South of Ganzhou lies Zhongzhou, and further south of Zhongzhou is the area where the southwestern garrison is stationed.
Ma Ming led a few men to deliver a letter to Wang Junzhuo. They rode there on horseback, changing horses but not riders, and it took them three days. With Wei Lang's seal, they easily met Wang Junzhuo's deputy general.
Wang Junzhuo was the elder brother of Consort Shu. During the Wang family's reign, they were stationed in the southwest and were considered local tyrants in the southwest.
Wang Junzhuo's wife and children were in the capital taking care of his elderly mother, while he was stationed in Suizhou with two concubines who had been drugged by his wife. He had just gotten up when his deputy rushed to the general's mansion, saying that he had urgent business to attend to.
Wang Junzhuo was strict in disciplining his troops; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to defend the southwest region like an iron barrel. The southwest is rich in mineral resources, and even the imperial court, if it wanted to develop silver or iron mines in the southwest, had to do with whichever one Wang Junzhuo allowed.
Wang Junzhuo hadn't even had time to eat when he rushed to the study to meet his deputy. The deputy was holding a letter written by Wei Lang, looking troubled. Without saying a word, Wang Junzhuo snatched it away. After reading half of it, his face changed. By the time he finished reading it, he was so angry that his face turned red. He slammed his hand on the table and said, "I told you I shouldn't get involved in this, but you insisted on making me. Now look what happened, everyone's been arrested."
The lieutenant said, "General, I think Wei Lang is actually giving us face. But look again, he clearly wants us to pay money to ransom them."
Wang Junzhuo picked up the letter again, looked at it carefully, and said, "That's right, that's true. The land in the Northwest is barren, and they are lucky if they can eat their fill with the meager salary given by the imperial court. So, in your opinion, how should this matter be handled?"
The lieutenant said, "General, this matter should be resolved quickly. The men we sent out are on the Ministry of War's roster. These men can't withstand scrutiny. If they are investigated, it will cause a lot of trouble. Taking weapons to the Northwest is hard to explain with any reason. Since they want money, then give them money. Now it depends on how much they want."
Wang Junzhuo said, "I'll leave this matter to you. Give these dozen or so people some money and bring them back safe and sound. Once they're back, send them back to their home in the capital. They can't stay here any longer."
The lieutenant nodded in agreement and, after receiving the order, went to talk to Ma Ming.
Xu Di demanded at least 10,000 taels of silver from Ma Ming. Everyone knew that the Southwest Army was wealthy. Since Ma Ming had committed a crime under his watch, he had the final say. How much he wanted was entirely up to him.
Ma Ming didn't immediately tell the other party his low price. He first said he wanted 20,000 taels per person. After the deputy general bargained, he settled on 15,000 taels per person. Ma Ming then sent the deputy general with the silver notes to Ganzhou to recruit people.
The lieutenant said, "Captain Ma, how about we find a spot in the middle and settle the matter between the money and the person? What do you think?"
Ma Ming sneered and said, "General, although the man was captured in Ganzhou, we didn't send him there. Why should we send him here? If we're going to send him, we should send him to the Ministry of War. We're all soldiers, and we can't leave our own defense zone without orders. If you want us to send him, then we have to go to the Ministry of War and ask what your Southwest Army is trying to find out by sending people to our Northwest Military Region."
The deputy general felt as if he had swallowed a handful of bitter herbs. He gritted his teeth, nodded, counted out the silver notes, and then sent one of his men with a few others to follow Ma Ming to Ganzhou.
Wei Lang also had a general's mansion in Ganzhou, and there was an office in front of the mansion where several soldiers from the southwest were imprisoned.
Xu Di went to check on them and fed them Zhang Zhaoci's unique muscle-softening powder in their food. They could only stroll around the small courtyard; climbing walls or roofs was out of the question. Xu Di had people serve them good food and drink, and tea tables and reclining chairs were placed under the shade of the trees in the courtyard. When they got tired of strolling, they could lie down on the reclining chairs to rest, drink tea, eat some snacks, and crack some melon seeds. Xu Di also sent someone to ask if they should invite a storyteller over.
When Ma Ming arrived with his men from the Southwest, they saw several people lying on deck chairs under the shade of a tree in the courtyard. They were visibly whiter and fatter. The person in charge sent by the Southwest was surnamed Zou and was a captain.
Xu Di had already thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of these individuals. Among them were two of Wang Junzhuo's personal guards, who were in charge. The others were all top figures from the Southwest. They wouldn't have been sent on such an assassination mission if they weren't highly skilled. Unfortunately, they encountered a special forces team trained by Xu Di and Wei Lang, a team that had been training for several years. Those few experts from the Southwest were no match for them.
Upon seeing Captain Zou arrive, an accountant who had been guarding the entrance to the courtyard inquired about Captain Zou's identity and then came over with an account book.
When Colonel Zou saw the records in the ledger, he saw what he ate each day, its value, what he drank, and its value. This value, of course, should be 50% or 60% higher than the market value.
At the very end, it said that a storyteller was to be invited, but no price was listed. When Captain Zou saw this, he felt a tightness in his chest, a feeling of being unable to get over it or back down. He looked at the food, snacks, and melon seeds, each item clearly and precisely priced.
Captain Zou gritted his teeth and said, "Sir, our general has come here sincerely to take the person back."
The man waved his hand and said, “General, you are so wealthy and powerful that we are just ordinary families. We have to make a living, and even small things like needles and thread cost money. General Wei has to support so many of us, so he has to be careful with everything. Since you brothers have come here, we have to treat you well. We can’t just buy you bad things to entertain you, can we?”
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
