Thief Emperor

Chapter 35: Making up excuses!

The Gu family can basically be said to be the richest family in Shidai.

Their family's wealth was so huge that they probably had tens of thousands of strings of cash, not to mention a lot. Therefore, the 5,000 strings of cash that Li had extorted from the Gu family before, although it was not a small sum in any way, was only a slight pain for the Gu family.

It's not even a broken bone.

And now, the head of the Gu family has arrived, and he has come to give a thank-you gift to the village chief Li. When a fat goose flies by, it is natural for them to pluck a few of his feathers if they can!

"Suppressing bandits?"

Mr. Gu was startled for a moment, then glanced at County Magistrate Xue and asked, "Brother Yue Ji?"

Mr. Xue had fallen out with the Gu family before, but after venting some of his anger when he saw the uncle and nephew with bruised faces and noses last time, he was not as angry as before.

In addition, the head of the Gu family in front of him was a fifth-rank local official in the imperial court in his early years. He was considered a senior in the officialdom and he could not be completely disrespected.

After Mr. Xue pondered for a while, he replied, "Brother Gu, the mountain bandits in Qingyang County have been a problem for a long time. Although I have only been in Qingyang for half a year, I have brought benefits to the people during my tenure."

"Xue naturally wants to contribute to the people of Qingyang and do something practical."

As he spoke, he looked at Li Yun and said, "This Li Zhao, the captain of the Li family, first fought alone against many people and rescued my daughter. A few days ago, he led two yamen runners to capture several bandits and rescued Brother Gu's family from the den of bandits. He is a rare warrior."

"Since he wants to help Qingyang fight the bandits, Xue naturally has no reason to disagree."

The head of the village, Li Dazhai, said solemnly, "Master Gu, Erlongzhai has bullied the Gu family too much. I couldn't bear to see the miserable state of Master Gu. When I form a bandit-hunting team in the future, the first thing I will do is to help the Gu family destroy Erlongzhai!"

The few days that uncle and nephew Gu Zhang and Gu Cheng spent in "Erlongzhai" were like purgatory.

The brothers of Chief Li tortured them a lot, especially Zhang Hu and Liu Bo, who not only beat them at will but also did not give them any food to eat.

When the uncle and nephew were rescued, they were still bruised and battered.

Hearing Li Yun mention this, the face of the head of the Gu family also turned ugly. He first looked at Xue Song, then at Li Yun, and said in a deep voice: "Yes, our entire Xuanzhou is now full of bandits, and the court has not sent troops to suppress them. It is really too bad."

He looked at Li Yun and asked, "How is Captain Li going to wipe out the bandits?"

Li Yun thought about it, then walked to a tree at the back yamen. He made a claw shape with his right hand and slapped the tree hard.

The tree shook violently.

Li Yun grabbed off a piece of the bark!
He took the bark and walked back to Gu Wen, saying with a smile, "Master Gu, can you suppress the bandits with this?"

Gu Wen looked at the bark in front of him and couldn't help but feel a little shocked.

This young man...is really strong.

No wonder he was able to rescue Gu Zhang and Gu Cheng from Erlong Village.

"Captain Li is truly a man of extraordinary power. It's a shame that he is serving as a captain in the county government with such abilities."

Master Gu looked at Li Yun and said, "The court has been at war for the past few years. Captain Li, are you interested in joining the army? If you want to join the army, I will write a letter of recommendation for you."

Village Chief Li shook his head and refused, "I just returned to my hometown in Qingyang. I want to spend a few years doing something for my hometown. As for joining the army..."

He smiled and said, "We'll talk about it later."

"Ah."

Gu Wen nodded, stroked his beard, and said, "Well, although I am from Shidai, in order to repay the kindness of Li Dutou, I will donate 500 strings of cash to support this investigation..."

Li Yun reminded: "The anti-theft team."

"Yes, the anti-theft team."

Chief Li glanced at Magistrate Xue, and then continued, "Master Gu, although we are the Qingyang anti-theft team, if there is any banditry in Shidai, I, Li, will also be responsible."

"We will post a notice about Master Gu's support for the anti-theft team. Then the whole Xuanzhou will know about Master Gu's righteous act."

Upon hearing this, Gu Wen could not help but frown. When he turned his head to look at County Magistrate Xue, he saw that County Magistrate Xue turned his head and looked away, as if he had heard nothing.

The head of the Gu family sighed and said, "Well, for the sake of our Xuanzhou's bandit-suppression cause, I will give you another 500 strings of cash."

At this point, he looked at Li Yun and said calmly, "But Captain Li, you can't just take the money. The Gu family wants to see results." Li Yun asked, "What results does Master Gu want to see?"

"In Erlong Village, there is a bandit named Idiot, and another bandit named Boss Peng."

"These two people have gone too far in bullying our Gu family!"

Gu Wen looked grim, and said in a deep voice: "It would be best if Captain Li could catch them and send them to the Gu family in Shidai."

"If they are extremely vicious, Captain Li will just execute them, and the Gu family will also be grateful to Captain Li for his kindness!"

Village leader Li thought it was funny, but he patted his chest so loudly.

"Master Gu, rest assured. After the anti-theft team is set up, the first people I will suppress will be the thieves in Erlong Village!"

Gu Wen nodded, turned to Magistrate Xue and said, "Brother Yue Ji, because of the evil thieves, the marriage between our two families has to be cancelled. This is my fault, and I apologize to you."

He bowed.

Magistrate Xue helped him up and said calmly, "Brother Gu, the marriage is over. I just hope that the Gu family will not do anything to hurt my daughter's reputation in the future."

"rest assured."

Mr. Gu said solemnly, "Although Miss Xue is not yet a wife of the Gu family, she is still my junior. From now on, the Gu family will only say that the marriage was cancelled because of my son's illness, and will not mention anything else."

Magistrate Xue's expression eased a little, and he also cupped his hands, "Thank you, Brother Gu."

Mr. Gu said a few more polite words to Magistrate Xue, then stood up to say goodbye. Magistrate Xue took Li Yun and escorted him out of the county government office. After watching Gu Wen walk away, Magistrate Xue turned back to look at Li Yun with a strange look on his face: "You told me before that the county government doesn't have to pay for the anti-theft team. So... this is how it's paid for?"

"If Gu Wen doesn't come, are you going to ask for money from other merchants and gentry in Qingyang?"

"How can this be?"

Li Dutou's face was serious, and he said in a deep voice: "Your Excellency, if the Gu family doesn't come, I will use my own savings to set up a thief-hunting team."

Magistrate Xue groaned.

"You really don't know how to tell the truth."

Village Chief Li had a smile on his face and did not reply, but he had already answered the question in his heart.

Not a word.

After a long while, Magistrate Xue asked, "When are you going to start suppressing the bandits? It won't take half a year, will it?"

"how is this possible?"

Li Dutou's face was serious, and he said loudly: "Don't worry, County Master, I have already selected people from the yamen runners. Once the selection is completed and the location of the bandits is clear, I will immediately lead people out to destroy a few strongholds and bring honor to you, County Master!"

Master Xue glanced at Li Yun and sighed, "I hope so."

Although the overall administration of the Great Zhou is corrupt now, Magistrate Xue is not an incorruptible official either. He also has his own connections.

If Li Yun could really wipe out all the bandits in Qingyang, then Xue Song...

The opportunities for climbing the official ladder are really much greater!
If he could wipe out all the bandits in Xuanzhou within a few years, then Mr. Xue's promotion would be a sure thing!
Thinking of this, Xue Song couldn't help but look back and glanced at Li Yun a few more times, a plan already formed in his mind.

Maybe, my career...

It must be on this young man!

Thinking of this, Master Xue paused and continued, "When the time comes, if you need anything, you can tell me."

Li Dutou clasped his fists and saluted, smiling and saying, "Thank you, Your Excellency!"

"No need to thank me."

Mr. Xue put his hands behind his back, turned around and walked away.

"I'm not trying to help you, but... for the sake of the people of Qingyang."

(End of this chapter)