The horse-faced man hesitated, but he didn't have to pry open his mouth. Junior Commandant Song, who had always been a patient person, directly used the poker to poke the middle-aged man's mouth. There was no chance for him to speak.
Pulling out the poker, Junior Commandant Song turned around to pick up the fire again. The third man, who was approached by this evil man, was scared out of his wits. He immediately said in a trembling voice, "I'll talk, I'll tell you everything!"
Song Keli frowned and then said softly, "I suddenly don't want to hear anymore. I'll be able to find those lairs if I spend some time and effort. In fact, you deserve to die. Blame the world and the officialdom. You're nothing. "
The man who could still laugh sinisterly after enduring several torture sobbed and said, "Sir, I beg you. As long as you can protect my family, I will tell you everything I know about the two places that are the biggest names in the world! I'm begging you … "
Song Keli threw away the poker. The page boy who had been crying in the stables had been silently taking notes. At this moment, he trotted over and squatted in front of the horse with the paper in his hand. He laid the paper flat on his knees. When he looked up, his eyes were cold and hard, showing no signs of weakness.
Song Keli sat back on the small stool next to the brazier and pointed at the leader of the ruffians who had only been violent in Wuze County. He turned to Yan Huasheng and smiled, "Commandant Yan, Qiao 'er and Brother Shihu were out enjoying the snow when they ran into this group of horses. They were tied up and brought back to the county yamen. It's almost the New Year. I didn't want to trouble the brothers in the torture chamber too much, but I was also afraid of being labeled as a criminal, so I asked you to come and take a look. But tomorrow, the bodies of these bandits will be hung on the city wall, so I'll have to trouble the torture chamber. Also, I'm guessing that many of the famous horses are actually in the city. Who knows, they might have some connections with some of the esteemed lords in the city. When the detailed list comes out later, I'm afraid that I'll need Commandant Yan's help to pass on the message that Song Keli has just arrived in Wuze County and is embarrassingly short of money. Therefore, he can only burn this list. Treat it as a gift for the villagers. Harmony breeds wealth, and everyone will have a good New Year. Commandant Yan, will it trouble you? "
Yan Huasheng shook his head like a rattle-drum. "It's no trouble at all."
Chief Song had returned to being a gentle and refined scholar. He said with a pleasant expression, "I've also informed Chief Yan that Song Keli will not be spending the New Year at the county yamen. He has already asked Brother Shihu to rent a small house on Taoran Street."
Yan Huasheng, who originally thought that he was about to stir up trouble again, felt his heart tighten. However, when he heard that it was such a small matter, he felt relieved. He immediately squeezed out a smile and said, "It's fine, it's fine. I'll pay Commandant Song a visit later. If the New Year's Eve dinner isn't ready, I have a chef that I know. His culinary skills aren't bad, and he's ranked among the top in Wuze County. I'll have him cook for Commandant Song tomorrow."
With the Horse Gang's good start, the prison finally quieted down. The errand boy wrote quickly and finished recording. Without waiting for his master to say anything, he took out a piece of paper and wrote a relatively simple list. After he finished writing, he blew on the ink gently and handed it to the old commandant who had a complicated expression on his face.
Commandant Xiao Song slowly stood up. Everyone in the torture chamber took a few steps back in fright.
Chief Song said softly, "Today's matter can be considered a confidential matter between the county yamen and the torture chamber. Brothers, just take it seriously."
The group of people nodded vigorously.
Only then did Chief Song look at Yan Huasheng. "See Chief Yan off."
Yan Huasheng hurriedly said, "No need."
However, Song Keli still saw him off to the gate of the prison. When he turned back, there were only a few trusted brothers who had exchanged their lives with Brother Shihu, as well as a handsome young errand boy who impressed Brother Shihu.
Brother Shihu looked at him inquiringly. Song Keli nodded.
There was a burst of unwilling and hurried howls in the prison. After that, it was completely silent. Standing in the stinking room full of corpses, Song Keli asked, "Can you really find forty or so clean bandits in Jianghu?"
Brother Shihu rubbed his hands and chuckled. "Don't worry, Chief Song. Although I don't have many connections in Ningzhou, they are very reliable. Those people were originally outlaws with similar moral integrity. Back then, I accidentally saved their leader, so they owe me. Besides, I don't want them to work for free. As long as they are paid well, they will even try to kill their way into the government office, let alone killing Horse Gang in the mountains for rewards. Other places would never dare to do this, but Ningzhou is different. Officials are not bosses, but bandits are. "
Song Keli nodded and smiled. "Don't worry. In the future, whether there is one or two commandants in Wuze County, there will be a seat for you."
Brother Shihu shook his head and smiled. "Getting an official position and showing off is another matter. The main thing is to work for you, Chief Song. In one word, it is delightful! Not long ago, a wandering fortune-teller told me that the great benefactor in my life would be surnamed Song! Damn it, he didn't lie to me. At that time, I was not willing to give him a reward. Now I feel very guilty! "
Song Keli did not comment. "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Brother Shi, do you want to stay up late with me?"
Brother Shihu said casually, "That would be great."
After Brother Shihu and the others left, only Song Keli and the young attendant were left in the prison.
Song Keli looked at a corpse and said to himself, "There are many troublesome things that have to be dealt with at the root. It is difficult to do, but someone has to do it. If it is done well, the worst case scenario is that no one in Ningzhou will be willing to be a Horse Gang in the future. You have to die. Someone has to do it, and someone has to die. "
The attendant asked softly, "Young Master, with your skills, why would you need to use the Grassy Stone Tiger to deal with these dozen or so bandits? Even if you go to a Horse Gang's nest, you can kill your way in and out a few times. "
Song Keli smiled gently. "Rules are the most important. If you don't follow the rules in everything and try to take shortcuts, you will provoke opponents who are even more unruly than you. There is an old saying that it is difficult to not get your shoes wet if you walk by the river. This is the reason. If you do things in the martial world, your shoes will get wet sooner or later. A Rank Three expert was killed by a Rank Two Master, a Master was killed by a Rank One, a Vajra was killed by a Xuan Finger, and a Xuan Finger was killed by a Heavenly Elephant. Everything has its weakness. No one can escape. Since I am an official, it is like watching the martial world on a boat. The difficult part is that I can't rely on luck. The difficult part is that I can't get off the boat and walk by the river. For example, the Chief Minister Liang Lun is targeting me because he is an official. He didn't break any rules, so I, Song Keli, will accept it. If I can't, it means that my cultivation is not good enough. I can only endure it. If I can accept it, it means that I have a firm foothold in Wuze County. I can slowly work my way up. Killing bandits is the duty of a Captain. Because I didn't break any rules, my path to promotion will not be narrowed. "
The errand boy pouted and sighed, "Young master, but you are only at the ninth level of Secondary class now. How many years will it take for you to become an important official of the third level of Secondary class like your master?"
Song Keli knocked on the young man's head. His eyes were warm as he scolded, "I just told you the word 'accumulation' and you already forgot?"
The young man nodded and smiled.
The young man suddenly said softly, "That Shihu is so stupid. He didn't see that the fortune-teller was Young Master in disguise!"
Song Keli, who had already started a series of meticulous plans in Wuze County, laughed it off.
Song Keli asked the young man to sit on a small stool while he squatted casually and reached out to warm himself. He murmured, "It seems that someone in the capital knows that I am here and has started to do something. It is strange that no one has helped the Song family in their hour of need. However, the Song family is already in such dire straits. Why would someone still care about a mere Captain? The Song family has always attracted attention in the past few years. They have never made enemies in the official circle, but they have made many enemies in the literary circle. However, these enemies still care about their reputation. Could it be that there are people around them who take the initiative to curry favor with these literary heroes who don't care about worldly affairs? Otherwise, there is something wrong with this gust of cold wind. "
Song Keli stopped tapping his forehead and grabbed the string of copper bells. He said self-mockingly, "I won't think about it if I can't figure it out."
"I heard that the Princess almost blocked Young Master's way when he left the capital."
"Love is long and the hero is short. It is useless to think too much. I don't have the right to think about it. "
"But Young Master still needs to start a family."
"Of course. It is not bad to find a virtuous woman in Wuze County."
"How can this be!"
"Why not?"
"How can they be good enough for Young Master?!"
After saying this, the attendant's eyes turned red. He sobbed and said, "Young Master is the young phoenix of the Song family. He was supposed to be the leader of the scholars in the world."
Song Keli smiled gently and wiped the young man's tears.
— —
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
