Chapter Thirty-Five: The Appearance of the Wind Bandit

  He Wanquan, a small commander of a battalion, leading only 500 people, actually doesn't put Zheng Tai in his eyes at all, and is so arrogant, overbearing, proud and rude that it's unbearable.

  "Ah, a martial artist! A mere martial artist!" He Wanquan's words ignited Zheng Tai's suppressed anger, which erupted instantly. Just now, for the sake of the bigger picture, he had restrained himself, but this time it was unstoppable, like a volcanic eruption.

  "Alas! The great ancestor was indeed wise. Such a martial hero would surely bring chaos to the country. This is why we emphasize literature and suppress military leaders." The county magistrate also felt indignant.

  The Song Dynasty followed the tradition of using literature to control military power, and civil officials had a natural sense of superiority over military generals. He Wanquan's ruthless trampling of their dignity was unbearable for the county magistrate.

  "Please calm down, both of you!" Wu Ji couldn't help but intervene: "In my opinion, He Wanquan must have some backing, or he wouldn't be so fearless. May I ask, do either of you know if He Wanquan has a powerful supporter?"

  "A small commander of a camp, what reliance is he?" Zheng Tai somewhat disdained.

  Wu Jimei raised an eyebrow and hesitated for a moment: "Sir, if it's really like that, I think He Wanquan's move is quite suspicious."

  "Suspicious?" Zheng Taizhen's eyebrows rose, and he suddenly realized: "If Wu Daren hadn't said so, I would have been fooled by him. He Wanquan used to be a different person, and when he saw me, his etiquette was always proper, but today he was unusually arrogant and rude."

  Zheng Tai hesitated for a moment, then said: "I suppose he has climbed to a high branch and is now self-satisfied, hence his disrespect towards this official. This matter is of no concern, I will just send someone to investigate."

  Things have come to this, although it's not pleasant, He Wanquan has finally agreed to send troops, which is a good thing. Wu Ji returned to the main book room and chatted with Huang Fu and others.

  Since Wu Ji used the abacus, this little account was far from enough for them to calculate, and they had a lot of leisure time.

  This casual chat, Wu Ji and Huang Fu Su were the ones who chatted the most. Since Wu Ji revealed his pearl calculation skills, Huang Fu Su's attitude towards Wu Ji had a 180-degree turn, no longer being as cold as before, but rather much more friendly.

  As for Huangfu Song, Wu Ji had a good impression of him, not because of anything else, but simply because Wu Ji knew that this person was trustworthy despite his cold demeanor. After talking with Huangfu Song for a long time, Wu Ji found that he had extraordinary insight and was unlike ordinary people, and he enjoyed talking to him.

  "Haven't you noticed that there are some tall and sturdy men who have appeared in the city recently, running around everywhere as if they're looking for something?" Niu Qiqing couldn't help but interrupt Wu Jie and Huang Fu's enthusiastic conversation, feeling a bit left out.

  "Really?" Wu Ji asked casually.

  "Of course it's true!" Yang Yuan also chimed in: "Those people are tall and large, with knives and arrows at their waists, with a ferocious look on their faces. Just one glance and you can tell they're not good people."

  The northerners are known for their bold and forthright nature, with many carrying knives and arrows, so it's nothing unusual. As for what he said about not being a good person, this is even harder to believe, because Niu Yang and the other two are just petty people who will deceive if they can, or lower their heads if they can't. Wu Ji has experienced this before and responded with a few words to get by.

  The accountant's room was indeed idle, Wu Ji chatted for a while and thought it would be better to go back and take a look. Staying here was also a waste of time. He left the accountant's room and went straight to the Wu family's military factory.

  Leaving the county government office, not far away, several men with knives and arrows came face to face, extremely tall and sturdy, with a fierce look on their faces, sizing people up like hunters sizing up prey.

  First and foremost, a young man with a pair of eyes that kept moving, slightly condensed on Wu Ji's body, a cold smile flashed at the corner of his mouth, very disdainful, then shifted his gaze to look elsewhere.

  When sizing up this young man, Wu Ji felt as if a knife was stabbing him, it was very uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but think: "This is an expert!"

  Taking a closer look at these few people, each and every one of them exudes an aura of ferocity, their eyes gleaming with a fierce light from time to time, revealing a ruthless color, absolutely not a good sort.

  The north was complicated due to the long-term Song-Liao war, and there were many people who were not good-natured. Wu Ji did not take it to heart and quickened his pace to leave.

  As soon as he returned to the Wu family's military camp, he saw that things were different from before. He only saw Wu Jian leading a few robust men, holding crossbows in their hands and vigilantly scanning around, as if they were on guard against thieves.

  "Brother Jie, you're back?" Wu Jian hurriedly smiled and came up to welcome him as soon as he saw Wu Jie return.

  "Wu Jian, what's going on here? Holding bows and crossbows, trying to catch thieves?" Wu Ji was somewhat curious.

  "Brother Qian, you have no idea, the city has discovered many vicious people, running around everywhere, just like thieves scouting out a location. Not long ago, several people came to our place too, and at first glance, they didn't seem like good people, each with a greedy face. We can't help but be on guard." Wu Jian said while looking around cautiously, as if guarding against thieves.

  Wu Ji was slightly startled and couldn't help but think: "Another vicious person, is something going to happen? Could it be related to He Wanquan?"

  Thinking of this, Wu Ji himself found it hard to believe that even if He Wanquan had found a backer, he was doing so for the sake of promotion and wealth, and would not mix with such vicious people.

  Wu Ji observed carefully and indeed saw many suspicious people lurking around the city, going in and out of various places. The places they loved to visit were none other than the mansions of wealthy families. Although Guishen County was not large, there were still some rich people living there.

  As for Wu Ji, this nouveau riche, because the time was not long, it seemed that no one paid attention to him. Only a group of vicious people had visited him before, and no one came again. I suppose they didn't take Wu Ji seriously.

  Wu Jie made many guesses, but they were all off the mark, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

  The next day, Wu Ji still went to the main book house. Today was still not much of a matter, Wu Ji planned to go back to the Wu Shi military factory after a while. Chatting with Huang Fu Su, just chatting, Huang Fu Su's ears suddenly perked up, his face solemn.

  "What's wrong?" Wu Ji noticed Huang Fu's abnormality.

  "Someone's coming! So many people!" Huang Fu's eyes flashed with surprise: "Where did so many people come from?"

  "Is someone coming?" Wu Jie's ears perked up, but he didn't hear anything and couldn't help but chuckle: "You're not just pretending to be mysterious, are you?"

  "It's a mutiny! Has the army rebelled?" Huangfu Song suddenly stood up, his eyes shining brightly like sharp swords, his body straight and upright, as if he wanted to pierce through the sky.

  Wu Ji had known Huang Fu for almost a month, but he had never seen him change so much. The Huang Fu in front of him was like a sharp sword out of its scabbard, with a powerful and intimidating aura that made Wu Ji feel unexpected pressure.

  "That's right! It's a mutiny!" Huang Fu's aura slowly weakened and returned to its original state, smiling lightly: "The Great Song Army, withholding military pay is the norm, soldiers have no food to eat, making a fuss about military pay is nothing unusual."

  Is the military pay still normal? Wu Ji was greatly surprised. If this is also a common thing, how corrupt has the Song Dynasty's army become? No wonder the Song Dynasty can't beat Liao Guo!

  "This matter of rioting over military rations is very common in the Song Dynasty. The stationed troops of Guishen are even more used to it! He Wanquan not only withheld their military rations, but also forced the soldiers to do hard labor for him. The soldiers had no food to eat, and they would have rioted even if they didn't want to!" Huang Fu explained to Wu Ji, seeing the look of surprise on his face.

  "We have nothing better to do, let's go and take a look!" Wu Ji was very curious about the disturbance and wanted to see it for himself.

  "What's the good of seeing him? Just saying some nice words, making a promise or two, and issuing some more military pay so that the soldiers can eat their fill." Huang Fu seemed to have seen it all before and wasn't bothered in the least. Nevertheless, he stood up: "Since we're idle anyway, let's go chat with him to pass the time!"

  At the moment, the four of them came out of the main book room and rushed to watch a good show. Among the four people, Wu Jie was the core, and Huang Fu Song and the other two seemed to be surrounded by Wu Jie in the middle.

  The mutiny took place right in front of the county government office, where hundreds of soldiers with tattered clothes and pale faces, thin and weak bodies, were shouting towards the county government office: "You dog official, come out!"

  "Zheng Dog Officer, return our silver!"

  Wu Jiyuan heard the soldiers' shouting from afar and felt slightly surprised. Since He Wanquan was in charge of withholding military pay, why didn't they go to him for it? Why did they come to Zheng Tai asking for silver instead?

  "It's him!" Just then, a sharp glint flashed in Huangfu Song's eyes, his gaze fixed on one person.

  Wu Ji looked over in the direction of his gaze and saw that it was He Wanquan leading the way, standing at the front of the troops, inciting the soldiers to shout. Beside He Wanquan stood a young man, tall and strong, with a fierce look on his face - it was the same young man Wu Ji had met yesterday when he returned to the Wu family's military camp.

  "Who is he?" Wu Jia asked Huang Fu.

  "He is the only son of Zeng Danyue, the leader of the Liufeng thieves, Zeng Shaoming!" Huang Fu looked at Zeng Shaoming with a puzzled expression: "How did He Wanquan get mixed up with the Liufeng thieves?"

  "Do you really know this person? Are you sure he is the son of Zeng Daonian?" Wu Ji was shocked, his heart skipped a beat, his voice suddenly rose several degrees, his eyes widened, staring fixedly at Huang Fu.

  "It's absolutely impossible!" Huang Fu said with an unmistakable tone of certainty: "Lord Wu, what's wrong with you? Why are you so shocked?"

  Wu Ji's mouth opened wide, and he almost let out a loud cry. Luckily, he reacted quickly and lowered his voice, whispering in Huang Fu's ear: "This isn't a military uprising! He Wanquan has colluded with the Liufeng bandits! No wonder he dares to be so arrogant and rude! The Liufeng bandits are his backing! This is bad! The Liufeng bandits are going to raid Guixing City!"

  "What did you say?" Wu Jie was so shocked that he almost jumped up, and Huang Fu's words scared him half to death.

  Three rivers rushing up the list, another update at dawn. Please collect, click, recommend, thank you!