Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Liu Yanzhi's blue official robe was embroidered with a "white pheasant", a large white pheasant that looked like a fairy bird when flying. All fifth-rank officials, regardless of their rank, had the white pheasant embroidered on them.

"Get it for me!"

The flag officer ordered a few of his men to pin the group of yamen runners to the ground.

The man was pinned to the ground, wailing and muttering to himself.

"Sir, the Gaoyang County Master is my uncle. No matter how much I have offended you, it shouldn't be like this!"

Zhang Jingwei asked, "Do you know who my teacher is?"

"I don't know, please explain clearly."

Seeing that the clerk didn't know Liu Yanzhi's identity, Zhang Jingwei put his hands behind his back and slowly walked behind him.

He whispered in her ear, "My teacher is the Tongzhi of Yunzhou. He is very compassionate to the people. Please don't hit him in the face."

"I understand, I understand. Whatever you want to ask, I will tell you everything I know."

After saying this, he kowtowed continuously.

"I ask you a question, and you answer it. If you tell even a single lie, my teacher will beat you until your skin is torn to pieces."

"Absolutely no lies!"

Zhang Jingwei looked at Liu Yanzhi and after receiving his signal, he asked, "What is your organization? What have you done here?"

The police officer replied tremblingly, "Your Excellency, we work for the grain collection team at Hufang. We are here to collect grain, enclose rented land, and other trivial matters."

Zhang Jingwei continued, "But I heard that not only did you increase taxes by 20%, you also levied some random head tax, excrement tax, urine tax, and so on?"

"No... no, absolutely not!" The police officer waved his hands hurriedly, "We are only following the orders of the county magistrate."

Liu Yanzhi's eyes turned cold, "If the county magistrate ordered you to kill or set fire, would you do it without hesitation?"

"This..." The police officer was speechless for a moment.

Zhang Jingwei pointed at the indignant villagers behind him and asked, "Why are there so few men in Jia Village? Did you force them into forced labor?"

"This tax was ordered by the county magistrate. The conscription of able-bodied men was done by the water defense battalion. This has nothing to do with us." The police officer kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Zhang Jingwei continued to ask, "What are the Water Defense Battalion doing with so many able-bodied men?"

"This... I don't know."

"Is the Gaoyang County Magistrate colluding with the captain of the Water Defense Battalion?"

"I don't know. I don't know."

"Do you have any dealings with the Yunzhou Tongpan?"

"How could I possibly know Lord Wang with my low status..."

Zhang Jingwei glanced at Liu Yanzhi. He didn't even know the Tongzhi of Yunzhou, so how could he know that the Tongpan's surname was Wang!

The small flag officer, who had been silent the whole time, trotted over to Zhang Jingwei and bowed. "Sir, how about letting me try?"

Zhang Jingwei nodded in agreement.

The flag officer drew his sword, waved it in front of the police officer, and said, "Brother, we are all officials, not officials like them. Don't suffer for such a small profit."

"Master, I've said everything I need to say, so don't..."

Before the police officer could finish his words, the flag officer raised his knife and cut off half of the ear of the police officer behind him.

"what--!"

The screams like those of a pig being slaughtered resounded throughout the village.

The flag officer repeated the words: "Brother, we are all officials, not officers like them. We should not suffer for such a small profit."

The police officer had wet his pants and his body was shaking like the engine of a Japanese three-cylinder car.

When Zhang Jingwei saw this scene, he was also frightened, especially when he saw the half ear flying at his feet.

Normally, he wouldn't even dare to watch a chicken being slaughtered, so this scene had a huge impact on him.

Seeing that the jailer didn't say anything, the flag officer kicked him to the ground.

"Pick up your ears! Pick up your ears!"

The police officer held his companion's ears and not only wet his pants, but also became incontinent.

The flag officer sighed deeply and said expressionlessly, "My patience has its limits. I'll say it again."

"Brother, we are all officials, not officials like them. We should not suffer for such a small profit."

Awesome, so awesome!

That majesty is comparable to that of the judge of the underworld.

"They conscripted men to dig stones..."

"A kind of grayish-white stone. I don't know what they're going to do with it..."

"In addition to capturing able-bodied men, they also robbed many merchants passing through. That Dripping Water Bridge was a checkpoint they used specifically for robbery."

"They also captured many women and brought them back to the camp to rape them, and then brutally killed them!"

"The county magistrate and Captain Han colluded with each other, smuggling a lot of salt and tea into Yunzhou through the underground river, and even..."

The flag officer put a knife to his neck and shouted, "Even what? Say it!"

"They even smuggled a lot of weapons and armor."

"I have told you everything I know, sir. I only beg you to spare my life."

Liu Yanzhi snorted coldly, "Take these people away first."

Zhang Jingwei instructed Jia Renyi, "Uncle Jia, you'll have to keep these people here for now. The teacher and I have more important things to do!"

Jia Renyi glared at the group of police officers and said, "Don't worry, Young Master. These thieves can't escape from me!"

Gao Fei patted the young flag officer on the shoulder and said with relief.

"Well done, well done... Well done. I'll give you a promotion later... Promote you to the position of Chief, Chief!"

The little flag officer jumped up with joy.

"Thank you, Mr. Gao!"

Then they pulled off the small flag badge from his waist and threw it into the stove where the banquet was being held.

Liu Yanzhi worriedly said, "We now know the source of this smuggling. But the troops we brought today are really not enough, and the Water Defense Battalion is also a group of desperate criminals."

"Why don't we go back and inform the governor first, and then you can negotiate with your father-in-law..."

Zhang Jingwei shook his head and said, "No, if we go back to the city, it will delay the progress a lot."

"If the county magistrate were to notice something, it would be detrimental to the people of Jia Village."

"Now that things have come to this, how about this... Teacher and Uncle Six return to Yunzhou to gather manpower, while Captain Gao and I go to the Water Defense Camp to meet Captain Han."

Zhang Liu was the first one to disagree.

"No, how can I leave the young master?"

Zhang Jingwei explained, "I have to give an explanation to the soldiers before I lead them out of the city."

"What's more, you two are old. If a conflict really breaks out, you two will be a burden. With Mu Mu protecting me, ordinary people won't be able to get close to me."

After saying that, he looked at the wood.

Mu Tou's eyes were firm as he said, "I will follow the young master. Wherever the young master goes, I will follow."

At noon, Liu Yanzhi and Zhang Liu boarded the carriage back to the city and were escorted by several cavalrymen.

Gao Fei first arranged for the soldiers to rest, and then arranged for several sentries to take turns setting up secret sentries at the highest point at the village entrance.

The ferocious flag officer just now wiped his bloody knife.

Gao Fei gave him a few instructions and then walked into the rest room arranged by Jia Renyi.

Facing Zhang Jingwei, the young flag officer returned to his previous playful expression.

"Master Zhang, Lord Gao wants you to discuss an important matter!"

After Zhang Jingwei agreed, he walked towards Gao Fei's room.

Perhaps noticing that Zhang Jingwei was a little intimidated by him, the flag officer quickly explained, "Master Zhang, my name is Beta! I'm from the Northern Desert, and my behavior is a bit barbaric. I hope Master Zhang won't mind."

Zhang Jingwei waved his hand and said, "No, you did a great job. Captain Gao even gave you a promotion."

"Thanks to Master Zhang, I am eternally grateful!"

Zhang Jingwei seemed to realize something: "Wait, you said your name is Beta?!"

"Exactly!"

Zhang Jingwei raised his eyebrows and asked, "Do you have a brother named Shuke?"

“…How did you know that?!”

"Pfft!" Zhang Jingwei burst out laughing.

I complained in my heart: If I could build airplanes and tanks, I would definitely let you two brothers go first.