Chapter 450: I Just Want to Run Away

"The environment here is truly beyond words!"

After taking a turn inside, Shen Yu could not help but sigh. The Prefecture Office looked dilapidated from the outside, but it was even more dilapidated inside; some rooms even leaked when it rained.

Any landlord or wealthy person's home would be far more magnificent than this; as a dignified local official, one would actually have to live in a house that leaked.

Being an official here is truly a stifling and painful affair; it is also hard on the former Prefects.

However, having said that, those who can make it here are still considered the lucky ones. According to rumors, of every ten people sent to Xiaozhou to take up office, it is considered good if three arrive at their post smoothly.

Along this journey, there are countless black-hearted inns and bandits everywhere; that is not just talk. Ordinary people simply cannot last through a few rounds and end up dead on the side of the road.

Even if one can successfully arrive at the post, those who can work for more than three years are less than one in ten, which is enough to show the danger of being an official here.

It can be said that in terms of the death rate of local officials alone, Xiaozhou has topped the list for hundreds of years without change, and every year it leaves others so far behind that they cannot even hope to catch up.

Therefore, there is even a saying in official circles: if you want to kill someone, you don't need to do it yourself at all; you just need to find a way to get them sent to Xiaozhou to take up office.

When the time comes, someone will naturally kill them; regardless of whether they are turned into meat buns or snatched away to a mountain stronghold, in short, they are dead for sure!

Moreover, there is no future to speak of in being an official here. Once you enter this place, don't even think about leaving; you have to work until you die.

Everyone knows that this place is fraught with danger, that one could be killed at any time, and that it is miserable. It is hard enough to find a fool willing to come and be an official, and now that they are here, you want to leave? Who do you expect to replace you?

"Lord Shen!" Following behind Shen Yu, seeing that Shen Yu remained silent, Fan Shen was also anxious. After a long time of mental preparation, he finally gathered the courage to speak.

"What is it?"

"Lord Shen, our Beggar Gang did not know the Imperial Court would send you, my Lord, so quickly, which is why we occupied this place. We had no intention of offending you. My Lord, we will leave right now; please, my Lord, do not blame us!"

"Do not worry, how could I blame you for this!"

Looking back at Fan Shen, that sallow complexion was clearly due to malnutrition. If even the gang leader is like this, one can imagine the people below; this is not just ordinarily miserable.

In the intelligence provided by the Imperial Court, there was absolutely no information about the Beggar Gang. Such a force does not even count as a Third-rate Expert. No, calling them a force is giving them too much credit.

These people are at most a group of displaced people gathered together to make a living, unable to even get a meal, and could starve to death on the street at any time.

It is inappropriate to let them live in the State Yamen, but there is no problem with them staying for a day or two. A day or two is enough to help them find a place to settle down.

This is the seat of the Xiaozhou Prefecture Government, where forces are complex and there are countless experts. Every single one of those who have set up their own turf in Xiaozhou is full of crimes and has hands stained with blood.

The intelligence provided by the Imperial Court should not be wasted; follow the intelligence to find them one by one, and cleanse the Prefecture Government first.

By then, won't there be empty places? Never mind these people, even if ten times as many came, they could still be accommodated.

"Lord Shen, this student feels we had better leave!"

"Then where will you go? To wander around again? Wait here, I will settle you all!"

"Lord Shen, really, there is no need!" Standing in front of Shen Yu, Fan Shen felt like crying. Do not misunderstand; he was not moved, he was terrified.

I want to leave because I am afraid you will blame me? I am afraid of being implicated by you and dragged into the vortex.

What kind of person is Shen Yu? Fan Shen had heard of him often before. Wherever he goes, it is bound to be a river of blood; one has never heard of those evildoers being able to escape.

On the surface, these rumors make people's blood boil, but in reality, who can know what it is really like? And whether ordinary people are affected, and whether ordinary people can survive if they are caught in the crossfire—these are all big problems.

When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat will suffer!

A great battle is about to begin, and this place will inevitably be the center of the vortex. Shen Yu is powerful, so naturally, he is not afraid. For small fries like us, if we get touched even a little, we could be dead.

So now, he is desperate to take all the brothers of the Beggar Gang and leave this place of right and wrong; how could he possibly stay? Not a chance.

"You are unwilling?" Turning his head and seeing the conflicted look on Fan Shen's face, Shen Yu immediately sensed that he did not want to stay.

However, after a second thought, Shen Yu knew where the problem lay, and then he smiled slightly; the courage of the Fan Shen before him was much smaller than he had imagined.

"Fan Shen!" Looking directly at the other party, his sharp gaze seemed to see through Fan Shen. Just as Fan Shen became even more uneasy, Shen Yu then asked, "How many people are in your Beggar Gang?"

"Replying to my Lord, there are about two thousand people in the prefecture city, and more than ten thousand in the whole of Xiaozhou!"

"So many people? Wait, how can you, the gang leader, not even know how many people you have?"

"Replying to my Lord, our Beggar Gang is made up of people who cannot survive; everyone gathers together to keep warm. If they had any skill and could survive, even if they lived without dignity, they would not join us!"

"But even so, there are large numbers of people in Xiaozhou who cannot survive. Just by joining the Beggar Gang, they can have something to rely on, even if this reliance is insignificant and looked down upon by others!"

"And if they were alone, they wouldn't even deserve to live; they could only linger on the streets, not knowing when they would become dinner for the wild dogs on the roadside."

"Since this student founded the Beggar Gang six years ago, more and more members have joined! Especially recently, the Beggar Gang has gradually gained some reputation, and even more people have joined."

"The ten thousand people this student mentioned were counted three or four months ago; now it should definitely be more!"

Although Fan Shen only touched upon it lightly, Shen Yu could feel the sorrow behind these words.

"So many people cannot survive!"

In other places, such a large number of people unable to survive only happens during disaster years.

But in Xiaozhou, these are the norm, day after day, year after year; no wonder the people here are numb and desperate.

Those who work diligently will definitely not survive, while those who lick blood from the blade at least have a glimmer of hope; how to choose is self-evident.

"Fan Shen, you founded the Beggar Gang, which is indirectly equivalent to helping so many people; you have worked hard!"

"My Lord, you are too kind; this student has not worked hard!" Although he said he had not worked hard, tears were already welling up in the corners of Fan Shen's eyes; who else knew his suffering?

The founding of the Beggar Gang was originally the result of a brief moment of passion after being drunk; he had intended to give it up after sobering up.

But when he saw the pitiful appearance of those people, so many people looking at him with longing, his heart softened.

Once his heart softened, the Beggar Gang remained, and even more people came to join; the Beggar Gang rolled larger and larger like a snowball.

With more people, there were more mouths to feed; for such a long time, in order to let these members have a bite to eat, has it been easy for him?

He is a dignified Xiantian Expert, yet he has to shamelessly beg for food everywhere and be wantonly mocked by others. And he himself is so hungry that his face has turned yellow, and he has nowhere to vent his bitterness!

Now that Shen Yu said this, the grievances and hardships in his heart surged up all at once.

"Alright, everything will pass!" Patting the other party's shoulder, Shen Yu continued to ask, "Then how is your Beggar Gang doing now? Are you doing well?"

"This, sigh!" He couldn't help but sigh. Doing well? You can tell just by looking at my sallow face; it must be bad, even I, the gang leader, have nothing to eat!

"Lord Shen, to tell you the truth, our Beggar Gang's main business is begging for a living; no one has ever been full, and every day people are beaten to death because of begging."

"In Xiaozhou, the people here do not know etiquette or benevolence; if they are in a good mood, they throw away some leftovers, but if they are in a bad mood, they wantonly insult us, or even break our hands and feet, and slaughter us at will!"

"My Lord, our Beggar Gang is in a difficult spot!"

"Then do you want to change it, so your people can eat their fill, no longer be insulted by others, and no longer be wantonly beaten, scolded, or slaughtered!"

"I want to, my lord, I want to!" For some reason, Fan Shen suddenly felt a surge of hot blood in his heart, wishing he could immediately shed his blood and sacrifice his life.

Seeing this scene, a slight curve appeared at the corner of Shen Yu's mouth, and he immediately said, "Good, then this official will now entrust you with a task!"

"Please speak, my lord. As long as this student can do it, I will go through fire and water to give it my all!"

"It's very simple. Just have your gang members spread the word everywhere, saying that the new Prefect has arrived and he will uphold justice for everyone. If anyone has grievances, they should come here!"

"In short, make it as passionate as possible; it would be best if the commoners would rush to the State Yamen immediately upon hearing it, understand?"

"Rest assured, my lord, this student understands, I will go do it right now!"

With his blood boiling, Fan Shen immediately summoned his trusted aides and passed down the instructions, telling them to spread Lord Shen's message in all directions.

The Beggar Gang was spread throughout Xiaozhou, and he believed it wouldn't take long for the vast majority of people to know.

And Fan Shen also believed that although most people would not trust the new government, there would always be one or two people at their wit's end who would treat a dead horse as if it were alive.

And as long as they came to report a case, he believed this Lord Shen would dare to take it. As for those who dared to come here to cause trouble, it was absolutely impossible for them to survive at the hands of this Lord Shen.

Perhaps he really could change all of this; perhaps their Beggar Gang could really eat their fill and be warmly clothed.

For a moment, he actually seemed to be yearning for something. But soon, this anticipation turned into panic.

"Something's not right!" After the hot blood receded, Fan Shen finally felt that something was off. What he had just done was completely different from his usual way of thinking.

What kind of person he was, how could he not know himself? Usually, he called it being cautious, but in reality, he was just timid and afraid of trouble.

If he had encountered Shen Yu's instructions just now in the past, let alone accepting them, he would have long since tried every way to shirk the duty; how could his blood have surged and his chest been patted with such a thunderous sound!

Oh no, he had been played by this Lord Shen!

Fan Shen knew that there were Martial Arts in the Jianghu that could influence people's minds, but he hadn't expected that someone like Shen Yu would use them on him.

I took you for a good official who cares for the people, but you're treating me like a fool!

But his subordinates had already gone out, and if he wanted to bring them back now, this Lord Shen would definitely turn hostile, and there was no guarantee he wouldn't beat the living daylights out of him.

Sigh, it's ruined, this is real trouble now. Having fallen into this whirlpool, it was impossible to get out now.

I just wanted to run away, is it easy for me!