"Feel sorry."
"Hey, how can you apologize at the dinner table? You've got to drink the penalty shot!"
"..."
Wu Shuangren remained clear-headed and subtly tried to find out more about Guo Jiwang, Guo Jiwang.
As they drank, their conversation expanded from West River County to the entire Xi Province, then to the imperial court, and finally to the general trend of the world.
Guo Jiwang was also completely drunk, criticizing current affairs and frequently spouting wild remarks.
In his words, the imperial court was utterly corrupt, the world was full of problems, and most of those in high positions were useless!
Wu Shuangren also seemed to have had too much to drink, but he merely nodded in agreement and did not offer much of his own opinion.
By the end, Wu Shuangren estimated that Guo Jiwang had already drunk two jin of strong liquor!
He was completely drunk.
Wu Shuangren called out a few times, and then Zhou Zhengqing walked in and asked him if he wanted to rest at the county office.
Wu Shuangren stood up unsteadily. "I... my men are still waiting outside, Adviser Zhou, you don't need to worry about me..."
Zhou Zhengqing stepped forward to help Wu Shuangren: "Then I'll see Militia Commander Wu out."
"Thank you so much."
"..."
A moment later, Zhou Zhengqing saw Wu Shuangren off and returned to the dining room.
Guo Jiwang, who was just moments ago completely drunk, is now sitting and slowly sipping tea.
There wasn't a trace of drunkenness in his eyes.
Zhou Zhengqing was already used to this, and bowed, saying, "Sir, he has already been sent away. His men should be taking him out of the county town."
Guo Jiwang beckoned. "Zhengqing, sit down and have another drink with me."
Zhou Zhengqing smiled wryly, "Sir, you should have some tea instead of alcohol."
He went over and sat down, pouring Guo Jiwang some tea. "What do you think, sir?"
Guo Jiwang nodded, his expression thoughtful:
"He's very proud, confident in his martial prowess, even arrogant! But he's also quite shrewd, ambitious, and knows how to restrain himself... For his age, he's truly a prodigy."
Note 1: This passage is from "Jixiao Xinshu".
115 Who will plan for me?
Wu Shuangren rode his horse out of the county town, and the wind blew him away, sobering him up considerably.
His body had a decent alcohol tolerance, and with his Internal Skill cultivation, circulating qi and blood could speed up the sobering process, so he sobered up completely in no time.
Bai Jinhuan, accompanied by his personal guards, followed behind, the group returning to Zhang Clan Village along the official road. Horses hooves kicked up dust on the dirt road. Wu Shuangren sat on horseback, his mind replaying Guo Jiwang's words—
Tenant farmers, land, and land awarded for military merit!
As a fighting champion, Wu Shuangren can learn to fight and kill quickly, but he lacks experience in managing power and controlling subordinates, and can only learn by trial and error.
Wu Shuangren had a long talk with Guo Jiwang, and he became even more convinced of one thing: he lacked strategists, or rather, a real team of advisors.
Previously, with limited territory and manpower, Wu Shuangren felt he could easily control everything.
Now that he controls the entire West River Market, plus the two county towns of Bo County and West River County, his troops will soon exceed two thousand men, and he certainly needs someone to assist him.
Bai Jinhuan had only studied military strategy for a few years. He was a good helper in marching troops, fighting battles, and managing local militias, but he was not good at anything else.
Similarly, Mo Zhengxing's real talent lies in business; he can be a good logistics manager, but he lacks in other areas.
As for Luo Heng, a former gang leader, Wu Shuangren entrusted him with intelligence work simply because he valued Flying Feather Gang, which made him suitable for this task.
However, when it comes to managing influence, just look at the Flying Feather Gang's past situation to see that Luo Heng is not good at it either.
Therefore, Wu Shuangren needs a strategist or a team of advisors who can help him oversee the overall situation.
Since Guo Jiwang has Traits, he must be no ordinary person and should have such abilities!
The other party talked to me for so long today, saying that he hopes a more ambitious and capable person will take the position of head of the West River County Youth League.
This proves that the other party also has ambitions and is not content to stop at West River County!
Although Wu Shuangren didn't quite understand this county magistrate, he could at least see this one thing.
'I just don't know what this [Mad Osprey] is thinking? Is he willing to become my strategist?'
Wu Shuangren kept thinking about these things on the way back to Zhang Clan Village on horseback.
He dismounted, tossed the reins to his guards, and strode into a large hall, ordering Bai Jinhuan to bring him all the intelligence gathered from the interrogation of the Zhang Clan.
A moment later, Bai Jinhuan came in with a stack of papers and handed them to Wu Shuangren.
Wu Shuangren flipped through the pages one by one, discovering that they recorded how many men the Zhang Clan still had, how much wealth they possessed, who the skilled guards were, what connections they had with forces in West River County and other parts of Xi Province, and how many weapons were hidden in the storeroom...
They took detailed notes, filling several pages, but Bai Jinhuan and the others didn't ask a single question about the Zhang Clan's fields.
Wu Shuangren put down the paper in his hand and looked at Bai Jinhuan: "The investigation was good, but one thing was missed."
Bai Jinhuan was taken aback. "What's missing?"
"Field property."
Wu Shuangren pointed to the stack of papers, "How much land does the Zhang Clan own? Where is it located? Is it paddy field or dry land? How many tenants do they have? How much rent do they collect each year? Go and review these documents again."
Bai Jinhuan nodded in agreement, turned around and went out, selecting a few veteran soldiers skilled in interrogation to re-interrogate the Zhang Clan were being held in the backyard.
That afternoon, Bai Jinhuan handed Wu Shuangren another stack of papers. "Commander, please take a look."
Wu Shuangren looked at the detailed records and nodded in satisfaction. "Thank you for your hard work."
Bai Jinhuan chuckled and quickly said, "It's no trouble at all, I'm just glad the commander is satisfied."
With the number of battalion commanders increasing, even though he is the first battalion commander and is highly valued by Wu Shuangren, he still inevitably feels a sense of crisis.
Therefore, I hope to do more things for Wu Shuangren.
Wu Shuangren: "During your interrogation, were there any members of the Zhang Clan family who were clever enough but cowardly and afraid of death, and who were very cooperative?"
Bai Jinhuan thought for a moment and nodded, "There are a few."
Wu Shuangren: "Choose the one with the highest status in the Zhang Clan and bring him to see me."
"Yes."
Soon, Bai Jinhuan led a middle-aged man into the lobby.
The man appeared to be in his thirties, with a timid demeanor. Upon seeing Wu Shuangren, he immediately knelt down with a thud.
"Militia Commander Wu! Master Wu! I've told you everything, I've confessed everything. It's all Zhang He's fault, it has nothing to do with me, please don't kill me!"
Bai Jinhuan glanced at the man with disdain and said to Wu Shuangren, "His Zhang Tong. He's from the fourth branch of the Zhang Clan and serves as a captain in the militia, in charge of fifty men."
Wu Shuangren looked at Zhang Tong: "Go back to the county town and bring Zhang He's body back with you."
Upon hearing that he wasn't to be killed but rather to be allowed to return, Zhang Tong was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly.
"Tell the heads of the Zhang Clan to bring over all the land deeds for all the land under the Zhang Clan's name before sunset tomorrow—I mean all of them! Plus, three thousand taels of silver. If you do, I'll release all the Zhang Clan. If you don't, you'll bear the consequences."
Wu Shuangren said in a calm tone.
After listening, Zhang Tong nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, Master Wu, I will definitely pass on the message!"
Soon, Bai Jinhuan had Zhang He's body covered with a white cloth, placed on a cart, and pushed out of the village by Zhang Tong and two Zhang Clan prisoners, heading towards the county town.
When Zhang Tong pushed the cart into the Zhang residence, it was already close to dusk.
He was quickly led by two guards to the main hall where the heads of the Zhang Clan branches were already seated.
"Speak, what message did the man surnamed Wu send you to deliver when he let you return?"
Zhang Yan asked coldly.
Standing in the center of the hall, facing his own people, Zhang Tong no longer displayed the timidity and humility he had shown before Wu Shuangren. Instead, he straightened his back, raised his head, and spoke with great conviction:
"I risked my life to bring the patriarch's body home, and now I'm the one being interrogated?"
"You..."
"Alright."
Zhang Ming from the fourth branch spoke up, "Brother Tong, please sit down and talk. Someone, bring some tea."
The other party was from the fourth wife's family, the son of his father's concubine, so he naturally had to speak on their behalf.
Zhang Tong snorted coldly, sat down next to Zhang Ming, took a leisurely sip of tea, and then slowly spoke:
Wu Shuangren said that if we handed over all the land and property under the Zhang Clan's name before sunset tomorrow, and also gave them three thousand taels of silver, he would release the Zhang Clan; otherwise, we would bear the consequences.
"All the land? Three thousand taels of silver?"
Zhang Yan immediately flew into a rage, "That's wishful thinking!"
Zhang Yuan roared, "Absolutely not! We're holed up in the county town, what can he do? Does he dare bring his troops into the town to kill people? This is the county town, the law is in effect here!"
"The law?"
Zhang Ming scoffed and looked at Zhang Yan: "Second Brother, do you think the county government will still stand up for us?"
The lobby fell silent.
Zhang Ming continued, "Yesterday, my elder brother sent someone to the county government to ask for help, but the officials refused to see him. Today, Wu Shuangren led his men into the city and went straight to the county government. I heard he was drinking and chatting happily with the county magistrate! That Wu fellow has long been in cahoots with the county government; our Zhang Clan is already a discarded pawn!"
"But we can't just hand over all the land."
Zhang Yuan's voice was still loud, but his confidence had diminished. "We've lost the land, the money, and all the shops in West River Market. What will the hundreds of people in the Zhang Clan eat?"
"Everyone."
Zhang Tong interrupted impatiently, "This isn't about food, it's about how we survive! Wu Shuangren is First Rate- tier expert. If he really wanted to kill us, wouldn't it be easy for him to sneak in at night and take us down one by one? Do you really think the county government would investigate then?"
"..."
The hall fell silent; the people in charge were all pale-faced and speechless.
The following afternoon, a handcart was pushed out of the county town and headed towards Zhang Clan Village.
Zhang Tong walked at the front, followed by several guards from the Zhang Clan, with several wooden boxes on a cart.
The group walked along the official road for more than half an hour before finally arriving at Zhang Clan Village.
Wu Shuangren waited in the main hall. Several wooden crates were carried in by his guards, placed on the ground, and all were opened.
The box contained silver, copper coins, paper money, and land deeds.
Several accountants who came from West River Market began to do the calculations.
More than half an hour later, the results came out—more than 700 taels of silver, more than 1,000 strings of copper coins, and more than 1,700 strings of paper money. The total amount was more than 3,400 strings of cash, which was more than 400 strings more than 3,000 taels of silver.
Wu Shuangren knew what was going on. Officially, one tael of silver could be exchanged for one string of coins, but in reality, silver was more valuable than copper coins.
In informal transactions, one tael of silver could be exchanged for more copper coins, with the specific exchange rate varying by region.
Wu Shuangren's demand for three thousand taels of silver was not arbitrary; it was based on the results of Bai Jinhuan's interrogation.
The Zhang Clan ultimately couldn't come up with that much silver, so they had to make up the difference with copper coins and paper money. The other party was afraid of angering Wu Shuangren by not being able to raise three thousand taels of silver, so they added more than four hundred strings of copper coins to make up the shortfall.
In addition, there were land deeds. The Zhang Clan family owned nearly 20,000 mu of land, and the land deeds sent out roughly matched the information obtained during the interrogation.
The number is correct.
Wu Shuangren said to Zhang Tong, "Go back and tell the heads of your family that I have accepted the money and land deed. From now on, as long as the Zhang Clan behaves itself, I will ensure your safety."
"Thank you, Mr. Wu! I will definitely pass on the message!"
Zhang Tong knelt on the ground and kowtowed tremblingly.
They lost their land, their money, their business, and their local militia.
The Zhang Clan is practically defunct in name only!