activa-t Chapter 26 The Wealthy Wang Family
Chapter 26 The Wealthy Wang Family
Li Sheng's gaze fell on the smoky fortress, and he turned to give orders to Liu Wu.
"Take a headcount and confiscate weapons. Separate the bandits from the villagers; the villagers can identify them. Anyone who dares to resist should be dealt with on the spot."
"promise!"
Liu Wu and his local militia quickly separated the coerced civilians from the bandits.
No one dared to resist; they had completely lost the will to fight.
Li Sheng's fierce performance had already intimidated them.
Liu Wu jogged up to Li Sheng, clasped his hands in greeting, and then pointed to the house where the villagers had been imprisoned.
"Brother Sheng, I've done a rough count. All of us brothers are here. We've beheaded eleven people in total, and there are twenty-one prisoners in the house."
Then he pointed to another group of people, a mix of men, women, and children.
"The people here are all villagers who were coerced by the bandits. Many bandits also took advantage of the chaos to escape from the north, but we don't have enough manpower to chase after them."
Li Sheng nodded without saying anything more.
With twelve people against more than a hundred, this is already the limit.
He had long anticipated that he wouldn't be able to annihilate them all, and the current results have even exceeded his expectations.
His gaze passed over Liu Wu and landed on the prisoners kneeling on the ground.
Among the twenty-one people were young adults and teenagers, many of whom still had a look of fear on their faces. They wore old clothes that had been washed until they were gray and tattered, and all they held in their hands were things like pitchforks and wooden spears.
These are the rebels who defeated Liu Yi, the King of Xiapi, and forced him to abandon the city and flee.
As Li Sheng was pondering how to deal with these people, a commotion suddenly arose from the depths of the fortified village.
"Let me see your leader! I want to see him!"
A voice shouted, full of energy.
Li Sheng looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man being led over by two local militiamen.
The man was dressed in a coarse cloth shirt, covered in dust and bloodstains, but his back was straight, and his every move exuded an air of grandeur that seemed incongruous with his attire.
"Let him come over."
Li Sheng said.
The local militia escorted him toward Li Sheng.
The man approached Li Sheng and struggled to break free from the restraint.
Li Sheng waved his hand, and the villagers released the man without warning.
The man walked up to Li Sheng, looked at the leather armor he was wearing, and bowed deeply.
"My name is Wang Mao, and I am the patriarch of the Wang family. I will never forget your kindness in saving my life!"
His voice was choked with emotion, and his eyes were slightly red.
Li Sheng glanced at him.
This man's clothes clearly indicated he was a servant, but his speech and mannerisms did not lie.
When Zhang Kuo attacked the fortified village, this family head probably sensed something was wrong and hurriedly changed into a servant's clothes to blend into the crowd, thus escaping disaster.
"No need to thank me. Protecting the borders and ensuring the safety of the people, and slaying the bandits, is acting on behalf of Heaven."
Li Sheng said calmly.
The crowd of people who had been coerced and were kneeling not far away changed their expressions when they heard the name "Wang Mao," and some even muttered to themselves.
"It's over... it's over..."
They recognized Wang Mao.
Just half an hour ago, they were forced by the bandits to rush into this fortified village, smash open the gate, and take away the grain. Although they were forced into it, their hands were still stained with the blood of the Wang family.
Now that the head of the Wang family is alive and on the side of the government troops, the fate of those who "followed the thieves" is predictable.
Li Sheng glanced sideways, taking in the reactions of the people.
"The brave man is absolutely right."
Wang Mao cupped his hands in greeting, then turned around, his gaze falling on the kneeling, coerced civilians, and his voice suddenly turned cold.
"Brave warrior, look! These unruly people, colluding with bandits, attacked my Wangjiawu Fortress, plundering our grain and wealth, and injuring our servants. This is an outrageous act! I implore you to escort them to the county government for severe punishment, as a warning to others!"
He spoke with righteous indignation and unwavering conviction, as if he were stating a matter of course.
One of the prisoners collapsed to the ground with a thud, his face ashen.
Some people lowered their heads and remained silent, their fingers digging into the soil until their knuckles turned white.
There were also women holding their children, silently shedding tears.
No one cried out for justice, no one argued.
They seem to have resigned themselves to their fate.
Wang Mao then turned to Li Sheng, his tone softening somewhat.
"May I ask your honorable name, sir? I, Wang, have a long-standing relationship with the Xu family of Xiapi. You are surely aware of their influence in Xiapi County. I will certainly put in a good word for you with the Xu family today."
That's a polite way of putting it, but the meaning couldn't be clearer.
He was trying to curry favor and win them over.
With the Xu family's connections, as long as Li Sheng follows his wishes and deals with these people, the Xu family will naturally speak up for him in terms of future promotions and jobs.
"The Xu family, the 'Hidden Tigers'?"
"Exactly!"
Wang Mao was arrogant and looked like he was something special.
Li Sheng knew about the Xu family that Wang Mao mentioned.
The Xu family of Xiapi County, known as the "Hidden Tiger," rose to prominence thanks to the eunuch Xu Huang.
In 159 AD, Emperor Huan of Han conspired with five eunuchs, including Shan Chao and Xu Huang, to eliminate the Liang Ji clique in one fell swoop. For his outstanding achievements, Xu Huang was enfeoffed as Marquis of Wuyuan, with a fief of 15,000 households, and was known as one of the "Five Marquises" along with the other four.
After Liang Ji was eliminated, the emperor's power fell into the hands of others, and the eunuch group quickly replaced the maternal relatives as the new powerful class.
Relying on the emperor's favor, Xu Huang was tyrannical and cruel, promoting his relatives extensively and allowing them to abuse the people. At that time, people in the world said: "Zuo Huitian, Xu Wohu, Ju Duzuo, Tang Yingsheng," meaning that Xu Huang's power was like a tiger lying in the court, enough to intimidate everyone, hence the name "Xu Wohu" (Xu the Tiger).
In Xiapi County, the Xu family became known as "Crouching Tiger".
Li Sheng glanced at Wang Mao, then turned his gaze to the people kneeling on the ground.
Why did you attack Wangjiawubao?
The sound wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
The people hesitantly raised their heads, a hint of doubt flashing in their eyes.
This officer was actually asking them a question?
Wang Mao frowned, a hint of displeasure flashing across his face, but he quickly suppressed it and forced a smile.
"Brave warrior, these people are lowly commoners coerced by bandits. What good are their words? If it weren't for these lowly commoners leading the way and breaking down the gate, those bandits wouldn't have been able to enter my fortified village! Just deal with them according to the law!"
"I wasn't asking about you."
Li Sheng turned his head and looked calmly at Wang Mao.
Sensing the powerful aura emanating from Li Sheng, Wang Mao swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
He moved his lips twice, but ultimately didn't speak, closing his mouth reluctantly, while a hint of resentment flashed in his eyes.
The people looked at each other in bewilderment.
This soldier seemed to be unlike any other soldier they had ever met before.
In the past, the county officials and soldiers would never have given them a second glance, let alone asked them questions.
In their eyes, they were no different from the roadside weeds. If you trample them, you trample them; if you burn them, you burn them. Who would care what the weeds thought?
But the one in front of me...
An old man with gray hair spoke tremblingly.
"Sir, it's not that we wanted to fight... those thieves held knives to our necks and said they would cut off our whole family's heads if we didn't join in... we were forced into it..."
Before he could finish speaking, someone else chimed in.
"Yes, sir, my elderly mother is waiting for me to return home. If I don't comply, the bandit leader will kill my whole family on the spot..."
"I was forced into it!"
"We all want to run, but we can't..."
Once they start talking, they can't stop.
The crowd chattered amongst themselves, all saying the same thing: they were forced into submission by the thieves.