Thirty-eight, be obedient and listen, then there will be food and drink (additional updates requested for top ranking)
The noise of the night finally subsided, and Liu Ruo heard footsteps outside. She quickly got up to get dressed, but Xiaolian, who was sleeping beside her, had already gotten up and put on her shoes, and ran to open the door.
"Haven't slept yet?" Yu Guozhen's voice came into his ears.
"Where can I sleep, the young master hasn't come back yet, even if he did, I wouldn't be able to sleep." Xiaolian murmured casually and intimately: "Does the young master want to rest?"
"No need, I'll just wash my face and then go for a morning run. Can you help me fetch some water, then you can go back to sleep?"
Liu Ruo Xi walked out of the door, Yu Guo Zhen gave her a smile, Liu Ruo Xi's thumping heart suddenly calmed down, she bowed and saluted Yu Guo Zhen.
"You go catch up on some sleep, you just arrived yesterday and then this happened, you must not have slept well." Yu Guozhen said.
"Little official, what happened last night?"
"There's nothing to it, that swindler He Yuanli who drowned in Suzhou had a brother who was a pirate on Taihu Lake, and he gathered a group of people to come and take revenge." Yu Guozhen took the towel from Xiaolian's hand, wiped his face with it, and continued: "All were captured and killed, not one escaped."
"Taihu... bandits on the water!" Liu Ruzi took a cold breath.
After staying in Wujiang for ten years, she certainly knew what kind of guys the Taihu Lake pirates were. They were as cruel as wolves and as cunning as foxes. When they gathered, they were like ants, and when they scattered, they were like birds. This group of people was much more ruthless than the water bandits on those small islands in Chaohu Lake!
But judging from Yu Guozhen's tone, it seems that all the future Taohu Lake bandits will be captured and killed?
"How many bandits came?"
"Fifty-one, not many people, but they're carrying a lot of gold and silver." Yu Guozhen burst out laughing: "Adding it all up, it's worth about 1,500 or 1,600 taels. Plus the two boats, just right! I didn't have enough money to build houses for Xiaolian and Rushi, but now they've sent them over."
It is said that a house will be built for herself, Xiaolian was suddenly delighted, but soon she felt it wasn't right: "Young master, I don't want any house, I just want to serve young master!"
"Hehe, even if I'm serving you, I still can't stay here forever." Yu Guozhen hinted: "Besides, Wu Shu should be back soon."
Xiao Lian pouted, unsure of what to say for a moment. Yu Guozhen turned around and saw that Liu Ruo's brow was slightly furrowed, seeming quite uneasy, so he asked: "What is it, Ruo? Is there still something worrying you?"
"The young official's plan was deep and far-reaching, capturing and killing fifty-one water bandits... However, this matter may not necessarily be a good thing. Last night's affair cannot be concealed in the town, and the government will inevitably send someone to ask questions. How should we respond?"
Xiao Lian wouldn't think about this issue, because she simply couldn't think that much, her whole mind was on how to complete the tasks assigned by Xiao Guan Ren. But Liu Ru Shi was different, she considered things more comprehensively, and asked questions that got straight to the point.
Yu Guozhen burst out laughing: "This matter will of course be handled by my fifth uncle Yu Yixuan."
Yu Yixuan returned from Shandong at the end of July, bringing with him over 40 households. Among them were 83 young men between the ages of 12 and 15 that Yu Guozhen had arranged to bring back. This number was slightly lower than Yu Guozhen's expectations, but considering it took less than a month to gather them all, it was still a decent result.
"Fifty-one Taihu bandits..." Looking at his brother and nephew in front of him, Yu Yixuan's eyes widened in shock, and he was stunned for a while before saying in a pleading tone: "Guozhen, Second Brother, you guys have gone...a bit too far this time."
"Last time Guo Zhen was clearing the bandits at Qingtian Lake, he also brought back 20,000 catties of salt, which is waiting for you, Old Five, to deal with." Yu Yiqin added.
Yu Yixuan was numb at this time, and he pondered for a while: "The Taohu Lake bandits have run to our Luzhou, this matter can't be suppressed, the official side must be bribed, as for 20,000 catties of salt... wait a minute, is it 20,000 catties of official salt or private salt?"
"I am salt."
"Can you tell whether it's Huai salt or Qing salt?"
Nature is the best teacher.
Yu Yixuan was stunned for a while, and his face gradually turned ugly: "This... this..."
He's a smart man, naturally he knows that the smuggled Huai salt must have some powerful forces backing it! This batch of salt is extremely hot to handle, if anything goes wrong, it will inevitably invite the crazy revenge of the salt bandits, and what's even more frightening is the power behind the salt bandits!
"The beginning and end were clean, without leaving any traces. In addition, I also went to Wujiang County, Suzhou Prefecture, where I scared the retired official Zhou Daodeng to death."
Zhou Daodeng's nephew colluded with Lao Liu, Yu Yixuan knew about it beforehand, but now that Zhou Daodeng has also been scared to death, Yu Yixuan is no longer worried - what's the use of worrying when things have come to this?
"My affairs are private, and must be handled cleanly. We should be more cautious when taking action." Yu Yixuan turned around twice with his hands behind his back, then said resolutely: "Second Brother, I will now go to deliver a name card to request an audience with the Magistrate - nowadays our Yu family can only rely on my scholar identity, which is probably not enough to protect us. Our household registration also needs a title..."
The fighting force shown by the Yu Fu family, especially the eighteen young men led by Yu Guozhen, can no longer be hidden. Since this is the case, it would be better to make them public and give them a legitimate status.
Dealing with the government was Yu Yixuan's job, while Yu Guozhen himself was busy gathering new arrivals, and Xiaolian and Liu Ruzi became his main assistants, responsible for arranging accommodations.
The eighty-three new arrivals looked very weak, having suffered a great deal on the journey and especially during their escape. A meal of thin meat porridge did much to revive them, and they were herded into the school grounds in the big courtyard. Liu Rushi watched from afar, glancing up at the sky.
In early autumn, Xiang'an was still very hot, especially during this time of scorching sun. Standing on the school field for a moment, these young boys were already drenched in sweat.
"What does this mean?" asked Liu Ruo softly: "Xiao Lian sister, did Da Zhuang and Er Zhuang do the same thing back then?"
"That's natural, Dazhuang is still okay, but Erzhuang has suffered a lot, and there are also Jiuhu and Wuyue. " Xiaolian's eyes sparkled with a hint of pride, although the newcomer Ruxi was very smart and beautiful, but when it came to being close to Xiaoguanren, she was still far behind herself: "I've been through that too!"
"Huh?" Liu Ruo was stunned for a moment, looking at Xiaolian with some disbelief.
"Really, just like a sister, every morning when the young masters go for a run, I also go for a run! They run ten miles, and I run five miles!"
Thinking that every morning after serving Yu Guo, Xiao Lian would indeed leave the yard for a while, Liu Ru nodded. Looking at Xiao Lian, she hesitated: "Do I have to run too?"
"It's only natural, young master said that if bad people come, we should at least be able to run fast and escape!"
When she heard this sentence, Liu Ruo couldn't help but laugh lightly. As soon as she laughed, nearly half of the 83 boys standing there were stunned.
Liu Ruyi kept a safe distance, but didn't hide. She was curious about what method Yu Guozhen would use to train these young men to be as good as Ye Wuyue and Luo Jiuhe.
At this moment, Ye Wuyue and Luo Jiuhe carried a large jug over, lifted the lid, and inside was clear cold water. Xiaolian whispered: "This water is well water, but it has also been boiled, Master doesn't allow us to drink raw water, Sister should remember that too, if Master finds out we drank raw water, we will definitely be punished."
"Drinking raw water also deserves punishment?" Liu Ruo was astonished.
"Hmm, the young official calls this personal hygiene. He said that if one doesn't pay attention to personal hygiene, it's easy to get sick. Just like in stagnant water, there are countless tiny insects that we can't see with our naked eyes..."
"I'm also aware of this matter, Buddhist scriptures say that there are 84,000 small insects in a bowl of water..."
"Sister, you know a lot, but the young master said that these small insects are an important cause of human disease. If the water is not boiled, they will burrow into the human intestines and stomach, causing all sorts of illnesses."
Liu Ruyi pondered for a moment, secretly wondering where Yu Guozhen's words came from.
As she was pondering, the young men on the school grounds saw the clear water and were originally thirsty and unbearable. If they hadn't come to a new place, they would have rushed up early. Even so, there were still several brave ones who walked over, accompanied by smiling faces, and went towards Ye Wuyue and Luo Jiuhe, who were watching the water tank.
"Two young masters, have a drink of water." One of them said with a bow.
Luo Jiuhe smiled and looked at him: "Want a drink?"
"Yes, yes."
"How many do you want?"
The question made the young man pause for a moment, seeing that they were still speaking in a friendly manner, the other youngsters also gathered around, and in the blink of an eye, Luo Jiuhe and Ye Wuyue were surrounded.
"Hehe, Jiuhe Ge loves to tease people, he must be planning to tease these newcomers." Xiaolian whispered with a smile: "If so, sister, remember that if you need Jiuhe Gege to do something, you have to be extra careful."
"He dares to tease even you?"
"If it's something that the young master has entrusted to them, they wouldn't dare be careless. But if we have something to ask of him, he'll inevitably try to take advantage of us. Hmph, detestable creature."
Although she said so, Liu Ruyu felt that Xiaolian didn't really dislike Luo Jiuhe, just like an older sister saying she dislikes her mischievous younger brother.
Luo Jiuhe looked at the crowd gathering around, gave a wink to Ye Wuyue, and they suddenly turned over the water tank together. A tank of water was poured onto the yellow coarse sand-covered ground in front of more than 80 thirsty young men.
The coarse sand has excellent water permeability, and in the blink of an eye, the water disappears.
"What... what does this mean?" someone finally asked, unable to endure any longer.
Luo Jiuhe sneered, "Thinking of drinking water is simple. The young master brought you here and won't let you die of thirst. But all of you must remember that as long as you listen to me, there will be food and drink for you. If anyone dares to be disobedient and cause trouble, even if the water is spilled, not a single drop will be given to you!"
More than eighty young men, although thirsty, were after all newcomers and didn't dare to speak out. Luo Jiuhe and Ye Wuyue put down the water bucket and said: "The first thing you need to listen to is that drinking water can only be boiled open water, not raw water. Those who drink raw water will get ten lashes and run twenty miles!
Xiao Lian let out a "heh" and burst out laughing. She glanced at Liu Ruo Si: "Sister Ruo Si, look at this guy trying to intimidate us with his tiger's might... I'll go scare him for a bit!"
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The situation is critical, I must seek a strong arm to help me!
