Chapter 117

  After hearing Tang Yin's words, Wang Meng finally came to his senses a little. He stared at Tang Yin with wide eyes and said in a trembling and weak voice: "Sir, I was wrong, sir, spare my life..."

  "Too late!" Tang Yin didn't even bother to give him a glance, turned around and walked away while saying: "Behead!"

  He had barely finished speaking when Cheng Jin drew his knife and aimed at Wang Meng's neck, slashing down viciously.

  Plop! With a flash of cold light, Wang Meng's big head rolled off his shoulders and fell to the ground. Cheng Jin picked it up and followed Tang Yan out of the bedroom, leaving behind only the woman's continuous shrill cries.

  When he went outside, Tang Yin looked back at Cheng Jin, the more he looked, the more he admired and liked him. He thought that Cheng Jin was calm, thorough in his work, and had a good appearance, which made him a rare talent.

  If he didn't take Cheng Jin and Dark Arrow seriously at first, now he has no choice but to look at them in a new light.

  At this time, he was worried about the shortage of silver in the treasury due to the expansion of the army and the purchase of war horses. The hundreds of millions of taels of white silver obtained from Wang Meng's house can be said to have solved the urgent need. Tang Yin felt angry and joyful at the same time, and he said to Cheng Jin: "Cheng Jin, you have made a great contribution this time, what reward do you want?"

  "We work for adults, and our subordinates don't seek rewards!" Cheng Jin said with a bow, his expression serious.

  Tang Yin smiled and nodded, saying: "Rewarding achievements and punishing mistakes is the way of heaven. Each of you will be credited with a major achievement and rewarded with 2,000 taels of silver." After a pause, he continued: "Cheng Jin, you have done well in this matter. Continue to do so in the future, strictly investigating corrupt officials within the county who abuse their power. For now, investigate first and report later. If the evidence is solid, officials below the city master can be executed first and reported later!"

  Investigating Wang Meng's case, more than 10 million taels of white silver were obtained, which allowed Tang Yin to taste the sweetness and would not stop at this point. Since Wang Meng was like this, it seemed that there were still corrupt officials in the county who broke the law for personal gain. He wanted to continue investigating secretly, first to rectify the style of the county officials, second to fill up the silver treasury, achieving two goals with one move.

  However, the power he gave to Cheng Jin was already quite large. The prior review and subsequent report of officials were enough to intimidate people, while the beheading of officials below the city master before reporting was even more intimidating. The case of Wang Meng not only made the name of Dark Arrow resound in Pingyuan County, but also made all the officials in the county retreat three houses, respecting and keeping a distance from him.

  Tang Yin's re-employment of Cheng Jin naturally made the latter more diligent, and the fact that the dark cultivators controlled the actual power in Pingyuan County was also widely spread, attracting more dark cultivators to come and join them. In addition to the group of friends brought by Cheng Jin himself, within a few days, the members of Dark Arrow had expanded to over thirty people.

  Although the cultivation of each member is uneven, they are all dark spiritual cultivators.

  Due to the increasing number of people, Cheng Jin set up three teams in Anjian for easier management. Those with higher cultivation levels joined the first team, those who were inferior joined the third team, and those who were neither high nor low joined the second team. To save expenses, members of the first team received a thousand husband's salary, members of the second team received a large team leader's salary, and members of the third team received a small team leader's salary.

  In addition, he also customized uniforms and armor for the Dark Arrow members. The Dark Arrow members all wore black cloth shirts inside, with black leather armor outside, no helmet on their heads, a black cloak on their backs, and a black leather scabbard with a dagger at their waist. From then on, the Dark Arrow organization under Tang Yin's command was basically formed, and later there were only increases in members, but no major changes.

  From Wang Meng's house, they confiscated over a million taels of white silver, which greatly boosted Tang Yin's confidence. He immediately ordered Shangguan Yuange to find Zhao Ju, a horse merchant from Ma Guo, and contracted an additional 3,000 war horses at the price of 80 taels per horse. Adding this to the previous order of 1,000 horses, they now had a total of 4,000 horses. Roughly calculated, these many war horses would require over 300,000 taels of silver.

  Tang Yin suddenly bought so many war horses, which made Zhao Ju extremely happy and repeatedly promised to deliver them within half a month. He didn't stay in Heng City for long and left with his servants for the Mo State on the same day to prepare the horses.

  After sending Zhao Ju away, Tang Yin and Shangguan Yuanji went to the county's silver warehouse. Looking at the antiques, brocades, and fabrics seized from Wang Meng's house, Tang Yin stroked his chin and said, "If we sell all these things, I think we can get a lot of silver in return!"

  Tang Yan used to be unconcerned about money, but now it's different. As soon as he hears the word "money", his eyes light up. It's not that he has become greedy, but rather he can better appreciate the importance of money in these chaotic times. Expanding the army, purchasing supplies, buying military horses and fodder, issuing military pay, compensating fallen and injured generals... which one doesn't require money? Just waiting for the meager military pay and supplies from the county would lead to the 80,000 soldiers of the Pingyuan Army starving or dying in poverty.

  Shangguan Yuánjí nodded and said: "If we can find a big buyer, these things can almost be sold for over 100,000 taels."

  "A big buyer!" Tang Yin furrowed his brow and muttered to himself: "In my Pingyuan County, where is the big buyer?" As he said this, he suddenly thought of someone - that lovely young girl he met at the teahouse a few nights ago, who claimed to be from the Fan family. And isn't the Fan family the big buyer?

  If he went to ask her to buy these things, he didn't know if she would accept. Thinking about it, Tang Yin shook his head again. He wasn't the kind of person who would take the initiative to ask for help, especially when the other party was a woman, and one who still didn't put him in her eyes.

  Tang Yin suddenly smiled and looked at Shangguan Yuange, saying: "Yuange, aren't you the largest merchant in the county?"

  Shangguan Yuangei let out a wry smile and said, "It used to be, but it definitely isn't now. I've donated all the money that can be donated from my family, if I want to get more money, I'll have to sell our house and land!"

  Upon hearing this, Tang Yin shook his head repeatedly and smiled: "It's not that serious." He knew that since taking office, Shangguan Yuange had contributed a lot of money from his family to fill the county treasury. Even if he needed more money, he couldn't let Shangguan Yuange sell his house and land to such an extent. "We still have over 1 million taels of silver in our hands now, there's no need to rush selling these things for the time being, we'll talk about it later!" Tang Yin patted Shangguan Yuange on the shoulder and walked out of the treasury.

  Tang Yin originally wanted to sell these items to the Fan family, but he was too embarrassed to take the initiative to speak up. What he didn't expect was that the Fan family would take the initiative to come to his door.

  At noon, after Tang Yin had finished his lunch, he was strolling in the backyard of the county government office when his steward, Tang Zhong, came to report that Fan Min had arrived to pay his respects.

  Fan Min? Tang Yin was very unfamiliar with this name and didn't recognize the person. He asked, "Who is she? What's going on?"

  "The young lady didn't state her purpose, but claimed to be the daughter of Fan Ju."

  If it were in the past, Tang Yin wouldn't have known who Fan Ju was either. However, he had heard about the Fan family from Qiu Zhen and also knew that the head of the Fan family was indeed Fan Ju. Fan Ju's daughter? Could this Fan Min be the same woman who spoke recklessly at the teahouse that day? Thinking of this, he calmed down and said to Tang Zhong: "Please invite her over! Let her wait for me in the main hall."

  "Yes! Sir!" Tang Zhong replied and walked away.

  Tang Yin lingered in the backyard for a while before returning to his room, then slowly changed into clean clothes and leisurely went to the main hall to see Fan Min.

  The Fan family wasn't a noble one, but they were business tycoons with vast wealth, rivaling that of a country. In Fengguo, their status was considerable. As the daughter of Fan Juzi, her social standing was naturally high and dignified. Others wouldn't dare to slight her, yet Tang Yin had left her waiting in the main hall for nearly half an hour. How could this young lady from the Fan family feel comfortable about it?

  When Tang Yin arrived, she was sitting in a chair tasting tea, and it was her third cup of tea.

  Seeing Tang Yin, Fan Min put down her teacup, stood up straight and said calmly: "Fan Min, a humble woman, has come to pay respects to Lord Tang!"

  Fan Min didn't know Tang Yan, but had heard rumors about him and had some understanding of his appearance. Today, when they met, Fan Min felt that the rumors were true - Tang Yan was indeed young, with a clear and handsome face, born with a smile on his face. Even when he looked serious, it seemed like he was smiling, making people feel naturally close to him. However, the aura emanating from his body was cold and eerie, giving off an inexplicable intimidating force. Being stared at by him felt like being watched by a wolf that might pounce at any moment. This was something that had not been mentioned in the rumors. Overall, Tang Yan's appearance and inner aura were completely contradictory, making him seem like a paradoxical entity.

  She was sizing up Tang Yin, who was also sizing her up. It was indeed her! The woman from the teahouse who had left him 'eating his words'! Today, Fan Min wore a stunning outfit, and amidst her beauty, she exuded an air of elegance and nobility that made it hard for anyone not to focus their gaze on her. A beautiful and arrogant woman! Tang Yin sneered inwardly, but his face showed no signs of it as he smiled and said: "What wind is blowing today that has blown the young lady from the Fan family to my humble abode?"

  "Thank you for your courtesy, sir!" Fan Min said with a hint of sarcasm: "It's an honor for a humble woman like me that the great sir can spare some time from his busy schedule to see me. I suppose, sir, you must have many important matters to attend to?"

  These two days he was very idle, what kind of business did he have? Tang Yin's old face turned dark red, and he muttered to himself: What a sharp-tongued little girl! He chuckled dryly and said, "It's fine, it's fine! Miss Fan Min has come, I wonder what brings you here?"

  Fan Min's expression turned serious as he got straight to the point and said: "I have something I need your help with, sir."

  "Oh?" Tang Yin waved his hand, gesturing for Fan Min to take a seat. He then sat down in the main seat himself, picked up the teacup beside him and asked with a smile: "Miss Fan Min, please speak!"

  "Adults should have some understanding of our Fan family, right?"

  "Ah! I roughly know one or two things."

  "Our Fan family wants to expand our business to Pingyuan County, including opening restaurants, tea houses, pawnshops and dyeing and weaving workshops within the county. This will not only benefit the prosperity of Pingyuan County but also increase your achievements, sir. I think you should be welcoming this, shouldn't you?" Fan Min asked politely on the surface.

  "Of course!" Tang Yin hadn't grasped her intention yet, but nodded in response while thinking: "Of course, welcome."

  "But, sir, you also know that Pingyuan County is not very peaceful. It's often invaded by external enemies, and the industries are deserted, with a small population. If our Fan family sets up so many shops in Pingyuan County and invests so much money, it's likely to be difficult to make a profit!"

  "You mean..."

  "I hope the adults can reduce our Fan family's business tax by 70%. Only then will our investment not suffer too much of a loss. I don't think you'll disagree, right?" Fan Min said with a smile, leaning forward and resting her hands on the armrests. She spoke with confidence and an air of condescension. The Shangguan brothers standing behind Tang Yin almost turned up their noses in disgust.