usatvline Chapter 39 The Origin of Zhongmei
Chapter 39 The Origin of Zhongmei
"If you don't want to die, then behave yourself." Li Chong shook the note in his hand, looking at Zhong Mei with a half-smile. "Baoqin, how come I only just realized that you have quite the nerve? This county official has been blind to your greatness."
Zhong Mei's pretty face flushed red; in her shame and indignation, she didn't even bother to argue about how Li Chong addressed her.
"What's it to you! Let me tell you, don't think you're so great just because you're a county magistrate. We've beaten up countless corrupt officials like you! You'd better let me go right now, or else..."
Before she could finish her threat, Li Chong interrupted her: "You? It seems you have quite a bit of power behind you. The old Tian Tea Shop in the west of the city—it just so happens that those yamen runners have been quite idle these past few days; it's time to let them stretch their muscles."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Mei immediately stood up nervously.
"What...what do you mean?"
"What do you think I mean?" Li Chong said righteously, "As the parent of this place, I've discovered a gang of bandits hiding within my county. For the sake of the people of Yanggu's livelihood, it's only natural that I must eliminate these bandits and restore peace and order to Yanggu. Of course, this will also add to my record of achievements—isn't that a win-win situation?"
Hearing Li Chong's words, Zhong Mei became even more nervous.
In her mind, all the talk about benefiting the people from these officials was nonsense, but when it came to meritorious service, they were serious.
Which official doesn't want to climb the ranks?
At this moment, Li Chong added, "By the way, judging from your expression, they probably aren't on guard yet. I know they're there, but they don't know me. What if I send people to surround that place now..."
"You dare!" Zhong Mei took a step forward, gripping the dagger tightly in her hand. "I...I'm not afraid of you!"
Seeing her anxious, Li Chong laughed instead.
"See, you're in a hurry again." Li Chong waved his hand. "Calm down and take a breather. If you don't want me to take action, then you'd better tell me honestly: your identity and background, and who 'you' refers to? Most importantly, what is your relationship with that gang of bandits from Dafeng Mountain?"
"If you can convince me, we can still talk."
Zhong Mei remained silent for a while, then glared angrily at Li Chong: "Indeed, all officials in the world are the same, their hearts are filthy!"
As she spoke, Zhong Mei took a few steps back and sat down again, looking somewhat dejected.
Li Chong smiled slightly; things were looking promising.
Looking around, Li Chong glanced at the teapot on the ground and said unhurriedly, "Would you like me to make you a pot of tea to soothe your throat, so you won't have to strain when you speak later?"
Zhong Mei turned her head away: "I don't need your fake kindness!"
Li Chong shrugged and gestured for Zhong Mei to speak.
After a moment of silence, Zhong Mei raised her head: "My family originally lived on Dafeng Mountain. The bandits you're trying to wipe out were...our people."
As Zhongmei recounted the story, Li Chong gradually understood the ins and outs of the matter.
Zhong Mei's father's real name was Zhong Tieshan. He was originally from Yanggu County and was quite wealthy.
Unfortunately, fate is unpredictable. After a natural disaster, the Zhong family suffered considerable losses. Zhong Tieshan, being a man of honor, could not bear to see his fellow villagers in distress, so he generously provided relief to the people.
However, the court was in dire straits. Instead of providing disaster relief, it ordered an increase in taxes this year.
If he had ignored the other families, Zhong Tieshan could have gritted his teeth and weathered the storm, but looking at his fellow villagers, he could only grit his teeth and negotiate with the government.
But the word "official" has two mouths, and no matter what, the court is always right. Who will understand the difficulties of the common people?
Seeing fellow villagers starving to death one after another, the government officials became increasingly anxious to collect the debts.
So Zhong Tieshan made up his mind, killed the tax collectors who came to collect the taxes, and led the villagers to the mountains to become outlaws and hide deep in the mountains.
When various prefectures suffered disasters, the imperial court was unable to spare any resources to suppress them. As Zhong Tieshan's reputation grew, many powerful figures came to join him, and he truly became a force to be reckoned with, establishing himself as a mountain king.
At this point, Zhongmei earnestly emphasized to Li Chong, "My father and his men are not highway robbers; we act on behalf of Heaven, robbing the rich to help the poor. We only rob the wealthy, and we never kill indiscriminately."
Li Chong chuckled upon hearing this: "So, according to you, your father is still a good person?"
Seeing Li Chong's smile, Zhong Mei thought he didn't believe her, and quickly said loudly, "Of course my father is a good person! If my father weren't a good person, why would Uncle Jia and Uncle Hu still follow me?"
Li Chong silently noted down the names of Uncle Jia and Uncle Hu.
However, judging from Zhong Mei's words, it seems that something has happened to her father?
He continued to probe, "But you can't expect everyone passing by the foot of the mountain to be rich, can you? When no one is passing by, you still have to go down the mountain to rob the people."
"Who says you have to rob people just because no one passes by?" Zhongmei retorted defiantly. "We have fields in the mountains, and my father leads the villagers in farming and herding just like everyone else. We don't even collect taxes from them. We're much better than your government."
Li Chong nodded secretly. If what Zhong Mei said was true, then his father wasn't such a heinous bandit.
Such acts of fleeing into the mountains to avoid taxes were common in ancient times and not particularly unusual.
Li Chong still shook his head in disbelief: "I've only been in Yanggu for a short time, but many of the case files I've reviewed involve bandits coming down from the mountains to rob people. How do you explain that?"
A shadow of gloom crossed Zhong Mei's face, and she said through gritted teeth, "It's all because of those ungrateful bastards! They didn't dare to do anything when my father was alive, but as soon as he left, they...they took advantage of my kindness!"
Li Chong gestured with interest, signaling Zhong Mei to continue explaining.
Then, Zhong Mei recounted the changes that occurred throughout Dafeng Mountain after her father's death.
Zhong Tieshan was a man of honor and principle. During his lifetime, he knew the saying "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down," so he was not usually so ruthless in his actions and knew how to benefit the people around him.
The local magistrates found it difficult and thankless to suppress him, and seeing that he posed little threat, they naturally tolerated his existence.
But last year, Zhong Tieshan suddenly fell ill and passed away, leaving behind an orphaned girl. The atmosphere on the mountain gradually changed.
No matter how nice Zhongmei's words were, those people were still a gang of robbers.
When Zhong Tieshan was alive, he could suppress people with his prestige and military strength, but after his death, the more capable person naturally took over.
Soon, the power of discourse on the mountain fell into the hands of two newcomers, one named Du Heng and the other named Deng Meng.
These two were not as kind as Zhong Tieshan. It was impossible for them to honestly farm. Not only that, they even coveted Zhong Mei.