Volume 1 Chapter 41: Buying and Selling (Part 2)
"We've been brothers for many years. We crawled out of the pile of corpses under Taiyuan city together, and it didn't stop you from making a fortune, but you can't let me do as I please?" Li Laosan still spoke from a distance.
"That's not what I meant..." Zhang Jun sighed and looked around the courtyard again. "What do the other old brothers in Taiyuan say?"
Everyone in the courtyard looked at each other in bewilderment. Some of them brushed past the armored soldiers behind them and Tian Shizhong who was standing beside Zhang Jun, and couldn't help swallowing what they wanted to say. However, there were a few people who were as military ruffians as Li Laosan, and couldn't help shouting from the seats, urging Zhang Jun to give Li Laosan a way out. Some even directly advised Zhang Jun to give Zhao Zhizhou a way out.
And once someone spoke up, it quickly led to a commotion, so that the courtyard was noisy again.
Amid the clamor, Zhang Jun said nothing, but stood up from his seat and directly drew a knife from his waist with his greasy hands... When the knife was unsheathed, all the guards including Tian Shizhong also drew their swords, and Tian Shizhong took the initiative to move to the side with the knife. At this moment, the courtyard was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop!
"I roughly understand what you guys mean, and since Li Lao San mentioned the Taiyuan incident, I also want to talk about Taiyuan today..."
Zhang Jun raised his knife and pointed at Zhao Qiu beside him, saying, "Most of you know Old Zhao. Even if you don't know him, you should have found out about him in private. He was our former comrade in arms under Taiyuan. So let's be honest. If it weren't for you guys who escaped from Taiyuan with me, I, Zhang Jun, would be like Old Zhao, a defeated dog on the street, who can be ordered around by anyone and killed by anyone who doesn't like him!"
Everyone was confused and Zhao Qiu also felt that what he heard was not right. He was about to speak, but unexpectedly, Tian Shizhong, who had appeared behind him at some point, stabbed him in the back of the neck with a knife, nailing him to death on the table covered with wine and food!
All the officers in the courtyard were stunned by this sudden change. Zhao Ding was also in a daze and out of control. Shi Wenbin on the side was even more unbearable. He was originally using his chopsticks to eat the food, but the vegetable bowl turned over in front of Zhao Qiu's head. The soup mixed with blood splashed everywhere, making his chopsticks and body covered in blood... And Tian Shizhong, who had killed the man, was still beside him, so he didn't dare to let go of the chopsticks, let alone take them back. He could only tremble motionlessly.
All I can say is, it's a pity that such a former veteran of the Western Army sent himself here in such a confused way, and he didn't even know why he died.
Zhang Jun seemed to have not heard anything, but continued the previous topic. He pointed at the officers on his left and right with his knife, just like he had pointed at Zhao Qiu just now, but he spoke more and more fiercely with each word, until it was like a roar:
"But on the other hand, if you guys hadn't had me back then, you wouldn't even be losers, just a pile of dog shit on the side of the road! People trampled you to pieces, and still despised your stench!!"
All the officers in the room were shocked, but no one dared to refute!
"Just now, Li Laosan said that he would not hinder my fortune, and he used this to mock my greed for money. I admit it! Because I only want money in this life!" Zhang Jun continued to raise his knife and pointed at the sky. "But the things in Taiyuan and Lao Zhao made me realize a truth, that is, you have to be virtuous to make money! Snatching a few women's gold hairpins from the Jin people on the road, what's the point? Can you make a fortune?! And if you get it, don't you dream that Mr. Xiaozhong will lead his former brothers to find you in your dreams?! If you want to make a fortune, you have to use people as capital and go for big bets! And you are my capital today!!! I, Zhang Jun, will use you to make a fortune today, and I will make more than I can spend in my ten lifetimes!!!"
Before he finished speaking, countless armored guards brought in countless gold, silver and treasures from the backyard, then opened the boxes and poured them on the ground for everyone to see... The gold and silver were piled up like a mountain right before their eyes, and the group of rough men began to breathe heavily almost instantly!
"Forty thousand taels of silver, one thousand five hundred taels of gold! And several boxes of miscellaneous treasures, pearls and jade... These were sent to me by the Jin people, and I secretly saved them. I have been hiding them in the cellar in this courtyard. The government was reluctant to give them up back then. I don't want them all today. I give them all to you! The silver is for the soldiers, and the gold and treasures are for you. I only ask one thing from you stinking shits!" Zhang Jun looked around, threw down his knife, and spoke slowly with a heavy breath. "Defend Xiacai for me! Let me, Taiwei Zhang, make ten or eight times more money with this city in the future, and never be poor again in this life!"
After saying this, the man turned around weakly, picked up the duck on the table, and went back to the backyard. People who knew him well knew that he was unwilling to see his wealth being divided up by this group of thugs!
However, the hundreds of officers in the yard did not care. Instead , they responded loudly behind them. Zhao Ding quickly got up and chased into the backyard.
As the sky gradually darkened, the noise in the front yard gradually died down. After a tiring day, Master Tian went to the back yard to report.
"Have they all been distributed?" Zhang Jun, who was holding an empty plate, had red eyes, as if he had been crying.
"They've all been distributed." Tian Shizhong said carefully. "The copies of the copies to Liu Bao on the city wall and the soldiers on duty on the city wall have also been distributed... That Shi Wenbin was also driven out! He didn't dare to leave and begged me to take him in... I didn't dare to keep him! He cried for a long time under the suspension bridge before being taken away by the Jin scouts. How pitiful!"
"Forget about him." Zhang Jun sighed. "This time, I have offended Zhao Yushi...Zhao Zhizhou badly. He questioned me for a long time before and even cried and lost his composure."
"It doesn't matter. At this point, it's enough for the emperor to know that the general is loyal." Tian Shizhong comforted him. "Zhao Zhizhou is also a man who knows the big picture. We will fight side by side in the future."
"That's right." Zhang Jun finally got up and said casually, "In fact, when the Jin army attacks the city, climbing the city wall is not a big deal in the early stage. Xiacai City has the Huai River as a moat, so we are not afraid of them climbing the city wall. The real powerful thing is the artillery... Do you know how to do it?"
"Starting tomorrow, demolish all the houses with good wood in the city, clear out a piece of open space, and we will also fire cannons and fight cannons with cannons!" Tian Shizhong answered very straightforwardly. "This is what the general told me before, and it is the law of Taiyuan City!"
"Good to know! " Zhang Jun nodded and turned to go inside. "I'm really tired today, you go ahead and do it, I'll go take a rest!"
Only then did Tian Shizhong quickly say goodbye.
Before the general under the command of General Zhang could turn around and leave the backyard, Zhang Jun suddenly remembered something and called out to him in the backyard room: "Xiaotian, did you get the reward yourself?"
Tian Shizhong was caught off guard.
Zhang Jun understood and said immediately: "Come in. Since you are a hero who gives away wealth today, you must continue to do so. Everyone should be rewarded. Let me search your family's assets... just for show!"
Tian Shizhong had no choice but to turn back.
General Zhang searched the house for a long time, but only found the bunch of grapes, a carved silver heater, and a few hairpins that he had temporarily pulled off the concubine's head... Poor General Zhang gestured for a long time, but he was reluctant to give away the bunch of grapes. The rest of the things would seem like an insult to a general like Tian Shizhong, who was also his trusted right-hand man, so he was in a dilemma for a while.
Seeing this situation, Tian Shizhong didn't know how to collect the money, so he kept declining and just said he would talk about it later.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Taiwei shook his head repeatedly, and after thinking for a while, he simply threw away these things, held Tian Shizhong's hand and said: "I will give it to you no matter what, but I really have no money now... Xiaotian! My eldest son died on the way to escape from Taiyuan, so I have always treated you like my own son, you know!"
"Of course I know." Upon hearing this, Tian Shizhong, who was still stained with blood and soup, quickly knelt down and responded. "I have been wandering here from Hebei, without any worries, and I have always regarded the general as my father!"
"That's not what I meant. You know, although my eldest son died, my eldest daughter-in-law Wang has always been with him. She has always treated me like a father, and I have always treated her like my own daughter... I have always wanted to find a good family for her, but I am so distressed that I can never find a suitable person." Zhang Taiwei ignored Tian Shizhong's stunned expression and continued to speak slowly. "Today I have spent all my money on this city, and there is no reason to hold back. If you don't accept my reward, you can only become my family. How about this, I will make the decision today, and you will get married tonight! I also ask Xiaotian to be my son-in-law in the future and help me guard Xia Cai! In the future, we will share wealth and honor!"
Master Tian was stunned for a long time, but suddenly let go and kowtowed on the ground.
