gnovel Chapter 013 Robbery
Chapter 013 Robbery
The summer sun blazed down on the earth, and the rammed earth along the official road hadn't seen a drop of rain for months, cracking open in the sun. Adding to this, the loess soil in Shaanxi was already dry, and when the wind blew, dust billowed up, blurring the view.
On the official road leading to the prefectural city, pedestrians were few and far between. These days were not like later generations; ordinary people rarely went out. The official road was neither a national highway nor a highway. The journey from the county town to the prefectural city was nearly two hundred li, and it would take at least three or four days. On ordinary days, apart from caravans, ordinary people rarely showed their faces, and even if they did, they were mostly traveling in groups with caravans.
The Zhang family's caravan had left the county town a day ago, and today was the second day. The caravan consisted of a mix of donkey carts and mule carts, making it much faster than using only human labor.
Despite the scorching sun, the convoy dared not slacken its pace and maintained a steady speed. According to the itinerary, they had to reach Willow Terrace to rest for the night and continue their journey tomorrow in order to arrive in the prefectural city on schedule.
The Zhang family's caravan had traveled this road countless times and knew it very well. This time, the leader was Zhang Xiuren, the younger brother of Zhang Xiuguo, the county magistrate, and also the head manager of the Zhang family's business.
Despite having the character "仁" (ren, meaning benevolence) in his name, Zhang Xiuren is completely unrelated to the word "仁".
Over the years, relying on Zhang Xiuguo as their backer, the Zhang family business has almost monopolized the county's grain purchase. Under the pretext of collecting taxes and grain, they have openly and secretly exploited the people, accumulating a lot of ill-gotten gains without any conscience.
Although the lion's share belonged to Zhang Xiuguo, Zhang Xiuren, the shopkeeper, also pocketed a considerable amount for himself. In just a few years, he became one of the wealthiest businessmen in the area, living a comfortable and carefree life.
This time, Zhang Xiuren personally led the convoy to the prefectural city, which was unusual for him. Firstly, this batch of grain was larger than usual, and secondly, this trip was also at Zhang Xiuguo's behest.
Not long ago, a major case occurred in the county town. The county prison was robbed. Several notorious bandits not only took away the prisoners, but also killed Zhao, the head constable of the county government.
Although the matter was suppressed by Magistrate Fan Zhengren, in conjunction with County Assistant Zhang Xiuguo and Clerk Shi Teng, and ostensibly closed as a revenge killing, undercurrents were already swirling within the county. Furthermore, Magistrate Fan Zhengren's tax collection efforts to curry favor with his superiors had caused widespread resentment and complaints throughout the county. County Assistant Zhang Xiuguo sensed an opportunity and specifically sent Zhang Xiuren to the prefectural city under the guise of delivering grain, to deliver gifts to his superiors and, incidentally, to sow discord among Fan Zhengren, hoping to find a chance for further advancement.
Of course, only Zhang Xiuren knew about this; the rest of the team were completely unaware.
Sitting on the mule cart, the cart swayed gently along the slightly bumpy official road. Zhang Xiuren was drowsy, his head nodding intermittently, the rhythmic sound of the wheels rolling over the yellow earth and gravel filling his ears.
He didn't know how long he had dozed off before he woke up, lifted the curtain to look outside, and turned to ask, "What time is it? Where are we?"
"Reporting to Second Master, it's just past 1 PM. Shijiagou is just ahead."
Zhang Xiuren glanced at the sun and nodded. This speed wasn't bad; he should be able to reach Willow Tree Terrace before sunset, get a good night's rest there, and enter the prefectural city by tomorrow evening.
"Tell Zhang Da to hurry up and get to the destination as soon as possible so they can rest."
"Yes, Second Master." The servant replied and quickly ran to find Steward Zhang Da to relay the message. Before long, the caravan picked up its speed slightly and continued along the official road.
After traveling for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the mule cart beneath them suddenly stopped without warning.
Zhang Xiuren was taken aback and poked his head out to ask what was going on. A servant ran off to inquire and returned shortly to report: "A tree has fallen down on the road ahead, blocking the main road. Zhang Dazheng is leading people to clear it."
"Tell him to hurry up! Move it quickly, don't delay the time!" Zhang Xiuren said irritably, then shrank back into the car. The sun outside was so scorching that it felt like one's skin was about to crack. There was at least some breeze when the car was moving, but now that it was stopped, the car was like a sauna, so stuffy that it was hard to breathe.
He had thought that moving a tree would only take a short while. But to his utter surprise, just as he got back into his car, a commotion suddenly broke out in front of him, followed by several exclamations.
"What's wrong now?" Zhang Xiuren was furious. What was all this commotion about? Did the guys have a fight?
He was about to get out of the car to take a look when a series of exclamations rang out, interspersed with two sharp screams and wails.
"Hands on your head! Crouch down! Anyone who moves will be killed!"
"Don't even think about resisting! And don't even think about running away! We're after money, not our lives today. If any of you are foolish enough to do this, this will be your fate!"
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Zhang Xiuren, in the middle of the convoy, hadn't quite grasped the situation. He had just gotten off the carriage and was looking around when he saw a servant running towards him, his face ashen. Upon seeing him, the servant cried out in a panic, "It's terrible, Second Master! We've encountered bandits ahead!"
"What? Bandits!"
Zhang Xiuren was stunned for a moment, and his face turned pale when he realized what was happening. Seeing the chaos ahead, he didn't have time to think and ran as fast as he could towards the back of the convoy.
Bandits are coming! He's not stupid; if he doesn't run now, is he going to wait for them to arrive? Run! Run now! As long as he's alive, he can always fight another day. His life is more important!
But before he could run more than a few steps, chaos erupted behind him. Screams and cries mingled together, and Zhang Xiuren's heart sank. He looked left and right, intending to flee to either side of the main road, but just then, figures appeared from both sides. Surrounded by bandits on all sides, his convoy was trapped, with no way to escape.
Zhou Lun and his group had long been eyeing Zhang Xiuren's convoy.
Two days ago, they had been hiding nearby with their men, patiently waiting for Zhang Xiuren to walk right into their room.
Li Zhong volunteered to find out the convoy's itinerary. Despite his young age, he was very clever. As a fugitive, he was used to running around in the mountains and was as agile as a rabbit. Since recognizing Li Wanqing as his godfather and having a few days of good food, his originally sallow and thin face had regained some color.
Upon learning that Zhou Lun was sending someone to find out the enemy's whereabouts, Li Zhong was eager to try. He said that he was young and familiar with the surrounding terrain, making him the perfect scout. Zhou Lun agreed, and besides, a child going out to gather information wouldn't attract attention, so he assigned the task to him. Li Zhong didn't disappoint, completing the task efficiently and effectively.
Having calculated the exact time of Zhang Xiuren's arrival, Zhou Lun set up an ambush, cutting down a dead tree and placing it across the official road, while the group hid on both sides of the road.
When the convoy arrived, the road ahead was blocked, so they naturally stopped. Zhang Xiuren's convoy probably never thought they would be robbed here, or perhaps they were used to traveling smoothly over the years because they had the support of County Magistrate Zhang Xiuguo. They took the dead tree as an accident and moved it without any precautions, completely unaware that they had walked into Zhou Lun's trap.
At his command, Li Wanqing led his men to attack from the front.
The guards of the convoy, startled, instinctively made a gesture of resistance. Li Wanqing, prepared, nocked an arrow, drew his bow, and with two swift shots, cleanly felled two guards. Although not fatal, the two arrows terrified the remaining guards, not to mention the ordinary servants and helpers of the Zhang family.
Immediately afterward, Zhou Lun led his men to block their retreat, while Li Shoutian and Wang Tieniu emerged from both sides. They surrounded the group from all sides, completely trapping them. Even if anyone tried to escape, Li Wanqing's archery skills were formidable; anyone who dared to run would be shot. Terrified, everyone abandoned any thought of escape and knelt on the ground, begging for mercy and pleading with the king to spare their lives.
Once the situation was under control, Li Wanqing didn't commit any further killings. He followed the pre-arranged plan: as long as these people didn't resist and obeyed, letting them live was fine. After all, most of them had no grudge against Li Wanqing, and many were even local villagers. He was there to seek money and goods, not to kill; once he had what he wanted, there was no need to take more lives.
"Big brother! We're rich! We're rich!"
Li Shoutian came running over excitedly, his face beaming.
The Zhang family's caravan this time was quite large, consisting of thirty-one large carts. Aside from the one Zhang Xiuren was in, the other thirty carts were loaded not only with grain but also with cloth and other goods. Even more remarkably, Li Shoutian found a considerable amount of valuables in Zhang Xiuren's cart, including 1,500 taels of silver, a jade Buddha over a foot tall, and a considerable amount of jewelry—a substantial sum indeed.
Hearing Li Shoutian's explanation, although the exact amount hadn't been tallied yet, it was clear this deal had been incredibly profitable. Leaving aside the valuables, the grain alone was plentiful, enough to feed them for more than half a year. The problem that had plagued them for so long was suddenly solved.
"Big Brother!" Just then, Zhou Lun walked over from the back of the convoy.
"Second brother! Well done! With this grain, we won't have to worry for now," Li Wanqing said cheerfully.
Zhou Lun, however, showed no joy on his face and gave him a wink: "Come with me."
Li Wanqing was taken aback. Although he didn't understand what it meant, he still followed and walked to the side.
Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, Zhou Lun waved behind him, and an old man dressed in plain clothes walked out with a wry smile.
Li Wanqing stared intently, first stunned, then with an incredulous expression, blurting out, "Manager Liu? What are you doing here?"