Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 273: One man's honey may be another man's poison

"How far is it?"

Lu Shaochun asked calmly from the other side of the sedan chair, and then heard someone outside answer: "Reporting to the governor, according to the report from Anji County, it is still five or six miles to the scene of the crime."

He was the prefect of Huzhou. If nothing big happened, he would have died in the government office. But as luck would have it, something really big happened.

The Minister of Justice was attacked by bandits on his way south to investigate a case. More than a hundred people died silently in the wilderness.

In this situation, he had a reason to leave the government office.

"I'll say it again. This is a serious matter. If you don't want to lose your life for no apparent reason, you must follow my orders."

"Don't worry, Master. We have explained all of this. If you say you are going east, no one will go west. It's just..."

"Ok?"

Seeing that the person outside the sedan still seemed to have doubts, Lu Shaochun just said something lightly and the person hurriedly explained.

"Your Excellency, it's not that I doubt your judgment, but this case is so strange, and the one who died is such a high-ranking official, there's really no need for us to get involved."

Good hand?

When Lu Shaochun heard these two words, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

The case occurred in Anji, so there would be no problem for him to come in person as the prefect of Huzhou. However, if he wanted to avoid it, he could wait for the Anji magistrate to investigate for a while before getting involved.

By that time, the Anji County Magistrate had already stepped into all the traps he had to step into, and the situation had become clearer. Although he might not have gained much credit, he was able to avoid many unpredictable dangers.

Based on his many years of experience as an official, this is what a qualified prefect should do.

just
He no longer has the qualifications to seek stability.

Last year, the Tartars attacked, and within two or three months they had killed their way from northern Zhili to Huzhou. After much consideration, Lu Shaochun still felt that there was no hope for the Ming Dynasty. In addition, the forces in the south of the Yangtze River had suffered several blows since Hongguang came to power. With these two factors combined, he decisively sent a letter of surrender to the Tartars.

He did not have any psychological burden about this. As the saying goes, when a king regards his subjects as his own brothers, his subjects regard his king as their confidant; when a king regards his subjects as grass, his subjects regard his king as their enemy.

Since Hongguang was determined to use the eunuch party to suppress the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, what reason did they have to obey that foolish court?
What's more, at that time, all the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Nanzhili surrendered, and he was not the only one who had such thoughts.

Under such circumstances, Lu Shaochun naturally surrendered with peace of mind.

But who would have thought that the situation would change so drastically in just two or three months.

The "fake prince" who was imprisoned by the tyrant not only defended Yingtian, but also used his imaginative naval force to defeat the invincible Tartars. It seemed that the fragile court had the capital to defend the river again.

To be honest, Lu Shaochun was regretting his decision so much during that period.

This regret was not only because he bet on the wrong horse, thus ending his career, but also because he missed the opportunity to rise to prominence.

He was just an ordinary person, but he passed the imperial examination through his own efforts. He also stood on the side of the winners in several political struggles with his keen insight, and thus he rose step by step to the position of prefect.

With such abilities, how could he not see what kind of fate he would have after being valued by Zhu Cilang?
How could he not regret missing such an opportunity?

There is always a way out!

Just as Lu Shaochun was waiting for his successor to arrive and packing his luggage to return home, news suddenly came that Ruan Dacheng was attacked and killed by bandits, and this thought immediately appeared in his mind.

If anyone else were here, they would have stayed as far away from such a major case as possible. However, after figuring out the key points, he used threats and inducements to gather a group of capable people in the government office and rushed to the scene of the crime overnight.

Naturally, his subordinates were puzzled by his behavior, but due to his accumulated power over the years, they never asked too many questions.

If they were not about to arrive at the scene of the crime, it is possible that even the person outside the sedan would have kept this question in his heart.

"You know the situation of this government, and there is no need to say more. You just need to understand that although this situation looks dangerous, it is a good opportunity to rise to prominence as long as you act properly. Not only will this government be able to turn things around, but you will also benefit greatly."

After hesitating for a while, Lu Shaochun finally revealed a little to his confidant.

Afterwards, I don’t know whether the person outside the sedan chair really understood or just trusted the governor’s ability, but after thanking him profusely, he stopped talking and seemed to be immersed in his vision of the future.

This is not Lu Shaochun just making empty promises. If he did not really see huge benefits in it, with his shrewdness, he would not have ventured into this muddy water even if the only way for him was to return home.

As for where this huge benefit would go, although he did not reveal a single detail to his confidants outside the sedan chair, he had already figured it out clearly.

Although Ruan Dacheng's apparent purpose of going south this time was just to investigate the illegal activities of the evil gentry in Huating, everyone understood that His Majesty released this mad dog to crack down on land annexation in Jiangnan.

It's ridiculous that Ruan Dacheng was so clever that he not only spread the news that he would not expand the scope of attack before leaving, but also deliberately took the land route when heading south. He actually intended to use this behavior to make the big families let down their guard.

But how could a great family that had been passed down for so many generations fall for his petty tricks?

Seeing only the slightest sign that the imperial power wanted to take action against them, they used such decisive means to give Yingtian a warning, without leaving any room for them at all.

This was the opportunity in Lu Shaochun's eyes.

He could see clearly that since this incident was said to be the work of bandits, then it must have been done by bandits. Even with the coordinated cooperation of various forces, this case would be solved much faster than ordinary theft and murder, and the evidence would definitely be much more sufficient than in ordinary cases.

If it were the previous emperors, even if they knew that there was something fishy about Ruan Dacheng's death, they would have no choice but to accept it in the face of such sufficient evidence and consistent statements.

It's just that after so many years of inheritance, those big families became too arrogant.

This gentleman has done so many great things in Jiangnan today, but those guys who rely on their ancestors for a living have not even noticed his style of doing things.

According to what Lu Shaochun thought, even if that gentleman couldn't find any flaws in this case, he would definitely find various excuses to vent his anger on Jiangnan.

By then, Yingtian would probably have to face successive civil and military uprisings, but how could the big families in Jiangnan be able to endure it?
Even if the big families have the ability to incite the local garrisons to rebel, how could the emperor who could even drive the Tartars back to Jiangbei easily compromise?
You know, after being at a disadvantage this time, that gentleman's power was broken.

Once the general situation is broken, they will be like the Tartars now. Even if they still have enough power to counterattack, they can only take a defensive stance. It will be difficult for them to be as unstoppable and invincible as when they went south.

Therefore, Lu Shaochun judged that if the situation continued to develop like this, the final result would inevitably be a lose-lose situation, and the opportunity he saw was to become the one who eliminated this disaster and use the loss of the local big family to find a suitable step for His Majesty. Therefore, he had to enter the game before the situation changed again and get into His Majesty's sight.

Otherwise, even if he put in a huge effort in this matter, how could the credit fall firmly on his head?
"Master Fu, I see the camp ahead."

Just as Lu Shaochun was constantly reviewing the details of his plan in his mind, the voice of the man from before came into his ears again. When he lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and looked out, he saw that there were servants and soldiers coming in and out of the camp within a few miles.

"No need to report, just go straight into the camp."

"Order."

Normally speaking, although he was the Anji County Magistrate's immediate superior, there was no reason for him to enter his camp directly without informing the county magistrate in advance. However, the current Anji County Magistrate was reappointed by the Ministry of Personnel after the Tartars retreated. If he insisted, it would be difficult for him, a disloyal man, to seize the power to investigate the case from him.

Therefore, he planned to use this sudden method to catch the opponent off guard so as to take the absolute initiative.

In fact, there was no need for him to do this.

To put it bluntly, in the eyes of ordinary people, this case cannot be avoided. If Shangguan really stepped forward, Lu Shaochun at that time would definitely happily throw all the ownership and responsibilities to him.

But at this point, he was like a drowning man, even if there was a piece of thorny wood floating next to him, he was afraid that someone else would take it away.

Under such circumstances, he would naturally worry that others would compete with him for the power and responsibility of the case in order to gain a chance to rise to the top.

Sure enough, the arrival of the prefect was beyond the expectations of everyone in Anji. When they saw people from the government office breaking into the camp, some officers and soldiers tried to stop them. But when they heard that the visitor was the prefect of Huzhou, the people guarding the camp gate no longer had the will to resist.

Later, Lu Shaochun, accompanied by a group of his confidants, entered the largest tent in the camp. After he sat down, he scolded the officers in the camp: "You Anji has become so chaotic that an important official of the imperial court died here! Tell the truth! Do you have any collusion with those bandits?!"

"Your Excellency, the governor, please understand! The largest bandit group in Anji only has a few dozen people. How dare they kill the officials?"

"Master, please spare our lives! How dare we collude with bandits?"

"Lord Futai, have mercy! Lord Futai, have mercy!"

After hearing Lu Shaochun's murderous question, the officers waiting in the tent knelt down.

He knew that such a big event had nothing to do with these small characters, but the so-called preemptive strike was not necessarily aimed at the Anji County Magistrate. If he could first intimidate those who were in charge of the specific matters, even if the County Magistrate was determined to resist for a while, he would be able to find a reason to control him first.

"Where is your magistrate? I have been here for such a long time, but why can't I see him?"

Seeing how these little ones behaved, Lu Shaochun would not spend too much energy on them. But who would have thought that after he asked this question, the officers immediately stopped crying.

"Why don't you answer my question? Is there really some conspiracy?!"

"Please spare my life, Lord Governor! Your Excellency!"

"What?!"

"Tang Zun was frightened mad by the tragic scene."

As soon as the words came out, the officers kept stealing glances at Lu Shaochun's expression, but he had no time to scold the officers for their rude behavior. He opened his mouth and was stunned for a long time before sneering and saying, "He is really crazy. Such a big thing happened in his jurisdiction, not only did he not try his best to solve the case, he even wanted to use it to escape. The Ming Dynasty has nurtured scholars for 300 years, but he actually let this kind of bastard become the head of the county. It's really really really..."

The Anji officials kneeling in the tent wanted to make a few explanations when they saw the prefect being so angry, but in the end they dared not say a word. After Lu Shaochun said all this indignantly, he was planning to have someone take him to see the "crazy" Anji magistrate, but before he could ask anyone to lead the way, he saw three figures appear outside the tent.

"Anji County Magistrate Liu Zongxi requests to see the prefect."

"Fu Rongfa from the Advisory Council requests to see the governor."

"Niu Junchang from the Advisory Council requests to see the governor."

As soon as they asked for a meeting, Lu Shaochun understood the identities of the three people. After some thought, he put away his previous attitude and immediately put a faint smile on his face.

"You are brave enough to take on responsibilities, and you are loyal to the emperor and the country." After praising these two sentences, he turned his head to the people he brought with him and said, "Come here, take a seat."

"Thank you, Mr. Fu, for the seat."

The three of them did not express any extra opinions about Lu Shaochun's usurpation of their throne. After they were seated, Anji County Magistrate Liu Zongxi spoke up and said, "We did not know that the prefect was here in person, and we failed to welcome him. We are truly sorry, sorry."

This was originally just a polite remark. Although it contained some complaints about Lu Shaochun's sudden arrival, it was so light that it could be completely ignored when it came from the mouth of a county magistrate.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Lu Shaochun did not respond, but directly changed the topic to the magistrate of Anji.

"Where is your magistrate now?"

"Your Excellency, the Lord is ill. We have no choice but to detain him in the tent at the back."

"Are you ill? Have you called a doctor?"

"Yes, according to the doctor, he was frightened and that's why he was confused by the phlegm."

After a conversation, Lu Shaochun's face showed a thoughtful look.

In the eyes of the people in Anji, this expression probably meant that the governor was considering whether such words were credible, but for his confidants who had followed him for many years, they understood that the governor was ready to step down.

"So you're really crazy, but you're not deliberately avoiding responsibility?"

"Yes, there is a doctor's diagnosis, so it cannot be faked."

After a moment, Lu Shaochun asked another question, and the county magistrate's answer was to put all the responsibility on the doctor.

In this way, no matter whether the Anji County Magistrate was really crazy or pretending to be crazy, none of them would be held responsible at all, and the prefect could take over the responsibility of the case with peace of mind. It could be said that everyone was happy and no one was harmed.

At this point, Lu Shaochun had no more worries and planned to ask what Anji County had gained in the past few days. However, who would have thought that before he finished speaking, the lame Niu Junchang shouted and answered before the county magistrate.

"There's nothing to investigate here. The right thing to do is to investigate the movements of the troops stationed nearby during those days!"

(End of this chapter)