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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

nThe County Chief thought it through and actually agreed to it. He was just a County Chief, so how could he maintain enough force to catch the bandits?

nIt was difficult enough to pay the guards for the County Chief’s place.

nHe sighed and said in shame, “You don’t know my situation. Even though I have the same title as you, there is no comparison between you and I. I don’t actually have solid power in my hands, nor do I have any grain or military force. I’m really incapable of suppressing the bandits in my jurisdiction, not to mention help my citizens have a safe and peaceful place to live in. I have all the intentions, but none of the power. I’m literally out of solutions for these bandits. If I had the force and the grain, I wouldn’t watch the bandits expand and harass my own citizens.”

nHe had the ambition to be a good County Chief and contribute to the welfare of his people, but unfortunately, Hejian County was a place with too many people in high positions. The so-called County Chief, who didn’t have the true power, was only the puppet of people that were higher up. He would end up retiring early. He had considered collecting people to become a military force to suppress the bandits, but the bandits were already way too much of a threat to realistically defeat them.

nLiu She couldn’t help but sigh. He was sympathetic for his classmate.

nAfter a while, there was hesitation on Liu She’s face. He said to Hejian County Chief, “We have known each other a long time––we are classmates. It would be cruel for me to watch you be condemned by the Meng’s and do nothing. The only solution at the moment is to catch the bandit who killed the Meng Langjun. If you need people, why don’t you suppress some bandits for your citizens and borrow some force from some families? It won’t bring any harm to you, even if they can only provide some grain.”

nThe Hejian County Chief had an awkward look on his face after he heard Liu She’s idea. The solution could indeed help resolve the imminent difficulty, but he would be the one embarrassed. The families that Liu She was referring to were the other gentry clans in Hejian County. It sounded like he would be begging for help.

nLiu She noticed the hesitation on the County Chief’s face. He spoke with a strong sense of righteousness, “I don’t have a solid foundation of my own, but just a bit of pathetic possessions. I’m not the one who can inherit the last name of the family, considering I’m just the second branch of the family. What I can do is very limited… but if you don’t mind, I’d like to provide you with a hundred servants to help you suppress the bandits.”

nGentry clans had big household and they owned had large numbers of servants. But there were principles and rules to forming a troop of servants, which meant there was a certain standard to stabilize the number of people within the troop.

nAfter all, it wouldn’t be necessary to have too many people. The more they had, they more expenses they would have to pay.

nIn a normal scenario, the Hejian County Chief wouldn’t borrow many people from the other gentry clan families, except for those who had the funds and kept a private military.

nA hundred people was a tremendous number. It was very generous of him… How could the Hejian County Chief not be touched?

nThe last couple times there was an action to suppress the bandits, they only used the force of about one or two hundred people.

nHejian County Chief made up his mind and flattened his brows. If it wasn’t inappropriate under the current circumstances, he would have laughed out loud. “That would be a big help for me! I owe you big time––no matter if we catch the guys who are responsible for this or not.”

nLiu She burst into a big smile and said something about brotherhood out of courtesy.

nThe Hejian County Chief naturally would return the favor after he took such a big favor from him.

nOne hundred people meant that there was a hundred more mouths that needed to be fed. Liu She had provided the force, it would be outrageous to ask for grain as well.

nTherefore, he decided he would have to pay a visit to the other gentry clans and ask around to see if they could offer some support in the form of people, or even just a bit of grain. After all, to those gentry clans, people were more valuable than grain. It wouldn’t be considered a big matter if it could be solved by offering some grain.

nTraining the guards took a lot of energy, money, and resources. It would be a big loss if there were casualties in the people they lent out. Using grain to support him would be a better deal comparably.

nWith Liu She taking the lead, the other gentry clans wouldn’t act like cheapskates; they would at least spare some grain. It would be embarrassing for him, but it would be worth it if it could help him get through the crisis. The Hejian County Chief started to feel more comfortable when he thought of all that.

nThe moment Jiang Pengji came back home after she dealt with the follow-ups, she got the message from the doorman that Liu She wanted to see her.

n“Why do you want to see me, father?” Jiang Pengji was puzzled. She wondered if he was going to berate her for the incident the night before.

n“I found some suckers to take the blame for free.”

nJiang Pengji was confused. What suckers?

nLiu She smiled and picked up a cup of tea. He elaborated to her about the Hejian County Chief’s visit. “You have at least a hundred people in your troop, right? If you’d like to, we can lend your troop to the Hejian County Chief. He will be the one giving orders on the surface, but you will still be the secret commander. You guys can split the trophy and the praise for the bandits being caught. I can talk to the Hejian County Chief and offer him some alternatives.”

nJiang Pengji had been suppressing the bandits under the authority’s nose and she could absorb the transformable ones into her own troop. It was truly a good idea to expand the troop, but it was not legitimate. If they were traced back to them, it would be hard to explain. Liu She wanted to take the chance to make it legal and, in the process, they could give the Hejian County Chief a leg up.

nOf course, it was not appropriate for Liu She to make the decision for her, considering the one hundred people still belonged to her.

nIf Jiang Pengji was unwilling to provide the troops, Liu She had decided he was going to deploy a hundred people from his own guards to the Hejian County Chief.

nJiang Pengji was deep in thought and she couldn’t deny that it was tempting.

nTo make it legitimate was only one of the benefits; the other benefit was that the government would take on all the expenses for the troops during the operation to suppress the bandits.

nThe Hejian County Chief would collect the grain from the other gentry clans to feed her troops and she wouldn’t spend a penny. It was clear that the County Chief would get most of the credit, but she deserved more options for selecting the people in her troop from the captured bandits––or even more benefits.

nTo make it simple, she would use other people’s pocket money to maintain her own troop.

nAmong all the gentry clans in Hejian County, more than enough of the clans had money and grain. Even though they could be cheapskates, they would give any amount away to maintain their reputation, which meant there was going to be considerable amounts of grain available. Jiang Pengji believed that there would be some leftovers after her troop had used some.

n“It’s of course a yes, considering the advantages still outweigh the disadvantages. The bandits near Hejian County have to be gone. We could only do it in the dark before, but now we can do it with a legitimate name and someone will pay for the expense. I would definitely regret not taking the deal.”

nIt was never easy to start from scratch. A person would normally only be aware of the costs of running a household when they were just in charge of taking care of the family.

nThe troop was still a small size, but eventually it would expand into a large troop with a thousand or more people. She wouldn’t be able to afford to keep her troops based on her possessions.

nWhat Liu She had suggested absolutely solved a future problem and saved a big portion of the expense for her.

nHe pressed his lips together, trying to suppress his smile. But the gentle, delighted smile exposed his true feelings.

n“Since you said yes, then I will give the County Chief a response tomorrow.” Liu She paused for a second and then inquired in a low voice, “About Meng Liang… Have you finished all the follow-ups?”

n“Don’t worry, father. Everything was done clean and neat,” Jiang Pengji answered with certainty.

nThey shared an eye contact. They both sensed the cunning nature in each other’s eyes.

nAt that moment, the message of the second son of the Meng’s was spreading quickly in the streets. And there was a sealed message that had leaked, telling of the civil chaos that the Meng’s had been putting all their efforts on. Someone had noticed the change.

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