Chapter 79: Meat to Eat, Wine to Drink (Combined)

But the village chief's biggest worry now is that those not selected will go report to the authorities; although they don't yet know what everyone is doing, paper can't always cover fire.

Even though Jiang Jinshi had told the village chief he was cooperating with the county magistrate, this anxious feeling just wouldn't go away.

Jiang Jinshi faced the crowd and said, "It's getting late today; tomorrow I'll bring some grain from the city so everyone can eat their fill before working."

Hearing they could eat their fill tomorrow, hope sparkled in everyone's eyes.

"What… should we do?" the village chief asked after a moment's hesitation, after all, this is his first time being a bandit, he lacks experience!

"First go up the mountain and cut some trees to separate the village; that will make our work or talks easier." Jiang Jinshi isn't in a rush to have the villagers rob the road; he plans to draft a unit from the stronghold to train the crowd.

The best choice is definitely Luo Feng; the slogan shouted daily in the stronghold is his creation, which helps boost troop cohesion.

"Cutting trees? Wouldn't that…?" the village chief hesitated a bit.

Jiang Jinshi also understands; the village chief is old, so he considers more things, but his coordination ability is fine.

"No problem, just go ahead and cut! I plan to split the village into north and south, moving all villagers from the south side over here; as for housing, everyone will help put it up."

The village chief nodded; building simple thatch huts would go quickly, and with so many people working, it wouldn't take more than a few days to finish.

Once the village is divided according to his idea, those trained by Luo Feng can go rob the road.

He aims to finish these within a week, after all there are over a hundred mouths to feed, so the food pressure is not small.

With a rough plan, the village chief felt reassured, but then something suddenly occurred to him.

"Xiao Shi, does your family know about this?"

Jiang Jinshi thought for a moment; although he had told Xiao Lizi he was going to rob, she seemed not to believe him at all, so he shook his head.

"They don't know."

The village chief nodded, thinking that since Xiao Shi hadn't told his family, he should remind the crowd not to leak it.

Of course Jiang Jinshi thought that after tomorrow, his family would surely find out, so he needn't waste more words.

Although it's late now, he still has to rush back to the stronghold overnight to arrange the upcoming affairs.

Thus Jiang Jinshi handed over the remaining stalls here to the village chief, and he and Xiao Hu hurried back to the stronghold overnight.

He had wanted to go home for a meal, but his mother was probably already asleep, so he decided not to disturb them.

The next morning, Jiang Jinshi summoned Luo Feng and told him his idea.

Luo Feng naturally wouldn't refuse; he picked a temporary squad leader from his own team, then led twenty people and Jiang Jinshiyi down the mountain.

Arriving in the city, Jiang Jinshi didn't rush to buy grain; he planned to first visit Liu County Magistrate to mooch off him, and if he could avoid spending his own money, all the better.

Hearing the guard report Jiang Jinshi's arrival, Liu County Magistrate hurriedly got out of bed.

"Hahaha! Brother Jiang, what brings you here at this time?"

Jiang Jinshi sat in the hall; before seeing anyone, he heard Liu County Magistrate's laughter.

"Brother Liu, I've run into a problem and came specially to chat with you."

Liu County Magistrate appeared at the door, still somewhat puzzled, and asked: "What problem?"

Jiang Jinshi sighed: "It's not that I didn't notice; the stronghold has gained many more hands, I came to tell you, Brother Liu."

"Fine, have you had breakfast?" Liu County Magistrate obviously didn't take this to heart.

"Not yet! I rushed over as soon as I got up this morning." Jiang Jinshi shook his head.

Liu County Magistrate immediately called his servants to make arrangements, then turned to Jiang Jinshi and said: "It'll be ready soon! Let's chat first.

Having more hands isn't a good thing? What's there to talk about?"

"Exactly! I've taken Da Jiang Village into the stronghold; I'm here to let you know, Brother Liu, we might need to cut some firewood!" Jiang Jinshi showed an embarrassed expression.

"Da Jiang Village? Eh, nothing to say about it—just cut it. I'll tell the folks below later." Liu County Magistrate waved his hand generously.

Jiang Jinshi continued: "Also, regarding what I mentioned to you last time, Brother Liu, I plan to act in these few days."

Upon hearing the matter, Liu County Magistrate stopped laughing: "Brother Jiang, what do you plan to do?"

"Right now there are many refugees at Jiangcheng's gate, Brother Liu surely knows that!" Jiang Jinshi hinted, not spelling it out.

"I know! I still have to take some grain each day to cook porridge, otherwise I can't answer to my superiors." Liu County Magistrate spoke while pointing his index finger upward.

"I intend to make something of the refugees! This will also need your cooperation, Brother Liu."

"How should I cooperate with you?"

"Open the city gate!" Jiang Jinshi's eyes flashed with a glint of sharpness, the corners of his mouth lifting in a confident smile, "When refugees pour into the city, some burning, killing, looting is inevitable, and the Tang family's luck is bad—all their wealth in Jiangcheng has been swept clean; Brother Liu, what do you think?"

Obviously Liu County Magistrate didn't think this was a good idea, anxiously saying: "Brother Jiang, opening the city gate is absolutely out of the question! If the prefect finds out, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my head!"

"Brother Liu, I know you're anxious, but don't rush—listen to me finish; I never said you should actively open the gate!

The refugees spontaneously organize to attack the city at night; as county magistrate, you promptly organize a strong counterattack, personally leading people to drive out all the refugees, a few affected suffer losses, but you keep most of the populace safe. Brother Liu, how would reporting it like this be?"

Liu County Magistrate frowned, seemingly considering the feasibility of that.

Jiang Jinshi pressed on: "Brother Liu, have you reported on the refugee situation?"

"Of course, I don't want to pay out of my own pocket, but there's been no movement from above!" Speaking of this, Liu County Magistrate's head ached; if he didn't act, he feared being held accountable, yet spending his own money to feed those refugees—he was utterly unwilling.

If it weren't truly feared that the refugees would storm the city, the porridge stall at the gate that Liu County Magistrate runs wouldn't even be set up; even if the porridge were made extra thin, it would still require spending grain to cook.

Jiang Jinshi clapped his hands: "That's settled then—you've reported it but got no corresponding solution; as Jiangcheng's county magistrate you've already held out a long time, and this happening isn't what you wanted. Moreover, if this draws the prefect's attention, there might be relief silver or grain to be had! By then, Brother Liu, your pockets would be nicely bulging."

After hearing Jiang Jinshi's words, Liu County Magistrate felt as if a blockage had cleared, his whole body excitedly rising to his feet.

"Exactly! How could I not have thought of such a great idea! Wonderful! Truly wonderful!"

"This brings multiple gains; no matter what, Brother Liu, you'll definitely not lose out!" Jiang Jinshi remained calm, everything firmly under his control.

"Good! Then Brother Jiang, tell me how I should cooperate with you!" Since such a fine idea existed, Liu County Magistrate simply joined Jiang Jinshi in pulling off a score.

"It's simple: when the time comes, Brother Liu, just assign two people to pretend to guard the gate; the rest I'll handle. You don't need to be heavily involved, to avoid giving anyone a handle." Jiang Jinshi showed great consideration, appearing wholly for the other's benefit.

Liu County Magistrate burst into laughter upon hearing this; the last time Jiang Jinshi saved him, and now he's still thinking of him—looks like he's truly going to make it big!

"This is simple; when the time comes, Liu Ge, you just arrange two people to pretend to guard the city gate, and leave the rest to me. You don't need to be overly involved, to avoid giving anyone a handle." Jiang Jinshi appeared very considerate, seeming wholly concerned for the other party.

County Magistrate Liu, hearing this, burst into laughter; last time Jiang Jinshi saved him, and now he's still so thoughtful—looks like I'm really going to make it big!

Oh right! Brother Liu, remember to greet your subordinates; no matter what others say, don't send out troops, to avoid conflict between our men and unnecessary casualties, which is bad for everyone." Jiang Jinshi seemed to suddenly recall something, and continued speaking to County Magistrate Liu.

In a small city like Jiangcheng, the city garrison numbers no more than two hundred, and they all obey the County Magistrate's orders; only larger cities have a stationed commander, separating civil and military affairs.

'When will you make your move? I can arrange things on my end.' County Magistrate Liu had no doubt about Jiang Jinshi's words.

'I'll confirm the exact time on my end and then let you know, Brother Liu.' Jiang Jinshi replied with a smile, but that smile didn't reach his eyes.

'Alright, come on, let's eat!' Just then a servant brought breakfast, and County Magistrate Liu greeted Jiang Jinshiyi to start eating.

'By the way, Brother Liu, could you give me some more grain? I'll have my men eat their fill during this period so they're ready to act when the time comes.' Jiang Jinshi picked up his chopsticks and said offhandedly.

'Fine, I'll let Old Wu know later.'

'What about Old Huo?' Jiang Jinshi wondered.

'He's not capable enough; I'll have him go study some more.'

Upon hearing that, Jiang Jinshi also understood the reason, so he stopped asking further and only said he would have the grain delivered to Da Jiang Cun.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, Jiang Jinshi laughed as he left the County Magistrate's residence, also taking a considerable amount of grain, saving himself a large expense.

Jiang Jinshi rode on his horse, constantly recalling the details of various aspects; if this plan succeeded, Yangguangzhai could leap to become the strongest stronghold in the surrounding area.

From the start, he never intended to work for County Magistrate Liu; he was merely using the situation to his advantage, like borrowing a hen to lay eggs.

Who would have thought this County Magistrate Liu would trust him so much, giving him an opportunity to grow, and now even wants to open the city gates wide to welcome him in.

Such a good opportunity, he naturally couldn't let it pass; he was just waiting for good news from Wang Hou's side.

Wang Hou had been in the city with his followers for some time; his main task was to figure out the locations of the granaries and treasuries of all factions.

For example, the Tang family's main base is outside the city, but regardless of whether it's a gambling house or a brothel, their daily earnings certainly couldn't all be sent out of the city, so generally speaking, they come to Jiangcheng once a month to settle their silver.

Then there must be someone they trust handling this; figuring out exactly where these things are might be difficult, but if you just want to know who's in charge, that's much easier!

Afterwards, Jiang Jinshi went to the market intending to buy a donkey cart or a horse carriage; even if the price were a bit higher, it didn't matter—he now absolutely needed a means to transport goods, otherwise, after all the trouble to sneak into the city and loot once, watching all that grain pile up and being unable to move it would be a sin.

As it turned out, the huge market had only six donkeys for sale, and even one of them was sick—let alone working, to leave the city you'd have to carry it on your back.

Just as Jiang Jinshi was secretly pondering a solution, he happened to meet the old man who pulled the donkey cart.

'Youngster, are you looking to buy a donkey cart?' the old man looked at Jiang Jinshi and couldn't help but laugh.

'Yes, sir! It's been a while since I've seen you.' Jiang Jinshi, infected by the old man's smile, also began to laugh.

'Gee! Isn't it because my child at home is sick? That's why I haven't been working these days. How many donkey carts do you want to buy? I can help you inquire, and by the way, you might as well buy mine too.'

'You're selling your donkey cart, sir?' Jiang Jinshi was somewhat surprised; for the old man, that should be his livelihood—he wouldn't sell it unless absolutely necessary.

'My child needs medicine, so I might as well sell it!' the old man continued laughing, showing no sign of disappointment.

Such a positive attitude actually moved Jiang Jinshi: 'Alright, then sir, please ask around for me—the more the better, and I'll buy yours as well.'

'Good! I'll still be here tomorrow; I'll give you an answer whether it works out or not.'

In the end, Jiang Jinshi bought six donkeys; since the old man's donkey came with a flatbed cart, he gave an extra tael of silver and also bought a flatbed cart for each donkey.

These donkey carts were then taken by Luo Feng to Da Jiang Cun, where he selected a few people to train with them for future use.

Thinking about this, Jiang Jinshi decided to find time to meet with Wang Hou; he couldn't have everything ready on his end while Wang Hou's side remained inactive.

When Jiang Jinshi led the people and the grain contributed by County Magistrate Liu to the entrance of Da Jiang Cun, the crowd already waiting there were stunned.

Last night after returning home, nearly everyone discussed it with their families; although family members initially voiced some opposition, reality forced them to relent, so they could only steel themselves and follow Jiang Jinshiyi down the dark path to the end.

One could say that, everyone's hearts were filled with worry! What if Jiang Jinshi couldn't support so many people—what would they do? By then, they might lose their lives without even having eaten their fill.

Holding such anxious feelings, everyone had been waiting at the village entrance since early morning, all the way until now.

One could say that the villagers' hanging hearts finally settled; County Magistrate Liu was not stingy this time, giving Jiang Jinshi fifty dan of grain in one go—enough for Da Jiang Cun to eat for a while.

'Village head, from now on you'll manage these; I have just one request: eat your fill but don't waste.' Jiang Jinshi said to the village head.

Without waiting for the village head's reply, the people nearby hurriedly said: 'Damn it, this is such precious grain—who would dare waste it? Spare him, Xiao Shi, and we won't spare him either.'

'That's right, that's right! Wasting grain is shameful!'

The village head gazed at the sacks of grain, a tear glinting in his eye while he smiled: 'Since you've entrusted this to me, Xiao Shi, I'll surely see it through!'

Afterwards, Jiang Jinshi formally introduced Luo Feng to everyone; from then on, Luo Feng would be the person in charge of this side of Da Jiang Cun, responsible for arranging training and banditry, among other matters.

Luo Feng stepped forward and addressed the villagers: 'I know you're all friends and relatives of the heads of households, but our stronghold doesn't care about that; I only need you to obey my management—those who don't will have their families go hungry! Those who perform outstandingly will get meat to eat and wine to drink.'