Traveling through the ancient times

In the county government office, the county magistrate sat in the hall, holding up his black gauze hat, looking at the crowd of people kneeling on the ground. He was overwhelmed, because these were all familiar faces!

These people are used to bullying here. They were always arrogant when they saw him before, and he, the county magistrate, couldn't do anything about them!

The county magistrate looked at Lu Mingcheng and others standing aside, thinking that these young people were really brave to offend them, but since they were here, the case had to be tried.

The county magistrate slammed the gavel and asked, "Who is this person in the hall and what has he done wrong?"

Nianchuhua stepped forward and bowed, "Sir, we are merchants who went to Huai'an to buy fruits and came here to load them on the ship. These people extorted us at the dock. When we refused to pay, they even had their servants beat us. Please, sir, help us."

The county magistrate looked at the servant who was kneeling behind him, with a bruised face and nose. Who was beating whom?

"What they said is the truth. Do you plead guilty?"

The people of the Chamber of Commerce are all-powerful in this town. Even the county magistrate cannot control them. They even have to live by their wishes. These people took the fruits and left. But the county magistrate has been here all the time. He doesn't believe that the county magistrate will not help them deal with these people.

"Sir, I am only charging according to the rules. These people took our ladder to load the goods, not only did they not pay us, but they also beat us up. Please, sir, help me!"

When Jiang Ruixue heard them fighting back, she wanted to kick them, but was stopped by Lu Mingcheng.

The county magistrate looked at Nian Chuhua and the others. They were all fine, completely different from the person kneeling on the ground. Although the people in the Chamber of Commerce were used to doing evil, it was unclear who was beating whom. "Plaintiff, is what they said true?"

"They were the first to attack. We can't just stand there and let them beat us. Who knew they were all just idiots and were imitating others to rob people?"

The people in the Chamber of Commerce were so embarrassed by what they saw at the beginning of the year...

The county magistrate also felt that what Chushulhua said made sense and that group of people were just a bunch of idiots.

Lu Mingcheng was too lazy to talk nonsense with those people, so he asked the county magistrate directly, "May I ask, sir, how are the cargo ships docked at the pier charged?"

The county magistrate was stunned by the question, because he didn't know either. The docks were occupied by people from the Chamber of Commerce, and he couldn't intervene. "This..."

Seeing that the county magistrate was hesitant, the people from the Chamber of Commerce boldly said to the county magistrate, "Sir, isn't it your rule that the dock fee is fifty taels of silver per day? These people actually dared to question your decision. They are really guilty of a heinous crime. The county magistrate should give them all twenty strokes of the cane as a warning to others..."

"This..." A strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. He, the county magistrate, is just a nominal title and he cannot manage the affairs of these people.

"Mr. County Magistrate, did you really set this rule? If you, Mr. County Magistrate, can't make this decision and manage the affairs of Qidong County, then I will replace you with someone who can."

Seeing that a county magistrate was being controlled by gangsters, Lu Mingcheng wondered how he could do anything for the people. If he couldn't do anything, why was he still a county magistrate?

When the county magistrate heard what Lu Mingcheng said, he was immediately panicked. He had studied hard for decades and finally passed the imperial examination and gained fame, which allowed him to get the position of county magistrate.

Who knew that the Qidong County he took over was so small, and there were a group of local tyrants that he couldn't control. He was suffering! Now Lu Mingcheng actually said that he could replace him, so he must have someone above him, but no matter how big the person was, could he be bigger than the imperial concubine?

These people from the Chamber of Commerce took advantage of the reputation of the Chamber of Commerce to occupy the docks. The other boats were from local farmers. If they wanted to dock at the docks, they had to pay money, and they had to give the Chamber of Commerce a commission for each shipment. Otherwise, they would bring people to cause trouble and smash other people's cargo ships, and the people in the town also had a hard time.

When he first came here, he also wanted to serve the people, but the president of the Chamber of Commerce was a relative of the Imperial Concubine. If he, a seventh-rank official, offended the Imperial Concubine, wouldn't he be in trouble?

So he just let these people do whatever they want, and he dared not say anything! "May I ask who you are?"

"Don't worry about who I am. Just tell me whether you have any say in what's happening in Qidong County."

The county magistrate thought for a moment and did not answer Lu Mingcheng immediately. Instead, he slammed the gavel and said, "Put all the accused in jail. I will investigate the matter thoroughly before making a decision."

The bailiffs came forward and escorted all the people from the Chamber of Commerce away. The county magistrate walked up to Lu Mingcheng and bowed, "Please follow me to the inner hall to talk."

Lu Mingcheng and Jiang Ruixue looked at each other and followed the county magistrate into the inner hall.

"Please take a seat!"

The county magistrate asked the maid to serve tea to the few people, waved away the servants, and then told Lu Mingcheng and others about his suffering.

"Young Master just asked me if I could take charge of the affairs of Qidong County. I wanted to do that at first, but I was really powerless!"

"As the county magistrate of this county, is there anything you can't control?"

"My lord, you don't know that the president of the Chamber of Commerce is a relative of the current imperial concubine. How can a mere county magistrate like me afford to offend him?"

Lu Mingcheng turned his head and glanced at Jiang Ruixue. Aren’t the relatives of the imperial concubine relatives of the Jiang family?

"Oh? What's the name of the president?" Lu Mingcheng didn't know that someone was out there extorting money and plundering the people under the banner of this fucking company.

"The president's surname is Wu and his given name is Ming. It is said that President Wu is the cousin of the imperial concubine. The pier has been occupied by the Chamber of Commerce. This is the common pier for the entire county. The people of the Chamber of Commerce charge high fees for the county's ships. The people are dissatisfied and have come to me to complain.

At that time, I had just taken over Qidong County, and I asked someone to call Chairman Wu over to ask some questions. However, Chairman Wu never showed up, and only sent a message saying that if I wanted to ask, I should go to the Imperial Concubine to ask.

I thought that since I couldn't afford to offend him, I would go to the Wu family in person to discuss it with President Wu. At least the boats in our own town should not be charged.

Chairman Wu is so arrogant that he refused to see me. He even had someone pass a message to me, saying that the last county magistrate was meddling in other people's affairs and told me to take care of myself! What can I do about this?"

After listening to this, Lu Mingcheng began to think deeply. It was impossible for his mother to protect such a person. That person could actually cause the previous county magistrate to lose his job. That meant there must be someone above him helping him. Qidong County was under the jurisdiction of Huai'an. Could it be the prefect of Huai'an?

It would have been fine if he didn't know about this, but now that he knows about it, he must find out the truth and not let those stink bugs ruin the reputation of the imperial concubine.

"I understand. I will have someone investigate this matter. Those people will be locked up for now. I will make further decisions after I have investigated the matter thoroughly."

"Yes!" After hearing these words, the county magistrate finally put down his heart. As long as he was not allowed to investigate those people, if he offended those people, Lu Mingcheng and the others could just pat their butts and leave. He would have to stay here for a long time!

After leaving the county government office, Lu Mingcheng asked Jiang Ruixue, "Do you know Wu Ming?"

Jiang Ruixue shook her head, "I've never heard of it..."

Lu Mingcheng touched it and said, "Since he is the cousin of the Imperial Concubine, he is also our relative. Now that we are here, it would be unreasonable not to pay him a visit, right?"

Jiang Ruixue nodded, "Let's go!"

At the beginning of the year, Hua Pi followed the two of them happily and went to visit the cousin of the imperial concubine.