Chapter 160: The Art of Extortion
After his red face completely calmed down, Li Wenxuan's angry heart gradually calmed down. After taking a deep breath, this book said to Zhou Shuyuan in front of him.
"General Zhou, I admit that my two sons usually spend money on their own and do a lot of evil things in Datong Mansion. However, I can guarantee that they will never do anything about colluding with the enemy. What's more, the rebels in Shaanxi gave them only 50,000 taels of silver..."
"Maybe General Zhou doesn't know that in our Li Mansion, the daily expenses are hundreds of taels and 50,000 taels of silver, which is just enough for our Li Mansion in less than three months. As for the two of them, the daily expenses are even more. Others may still see the 50,000 taels of silver, but they will never see it..."
"In addition, we all know who the Jinyiwei is... So, if you have any purpose, just say that I, Li Wenxuan, can do it. But I hope you can let my two sons go..."
Since he had already said that, Zhou Shuyuan no longer concealed it. He said to Li Wenxuan with a serious face.
"Mr. Li, it's not to be hiding. In addition to the position of General of Datong Prefecture, our general has another secret identity, that is, the Tongzhi of the Third-rank Jinyiwei, and the emperor personally issued an order to add it."
"As for Li Daren's two precious sons, they were the ones we ordered by Lord Wei to arrest the Qianhu, the Jinyiwei of Datong Prefecture. So, Lord Li should know now that the ultimate purpose of our Lord Wei arresting the two young masters..."
"Ah..." A helpless sigh came from Li Wenxuan's mouth under Zhou Shuyuan's gaze.
Then, he said to Zhou Shuyuan with a bitter face: "General Zhou, I am really blind... If I had known earlier that the General was also a Jinyiwei Tongzhi, no matter how brave I was, I would not dare to make things difficult for the General..."
In the Ming Dynasty, although the strength and status of the Jinyiwei were not as good as before. However, in the local area, the Jinyiwei was still a department that local officials always feared. Because in the hundreds of years of history of the Ming Dynasty, countless local officials were imprisoned by the Jinyiwei and were convicted of crimes. They eventually went to the execution ground...
Therefore, although Li Wenxuan was arrogant and looked down on the military officer, he was full of fear and awe for the Jinyiwei.
After taking a breath again, calming down his shocked heart. For the sake of his two precious sons and for the sake of not being missed by Jinyiwei, Li Wenxuan had forgotten what happened at the city gate two days ago, and in his heart, he made a decision to compromise with Wei Zheng and apologize to Wei Zheng.
He said nervously to Zhou Shuyuan: "Mr. Zhou, I admit that the reason why the Tiger and Leopard Army cannot buy things in Datong Mansion was that I did something. In this way, I immediately sent someone to pass on the message that all the shops in Datong Mansion must unconditionally meet the needs of the Tiger and Leopard Army. Cooperate with the Tiger and Leopard Army to defend Datong Mansion..."
"In addition, in order to express my sincerity to the General, I, Li Wenxuan, personally paid 100,000 kilograms of grain and 100,000 taels of silver to support the Tiger and Leopard Army in defending the Datong Mansion free of charge. In the future, if the General has any orders, I only need to send someone to pay the yamen to inform you. I will definitely help the General."
Seeing Zhou Shuyuan nodding with satisfaction, the nervous expression on Li Wenxuan's face finally relieved a lot. He asked Zhou Shuyuan: "General Zhou, I don't know if the General will be satisfied if I do this... Also, can my two sons, General Shang, let me go first? They have grown up, but have never suffered any hardships. I am worried that they can't stand it in the cell..."
This result is exactly what Zhou Shuyuan wants to see.
Under Li Wenxuan's expectant eyes, Zhou Shuyuan nodded first, then shook his head.
After Li Wenxuan's face became nervous again, he replied calmly: "Then thank you Lord Li... With Lord Li free support to the food and salary for me, the tiger and leopard army, my tiger and leopard army will definitely live up to the emperor's trust, defend Datong Prefecture, repel Shaanxi rebels, and ensure the safety of Datong Prefecture..."
"As for the two young masters, this matter can only be decided by our General. If Lord Li wants to reunite with the two young masters earlier, I advise Lord Li to go to the General's Mansion in person and ask us General for someone."
"I believe that as long as Lord Li shows enough sincerity, we General will still be easy to talk to."
Speaking of this, Zhou Shuyuan seemed to have thought of something. After a strange smile flashed quickly on his face, he continued to say to Li Wenxuan: "In addition, I have one more thing to remind Lord Li..."
"When I was in the General's Mansion, I heard that the two young masters did a lot of evil things in our Datong Mansion. Our General's Mansion disliked this kind of young master who bullied others the most. I was worried that in order to calm the resentment of the people of Datong Mansion towards the two young masters, our General's Mansion directly sent the two young masters to the execution ground. So, please make sure that Lord Li is mentally prepared in this regard..."
"Ah..." Another scream of exclamation came from Li Wenxuan's mouth.
Li Wenxuan's face, which had just shown a nervous expression, turned pale because of Zhou Shuyuan's last words.
Looking at Zhou Shuyuan, it was like seeing a savior.
After taking out ten thousand taels of silver notes from the sleeve, quickly stuffed them into Zhou Shuyuan's hand, he asked anxiously: "Please General Zhou must help me. I, Li Wenxuan, have only these two sons, and there must be no accident..."
After receiving the silver notes, a trace of undetectable smirk flashed across Zhou Shuyuan's face.
Then, he replied in a dilemma to Zhou Shuyuan: "Mr. Li, you are making things difficult for me... I'll think about it carefully and see if there is a way to let the general let the two young men go..."
“Have…”
After a smile flashed quickly on Zhou Shuyuan's embarrassed face, he said firmly: "Mr. Li, this method will definitely allow the general to let the two young men go..."
"I remember when I was in Zunhua, the situation of a county magistrate was similar to that of you. In the end, the county magistrate lost all his money and took out 150,000 taels of silver as compensation and handed it over to the General. After asking the General to compensate all the victims, he settled the matter and saved his son... "
"I think Lord Li can follow his example and settle the matter with money. Because, compared to killing the two young masters of the mansion, it will be more acceptable to take out the money to compensate all the victims' families..."
At this moment, because of the arrest of two sons, Li Wenxuan, who was completely confused, did not realize that he had fallen into the trap compiled by Zhou Shuyuan.
After hearing what Zhou Shuyuan said, a trace of blood finally appeared on his pale face.
Chapter completed!