"Master Marquis, there are 130 households on the mountain, with a total of 507 people. We are here to arrest them all."
"The houses on the mountain have been sealed up, and I have come to return to my humble duty."
"Okay, good job. Let's go and have a rest first."
"promise."
Like the hundreds of people who were caught before, the old, young, women and children who were left behind on the mountain were all taken to the foot of the mountain, waiting for Zheng Xiong's trial.
Looking at the people in front of him, Zheng Xiong didn't know how to deal with it for a while.
If it was a simple robbery, it would be okay. Zheng Xiong had a hundred ways to deal with this kind of talent who dominated the mountain.
These people today are said to be gangsters, but in fact they are just a group of farmers with their families.
It's not that heinous, but it's still quite bad in nature.
Their results also depend entirely on the art of language.
"Who's the leader?"
"Cao Da, a grassroots man, has met your Excellency."
"Um~Cai Da, right? Where is the toll that you collected from my brother, and where are the items that he brought here?"
"The money hasn't been spent yet. It was just taken over by Cai Er to buy grain. Now it's in Cai Er's hands."
"Everything else we brought was used by us and we gave some to each family."
"That's it! I won't embarrass you. The toll charges are unreasonable and illegal. You have to refund the money."
"How about converting other things into money and returning them to me, I won't pursue them."
"Thank you for not killing me. I will refund the money. I will refund it now."
The matter was just that, once it was said, Zheng Xiong had no intention of killing them all.
"Boss, do you know how much these things you brought here are worth?"
Zheng Hu did know that as the eldest son in the family, he gradually began to accept the trivial matters and industry in the family.
Zheng Hu knew very well what he brought to Zheng Xiong and gave the price without hesitation.
"Twenty guan. At that time, I thought the journey was far away and it would be inconvenient to carry too many things, so I bought 20 guan of things to take on the road."
"Oh, Cai Datou, you must have heard it. There are a total of one hundred and twenty strings. If you take them out, I won't pursue any further investigation."
Until then, Cai Da finally clarified the relationship.
This person's eldest brother was the one who was taken advantage of last time, and this person's purpose for coming here this time is also very clear, and he came for him.
Let's just say, there are so many gangsters in Cao County, they found their heads so accurately, and they brought so many people with them.
Ordinary people don't have such energy. Even if they pay tolls, they will be given for free. It's only these people who can't afford to offend them and let themselves encounter this unfortunate thing.
"My lord, Mr. Marquis, can you give me a little less? We didn't know that the things this elder brother brought were so valuable, so we'll share them all."
"The income on this mountain is also small, and the tolls collected on weekdays are not much. These incomes are only enough for us to exchange for some food~"
"That means no?"
Before Cai Da could finish speaking, Zheng Xiong interrupted Cai Da and asked directly.
"I won't say much. I'll give you two options. One is to rob someone on the road and seize the mountain to become the king."
"One is the crime of occupying land, renovating it privately for personal gain, and illegally amassing money."
"You will be decapitated for the former, but I can spare you the latter."
"You can choose between these two!"
It seems to be a choice between two, but in fact there is no choice at all.
Cai Da could only reply resignedly.
"The younger one chooses the latter."
"Isn't it over now? Why bother talking so much? Pay the money and let him go."
"We have to scrape together the money. I hope the Marquis can release some people and go back to get the money."
"No, you can spend the money to buy food. Is it so difficult to get twenty guan?"
"My lord, I don't know, but apart from the things that this eldest brother brought, he didn't use any of his money to meet unexpected needs."
"It's good that so many people here can maintain their daily necessities. They really haven't saved any money, so every household has to scrape it together from their fingers before they can hand it over to the Marquis."
"Okay, you go and join in!"
"Yes Yes."
Each household arranged for people to re-walk the mountain trails to collect money.
Zheng Xiong was also a little bored for a while.
All we can do is sit back and wait.
As for these people, Zheng Xiong has no interest in messing with them.
In the final analysis, it is all caused by poverty. As long as the Yellow River does not change its course, and as long as one day the people cannot afford to eat, these situations will continue to happen.
Didn’t I say that there is only one disease in this world, and that is the disease of poverty? This disease cannot be cured.
Zheng Xiong is not a saint. He just needs to take care of his own affairs. He can't take care of others and doesn't want to take care of them.
After waiting for a long time, Cai Da finally dragged his tired body down the mountain slowly.
At this moment, he seemed to be hunched over a lot.
After seeing Cai Da hand over the money to Zheng Xiong.
The men looked defeated, some women even sobbed quietly, and only some children looked on innocently.
This scene made Zheng Xiong feel a little embarrassed, making him look like a villain.
Is it my fault? I just got my money back. To be honest, the money is not enough to consume my army for a day.
It's just that the development of things was unexpected.
I thought they were a group of gangsters. Not to mention extremely vicious, they were not good people either.
Even if it is immortal, you still have to take care of it.
There is nothing wrong with the current group of people. They are just trying to make a living. The toll they charge is just unreasonable and belongs to Zheng Xiong.
It doesn't matter that they are ordinary people. Apart from big businessmen and officials, the only people who can collect tolls these days are gangsters.
How to define it all depends on the person, that is, Zheng Xiong.
Having become a villain for no reason, Zheng Xiong had no choice but to ask.
"What's wrong? I didn't eat anyone, I just took what I should take. What expressions are you looking at?"
"What the Marquis said is that we are not prepared for the winter. I am afraid that this winter will be sad and sad, and it disturbs the Marquis's interest. Please don't blame me."
"You can't blame me for not being ready. I'm already very talkative. If you don't believe me, try someone else. If it weren't for the fact that you are all old, weak, women and children, I would have handed you over to the Yamen of Cao County long ago. Contented."
"Yes, yes, Lord Marquis is open to the public. I will be very grateful to you. Don't be surprised, Lord Marquis."
That being said, the cries of these women and children really made Zheng Xiong upset. He was a bit annoyed that he was a bad guy, so he was relieved.
"Did you build this road?"
Although he didn't understand why Zheng Xiong asked, there was nothing to hide anyway, Cai Da replied honestly.
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
"In that case, I will do you a favor. It is not easy for you to live in the mountains, and you have built such a road."
"Let's do this. When I pass by Cao County, I will go to the Cao County magistrate to discuss it and see if the road you built can be legalized and recognized by the government. In the future, you can also charge fees openly and no one will care about you."
"Tell them later to get you some food and grass to support you through the winter. You should be satisfied now!"
The unexpected surprise came a bit suddenly, and Cai Da was still in disbelief.
What I was doing originally was just walking on the edge of the law, but now with Zheng Xiong's words and promises, I seem to have some hope for the future.
(End of chapter)
