Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

After he finished speaking, there was a deathly silence.

Hu Kui slowly opened his eyes, reached out and picked up the bowl of water on the table that had long since gone cold. Mixed with the lingering metallic taste on his lips and teeth, he tilted his head back and swallowed it all.

With a soft "click," the rough earthenware bowl fell back onto the wooden table, wobbled a couple of times, and finally settled, silently revealing the owner's turbulent emotions.

Xiao He's face turned solemn. He immediately straightened his clothes and stood up, his eyes filled with sincere respect and shame. He bowed deeply, his tone earnest and sincere:

"Mr. Hu's noble character and integrity are exemplary, worthy of being a role model for the world. I, Xiao, was previously unaware of the truth and blindly believed the rumors circulating in the streets, almost misjudging a loyal and virtuous person. I am deeply ashamed and have failed you. Please accept my deepest bow!"

Cao Shen stood upright and composed, his face solemn; Liu Bang abandoned his usual playful and carefree demeanor, his expression serious and dignified; Lu Wan, Fan Kuai, and the other three bowed deeply, their heads bowed, their hearts filled with respect and admiration.

Hu Kui also stood up, his brows furrowed with the weariness of years of suppressed resentment. He slowly rose, returned the greeting, and spoke in a hoarse but steady voice:

"There's no need for that, gentlemen. Protecting the land and ensuring the safety of the people is simply my duty, nothing to do with any lofty ideals."

His gaze slowly swept over Xiao He, Liu Bang, and others.

"It is you gentlemen who have risked your own future and lives, traveled thousands of miles to come here, and ventured into dangerous situations, all to investigate the corruption and seek justice for the displaced people of Chen County. With such magnanimity and integrity, it is I, Hu, the incompetent prefect, who should thank you all."

Cao Can quickly stepped forward, his tone earnest yet tinged with righteous indignation: "Prefect Hu, please do not blame yourself. All of this is due to Song Yun, who is utterly wicked and deserves to die. We will spare no effort to bring him to justice."

Hu Kui gently raised his hand to stop Cao Can's attempt to comfort him, took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, and his expression turned solemn and resolute:

"Cao, the prison clerk, is right. Once the wicked are brought to justice and Chen County is peaceful and prosperous, I will drink with you all until we are drunk." He paused, his voice lowering, "But right now, time is of the essence. Song Yun's henchmen are everywhere, watching us like tigers. I have another matter to entrust to you."

Xiao He narrowed his eyes slightly as he noticed a detail.

Hu Kui immediately recognized Cao Can as the prison clerk, clearly indicating that he had already thoroughly investigated the background and origins of their group.

These days, they have been secretly investigating in Chenjun City and deliberately pretending to be ordinary people. They thought they had concealed themselves perfectly, but little did they know that their every move had probably been seen by this Prefect Hu. He probably even secretly covered for them a lot.

No wonder his and Cao Can's absurd "soft" identities were never questioned by anyone from beginning to end, and all the prepared responses they had made in advance were completely useless.

Indeed, after all, what the wicked and wicked see as unseen commoners are, in the eyes of the righteous and courageous, as conspicuous as torches in the night—because they share the same feelings, walk the same path, and do the same things.

Xiao He let out a long sigh, suppressing his turbulent thoughts, and cupped his hands, saying, "Prefect Hu, please speak frankly. We are willing to serve you."

"Alright! Then I'll get straight to the point."

Hu Kui stopped arguing, turned and walked back to the table. He bent down, suddenly unfurled a scroll of silk on the table, pressed his fingertips against the mottled ink marks on the illustration, and spoke in a deep, resonant voice, each word clear and distinct:

"I wish to borrow your wisdom and courage to forge a path to survival for these innocent, homeless, and precarious people of Chen County, to escort them safely out of the siege, and to properly resettle them. We must not allow them to fall under Song Yun's butcher's knife again!"

As he spoke, his gaze was fixed steadily on Liu Bang, Fan Kuai, and Lu Wan.

Xianyang had already issued an official edict, strictly ordering all counties in Guandong to do their utmost to suppress bandits, rectify local affairs, and stabilize people's livelihoods.

The surrounding counties had already obeyed the imperial edict from Xianyang and dispatched troops to suppress bandits within their borders. The bandit gangs that used to run rampant in the countryside were successively defeated and wiped out. Even the bandits in the strategically important Mangdang Mountain were mostly wiped out and scattered under the siege, no longer showing any signs of their former rampage.

It was this large-scale suppression of bandits in Mangdang that made Hu Kui, who was lying in wait in the prefectural governor's office and keeping a close eye on Song Yun's forces, remember Liu Bang, Lu Wan, Fan Kuai and his group.

The men fought bravely and acted methodically, eliminating the bandits cleanly and efficiently, which was truly gratifying.

Therefore, when Hu Kui discovered that they had secretly infiltrated Chen County to investigate the government and the collusion between officials and bandits, he was overjoyed. He hardly made any tests and made an appointment with them in code, met frankly, and entrusted his life to them.

The reason is simple: the "real bandits" in Chen County are too difficult to suppress, opportunities are hard to find and fleeting, and their help is needed.

Those so-called bandits in Chenjun who truly gathered in the mountains and forests, plundering and harming the people, were ostensibly thieves who robbed and plundered and were wanted by the government. In reality, they were Song Yun's henchmen and sharp blades for forcibly abducting people, eliminating dissidents, setting fires to destroy evidence, and covering up crimes. The reason they were able to grow to such a position was entirely due to Song Yun's secret indulgence and material support.

Now that the suppression of bandits in the surrounding counties has yielded significant results, Song Yun has already lost many of the external forces he secretly colluded with. How could he possibly really turn against his own core henchmen?

The so-called imperial edict to suppress bandits was nothing but a bluff, a show of force, a few blank documents sent to Xianyang to fool the authorities.

On the contrary, the remnants of the local militia led by Shen Liang—those righteous men who had repeatedly saved refugees from bandits' knives and seas of fire—were labeled as "bandits" after he had a vague idea of ​​their existence. They became the main targets of his encirclement and suppression, regarded as a thorn in his side, and he wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible.

He even used the pretext of "rampant banditry in the west of the city" to apply to the imperial court for a large amount of weapons and provisions, enriching himself and making up for the losses caused by the suppression of bandits in neighboring counties.

Hu Kui witnessed all this despicable behavior and was filled with hatred, but due to his status, he could only suppress his anger and dared not make any rash moves.

Fortunately, Xianyang issued a strict order to suppress the bandits this time. Song Yun did suffer considerable losses that could not be easily recovered. He also felt that Shen Liang and his men were just a group of remnants and could not amount to anything, so he had not been willing to spend manpower and resources to send a large force to encircle and suppress them.

Only with Hu Kui's help in secretly passing on messages and covering up the situation, and relying on abandoned kilns and hidden caves in the south of the city, was Shen Liang able to move and hide with the women and children he had rescued several times, barely managing to survive in the cracks.

Until news of the mission's impending arrival arrived.

For Hu Kui, Shen Liang and their group, the arrival of the mission was both a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to turn their lives around and a deadly threat that was closing in step by step.

The eldest son, Fusu, had already taken the lead in thoroughly investigating the major case of the abduction of people in Guandong, and was determined to investigate without leniency the collusion between officials and bandits to forcibly abduct and harm the people.

If they could present all the evidence of crimes they had secretly collected over the years, as well as the testimonies of the victims, even without the irrefutable proof of Song Yun's direct collusion with the bandits, they could simply have the delegation carefully examine and verify the evidence after entering the city, and with the presence of living witnesses in court, they wouldn't need to risk their lives to travel thousands of miles to Xianyang. They could then convict this treacherous prefect who had wreaked havoc on the region and order his execution.

Similarly, the cunning and shrewd Song Yun was naturally more aware of this advantage than anyone else.

He has always been ruthless and leaves no room for maneuver. In order to ensure absolute safety, he will definitely tear off all pretense before the delegation officially enters the city, mobilize all his bandits and regular soldiers of the prefecture to surround and wipe out Shen Liang's troops, conduct a carpet search and kill them, completely block all their avenues for complaint, appeal, and meeting with the delegation, and eliminate any future troubles.

Hu Kui was not afraid of death, Shen Liang was not afraid of death, and the remnants of the local militia who had fought side by side and escaped death several times had long been determined to fight to the death and prove their path with their lives.

However, Hu Kui and Shen Liangren were already short-handed, with only a few dozen elite soldiers capable of fighting. They had to divide their forces to protect the people and conserve their strength for war, leaving them stretched thin and unable to attend to both ends.

Therefore, he needed to seek help from the wisdom and courage of Xiao He, Liu Bang, and others; he could not delay any longer.