Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 446: That’s Too Much!
When Zhang Shou heard such a scream that was obviously filled with fear, his first reaction was that it was too exaggerated, how could it happen so quickly? His second reaction was that it was too much to leave the culprit here in such a mysterious way. People might think that he had countless top masters around him, and the rumors would definitely be exaggerated.
But just as he saw Master Ma San lifted up the hem of his robe and rushed over to check what was going on, he heard a lazy voice in his ear: "Since the victim, the criminal, and the suspect of attempted murder are all going to be sent to the Wanping County Court, then we should also take Wang Si, who is accused of being the mastermind, with us, so as to avoid having to make another trip back!"
Zhang Shou knew who it was without even turning around. He was so embarrassed that he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Master Hua Qi, you're too quick, aren't you? But, are you going too far?"
Hua Qi, dressed in ordinary clothes, looked particularly innocent: "Didn't I ask Ah Liu to inform you, the birthday boy?"
Zhang Shou was immediately furious at the word "notify" which was so light-hearted. "Ah Liu only said that you would catch this guy who would be in trouble if he escaped, but he didn't say that you would catch him in this way! Do you believe that someone in the capital will say with certainty tomorrow that I must have a lot of top masters at home who appear and disappear mysteriously, and whoever offends me will suffer!"
"What's wrong with that?" Hua Qi said while yawning, "In a place like the capital, what we fear is having ambitions but no means, and having means but no manpower. You have everything, so those who dare to mess with you in the future will have to think twice. If I can scare them so that no one dares to plot against you in the future, then isn't this job I've done worth it? This way, I'll be less busy in the future."
Zhang Shou felt that Hua Qi's statement of being less busy in the future was a little wrong - it seemed that it did not only mean being less busy during the Imperial Chef Selection Competition. Therefore, he raised his eyebrows and immediately asked, "What do you mean by being less busy in the future? This event will only last for ten days or half a month. If you kill a chicken to scare the monkey today, won't you and your people have some free time in the future?"
"Heh." Hua Qi smiled and said nonchalantly, "I was placed in the Zhaoguogong Mansion to protect Miss Yingying before, but since Miss Yingying was going to marry you, why should I stay in the Zhaoguogong Mansion at that time? Would I let Zhaoguogong take care of me in my old age? I will rely on you to support me in the future, so if I work harder now, won't I be less busy in the future?"
You're actually going to come to my house with Zhu Ying as a dowry? Ahem, this doesn't seem to count as a dowry ... but the meaning is the same!
Zhang Shou was feeling overwhelmed, and was urgently assessing the series of problems that this madman, as Ah Liu called him, would bring to his home. There was no doubt that from the perspective of security, Zhang Garden, which was originally under-trained, had a loose security level, and most of the time relied on Ah Liu to support the interior and exterior, was undoubtedly a stabilizing force.
However, from the perspective of stability, can he control Hua Qi? If he can't control him, if he acts on his own like today, it will be a big problem! Therefore, in just a moment, he immediately responded: "People like you, Mr. Hua Qi, are sought after everywhere, but I'm afraid my small temple can't accommodate a great Bodhisattva like you."
Seeing that Master Ma San and several soldiers were surrounding the unconscious Master Wang Si and having an urgent conversation with them, and that Ah Liu had already brought his men over after glancing in his direction, Hua Qi scratched his head and then laughed out loud.
"You think it's hard to keep someone like me at home who doesn't listen to orders, right?"
Zhang Shou said without hesitation: "That's right, I am different from Duke Zhao. He has been through wind and rain and has fought on the battlefield. He has a lot of elite soldiers and generals in his mansion. It doesn't matter if you are added. I just keep a guest. But I am different. The expenditure of money and food is a small matter. I would feel insecure if I had someone whose whereabouts are unpredictable, whose temperament is unpredictable, and who acts as he pleases."
When he was sent to the mansion of Duke Zhao, Hua Qi saw that Duke Zhao Zhu Jing had a frown on his face, but he had to agree reluctantly. Now Zhang Shou is far inferior to Zhu Jing in terms of power, status and age, but he actually refused him outright. He just felt very surprised.
So he simply asked directly: "Do you want to refuse this matter to the emperor?"
"I'm not that reckless!"
Zhang Shou had turned around and was looking directly at the weird guy in front of him who did what he wanted. Although it was Hua Qi who passed on a certain style of behavior to Ah Liu, he still felt that Ah Liu was at least controllable, while the guy in front of him was uncontrollable. Therefore, he looked into the other person's eyes and gave a plan that had formed in his mind in an instant.
"Since you used to just follow orders and not announcements, I don't think I can give you orders in the future, and I certainly don't want to give you orders. So, I plan to hire you as an instructor, and you help me train the people in my family. You know, my family now has people with different backgrounds and personalities, either collected by Ah Liu from the market, or from Rongshui Village. They are completely different people."
"A Liu can completely control the people in the countryside, but he can only summon the people in the market with his fists or other means. I don't want the people in the market to bring their bad habits home, so I hope there is a strong person to help me control them. I think it will be easy for you, Mr. Hua Qi. Moreover, I think you can also make them change their old habits."
"I don't need these people in my family to go to the battlefield, fight with swords and guns, and risk their lives, but I need them to be more professional in defending our home, at least to defend those blind spots that are easy to be invaded. Of course, this can't be done overnight, so I hope you can set up some things in places they can't defend, so that at least they can detect intrusions as soon as possible."
Hua Qi once again looked at Zhang Shou thoughtfully, then grinned and said, "Mr. Shou, you are a straightforward person. Deal!"
Zhang Shou didn't expect that Hua Qi praised him for being straightforward, but in fact he was even more straightforward. This time he was the one who was stunned.
Wasn't it that this madman had been planning to come here to slack off for a long time, and now that he said this, it was exactly what he wanted, right?
But no matter what, he was already very satisfied to be able to make such a person, who could not be refused but was not so easy to use, shine in this way. As for the wishful thinking of taking such a person as a confidant and using him as if he were an arm, he would never have it.
A person like Hua Qi may not be subdued even if he has enough power and status. Does he expect to make people bow down to him just by showing off his domineering aura?
Just when Zhang Shou and Hua Qi had reached an agreement, the distraught Ma Sanye had already concluded that the guy lying on the ground who didn't know whether to live or die was really Wang Siye. He watched Zhao Tieniu and his gang from the Iron Clothes Gang lift him up and put him on a cart like a broken sack, and then threw the prisoners who were tied up like dumplings and the killer who was only half dead, and he felt very complicated.
He looked at the furious victims again and saw that at this moment, instead of feeling relieved that their hatred had been avenged, each of them looked a little confused. He suddenly felt that he understood them very well.
They always thought they would never find their relatives, never find their enemies, and never get revenge. He always thought that this South City would be his territory, and no one could touch him, just like a local tyrant like Mr. Wang Si could always stay there. But now it seems...
It's all bullshit!
No one cared about the victim's grievances before, and he lived comfortably before, because the powerful never looked at them! Now it's just a bunch of idiots who accidentally offended Zhang Shou, and this iron plate is kicked... Mr. Wang Si had just casually sent someone to find him, hoping to quietly settle the matter, but now Mr. Wang Si himself is about to be dragged to the government office like a dead dog!
As he thought and walked, the once mighty Nancheng Bingmasi walked with one foot high and one foot low, and from time to time he raised his sleeves to wipe his sweat. No one knew where he got so much sweat when the weather had already turned cool as the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching.
When Master Ma San came to Zhang Shou, he managed to force a smile: "Dr. Zhang, this matter..."
"There's no need to talk about what happened this time." Zhang Shou interrupted Master Ma San with a half-smile, and said lightly, "In the final analysis, it was just that some blind people bumped into me, and I can't stand being bullied. Since there happened to be a brave civilian who took action to capture the person, I just took care of it."
No one would believe that you were just intervening...When that ferocious-looking young man next to you showed up just now, didn't the "righteous" Iron Clothes Gang leader Zhao Tieniu run up to him and greet him?
Ma Sanye cursed inwardly, but he could do nothing. Because he knew that even if Zhang Shou was originally dissatisfied with the current situation of the outer city, if those guys hadn't just planned to take advantage of him, he might have to wait for a while to find a suitable opportunity. At this moment, he humbly lowered his head: "In the final analysis, it was all the fault of this humble official and others..."
This time, Zhang Shou did not interrupt Ma Sanye, but let him babble on and on about apologizing. Although he thought that the South City Army should be cleaned up and replaced, there was no need to let it out, otherwise, there was no guarantee that the other party would be desperate and do something desperate.
Therefore, only after Mr. Ma San had said a lot of good things did he say calmly: "Let bygones be bygones. Since the culprit has been caught, we just have to wait for the Wanping County Court to come up with a result."
"Yes, yes, Dr. Zhang is really tolerant and generous..." Master Ma San himself didn't believe that Zhang Shou could really be tolerant and generous. At least he knew that when he encountered such a thing, he would rather kill the wrong person than let him go, and he would definitely eradicate the evil.
He just wanted to be more humble and not be dealt with immediately like the unfortunate Mr. Wang Si. At least he could go back and quickly transfer the wealth he had accumulated over the years and leave a portion of the family property for his wife and children.
Finally, he was relieved that Zhang Shou remained calm and didn't say a word until he finally said goodbye. He felt relieved. For a small person like him - this was also a rare time for him to have self-awareness and think that he was a small person - it was common sense to pay the bill in front of others when they got angry, and there was no reason to leave it for later.
As he left, Hua Qi, who had just been standing behind Zhang Shou in a proper manner, as if he was just a follower, finally spoke up, "The South City Military Department is rotten to the core. The emperor will definitely plan to replace them. Do you have anyone to recommend, sir?"
Not noticing that Hua Qi's way of addressing him had suddenly changed, Zhang Shou chuckled and asked unhappily, "I've only been in the capital for less than a year, and I've even stayed in Cangzhou for a few months. Do you think I have anyone you can recommend?"
"I thought you were going to recommend a few more of your own students, like the big guy from Zhang's family in Xiangyang."
It was only then that Zhang Shou realized that Hua Qi was addressing him, but he had been called son-in-law so many times that he had become so thick-skinned that he didn't care anymore. On the contrary, Hua Qi's words were really meaningful, and he was completely unsure whether this was his own intention or the emperor's.
After all, Ah Liu repeatedly called Hua Qi a lunatic, which made him subconsciously feel that this guy's words should not be taken seriously.
Therefore, without giving it too much thought, he said disapprovingly: "Although Zhang Dakui is now the head of the dormitory and his performance is acceptable, he has only just made some progress. Even if he is the son of a noble family, it would be a case of forcing the growth of seedlings if he rashly enters the South City Military Department to serve. Of course, if the emperor intends to select the sons of noble families to train in the department and then pair them with a strict boss like Wang Dayin..."
"I think if we can train the new with the old, we might be able to produce a group of useful people."
What Zhang Shou never expected was that Hua Qi asked him a question , "Sir, what do you think about Master Zhu, your future brother-in-law, being the boss?"
Oh...gosh! It turns out that the trap that Hua Qi had set up long ago is actually waiting here! This guy is really too much!
Zhang Shou was very glad that he had developed the ability to keep his face calm even when he was complaining in his heart. Although he was cursing in his heart, he was still able to look at Hua Qi calmly, and even his voice did not change much: "Master Hua Qi, do you think this is appropriate? You know, Master Zhu has made great contributions in Cangzhou, and I remember that he is already a fourth-rank official, right?"
Being the prefect of Cangzhou could be considered a transition from military to civil service, which barely does not disgrace the future Duke of Zhao. But if he were to be the commander of the troops of the Nancheng Military Department... that is only the sixth rank, and anyone would think it is a demotion, right?
It's impossible to transfer Zhu Tingfang to the South City Military Command, a place that obviously has a lot of money but no future, just because Zhu Tingfang is so powerful and can set an example for the children of nobles and discipline them at the same time? He has already cheated Zhu Tingfang once, and he doesn't want to cheat him a second time!
Hua Qi did not react much to Zhang Shou's question, but nodded in agreement: "That's true. The emperor also said that the South City Military Department is too low-ranking and can't control people. In the long run, the person in office will not go to the trouble to rectify public security. What's more, compared with the East, West and North City Military Departments in the inner city, the South City Military Department governs the entire outer city, which is actually more important."
"I will tell the emperor later that it was you who suggested that the commander of the South City Military Department be promoted to the fourth rank."
