Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 650 Death

Many of the canal soldiers showed expressions of shame on their faces. Seeing this, Scar's face suddenly changed. He knew that he could not let him continue talking.

He sneered and said, "Brothers, don't be intimidated by him! These pen-wielding shrews are the most hypocritical. They can make the dead look alive!"

The imperial court allocated us salaries, but when the officials in the Ministry of Revenue first skimmed off a layer of money, and then the officials in the Ministry of War took another shave, and when it reached us, this was all that was left.”

At this point, he fixed his eyes on Zhang Renzhi and questioned, "It is said that Hanlin officials are noble and upright. So, I would like to ask Editor Zhang, apart from your salary, have you ever accepted gifts such as ice or charcoal from local officials?

I heard that when you were on duty at Wenyuan Pavilion, you were highly valued by the Prime Minister and appointed as the assistant manager of the Imperial Edicts and Pardons Office. Your classmate Qi Ruiqing, who was also in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, came to congratulate you that very night and also brought congratulatory gifts from several officials of the Ministry of Revenue, a total of two thousand taels!

Where did that money come from? Wasn't it the Ministry of Revenue that intercepted our funds?

Humph, you civil servants are really amazing! You openly withheld money for department expenses and even used it as a ceremonial gift. From the emperor to the cabinet ministers, everyone tacitly acknowledged the existence of department expenses!"

It was like a spark thrown into a haystack, the resentment of the canal soldiers was instantly ignited, and the previous guilt disappeared.

"That's right! The officials in Beijing call it 'bureaucratic fees'. We're just trying to survive, but we're considered traitors. How can that be justified?" An old, toothless transporter spat bitterly. "They feast on delicious food, yet they don't even leave us a mouthful of coarse rice!"

A soldier standing behind Scar suddenly shouted, "Brothers, we are not wrong! It's the officials who are not behaving like human beings!"

The canal soldiers followed suit and looked at Zhang Renzhi with increasingly ferocious eyes, as if they were ready to pounce on him and bite off a piece of flesh from him at the next moment.

Poyun gripped the hilt of his knife nervously, "Master, when you get a chance, leave quickly. I'll stay behind to cover your retreat."

Faced with the uproar of the grain transport soldiers, Zhang Renzhi remained silent.

He did accept some of the ice and charcoal gifts from the same year, as well as the congratulatory gifts from the Ministry of Revenue.

When a person has the power to make things difficult for others, no matter whether he can use it or not, he will be feared by others.

The Cabinet is the superior government office of the Ministry of Revenue. He assists the Imperial Edicts and Pardons Office and has the power to review memorials from the six ministries. Even if he does not deliberately find fault with others, those whose memorials will pass through his hands will be wary and want to establish a closer relationship with him in advance.

If he didn't accept it, it would not only make the other party feel uneasy, but also break the rules.

Bribery is often not about giving the other party an easy way out, but simply about worrying about putting the other party in an awkward position.

But over time, bribery became a common practice, and later on, it became a fixed rule. Giving was what you should do, and not giving would make things difficult for you. This became a bad habit.

He remained silent, and the soldiers thought he was guilty, becoming even more furious. One of them approached with a knife in hand, "You son of a bitch! Give me your life!"

Po Yun pushed Zhang Renzhi away, blocked the attack with his sword, and held the sword swung by the canal soldier.

"clang!"

The collision of the blades made a clear sound, and the vibration of the blades made the palms of the hands of both men numb.

He blocked the canal soldier, but more canal soldiers rushed up with red eyes.

The knife flashed like a silver thread, and blood splattered on Poyun's back and shoulders. He didn't care about the pain, and while swinging the knife to fight back, he looked at Zhang Renzhi.

But he did not dodge or evade, allowing the canal soldiers to chop him with their swords one after another.

"master!"

Po Yun's eyes suddenly turned red and he wanted to rush forward, but was stopped by the rushing soldiers.

He watched helplessly as a broken dagger pierced his master's abdomen, watched the canal soldiers hack away like mad, and watched blood flow out of the thin body.

Zhang Renzhi fell on his back. The early morning soil was icy cold, seeping through his clothes and penetrating into his bones. His whole body felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar, frozen stiff and powerless.

He looked at the dim sky and felt that all the sounds and pain were fading away, leaving only a lot of guilt.

Although he did not agree with the bribery habits in official circles, he had to compromise because he was in the middle of it.

In the past, he thought everything was temporary and that one day he would be able to change these bad habits.

But when faced with these angry faces, I couldn't say a word to defend myself.

Whether out of greed or forced to do so, he took the money, which was extorted by others from these low-level soldiers and civilians.

They were right. The gorgeous clothes he wore and the delicacies he ate were all the flesh and blood torn from their bodies.

After feeling guilty, he regretted that he should not have become discouraged after suffering a little setback in his career, so he wanted to resign and live in seclusion.

Yuan Qing was right. They could not resign and hand over Daqian and the people to the hands of mediocre people.

He only regretted that he had not been more alert when he was in the Hanlin Academy. If he had held a high enough position, if he had stood higher, perhaps he could have gotten rid of this bad habit.

Unfortunately, he ran out of time.

I just hope that Yuan Qing can do it one day...

Scar watched his subordinates hacking away frantically with cold eyes. After a while, he finally said, "That's enough. They're dead."

As he said this, he walked forward, touched Zhang Renzhi's body, and soon pulled out a blue-covered account book from his chest.

The book had been slashed several times and was stained with blood, so some of the words were no longer legible, but from the words that could be seen clearly, it was undoubtedly the account book they were looking for.

He stretched out his hand, and the confidant who had been following him immediately bent down and lit the tinder.

Scar held a corner of the account book close to the flame. In an instant, the paper curled up and turned black, spreading like a poisonous snake bite, swallowing up the small ink characters and turning them into ashes.

Scar held the burning account book in his hand until the burning sensation reached his fingertips, then he suddenly shook his hand away. The half-burnt pages swirled and fell on Zhang Renzhi. The remaining flames flickered, like a soul-guiding lamp.

"Huh," Scar let out a short, hoarse laugh. He raised his foot to crush a piece of falling ash. He looked at Zhang Renzhi lying in a pool of blood. "Editor Zhang, when you reach Hades, remember to take these ashes as your toll."

After saying that, he turned around and walked back. His confidant waved his hand, signaling the soldiers below to deal with the body, while he quickly followed Scar.

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"what--"

A short scream pierced the tranquility of the reed marsh, startling several water birds in the bushes.

Song Ying opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see Yu Lingwan sitting up against the wall of the boat, gasping for breath.

"A nightmare?" she asked.

It took Yu Lingwan a while to hear what she was saying. She looked up at her, her eyes filled with fear. "I, I dreamed that my husband fell into a bloody sea. I wanted to pull him out, but suddenly countless hands stretched out from beneath the sea and pulled him down. Sister Lingwei, do you think something happened to my husband?"