Officials and nobles belong to two distinct classes.
Nobles are those who, through military achievements, have been granted titles by the emperor. The most typical examples are the generals and strategists who fought alongside Dakang’s founding emperor. After the empire was established, they were ennobled with various titles based on their contributions in the wars.
In simple terms, these people fought for the empire alongside the emperor and now share in its ownership.
The greatest noble is the emperor himself. They are the true masters of Dakang.
Officials, on the other hand, are merely hired by these masters to manage the empire.
It’s like a company: nobles are the shareholders, with the emperor as the largest shareholder. They may not directly manage the company, but officials are the professional managers hired by the shareholders to run it.
While shareholders might only collect dividends and not manage daily operations, they have the right to hold managers accountable if they see corruption.
When Jin Feng was just a commoner, the county magistrate, as the local authority, could easily deal with him.
It’s like a team leader in a company disciplining a subordinate, able to dismiss them with any excuse.
But if that subordinate is a shareholder, even the smallest one, the situation changes entirely.
Officials protect their own, and nobles stick together too.
With evidence, Jin Feng could bring down an official.
Unless that official is completely spotless.
But in Dakang’s corrupt officialdom, how many officials are truly clean?
Of course, with Jin Feng’s rank as a mere baron, he could only deal with low-level officials. Taking down high-ranking court officials is impossible, as most of them are nobles themselves.
However, high-ranking nobles are usually concentrated in prosperous areas. In a remote place like Sichuan, nobles are rare. In all of Jinchuan County, there are only Jin Feng and Qing Huai.
Because they are few, low-ranking nobles in such areas tend to be even more united.
For Jin Feng, being a baron was enough.
All he wanted was a status to ensure he wouldn’t be bullied.
If Master Zhou hadn’t repeatedly targeted him, Jin Feng wouldn’t have bothered dealing with him.
He’d rather spend his time earning money.
After the incident with Master Zhou, Jin Feng was confident no one would be foolish enough to provoke him again.
Indeed, over the next two days, every prominent figure in Jinchuan County heard the news: a reckless noble who didn’t play by the rules and would flip the table at the slightest disagreement had emerged in their midst.
All the officials and gentry disapproved of Jin Feng’s actions, but no one dared speak ill of him, fearing they’d catch his attention.
After all, no one wanted to provoke a madman.
Instead, the county magistrate swiftly confirmed Master Zhou’s crimes and posted a public notice at the city gate, praising Jin Feng for eliminating the Iron Jar Mountain bandits.
The bandit autopsies progressed rapidly. The coroners, no longer arrogant, worked overtime to examine the bodies, while yamen clerks stood by with silver, paying out rewards for each confirmed corpse.
This was the deterrent power of class privilege, and the fundamental reason Jin Feng had chosen to follow Qing Huai to the battlefield.
Jin Feng was very satisfied with the outcome.
This battle with the bandits had not only trained the combat skills of his veteran and female soldiers but also demonstrated his strength and resolve to the outside world.
He was confident no one in Jinchuan County would dare provoke him without reason again.
Standing on a small hill at the village entrance, Jin Feng felt as if he’d shed his shackles, ready to soar!
“Sir, look over there. It looks like the escort team is back, but why are they pulling someone?” Tie Chui, standing beside Jin Feng, pointed at the mountain path in the distance.
Now that Zhang Liang, the commander of all the veteran soldiers, was busy with many tasks and couldn’t stay by Jin Feng’s side constantly, a small team of veterans had been selected to ensure his safety, acting as his personal guard.
The leader of this team was Tie Chui.
Jin Feng followed Tie Chui’s pointing finger and saw a convoy of carts coming along the mountain path.
One of the carts seemed to have someone lying on it.
“It’s probably Hu Zi returning. Let’s go check,” Jin Feng said, heading down the hill.
At the threshing ground below, the surviving bandits had long been taken away, and the corpses, after being verified by the coroners, had been carted off for burial.
So many people had died on this small threshing ground that, in modern times, it would have become a place no one dared approach.
But Dakang had seen years of turmoil, with countless people starving or killed by wild beasts annually. Who hadn’t seen death?
The area around Xihe Bay was all mountains, and flat land was hard to come by. The threshing ground was sizable and couldn’t be left unused. At that moment, the village head was directing men to turn the soil.
The men showed no fear, greeting Jin Feng with smiles as he approached.
“Thanks for your hard work, everyone,” Jin Feng said, nodding to the village head.
Hundreds of bandits had died, spilling so much blood that the villagers had to dig over half a metre deep to cover the stench.
“Haha, knowing we won’t have to pay annual tribute anymore makes the work feel light!” one man said loudly.
“Yeah, we’ll save so much grain each year now. No more going hungry.”
“All thanks to Brother Feng!”
The other men chimed in.
Jin Feng smiled and walked with Tie Chui to the road.
The escort team arrived at the same time.
Sure enough, Hu Zi was lying on the middle cart.
“Brother Feng, Brother Tie Chui, what are you doing here?” Liu Tie, the team leader, asked.
Jin Feng was usually either at the textile factory or the ironworks, rarely coming to the village entrance.
“Sir said it was about time you returned, so he brought us to check on Hu Zi,” Tie Chui answered quickly.
“Hu Zi, you’ve got some face. Brother Feng came to the village entrance to welcome you himself,” the escort team teased, warmth filling their hearts.
When Hu Zi was injured, Jin Feng not only paid for his treatment but also gave his mother a large sum of money to ensure he could recover without worry.
Now, he’d personally come to the village entrance to greet him.
Where else could they find such a good boss?
While the others felt this way, Hu Zi, as the man in question, was moved to tears, struggling to sit up.
Jin Feng gave Tie Chui an amused glance.
The guy looked simple, but he was surprisingly good with words.
No wonder Zhang Liang had chosen him as Jin Feng’s personal guard.
Knowing Tie Chui was helping him win loyalty, Jin Feng didn’t call it out. He smiled, walked to the cart, and pressed Hu Zi down. “How are you feeling?”
“Brother Feng, I’m fine,” Hu Zi said. “I told Brother Tie I could hop back with a crutch, but he insisted I ride the cart. People might think I’m half-dead.”
“Hu Zi, if you’re so eager, I’ll get you a crutch right now. Let’s see you hop home,” Liu Tie said, exasperated. “Taking advantage and still complaining.”
“Brother Tie, we’re already at the village entrance. If I hop back now, wouldn’t that waste the brothers’ efforts?” Hu Zi said, scratching his head.
