Chapter 214 - 156: Back Door (Part 2)
The portly merchant, clearly from the Prefecture City, grumbled with discontent. He was likely accustomed to the ease of getting things done back there and hadn’t expected this small county town to be so difficult.
"Shh, keep your voice down. Our County Magistrate is just like that—people call him a real skinflint. We can’t let him overhear you. Otherwise, this whole affair will cost you several times more silver."
The other man quickly cautioned him. Just then, both of them noticed Fang Yue.
Their voices grew even quieter, and he couldn’t make out what they said afterward. Then, the two of them headed into the County Magistrate’s Office.
’Could that be it?’
Fang Yue watched their departing figures, lost in thought.
With that thought in mind, Fang Yue immediately found an old clerk in the County Magistrate’s Office to ask around. As expected, a bit of silver paved the way, and he soon learned the truth.
"You must have offended someone in the Prefecture City, right? Someone sent word to our magistrate, telling him to give you a hard time."
In light of the generous amount of silver, the old clerk decided to tell Fang Yue the truth.
Normally, no matter how greedy County Magistrate Wang was, he wouldn’t go so far as to make things this difficult for a Seventh Grade Military Officer. But with someone pulling strings behind the scenes, things were different.
As long as County Magistrate Wang stalled for a while, Fang Yue definitely wouldn’t be able to assume his post on time. Once the deadline passed, he would have to request another document from the Prefecture City. The process would be a hassle and a waste of time, and on top of that, he would undoubtedly face a reprimand.
Upon hearing this, Fang Yue immediately thanked the clerk, Lin, and took another silver ingot from his money pouch, pressing it into the man’s hand.
It always helps to know people in the government office.
Lin Cheng’s old face bloomed into a wide smile. He accepted the silver, quickly tucking it into his sleeve, and then whispered to Fang Yue, "Our County Magistrate Wang is terrified of his wife, and she is greed personified. As long as the silver is sufficient, this matter will be easy to handle."
With this advice, Fang Yue left the Government Office at once. He rode without stopping to a jewelry shop in the county town, spent five hundred taels of silver on a carefully chosen gift, and then made his way to County Magistrate Wang’s residence.
Naturally, it took another bribe to convince the steward to take his gift to Madam Wang.
A short while later, he was granted an audience with Madam Wang. After he stated his purpose, she guaranteed the matter would be simple to resolve and promised it would be settled by the next day.
Sure enough.
「The next day.」
Fang Yue, who was staying at an inn, received a notice from a government constable. This time at the Government Office, he faced no further trouble and completed the process normally.
In just a quarter of an hour, Fang Yue had the appointment letter, stamped with the official seal of the Wenxi County Magistrate’s Office.
After receiving the appointment letter, Fang Yue didn’t rush to assume his post. Instead, he first rented a residential courtyard in the county town, giving himself a proper place to live.
He then hired a few maids and servants for cooking and cleaning, and the place finally began to feel like a home.
Once everything was settled, Fang Yue went out to the backyard.
’So, I’m officially part of the system now. My monthly salary alone is five portions of Marrow Transformation Secret Medicine and eighty taels of silver. All told, that comes out to several thousand taels of silver a year.’
’However, this post has obviously been given some special ’attention.’ I’m afraid promotions will be difficult from now on.’
Fang Yue’s gaze sharpened. He lashed out with a punch, and a nearby pine tree as thick as a bowl snapped clean in two.
’If anyone else were treated this way, they would probably be stuck muddling through this position for the rest of their life.’
’But I’m different. I have my Golden Finger. Others might think I’ve chosen the wrong path.’
’But in truth, I haven’t.’
’Once I start down the path of a Qi Refiner and reach the stage of Qi Sensing, with my Talent, an ordinary Qi Sensing Martial Artist will be no match for me.’
’Besides, other Qi Refiners need resources, talent, and the backing of a major power.’
’I don’t need any of that to improve continuously.’
’For now, I’ll endure for a few years. I will definitely be able to turn the tables in the future. That’s why I can’t let things like swallowing my pride to give gifts and pull strings bother me.’
’Since I’m certain to make a comeback later, being too proud and delaying things now would only cause me unnecessary trouble and serve no other purpose.’
~~~~~~
After a few more quiet days, as the time drew near, Fang Yue finally went to assume his post.
The process went smoothly. The previous Garrison Training Instructor had already retired.
There were no messy incidents with insubordinate deputies, mainly because Fang Yue was a Martial Artist who had achieved Great Success in Marrow Transformation. For this training post, he was already somewhat overqualified.
His deputies were far weaker than him, so naturally, they didn’t dare to act out of line.
Of course, there was another reason: military discipline was lax. As one of the major counties of Shanyang Prefecture, Wenxi County’s training garrison was supposed to have 1,500 men on its roster.
In reality, there were fewer than four hundred, with most of the names on the list just there to pad the payroll.
This was because the true military power never lay with the Guard Corps Training, but with the Martial Artists and Martial Masters holding various official positions.
As long as it wasn’t an earth-shattering rebellion, any ordinary uprising or disturbance could be easily crushed the moment a Martial Artist took the field.
Consequently, the regular army wasn’t considered all that important.
Since that was the case, Fang Yue was more than happy to have a leisurely post. If no one else took it seriously, he certainly wasn’t going to.
What’s more, while the lion’s share of the money from the padded payroll went to County Magistrate Wang, he could still get a small cut for himself.
This was standard practice, and he had no intention of breaking with tradition. Besides, it really had nothing to do with him.
~~~~~~~
And so, the days passed, and three months went by in the blink of an eye.
On this particular day, Fang Yue went to the County Magistrate’s Office as usual. On the fifth day of every month, the County Magistrate would summon the principal officials of Wenxi County for a meeting.
It was essentially a monthly staff meeting, and in truth, nothing of substance ever happened. Each time, County Magistrate Wang would give a grand, high-minded speech, and the officials below would chime in with agreement and flattery.
The meeting would then conclude in a harmonious and friendly atmosphere.
Today, however, when Fang Yue arrived, he noticed the atmosphere was clearly off.
"Ah, Lord Fang, you’ve arrived," County Magistrate Wang said with a wide smile.
He was normally quite cold; today, his enthusiasm was almost excessive. Clearly, this change had something to do with him.
"Lord Wang," Fang Yue said, cupping his fist in salute.
County Magistrate Wang quickly handed him a document.
Fang Yue opened it and understood at a glance. No wonder County Magistrate Wang’s attitude was so different today. It was an official dispatch from Liu Zheng, the magistrate of the neighboring Xiahe County.
It called for a competition between the training garrisons of the two counties. This "friendly" competition would, incidentally, also settle the question of ownership over three villages located in the borderlands between them.
The Xiahe River served as the boundary between Wenxi County and Xiahe County. However, three villages straddled the river, with parts on both the east and west banks.
Both counties wanted to claim full ownership of all three villages.
They had squabbled over it several times in the past, but it always ended in a stalemate, and the Prefecture’s Government Office couldn’t be bothered with such trivialities.
Unexpectedly, Xiahe County had now taken the initiative, issuing a formal proposal to decide the ownership of the three villages through a competition between their training garrisons.
County Magistrate Wang, of course, would not disagree.
Therefore, since this matter required Fang Yue to exert himself considerably, the reason for the magistrate’s change in attitude was no mystery.
"This matter will require a great deal of your attention, Lord Fang," County Magistrate Wang said with a smile.
’If this goes well, it’ll be his achievement,’ Fang Yue realized. ’If it goes poorly, it’ll be my fault.’
’Success or failure, it wouldn’t affect him at all.’
’And if the Government Office dismissed me because of it, that would be even better for him.’
After the meeting at the Government Office concluded, Fang Yue returned to the training garrison’s encampment.
’There’s something fishy about this,’ Fang Yue mused. ’Liu Zheng and I are on bad terms. For him to instigate this, there must be a scheme at play.’
Fang Yue frowned. Liu Zheng’s steward had previously come to his home, trying to seize his family’s Tea Garden.
That whole affair had to have been instigated by Liu Zheng. Considering his track record, this new development was clearly aimed at him.
’Sigh... I’ve been trying so hard to get along with everyone and keep a low profile. Why does trouble insist on finding me?’
It truly felt like he was just sitting at home while disaster fell from the heavens.
For the first time, true killing intent welled up in Fang Yue’s heart, but he suppressed the murderous thought in the next instant.
’Assassinating a court-appointed County Magistrate would have massive repercussions,’ he thought. ’I’ll need to plan this out carefully in the long run.’