Chapter 55: The Gentleman's Agreement

  "This Yuan Zhuang, daring to call you 'Big Brother Yuan', how can I repay you for saving my life?" Knowing that this burly man with the surname Yuan had no intention of killing him, Lu Haoshan's courage grew, and he asked calmly.

  It's no use being afraid now; it's better to be open and honest.

  "A heroic man dare not assume the role, you are a seventh-rank county magistrate, Yuan Mou is just an insignificant small person, County Magistrate sir does not mind, calling me Yuan San would be fine."

  Lu Haoshan was best at hitting snakes with his stick and immediately said, "So it's Third Brother, I don't know what you meant by what you just said?"

  "The entire Jiangyou County government office, including the county magistrate, chief clerk, six-room officials, bookkeepers, and three-class rapid clerks, adds up to less than a hundred people. It's not an exaggeration to describe them as a mob. We don't need many, just ten cavalrymen can flatten this Jiangyou County government office." Yuan San said with a proud face.

  It's cold, this guy still wants to use force, speaking as if he were attacking a city. Lu Haoshan heard this and didn't change his expression, instead curiously asking: "Third Brother, you're under Yuan Dushi's command, right? Hmm, you follow Yuan Dushi's surname, it's also possible that you're one of his family generals."

  Yuan San's face suddenly turned stern, his eyes became fierce and sharp, like a ferocious beast staring at Lu Haoshan, saying: "How did you know?"

  Speaking like that, it's as if you're implying that you're one of Yuan Chonghuan's old subordinates. Lu Haoshan was convinced in his heart and a look of admiration appeared on his face: "Really guessed it? You guys are really something, Lu has the utmost respect for men of iron like you, please accept Lu's bow."

  After finishing, he was about to salute Yuan San, but Yuan San immediately supported him and said: "I dare not, you are an official, and Yuan San is not even a commoner. Now all the civil and military officials in the court say that Director Yuan privately communicated with the Jin Dynasty, and the people hate us to the bone. How can you speak like this now? Are you trying to beg for mercy?"

  "Those people are either consumed by jealousy or short-sighted. General Yuan has been defending Liaodong for many years, protecting his home and country, laboring tirelessly, achieving great victories at Ningyuan and Ningjin, rushing to the capital from a thousand miles away, fighting bloody battles at Guangqu Gate. These immortal achievements were earned with their lives, how can they be erased by rumors? If there was truly disloyalty, wouldn't it be easy for the invincible cavalry of Gengzi to divide the land and become king? At this critical moment for the country, General Yuan prioritized the nation's interests, fulfilling his duty as a minister, enduring injustice and humiliation. This is what great men do, and Lu deeply admires him."

  "Are you speaking from your heart?"

  Lu Haoshan said with a straight face: "Heaven and earth can testify."

  Yuan San's expression eased, his eyes softening as he looked at Lu Haoshan with a hint of curiosity and asked: "County Magistrate, how did you guess that we are from the Yuan Garrison?"

  "This is too easy, General Yuan saved the capital from danger, he single-handedly used a pulley to enter the capital, while the iron cavalry of Ganning returned to Liaodong with blood armor. However, General Yuan's private guard never dispersed. Lu guessed that General Yuan had a hidden plan and felt uneasy about entering the capital, so he made arrangements in advance. A few days ago, the Ministry of Justice issued a wanted order, which was actually for General Yuan's family members. You have a Liaodong accent and thick calluses on your hands, I suspected you were from the Liaodong front line at that time. Now you claim to be Yuan, so I guessed you are General Yuan's family member, didn't expect to guess correctly."

  Yuan San shook his head bitterly: "What's the use, we're still being chased by the Imperial Guards like a stray dog? Just a few days ago they were secretly arresting people, now they've even issued a wanted notice. Haha, before the cunning rabbit is dead, they're already preparing to cook the hunting dogs, haha."

  Upon hearing this sorrowful laughter, Lu Haoshan suddenly felt a kind of inexplicable heartache. In the face of food and pay shortages, they had held their ground on the front lines, fighting bloody battles with the enemy. Yet, despite all this, they still suffered from numerous unjust criticisms and grievances, to the point where many loyal and heroic warriors did not die on the battlefield, but rather died at the hands of internal strife among their own people.

  "Third Brother, what exactly happened? Who was involved? Wiping out everyone at the Baiyuan Medicine Shop is a bit too extreme, isn't it?" Lu Haoshan said with some pain: "Eight lives lost, even if they were in the wrong, they're still our own kind."

  Yuan San fell silent for a moment, then looked at Lu Haoshan's sincere gaze and gritted his teeth before speaking: "As soon as Master arrived in the capital, he was thrown into prison. Although we made several attempts to rescue him, the Emperor refused to release him. With so many treacherous officials in the court, Master's fate is uncertain, and Lady Yuan and the other family members are being held hostage in the capital. Fortunately, Master had a loyal maid named Hongmei who was pregnant with his child. Before entering the capital, Master instructed us to escort Hongmei to a safe location, so that even if something happened to him, the Yuan family line would not be severed. However, we didn't expect Hongmei to fall ill near Jiangyou. As a weak and pregnant woman, she had been traveling with us for a long time, enduring wind and rain, and it's already a miracle that she's held on this far. After consulting a doctor, the prescribed medicine required wild ginseng as an ingredient, which led to the sale of the white tiger skin... You can probably guess what happened next."

  It turned out to be the flesh and blood of the master himself. If Yuan Chonghuan couldn't escape, his family might not be spared either. In that case, the child in the maid's belly would likely be Yuan Chonghuan's last descendant, yet it died at the hands of a greedy shopkeeper. No wonder the killing intent was so strong; if it were himself, he probably wouldn't have shown mercy either.

  Lu Haoshan shook his head and said: "So it seems that Third Brother was just trying to scare me earlier."

  "Are you kidding me?" Yuan San said somewhat disdainfully: "You think that with just your hundred and eighty men, you can withstand our impact?"

  Those who can become private soldiers of famous generals are not the ones who can't hold a hundred. This team of private soldiers, even in the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry, is also an elite vanguard. Yuan San has enough confidence that although there are only twelve people left now, these twelve elite cavalrymen can thoroughly defeat those catchers with just one charge.

  Lu Haoshan smiled and said: "Believe it or not, but there are three crucial factors. I'm afraid Yuan San will not dare to act rashly."

  "Oh, which three points?"

  "Although the county government of Jiangyou has only a few dozen people, there are also local militiamen in Jiangyou. Once something happens, they will come to support from all directions, and there are also garrisons stationed around, which will also rush to support if something happens. A good man can't fight against four hands, and I'm afraid even Yuan San won't be able to escape easily. This is the first point.

  Secondly, we have hostages in our hands, namely those women and children. Although it's unknown what relationship they have with you, since they're with you, you should consider them a bit, right? Even if you can escape, but expose your tracks and drag so many women and children along, I'm afraid you won't be able to escape far either.

  Lastly, this is related to Commander Yuan. Although he's in prison, given his merits and reputation, it's not impossible for him to come out. You are Commander Yuan's personal guards. If you privately break into the county government office and rescue the prisoners, once this gets out, Commander Yuan will be tainted even if he jumps into the Yellow River. You can't give him trouble, right?"

  Yuan San clenched his teeth and said, "That's right. If not, we would have taken action long ago. We couldn't have waited until now. However, County Lord, those people are innocent. I hope you won't force us to take that step."

  Yuan San couldn't help but admire the young county magistrate in front of him, not only had a long-term vision and considered all aspects, but also faced himself alone without any fear. The previous words were also very moving, and at the same time, he felt regret: he was too impulsive, it would have been better to wait until later to take revenge. In a fit of rage, he had taken care of the problem quickly, but also attracted the attention of the police. The saying "a strong dragon can't defeat the local snake" was indeed true. Those police officers may not be experienced in fighting, but they were skilled at searching for people, and as an outsider, Yuan San was particularly noticeable and easy to find.

  Lu Haoshan didn't answer his question, but instead asked: "What kind of people were those who got caught?"

  "One is Old Master's niece, that Hongmei who died, the rest are all family members of brothers in the private guard." Yuan San hesitated for a moment before speaking out.

  "Aren't you supposed to be a group of brothers? Why is it just you alone?"

  "There's a bunch of guards following behind, I had them lead the guards away, but they'll be back here soon."

  "Third Brother, I have another question. The Ministry of Justice has already issued a wanted notice for you all, and your name is also on it, with a reward of 100 taels of silver. Why does the portrait look so different from the real person? If you didn't admit to being Yuan San, I really wouldn't be able to recognize you." Lu Haoshan asked somewhat curiously.

  Zhang Wu thought his eyes were good, and he would remember anyone he had seen. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't connect Yuan San with the wanted criminal that day. Now thinking back, the person in the painting was too different from the real person.

  "I'm also unclear about this matter, maybe the person who provided the portrait did it on purpose, so that we wouldn't be caught easily. Although there are many treacherous officials in the imperial court, the Ming dynasty still has quite a few righteous scholars."

  Lu Haoshan looked at Yuan San, who was as strong as a tiger, and his eyes rolled around for a few times before he quickly came up with an idea: "Third Brother, the world is not at peace now, you are also on the wanted list, with fewer people it's hard to take care of everyone, with more people it's easy to attract attention, bringing along the elderly and children is inconvenient, and for those women and children it's a kind of suffering. Why don't we just stay in Jiangyou County? With me here, I can definitely protect you all, and also provide a safe place for these women and children to settle down, no need to rush around and work hard, no need to be anxious every day. What do you think, Third Brother?"

  "Do you want us to switch allegiance to you?" Yuan San flatly refused, "No way, we are the old master's private guards. How can one servant serve two masters? This is absolutely impossible."

  Although Yuan San was moved by Lu Haoshan's proposal, they had indeed been exhausted for several months, especially the women and children, who had long wanted to find a place to settle down. On this journey, due to lack of rest and food, two people had already died on the road, plus the old master's personal maid had lost one life and was injured once, a total of four people were lost. However, since their own master was still in prison, how could they betray him?

  Lu Haoshan smiled and said: "You are all men of iron, heroes who hold up the sky, how can I let you be my subordinates? It's just asking for your help, it's just that Lu Mou admires Director Yuan, taking care of so many brothers first, why don't we make a gentleman's agreement? Third brother, you'll help me with things first, no matter what, if you like to do something, do it, if not, I won't force you. When Commander Yuan comes out of prison, you can leave at any time, even if you feel uncomfortable staying, you can leave at any time, Lu Mou will never stop you, how about that?"

  "The adults' righteous banner fills the sky, Yuan San replaces one of the brothers to thank the adult." This condition is so good that it's hard to refuse. Thinking of those women and children's tired and helpless eyes, Yuan San's heart softened and was also moved. He immediately expressed his gratitude to Lu Haoshan.

  "Yuan San-ge, get up, you've really killed me!" Lu Haoshan laughed like a fox and quickly helped Yuan San to his feet.

  It's easy to get soldiers, but hard to find a general. Those who can win over Yuan Chonghuan are not mediocre or unscrupulous people. If you keep them and treat them well, buy their loyalty, why worry that they won't serve you? If you don't even have this confidence, what's the point of fighting for the world? As for the gentleman's agreement, it's clearly a way to buy people's hearts. Lu Haoshan knows that Yuan Chonghuan, who is embroiled in controversy, will not be able to escape prison and will be executed by lingchi in a few months. This way, they won't be able to return to their old master, and sooner or later, they'll serve me.

  It's also good this way, with Yuan Chonghuan dead, it will be easier for me to gain the loyalty of these people who have been harboring different intentions.