usatvline Chapter 9 Zhou Chengye
Chapter 9 Zhou Chengye
The eldest brother is like a father.
Chang Yuan inherited the family's hereditary position, which gave him the right to discipline his younger siblings and the responsibility to protect his family.
The best way to protect your family is not to watch over them 24/7.
People need to eat, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards need to go on missions.
Chang Yuan couldn't possibly be with his family all the time, especially since he had three younger siblings. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't possibly take care of them all.
The best approach is deterrence!
He wanted everyone to know that Chang Yuan was capable, appreciated by the commander, and had the determination and vengeful nature to seek revenge.
Ideally, everyone should think that not provoking him is the best option.
After accepting the karma left behind by the original owner, Chang Yuan decided to kill Zhou Shan, the loan shark.
This kid is the perfect target for establishing authority.
He's a loan shark, and loan sharks need to collect debts, and collecting debts requires coercion, and coercion inevitably breeds hatred.
If Chang Yuan kills him, it will only elicit cheers from the neighbors and his comrades; no one will object.
Zhou Shan's ability to lend money at the Thousand Households Office must be due to the presence of a powerful figure behind him.
Chang Yuan killing him would fully demonstrate his ruthlessness and deter others with ill intentions.
The only problem is how to kill Zhou Shan without his backers retaliating.
Chang Yuan was willing to repay the money according to the nine-out-thirteen-out method, to show the forces behind Zhou Shan that he was only dealing with Zhou Shan and not trying to destroy the business.
But he didn't know who the other person was, let alone their personality and way of doing things, so he couldn't judge whether the other person could accept it.
We must obtain intelligence first before making a decision.
Chang Yuan remembered that he wanted to give his son to his own chief officer.
A Jinyiwei captain who couldn't be promoted to centurion could still live peacefully on the front lines until the age of forty. His skills and command abilities might not have been particularly strong, but his network of connections and intelligence accumulation must have been astonishing.
The next morning, Chang Yuan sent his younger siblings off to school and then turned around and found the home of the flag officer.
The captain was overjoyed: "Hahaha, it's wonderful that you've come, Junior Captain Chang! Why did you bring all this tea, dried meat, and dried fruit?"
When he saw that Chang Yuan's gift included a silver coin, his expression changed drastically: "Chang Xiaoqi, what do you mean? Are you implying that I, Lao Gao, am superfluous?"
Chang Yuan cupped his hands and smiled, "Today I am not here as a subordinate to see my superior, but as a younger brother to ask for your help, so of course I have prepared plenty of gifts."
"I don't have any great relationship with you, elder brother. Of course, I have to offer generous gifts when I ask for favors, otherwise I would be considered ignorant."
The officer's expression softened, and he had his family serve tea, inviting Chang Yuan to sit down and talk.
Chang Yuan then told the flag officer about how he had gone to Gao Shan to borrow money, how Gao Shan had made things difficult for him, how the interest rate had been compounded, and how he had been subjected to a nine-out-of-thirteen-out deduction.
Finally, he said, "Ten days ago, I had to grit my teeth and suffer this loss because I had to save my mother and bury my father. Yesterday, I received a reward from the commander, which has enabled me to repay all the money I lost."
"But I'm still holding this grudge, and I'm not some spineless coward who'll swallow his anger!"
The captain agreed, saying, "That's right. How dare this lowly scoundrel bully our Imperial Guards like this? We must not let him off easily."
Chang Yuan laughed loudly: "Good, my older brother and I think the same way."
"I want to kill him today!"
Flag officer: "..."
But considering that this kid was a vicious fighter who would bite flesh with every shot in battle, either exploding in the head or piercing the heart, leaving no survivors.
The flag officer felt that it was not surprising at all that Chang Yuan killed Gao Shan; it was only natural.
only……
Chang Yuan changed the subject: "But the fact that that scoundrel can lend money in our thousand-household office means that the power behind him is unfathomable. That's why I came to ask you for some information, brother."
"If it's really too difficult, I can't kill him in the street. I can only go to his house at night and throw him into the well to end it all."
Flag officer: Good, good, the people must be killed, but the methods of killing will differ.
But when he thought of Gao Shan's face, he not only didn't think Chang Yuan had done anything wrong, but felt a surge of joy in his heart.
That bastard Gao Shan should have died long ago!
So the flag officer stopped beating around the bush and told Chang Yuan all the details about Gaoshan.
"This mountain was originally named Li San, a lahu from Xiangfu County, Kaifeng Prefecture. He became a disciple of Zhou Chengye, a large landowner in Xiangfu County, and that's when he changed his name to Zhou Shan (San)."
"On the surface, Cheng Ye is a kind-hearted local gentry, a student who donated to the Imperial Academy, and a great philanthropist. In reality, he has connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds and is a local tycoon who runs a loan sharking business."
Chang Yuan asked doubtfully, "So what if they're local bigwigs? What gives them the right to lend money to our Qianhu Office? Aren't they afraid the Imperial Guards won't pay back their loans?"
The flag officer laughed: "Hehe, Zhou Chengye doesn't even have the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations). He's basically just a chamber pot."
"His original surname wasn't Zhou. He changed it to curry favor with some important person. He's a scoundrel who doesn't even respect his ancestors."
Chang Yuan frowned: "In our Henan province, none of the governors, inspectors, provincial treasurers, judicial commissioners, commanders, or river management officials are surnamed Zhou, are they?"
The captain laughed: "Where is the Prince of Zhou from Kaifeng?"
Chang Yuan was greatly shocked: "It's this week!"
The flag officer nodded: "Yes, that's right!"
"The stewards, servants, and eunuchs of the Zhou Prince's Mansion were all granted the surname Zhou."
"Zhou Chengye became the godfather of the chief eunuch of the Zhou Prince's Mansion, and that's how he changed his surname to Zhou."
Chang Yuan was silent for a while before speaking: "I can't afford to offend the Zhou Prince's Mansion, but I don't think I should bow down to Zhou Chengye, who is just a mere eunuch."
The flag officer nodded and said, "That's true."
"If you want to kill Zhou Shan, then kill him. With what the commander said yesterday, no one in the commander's office will say anything."
"But you can't kill Zhou Chengye. He's ruthless to his subordinates and obsequious to his superiors. He gives his godfather, the eunuch, extremely generous stipends and also distributes profits to many servants in the Zhou Prince's mansion."
Chang Yuan frowned and said, "Killing him will offend a lot of people, but not killing him will prevent him from causing me trouble?"
The flag officer said, "Don't worry, Zhou Chengye knows he has no real power base and relies entirely on ruthless scheming. He's most afraid of ruthless people who will draw their swords without saying a word."
"After you kill Zhou Shan, you need to go to Xiangfu County to find Zhou Chengye and talk things out. Let him know that you are a ruthless person who can kill, and he will handle the follow-up troubles himself and prevent the news from getting back up."
Chang Yuan stood up and sincerely thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, brother. Otherwise, I might have unintentionally offended the Zhou Prince's Mansion and caused a terrible disaster."
The flag officer smiled smugly and took the opportunity to pick up the envelope of silver coins and throw it to Chang Yuan: "Take your money back. I also have a favor to ask of you, brother."
Chang Yuan knew perfectly well what was going on and immediately promised, "Brother, whatever you ask, I will do my best to comply."
The flag officer laughed heartily: "Good!"
"I reckon you'll be promoted to brigadier general in a few days for your merits, and then I'll send my son to you."
Chang Yuan immediately agreed: "Brother's son will definitely be outstanding, you can rest assured."
"I just don't know his name..."
The flag officer smiled and said, "My good-for-nothing son is named Gao Su."