"What could I be doing? Just capturing a few bandits who tried to rob me! It's you I should be asking, Qing brother, what happened to your leg?"
"You're blaming me? Didn't I do this to save you? That young lady from the Wang family was washing clothes by the river and saw you fighting with them. She rushed to the fields to call for people. I was hurrying over and tripped on a rock on the ground. Look how I fell!"
As he spoke, Xu Qing pointed to the abrasions on his leg with a dejected expression.
"Hahahaha, that's my fault. What do you think of this big green horse? Why don't you take it?"
Yue Fei was generous with his talk to his loyal friend.
"Look at its size, how much feed would it eat? I think it would be more profitable to take it to the county to sell!"
Looking at the warhorse that was as tall as a person, Xu Qing's heart was filled with joy. However, thinking of its terrifying appetite, he said with a wry smile.
"We'll talk about that later. I'll stay here. You go back and get more people to take these scoundrels to the yamen. That way, we can exchange them for some grain to help the villagers!"
"That's great! Eating wild vegetable balls every meal, I even burp with the smell of wild vegetables now!"
Hearing Yue Fei's words, Xu Qing was instantly overjoyed.
"Ride it back, it will be faster!" wap.kanshuwu.net
"That would be excellent!"
Xu Qing didn't stand on ceremony anymore. He directly took the big green horse, mounted it, and headed towards the nearby village.
Upon hearing that Yue Fei had captured dozens of bandits and would be taking them to the yamen for rewards, the villagers mustered their courage and followed him, brandishing their hoes.
Compared to these robbers who plundered and pillaged, they feared starvation more.
By the time the villagers arrived, Yue Fei had already tied up all the bandits securely.
None of these bandits had expected that they would be sent to the yamen for rewards so soon after setting foot on Tangyin's land.
Looking at Yue Fei, who was surrounded by the villagers and constantly being praised, Zhou Ding's mind was filled with a thousand galloping beasts of burden.
If he had known this kid was so capable, why would he have bothered robbing him in the first place?
Wasn't that asking for death?
However, there was no medicine for regret in this world.
At this moment, Li Mao'er and the others had already fled far away.
Judging by the tattoos on the villagers' hands, these people were all from the archery society.
If he dared to run now, he would likely be shot full of holes.
Although the corrupt officials and soldiers in Hebei were useless, the marksmanship of these archers was not generally good.
He was now bound tightly. Even if he were given a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare to escape at this moment.
As for the remaining bandits, they were all still dizzy and disoriented. After all, being hit on the back of the head with a sap was not a pleasant experience.
The group, groggy and dazed, was escorted by the villagers all the way to the Tangyin County Yamen.
"County Magistrate, this is a small token of appreciation from our Lord Han. Please accept it!"
In the back courtyard of the yamen, Lü Ying smilingly handed over a gift list.
"Your Lord Han is too kind. This is such a small matter, there's no need to be so polite!"
After glancing at the items on the gift list, Liao Wenxing laughed heartily and placed the list beside him.
He had just heard about the matter of Neihuang County sending people to post notices. Just as he was about to teach them a lesson, Lü Ying unexpectedly came to him.
Moreover, he had brought such a generous gift.
Whether the gift was valuable or not was secondary. The attitude of giving the gift alone had made him very satisfied. After all, although they were both Jinshi officials, Han Mo was a genuine Zhuangyuan (top scholar).
And he was merely a second-class Jinshi. Han Mo had truly given him enough face.
"This time, it was due to the suddenness of the event, and my subordinates were somewhat ignorant of the rules, so they acted a bit hastily. Upon hearing of this, my lord immediately sent me to apologize to Lord Liao. Please do not blame us, County Magistrate!"
"Hahahaha, what is there to worry about? It's just a few notices from the Department of Punishments. Your lord thinks too little of me, Liao. How about this, I have a few jars of good wine here. Take it back to your lord as my return gift!"
Liao Wenxing understood the principle of treating others as they treated him.
"Then I will thank you on behalf of my lord, County Magistrate!"
"Since you're here, there's no need to rush back. I'll have someone book the best banquet at Ju Xian Lou right away. Let's have a good drink today!"
"Then thank you for your generosity, my lord!"
Seeing that it was almost evening, Lü Ying did not refuse. After all, although these two counties were not far apart, it was still somewhat unsafe to travel at night.
Since these bandits had already been brought to Tangyin County, there would be no problem even if he didn't go back.
On the contrary, if he could foster a good relationship with Liao Wenxing, subsequent matters would be much easier to handle.
While the back courtyard was lively with drinking, the main hall of the yamen was even more so.
Cui Hao was initially very pleased to hear that the villagers under his jurisdiction had captured dozens of bandits and sent them to the yamen for rewards.
However, when he saw Zhou Ding's face, his expression immediately became unnatural.
As they were both county officials, they had a lot of dealings with each other in private.
Moreover, compared to Cui Hao, Zhou Ding had been in politics for a longer time. Therefore, Cui Hao had also made frequent trips to Neihuang, discussing some minor tricks on official documents over wine and food, which was naturally within reason.
In the course of these interactions, they both knew a lot about each other's backgrounds.
Now that Zhou Ding had become a prisoner, Cui Hao was indeed a little hesitant.
"Are these all bandits? Why don't they look like it? I say, you uncivilized people, you wouldn't have mistaken passing merchants for bandits, would you!"
After his eyes darted around a few times, Cui Hao coughed dryly and said.
Hearing this, not only Yue Fei was stunned, but the villagers were also dumbfounded.
"My lord, save us! We are all traveling merchants. We were just entering Tangyin's territory when these uncivilized people robbed us of our goods and accused us of being bandits. Please, my lord, investigate thoroughly!"
Zhou Ding had been in the official circles for many years. Just by hearing Cui Hao's words, he immediately understood.