Headless Immortal

Chapter 17 Food and grass go first
"I'm going to the county government office for a meeting; please take care of me..."

"No need. Let him do whatever he wants. We don't need to worry about him."

Zhao Jia originally wanted the yamen runners to take care of the black cat, but considering the black cat's abilities, he realized that the cat was actually the one looking after the people, so he decided to let the black cat do whatever it wanted.

In Zhao Jia's opinion, the old cat was much smarter than a person.

Several people crossed their hands and sang "Greetings".

As soon as Zhao Jia left, they started talking about it.

"What do you think, should we tell the boss?" The short man, propping his chin on his hand, lay on the sturdy wooden table, staring at the black cat not far from them.

Big Mouth rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "He's a cat, not a tiger. Even if he becomes a spirit, it doesn't matter."

As he spoke, he took out the sashimi wrapped in oil paper from the tightly tied bag.

"Three-legged creature, come here."

"You've already prepared all of this?"

Zhuangzi looked at Dazui in surprise.

Big Mouth not only prepared sashimi, but also both raw and cooked portions—that's incredibly thoughtful!

The cat ran away yesterday, and they thought it would never come back. But unexpectedly, Big Mouth still carries cat food with him.

Despite the thriving fishing industry in Jiujiang, where fish are cheaper than rice, the two-tiered system of raw and cooked fish still required considerable effort.

"I like it."

Big Mouth placed the sashimi on the table: "Three-Legged, eat up."

The black cat jumped onto the table, smelled the fishy smell, and then chose the cooked food.

It's one thing to not be used to raw food, but also freshwater catches often contain insects, and eating too much of them can easily cause illness. Even though I'm a cat now, I can't just eat and chew whatever I want.

"If the officials of the Six Doors see this, they'll definitely charge you with keeping a monster!"

The little guy felt a pang of jealousy and regret. How could he have overlooked this? He thought Old Cat must have left, but who would have thought he had just returned to Zhao Tou'er's house?

He also wanted to raise a monster.

Old Cheng continued to puff on his pipe, tapped the sole of his shoe, glanced at the black cat, and warned, "We should take the Li family's matter in the west of the city as a warning. Nobody knows what they're thinking. In the end, they're not safe at all."

Lu Xun, the black cat, perked up his ears and meowed.

The translator said, "He said he wouldn't do that."

Lu Xun looked helpless. He wanted to ask what kind of monster it was and what the result was.

Recalling the last time it devoured the head of the Five Gods Flower Tanuki, its amateurish trick "Cat Walk" evolved into magic, and a faint, imperceptible magical power grew within its body. With the blessing of Moonlight and the high-ranking master of Lushan Sect, it could unleash extraordinary abilities.

The toad head still looks the same as before.

The thought landed in a strange space.

Let the toad stand still.

The skull of the Five-Powered God, the 'Lackey-Headed Monk'

Species: Snake (insect-frog)

Quality: Normal

Spell: Water Arrow (Beginner's Guide)

Commentary: There is a beast in the Southern Mountains that resembles a frog and is called a toad. It has blue spots on its back, white stripes on its belly, and its voice is like thunder. When it cries out, rain will fall.

"I wonder what that tiger head looks like."

Thinking too much was pointless, so Lu Xun decided to go to the county government office to hear their plans for the river bandits.

……

Arrive at the front of the hall.

Lu Xun jumped onto the roof beam.

The inner hall of the county government office.

Magistrate Lü sat high on the throne. The imperial court also had a requirement for candidates to be selected based on their appearance. Those who could become magistrates were not bad-looking. His blue official robe made him look even more dignified.

Sitting to his right was the county magistrate, and to his left was the county constable. Below them were the clerks of the six departments, as well as the head constable and the jailer.

In terms of seniority, Zhao Jia deserves the title of Ninth Master.

The ninth position is incredibly small.

Meilan's two major surnames, Yuanwai, Cunzhang, and Baozheng, are all listed.

Lu Xun arrived just as Master Lü was concluding his speech. Lü Qian, who came from the Tiger List, was undoubtedly talented in literature. Coupled with the great achievement he was about to accomplish, his excitement and joy made him speak fluently, which stunned the group of ignorant gentry and local worthies.

In summary, it all boils down to one word.

money!
Jiujiang has limited land, so its economy is mainly based on shipping, with fishing and hunting as secondary activities.

Over the years, river bandits have controlled the waterways and extorted money from the people, squandering all the silver they earned on the river. For many years, there has been widespread resentment and public indignation.

Unfortunately, the bandits had set up camp on the small island, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. The prefect had repeatedly sent troops, but to little avail. Master Lü stroked his beard and sighed, "The bandits must be wiped out!"

Suppressing bandits requires troops, and the cost of food, supplies, and equipment for soldiers is substantial.

If the county government had no money, the gentry and common people had to contribute.

The people of Meilan were dirt poor, and he was greedy, wanting both money and fame. To protect his reputation, he certainly wouldn't take money from the poor, so he needed the gentry and local worthies to do the dirty work.

Whether you go out or not, you will get out.

If the tax revenue is lost, the entire Meilan will suffer.

Lu Xun also saw an acquaintance here, Master Song from the south of the city, who was also Sanjiao's old boss.

After a midday of haggling, the clan heads of the two major surnames each contributed two hundred taels, those with more than ten mu of land or a dock contributed fifty taels, those with property contributed thirty taels, and the village head and the baozheng each contributed ten taels.

The hungry gentry and local worthies finally got to enjoy the banquet prepared for them by Magistrate Lü of Meilan County.

A total of 1,030 taels of silver were raised.

Master Lü was very satisfied. He raised his wine cup and gave another impassioned speech, promising to wipe out the river bandits.

……

They drank until the afternoon.

The gentry and local worthies were seen off amidst the greetings of the county magistrate.

Only then did they discuss all matters related to the suppression of the bandits.

The county constable did not speak but looked at the county clerk. A higher rank can have a crushing effect; he was the third master, and the county clerk was the second master.

The county magistrate may come and go, but the yamen remains the same. When the magistrate leaves, the assistant magistrate becomes the acting magistrate. He cannot afford to offend the other party for 1,030 taels of silver; at least on the surface, he must remain amicable.

"Uh, sir, money and provisions..."

The county magistrate had barely opened his mouth when he saw the county magistrate wave his hand.

The county magistrate said, "The most urgent task is to eliminate the river bandits."

He then looked at Zhao Jia.

Zhao Jia, having received the signal, clasped his hands in a salute and said, “This humble servant will escort the tax silver onto the boat and cross the Xunyang River. When the bandits leave their stronghold and surround us, Third Master will lead his troops to intercept their path. In this way, we will trap them from both inside and outside, ensuring they can come but not leave. Once the bandit leader is dead, that rabble will scatter like birds and beasts.”

The county constable asked, "How many men does that fellow have under his command?"

Zhao Jia replied, "About two or three hundred."

The county constable hesitated slightly.

He only had two thousand soldiers. After accounting for those who were not paid and the elderly and weak, as well as those used for defending the city, the number of soldiers capable of fighting was only half of the original number. Five hundred against three hundred, without the support of large ships, the government troops in naval warfare might not have the fighting power of the bandits and would easily be defeated.

The magistrate looked at the county assistant: "How many yamen runners are there in total?"

The county magistrate blurted out, "Forty-nine."

"Be more precise."

Three hundred and fifty-two.

The magistrate's expression remained unchanged. There were forty-nine yamen runners in the three shifts established by the imperial court, but how could forty-nine people do their job?

They simply cannot go to the countryside.

Therefore, the county government would recruit many non-official staff, who would not be paid rations or salaries, but would only have the title of official staff and be considered as one of the county government's yamen runners.

"Dispatch two hundred men to assist the county magistrate."

"Here."

The county magistrate observed the magistrate's expression and realized that the magistrate was determined to suppress the river bandits.

The magistrate gestured to Zhao Jia: "Continue."

Zhao Jia cupped his hands and said, "This humble servant believes we should prepare two sets of carriages, one real and one fake. We can use the fake one as bait. Even if there is a miscalculation, the bandits will only steal fake tax silver."

"Who will really escort them?"

The magistrate's gaze swept across the faces of the crowd.

Constable Zhou Liang stepped forward, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "This humble officer is ready."

The magistrate frowned and said, "If anything happens to you, how will I explain it to your sister?"

“This humble officer should take the lead.”

"Alright."

County Magistrate Lü Qian originally planned to have his brother-in-law search and confiscate Qingquan Temple in the city, thus gaining credit for nothing.

However, compared to the monumental achievements of quelling the river bandits and escorting tax silver, this small favor is nothing at all.

Considering that Zhao Jia was used as bait, the brother-in-law could safely reap the credit.

"Ok, deal!"

(End of this chapter)