Li Jun stared at him coldly. It was obvious that Wang Erlei's explanation didn't solve the problem, so he asked again, "Who is Yuan Shihai's father?"
When Zhao Xian heard that people from Linzhou were being asked about, he immediately perked up: "Yuan Huatou, he's the richest merchant in Linzhou. He owns one-fifth of the shops in this market. Even the city lord of Linzhou has to give him some leeway." He didn't forget to brag a little at the end, "Therefore, in the entire Linzhou, I'm the only one who dares to oppose him and his son."
Wang Erlei snorted in dissatisfaction, muttering under his breath, "And me too." Li Jun ignored him. Based on the experience his mercenary companions had taught him, he knew where the problem might lie. "So, do you know something you shouldn't know, about Yuan Huatou?"
Zhao Xian's expression began to change, partly because Li Jun had asked the crucial question, and partly because the four inspectors had approached.
"Hey there, Zhao the Brat," a patrolman with a mustache said with a grin to Zhao Xian. "Haven't seen you for days, where have you been hiding?"
For petty thugs, the local patrol officers are their nemesis. Zhao Xian quickly put on a smile: "Brother Patrol Officer, come on, let's eat together. Treat us, cook a few more dishes."
He waved to stop the waiter from coming over, and the man with the mustache looked Li Jun's unfamiliar face over and over again. Seeing that he was only sixteen or seventeen years old, he turned to Zhao Xian and asked, "Did you just come from Laotou Ridge?"
Zhao Xian's eyes darted around. The place where they ambushed the mercenaries was indeed called Old Man Ridge. He habitually shook his head to deny it, but the smile on his mustache-faced face froze the moment he shook his head: "Don't deny it. Old Man Ridge is on fire, and you guys look like you've been burned. Denying it won't help."
Zhao Xian glanced at Li Jun and saw that he still looked nonchalant, so he forced a smile and said, "Yes, I almost burned to death when Old Man Ridge caught fire."
The man with the mustache pressed down on the table, leaned closer, and whispered, "So, did you see any fighting there?"
"A war? I don't know anything about it." Zhao Xian was stunned for a moment. Even Li Xian almost believed that he knew nothing at all, but the man with the mustache put his hand on Zhao Xian's shoulder, and the smile on his face turned into a sinister grin: "Really don't know?"
As the veins on Zhao Xian's five fingers bulged, he let out a pitiful cry: "Let me go, let me go... I'll talk..."
The diners in the building seemed not to have heard anything. Li Jun remained calm, but his mind was racing. The inspector was being too concerned about the battle at Laotou Ridge.
"A dozen or so of us brothers were hunting there when we heard the sounds of fighting. We were about to go closer to see what was happening when the fire started and we scattered and ran away, so we didn't see the battle..."
Zhao Xian told three parts truth and seven parts lies, and the man with the mustache didn't suspect a thing. He continued, "Then did you see anyone suspicious?"
"No, we were too busy running for our lives, Inspector, that's all I know."
The man with the mustache turned and smiled at his companion: "I told you no one would sneak in. Those mercenaries are completely finished. They were betrayed by Chen's bastards, hahaha..."
His last words struck Li Jun deeply. When the main force of Chen State suffered an initial defeat, the commander-in-chief ordered each unit to break out of the encirclement. Li Jun and his men followed the instructions and retreated into the territory of Su State by crossing mountains and valleys. However, they were ambushed along the way, as if the enemy knew their retreat route in advance.
A profound sense of sorrow welled up in Li Jun's heart. It was clear that the Chen Kingdom's commander had betrayed them, using them as bait to lure away the Hong Kingdom's pursuers. Mercenaries fight for money, so in the eyes of the warring nations, they were nothing more than insignificant pawns. In a chaotic world, mercenaries could only trust and be loyal to money.
The laughter of another inspector behind the mustache made Li Jun wonder again. "Tell the original boss about this."
As Li Jun watched the four people walk downstairs, he asked in a low voice, "Is this Boss Yuan the 'Slippery Yuan' you mentioned?"
Zhao Xian nodded and said, "He is Yuan Shihai's father."
"What exactly do you know about them?" Li Jun's eyes gleamed as he stared intently at Zhao Xian. "If you don't tell me, they'll come after you after I leave Linzhou. At that point, you won't even be able to die."
Startled by the chilling aura emanating from Li Jun's teeth, Zhao Xian shivered and stammered, "I accidentally discovered that Yuan Huatou was associating with people from Chen State. He might be a spy for Chen State."
“If that’s the case, Yuan Huatou only suspects you know his secret, otherwise he would have done everything in his power to kill you.” The light in Li Jun’s eyes began to fade. He didn’t ask Zhao Xian for confirmation anymore, but Wang Erlei asked, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? If you had, we could have reported you to the city lord and even gotten a reward!”
Zhao Xian smiled bitterly: "I have no evidence. Do you think the city lord will believe us? We're just small-time thugs. In this chaotic world, what do we have that's trustworthy?"
Li Junxin's heart twitched slightly. He had basically guessed the gist of it. This Yuan Huatou was probably a spy from the Chen Kingdom who had infiltrated Hong Kingdom a long time ago. The Chen Kingdom's commander-in-chief had probably betrayed the mercenaries through him. The fact that a spy from the Chen Kingdom was so deeply embedded in Hong Kingdom meant that the person who devised this plan must have been a cunning and shrewd individual.
In an instant, an unprecedented emotion surged through Li Jun's heart, so intense that he couldn't help but tremble. In that instant, he realized that to survive in this chaotic world, merely being an excellent soldier was not enough. He too could use methods outside the battlefield to carve out his own niche.
A young man's heart is always easily inspired by new ideas, and he is always eager to put his new ideas into practice. Li Jun took a deep breath. The air in the restaurant was a bit murky and had a strong smell of liquor, which, to some extent, fueled the ambition burning in the young man's heart.
"Boss, you have to help me think of a way." As if sensing the turmoil in Li Jun's heart, Zhao Xian's idea further spurred Li Jun's plan: "The best way is to kill the Yuan Huatou family."
"We need manpower." Li Jun made a decision in an instant. He would use this small city of Linzhou as the site for his experiment, but at the same time, he realized what he lacked most. He looked at the two boys who were slightly older than him and sighed softly.
"Do you care that I'm not from Hong Kingdom?" Li Jun conducted a final test on the two people he could find.
"The state is only useful to those who are wealthy and powerful." Wang Erlei's simple sentence revealed a fact that has existed in the world of Shenzhou for thousands of years: "What benefit is there for people like us to the state?"
Li Jun looked at the somewhat overweight man with almost disbelief, smiled slightly, and said, "The country these days only works for the wealthy and powerful..." He swallowed the rest of his sentence and turned to Zhao Xian, asking, "How many more people can you find?"
Zhao Xian paused for a moment, then asked, "What?"
Li Jun said expressionlessly, "I'll solve your problems."
Zhao Xian was overjoyed. He had no doubt about Li Jun's strength and even thought that the dragon-slaying heroes in legendary novels could not be stronger than Li Jun. He and Wang Erlei high-fived each other and then replied, "All the vagrants in Linzhou City are our people. We have our own way of contacting them."
Slightly startled, Li Jun instantly grasped the capabilities of the city's homeless. As he pondered this, a cold smile appeared on his face: "Remember, you must obey my every command, or you will face certain death."
Zhao Xian broke out in a cold sweat. He knew that this seemingly childlike boy was a man of his word, but now he had no other choice.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Note 1: One of the few spells known to the Qiang people, its element is earth, and it can temporarily enhance the body's resistance to blows.
Note 2: The Divine Continent is an agrarian world that has always looked down on industrialists and merchants. Therefore, industrial and commercial areas and service areas are separated from residential areas and called "markets." It was not until the later stages of the Thousand-Year War that the Peace Army realized the potential power of industrialists and merchants and gradually abolished this practice.
Note 3: Due to the numerous small countries in the Divine Continent, each with its own currency, it was common practice to mint precious metals such as gold or silver into round discs for easy settlement. These discs had specific size and weight regulations. Towards the end of the Thousand-Year War, governments, especially those possessing gold and silver mines, began minting gold and silver coins. However, only the coins minted by the Lan Kingdom, which possessed the largest gold and silver deposits, circulated throughout the entire Divine Continent. Li Junfu used one of these silver coins. The exchange rate was approximately one gold coin equal to sixteen silver coins equal to two hundred and fifty-six copper coins.
Note 4: Lower-level security officials in China are equivalent to police officers.
Chapter Two: Hai Ping's Extraordinary Gamble
Section 1
The next day, news began to spread throughout Linzhou City.
"All the soldiers of Chen were captured alive. It is said that even the commander-in-chief of Chen was arrested, and a list of Chen spies was taken from him."
Yuan Huatou was alarmed by this news. Although he immediately judged it to be a false rumor, he was still somewhat uneasy. Therefore, he did his best to send people to investigate the source of the news and could only put Zhao Xian's return out of his mind for the time being.
But then a second piece of related news came: "The Chen soldiers have broken through the siege, and some of the remaining soldiers are heading towards Linzhou City."