The light of dawn slowly emerged, and the chaotic and frightening night finally passed.
Li Hui was woken up by someone in a daze. When he opened his eyes, it was Zhao Dachun standing beside him, making a loud noise.
"Xiao Lang, wake up. There is movement outside. Jiang Sheng and the others said that many people came outside the county government office and wanted to talk to you." Zhao Dachun said angrily.
Li Hui was startled and stood up suddenly, only to feel dizzy. He knew that he was too tired. Since arriving in Juchao County, he had not slept for a few hours in the past few days, and he had experienced extremely stressful and
The pressure of fear and spending a lot of energy thinking about some things are really too much.
Yesterday early in the morning, I just wanted to take a nap in a small room in the back hall, but I ended up falling asleep like that.
Hearing that people were coming outside the yamen, Li Hui became nervous again. He hurriedly arranged his clothes and walked quickly to the front hall. Entering the main hall, none of the homeless women and children he had taken in last night had left. At this moment, they were lying on the floor of the hall.
Sleeping soundly.
Li Hui walked out of the lobby through a gap in the crowd and saw Jiang Sheng and several other guards on the front wall of the courtyard with their swords out of their sheaths, staring nervously outside.
Li Hui climbed up the wall and looked outside. Sure enough, in the cold morning light, there were more than a dozen figures standing outside the yamen, and next to them lay more than a dozen corpses, neatly placed on the ground.
"Lord County Magistrate, you are here. They want to see you by name, so..." Jiang Sheng said in a low voice.
Li Hui waved his hand to interrupt Jiang Sheng's words, bowed his hands to everyone below, and said loudly: "I am Li Hui, the new magistrate of Juchao County. I wonder if you have any advice."
A man with a stocky build and a majestic appearance took two steps forward and said with a cupped hand: "President Li County is polite. I am going to tell you next week that I have been ordered by my commander-in-chief to search for the bandits who attacked the city last night and clean up the battlefield together. Sorry for disturbing you."
Li Hui had actually guessed their identities and knew that they must be Wang Guangzu's subordinates. It was not difficult to guess. However, Li Hui did not expect that the other party was so polite and courteous. This person's words and deeds were also somewhat different from ordinary refugees.
Soldiers can see the difference at a glance.
"It turns out it's Brother Zhou... easy to talk to, easy to talk to." Li Hui said in a deep voice.
"Brother Zhou? This is my Deputy Commander Zhou." A big man behind Zhou Che shouted loudly.
Li Hui was stunned for a moment, and then he understood the identity of this person. He must have a high status among the refugee armed forces. Wang Guangzu claimed to be the commander-in-chief, and this man was the deputy commander, so he was the second-in-command. No wonder he looked a little magnanimous.
"I'm sorry, it turns out to be Deputy Commander Zhou. What does the unknown Deputy Commander have to say?" Li Hui said loudly.
Zhou Che said in a deep voice: "What kind of deputy commander? I'm just a commoner. County Prime Minister Li, what I want to ask is, are you the ones who killed these people in front of the county government office?"
Zhou Che stretched out his hand and pointed at the dozen corpses placed on the ground with a solemn expression.
Jiang Sheng turned pale with fright, and whispered in Li Hui's ear: "It's over, I'm here to seek revenge. The county magistrate must not admit it."
Li Hui ignored him and said loudly: "To be honest, we killed three of them. Last night we saw thieves chasing people, so my men and I killed three of the thieves. It's a pity for us
We were unable to stop them from committing crimes, and several women and children were brutally murdered by them."
Zhou Che nodded slowly after hearing this, with a smile on his face, and said solemnly: "That's it. That's it. There are indeed three bandits among them. They are the local bandits who invaded the county last night. I didn't expect Li County Cheng to be like this
You are so courageous that you actually dare to kill them."
Li Hui smiled and said: "I am the magistrate of this county, and it is my duty to protect the safety of the people in this county. This has nothing to do with courage, but only responsibility. It turns out that those people are local bandits, so they are right to kill.
"
Zhou Che nodded slowly, with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"There are more than thirty women and children missing in the city. Are they in the county government?" Zhou Che asked.
"Exactly. There was chaos in the city last night. I was afraid that they would encounter another accident outside, so I asked them to go to the county government office to take shelter. They are resting in the lobby at the moment." Li Hui nodded.
Zhou Che smiled and said: "That's good. It's good to know their whereabouts. As long as they are not killed by bandits or kidnapped, that's fine. But I'm afraid they have to leave the county government immediately. Their families are looking for them. Let
They reunited with their families earlier to avoid panic."
Li Hui nodded and said: "I will let them leave in a while. That should be the case."
Zhou Che cupped his hands and smiled: "Thank you very much."
Li Huidao: "No need to thank me, this is my responsibility."
Zhou Che nodded and said, "That's right. Prime Minister Li is a responsible official. I still have some things I want to ask Prime Minister Li. I hope you won't mind disturbing me."
Li Hui smiled and said: "You're welcome, just ask the deputy commander."
Zhou Che looked up at Li Hui and said, "It's inconvenient to express these words clearly. Can you please ask Prime Minister Li to come out and speak."
Hearing this, Jiang Sheng hurriedly whispered: "Master County Magistrate, no. You must not go out. This is a trick."
Li Hui waved his hand and laughed softly: "Jiang Sheng, do you think they would use deception to trap me and kill me if they want to harm me?"
Jiang Sheng was dumbfounded, smacking his lips and saying, "That's true."
Li Hui cupped his hands to Zhou Che and said, "Deputy Commander Zhou, wait a moment. I'll come out to see you soon."
Li Hui got off the wall and ordered someone to open the courtyard door and go out. Zhao Dachun and Guo Dazhuang followed closely and wanted to come out together. Li Hui stopped them and walked out of the courtyard alone, walked down the steps and came to Zhou Che.
Zhou Che watched Li Hui walk up to him quietly, his eyes suddenly turned cold, and he said in a deep voice: "President Li is so brave, but are you really not afraid that we will kill you on the spot?"
Li Hui smiled and said: "I'm afraid, but I believe you won't. Because you don't have to do this. You can rush in and kill me and my men at any time, without using such despicable means."
Zhou Che's eyes became calmer, and he laughed and said: "That's good, I won't do anything like this."
Li Hui smiled and said: "Is this the question the deputy commander wants to ask?"
Zhou Che looked at Li Hui with bright eyes and said in a deep voice: "Of course not. What I want to ask is, why did Li Xian Cheng stay in Juchao County? You clearly had the opportunity to leave yesterday, why didn't you leave?"
Li Huidao: "If I want to leave, why should I come? Now that I've come, I'll be in peace."
Zhou Che chuckled and said: "These words are not sincere. Don't you understand that you have already escaped from the gate of hell? If there had not been chaos last night, I am afraid you would be...already a corpse at this moment.
Just like that one."
When Zhou Che spoke of 'that one', his voice was very low, as if he didn't want people around him to hear.
Li Hui also lowered his voice and said: "I don't believe you would do this. If you did that, how would you be different from the Feng Heizi gang in Juchao County? You will never be able to get rid of the crime of killing officials, and you will become enemies of the imperial court from now on.
, and became like bandits.”
Zhou Che shook his head and said, "But who knows? If you do it at night, it will be over and no one will know. They will only know that you were killed by the local lake bandits in Juchao County, not us."
Li Hui chuckled and said: "If people don't know what to do unless they do it themselves, how can they not hear that there is a god with three feet above their head? What has been done will always be revealed. If you can hide it for a while, you can't hide it for the rest of your life."
Zhou Che smiled and shook his head, sighing softly and said: "What a joke, there are still gods in this world? If the gods are alive, how can they make the people suffer and the mountains and rivers be broken? How can they make the world have so much pain and injustice?"
Li Hui's heart moved, and he suddenly had some strange feelings about this Zhou Che. This man did not look like an ordinary refugee, but rather a knowledgeable person. How could an ordinary person say these words, how could he sigh like this?
Li Hui said in a deep voice: "Okay, then I'll tell you the truth. The reason why I dare to stay is because I want to take a gamble."
Zhou Che frowned and said, "A gamble? What are you betting on?"
Li Huidao: "I bet you are all loyal to the Jin Dynasty and your hearts are toward the Jin Dynasty. I bet you don't hope to get things done. I bet you still hope to be recognized and accepted by the imperial court."
Although Li Hui's voice was small, it was firm and clear. When Zhou Che heard it, his eyes flashed with surprise. What Li Xian Cheng said was actually what they thought and hoped for.
It's really shocking that someone at such a young age can guess these things.
"Li Xian Cheng, don't you think you are wishful thinking? We have already lost our hearts towards the imperial court and there is no so-called loyalty at all." Zhou Che sneered.
Li Hui laughed and said: "Are you cold-hearted about the imperial court? That's not necessarily the case. The imperial court just forbids the refugees from crossing the river for the sake of stabilizing the situation. As for the refugees, are they handsome? There are as many crucian carp in the land north of the Yangtze River as there are crucian carp crossing the river.
, and do more banditry, the court must be on guard against it. No wonder the court. With all due respect, what you all have to do is to prove your loyalty and ability."
Zhou Che sneered: "How to prove it? Take out your heart and lungs? Take your heart out and send it to the court?"
Li Hui shook his head and said: "Of course not. What you have to do is to cooperate with me to wipe out the local lake bandits and settle down the common people and refugees. This is the best proof. I certify to you as an official appointed by the imperial court.
Report to the imperial court on your behalf. The imperial court knows everything you have done, and will naturally treat you differently from other refugee commanders. It will recognize and accept you and grant you official appointments. The lake bandits in Juchao County are a big problem in the north of the Yangtze River. Apart from this big trouble, it is a great achievement. This point
, you don’t understand, don’t you? Besides, they are also your enemies, our common enemies. It will be beneficial to both of us to destroy them.”
Zhou Che's brows trembled, and his expression was a little excited. But soon, his eyes dimmed.
"But Magistrate Lu is dead. So what should we do about this matter?" Zhou Che whispered.
Li Hui said solemnly: "I am also very sorry for the death of Magistrate Lu. Some people acted too cruelly, which is obviously a taboo. However, if the fault can be made up for, it is not unforgivable. If Magistrate Lu is
With his death, the bandits in Juchao County have been eliminated and the people can live in peace. I believe that Magistrate Lu is also happy in heaven. If you are willing to do this, then Magistrate Lu was assassinated by the lake bandits, and other
People don’t matter.”
Zhou Che frowned and pondered, noncommittal.
Li Hui said softly: "Does Vice Admiral Zhou have anything else to ask?"
Zhou Che shook his head slowly. Li Hui cupped his hands and said, "Then, Deputy Commander Zhou, please go back and report to Marshal Wang and tell him what I just said. If he is willing to cooperate, I will still be waiting for him in the lobby of the county government tonight.
Let’s discuss this matter in detail. Of course, if he doesn’t agree, he can come and take my life. In short, I’m waiting for you tonight.”
Zhou Che cupped his hands and said in a deep voice: "Okay, I will report back to my commander-in-chief. Li Xiancheng, say goodbye!" He turned around and shouted loudly: "Move these corpses onto the cart and let's go."