Chapter 84

Under the moonlit night, at the crossroads, hundreds of people stood facing each other across the street, the situation on the verge of erupting.

"What could have happened to make a group of refugees from the shantytowns outside the city rise up and gather angrily under the moonlight?" Liu Jun muttered to himself. Most of these refugees were outsiders who had left their homes and ended up here, a very vulnerable group. Without a special reason, they would never dare to act like this.

County Magistrate's Assistant Zhao and Butcher Zhang arrived and began to scold, calling the crowd of civilians rebels and preparing to arrest them all.

The already tense atmosphere became even more tense, and Liu Jun even heard someone in the crowd of refugees shouting, saying they might as well rebel.

Liu Jun knew that many so-called uprisings often resulted from a moment of impulse and a surge of passion. With someone leading the way, others would often blindly follow, and in the end, the situation would become irreversible, leading them down a path of no return.

County Magistrate's Assistant Zhao and his group paid no attention to the cries of the refugees and continued to gather more people.

However, Liu Jun could not stand by and watch a rebellion unfold before his eyes. He stepped forward and walked to the middle of the long street, surrounded by onlookers.

"I am Liu Jun, Liu Jiyeh, the captain of the Jiutoubird Village team, temporarily in charge of the Houtou Pass inspection and the Taiping Post. Everyone, can't we sit down and talk about what's going on instead of resorting to such extreme measures? Now, who can step forward and tell me what's really happening? As long as you trust me, I, Liu Jun, will stand up for you!"

Butcher Zhang and County Magistrate's Assistant Zhao exchanged glances, neither of them expecting Liu Jun to step forward at this moment. They already knew what this was all about, and Butcher Zhang wanted to step out to stop it, but County Magistrate's Assistant Zhao held him back, "Don't act rashly, let's see what happens first." Although he appeared tough, he was actually quite nervous inside.

He had shares in a pawnshop and a counterfeit silver workshop, from which he received large sums of money every year. In the past, when people had taken counterfeit silver and caused trouble, it hadn't amounted to much. No one had expected that today's incident would escalate to such a degree. He was also afraid, knowing that although the people on the other side were poor, they were also refugees. If they decided to act recklessly, they could do anything.

Especially when someone had just shouted a dangerous slogan about rebelling, if not handled properly, these refugees might really rebel. Even if the situation could be calmed down, it would eventually be investigated by higher authorities, and his position as County Magistrate's Assistant would be at an end.

The group of refugees was also hesitant. The incident today was all because of Zhao Shun. When Zhao Shun was fighting with someone in the pawnshop, it was seen by a few neighbors from the shantytowns who were still working late at night, pushing carts and delivering goods. They happened to pass by the pawnshop and saw what was happening. Zhao Shun was well-liked among the refugees, always ready to help when someone was in need.

Moreover, he could read and write, and there were many children in the shantytowns who couldn't afford to go to school. Zhao Shun would take some time each day to teach the children, helping them learn to read and do arithmetic. Everyone was very grateful for what Zhao Shun did, knowing that if the children could read and do arithmetic, they would have an advantage even if they only became apprentices.

Without a word, a few neighbors rushed over to help, and one of them ran back to the shantytowns to spread the news. When everyone heard that Zhao Shun had been cheated at the pawnshop and was now being falsely accused, they were filled with righteous indignation. As refugees from other places, they were usually at the bottom of society, enduring all kinds of humiliation, and their anger had reached its limit.

Now, Zhao Shun's situation was like a spark that ignited the powder keg in their hearts. A small opening turned into a volcanic eruption. At the call of some young people, hundreds of able-bodied men from the shantytowns rushed into the city with sticks and clubs, catching the gatekeepers off guard.

In the end, it was Zhao Shun who restrained the crowd, preventing an immediate and irreparable disaster. But the confrontation had already begun, and it was hard to back down.

"Brother Zhao, don't listen to those people, they're all liars. If we listen to him now, they'll arrest us all. This damn life is unbearable, and heaven has given us no way out. We might as well rebel, rebel and go to Xiangyang to join the Eight Great Kings or Cao Cao!" A few young people, tired of their uncertain and despised lives, were filled with anger and wanted to destroy everything.

"Shut up!" Zhao Shun shouted at the young people, knowing that taking that step was very dangerous. Once taken, there would be no turning back. No one would willingly take that step unless absolutely necessary. Moreover, he had been watching the young man who had stepped forward. When he heard that he was Liu Jun, a glimmer of hope arose in his heart, thinking that perhaps today's situation could still be resolved.

"Don't be impulsive. I've heard that Liu Jiyeh is a good person. I'll go talk to him and hope he can help us get justice."

"These local officials and gentry all protect each other. How can we trust their words?"

"Don't seek temporary satisfaction. We all have families to think about." Zhao Shun said, then stepped out of the crowd.

Zhao Shun and Liu Jun sized each other up. Zhao Shun was a man of imposing presence, a seven-foot-tall man with a ruddy complexion, short steel beard, broad shoulders, and a powerful build. His eyes were particularly steady.

"I am Liu Jun, Liu Jiyeh. May I ask your name, brother?"

"Zhao Shun, from Jinan, Shandong." Zhao Shun replied.

"Brother Zhao, can you tell me what exactly happened?" Liu Jun asked.

Zhao Shun nodded and recounted the entire story in detail, without exaggeration or omission, just stating the facts.

"You said you pawned a chedian chong? Did you go to the Lu family's residence before that?" Liu Jun asked in surprise when he heard about the chedian chong.

Zhao Shun nodded.

Liu Jun sighed softly, not expecting such a coincidence. After receiving the Lumi chong, he had carefully inspected it and found it to be very well-made. He had been looking forward to meeting the person who brought the gun, but now he had unexpectedly encountered him, and he was the main character in this disturbance.

"I want to know, where did you get the Lumi chong and the chedian chong?"

"They are family heirlooms. Both firearms were made by my father and me together."

Liu Jun was surprised. The Lumi chong and the chedian chong were much more powerful and complex to manufacture than the bird gun. He hadn't expected this refugee to be a skilled firearms craftsman. "Can you make the Lumi chong and the chedian chong?"

"Yes, I can." Zhao Shun nodded. "My father was a disciple of the great firearms master Zhao Shizhen. He knew how to make all the firearms designed and invented by Master Zhao. My father later taught me all the manufacturing techniques. Although my skills are not as good as my father's, they are still quite good."

Liu Jun was extremely excited. He knew he had found a treasure. Zhao Shizhen was a great firearms master of the Ming Dynasty during the Wanli era, who had invented dozens of firearms, including the Lumi chong, chedian chong, xunlei chong, and yingyang pao, and had written several specialized books on firearms. Many of his inventions had been made into actual weapons and received the approval of the emperor and ministers, and had even been mass-produced and equipped to the army.

The son of a disciple of such a master could be considered a true inheritor of his skills.

Liu Jun was training his team, focusing on the power of firearms to enhance combat effectiveness. Although firearms were more expensive and complex to operate, they had the advantage of forming combat power in the shortest time.

Training an excellent archer would take three to five years and require a strong and robust man. Training a bird gunner, however, required fewer conditions. Even a woman, an old man, or a child could learn to shoot a gun in half a year.

And as long as there were enough firearms, their destructive power would be immense.

The replacement of cold weapons by firearms was the direction of the times, and Liu Jun not only did not want to go against the tide but also wanted to lead it. Unfortunately, he had not known any craftsmen in this field, let alone a master. His firearms were almost all purchased through Mei Zhihuan's connections from workshops in Guangdong and Fujian.

The prices were exorbitant, and a bird gun that cost only three to five taels of silver had to be paid for with twenty taels. Even gunpowder and lead bullets had to be purchased. Although it was convenient now, the high cost and the fact that the supply was completely controlled by others were very dangerous.

Now, a firearms master, or rather, a disciple of a firearms master, was standing before him.

This was simply the will of heaven.

After a quick consideration, Liu Jun said to Zhao Shun, "Do you trust me? I can help you solve your current troubles."

Zhao Shun nodded, "I trust you, Liu Jiyeh. I hope today's incident won't involve my friends; they were all trying to help me."

"I understand. As long as you trust me, leave everything to me."

Liu Jun's approach was actually quite simple: to minimize the impact of the incident.

Although the situation was clear, with the pawnshop clearly cheating Zhao Shun with counterfeit silver and then trying to frame him and throw him in jail, this kind of incident was not easy to resolve. Butcher Zhang and his son-in-law, County Magistrate's Assistant Zhao, were a family, and the people in the county office had long been bought off. Zhao Shun, with no evidence, holding a piece of counterfeit silver, would have a hard time winning his case against them.

However, Liu Jun believed that Butcher Zhang and County Magistrate's Assistant Zhao did not want the incident to escalate, as it would be detrimental to everyone.

Liu Jun walked up to County Magistrate's Assistant Zhao and Butcher Zhang, who were both nervous, unsure of what Liu Jun wanted.

Liu Jun smiled first.

Butcher Zhang also laughed heartily.

County Magistrate's Assistant Zhao had no choice but to join in the laughter.

Seeing Liu Jun walk over and laugh without saying a word, and the fat man who was supposedly the owner of the pawnshop and the short, fat man who was supposedly the County Magistrate's Assistant also laughing, Zhao Shun, who was watching from a distance, was completely confused and couldn't understand what was happening.

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