Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 42 Three Mirrors of the World
"Very well then," the little boy said softly, his gaze as pure as a stream flowing down a snowy mountain. "I thank you for saving everyone in the caravan, including me."

"But..." the young man asked softly, "Are you also from the Grass Army?"

The women had already bandaged Zhu Wen's wounds. Zhu Wen looked into the young man's eyes and said, "That's right."

"Zhenyi Alliance leader, Wang Xianzhi, many years ago, everyone said he was a great hero. But his subordinates were committing murder and robbery."

The young man spoke clearly, "And the Salt Marshal Huang Chao you follow is the Second Marshal of the Grass Army. You two are in the same group."

When Zhu Wen first saw the young man risking his life to protect everyone, he was moved and stood up as if possessed.

I didn't expect this nerd to say such weird things.

"So, what do you want to say?" Zhu Wen asked angrily.

"I just think that if you want to rob money, food, and women, you shouldn't claim to be acting on behalf of heaven and making up for the equals. If your words and actions don't match, you're not a gentleman."

The young man spoke softly, not sounding like he was scolding Zhu Wen. He looked very serious, and as he spoke, his long, slightly sparse eyelashes trembled slightly across his almond-shaped eyes.

According to the young man's standards, Zhu Wen was definitely not a completely innocent person.

After subduing the Tongshan bandits with his second brother Zhu Cun, Zhu Wen also allowed them to rob merchants and travelers. The only difference between them and other bandits was that they tried their best to avoid killing people and did not allow their men to rape women.

But he had also done things like kidnapping for ransom.

Zhu Wen no longer considered himself a good person.

But the boy's words still made him quite irritated.

I clearly saved the boy, but he said these weird and ungrateful words.

The key point is that Zhu Wen almost lost his life.

"Do you know that what you are saying now is very ungrateful?" Zhu Wen said coldly, his eyes wandering over the young man's face.

Everyone in the caravan couldn't help but change color, and then they all cast flattering glances at Zhu Wen.

They knew that this young man, who had single-handedly killed nearly twenty bandits including Yan Jingming, was not someone they could afford to offend, even though he was seriously injured.

"Perhaps." The young man in Confucian clothing faced Zhu Wen's sharp gaze without a trace of fear: "But it is the truth after all, and the truth may not always be pleasant to the ear."

"You're looking for a beating!" Zhu Wen roared angrily and slapped the young man's face with his palm, leaving a bruise.

The young man shuddered in pain and pursed his lips. "Sir, is this the only way you can use your fists to cover up your guilt when words go against your ears?"

Before he could finish his words, Zhu Wen, who was so angry that his lungs were about to explode, punched the boy on the left cheek again.

This time the blow was obviously much heavier. The boy was knocked back several steps and fell to the ground, his clothes immediately covered with fallen leaves.

The young man staggered to his feet, his voice trembling with pain, but his eyes remained unwavering. "Even if you beat me to death, I won't say anything against my will... The court is certainly bad, but you self-proclaimed heroes, while you high-soundingly claim to save the people, yet you allow your subordinates to do things that harm the people. I cannot stand this kind of thing!"

"The common people have their own wisdom and way of survival. Why do they need so-called heroes to save them?"

Before he could finish his words, Zhu Wen strode over angrily, grabbed the boy by the collar and lifted him up.

He shook his clenched fist in front of the boy's eyes: "Even if I knock all your teeth out, you still say that?"

"No... that's right..." the young man said, and suddenly a small mouthful of blood spilled out, staining the corners of his delicate lips red. "The truth of this world cannot be distorted by any power or force. If you kill me today, you will only eliminate a person who speaks of truth, but truth will last forever like the sun, moon, and stars."

"You dared to kill Yan Jingming because you are more powerful than him. You are a favorite of Huang Chao, the Salt Marshal. You can kill him without worrying about revenge from Wang Xianzhi, the leader of the Zhenyi Alliance. It's not because you are so righteous."

Zhu Wen looked into the boy's eyes and could not feel a trace of fear in them.

This is pure nerdery.

When Zhu Wen was considering whether to punch him again, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Sir, please stop hitting me. Mr. Lan may be a little silly, but he really is a kind-hearted man."

The speaker was the leader of the caravan, a wealthy middle-aged man.

"Yes, Mr. Zhu is a good man. Why should a good man trouble another good man?" Several women echoed, "Mr. Lan is young and not very good at speaking, but he has a kind heart and works hard. We can all see that..."

These words of pleading could not help but surprise Zhu Wen.

Faced with the ferocious power of Yan Jingming's gang, these people had planned to beg "Mr. Lan" to sacrifice himself in exchange for the safety of the rest of the caravan.

They dared to plead for "Mr. Lan" to him.

On second thought, people are judged by comparison. Compared to a vicious and cruel person like Yan Jingming, he can indeed be called a good person.

Faced with absolute violence and evil, these ordinary people will appear particularly cowardly and selfish. But this is not the norm of human nature.

Thinking of this, Zhu Wen suddenly felt much more at ease.

"Boy, I'll let you go for the sake of these elders who plead for you." Zhu Wen breathed a sigh of relief because the wounds on his body began to hurt again.

He gently put Mr. Lan down.

For a moment, everyone in the caravan showed an expression of great joy.

This look is truly sincere.

"Take away the weapons, belts, and money from Yan Jingming and his gang." Zhu Wen glanced around and signaled the caravan members to skin the bodies. "Oh, there are still two who are still alive. Help me finish them off."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a burst of gratitude in the caravan.

Zhu Wen suddenly remembered that when he was a teenager, it was because he loved to hear such voices that he became a hero?
But these nice words can't be eaten after all.

However, he was now in a very cheerful mood.

"You offended Mr. Zhu, such a chivalrous man, thank goodness he was magnanimous and didn't make a fuss with you. Why don't you apologize to him?" A tall man in the caravan spoke to the young man.

"No need to apologize." Zhu Wen walked over and suddenly grabbed the young man's hand. "It looks like he's your accountant, right? I'm taking him away. You guys don't have any more to do with him."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the caravan was shocked.

When they saw Zhu Wen step forward and kill Yan Jingming and others even though he was seriously injured, they all felt that although this young man was also a member of the grass army, he was a true hero. There were indeed good people in the righteous army and they could not be generalized.

Now Zhu Wen has started to talk about taking Mr. Lan away. Could it be that he and Yan Jingming have the same interests?

The young man, whose face was bruised several times by Zhu Wen, looked quite calm. Even when Zhu Wen grabbed his hand, he did not struggle at all.

"What do you want me to go with you?"

"I was thinking that sometimes people have to listen to things they don't like to hear." Zhu Wen smiled, although he found that a slight smile would pull at the wound and make him feel very painful.

"What was that saying?"

"That's right." Zhu Wen's eyes showed great satisfaction: "A man uses copper as a mirror to adjust his clothes and appearance; uses history as a mirror to understand the rise and fall of things; uses people as a mirror to understand gains and losses."

"This is what Emperor Taizong Li Shimin said about Wei Zheng."

"I, Zhu Wen, also need such a mirror."

"So, I decided to let you, this ungrateful brat, be my Wei Zheng!"

For a moment, dozens of people in the caravan were all dumbfounded, staring at Zhu Wen, as if they had seen something they had never imagined in their lives.

Three mirrors in the world.

There is no citizen of the Tang Dynasty who is unaware of this story.

In the eyes of the people of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong was the greatest and wisest ruler after the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

Duke Wei Zheng of Zheng was the most famous and most rude minister to the emperor in history.

The encounter between their ruler and his minister led to the legend of "Three Mirrors of the World" which has been passed down through the ages.

However, how could a young man who looked not much older than Mr. Lan dare to compare himself to Emperor Taizong Li Shimin?
The young man's words were full of confidence that no one else could do it better than him, and he didn't feel that there was anything wrong with it at all.

To everyone's surprise, the boy nodded seriously: "Okay, if your reward satisfies me."

Zhu Wen couldn't help but feel a little amused: "A gentleman doesn't talk about profit, so why would he talk about compensation?"

"If the advice I give you isn't worth the money, I'll do something else to make up for it," the boy said sincerely. "I never take more money than I'm worth."

"Then it's a deal." Zhu Wen released his hand and pretended to high-five the young man as an oath.

A smooth palm, slightly smaller than his, gently struck his palm, feeling very soft.

"Su Ting is deeply sorry that I can no longer work for the caravan." The young man suddenly bowed to the ground and bowed deeply to the caravan members. Then he slowly stood up, took out half a catty of silver from his pocket, and placed it in the caravan leader's hand: "This is Su Ting's cancellation fee."

It turns out that "Lan Suting" is the boy's name.

The leader of the caravan hurriedly declined, but Zhu Wen immediately went over, took Lan Suting away.

He knew that such a serious person would not be able to leave peacefully without paying the cancellation fee.

(End of this chapter)