Chapter 204: This Is How the King

In the first month of the year, few people were working in the prefectural magistrate's yamen. Some of the minor clerks and runners left on duty in each office had gone home, and some were snoring loudly after drinking at noon, leaving the entire yamen unusually quiet.

Six sturdy young men were called over from the rear residence. These men were fine when it came to bullying others on borrowed authority, but they were useless in a real confrontation, and every one of them was trembling with fear. They walked out of the yamen just like that. As they passed through the great hall, several of them sniffed and remarked on how strong the smell of lime was.

They exited through the side door of the yamen's great hall. The first man out suddenly stopped in his tracks. The man following nearly bumped into him and shoved him impatiently. Then the second man did the exact same thing. Every single one of them stood staring blankly outside. Tong Huaizu, walking second from the back, was thoroughly annoyed. He said with a stern face, "Have you all gone mad? Move aside!"

His voice was not low, and the sturdy young men outside heard the magistrate's shout. They all trembled, then began to shiver, their faces turning deathly pale.

Tong Huaizu walked out with his head lowered and did not notice this. When he stepped over the threshold and stood before the main gate, he too froze.

On the open ground in front of the magistrate's yamen, corpses were laid out in neat rows. Each body bore wounds of one kind or another; some were missing limbs or arms, a truly horrifying sight.

As an official, Magistrate Tong had seen dead people before and had visited murder scenes, but those had only been one or two corpses. Now the broad open space before the main gate was filled with bodies. Such a scene, taken in at a glance, was profoundly shocking and terrifying.

The weather was cold, and the corpses were frozen stiff, so no foul odor emanated from them. Yet the magistrate and the others standing on the steps felt as though waves of corpse-stench were drifting over, enough to make a man want to vomit up everything in his stomach.

At the far end of the laid-out corpses stood a formation in perfect order. Ranks and files were arrow-straight, the spacing between each man nearly identical. Every man wore the same clothes, held a long spear in his hand, and stood solemnly with an expressionless face.

The corpses were frightening, but that formation was intimidating. After a single glance, Magistrate Tong felt his eyelids twitch uncontrollably and dared not look again, as if that direction were painfully dazzling.

Magistrate Tong had at least been through many affairs in the yamen and could still keep his composure. The six sturdy young men who had followed him out were all trembling like grain sieves. As for Advisor Wang, who had been walking last, he had not even come out through the side door; presumably, he had already been overwhelmed earlier.

If one truly calmed the mind, one would realize the corpses numbered only around a hundred, and that formation was merely a square of a hundred men. If one looked further into the distance, one could even see idle onlookers craning their necks, and some had already climbed onto courtyard walls and rooftops. Those who truly had no stake in the matter, who came only to watch the excitement, were never afraid.

"My lord, these bandits ambushed our company's caravan. Our company's caravan lost twenty men and killed over a hundred bandits. We have come here specifically to report this and request that my lord inspect and verify."

Perhaps because the scene upon first stepping out had been too overwhelming, Magistrate Tong Huaizu had not even noticed Zhao Jin and the others standing by the steps, in front of the corpses.

Hearing Zhao Jin's voice, Magistrate Tong Huaizu jumped in fright. His body trembled before he steadied himself. He had intended to put on some official authority, but the moment he opened his mouth, he blurted out, "You killed all of these?"

His voice trembled slightly. By now, not only were the idlers outside watching, but behind Tong Huaizu, someone gasped in a low voice. It turned out the minor clerks and runners on duty in the yamen had also rushed over. They had quietly opened the main gate and were craning their necks endlessly behind Tong Huaizu and his group. Tong Huaizu could not spare any attention for this.

"In reply to my lord, not all of them were killed by us humble men."

At these words, Tong Huaizu felt a breath of relief. He never expected Zhao Jin to continue, "Of the one hundred and two corpses, we humble men killed over ninety. The rest were killed by my father and his men."

The moment this number was spoken, another wave of gasps rose from behind Tong Huaizu, and Tong Huaizu himself shuddered.

"My lord, this humble one has already investigated this matter. It was the doing of a local cult leader colluding with bandits. This humble one launched a surprise raid on the leader's lair, beheaded the cult leader, and seized ironclad evidence along with a roster of cult followers. That roster has just been delivered to the constables' office, and the constables are currently conducting a city-wide manhunt," Zhao Jin reported in a deep voice.

Magistrate Tong Huaizu had already forgotten why he had come out. Now he could only nod, desperately trying to force out a smile, but the result looked more like weeping.

Before he could speak, a commotion stirred at one side of the intersection where the corpses were laid out. The idlers craning their necks there hurriedly scattered. Square-hatted, black-clad constables and runners appeared. The men at the front were none other than Chen Wu and Zhao Zhentang. Behind them, the constables and runners were dragging over twenty people, all wailing and crying without cease. The runners occasionally punched and kicked them, shouting curses at the top of their lungs.

This was, after all, the usual manner of yamen runners. But when they saw the corpses laid out on the open ground and the square formation of long spears standing at attention, they involuntarily lowered their voices. Not only they, but even the arrested criminals fell silent.

The runners walked to the front through the gaps between the corpses. The leaders, Chen Wu and Zhao Zhentang, shot a glance at Zhao Jin and his group, then bowed and reported, "Master, we just received an urgent report. Over twenty cult followers have been captured. Manager Li, the second manager of Cloud Mountain Trading, hanged himself last night. The coroner has already examined him; it was indeed death by suicide."

Hearing this, Tong Huaizu felt a surge of fire erupt from his heart and shoot straight up to his throat. Just as he was about to roar in fury, his eyes were flashed by something. He looked carefully and realized it was the distant spearheads reflecting the light of the setting sun. Seeing the corpses covering the ground and that square formation in the distance, Magistrate Tong forcibly swallowed his rage. Stiffly, he said, "Good, good. You have all worked hard. This official acknowledges it."

"These corpses of the great bandits—I request that my lord arrange for their inspection and verification," Zhao Jin reported again from below.

Magistrate Tong Huaizu looked over and saw Zhao Jin looking back at him expressionlessly. Tong Huaizu instinctively wanted to step backward but managed to hold his nerve. Woodenly, he said, "Chen Wu, go to the punishments office and the constables' office to make arrangements. Inspect and verify these corpses quickly."

Chen Wu, in his capacity as chief constable, hastily acknowledged the order. He turned and ordered his men to take the arrested criminals to the jail, then hurried inside to summon people. In truth, there was no need for him to call anyone; the clerks and minor officials on duty in the punishments office were already there watching the excitement and quickly came forward to meet him.

Before long, more people emerged from the yamen, comparing faces against wanted posters and sketches while the coroner examined the wounds. These were all familiar, routine procedures.

"... Scarface Zhang San..." "One-Eye..." "... from Grass Lair..." "... Meng Shanhu..."

As the examination proceeded, one notorious bandit after another with distinctive features was identified. What was more, this Grass Lair gang had once killed an official patrol inspector and had bounties out for their capture.

As they looked on, the faces of the runners inspecting the corpses began to show excitement. These corpses represented merit and reward money. According to yamen custom, this was something that benefited everyone.

The runners stood to gain, and Magistrate Tong stood to gain even more merit. His expression eased somewhat. He had not expected that at this moment, Wang Zhaojing, standing beside Zhao Jin, would step forward and present a written complaint.

"This student has drafted a complaint here and requests that my lord review it." Wang Zhaojing held the rank of licentiate and did not need to be overly humble before an official.

Tong Huaizu frowned as he took it. He stood there and gave it a cursory glance. Before he could see the specific contents, he heard a burst of wailing and shouting. He looked up and saw several dozen more people—the old, the weak, women, and children—being escorted over. These people were not being escorted by the runners, but by those sturdy young men holding long spears.

"These are..." Tong Huaizu began to ask.

"I ask my lord to read the complaint. Thank you for your trouble, my lord!" Zhao Jin said indifferently, cupping his fist in a perfunctory greeting. He then called for his companions to leave, and the square formation in the distance also departed.

They came as they pleased and left as they pleased, without the slightest courtesy or deference toward the magistrate. Tong Huaizu's expression was very ugly, but in his heart, he felt considerably relieved. When Zhao Jin and the others had been standing there, coupled with that distant square formation of long spears, Tong Huaizu had felt as though he could not breathe. The pressure had simply been too great. Once Zhao Jin and his group left, the corpses covering the ground no longer seemed like much.

Although Zhao Jin and the others had left, the crowd of onlookers around grew larger and larger. Many of the walls were already packed with seated people. Yet this entire area remained very quiet. So many dead people—and murdered people at that—robbed one of the courage to speak loudly.

"This is bullying beyond all tolerance!" Magistrate Tong Huaizu's face was ashen as he slammed the table and roared.

Returning to the inner hall, Tong Huaizu unfolded that written complaint and read it. The complaint stated very simply: everyone in He Village was a cultist and a criminal. It requested that the magistrate carry out the clear statutes and execute them, beheading them to intimidate petty villains.

This complaint was no complaint at all; it was an order—an order for Tong Huaizu to kill every one of those people from He Village.

As a local official, excessive killing also affected one's performance evaluation. One would be seen as failing to cherish the common people, as failing to keep the region peaceful, which would disturb the cosmic harmony. Moreover, excessive killing not only caused trouble with one's superiors, but also bred resentment among the local gentry. Trouble above hindered promotion; discontent below led to all sorts of obstruction.

Furthermore, if the executions were carried out by the government, others would only blame the government and not Zhao Jin and his people in the slightest. How could this not make Tong Huaizu fly into a towering rage?

"Advisor Wang, look at this, look at this! Is there any king's law left? Do they have any regard for the imperial court left? To be so arrogant and run rampant to such a degree—this official will go to the provincial governor to accuse him, go to the circuit intendant to accuse him, and request that the court's troops exterminate this gang of criminals!" Magistrate Tong roared as he shook the complaint in his hand, making it rustle loudly.

Hearing this, Advisor Wang took the complaint and scanned it. Far from agreeing, he smiled bitterly and said, "Master, Zhao Jin has delivered all the corresponding evidence, along with witness testimony and confessions. The evidence is ironclad. Not killing them is not an option."

"What?"

"They are indeed the incense-burning and deity-worshipping paraphernalia of the Smelling Incense Sect. And that aide from He Village has confessed. The people we ourselves arrested also have conclusive evidence against them. Master, in this matter, not killing them is not an option," Advisor Wang replied with a bitter smile.

Tong Huaizu stood there stunned. Killing too many would incur hatred and jealousy, but failing to kill those who deserved to die was equally a grave error. If someone were to attack him for colluding with criminals, that would be an even greater disaster.

"This... isn't this just using this official's hand to kill people?" Magistrate Tong no longer knew what to say.