Chapter 174

Zhang Gui used the favor of the 'Hanli Shen Clan' as a price to exchange for the post of 'Grand Coroner' from Prince Zhen.

Although the status of 'coroners' has been very low in the Eastern Continent since ancient times, along with the island nations of the Eastern Inner Sea that are deeply influenced by the Eastern Continent,

even reaching the top does not grant official status, but rather that of a clerk, which is why Prince Zhen's 'traveling capital' has the right to increase or decrease appointments at will.

But according to the rules of the Eastern Continent's officialdom, a high-ranking official in charge of a single matter or task can lead an 'office' and hold great real power.

For example, in a superior county of the Ming Song Kingdom with hundreds of thousands of people, the six departments such as agriculture, industry, and household established in the yamen, although the high-ranking officials in charge have no rank,

their actual status in the county is equivalent to the high officials of the 'Six Ministries' in the imperial court, and they can 'flesh and fish' the common people at will.

And Prince Zhen's status in places like Gyeongsang-do and Hanseong-bu on Xianrong Island is now like that of an emperor.

With a casual order, there are naturally people willing to take a chicken feather as a token of authority and try their best to carry it out.

Coupled with Zhang Gui's generous spending to pave the way, his 'office' as Grand Coroner was quite impressive.

In addition to disposing of the mountain-like corpses on the battlefield, he was also responsible for collecting the ownerless dead bodies in the location of Prince Zhen's 'traveling capital'.

Under his command, he gathered more than a dozen old coroners from before the fall of the Hanli Kingdom, as well as hundreds of apprentices and handymen.

Because after the first round of the 'Small Nation War', Prince Zhen's new army and the Yuanshan Guard Army both ceased their activities, and there were not many corpses to collect.

Zhang Gui, as the Grand Coroner, took the opportunity to return to the Eastern Continent.

And after he left, his Hanli subordinates did not dare to be lazy, still going to the office at the hour of the rabbit, which is 5:00 AM, to check in every day.

Then they went to patrol the streets of Hanseong-bu, collecting beggars who had frozen or starved to death during the night with wooden carts.

They transported them to the mass grave outside the city to dig pits and bury them, and they rarely slacked off for even a moment until the fourth quarter of the hour of the rabbit, which is 6:00 PM.

But even so, because Hanseong-bu was too big, the population too large, the winter wind too cold, and the bellies of the general public too hungry... in short, too many people died, and they often couldn't finish burying them.

Zhang Gui looked at these subordinates who had just finished burying the dead, their faces full of flattering expressions also frozen and hungry like the dead, and a sense of inexplicable sorrow rose in his heart,

"Alright, alright, you are all so hungry that you don't have four taels of meat on your bones, and you're still cooking for me.

What if you fall dead into my soup pot?

Alright.

You go and clean up the remaining dead donkey, including the skin, meat, bones, and offal.

Go to the big kitchen of the office, cook it in the big stove, and share it.

The coroners can eat more good meat, but even if the handymen eat offal, you must give them at least a jin.

Have you heard clearly?"

Before the words fell, a small commotion had already erupted in the courtyard.

As the 'Coroner Chief', the second person after Zhang Gui, Zhang Guo trembled and nodded repeatedly,

"Yes, yes, yes.

Thank you, Grand Coroner, for your grace."

"Also, our 'office' is, after all, a place working for Prince Zhen.

If you are really starved to the point of being unable to work.

Within three days, the streets of Hanseong-bu will be piled with 'dead bodies'.

Regardless of quality, you must be able to eat your fill of steamed buns.

Now that I am back, if the corn is gone, naturally go ask for it; you don't need to save it for me.

Starting today, there is no limit to eating steamed buns in the office.

At night, coroners get five, handymen get three, and take some half-jin steamed buns home for a midnight snack..."

In troubled times, human life is like grass.

A few corn buns in peaceful years are just the daily rations even for poor families.

But at this moment, they are several lives of their families.

Suddenly, some people were dizzy with joy, collapsed on the ground, and then burst into loud wails.

Zhang Gui saw this and did not continue speaking, silently continuing to clean the donkey ribs.

At this time, other Hanli subordinates came to help with tears in their eyes, but he did not stop them again.

Sighing, he walked to Lü Zhenduan's side, patted his shoulder, and signaled to enter the side room together.

Just as he was about to enter the door, as if he suddenly remembered something, he said casually:

"From tomorrow on, when collecting corpses, transport them to the mass grave but do not bury them; throw them in the bottom of the pit, and I will dispose of them.

You return to the office to stand by and warm yourselves by the fire in the hall."

"Yes," Zhang Guo replied with a slightly trembling voice.

Thinking of Zhang Gui's methods of disposing of corpses, he couldn't help but tremble all over.

But thinking of this Grand Coroner's compassion, he couldn't help but be full of gratitude.

Contradictorily, he thought: "Treating the dead like demons, treating the living like Bodhisattvas!

I really don't know if this noble from the Superior State is a demon or a Buddha.

Will he fall into the eighteenth level of hell in the future, or be reborn in the supreme paradise?"

"Chief, what should we do?"

"Didn't you hear what the Master said? Scrape the hair, peel the skin, and prepare the dead donkey; let's have a good meal tonight.

However, prepare the Master's pot first; absolutely do not let him wait long."

At this moment, no sentiment was as good as a fat donkey meal; Zhang Guo came back to his senses and ordered loudly.

Lü Zhenduan, who had just returned to the room, vaguely heard this sentence and laughed out loud,

"Old man, old man, hahaha.

Master Zhang, becoming an old man at seventeen or eighteen, how do you feel?"

"Hanli customs follow our old Eastern Continent examples, 'viewing superiors as parents', so isn't this title used appropriately?" Zhang Gui smiled and said:

"You think the common people of the island nation are ignorant and flattering; actually, I am the same.

But to treat people as non-humans because of this, working them to death while letting their whole families freeze and starve to death, is a bit too much."

"Not bad, this is the 'beginning of Jie and Zhou'!"

It was originally a casual remark, but he never expected it to elicit such a response from Lü Zhenduan.

Zhang Gui was stunned for a moment, turned his head to look at Lü Zhenduan and said:

"Old, Old Lü, who are you talking about?"

"Who, what who, did I say anything?" Lü Zhenduan lowered his head and changed the subject,

"By the way, after you left, Commandant Zhang Rui also often came to the office to see if you had returned.

It feels like he is even more diligent than me.

In the process, he also told me a strange thing, not knowing if it's true or false."

"What strange thing?"

"Don't the Heavenly Craft Nine Islands have large sea ships sending people into the city all the time? It is said that the number of commoners gathered in a day is more than ten thousand.

Because the climate is bitter and cold and food is scarce, some who are weak soon cannot hold on.

And anyone in such a situation will mysteriously disappear within three days.

The unified explanation of the managers on the island is, 'They couldn't endure the hardship and jumped into the sea'."

"So what?"

Zhang Gui, the initiator of this matter, said dryly.

"Nothing.

It's just that this matter was originally considered a secret, but because hundreds of thousands of new troops all knew it, it couldn't be hidden at all.

As a result, two days ago, Prince Zhen personally issued an order, defining the rumor of this matter as, 'Secret spies of the enemy country are spreading rumors to stir up trouble and disrupt our military morale; their actions deserve execution'.

He killed some more people before the storm finally subsided."

Zhang Gui heard this and finally understood that Lü Zhenduan might have misunderstood the disappearance of personnel on the 'Heavenly Craft Nine Islands' as a sinister trick used by the managers on the island to save food and abandon burdens.

And Prince Zhen, seeking advantages and avoiding harm, acquiesced to this behavior.

Or even more conspiratorially, this behavior was secretly instigated by Prince Zhen.

That's why he said the four words 'beginning of Jie and Zhou' just now.

(End of this chapter)