I asked you to go hunting, and you ended up wearing a yellow robe?

People from the gentry arrived one after another.

The first to arrive was Wang Zhengwen, the eldest patriarch of the Wang family. The old man was in his early sixties, with completely white hair and beard. He leaned on a huanghuali cane and walked with a shaky gait.

He glanced at the dishes on the table as he entered, then gave a half-smile and a half-bowing gesture.

"Since the county magistrate has summoned me, I dare not refuse."

Zhao Bingkun returned the greeting with a smile.

"You're too kind, Mr. Wang. Please have a seat."

Next up was Zhang Xiu, the head of the Zhang family, dressed in a silk robe, followed by two attendants, who were also quite old.

But his son, Zhang Wenyuan, followed behind, and his demeanor was completely different. Zhang Wenyuan was not tall, but he had a big belly, and his triangular eyes darted around everywhere. He looked like a shrewd character.

Zhang Xiu cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, his voice hoarse.

"At my age, to be able to have a meal with the county magistrate, my life has been worthwhile."

Zhao Bingkun quickly stepped forward to help him up.

"Sir, you are too kind. Your presence is a blessing to our county."

Seven or eight more families arrived one after another. Sun Maoliang, the head of the Sun family, was wearing a gray cloth long gown, but his eyes kept glancing at Qi Shan with a look of disgust.

Qi Shan smiled and didn't seem to care, after all, it was about to be his home turf.

Finally, Zhao Yongnian from the Zhao family arrived. He was in his early forties, with a face full of scars, and he walked with a swagger. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"The county magistrate is treating us, and I've come on an empty stomach!"

Zhao Bingkun smiled and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Master Zhao, please take a seat, please."

Of the thirteen prominent families, eleven came; the other two declined to come, citing illness.

Zhao Bingkun didn't mind and invited everyone into the hall, where they sat down according to their status as hosts and guests.

Qi Shan sat down at the main table with Zhao Bingkun. As soon as he sat down, Wang Zhengwen across from him glanced at him and then turned to whisper to Zhang Xiu.

"How come a mere constable is sitting at the table?"

"It's him! Doesn't he know his place? How dare he sit at the same table as me?"

His voice was loud enough that people at the surrounding tables heard it and looked over.

Zhang Xiu held his teacup without speaking, but his son Zhang Wenyuan took over the conversation, speaking in a sarcastic tone.

"Uncle Wang, you may not know this, but Constable Qi is now a favorite of the county magistrate. He killed Li Long and eliminated a major threat, so he's very powerful."

Wang Zhengwen snorted.

"As imposing as it may be, the laws of my Great Zhou Dynasty clearly state that a constable is a clerk, not an official. Which of you here is not a scholar? Even if you are not a Jinshi or Juren, you have at least obtained official rank through donation. He is just a constable..."

He paused deliberately and glanced at Qi Shan.

"Perhaps I'm not quite qualified?"

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Qi Shan said, "Master Zhang, I respect you as my elder, so I'll toast you with this glass of wine."

He picked up his glass, and without getting up, downed it in one gulp.

"But you said I'm not qualified to sit at this table..."

He put down his wine glass and placed his hand back on the hilt of his knife.

Where were you when the thieves came?

"Aren't they somewhere plotting how to surrender and pledge allegiance to Li Long?"

Wang Zhengwen was taken aback, and his expression immediately turned sour.

His face turned pale and then red, his lips trembled twice, but he dared not say a word.

People are not afraid of being slandered, but they are afraid of slander that is actually right!

The bandit general had prepared all the gold and silver for the city's surrender, but unexpectedly, Qi Shan and his men actually managed to hold it.

Zhang Wenyuan tried to smooth things over.

"Oh dear, we're all on the same side, why say such things? The magistrate invited us here, he must have important business to discuss, why make things unpleasant?"

Taking the opportunity, Zhao Bingkun stood up and picked up his wine glass.

"Gentlemen, we are holding this banquet today for two reasons: first, to express our gratitude for your contributions to Qingyang County over the years; and second, to..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Xiu suddenly raised his hand and slowly stood up, leaning on his cane.

"Your Excellency, I am old and cannot tolerate formalities. Please speak plainly if you have something to say. I will not refuse to do what I can, and as for what I cannot do..."

"Don't blame me for not giving you face."

Zhao Bingkun choked for a moment, but his smile remained unchanged.

"Mr. Wang speaks frankly, so I will be frank as well. There are more than three thousand refugees living in the shelters outside the city, and the grain in the county granary will not last for more than a month. I would like to ask you all..."

"Lord County Lord!"

Zhang Wenyuan suddenly stood up, interrupting him.

"I'm afraid I can't do that!"

He glanced at the assembled gentry and raised his voice a few decibels.

"We can barely feed our own tenants, where would we get extra grain to give to the refugees? Besides, this year's harvest was bad, whose granaries aren't empty? For the county magistrate to ask for grain like this is just putting us in a difficult position!"

Wang Zhengwen also stood up, and the iron walnut started spinning again.

"Nephew Wang is right. We lack grain, but we gentry are not unreasonable people. If the county magistrate is in trouble, we can donate money!"

He pulled a silver note from his sleeve and slammed it on the table.

"My Zhang family will donate twenty taels!"

Zhang Wenyuan also took out a silver note.

"The Wang family also donated twenty taels!"

The other families followed suit, and nearly two hundred taels of silver notes were gradually laid out on the table.

Wang Zhengwen clapped his hands, and a smile returned to his face.

"Your Excellency, we have the silver. You can send someone to the neighboring county to buy grain. That will be enough for us. Let's leave it at that."

After he finished speaking, he turned to leave.

Zhang Xiu also stood up, leaning on his cane, and sighed.

"This old man takes his leave."

Qi Shan suddenly stood up and said coldly, "Close the gate."

The two constables at the gate exchanged a glance, then slammed the gate shut with a clang as the iron bolt slammed down.

Wang Zhengwen's expression changed drastically.

"Qi Shan! What do you want to do!"

Zhang Wenyuan also took a step back and pointed at Qishan, shouting.

"We're here to eat! How dare you get rough with us?"

Qi Shan turned around, looked at them, and his face was expressionless.

"Twenty taels?"

He reached out and picked up a silver note from the table, then held it up in front of Wang Zhengwen.

"Master Zhang, your granary holds no less than three thousand shi of grain. Even if you take out half of it, it would only amount to 1,500 shi, which would be worth at least six hundred taels at the current market price."

He slapped the banknote against Wang Zhengwen's chest.

"You brought twenty taels of silver? Is that how you treat a beggar?"

Wang Zhengwen's face flushed red, and his lips trembled as he was unable to speak.

Qi Shan then looked at Zhang Wenyuan.

"Young Master Wang, your family is not bad either. Two thousand five hundred shi of grain is worth at least five hundred taels."

He then looked at the other people.

"Each of you has stockpiled some grain, totaling at least tens of thousands of shi (a unit of dry measure), enough to feed three thousand mouths outside the city. And you're telling me it's only twenty taels?"

"I'm telling you this now: if you don't hand over the grain, nobody's leaving this house!"

Wang Zhengwen's face turned ashen, and he turned to shout at Zhao Bingkun.

"Your Excellency! Listen to this! He's plotting a rebellion! I'm going to the prefectural capital to report you!"

Zhao Bingkun held his teacup without saying a word, and blew on the tea leaves.

Qi Shan walked up to Wang Zhengwen and looked down at him.

"Master Zhang, go ahead and sue, sue all you want, all the way to the provincial capital, all the way to the capital, it's all up to you."

He bent down, leaned closer, lowered his voice, and said in a chilling tone:

"But that's assuming you can walk out of that door."