Chapter 83

The night breeze was cool, but it could not extinguish the raging fire in Zhao Shun's heart.

"Scoundrel, give me my money back!" Zhao Shun strode into the pawnshop, threw the several pieces of fake silver he had cut onto the high counter, and shouted angrily at the shopkeeper, who was dozing off.

Even a clay figurine has a temper, let alone a seven-foot-tall Shandong man like Zhao Shun.

The shopkeeper raised his head, opened his eyes, and disdainfully glanced at the man standing below the counter. The counter was high, but the man was even taller. He immediately recognized this as the man who had pawned the gun earlier and had anticipated that he would return. However, he had seen such situations countless times, and not once had anyone managed to get their silver back from him.

A country bumpkin, a peasant, a beggar.

The shopkeeper, wearing a melon-shaped hat, calmly pointed to a sign hanging on the side of the counter.

"Once the silver leaves the counter, no responsibility is assumed!"

The sign was not large or conspicuous, but the shopkeeper pointed to it with a smug smile.

"You gave me fake silver, with less than one-tenth of the real silver content, and the rest is lead," Zhao Shun shouted.

"Such audacity, you brought a broken gun to pawn here, and I, out of pity, gave you five taels of silver for it. I even reminded you to check it carefully; it was genuine five-tael silver. You didn't say anything when you left the shop, but now you come back with fake silver to extort money from me, and you even dare to accuse me of giving you fake silver. What a fat dog's gall! Get him!"

With that shout, seven or eight burly men, clearly not good people, rushed out from the back, each wielding a stick, and surrounded Zhao Shun.

"Seize this scoundrel, bind him, and send him to the yamen for punishment."

Zhao Shun calmed down, remembering what the apothecary's accountant had said, realizing he had indeed encountered a group of ruffians.

"Give me back my lightning gun, and I won't pursue this matter or make it public."

The shopkeeper sneered, "Dog thief, do you think this matter will be resolved so easily?"

Zhao Shun looked around, searching for something he could use as a weapon, preparing to fight to the death.

"That gun I pawned was to get silver to buy medicine for my son to save his life. I don't want trouble, but if you don't give me a way out, I have no choice but to fight you." He said coldly.

Unfortunately, to the shopkeeper, these words were just the poor man's bluff. He had encountered many such poor men who, after receiving fake silver, came back to demand their money. Some came to fight, some came to beg, and some even knelt and kowtowed. In short, he had seen it all, but no one had ever managed to get their silver back from him.

"Enough talk, seize him."

A group of burly men rushed over, but Zhao Shun, being tall and strong, quickly grabbed a yew wood official hat chair and used it as a weapon to fight them. Zhao Shun was over seven feet tall and very muscular, like an iron tower. He had been a blacksmith before, and his strength was immense.

Moreover, he had learned boxing and spear fighting in his hometown in Shandong. Now, even with just a chair, he swung it with such force that no one could get close. Several men with sticks not only failed to gain the upper hand but were also knocked down.

"Report to the master, and ask him to call the yamen." The shopkeeper, surprised by the poor man's fighting ability, found the situation difficult to handle and quickly called a helper to notify Zhang Butcher.

Xibay Lu Mansion.

The banquet had ended, but the guests had not yet left. Liu Jun, his father, and his elder brother were still with Lu Weizhang, entertaining the guests with tea, pastries, and conversation.

Many guests stayed to drink tea, mostly influential gentry and landlords from Xibay. Since Li Chunjiang was also present, and Liu Jun had recently been promoted, many people from the county also came. The county magistrate did not come in person but sent his secretary with a gift. The county vice-magistrate and the chief clerk both came in person, as did the county registrar, clerks, and constables.

Everyone in the county understood that Liu Jun was a rising star in Macheng County, shining like a meteor. With the support and appreciation of the Li and Mei families, and now married into the Lu family, though the Lu family's influence was mainly in Xibay, they were wealthy. Their only daughter was now betrothed to Liu Jun, so the Lu family's wealth would naturally become Liu Jun's.

Liu Jun had the support of the Li and Mei families, a force of several hundred elite village militia, and was now the inspector of Houtou Pass and married to the daughter of a wealthy merchant. He had people, money, and backing, and would have a place in Macheng County. If they didn't come to show their support and build a relationship now, when would they?

Liu Jun greeted these people with a smile, knowing that in the late Ming Dynasty, the influence of local officials and gentry was very strong, and he would have to deal with them in the future.

"Jiye, now that your marriage to the Lu girl is settled, I am happy for you. In a few days, I will be leaving for Nanjing. I know you have just been appointed as an inspector and will be very busy. Today is our farewell. The nine-headed bird is in your hands. I hope you will do better and not forget our original intentions in establishing the nine-headed bird."

Liu Jun and Li Chunjiang sat together, both feeling very sentimental. Although they had not known each other for long, they had formed a deep friendship, like brothers.

"I will not forget."

Li Chunjiang said, "In a few months, the county examination will begin. Although you are now an inspector and have an official position, you can still participate in the military examination. I suggest you register and take the exam. If you can pass the military examination, it will be more beneficial for you in the future." He knew that Liu Jun was an ambitious person and would not be content to stay in the countryside. But to advance further and achieve something in his career, he needed a higher status than a mere military scholar. To enter the bureaucracy, he needed at least the status of a juren, whether in the literary or military examination.

"I will consider it," Liu Jun said. He had not yet made up his mind about taking the examination, and many people had advised him to do so.

"Although I will not be in Macheng for a while, if you have any problems, you can write to me or go directly to my uncle. He also appreciates you and will help you if you need it."

Li Chunjiang was a good person. Although he had invested more than 5,000 taels of silver in the nine-headed bird and spent a lot of effort, even relying on his family's influence to raise several thousand taels of silver and acquire over a hundred horses and a weapons supply channel, he was now leaving very straightforwardly. He took all the Li family servants he had brought with him and did not leave any behind. He did not take the money in the team, not even the 30,000 taels of silver, leaving it all to Liu Jun and the nine-headed bird. By doing so, he removed his own influence and completely handed over the nine-headed bird to his good brother Liu Jun.

In fact, Liu Jun also wanted to tell Li Chunjiang that the Ming Dynasty would be over in five years, and taking the imperial examination at this time would be futile. But he could not say these things, as he could not prove his words. Even if he could prove it, it might not necessarily change Li Chunjiang's decision.

He could only decide on his own plan.

The two of them drank, feeling very reluctant to part. Working with Li Chunjiang had been very harmonious, and few people supported him as much as Li Chunjiang did. Although he was only the deputy, Li Chunjiang had a hard time delegating power to him. If it were someone else, Liu Jun would not have such influence in the team.

Even if the nine-headed bird had been established by the offspring of another family, and he had to leave, the nine-headed bird would either be dissolved or taken over by another family member, not handed over so generously to Liu Jun.

At this moment, a servant from the Lu family brought someone in.

He hurriedly found the county vice-magistrate and Zhang Butcher, who were drinking tea at the Lu mansion, and quietly reported the incident at the pawnshop.

"Has he gone mad!" Zhang Butcher exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table after hearing the report.

Liu Jun, hearing the commotion, frowned and called over the servant who had brought the person in.

"What happened?"

The servant, who was guarding the door outside, quickly reported what he had learned on the way.

"Zhang Butcher's pawnshop has a problem. A man claims that the pawnshop gave him five taels of fake silver, and now there is a fight. It seems that the man is quite capable, and the pawnshop's dozen or so burly men could not catch him, and several were even beaten. The pawnshop then called the constables, but the man was not alone; a group of his companions came to his aid. Now, there are hundreds of people gathered on both sides at the crossroads, fighting. They have come to ask the county vice-magistrate, Zhang Butcher, and Constable Chen to come over."

Liu Jun, hearing about the fight involving hundreds of people at the crossroads, was startled, fearing that it might be a ruse by bandits to create chaos. This was a common tactic used by bandits: send spies into the city to create disturbances, then seize the city gates and open the gates from the inside to let the bandits in.

"Let's go and see!" Liu Jun quickly got up and said.

The county vice-magistrate and Zhang Butcher, hearing that their pawnshop was in trouble and that a group of refugees from the south of the city wall had caused a disturbance, were also angry and quickly took their leave.

Liu Jun, along with a dozen brothers and a dozen strong servants from the Lu family, formed a small team of about thirty people and rushed to the scene.

Even from a distance, they could see the fire and hear the commotion at the crossroads. Liu Jun's heart tightened, fearing that the situation had already escalated to violence.

They hurried to the scene and saw that at the crossroads, hundreds of people were facing off on both sides of the street. On one side were a group of vicious thugs, Zhang Butcher's servants, and some constables. On the other side were a group of ragged but angry men, holding various sticks and household items, and raising torches.

Seeing this, Liu Jun breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that the situation was still under control. However, he was puzzled. He knew that the group of poor men lived in shacks by the moat outside the south city wall, but how had they suddenly gathered and come to the city at night to cause trouble?

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