Chapter 172: A Ten-Rank Higher Officer Kills Someone

The Ming Dynasty had been established for just over fifty years, and the Jingnan Campaign had passed less than twenty years prior. As a result, in the local military commands, from commanders-in-chief to deputy commanders and assistant commanders, almost all the military officers were either meritorious warriors or their descendants. At the very least, they were warriors who had achieved great feats in northern and southern campaigns.

In Zhu Di’s eyes, who had spent his life in military service, although civil officials could govern the country, maintaining peace still relied on military officers. Thus, emphasizing military power over civil governance became almost a standard practice in the court, especially in these local military commands. Even officials at the rank of provincial governors often had to smile politely when meeting commanders-in-chief, let alone assistant commanders. Therefore, unless there was a need for joint official duties, these governors, inspectors, and commanders-in-chief rarely wanted to be in the same place.

Arrogant and fierce warriors—military officers skilled in battle were often domineering. Just then, Liu Zhong strolled around the county office, pointing around with his riding whip, speaking in a rude tone.

“This office is too shabby! I know civil officials are usually frugal, but you’re different. I know Ying… your family member is low-key and hates extravagance, but this facade still needs to be maintained. If my own military office looked like this, how could other generals respect me? They might think I’ve kept all the money for myself!”

“Liu Commander is right. But Anqiu County isn’t wealthy. We’re already struggling to handle other matters, let alone build an office. Even if we had money later, I wouldn’t dare use it for that,” Zhang Yue said, walking behind Liu Zhong. He glanced around and saw several people peeking in, then chuckled. “It’s just like when I beat those bamboo boards earlier—everyone was hoping Commander Liu would come to teach this naive and ignorant county magistrate a lesson.”

“What ‘Liu Commander’? I’m not one of those civil officials who only know rules. In short, unless it’s a formal court meeting, call me Uncle Liu, and I’ll be happy!”

Although Liu Zhong avoided mentioning the title of Duke of Ying due to Zhang Yue’s earlier words, he still acted like an elder. At that moment, he followed Zhang Yue’s gaze to those peeking people, suddenly raised his whip and pointed in a direction, then shouted sharply, “Is there only the county magistrate in your office? Are everyone else dead? I’ve come here from Qingzhou Prefecture specifically to inspect. It’s fine if they don’t come to greet me, but how dare they hide from me?”

Those people were still wondering: it was strange that the usually domineering Commander Liu hadn’t come to demand an explanation upon arriving; it was strange that Zhang Yue had accompanied him the whole way while the two of them chatted cheerfully; and it was strange that those officers, who seemed to hold high military ranks, were still behind Zhang Yue. Thus, this sudden shout immediately caused a flurry of chaos. Soon after, Luo Wei, Zhao Ming, and Ma Cheng, dressed neatly, arrived—though it was cold, they were sweating profusely.

“Saluting Commander Liu.”

Their voices were perfectly in unison, but Liu Zhong merely snorted through his nose before saying irritably, “Well, I never expected you to be so arrogant. Your county magistrate even came out personally to welcome me, yet you all hid until now to show up. I guess you’re all lazy by nature. If you were under my command, just this offense of disrespecting a superior would deserve a beating with a military stick! Little Zhang Yue, do you want me to deal with them for you?”

Faced with this overly enthusiastic top military official from Shandong, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but smile bitterly inwardly. Thanks to his earlier reminders, Liu Zhong still referred to him as “Little Zhang Yue”—now, even if they didn’t understand, they would have to. Glancing at Luo Wei, Zhao Ming, and Ma Cheng, whose faces were pale, he knew that Liu Zhong was just putting on an act. After all, although county clerks and registrars were of low rank—eighth or ninth grade—they couldn’t possibly be punished with severe measures like being beaten.

“Uncle Liu… you’re overreacting,” Zhang Yue said, changing “Commander” to “uncle” under Liu Zhong’s piercing gaze. Seeing Liu Zhong smile broadly while Luo Wei and the others looked as if they’d seen a ghost, he smiled slightly and said, “You don’t know—County Clerk Luo and Registrar Zhao have been ill for nearly ten days. It’s been Ma, the historian, who’s been busy handling all the affairs, which is why they arrived late. It’s definitely not out of negligence.”

Although they knew Zhang Yue’s flattery wasn’t out of goodwill, these low-ranking officials still felt immense pressure facing a second-rank military commander. So Luo Wei and the others had no choice but to accept his thanks and apologize repeatedly. When they entered the county government hall, they no longer thought Liu Zhong had come to vent his anger; instead, they believed Zhang Yue was deliberately using this commander to assert his power.

However, Liu Zhong called Luo Wei and the other two over and pointed out a host of their mistakes. There wasn’t the slightest trace of carelessness typical of military officers; instead, they showed the true nature of seasoned bureaucrats. After sitting down in the hall and exchanging a few casual words, he coughed and said, “The military commander has important matters to discuss with County Magistrate Zhang. You three may step outside for now and be ready to be called at any time.”

Seeing those three slick guys driven out with just that sentence, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but sigh inwardly that a higher-ranking official could crush a person, and an official ten or more ranks higher could almost kill them. As he was thinking this, the door outside closed softly, followed by Liu Zhong’s relaxed voice.

“Alright, alright. I’ve given those three a warning this time. I suppose they won’t dare to plot anything bad again. But little Zhang Yue, sending me a message about some ‘Buddha Mother descending’ shows your confusion.” Liu Zhong waved his hand to signal Zhang Yue not to defend himself, then continued, “It’s right that the Ming Dynasty bans the White Lotus Sect, and it’s good that the Jinyiwei has uncovered its presence in Shandong. But what does it have to do with you? There are the Provincial Administration Offices and the Censorate above. As a mere county magistrate, don’t get involved in this mess. Besides, those are just simple folk believing in them—nothing serious will happen. There’s no need for the military to take precautions.”

As he spoke, he stood up and walked a few steps on the blue bricks in the hall. Noticing that the bricks were quite unstable under his feet, he stared at the gaps between them for a while before turning around and saying, “The Duke of Yingguo asked me to keep an eye on Governor Du. I have no objections to that. Since it’s an order from the emperor, as long as he locates the White Lotus Sect’s stronghold, I’ll immediately send troops to suppress them. As for whether there are any White Lotus Sect propaganda materials here, just send someone to keep an eye on it. If anything serious happens, send someone to report to me right away. I can lend you a few hundred men without problem.”

From Liu Zhong’s tone, Zhang Yue could tell that he utterly dismissed the White Lotus Sect as nothing worth worrying about. Though he had prepared what he wanted to say, he didn’t feel right bringing it up now.

It wasn’t surprising. Since Emperor Yongle, Zhu Di, came to power, the Ming army had suffered two major setbacks. Once, Qiu Fu led a large army on a northern campaign against the Tatars and was utterly defeated. But later, Zhu Di launched several more northern campaigns, defeating not only the Tatars but also the Oirats. Another setback came when Jiaozhi openly resisted the Ming Dynasty’s authority. After four campaigns led by Zhang Fu, Jiaozhi, which was once a vassal state, became one of the Ming Dynasty’s provincial administrations. In the eyes of the Ming military commanders, foreign enemies were easy to subdue—let alone a trivial group like the White Lotus Sect.

But if he were elsewhere, he could certainly ignore it, yet he happened to be the magistrate of Anqiu. If people preached there in his territory and later caused trouble, it might spread in his direction as well—how could he not be cautious?
At least with Liu Zhong’s promise to lend troops, Zhang Yue felt somewhat relieved, thinking he still had Peng Shisan, someone who had actually fought in battles, by his side. Then Liu Zhong asked him some other questions, and soon brought up Meng Xian, the military officer now under his command. He laughed and said, “I really didn’t expect the emperor to assign Old Meng to my unit this time. He’s from a family of real heroes; I wouldn’t dare command him. Well, young Zhang Yue, I must remind you—although your family isn’t part of the direct lineage of the Duke of Ying, martial prowess is the foundation of the Zhang family. Don’t just focus on getting along with civil officials. For matters of marriage, it’s necessary to pair with us military men to maintain proper status!”
How did the conversation keep drifting like this?
Zhang Yue was now at a loss whether to laugh or cry, so he simply started talking nonsense as well. It wasn’t until he saw Liu Zhong out of the hall that he noticed Luo Wei and the other two were still waiting outside. They had only been discussing serious matters inside for about half an hour, but they had talked plenty of nonsense. These three had stood in the cold all this time—quite pitiful, but they deserved it!
Earlier, Liu Zhong had sneered about someone reporting to the military headquarters, and not just once. Such people who pushed their superiors into trouble would only suffer a little now!
Luo Wei now understood that they were deliberately ignoring him. Even though he was resentful, he still had to put on a respectful face and ask, “General Liu, are you leaving?”
“I’m in charge of everything in Shandong. Do you really want me to stay in this crappy office any longer?” Liu Zhong retorted rudely before taking his cloak from a attendant and putting it on. Seeing the three of them stamping their feet slightly on the ground, he sneered, “My personal guards can stand in the snow for two hours without moving. You can’t even stand for a short while—civil officials are truly delicate!”
“Young Zhang Yue, I’m leaving. Have someone report to the headquarters for me if there’s anything. By the way, come to my place during the Winter Solstice holiday. I have roe deer and bear paws from Liaodong, and plenty of ginseng wine too!”

Knowing full well that this was Liu Zhong’s style, Zhang Yue smiled and agreed, then personally saw the man out. Yet as soon as they left the archway of Zhongyi Fang, he saw a crowd rushing over—leading them was the wife of the Hu family, with the Hu father and son carried on a stretcher behind her. Seeing this farcical scene, he was momentarily stunned before laughing.

As soon as Hu Dahai saw Liu Zhong, he cried out, “Uncle… Uncle, please stand up for me! He actually beat me ninety times with a rod!”

Hu Lizheng, however, didn’t dare shout like his son, as he wasn’t the legitimate brother-in-law. So he propped himself up slightly on his elbows and said in a sobbing voice, “Please, Sir, stand up for us. It’s just a trivial offense, yet the county magistrate still gave me eighty blows. I’m truly innocent.”

Hearing this, Liu Zhong’s face turned green. He stepped forward quickly, ripped off the covers from the Hu father and son, glanced at them briefly, then turned and left, carelessly mounting his horse. Seeing that all his followers had also mounted their horses, he bowed to Zhang Yue and said, “Young Zhang Yue, I’ll remember your mercy. If these ungrateful father and son cause you any trouble in the future, beat them to death—don’t worry about my face!”

With that, he swung his whip hard, and the tip of the whip emitted a sharp crackling sound. “You wretched brats, get back there! Don’t you even think—if they really wanted to punish you, would you still be alive after eighty or ninety blows?”