Pinggu County has been built since the Western Han Dynasty, with a history of over 1,500 years. Although it was renamed many times in between, it was never abolished. After the Northern Yuan court withdrew from Dadu, our dynasty built the Great Wall in the north, and Pinggu County became an important military town, connecting Huangsongyu to General Shi's Pass in the north, and extending to Sanhe County in the south. It also became the garrison of the Zhongjunwei of Yingzhou.

  At this moment, in the back hall of Pinggu County Government, Zhao Chuhai, the county magistrate of Pinggu, and his teacher also received the news that the bandit-suppressing army was about to arrive.

  This Zhao Chuhai is nearly forty years old, with a square and dignified face, big eyes that are full of spirit, and a long mustache under his chin that floats in the wind. At first glance, this person seems to be a straightforward and honest individual, but who knows that hidden beneath this face is an extremely wicked heart.

  Nowadays, the emperor has changed the official system since last year, and increased the salary of officials at all levels. For example, in a superior county like Pinggu County, Zhao Chuhai was a sixth-rank county magistrate, and his annual rice allowance rose from 90 dan to 110 dan. However, this still cannot satisfy Zhao Chuhai's greedy appetite.

  Embezzlement and bribery, forced buying and selling, private deduction of grain subsidies, etc., all these shameful things were done since he took office.

  The reason why they forced the sale was to force the mountain stronghold people to rebel, his wife was a Shen from Zhouzhuang, but a married-out daughter is like spilled water, and with the continuous storms in Zhouzhuang these years, what energy do they have left to care about how a branch woman who married far away in the north lives

  Zhao Chuhai relied on the Shen family's reputation to open Bao Yuan Restaurant, with his wife Zhao Shenxiang appearing to manage it on the surface, but in reality he was secretly controlling it. Under the guise of the Shen family name, they intimidated the wealthy and powerful families in Pinggu County, thinking that no one would investigate them in Songjiang Prefecture.

  Zhao Chuhai has been corrupt and lawless for many years, causing widespread discontent among the people of Pinggu County. Even Yang Tingduo, a commander of the Zhongtun Guard in Yingzhou, had heard rumors about it. However, since they belonged to different jurisdictions, and given the many changes that had taken place at the border in recent years, Yang Tingduo was reluctant to get involved in more trouble and did not investigate further. As long as Zhao Chuhai did not cause him any trouble, he would turn a blind eye. But if Zhao Chuhai thought he could use Yang Tingduo's power to eliminate his hidden enemies, that would be a foolish dream.

  Zhao Chuhai's teacher was a scholar who had fallen on hard times, recruited by him not long after he took office. This teacher's surname was Zhang, and his full name is unknown to outsiders, so others all called him Teacher Zhang.

  All these years, he has done many shady things for Zhao Chuhai, such as hiring thugs to kill people and forcibly occupying land, all of which were handled by this steward. He can be said to be Zhao Chuhai's right-hand man, knowing all the secrets big and small of Zhao Chuhai.

  If it weren't for Zhang Shiyeye being cautious and careful over the years, not making any mistakes, plus having no family or home to rely on and having to depend on Zhao Chuhai for survival, otherwise he would have been killed by Zhao Chuhai long ago for knowing so much.

  At this time, Zhang Shiyé stroked his small mustache and said: "Sir, do you think the land that Lao Wang's family newly occupied outside the city last month is now falling into contract or should we wait a bit longer."

  "Wait a minute, let's put those things on hold for now. The bandit-suppressing army in Beiping City will arrive soon, and I don't want anything to go wrong at this critical moment. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, yes, yes, Xiao understands. Let's just let the subordinates be at ease for now. However, this group of bandits is only here to suppress bandits, can they still manage the governance of Pinggu County?"

  "They can't be controlled, but the King of Yan can. If some reckless person runs to the military camp and talks nonsense, even if their leader, the thousand households, doesn't investigate, the matter will still spread from my Pinggu County. What if it accidentally slips into the ears of the King of Yan? Can our lives be saved?"

  "Zhang Shifu was frightened and hastily said: 'I'll go and arrange for someone to keep watch outside the camp of the expeditionary force against bandits. If they see any common people from the county approaching, they will be stopped and detained immediately.'"

  Zhao Chuhai nodded in approval

  "You're doing a good job, but you must keep it secret and make sure no one in the military camp finds out. If they mistakenly think he's spying on the camp, even the official won't be able to protect him."

  "That's for sure, these young rascals under my command are quite clever and won't get caught, even if they do slip up and get caught, they won't say anything. I've already sent their families some hush money, so if they want their families to live a stable life, they'll definitely keep their mouths shut."

  "If that's the case, then it's for the best. But what I'm most worried about right now is those mountain bandits. Although they accepted the military rations this time, by rights, the bandit-suppressing army should be able to handle them easily. However, it's not that one isn't afraid of ten thousand, but rather that one fears the possibility of something unexpected happening. If they were to stir up any trouble, both of us would be finished."

  "No way, you go find Zhu Laojiu now and tell him we'll meet at our usual place."

  Zhang Shifu hastily left the county government office and rushed to a small alley in the city. This alley was gloomy and dark, and ordinary people would not dare to enter it. Only some rascals and scoundrels would come and go from this place. It was precisely because of this that this place was also the gray area of Pinggu County, where gambling, which was strictly prohibited by the Ming Dynasty law, was rampant. The people of Pinggu County called this place "Old Mouse Alley", and Zhu Laojiu was the person in charge of this alley.

  "Master Zhang, how come you have time to visit our humble place? Aren't you afraid of getting some bad luck by coming in here?" a burly man with a gloating face sneered.

  "Master Jiu, please don't tease me. I'm not some big shot, I'm just a small clerk under the county magistrate's command. How can I be compared to you? The county magistrate has asked me to come and find you, Master Jiu, to discuss something with you. Would you like to go with me?"

  "Hmm. Second Brother, you keep an eye on things here, I'll be right back." Ninth Master instructed a finely dressed man.

  Zhang Shifu hastily led the way forward, extremely flattering and fawning.

  As for Zhu Laojiu, his original name was not like this, and there is another reason why he changed his name. His ancestors had settled in Pinggu County for seven generations, and they were originally a decent farming family. However, things changed when it came to his father's generation. His father was originally a simple and honest farmer, but accidentally got into gambling and became addicted to it, unable to quit.

  The few acres of thin fields at home were also lost by his father, and his grandmother was so angry that she died. His mother was even driven to hang herself by the debtors, and in the year he turned 16, his father lost all his money again and came home to sleep. That night, he took the family's axe and ended his father's life.

  After that, he hid in the mountains near Pinggu County to avoid being caught by the government. After more than a decade, after the change of dynasty, the case of the previous dynasty was no longer pursued, and he took advantage of the situation to return to the county town, where he openly killed the usurer who had driven his mother to death in broad daylight.

  This time he killed someone and couldn't run away, the Pinggu County catcher was very bad and caught him. This year coincided with Zhao Chuhai's new appointment as an official, and when dealing with death row prisoners after autumn, he noticed him. After inquiring about his case files from the previous dynasty, he finally learned about his life experience. At this time, Zhao Chuhai needed someone like him.

  So the two made a deal, Zhao Chuhai would find someone to replace him among the death row inmates at the same time, and he would change his name to Zhu Jiu and disfigure himself by carving three knives on his face.

  After that, he died and Zhu Jiu lived. With the support of Zhao Chuhai, Zhu Laojiu quickly settled the underground gang forces in Pinggu County, and then started a gambling business in Laoshu Lane. In secret, he replaced Zhao Chuhai to kill some troublesome people, and over the years, he had at least 20-30 lives on his hands. He became more and more unpredictable, and people in the underworld respected him and called him "Nine Master", but he added an old character to his own name.

  Every time timid Zhang Shiyeye saw him, he would break out in a cold sweat. After all, this was a ruthless man who even dared to kill his own father...

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