The next day.
Because of last night’s exhaustion, Liang Zhen decided to stay in Zhongling County for another day.
Wei Chang Tian didn’t mind, so after getting up in the morning, he went for a stroll in the county town and didn’t return to the inn until lunchtime.
Sitting in the horse carriage, he looked at the scar on Zhang San’s face and asked lazily:
“Zhang San, what did you do wrong in the past?”
All members of the Gongji Association came from the pending trial prisoners of the Dali Temple, so Zhang San must have had a criminal record.
“Prince, are you asking about all the things I’ve done, or just those written in the files?” Zhang San asked indifferently.
“Heh? It sounds like you’ve done a lot of wrong things.”
Wei Chang Tian suddenly became interested: “Tell me all about it!”
“Okay.”
From noble mtl dot come
Zhang San nodded and, after a moment of recollection, began to “confess” one by one: “Prince, my first offense was when I was ten. There was a bully in the village who stole two ducks from my family, so I secretly killed three of his cows…”
“My second offense was when I was eleven…”
Half an hour later.
“……My thirty-sixth offense was when I was twenty-five, at which point I had reached the seventh rank and joined a small gang……”
“Hold it right there!”
Wei Changtian, looking utterly frustrated, cut off Zhang San’s chatter: “How many of these events are recorded in your file?”
“Not a single one.”
“What?”
Wei Changtian was taken aback: “Then what exactly did you get caught for?”
Zhang San replied honestly: “There are twelve charges against me, the first one being……”
“Stop, stop, stop! No need to say more!”
Wei Changtian sized up this “lawless rascal” from head to toe, sighing: “No wonder they call you Zhang San.”
Zhang San looked puzzled: “What do you mean, young master?”
“No particular meaning… Is Zhang San your real name or an alias?”
“An alias.”
“Then what’s your real name?”
“Zhang Quandean.”
“……I’ll just keep calling you Zhang San, then.”
Wei Changtian was left speechless for a moment before regaining his composure and changing the subject: “By the way, how do you remember past events so clearly?”
“I’m just good at remembering things, young master.”
Zhang San said seriously: “I can basically recall everything I’ve seen and heard.”
Wei Changtian was somewhat astonished: “Is that true?”
“I wouldn’t dare deceive you, young master.”
“Well, that’s quite a talent, I suppose…”
Wei Changtian stroked his chin thoughtfully, his expression gradually turning serious.
“Zhang San, although I don’t know why Wang Er wants you to follow me, I trust him, so I’ll trust you too.”
“On our trip to Shu Province, I might have you do several tasks… Do you know how to handle them?”
“I do.”
Zhang San replied promptly: “I’ll just do as I’m told.”
“If I assign you a task you can’t complete, then what?” Wei Changtian asked again.
“I’ll do my best, young master.”
“Wrong.”
Wei Changtian shook his head to correct him: “No matter what task, if you realize you can’t do it, you should tell me in time. You mustn’t try to handle it on your own…”
“And don’t take matters into your own hands.”
“Be cautious and avoid taking risks, especially in unfamiliar places like Shu Province.”
“Only by being careful and cautious can you achieve great things. Remember that?”
Zhang San nodded seriously: “I remember, young master.”
Wei Changtian glanced at him, then suddenly asked: “What were the first words of the four sentences I said earlier?”
“None, also, all, small.”
Zhang San answered without hesitation, reciting them flawlessly.
“Correct!”
Wei Changtian nodded in satisfaction.
“He really does have some talent!”
When the horse carriage returned to the inn, it was already noon.
Ying’er had been waiting at the door, saying that the thin county magistrate had arrived and set up a table, and everyone was waiting for him to return and start the meal.
Wei Changtian hurried into the main hall upon hearing this, and indeed, the dishes were already on the table, with Liang Zhen and others chatting and waiting for him to return.
“Virtuous nephew, you’re back just in time! Come and eat quickly!”
Liang Zhen put down his teacup and welcomed him with a shout, while Wei Changtian hastily apologized to everyone with a bow: “Everyone, I’m really sorry.”
“I didn’t know that Lord Wang had set up a banquet, so I went into the city and took a stroll, and I’m a bit late returning.”
“Ha ha ha, not late at all.”
Liang Zhen laughed twice and sat down in the first seat, casually asking, “Virtuous nephew, what do you think of Zhongling County?”
“Uh… the streets are wide and clean.”
Wei Changtian couldn’t think of anything to praise, so he could only randomly pick two words.
However, this sentence reached the thin county magistrate’s ears with a hint of sarcasm.
The common people had all fled, so wasn’t the city empty and wide?
He turned red with embarrassment, bowed his head, and apologized: “It’s this official’s incompetence, making you laugh, young master.”
“Lord Wang…”
Wei Changtian didn’t bother to explain, simply comforting him by saying, “You don’t need to be too self-critical. As long as the bandits can be pacified, Zhongling will definitely flourish again in the future.”
“Borrowing your auspicious words…”
The thin county magistrate forced out a smile, but anyone could see the bitter intent behind it.
Although they had killed a group of bandits yesterday, this was only the tip of the iceberg of Zhongling’s bandit problem.
Other bandits might not have demonic control behind them, but they wouldn’t be as extreme in their actions. However, village raids and plundering were definitely a common occurrence.
So, the problem of bandits was far from being resolved.
“Dad…”
It seemed that Liang Jin was seeing the thin county magistrate and the Zhongling people as too pitiful, so he suddenly opened his mouth to suggest, “Why don’t you write a letter to the governor of Tanzhou, telling him about Zhongling’s situation…”
Tanzhou was not a border region, so it didn’t have a chief military officer, and all military authority was concentrated in the hands of the governor.
In terms of rank, the governor of Tanzhou was the same as the chief military officer of Shu State, both being third-grade officials. If they really wrote such a letter, the other party would definitely show their face and send troops to suppress the bandits.
But how could Liang Zhen be willing to owe such a favor for a small Zhongling?
“Cough, I don’t know Governor Feng, so it’s not suitable to write a letter out of the blue…”
“Dad, you don’t know him, so how do you know the governor of Tanzhou is surnamed Feng?”
“I…”
Liang Zhen was driven mad, wishing he could shut Liang Jin’s mouth.
But at this time, he couldn’t help but say a few words: “Jin’er, this is Tanzhou’s business, and we’re just passing by. It’s not suitable for us to meddle.”
“What’s meddling?”
Liang Jin seriously persuaded, “You can save countless people in Zhongling from fire and water with just one letter. Why not do it?”
“This…”
Liang Zhen was speechless, unable to respond to such righteous reasoning.
Luckily, Wei Changtian spoke up to rescue him at this time.
“Jin’er, there’s actually a way to get the prefecture to send troops to suppress the bandits without Uncle Liang writing a letter.”
“Ah?”
Liang Jin hurriedly asked, “What way, Big Brother Changtian?”
Wei Changtian smiled and said, “It’s what I said yesterday – as long as the wealthy merchants of Zhongling are willing to donate money, it’ll be fine.”
“But…”
Li Jing glanced at the thin county magistrate, hesitating: “Didn’t Lord Wang say they weren’t willing to donate money?”
“That was before.”
Wei Changtian toyed with his wine cup, speaking lightly amidst the curious gazes: “I have a way to make them obediently bring the silver to the county government by dawn tomorrow.”
“Master!”
The thin county magistrate, with an anxious face, hurriedly asked before Li Jing could: “Dare I ask what method?”
“It’s quite simple, just requiring Lord Wang and Uncle Liang to cooperate a bit…”
Wei Changtian smiled, tilting his head back to drain the wine in his cup.
“And having a few troublemakers die, that’s all.”