Chapter 51

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The tightly closed city gates of Lantian County finally opened. The moment Zhao Chen ordered the attack, the county magistrate of Lantian, Zhao Yuankai, had the gates opened.

At this point, the smart people had already seen that Zhao Yuankai was completely finished. Refusing to let the refugees in and forcing the imperial envoy from Chang'an to attack the city to let the refugees in, such a crime, once pinned on him, would likely result in a major purge of the entire Lantian County official system.

The moment the city gates opened, Qin Ming and others immediately stopped the attack. Zhao Chen coldly looked at Zhao Yuankai, who was completely stunned on the city wall, and gave a cold smile. He nodded at Qin Ming, who understood and, with a 'heh' laugh, led two people toward the city wall.

"Magistrate Zhao, you mustn't act rashly!" Wei Hui, who saw clearly, was immediately frightened pale. The attack had already caused a huge disaster. If Zhao Chen were to harm Zhao Yuankai, things would really become uncontrollable.

Wei Hui was truly regretful to the point of death. If he had known it would turn out like this, why would he have resorted to such a low tactic, tricking this troublemaker to Lantian? Now, the matters that needed to be handled were still unresolved, and he had inadvertently caused such a major incident.

"Relax, Sir Wei!" Zhao Chen turned around with a smile, looking at the distressed Wei Hui and said indifferently, "This county magistrate, who ignored the people freezing and starving in the cold, I just want him to taste the same!"

"No, no!" Wei Hui waved his hands in a hurry, "No matter how wrong County Magistrate Zhao is, he is still an official of the court. His punishment should be decided by His Majesty. You mustn't act rashly!"

"Ha, what a fine court official!" Zhao Chen couldn't help but laugh, staring at Wei Hui and said, "Is a person who ignores the lives of the people fit to be a court official? Flattering and deceiving, such a person should have been stripped of his official robes long ago and sent home to farm!"

"Why can't you listen to my advice, Magistrate?" Wei Hui stomped his feet in frustration. Seeing Qin Ming already bringing Zhao Yuankai over, Wei Hui suddenly sighed and angrily turned to lie down on the sled, wanting to avoid the sight.

"Old villain!" Zhao Chen watched Wei Hui leave and couldn't help but chuckle, muttering a curse. Not knowing your true character is one thing, but now that I know, you still pretend to advise me earnestly. Do you really think I'm a fool?

I bet this old rascal is secretly hoping I kill Zhao Yuankai right now!

"You are rebelling, you are rebelling!" Zhao Yuankai's arms were twisted by Qin Ming, and he kept shouting and yelling. When he reached Zhao Chen's horse, he angrily shouted, "Young brat, I am the respected seventh-rank county magistrate of Lantian. How dare you humiliate me like this? Are you not afraid of death?"

"County Magistrate Zhao, you don't deserve the title!" When Zhao Chen heard Zhao Yuankai shamelessly call himself a county magistrate, he laughed in anger, "As a county magistrate, you treat the people under your jurisdiction as rebels and watch them freeze to death in the cold. Do you deserve the title?"

"County Magistrate Zhao has already said that once these people are let in, chaos will ensue in the city. As a county magistrate, I cannot bear such responsibility!" Zhao Yuankai's arms were twisted behind his back by Qin Ming, forcing him to bend over and speak to Zhao Chen.

Seeing this, Zhao Chen signaled Qin Ming to release Zhao Yuankai and said, "Since County Magistrate Zhao cannot bear such responsibility, I will take it on!"

When Qin Ming released Zhao Yuankai's arms, he immediately felt relieved, and his expression returned to its previous state. He looked at Zhao Chen on horseback and sneered, "I hope you can bear such responsibility!"

"You don't need to worry about that, County Magistrate!" Zhao Chen suddenly laughed and said, "County Magistrate Zhao should think about how to spend the night outside the city!"

"You... What do you want to do?" Zhao Yuankai's expression froze, instantly understanding something from Zhao Chen's words. His face turned pale, and he immediately screamed in terror.

"County Magistrate Zhao is so smart, you can't guess, can you?" Zhao Chen mocked the terrified Zhao Yuankai and then instructed Qin Ming, "Remember to throw a blanket to County Magistrate Zhao later. Don't really let him freeze to death outside, or we'll really be in trouble!"

Zhao Chen said this openly in front of Zhao Yuankai. Hearing this, Zhao Yuankai's face turned from red to purple, and his fingers trembled as he pointed at Zhao Chen, too angry to speak.

"Alright!" Qin Ming looked sympathetically at Zhao Yuankai, thinking about how he would spend the lonely night in the cold, and shivered. He quickly bowed to Zhao Chen in response.

"Brat! Brat!" Zhao Yuankai continued to shout in the snow outside the city, but Zhao Chen ignored him and led his group into the city.

The refugees who had been pleading outside the city for half a day also followed Zhao Chen into the city one after another. In a short time, with the city gates closing again, only Zhao Yuankai was left alone outside.

"You dare to bully me like this? One day, I will not let you off!" Zhao Yuankai stood in the snow, shivering from the cold, and repeatedly said, clenching his teeth and staring at the closed city gates.

"Are you the county magistrate of Lantian County?" The group entered the city, and Zhao Chen looked at Wang Ning, who was standing humbly, and asked in confusion, "Why are you alone? Where are the others?"

"I am the county magistrate of Lantian County, Wang Ning!" Wang Ning wiped a cold sweat and smiled, quickly answering, "To be honest, the county clerk Liu previously led people to cause a disturbance in the hall and... has now been placed under house arrest by County Magistrate Zhao!"

With Zhao Yuankai still suffering outside the city, who would dare to provoke the person in front of them? If they were sent outside to join Zhao Yuankai, it would be a disaster.

"Causing a disturbance?" Zhao Chen, who was walking forward, suddenly stopped and looked at Wang Ning suspiciously.

"Exactly!" Wang Ning nodded quickly and carefully told Zhao Chen about what happened in the county hall. Hearing Wang Ning's account, Zhao Chen laughed coldly in anger.

It turned out that before Zhao Chen and his group arrived, the county clerk and several scholars, seeing the people gathered at the city gates, came to the county hall to request that Zhao Yuankai let the people in.

As expected, Zhao Yuankai not only refused to let the people in but also locked up the county clerk and others who came to plead for the people.

"Sir Wei, does such a person deserve to be a court official?" With nowhere to vent his anger, Zhao Chen turned to Wei Hui, who was standing dumbfounded, and asked coldly.

"Wei didn't expect this person to be so deranged!" Wei Hui's face was also green with anger. He had somewhat understood Zhao Yuankai's refusal to let so many people in.

After all, so many people entering the city at once would cause a series of problems. But now, hearing Wang Ning say that Zhao Yuankai had locked up the county clerk and others who were pleading for the people, any remaining understanding vanished.

"Where are the county clerk and others now?" Zhao Chen looked at Wang Ning with a cold expression and asked.

Actually, this Wang Ning was not a good person either, and he was in cahoots with Zhao Yuankai. He might have been involved in locking up the county clerk and others.

"The county clerk is locked in the back hall of the county hall!" When Wang Ning met Zhao Chen's cold gaze, his heart skipped a beat, not understanding why Zhao Chen's attitude toward him had suddenly changed. However, he still obediently answered, "A... and a few others are locked in the county hall's prison!"

"Perfect!" Hearing this, Zhao Chen immediately spurred his horse and turned to Wei Hui and the others, saying, "Let's go to the county hall first and warm up!"

The group then headed to the county hall. At the gate, Zhao Chen, with Qin Ming's help, dismounted. He was too heavily dressed to get off the horse himself without rolling off.

The two hundred soldiers who came with them were accommodated elsewhere by Wang Ning. Only Zhao Chen, Wei Hui, and Qin Ming followed into the county hall. They directly passed through the main hall and entered the second hall. However, when they entered the second hall, they were stunned by the scene.

In the second hall, several fire basins were set up, with the charcoal burning brightly, making the entire hall warm and cozy. Along the central fire basins, several low tables were placed, each with a small stove, and on each stove was a sand pot.

At that moment, the sand pots were bubbling, emitting a fragrant aroma of meat. On the other side, several beautiful maids were kneeling, each with a rosy face and light clothing.

What's going on? Zhao Chen looked at Wei Hui in confusion. Wei Hui's face twitched, and Zhao Chen then looked at Wang Ning, who was smiling obsequiously with a despicable expression.

Thinking about Zhao Yuankai's usual behavior and Wang Ning's despicable expression, Zhao Chen suddenly understood. It seemed that this second hall was where Zhao Yuankai had prepared a welcome banquet for them!

"Sir Wei, why don't you accept County Magistrate Zhao's hospitality tonight? Take those two maids back to your room?" Encountering such a disgusting situation, Zhao Chen decided not to let Wei Hui off. He turned to Wei Hui, whose face was still twitching, and said seriously.

Hearing this, Wei Hui coldly snorted and ignored Zhao Chen, angrily sitting behind a low table, grabbing the chopsticks, and eating a piece of hot lamb from the sand pot.

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