"Boom... boom... boom..."
"What is happening?"
Last night, Zhou Fugui told Xiao Yunu stories until late, finally coaxing her to smile through her tears, comforting her and making her forget her terrifying and sad past. She finally fell asleep peacefully. But early this morning, a drum sound outside the county office startled Zhou Fugui awake. He first removed Xiao Yunu, who was clinging to him like an octopus, and carefully placed her on the bed.
Xiao Yunu was still sleeping soundly, a slight smile on her lips. He wondered what happy dream she was having, as a few drops of saliva glistened at the corner of her mouth.
After covering Xiao Yunu with a quilt, Zhou Fugui put on a cloth robe, donned his armor, and walked out, sword in hand, asking the question.
Suining County was not a place to linger, so Zhou Fugui planned to leave today and rendezvous with the main body of the Yan army in Xuzhou.
In the "Battle of Niuzhu," the Yan army suffered a crushing defeat, scattering for a thousand li. It was only when Yan's Left Virtuous King, Murong Bole, personally led the elite Yan cavalry to counterattack the Xia army and achieved several victories that they managed to stabilize their position in Xuzhou, Yuzhou, and Yingchuan. The Yan and Xia armies were now in a stalemate in these regions, with neither side able to gain a decisive advantage.
The commander of the Xia army, Zhang Huchen, was a veteran general, well aware of the principle of not pursuing a cornered enemy. Furthermore, the further north they went, the more passive the Xia army became. The reason was obvious: the Yan army's cavalry advantage.
The further north they went, the flatter the terrain became, making it more conducive to cavalry warfare.
The two soldiers of the White Tiger Camp outside the door exchanged glances, not knowing what had happened.
"Camp Commander... Camp Commander..."
Just then, Li Qing, the Recorder of the White Tiger Camp, rushed over, shouting from a distance.
"Keep your voice down, you scoundrel," Zhou Fugui said to Li Qing, gesturing towards the room.
"Oh, oh..." Li Qing quickly lowered his voice and said, "Camp Commander, someone is beating the drum outside the county office."
"Beating the drum? What drum? Why beat the drum? Has the Xia army attacked?" Zhou Fugui asked in a low voice, surprised.
"What Xia army? Haven't seen hide nor hair of them," Li Qing shook his head and said, "It's the Drum of Grievance. A civilian wants to file a complaint."
"Drum of Grievance? Filing a complaint?" Zhou Fugui said to Li Qing with a wry smile, "Send them away. Really, what's there to complain about?"
"Oh, as you command." Li Qing nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Zhou Fugui called out to Li Qing, seeing him leave. "I haven't finished speaking, why are you in such a hurry?"
"Heh heh, Camp Commander, please give your orders," Li Qing smiled.
"Order all departments to pack up and prepare to head to Xuzhou," Zhou Fugui commanded. "And there's another important matter for you to handle, Li Qing."
"Camp Commander, what is it?" Li Qing asked.
"Come closer," Zhou Fugui said, leaning in and whispering a few words into Li Qing's ear.
"This... isn't this inappropriate?" Li Qing asked hesitantly after listening.
"What's inappropriate about it?" Zhou Fugui shot Li Qing a glance. "This is called taking from the people and using for the people. We might as well make a little fortune, hehe."
"Camp Commander, you truly are..." Li Qing chuckled.
"Truly what? Truly cunning? Let me tell you, in this chaotic world, if you're not cunning, you can't survive. Enough nonsense, go get it done." Zhou Fugui said.
"Li Qing understands," Li Qing replied and turned to leave again.
"Slow down!" Zhou Fugui called out to Li Qing once more.
"Oh, my dear Camp Commander, can you give all your instructions at once?" Li Qing was speechless. He had turned around twice already and was feeling rather dizzy.
"Hahaha!" Zhou Fugui couldn't help but slap Li Qing and laugh. "It's you who's in such a hurry, like your house is on fire, and you blame me? I have nothing else to do right now, why don't I hold court and adjudicate cases? We've eaten and drunk our fill in Suining County, so we should do something for the people of Suining County. I'll be the county magistrate today and dispense justice for the people."
Zhou Fugui instructed Li Qing to relay the orders and make arrangements, and since he had nothing else to do, he decided to have a taste of being a county magistrate...
"Camp Commander, you... you're serious?" Li Qing couldn't believe his ears. Zhou Fugui actually wanted to do such a preposterous thing?
Li Qing and the others greatly admired Zhou Fugui for his leadership in battle, but holding court and adjudicating cases, and suppressing the wicked, were not things one could do just because one wanted to.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
"Boom... boom... boom..."
"Ascend the court!"
"Majesty..."
After a series of drumbeats, a clerk from Suining County shouted, "Ascend the court!" The yamen runners of the county office struck the ground with their staves, muttering, "Majesty."
General Zhou was holding court to adjudicate cases, so the "majesty" of the court had to be fully displayed, of course.
Naturally, the scribes and yamen runners in the court were forced to comply. There were also many Hu soldiers in the county office's main hall, standing with their sabers drawn, their eyes wide like copper bells, glaring menacingly. This was no laughing matter; if they angered them and faced their blades, it wouldn't be pleasant at all.
Therefore, the Hu barbarian army could do whatever Zhou Fugui wished to amuse himself. These clerks of Suining County could only humor him...
The real county magistrate of Suining County, Wu Tiangui, was not wearing his scholar's robe and standing in the hall at this moment, but was also humorously accompanying Zhou Fugui.
Wu Tiangui's black official robe of the seventh rank was already stripped off by Zhou Fugui and put on himself...
"Your Honor, injustice!"
"Hmm? Old Master Wu, what is this...?"
After ascending the court, more than a dozen people were dragged in from outside, men and women. Upon seeing Wu Tiangui of Suining County in a scholar's robe standing in the hall, and no one near the magistrate's desk, they asked in great surprise.
Wu Tiangui could only offer a wry smile.
"Are you looking for this official?" At this moment, a person walked out from the rear hall. He was clad in armor but wore a black official robe of the seventh rank, looking rather plump. He asked with a smile at the group of complainants.
"What grievance do you have? Speak quickly," Zhou Fugui then walked to the low desk and sat down, resting his hand on the desk, asking. He was curious as to who had the audacity to beat the drum to file a complaint.
The three thousand troops of the White Tiger Camp had already captured the city of Suining County. At this moment, someone in Suining County was coming to beat the drum to file a complaint? Zhou Fugui found it utterly baffling.
Perhaps it was because the White Tiger Camp had not harmed the common people in the slightest? Zhou Fugui mused.
"Ah? We have no grievances, we apologize for the disturbance, Your Honor. We shall take our leave." One man, nearly forty years old, upon seeing a group of Hu soldiers and Zhou Fugui, who was half-Hu and half-Han, was so terrified that he blurted out these words and prepared to flee.
"Slap!" Zhou Fugui was furious. He slammed the court gavel heavily on the desk and shouted, "You come when you please and leave when you please? What do you think this place is? In this solemn hall, how can you treat it as a game?"
"Hiss!"
"Majesty..."
A number of White Tiger Camp soldiers half-drew their sabers and grunted, "Majesty."
"Ah? Your Honor, spare my life!" The group of litigants immediately knelt on the ground in fear, begging for mercy.
"Heh heh..." Zhou Fugui leaned on the desk, looking at them with a smile. "What use would this general... uh... this official have for your lives? This general is holding court to adjudicate cases, to bring justice to the people. I am known as the second 'Di Renjie'. Do you understand? Who has a grievance, and why do they have a grievance? Tell me."
"My surname is Bi, my given name is Shichang. I am from Guanshan Town, and it is I who has a grievance," the man nearing forty, named Bi Shichang, who had no idea who Di Renjie was, replied under the pressure from Zhou Fugui and the others.
It was too frightening. It seemed like they had no choice but to file a grievance today, the group of complainants thought to themselves.
"It's not him, Your Honor. My surname is Bi, my given name is Shi'en. It is I who have a grievance..." Before Zhou Fugui could speak, a man a few years younger than Bi Shichang said angrily.
"Slap!" Zhou Fugui slammed the gavel again and asked, "Who exactly has a grievance? Are you two brothers?"
"He and I are blood brothers, and it is I who have a grievance!" Bi Shichang pointed to himself and replied.
"He is not my elder brother, Your Honor, injustice!" Bi Shi'en said angrily.
"Oh? You both have grievances? You speak first," Zhou Fugui said, pointing to Bi Shi'en. Two blood brothers coming to court, hostile to each other like sworn enemies, greatly piqued Zhou Fugui's curiosity and increased his interest in adjudicating the case.
"Your Honor..." Bi Shi'en bowed his head and said, "Three years ago, my wife and my... elder sister-in-law became pregnant at the same time. After ten months of gestation, my wife gave birth to a big, healthy baby boy, while my elder sister-in-law gave birth to a stillborn. My elder sister-in-law and her husband, both nearing forty, finally had an heir, only for it to be stillborn. They were truly pitiful. But despite their pity, they came to snatch my child, claiming that my child was theirs. How preposterous! It's utterly detestable..."
"Ruffian!" Bi Shichang exclaimed angrily, "You spew nonsense from your mouth, deceiving the righteous official! Oh, righteous official, the child was clearly given birth by my wife. We showed them the child after my wife gave birth, and they unreasonably claimed it was theirs? Is there any justice in this world? It infuriates me!"
"Both sides present conflicting accounts, and the dispute has dragged on for three years," Wu Tiangui, the actual county magistrate of Suining County, couldn't help but sigh.
Three years and still no judgment, and he has the nerve to sigh here? Zhou Fugui glanced at Wu Tiangui, thinking, perhaps this old corrupt official deliberately delayed the case to extort more benefits?
Bi Shichang and Bi Shi'en were wealthy individuals from Guanshan Town.
"Hahahaha!" Zhou Fugui let out a hearty laugh after they finished speaking and said, "This case is not difficult to judge. Why has it dragged on for three years? The child must be grown by now, right? Just bring the child over and see who he looks like. Isn't that enough?"
Everyone present, including dozens of White Tiger Camp soldiers, looked at him with disdain...
Bi Shichang and Bi Shi'en were blood brothers, so the child could resemble either of them. This method would be entirely unable to resolve the case. Zhou Fugui's solution was too clumsy...