Chapter Thirty-One: The Fake County Magistrate

  Hongyi Zei was actually a woman, which greatly exceeded Yuan Shang's expectations.

  Upon closer inspection, the red-clad thief appeared to be roughly the same age as Yuan Shang. Her bright red attire stood out starkly against the night sky, and it set off her pale, snowy skin to even more striking effect.

  A gentle breeze blew through her hair, which was tied up with a golden hairpin, shining like a wave. Her bright eyes stared coldly at the empty space above the city wall, and her small cherry mouth curved upwards unintentionally, as if she were a sparkling ruby, exceptionally dazzling.

  The red-clothed female thief was sitting on her horse, not revealing her sharpness for the time being, but Yuan Shang could feel that this woman was like a cold light treasure sword sheathed in its scabbard. If they were to cross swords, she would definitely reveal her sharpness.

  Yuan Shang shook his head: "A woman actually went to the battlefield? And became the leader of the bandits, her parents didn't even manage her, this world is finished."

  Zhang Jue turned his head towards Yuan Shang: "Third Master, should we still follow the plan?"

  Yuan Shang nodded and said: "Of course! The plan remains unchanged. I'll trouble you two generals to make preparations!"

  The two of them simultaneously clasped their hands together and bowed, saying: "Young master, rest assured, we will definitely do our best and not leave any slight mistake."

  Yuan Shang gave a few more orders and then instructed Zhang and Gao to carry out his instructions.

  The two of them left and after a short while, the red-clothed female thief below the city wall shouted again, her voice clearly laced with impatience.

  "What's going on in Nandong County? Come out quickly to answer, if you're late, this young lady will lead people to kill into the county, and all humans and animals will be left behind."

  "Stop! Stop! The female leader calms down, the county is here!"

  Yuan Shang immediately appeared on the city wall, disguised as a county magistrate, and signaled to the Red Clad Bandits below.

  The red-clothed female thief raised her head, and in her eyes, something seemed to be slowly flowing.

  "Are you the Magistrate of Nandong County?" The red-clothed female thief slowly spoke up after a long silence.

  Yuan Shang stroked the city wall, and in a loud voice, replied: "That's right, I am indeed the magistrate of Nandun County. I don't know which great man is leading the troops outside the city, what brings you to my Nandun?"

  The woman in red clothes said indifferently: "Alright, I'll say it. This young lady is the Red Cloak Heroine of Jiuli Mountain. Today, I've come to borrow some grain and money from you, sir, just to make ends meet in the mountains."

  "'Borrow grain?' Yuan Shang blinked his eyes, speaking anxiously: 'This county has no acquaintance with the Red Headed Leader, how can we borrow grain from the Red Headed Leader at will? Isn't this making things difficult for our county?'"

  "The woman in red robes said coldly, 'County Magistrate, sir, I will speak the truth. This year, the lands of Jiuli Mountain to the south and north have all suffered a great drought, with not a grain to be harvested. Many people in the nearby mountains and countryside have starved to death. I came here today to borrow grain, not for any other reason, but to save the people. Although you are only a minor county magistrate, you are still an official of the imperial court. When the people are in difficulty, can you really not rescue them?'"

  "Hmm...hmmm..." Yuan Shang rubbed his chin, his eyes rolling around in confusion.

  "The benevolent heart of Hong Touling is truly admirable, and by rights this humble county should not refuse to help. However, our Nandong County is struggling to make ends meet, with a tight budget... even the landlords' households don't have surplus grain."

  Under the city wall, the red-clothed female thief seemed somewhat impatient and said: "County Magistrate, I don't want to hear various excuses. I only ask one question: lend or not lend?"

  Yuan Shang said: "What if we lend it? What if we don't?"

  The woman in red said lightly: "If borrowed, then from now on this young lady and County Magistrate will be acquaintances. If there's an urgent matter in Nandun County, a simple letter from the County Magistrate, and the crowd at Jiuli Mountain will arrive immediately."

  The red-clothed female thief's tone suddenly turned cold: "If you don't lend it, that's fine too. This young lady can just go into the city to get the grain and fodder herself."

  Yuan Shang secretly sighed in his heart, threatening, a naked threat!

  This girl looks absolutely beautiful, but she's not a thrifty lamp! A person like this must not be an ordinary family's daughter, who is she after all?

  Missed home, missed doing things, brain has been turning around, Yuan Shang's mouth hasn't stopped either.

  "Red Headed Leader, calm down! This county is just joking with you, but you took it seriously. It's just about borrowing grain, I'll give it all to you!"

  Having said that, Yuan Shang turned around and winked at several of his soldiers who were dressed as county officials.

  "What are you still dazing about? Open the county gate and invite Red Head to enter the county government office for a drink!"

  Those Yuan army soldiers nodded in agreement and hurriedly followed the previous instructions, taking action separately.

  Before long, the county gate slowly opened, and Yuan Shang, dressed in county magistrate attire, led a group of elite soldiers dressed as county officials to welcome them with laughter. From afar, they bowed towards the Red Robed Thief.

  The red-clothed female bandit also dismounted and led a group of trusted thieves, step by step, towards Yuan Shang.

  The two met under the city wall, sizing each other up for a long time. The red-clothed female thief's icy face rarely showed a hint of a smile, but it vanished instantly.

  "Magistrate, sir, this humble woman has come to borrow grain and has troubled you greatly, I hope you will forgive me."

  After hearing the red-clothed female thief's self-proclaimed change from "Ben Gu Niang" to "Xiao Nu Zi", Yuan Shang's slightly suspended heart finally put down, it seems that he had already won a lot of respect by agreeing to lend grain.

  In this way, at least before things come to a head, there will be no confrontation.

  Yuan Shangluo smiled warmly and said, "Hong Touling is really too polite, it's just a matter of giving some food, why mention borrowing? I'll give it to you, that's all."

  The woman in red said: "County Magistrate, you're joking. Borrowing is borrowing, taking is taking. I've always taken kindness and grudges very seriously. If County Magistrate really has kindness, there will be repayment in the future."

  "Red headscarf outside the way, outside the way, who is with whom among our own people."

  The red-clothed female thief paused, saying: "Sir, I don't know if you can call me by a different name. Red-clothed is my nickname, not my surname. You keep calling me 'Red Head', it's like I'm surnamed Red...it's very awkward."

  Yuan Shang heard this and smiled secretly, if I don't call you that, what should I call you?

  Should I call you Little Red? Or should I call you Big Sister Head? You probably won't like either way.

  "Well, since that's the case, let's just call you Big Head for now... It's not easy to come all the way here in the middle of the night, so why don't we go into the county yamen and have a drink with the brothers?"

  "The Red-clothed Female Thief hesitated for a moment, then said: 'What about the matter of borrowing grain?'"

  "The grain and fodder will naturally be prepared by the county, General, you don't have to worry about it. If you're still not at ease, you can first let your brothers follow the county officials to the granary to fetch the grain." Yuan Shang smiled very sincerely and genuinely.

  Since things have been said to this point, the red-clothed female thief naturally couldn't decline either. She immediately led over a hundred strong thieves with high skills and went towards the county together, while the rest of the thieves followed Yuan Shang's subordinates to the granary to fetch grain.

  In this way, a group of thieves was unknowingly divided into two by Yang Ling and attacked separately.

  Let's just say that Hongyi Ze and Yuan Shang went to the county government office for a chat, while most of the bandits followed the elite soldiers of the Yuan army to the granary to fetch grain.

  As they approached the granary in the county, they saw a group of soldiers in front of it, lighting fires and setting up large cauldrons. The cauldrons were cooking something delicious, filling the air with an irresistible aroma that made people's fingers twitch with hunger.

  There was also a bonfire set up, on which a whole lamb was being roasted, the lamb was rolling and turning in the flames, sizzling with oil, making people drool.

  The leader of the grain-looting bandits, smelling the fragrance, suddenly found it difficult to move.

  The bandit pointed to the large tripod and roasted sheep, asking the soldiers who were leading the way: "What's going on here? You're setting up a tripod and roasting sheep, what kind of show is this?"

  "Oh! That's it......" The soldiers of the Yuan army heard this and smiled, saying: "This good fellow doesn't know that our county magistrate is kind to his subordinates. Whenever there is a successful recruitment or tax collection, he always gives us some leftover meat and fine food to comfort our hard work. It's just that during the day it's not convenient for people to see, so as not to cause gossip, so every time it's at night when we cook and have a feast, but it's laughable to good fellows like you."

  The leader of the bandits heard this and clicked his tongue, sighing: "Damn it! If we didn't say that people have different fates, we brothers would be out in the wind and rain every day, just to get a mouthful of food, to mix and mingle and fill our bellies. But you officials, you're comfortable every day, eating and drinking, without a care in the world. It's really enviable to the point of death!"

  The soldiers of the Yuan army heard this and laughed, saying: "Good fellow, don't be sentimental. Today we happened to arrive at such a good time, so let's call our brothers to sit down and have some wine and meat. Anyway, the county magistrate and the big head are discussing matters in the county government office, they won't finish talking for a while."

  The leader of the bandits heard this and was immediately delighted, hesitating: "In that case...it can't be helped..."

  "What's all this fuss about? Good fellows shouldn't shirk their duties! Come on, come on! Bring more wine and meat over here, let's treat our brothers to a drink!"

  In this way, under the intentional or unintentional invitation of Yuan's soldiers, a group of bandits who came to take grain gathered in front of the granary, accompanied by a group of Yuan soldiers dressed as officials, drinking and eating meat, having a great time.

  In a chaotic world, wine and meat are already great luxuries for ordinary poor families, let alone a group of mountain bandits.

  Now that we have entered this wine and meat shop, this large group of thieves has become fish in a barrel, just waiting for someone to take action and capture them.

  Not far from the grain depot, Gao Lan hid in a civilian house, coldly observing this group of mountain bandits and robbers who were scattered and leisurely eating and drinking in front of the granary, with a faint, sinister smile slowly rising at the corner of his mouth.