Chapter 1525: Oh No, the Palace is About to Catch Fire Again

"Move! Move!"

"Damn bastard! Don't you look at the road!"

On the street, the helpers of the Daxing government office cleared the way with sticks like tigers, shouting and pushing people who were blocking the road.

Behind, Wang Yan, wearing an official robe, trotted up, and with a boost, kicked a helper until he fell to the ground.

"Damn bastard, I don't even bully people like that. Why are you so majestic? That old man looks like he's not young anymore, and you slapped him? Don't go, beat him up for me first."

"Yes, Magistrate."

The helpers didn't hesitate. They had been hooligans for so many years, and they had never seen such a Magistrate. He has a background, is young, and is willing to chat and laugh with these people.

Walking all the way here, Wang Yan just chatted with a few people on the side of the road about their families, talked about the story of personally leading the militia to kill Japanese pirates in Chun'an, and had already gathered the loyalty of these helpers.

Immediately, before anything happened, the helpers who followed Wang Yan to handle affairs were beaten up first.

There, fists and feet beat the man until he wailed, and Wang Yan walked up to the old

What is this? This is called establishing trust at the city gate, and it's called political showmanship.

First, beating up the hangers-on in the street who were absolutely not to be trifled with in the eyes of ordinary people, and even he, the County Magistrate, personally delivering a big flying kick, and then taking out his own silver to buy wine for the harassed elderly person as compensation—this made people feel good about him.

Regardless of whether it was real or fake, the commoners were willing to watch, and as it spread later, the commoners were also willing to listen to this excitement. And in the future, when they encountered things, they would also come knocking with suspicion but also with hope, hoping that Wang Yan was truly a "Blue Sky" official.

Then, in the period to come, as long as Wang Yan truly stood up for the commoners once, then with the spread and fermentation, he would naturally and inevitably become a "Blue Sky" official.

This only refers to the handling of problems between commoners and the powerful; it doesn't even mention that in some of Wang Yan's subsequent policies, he would make the commoners' lives much better.

And the consequence of him doing this in the street right now was only for the censors and officials to impeach him and pick on his faults.

But obviously, nothing would happen to him. Whoever wasn't convinced, let them pay Jiajing a million taels of silver in protection money every year first before talking...

Having shown himself off in the street, Wang Yan then led his hangers-on toward the Xicheng.

This time, the hangers-on clearing the way were well-behaved; they only shouted loudly, and if they got anxious, they would curse a couple of times, but no one dared to go up and punch or kick.

Swaggering all the way to the Xicheng, Xu Jie's residence was not inside the Imperial City, but outside, and the same was true for Yan Song. The main reason was population growth and class solidification. Those living inside the Imperial City were all various nobles and imperial relatives. Good houses in good locations were truly scarce, and it was really hard to free up space without killing a batch of people.

"Is this Yan Ge's residence? Truly imposing!"

A hanger-on looked at Yan Song's residence with its gates tightly shut and sighed.

"Yeah, we still have to thank the Great Master; otherwise, how would we dare to come here in the past?"

"Alright, no matter how big the courtyard is, Yan Song himself can only live in that one room. No matter how imposing the residence is, hasn't he fallen? That bastard Yan Shifan is already in prison; how many more days can this residence be lived in? Let's go, let's go, nothing much to see. Let's go to Xu Ge's house and take a look; that's the one that's truly popular right now."

Wang Yan said, "If the people in Xu Ge's house don't cooperate, I'll take you all to stroll around Xu Ge's house."

"Let's forget about that, Great Master; catching the Second Young Master Xu is already enough to offend people. If we still act recklessly in Xu Ge's house, we're afraid we'll all be implicated."

"I'm the one leading; what are you afraid of?"

Wang Yan waved his hand lazily and headed directly toward Xu Jie's residence, which was not far away.

Compared to Yan Song's residence, Xu Jie's residence was a bit inferior, but still imposing enough.

Wang Yan led dozens of people in a grand procession and blocked the entrance of the Xu residence, making the Xu family's gatekeeper nervous.

"Who are you all? Do you know what place this is? You dare to come here and act wildly?" The gatekeeper, his bark worse than his bite, tried to stall for time, but in reality, he had already sent someone to notify the person in charge.

Wang Yan walked up very politely: "This official is the newly appointed Daxing County Magistrate. Your Xu family's Second Young Master galloped on horseback within my jurisdiction, whipping commoners. The commoners have reported it to the yamen, and I, as the County Magistrate, must stand up for the people. Please, ask your Second Young Master to come out and accompany this official for a trip."

"You, a tiny County Magistrate, dare to come to Xu Ge's residence to arrest the Second Young Master?"

"Damn it, you, a gatekeeper, look down on me, a dignified sixth-rank official?" Wang Yan glanced at the hangers-on beside him and clicked his tongue, "What are you dazed for? Beat him for me. Does he look down on me? He looks down on our Great Ming court, looks down on our Great Ming Emperor. With such a servant, it seems Xu Ge's true character remains to be seen."

A moment later, a person who looked to be in his fifties or nearly sixty came out with a group of people.

Glancing at the beaten gatekeeper, this person walked up with a smile and cupped his hands to Wang Yan: "I am the steward of the Xu residence; I don't know what business this official has come for? Why order people to beat my gatekeeper?"

"Alright. Let this gatekeeper explain the matter himself."

Wang Yan waved his hand, the hangers-on stopped their actions, and the gatekeeper, spitting blood, repeated what Wang Yan had said earlier with his toothless mouth.

"I didn't expect it to be Magistrate Wang in person; truly disrespectful, disrespectful. This gatekeeper of ours just has a foul mouth; he deserves to be beaten, deserves it!" Steward Xu said, "Our Second Young Master is indeed at fault in this matter; do you think we could pay some money to compensate?"

"Why didn't you pay at the time? Why did you beat people at the time?" Wang Yan hummed and said, "You must pay the money, and you can't pay less. Not only must you compensate the commoners who were beaten, but you must also pay a fine. But the person must return to the yamen with this official to apologize to the commoners in person; otherwise, wouldn't this official have made this trip in vain?"

"Magistrate Wang, you must know that one should leave a way out for others..."

"Are you threatening this official? I'll give you one last chance; hurry up and bring the person out for me, otherwise this official will have to enter the residence to make the arrest myself, and it won't be as easy to talk then."

Steward Xu let out a slight sigh of relief and turned back to instruct his subordinates: "Go and invite the Second Young Master out. You, go and tell the Master the whole story."

Wang Yan didn't care; they had already come to his door, did they still think they could turn a big matter into a small one?

Before long, the Xu family's Second Young Master walked out, cursing and swearing: "You are Wang Yan?"

"Exactly."

"The one who beat Yan Shifan?"

"Exactly."

The Xu family's Second Young Master let out a cold snort: "Don't think I'm afraid of you, Wang..."

"Come here, slap his mouth!"

The hangers-on looked at each other, but no one moved.

The Xu family's Second Young Master was triumphant: "Slap my mouth? You have such great official authority. You're just a tiny County Magistrate... ah..."

Following the Second Young Master's painful cry, Wang Yan went up and slapped him twice, then kicked him flying.

"Tie him up, and stuff his mouth too. If you want to talk about being tough, you're a hundred and eight thousand miles behind Yan Shifan. When the Yan faction was in power, even your father, Xu Ge, had to smile when he saw Yan Shifan; and you're putting on airs? If he dares to move around, dares to groan, just beat him for me; I'll take responsibility if anything happens. Let's go."

Wang Yan waved his hand, and the large group of people left in a swarm, heading back to the yamen...

In the Yuxi Palace, Jiajing frowned: "He wants to arrest Xu Jie's second son?"

"Yes, Master; when this servant heard it, I was also startled, so I hurried over to notify you." Huang Jin recounted the matter of Xu Jie's second son whipping the commoners, and also spoke of what Wang Yan had said after taking office today, as well as his plan to raise money.

Lu Fang laughed first: "Master, he is killing the chicken to scare the monkey."

"Then his courage is not small; first he beat Yan Shifan, and now he has arrested Xu Jie's son. He is a smart man; can't he see that Xu Jie is the Senior Grand Secretary? Why must he find trouble with Xu Jie at this time?" Jiajing was speechless; Wang Yan was truly daring.

Huang Jin said: "It's because Master, the Emperor, looks after him, which is why this kid is so bold."

"Master, Huang Jin is right." Lu Fang laughed happily, "In the end, it's because Wang Yan knows that Master, the Emperor, won't blame him for such a small matter. Xu Ge is a man who understands the big picture and is even more capable of enduring right and wrong; he certainly won't make things difficult for Wang Yan because of such a small matter, not to mention that Xu Ge is indeed in the wrong in this matter.

Once he has dealt with Xu Ge's second son, Wang Yan can be considered to have gained a foothold, and he will be able to stand firm when investigating any family in the future. With this prestige, he will be able to do whatever he wants in the future. Not to mention anything else, as long as he can collect the cleaning fees he came up with in the East City, that's more than a million taels of silver a year, isn't it?"

Lu Fang still understood Jiajing the best; the topic finally fell on silver.

Jiajing also thought of this and couldn't help but nod with satisfaction: "This matter is not easy to do. I heard Guo Pu asked him if he had the intention of reform?"

"Yes, Master." Huang Jin replied; he was in charge of the factory workers, so these were his affairs.

"In your opinion, does he have the intention of reform?"

Lu Fang pondered for a moment and said: "Observing Wang Yan's actions, everything is within the rules; occasionally he oversteps his authority, but it's harmless. Whether he wants to reform, this servant cannot say, but he is certainly solving problems. When he discovers a problem, he thinks of ways to solve it within his authority and responsibility; he is someone willing to do solid work, and he truly has the commoners in his heart."

"This is truly the first time I've heard of an official who shouts about making silver, yet becomes a clean official and a good official in the mouths of the commoners."

Huang Jin said: "Wang Yan said, how much money do the poor commoners have? Racking one's brains to scrape money from them is truly shameless. If you want to make money, make money from the rich."

"What you said reminds me; I estimate that after this, he is going to expand the prisons and force others to submit..." Jiajing muttered to himself.

Because this matter was too big, if things went wrong, his Imperial Palace would catch fire again...

But this was a matter of over a million taels of silver; he liked silver the most...

Lu Fang and Huang Jin did not disturb Jiajing's thinking. On the way, Huang Jin went out once, then came back and waited quietly.

After a good while, Jiajing finally came back to his senses: "What is it?"

Because if there wasn't something, one of Lu Fang or Huang Jin would have to leave by now; there were many things to do, and they took turns serving him here.

Huang Jin said: "Replying to Master, Xu Ge has come to plead guilty."

"Arrested?" Jiajing asked.

Huang Jin nodded: "Not only arrested, but also beaten. Wang Yan first sent a post to Xu Ge's residence..."

After listening to Huang Jin's words, Jiajing didn't show anything, just waved his hand: "Let Xu Jie in."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Huang Jin ran to call the person.

Before long, the fifty-nine-year-old Xu Jie walked in with a steady gait and knelt down directly.

"Your subject Xu Jie, having failed to teach my son and failing to manage my household strictly, have come specifically to plead guilty to Your Majesty."

Jiajing seemed to know nothing: "What crime is there?"

So Xu Jie spoke for himself about his second son galloping on horseback outside the city and whipping commoners. He also spoke of the gatekeeper in his house who spoke inappropriately, looked down on a court official, and said he would definitely cooperate with Wang Yan.

"There is such a thing?" Jiajing said, "This Wang Yan is a troublemaker. I couldn't have imagined that on his first day in office, he would offend you, Xu Ge."

"Your Majesty, your subject requests..." Xu Jie knelt down directly.

"Alright, I don't blame you. Busy with national affairs every day, where is there time to take care of the family? These are all unavoidable things. Instead, it's this Wang Yan, who doesn't sympathize with Xu Ge's hardship in planning for the country, and holds onto a small matter without letting go. Whipping commoners is wrong, but a fine would have sufficed; why make such a big fuss and even beat his way to Xu Ge's residence?"

Jiajing looked at Lu Fang, "Lu Fang, you go to his place this afternoon and reprimand him; it's too outrageous."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your sympathy! Your subject will have someone go to the Daxing County Yamen to pay the fine and have my second son apologize and compensate the commoners."

"Huang Jin, you go on behalf of Xu Ge to notify him." Jiajing dismissed Huang Jin to do the work, and turned to discuss this year's arrangements with Xu Jie.

After all, last year's deficit hadn't been filled, and a new deficit had appeared; he still had to study carefully how to get silver...

Wang Yan swaggered all the way, leading the team back to the yamen, and when they arrived, the yamen was already bustling with activity.

Because the distance from the yamen to Xu Jie's residence was not short, it took more than an hour for everyone to walk there, and by the time they walked back, it was nearly two hours. Such a long time was naturally enough for the yamen to make purchases.

Right now, the people in the yamen were busy slaughtering sheep and making pancakes, and Wang Da and his son were there working with the big pot, having already started boiling the mutton soup. Freshly slaughtered and freshly boiled, it was truly fresh.

Seeing that Wang Yan had really tied up Xu Jie's second son and brought him back, everyone didn't know what to say. Even Ma Defu, who had proposed it at the beginning, was shivering at this time. Nothing else, this new County Magistrate was truly courting death.

Being able to serve as an official in this position, of course, he wasn't stupid. Wang Yan dealing with Xu Jie's second son was just the beginning; if not for this, what big deal was whipping commoners a few times?

Now that it was such a small matter as whipping commoners, Wang Yan had personally gone to the door to arrest the person; those powerful people who bullied the market and exploited the commoners would have to think carefully about what their attitude should be next.

After all, in the Daxing yamen's warehouse, the petitions of those who had nowhere to turn were piled up like a mountain. Were those petitions? Those were Wang Yan's bullets to investigate the powerful; with this pretext, expanding the scope would be justified.

Turning small matters into big ones, and big matters directly into raiding homes...

The Clerk Zhang Kun accompanied him with a smile: "Master, the victims and witnesses have all been brought."

Wang Yan looked behind him and saw seven people, old and young, standing there timidly, not daring to look at the Great Master's eyes.

"What are you afraid of?"

Wang Yan said, "I am the one standing up for you; why does it seem like I'm the one who whipped you? Raise your heads!"

"Great Master, the commoner will not sue anymore! Will not sue!" A thin man with a scar on his face said this.

"I've arrested the person, and you're not suing? How can that be?"

Wang Yan turned back, his gaze like a knife landing on Xu Second Young Master's head, "Is it because he glared at you and scared you? Damn it, let me see you glare again; you've rebelled."

Wang Yan walked over and slapped him twice.

Then he patted his face gently, "Second Young Master, I'm telling you, if you plan to go back and find trouble for them, I won't be this official anymore, and I'll have to scatter your ashes. Remember, if anything happens to these people, it's your doing; see if I can kill you or not. Do you understand?"

Xu Second Young Master was well-behaved, nodding repeatedly with "woo-woo-woo" sounds, already convinced.

He was just a spoiled brat; where did he have any firm character? A few slaps cleared his eyes. He was the same as Hu Zongxian's son; neither had ever been bullied, so bullying them a little was fine...

"Alright, then rest for a while; after we eat, we'll judge the case. Don't worry, there's meat to eat."

Wang Yan patted the shoulders of the victimized commoners and walked over to point out the mutton soup boiling for the Wang father and son; he couldn't afford to waste the meat...

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