Chapter 110 Useless Bastard (V)
No matter how they asked those pale-faced guys who were frozen, Li Changshou's men could not tell who attacked them. They could only tell that they were suddenly restrained by someone who came out of nowhere, stuffed something in their mouths, put a sack on their heads, and tied up with ropes and taken away.
Li Changshou listened to his subordinates' stories and looked at their frightened and confused faces, feeling a strong sense of uneasiness in his heart. Without any special consideration, Li Changshou firmly believed that it must be Huo Chong who did it. In Mouping County, there was no one else who had such a conflict with Li Changshou except Huo Chong. Huo Chong was the only one who dared to do it to Li Changshou.
"Huo Chong! I'm going to kill him!" Li Changshou shouted viciously. After making such a wish, Li Changshou began to think about how to achieve his goal. The best way was to report him to the government, so that Huo Chong would never be able to turn over. Thinking of Magistrate Dong's face, Li Changshou bit his lip and ordered his men to report him to the government.
"Master, how should I write the complaint? Who should I sue?"
Hearing the question, Li Changshou asked his men again if there was anything that could link Huo Chong to the kidnappers. The men had been frozen for most of the night and were now dizzy and unable to say anything. Li Changshou made up his mind and shouted, "It must have been Huo Chong who ordered it. No need to say anything. Just sue Huo Chong for sending someone to commit the crime!"
County Magistrate Dong received the complaint on the same day. As a county magistrate, he was responsible for the affairs of a county, from taxation to justice, as well as maintaining local order and organizing local examinations. The kidnapping case certainly fell within the magistrate's authority.
Seeing the conflict between Huo Chong and Li Changshou had reached such a point, County Magistrate Dong was very happy. Whether it was Huo Chong or Li Changshou, the fight between the two was a dog-eat-dog fight in County Magistrate Dong's eyes. No matter who won, as long as the process was intense enough and the loss was big enough, it was a good thing.
With this feeling, County Magistrate Dong wanted to get rid of the person who submitted the petition. Although the county magistrate was a 100-mile marquis and had great power in the local area, it did not mean that the county magistrate could really kill and burn people as he pleased in the local area. According to what was written in the petition, it was all speculation. It directly put the blame on Huo Chong.
In a situation where there is absolutely no evidence, unless the county magistrate arranged for someone like Li Changshou to file a complaint in advance, it is impossible to arrest someone and investigate the case based on such a complaint. If this complaint is valid, it can be valid if Huo Chong's name on the complaint is replaced by anyone else. It is not yet Li Changshou's turn to be the master of Mouping County.
"Boss, why don't you call both sides in for questioning?" The lawyer stopped Magistrate Dong from taking action.
"Why?"
"Hasn't the magistrate always wanted Li Changshou to come?" the lawyer reminded.
County Magistrate Dong had realized that he had been fooled by Li Changshou and his men. At least he realized that Li Changshou had no power to fulfill the promises he had made. Now those scholars began to use the excuse that doing business to make money was a lowly occupation. They had not said that before. They had almost vowed that they would be able to take over Huo Chong's property and make as much money as Huo Chong, and pay taxes to the county.
"Yes. Go tell the person who came to hand in the complaint to ask Li Changshou to come see me."
Magistrate Dong thought that Li Changshou would come anyway, but he didn't expect to see him after waiting for two days. He despised Li Changshou's character even more. Since Li Changshou was not coming, Magistrate Dong wanted Huo Chong to come. However, he felt that there was no reason and it seemed a bit timid. For a while, Magistrate Dong was in a dilemma.
Huo Chong was entertaining a guest at this time. This guest was recommended by Master Changxin. It seemed that Master Changxin wanted to resolve the conflict between Huo Chong and Li Daoqiong. This brother, who looked to be about 40 years old, called himself Li Chengliang. He also looked like he had been eating at sea. His tanned skin had begun to lose its luster.
The two sides exchanged a few polite words, and Li Chengliang went straight to the point, "Since Master Changxin has spoken, I will ask Master Huo how he wants to deal with Li Daoqiong."
"It was Li Daoqiong who wanted to deal with me. I just wanted him to stop messing around."
After hearing what Huo Chong said, Li Chengliang looked at Huo Chong for a few times and chuckled, "Hehe, Master Huo's reputation has been so loud in recent years. I don't believe that Master Huo just wants to keep things quiet. If Master Huo doesn't speak his mind, I can only go back and tell Master Changxin that I'm here."
Huo Chong thought Li Chengliang was very interesting and seemed to be well prepared. In this case, Huo Chong decided to test Li Chengliang's thoughts, "Master Li, a brother said that Li Daoqiong probably thought that I wanted to be his master. To be honest, I don't like him for his behavior. If there weren't a few scholars who wanted to be my enemy behind Li Daoqiong, I wouldn't have to go through so much trouble. Since Master Changxin sent Master Li here, I want to ask Master Li what he thinks Li Daoqiong will do."
"Master Huo has forced Li Daoqiong to this point..."
"Stop. Master Li, I didn't force Li Daoqiong."
Li Chengliang showed a mocking look, "Master Huo, you made so much money after arriving in Mouping County, but you didn't let Li Daoqiong share any of it. You also went to his house and beat up Li Daoqiong's men. Master Huo thinks this is nothing, but where can Li Daoqiong put his face? If he doesn't get back at this, who will listen to Li Daoqiong?"
Hearing this, it seemed that Li Daoqiong was at the end of his rope, and Huo Chong was a little surprised. After all, Huo Chong had never been involved in the underworld, and even the darkest part was just a gray route. Just when he was wondering if Li Chengliang was exaggerating the facts, he heard Li Chengliang continue, "Master Huo, I have inquired. Li Daoqiong has three groups of people. The ones who are truly on the same page with Li Daoqiong are Brother Zhang San and Brother Li Si. The other group is the second in command, and the other group is Wang Hu. Thanks to Master Huo, these two groups haven't received any money for a long time. Now they are in a hurry."
Huo Chong heard that it seemed that Li Daoqiong had reached the end of his rope, and he felt that he was deserted by his friends and that his subordinates were ready to jump ship. Hesitantly, he began to doubt Li Chengliang's position. As his train of thought changed, Huo Chong suddenly remembered, how could Li Chengliang be so clear?
"Since Master Li , I asked directly. What exactly does Master Li want?" Huo Chong asked, feeling a little uneasy. There is a difference between the people of this era and the new China. Huo Chong has seen many people who really have faith, especially those who really believe in a better society. Everyone also has a bit of a heroic complex in the great era of China's rise.
There was obviously no such healthy and positive thing in the Qing Dynasty, so Huo Chong had to gradually adjust himself and start from very realistic interests.
"Since Master Changxin trusts Master Huo, I will tell you straight away. If Master Huo is willing to let me take over Li Daoqiong's position, and let my brothers get a share of Master Huo's business in the future, I will help Master Huo deal with Li Daoqiong."
After Li Chengliang finished speaking, he looked at Huo Chong with burning eyes. Huo Chong could feel the heat in this guy's heart, and also felt that his test had temporarily paid off. Li Chengliang was just after a profit, pure profit. Fortunately, Li Chengliang didn't talk about loyalty, otherwise he would be a typical representative of "talking about ideology but thinking about business".
Even so, Li Chengliang was already a typical gangster that Huo Chong had heard of. He was only interested in profit and would do many things for the sake of profit.
