"Dog official, how dare you be so presumptuous?"
Zhou Fugui, the commander of the White Tiger Camp of the Yan army, stood in the main hall of the Suining county yamen, his hand gripping the long saber at his waist, and questioned Wu Tiangui, the magistrate of Suining county, with righteous anger.
The soldiers of the White Tiger Camp also glared with fury, their weapons clenched, waiting for Zhou Fugui's command to chop Wu Tiangui and his cronies into mincemeat.
"Ah? General... sir, what... what do you mean?" The atmosphere in the hall suddenly turned tense and volatile. Seeing the Yan soldiers poised to attack, Wu Tiangui was so terrified that he fell to his knees with a plop, kowtowing profusely as he stammered, "What are you talking about?"
"This general is not one to kill innocent people, but that doesn't mean I won't kill anyone." Zhou Fugui said menacingly, holding his saber as he looked at Wu Tiangui, then asked, "I ask you, where has the money and grain from the Changping granary gone?"
The so-called Changping granary was a granary set up to store grain for emergencies and to supply official and civilian needs. It was established by the imperial court, a form of warehousing. Its purpose was to stabilize grain prices and provide relief to disaster victims.
The Changping granary originated from the Pingdi granary implemented by Li Kui in Wei during the Warring States period, where the imperial court would purchase grain during abundant years for storage to prevent low prices from harming farmers, and sell the stored grain during lean years to stabilize prices.
The Changping granary can be understood as a reserve of money and grain for unforeseen circumstances.
Therefore, no matter how remote or poor Suining county was, there would always be some money and grain in the Changping granary. Even if Suining county could not replenish it, the Xia dynasty would provide some money and grain.
But now, the Suining county Changping granary had less than ten *shi* of rice, and it was moldy. The money amounted to only a few strings. So, where had the money and grain from the Changping granary gone? The more Zhou Fugui thought about it, the angrier he became, and he was already contemplating killing.
He knew that this small amount of money and grain would not be enough to feed the three thousand soldiers of the White Tiger Camp.
"Great General, you are mistaken! In this time of war and chaos, with consecutive years of poor harvests, where can the granary possibly have money and grain? It's all been used up long ago. If the Great General truly needs it, I will go and raise funds from the city." Wu Tiangui's face showed extreme grievance and sorrow as he loudly protested.
"Nonsense!" Zhou Fugui was furious upon hearing this. He couldn't be bothered to waste more words on him. He turned to Pan Jiangu and Bu Gude and asked, "How many people are in Magistrate Wu's family?"
How could Zhou Fugui believe Wu Tiangui's excuses? Was he trying to fool a child?
Wu Tiangui's clothing, furnishings, the various gold, silver, and antiques in his private chambers, and the fact that he could easily host a banquet for over a hundred tables all indicated that Wu Tiangui was not an incorrupt official concerned about the people, but a corrupt official who had enriched himself by embezzling state funds.
Now, he wanted to extort the people under the guise of helping, and then shift the blame onto Zhou Fugui and his men. He was truly insidious.
How could Zhou Fugui fall into his trap?
"Magistrate Wu's family is quite large." Pan Jiangu wiped the wine stains from his mouth and replied, "Over a hundred and seventy people, including his mother, wife, concubines, sons, grandsons, and three granddaughters. They are quite pretty, hehe. Camp Commander, my subordinate and this old fellow Bu Gude have already ordered them to be confined to the rear courtyard."
"Pfft!" Bu Gude, who was drinking nearby, spat out a mouthful of wine. He pushed Pan Jiangu and said angrily, "I'm not even thirty yet and haven't married, and you call me an old fellow? You old scoundrel... Camp Commander, Magistrate Wu's three granddaughters are indeed very beautiful."
The soldiers of the White Tiger Camp all burst into laughter, a rather lewd laughter, including Zhou Fugui.
The White Tiger Camp was mostly composed of young men full of vigor. After conquering Suining county, if Zhou Fugui hadn't kept them in check, they would have been plundering everywhere. But to hold back for so long, anyone would snap. Even Zhou Fugui, despite his strict military orders, couldn't suppress it.
It seemed like he needed to find a way to resolve this matter. But if they found a way, how would Zhou Fugui resolve it? Could it be some sort of dual-wielding technique...
Zhou Fugui disdained ordinary, common beauties.
"Good heavens, so many people?" Zhou Fugui then looked at Wu Tiangui coldly and asked, "Magistrate Wu, do you have anything else to say?"
Looking at Wu Tiangui's appearance, no matter how prolific he was, he couldn't possibly have over a hundred and seventy people in his direct family. Therefore, besides his relatives, there must be servants, maids, gatekeepers, grooms, and so on.
In such a remote small county, to have so many servants, maids, gatekeepers, grooms, and others, if not a corrupt official, what else could he be?
"I... I am willing to offer all my family's wealth. Please spare my life, Great General!" Wu Tiangui was a man who valued money over life. But at this moment, Zhou Fugui was threatening his entire family's lives, and even implied the defilement of his three granddaughters. This left Wu Tiangui with no choice but to reluctantly give up his wealth in exchange for his family's safety.
"That's more like it..." Zhou Fugui's anger finally turned to joy upon hearing this. "Magistrate Wu, please rise quickly. We were family eight hundred years ago, why would this general make things difficult for you? My brothers and I have come to your place merely to seek some food. Once my brothers are full, everything will be peaceful. But if my brothers are hungry... then I cannot guarantee what they might do."
Zhou Fugui's combination of soft and hard tactics caused Wu Tiangui to tremble like a sieve, unsure if it was from anger, fear, or the pain of losing his wealth.
...
"Oh dear, Yu Nu is so full, I'm going to burst..."
After nightfall, in a delicate side room of the Suining county yamen, Xiao Yu Nu lay on the bed, rubbing her distended little belly and moaning in "pain."
"Serves you right! You little glutton, always stuffing yourself!" Zhou Fugui scolded with a smile, and as he massaged her stomach, he asked, "Does it still feel bloated?"
With so much delicious food and so many fun toys, and Xiao Yu Nu being only a five-year-old girl, how could she control herself? She had eaten and drunk ravenously. If Zhou Fugui hadn't forcibly stopped her, he suspected she might have burst her stomach.
"Hehe, much better." Xiao Yu Nu giggled as she enjoyed Zhou Fugui's rubbing. "It was so delicious! Yu Nu wants to eat more tomorrow, and play with those toys too."
Zhou Fugui was speechless upon hearing this.
Children were indeed children. She had just recovered and was already thinking about tomorrow.
"Alright, little one. Brother will have someone pack a big bag for you to take away tomorrow. It will definitely be enough for you to eat for half a month." Zhou Fugui said with a smile and a shake of his head.
Xiao Yu Nu was still young, and Zhou Fugui was worried, so he did not avoid the impropriety of sharing a room.
"Ah? Okay, okay!" Xiao Yu Nu clapped her hands and said happily, "Yu Nu knew it, big brother is the best person in the world to me."
"I... you..." Zhou Fugui was rendered almost speechless.
"Yu Nu..." Zhou Fugui struggled internally for a long time before asking, "Do you hate me?"
"Hmm? Why would I hate you?" Xiao Yu Nu looked at Zhou Fugui with a puzzled expression, tilting her little head and saying in her childlike voice, "Big brother is the best person in the world."
"Alas, Yu Nu, have you forgotten your parents?" Zhou Fugui stared at Xiao Yu Nu and sighed. "Don't you hate the people who forced your parents to their deaths? For example... the Hu barbarians?"
When Guangling Commandery City fell, Xiao Yu Nu's parents committed suicide to avoid the humiliation of the barbarians. And in the battle of Guangling Commandery, Zhou Fugui was the first to lead the White Tiger Camp into the city. Therefore, Zhou Fugui could not escape the responsibility for this incident. It could be said that Xiao Yu Nu's parents were also driven to their deaths by Zhou Fugui.
Zhou Fugui was also one of the barbarians.
Zhou Fugui took in Xiao Yu Nu and was determined to raise her to adulthood, partly because of her pitiable circumstances and partly due to Zhou Fugui's deep sense of guilt towards her.
"I... I... Wah... Father... Mother..." Zhou Fugui had struck a sore spot, immediately bringing back Xiao Yu Nu's terrifying and sorrowful memories. She burst into tears.
In fact, Xiao Yu Nu was too young to fully understand why her parents had committed suicide or why her father had raised a knife to kill her. She had only a vague understanding. The adults often mentioned "Hu barbarians" and hated them to the bone, but Xiao Yu Nu had never seen any Hu barbarians before.
Perhaps the first Hu barbarian Xiao Yu Nu saw was Zhou Fugui.
However, the terror and sorrow of her parents' suicide left an indelible mark on Xiao Yu Nu, often waking her from her dreams.
After Zhou Fugui took in Xiao Yu Nu and took meticulous care of her, her fear and sorrow gradually lessened, and the horrific scene of that day slowly faded from her memory. But now Zhou Fugui brought it up again...
"I... it's brother's fault... Yu Nu, please don't cry, okay? *Slap!*" Xiao Yu Nu's loud cries made Zhou Fugui panic. After a few words of comfort, he slapped himself hard on the face.
Xiao Yu Nu was too young to comprehend the complexity of the situation. Zhou Fugui truly regretted mentioning it, bringing up the terrifying and sorrowful memories she had buried deep in her heart.
In fact, Zhou Fugui wanted to explain, but given Xiao Yu Nu's young age, how could he explain it clearly?
He feared that the more he explained, the more complicated it would become, and it would be an inextricable mess. In the future, he would only be able to make amends by treating her even better and taking good care of her, allowing her to gradually forget the pain in her heart, Zhou Fugui thought to himself.
"Big brother...?" Xiao Yu Nu looked at Zhou Fugui with tear-filled eyes, not understanding why he had slapped himself.
"Oh, it's nothing, a mosquito..." Zhou Fugui made up a hasty excuse, then smiled and said, "Yu Nu, would you like to hear a story? A very good story."
Zhou Fugui intended to use a diversionary tactic to stop Xiao Yu Nu from dwelling on these horrifying and sorrowful thoughts.
"Yes... yes..." Zhou Fugui's diversionary tactic was indeed effective. Xiao Yu Nu's crying immediately subsided slightly, and she asked with a sob, "What story?"
"What story?" Zhou Fugui said with a smile as he hugged Xiao Yu Nu. "Brother has so many stories in his belly. Whatever Yu Nu wants to hear, brother will tell."