Starting from the imperial palace guards, his clones spread all over the world

Night arrived quickly.

The common people around the yamen were finally dispersed by the city defense army.

A large number of yamen runners and city defense soldiers began to patrol the streets, dispersing the people who were gathered together.

Although a curfew was not officially implemented, it was already close to one.

At this moment.

Several figures were seen approaching the yamen quickly.

Two yamen runners were escorting the clerk, Zhang You, as he was about to enter the yamen.

Just then.

Two figures suddenly rushed out from the side of the street:

"Clerk Zhang, you've finally come out!"

Zhang You was initially startled.

When he clearly saw that the people were Xu Gui and Lu Tianxing, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Zhang You signaled the yamen runners beside him, who had already drawn their blades, to relax, and then shouted at the two:

"It's forbidden to go out on the streets tonight. You two should go back quickly and don't cause us any trouble."

As he spoke, Zhang You was about to leave.

The two hurriedly stopped Zhang You.

Lu Tianxing questioned:

"Clerk Zhang, why didn't the medicine you gave us work?"

"Also, didn't the county magistrate promise to distribute medicine to the people, but why haven't any of the villagers received any medicine?"

Xu Gui also said:

"That's right, not only has the condition of those who took the medicine not improved, but it hasn't even been alleviated."

"Explain clearly today, are you trying to deceive us?"

Faced with the two's questioning, Zhang You seemed extremely impatient.

Zhang You's face turned stern, and he said in a deep voice:

"With the plague raging, it's already a special favor from the yamen that you can get medicine."

"As for how the medicine is distributed, it's not up to you commoners to be nosy!"

"That's all."

Zhang You obviously didn't plan to continue paying attention to the two.

As for the effectiveness of the medicine, he didn't say a word.

Such a reply naturally couldn't satisfy the two.

Lu Tianxing said angrily:

"Zhang You! You promised everything nicely at the beginning, but now you want to go back on your word?"

"We want to see the county magistrate! We want to ask the county magistrate for an explanation in person!"

The more Lu Tianxing spoke, the more agitated he became, and he wanted to walk towards the yamen.

Zhang You raised his hand and slapped him.

"Slap!!!"

The crisp sound of the slap made Lu Tianxing dizzy and he involuntarily took several steps back, only managing to not fall thanks to Xu Gui's support.

Zhang You pointed at Lu Tianxing and cursed:

"What are you? You think you're worthy of seeing the county magistrate?"

"Do you really think this yamen is opened by your Lu family?"

Lu Tianxing covered his swollen face and glared at Zhang You.

At this moment, even if he was stupid, he understood that Zhang You had been playing with them from the beginning.

The so-called various promises and guarantees were all empty words!

Zhang You's purpose was just to get the two to betray the Way of Peace and capture the Great Virtuous Teacher.

Now that the Great Virtuous Teacher had been captured, Zhang You had completely turned his back on them.

Xu Gui also understood this principle, and he said in a cold voice:

"Zhang You, you really have good calculations, but don't think you can take us for granted!"

"If you push us too hard, we'll go back and tell everyone in the Way of Peace, tell them that all of this is your conspiracy!"

"You two traitors, do you really think you still have prestige in the Way of Peace?"

These words left Lu Tianxing and Xu Gui speechless.

In the past, in the Way of Peace, they could not only have a say, but also be highly respected.

However, after the two chose to betray, they had almost become dogs that everyone shouted to beat in front of the Way of Peace.

The reason why the two had not been dealt with was only because there were still a group of patients who believed that they could bring back medicine to cure the disease.

But now, the cruel reality was in front of them.

The medicine to cure the disease simply didn't exist.

If the two went back, they would inevitably be betrayed and abandoned by everyone.

"Talking to you two fools is really a waste of my time."

As Zhang You spoke, he instructed the yamen runners beside him:

"If these two dogs appear near the yamen again, beat them once every time you see them!"

"If they dare to come even after being beaten, arrest them directly and throw them in jail!"

After speaking, Zhang You turned around and entered the yamen directly.

The yamen runners stood in front of Lu Tianxing and Xu Gui one after another, with a posture as if they were about to attack at any time.

Xu Gui still wanted to demand an explanation, but Lu Tianxing pulled him away:

"Boss Xu, forget it."

Lu Tianxing understood that they were destined to not get anything good.

Behind Zhang You stood the yamen, and for the two of them, commoners, to clash head-on with the yamen was tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg.

Xu Gui glanced at the tall yamen and sighed deeply:

"Alas…"

The two were both angry, annoyed, and helpless, and in the end, they could only leave dejectedly.

…

Inside the yamen.

Zhang You walked quickly.

He was delayed by the two troublemakers at the door just now, causing him to almost forget the main business.

Along the way, he could hear bursts of uncomfortable groans coming from.

Zhang You knew that it was the yamen runners and clerks who were suffering from the pain of the disease.

Although the yamen had been sealed off, the plague had finally invaded.

This day would come sooner or later, everyone knew very well.

Therefore, Zhang You had put down his psychological burden at the beginning and led the crowd to Giant Cow Village to arrest the Great Virtuous Teacher.

Sure enough, when he returned to the yamen after completing the task, the plague had spread.

And in these days, the plague had spread even more widely, and few people in the yamen were able to escape it.

At this time.

The study had arrived.

Zhang You knocked on the door:

"County Magistrate, it's me."

In the next moment, a response came from inside the study:

"Come in."

Zhang You hurriedly replied:

"County Magistrate, absolutely not!"

"You have not yet been infected with the disease, and as the parent official of the entire county, you must not have any accidents."

"I'll just talk to you from outside."

The best protection in the county yamen was for the county magistrate, so he had not been infected with the plague until now.

Zhang You was running around everywhere now, and might have already been infected with the plague, and entering might infect the county magistrate as well.

However, the voice inside the door sounded again:

"Come in!"

"Everyone is infected with the disease, and I won't be able to stay safe for long."

"Besides, if I don't show up for a long time and don't come out to preside over the overall situation, it will make the entire county panic."

Hearing this, Zhang You could only push the door open and enter.

He saw that the county magistrate, Qiu Zhuo, was still looking at official documents by the oil lamp, and his brows were tightly furrowed.

In the end, he angrily threw the official document in his hand aside, his face full of anger.

Zhang You hurriedly asked in a low voice:

"County Magistrate, what are you worried about?"

Qiu Zhuo glanced at Zhang You and replied:

"Yang Prefecture had a rebellion a while ago, and now the imperial court has sent troops to quell the rebellion, requiring all surrounding prefectures, including our Qing Prefecture, to transport supplies to the rebel suppression army."

"This is the official document sent by the Prefectural Governor, requiring our Taiyang County to raise manpower, money, grain, and medicine, and quickly transport them to the prefectural capital."

"But now the plague is raging, and it is precisely the time when we are short of people, money, and medicine. If we transport the supplies over, then what will we use to fight the plague?"

Hearing this, Zhang You couldn't help but ponder.

As a clerk, he was supposed to solve problems for the county magistrate.

After a moment.

Zhang You said:

"County Magistrate, now the people have a lot of resentment, and it is not suitable to levy taxes on a large scale from the people. Then, for the current plan, there is only one way left."

"It's time to let the rich merchants in the city donate money and grain."

"It is precisely because the County Magistrate governs well that those rich merchants can earn a lot of money, and it's time for them to pay."

Hearing this, Qiu Zhuo couldn't help but hesitate.

Of course, he could take the rich merchants and extort a lot of money from them.

But those rich merchants had some background to varying degrees.

Although it wouldn't cause Qiu Zhuo too much trouble, it would also affect his reputation and future career.

Qiu Zhuo was unwilling to bear this price.

Zhang You saw through Qiu Zhuo's thoughts, so he suggested:

"County Magistrate, this matter does not necessarily have to be handled by you."

"Right now, there is a suitable person to do this for you."

"At that time, County Magistrate, you will not lose your reputation, and you will be able to obtain money and grain to complete the Prefectural Governor's task. It can be said to be a win-win situation."

Hearing this, Qiu Zhuo's eyes lit up.

He hurriedly asked:

"Tell me quickly, who is it?"

Zhang You replied:

"The Great Virtuous Teacher."