Huaqing County is the most prosperous county among all the towns in Ruicheng. In the early years, it was the only way for merchants to travel from south to north. Therefore, the economy was prosperous and bustling, and it was still bustling with people even at night.

However, it was only evening now, but the doors were closed, and the streets were as deserted as an empty city. Occasionally, someone looked through the crack in the door. As soon as everyone looked over, the door immediately closed with a bang.

The carriage walked from the east to the west of the city, but did not see an open shop. Mo Jingyu's expression became colder and colder, and finally dropped to freezing point when another door closed at the inn: "Knock on the door."

Lin Yu stepped forward to knock on the door, but there was no response for a long time. He was a little angry and threatened in a loud voice: "If you don't open it again, I'll kick the door down."

There was a murmur of movement inside, and the door slowly opened a crack, and then a head came out. Seeing Lin Yu with a sword, his pupils were so frightened that he almost retracted.

Lin Yu, with quick eyesight and quick hands, pulled him out of the door and said angrily: "Why are you running? Can I eat people?"

The person who came was the innkeeper. Hearing this, he bent his knees and fell to the ground, begging for mercy: "Hero, spare your life, we really have no money, please show your kindness..."

Lin Yu frowned when he heard this, and bent down to pull him up: "We are not bandits, we are businessmen passing by. Do you still have any free rooms in your inn?"

The shopkeeper blurted out: "No."

Lin Yu lowered his voice: "Really?"

The shopkeeper grimaced and changed his words tremblingly, then opened the door wider and welcomed everyone in one after another.

Lin Yu ordered: "Clean up the two upper rooms, open three rooms with bunk beds, prepare three tables of meals, boil some hot water, and free up the backyard."

The shopkeeper nodded and took a note, quickly arranging it.

Chu Qingwan asked him: "Shopkeeper, I remember that Huaqing County never closed its doors at night, why is it like this now?"

The shopkeeper sighed, his tone full of helplessness: "Let the bandits make trouble."

Ruicheng is a mountainous place, and the bandits occupy the mountains. Their numbers are growing rapidly and they have already reached a large scale. According to the shopkeeper, they will go down the mountain once every few days, burning, killing, looting, and committing all kinds of evil.

It was hot in summer, so they mostly chose to loot after the sun went down. In order to protect themselves, the people in the city had no choice but to stay at home before sunset and lock the doors tightly.

Chu Qingwan frowned: "The imperial court sent people down to suppress bandits more than once, but there was no result?"

The shopkeeper smiled bitterly: "The people from the imperial court came down without any soldiers. Seeing that the city was peaceful, they ate and drank with the county magistrate for a few days and then went back."

"How can it be inauspicious? The imperial envoys to suppress the bandits have made great efforts again and again. The county magistrate received the news early, communicated with the bandits, and ordered the people to offer good things to entertain them. It is no different."

Mo Jingyu clenched his fist slightly: "That's unreasonable!"

Although the imperial envoy does not lead troops, he has the right to mobilize troops from nearby cities. As long as he is attacked with real swords and guns, the banditry will not become more serious year by year!

But they turned a blind eye to the devastation exposed during peace, preyed on the common people in the name of suppressing bandits, returned to Beijing, and transformed themselves into heroes in suppressing bandits, rising step by step.

The shopkeeper shook his head and sighed: "Huaqing County is no longer what it used to be. Walking on the street is a life-threatening situation. Please remember not to go out after dark and leave as soon as possible tomorrow morning."

After saying this, he shook his head and walked towards the counter. His elderly face was full of vicissitudes of life, showing the decadence of not seeing hope in life.

Chu Qingwan pursed her lips and turned to look at Mo Jingyu.

The latter calmed down and said to Vukong: "Ying Wu, before tomorrow morning, I want to know all the details of the county magistrate, including the evidence of his collusion with bandits over the years."

"Also, let Ying Si come to see me."
Chapter completed!