Chapter 181: Ma Zhou?

"So many immortals?"

Du Gou was a little bewildered, but when he saw the miserable state of the three thugs behind Chen Yan, he sensibly stood beside Chen Yan without speaking.

The several officials who came with Du Gou exchanged glances; even though they didn't fully understand the situation, they could still see that something bad was certainly afoot.

The group together performed a bow and said, "I, the subordinate, pay my respects to the Bright Official."

Chen Yan let out a scoffing laugh, walked up to them, and said calmly, "Bright Official!"

"I only assumed this post today, have never been to the office, have never learned the specifics of Weinan County, and this is also your first time seeing me," he said.

"Do you think… I am worthy of the title Bright Official?"

With those words, the others' expressions varied—some thoughtful, some gloomy, and some bitter.

Bright Official is originally an honorific, referring to a wise and upright superior.

They never imagined that such a complimentary address would be immediately turned into a point of discussion by this excessively young County Magistrate.

For a question like this, any answer would be unsatisfactory.

While the other officials hesitated on how to answer, a slender, bookish middle‑aged man stepped forward and said, "I, the subordinate, believe the Lord does embody the title Bright Official."

"Oh?" Chen Yan's expression did not change at all; he walked to the middle‑aged man and looked at him with calm eyes.

"Why?"

Although he was obviously excessively young, the middle‑aged man suddenly felt a strong pressure bearing down on him, his heart involuntarily tightened, and a thin sheen of sweat beaded on his forehead.

Du Gou, seeing the scene, initially wanted to say a few kind words to the middle‑aged man, but then thought perhaps Chen Yan was establishing his authority today, and it would be better not to interfere.

"Lord, although I have only recently taken office, I have already observed at the grassroots level and know clearly that the people of Weinan County are being extorted by some thugs."

The middle‑aged man clasped his hands; seeing Chen Yan's expression finally shift, he felt a surge of joy and said, "I have heard from the people that these thugs have been rampant in Weinan County for a long time, committing every kind of evil, and the government's repeated crackdowns have achieved little."

"If my conjecture is correct, the three behind you must be those long‑standing ruffians of Weinan County…"

Seeing Chen Yan remain silent, the middle‑aged man paused briefly and continued:

"On the first day of your appointment, instead of proceeding to the office in the usual order, you personally came to the dock to observe the people's conditions. This alone proves that you keep the people in mind and wish to help them."

"A newly appointed official who is wholeheartedly for the people and cannot tolerate such villains naturally deserves the title Bright Official."

Chen Yan glanced at the light‑green official robe on the man, realizing he was the Deputy County Magistrate, a rank above Du Gou.

He did not answer immediately, but turned to the others and asked, "What do you think?"

"I think Lord Ma is right; your dedication to the people is enough to bear the title Bright Official."

"Yes, yes, yes, we all think the same. You are not even in a hurry to settle into your post and immediately observed the people's conditions. If you cannot uphold the title Bright Official, then perhaps no one in the world could be called Bright Official."

"Indeed…"

Everyone chimed in with agreement, each exaggerating more than the last.

Having navigated the bureaucracy for years, they were certainly not foolish.

If a much older County Magistrate had been in charge, they would never have flattered him like this, but the current young magistrate was simply too youthful.

Being appointed County Magistrate of a prefecture at such a young age, even a quick mental calculation shows his background cannot be simple.

How could they dare offend him?

Chen Yan let out a cold laugh, ignored their flattery, and slowly approached one of them, tugging the deep‑blue official robe on his shoulder, and said in an odd tone, "You must be the County Guard of Weinan County, right?"

"In principle, Weinan County can have two County Guards, but after looking around, I did not find anyone else wearing the same colored robe as you."

"Why is that?"

County Guard Wang Shikuan did not understand Chen Yan's meaning and replied honestly, "Lord, originally Weinan County had two County Guards, but seven months ago, a colleague of mine was attacked by mounted bandits while returning home for a family visit…"

He said this with a trace of sorrow on his face, and what happened afterward needed no further explanation.

Chen Yan smiled, then returned to the middle‑aged man who had begun answering his question, and asked, "What is your name?"

"Lord, I am called Ma Zhou."

"Very well, Ma… hmm?" Chen Yan had originally asked casually, but soon sensed something off, looked at the man intently, and in a rather odd tone said, "Ma as in horse, Zhou as in the Zhou dynasty?"

"Yes." Ma Zhou felt Chen Yan's gaze was strange, but he didn't think much, assuming Chen Yan was merely asking another question.

"The Ma Zhou who assisted the Middle‑Rank General Chang He Dai in drafting memorials?"

Ma Zhou looked up in astonishment and asked, "Lord, how did you know that?"

Chen Yan twitched the corner of his mouth; he hadn't expected it to really be that Ma Zhou, and now finally understood why Du Gou could only serve as the chief clerk.

However, by the timeline, the present Ma Zhou had indeed entered Li Shimin's notice, and being summoned to assist him was not impossible.

That horse—Ma Zhou—would later become a prime minister, one of Li Shimin's core ministers, with a status comparable to Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling.

Most importantly, Ma Zhou rose from a humble background to the prime ministership, so his ability was beyond doubt.

After a moment of silence, Chen Yan gathered his thoughts, looked at Ma Zhou and said, "You just said that Weinan County has thugs extorting the people."

"Then I ask you, do you know how those thugs extort the people?"

Ma Zhou's eyes flashed with indignation at the words, "Lord, those thugs call themselves the Axe Gang; a portion of the populace must pay them so‑called tea fees."

"If any people refuse to pay, they beat them with fists and feet and threaten their wives, children, and elders."

"In such a situation, the people have no choice but to submit, and a large portion of the money they earn ends up with the Axe Gang."

"Such practices are practically the same as bandits."

Chen Yan nodded, looked at Wang Shikuan, and said with a half‑smile, "Then this County Guard has indeed been derelict."

"As the officer in charge of public security, theft, and miscellaneous judicial affairs, the County Guard somehow allowed such villains to arise in Weinan County."

"What else could this be but dereliction?"

"Uh…" Wang Shikuan swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Since Ma Zhou began speaking, he had had a bad premonition.

He tried to organize his words and was about to speak when Chen Yan spoke first.

"But we'll discuss your dereliction later; I need to add a few points first."

The common folk of Weinan County not only have to pay tea money to the Axe Gang, those who run Private Boats also have to pay monthly dues to the ferry officials.

And that's not all; the people who operate Private Boats, besides those two payments, also have to pay the Private Boat Tax.

"I really want to know, this Private Boat Tax…" Chen Yan's eyes grew cold, each word deliberate.

"How on earth did it originate?!!"

……