usatvline Chapter 45: Smashing a Bowl as a Signal
Chapter 45: Smashing a Bowl as a Signal
"Mr. Jia," Li Chong slowly shook his head and sighed, "I have come here alone, which shows considerable sincerity. However, I see that you still have some doubts."
"Fine."
Li Chong stood up abruptly: "Forced relationships are never sweet. If we can't be open and honest, then there's no point in talking about cooperation. Just pretend I was never here. Take care, everyone. Goodbye."
With that, Li Chong turned to leave without looking back, and pulled Zhong Mei up with him.
"Huh?" Zhong Mei panicked upon hearing this, grabbed Li Chong's arm, and turned to look at Jia Zhuo, "Second Uncle, this..."
Seeing Li Chong's resolute attitude and Zhong Mei's tense appearance, Jia Zhuo gave a wry smile.
"It's all over now, we're completely at this kid's mercy."
Feeling utterly helpless, Jia Zhuo had no other choice.
Li Chong currently holds the initiative, while Zhong Mei is single-mindedly focused on returning to the mountains to seek revenge.
Even if Jia Zhuo wanted to wait for a higher price, he had no bargaining chips. Faced with Li Chong's strategy of retreating to advance, even if he had some suspicions, he could only willingly fall into the trap.
"Your Excellency, please wait!"
Jia Zhuo quickly stepped in front of Li Chong and stopped him, then bowed humbly and said, "Your Excellency, please forgive me. I was confused for a moment. Because of Xiao Mei'er's matter, my brother was busy with other men outside and forgot to include them. It was not my intention to deceive you."
Li Chong naturally didn't really want to leave.
Looking at Jia Zhuo kneeling before him, Li Chong asked solemnly, "Then please tell me clearly, Mr. Jia, how many men can you mobilize? If you make any more false statements this time, don't blame me."
Jia Zhuo pondered for a moment. He didn't know how much inside information Zhong Mei had told Li Chong. Now that things had come to this, there was no way to hide it anymore.
However, judging from the current situation, Li Chong has no intention of using them to gain merit.
Preventing Li Chong from discarding someone after they've served their purpose is something we'll have to worry about later.
After hesitating for a moment, Jia Zhuo sighed and replied, "If you include the men around my brother, we can mobilize about fifty people. This is absolutely true. Please, Your Excellency, investigate this matter thoroughly."
Li Chong glanced sideways at Zhong Mei.
This time, Zhongmei was clever enough to keep quiet.
However, she wasn't one to hide her feelings. Seeing her relaxed shoulders, Li Chong knew that this time it must be true.
"And what about in the mountains? How many bandits do Du Heng and Deng Meng have under their command?"
Seeing that Li Chonglian, Du Heng, and Deng Meng all knew, Jia Zhuo had no need to hide anything.
He said in a deep voice, "If we only consider the bandits, there are more than three hundred who are capable of fighting. If we include the old and weak, the number of people and horses in the mountains can reach more than a thousand."
Li Chong's eyes narrowed. No wonder these people were able to block the road. With over a thousand bandits, including the old and weak, the local government was indeed finding it difficult to wipe them out.
The magistrate was unable to mobilize troops, and it was wishful thinking to try to defeat them head-on with only his yamen runners and the county's archers.
Moreover, even if they couldn't defeat the government, they could retreat into the mountains and hide.
The government couldn't possibly keep besieging them for years on end; as time went on, they still couldn't do anything about them.
Seeing Li Chong deep in thought, Jia Zhuo stepped forward and said, "Your Excellency, those yamen runners are all experts at bullying and monopolizing the market, but when it comes to actual combat, they are utterly useless."
"Du Heng and Deng Meng are both vicious and cunning. If the magistrate wants to suppress the bandits, it will be difficult to succeed without their help. Although we come from flawed backgrounds, we are fortunate to have some strength and are willing to serve the magistrate."
Li Chong looked at Jia Zhuo and slowly nodded.
Then, Li Chong turned around and sat back down at the table, which meant that the conversation could continue.
A hint of joy flashed across Jia Zhuo's face, and he quickly went back to sit down opposite him.
Li Chong cut to the chase: "Miss Zhong said that if I help you suppress the bandits and I achieve merit, you will return to the mountains to take revenge. But what happens after that? Will you still gather in the mountains and become kings?"
Zhong Mei immediately retorted, "Why not? That place was developed by my father and the rest of us. As long as we don't go down the mountain to kill people indiscriminately, what's it to you?"
"Oh dear, my little ancestor, please say less," Jia Zhuo lamented inwardly, but dared not say it aloud.
He quickly chimed in, "We have always been obedient citizens. Your Excellency can go to the county office to look through the case files. When my elder brother, who is also Xiaomei'er's father, was alive, he never robbed any people, let alone indiscriminately killed innocent people."
"If Your Excellency can help us avenge ourselves, we are willing to become citizens and pay taxes. Next year, when we are evaluated for merit, Your Excellency will surely receive a top rating for the increase in our household. As for the land in the mountains, just as Xiao Mei'er said, it was all cultivated by us with great effort. We really can't bear to give it up, so please, Your Excellency, show mercy."
As he spoke, Jia Zhuo smiled and poured Li Chong a bowl of tea.
Li Chong picked up his teacup, took a sip, and sighed inwardly, "This is not a good time for them to become citizens. If we arrange for them to become citizens, they will probably rebel again once Yang Jian issues the land reclamation decree."
However, these are all things to be discussed later. The bandits have not yet been wiped out, and it is far from time to divide the spoils.
Setting down his teacup, Li Chong sized Jia Zhuo up and down: "Mr. Jia seems to have a thorough understanding of how government operations work; he doesn't seem like an ordinary person."
Upon hearing Li Chong's question, a bitter expression appeared on Jia Zhuo's face; this had hit a nerve.
"Alas, to be honest, Your Excellency, I did study some books in my youth and even managed to pass the county-level examination at the lowest level. Unfortunately, my talent was limited, and I failed the imperial examinations repeatedly. After studying for decades, I was still poor and destitute. When I was desperate, it was Xiaomei'er's father who saved me, which is why I came up the mountain and joined the gang. I am ashamed, I am ashamed."
"I see. I was disrespectful." Li Chong cupped his hands in greeting.
Jia Zhuo waved his hands repeatedly: "How dare I, how dare I? I've heard that the county magistrate is a graduate of the imperial examinations, something I can't compare to."
After chatting with Jia Zhuo about the topic of scholars for a while, Li Chong got up again.
"I will consider Mr. Jia's terms again when I return. As for the bandit suppression, you should also consider it. If you agree to cooperate, you must obey my command completely and not act on your own. If you do not agree, please leave Yanggu within a specified period, otherwise, don't blame me for turning against you."
"this……"
Jia Zhuo's expression changed slightly; he hadn't expected Li Chong to change his expression so quickly.
Li Chong ignored his expression and pulled Zhong Mei away.
"Let me go."
Zhong Mei tried to struggle, and the other men were also agitated.
"Let go of Xiaomei!"
"You corrupt official, are you looking for death?"
Several people were about to pounce on Li Chong.
Despite being surrounded by so many people, Li Chong remained calm. He picked up a teacup that he had somehow gotten his hands on and smashed it hard on the ground.
"Splash!"
The porcelain bowl shattered on the ground, and everyone was stunned for a moment before continuing to approach Li Chong.
But just then, a loud bang came from the teahouse door.
With a bang, the door that had just been closed was kicked open, and more than a dozen yamen runners rushed into the teahouse.
The situation suddenly became tense.