Chapter Seven: The Bandit King Arrives

  "Archery, this thing, says it takes skill and also doesn't take skill, it's just innate talent and hard work. Fourth brother, your conditions are not bad, tall and long arms, strength surpasses others, and your eyesight is good, reaction speed is fast, these are all advantages to becoming a divine archer..."

  Sun Cheng spoke endlessly, and Gu Zhenhua was not comfortable being questioned by Zhu Chunshen, so he was put under surveillance. With nothing to do, he thought about learning archery and horseback riding skills, which would also be a good way to sharpen his skills before the battle.

  He shared his idea with Sun Chengyi, and Old Sun immediately volunteered to teach him archery. Following Old Sun's instructions, Gu Zhenhua squatted in a horse stance, still holding the two-stone bow. Holding it for a moment might not be a big deal, but maintaining this posture for a whole minute was almost fatal.

  "Big brother, let's talk about these things later when we have time. Why don't you tell us how to shoot accurately instead?"

  "Haha, it's easy, if you want to shoot accurately, you have to aim accurately. Just stare at the target and when you think the bullseye is as big as a watermelon, then you're qualified."

  "Brother, let's not joke about this, if the target can get bigger, then I'm blind."

  "No nonsense, listen to me and you won't go wrong." Sun Cheng said with a serious face: "Fourth brother, on the battlefield, one can't be lazy or lucky. A slight difference is a matter of life and death. Now practice archery well, this afternoon let Third Brother teach you how to tame and ride horses, and tonight Second Brother will teach you martial arts. Just relying on physical strength won't do, you need to train."

  Gu Zhenhua let out a mournful cry as soon as he heard this, it seemed that he was indeed not good at making friends. Just as he was concentrating on his practice, a sudden sound of footsteps came over, and Lu Yong strode over with big steps.

  "Fourth brother, stop practicing for now, help me think of a plan."

  Gu Zhenhua was suddenly enlightened, immediately loosening his bowstring and walking up to Lu Yong with a smile: "Second Brother, what's going on? Younger brother will definitely pay attention!"

  Lu Yong said, "Old Fourth, this is not the time for joking. The gates of the capital city have restricted hours, opening only one or two times a day. And...” He leaned in close to Gu Zhenhua's ear and whispered, “That scoundrel Zhu Chunmin, he's only thinking about his own wealth and has no intention of relocating our families. But if he tries to transport his treasures out openly with large carts, he's afraid of being reported by others, now he's in a dilemma!"

  Gu Zhenhua's eyebrows furrowed instantly, wanting these guards to follow him, he had to protect their families, otherwise nothing could be said. But running into Zhu Chunchen, this ruthless and cunning guy, who was also high above, how could he possibly pull off such a massive reversal under his hands?

  Gu Zhenhua thought for a moment, suddenly his eyes lit up, and he said with a smile: "Second brother, if we can't transport the living, how can we not transport the dead?"

  "Fourth brother, what do you mean?"

  "Plague!" Gu Zhenhua spat out these two words with relish.

  ……

  Mournful music filled the air, with the sounds of silk and bamboo instruments clashing together. Buddhist monks, Taoist priests, and nuns chanted scriptures as they accompanied the funeral procession out of the city. When these mourners had walked five miles and reached a deserted forest, they stopped crying and making a ruckus, tore off their mourning clothes, and quickly formed into ranks. The decorations on the hearse were also torn away, transforming it into an ordinary carriage; only the deep tracks left by its wheels served as a reminder that this was no ordinary vehicle.

  Lu Yong was in charge of the funeral procession. Following Gu Zhenhua's suggestion, Zhu Chunshen pretended that there was a plague victim who had died at home. The plague was not something to be trifled with; two years ago, Beijing City had been plagued by it, and many soldiers had died from it. Everyone feared it like a tiger and didn't dare to check. They put the treasure in the coffin and transported it out smoothly.

  After arriving outside the city, they waited for a while, and from afar came a cavalry team, led by Zhu Chunchen's trusted house minister, Zhu Wang. This guy had been a house minister of the Duke of Cheng for generations, growing up in the Duke's mansion, and his loyalty to Zhu Chunchen was extreme.

  "Brother Lu has worked hard, let me take care of the rest of the journey."

  "Hmm." Lu Yong smiled and handed over the thing, then said seemingly casually: "Brother Zhu, this trip isn't far, is it?"

  Zhu Wang suddenly sneered: "Lu brother, we are doing things differently, and it's not right to ask what shouldn't be asked. These are all the things of the Duke."

  "Even if it costs me my life, I won't reveal a single word."

  After finishing speaking, Zhu Wang turned his horse's head and left. Xue Biao, who was following Lu Yong, spat at her back: "Give a"

  It's nothing but a show! Who doesn't know that these treasures, apart from being sent to Tongzhou and handed over to the Shanxi merchant ticket management, would be hidden in Zhu...

  "In Junmin's estate, when everyone in the world is a fool, they still can't see through their tricks."

  "Hehe, Lao Si has said it before, everything is about deceiving those above but not those below. We're happy to pretend to be ignorant now."

  After finishing, Lu Yong looked at the people who came out with him. In order to ensure that the funeral was conducted properly, he had arranged for many monks and relatives to attend. These people were all family members of Lu Yong and others. After they returned, they told the situation, and everyone in the household was also worried. They were afraid of getting into trouble, and finally after leaving the capital city, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

  "Die, take good care of yourself. If you can't stay in the capital city anymore, hurry up and run away, don't be foolish!" Lu Yong's wife pulled his arm, repeatedly reminding him.

  "Don't worry, I'm not a fool, and besides, there's Lao Si, he's not someone who can be taken advantage of."

  Xue Biao also said to Lao Die, "You go to Xianghe first, there is He Liu Shu's villa, about a month later, I will be able to hurry over to pay my respects to you!"

  After everyone had bid farewell, Lu Yong and the others returned to Beijing once again. From that day on, the number of "funerals" in the Chengguo Gongfu increased, with big and small vehicles constantly heading out of the city.

  "Fourth brother, I've made an estimate. The wealth sent out in the past two days is over 500,000 taels. Those antiques and jade pieces are each worth a fortune."

  Gu Zhenhua sneered, "Having money is not enough, one must also have a life to enjoy it. Zhu Chunshen is just making things busy for us. Second brother, you'd better arrange for someone to secretly follow him and figure out where he's hiding the silver. Once the bandit king breaks into Beijing, all these things will be ours."

  "Don't worry, I've made all the arrangements. But what if General Zhu bursts in and doesn't kill Zhu Chunshen, or what if the old man surrenders?"

  "He won't kill, are we still here?" Gu Zhenhua's face was full of ferocious smiles. When he saw the astonishing family background of these guys, Gu Zhenhua had a mind to kill.

  Chongzhen ordered them to hand over 10 million taels, these people all cried and watched as the country was destroyed. In the end, Li Zicheng entered Beijing and searched their bodies, finding more than 30 million taels, with some historical records saying the amount reached 70 million taels!

  There is no doubt that the downfall of the Ming Dynasty is closely related to these guys. Their greed and incompetence led to the tragic consequences of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, making all the people pay the price. Even if they were hacked to pieces a thousand times, Gu Zhenhua wouldn't bat an eyelid.

  "Second brother, as the saying goes, 'you can't wrap fire in paper', if Zhu Chunchen does this, other officials may also do the same. I think we might as well leak the news ahead of time, so that the more wealth is transferred, the greater our chances of making a move. If we have 3 to 5 million taels of silver in hand, we brothers can raise an army, what Li Zicheng can do, we can't necessarily not do!"

  Lu Yong initially only thought about saving his life, but as everything developed according to Gu Zhenhua's plan, he couldn't help but think more.

  "Fourth brother, no one wants to be a grandson, let's brothers stake our lives and make a desperate attempt!"

  After the discussion, Gu Zhenhua sent Lu Yong out, but a tall and sturdy man with a ferocious face happened to be walking towards them. This guy was even taller than Gu Zhenhua, with thick facial muscles and an intimidating appearance.

  As soon as he saw Lu Yong, he stretched out his big hand and grabbed his chest, sneering: "Lu, what kind of ghost trick are you playing? Tell me quickly, or I'll never end with you."

  The big black man hadn't finished speaking when a force that was hard to resist suddenly transmitted through his wrist, and in an instant, the bones were about to be crushed. The big black man could no longer grasp Lu Yong's chest and had to let go, and with a jerk from that force, he retreated two or three steps and fell into a squat.

  It was Gu Zhenhua who made the move, and this big black man stared at him stupidly, not daring to believe that this little white face had such astonishing strength.

  Lu Yong, who was standing beside him, laughed and said: "Hutou, you've got a taste of your own medicine this time. If you dare to be disrespectful again, I'll let Lao Si deal with you."

  "Yong Ge, where did this guy come from? How can he have so much strength? No way! I'm going to compete with him."

  Gu Zhenhua heard the conversation between the two and suddenly smiled wryly: "Second Brother, are you friends?"

  "The friendship that was fought out, this kid is called Huan Hu, he used to often spar with me, I didn't expect him to lose to my fourth brother today." Lu Yong smiled and said: "Huanzi, you won't just be looking for me to fight, let's talk about the real matter."

  "That's right, business is urgent, I'll deal with you later!" said Fan Hu, still glaring at Gu Zhenhua.

  Three people returned to the house, and Huan Hu said impatiently: "Brother Yong, I heard from my mother that sister-in-law has secretly left the city. Is there any news? I'm not afraid of anything, but my mother is so old, she can't afford to have an accident."

  This little rascal is a bit silly and a bit dull, but he's still very filial to his old mother.

  Lu Yong glanced at Gu Zhenhua, then said: "Tiger, to be honest with you, the King of Chu may be about to enter the capital, and the Guo Gongfu is likely to be in great danger. We can only move all the family members out to prevent any accidents."

  Hearing this, Huan Hu plop fell to the ground and knocked his head: "Brother Yong, as long as you can send me out, I'll listen to you for the rest of my life."

  Knowing filial piety, a person won't be too bad. Gu Zhenhua pulled up Huan Hu with one hand and smiled: "Don't worry, I'll definitely help."

  He said with a smile to Lu Yong: "Second brother, Chu Wang may come over and kill us at any time. Those guards who are willing to work with us must quickly transfer his family away."

  "Fourth elder brother, won't you be exposed?"

  "Never mind this, human life is at stake!"

  "Uh-huh!" Lu Yong could only nod: "Alright, I'll go make arrangements."

  In the following days, it was exceptionally lively. Zhu Chunshen secretly transferred his property, but the news leaked out and other high-ranking officials also took action. Guo Zongzhou, Zhang Shizhe, the British Gong, the university scholars of the cabinet, and the high officials of the six departments all used the funeral as an excuse to hide their money outside.

  These big shots were busy, and Gu Zhenhua and his men were not idle either. They helped the more than 60 guards to arrange their families to leave, and these people also boarded Gu Zhenhua's pirate ship without exception. This gang was getting bigger and stronger.

  Just as they were anxiously preparing, a lone horseman suddenly galloped into the capital.

  "Bandits are coming! Bandits are coming!"