CHAPTER 463: CHAPTER 463: ENCIRCLEMENT

Jiang Qi frowned as he watched; in terms of scouting abilities, San Lang was somewhat more skillful than Er Lang. Moreover, San Lang was steady. Originally, he intended to send San Lang.

But when they were lying in ambush, waiting for people at the county government, San Lang said to let Er Lang go, insisting he would perform better than himself.

There were two reasons why Qin San Lang would speak in favor of Qin Er Lang.

First, Qin Er Lang had pleaded with him, saying he needed achievements for promotion and was seeking his help. Second, these river bandits were too ruthless, and he feared for the safety of a few of the families at the edge of the village. With him present, he could offer some protection to those families.

If Er Lang stayed behind, he would not risk his life to protect those families in a truly dangerous situation.

"You stay here and guard; I’m going to see my father. It’s time for the old man to step in." Jiang Qi wiped his face and left, crouching down.

To take down that gang of river bandits, they needed soldiers. His father was a military man; with him stepping forward, they could borrow the troops.

Jiang Qi met not only County Captain Jiang but also County Magistrate Xu and told them about the attempted break-in at the county government tonight and how they had repelled them.

County Magistrate Xu was no fool; upon hearing the news, he understood: "Are... are the river bandits trying to silence someone?"

Jiang Qi nodded: "Yes, the Military Office’s men have already given chase. Later on, by following the trail, we can find the river bandits’ lair and eradicate them from Huai River."

County Magistrate Xu started to cry, truly cry, throwing away all pretense, grasping Jiang Qi’s hand and saying: "Brother Jiang, please don’t act recklessly, it’ll cost lives."

He was about to be transferred; couldn’t he leave completely unscathed? Why did they have to set him up like this?

Jiang Qi knew full well what County Magistrate Xu was like—fearful of death and offending others. Over the years as Tianfu County Magistrate, he hadn’t achieved much, just busying himself mediating disputes, playing peacemaker between County Captain Jiang and County Magistrate Zou.

County Captain Jiang felt some guilt toward County Magistrate Xu, but now, County Magistrate Xu couldn’t simply stay out of the matter.

He said to County Magistrate Xu: "Sir, this is a great deed for the benefit of the people. You become an official to do good for the public. Although the current matter is dangerous, as long as we endure these next few days and locate the river bandits’ lair, then call in the troops for an encirclement and suppression, the matter will be resolved. You could even earn a great achievement for yourself."

"Just drop it. You all would be the death of me," County Magistrate Xu, squatting on the ground and wiping his tears, said: "I’m just a weak scholar who spent ten years to finally pass the exams and gain my official position. All I wanted was to serve steadily, and after retirement, go back to my hometown to enjoy family honor. You’re making me do this, but what if something goes wrong? What will happen to my family?"

His daughter wasn’t married yet. Thinking about Concubine Lu and the Lu family women, how tragically they died—what if the river bandits sought revenge? What about his wife and daughter?

And his family back home took pride in him becoming an official; if he were to die an untimely death away from home, his relatives would be devastated.

County Captain Jiang squatted beside County Magistrate Xu, persuading him: "This subordinate understands your dilemma, sir. Rest assured, Jiang Qi and his men have already dispatched soldiers to protect your family. Nothing will happen to your loved ones."

Steward Tian thought County Magistrate Xu was being disgraceful and pulled him up, saying: "Sir, you have no choice but to cooperate with Lord Jiang and the others to get through this disaster."

County Magistrate Xu glared angrily at Steward Tian, wanting to scold him severely. He had said not to get involved in this mess, yet he did not listen, and now they were in a predicament.

Steward Tian, knowing his fellow classmate, understood that although he was timid and afraid of death, he was never careless with serious matters. He humbly offered a warm cup of tea with a smile on his face.

County Magistrate Xu took the tea and, after drinking half, put down the cup and said, "The river bandits on the Huai River have been around for so many years, why has no one eliminated them? Isn’t it because those bandits are not simple? We are not noble families with wide connections and manpower, how can we deal with them?"

County Captain Jiang said, "My lord, Elder Lei Wu of the Lei Family’s Trading Team is my sworn brother, and I come from a military background, with connections to General Guo of the Prefecture garrison. As long as you first send a message to Magistrate Liang for him to then contact Linhe Prefecture and Jiangnan, it’s not difficult for us to combine forces to surround and wipe out the Huai River pirates."

County Magistrate Xu was surprised and looked at County Captain Jiang, saying, "Uncle Jiang, I can’t believe you would suggest such a thing. Jiangnan isn’t even in the same province as ours, how could their people join us to encircle the bandits? You are..." senile, perhaps.

County Captain Jiang said, "Do you remember the noble Zheng Family and Shangguan family from Jiangnan? When their young masters left, they gave Gu Jin’an a token. With this token, we can ask both families for help. Both families are relatives of the royal family, and with them stepping in, Jiangnan’s Jinling Prefecture will lend assistance. Even if Jinling Prefecture doesn’t help, with those families maintaining so many Protectors, they would also deploy them to assist us."

What Protectors of noble families represented was akin to private soldiers of the former dynasty.

Hearing County Captain Jiang mention the Zheng and Shangguan families, County Magistrate Xu’s eyes lit up. That’s right, there are these two powerful backers. If they could help, coupled with the Lei Family’s Trading Team and General Guo from the Prefecture, their combined effort to encircle the Huai River pirates might just succeed.

County Magistrate Xu stopped crying, knowing tears were of no use. Now that he had been dragged into this, he could only exert all his effort to help and immediately wrote a letter to Magistrate Liang, revealing the plan to him.

He also said to steward Tian, "Have Zou Youlian’s case files been organized? If the documents and evidence are ready, send them all to the Prefecture Government Office."

Steward Tian hadn’t spoken yet when County Captain Jiang coughed lightly, pulled County Magistrate Xu aside, and whispered, "My lord, you just report the matter of Zou Youlian trafficking civilians, keep the rest under wraps for now."

In the end, he said something to County Magistrate Xu that scared him into fainting.

Upon regaining consciousness, County Magistrate Xu wept again, exclaiming, "Your Excellency has truly been trapped by you all!"

...

Da Feng Village had been quite agitated these past few days because of County Magistrate Zou. In the village, over the past thirty years, there had been over a dozen people who went to fulfill their labor service and died without a trace.

Among these were people from the He and Lu families. Village Chief He led the families of those dozen people to the county to get their names registered.

He Dazhuang’s brother and He Tieshu’s father had both been reported dead after going for labor service, without their bodies returned. These past few days, they hadn’t come to the workshop to work, as they took their household registrations and followed Village Chief He to the county for registration.

Aside from these two families, He Dalian’s younger brother had also not returned from labor service, and he too went with Village Chief He to the county.

He Sigu had heard of this uncle of his. His father often said that if the second uncle had been alive, even if his family had no sons, they could have adopted one from the second uncle’s family, and they wouldn’t be ridiculed to the point of hunching their backs.

Gu Jinli, since the Zou family incident, began sharpening blades, concocting poison, and antidotes, distributing them to her family members, telling them to carry them at all times. If they encountered trouble, they shouldn’t be afraid because fear was useless; fighting with all they had was the only way.

She made a lot of poison and antidotes, keeping some and taking the rest to Elder Qin.

Elder Qin hadn’t been home much recently, and Gu Jinli had waited a long time for his return. When he did, she handed him the poison and antidote, "Please hold on to these, and use the poison if you encounter fierce opponents."

"This small bag contains the antidote, one packet works for three days. You should take one today, and then another the day after tomorrow. When you use the poison, it won’t harm you."