knife

Chapter 17 Robbery
"I heard that Commander Linghu wants to take my life?" Zhang Ruo asked bluntly, standing in front of Linghu Zhishu.

Linghu Zhishu smiled broadly and shook his head repeatedly: "These are all rumors. With your wisdom, Scholar, you should be able to see through the mystery. It's nothing more than some people in the court who are afraid that the world is not chaotic enough, so they have gone to great lengths to cause trouble. The Northern Yuan has never given up its desire to destroy our Great Qin. They are secretly colluding with certain forces within our country, spreading rumors and slander, and they will stop at nothing to do. These people also have henchmen outside the pass, but most of them have already been arrested by us. The rest have all fled and will be brought to justice soon. At that time, Scholar, you can personally interrogate them."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ruo paused for a moment.

Linghu Zhishu spoke politely, but the sarcasm in his words was extremely strong, almost as if he were pointing his finger at him and asking, "Are you, Zhang Ruo, also an inside agent of the Northern Yuan?"

“I am nothing but a criminal exiled to serve in the army beyond the Great Wall, how could I be a scholar!” he said sadly.

"Scholar, you flatter me!" Linghu Zhishu said politely. "Our commander knows that you are unparalleled in loyalty and righteousness, and the world knows your character. Look, even when you were convicted and exiled, you still had the Yuan brothers, who are famous throughout the martial arts world, escorting you all the way. This is not a treatment that ordinary people can receive!"

Linghu Zhishu smiled and bowed to the Yuan brothers, who returned the gesture with clasped hands. Linghu Zhishu was a very important figure; the fact that he knew their names was a complete surprise to them, and filled them with joy.

In the world of gangsters, reputation means everything.

“Since the commander-in-chief doesn’t want to kill me, then once I’m here beyond the pass, I must take a good look around and see if Commander Linghu is truly as loyal and righteous as you claim!” Zhang Ruo said sternly. “If he is as you say, I will naturally apologize with a bundle of thorns on my back. If he is not, then even if I am torn to pieces, I will issue a proclamation to the world to condemn his crimes.”

Linghu Zhishu straightened his posture and said coldly, "Scholar Zhang, the future is long, you'll see! Commander Linghu joined the army at eighteen, and now he is fifty-one. He has spent thirty-one years outside the Great Wall, rising from a lowly squad leader to the commander of a hundred thousand troops. He has twelve scars, three of which nearly cost him his life, and he only escaped death by sheer luck. In these thirty-one years, seventeen members of the Linghu clan have died on the battlefield. To say that Commander Linghu is disloyal to the Great Qin is simply laughable!"

Zhang Ruo nodded: "I know what you're saying, but the past doesn't define the present or the future. If Commander Linghu has nothing to hide, he naturally won't be afraid of me shining this light on him."

Linghu Zhishu nodded and said, "It will be as you wish, Scholar. I came here specifically to escort you to Zhenwu City. Why don't we set off now?"

“Alright!” Zhang Ruo nodded without hesitation: “Then I’ll leave the rest of the journey to the secretary!”

"It's my duty!" Linghu Zhishu said, "Please wait a moment, Scholar, I have a few more words to say to General Xiao and the others."

"Please go ahead!" Zhang Ruo said, "I also have some things to take care of here."

When Linghu Zhishu turned around, he saw Xiao Changche riding back on horseback, while Li Dachui rode slowly back behind him. Seeing Xiao Changche's furious expression, Linghu Zhishu felt a little relieved.

"General Xiao, what did that bandit leader do to offend you this time?"

“I asked him about the tens of thousands of able-bodied men from three years ago, and he vehemently denied it!” Xiao Changche said with a gloomy face.

"Of course he won't admit it." Linghu Zhishu didn't take it seriously. However, judging from Xiao Changche's appearance, he was definitely not angry because of this. Li Dachui was just a brat who deserved a beating. It was just that the people who were capable of beating him couldn't for various reasons, and even protected him. The others, on the other hand, couldn't beat him.

"Tens of thousands of able-bodied men have vanished without a trace, Linghu Zhishu. It's been three years. Have you been doing nothing? I've heard that the Iron Curtain spends hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year. What have you been doing?" Xiao Changche roared.

“We’ve made some progress on Li Dachui’s hideout!” Linghu Zhishu raised an eyebrow. Since they were talking about official business, he wouldn’t allow Xiao Changche to find fault with him at will. “As for the expenses of the Iron Curtain, if General Xiao has any questions, he can ask the Marshal himself. The Marshal’s Mansion conducts audits every year.”

Xiao Changche looked up at the sky and said, "You really spend money like water. My men are so poor, their equipment is not even as good as a bandit's!"

“General Xiao, you can’t speak such a lie. With 100,000 troops stationed outside the pass, your men’s equipment should be among the top three, right? As for that Li Dachui, can we judge him by common sense?” Linghu Zhishu said indignantly.

Xiao Changche glanced at the other man and asked, "How much money should the Commander-in-Chief have given me this year? How much did he actually give me?"

“This year has indeed been difficult, as General Xiao has also seen. Why did Zhang Ru come here?” Linghu Zhishu said, “General Xiao, you also have territory under your control. You can raise funds on your own. You can’t have the Marshal’s Mansion coordinate everything.”

"So-called self-raised funds are just looting, aren't they? If so, how are the government troops any different from bandits?"

Li Dachui dismounted and walked over, and the two immediately stopped talking.

Regardless of their disagreement, it was an internal matter for the garrison outside the pass, and naturally they didn't want Li Dachui, this guy who was both friend and foe, to see them make a fool of themselves.

"General Xiao, the price is negotiable," Li Dachui said very sincerely.

"Get out!" Xiao Changche roared in anger.

"I wonder what kind of business it is? May I take a stake?" Linghu Zhishu asked with a smile.

"That's right, I'm preparing for..."

"Shut up!" Xiao Changche's hand was on the hilt of his sword, his eyebrows were raised, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.

He was genuinely angry. Li Dachui immediately shut up.

Linghu Zhishu coughed incessantly.

Xiao Changche glared fiercely at Li Dachui, then turned around. Xiao Dongwei led over his warhorse, mounted it without a word, spurred it on, and the horse neighed and galloped away.

With the sound of bugles, the three thousand cavalrymen, from the rear guard to the front, departed in an orderly fashion, disappearing completely in a short time.

"We lost money!" Li Dachui looked at the towering mound of corpses and the piles of dead bodies, his face full of misery. "This Xiao Changche is practically crawled out of a beggar's heist. He even stripped the dead of their clothes, took the horses, and collected all the weapons and weapons. Damn, he didn't even leave the dead horses behind. Has this guy gone mad with poverty?"

Fang Xiaomao strode over: "Young Master, that's not all. We still need to deal with these corpses! Too many people have died, and we can't handle the wild animals and such outside. If they're piled up outside, it'll cause an epidemic. This place is also a major thoroughfare, so it would be even worse if the disease spreads to people."

"We've lost a fortune!" Li Dachui turned to stare at Linghu Zhishu, his eyes flashing with malice. "Secretary Linghu, Xiao Changche is utterly unethical. Doesn't he understand the principle of splitting things in half? He just asked to talk to me, but it turns out he was secretly doing this. He has absolutely no sense of decorum. Tell me, how are you going to compensate me?"

Linghu Zhishu remained unfazed and stared directly at Li Dachui: "Li Dachui, this is between you and Xiao Changche, what does it have to do with me! I have done everything you asked for. Scholar Zhang will arrive in Zhenwu City safely, and the Commander-in-Chief will receive him solemnly and introduce him to the gentlemen outside the pass. But what about what you promised me?"

“Li Dachui is a man of his word, he never goes back on his promises. What you wanted has already arrived in Zhenwu City. You’ll see it when you get back!” Li Dachui said.

"Alright, then let's leave it at that!" Linghu Zhishu said, "Don't let me catch you red-handed, or I won't show any mercy."

"What am I afraid of!" Li Dachui looked up at the sky. "If you really dared to make a move, I would have done it already. Why don't you go to Tai'an City and ask the city lord first!"

"Shameless!" Linghu Zhishu roared.

"What's so shameless about it?" Li Dachui angrily pointed at Chang Jian in the distance and said, "If you weren't surnamed Linghu, if you didn't have this old man protecting you, believe me, I would have killed you with one stroke. We're both the same kind of people, so why do you only curse me and not yourself?"

Linghu Zhishu was speechless.

When you really think about it, isn't that exactly the truth?

In terms of martial arts cultivation, he had only just entered the Profound Origin Realm, at the seventh rank. Outside the pass, everyone treated him with utmost respect, not because of his cultivation level, but because of his power—power that came from the Grand Marshal. This was strikingly similar to the situation of the Tai'an City Lord standing behind Li Dachui.

You don't say his scar is numb!

"Someone come here! Take Miss Qingyun with us, let's go!" Linghu Zhishu was still thinking when he heard Li Dachui's shout. Before he could react, Zhang Qingyun was grabbed by Fang Xiaomao and thrown into the air to Li Dachui amidst Zhang Qingyun's scream.

"Li Dachui, what are you doing?" Linghu Zhishu shouted angrily.

"What's so strange about bandits abducting women?" Li Dachui hugged Zhang Qingyun and laughed loudly. "Secretary Linghu, Xiao Changche made me lose a lot of money, so I have to make up for it. Hahaha, maybe I'll even become Scholar Zhang's son-in-law in the future! If anything happens to my father-in-law in your place, I won't let you off the hook."

Amidst loud laughter, Li Dachui rode away on his horse.

Fang Xiaomao gave a whistle, and the three hundred knights of the Emperor's Camp spurred their horses and gave chase, leaving a crowd of people dumbfounded.

"Elder Chang!" Linghu Zhishu shouted.

Chang Jian laughed and said, "I think they're both willing to do this. Besides, the commander only asked me to protect your safety, not to do anything else. I don't want to offend Li Dachui. I'm planning to go to Tai'an City to pay my respects to the old city lord when I have time this year!"

Linghu Zhishu looked at Zhang Ruo.

"My body is like a willow catkin drifting in the wind, my heart like duckweed floating on the water!" Zhang Ruo said calmly, "I've been traveling with you for some time now, and this Li Dachui is not bad. My daughter will be fine. Secretary, there's no need to worry."

Linghu Zhishu snorted, his face somewhat unpleasant. He never expected Li Dachui to pull this stunt.

"Scholar, let's set off! Now that I've taken over the case of Judge Wu and Scholar Zhang, your mission is complete, and you can return. Brother Yuan, would you like to take a stroll around Zhenwu City, or go back as well?"

Yuan Rong laughed and said, "It's rare for us to come out of the pass. Zhenwu City is a very famous place. How could my brother and I pass by such a treasure and not go in? Of course we have to go and have a look."

After a moment's hesitation, Wu De also said, "Secretary, I also want to go and broaden my horizons!"

"In that case, let's go together!" Linghu Zhishu said with a forced smile.

(End of this chapter)