Liuhe Town is not big, but it has a long history. It existed in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and is located in the Wuyue territory. Liuhe Town got its name because it is located on the bank of Liuhe River. Liuhe River turns a corner here and embraces Liuhe Town in a semicircular shape. The soothing and sweet river water gave birth to Liuhe Town, which is like a dazzling pearl in the south of the Yangtze River.
That night.
The Liu River is rippling with green waves, and a double-decker pleasure boat with elegant and luxurious decoration is floating on the river.
There were bursts of soft music from the pleasure boat, and the aroma of wine and meat wafted in the wind. Two greedy wild dogs on the river bank drooled and followed the aroma, running after the pleasure boat tirelessly.
Two pretty female musicians were playing the piano in the houseboat, playing popular songs.
There were three banquet tables in the house, and each table was filled with dishes of delicacies from land and sea and jars of fine wine.
County Magistrate Zhang, Chief Clerk Yao, Dianshi Li and others were sitting at the middle table. The clerks from the six departments of the county office who were dismissed by Zhu Ping'an today were sitting at a table around the three of them. The other two tables were also mostly filled with clerks who were dismissed today.
"Zhang County Magistrate, Yao Zhubu, Li Dianshi, you have to help us. Zhu Ping'an has gone too far and even dismissed all of us. Since ancient times, I have never heard of a county magistrate dismissing all the clerks in the county office. Zhu Ping'an is so ruthless that he is willing to risk the wrath of the world!"
"That's right. Zhu Ping'an has torn his face off with us. He wants to go against Quan Jingnan."
"At that time, we even brought you out, Master Zhang, but Zhu Ping'an didn't give us any face. Master Zhang, Master Yao, Master Li, Zhu Ping'an didn't take you seriously at all. We are not only his subordinates, but also your subordinates, Master Zhang. He dismissed all of us without even asking for your opinions. He is slapping you three masters in the face."
"Master Zhang, we offended that little thief Zhu Ping'an because of you. You can't just sit there and watch. I have a 70-year-old mother and a one-year-old son. My whole family is waiting for me to support them..."
"Master Zhang, Zhu Ping'an dismissed us today, and tomorrow it might be you, Master Zhang, who will be dismissed."
A group of dismissed clerks ran all the way from Jingnan County to Liuhe Town and found Zhang Xiancheng, Yao Zhubu and Li Dianshi. They were like children who had been beaten and found their parents, as if they had found their backbone. Their voices trembled with grievance, their eyes turned red, their noses felt sore, and they started to complain with tears in their eyes.
Yao Zhubu sat at the table, listening attentively to the complaints of the clerks, without a trace of emotion on his face.
"That's enough, that's enough. You are all so old, you can cry even more than Xiao Taohong in Yichun Tower. We are officials appointed by the emperor. Zhu Ping'an wants to dismiss us, but he doesn't have the qualifications!"
Li Dianshi was impatient to listen to the complaints of these clerks. Like a grudge woman, he tore off a wing of the roast chicken, bit it in his mouth, and said impatiently while chewing it. What do you mean by dismissing you today, it will be our turn tomorrow? We are officials appointed by the court, how can you be the same as us! He, Zhu Ping'an, can dismiss you, but he has no power to dismiss us!
"I already know about this. Zhu Ping'an's move was truly unexpected. Don't worry, we will take care of it for you."
County Magistrate Zhang nodded to the clerks with a gloomy face. He had been running the county for decades and had many informants. As soon as the clerks were dismissed, someone came to inform him of the news.
Zhu Ping'an actually dared to dismiss all the clerks in the county office? !
When County Magistrate Zhang heard the news, he was extremely surprised and could not believe that Zhu Ping'an dared to risk the world's disapproval and dismiss all the clerks. This kind of thing has never been heard of in ancient and modern times.
I never expected that Zhu Ping'an, a young man and a poor scholar, could be so bold!
"Master Zhang, Zhu Ping'an has been harboring evil intentions for a long time. He has already found a replacement. Today, we were dismissed and the person who replaced us came right after. I have seen through this little thief Zhu Ping'an. He is full of bad intentions. As soon as he entered Jingnan, he was plotting against us. When we signed in for work, we were late and left early every day. Zhu Ping'an just reminded us to be on time in the future and did not punish us at all. At that time, I thought he was afraid to fart and swallow his blood. I didn't expect that this little thief with a bad heart was actually digging a hole for us and watching us jump into it."
"That's right. This sinister little thief with a lot of bad intentions used the attendance book as evidence to accuse us of being absent from work for 38 consecutive days without reason. He also cited the Ming Dynasty Law, which states that officials who are absent for one day will be punished with 20 small strokes of the cane, and every three days will be punished with an additional punishment, and 20 days will be punished with 100 large strokes of the cane!"
When the clerks thought of the scene when Zhu Ping'an dismissed them today, they couldn't help but curse Zhu Ping'an.
"Also, when the Japanese pirates attacked the city, Zhu Ping'an ordered all the people in the county office to go up to the city wall and die. The Japanese pirates were ruthless and had a large number of people. There were more than 3,000 Japanese pirates, and each of them was highly skilled in martial arts and could catch arrows with their bare hands. Of course we didn't go and die. Zhu Ping'an is now holding on to this point and making a big fuss about it. He either accused us of deserting the battlefield or retreating, and even threatened to chop off our heads."
"Speaking of this, I have to remind you three adults, County Magistrate Zhang, Chief Secretary Yao, and Dianshi Li, that you should also be careful. If Zhu Ping'an can use this against us, he can use this against you."
"Zhang County Magistrate, you guys should make preparations early."
"That's right. To be honest, the three serious crimes that Zhu Ping'an used against us, namely, absence from work, dereliction of duty, and desertion, are also applicable to the three adults. I'm afraid that Zhu Ping'an will also treat the three adults in the same way."
A group of clerks half reminded and half added fuel to the fire and said to Zhang Xiancheng and others to tie up the three men tightly.
"It's not that I'm afraid, but that I already am."
County Magistrate Zhang looked at the clerks at the three tables and spoke slowly, emphasizing the word "already".
Not afraid, but already? !
already?!
Doesn't this mean...
County Magistrate Zhang's words were earth-shattering. When the clerks heard them, it was as if a thunderbolt had exploded above their heads. It was as if an electric current had passed through their bodies. They all raised their heads suddenly and looked at County Magistrate Zhang and his companions.
"That's right. Just as I said, Zhu Ping'an has already impeached me, Yao Zhubu, and Li Dianshi. The impeachment memorial was submitted to the Taizhou government office a few days ago."
County Magistrate Zhang spoke word by word with an extremely gloomy expression.
"Bang! Damn it, Zhu Ping'an! The Japanese pirates are such a bunch of rubbish, why didn't they break into the county town and kill the little thief?"
Although he had known the news some time ago, Li Dianshi could not suppress his anger when he thought about being impeached by Zhu Ping'an. He threw the wine glass in his hand to the ground and cursed with gritted teeth.