gnovel Chapter 19 Shi Wenbin
Chapter 19 Shi Wenbin
The two returned to the inn, and Wu Yong closed the door.
"Brother, this Song Jiang..."
Liu Bei walked to the table and poured himself a glass of water.
"He's a smart man."
"Know who you can offend and who you must befriend."
"He helped the old man because the old man posed no threat to him and it would also earn him a good reputation."
"He helped us because we have a good reputation in the underworld. Befriending us will be of great use to him in the future."
Wu Yong suddenly realized.
"Therefore, the more enthusiastic and righteous he appears today, the more it shows that he has great ambitions."
Liu Bei took a sip of water.
"He wanted to use human relationships as a rein to control all the heroes in the world and make them work for him."
"Unfortunately, his reins were first tied to a woman. He was ambitious, but he couldn't judge people. He was a friend of a tiger, and in the end, he was the one who was hurt by it."
Wu Yong shook his fan and chuckled softly.
"My brother has keen insight."
Liu Bei put down his teacup.
"After we meet with Shi Wenbin tomorrow, we will begin preparing for the next step of our plan."
"Yes, brother."
……
at the same time.
Daming Mansion, left-behind department.
The night is deep.
The study of Liang Zhongshu was brightly lit.
Yang Zhi, covered in dust and still in his armor, knelt on one knee below the hall.
His left shoulder was wrapped in thick bandages, with traces of blood seeping out.
The old steward knelt beside him, trembling all over.
Liang Zhongshu sat behind his desk, looking at Yang Zhi with a gloomy expression.
"You said you flattened Liangshan and killed the bandit leader Wang Lun?" Liang Zhongshu's voice was unreadable.
Yang Zhi lowered his head even further.
"Yes. This humble general led the troops to attack the mountain. The bandits resisted stubbornly. This humble general... this humble general personally killed the bandit leaders Wang Lun, Du Qian, Song Wan and others, and destroyed the bandit's lair."
Liang Zhongshu sneered.
"What about the birthday gifts?"
Yang Zhi's body trembled slightly.
"Reporting to you, my lord. This humble general... this humble general has searched the entire Liangshan area, but has not found any trace of the birthday tribute."
"Snapped!"
Liang Zhongshu slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups jump.
"waste!"
He stood up, walked up to Yang Zhi, and kicked him in the chest.
Yang Zhi groaned and swayed, but did not fall down.
"I gave you three thousand soldiers and ten warships! Is this how you repay me?!" Liang Zhongshu was furious.
The old steward, now in cahoots with Yang Zhi, hurriedly explained, "Sir, please calm down. Although Supervisor Yang failed to recover the birthday tribute, he did seize a considerable amount of valuables that the bandits had been hoarding for many years."
Liang Zhongshu immediately reached out his hand: "Let me see it."
Yang Zhi gritted his teeth, took out a booklet from his pocket, and presented it with both hands.
"All the valuables are here; please take a look, sir."
Liang Zhongshu snatched the booklet and flipped through a few pages hastily.
Gold and silver utensils, silks and satins, antiques and calligraphy and paintings... all kinds of items, the total estimated value is thirty to forty thousand strings of cash.
His anger subsided somewhat.
"What about Lin Chong?"
A hint of hatred flashed in Yang Zhi's eyes.
"This humble general is incompetent. That Lin Chong is extremely cunning. He was not on the mountain when this humble general attacked it. According to the confession of the bandit leader Wang Lun before his death, Lin Chong had already turned against him and fled far away with the birthday gifts."
Liang Zhongshu frowned.
Is this really true?
Yang Zhi said, "Wang Lun was beaten to the point of near death, so he probably wouldn't dare to lie. Besides, I also feel that there's something fishy about this matter."
Liang Zhongshu sat back down in his chair.
"explain."
Yang Zhi sorted out his thoughts.
"My lord, think about it. Wang Lun is nothing but a pedantic scholar, and his subordinates Du Qian and Song Wan are both mediocre. If Liangshan didn't have a top-notch expert like Lin Chong in charge, how could they have repeatedly robbed government offices and escaped unscathed?"
"This humble general dares to guess that Wang Lun, from beginning to end, was merely a puppet that Lin Chong put out into the open."
"With our army pressing in, Lin Chong knew the situation was hopeless, so he devised a plan to escape. He deliberately left Wang Lun to guard the mountain stronghold to draw our main force away. He then took the opportunity to flee with the birthday gifts."
"He used the entire Liangshan stronghold and the lives of all his henchmen to make himself a scapegoat!"
These words are perfectly reasonable.
The character of Lin Chong is portrayed vividly and realistically.
This also makes Yang Zhi's failure seem less like his incompetence.
Liang Zhongshu's expression kept changing.
"This plan does make some sense. It seems that Lin Chong is not only a warrior, but also quite resourceful, and is a real threat."
Liang Zhongshu let out a long sigh.
He knew that the birthday gifts were gone forever.
Now, all we can do is try to mitigate the losses.
He looked at Yang Zhi and said coldly, "Tell me again what happened when you were attacked that day."
After Yang Zhi finished speaking, Liang Zhongshu narrowed his eyes slightly: "So, besides Lin Chong, you didn't see that dual-sword master either?"
Yang Zhi nodded: "I didn't see him."
Liang Zhongshu asked, "Do you still remember what they looked like?"
Yang Zhi replied, "I remember! The man who wielded two swords had sword-like eyebrows, no beard, and dark skin. Another one was a bald, beardless, and eyebrowless ascetic. The remaining four were just dressed as ordinary mountain bandits."
Liang Zhongshu slammed his fist on the table: "Portrait, issue an arrest warrant!"
"yes!"
Liang Zhongshu took a few more deep breaths before his expression calmed down.
Yang Zhi.
"Your subordinate is here."
"I'll give you another chance to redeem yourself through good deeds."
Yang Zhi's spirits lifted.
"Please give your orders, sir!"
Liang Zhongshu picked up an official document from the table and threw it in front of him.
"Recently, in the territory of Daming Prefecture, there have been many refugees and bandits. In particular, in several areas bordering Dongping Prefecture and Jizhou Prefecture, some people are secretly recruiting soldiers and stockpiling grain, with ill intentions."
Yang Zhi's heart skipped a beat.
Liang Zhongshu continued, "I order you to immediately lead five hundred elite soldiers to Jizhou Prefecture to assist the local government in suppressing the bandits."
"Any manor or powerful family found to be hoarding grain or recruiting refugees shall be treated as treason."
"The confiscated property was used entirely to cover the deficit in the birthday tribute."
"Did you understand?"
Yang Zhi picked up the official document from the ground, his eyes filled with determination.
"This subordinate obeys!"
……
The next morning, Song Jiang personally drove a horse-drawn carriage to the entrance of the inn.
He changed into casual clothes, but his face still wore that warm smile.
"Brother Chao Gai, I'm late."
Liu Bei and Wu Yong got into the carriage.
"Thank you for your trouble, my dear brother."
The carriage traveled through several streets and alleys before stopping in front of a grand mansion.
This is the residence of Shi Wenbin, the magistrate of Yuncheng County.
Song Jiang jumped off the carriage, walked familiarly to the side door, whispered a few words to the gatekeeper, and then slipped him a string of copper coins.
The gatekeeper immediately beamed and bowed as he led the three inside.
After passing through the garden and around the screen wall, the three met the magistrate of Yuncheng County in a quiet study.
Shi Wenbin was about forty years old, slightly overweight, and had a very neatly groomed beard.
He was wearing a loose silk robe and sitting in a grand chair, playing with two walnuts in his hands.
"My lord, Chief Justice Chao from Dongxi Village has arrived." Song Jiang stepped forward and bowed.
Shi Wenbin then lazily raised his eyelids and sized up Liu Bei.
"You are Chao Gai?"
Liu Bei cupped his hands in greeting.
"This humble citizen, Chao Gai, greets Your Excellency, the County Magistrate."
Shi Wenbin grunted in agreement and turned his gaze to Song Jiang.
"Sir Song, is this the man you came to speak to me about last night?"
Song Jiang quickly replied, "That's right. Chief Chao is honest and kind, and he is charitable. Now he wants to share the burden of the court by selling grain to relieve the refugees. Please do me a favor, sir."
Shi Wenbin remained noncommittal, simply looking at Liu Bei.
"Trading grain is a good thing. However, according to the laws of the court, the travel permit requires a wealthy family to act as guarantor, and a considerable amount of tax must be paid."
Liu Bei stepped forward.
"I understand. But what I want to do is not the ordinary trade of grain."
Shi Wenbin's eyebrows twitched.
"Oh?"
Liu Bei took out something wrapped in black cloth from his bosom and placed it on the table.
He didn't open it.
"This humble subject wishes to partner with you, sir, on this business. I will provide the capital and manpower. You only need to remain in Yuncheng and do me the favor."
"After the matter is accomplished, you shall receive 20% of all profits."
The study was very quiet.
Only the two walnuts in Shi Wenbin's hand made a spinning sound.
Song Jiang stood aside, eyes downcast, seemingly oblivious to everything.
After a long while, Shi Wenbin stopped what he was doing.
He looked at Liu Bei, and for the first time, a smile appeared on his face.
"Chao Baozheng is indeed a straightforward man."
"It is my duty as an official to bring benefits to the people in my jurisdiction. Talking about money is vulgar."
He stood up, walked to the window, and put his hands behind his back.
"I've heard that the official granary in the west of the city was abandoned some time ago due to rainwater seepage. It's a large place, and it's near the dock. If you don't mind, Lord Chao, you can take it and use it for now."
"As for the travel permit, you can have Clerk Song come and collect it tomorrow."
Liu Bei bowed deeply to his retreating figure.
"Thank you, sir."
Shi Wenbin waved his hand.
"Go."
As Song Jiang emerged from the county government office, his smile became even more genuine than before.
"Brother, you see, I was right. Master Shi is a very easy person to talk to."
Liu Bei smiled.
"It was all thanks to my brother's intervention."