Chapter 281 How did I come to know you, you madman!
Pingning, the hill behind an abandoned gold mine.
"Hey, Li Rong, if we both die here, when you make offerings to me in the future, be sure to give me plenty of instant noodles. I haven't had enough yet!"
By the dim light of the torch, Chi Heng took out her leather water bag, drank some water, and leaned against the rock wall, looking utterly dejected. These past few days have been absolutely exhausting.
“If we both die, I probably won’t be able to offer you tribute anymore.” Li Rong drew his dagger and made a mark on the rock face. Then he sat back down.
Chi Heng glared angrily: "That's all I have to say! Can't you say something nicer?"
"I must be out of my mind to come to a mine with thousands of people like a madman like you, with only a few dozen people and a bunch of rats crawling through a hole! If we get caught, forget about a proper burial, we might not even get a proper corpse."
Li Rong said calmly, "No, when the time comes, you can raise your voice and say that you are the Duke of Chi. They will definitely leave your body intact. Perhaps, if Xiao Yuanshan finds out that you are in his mine, he will even whip your corpse."
Chi Heng gritted her teeth: "You really know how to comfort people."
Li Rong tightened the blood-stained bandages on his body and nodded modestly: "It's alright."
The next second, his ears twitched, and he grabbed Chi Heng, who was still leaning against the rock wall, and said, "They're coming! Run!"
"Again?" Chi Heng looked utterly hopeless. "When will this ever end?! Hey, I'm telling you, maybe His Majesty and the Sixth Prince are already safe, and we don't need to use this diversionary tactic anymore!"
Li Rong: "Hmm, maybe. But we've been around for a while now, we know all the tunnels. Xiao Yuanshan's batch of refined gold will be secretly transported out today. Are you really not tempted?"
With this batch of gold, is there still a problem in supporting the army?
Chi Heng swallowed hard, then suddenly gritted his teeth: "Let's get him!"
He felt good just seeing Xiao Yuanshan unhappy.
For a moment, I felt like I had been injected with chicken blood.
When Chi Heng came to her senses, she realized that he had already rushed ahead. She immediately gritted her teeth and looked at Li Rong behind her: "You little brat, you tricked me again!"
How did he end up going with Li Rong to rob gold?
This kid initially said he was just there to scout out the gold mine. Later, he tricked him into causing trouble and turning the miners against him. Now, he's gone even further, actually trying to rob the gold!
"Just tell me, are you going to do it or not?"
Chi Heng: "I'm really scared of you."
As they walked, they suddenly realized something was wrong and quickly followed Li Rong, saying, "Something's not right. How many of us have a chance of succeeding in robbing gold? What about the rest of you?"
Li Rong's eyes flickered: "The rest of the people, naturally, are waiting for news along with the miners."
Chi Heng was stunned for a moment, then realized something, and her pupils suddenly dilated: "Li Rong, are you crazy!"
He said that for just a few people to rob gold guarded by multiple layers of security was like throwing an egg against a rock! How could Li Rong do such a thing! So, from the very beginning, he had his eye on more than just gold!
"Chi Heng, do you still remember the first miner we turned?"
Li Rong's voice was deep and clear, audible in the empty tunnel: "His mother is seriously ill, and his wife is pregnant. He was arrested and brought here just for going to buy medicine. Now, his hair is graying. For the rest of his life, his mother and wife will probably think of him as much as his gambling-addicted father who abandoned his wife and children."
But he told me that he was lucky in the mine. Countless others were already buried underground, and none had the chance to live to his age.
“But there are only the two of us, with three or five guards. Are you out of your mind?” Chi Heng said.
Li Rong's voice remained unchanged: "But there are several thousand people underground in that mine."
Chi Heng was furious: "Those are all old, weak, sick and disabled!"
Li Rong: "So what?"
He said calmly, "Someone once said that only when the hearts of the people are with you and the will of the people is there can you be invincible and unrivaled in the world."
Chi Heng: "Who the hell said that! He definitely doesn't know our situation! Is that the kind of thing to say at a time like this?"
Li Rong: "I said it."
Chi Heng's face froze, and after a long while, she gritted her teeth and said, "How the hell did I ever get to know a madman like you in my life!"
Back then, he and Li Rong were both from military families and were sent to the army camp for training.
I remember that at first, I took on a bandit suppression job that no one wanted to do. That madman Li Rong led me to wipe out the bandit den without firing a shot.
That was Lu Zhong, one of the bandits who were wiped out back then. And it was that group of bandits who became Li Rong's most useful and elite daggers.
"Chiheng, cheer up. This is the last night. We can't lose this battle. If we lose, we'll never eat instant noodles again in our lives." After saying this, Li Rong, with a dagger in his mouth, led the group out with practiced ease.
Chi Heng gritted her teeth and followed him: "I really owe you something."
Several days later, a brawl involving thousands of people in an abandoned mine in Pingning City shocked the court and the public.
Faced with the condemnation of his ministers, Regent Xiao Yuanshan claimed to know nothing about the matter. The Emperor, along with the Sixth Prince, spent several days at the imperial estate observing mourning rites before deciding to return to the capital. He specially ordered General Gu Kui of the City Guard to lead troops to escort the Emperor back to the capital.
Another imperial edict was issued, ordering the Duke of Chi, who was visiting relatives in Pingning, to investigate the cause of the armed conflict in Pingning City. A new chapter was about to begin in the Great Jing Dynasty.
"Hahaha, Xiao Yuanshan has lost both his wife and his army this time. He must be furious."
On top of the city wall of Pingning, Chi Heng held a wine jug, his eyes narrowed with laughter. He tilted his head back and took another big gulp.
Li Rong also carried a wine jar, his gaze fixed on the people coming and going below the city wall.
Several days have passed, yet the joy in the city seems not to have faded. Reunited with old friends, tears naturally flowed.
Seeing the young couple walking hand in hand below the city, Li Rong was taken aback. He tightened his bundle and snatched the wine bottle from Chi Heng's hand: "I have some serious business to discuss with you. The Emperor has ordered you to investigate this matter. Be careful. You'll likely face a lot of trouble when you return to the capital. Xiao Yuanshan won't let this go easily."
“I’m afraid of him? What I’m most afraid of is that the Sixth Prince will also get into trouble! Now that the Sixth Prince has returned to the capital alive and kicking, even if the Emperor really does have such a day, it won’t be Xiao Yuanshan’s turn! I really wish I could go back to the capital to see Xiao Yuanshan’s face now.”
"It's good that you know the situation. I'll be leaving now."
"Leave?" Chi Heng's eyes widened instantly. "What do you mean you left? This Pingning City is so big, with nearly ten thousand miners! You just leave like that!"
Li Rong nodded: "Yes, it's time to wait for General Wan. I wonder if he'll like this generous gift I gave him."
"Wait, I mean, what will happen to Pingning if you leave!"
“Isn’t there you? I can still do it.” Li Rong said, patting his shoulder: “Chi Heng, you can do it.”
Chi Heng's eyes widened, but before he could speak, he heard his guard say, "Master, Chen Shu and Gu Kui have returned and are waiting at the city gate."
The two men almost instinctively looked over, and Li Rong's brows furrowed instantly: "Why did you send someone to Gu Kui?"
(End of this chapter)
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