Shenyang City's security, no matter how good, was still the Tang Dynasty at this time.
Mo Di had not walked far after leaving the bank before he was targeted.
It must be known that the purchasing power of these ten strings of cash was equivalent to ten thousand yuan in later generations. An old man with white hair, carrying over seventy catties of copper coins on the street, possessed an irresistible allure!
Facing those shining yellow copper coins, anyone not tempted must have had a problem with their mind!
The trading post was in the new district. To return to the east of Shenyang City, one had to first leave the trading post and then enter the city from the north gate of Shenyang.
On this short stretch of road, an unknown number of groups had begun to follow Mo Di.
Entering the city from the north gate, the strings of money made the guards at the gate widen their eyes.
Carrying so much copper coin in broad daylight, and without any containers.
This damn fellow, wasn't he tired of living?
One of the guards quickly stepped forward, stood in the middle of the gate, and blocked Mo Di.
"Old man, you've struck it rich, haven't you? What do you say, we brothers are a bit tight on cash, mind lending us some?"
As the guard spoke, his eyes were fixed on the copper coins on Mo Di's shoulder.
Mo Di immediately took two steps back, clutching the ten strings of copper coins to his chest, and looked at the guard vigilantly: "My lord, this is money I just borrowed from Lord Shenyang."
The guard was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into loud laughter.
"Hahaha! Brothers, this old fellow says he borrowed his money from the Lord, do you believe him?"
The guard pointed at Mo Di and said to his companions with a smile.
"I don't believe him one bit! Can this old geezer borrow money from the Lord? Who does he think he is!"
"Exactly! Look at himself, dressed like a beggar, who would be blind enough to lend him money?"
"Tsk tsk tsk, these coins look like at least ten strings, right? If this money was really borrowed from the Lord, I'll eat that pile of dog poop by the corner!"
The guard's three companions looked at Mo Di with disdain, their words dripping with mockery.
Hearing this, the guard walked up to Mo Di, stood still, and his face suddenly turned ferocious.
He extended his right hand and slapped Mo Di across the face.
*Slap!* A clear handprint instantly appeared on Mo Di's face.
Before Mo Di could speak, the guard poked his forehead and cursed him.
"Old dog, my brothers just wanted to borrow some money from you to buy wine, if you're unwilling to lend, just say so. How dare you invoke the Lord's name, you've got quite a lot of nerve!"
"You, you, you, you're going too far!"
Mo Di was merely a craftsman. Even though he had been a supervisor in the Goguryeo Arsenal, he was still just a high-level craftsman.
As the saying goes, a scholar facing a soldier can't reason things out, let alone him?
"Going too far? Do your ears have a problem? I said, I just want to borrow some money from you, not that I won't return it! If you dare to spout nonsense again, believe it or not, I'll throw you in jail for a few days!"
Hearing Mo Di dare to talk back, the soldier directly reached for the copper coins in his embrace, his words laced with threats.
Although Mo Di was not eloquent, he was not stupid. If these ruffian soldiers borrowed the money, would they ever return it?
This money was his capital for turning his life around. If it was snatched away, how would he repay the bank in a year's time?
So, seeing the guard reach out to snatch it, he quickly dodged a step.
The guard flew into a rage and kicked Mo Di.
With dozens of catties of copper coins clutched in his arms, and hit squarely by the kick, Mo Di, unprepared, fell to the ground.
The ropes binding the copper coins broke, and the coins scattered all over the ground.
"My, my money!"
Mo Di's eyes turned red as he looked at the copper coins scattered everywhere, crawling on the ground and picking them up one by one.
Suddenly, the guard stepped on his hand and ground down with force.
*Creak~!*
"Ah~!"
The grating sound of bones rubbing against each other, and Mo Di's scream, rang out simultaneously.
"Old man, if you're smart, take the rest of your money and get lost! The ones on the ground can be considered my drinking money, don't be ungrateful!"
The guard continued to apply pressure with his foot, staring fiercely at Mo Di.
"If I were you, I'd take my foot off."
Just then, a cold voice echoed from a distance.
The guard looked in the direction of the voice and saw an unfamiliar young man slowly walking towards them. He instinctively loosened his foot and took a step back.
Perhaps feeling annoyed that he had been intimidated by this youth, he pointed at the young man and shouted.
"Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you interfere with the City Guard's affairs?"
The young man said nothing. He stared coldly at the guard, then instantly lunged forward, grabbed the guard's outstretched finger, and twisted it forcefully.
*Snap!*
The guard's finger bone broke with a crack, and the white bone fragments even pierced through his skin and flesh.
"Ah~!"
The young man not only ignored the guard's screams but also yanked hard, tearing the guard's broken finger off with his bare hands.
"Stop~!"
Seeing his comrade meet such a grim fate, the other three guards charged forward, raising their weapons and pointing them at the young man.
The young man smiled.
Then, with a sudden kick, he sent the guard whose finger had been broken flying five or six meters away.
*Bang!*
The guard landed heavily like a rag doll.
The young man looked at the bloodstains on his hand with disgust. He took a snow-white handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his hands, and casually tossed it away. After finishing, he looked at the four guards with a cold smile: "Who do you think I am?"
"My name is Lai. I am the Director of the Eastern Depot under Lord. In terms of rank, I am not much different from the Division Commanders of the Heavenly Fire Army.
You tell me, who do you think I am?"
The four guards did not understand what the Eastern Depot or the Director was.
However, they understood the sentence "not much different from the Division Commanders of the Heavenly Fire Army"!
"You, you, how can you prove it!"
As the guard with the broken finger asked this, he had already believed Lai Yi Fa's words by eight parts in his heart.
After all, who would generally dare to inquire about the affairs of the City Guard?
However, he still wanted to make a final struggle. What if this person was an imposter?
"If you want to die, this Director will let you die with understanding!"
Lai Yi Fa took out a small booklet from his chest pocket and threw it over. "Open your damn eyes and see if you recognize the emblem on it!"
The three guards who were standing each grabbed the booklet.
Merely a glance at the cowhide cover was enough to make them feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.
The exquisite emblem was a ball of flame, the flame on the Heavenly Fire Army's banner!
Upon opening it and seeing the contents, along with lifelike photographs, the three of them panicked.
"Your Excellency, spare us! Your Excellency, spare us!"
The three of them knelt on the ground, and one of them held Lai Yi Fa's work ID certificate above his head with both hands.
The other two kowtowed like pounding garlic, continuously begging for mercy.
The steel stamp on the cowhide cover could be faked, but the lifelike photographs were something that no one could forge.
In the entire Liaodong, only the Duke's Manor possessed such technology!