Chapter 254 Those with the Surname Qian Must Die
"That is of course Mount Fuxu."
Zhao Yunjing laughed: "Fuxu Mountain does not require corvée labor. Whatever you plunder goes into your own stomach. However, there is strife and infighting. Fuxu Mountain has not existed for long. The chief has changed five or six times. Chief Liu is capable. He has been in power for two years. He is a hero."
The two men who came with Liu Shuangmei exchanged a glance, and one of them said, "Boss, don't waste your breath on them. Why would we rather go up Fuxu Mountain than stay on land? It's because there are too many corrupt officials like them. We've been forced into this situation because we have no other way to survive!"
"Comparing Fuxu Mountain to Liangshan is somewhat insulting to Liangshan. However, if Fuxu Mountain can make the right choice, its fate will definitely be better than that of the heroes of Liangshan."
Liu Shuangmei's eyes narrowed: "Lord Zhao, having failed to bribe me, are now resorting to threats?"
"Let's say that's how it is." Zhao Yunjing tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a soft tapping sound. "It all depends on what the leader chooses."
"Boss, stop wasting time talking to them. I'll let the brothers in. Today, no matter if they're the top scholar or a prince, even if the emperor himself comes, we'll make sure they leave their lives behind!"
The two men drew their knives, but Liu Shuangmei pressed them down, saying, "Put the knives down."
"The boss——"
"I said, put the knife down!"
"Chief, you really believe this Zhao's nonsense and want to accept the imperial court's offer of amnesty? Don't forget the fate of the 108 heroes of Liangshan! Of the 108 heroes, 60 died in battle, 20 supposedly went into seclusion but their deaths are unknown, 13 died of illness, and only 10 became officials! And the first one to be poisoned was none other than Chief Song Jiang!"
"We would rather die fighting for the imperial court than be its lackeys!"
"Liu Shuangmei, I know you're not satisfied with being an official's daughter and want to accept the imperial pardon and come back to continue being an official's daughter. Then you can be your own official's daughter, and we will never surrender!"
Liu Shuangmei stopped holding them down, letting go and whispering, "If you like dying so much, and aren't afraid of dying so much, then let one of you die first and show me. You die, or him? Or do we die together?"
The two fell silent, their faces ashen, and it took them a long time to recover.
Liu Shuangmei said, "Lord Zhao's handling of the matter is indeed superb. Fuxu Mountain has discussed it, but the result is that they will not accept it."
"so?"
"Anyone with the surname Qian must die."
Zhao Yunjing smiled faintly: "Qian Yun, as an official of the court, does not protect the people but robs them and treats human life like dirt. Of course, the man surnamed Qian must die, but he cannot die at your hands. I can let you watch him die with your own eyes."
Lord Qian hadn't expected the imperial court to form an alliance with Fuxu Mountain, and that both sides would use him as a sacrifice. His face drained of color: "Lord Zhao, you, you can't, you can't—"
Hu Peiran stepped forward and listed Qian's eighteen crimes one by one. Finally, he threw a stack of papers in Qian's face: "These are portraits of the victims who went to Yuezhou to expose you in the past ten years but were killed by you! No more, no less, one hundred and eight! A life for a life, you only have this one dog's life, which one is enough to pay for?"
When Hu Peiran saw these portraits, he almost rushed to Zhangcheng overnight to skin Lord Qian alive. Lord Qian didn't treat the people like sons, or even grandsons, at least these people wouldn't die. But Lord Qian treated these people's lives like roadside grass, cutting them off whenever he wanted!
Lord Qian knelt down with a thud and crawled to Zhao Yunjing's side: "Lord Zhao, save me! I don't want to die! If you can let me live, I will immediately lead troops to wipe out Fuxu Mountain, and I will also immediately form a maritime escort team to ensure the safety of fishermen at sea! My lord, my lord, we can't trust them!"
Zhao Yunjing didn't react, so Lord Qian changed his approach and knelt down in front of Li Changyi, crying and sniffling. Li Changyi did react, but he kicked him in the face with his toe with a look of disgust: "Filthy thing, get away from me!"
The word "filthy thing" seemed to trigger something in Lord Qian, who suddenly lunged forward, pulled a short knife from his robes, and viciously stabbed at Li Changyi, yelling, "Die, you bastard—ah!"
He collapsed to the ground with a thud.
His back was riddled with arrows.
Even so, Lord Qian was not dead yet; he was still alive.
Zhou Mujiao strolled in through the door, saying with disdain, "You're always causing me trouble. You're all bruised and I still have to save you! Do you think I'm some kind of immortal?"
Zhao Yunjing smiled and said, "You've worked hard, my wife. This corrupt official can't die so easily. He has to keep his breath so he can kowtow to the 108 victims one by one to apologize."
Li Changyi also smiled and said, "Although I also wish I could kill this trash, he is an official appointed by the court. Killing him still has to follow the procedure."
Lord Qian didn't die, but he was even more useful than if he had. After Zhou Mujiao dragged him away, the two people who came with Liu Shuangmei obviously changed their expressions. This time, they weren't angry, but rather fearful and relieved. They were relieved that Liu Shuangmei had pressed them down earlier, otherwise they would have been the ones with their backs turned into beehives.
Lord Qian is an official appointed by the imperial court, so killing him requires following procedures. They are just bandits who can be killed whenever they want. What chance do they have of surviving?
The two men were none other than the fifth and seventh leaders of Fuxu Mountain. They had entered Fuxu Mountain at the same time as Liu Shuangmei. As for why they were so obedient to Liu Shuangmei and even succumbed to her beauty, it was probably because they had been whipped by her.
Now no one dared to utter a sound.
Liu Shuangmei cupped her hands in greeting: "Lord Zhao, I agree to the offer of amnesty."
"Boss Liu has great courage."
"However, it will take three days. After three days, I will bring my brothers from Fuxu Mountain to await your command, sir."
"Thank you, Young Master Xie and Young Master Song, please see Chief Liu off."
With a top scholar and a prince persuading her to surrender at the same time, and two princes personally seeing her off, Liu Shuangmei thought that even if she died on Fuxu Mountain, someone would spread the word about this scene today. Whether she would be infamous for eternity or be remembered for good, it didn't matter.
The people from Fuxu Mountain left, and the guards cleaned up the bloodstains in the Mingtang. Soon after, the two princes returned, and only their own people remained in the room.
Xie Jiang asked, "Lord Zhao, can Liu Shuangmei, a woman, really be in charge of the entire Fuxu Mountain? Fuxu Mountain is home to the Ten Great Evils!"
"Liu Shuangmei is the leader of the Ten Great Evils. What do you think made her the leader of the Ten Great Evils?"
Of course, it's because they are ruthless.
Liu Shuangmei is ruthless and has the help of the Fifth and Seventh Leaders. Of course, they have no chance of winning against the Seven Leaders alone, so Liu Shuangmei will definitely outsmart them. Zhao Yunjing is quite curious about what methods she will use, whether it's a counter-espionage scheme, a self-inflicted injury scheme, an empty city scheme, or a retreat strategy.
"We'll know everything in three days," Zhao Yunjing said with a smile. "Xiao Ran, have you sent them out yet?"
"The people arrived a long time ago. They went back with their ship three days ago. Everything is arranged. If Liu Shuangmei doesn't come out in three days, they will attack."
If they refuse to be recruited and continue to be river bandits harming the people, then there is no need to keep this group alive. We should just wipe out Fuxu Mountain. As for the maritime escort team, it would be safer to form one on land.
In the afternoon, two fast horses galloped into the small fishing village: "Master, a letter has arrived from the Northwest!"
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