xymnovel Chapter 14 Suppressing Bandits
Chapter 14 Suppressing Bandits
"Slow down, slow down."
In the backyard of Yanggu County Government Office, the government office, which had been vacant for many days, finally welcomed a new owner.
Li Chong, his face flushed from drinking, was helped inside by Cui Shi, with several yamen runners clearing the way for him.
"Hurry up and open the door! If you bump into the county magistrate, you'll be in big trouble!"
Wu Dalang shouted sternly from behind, looking quite imposing.
Li Chong squinted at all of this, continuing to pretend to be drunk.
"Squeak~~~"
The door to the master bedroom was pushed open, and the room had already been cleaned and swept.
Cui Shi laboriously helped Li Chong lie down on the bedside, then got up and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Chief Wu, you've been following us all this way, and the brothers have all worked hard too. I'll take care of things here with the county magistrate; you all can go back now."
As he spoke, Cui Shi walked up to Wu Dalang and quietly slipped a piece of silver into his hand.
"The county magistrate instructed that we brothers be treated to drinks."
Wu Dalang smiled and repeatedly declined, saying, "Brother Cui, what are you saying? How could we brothers accept the county magistrate's money?"
After a few words of arguing, Wu Dalang left, satisfied, clutching the silver in his pocket.
As Cui Shi watched the person leave, he secretly patted the silver in his pocket with a hint of delight.
In his view, Li Chong was just being hypocritical; the money was rightfully theirs, but he insisted on giving it to others.
Having finally gained a foothold, how could we just give away all that hard-earned money to others?
So, without consulting Li Chong, Cui Shi kept half of it for himself.
Just as Cui Shi was secretly congratulating himself on his wise decision, Li Chong's voice came from behind him.
"Everyone's gone?"
Cui Shi shuddered and quickly put the silver into his pocket. Turning his head, he saw that Li Chong had already sat up.
His complexion was still rosy, but his eyes were clear, showing no signs of drunkenness whatsoever.
Choi Sil walked back: "They're all gone. I saw them leave with my own eyes. I just don't understand, now that your identity is confirmed, why are you still pretending to be drunk?"
Without outsiders around, Cui Shi naturally wouldn't be so respectful to Li Chong anymore, knowing full well that Li Chong was an imposter.
Li Chong got up and sat down at the table: "There's a saying that people speak the truth when they're drunk. We have too many things on our hands, so it's best not to get drunk in the future. It would be best if others couldn't figure out your alcohol tolerance."
Cui Shi shook his head dismissively: "You're just overthinking it. We've already gotten past the prefect, who else could expose us?"
Li Chong glanced at Cui Shi with a gloomy expression. Given Cui Shi's personality, he would definitely implicate him sooner or later.
We need to think of a solution.
However, before that, other potential problems must be eliminated.
Li Chong poured himself a cup of tea and drank it all in one gulp. He then slowly said, "I wouldn't go so far as to expose him, but as for confirming his identity, that's not necessarily true."
Recalling his performance at the welcoming banquet, Li Chong's eyes were deep and his expression inscrutable.
Yanggu County is not large, but the power struggle still exists.
During the banquet, Li Chong tentatively brought up official business with Yang Chengde, but Yang Chengde brushed him off.
Come to think of it, the position of magistrate of Yanggu County was vacant for several months, so someone had to do the official duties during those months.
Due to his family background, Fu Shun was naturally unable to compete with Yang Chengde.
As a result, all the official duties of the county fell into Yang Chengde's hands, and power was concentrated in his hands.
Who would easily give up something they've already got?
Yang Chengde's evasive and perfunctory attitude is clear evidence of this.
But simply being a rubber stamp is clearly not what Li Chong wanted. Without real power, how could he accumulate strength to deal with the major events that were about to happen?
So, although he became the county magistrate, he still has a long way to go.
Moreover, there is another flaw in his identity that must be dealt with as soon as possible.
"Do you think we can rest easy now?" Li Chong asked Cui Shi.
Cui Shi was lost in thought, wondering how to spend the money he had just received, when he was startled by what he heard.
"What do you mean by that?"
Li Chong turned his head to the side and fiddled with the tea set: "There are more than just the two of us in this world who know that the original Li Chong is dead. No one has revealed this now, but who knows what might happen in the future."
"Huh?" Choi Sil was puzzled. "Besides you and me, who else knows about this?"
"What do you think? Besides the deceased, who else would know that the deceased was dead?"
Cui Shi's expression changed slightly: "You mean those bandits?"
Seeing that Li Chong tacitly agreed, Cui Shiqiang chuckled twice: "They're just a few bandits. Even if they do report us, who would believe them?"
"Then do you dare to bet?" Li Chong asked back.
Choi Si remained silent.
After a long silence, he sat down opposite Li Chong and said earnestly, "Brother Li, seeing how calm and collected you have been these past few days, I knew I made the right choice in selecting you. You are a man destined for great things. What do you suggest? I'll listen to you."
Li Chong secretly curled his lip. This man's expression changed every day; it would be a miracle if anyone trusted him.
However, Li Chong currently has no one he can trust in Yanggu County, so he has no choice but to use him for the time being.
"Brother Cui, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have the wealth and status I have today. I will always remember that." Li Chong personally poured a cup of tea and pushed it in front of Cui Shi. "Right now, we are in this together, our lives hanging by a thread. So, we must work together to get through this ordeal so that we can have a better life in the future."
Cui Shi nodded heavily: "Brother Li is right. What should I do?"
Li Chong said earnestly, "As the saying goes, a new broom sweeps clean, and my first act is to suppress the bandits! Only by suppressing the bandits can we eliminate the last hidden danger and gain a foothold in Yanggu County."
"And what you need to do is go out and gather some information for me first."
After saying that, Li Chong pulled Cui Shi close and whispered a few instructions to him.
Although Cui Shi didn't understand why, after being given a few motivational words by Li Chong, he agreed to everything.
After all, in Cui Shi's heart, Li Chong's position as county magistrate was half his responsibility, and he couldn't just let it go like that.
"I'll find out about the local elders and gentry, and that land-collecting magistrate, right? I'll go right now."
After confirming the last sentence, Cui Shi left full of energy.
Watching Choi Si-il leave, Lee Chong tapped the table with his finger.
"We still need to find someone as soon as possible. This guy can't get anything done on his own. Once we find someone to replace him, we'll just send him far away."
The simplest way to eliminate the threat posed by Choi Si is, of course, to kill him to silence him.
However, there were many informants within the government office, and Li Chong dared not take action himself. The option of killing someone only flashed through his mind, but he did not intend to carry it out.
Besides, he owes his current status to Cui Shi, and Li Chong still finds it hard to bring himself to repay kindness with enmity.
"Phew~~~"
Li Chong stretched and walked towards the bed: "A small temple with a lot of evil spirits, a shallow pond with many turtles, this Yanggu County is really interesting."
Li Chong will be holding court tomorrow, so he should rest early today to conserve his energy.