Volume 1: White Body Cold Gate Chapter 16: Yang Hong's Suppression

  Yang Hong and Wen Han stared at each other for a whole minute, in this tense atmosphere, except for Yang Hong, Wen Han, Zhou Long, and Yang Dian were all extremely nervous, with sweat on their backs.

  Suddenly, Yang Hong turned around and waved his hand: "Forget it. This matter cannot be blamed on you. Although the Cui family has some power, it is limited to Xie County. The county magistrate is not afraid of them, but he finds it troublesome. This time, Huang Le's crime is clear, and if he dies, so be it. I think the 'Cui family' will have nothing to say, at most they can only do some insignificant things in secret.

  Yang Dian, get up. Remember the lesson and don't be so impulsive in the future. You can take over as the county recorder first. The county magistrate will send the documents to the imperial court today, and after they are approved, you will become the county recorder."

  Yang Dian was overjoyed, originally still being scolded by Yang Hong, suddenly got the long-awaited promotion. The sudden change made Yang Dian unable to adapt, and he repeatedly thanked him until Yang Hong stopped him, then stood aside with a foolish smile.

  "As for you two, Zhou Lun, your family is clean and upright, and you are a kind person. You can stay in this county as my humble deputy."

  Then Yang Hong asked Zhou Xuan again.

  Zhou Luan Yuan was originally a commoner, and when he heard that he had been appointed to an official position, although it was only as a deputy officer, he was already overjoyed, and his face was filled with smiles after receiving the order.

  "It's not ordinary writing." Finally, it was Wen Han's turn. Yang Hong stared at him intently and paused for a moment before saying: "I heard from Deputy Zhou that you were rescued by him in the mountains during your escape after your family was destroyed by an enemy.

  Your origin is unclear and difficult to confirm. The county magistrate cannot immediately petition the imperial court for an official position for you. There is a villa outside this county, originally the residence of Huang Le's 500 private soldiers. The county magistrate will bestow it upon you first, so that you can also arrange for the people of Hei Feng Stockade.

  The county magistrate has already given orders to change the identities of those 380 bandits, and from today on, they will be considered good citizens of the county. You must take good care of them and teach them not to cause any more trouble.

  "Otherwise, the county magistrate will not be lenient! Is this arrangement acceptable to you, Wen Bufan?"

  Not giving him any official position, it seems Yang Hong wants to suppress himself.

  Wen Han quietly grumbled in his heart, but didn't get angry, calmly accepted the order and thanked Yang Hong for the gift.

  Yang Hong said a few more words of encouragement to them, asking them to continue working hard for the welfare and well-being of the people of Jie County, before letting them each return home.

  Not long after Wen Han and the others left, a man walked out of the side room in the main hall. It was He Shuang, the chief clerk who had welcomed Wen Han and the others at the city gate. He was a poor scholar with great talent, recognized by Yang Hong and promoted to be the chief clerk.

  "What about him? How's that young man?" Yang Hong asked subconsciously as he saw He Shuang walking over.

  He Shuang pinched his chin whiskers and calmly commented, "No hurry, no fuss, as stable as Mount Tai. This person's talent is a hundred times mine. I am not his match."

  "Hahaha!!" Yang Hong laughed loudly: "He Shuangru's evaluation is fair, but someone as honest as you is rare in this world."

  However, if this child can endure his temper, it would be even more perfect. As time passes, he will surely achieve great things in this generation. Sir, you should be careful when plotting with him." He Qiang joked. He seemed to be very familiar with Yang Hong, without any restraint between superiors and subordinates.

  "Hmph. I have a clear mind, so I didn't give him any official position just now. If it weren't for the matter of the horse's hoof print, I would have driven him out of Xian County long ago. This kind of person can cause trouble anywhere. Now, he has brought me 'Cui Shi'."

  "He also thought I didn't know, was it his plan to kill with a borrowed knife? He wanted to gain a foothold in Xie County, but ended up pouring water on the head of the county magistrate, truly not knowing whether he's dead or alive!"

  Yang Hong's face was stern and tight-lipped, but his eyes shone with a hint of admiration.

  "Haha. That horseback ride was indeed amazing, it felt like there was a suction force, once you sat down, it's hard to get up. My friends and I rode for three days and three nights, without knowing the time."

  "That's right, the county magistrate is being pulled by those women in the government office all day long. A whole day is spent on it, completely forgetting about official business. Now this 'horse hanging' has become popular in our county, and a few days ago, Lin Shi from Zhou Rong's family sent some dividends to the county magistrate. Quite impressive, quite impressive."

  "What's dividend?"

  "Oh, those are words invented by Wen Bufan. It's the income from the five percent shares of County Magistrate."

  "Since the county magistrate is so happy, we should set up a banquet to celebrate. Bring out those few jars of fine wine that the magistrate has been treasuring, and let's all enjoy it together."

  "That's naturally possible. But you have to wait until you've sorted out the identities of those three hundred and eighty Black Wind Bandits first."

  After hearing Yang Hong's words, He Shuang suddenly became bitter. Yang Hong seemed to enjoy He Shuang's frustrated expression and burst out laughing.

  On the other hand, Wen Han and Zhou Rong were on their way back to the mansion.

  Zhou Luan seemed to be holding back words that he couldn't express, as if he had a hard time speaking. Wen Han suddenly stopped in his tracks: "Brother Zhou, if you have something to say, just say it. Is it painful to hold it in?"

  "It's not fair. Either I'll go back and discuss with County Magistrate Yang, and let him give you the official position that belongs to me. Your merits are the greatest, but you haven't obtained a single official position. It's hard for me to bear being in this deputy position!"

  Wen Han smiled calmly: "It doesn't matter. You or I, whoever takes this official position, it's all the same. Moreover, Yang Hong must have seen through my plan to kill with a borrowed knife, so he has a grudge against me and wants to suppress me."

  It's better this way, I don't want to reveal too much too early and attract unnecessary attention. Now that we have more manpower, I can focus on expanding the casino's influence. The first step is to promote Mahjong, then establish branches in various counties, and expand our power in preparation for the coming chaotic times.

  "Brother Zhou, our vision cannot be too narrow, limited to just this county! Moreover, Yang Hong letting you serve as his deputy, what do you think is his intention? Isn't it to control my every move through you? Yang Hong is a man who hides his true nature, Brother Zhou, in the future when working under him, you must be cautious at all times."

  Zhou Luan believed what Wen Han said without a doubt, nodding and remembering it in her heart. As the two chatted, they unknowingly walked to the Zhou residence. Lin Shi saw Zhou Luan's figure from afar and, having been worried for a long time, emotionally shouted "husband" in a loud voice, causing passersby on the street to burst out laughing.

  "Alas, this woman is so unreasonable. How embarrassing for me!"

  Although Zhou Luan said so, a smile still appeared on his face, and his footsteps quickened as he walked.

  Next to Wenhan, he couldn't help but sigh. He remembered that in the past, every time he returned from a mission, his adoptive father 'Li Rudong' would also be tense and check if he was injured, and the expression on his stern face was still very clear in Wenhan's mind until now.

  This is family. Wen Han sighed in his heart.

  Zhou Luan and Wen Han returned to the Zhou Mansion. Since Li Qiang had been sent back earlier to report their safe return, Lin Shi had already prepared a sumptuous feast for them to refresh themselves after their journey. The table was filled with an assortment of dishes, including braised carp, large chunks of beef, a platter of chicken and duck, and so on. Of course, there were also several jars of wine.

  Wen Han asked Li Qiang to call Pei Yuanshao, and after a while, they started the banquet. Lin Shi was still in the kitchen cooking, at that time women's status was low, generally not allowed to eat at the table. Wen Han mentioned this to Zhou Long several times, and Zhou Long also agreed, but Lin Shi did not dare, always leaving with various excuses. When Zhou Long and others finished eating and dispersed, she cleaned up the remaining dishes on the table, ate a little to fill her stomach, and that was it.

  To this, Wen Han was also quite helpless. After all, the younger generation and people of this era have a big difference in their freedom of thought, and they can't be forced to change overnight.

  After three rounds of wine, Wen Han remembered Zhou Lian's sworn brother, the super big cow 'Guan Yu', and asked Zhou Lian about his situation.

  That Guan Changsheng, I heard that his ancestors were the trusted guards of the champion Hou Qubing, and in the battle with the Xiongnu people, they saved the life of the champion Hou. They deeply gained the trust of the champion Hou, who treated them as family members and taught them martial arts. After the death of the champion Hou, Guan Changsheng's ancestors also returned to Xi'an County to live in seclusion.

  After several generations, it was Guan Changsheng's generation that the family declined. Guan Changsheng made a living by hunting and loved martial arts and military strategy. However, due to his poverty, he couldn't find a good teacher. His brother saw him and had great ambitions, so he often helped him by buying his hunted animals at high prices. After repeated interactions, they became familiar with each other. This man was extremely loyal and would forever remember those who showed him kindness. For example, Ma Zong had previously come to cause trouble in the brother's gambling den, but Guan Changsheng didn't say a word and single-handedly resisted him.

  Because of his exceptional martial arts skills, Ma Zong was intimidated and restrained himself a lot. Later, when his martial arts skills reached a bottleneck, he spent all his family's wealth to buy a horse and a knife, wanting to roam the world. His brother supported him and provided some financial assistance.

  Later on, I met your younger brother. At this time, Changsheng has been away for more than a year and should be returning soon. When the time comes, I will definitely introduce you to him as his elder brother.

  Wen Han smiled and thought to himself. According to the "Records of the Three Kingdoms", Guan Yu was not only unmatched in loyalty and bravery, but also had a flaw - arrogance, which made him look down on all heroes under heaven. Didn't you see that later, when the King of Wu, Sun Quan, wanted to form an alliance with Guan Yu through marriage? But Guan Yu scolded Sun Quan for being shameless and said "How can a tiger's daughter marry a dog's son?"

  Nor did he know whether Guan Zhong would see him when they met.

  "This man is indeed a hero! No wonder the young master asked about the news of that red-faced good fellow at my house back then. It turns out that Guan Changsheng is Brother Zhou's brother." Pei Yuanshao couldn't help but praise after hearing this. Because Pei Yuanshao was Wen Han's house general, and Zhou Lian was respected by Wen Han as an elder brother, so Pei Yuanshao had to address Zhou Lian as Lord Zhou. This was the only way to follow etiquette.

  "Haha! Today we returned from battle, each with our own gains. Brother Zhou obtained an official position, I gained General Yuan Shao, and also 380 brothers. And Yuan Shao and the brothers of Heifeng Mountain got rid of that mountain bandit's life. It's a great joy, let's drink, drink! We won't stop until we're drunk!"

  Wen Han snapped out of his reverie and stopped thinking about the future. Although the situation was still difficult, at least he had gained some momentum. This brought Wen Han considerable comfort, and he thought to himself, "As long as there's wine for today, let's get drunk today! When the boat reaches the bridgehead, it will naturally go straight!"

  Several people drank with great enthusiasm and got drunk again.