Chapter 20: A Mixture of Favor and Severity

Twelve thousand!

Liang Xiao nodded slightly, casting his gaze over the dense crowd of commoners gathered before him.

Twelve thousand—that was likely still a conservative estimate.

By the time Liang Xiao arrived at the county office, Cao Chen had already been waiting for some time, having detained Yuan Bailong’s entire family.

"Magistrate! There are twenty-one members of Yuan Bailong’s family and seventy-eight household servants. My men and I have captured them all, ninety-nine in total! Yuan Bailong’s estate has been sealed off; we await your command to confiscate it!"

Liang Xiao looked toward Liang Pin.

Liang Pin gave a thumbs-up and praised, "Magistrate Cao is indeed highly efficient!"

Cao Chen exhaled in relief, casting a grateful glance at Liang Pin. He had initially feared that this new Left County Commandant would throw his weight around and make things difficult for him. He had not expected the man to merely supervise and provide assistance, let alone speak well of him before Liang Xiao, which would surely help him mitigate his past offenses.

"Well done!" After praising him, Liang Xiao glanced at the bound members of the Yuan family and said, "Continue with the confiscation of their assets. Once everything is inventoried, have it all delivered to the county office."

Cao Chen quickly implored, "My Lord, please appoint Magistrate Liang as the primary County Commandant. I would be more than satisfied to serve as his deputy or even a common guard..."

Liang Xiao waved a hand, saying, "Under our current administrative system, the position of County Commandant is only divided into Left and Right, not primary and deputy. Since you are fulfilling your duties, there is no need for dismissal. With Liang Pin and the others assisting you, just proceed with confidence. Even if the sky falls, I will hold it up for you!"

Unable to argue, Cao Chen bowed in gratitude and went back to assist Liang Pin in seizing Yuan Bailong’s assets.

Led by Registrar Wang, Liang Xiao entered the county office and sat upon the magistrate’s throne, an aura of authority radiating from him without the need for anger.

"Yuan Bailong is dead, and his ways are obsolete. From this moment on, I am here by the decree of His Majesty to govern Pei County with full authority! Everyone present must report the situation truthfully. If there is even the slightest concealment, do not blame me if my sword shows no mercy."

By the decree of the Emperor?

The hearts of those present tightened, and they became submissive.

Seeing them yield, Zhuo Zifang smiled with satisfaction. The Emperor’s name was truly effective! In truth, while Liang Xiao held absolute authority over Pei County, Emperor Wu had only provided a perfunctory approval of his appointment documents.

"Registrar Wang, excluding the unregistered households, what is the true population of Pei County?"

Liang Xiao looked first at the Registrar. As the highest official under the Magistrate and the County Assistant, the Registrar held the most information.

Registrar Wang, beads of sweat on his forehead, retrieved the household register from the table beside him. He knelt before the dais, terrified that he would be the next one targeted, and dared not withhold the truth.

"Magistrate, during the time Yuan Bailong held power, he did indeed conceal the population of Pei County. The number reported to the Imperial Court was only seventy thousand, but the true population... is one hundred and forty thousand, approximately twenty-eight thousand households!"

One hundred and forty thousand!

Zhuo Zifang was both surprised and delighted. It exceeded his own estimates!

Liang Xiao’s brow furrowed, then smoothed out. Including the unregistered households, the population of Pei County likely exceeded one hundred and fifty thousand. Such a large population was not necessarily a burden; it meant that Pei County held tremendous potential, including a vast source for military recruitment.

"The current active staff in Pei County consists of thirty-two officials, one hundred and twenty various yamen runners, and fifteen hundred active garrison troops. These personnel were originally under the direct command of Yuan Bailong..."

"The annual tax revenue of Pei County reported to the court is equivalent to twenty-five thousand taels of silver. But with Yuan Bailong’s secret manipulations and extortion, the actual amount should exceed fifty thousand taels!"

"The current treasury of Pei County holds only... only five hundred taels of silver, and fifteen thousand shi of grain..."

Registrar Wang was already drenched in sweat, not daring to look Liang Xiao in the eye. A massive county of one hundred and forty thousand people, yet the treasury held only five hundred taels, and with the autumn harvest just finished, only fifteen thousand shi of grain? It was inexcusable!

As expected, Liang Xiao’s face darkened immediately.

"Did Yuan Bailong embezzle it all?"

Seeing the others present shifting their eyes, Liang Xiao understood everything. He slammed the gavel and declared on the spot:

"If there are other accomplices present, turn in the stolen goods immediately to atone for your crimes. As long as you have not been cruel to the commoners, assaulted women, or wantonly taken lives, I can be lenient and temporarily waive your punishment. These recovered funds will be deposited into the treasury; if you serve faithfully in the future, they may be reissued to you as rewards! As for the expenses spent on wining and dining with Yuan Bailong, I will let those pass."

"The new County Assistant, Zhuo Zifang, is as perceptive as I am. Do not wait for him to investigate thoroughly, or it will be too late to repent!"

Having received Liang Xiao’s promise, the officials finally dared to look up, speaking one after another.

"I received about one hundred and fifty taels of 'reward money' from Yuan Bailong; I will sell my property to return it..." "I took twenty taels in kickbacks from Yuan Bailong over time..."

Faced with Liang Xiao’s majesty, they began to confess one by one.

Registrar Wang presented another ledger and explained, "This is the money Yuan Bailong privately distributed to everyone over the past few years. It was recorded in secret. Please, Magistrate, have a look..."

Liang Xiao took the ledger, flipped through ten pages, and handed it to Zhuo Zifang.

"About five thousand taels. Zifang, see if that matches."

Zhuo Zifang flipped through it casually and nodded solemnly, "My Lord, it is indeed about five thousand taels!"

Upon hearing this, Registrar Wang looked at the two of them, a storm of shock raging in his heart. This ledger was highly confidential; besides him and Yuan Bailong’s family, no one else should have known it existed. Yet, these two had only glanced at it for a moment and knew the total was around five thousand taels!

Was this a case of blind luck, or... had two monsters who could read ten lines at a glance—or even possessed photographic memory—arrived?

At that moment, Registrar Wang was filled with terror. Daring not to conceal anything further, he kowtowed repeatedly.

"My Lords, please be merciful! There are many vigilantes in Pei County, and I feared inciting public anger and losing my head, so in total, I only took one hundred and fifty taels from Yuan Bailong. Other than that, I have absolutely committed no crimes."

The other officials also kowtowed to express their positions.

"The lackeys who helped Yuan Bailong oppress the people were mostly the servants from his own estate; we dared not participate!"

Liang Xiao said, "You need not worry; I will never break my word."

"Thank you, Magistrate!" The men wiped the sweat from their brows.

Watching the awe-struck crowd, Zhuo Zifang finally revealed a smile. By sentencing Yuan Bailong to death in public, Liang Xiao had used a mix of grace and severity to temporarily cow them. These people might still be hiding things, but with the various records in the county office, the reality could not be too far off from their confessions. Some of the personnel in ordinary positions could still be retained.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves. From this moment on, all officials above the rank of yamen runner will be interviewed and vetted by the County Assistant. If anyone fails to qualify, they will be demoted to yamen runners and await further disposition!"

After rising and issuing his orders, Liang Xiao led Ning Yan and the other imperial guards out of the main hall to await news from the County Commandant, leaving the Liang estate guards to protect Zhuo Zifang.

Inside the hall, Registrar Wang and the others scrutinized Zhuo Zifang, filled with doubt. The youth before them was about the same age as Liang Xiao, likely not even twenty. To let him decide their futures based on a mere conversation seemed rather like child's play.

"The Registrar may remain for now. As for the other officials, we shall begin vetting from the Merit Officer... Official Huang, what is the status of the county office's major work schedule for this year, what is the current state of the organization, and what are the future plans? Please, speak."

As soon as Zhuo Zifang spoke, everyone felt a shiver run down their spines!

This man was clearly prepared, and he was deeply versed in county affairs. Any attempt to deceive him would be nothing more than a fool's dream...

In the courtyard, Liang Xiao waited silently with a stern expression.

Two quarters of an hour later, Cao Chen and his men followed Liang Pin through the gates. They knelt to report, trembling with excitement.

"Magistrate! After searching Yuan Bailong’s residence, we have recovered... we recovered fifteen thousand taels in silver ingots, fifteen thousand taels in silver notes, five thousand taels in loose silver, one thousand taels of gold, one hundred thousand copper coins, twenty thousand mu of farmland, twenty thousand shi of grain, and ten luxury mansions!!"