A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 440: King Zhao sets his sights on Yanjiapo, Li Yunye stops being willful in order to stabili

Gong Liangzhao followed the imperial order and left the capital in a low profile and came to Yangjiang again. Although he was a prince, he did not have much real power. In the officialdom, people always treated people differently. Even the local officials far away from the capital could not help but pretend to obey when facing the empty-headed Prince Zhao. Emperor Jing was determined to completely eliminate the banditry this time. Before leaving the capital, he not only sent his own guards to protect him, but also gave him the Shangfang sword, which had the power to execute first and report later.

In order to prevent the news from leaking out in advance, Gong Liangzhao did not let his personal guards hidden in the dark appear until he entered Yangjiang. Soon, the civil and military officials of Yangjiang Prefecture learned that King Zhao came under the escort of the emperor's personal guards. Although they were stunned for a moment, they did not dare to neglect and went out of the city to welcome him.

When they entered the government office in Yangjiang City, Gong Liangzhao showed the imperial sword engraved with flying dragons and phoenixes and inlaid with the Big Dipper gems. The civil and military officials, constables and runners in the hall were shocked and terrified when they saw the imperial sword. The appearance of the imperial sword was like the emperor himself. After kneeling and paying homage, they naturally became more respectful and trembling in front of King Zhao.

Afterwards, Gong Liangzhao dismissed the others and left only the Yangjiang prefect and two military officers who were always responsible for suppressing bandits to discuss matters in the study. Yangjiang prefect Qin was afraid that King Zhao would hold him accountable for the robbery of tribute, so he came to Gong Liangzhao first and bowed, saying:

"Reporting to King Zhao, compared to the banditry in Yangjiang, I think Chaoyun City is more urgent. Although the tribute was robbed in Yangjiang this time, I have sent people to investigate and found that it was actually the bandits near Chaoyun City who were so bold as to do so."

"Yes, King Zhao, this time the court's tribute was indeed robbed by the bandits in Chaoyun City." Following the hint from Qin Zhizhou's eyes, the other two generals also stepped forward and echoed.

"The bandits in Chaoyun City are really lawless!" Gong Liangzhao had no intention of pursuing accountability for the moment, and he still needed their assistance in dealing with the bandit problem, so he pretended to be suddenly furious and denounced them.

"Chaoyun City is famous for its weapons. It has always been a mixed crowd and difficult to govern. It is indeed more likely to breed bandits and thieves." Qin Zhizhou then sighed again.

"Since the two generals have dealt with bandits for many years, please tell me the situation on various hilltops." Gong Liangzhao still looked serious, turned to look at the two generals in front of him and gave orders.

"Yes, King Zhao." The two generals first glanced at Prefect Qin secretly. Seeing their prefect nodded, they continued to bow and slowly introduced the more rampant and famous bandit dens in the central, western and eastern parts of Jingsong State.

"They are just robbers and murderers, and you have the nerve to call yourselves heroes?" After listening to the two generals recounting the numerous crimes committed by the bandits in various mountainous areas, Gong Liangzhao sneered with contempt on his face.

If someone robbed money and distributed it to the poor and suffering people instead of dividing it up on the spot and keeping it for himself, he would be respected even if he was a member of the royal family. Unfortunately, he is just using the guise of a hero to satisfy his own selfish desires.

"If we have to pick the tallest among the short ones, I think only Yanjiaopo has some moral principles. Although they also rob and extort, they never easily kill people, and they always avoid the government whenever possible." King Zhao's words made everyone else in the room laugh, and then a military general spoke again.

"Yanjiapo?" Gong Liangzhao lowered his eyes and glanced at the map that had been spread out, and then asked: "What kind of person is the head of this village? Who are the characters in the village?"

"The leader of Yanjiaopo, Yan Song, is known as the living devil. He looks fierce and fierce, and is burly and strong. But I heard that his family was well-off in his early years. He was well-educated and learned martial arts. But later his family suffered a misfortune and both his parents died, and I don't know how he went up the mountain to become a bandit leader. The second in command, Xue Gen, is also known as the Black Impermanence. He has a dark face and a short and thin figure, but the weapon he holds is an iron rod weighing hundreds of pounds. This guy is an illiterate, domineering and rough man." The military commander just now continued to reply.

"There was a pale-faced scholar before. He was the third in command of Yanjiaopo and was nicknamed Bai Wuchang. As for his talent, no one knows. After all, we heard that he was a stutterer and never saw him speaking in front of others." Another general added.

"In the past? How? This person is no longer in Yanjiaopo?" Gong Liangzhao raised his eyes and asked curiously.

"I heard that he ran off with a young lady and never came back." The two generals smiled at each other and replied.

"It's strange that a lovesick man appeared in a bandit's den." Gong Liangzhao couldn't help but sneered.

A few disdainful sneers were then heard in the room.

"Okay, then let's start by recruiting the people from the two hills of Yanjiapo and Yangjiang." Gong Liangzhao gathered his thoughts, marked three places on the map, and said in a deep voice.

"I wonder how King Zhao intends to start?" The three looked at each other. After Qin Zhizhou coughed lightly, he bowed respectfully and asked with a smile.

"Of course, we have to cater to their interests and exploit their weaknesses. If they want fame, we will give them fame; if they want wealth, we will give them wealth; if they want an official position, we will give them an official position. As long as we can find a way to encourage them to magnify their desires, the rest will be easy." Gong Liangzhao smiled slightly, and an unfathomable look emerged on his handsome and gentle face.

Qin Zhizhou and the two generals looked at each other in confusion, but said nothing more.

In order to prevent the famous Li in Jiangnan from being affected, Li Yunye did not let anyone know that the bandits had kidnapped his brother and demanded money. Even the servants in the Li Mansion did not know except An Ge and An Yun. They saw the young master and the housekeeper coming in and out in a hurry in the past two or three days, and they just thought they were busy with the shop and the dyeing workshop outside. The coachman Lao Yan also followed An Ge's instructions to explain to the public that the shopkeeper Mu would stay in the capital for a while, so he sent him back to send a letter to report safety.

Li Yunye was anxious and worried about going to Yanjiapo to redeem the person, but he regained his senses after Ange strongly dissuaded him. As the head of the famous Li family in Jiangnan, and still in mourning, although he had violated the ban once before for Brother Muliang, he could not do it again knowingly, not to mention that Yanjiapo was a long way away, and the dyeing factory was producing new cloth. If he, the owner, was not there, it would definitely arouse suspicion.

Seeing that the young master had calmed down, An Ge continued to persuade him: "Young master, don't worry. As long as Yanjiapo gets the money, Young Master Muliang will be fine. I have asked An Yun to go to the farm and call a few skilled people to go with us. I will also send a message to Feng, the shopkeeper in Mo City, in advance. If we fail to arrive in Mo City as agreed, let him report to the government."

"Be careful when bargaining, and don't make them angry." Seeing that Ange was thoughtful and had a backup plan, Li Yunye felt relieved and reminded him again.

"Angel understands."

In order not to attract attention, Ange left the Li Mansion alone before dawn the next day. Lao Yan had already been waiting for him under the city wall in a carriage. In the carriage also sat the farm's manager Li and two servants.

"I feel at ease knowing that Master Li is here this time." When the gates of Qile City were opened and the carriage slowly drove out, Ange smiled at Manager Li beside him.

"I was also shocked when I heard this from An Yun. Fortunately, those bandits were only after money." Manager Li frowned and sighed.

"Is the farm doing well? Is the madam in good health?" Ange also lowered his eyes and sighed, then asked with concern.

"All right, madam too. I heard from An Yun that Mr. Zhou is not at the Li family right now? Where else did he go if he wasn't with Manager Mu?" Steward Li nodded in response and asked in confusion.

"The young master asked Mr. Zhou to help find medicine."

Although he cared about his senior brother, seeing that Ange was unwilling to speak out, Manager Li did not continue to ask.

“Brother Muliang…Brother Muliang…Stop! Stop!”

In Qingyun Garden of the Li Mansion, Li Yunye watched Ange leave from afar on the attic. Seeing that it was still dark, he leaned on the couch by the window and closed his eyes to rest. In his drowsiness, he dreamed that the bandits took the money but did not fulfill their promise. Instead, they beat up his brother and threw him off a cliff. He was so scared that he woke up from his dream.

"Young Master, what's wrong with you? Did you have a nightmare?" At this time, An Yun rushed into the room upon hearing the voice, and seeing the young master sweating profusely and his face pale, he asked hurriedly.

"An Yun, Brother Mu Liang is really fine, please don't lie to me." Li Yunye stood up, panting heavily, grabbed An Yun's arm, and asked nervously.

"That won't happen, sir. Even Manager Li followed the steward this time. His skills are on par with Old Zhou's..." An Yun was anxious to comfort the young master, only to realize belatedly that he had let the cat out of the bag.

"What did you say? Manager Li's skills?" Li Yunye continued to stare at An Yun in surprise and asked.

An Yun didn't dare to lie, so he simply told the truth about Manager Li's identity as Lao Zhou's junior fellow disciple and how he lived in the Li family farm under an assumed name.

"That means you all know about it, but I'm the only one who's kept in the dark?" After hearing what An Yun said, Li Yunye was speechless for a moment. He didn't know whether he should be angry or not, but this matter must have been kept secret by his sworn brother. Brother Mu Liang was still suffering in the bandit's lair, so how could he bear to blame him?

"I'm sorry, sir." An Yun lowered his head and stood in front of Li Yunye.

"Forget it, just tie my hair for me." Looking out the window at the dawn, Li Yunye just curled his lips and turned to sit in front of the bronze mirror.

An Yun didn't dare to say anything else. He just silently picked up the sandalwood comb beside him and gently combed Li Yunye's long black hair.

"Brother Muliang was kidnapped by bandits, but I was unable to redeem him in person. Will he be sad?" Li Yunye looked at the bronze mirror in front of him and thought of the nightmare just now. He couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

"How could that be? As the backbone of the Jiangnan Li family, you should stabilize the overall situation. Master Muliang will definitely be happy for your steadiness."

After hearing An Yun's words, Li Yunye did not speak again, but just nodded with a heavy heart.