Chapter Thirty-Six: Take Action

  Back at the residence of Yi Liang Dian Shi, it had already been cleaned up. The few family members of Dian Shi were killed by Qin Zi Xi with ease. Yang Meng also acknowledged this as these two families were sworn enemies. Saying that no innocent family members would be harmed might not work well, and in Yang Meng's heart, there was no concept of sparing the innocent. Some debts could not be repaid by one person alone.

  It's better if they disappear, it just happens that the empty house needs an explanation, otherwise it would be hard to talk to Jiang Yuangui.

  Something embarrassing happened to Yang Meng, and in the successive house searches, several people from Tianzhuang and a few of his knife-wielding subordinates saw an opportunity to make a fortune and took things they shouldn't have. Five people from Tianzhuang and two knife-wielders were caught red-handed by Qin Zixi.

  "Wei Luozu! Leave a few people with clean hands and feet to watch things, the others return to Tian Zhuang."

  My words have been clear and straightforward; if these people don't want to listen, then...

  "Third Master, can't you let these people off, after all it's their first time?"

  When Yang Meng got angry, Wei Tuozi also hated those few useless things. No matter how well they were told, they wouldn't listen. Now they've gotten Third Master angry, it's really unclear what's going on in their heads.

  "First time? Want a second time? This several times of house arrest, one person at a time fifty taels, and then give them an additional hundred taels of consolation, this is the first time, I'll console them, next time there won't be any! Third time calamity will befall the whole family, discipline them well!"

  This has just happened a few times, and the twenty good men around him are almost all old men. Yang Meng doesn't want to kill them, and there will be more deals like this in the future! Without any punishment, it's not good for leading troops!

  "I've thanked Third Master on their behalf!"

  Ugly words have been said, but these bastards just don't make progress. Three times the family was copied, one hundred and fifty taels, plus a hundred taels for consolation, it's enough to buy life. According to Wei Luotuo's idea, these people are probably not even a single hair, didn't expect San Ye still gave money, this matter also has his own responsibility, as the leader did not take care of his subordinates, and with some negligence in his heart, this thing happened.

  Wei Lu Zi wasn't blind, he just knew those people were poor and had gotten used to it. He thought he could turn a blind eye, but unexpectedly the new county magistrate's newly appointed scholar caught them red-handed.

  Returning to Tianzhuang with seven disheartened people, Yang Meng began to consider tonight's action. Since Yi Liang Dian Shi was imprisoned, Zhou Shi Qing must have increased his vigilance. If there is any carelessness, this old man will escape through the underground tunnel. Without the master, it would be difficult to transfer the land deed and other things. It seems that the plan needs to change again.

  Going to the Zhou's house as a guest is not a bad choice, but this Zhou Daxiong may not be hospitable! By dusk, when Ma Que's cavalry passes by the Zhou's mansion, it's not a bad idea to pay a visit to Zhou Shiqing.

  If he stays behind to eat, that would be perfect. If not, we can take the opportunity to capture him and launch a surprise attack on the Zhou family. After many twists and turns, this plan is finally taking shape.

  The Yang family received news that Yang Meng's knife-wielding entourage had also mounted their short-legged Yunnan horses, brought all their equipment and were rushing straight to Yiliang.

  "Lao San did a good job in Yiliang, borrowing a knife to kill someone and taking advantage of the opportunity to get rich. On this side of Kunming, Bao Jun, you go take a walk!"

  Mr. Yang Shiqin, the old master of the Yang family, is also paying attention to Yiliang's affairs. The third child in his own family is really good, and he has made a great achievement in defeating Yiliang Dianshi, fighting beautifully and wonderfully.

  But Yiliang Dianshi is not a person without roots either. The Yunnan Prefecture and the Governor's Office have his connections, those who lost their money bags are afraid they won't be happy, it's better to do things ahead of time than to sharpen one's knife just before battle.

  Yang Meng leaned back in his chair and rested for a while. Although he hadn't slept all night, it didn't have much of an impact on him. However, since they were going to launch a surprise attack on the Zhou family, he still wanted to be fully prepared and not let his guard down for even a moment.

  At half past noon, the knife-wielding men arrived at Tianzhuang and saw seven people tightly bound inside. They were somewhat curious, but when they saw two old hands, their curiosity decreased, and their confusion increased instead.

  "Take a good look! Last night I told you three times, five times, not to steal or sneak away with things. These seven people didn't listen. You two inside, you know them too, right? Listen up! What's owed to you, I won't owe a single penny, but what's not yours to take, if you dare to reach out and grab it, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

  These seven people, from last night to today, have participated in three actions, one of which was fifty taels! Adding the hundred taels of consolation, I'd say this time I'm being benevolent. Next time there won't be any consolation, and the third time will bring disaster to your family! Life is precious, cherish it well!

  "Leave them a whole corpse!"

  Tonight we raid the Zhou's house, there may be more things, we must let them see what is discipline, otherwise the team will only become more and more slack.

  Wei Luozu slowly moved forward, pulled out a dagger, he didn't take action immediately, but instead turned around to look at the brothers who came later.

  "Brothers! San Ye has shown us kindness and given us a way out. The Yang family is wealthy and has many expenses, we have food to eat and clothes on our backs, all thanks to their wealth. Last night, we got quite a few things, I also saw these two brothers hiding some, but I'll pretend I didn't see it. What I did was wrong!"

  "Brothers! If you take some and he takes some, if you take more and he takes less, then there's no principle. Without principle, we can't be square, we've lost our principles, will the Yang family still dare to use us? How will we live in the future? What is loyalty? You all understand, right? Remember this lesson!"

  After saying that, Wei Lu Zi first cut off his own little finger on his left hand and then one by one, sent away those seven people who had ulterior motives.

  The seven corpses on the ground indeed made all the knife-wielding men vigilant. Some things didn't have a model, nobody knew the standard, now there is one, and this kind of problem will decrease in the future.

  The timing was right, so Yang Meng didn't say much more. He told the revised plan to several small heads and let them hurry up and rehearse twice. The remaining time was not long.

  After having a hot meal and resting for a while, many people may have gone and not come back. At dusk, Yang Meng entered the tented car with more than 400 cavalrymen and set off towards Zhou's house.

  Arrived near the Zhou's home, just in time, the smoke from the Zhou's kitchen was rising strongly, obviously it was time for dinner.

  Taking advantage of the night, the assault team, the archery team, and fifty elite swordsmen left the cavalry and hid outside the wall of the Zhou family's courtyard.

  More than a hundred people were left to take care of the entire horse team, and it was just like having a horse team. Yang Meng had someone stop the car outside the Zhou family gate.

  The Yang family's large horse team arrived, and the Zhou family also became lively. Not only did the Zhou family need cheap goods, but some of their servants and farmhands also wanted to take advantage of a small bargain. Once these things reached the county seat, the prices would be higher. Who would spend more money unnecessarily when there were cheaper options available?

  "Get someone capable to go in and inform Old Master Zhou that Yang San from Kunming has come to pay his respects!"

  These words were all calculated by Yang Meng and his men, and it's unlikely that Zhou Dasao will suspect anything this week.

  "Wow! Third Master! Rare guest, rare guest, how did you come to my humble abode?"

  The affair of Yiliang Dianshi made Zhou Shiqing raise his vigilance, and this guy started shouting loudly from a distance, but his footsteps stopped on the spot.

  "After watching the excitement, I was preparing to return to Kunming. Unexpectedly, I ran into these rascals from the horse team on the road. I heard they stored their goods at Old Man Zhou's place. Yang San came specifically to express his gratitude. It's getting late and I'm in a hurry to get back, so I won't go in. Please forgive me, Old Man Zhou!"

  If the tactic of retreating in order to advance didn't work, even with a distance of over ten meters between them, Yang Meng didn't have confidence that he could capture Zhou Shi Qing alive.

  "Third Master, what are you saying? To come to the door but not enter, wouldn't that make people laugh at Zhou Shi Qing for being impolite? I'm a person who values face, I don't know if Third Master would be willing to grant me this favor, let's go inside and have a small drink."

  Everyone says that Kunming Yang Sanlang is a tyrannical master, but today, after meeting him twice, Zhou Shiqing didn't think so. He spoke reasonably and was polite, perhaps others were misled by his robust physique!

  "Thank you, Old Master Zhou! Yang San came in a hurry and didn't bring any gifts. I'll come again another day! Farewell!"

  "Hey... Third Master, which of our two families still lacks those mundane objects? Come on, let's go inside and discuss the details. Also, I'd like to see the grandeur of Kunming Yang Sanlang!"

  "Never mind, the old master at home said that in order to prevent Yang San from causing trouble, these tails behind him must be followed all the way, and so many people are afraid of causing trouble for Master Zhou!"

  "How can I put it, my family may not have much, but we have plenty of food. We can afford to treat these few people, whether they eat us out of house and home or drink us dry, let's just not decline the offer, otherwise the dishes will all go cold."

  Zhou Shiqing approached Yang Meng, also with a purpose. After the case of Yiliang's rebellion was settled, if he didn't watch his mouth, he would be in trouble himself.

  Kunming Yang family has always been on good terms with the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou. If we can get in touch with the governor's office through the Yang family, we can settle this matter by spending some money.

  This idea also occurred to Zhou Shiqing just now, and when Yang Meng mentioned the two words "Kunming", the somewhat impatient Zhou Shiqing found a way to solve the problem.

  Yang Meng's goal is to enter the Zhou family, just make an excuse or two and that's it. If he really can't get in, how can he plot against the Zhou family's property? Besides, Zhou Shiqing is eager to die, no one can stop him!

  An old man and a young boy walked through the gate and into the vast Zhou family estate.

  "Master Zhou is truly a master of his craft, this estate is far superior to the Yang family's martial arts school. My own father has managed our school in such a way that it's become clumsy and unrefined, nothing like yours here, which not only provides security but also looks elegant."

  It's really unexpected, the buildings in this week's Jia Manor are much stronger than Yang Manor. Although the thickness of the courtyard walls can't compare to Yang Manor, their defensive power is absolutely stronger by a lot.

  The Yang family's courtyard is a brick wall, while the Zhou family's estate has stone walls all around, with over one-meter-long stone slabs stacked to form the wall. How frightening it must be for the Zhou family's livestock!

  "Haha... it's just that we've walked different paths, Master Yang is from a merchant background, while I used to be a bandit in my younger years, let's not mention it! Let's not mention it!"

  This week, the family manor was built by Zhou Shiqing with nearly ten years of effort. The manor looks unassuming, but it is entirely built according to the imperial standard for building military forts. Ordinary bandits and rioters, even a thousand or eight hundred people, cannot get in. Hearing Yang Sanlang's praise, how can he not be delighted?

  "Is this a big gun? I've never seen such an exquisite bronze cannon before!"

  The bronze cannon in Zhou's house, the thing Yang Meng dreaded the most. As he approached to take a closer look, the muzzle of the bronze cannon was plugged with an oilcloth, apparently there were bullets inside.

  Small copper cannon, with a diameter of over ten centimeters and less than one meter in length, the entire body is covered with copper hoops. Looking at the direction the tiger squatting cannon is facing, it's exactly at the entrance.

  "This thing is great! I spent a thousand taels of silver to buy it from the imperial armory, and it's finely crafted. It's specifically designed for the military officers to guard their homes. When this cannon fires, the entire courtyard will be covered with lead pellets the size of five coins."

  As for this exquisite bronze-cast tiger squat cannon, Zhou Shiqing was also thrilled. This thing can't be bought with just money; without connections, you can't even see it.

  "What a great thing! It would be great if this thing were placed in the Yang family's martial arts hall! Old Master Zhou, exchange your property for the Yang family's!"

  Having arrived at this point, let's take a look at the Zhou family's tiger squatting cannon and get down to business.

  "What did you say?"

  This isn't something a guest should say, Yang Sanlang is indeed overbearing and evil, I really misjudged him.

  "Let's get started!"