Fifty-Seven, Make a Bet

  The second lady said in an excited tone: "I am willing to take out all my dowry to reward the army, please trouble the military master to chop Zheng Yanfu and his gang into pieces!"

  "Huh?" Yang Hong felt a little curious, this young master had clearly shown that he was unwilling to spend money, how did a woman come out and say she was willing to spend money? This matter was really interesting.

  Zhu Yuanchang, who was standing next to her, had a clear mind. The second young lady is Zhang Deyao's daughter, after all. This father's hatred for not sharing the sky and earth, the hatred of the Zhang family being slaughtered, she wouldn't want revenge if it were strange. It's said that the government troops are going to eliminate Zheng Yanfu, she should be one of the happiest ones.

  The second young master jumped up suddenly and angrily said, "You foolish woman, how did you bring out so much money? Without my consent, who dares to randomly move the family's silver?"

  The second wife cast a disdainful glance at him and said stubbornly, "This is the money I got from selling my own house and land deed, it's my dowry, I'll spend it as I like."

  As soon as he said that, Second Master found it inconvenient to speak out, and all the scolding words were swallowed back.

  Yang Hong gave a signal to his personal soldier, who walked over and carefully searched the box for a while before leaning in close to Yang Hong and saying in a low voice: "At least three thousand taels."

  Yang Hong was delighted in his heart, getting three thousand taels from this woman, and the two young masters had also promised two thousand taels earlier, adding up to five thousand taels of silver, which is not a small sum. This trip wasn't in vain. He chuckled twice and said to the second lady: "This lady is very generous, you are making contributions to the country, this official will record it, after eliminating the bandits and returning, I will definitely report to the imperial court to commend your patriotic act."

  "Recognition of what I do not want, I only want one thing..." She paused here, her eyes shooting out flames of hatred: "Zheng Yanfu's head!"

  "His head can't be given to you." Yang Hong hastily said: "If I capture him alive, he must be sent to the West Anfu, Caishi Street for beheading. If caught dead, his head must also be presented to the imperial court to report merits, how can it be given to you?"

  The second young lady nodded and said: "I understand this, I only need to take a look at his head... just one glance! Only one glance!"

  "That's no problem." Yang Hong smiled and said, "Anyway, when I return to Xi'an Prefecture, I'll still have to pass through here. At that time, I'll bring Zheng Yanfu's head for you to take a look."

  Zhu Yuanzhang listened to the side and couldn't help but laugh, you think you can catch Zheng Yanfu? You speak so confidently, aren't you afraid of getting tongue-tied in the strong wind. Thinking of this, he suddenly let out a bitter smile: Yang Hong dares to speak so confidently, of course, he has the guts to do so. If this guy can't catch Zheng Yanfu, he can just grab a few villagers, behead them and present them to the imperial court, after all, those high-ranking officials in the imperial court don't know what Zheng Yanfu looks like. Killing the innocent and taking credit for it was already a common sight in the late Ming dynasty, nothing new at all.

  Zhu Yuanzhang thought, the second young lady also thought, after all, she was the daughter of the county magistrate, and these official circles knew a thing or two about it. Seriously, she said: "Don't try to fool me with a fake head, I know your officials' temperaments, sometimes when you can't catch the real culprit, you'll randomly grab a villager, behead him, and claim that his head is Zheng Yanfu's! Among my maidservants, there are people who recognize Zheng Yanfu, you can't deceive me."

  "Does the maid under your command know him?" Yang Hong was startled, this is a troublesome matter. If he himself killed the good and took credit for it, and the maid recognized him at a glance, he would lose both face and dignity. After spreading the news, it would be a false report of military merit, a crime of deceiving the emperor.

  The second lady beckoned, and Autumn Leaf hastily walked to the center of the hall with her head lowered: "This servant recognizes Zheng Yanfu; last time when the bandits rebelled, this servant met Zheng Yanfu face-to-face..."

  Yang Hong was overjoyed as soon as he heard it. In fact, no officer or soldier likes to kill the innocent and take credit for it. If they can catch the real culprit, why bother using such despicable tactics? It's just that since ancient times, it has been easy for bandit leaders to escape when their gangs are being eliminated. The main reason is that the officers and soldiers don't recognize the bandit leaders. When the two armies clash, the scene becomes chaotic, and once the bandits are defeated, they often scatter in all directions, with the leader hiding among the fleeing gang members and escaping, while the officers and soldiers don't know which direction to pursue.

  If there is someone who knows Zheng Yanfu and can provide some guidance, the chances of capturing the bandit leader will be greatly increased.

  Yang Hong hastily said: "Little girl, you really know Zheng Yanfu?"

  "Hmm..." Akira sighed, looking a bit embarrassed as she said: "I was once caught by three bandits and almost got humiliated. At that time, Zheng Yanfu passed by with a bandit wearing a bamboo hat and stopped those three bandits, so I managed to avoid disaster... That's why I remembered what Zheng Yanfu looked like."

  Yang Hong stared at Autumn Leaf, seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, and was overjoyed: "Haha! That's great!"

  He said to the second lady, "This lady, I want to borrow this maid for a while. She doesn't need to do anything difficult, just help me identify Zheng Yanfu among the rioting people when we're suppressing the bandits. This way, my chances of capturing Zheng Yanfu will be greater, and your wish to see Zheng Yanfu's head will also be easier to fulfill."

  "Autumn leaves were startled: 'Have to go see the bandits again? Maid... is afraid...'"

  "What's there to be afraid of?" Yang Hong smiled and said: "This official has a thousand brave soldiers, capturing the bandits is just a matter of lifting one's hand, following this official is very safe." Although he only had five hundred soldiers under him, outwardly he had to say it was a thousand.

  At this time, the second lady standing aside suddenly spoke up: "Autumn leaves, apologize to you, follow this military officer to suppress bandits, must bring Zheng Yanfu back, I want to see him being torn into pieces."

  The young lady of the house spoke up, and Maple Leaf had nothing to say, so she could only respond in a low voice: "Yes!"

  The Second Lady turned to face Yang Hong and said, "As for the silver here, I'll give you half first. You bring back Zheng Yanfu's head, and I'll give you the remaining half. How about that? Oh, and Autumn Leaf must be brought back safely too!" She mentioned wanting Zheng Yanfu's head first, then only afterwards thought to add that she also wanted Autumn Leaf brought back, showing that in her heart, Zheng Yanfu's life was far more important than that of her own maid, and if she could get his head, Autumn Leaf's life or death would be of no consequence whatsoever. The mentality of the superior is exposed without a doubt!

  Zhu Yuanchang watched from the side, not saying a word. He saw that Autumn Leaf's face quickly darkened and looked very distressed, but as just a lowly maid, it wasn't her place to speak up about such matters, so she could only endure her distress alone.

  "Alright, no problem!" Yang Hong agreed in one breath. In his opinion, dealing with a mere bandit was child's play, and the silver was already as good as in his pocket.

  Before long, Yang Hong's men carried out two boxes of silver from the Ma family compound. The two boxes contained over 3,000 taels of silver, and there were more than 1,000 taels waiting for him to collect after bringing back Zheng Yanfu's head. With such a bountiful harvest, he couldn't help but feel elated. Autumn leaves followed behind him with her head hung low, feeling both sorrowful and fearful.

  Zhu Yuanzhang stood at the gate of Ma's mansion, gazing as the officials and soldiers headed northeast, and couldn't help but let out a soft sigh. Zheng Yanfu didn't go to Huanglong Mountain, instead staying at Dongzi Cliff, which was something he hadn't anticipated. It seemed that most of Zheng Yanfu's men were unwilling to enter Huanglong Mountain, and the collective will made it impossible for Zheng Yanfu, as their leader, to make a decision, so they ended up compromising and staying at Dongzi Cliff.

  This situation is very common among peasant uprising troops, especially when they have just started to rebel and don't know their own strength. After killing a county magistrate and looting the county granary, they become arrogant and think they can rival the heroes of Water Margin. Most members fall into a state of abnormal excitement, not taking government soldiers seriously. They think that by simply occupying a mountain stronghold, the government forces will be powerless against them.

  Now that the government troops have come to quell the uprising, it's a good opportunity to give them a head-on blow and teach them what it means to be arrogant and reckless. After they've tasted the bitter fruit of their rash advance, they'll know how powerful the government is, and only then will they realize that killing officials and rebelling is not a simple matter, but something that requires careful consideration.

  Zhu Yuanzhang didn't plan to get involved in this matter, whether the government troops or Zheng Yanfu won or lost, he didn't care, as long as neither side's victory or defeat had a direct impact on him. He turned around and walked back to his own small courtyard, continuing to wash clothes.

  He rubbed his eyes twice, and suddenly saw a figure flashing at the gate of the yard. Wang Er's sturdy and powerful figure appeared in front of him. Today's Wang Er was dressed slightly differently. He was still wearing the same coarse cloth shirt he wore when doing hard labor, but on his back he carried a hunting bow, and at his waist hung an axe, exuding a strong murderous aura from his body.

  After entering the yard, he looked around Zhu Yuanzhang's small house and confirmed that there was no one else inside. He then lowered his voice and said: "Brother Zhu Ba, do you want to follow the soldiers to see the excitement?"

  "What's so interesting about this? What's there to see?" Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.

  "When the government soldiers catch a thief, and the thief fights back against the government soldiers, what's more exciting than this to watch?" Wang Er chuckled: "Brother, I've always dreamed of witnessing a real battle, this is the first chance I've been waiting for my whole life."

  "Hmm! From next year, you'll be rebelling until the day you die. What's there to see in all this commotion? Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself, but he couldn't say it out loud, so he just kept thinking. He lowered his head and said, 'I'm not very interested, I don't want to go watch.'"

  "So tell me, who do you think will win, the government troops or Zheng Yanfu's gang?"

  Zhu Yuanzhang said without hesitation: "The government troops have won!"

  "Isn't that right? You actually think the government troops will win?" Wang Er jumped up: "Absolutely impossible! Look at these government troops, their eyes are dull, their weapons are rusty, and their armor is tattered. They're so pathetic, even the stupidest monkey in the countryside could beat them. Zheng Yanfu and his gang killed officials and rebelled, with blood on their blades - they're heroes! How could they possibly lose to such government troops?"

  Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head: "The battlefield is not a street fight, and it's completely different from what you think."

  "Brother Zhu Ba, normally I listen to what you say, but today I absolutely don't agree." Wang Er pulled Zhu Yuanzhang's hand with force: "Come on! Let's go watch the excitement together. I'll make a bet with you, if the government troops lose, from now on I won't call you Brother Zhu Ba anymore, I'll call you Big Brother Zhu Ba instead."

  "Huh?" Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's mind stirred, this was interesting. He and Wang Er had always addressed each other as brothers, playing the emotional card, but he hadn't managed to make Wang Er transform his attitude towards him into one of "respect", which was clearly disadvantageous for controlling Wang Er in the future. Taking advantage of this opportunity to thoroughly subdue Wang Er would only bring benefits, not drawbacks.

  "Alright, let's go and watch the excitement together. If you lose, you'll really have to call me brother!" Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.

  "A gentleman's word is as good as a swift horse's whip!"