Chapter 151: Maximum Pressure, Exposing the Backer Behind the Corrupt Official

Duan Wu gestured grandly, "Fifty military rods!"

Xiao Qidi heard the words, opened his eyes, and gave Duan Wu a slight shake of his head.

This fellow is being a bit reckless.

Ordinary soldiers struck with fifty military rods would lose half their lives, let alone the He Wan County Magistrate, an old man past his fifties.

He'd probably meet the King of Hell before even half the rods were finished.

Duan Wu saw His Majesty's signal and realized he'd spoken too much, so he immediately changed his words: "Enough, enough, just hit him with a dozen or twenty rods."

The He Wan County Magistrate's face twisted with anger as he shouted,

"I am the dignified father‑and‑mother official of this place! How dare you punish me within my County Office?! Have you no law left? No sense of justice?! You little brat surnamed Duan! If you truly dare to flout the law and humiliate me, I will report to the court and ask His Majesty to punish you for a grave crime!"

Heh heh, Duan Wu smiled brightly, "I, General, will beat you today, alright?"

The soldiers immediately began to punish the He Wan County Magistrate.

One rod after another, repeatedly striking his backside.

None of the County Officers present dared to utter a sound, and at the hall's entrance, the civilians brought from the Human Traffickers' stronghold stared in stunned silence.

Who could have imagined that the county magistrate who just flaunted his power before them and even threatened to wipe them out would now have his pants ripped off and be pinned to the ground for beating?

Bang! Bang!

As the rhythmic thudding continued.

The He Wan County Magistrate's buttocks quickly split open, flesh tearing and blood gushing.

He went from shouting curses at the start to wailing and begging for mercy.

Duan Wu, judging that he had struck enough, asked again: "He Wan County Magistrate, do you know your crime?"

The He Wan County Magistrate trembled all over, a runny nose and tears streaming, and said: "I… what crime have I committed! Pity my old age, having devoted my life to the people, only to be publicly beaten by you youngster! My grievance is extreme!"

"Yo ho? Still being defiant?" Duan Wu grabbed the wooden bench, ready to order further punishment.

Xiao Qidi frowned and gave him a look.

Duan Wu scratched his head, chuckled, "Right, we can't keep beating him; killing him right now would be inappropriate."

"Come, bring the witness!"

Duan Wu shouted, and the soldiers fetched several civilian representatives, victims of the Human Traffickers' gang, from outside the hall.

When the few entered the hall, they saw Xiao Qidi sitting aside, instantly broke into a smile and shouted "Benefactor!"

Then Xiao Qidi, together with them, acted as human witnesses, detailing the situation.

"All recorded?" Duan Wu glanced sideways at the trembling scribe holding a brush.

The scribe forced a smile, stammering, "All… all recorded…"

The magistrate, lying on the ground, glared angrily at the scribe, then, through the pain, shouted: "These rebels… are pure false accusations; they… they're all in league, colluding to defame me!"

"Fine, then we'll try a different charge first," Duan Wu announced loudly, "Bring the human and material evidence!"

As soon as the words fell, two soldiers carried a large bamboo basket over, and in front of the He Wan County Magistrate, dumped a pile of bamboo slips onto the ground.

Then another dozen or so local civilians were led into the hall by the soldiers.

When these locals saw the county magistrate being hit with a board, disheveled and prostrate on the ground, they all displayed shocked faces.

They had only just been abruptly taken by a group of soldiers, told there was a case needing their assistance, and beforehand knew nothing of the matter.

At this moment, seeing this scene, they couldn't recover their senses for a long while.

This… is the sun rising in the west?

The county magistrate who once rode over the He Wan County people, tyrannizing and draining them, now has a day of being beaten and tried?

This can't be a dream?!

"He Wan County Magistrate, can you recognize the contents on these bamboo slips before you?" Duan Wu asked.

The He Wan County Magistrate widened his eyes, his old face turning bright red, clenching his back molars, and shot the scribe a gaze as if ready to devour him.

He of course recognized them; the records above are all the County Office's forced tax silver revenues.

If the scribe hadn't handed over the accounts, they wouldn't have fallen into Duan Wu's hands.

Then a dozen or so locals on the spot identified, as supplementary testimony, the outrageous excessive taxes imposed by He Wan County.

"He Wan County Magistrate, I, General, ask you, when did our Daxuan court ever let you increase taxes and corvée for the people? You, taking advantage of Daxuan's impending war with Yu Guo, fabricated articles, deceived the court, and invented pretexts to exploit the people! You even created fees for resting places and passage through checkpoints! Now we have both human and material evidence; won't you confess?" Duan Wu said coldly.

When these words were spoken, the He Wan County civilians present gasped in shock.

What?!

The court has never imposed additional taxes or corvée on the people!

Those absurd items were all set up by the county magistrate himself?!

While shocked, the crowd still harbored some suspicion.

After all, all along, from the county magistrate down to the petty County Officers, everyone said it was an imperial command.

They didn't dare to believe the county magistrate could be so bold, daring to act against the court.

The crowd whispered among themselves, low voices, yet still putting considerable pressure on the magistrate.

Moreover, Duan Wu directly exposed the matter and even presented the account evidence; he began to sweat, cold beads forming on his forehead.

Duan Wu timely advised, "You see, your scribe is clever, has given all the explanations; later he can receive a lighter punishment."

"Also, General tells you, the wealth you've been siphoning from the people for years, all of it is in my hands—look at that golden large table, the long bench, you've spent a lot of effort on those, right?"

"I'll tell you frankly, these pieces of evidence alone are enough to convict you; whether you plead guilty or not only determines if you die a painful death or a quick one."

The details about the magistrate's family treasury were all told to Duan Wu beforehand by Ning Jingli, and Duan Wu relayed them to pressure the magistrate.

Sure enough, after hearing that, the He Wan County Magistrate instantly collapsed, his spirit half broken.

The golden large table and the long bench were his secrets, even his family and steward didn't know; now it seems all those items have indeed been seized by Duan Wu, all of them stolen goods.

And Duan Wu was right; the ironclad evidence leaves him no choice but to admit.

"All step aside for me!" Suddenly, Zhao Captor Head shouted while leading a group of Constables into the courtroom, and among them were several guards from the He Wan County Magistrate's household.

The soldiers present had intended to intervene, but Duan Wu laid a hand on them, so the soldiers took no action.

"How bold you are!" Zhao Captor Head roared, "How dare you seize the County Office and beat the county's magistrate like this!"

Duan Wu said calmly, "If this General wishes to strike, he will strike. So, are you not satisfied?"

Although the soldiers did not move to block, at this moment they each half‑drew the battle swords at their waists.

That move indeed had great deterrent power.

Zhao Captor Head dared not scold further, squatted down and whispered to the magistrate, "Sir, the other Constables are rushing back... Are you... are you all right..."

The He Wan County Magistrate, on the verge of tears, said, "Can't you see my condition, and still ask!"

"Sir," a guard crouched, leaned close to the magistrate's ear and whispered, "The junior has already invited that gentleman; he is currently outside the courtroom door, but he thinks that a mere border‑guard general need not intervene. Even if today you are forced to confess, later he will grant you a pardon."

Hearing this, the He Wan County Magistrate felt instantly reassured, and ordered the group to withdraw first.

When they had retreated to outside the courtroom door, the He Wan County Magistrate propped his hands on the ground, looked up at Duan Wu seated high behind the trial table, and sneered, "Hehehe… Well, Duan Wu, you truly have skill. Fine… I indeed privately increased projects in He Wan County and collected extra taxes, so what? I now admit it, you must not beat me any further!"

The He Wan County townsfolk present saw the magistrate admit his guilt with their own eyes, and instantly their anger boiled over.

"Dog Official!"

"You depraved beast!"

"You've caused us such misery! I will fight you to the death!"

Curses rose from all sides, and the enraged townsfolk surged forward. If the soldiers had not intervened in time, the He Wan County Magistrate would likely have been killed on the spot.

Duan Wu patted the courtroom wood, and sincerely calmed the gathered townsfolk, "Friends, please do not act rashly; this General will give you a satisfactory explanation, and this Dog Official will not escape any punishment."

The soldiers each offered kind words, stating that the General had come to restore justice for the people, urging everyone to stay calm.

Everyone also realized that it was because this General arrived that the dog magistrate could confess, so they restrained their overwhelming hatred, calmed down, and retreated to the courtroom entrance.

Outside the courtroom entrance, more and more elderly townsfolk gathered upon hearing the news; they not only filled the front courtyard of the County Office, but the crowd even stretched beyond the County Office's main gate.

In the rear of the crowd, Zhao Captor Head and the other Constables formed a circle, protecting a man in his thirties among them.

The man idly toyed with the jade pendant at his waist while quietly observing the general situation inside the courtroom from afar.

Inside the courtroom, Duan Wu glanced discreetly at Xiao Qidi.

Xiao Qidi gave a slight nod, his eyes approving Duan Wu's judgment, and then continued.

Before this, Duan Wu had been instructed by Xiao Qidi that the more important point of this interrogation of the He Wan County Magistrate was to draw out the people behind the Human Traffickers gang.

The He Wan County Magistrate can brazenly prey on the people and also has ties with the Human Traffickers gang, so he must have a high‑ranking protective umbrella.

Since the Human Traffickers cannot be forced to talk, the only way is to break through from the He Wan County Magistrate's side.

Additionally, the choice to have Duan Wu conduct the interrogation was also deliberate.

On one hand, it was trust in Duan Wu.

On the other hand, it was to lure the He Wan County Magistrate to voluntarily reveal his backers for self‑preservation.

Only by having Duan Wu appear would this Dog Official feel unwilling and think that exposing his patron could suppress Duan Wu, thereby protecting his own life.

"Ahem," Duan Wu cleared his throat, and seriously said to the He Wan County Magistrate, "Regarding the Human Traffickers case, although there are victims as eyewitnesses that can prove your collusion with the gang, you refuse to admit it. This General is too lazy to waste effort; anyway you have just confessed to the crime of illicit taxes, which is a death sentence regardless, so I am not afraid to add a few more charges."

The He Wan County Magistrate was stunned, "What do you mean?!"

Duan Wu grinned, "This General decides to designate you as the principal offender of human trafficking! Combined with the crime you just confessed to, we will punish you for multiple crimes at once! No need to list them individually; you will be sentenced to a waist‑cut or five‑horse dismemberment, and your three families will be exterminated. Is that excessive?"

"You also intend to exterminate my three families?!" the He Wan County Magistrate's eyes bulged.

Duan Wu said casually, "Too few? Then we'll exterminate nine families!"

"You..." the He Wan County Magistrate, shocked and angry, endured excruciating pain and rose, pointing at Duan Wu's nose, raving, "The sentencing cannot be decided by a lowly border‑guard officer like you! Do you understand the law? This is not something you can decide with a single mouth!"

Duan Wu snorted coldly, "Ha, this General is merely a warrior, indeed ignorant of your civil officials' petty rules, and I have no desire to understand them. Anyway, it's decided: first behead then report, kill your entire family first! As long as we eliminate the harm to the people and vent the suffering of the populace, I don't care about any responsibility thereafter!"

"You, you you..." the He Wan County Magistrate nearly fainted from anger, clutching his chest, stumbling as if about to fall.

Duan Wu was puzzled; after applying pressure to this extent, why hasn't this Dog Official revealed the name of his backer yet?

Could it be that His Majesty's instructions are ineffective?

It shouldn't be.

It seems we must try extreme pressure.

"There's a saying: better to strike than to wait for an auspicious day," Duan Wu raised his voice, "All soldiers, obey! Drag this Dog Official to the execution ground, immediately carry out the five‑horse dismemberment! Capture all his relatives, behead them for public display!"

"Yes! General!" the soldiers shouted in unison.

Regarding Duan Wu's action, Xiao Qidi did not intervene; he also thought that at this point, besides continuing to apply pressure, there was no other solution.

The He Wan County Magistrate's face turned deathly pale in an instant, his whole body trembling like a sieve.

Two soldiers seized his arm and dragged him outward, leaving a trail of blood and urine on the ground.

Outside the courtroom, the Constables among the crowd grew anxious.

Zhao Captor Head mustered his courage and asked the man beside him, "Sir... General Duan is not following normal procedures; he says execution, so execution. You should step in quickly!"

The man showed a hint of doubt in his eyes; he constantly felt that today's events were off.

But because the incident happened suddenly, he could not pinpoint what was wrong for a while.

Moreover, he vaguely sensed that the young man sitting on the chair beside the trial table inside the courtroom was unusual.

It seemed familiar, yet he couldn't recall; mainly the subtle aura emanating made him feel a déjà vu.

His intuition told him that even if the magistrate were executed now, he best not appear himself.

Just as he was about to give Zhao a few perfunctory replies and slip away, a wailing cry rang from the courtroom doorway: "Sir! Save me, sir! I cannot wait for your pardon; I am about to be subjected to five‑horse dismemberment! My family will also be killed, sir!"

Xiao Qidi and Duan Wu's eyes lit up instantly.

Extreme pressure succeeded!

The Dog Official finally could not bear it and begged his backer for rescue!

And that person was right there on the scene!

The two immediately looked toward the crowd of heads gathering outside the courthouse gate.