Chapter 491: Seeking Wealth, a Great Benefactor

Huh? Which side are we joining?

Bai Li·Dan Ding·Xian Yu·Jing gestured to retreat backward, going to a distant place to first observe.

No rush.

The refugees outside have grown desperate from hunger and turned into outlaws; inside isn't necessarily a benevolent household either. Which side should we join? Wei Shen was very proactive.

Da Wang found a place behind someone to dismount, pulled out dry rations and started chewing. 'First take a bite of food to fill the stomach, sigh— one bite in the mouth doesn't (￣～￣) chew and just falls apart, it's choking and awful to eat. Eating this stuff every day, even I don't want to live anymore～'

Wei Ke: …… Not like that.

Wei Shen went and squatted beside Da Wang, saying, 'We have to inform you, this kind of hard biscuit that crumbles at a bite we'll soon have none left to eat. Do you still have any silver… or banknotes on you?'

Da Wang patted himself down, pulled out a tael or so of scattered silver from his small side pouch, saying, 'That's all there is.'

The silver storehouse does have some.

As for food, Da Wang's storehouse isn't lacking either.

But outside really there's none left.

That satchel is only that big; for such a long journey, relying solely on cheating would be too difficult, after all the satchel isn't a bottomless pit— even if Wei Shen is bold, Wei Ke beside him is meticulous.

Wei Shen sighed, 'Before, one tael could buy a pile of biscuits; now it's practically nothing.'

Da Wang painfully chewed the dry rations, saying despairingly, 'That's why we need to pull off a big job!'

Wei Shen's eyes lit up at hearing that, 'We robbed the Zhou clan?' This is good, this is good! I've long disliked those great clans that only look out for themselves.

Da Wang spoke righteously, 'Huh? You lack awareness— how can that be called robbery?'

We helped them resolve the refugees' blockade; the Zhou clan pays silver, everyone trades fairly, no deception to young or old. I, the king, need one million taels!

Cough cough cough…— Wei Shen nearly choked on the biscuit that crumbled like sand in his mouth!

Wei Shen coughed while giving Da Wang a thumbs-up, saying, 'This isn't robbery— what is it then?'

The Zhou clan's fort looks larger than the Tao clan's fort in Mi Yang; the Zhou clan is also a major clan in Li Qu, so giving us one million taels is certainly doable. But if they let the refugees storm in, it wouldn't just be a matter of one million— the outcome could be loss of both persons and wealth.

Isn't the whole family's life worth less than one million taels?

In this day and age, placing too much importance on wealth, an external thing, leads to no good outcome; isn't staying alive what matters?

Wei Ke, since dismounting, has been observing the fort with a telescope there; hearing this, he said, 'This fort is indeed better than the Tao family's. There should be an inner walled courtyard behind the main gate, arrow slits on both sides, and archers on the watchtower above. Don't think the refugees are numerous— taking this fort is still not easy.'

Look at how many arrows they shoot— even if the Zhou clan has reserves, they lack iron ore, so the arrows they can produce are limited.

That's right, they can't sustain it for long.

Da Wang finished choking on the biscuit, stood up, patted his hands, opened his satchel and pulled out his Sun-shooting Bow; fortunately he had brought the Sun-shooting Bow and a straight sword when he disembarked, so he can now openly use them.

'The refugees can't take the fort, but we can!' The Sun-shooting Bow can blast open city gates; using it to clear a path to attack a fort is simply overkill. To put it bluntly, such forts only defend against small-scale refugees and petty thieves, being just a bit safer than the ancestral homes inside Li Qu city. If a strong enemy came, they couldn't sustain a prolonged fight and would have no recourse— otherwise the Tao clan wouldn't have thought of fleeing to the Southern Frontier.

Wei Ke: ……

Wei Shen laughed heartily; Da Wang is the most dangerous— he wants to blackmail and loot.

Da Wang didn't mind at all, enjoying the benefits of the great clans for centuries: 'The Li Qu government exists in name only; hiding in the fort this long has already been quite peaceful for them. Sooner or later this day would come, and it just so happens that I, the king, am their good fortune.' After all, Da Wang only seeks wealth.

Inside the fort, the women and children had already been hidden in the secret chamber, while the men came out ready to fight to the death— suddenly a tremendous boom rang out, and the top of the watchtower was blown off!

Those standing in the courtyard, after reacting, all looked toward the head of the household; the Zhou family head is in his forties but now looks aged by more than ten years.

They hadn't yet worked out a useful plan when the guards delivered a blinding arrow.

The arrowhead is a showy, wealthy gold color, and the shaft even has engravings? I can't imagine who would make a launched weapon so flashy. But that doesn't matter now; what matters is that a sachet is tied to the arrow's fletching!

The Zhou family head received it; the sachet turned out to be fine pale green silk, embroidered with a strange bear's head?

These days, even smooth silk is scarce in the Great Jin, let alone this rare pale green color— it's definitely not something those outside refugees could possess.

Opening the sachet, inside was a bundled sheet of snow‑white paper— also not something refugees would have.

May your letter bring blessings.

Help lift today's refugee siege— one million taels of silver.

Send off the refugees— five hundred dou of rice.

Disagree— join the refugee ranks.

Agree— find a piece of white cloth and wave it ten times on the watchtower.

(The arrow is still needed; we'll go get it later.)

—— a unit of righteous courage cavalry from Youzhou.

Zhou family head: ……

I originally recognized all the characters, but after reading I still feel uncertain……