The helicopter hovering overhead sent a ripple of tension through the Prefect of Gaoling and his officers.
Zhou Tianbao, a man of the lower strata, had no idea what a helicopter was. But as Prefect, he knew that anything that could fly in the Great Tang was the brainchild of the Duke of Shenyang. Even the current Emperor had ridden in one.
He just didn't know why it had graced the Prefectural Office of Gaoling today.
A rope was thrown from the helicopter, and as Zhang Tian, Xue Rengui, and others slid down, they immediately recognized the Prefect of Gaoling. His green robe and green hat were unmistakable.
Zhou Tianbao, the leader of the debt collectors, were also brought down, suspended from the helicopter.
After they landed, the helicopter ascended to a higher altitude to avoid disturbing the noise below.
At the same time, the impressive spectacle of the helicopter drew the attention of countless Gaoling residents, and a group of scouts from the Hundred Knights Guard also approached.
But the Duke of Shenyang? The Prefect, not recognizing Fang Er, thought it was Fang Er himself who had arrived when he saw the helicopter. He walked up to Zhang Tian and cupped his fists in greeting.
"You? Worthy of the Duke's personal visit?" Zhang Tian rolled his eyes at him.
"This kind of person, only sixth rank. To expect the esteemed Duke to come in person, is he worthy?"
The Prefect, upon hearing this, was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but Zhang Tian's next words caught his breath in his throat, almost making him choke.
Zhang Tian, facing the entrance of the Prefectural Office, clasped his fists and shouted:
"Brothers of the Hundred Knights Guard, where are you? Please show yourselves!"
The Hundred Knights Guard, who monitored officials and investigated the people's sentiments, were the eyes and ears of Li Shimin.
With such a grand scene today, it would be a dereliction of duty if they did not appear.
Suddenly, the main gate of the Prefectural Office was kicked open from the outside.
A man with a thick beard stood at the entrance, cupping his fists and saying, "I am a scout from the Hundred Knights Guard. Which general under the Duke of Shenyang are you?"
"Under the Duke of Shenyang, in the Skyfire Army, the Fifth Division Commander, Zhang Tian!" Zhang Tian announced his name and saluted the bearded man.
"Good day, Commander Zhang. May I ask what this is about?" The bearded man walked over, returning the salute and asking.
After Zhang Tian explained the matter concerning Grand Uncle Fang, he pointed at Zhou Tianbao and the debt collector leader, saying, "If we hadn't arrived in time, the Duke's only blood relative would have been killed by them to silence him.
These two are the witnesses. According to Zhou Tianbao, all of this was the work of this Prefect of Gaoling.
This matter will be handed over to you brothers to handle. We need to return to Shenyang.
Within ten days, the Duke's memorial will be presented to the Emperor. I trouble you with this."
To handle matters with propriety, Zhang Tian could kill Zhou Tianbao, but he could not kill a Prefect, who was a sixth-rank official of the court.
Officials above the seventh rank, unless they were rebelling, their life or death had to be approved by Li Shimin. This was a rule that could not be broken.
Although the Hundred Knights Guard were dispatched by the palace, they did not act as they pleased. Li Shimin was incredibly poor. Compared to the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the Ming Dynasty, although their functions were similar, their forces could not be compared.
The entire Gaoling had no more than five men in the Hundred Knights Guard.
And even that was because Li Shimin had made some money following Fang Er in the past two years. Two years ago, the Hundred Knights Guard had less than thirty percent of their current strength, and there were almost no Hundred Knights Guard members below the prefectural level.
With fewer people, it was inconvenient to handle matters. They knew the Prefect was dishonest but couldn't catch him. They hadn't expected that today, he would be delivered right to their doorstep.
Who would be foolish enough to pass up this merit?
Moreover, after handling it well, they could also curry favor with Fang Er.
The bearded man was overjoyed: "Thank you, Commander Zhang. Please convey my regards to Duke Fang. We will handle this matter perfectly."
Zhang Tian nodded: "I'm obliged. Commander Zhang takes his leave!"
With that, he led Xue Rengui out of the Prefectural Office.
The Prefect was now stunned. Zhang Tian and the scout from the Hundred Knights Guard had said all this without regard for him.
As the father and mother official of a prefecture, colluding with hoodlums to run gambling houses and brothels, and engaging in loan sharking, and attempting murder – any one of these could strip him of his official robes.
All that awaited him was a trial in the capital. It would be a miracle if he didn't die.
Zhang Tian and his group re-boarded the helicopter outside Gaoling and headed south, back to Fang Family Village.
The land deeds that the debt collector leader had extorted from Fang Li were also recovered and were now in the custody of Fang Da. Fang Li had tried to ask for them several times, but seeing Zhang Tian and Uncle Zhang beside him, he dared not speak.
At the entrance of the Fang family manor, as the helicopter landed, many villagers gathered.
Old Head Ma, Zhao Neng, Liu Si, and others also rushed over.
Seeing only Zhang Tian and Uncle Zhang, they asked with confusion: "Has the Duke not returned?"
"Hahahaha! The Duke has a new addition to the family! He sent us to pick you up to attend the banquet in Shenyang!" Uncle Zhang said with a smile as he walked up to Old Head Ma.
"A new addition?"
"A young Duke?"
"Hahaha, this is great news, wonderful news!"
"And we're going to Shenyang for a banquet, the Duke still remembers us!"
The elders of the villages were all overjoyed.
This was the reality of the era. The master's family having an heir was as important as their own family having an heir, especially when the master was a kind employer who was hard to find even with a lantern!
The helicopter had a total of 34 seats, including the pilot and co-pilot.
This time, ten paratroopers returned, plus Zhang Tian, his deputy, and Uncle Zhang, a total of thirteen people.
After picking up Fang Li and his son, there were nineteen seats remaining, meaning nineteen people could be taken to the banquet in Shenyang.
After Uncle Zhang announced the number of available seats, the village began to buzz with excitement.
For these villagers who had never traveled far, everyone wanted to go to Shenyang to see.
Old Head Ma, Liu Si, Zhao Neng, and Old Head Sun – these four were sure to go.
In addition, there were Wang Erniang, Niu Liang, and other workshop foremen, totaling eight people.
In the academy, besides Ma Tongyuan, there was also Ma Zhou, whom Fang Er had specifically mentioned.
These added up to fifteen people.
Seeing the villagers competing for the remaining four seats, Uncle Zhang finally stepped forward and said:
"Stop fighting. With so many adults going, let's send some children too, let them travel afar and broaden their horizons."
"Send a message to the academy and New Oriental. Let each choose two children."
The villagers were stunned at first, then they all agreed.
"Yes, yes! These four seats are for the children."
"Our lives are set, let the children go out and see the world!"