Chapter 8: Keep it a secret "This is Madam Pei, Yixue and I...
If the identities of the bandits were exposed, they would be wiped out by the government, and Pei Yixue would probably be charged with colluding with bandits.
Faced with such a difficult problem, Pei Yixue had a smile on his face, looking confident.
The bandits and even the villagers present were all confused and could not figure out what this man was thinking for a moment.
It is not something that ordinary people can do to help the bandits get a legal identity.
This again brings up the issue of money and power.
Pei Yixue's current financial resources are not enough to allow senior officials to take such a big risk for him.
Then there must be someone behind him.
But is there anyone behind him?
The villagers in the convoy all took a negative attitude when they thought of this.
If so, Pei Yixue would not have been sent to prison by a small county magistrate half a month ago to suffer.
These bandits did not know about Pei Yixue's situation, but they naturally knew that this matter was difficult to handle. Pei Yixue was a sickly man who coughed from time to time and looked like he would not live for many days. How could he know someone so powerful?
Just when they were about to mock, Pei Yixue spoke.
"In two days, the boss's worries will be solved."
The bandits did not hide their sneers on their faces and asked him how he was going to solve the problem.
But he kept it a secret and asked people to wait for good news.
"It doesn't matter if the boss is suspicious. It's only two days." Pei Yixue glanced at all the bandits in front of him: "Everyone can wait, right?"
Qi Da's deep black eyes looked at him, narrowed slightly, and a dark light flashed in his eyes.
Pei Yixue smiled back at him, "But, should the boss also show some sincerity?"
The other party was stunned for a moment, not knowing what he had thought of, and emphasized: "It is you who want to cooperate with me."
"The boss also said that we are cooperating."
Qi Da was silent for a moment, then asked, "What do you want?"
As soon as this man finished speaking, the bandits around him all stared at Pei Yixue, as if threatening him not to ask for too much, otherwise they would chop him into meat paste with a knife each.
He thought to himself, this village can't even afford a bowl of rice, what could he want?
He just wanted to know who had exposed the convoy's itinerary.
When Pei Yixue asked this question, he glanced at the team members calmly.
They all had expressions of indignation and resentment on their faces, as if they all wanted to know who that guy was who had caused them to be kidnapped by bandits and taken to the mountain stronghold.
It seems that the man is not a member of the convoy.
Pei Yixue couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, it was good that he wasn't from the convoy, the people in the convoy were selected by him personally, and if something like this happened, it would prove that he was blind enough.
He should stop doing this business.
However, he did not expect that the bandit in front of him would actually say words like "I don't know" and "I'm not sure".
These people had been so cautious and shrewd when they ambushed the convoy, but now they told him that they only intercepted the convoy because they had received an anonymous letter and heard that there were more than twenty trucks of barley, and they did not know who the other party was.
Pei Yixue barely managed to suppress the urge to pull out his hair, and for a moment he didn't know what to make of these bandits.
Since they had to wait two days for the news, the bandits would naturally not let them go back.
But compared with the previous situation of being tied up and stabbed, they were treated with some respect as guests.
The 25 people in the convoy will be placed in three courtyards respectively, but many bandits will be sent to guard the outside of the courtyards to prevent them from escaping.
Both the bandits and the villagers were aroused by Pei Yixue's half-sentence. They were curious and eager to know how this man was going to solve the issue of his bandit identity.
But Pei Yixue refused to give in, so they could only wait.
For two whole days, the bandits were unable to do anything because they were weighed down by the incident.
Early in the morning of the third day, a large group of people came to Pei Yixue and asked him to give an explanation.
Pei Yixue asked them to go down the mountain and take a walk around the city, saying that they would know once they got there.
The mountain stronghold was far away from the city, and the bandits who were gathering information finally returned when the sun was about to set.
He pushed open the door of the council hall in a hurry.
The bandits waiting in the hall all looked at him. Brother Hu took two steps forward, grabbed him and asked anxiously: "What's going on? Any news?"
The bandit's face was filled with excitement, and his tone was filled with ecstasy: "The imperial court has issued a notice to recruit civilian forces, including mountain bandits!"
"What?!" Brother Tiger's body trembled, and he put his hands on his waist and then put them down again, over and over again, not knowing where to put them.
Except for this man, all the bandits present were also shocked.
"Brother, who is this guy? He even knows about the imperial edict that hasn't been released yet." asked the bandit who brought back the news.
Qi Da lowered his eyes and thought, "I don't know."
Brother Hu said, "Who could he be? Didn't we investigate him these past two days? He is just a sickly person driven out by the Pei family in Xitang County."
"What we learned from Xitang County and what we heard from Daohua Village seem to be different." Another bandit hesitated.
The bandit who was trying to get information asked, "Could it be that after he was driven out, he met the noble man behind him?"
They didn't find any clues about that noble man.
But Pei Yixue came from nothing and was able to achieve such success in just a few months. He must have had someone helping him behind the scenes.
One way out was for the imperial court to recruit them into Jishizhai.
If they accepted, they had two options: one was to be allocated land and farm it honestly, and the other was to be incorporated into the imperial court.
But this is not what they want.
Because relying on farming or the salary from the court was not enough to support the 157 elderly and children in the village.
They don't want to lose the cottage either.
Pei Yixue said that he could accommodate everyone in Jishishi Village, young and old.
Jishizhai discussed the matter behind closed doors and finally decided to cooperate with Pei Yixue.
The only requirement is to keep the village.
After the matter was settled, Pei Yixue, Brother Hu and three or four other bandits went to the Xitang County Government Office to register everyone in the village.
It was easy and smooth to obtain a legal identity, but the government office disagreed in order to keep the copycat government.
The county magistrate said, "You should know that the purpose of the imperial court's offer of amnesty is to disperse these civilian forces and reduce unrest. If we keep them, what difference will it make to not offer amnesty at all?"
Pei Yixue said: "Sir, we don't want to keep the mountain village, but to change Jishizhai to Jishitang."
The person sitting in the hall was stunned for a moment, as if wondering if he had not heard clearly, and then asked: "What's the difference?"
"Jishizhai is a place for robbing and looting," he said with a smile, "and Jishitang is a place for adopting homeless children."
Adopting homeless children is what Jishizhai has been doing all along, but the way they raise the children is to rob wealthy businessmen passing by. If the method is wrong, it will become a den of bandits.
If the source of the bandit’s money is legal and compliant, the bandit’s den can be transformed into a charity that benefits the local people.
The magistrate tapped his fingers on the armrest of the chair, waiting for his next words.
Pei Yixue said: “If Jishitang can take in all homeless children and even all homeless people in the future, there will be no beggars in the streets and alleys of Xitang County, and all the people will live and work in peace and contentment.
Don't you, as a man who has served the country and the people, want to see such a scene?"
The magistrate's fingers tapped on the armrests of the chair a little faster, and he seemed to be wavering.
If Xitang County could become so prosperous, it would definitely add a highlight to his political achievements.
Pei Yixue had dealt with the magistrate of Xitang County and knew that this man loved money the most.
He then catered to his preferences.
As long as he is willing, things that can be solved with money are not a problem.
Now, because of the county magistrate's mother, the county magistrate's open extortion is no longer feasible.
He said, "Jishi Village is located in a no-man's land. Your Excellency has already recruited the bandits there, so Songwu Mountain will belong to Xitang County."
If it belongs to Xitang County, then taxes can be levied.
Jishizhai covers an area of about 50 mu of land. Based on the annual income of two taels of silver per mu, the annual tax revenue of the village is over a hundred taels, which is equivalent to the annual salary of the county magistrate.
The county magistrate straightened his back, sat on the chair and straightened his expression, "Jishitang is opening a hall to do good deeds and benefit the people, so I support it.
But Songwu Mountain now belongs to Xitang County. If you still dare to intercept wealthy merchants as before, I will not let you off easily!"
When the county magistrate said this, it was considered that he agreed to preserve the stronghold.
Jishizhai was officially renamed Jishitang.
In the mountain stronghold, the bandits used to open up a lot of wasteland for growing crops, but it is not possible to grow crops on this barren mountain.
But it is really good for growing medicinal herbs.
As for the people in the mountain village, Pei Yixue asked those who were capable of fighting to join the escort agency, and the rest of the elderly people only needed to do things within their ability every day.
As for the children, he paid three or four teachers to teach them how to read and write.
With more people, Pei Yixue's fleet also expanded further, and the sales of medicinal materials covered several nearby neighboring counties.
Not long after the escort agency was established, in addition to escorting their own convoys, it also received two or three large orders.
Everything was fine, except that rumors began to spread outside from some point in time that Xie Yushu had forcibly taken him away from the common people and forced him to become a son-in-law.
Pei Yixue didn't care at all. It would be a good thing if Xie Yushu could snatch him away by force.
But Xie Yushu didn't like it. Ever since he knew about the rumor, he had been avoiding him intentionally or unintentionally.
It will be New Year's Eve in a few days.
That afternoon, Xie Yushu left Pei Yixue behind and went to the county town to buy New Year's goods, but ran into three people head-on.
One of them he had met before, the one who went to the Wang family ancestral home to look for Pei Yixue last time.
The man was supporting a woman, with a maid beside him, and was walking slowly towards him.
The woman looked him up and down, with a look of disdain yet satisfaction in her eyes, which made him a little puzzled.
"This is Mrs. Pei, the mother of Yixue and me." Liao Qiubai introduced the woman to him.
Xie Yushu pursed his lips and bowed to the woman opposite him as a junior.
"Yixue is such a stubborn kid. He didn't tell his family about the injustice he suffered outside, and he just swallowed his anger." The woman seemed to be oblivious to his courtesy and continued to talk to herself, "Now that the matter has been settled, I have no choice but to admit my defeat."
Xie Yushu has heard these words a lot recently. It can be said that he forcibly took Pei Yixue and made Pei Yixue his son-in-law.
Xie Yushu also understood that this woman had previously been disgusted with him but also satisfied with him. She probably thought that Pei Yixue was forced to marry him, a dumb, ugly and poor girl, and was secretly rejoicing.
He stood up, and although he knew that his explanation would not have any effect, he still told the people in front of him as usual that he and Pei Yixue did not have that kind of relationship.
After demonstrating, he turned around and left without caring whether the other party understood or not. However, the maid from Pei Mansion stepped forward to block his way.
The woman behind him spoke with disgust, whispering to Liao Qiubai: "This country bumpkin is really uneducated. He left on his own before his elders gave him a word."
Xie Yushu turned his head and wanted to ask the three what else they wanted to do.
Liao Qiubai on the other side smiled at him and said, "We are already at the entrance of Pei's house, why don't you go in and sit down?"
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