Late Song Dynasty: From Imposter Magistrate to Emperor Donning the Imperial Robe

Chapter 56 Before the Bandit Suppression

With Li Chong's extravagant spending, the donated money was spent like water.

The people in the yamen also seemed to have united around Li Chong.

But Li Chong knew very well that these people were all opportunists, and it was unrealistic to expect them to genuinely do things for him.

Yang Chengde panicked because, like Li Chong, he used benefits to win people's hearts. Seeing people gathering around Li Chong, he naturally felt uneasy.

No matter what, Li Chong still held the title of county magistrate, so it was perfectly legitimate for him to order around the various clerks and runners at the yamen.

Seeing the bustling crowds at Li Chong's door, Yang Chengde couldn't help but feel a little flustered.

But Li Chong knew perfectly well that all the methods he used were just smokescreens to mislead the others in the county.

What really matters is whether he can actually wipe out the bandits.

If he can defeat the bandits, then all this preliminary work will prove to be truly effective, making him a legitimate leader of the county.

But if it fails, I'll probably end up as a rubber stamp.

Even more seriously, if their identity is exposed, their lives could be in danger.

Thinking of this, Li Chong felt that time was of the essence. After pondering for a moment, he ordered someone to summon Wu Dalang.

Soon, Wu Dalang came to Li Chong and bowed deeply: "Master, you've come to see me."

As the most inconspicuous shift leader in the yamen, Wu Dalang's defection to Li Chong went unnoticed by anyone.

Who would believe that Li Chong could wipe out the mountain bandits who had been entrenched for many years with just these people?

There have been many people coming and going in front of Li Chong these days, so Wu Dalang is really inconspicuous among them.

He beckoned him closer and asked in a low voice, "How is Wu Song doing with you?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Dalang couldn't help but give a bitter smile: "Wu Er is fine now. I taught him to let his hair down to cover his face, making him look like a barbarian from the north. He's shown up on the street a few times, and no one has recognized him. But he really eats too much; he's almost eaten my entire salary."

"Haha." Li Chong couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Don't worry, I'll make it up to you later no matter how much money he spent on you."

Wu Dalang quickly declined, saying, "What's a little money to do things for the master? Besides, the master has already given me more than enough rewards."

Li Chong, of course, wouldn't let him down, so he immediately agreed to have him write down Wu Song's expenses and reimburse him.

Having learned about Wu Song's current situation, Li Chong felt much more at ease.

After rummaging through the table for a moment, Li Chong took out Zhang Da's document: "Since that's the case, then this matter can be settled. Zhang Da has already reported Wu Song's death. Once it's crossed out, he'll be a dead man from now on."

Upon seeing the corpse in the cell, Zhang Da naturally had some doubts.

But after much deliberation, he decided to put the matter aside.

To reiterate, if something like this happens on his own turf and it blows up, it wouldn't be surprising if someone used it as an excuse to remove him from his position.

Although being a prison warden is not a respectable job, it is indeed lucrative, and who would be willing to give up such a lucrative position for nothing?

Therefore, just as Li Chong had expected, Wu Song's prison break did not cause any ripples.

As for Zhang Da's suspicions, let him have his suspicions; they pose no threat to Li Chong.

After approving Zhang Da's document, Li Chong took out two more letters from the table.

"Give this one to Wu Song; have him take the other to meet a few people, the time and place are written in the letter. Once he's done, you must let me know the results as soon as possible."

Wu Dalang took the letter from Li Chong in a daze, and then he was puzzled again.

"My lord, your arrangement is fine, but... Wu Er is illiterate."

"Uh." Li Chong paused for a moment upon hearing this. He had considered everything, but he hadn't taken this into account.

He waved his hand helplessly: "Then you can read the first letter to him, but don't open the second one."

"Yes," Wu Dalang nodded in agreement. "Is there anything else you need, sir?"

"Turn around..."

Just as Li Chong was about to give a few more instructions, he suddenly saw someone enter the room and immediately changed his mind.

"You may leave now. Remember, the fewer people who know about this, the better."

"I understand." Wu Dalang stood up to take his leave, brushing past Cui Shi who had just entered.

Cui Shi didn't even glance at Wu Dalang, and went straight to Li Chong, looking rather aggressive.

Li Chong leisurely put away the documents on the table and asked, "You busy man, what brings you here to see me today?"

Cui Shi pulled up a chair and sat directly opposite Li Chong: "Do you know that the money in the warehouse is about to run out!"

Li Chong personally approved those funds; how could he not know?

Li Chong didn't even look up: "What's it to you? The money raised is for suppressing bandits. My people from all over the place are procuring supplies for this very purpose. With your aggressive attitude, anyone who doesn't know better would think I'm spending your money."

Cui Shi's imposing manner was momentarily stunned.

Although that's what he thought, he was obviously too embarrassed to admit it in front of Li Chong.

After a moment of silence, Cui Shi spoke again: "But do you know how much profit those people have made by manipulating things? Take grain for example, the market price is so low, yet they dare to..."

"Why would they work for me if they don't get something in return?" Li Chong interrupted him directly. "If you can help, then help; if you can't, then shut up in front of me!"

Hearing Li Chong's impolite words, Cui Shi was momentarily embarrassed and annoyed: "Li, don't forget, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't be this county magistrate!"

Li Chong adopted an indifferent attitude: "Then go ahead and report me. I've been looking through a lot of Song Dynasty laws these days. Our crime isn't serious. At most, it'll be beheading as a warning to others. It's not enough to punish our entire family."

"You..." Choi Si stood up and pointed at Lee Chong, but couldn't say a word.

Li Chong remained unyielding: "Who am I running around for right now? Isn't it just to save our lives? Let those bandits continue to roam free. When they discover our identities, you'll have plenty of time to throw a tantrum at the execution ground!"

Cui Shi was speechless and could only slump back into her chair.

"It hurts me to see so much money go to waste."

Seeing that his temper had softened, Li Chong stopped being so aggressive: "There's nothing we can do about it. We have no foothold here. If we don't spend more money, who will be willing to work for us? As for money, once we've completely established ourselves, will we still have to worry about money?"

"So you really can win?" Choi Si-sil looked at Lee Chong suspiciously.

I picked up a random person on the roadside. Not only is he capable of serving as a county magistrate, but he has also been without any flaws so far. Could he possibly be a military commander?

Cui Shicai was so anxious because he didn't trust Li Chong.

His thinking was that if things failed, having money on hand would at least make it easier to escape.

But for now, we have no choice but to listen to Li Chong.

Li Chong smiled slightly: "Then it's up to you. I have something to ask of you. If it can be done, I'm 100% confident of victory."

After a moment of silence, Cui Shi said in a low voice, "Tell me about it."