Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 153: Chapter 149: Cleaning Up Corrupt Officials

Yu Lu’s heart tightened, “Master!”

“Master, this old servant belongs to Mr. Sha!”

Yu Lu had not yet spoken, but the old maid behind her had already spoken first.

Her meaning was clear: I belong to Sha Pingchuan, you have no right to deal with me.

But would Yang Zhenshan care whose servant she was?

Although Yang Zhenshan could not fathom Sha Pingchuan’s thoughts at present, he really did not need to save face for Sha Pingchuan.

The Secret Martial Guards were too lazy to deal with Sha Pingchuan, but that did not mean they couldn’t handle him.

As long as Yang Zhenshan was willing, he believed Lv Hua wouldn’t mind doing this small favor for him.

“Wu Hai, drag them out!”

“Yes!”

Wu Hai immediately signaled with his eyes to the nearby manservants and maidservants. Without a word, they stepped forward and dragged the two old maids towards the outside.

These two old maids were quite sturdy, but they could not resist the pulling of the manservants and maidservants.

The Yang family’s servants were cultivated, and moreover, Yang Zhenshan had also provided them with Spiritual Spring Water. Although there were not yet many who had become Martial Artists, their physical condition was much stronger than that of ordinary people.

“Master, Master~”

The two old maids panicked, desperately calling out, seeking mercy. Two clever manservants immediately covered their mouths.

In no time, the two were dragged out.

Yu Lu kneeled on the ground, pale as a sheet, not daring to say half a word.

The two little maidservants were shivering even more.

Servants are just servants; their lives hang by the thoughts of others.

Yang Zhenshan did not need to find a reason to kill them, even if their indenture contracts were not in Yang Zhenshan’s hands.

“Go back, stay honestly in Spring Garden. If you have something you wish to tell me, you may come find me!”

Yang Zhenshan said with implication.

“This servant obeys the order!”

Sweat covered Yu Lu’s forehead.

“Dismissed!”

Yang Zhenshan got up, glanced at her indifferently, and returned to his study.

Originally wanting to let you spend a peaceful New Year, but unfortunately, you did not cherish it and insisted on seeking a cleanup.

…

Spring Festival in An Yuan City was very lively. As a provincial city, An Yuan City was the largest within a hundred miles. Speaking of prosperity alone, even Jia City, where Songzhou Guard was located, was not as prosperous as An Yuan City.

The festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival continued until the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month, after which the common people resumed their normal lives, as did the normal operations of the garrison office.

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Yang Zhenshan, dressed in official attire, strode into the main hall of the government office.

“Greetings, my lord!”

Zhou Ren and Lu Wenhua were already waiting in the main hall. Seeing Yang Zhenshan coming, they hurriedly paid their respects.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly and sat directly in the main seat.

After tea was served, Yang Zhenshan opened the booklet in his hands.

This booklet was just handed to him by Wei Cen yesterday, and it recorded the conditions of all the garrisons outside the city.

Each garrison commander’s detailed information, the specific numbers of soldiers, and the situation of the garrisoned farmlands were all meticulously recorded within.

There was no doubt about the capabilities of the Secret Martial Guards, especially in investigating matters almost at plain sight, which were effortless for them.

“Has everyone arrived?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

“In reply to my lord, all the lords are waiting in the side room!” Zhou Ren replied.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, “Then, please have them come in!”

“Yes!”

Zhou Ren answered and then walked out of the main hall. Moments later, a group of officials belonging to the garrison office entered the hall one by one.

On the left were the military officers led by Han Cheng of the garrison, and on the right were the garrison commanders led by Mr. Tian.

“Greetings, my lord!”

Everyone bowed in unison.

Yang Zhenshan glanced over the crowd indifferently and said, “You may dispense with the formalities.”

After everyone stood up, Yang Zhenshan picked up the booklet again, “Mr. Tian, take a look at this!”

He tossed the booklet to Tian Gui, who somewhat frantically caught it and began to read.

As he read, sweat began to bead on his forehead.

“Master Garrison Officer, I’m wronged!”

With a thud, Tian Gui knelt down.

Seeing this, the others in the hall became tense, all bowing their heads, not daring to even breathe heavily.

What did this mean?

Why did Mr. Tian cry injustice?

They were puzzled, yet they did not dare make any move.

Of course, there were those who remained composed, such as Han Cheng and Song Dashan, and also Xie Yuan.

With his head lowered, Xie Yuan watched Tian Gui’s collapsed form from the corner of his eye, his gaze flickering with a vengeful pleasure.

He hated Tian Gui more than anyone else, not just Tian Gui, but including Cao Han, Xu Wanfu, and the previous two garrison officers, they were all subjects of his profound hatred.

Cutting off one’s livelihood is as grave as killing one’s parents, and obstructing someone’s future is likewise.

In his early years, Xie Yuan was also ambitious, wanting to make his mark and fulfill his aspirations.

But what was the outcome?

These people were forcing him to hide his light and bide his time.

For a full ten years, the prime years of Xie Yuan’s life, his peak years, spent in hiding, made him an old man.

He had thought of resisting, but he simply didn’t have the qualification to do so.

The entire An Yuan City was like this, no, the entire Chongshan Town was like this, what could he do?

So all he could do was contain his edge, clear the snow in front of his own door, and let his heart become utterly still.

And compared to Cao Han and Xu Wanfu, his hatred for Tian Gui was even more pronounced.

Because Tian Gui was his direct superior, the one he most frequently came into contact with, the one whose oppression he felt the most.

At this moment, seeing the miserable state of Tian Gui stirred intense excitement in him.

If it weren’t for Yang Zhenshan still being there, he would have wished to rush up and kick Tian Gui a couple of times.

“Injustice! Tell me, where exactly is the injustice in these charges?”

“Don’t even think about quibbling, everything listed here means that I have evidence in my hand.”

“Embezzling military farmland, persecuting soldiers, oppressing colleagues, let alone murder and plunder, you are indeed greedy enough. Li Chuan was just a man with the good fortune to find a piece of Treasure Medicine, yet you actually caused the death of his entire family of seven!”

Yang Zhenshan’s face grew increasingly grim, his eyes piercing like knives.

Tian Gui was a malefactor through and through, not in the least inferior to Xu Wanfu.

Xu Wanfu was lascivious, While Tian Gui was avaricious.

Not only was Tian Gui greedy, but he also harbored malicious intentions.

Li Chuan was just an ordinary military household, who ordinarily supplemented his family’s income by chopping and selling firewood from the mountain. Two years ago, he inadvertently found a piece of Treasure Medicine.

Needless to say, the value of Treasure Medicine, any piece of Treasure Medicine, was worth a thousand taels.

Li Chuan was lucky, but his luck was also poor.

Because this piece of Treasure Medicine brought ruin and death to his family.

In fact, it wouldn’t have been much if Tian Gui had been overcome with greed for the Treasure Medicine, as everyone has greedy desires, and Treasure Medicine’s allure to Martial Artists far surpasses that of gold and silver.

It was only normal for Tian Gui to want the Treasure Medicine.

But Tian Gui’s actions were chilling to the bone; he didn’t seek to purchase at a lower price, nor did he directly demand it, he didn’t even bother using his power to oppress others, instead, he chose to rob by force.

In reality, with Tian Gui’s status, had he simply spoken up, Li Chuan would have handed over the Treasure Medicine, provided he wasn’t foolish.

But Tian Gui didn’t give Li Chuan any chance at all, bringing people directly into Li Chuan’s home and killing every last one of them, old and young alike.

The only area he tried to conceal was not taking action during the day, but choosing to act in the dead of night.

This guy simply didn’t regard people as humans, the soldiers and military households under him were worth even less than animals in his eyes.

“Mercy, my lord, have mercy!”

Tian Gui knew he couldn’t defend himself and began to beg for mercy.

“Drag him out!” Yang Zhenshan detested wasting words with scum; the few sentences he had just spoken were already an exception.

Outside the door, Ding Qiu and Yang Minghao immediately entered and dragged Tian Gui away.

“Don’t, commander, you can’t do this!”

“Let me go!”

Tian Gui was frantic, his expression ferocious as he struggled, seemingly wanting to resist violently.

But before he could make a move, Ding Qiu directly slapped his chest, a dull thud echoing in the hall, followed by Tian Gui spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood, unable to utter half a word more.

Seeing this, everyone else shuddered.

Han Cheng and Xie Yuan both cast surprised looks at Ding Qiu.

Although greedy, Tian Gui was a garrison commander with decent cultivation, possessing the strength of the Postnatal Fourth Layer.

Yet, he was incapacitated by a single palm strike from this unremarkable-looking servant!

Their gazes retracted, and both were inwardly astounded.

It turned out there really were hidden dragons and crouching tigers beside the commander, a Martial Artist above the Postnatal Fourth Layer was merely a servant!

They were not unfamiliar with Ding Qiu; wherever Yang Zhenshan went, Ding Qiu almost always followed. They had seen him but had not known that Ding Qiu was this powerful.

Soon, Tian Gui was dragged out like a dead dog.

Yang Zhenshan swept his gaze over the remaining garrison commanders.

“You, you, you, and you, the six of you go down by yourselves, I dislike the sight of blood.”

He pointed out each of the garrison officers in turn.

One garrison commander, two defense officers, seven garrison officers, Yang Zhenshan was dealing with seven officials all at once, leaving only Xie Yuan and two Hundred Households Castle Officers that were still marginally usable.

Those six individuals pointed out by Yang Zhenshan turned ashen, and one faint-hearted one even collapsed on the spot, incontinent.

They had harbored a sliver of hope, but now they were completely despondent.

They had long known of Yang Zhenshan’s methods; if he didn’t act, he remained still, but once he acted, it was with a thunderous approach.

How Xu Wanfu and his cronies died—they had heard the stories.

Looking at the person covered in filth, Yang Zhenshan waved his hand in disgust, “Drag him out.”

Yang Minghao, leading a group of soldiers, surged into the hall and dragged the despairing bunch out.

Resist?

Don’t joke.

Here, resistance was tantamount to seeking an earlier death.

Not resisting might allow them to live a few more days, possibly finding a slim chance of survival. However, resisting meant Yang Zhenshan would execute them on the spot.

They certainly didn’t believe Yang Zhenshan would show mercy.

After the people were dragged out, Yang Zhenshan looked at the empty hall and rubbed his temples, a headache brewing.

This was really absurd.

In doing this, he had almost completely purged the majority of Military Officers under the garrison office, clearing out a thousand commander, a Bazong, over a dozen squad officials, the garrison by one garrison commander, one defense officer, and five garrison officers.

What’s called rotten to the core, this was it.

Finding a decent official was difficult.

Both Han Cheng and Xie Yuan were not exactly upstanding officers; Han Cheng compromised his integrity for self-preservation, while Xie Yuan concealed his edge for self-protection and chose to hide his talents.

As for the remaining lower-ranking officials, although they didn’t commit serious offenses, they didn’t do anything commendable either.

However, purging so many officials also had its advantages.

That is, Yang Zhenshan could now control the entire garrison office. He could make moves freely, turning the garrisons and the fortresses outside the city into what he desired.