I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 690 Highway Robbery

Chapter 690 Highway Robbery

Wang Wenzhou thought for a moment and then said, "Xiao Liang, go and fetch a few death row inmates immediately. Tell them that if they complete the mission, their families will receive a sum of money..."

"I'll get on it right away!" Sheng Liang knew that Wang Wenzhou was up to no good again!

Wang Wenzhou put his arm around Gao Guiying and took a sip of wine. He said, "Babies, we should also get ready. We're going to plead for the people later! That old bastard Sun Chuanting is too wicked. He's blockading Hanshan and not letting any grain in. With so many people in Hanshan, they won't have any food if they don't survive until today."

"Boxin, what do you want to do?" Gao Guiying asked.

"Haha!" Wang Wenzhou laughed loudly, "Sister, you'll see soon enough! Sun Chuanting has shot himself in the foot this time!"

Wang Wenzhou, Gao Guiying, and Wang Lin changed their clothes and headed straight for Hanshan Square.

At this time, in front of the prefectural government office in Hanshan Square, which is also in front of the toilet, there was a huge crowd. More than a dozen coffins were placed across the front of the government office. Beside the coffins, the relatives of the deceased, dressed in mourning clothes, knelt on the ground, tears streaming down their faces, accusing the people of Hanshan of injustice.

"The lord is here! Make way!"

Upon seeing Wang Wenzhou's sedan chair, the onlookers immediately made way for him.

When Li Decheng, the prefect of Hanshan, saw Wang Wenzhou arrive, he breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was the prefect of Hanshan, his position was incredibly frustrating. Currently, he only had four yamen runners under his command, and these four also had to act as sedan chair carriers. This was because the Hanshan yamen was broke! Moreover, his position as prefect was practically meaningless in Hanshan; almost no one came to him for help.

But today, suddenly some people came to complain about their grievances. After hearing the story, Li Decheng sensed a conspiracy. Seeing Wang Wenzhou get out of his sedan chair, Li Decheng hurriedly went to greet him.

"Lord Wang, you've finally arrived! This matter still needs your handling!" Li Decheng wanted to distance himself from the situation; he didn't intend to get involved.

"Xiao Li, what's wrong?" Wang Wenzhou asked knowingly.

Li Decheng began by saying, "These family members of the deceased have come to seek justice."

"Oh!" Wang Wenzhou nodded and said in a serious tone, "Little Li, you are the prefect of Hanshan appointed by Zhu Youjian. It's perfectly normal for the people to come to you when they have been wronged! What do you mean by asking me to handle this? I am just an ordinary citizen now, and I stopped working for that heartless bastard Zhu Youjian a long time ago!"

"Cough cough..." Li Decheng coughed a few times, wishing he could strangle Wang Wenzhou, that rebellious bastard.

"Lord Wang, I really can't handle this matter!" Li Decheng said with a wry smile.

"What exactly happened?" Wang Wenzhou still pretended not to know anything.

Li Decheng said with a wry smile, "The families of these people were all killed by Qin soldiers."

"Ah!?" Wang Wenzhou exclaimed in surprise, "Lord Li, you must take care of this! The laws of the Ming Dynasty stipulate that even princes and commoners are subject to the same punishment. Qin soldiers killed the people of Hanshan, and as the prefect of Hanshan, you should seek justice for them!"

Li Decheng cursed inwardly: Wang Wenzhou, you mad dog! I am only the nominal prefect of Hanshan, and you are about to rebel. How can I seek justice for the people?

Li Decheng said helplessly, "Lord Wang, please don't make things difficult for this old man!"

Wang Wenzhou thought for a moment and then said loudly, "Fellow elders of Hanshan, it's time for you all to stand up! As the saying goes, 'Good men don't become soldiers, and good iron isn't used for nails.' This saying is quite realistic. After all, good young men with ideals and morals all study and take the imperial examinations. Only those idle hooligans and scoundrels would join the army!"

"Pfft..." Li Decheng was completely dumbfounded. Lord Wang, what are you saying? If no one joins the army, who will protect the country?

Wang Wenzhou continued, "That's why there are so many ruffians in the army! If a commander can control his subordinates, there generally won't be situations where soldiers bully the people. But there are some unscrupulous generals who seize wealth by trickery and allow their soldiers to oppress the people!"

Wang Wenzhou pointed to the coffin and said with a heavy heart, "These dead are all people of Hanshan! Among them may be your friends or relatives. Think about it, who would rob someone on the road?"

"Yes! Robbers!" Wang Wenzhou said passionately, "Sun Chuanting is the governor of Shaanxi. Zhu Youjian sent him here with troops to train them. But instead, he allows his subordinates to set up checkpoints and collect taxes. What right does he have to collect taxes? This is not tax collection, this is robbery!"

"You're right, sir! Sun Chuanting is a dog of a robber!"

"Please, sir, send troops to avenge the dead people of Hanshan!"

"All robbers deserve to be killed!"

In an instant, the people roared in anger.

Wang Wenzhou smiled slightly, "The people's hearts are in our favor!" He waved his hand, and the scene immediately quieted down.

Wang Wenzhou said loudly, "Fellow elders of Hanshan, Sun Chuanting is, after all, an important official appointed by Zhu Youjian. We can't just kill him without a second thought. But no matter what his status is, if he has made a mistake, we have the right to make him correct it!"

Li Decheng suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Wang Wenzhou, that mad dog, was clearly trying to incite the people to revolt!

Thinking of this, Li Decheng quickly said, "Lord Wang, as the prefect of Hanshan, it is my duty to speak up for the people! Please wait a moment, I will go and question Sun Chuanting right now about why he set up a checkpoint to collect taxes!"

"Don't worry, Xiao Li. When a scholar encounters a soldier, reason is useless. If you, a civil official, go to the Beida Camp, those thugs probably won't even let you in the door!" Wang Wenzhou said in a serious tone, spouting nonsense.

Li Decheng smiled bitterly, "Mad dog Wang Wenzhou, stop fooling the people! I am a civil official who passed the imperial examination. Even a general would have to be respectful to me."

Wang Wenzhou shouted, "Fellow elders of Hanshan, hurry home and gather your relatives and friends. Let's go with Lord Li to Beidaying and demand an explanation from Sun Chuanting! I'm afraid Lord Li will suffer if he goes alone! Hurry, hurry, go home and call your men!"

"Lord Li, please wait a moment, I'll go back and call my neighbor!"

The simple-minded people were easily fooled. As soon as Wang Wenzhou said that, they all rushed home to call for help.

Li Decheng broke out in a cold sweat. He looked at Wang Wenzhou and asked pitifully, "Lord Wang, are you about to rebel?"

"Haha!" Wang Wenzhou laughed and said, "Little Li, I don't want to rebel. It's just that Sun Chuanting has gone too far! He's blockading Hanshan, not only levying taxes arbitrarily, but also preventing grain from entering the city! Hanshan has over a million people, and the daily grain consumption is astronomical. If the blockade lasts for ten days or half a month, the people in Hanshan will starve to death. Do you want to see that happen?"

Li Decheng thought about it and realized that Sun Chuanting had indeed made a mistake! Even if Wang Wenzhou had rebelled, the people of Hanshan were still citizens of the Ming Dynasty. Should they be allowed to starve to death?

"Lord Wang! I will go with the people to question Sun Chuanting and make him retract his order!" Li Decheng said righteously.

"Haha!" Wang Wenzhou said with a laugh, "Little Li, although your body is that of a eunuch, your spirit is still that of a fine man with flesh and blood!"