Chapter 42: If you want to chase, then chase to the end

  Jia Xu was not well-known in his youth, and even at the beginning of the great chaos, he was only a minor strategist under a second-rate general. His rise to fame came when he helped one of Dong Zhuo's generals defeat Lü Bu, who had been undefeated until then, forcing him to flee with only a hundred or so men remaining. From then on, his name became known throughout the land.

  As long as the head is not a problem, people who use Jia Xu's strategy almost always win. Jia Xu defeated Lü Bu, defeated Cao Cao, and helped Cao Cao defeat Yuan Shao. He also used the strategy of sowing discord to kill Ma Teng, and defeated Ma Chao and Han Sui together. He even helped Cao Pi ascend to the throne and become the Emperor of Wei. In terms of ability, Jia Xu is absolutely not small.

  During the Three Kingdoms period, there were many people who were very capable, but it's possible that someone like Jia Xu was not one of them. He kept jumping and committing crimes, making others suffer while he himself lived a life of wealth and longevity. If we say that living a comfortable life is what matters, then Jia Xu was indeed one of the most comfortable people of his time.

  But now Jia Yu is nothing, can only ride on the tree branch and shout, others don't listen to him either, except for Li Qin, his wife's younger brother.

  Li Qin called out: "Brother-in-law, you're back home! Have you become an official?" As he spoke, he turned over and dismounted his horse, rushing to the bottom of the tree.

  Jia Xun hugged the tree trunk and slid down, coughing, adjusting his collar, before saying: "I was treated quite well in Long County, Governor Zhang valued me highly and wanted to recommend me as the next governor, but I missed the peaceful life of my hometown, so I didn't want to be a governor, it's too exhausting, that's why I came back home!"

  Li Qinxin thought: "You really didn't call this name in vain, you can really brag, if I didn't know your true nature, I would have cheered for you a couple of times!"

  He did not expose Jia Xu's big talk, in fact he had known that before the world was greatly chaotic, a poisonous scholar like Jia Xu would not be able to make a name for himself, and the timing was not yet ripe.

  Li Qindao said: "Brother-in-law is right, I support you. By the way, brother-in-law, how did you climb up the tree? Are you coming back alone?" Seeing Jia Yu, he didn't plan to chase after that Di bandit anymore, anyway it seemed like they wouldn't catch up, he wanted to have a good chat with Jia Yu, this was a real relative, a close and strong kinship!

  Jia Xian sighed and said, "I was returning from Long County, and since I had no companions on the road, I joined up with some soldiers transporting iron to Fuping. Who would have thought that just as we were approaching home, we encountered bandits..."

  In the Han Dynasty's officialdom of this era, personal ability is not the most important thing. What's most important is who one's father is. Whoever has a powerful father can be powerful too. But Jia Yu's father still had to rely on Li Qianzhou for support just to get two cups of wine, so he didn't have the ability to back up Jia Yu. Therefore, he naturally couldn't make it in the province and struggled to make ends meet, so he could only return home and plan his next move.

  A lone traveler needs more luggage, so he relied on his silver tongue to persuade the iron-transporting soldiers to let him follow and get free food. However, after a safe journey, they encountered a group of Di bandits just as they were about to return to Fuping. The bandits killed many people and buried all the soldiers alive.

  At the time of burial, the people made a mistake and didn't cover his mouth. As a result, Jia Yu opened his mouth and talked nonsense, claiming to be the son of the governor, fabricating stories about what good would happen if he was released and what bad things would happen if he was buried. He spoke a lot of nonsense, confusing the executioner so much that he ended up releasing him.

  For an ordinary person, it would be hard enough to save his life, and he would certainly run away as fast as possible. But Jia Yu was not an ordinary person, he did not run away. For him, saving his life was the first step, and the second step was how to use this matter to gain benefits for himself.

  Things are simple, the pig iron transported from the province was robbed, and the county magistrate of Fuping must be anxious to catch up. Who knows which gang of robbers stole the pig iron? Where is their lair? Jia Yu knows, and he can use this as an excuse to talk to the county magistrate, at least to get a lead or something! As long as he can strike up a conversation, he can boast about Da Shan's skills until the county magistrate is convinced, and with his title of Xiaolian, he can at least become a minor official. This way, he'll have food to eat, first fill his belly, then think about eating well. Otherwise, he's so poor that he has to beg for food, without an official position, how can he make a living?

  Jia Yu briefly repeated what had happened, and Li Qin asked, "You said you were the son of a governor, and the robbers believed you?"

  "This I have experience, used it once before!" Jia Yu smiled and said: "I also met a strong thief before, at that time I was going to be buried alive, but I said I was the grandson of Taishi Duan Jie, and as a result, I deceived the thieves and they let me go. This time I said I was the son of the governor, and the thieves believed it again. You see, in this world, who your father is, is very important!"

  Li Qinchao burst out laughing and said: "It's crucial, too crucial!"

  As they spoke, a large group of people followed from behind, and Feng Cheng shouted from afar: "Li Lang, I'm here to help you!"

  Ma Chao this time did not ride alone on horseback, but was held by a Han soldier and rode on the horse. He also shouted: "Li Shu, Xiao Chao has come to help you!"

  Jia Xiu saw this small team of Han soldiers and was overjoyed, saying: "They call you Li Lang, this is a sign of respect for you, are you their leader?"

  Li Qindao said, "Alright, this time the task of escorting the iron will be temporarily under my command. I'm just a squad leader now, but there are only five soldiers under me, and they're not even directly under my command."

  Jia Zhen said: "Never mind, never mind, as long as you listen to your words, it will be done."

  Feng Cheng and the others rushed over, surrounding Li Qian. Feng Cheng said: "Li Lang, just now I heard this little kid talk about what happened in the forest, we've gotten ourselves into big trouble this time, actually killing some young leader, bandits will definitely come to avenge, we must hurry up and leave, it's too dangerous here, can't stay any longer!"

  Li Qian had not spoken, but Jia Yu said: "What, what young leader, is that the one with the big knife scar on his face? I heard other bandits call him Che Luo Zhan, is it him?"

  "That's right, it was Scarface." Li Qin briefly recounted what had happened.

  Jia Yu lowered his head and thought for a moment, without asking anything else.

  Li QIN said to Feng Chengdao, "Feng Shi Chang, why have you all come? Didn't I ask you to help Xu Xiaoni a bit? So many spoils of war, he can't sort them out by himself. Hurry up and send two people back to help him. There are so many things, it's not a small amount."

  Feng Cheng responded with a sound, and was about to send someone back, but then heard Jia Yu speak up.

  Jia Yu raised his head and said, "Wait a minute, don't rush. I've actually figured out where that group of bandits is from - they're from Zhu Gang Gorge, not far from here, the only problem is that the road isn't easy to walk."

  Feng Cheng and the Han soldiers all exclaimed, "It's actually the bandits from Zhu Gan Gorge! There are over a hundred of them, it's said. Extremely difficult to eradicate. We've really stirred up a hornet's nest. They'll definitely seek revenge!"

  Li Qinchu furrowed his brow and thought: "A gang of over a hundred robbers, this is no small matter. No wonder they dared to rob the official iron."

  Jia Xiang took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, saying to Li Qin: "Ah Qin, do you want to make a name for yourself? Do you want to make a big fortune?"

  Li Qindao said: "Of course I want to know, what's your trick, brother-in-law?"

  "Let's go and wipe out this gang of robbers. We'll keep most of the loot for ourselves, but even if we only get a little, it'll be enough to live comfortably for three to five years. Wouldn't that make your sister happy? Let's do it for her sake, shall we?"

  As soon as he finished speaking, Feng Cheng and the Han soldiers shouted together, what a joke! Even if County Magistrate Tang Jie personally issued an order to mobilize the Fuping army, it would be impossible to eradicate this group of thieves. If they could be eradicated, wouldn't they have been eradicated long ago? Why wait until now?

  Li Qinxin thought: "The bandits in Zhuji Gorge must be fierce, otherwise Feng Cheng and the others wouldn't have reacted so violently. Judging from the number of soldiers in Fuping, even if we send out half of the troops to suppress the bandits and leave the other half to guard the city, the numbers would still be roughly equal, which means we won't necessarily win, and there's no way to eliminate them. But since Jia Xiang said so, he must have his reasons, let's listen."

  He thought it was impossible in his heart, but he didn't say it out loud. He said, "For my sister's sake, taking this trip is fine too... at least I have to find the raw iron back..."

  Jia Yi shouted, pointing to the forest, saying: "The raw iron is just placed here, when we return victorious, hand it over to the county magistrate and that's it. The raw iron you can't take with you, isn't yours, no need to bother!"

  These words were spoken, as long as it wasn't their own stuff, it wasn't a thing. But everyone who heard was shocked, and the raw iron was in the forest? Feng Cheng and others jumped off their horses together and ran into the woods. In an instant, they shouted out, and they saw those four large iron carts, all placed inside the forest!

  Just then, the soldiers who had gone ahead to block the way came running back. Wu Danzi and his men had not managed to catch up with Baochai after all, and had lost her trail, so they could only turn around and come back. As soon as several people saw Jia Rui, they all cried out, blaming this man for being no good, talking nonsense that wasted Wu Danzi's time, or else perhaps they would have caught up with her!

  Jia Yu didn't care, and said to Li Qin: "These few rascals under your command are all good-for-nothings, only knowing how to loaf around and do nothing useful. Ah-Qin, listen to your sister's husband, our days are not easy to get by, I see that you being a soldier can only barely make ends meet for yourself, but can't take care of your family, so this time no matter what we must make a big haul, in the next few years whether we eat dry or drink thin porridge depends on how much guts you have!"

  Li Qin waved his hand and motioned for the soldiers to be quiet. He said, "Alright, brother-in-law, if you have a plan, just say it, I'll follow it."

  Jia Fan said: "As previously mentioned, the bandits at Zhu Gong Gorge are uncertain whether Sha Luo is dead or alive, they will think he's alive, right?" Seeing Li Qin nodding, he continued: "Such an important person has been captured, the bandits must be anxious and will definitely come out in full force to rescue him. We'll hide first, wait for the bandits to pass by, then we'll go and raid their lair, loot everything, set fire to the stronghold, and then return home to enjoy our spoils."

  Li Qin hummed and thought: "This is also possible, but what if we are blocked by the returning robbers while snatching, what can we do?"

  Jia Yu saw him hesitating and quickly said, "The things of the robbers are all stolen, we steal from them, this is to uphold justice on behalf of heaven, you don't need to have a guilty conscience."

  Li QIN shook his head and said, "How can this be? I have a bad feeling." He expressed his concerns about being blocked.

  Jia Xi heavily patted him and said, "I'm asking you, has someone gone back to the county to report the news? Has the county magistrate been informed? Shouldn't they send troops out? When the bandits come out, the two groups will definitely meet. Let them fight it out! How can the bandits possibly come back and block us?! And even if they do come back, seeing that their lair has been looted, they'll only blame the county magistrate, hate him, and have nothing to do with us!"

  He spoke with a straight face and a dignified air, as if he were a venerable teacher instructing Li Qin.

  ——

  The National Day holiday has passed halfway, I don't know if everyone is having fun, have you seen "Master"? Wish for a safe collection, if there's an empty space on the bookshelf of brothers and sisters, please leave one for "Master", thank you!