Chapter 6: Pirate Yellowbeard

  A flock of birds flew across the azure sky, with a few puffs of white clouds floating gently above, like the deep blue sea surface dotted with white sails.

  Li Jing's eyes were half-closed as he listened to the presiding judge of the Red Mountain Army Garrison announce his 'crimes'.

  "Disregarding the law of the land, he arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned Li Yu for eating carp, and after the fact, refused to admit guilt. He even openly defied the law and resisted arrest, which is a crime that deserves additional punishment. According to the law, his sentence should be increased by one degree, and he should be sentenced to death by hanging, as a warning to others. After reporting to the imperial court, he will be executed immediately at the beginning of autumn next year!" The official who spoke was also wearing a green robe, but he was just a slightly higher-ranking eighth-grade official than the fat storehouse officer, and he was in charge of handling cases involving the Red Mountain Garrison. Originally, Li Yu was not a soldier from the Red Mountain Garrison, so it wasn't his turn to be handled by this official. However, the Red Mountain Garrison had always been arrogant, and although the fat storehouse officer's position wasn't high-ranking, he was in charge of guarding the warehouse, which was a lucrative post. He spoke with the official for a few sentences, and what was originally an extremely minor matter immediately became a major case involving the military garrison.

  Although sixty rods were not beaten, but an additional crime of resisting arrest was added, and a hanging sentence was directly sentenced.

  Two soldiers came up and grabbed Li Jing's hands, dipped them in the red ink box, and forcibly pressed his fingerprints onto the confession statement.

  The seal was stamped, and the judge slapped the shock wood on the table, and this case of injustice was settled.

  Li Jiong had an unreal feeling, the moment before he was still carrying a heavy load of grain ready to go home, and in this moment, he suddenly became a prisoner of the executioner's office, and after the case was sent up for review, he would be executed by hanging next autumn.

  When Li Jing was taken away by the soldiers, he happened to see Wang Liang at the door. The two men locked eyes, and in Wang Liang's gaze, there seemed to be a hint of guilt, yet also a hint of a triumphant smile.

  "In!" Two soldiers opened the dungeon door and threw Li Xuan in. Then a loud noise was heard in the dark dungeon, and the heavy gate behind him closed again.

  The sound of footsteps faded into the distance. The dimly lit dungeon was left with only a faint smell of mold and rot, a stench that was like a mixture of dead mice and spoiled food, making one feel nauseous.

  "Two of them are already here, and another one is coming in." A somewhat sly voice sounded from the side in the darkness.

  Li Jing raised his head, and as his eyes gradually adapted to the dimness of the cell, he realized that he was not alone in this cell. In a cell of about twenty square meters, there were nearly twenty people crowded together. These people were all dressed in rags, without even a prisoner's uniform. Most of them were robust men in their thirties and forties, but at this moment they all looked haggard and gaunt, half leaning and half reclining against the wall opposite him, eyeing him with a green glow like wolves.

  "Hey, you're still a young tender face. Look at your outfit, with a black hat and a round-collared shirt, and even boots on your feet. What's wrong, did you commit some kind of crime?" A thin bamboo pole-like figure, wrapped in tattered rags that had lost their original shape, stood up to ask.

  "The fat storehouse official in the town wanted to forcibly buy my fish, I didn't give it to him. That corrupt official then fabricated a crime and had me arrested." Li Jing didn't know what kind of people were in this prison, so he could only take things one step at a time.

  "Are you talking about Zhang Ku? That corrupt official, he loves to force people to buy and sell, if you don't comply, he'll definitely fabricate some charges and lock you up. What's the outcome of your case?" A man in his thirties with a thick beard asked from the middle of the wall opposite him. Li Jiong took one look at this person's tone and the position he was sitting in, and guessed that this person might be the leader of the prison cell. Since ancient times, wherever there are prisons, there will be leaders and bullies, these people in prison are even more ruthless than the guards, they are not to be trifled with.

  Li Jing replied: "Hang the monitor!"

  The man was also surprised: "Looking at your dress, you look more like a scholar than a fisherman. How many fish does that fat guy want to cheat from you and you won't give him?"

  "It's just twenty catties of fish." Li Jing sighed, it was these twenty catties of fish that caused the trouble.

  The man with the sideburns chuckled a few times: "Then you must have offended that corrupt official, twenty catties of fish wouldn't be enough for him to want your life. Think carefully, haven't you offended someone?"

  Li Jiong thought carefully about his words and indeed it was so. Even if that fatty was arrogant, they had no grudges against each other, why would he want his life for just 20 kilograms of fish? Suddenly, the face of Wang Liang appeared in his mind, especially after the verdict and their brief confrontation. His smile seemed to have a hint of complacency and some guilt. Ah, it must be Wang Liang's doing, Wang Liang's family had a past conflict with Li's family, and that Wang Liang was also a follower of the fat storehouse official, maybe he was the one who made trouble.

  "Big brother said that, I suddenly remembered one thing, that fatty had a servant who had a feud with my family."

  "Oh!" The long-bearded man let out a long "oh" sound, but then turned his head and stopped talking.

  Li Jing walked over and sincerely asked: "Big brother, is there any way you can help me get out of here?"

  The man with a goatee and a sleeve wrapped around his arm said: "We are neither relatives nor friends, why should I help you?"

  "Big brother, that we can meet here is fate. We are both people who have fallen to the ends of the earth, so it's not necessary for us to have known each other before. To be honest with you, big brother, my family has lost three members - my father and two older brothers. Only I, a younger brother, am left, along with my widowed mother, two childless sisters-in-law, and two unmarried younger sisters. The entire household relies on me alone; if I were to fall prey to scoundrels, the Li family would cease to exist. Please help me out, big brother - it's equivalent to helping the entire Li family. I dare not express my gratitude for your great kindness, but if I can escape this predicament, I will never forget your favor." Today's events have made Li Jing deeply understand the darkness of the late Tang dynasty's officialdom. From now on, he no longer dares to rely on others and can only depend on himself to rescue himself.

  "Kid, if I really had the ability to help you escape, why wouldn't I have escaped myself?" Lao Hu said with a loud laugh. The group of prisoners next to them also burst out laughing, clearly mocking the foolishness of this pale-faced scholar.

  Li Jing sat on the moldy straw with a somewhat dejected look, his mind in a state of utter confusion.

  "Hey, kid, you haven't told me what you do yet?" Seeing Li Jing not speaking, one of the prisoners spoke up, obviously taking Li Jing as a flavoring agent for their boring prison life.

  "My family's home is in Wang Li Zhuang, eighteen miles away. We've been farming and studying for generations, and our ancestors had several hundred acres of good land. However, our family's fortunes have declined, and now we only have a few dozen acres of poor land, barely enough to get by. I don't know what kind of business you gentlemen are in, but why are you here?"

  The thin bamboo pole pointed at the whiskers with some pride and said, "Youngster, I'm afraid to say it out loud in case you get scared. Listen carefully, this is Huang Huizi, the master of the East Sea."

  Li Jing was shocked by the name of Huang Hu Zi, and when it comes to Huang Hu Zi, people in coastal Shandong have heard of him. Huang Hu Zi is a notorious pirate who roams the coast of Shandong with White Hu Zi, Red Hu Zi, and Black Hu Zi, collectively known as the Hu Zi Pirates. Among them, White Hu Zi is the leader, Huang Hu Zi is the second-in-command, Red Hu Zi is the third, and Black Hu Zi is the fourth. According to the legend of the coastal people, these pirates are mysterious and elusive, roaming the seas and appearing and disappearing at will. Not only do they plunder merchant ships on the high seas, but they also frequently go ashore to loot. In the coastal areas, mentioning the name of Hu Zi Pirates makes everyone change color, even housewives use their name to scare naughty children.

  Li Jiong did not expect that the famous Huang Hu Zi would be locked up in such a damp and moldy dungeon, and for a moment he was uncertain whether to believe it or not.

  Huang Huizi saw the expression on Li Jing's face and knew that he didn't fully believe him. He smiled and said, "Kid, you seem like a decent person, so I'll give you a way out today. However, you must agree to do something for me after you leave."

  Li Jing's expression changed, and he couldn't help but feel moved. Although Huang Huizi and the others were thieves, he was a civilian. But now he couldn't care about these things anymore, as he had already entered the prison, and his family might have received the news by now, who knows how worried and frightened the women at home would be, losing their minds with anxiety.

  "Big brother, you said, as long as it's true that you can show me a way out, I will definitely repay this kindness."

  "Alright, kid, I'll trust you this once. Come here and listen carefully as I tell you how to stay alive."

  PS: New book urgently needs recommendation votes, and please cast your precious recommendation votes by the way.

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