Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 493, Section 492: The Liu Family's Past

Upon hearing this, Feng Xiuhu exclaimed in surprise, "Your father is such a good fighter?"

Liu Weisen quickly waved his hand: "Of course not. My father also brought cigarettes, alcohol and money with him, under the guise of 'rewarding' them. He then discussed with the bandits that as long as they were lenient with the Liu family's caravan, they would receive monthly tributes from them."

Feng Xiuhu immediately understood and exclaimed, "So he went to be a reconnaissance soldier."

Liu Weisen nodded with a smile: "Mr. Ma is right. My father did this precisely to investigate the details of each village. Firstly, to find out the number of people and equipment in each village, and secondly, to find out whether each village is a 'starving bandit' or a 'fierce bandit'."

Feng Xiuhu blinked: "What's the difference?"

Liu Weisen explained: "There is a big difference. Starving bandits are looking for a way to survive, while ruthless bandits take pleasure in plundering."

"After figuring these things out, my father, as agreed, would send 'tribute' to the mountains from time to time. This helped him figure out all the routes and also made him familiar with the villages."

"But my father did much more in secret: he recruited guards and trained local militia; he planted spies in the bandits' strongholds and sowed discord; the bandits' strongholds were even simpler to deal with, they were just looking for money and survival, and my father could provide all of that. After a few sincere attempts to recruit them, he could get them to break up their gang on their own, either to go down the mountain to work for the Liu family or to take the money back to their hometown."

"Once everything is ready, Father will do the government a favor by sending the Da Xuan Army to suppress the bandits in the name of the government."

"But in fact, the Great Xuan Army didn't even need to lift a finger. My father devised several strategies, and even if the bandits wanted to resist, their arrogance vanished the moment they saw the Great Xuan Army waiting below the mountain. They could only scatter like birds and beasts. From then on, there were no more bandits around Zhenqiu City—I mean, at least there were no more tyrannical bandits."

Feng Xiuhu gave a thumbs up: "You have guts and courage—what's the name of the storybook your dad reads? Recommend it to me later."

Liu Weisen took it as a joke, smiled nonchalantly, and didn't respond.

Feng Xiuhu, however, refused to let him off the hook, raising his chin at Liu Weisen: "Next, it's your turn, the third-generation Liu the Great Philanthropist, what have you done this time?"

A moment of embarrassment flashed across Liu Weisen's face. He pursed his lips, and after a moment shook his head and said, "I didn't do anything. I just ran my business honestly, and I was able to rely on my father's legacy to have the people of Zhenqiu greet me with smiles."

"Then you really need to work harder."

Feng Xiuhu nodded in agreement, then suddenly remembered something else: "Why don't you stay in Zhenqiu City and do more good deeds? Why are you thinking about finding treasure?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Weisen smiled wryly: "Mr. Ma really hit a nerve."

"To be honest, ever since the foreigners opened their factory in Yu'ai Prefecture, the Liu family's business has been greatly affected. Although it has not yet plummeted, it is visibly declining."

Feng Xiuhu then realized that he didn't know exactly what kind of business the Liu family was in, so he interjected and asked, "What kind of business does your family run?"

Liu Weisen replied, "In the freight business on the main road, starting from my father's generation, 80% of the shops in the entire Yu'ai Prefecture used our family to transport goods."

Feng Xiuhu was puzzled: "Since it's a cargo transportation business, how could foreigners running factories affect the Liu family?"

Liu Weisen sighed: "Mr. Ma, it seems you don't know why the foreigners are mining in Yu'ai Prefecture."

Feng Xiuhu genuinely didn't know and waited for Liu Weisen's next words.

Liu Weisen said, "The mines opened by foreigners are meant to supply factories all over Da Xuan, but how are they going to transport them out?"

Liu Weisen paused, then said in a dry voice, "They want to build the railway first—to be precise, it's almost finished."

Feng Xiuhu suddenly understood—no wonder, once the train started moving, the Liu family really wasn't involved anymore. He asked, "So you need some money to keep your business running, and that's why you're looking for treasure?"

"it's not true."

When asked about this, Liu Weisen seemed somewhat dejected: "The reason I need to search for treasure is because I need a large sum of money to buy land."

Before Feng Xiuhu could ask, he took the initiative to explain the reason: "Back then, when my father was suppressing bandits, in order to prevent the bandits from making a comeback, he discussed with the government and agreed to lend a piece of mountain that originally belonged to the Liu family's ancestral home to the Da Xuan Army for garrisoning."

“The Great Xuan Army occupies the foot of the mountain, and the Liu family has never stopped them from worshipping there every year. My father had his own selfish reasons, believing that with the Great Xuan Army there, the ancestral home could be kept safe and peaceful, so he never mentioned returning it again, and it remains so to this day.”

"But some time ago I suddenly learned that the foreigners signed a contract with the government to mine, and the mountain where the Liu family's ancestral home is located was also included in the contract."

“I went to the government office to reason with them. The government office was willing to help, but the foreigners confronted me with the contract, and then used the Duke of Daguo and the church as their backers. They even said that the President had agreed to the mining and factory construction. The government office was helpless.”

"The only way left is to break the contract and pay the amount for breach of contract—a sum that is terrifying. Even if the Liu family were sold off, they couldn't afford it. So my only hope is to pin my hopes on the bandit king's treasure for restoring his kingdom."

Feng Xiuhu came up with a terrible idea: "Why don't we move our ancestral home? We can move it to the city and save ourselves the trouble of going to the mountains every year."

Liu Weisen glanced at him helplessly: "Do you even know what an ancestral home is? It's not just a house there; all our ancestors, generation after generation, are buried on the mountain. Are you suggesting we bring them to the city too?"

Feng Xiuhu rested his chin on his hand and pondered: "That's really not suitable, mainly because your house can't accommodate so many people."

Shunzi sat outside the carriage curtain and listened for a long time. When he heard Feng Xiuhu's words, he almost choked on his rice and quickly pounded his chest.

Hearing the noise, Feng Xiuhu took the thermos from Liu Weisen's arms and then turned around to hand it outside: "Drink some water, don't choke."

Liu Weisen: "..."

Turning to Feng Xiuhu, he asked again, "Whether the treasure can be found or not depends on fate. Since you dare to place your hopes on it, it means you have at least some confidence in yourself—so what exactly is your confidence?"

Liu Weisen gave Feng Xiuhu a deep look, seemingly considering whether or not to tell the truth.

Feng Xiuhu said, "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine too. My brother and I will leave now. I haven't had a good night's sleep in the two days I've been with you. If I don't bring it up, you'll really think I'm just looking for trouble?"

Shunzi chimed in from outside the carriage curtain: "Brother, you can sleep in the carriage tonight. I'll keep watch for you, and I guarantee no one will disturb you."

Liu Weisen smiled wryly: "Mr. Ma is a man of strong emotions, and it would be really inappropriate for me to keep hiding it."

He licked his lips: "Actually, I've always known who possessed the genuine treasure map."

Feng Xiuhu's eyes lit up: "The descendant of the legendary close attendant of the King of Nanyu?"

Liu Weisen nodded silently: "That's right, his name is Chen Dejin. He is a local of Duoyun City. His family has been searching for treasure for generations, but they have never succeeded."

"You can tell from this name how much Chen Dejin's father hoped to find a treasure in his generation. Unfortunately, by the time of Chen Dejin's father, the family business had been completely ruined."

(End of this chapter)