Chapter 223

Two hundred and thirty-one, Becoming Him

Yan Liulang said this.

The scene was quiet for a while, and the crowd was either laughing, or worried, but the crowd was still a bit silent, and few responded and stood out.

Yan Liulang took a deep breath.

He knew that his prestige was not enough. Even if he stood out to lead the charge, not many people would feel at ease following him to the front line.

Yan Liulang looked around the main hall crowded with people.

The anger in his chest disappeared, and he only felt tired and exhausted.

When the Magistrate was there before, even if the task was tiring, he didn't feel anything.

Yan Liulang turned his head silently and looked at the empty official desk behind him.

A familiar slender figure was missing.

In the main hall, a small official spoke to break the deadlock:

"Little Constable Yan, even if you want to go to the upper reaches to support Zhe Yiqu now, there are no official ships at Peng Lang Du."

"Where is the batch of official ships borrowed by the Magistrate?" Yan Liulang said without looking back.

"Reporting to Constable, they were also taken by Registrar Diao to the Zhe Yiqu celebration. This batch of official ships was originally to be returned to Jiangzhou. Now that they are mobilized, they will be used as the first batch of ships to pass through the new canal, and return to Jiangzhou on the way...

"There are no official ships for the time being. Why don't we arrange manpower first to evacuate the commoners in the county and retreat to Mount Dagu first?"

Yan Liulang fell into silence, his expression hesitant.

Behind him, the crowd gathered in the main hall began to argue again, and the sound waves could not be suppressed, getting louder and louder.

From all directions, various emotions and feedback, whether indignant, anxious, or frustrated, Yan Liulang only felt rushing towards him.

Even when Yan Liulang returned to the main hall, he scanned a circle and found that the few small officials he had scolded for "confusing people's hearts" had disappeared, and might have run away.

Yan Liulang gritted his teeth, ready to turn back and try to suppress the crowd.

But at this time, he suddenly heard the noisy sound waves of the crowd behind him, and suddenly became much smaller.

The noise in the crowd quickly cooled down.

Yan Liulang frowned in doubt. Just as his body turned halfway, he heard a familiar voice in the quiet hall:

"All move aside."

The voice belonging to the young Magistrate echoed in the hall.

The crowd of officials who were originally chaotic and had different opinions fell into a silence, and stepped back one after another, giving way to a path.

"Magistrate!"

Yan Liulang turned his body straight in a daze. Ouyang Lianghan's figure in official uniform walked into the main hall from the middle path separated by the crowd.

Ouyang Lianghan looked straight ahead, passed the blue-clothed constable who was in a daze, walked to the official desk, shook his sleeves and sat down.

The young Magistrate's calm gaze slowly swept over everyone in the main hall.

Especially those few who took the lead in making noise before.

He didn't speak, so the atmosphere in the county government main hall was quiet.

For a time, everyone's expressions were wonderful and complicated, either pleasantly surprised, relieved, ashamed, or lowering their eyes.

Yan Liulang opened his mouth slightly, looking up and down at the sudden young Magistrate.

Ouyang Lianghan didn't look at him.

With a "bang" sound.

An official desk was divided into two, falling to the ground like a page turn.

Ouyang Lianghan put away the moonlight long sword and stood tall.

He wore a crown and supported his sword, looked ahead, and spoke.

So.

Everyone in the audience clearly heard that incomparably familiar and awe-inspiring clanging words.

"Those who advocate abandonment and escape can be beheaded!"

Back hall.

Liu Ashan lowered his head and reached into his sleeve.

Silently put on the mask and walked into the main hall.

He didn't know where the courage came from to become him and walk out.

Liu Ashan only vaguely saw a back view in the night that was going away and waving goodbye with a smile.

"Master, I handle things, you be at ease."

The morning sun today is still bright.

Falling on the ancient eaves of various buildings in Longcheng County.

But unlike the sun that rises as usual every day and is eternal, only by being in the human world full of mud can one know how much effort is needed to survive.

The sudden arrival of a young Magistrate with a sword integrated the chaotic thoughts in the Longcheng County government office.

Everyone quickly gathered around the former and took action.

At this moment, almost no one went to ask Ouyang Lianghan why he suddenly returned from his hometown in Nanlong.

Because he is Magistrate Ouyang, there is no reason, and there is no need to ask for reasons.

The impossible things that this young Magistrate has done in these days have convinced everyone in the county government, and no one dares to question it easily.

County government main hall.

Liu Ashan wore the Mirage Beast Mask, temporarily replacing the Magistrate. In less than half an hour, he quickly integrated everyone, assigned tasks to each, and issued the Magistrate's handwritten letter.

Yan Liulang took the lead in leading the constable class, following the refuge camp plan last time, to summon the commoners in Longcheng County and its surroundings and take them to Mount Dagu to take refuge.

And Liu Ashan personally led the remaining people to the upper reaches of Butterfly Creek to rescue the gate.

However, there has been no response from Zhe Yiqu, and the official ships have not yet sailed back to the Peng Lang Du pier.

So Liu Ashan made a distribution.

First, let the officials who returned from the upper reaches to warn quickly return to the villages and towns along the upper reaches by small boat, publish the Magistrate's handwritten letter, and summon the elders and fellow villagers to go to Mount Dagu to avoid possible floods.

Or find high mountains nearby to avoid water and wait for subsequent official ship rescue.

And Liu Ashan temporarily stayed in Longcheng, took people to prepare corresponding disaster prevention and gate rescue materials, and gathered at the Peng Lang Du pier—this can be regarded as drawing on the experience and lessons of Ouyang Rong's overnight boat trip to the upper reaches to rescue the gate last time, but when he arrived in a hurry, the rescue materials were not enough and he had to take materials on the spot.

At the same time, Liu Ashan sent people again, rushing to the Zhe Yiqu ceremony, to drive the official ships back to Peng Lang Du.

Orders were distributed from the main hall of the county government, and everyone dispersed tacitly, each performing their duties and each in their place.

The entire county government was like a machine, with all parts stably replenished, slowly starting and running.

This is like a small gear, influencing the large gear of Longcheng County.

The entire Longcheng County was also mobilized and noisy.

Just then, Yan Liulang, who had honestly received the order and was preparing to lead his men away, returned to the main hall of the county government alone.

Liu Ashan, who was scheduling official documents, glanced at him, avoided the crowd, and took Yan Liulang to a place where no one was in the back hall.

"Are you... Magistrate, or..." Yan Liulang supported his sword, wanting to speak but stopping.

Liu Ashan raised his hand to support his chin, took off the mask in front of him, and his expression was calm.

"Brother Ashan!"

Yan Liulang stared, and the palm that was silently supporting the sword handle loosened.

He was both shocked and relieved.

The doubts were solved.

"The sword and the mask were given to me by the Master. They were originally for other purposes, but now they can only be used in an emergency." Liu Ashan said briefly, nodding to Yan Liulang: "The Master is not here, we have to stand out."

Yan Liulang frowned, "Are these arrangements and deployments of Ashan also the Master's advance arrangements?"

Liu Ashan did not answer, just put on the mask again, and walked out to the main hall without looking back. Before going out, a muffled voice came:

"Brother Yan, we have always followed behind the Master silently. Although the Master didn't say anything, he actually taught us everything."

Yan Liulang was silent.

"I... understand."

After a brief pause.

At the gate of the county government office, the back of a blue-clothed constable leading a group of constables hurried away to organize the commoners in the county to transfer and take refuge.

Liu Ashan continued to stay in the county, leading the remaining officials to run around, mobilizing all kinds of disaster relief materials, and gathered at the Peng Lang Du pier.

More than an hour later.

The crowded Peng Lang Du pier in the past had been cleared a lot, freeing up many docking berths, and the shore was also piled up with all kinds of materials mobilized.

As for the original bustling streets around, after Yan Liulang and others carried the Magistrate's handwritten letter to announce the retreat and refuge, it became deserted.

Liu Ashan checked the materials on the shore of the pier and helped out from time to time.

He also summoned his subordinates from the original civil courage team to get ready to go.

At this moment, looking at his orderly subordinates, Liu Ashan breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, when he first replaced the Master, the taciturn man was also a little nervous, afraid of revealing flaws, but after a period of time, he found that he was just overthinking.

And the situation was just the opposite. He was taciturn and spoke little, and his words were concise and to the point.

Now that he was commanding everyone, he appeared even more decisive, efficient and neat.

Of course, this was also with the help of the authority that Ouyang Rong had originally accumulated, so he could point to it like an arm, but there was also some kind of thing called talent...

Another half an hour passed.

Almost everything was ready. While waiting for the official ships from Zhe Yiqu to return, Liu Ashan and his subordinates rested a little and wiped their sweat.

Liu Ashan supported the mask, turned his head and glanced at the empty long street full of mess after the commoners evacuated.

He straightened his head again and looked at the direction of the Liu family on the west bank across Butterfly Creek.

Don't know why, at this moment, the calm and ordinary Little Gu Mountain opposite gave Liu Ashan a strange feeling.

It seems that under the sun, something is happening silently.

It's a pity that Liu Ashan can't look at Qi, so he could only suppress the bad premonition and went to touch his bosom.

After a busy morning, he found that the two sesame oil cakes wrapped in oil paper hidden in his bosom had cooled down.

But Liu Ashan, who had been waiting for the official ship fleet, immediately received two pieces of news.

A piece of good news.

A piece of bad news.

They were all sent from the Longcheng County government office.

The good news came from a letter sent to the pier by a government office runner himself.

"Magistrate, this was left by Secretary Xie who suddenly came to the county government office just now."

"Secretary Xie... Secretary Xie?"

Liu Ashan turned his head and asked the government office runner who presented the letter with both hands: "Where is she?"

"Secretary Xie seems to be just passing by. She left a letter and walked away in a hurry. It seems she was walking inside Luming Street."

Liu Ashan turned around, took out the letter paper, saw the familiar handwriting, he was stunned for a moment, and his face was happy.

"The Master is back!"

He quickly turned his back to his subordinates, tried his best to suppress his expression, waved his hand at the government office runner, and dismissed him.

Muttered to himself in a voice no one heard:

"The Master is at Mount Dagu, and is now rushing back to the county...

"But counting the time Miss Xie sent the letter on the road, the Master should be fast too. It just so happens that I have prepared rescue materials for the Master, and the official ships are also going to be mobilized back. Wait for the Master to come back and preside over the overall situation."

After thinking for a moment, Liu Ashan frowned slightly again:

"Wait, why is Miss Xie in such a hurry to leave..."

Just then, Liu Ashan, who turned around, saw that the government office runner who had just sent the letter had not left, wanting to speak but stopping.

"Anything else, speak quickly." He said seriously.

The government office runner lowered his head and said:

"There is a piece of news that may be bad... Magistrate, someone in the county government office just now passed by and found that the gate of Meiluyuan was wide open. When they went in to take a look, it seemed to have been ransacked, and no one was seen."

The government office runner quickly glanced at the long official's face, but where could he see the taciturn face that had stiffened under Liu Ashan's mask, and hurriedly explained:

"Presumably it should be that some thieves and robbers sneaked into the city, taking advantage of the chaos of the Longcheng commoners' evacuation, and stole Meiluyuan. It's just that they are really blind. Don't they know that Magistrate is as clean as water..."

"Wait." Liu Ashan grabbed the government office runner's wrist and interrupted: "You... you said no one was seen? What about the people who originally lived in Meiluyuan."

"Hiss hiss." The government office runner's wrist hurt but he didn't dare to pull his hand, and he was also stunned when he heard this:

"The subordinate remembers, didn't the Magistrate take all the relatives and maids back to the countryside? There shouldn't be any important people left in Meiluyuan.

"Magistrate, are you talking about the old and young servants left in the house? The people from the county government went in to investigate and didn't see them. They should have escaped, or were harmed..."

Sensing that the eyes of this Magistrate in front of him suddenly became straight and scary, the government office runner hurriedly swallowed the original words:

"Magistrate, don't worry, the county government has already sent people to investigate..."

Liu Ashan turned a deaf ear and muttered: "Mother, sister..."

Just when everyone was looking at each other and wondering why the Magistrate's state seemed wrong, the sound of tight horse hooves came from the end of the street.

"Magistrate! Not good!"

A long-term official rushed over by fast horse, braked urgently, fell off the horse, crawled up in a panic in front of Liu Ashan, and hurriedly took out an envelope from his bosom and handed it out.

"Someone from the Zhe Yiqu celebration brought a letter, saying it was to be handed to you, Magistrate..."

Everyone only saw the "young Magistrate" in front take the strange envelope in a daze, lowered his head and opened it, and browsed it carefully.

The expected change in expression did not happen.

His face was surprisingly calm.

It seemed like he was relieved.

Liu Ashan raised his head, looked around the audience, and said calmly to everyone:

"Next, it will be hard for you all here."

Everyone was stunned.

A subordinate asked carefully: "Magistrate, what about that batch of official ships?"

"They are coming." Liu Ashan nodded.

He turned his head indifferently and looked at the brown fast horse in front that was snorting.

Zhe Yiqu, Songlin Ferry.

Compared with the bustling scene of moving materials and preparing for water control at Peng Lang Du in Longcheng County,

And the lively and crowded scene of all the commoners in the county slowly gathering to Mount Dagu from all directions, they are all different.

Today, Songlin Ferry, which should have been lively because of the grand celebration, is now silent.

Songlin Ferry is the starting point of Zhe Yiqu. The high platform for the celebration today was built on the open river beach not far from the ferry.

The high platform is naturally luxuriously festive, decorated very well, and it can be seen that it has been carefully thought out.

At this moment, looking around, there are crowds of people on and off the high platform, gathering together.

But strangely, the whole celebration scene is quiet, everyone is silent, only occasionally there are some children crying and women sobbing, but soon, they are stopped abruptly.

Take a closer look, it turns out that whether it is on the high platform or under the high platform, there is a team of strange people with expressions that are not good-looking around the crowd.

I saw that on the high platform in the sun, Registrar Diao, a group of county government officials, more than a dozen Longcheng gentry, and some wealthy merchants and scholars who rushed from other counties were all surrounded in the center of the high platform.

Those who imprisoned and guarded them were a group of sword-wearing men in green slave clothes.

Actually, the word "imprisonment" is not very accurate. After all, in front of Registrar Diao and others on the platform, there are tea and corresponding pastry plates.

If this scene is removed from the cold-faced Liu family private slaves around, isn't this a picture of hospitality?

It's a pity that these guests warmly invited by Liu Zian haven't drunk half a sip of tea in the porcelain cups in front of them.

As for under the platform, the hundreds of Longcheng commoners who originally came to watch the celebration were also surrounded and controlled by a group of men in black.

The green-clothed slaves and the black-clothed men were strictly disciplined, and the two groups seemed to be under unified dispatch.

At this moment, in addition to these people, there are several familiar figures standing on the edge of the high platform, moving freely, looking around the whole scene from time to time.

It is Liu Zian and Liu Zilin.

The two are dressed in strong clothes today, fully armed.

It's just strange that, clearly controlling the whole scene, but at this moment, Liu Zian, who is the focus of the scene, has a gloomy face like water, and the palm holding the sword handle is bulging with blue veins.

On the high platform, the air can be heard falling.

Liu Zian's eyes are like wolves, and his unkind gaze slowly swept over everyone on the platform.

Registrar Diao and others were silent, shrinking their heads and burying their faces.

Liu Zilin, who was standing beside Liu Zian, also stood in place, lowering his head deeply, as if he had made a mistake.

Liu Zian's gaze finally fell behind Liu Zilin:

Liu Fu led several green-clothed slaves to surround the few servants and gatekeepers who were originally left in Meiluyuan.

Aqing and Liu's mother were also among them, but Liu Zian's gaze skipped directly over them.

Seeing these old, weak, sick and disabled people brought back.

Liu Zian's expression was like eating a fly, very ugly.

He turned his head without saying a word, staring at the silent Liu Zilin...