his left hand, and the State Seal shone with a brilliant light.

The crowd had no more doubts and bowed in unison to pay their respects.

"Rise," He He Chunhua said only after they had completed the formalities. "From this moment on, Peng Juan is relieved of his post as Military Aide and will be reassigned; Zeng Fei—"

Zeng Fei jumped off his horse and strode over.

He He Chunhua tossed him a Kite Coin, which he had taken from Peng Juan's hands: "I appoint you as the Military Aide of the Xiazhou Grand Coordinator's Office, in charge of military affairs. You had better do a good job!"

Zeng Fei loudly replied, "Yes."

In less than a few breaths, the Military Aide of Xiazhou had been replaced.

The officials understood now; it turned out this new Grand Coordinator had not entered Dunyu City directly, but had instead detoured to Qingping Township to reveal his identity, taking the army of over a thousand men directly from Peng Juan's hands before turning back to Dunyu.

They did not know that the Response Army had also charged directly into Peng Juan's home just moments ago, where He He Chunhua had produced the Wang Ting transfer order and various seals, seizing military authority right in front of the Xiazhou troops who had rushed to the scene.

Just as he had felt stifled when facing Sun Fu, who had come with a royal decree back then, Peng Juan felt equally stifled facing him today.

Only by seizing military power could he have enough men and enough prestige to quickly gain a foothold in Dunyu.

Now, He He Chunhua's army had expanded to over two thousand two hundred men in one fell swoop.

At this moment, the formation split, and over two hundred more people were dragged out, including members of the Zhan family and private soldiers of the Li family, all bearing signs of the fight, their clothes disheveled, some even bloodied.

He He Chunhua said with a stern face, "Some people were committing crimes on the southern county road, so I caught them and brought them back."

The Response Army that had charged into the Zhan residence was fierce as wolves and tigers, even more ruthless than the two sides that had been fighting. The bailiffs were afraid of the Li family and dared not arrest anyone, but the Response Army had no such concerns.

When the Li family's private soldiers got red-eyed and wanted to resist, they were either slapped or kicked to the ground. However, He He Chunhua's subordinates were a motley crew, including not only thugs from Heishuicheng but also rebel bandits from Woling Pass, who knew exactly how to strike in the dark to cause pain without killing.

The crowd grew larger and larger, their eyes shining as they watched the spectacle.

Soon, the chaos in the Zhan residence ceased, and both sides of the conflict were dragged out. Li Zhi and Li Rong could have avoided getting involved, but now their clothes were torn, and they had sustained some injuries.

The Zhan family on the other side was even worse off, with over a hundred injured and a dozen or so beaten to the ground, it was unclear if they were still breathing.

"Outrageous!" He He Chunhua gripped his horse whip and pointed at the Li family members, scolding them with a voice like thunder, "Trespassing in private homes, keeping private armies, bullying the weak, and looting property in broad daylight—are you trying to turn the world upside down? Do you still have any regard for the law?"

The officials on the side seized the opportunity to introduce his identity.

Seeing that this unfamiliar official was so imposing, both families guessed who he was. The head of the Zhan family, Zhan Qingmao, was both shocked and delighted; he first spat out a broken tooth, then begged Grand Coordinator He to preside over justice. The Li family, stared down by the two giant wolves dripping with saliva, saw their rage plummet and their fear rise rapidly.

The three hundred private soldiers brought by the Li family were also disarmed, standing to one side with their heads hanging low.

Li Rong stepped forward and defended himself, "My grandfather was murdered, and this group of people cannot be cleared of suspicion!"

Li Zhi's lips moved, but he remained silent.

He He Chunhua said coldly, "I will leave you some dignity; come with me to the government office now for a public trial. These private soldiers who laid hands on people are to be detained without exception; carry the injured into the Zhan residence, and you—" he pointed to the Assistant Prefect, "—summon physicians to the Zhan residence to treat the wounds, record the expenses, and the Li family will bear them later."

He then called the Vice Prefect forward: "As for you, help the Zhan family take inventory of their losses. All three hundred suspects are here; you are responsible for seizing all the stolen goods on their persons to serve as evidence in court! As for the people, lock them up and await trial!"

"Alright, the leaders of the Li and Zhan families, come with me now!"

His orders were issued with fluid ease, and in the blink of an eye, he had arranged everything clearly, using his true qi from the very first word to ensure everyone present could hear him clearly.

This decisive style was deeply loved by the onlookers, and some began to clap, the applause slowly spreading.

The commoners all felt that today's play was perfect; the Li and Zhan families had performed with great effort, and the new Grand Coordinator had come to wrap things up in a crisp and efficient manner, without any hesitation.

He He Lingchuan, riding on his horse, looked into the crowd with a smile. Mao Tao and a few subordinates were hiding in the crowd in plain clothes, acting as the "atmosphere group," and they were the ones who had led the applause.

The debut ceremony that his father had carefully prepared had an even better effect than expected. Now, the entire city knew that the new Xiazhou Grand Coordinator had arrived, and he had suppressed the local bullies of the Li and Zhan families the moment he appeared—was that not imposing? It was a pity the applause was not exactly enthusiastic, which showed how deep the fear of the Li family was for most people.

The newly appointed Military Aide, Zeng Fei, left behind two hundred soldiers of the Response Army, both to assist officials like the Assistant Prefect and Vice Prefect and to back them up. These soldiers had been by the side of the He father and son the longest; they were burly and ruthless, and their discipline and execution were far better than the local Xiazhou troops. Any difficulties could be resolved on the spot.

The notable figures of the Li and Zhan families were all bundled up and taken away by He He Chunhua. Without them there to cause trouble, the state officials breathed a sigh of relief.

The Assistant Prefect and Vice Prefect looked at each other, whispering as they entered the Zhan residence: "This Grand Coordinator He seems very different; he suppressed the heads of both these families the moment he arrived."

"The days are long, let's wait and see. Who comes here to be an official without fighting the Li family? However—" the Assistant Prefect said quietly, "Old Man Li dying at this juncture is the Li family's misfortune, and the new Grand Coordinator is just lucky."

He He Lingchuan, who had entered the city with the army, looked around, and many people pointed at him.

"Wow, that person has a monkey sitting on his shoulder, a monkey wearing a bamboo hat," a young woman said.

Young Master He straightened his back even more.

"This person is so handsome." The person who said this smiled shyly, but why was it a man! He He Lingchuan shuddered, automatically treating the crowd's layers of onlookers as a welcoming procession.

Now the troop was heading north, crossing the heart of the city. He He Chunhua clearly wanted to strike while the iron was hot; on the surface, he was taking the Li and Zhan family members to the government office to settle accounts, but in reality, he was giving them a show of force.

From He He Lingchuan's observation, the streets of Dunyu were quite wide; the main street could accommodate five carriages abreast, and the side streets were narrower, but further in, some alleys could only accommodate one person, and neither a fat person nor a pregnant woman might be able to pass through.

The houses were built quite sturdily, without any unnecessary flourishes, but there were more two- or three-story small buildings than in Heishuicheng.

He did see a few very beautiful large residences, occupying vast land with beautiful facades, even the bricks used for the walls were particularly neat.

He beckoned a local Xiazhou bailiff and pointed forward: "Whose large family residence is this?"

"A large family?" The bailiff shook his head like a rattle, "No, no, no, this is the residence of the silk merchant Hu family; how could it compare to the four great wealthy families?"

That didn't count?

After walking another hundred yards or so, a row of luxurious houses appeared before his eyes, with black tiles and gray walls, carved bricks and flying arches, combining magnificence and grandeur in one. The troop walked along the outer wall of this house for several dozen breaths.

This was what you called a real mansion; compared to this one, the silk merchant's house from before immediately paled in comparison.

The bailiff answered before He He Lingchuan could even ask: "This is the Li residence."

"Good, very good." Even though He He Lingchuan had seen the wealth and grandeur of Shihuancheng, he still marveled at the sight of the Li family's mansion. Judging solely by the Li family's grandeur, his father coming to Xiazhou to be the Grand Coordinator was definitely more "profitable" than in Qiansong County.

Hmm, that's wrong; it was more "promising."

This bailiff was clearly a sharp person, so He He Lingchuan asked him in passing: "When did Old Man Li pass away?"

A few days ago at the meeting in Ruxian, his father was still having a headache about how the old man of the Li family was hard to deal with, and today, just after entering the city, he received news of his death. Could there be such a coincidental stroke of luck in the world?

"Early this morning, the incident was sudden." This bailiff already knew that this was the eldest son of the Grand Coordinator's family, so he told him everything he knew, "It seems the Li family is convinced that the Zhan family played some tricks, so they brought people over to take revenge."

"The scale is quite large." This was the capital of Xiazhou, not some field or farm; the Li family dared to gather over three hundred people to beat up the Zhan family without a second thought—this was a textbook example of having no regard for the law, "Do you often have private fights and provocations here?"

"This..." The bailiff was momentarily speechless; wouldn't giving an affirmative answer be a denial of his own work? "The villagers are hot-blooded, sometimes it's unavoidable, we always try our best to mediate."

But facing these hundreds of people from the Li family, they didn't dare to brandish their chains to make arrests. In the past, bailiffs had been beaten by people sent by these families, and apart from getting some medical expenses, they could only consider themselves unlucky.

If you got beaten, you got beaten for nothing.

He He Lingchuan had spent so long in the chaotic Heishuicheng that he understood immediately.

The further north they went, the more commoners followed behind the troop, as lively as if it were a festival. As soon as everyone heard that the new Grand Coordinator He was going to hold a public trial, and that he was trying the two big families of Dunyu, they immediately perked up, and even the wind and snow could not dampen their enthusiasm.

Looking up, it was actually October 6th already; time passed so quickly. The double points period would end tomorrow night, so please check your ticket pouches, and if you have any extra monthly tickets, please give them to me. Hands pressed together in thanks.

(End of chapter)