Chapter 80: 078 Burning the County Yamen (Bonus Chapter for Big Boss Penguin)

In Constable Jin's eyes, he only glimpsed Zhao Han twist his wrist — that long spear, held upright with its butt planted on the ground, suddenly thrust out horizontally as if by sleight of hand.

Such a long, heavy spear, and a young man with a scholarly air — yet he stabbed it out effortlessly with a single hand.

Wei Jianxiong had not taught him many techniques, but Zhao Han had grasped his essence: martial training is nothing more than practicing how to channel force.

Using the deft momentum of the wrist-twist and forward lunge, the spear shaft slid sharply through his palm.

The speed was extreme — so fast that in the blink of an eye, it had already reached Constable Jin's face.

The cotton cloth wrapped around the spearhead was pierced through in an instant by the tip. The tip burst through the cloth and struck the constable's throat; Zhao Han suddenly crooked his fingers and gripped — the shaft halted its forward slide at once.

Four full years of practice, and this moment long schemed for — only then could he deliver this one stunning, terrifying thrust.

Even the force was neither too much nor too little, and the attack distance was gauged with flawless precision.

Did you really think that in these four years, I did nothing but read books?

Constable Jin had no time to react — he had not even registered the danger. Only when Zhao Han pulled out the spear tip and blood gushed forth like a fountain did he clutch his throat and collapse in utter terror.

Without a moment's pause, shaking the spear and striding forward, Zhao Han charged at He Can.

Only after Zhao Han had taken two steps did a runner finally cry out in alarm: "Constable Jin has been killed!"

The runners recoiled instinctively, retreating several paces before coming to their senses, gripping their water-and-fire staves and intending to surround and seize the murderer.

"Save me!"

He Can turned to flee, but had barely dashed half a step when the spearhead drove into the back of his skull.

He really had only wanted to squeeze out some money — he had not set out to ruin Zhao Han. How could he have known he would run into a man who cared nothing for his own life!

Even in death, He Can could not fathom how a refugee of household-slave origin, a mere youth, could be so ferocious — daring to kill a man right in front of the county yamen's great hall.

He had never even seen such a thing, let alone heard of it — only read about it in knight-errant tales.

May the departed rest in peace; hereafter they need neither see nor hear of such things again.

Facing encirclement, Zhao Han pulled back his spear and swept it sideways; the runners recoiled in a mass retreat.

Many of these runners were nothing but local ruffians and idlers, working at the yamen for no pay — not even a base wage — scraping a living off other gray-income sources.

They were just earning a mouthful of food; who among them was willing to throw his life away against a desperate killer?

If they died in the line of duty over this, they would likely get only a pittance in compensation.

On the battlefield, common soldiers are loath to lay down their lives.

In the county yamen, the underlings were equally unwilling to die.

As for the clerks of the Six Offices, they were so terrified they slammed their doors shut one after another — they were only pen-pushers, after all.

Once the runners had fallen back to evade Zhao Han's sweeping strike, they slowly closed in again, each hoping someone else would make a move while they themselves hung back to pick up the scraps.

The Registrar fled back to the treasury in a panic, barricaded the door, and shouted: "Shut the main yamen gates — catch the turtle in the jar!"

At these words, several men immediately ran to close the main gates, intending to trap Zhao Han inside the yamen.

Zhao Han spun around and gave chase at once, skewering one man blocking his path with a spear thrust, and strode toward the gates.

"Aiya, Wu Liu's been stabbed to death!"

"The villain's fierce — everyone, take him together!"

"Surround him!"

"You go!"

"..."

These damned runners — bullies when it came to oppressing common folk, but faced with a real killer, every one of them cowered and hung back.

By this point, Zhao Han had already killed three men in the yamen, yet not only had he not been mobbed, he had instead frightened the runners into retreating further.

"Ah!"

Another scream — the one running to shut the gates had been caught up, and Zhao Han ran him clean through with a spear thrust.

The remaining few, no longer concerned with closing the gates, fled straight out onto the main street.

Had Zhao Han wished to escape at this moment, there was no obstacle left before him — the gates stood wide open right in front of him.

Those runners, thinking Zhao Han meant to leave, made a show of pursuing him. It was just like when military officers encounter Tartar raiders: first they hold the city and dare not sally forth; once the Tartars withdraw, they give chase — immediately earning credit for repelling the enemy, and conveniently "recovering" the lost territory along the way.

But Zhao Han actually turned around and charged back — like Tartars wheeling on their pursuers!

At the sight, the runners collectively slammed on the brakes and turned to flee in terror. Unfortunately, they had bunched up too tightly in their charge; those at the very front could not escape in time. One runner tripped over a water-and-fire staff and was promptly skewered by Zhao Han — another man dead.

Zhao Han was a tiger among sheep. With a dozen-odd runners still left, he sent them scattering in all directions as he chased them down.

In the course of the pursuit, he killed yet another.

The more casualties they suffered, the more terrified the runners became. Already stricken with panic, none dared turn back to face the enemy.

The effect of Zhao Han having killed Constable Jin first was now fully apparent. Without the constable on the scene to take command, these runners could only flee for their lives — what pitiful cohesion they had possessed had long since evaporated.

"Quick, protect His Honour the County Magistrate!"

Suddenly, someone shouted this out.

The other runners jolted awake at once, seized their water-and-fire staves, charged into the great hall, and then ran toward the magistrate's private residence at the rear.

Protecting His Honour the County Magistrate — what a fine excuse to flee for their lives.

In the blink of an eye, only the clerks remained in the Ministry of Revenue's Six Offices, all cowering and trembling in their offices behind tightly shut doors, not daring to come out.

Yanshan County had no Assistant Magistrate; the private secretary and the constable were both dead; the County Magistrate was not on the scene — only the Registrar remained as the sole man in charge.

Zhao Han rushed to the treasury and kicked the door with a flying strike.

The Registrar and two clerks, barricaded inside, were bracing the door with their bodies; the recoil numbed Zhao Han's right leg.

The Registrar wanted nothing more than to weep at this moment. From start to finish, what did any of this have to do with him? Yet he had never imagined it would bring a lethal calamity down on his head. The wretch wailed: "Spare me, brave hero — this has nothing to do with me! It was Secretary He who swallowed your money, and he colluded with Constable Jin to throw you in jail. I-I-I... I am wronged!"

Zhao Han stepped back two paces and stabbed out with his spear.

The spear tip passed through the lattice of the door and immediately sank into the Registrar's shoulder.

"Ah!"

The Registrar let out a miserable scream, scrambling and tumbling to hide deeper inside, terrified that Zhao Han would fire another shot.

Zhao Han planted his spear and bellowed: "I am Zhao Erlang, born of a scholarly family in Northern Zhili. My late father was a proper juren. Because he was upright and refused to let neighbors fraudulently register land under his name, in a famine year our entire family perished miserably..."

Zhao Han retreated before the main hall and shouted toward the Six Offices on either side: "By the grace of Honorable Juren Fei, I was brought back to Yanshan and made his adopted son. I studied hard and passed the child student examination. Framed by villains, my child student standing was stripped away. My master has now granted me freedom and given me land to establish my own household. But that damned Private Secretary He repeatedly extorted silver from me and kept delaying my household registration. And now he has lured me here, intending to arrest and imprison me!"

Zhao Han roared hoarsely: "Under the whole of Heaven, is there such justice? Today I stake everything!"

The many clerks hiding in the Six Offices, hearing Zhao Han pour out his grievances, all felt sympathy to varying degrees.

They too lived by the brush. That the son of a juren had been driven to kill in the county yamen — the blame could only fall on Private Secretary He's excessive greed.

In an instant, Private Secretary He was hated to the bone by the clerks.

One clerk even exclaimed from his room: "This Zhao Erlang — truly a heroic man!"

"Zhao Erlang, this matter has nothing to do with us. Could you let us leave first?" another clerk shouted.

Zhao Han did not answer. He simply took his stand again before the granary and treasury door: "Open up and you won't be killed. Don't wait for me to charge in myself!"

"Creeeak!"

The door suddenly swung wide open. The Registrar, wounded, cowered in a corner.

Two clerks knelt on either side of the doorway, kowtowing and begging: "Erlang, spare our lives!"

The clerks in the other offices, seeing Zhao Han enter the granary and treasury, promptly opened their doors and fled without a trace.

Zhao Han leveled his spear and barked: "Hand over the treasury silver!"

The Registrar pointed at a large chest and wailed: "The key is with the County Magistrate. There isn't much left — the yamen's silver is all stored in the inner residence."

Zhao Han snapped: "Strip off your clothes!"

The clerks, fearing death, hurriedly undressed.

Zhao Han used his spearhead as a crowbar and pried the chest open in a few moves. He cursed his bad luck — the chest was full of copper cash. The silver had indeed been taken away by the County Magistrate.

Zhao Han ordered: "Use your clothes as bundles and wrap up all the copper cash!"

The two clerks dared not disobey. While they bundled the cash, Zhao Han pulled out a fire striker and set the account books of the granary and treasury ablaze.

The Registrar cried out in terror: "You might as well just kill me!"

The granary and treasury was under the Registrar's management.

If this room burned, the entire county's tax and grain accounts would turn to wisps of smoke. What awaited the Registrar was prison.

The Registrar wept: "Good sir, let me out quickly! I must take my family and flee at once — any more delay and it will be too late!"

"Get lost," Zhao Han said.

The Registrar immediately bolted out, the two clerks fleeing after him.

Zhao Han swiftly bundled the copper cash. Too much would slow him down, so he shouldered only two sacks and headed out.

Next, he went to the neighboring Revenue Office and set the entire county's household yellow registers and fish-scale land registers alight as well.

At this very moment, the County Magistrate, surrounded by yamen runners, had finally made his way from the inner residence to the second hall.

The County Magistrate dared not venture out either. He merely commanded: "I shall hold the second hall. You go out and seize the brigand!"

The yamen runners looked at each other, steeled themselves, and shuffled out. They then stood as a group in the main hall, staring at Zhao Han outside.

Eyes locked, neither side dared make a move.

Zhao Han smiled contemptuously, picked up the Constable's saber, and unhurriedly fastened it at his own waist.

Then, before the eyes of the many yamen runners, he meticulously searched the corpses. From the Constable he found two taels of silver. From He Can he found over fifty taels — of which fifty taels had been sent by Fei Yuanyi's household slave, and Private Secretary He had not yet had time to take it home and store it.

Hoisting the two sacks of copper cash, Zhao Han walked out of the county yamen, spear in hand, and promptly stabbed one of the sacks open.

"Come and get the money!"

As he walked, he scattered copper cash along the way. Passersby scrambled to snatch it up.

Before he even reached the city gate, the two sacks of cash were empty. Even shop assistants had come out onto the street to pick up coins.

"Quick, seize the brigand!"

Seeing Zhao Han leave the yamen, the runners instantly turned valiant. Raising their firewood poles, they charged after him with loud shouts.

Reaching the main street, they were blocked by the coin-gathering crowd. The runners simply bent down and picked up coins themselves.

"Disaster! The yamen is on fire!"

A runner suddenly turned back and cried out in alarm.

Behind them, flames shot skyward. Half of the Six Offices building was already ablaze, and the fire was rapidly spreading to the yamen's main hall.

The County Magistrate, waiting and waiting in the second hall, could not resist going out to see the situation.

In an instant, cold sweat soaked his back. No longer concerned with apprehending the culprit, the County Magistrate stamped his feet in desperation and shouted: "Put out the fire! Put out the fire, quickly!"

Zhao Han, spear in hand, swaggered to the city gate.

The gate guards, unaware of the truth, were all gazing at the thick smoke rising from the city. No one stopped Zhao Han from leaving.

Reaching the dock, Zhao Han leaped onto the boat: "Uncle Lin, cast off!"

Fei Lin pointed toward the yamen, gaping: "You... y-you did that?"

Zhao Han sneered: "I only killed a few corrupt underlings. It's nothing."

The name of Zhao Erlang, carried by the mouths of the Six Offices clerks, swiftly spread throughout Yanshan County town.

Some county school child students, sympathizing with Zhao Han's life story and long dissatisfied with the County Magistrate, even embellished the tale and composed opera librettos.

In the opera, Zhao Han was born of a prestigious Northern Zhili family, his father a high minister at court. Only because he offended the eunuch faction was his family destroyed and he himself driven to wander the rivers and lakes alone, until Juren Fei of Goose Lake took him as an adopted son.

The plot that followed was largely the same as Zhao Han's own account, but the County Magistrate was portrayed as the mastermind behind it all.

A subplot was also woven in, claiming that Zhao Han had exposed cheating in the county examination and had been resented by the County Magistrate ever since.

At the same time, Zhao Han was depicted in the mold of Lin Chong — broad-shouldered and powerful, strong enough to wrestle wolves and subdue tigers. With a single spear he charged into the county yamen, sending a hundred yamen runners fleeing in terror.

Zhao Erlang — a gallant hero!

(End of chapter)