Fang Xin stared at Liu Jue Ming and said: "Liu Jue Ming!"

  "At your service!"

  "Go down at once and get the soldiers in order, gather them together!" said Fang Xin.

  "Yes!" Liu Jue Ming immediately went out, and in no time, a group of yamen runners arrived, a total of eleven, all of whom were old-timers who knew the ropes. They came forward and paid their respects to Fang Xin.

  Fang Xin smiled: "Very good, from now on you'll be waiting, just a soldier in this county's government office, understand?"

  "Yes, we understand!" The eleven men all said, prostrating themselves on the ground.

  "Being an official in this county is not bad, and you soldiers won't go hungry either. This is the capital to reward you, take it down and divide it among yourselves!" As he spoke, Fang Xin took out a package of loose silver, Liu Jue Ming took a look and saw that it was thirty taels. To know that a yamen soldier's annual salary, even without deductions, was only four taels and a half, now ten yamen soldiers had this much, which was a generous reward.

  "Yes, I understand. I and all the yamen soldiers appreciate your kindness, sir!" Liu Jue-ming knocked his head again, seeing that Fang Xin had nothing to say, he distributed the money, and suddenly everyone cheered.

  When the cheers had subsided, Fang Xin continued: "This county is an imperial official, you are all old hands in the yamen, and you should know the rules. This county has always been lenient with people, but those who do not obey this county, or even harbor evil intentions, this county will have to confiscate their property and exterminate their families. Do you understand?"

  "The little ones understand!" The various soldiers knew the relationship inside and knocked their heads saying.

  This matter is temporarily settled, but first of all, we must check the county government's warehouse and treasury, which is a very crucial thing.

  "Song Wenchen!"

  "At your service!"

  "This county orders you, immediately summon the granary officials. This county is now going to inspect the income and expenditure of money and rice in the warehouse, do you understand?" Fang Xin said with a cold smile.

  After the dinner party, the county lieutenant, the chief clerk and the county captain would all leave. They had their own small yamen, so at this time, the county yamen was closed. Even if there were hundreds of people attacking from outside, it would be difficult to succeed. Inside, Fang Xin was in charge, of course, Fang Xin also relied on his martial arts skills, which is why he acted like this - among the dozens of people who could fight in the county yamen, he alone could kill them all.

  No martial arts. It doesn't matter anyway, in the county, he would just call up a team of soldiers to follow him. This also has the same effect, but it would scare away the snake by hitting the grass.

  Song Wenchen's round face was covered in cold sweat, and only then did he realize how formidable this county magistrate was.

  Not much time had passed when the yamen soldiers arrived, then they lit candles and directly entered the warehouse.

  The county warehouse is very large. Lin Lei has five warehouses. Can hold grain, and there is a money warehouse, inside which there are bookshelf-like shelves, on top of which are placed the collected copper coins.

  There are two rooms on each side of the house, with tables, chairs and other items all complete. There is one ninth-rank official in charge of the granary, three clerks, and fifteen warehouse workers.

  Waiting for Fang Xin to enter the warehouse, the yamen soldiers also arrived. Cao Ge, the storehouse manager, came forward, knelt down, and was covered in cold sweat.

  Fang Xin's first task after taking office was to investigate the accounts and warehouses. This was because these minor officials were most likely to be corrupt and embezzle, they had no prospects in their careers and would not care about their reputation. As long as there was an opportunity, they would definitely prioritize personal gain.

  Moreover, the most critical thing is that if you don't clear up the inventory within a few days of taking office, it will be unclear who is responsible for any losses - whether it was you or your predecessor. This way, even if your superior knows about the loss and it's not mainly your fault, you can still be charged with dereliction of duty for "failing to investigate clearly and being too lenient with subordinates", which can cost you a seventh-rank official position.

  "Song Wenchen, you take a look first!" Fang Xin said as he took out the account book.

  This is an opportunity for Song Wenchen, if he dares to deceive again, he doesn't mind killing this person on the spot. After all, this person can become a signing official in the mayor's office and not know how to calculate accounts or understand the inside story.

  It is precisely the nine-grade warehouse officer Ge Yun that even if he has committed a crime, he cannot be killed arbitrarily, but can only be taken down and reported to the provincial governor, who will decide, and also file with the province and the imperial court.

  It depends on Song Wenchen whether he is a clever person or not.

  Song Wenchen's face turned pale, and he knocked his head, saying: "Yes!"

  He raised his head and saw Cao Zhen's venomous gaze, but under this gaze, he gritted his teeth and picked up the account book, starting to investigate clearly.

  In fact, Fang Xin has made it very clear that as long as you don't rebel, then you must listen to Fang Xin.

  Let's not mention Fang Xindi's martial arts skills. "If this county also contracted the plague, that would mean two magistrates died of illness in this county alone within a year. What do you think the imperial court will make of it?" Song Wenchen knew the severity of the situation all too well; if such a thing really happened, the imperial court would definitely send someone to investigate, and none of them would be able to escape.

  After checking, it was found that only one-third of the entire account book and warehouse were real, while the rest were all losses.

  Fang Xin couldn't have imagined it would come to this, his face darkened and he remained silent for a long time, only staring intensely at Cao Ge with his sharp eyes. Suddenly, Fang Xin slapped the table: "Ge, do you know your crime?"

  Ge Ye's body suddenly jumped up high, and in an instant, his eyes revealed a fierce light: "Lord Fang, this is not something that I, a humble official, would dare to be greedy about. In the past, the county magistrate and the county lieutenant, who didn't take it? Even if it were you, Song Wencheng, or you, Liu Jiaoming, who wouldn't have taken it?"

  After that, Ge Ye was like a bamboo tube pouring out beans, and he revealed some things in the county government office. Although it was only a few words, it instantly made the atmosphere in the entire warehouse tense and ominous.

  In the swaying candlelight, Fang Xin's expression turned calm, and he sneered: "What, do you want to incite everyone present to kill officials and rebel? Or do you want to drag everyone to death together? Corruption is punishable by beheading at most, but killing a superior official is rebellion, only extermination of the Manchu people!"

  As he spoke, he stared straight at Liu Jue Ming and sneered: "You still don't take down this person for me? Take off his official robes and hat, strip them all off!"

  Liu Jue Ming's whole body trembled, this is no small matter, if not, it would be killing officials and rebelling. However, there were dozens of surrounding officials, clerks, and guards, and as long as one person leaked a hint, it would be a disaster that would destroy the entire clan. Moreover, the words he had just spoken now made sense to him - this newly arrived young county magistrate had truly grasped the underlying interests at stake!

  Turning back, he saw the yamen runners with hesitant faces. They had been in the government office for a long time and knew the consequences of killing an official, so they sighed and shouted: "Take him down!"

  Two old brothers rushed up and turned Geyun over and took him down.

  "You dare, you dare, I'm dead, and you won't either..." Ge Ye was still struggling when a towel was stuffed into his mouth, then his official robes and hat were stripped off.

  "You two, follow me!" Fang Xin finally stood up and entered the inner warehouse, saying.

  Song Wenchen and Liu Jiaoming hastily followed, both of them were frightened and didn't know what the outcome would be. They only saw Fang Xin Xun looking at the warehouse for a long time before sighing: "Only one-third? This crime, Ge Ye can't bear it alone, you tell me, what to do?"

  As soon as he said this sentence, Song Wenchen immediately understood: "Sir, Cai Zhixian..."

  "It can all be pushed onto Cai Zhi County, but after all, Cai Zhi County is dead. Officialdom has its rules and conventions, and it's normal to let him take some of the blame. But if he takes all of it, it will implicate his family members, which won't do." Fang Xin said frankly: "However, our county must report the deficit and come up with a reason; otherwise, we'll be the ones to take the fall."

  "What does the adult mean is how much is suitable?"

  "At least sixty percent of the goods in the warehouse are counterfeit, and Ge Yeyu's main crime is on his back. If Cai Zhixian takes some responsibility, you can all be cleared of any connection."

  At this point, the two of them, no matter how foolish and numb they were, understood the meaning of the new magistrate. They immediately knelt on the ground: "Your humble servants thank you, sir, thank you, sir!"

  "Get up, you tell me, County Magistrate, Registrar, and County Captain, how much did they take in the end?"

  "Sir, Cai Zhi County indeed died of illness. He took three-tenths of the deficit, while the county lieutenant took one and a half tenths, the chief clerk and the county captain each took one tenth. The rest were taken by minor officials, with Ge Ye taking the largest share!"

  "And you take the blame!" Fang Xin sneered with a cold laugh.

  "Gentlemen, I am willing to take out everything to make up for the loss!" Song Wencheng's face turned pale, and he knelt down with a thud, knocking his head repeatedly.

  "Listen, you were originally a clerk in the county office, you know how to do things. According to the imperial regulations, one-tenth of the grain warehouse is considered normal loss due to rats and birds. When our county reports to the superior authorities, we can say that the warehouse was damaged by rain and add another tenth to the losses!"

  However, there is still a deficit of 40% to 50%. Ge Rong, the ninth-ranking official, can take responsibility for 10%, and Cai Zhi Xian, the seventh-ranking official, has passed away. Without implicating his family members, he can take on 20%. Now, there is still 15% left. You should tell the county lieutenant, the chief clerk, and the county guard tomorrow to hand over what they have taken and return 40% to fill the gap. This way, everyone can pass the inspection; otherwise, our county will not be polite! Fang Xin said calmly.

  "Yes, I understand. I will definitely handle it properly!" Song Wencheng thought for a moment and felt that it was entirely feasible. Suddenly, he showed a hint of joy, knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "The various adults will also agree to resolve the case in this way."

  "It's just that this is how it ends, and there's no use saying anything more." Fang Xin said with a sigh, and Ge Ye became the scapegoat.

  "Don't worry, sir, I'll take care of this matter. It will be handled properly." At this point, Liu Jue Ming, who had been silent all along, spoke up respectfully. As the leader of the yamen, he naturally had a set of methods to deal with offenders.

  "Don't die first, got it?"

  "I understand!"

  "This matter must also be communicated to the prefectural authorities, it's not just a matter for one person in this county, but a matter for all the big shots. Now that the autumn harvest is approaching and work is busy, our county naturally hopes to make big things small and small things disappear!" Fang Xin sighed: "Tomorrow morning, I'll first communicate with the various gentlemen, and then report to the prefectural government!"

  If he had a foundation, then this loss would be insignificant, but he didn't, so he must distance himself from this matter, it's a matter of life and death. If the big shots in the county still don't understand, then there's only one way out - although taking drastic measures as soon as he took office went against official etiquette and committed a great taboo, which would bring about disaster later on, but at least it's better than being left to take the blame and die unjustly.