Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

It was already dark and there was no shadow.

After letting Fu Jiu take the panicked Gu family to the second hall first, Chen Shao looked at the remaining robbers. The three middle-aged robbers who had been protecting Master Gu and Master Gu Er, after Li Tianliu's call, knew that the situation was hopeless, and wanted to escape in the chaos, but were killed by Fu Jiu and the Yulin Guards. Under the light of the small torches, these robbers in front of him were wearing similar clothes, and it was almost impossible to tell who was who.

After Chen Shao roughly estimated the number of people, he asked Li Tianliu: "How many people are here?"

Li Tianliu glanced at the robbers, "About 220 people."

Chen Shao: "The rest were killed?"

"That's about right." Li Tianliu said, "Those who took advantage of the chaos to escape and those who fought back desperately were killed by the Yulin Guards or the people surrounding the Gu family. The rest are... people who know how to get things done."

"What about the son who married the second manager of Changshun Goods Store of the Zhu family in Wujun?" Chen Shao asked, "was he caught or killed?"

Before Li Tianliu could answer, a man in his 50s strode out, lifted his shirt, knelt on one knee, and bowed, saying, "I am Wang Cong, and I am honored to meet Lord Chen and General Li."

Looking at the more than half of the robbers who were ready to attack since he stepped forward, Chen Shao asked with a smile, "Second Manager of Changshun Goods Store?"

Wang Cong bowed again: "It's just an empty reputation, not worthy of your attention."

"It's really not worthy of your attention." Chen Shao looked at him for a moment and flattered him, "Although I don't know how you became a robber, but I heard that with the goods you escorted, the bandits along the way had to give you face. Such a person, instead of going to the border to defend the country, he was relegated to being an accomplice to the Zhu and Gu families! Don't say it's me. Do you have the nerve to tell your children and grandchildren about this experience?"

Wang Cong's face was slightly ashamed, but he remained calm and answered: "My brothers are all following me wholeheartedly. As long as they can have enough food to eat, it doesn't matter if I lose face or lose face!"

The robbers who were ready to strike were immediately moved and called him "Big Brother".

As long as they can have enough food... the meaning was clearly expressed. After repeating it twice in silence, Chen Shao asked, "Are you surrendering voluntarily, or are you here to negotiate terms with me?"

Wang Cong's dim old eyes suddenly flashed with ambition: "My brothers and I obeyed General Li's call and never used a sword or a knife from beginning to end."

That means he surrendered voluntarily. Seeing his calm demeanor, Chen Shao motioned for him to stand up and asked again, "Do you want to join the Chen Family Army?"

"It's not me, it's me and all my brothers." Wang Cong said proudly, "It's not that I don't want to defend my country. Although I was born a bandit, I don't look down on other armies except the Chen family army and the general who assists the country. As long as Lord Chen is willing to fulfill his promise, I and all my brothers can swear to heaven that we will lead the troops on the battlefield!"

The robbers who were ready to attack took a step forward in unison as he spoke. Chen Shao glanced at them and asked, "Are those middle-aged men who were protecting Master Gu and Master Gu Er also yours?"

Wang Cong's eyes flashed with disdain. "No, they were brought back from Wujun by the Gu and Zhu families. All the robbers who were with them in Lianhu were also subdued by them. We are responsible for escorting the goods, and they are responsible for guarding the dock. They have always kept to themselves."

After a pause, he said disdainfully: "What they subdued were not robbers, but hooligans. They are useless!"

The group of people who were called ruffians were naturally indignant, but after taking a look at his "brothers", they had no choice but to stop.

Chen Shao saw all of this. Seeing Fu Jiu coming back, he asked, "Is Juxian Building no longer able to accommodate so many people?"

Fu Jiu glanced at all the robbers and nodded, "There's no room for them."

"If you trust me, my lord, you can arrange a few places for us to stay in the prefectural governor's mansion," Wang Cong offered. "My brothers and I can guard the prefectural governor's mansion together with the yamen runners!"

Chen Shao couldn't help but think when she heard this. The purpose of recruiting them was not only to transport food and replenish soldiers, but also to use them to deal with the robbers recruited by the Fan and Qi families. Since they had already surrendered, she naturally didn't need to ask their opinions to let them do this, but if they took on this responsibility without her order, it would be better. Wang Cong was a smart man, it depended on whether he could think of this step.

After asking him to take his brothers to wait aside, Chen Shao looked at the remaining "hooligans" and said, "I will definitely do what I promised, but I am not a person who likes to force things. If you are willing to stay and join the Chen Family Army, I will welcome it. If you don't want to, you can go home on your own. But I have to say it in advance. You have to behave yourself after you go home. If I find anyone who relapses into old ways, the end will be the same as those members of the Gu family who were beheaded today, no doubt about it!"

When they heard that they could go home, many people were tempted, but when they heard that they would be beheaded if they didn't behave, they were reluctant to move. People who can become hooligans and thugs are inevitably lazy and greedy, and no one can guarantee that they will change their temper after returning home.

Chen Shao waited for a while, and seeing that no one left, he called Wang Cong over again: "I'll leave them to you too. No matter what they did before, since they also want to defend their country, you shouldn't look at them differently."

Wang Cong agreed readily.

He was a smart man, so he knew that Chen Shao would not let them join the Chen Family Army for no reason. He loved his own brothers, and no matter what her purpose was, with this group of second-rate people in his hands, he could let them take the lead when he was in trouble.

Chen Shao did not expose his little trick. After asking Fu Jiu to take them to find an empty yard to stay, he turned and went to the second hall.

The people of the Gu family knelt in the room in silence, and no one spoke.

Chen Shao walked around them and stopped beside the table. He held the table with one hand, looked at everyone one by one, and slowly said, "It's getting late, so I'll make it short. Those who help to identify or arrest the murderers related to those gardens today can register with Miss Quan tomorrow. I have been busy recently and cannot spare time. I am too lazy to check whether there are any fish that have slipped through the net among you. Just give evidence to each other. Those who give true evidence will also be rewarded. What kind of reward? Miss Quan will give you the answer after the liquidation of the Gu family is completed. Fourth Master Gu, Fifth Master Gu, please take them with a few young masters to find a few inns to stay. Give their roster to Miss Quan before noon tomorrow."

Fourth Master Gu, Fifth Master Gu, Fifth Young Master Gu, Sixth Young Master Gu, and Seventh Young Master Gu quickly stood up and led hundreds of people from the Gu family to retreat silently.

After watching them walk away, Chen Shao also came out of the second hall. When he turned around and prepared to go back to Chengfeng Courtyard, he saw Wang Cong who came with Fu Jiu. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly: He is indeed a smart man.

"Master," Fu Jiu walked up quickly and pointed at Wang Cong, "He said he wants to see you for something."

Chen Shao looked at Wang Cong and asked knowingly, "I wonder what's the important matter, Mr. Wang?"

"I have a close personal relationship with Liu Zizhuang, the bandit leader recruited by the Fan and Qi families," Wang Cong said straight to the point, "As long as you allow him and his brothers to join the Chen army, I can persuade them to surrender to you."

"There's no rush for this matter," Chen Shao turned around and said as he walked towards Chengfeng Courtyard, "I still have a lot of things to ask you."

Wang Cong followed her.