Chapter 17: Some People They Cannot Afford to Provoke

"County Lieutenant Feng Zhong, to think it was even him!"

Quietly sipping tea, Shen Yu flipped through the account book he had found and brought back from Flying Tiger Hall yesterday, while his fingers tapped lightly on the table; his demeanor appeared quite solemn.

This account book had been found inside a secret chamber, hidden extremely well. If Zhou Yuan hadn't seemed to have a lot of experience in finding things, they might never have found this secret chamber, nor discovered the account book in his hands.

Through the account books in his hands, Shen Yu could vaguely sense the evil deeds of Flying Tiger Hall over these years. Perhaps every single entry of income in the account book represented the blood and tears of ordinary commoners. The saying "there is honor among thieves" could not be seen in them at all.

Gambling dens and brothels were just the basic operations of Flying Tiger Hall; beyond that, human trafficking, forcing good women into prostitution, robbing merchants, forcibly occupying fertile land, and swindling—they truly stopped at nothing. As long as it could generate profit, it seemed there was nothing they dared not do!

Furthermore, every year, Feng Zhong received a share of Flying Tiger Hall's profits, and the amount was not small. Besides that, the bulk of the profits was not kept by Flying Tiger Hall itself, but handed over to a person called "Young Master."

It was unclear whether this "Young Master" was a code name or referred to an actual identity!

The only slight regret about last night's operation was that when he arrived at Drunk Spring Pavilion, he hadn't found He Yiqiu; otherwise, capturing him as well would have been perfect.

"My Lord, it's chaos, it's chaos!" Just at this moment, Zhou Yuan rushed in recklessly, his face carrying a hint of anxiety and panic.

"What is in chaos? Sit down, drink some tea, and tell me slowly!"

"My Lord, the streets are in chaos now!" Gasping for breath, Zhou Yuan couldn't spare the time to drink tea and hurriedly said in a loud voice, "My Lord, many people suddenly appeared on the streets this morning. Not only are they smashing things and robbing, they are also wantonly hurting people. Now the entire city is in chaos!"

Glancing at Shen Yu, Zhou Yuan said in a somewhat hushed tone, "Although these people are concealing their identities, this subordinate can be certain that most of them are people from Flying Tiger Hall!"

"Wasn't Flying Tiger Hall just wiped out?" Throwing the account book in his hand to the side, Shen Yu hurriedly stood up and strode out of the County Government Office. However, the situation on the street made him frown slightly.

The situation near the County Government Office was still better; the majesty of the imperial court still remained, and basically, no one dared to act wantonly here. But the further away from the County Government Office, the worse it became, which made his anger surge.

"My Lord, even a rotting ship has three pounds of nails. Although Flying Tiger Hall has been wiped out, there are still many remnant disciples left. This subordinate believes that today's incident is them taking revenge!"

"Revenge? How dare they!" Following the bursts of noise and crying sounds in his ears, Shen Yu saw passersby being punched and kicked, and all their money being snatched away. There were young girls being dragged to the side, treated with wanton disregard for any restraint.

The entire city seemed to have lost all order, as if bandits had entered the city. No one was maintaining public security; everyone had fallen into madness, and screams and fear filled every corner. How could this still be the quiet and peaceful Baian County he had arrived in?

Shen Yu admitted that at this moment, he truly had the intent to kill!

"Go, immediately mobilize troops to suppress these people! They have truly rebelled! All those causing trouble are to be thrown into the jail to await disposal. Anyone who dares to resist, kill them!"

"My Lord!" Hearing Shen Yu's words, Zhou Yuan did not move, but said in a very low voice, "After I discovered the situation on the streets just now, I immediately notified the County Lieutenant, but he said, he said he had no troops to mobilize!"

"Presumptuous! Does Feng Zhong not want to be County Lieutenant anymore?" He slammed a palm onto a nearby stone, and Zhou Yuan clearly saw several cracks appear on the boulder, almost shattering it.

Zhou Yuan's little heart immediately thumped with fear; if that palm force had hit a person, wouldn't they have been smashed to pieces in an instant?

"Constable Zhou, take my official warrant and mobilize the men directly without notifying Feng Zhong. Go quickly!"

"My Lord, it's useless!" Shaking his head at Shen Yu, Zhou Yuan said anxiously, "I wanted to act on my own authority just now and bring the men over first. But after I went to check, I discovered that all the soldiers in the city currently have diarrhea and simply cannot come!"

"All of them have diarrhea? Such a coincidence?" Shen Yu knew very clearly that after last night's events, the soldiers and constables of Baian County had completely pledged their loyalty to him, so they would never be faking it.

The only possibility was that someone had given them laxatives, and among those capable of doing this, County Lieutenant Feng Zhong was definitely one. It was impossible for the chaos outside to have nothing to do with this County Lieutenant; after all, he was also taking money.

The County Lieutenant is in charge of public security. Now that Baian County is in great chaos, Shen Yu, as the County Magistrate, cannot escape responsibility, but can he, the County Lieutenant, escape? Isn't this a case of killing a thousand enemies while suffering eight hundred losses himself? Unless he has a way to evade responsibility!

"My Lord, the streets are chaotic now. Not only are the people from Flying Tiger Hall doing evil, but many others are also taking advantage of the fire to loot. Some have even broken into the homes of commoners. If this continues, this subordinate fears there will be a big problem!"

"This official knows!" Waving his hand, Shen Yu looked outside with a grim expression. He knew very well that the human heart cannot withstand temptation. When someone tastes the benefits of oppressing the commoners in this chaos, countless others will immediately follow suit.

The evil thoughts that were suppressed in the past will likely be magnified infinitely, and some may even feel that the law cannot punish the masses. "Everyone is doing it, adding me won't make much difference." Once evil begins, it cannot be stopped!

If it cannot be quelled as soon as possible, the longer it is delayed, the worse things will get, perhaps even reaching an uncontrollable and unpredictable point!

"My Lord!" After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Yuan lowered his head and finally said in a low voice, "The County Lieutenant also said that if you have figured things out, go to Drunk Spring Pavilion to find him!"

"Heh, just a clown, dreaming!" With a cold snort, Shen Yu knew this fellow wanted him to yield. It seemed this County Lieutenant was not only involved in this matter but might even be the one who instigated it.

"Still wanting him to yield? What a joke. They don't understand the consequences of provoking me!"

"Constable Zhou, immediately gather the men and come out with this official!"

"My Lord, this subordinate...!"

"What is it? Is there a problem?" Looking at the stammering Zhou Yuan, Shen Yu asked with some impatience, "What exactly happened? Can you say it all at once?"

"My Lord, today many constables suddenly asked me for leave. At the time, their complexions didn't look very good. At first, I thought they had emergencies at home, so I granted them all. Now it seems there must be a reason for it!"

"Drawing the firewood from under the cauldron! Good, very good!" Raising an eyebrow, Shen Yu guessed the inside story to be about right; it was nothing more than coercion and bribery. There probably won't be many constables and Yamen Runners coming to the government office today.

"How many people are left in the government office now?"

"My Lord, I just checked. Now only a small number of Yamen Runners and a few constables under my command remain, adding up to no more than a dozen!"

"Having a dozen left is actually more than I thought. Good, that's enough. Bring them and follow this official!"

"Enough?" Looking up at Shen Yu with some uncertainty, *My Lord, are you sure you aren't joking with me? We are a dozen people, not hundreds or thousands; it's not even enough for one wave of an ambush. *

"I didn't ask you to fight. You only need to shout loudly behind me and then clean up the aftermath. Leave the rest to this official!"

Quietly looking at the chaotic scene outside, only a cold expression remained on Shen Yu's face. "In the end, it still comes down to fists. This official will let these people see that there are some people they cannot afford to provoke!"