Chapter 99: First Release "A thief is a thief, a bandit is a bandit...

Zhao Kuo roared, but suddenly stopped without saying anything unpleasant to the ear.

He pursed his lips tightly, his brows twitching, as if he was about to hold back. And in fact, he really couldn't hold back.

"The one with the surname Jia!"

This time it’s no longer Brother Jia.

"You've torn me apart from my wife and children, ruined my family, and disfigured me, rendering me a man no longer human."

Zhao Kuo was so excited by Song Linsheng that he felt dizzy and started talking incoherently.

Finally said something useful.

Song Linsheng slightly turned sideways and met the eyes of Mu Tong, who was half a step behind him. They both nodded slightly.

What he wanted was not for that person to shake hands and make peace with Lord Jia.

Song Linsheng's brows softened, his eyes lowered, and the expression in his eyes was concealed.

What he wanted was for this person to speak the truth in a desperate situation.

The Art of War states: "Those who can adapt to the enemy's changes and win are called gods." [Note]

This means that everything is changing. Water has no fixed shape, and light has no visible form. Just like marching and fighting, the best way to win is to adopt corresponding strategies based on the changes of the opponent.

Lord Jia's side is not easy to break through. If Song Linsheng doesn't start with that person and provoke him with words, who knows how long it will take to fight with him.

Song Linsheng raised the corners of his lips slightly. He was very satisfied with the current situation.

He had finished his thoughts, but the scarred man had not yet finished speaking.

"Why on earth did you want to ruin my plans? Tell me!" Zhao Kuo became more and more agitated. He even pushed Wen Yu away and stood alone on the side of the boat, holding a scimitar.

"Brother Zhao--" Shen Sheng who was standing aside was anxious and felt as if his eyebrows were on fire. He saw Zhao Kuo's body shaking and was afraid that if he didn't check it out in time, something might happen.

"Brother Zhao?" Jia Ren's expression was no longer as calm as before. It seemed that he had finally made this man angry.

"Cheng Lian, I didn't even know when you changed your name to Zhao?" Jia Ren laughed sarcastically, unable to suppress his disdain any longer. "Changing your name is ungentlemanly, but it's ridiculous for me to discuss gentlemanly principles with a bandit like you."

"You still recognize me?" Zhao Kuo, or rather Cheng Lian, laughed heartily, with a rather reckless attitude. "It's me, I am Cheng Lian."

Cheng Lian grinned grimly, and the scar on his face twitched. The flickering light and shadow made him look particularly terrifying. Even in broad daylight, one would have the illusion that an evil ghost had appeared.

"Since you remember that I am Cheng Lian, you should also remember who left this scar on me, who killed my child, and who caused me to be wandering for half my life!"

He spoke harshly, as if he wanted to use his words as a knife to cut Jia Ren in half.

In comparison, Jia Ren was much calmer. Instead of getting angry, he laughed and glanced at Cheng Lian, who was sitting at the top of the table, with contempt.

"When I was clearing out the bandits, this scar on you was caused by your stubbornness and your desperate resistance."

"You were defeated at every turn, and your child died because you saw the situation was bad and abandoned the ship and fled."

"As for the fact that you've been adrift for half your life, it's because you refused to repent and repeatedly committed misdeeds, only blaming others."

Cheng Lian is a man who never reflects on his own mistakes and only blames others. Jia Ren had experienced this behavior of his several years ago.

"Is any of this, Jia Ren, responsible for any of it? Your empty words and groundless slander are truly despicable."

His several charges came at Jia Ren like knives, and Jia Ren was not willing to be outdone and fought back against them one by one.

"you--"

Cheng Lian seemed to be choked by Jia Ren's words, and he didn't know how to fight back. He called him "you" several times, and didn't know how to continue.

"Everything started because of you. If you hadn't experienced anything in Jiangyang and hadn't accomplished your so-called achievements, why would you have to meddle in other people's business? How could you have—"

Cheng Lian's teeth were almost broken by him. Looking at his expression, it seemed that he wanted to eat Lord Jia alive.

"I'm not some wicked person, it's you who's keeping a close eye on me!"

Jia Ren's face darkened upon hearing this. He wasn't one for making excuses. Cheng Lian's words were pure nonsense, and since Cheng Lian was pressing him, there was no need for him to retreat.

"Since Lord Song is here today, he asked me to explain the whole matter from beginning to end, and he also asked me to be a witness for him."

Jia Ren turned around and greeted Song Linsheng, then turned towards Cheng Lian and said:

"Back then, you were a tyrant. Relying on your limited knowledge of water transportation, you roamed around Jiangyang and Minghuai, spending years on the water, robbing passing passenger ships and merchant caravans."

Before Jia Ren could continue, he asked Cheng Lian to interrupt him.

"Robbery?" Cheng Lian seemed to have heard something unbelievable. "In troubled times, wealth is shared by all. Naturally, it belongs to those who are capable."

Cheng Lian's words were so shameless that Wen Yu, who was standing beside him, frowned.

Originally in Houtu Temple, she looked at Zhao Kuo, now Cheng Lian, coldly. Judging from his posture, he seemed to be seeking revenge.

Later, when she saw the people in his caravan and that he was looking for Lord Jia, she thought that Lord Jia had offended him in some way or had done something to let him down.

But now it seems that Cheng Lian's problem is probably even bigger.

Wen Yu pursed her lips and glanced at Jia Ren and Lord Jia on the riverbank. She remembered the Tongzhi Lord who had argued with her when they first met, and his righteous words just now: "Release Madam Wen."

Wen Yu couldn't help but be silent. She was a little unsure whether she was biased in her previous view of Lord Jia.

Jia Ren snorted coldly when he heard this. In his opinion, Cheng Lian's words and actions were shameless.

He didn't bother to argue with it, and...

I don’t want to talk about the past anymore.

It was precisely Lord Jia's silent attitude that made Cheng Lian on the boat even more crazy.

"You are the one who is meddling in other people's business and making generalizations!"

Cheng Lian blurted out the accusation, and the tone began to rise at the end. He seemed to be holding back a lot of anger, but didn't know where to vent it.

"You only know what you see, but you don't know what happened before you came." Cheng Lian's voice suddenly became softer and his speech speed gradually slowed down, as if he was recalling something.

"Before you came, I also robbed the rich and gave to the poor, helping the people."

"But you cling to my identity, just giving it a rough go without delving into the details."

Cheng Lian's tone suddenly escalated from the previous gentle tone, "It's clearly just a minor incident in Jiangyang, yet you insisted on bringing it to the court and bringing people to encircle and suppress me!"

Encirclement and suppression.

Song Linsheng's eyelashes trembled, but he quickly concealed his expression.

Lord Jia's attitude and Cheng Lian's words, when put together, seemed to confirm his guess.

"Cheng Lian!"

Jia Ren shouted angrily, as if he could no longer suppress the anger in his heart.

Wen Yu was shocked to hear this. Indeed, she had known since she first met Lord Jia that he was no pushover. She didn't know how much truth there was in Cheng Lian's words. How could Lord Jia allow him to... slander her without any real reason?

Wen Yu carefully considered the words in his mind and picked one that was relatively pertinent. Hmm... it was probably a slander.

"Don't confuse right and wrong."

Seeing that Cheng Lian always deliberately distorted the facts and told half of what happened that year and left the other half, Jia Ren could no longer bear to refute him.

"you--"

"Me? What's wrong with me? Although I, Cheng Lian, am a rough man, I am never as hypocritical and inconsiderate as you!" Cheng Lian interrupted Jia Ren and started arguing without waiting for him to continue.

"And you, with your own achievements in your heart, have no regard for the livelihood of ordinary people like us. You always talk about the people of Jiangyang, but have you ever thought about—"

Cheng Lian paused, seeming a little lost, before continuing, "I... am also a Jiangyang citizen..."

"And you, the Jia Jinshi of Jiangyang Prefecture, are doing your Jia Jinshi in this way..."

Then his expression suddenly changed, with undisguised sarcasm on his face.

"Oh—I'm so sorry, how could I have forgotten that now you are the Tongzhi, in charge of the entire Jiangyang Prefecture. You must be very proud of yourself."

Upon hearing this, Jia Ren was shocked and angry. What did he mean by "in charge of the entire Jiangyang Prefecture"? Now Lord Song was less than three steps away from him. This Cheng Lian... was simply a lunatic.

Song Linsheng saw all of this, but he didn't care much. It was just a few words that couldn't hurt him or Lord Jia. He was not the kind of person who liked to talk, nor was he the kind of person who was stupid and credulous.

The benefits of being high up and looking far ahead were clearly demonstrated to the fullest extent by Cheng Lian. He saw everything that Jia Ren and Song Linsheng did on the riverbank.

Cheng Lian's eyes moved between Song Linsheng and Jia Ren, and he immediately laughed. The scar on his face twitched, and his throat made a gurgling sound. His laugh was very strange.

"No, no, no, no, I was wrong again. In charge of Jiangyang Mansion? What a joke! If you were in charge of Jiangyang Mansion, where would our Lord Song be placed?"

Song Linsheng is young and has little experience, but now he is asked to climb over Jia Ren. Jia Ren must be furious, but he dare not get angry.

Thinking of this, Cheng Lian couldn't help laughing.

"Is it frustrating for the co-prefect to have this young brat become the prefect?"

He knew that a man like Jia Ren, who attached so much importance to achievements, would never be willing to be a small Tongzhi. A deputy is just a deputy, which can never compare to the happiness of being a prefect.

Cheng Lian raised his eyebrows, his eyes full of provocation, his chin raised high, looking arrogant.

"Cheng Lian, stop talking nonsense."

Jia Ren stared at Cheng Lian's eyes. After so many years, he hasn't changed much, and his ability to talk nonsense has really improved.

"Instead of beating around the bush here, why not just admit it straight out? You're just feeling guilty."

As the saying goes, attacking the city is inferior to attacking the heart. To deal with a unreasonable person like Cheng Lian, there is no need to waste words with him, but to hit him where it hurts.

"A thief is a thief, and a bandit is a bandit."

Jia Ren hit the nail on the head, laying the foundation for his subsequent words.

"Is there really a distinction between good thieves and bad thieves, good bandits and evil bandits? Just because you talk about morality and justice, do you really think you're some great hero who's fallen from grace?"

At this point, Jia Ren paused for an inexplicable moment, and couldn't help but burst into a mocking and sarcastic laugh.

"Robbing the rich to help the poor, helping the people, that's just a fig leaf for you to rob people and cause trouble."

Jia Ren was not originally an official in Jiangyang. The first time he and Cheng Lian came into conflict was because he was transferred from another prefecture to serve as the governor of Jiangyang Prefecture, where he was in charge of grain transport.

At that time, all the water conservancy and passenger ship caravans traveling to and from Jiangyang Prefecture passed through the Yuan River. Cheng Lian, relying on his familiarity with the water and his comrades, would often stake out a spot on the Yuan River, waiting for an opportunity to plunder the passing merchants.