Chapter 931 - 773: Two More Deserters

Chen Yu watched as the bustling crowd ran towards the county government office, even the shopkeepers on the street leaving their business behind, calling to their assistants as they hurried to the county government as if heading to a temple fair.

By the time they reached the county government gates, the people had blocked the entire entrance, leaving no gaps.

Chen Yu stood outside with his horse, patted the shoulder of the person in front of him, and asked, "Brother, the county magistrate and the county chief have both fled, who is sitting in the hall now to settle cases?"

The young man replied without looking back, "You must be new here, inside is the great lord of the Anti-Japanese Army."

Chen Yu raised an eyebrow, "Since when did the Anti-Japanese Army have the authority to sit in the county government to hear cases? Isn’t this overstepping boundaries? If the court finds out, there will be trouble."

The young man glanced back at him, "I advise you to mind your own business; how does it concern you anyway?"

Chen Yu was left speechless for a while, softened his expression, and asked with a smile, "Is it the Commander Zheng Jiye of the Anti-Japanese Army inside?"

A bystander stood on tiptoe to peer inside and answered casually, "No, it’s Ah Xi, one of the five tigers of the Anti-Japanese Army. He comes to the county government every day to hear cases from 7 to 9 AM."

Chen Yu asked, puzzled, "What cases are being heard?"

The bystander replied, "There was a raid by pirates in the county, and many households’ goods are unsettled, while others took advantage of the chaos to loot. These are the cases being heard."

Chen Yu pondered for a moment, tied his horse to a tree outside, and smilingly grabbed a handful of copper coins from his pouch and threw them to the ground, causing the people in front of the county government to scramble to pick them up.

Taking advantage of the chaos, he pulled Chen Xu inside the county government, securing a spot at the front row outside the main hall.

Chen Yu surveyed the main hall of the county government, observing two rows of Anti-Japanese Army holding execution sticks acting as soap slaves, with the East Class Chief summoning and the West Team Leader executing. After three beats upon the gavel by the Anti-Japanese Army, the court officially began.

Chen Yu sucked in a breath at the sight, whispering to Chen Xu, "I thought this would be a makeshift operation, but it’s fully equipped, and the procedures are flawless... I wonder if this fellow used to be a county magistrate?"

Yuan Xi, dressed in plain gray cloth, sat behind the desk in the county government, glanced through the lawsuit, and struck the gavel, looking at the two middle-aged men kneeling in the main hall: "Who are you in the court?"

Chen Yu watched from afar, noticing that Yuan Xi’s narrow eyes seemed to scrutinize the main hall, suddenly possessing a hint of official authority, no longer resembling the Anti-Japanese Army.

The two kneeling men in front of the hall cried out loudly, "I am Wang Sheng from Shuijing Street."

"I am Liu Zhe from Shuijing Street."

Yuan Xi raised his eyes, "Wang Sheng, you have accused Liu Zhe today. State your case truthfully, without false accusations."

Wang Sheng immediately lamented, "Sir, when the pirates came, I fled with my wife and children to the City God Temple, leaving my home and goods behind. After the Anti-Japanese Army quelled the pirates, we returned home to find our gold, silver, and fabrics missing, assuming it was the pirates. Later, when the Anti-Japanese Army allowed us to claim stolen goods from the pirates, I couldn’t find my belongings among them."

Chen Yu clicked his tongue in wonder, "The Anti-Japanese Army collected goods from the pirates and actually returned them to the people? Military discipline is quite commendable."

Wang Sheng continued, "Yesterday, while passing by the tailor shop on Shuijing Street, I saw this bastard Liu Zhe with a roll of fabric under his arm to make clothes. I recognized it at once as the fabric stolen from my home..."

Liu Zhe interrupted angrily, "That fabric is just ordinary gray hemp, you see it everywhere, how can you claim it’s yours?"

Wang Sheng retorted furiously, "You are so miserly, you haven’t bought fabric in seven or eight years, always stealing others’ clothes. How come you suddenly dared to buy a whole roll when the pirates came?"

Liu Zhe sneered, "Open your eyes, fool. I’m not poor; you say it’s your fabric, why don’t you call it and see if it answers you? How do you prove it’s yours?"

Wang Sheng hesitated, "This..."

Yuan Xi interrupted calmly, "Divide this fabric equally and let them take it home."

Upon his words, the Anti-Japanese Army immediately split the fabric in two and handed it back to the two men, then ushered them out of the county government.

Chen Yu watched in astonishment as the Anti-Japanese Army expelled Wang Sheng and Liu Zhe, "Is this how a case is resolved? I was really taken in by him earlier, thinking he had some real expertise."

He looked at Yuan Xi and said loudly, "Sir, I find this inappropriate; how can difficult cases be muddled through with carelessness?"

Yuan Xi acted as if he hadn’t heard, tossing aside the lawsuit in front of him and picking up the next one, "Bring the accused Shen Zhuang and Wang Jinzhan forward."

At this moment, several members of the Anti-Japanese Army brought in a corpse covered with a white cloth and escorted a couple in shackles, both proclaiming their innocence.

Yuan Xi did not rush to pass judgment, quietly flipping through the files, waiting for something unknown.

A moment later, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the county government.

Chen Yu turned back to see the Anti-Japanese Army bringing back Wang Sheng and Liu Zhe. The Anti-Japanese Army pushed Liu Zhe into the main hall, kicking him behind the knee.

Liu Zhe fell to his knees with a thud, "Why are you kicking me?"

The Anti-Japanese Army saluted Yuan Xi and said, "Sir, we followed these two and saw Wang Sheng looking dejected with half the fabric, while Liu Zhe was overjoyed with his half."

Yuan Xi glanced at Liu Zhe: "According to Daning Law, those who steal from others are punished with twenty strokes. Moreover, if theft occurs during the chaos caused by pirates, the punishment is increased."

Yuan Xi waved to the Anti-Japanese Army: "Go and search his home. Take all his gold and silver and send them to the reception center, let the families see if any of their belongings are there."

Liu Zhe’s face changed drastically: "Master, even if I did steal cloth, you can’t take all my gold and silver! I will go to Jinling and report you!"

Yuan Xi scoffed: "You can report as you wish. Take him away and beat him!"

Wang Sheng knelt in the main hall, continuously kowtowing in gratitude, while the Anti-Japanese Army dragged Liu Zhe outside, pulled down his pants publicly, and swung the Execution Stick down with full force.

Chen Yu exclaimed: "Brilliant! Only when one’s own belongings are halved does one frown, but when others’ belongings are distributed, one naturally rejoices. This Anti-Japanese Army is quite capable."

Amidst Liu Zhe’s wails.

Yuan Xi turned his gaze to Shen Zhuang and Wang Jinzhan in the hall, sternly asking: "Let the man speak first, how did your wife die?"

Shen Zhuang hurriedly responded: "When the pirates came, the neighborhood caught fire. I shouted to her and fled outside. Midway, I found she wasn’t following, so I returned home to look for her. By the time I found her, she had been choked to death by the smoke at home."

Outside the hall, an old man angrily retorted: "Nonsense! It’s clear you adulterous pair were discovered by my daughter, so you killed her during the chaos and blamed it on the pirates!"

Yuan Xi lost interest, ordered the Anti-Japanese Army to uncover the white cloth, and open the mouth of the woman’s corpse, revealing it clean inside.

He waved his hand: "Those suffocated by smoke would have soot in the nose and mouth. This woman’s mouth is clean; she died before the fire. Arrest these adulterers and lock them in jail, awaiting punishment."

Cases in Jingjiang County mostly involved issues left from dealing with pirates, such as missing family goods or disputes among relatives, or the death of elders with subsequent inheritance divisions.

Chen Yu watched as Yuan Xi quickly reviewed each case in less than thirty minutes, finishing before Noon, which caused the people outside the hall to praise him as a great official.

Yuan Xi showed no joy, waved to the people: "Don’t crowd here, go about your business. If there’s an urgent case, send someone to the county school to find me. My Anti-Japanese Army occupies it for training new recruits."

With that, he signaled to the Anti-Japanese Army: "Quickly, quickly, we need to divide the soldiers today. If late, those rascals will snatch all the military power."

In an instant, everyone in the county government cleared out.

Chen Yu led the horse out, asked for directions, and headed to find the county school, pondering, "Uncle Xu, how come that Ah Xi just now seemed like he’s actually been a county magistrate?"

Chen Xu considered: "Whether he’s been a county magistrate is hard to say, but judging by his demeanor, he’s not an ordinary Executive Officer or martial artist."

Chen Yu found it odd: "Such talent who can manage independently, why would they come to this remote and impoverished place like Jingjiang to be in the Anti-Japanese Army? Even if they came, they should be head Chiefs, but his tone says otherwise. If all five leaders of the Anti-Japanese Army are like him, what would their godfather’s origin be? Do you think they might be from the Zhang Family’s faction?"

Chen Xu thought for a moment: "The Zhang Family doesn’t have such a foundation."

Chen Yu was amused: "That’s quite rare... let’s go, let’s meet the other five leaders and see what they are truly like."

The two led their horse towards the county school, when they heard synchronized footsteps behind them.

Chen Xu turned sharply, noticing someone leading a team of infantry, running with steps precisely in unison, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Chen Xu squinted: "Where did this elite come from?"

But just as he praised, the orderly steps of the Anti-Japanese Army fell into disarray, as Zheng Jiye, next to the team, angrily shouted: "How many times have I told you to keep the pace synchronized? Team A can already maintain it for ten minutes, yet you can’t even manage thirty minutes!"

Chen Xu sighed with relief: "A misunderstanding."

Zheng Jiye led the Anti-Japanese Army past the two, when suddenly they stopped, turned around, and surrounded Chen Yu and Chen Xu.

His eyes rolled, and he loudly questioned: "Where do you come from?"

Chen Yu thought for a moment: "We... we come from Guangling County."

Zheng Jiye chuckled: "It’s deserters, capture them, capture them!"

An old soldier from the Anti-Japanese Army whispered: "Sir, don’t we have enough troops now? No need to trick more people into becoming deserters."

Zheng Jiye glared at him: "What do you know? Ah Xing and the others have divided over two hundred people, yet I was only given one hundred and twenty, including the old and weak. Isn’t this disrespectful? If I don’t capture some deserters, how can I compete with them?"

The old soldier whispered: "Don’t cause any trouble with this reckless capturing."

Zheng Jiye laughed heartily: "If I don’t capture deserters, how will I bring our godfather to the Anti-Japanese Army? Quick, take them away."

As the Anti-Japanese Army approached to seize them, Chen Yu quickly explained: "We’re not deserters; we’ve come from Jinling to find the Anti-Japanese Army Chief Zheng Jiye."

"Isn’t this a coincidence, I’m Zheng Jiye," Zheng Jiye laughed: "Just now you said you came from Guangling, now you say you’re from Jinling, full of lies. Men, take them away for training; if they dare escape, they’ll face military punishment."