Chapter 117
It's a truism that the victors are kings and the losers are bandits. Since the leader of the group dared to rebel, he had already prepared for the worst possible outcome: death at worst. But when he was actually imprisoned, the feeling was truly beyond the comfort of "eighteen years later, I'll be a brave man again."
At this point, regret was useless. He only blamed himself for being careless, for letting himself be deceived by Han Yunkai's docile and responsive appearance. If he had been more alert, more suspicious, more cautious, and more thorough, he would be the one imprisoned in this cage crawling with rats and ants. No, he wouldn't have had a chance to return to Yunxiang alive, and his body would have been left exposed in the wilderness on the way back.
He was sitting on the straw he used as a bed, reviewing his plans and daydreaming blissfully, when he suddenly heard a commotion. The headman from another cell, dragging his heavy shackles, stumbled to the cell door, fell to his knees, and kowtowed, begging for mercy.
The cell was dimly lit. He squinted for a long moment before he spotted Han Yunkai standing silently at the cell door, watching him through the wooden bars. The oil lamp on the wall at the cell door cast a golden halo on his face. He clasped one hand behind his back, his back straight, and slowly threaded his jade eighteen-bead Buddhist beads.
I had been deceived by his compassionate appearance! The leader of the Shanggan Circle stared at him for a long moment, then slowly said, "Master, you have condescended to come to this filthy place... Are you still not satisfied and want to see with your own eyes what kind of situation I have fallen into?"
Yun Kai smiled tepidly: "I always leave room for maneuver in everything I do. You will end up losing your head in the end. You think I came here just to ridicule you, you really underestimated me."
The leader of the prison sneered and remained silent. Yun Kai didn't want to play tricks on him, so he approached the prison door and said, "I'm here just to ask the leader something. I hope you'll be honest with me."
The leader of the Shanggan Circle scoffed, "I see that Master knows everything. How could there be something in this world that Master doesn't understand? It's strange that he needs to ask a dying man like me for advice, with his head stuck between the cracks of a knife."
Yun Kai pointed to the cell behind him and smiled, "Since I ascended the throne, I've watched you all follow your lead. I think you're the only one who has the courage to do what I want to ask you."
The leader of the Shanggang Circle laughed heartily. "I never thought I was still a person of note in your eyes. Although the master didn't marry Cheng Lan Yingde's daughter, you have completely copied his hypocritical ways. You always say nice things. I was defeated by your hypocritical face."
Yun Kai shook his head and sighed, "No, you're defeated by a bad memory. Yue Ming said it well, some people will think you're easy to talk to if you talk to them nicely. I gave you some color and you started a dyeing factory, completely forgetting the reputation of the second young master of the Han family in the past."
After saying this, Yun Kai put away the gentleness on his face and asked in a serious voice, "Let me ask you one thing, were you responsible for the deaths of my father and elder brother?"
When he heard him ask about the old chieftain's new post, the chieftain was stunned at first, then sneered: "I am already a fish on the chopping board. The master can cut me up as he pleases, or kill me as he pleases. Why put such a serious crime on me?"
"I didn't think of you guys at first, but since you dared to ambush me halfway, I have to be suspicious. If you dared to kill me, the master and the eldest master will naturally do the same."
The leader of the Shanggang Circle was furious at the injustice he had suffered. He said angrily, "You two, father and son, one is cunning and greedy, the other is sweet on the outside but cruel at heart. There are countless people who want you dead. You say I have a bad memory, but you are the one who is truly forgetful. Go back and think about it carefully. Your family's enemies wouldn't fit on a single page."
Yun Kai looked at him suspiciously: "It's really not you?"
The leader of the Shanggang Circle rolled his eyes at him and said, "I'm going to die anyway, so what can I deny?"
Yun Kai looked at him deeply, sighed deeply, and said, "Indeed, if you don't admit that your entire family will die, there's really nothing you can do to quibble."
He knew in his heart that he had implicated his family, but Yun Kai said so bluntly that his entire family would not survive, and the leader of the circle felt that the blood in his body had frozen.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Since I have replied to the master, I hope the master can also let me be a clear-headed ghost. Did you never intend to let us live from the beginning?"
Yun Kai was surprised and said, "Is this how you see me, Chief? In your eyes, I'm a murderous demon? Then why would I break off my engagement with the Lan family? I'll use the Lan family's influence in the military to wipe out anyone who doesn't obey me. How could you guys have the chance to fight back?"
The leader of the Shanggang Circle lunged at the wooden fence, roaring, "You're still pretending to be kind and righteous. If you didn't have murderous intentions, why would you set up such a vicious trap, withholding the food and hoping to starve all the people in Mengquan to death?"
Until now, every word he said was still accusing him of being forced into a desperate situation, and that Han Yunkai was the evil man who forced others to join the Liangshan bandits. Yunkai laughed angrily, clenched the Buddhist beads in his hand and said coldly: "I originally thought that you have watched me grow up, and I left you some dignity before you died, but you don't know what is good for you. You colluded with my uncle, and I could have easily dealt with you. But I couldn't bear to see my father's hard work turned into a scorched earth, and I couldn't bear to see other innocent people displaced because of your greed. But you took my kindness as weakness, and you kept forcing me, and even found a slave girl like Yueming to humiliate me. Don't say that I forced you into this situation, it's entirely your own fault. When my father died, you had thoughts that you shouldn't have, and this was the first step towards your death. You thought There are only orphans and widows left in the Manchuria. Forcing me and the Lan family to turn against each other so that you can control me is the second step towards your death. Coveting what you shouldn't covet is the fourth step towards your death. This is how you kill yourself step by step. Why do you take such a risk? It's really because the people have no food to eat, but you would rather die than give up your wealth! In addition, the Japanese occupied Burma, and my uncle and my uncle were all busy. You thought my wings were broken, so you ignored the whole family and had the idea of treason. With your cautious nature, why did you take the initiative to ask to ambush me halfway? Isn't it because you can get rid of me yourself so that you can accumulate enough capital to ascend to the throne, so that you can legitimately take the position of chieftain?"
When Yun Kai said this, the leader of the Shanggan Circle's face turned pale. Finally, he said dejectedly, "I really underestimated you. I thought your retreat was due to fear. I didn't expect you to be sleeping on straw and tasting gall."
Yun Kai said calmly, "You don't underestimate me, you think too highly of yourself."
The leader of the group retreated in bewilderment and fell onto the haystack, muttering, "What have I done wrong? I just want a better life. Your family holds on to their money-making business tightly, not giving a single cent to the people below them. Who wouldn't be jealous? Who would accept this?"
Seeing that he was still so stubborn, Yun Kai sneered, "Not a penny left for you? Have you ever calculated how many years you haven't paid taxes to the government? Have you ever thought about who gave you the guns in the hands of your private soldiers? Just because one thing didn't satisfy you, you want to commit treason. If I let you succeed, the prestige of my Han family for hundreds of years will be a joke. It seems that I really spoke too nicely and you didn't listen. Being arrogant means that you have forgotten your status. You are just a chieftain who depends on the chieftain's mansion. It's not an exaggeration to say that you are a servant of the chieftain's mansion. Haven't you heard the Han people say that thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all the emperor's grace! Whether the emperor gives you kindness or anger, you must accept it. To try to get your hands on what you can't have is wishful thinking. You have eaten a few days of full meals and you want to dictate the country. It is not your place, a servant, to dictate the affairs of our Han family."
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