Zhao Laoda immediately perked up. County Magistrate Geng Tianrong had sent someone here. He must have heard correctly!
Li Lao Er chuckled: "Brother, what do you think the magistrate's purpose is?"
"How would I know? Just let him in and ask him."
When Zongyuan entered, many bandits held up broken knives to threaten him.
If Zongyuan said he wasn't afraid at all, that would be a lie. He was a bandit; if he were truly reasonable and honest, he wouldn't be a bandit.
Many ordinary people would rather starve to death than resist.
Moreover, these bandits were not all ordinary people; many of them were originally local bullies.
The village bullies are not necessarily rich; some are even poor. They are just too lazy to live and work hard like ordinary people.
They didn't have any special connections, so they could only do things like theft and fraud.
They even gathered a group of people to become hooligans.
When these people are doing well, they act as thugs and bullies; when things get tough, they are prone to rallying others to become bandits or even rebel.
Zongyuan was a scholar, and scholars of that era all studied the Six Arts of a Gentleman, unlike the pale-faced scholars of later generations.
Therefore, although Zongyuan was intimidated, he was not truly afraid of swords and spears.
He remained calm and composed, and walked directly towards Boss Zhao.
He gently clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Chief, Zongyuan greets you."
Old Zhao sat with one leg straddling him in a very rude posture: "What did Lord Geng send you here for? Are you here to surrender?"
The bandits laughed heartily when the topic of surrender came up.
"Quickly have your county magistrate come and kowtow to our boss a few times, and offer him some beautiful women, then we will accept your surrender."
"Yes, bring more gold and silver jewelry."
These bandits caused chaos for women and treasure.
Zong Yuan's face darkened; he thought to himself, "They really are a bunch of good-for-nothing bandits."
However, he came with a mission, so he can't lose his temper.
"My magistrate sent me to inform the chief that the soldiers of Bian'ai County have been targeting the bandits along the way."
Old Zhao glared angrily at Zong Yuan: "I don't care whether he deals with bandits or not, but your county magistrate has beaten us quite a few times."
Zong Yuan knew it would be difficult to persuade these bandits, so he stated directly, "My master doesn't know the purpose of Bian Ai County sending troops here. He wants to tell the chief that we should cease hostilities for now. If we continue fighting, Bian Ai County might come and take advantage of the situation."
Old Zhao pondered for a moment. Although he was crude, he wasn't stupid.
He knew that if he continued to fight with the county magistrate, he would be attacked from both sides and would not be able to cope.
"So, these soldiers weren't hired by you after all! But I knew even if you hadn't told me."
If you really invited them, you wouldn't have kept sending people out of the city to urge Yu Dakai to send troops to rescue them.
Zong Yuan's expression darkened further. It turned out that the prefect hadn't sent troops to help because the letter had been intercepted!
It seems that these bandits wield considerable power outside the city.
"Boss, whatever our motives, the best option now is for us to stop fighting, isn't it?"
Zhao Laoda knew that this was indeed the case. At this time, it was best to first find out what Bian Ai County's purpose was before deciding how to attack.
But Zhao Laoda was a bandit by origin; how could he just agree to it without any real knowledge?
"A temporary truce is possible, but Lord Geng must show some sincerity first."
Zongyuan's heart skipped a beat. He really was a bandit, just like a thief. Just as a thief never leaves empty-handed, this bandit was no exception.
"Does the chief have any requests?"
“At least two chests of gold, two chests of jewels, and you should retreat two streets further back.”
Zong Yuan's expression darkened further. Money was fine with him, but retreating two streets was definitely out of the question.
"Boss, we're at a temporary truce now, each getting what we need. We both need to figure out what the other side is up to. The treasure is fine, but we can't give up the street."
"Hmph, you won't listen to reason, so here comes the punishment. Guards, chop him up."
Boss Zhao immediately ordered his men to kill Zong Yuan.
Zong Yuan hurriedly called out, "Boss, wait!"
The bandits who came up to drag Zongyuan stopped and exploded on the spot, waiting for Boss Zhao's orders.
"You agree?"
"Please allow me to go back and inquire after my master. I am merely a messenger; how could I possibly make any decisions?"
"Alright, in a war between two armies, one should not kill the messenger, right, Second Brother?"
"You could say that, it means the same thing."
Li Lao Er felt deeply ashamed. "Just say it! Why ask so many questions?"
What a roughneck!
"Since you're an envoy, I won't kill you. Go back and tell the magistrate my request and get back to him as soon as possible. Otherwise, I won't care what Bian'ai County does. I'll fight you to the death."
Zong Yuan secretly resented the clerk for sending him here. Wasn't it because he had offended the clerk that he was being sent into the tiger's den?
However, it's fortunate that he escaped with his life.
He clasped his hands in a fist and bowed as he retreated. Once outside, he rode off at breakneck speed.
"Hahaha." Old Zhao laughed heartily: "Second brother, do you think Geng Tianrong is out of his mind? If he hadn't sent someone, I would have suspected that Bian Ai County was helping him."
We intercepted some letters and documents, but there was still a possibility that some might have been missed and sent out. This time, it's confirmed that Bian'ai County wasn't there to support them.
"But the people of Bian'ai County really do fight bandits on sight!"
"Second brother, immediately send more people to contact the bandits outside the city, big and small, and unite them. It is indeed not advisable to fight the government troops here."
"Yes, I will send more people to make contact."
The bandits went to make arrangements, while the Qi family summoned their advisor. The Qi family patriarch, Old Master Qi, slammed his fist on the table in anger.
"Couldn't you have asked around first before sending someone to find the bandits? What's the point of sending someone and then notifying me?"
The advisor was startled. He thought that as long as he did it, Old Master Qi would agree, but who knew that Old Master Qi had a different idea.
"Old Qi, I thought the magistrate had informed you. I'm informing you to let you know that I've already sent someone there, so you can rest assured."
"What a foolish move! If we negotiate with the bandits like this, they will immediately know that Bian'ai County is not here to support us. Even if we want a ceasefire, they will make exorbitant demands."
"No way?" The advisor was somewhat unsure.
"Of course it is! If you don't believe me, you'll find out when the people you sent come back."
Sure enough, when Zongyuan returned, he presented the conditions proposed by Boss Zhao.
The advisor's face darkened: "Can't you even try to fight for it?"
"Why don't you go and try to get it done?"
Zongyuan barely escaped with his life, yet he was still accused of not fighting for it, which made him extremely angry.
The advisor thought to himself that he would never go there; it was a bandit's den, and he might lose his head if he said the wrong thing.
Old Qi's beard trembled with anger: "Keep dreaming! I'd rather throw my gold and silver treasures into the water than give them to them."
The advisor was somewhat heartbroken: "Gold and silver treasures, don't throw them into the water, throw them into my arms, okay? I won't mind, the more the better."
"Old Qi, he's even asking us to move back two blocks."
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