The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 018 Cooperation

Side room.

Zhang Xiuguo sat in the chair, facing Li Wanqing and Zhou Lun.

Zhang Xiuren and two constables were tied up and locked in the woodshed along with the second manager and the other employees. Li Shoutian and Wang Tieniu, along with the others, guarded the courtyard, keeping a tight watch on the entire Zhang family rice shop.

Despite being taken prisoner, Zhang Xiuguo showed little panic. He sat there calmly, without even a hint of fear in his expression.

"The county magistrate has quite the courage." Zhou Lun couldn't help but look at him with newfound respect.

"It's not a matter of courage. Given the situation, I'm like a fish on a chopping block; there's no use in it," Zhang Xiuguo said calmly. He then looked at Li Wanqing and Zhou Lun thoughtfully and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you two are the heroes Li Shouyi and Zhou Lun who recently stormed the county prison and killed Constable Zhao, aren't you?"

Li Wanqing and Zhou Lun were not surprised. By this time, they had removed their disguises and were showing their true faces. As the county magistrate and the second-in-command of the county, Zhang Xiuguo's prison break and murder had caused a great stir in the county, and arrest warrants had been issued. He must have seen the portrait, so it was reasonable for him to recognize him.

Seeing that the two did not respond, Zhang Xiuguo did not mind and continued to ask, "Since you two heroes have already fled this county, why risk returning like this? If I am not mistaken, you are here for those people from Liwang Village, aren't you?"

Upon hearing the words "Li Wang Village," Li Wanqing's face involuntarily contorted, anger flashed in his eyes, and his right hand, resting on his knee, unconsciously clenched into a fist.

"You two risked your own safety to return and save lives. I admire your loyalty." With that, Zhang Xiuguo cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to them.

"Admiration? Heh, no need for admiration. You, sir, know the people of Liwang Village better than we do. What? The government can do such things, but we can't resist?" Li Wanqing retorted coldly.

Zhang Xiuguo sighed softly and nodded, saying, "What you say, sir, is not without reason. However, you have come to the wrong person regarding the matter of Liwang Village. This matter was not done by me; it was the county magistrate, Fan Zhengren, who acted arbitrarily. Although I am the county assistant, I cannot make decisions for the county magistrate. Speaking of this matter, I was initially opposed to it."

"But Fan Zhengren is acting unilaterally, and I am powerless to stop him. Since you two heroes intercepted my Zhang family's grain cart, you must have learned about the situation from my good-for-nothing second brother. Besides, I remember that Manager Liu of Renji Pharmacy was also traveling with the convoy. Manager Liu is an old friend of the two heroes, so I suppose he has told you the whole story?"

Seeing that Li Wanqing did not answer, Zhang Xiuguo continued, "I am not Fan Zhengren. I am a county magistrate, but I am a local. My family is from the prefecture. In a sense, we are all fellow villagers. Unlike Fan Zhengren, who is a two-time Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) and an outsider."

"My fellow villagers, it's true that I've amassed some wealth over the years, but as the saying goes, 'A thousand-mile official serves only for money.' How many officials these days don't take bribes? But in my many years as county magistrate, I've never gone too far. After all, I don't want to exploit my fellow villagers too much and make them gossip behind my back."

"This whole affair was entirely Fan Zhengren's own doing. Although I strongly opposed it, I was powerless against his will. I am aware of the situation in Liwang Village, but I have no say in it and am powerless to do anything about it. Moreover, the reason I sent my second brother to the prefectural city this time was not only to deliver grain and make some concessions, but also to report to the higher authorities that Fan Zhengren was ambitious and had caused widespread resentment by forcing taxes. I am absolutely not lying about this; I have written letters to prove it. Please be aware of this, my two valiant men..."

Hearing Zhang Xiuguo's words, Li Wanqing, who had been furious just moments before, gradually calmed down. While the truth of Zhang Xiuguo's words was unknown, they did make some sense.

After hijacking the Zhang family's caravan, they did find a letter from Zhang Xiuguo to the prefectural city on Zhang Xiuren's person. The letter did mention Fan Zhengren's actions in the county and expressed extreme dissatisfaction.

Furthermore, Zhang Xiuren's confession corroborates these points. Moreover, both Zhang Xiuren and Manager Liu only mentioned County Magistrate Fan Zhengren in their accounts, but not County Assistant Zhang Xiuguo. Therefore, Zhang Xiuguo's words are not entirely unfounded.

"My two valiant men, I already know your purpose," Zhang Xiuguo continued. "Currently, the people of Liwang Village are all imprisoned in the county jail. But since the jail was raided last time, it won't be so easy to get in now. Although you've brought quite a few men this time, taking over the jail won't be so simple. And once we make a move, it won't be a small matter! We managed to suppress the last incident with great difficulty, but this time it's completely out of control. If the news gets out, it will have endless consequences for you. If you two valiant men trust me, I can help you find a way to secretly get them out of the jail and have them led away from this county. As long as they go far away, I will not stop them!"

"Heh, that sounds nice, but how can we believe you?" Li Wanqing retorted.

Zhang Xiuguo smiled, pointed to himself, and said, "I am now in your hands. Whether I live or die is entirely up to you. With me as a hostage, what is there to worry about? As for the county prison, as the county magistrate, I have the authority to manage it. Besides, you two may not know that the county clerk, Shi Teng, is my son-in-law, so you can rest assured about this matter."

These words tempted Li Wanqing. If Zhang Xiuguo could really cooperate, there would be a good chance of rescuing the people of Liwang Village.

Although they brought almost all the able-bodied men from the camp with them when they entered the city this time, these men had only been trained for a little over half a month, so it was hard to say whether they would actually be of any use.

Of the twenty-odd men, only Li Wanqing, Zhou Lun, Li Shoutian, and Wang Tieniu were truly capable fighters. The rest were good at bragging rights and fighting when things were going well, but if it came down to open combat with the yamen runners and soldiers, Li Wanqing had absolutely no chance of winning.

According to Zhang Xiuguo, the county prison is now much more heavily guarded than before, and it would be extremely difficult for them to force their way in. If they fail to take it down quickly, and the government reacts and sends reinforcements, the situation will completely spiral out of control.

Besides, the original plan was to first control Zhang Xiuguo, use him for their own purposes, trick the county prison into opening the gates, and then rescue the person. Now that Zhang Xiuguo is cooperating so well, it's not far from their original plan. If they can operate in this way, the chances of rescuing the person will increase considerably.

After careful consideration, Li Wanqing decided that cooperating with Zhang Xiuguo was a viable option. Since Zhang Xiuguo was already in his hands, he had no choice but to cooperate to save his own life. Besides, what Zhang Xiuguo had said made sense; ultimately, this matter was caused by County Magistrate Fan Zhengren, and Zhang Xiuguo was merely a county assistant—how could he possibly be in charge of Fan Zhengren's affairs?

Immediately, Li Wanqing made up his mind, saying that as long as Zhang Xiuguo was willing to cooperate, he would be released after the others were rescued.

They had no grudge against Zhang Xiuguo, and he wasn't like Fan Zhengren, so sparing his life wasn't out of the question. However, Li Wanqing still warned Zhang Xiuguo to cooperate obediently, as he would kill Zhang Xiuguo first if anything went wrong.

"Don't worry, my lord, I, Zhang Xiuguo, guarantee to cooperate! I will never let you two down!" Zhang Xiuguo patted his chest, his face full of sincerity.

Seeing his reaction, Li Wanqing prepared to take him away first and then discuss the timing of the operation. At this moment, Zhou Lun suddenly stopped Zhang Xiuguo and asked him a direct question. Zhang Xiuguo was taken aback, but he didn't hide anything and gave the answer directly.

"Reporting to you, sir, I just asked my second brother if things went smoothly, and he replied that he had sent the letter to the prefect. The prefect's steward said that this matter cannot be rushed and that I should wait patiently. After this tax matter is settled, the prefectural government will make its own arrangements..."

He paused, then smiled, "That's true, and the letter I had my second brother deliver was indeed for the Prefect. But this matter was handled by the Prefect's clerk, Master Jiang; the Prefect's steward never handles these things. Master Jiang is the Prefect's confidant, and besides, the steward isn't surnamed Wang, so I immediately sensed something was wrong, which is why..."

"No wonder!"

Zhang Xiuguo's answer finally made Zhou Lun and Li Wanqing understand the strange situation. Everything seemed fine, so why did Zhang Xiuguo suddenly find an excuse to leave? After all that commotion, the reason turned out to be this. They also never expected that the cowardly and afraid-to-die Zhang Xiuren would resort to such a clever trick. If Zhou Lun hadn't reacted quickly, Zhang Xiuguo would have escaped right under their noses.

Zhou Lun waved his hand and called for someone to come in and take Zhang Xiuguo away, locking him in the next room for inspection.

After Zhang Xiuguo left, Li Wanqing was about to discuss the follow-up plan with Zhou Lun when he saw Zhou Lun deep in thought, seemingly lost in thought.

"Second brother, what's wrong?"

"Brother, do you think what Zhang Xiuguo just said is true or false? Is he genuinely willing to help, or does he have ulterior motives?"

"Why worry about so much?" Li Wanqing smiled. "No matter if this guy is a human or a ghost, or what he's plotting, as long as he's in our hands, he can't cause any trouble! When the time comes, we'll plan carefully, take him to the county jail, and get him out."

"If he honestly helps us get things done, what's wrong with letting him go? But if he has other intentions, well, do you think the weapons we have are just for show?"

"Brother is right!" Zhou Lun smiled as well.

Li Wanqing is right. As long as the person is in your hands, you don't need to worry about what tricks they might pull. As for whether Zhang Xiuguo's words are true or false, does it matter? Zhou Lun dares not easily trust someone like Zhang Xiuguo—these officials lie without batting an eye; it's become second nature to them. In this world, trusting officials is like believing pigs can fly.