My eunuch godfather

Chapter 25 Zuo Liangyu

"Thank you for your concern, Brother Chen, but there's no need for you to worry so much."

Zhang Kun thanked Chen Jizong, then turned around and offered some advice:

"That guy surnamed Qi is just the younger brother of the eunuch in charge of the Lu Prince's mansion."

"Even so, what's the point of making an enemy out of nowhere?"

Chen Jizong shook his head and earnestly advised Zhang Kun:

"My dear brother, you are young and promising, and full of vigor. It is inevitable that you will act impulsively and offend others."

My brother had just entered the capital garrison from the local guard and was riding high, so he became a little complacent.

As a result, he offended the British Duke's family and sought a way to hide in the police station, where he wasted many years until he met his virtuous brother.

"My dear brother, you are so young, and you have the trust of Lord Zhang. As long as you act cautiously, you will surely have a bright future!"

There were too many important figures in the capital, and Chen Jizong, having stayed there for so long, became overly cautious.

Zhang Kun felt that as a powerful figure who had a eunuch as his godfather, he should act arrogantly as long as the conditions were right!

If he always wears a smiling face, then my relationship with this eunuch godfather would have been for nothing.

Moreover, the targets Zhang Kun had his eye on were not any big shots.

This Protector Qiu is not as powerful as Guo, the scholar from Hejian. What's wrong with offending him?

Of course, Chen Jizong is right about one thing: having enemies is not a good thing.

Zhang Kun decided to heed Chen Jizong's advice and eliminate his enemy, Protector Qiu!

Without hesitation, Zhang Kun summoned the storytellers and opera troupe leaders he had hired and launched a propaganda campaign.

......

The Guanyin Hall in the nunnery.

Protector Qiu sat in meditation on the prayer mat, while Master Qi, kneeling beside him, cleaned the incense burner of ashes.

A nun hurriedly entered the Guanyin Hall, knelt down behind Protector Qiu, and said urgently:

"Guardian Qiu, Xiao Jiu, who went to the city to buy groceries, said that rumors are spreading like wildfire in the city, all related to the nunnery!"

Protector Qiu opened his eyes, turned around, and asked, "What rumors?"

"Tell us, tell us this is a brothel, a den of iniquity!"

The nun paused for a moment, then continued speaking to Protector Qiu:

"It's our fault for not keeping the precepts, which angered the Buddha and made this natural disaster even worse."

They also said that we've abducted many daughters of disaster victims and given them to high-ranking officials for their own pleasure, which would anger Buddha.

"Nonsense!"

Protector Qiu stood up, feeling extremely anxious:

These rumors suddenly appeared; someone must be manipulating them.

Moreover, there are truths within falsehoods and falsehoods within truths, making it very difficult to resolve!

This nunnery did indeed house many prostitutes and served as an important channel for the Prince of Lu's family to cultivate relationships with officials and merchants in Linqing City.

But these days, there are people who keep prostitutes everywhere, so how come this is being linked to a natural disaster?

The nunnery did indeed take advantage of the disaster to bring in many girls from the disaster victims, intending to train them to become prostitutes.

But they were all bought with money, weren't they? These days, teenage girls aren't expensive, so Protector Qiu wouldn't be greedy for that little bit of money.

"Song'er, hurry to the docks, find Qian Laowu, and tell him to bring his men over immediately!"

......

A certain restaurant.

Wei Sengteng sat in the corner, flipping through the book in his hand, which was "Jin Ping Mei" set in Linqing.

"Sir, your food is ready! Enjoy!"

The waiter brought over a plate of pan-fried buns, a bowl of millet porridge, and a dish of pickled radish shreds, serving them to Wei Sengteng.

The bottom of the pan-fried buns is crispy, and the filling is cabbage and diced pork. The pork is a good balance of lean and fatty meat, and there is a little sugar to enhance the flavor.

Wei Sengteng put away the storybook in his hand, and with some porridge, he swallowed eight pan-fried buns in a whirlwind.

Feeling it wasn't enough, they called the waiter over and ordered another plate of braised pork offal and a bowl of hot soup noodles covered with fried pork cracklings.

While Wei Sengteng was slurping his noodles, a young man walked over with a smile, sat down opposite him, and said:

"Master Wei has quite the appetite."

"What's the matter?"

Wei Sengteng held chopsticks in his right hand and took the vinegar bottle with his left, pouring vinegar into the bowl.

"Protector Qiu summoned Qian Laowu from the dock to the nunnery."

The young man explained to Wei Sengteng:

"Qian Laowu used to work for a boat crew, but after being kicked out, he became a thug at the docks."

He had over fifty men under his command. It wasn't a large number, but they were all ruthless and dangerous criminals.

"With the fifth brother of the wealthy family protecting the nunnery, I'm worried..."

"No need to worry."

Wei Sengteng picked up the bowl of noodles and took a big gulp of soup, then interrupted the young man:

"All you need to do is gather the disaster victims together and surround the nunnery; you don't need to worry about anything else."

"yes,"

The young man nodded in agreement and asked Wei Sengteng with a smile:

"May I be so bold as to ask you, who is behind you? This nunnery is backed by the Prince of Lu's mansion!"

"You will know when the time is right."

Wei Sengteng finished eating the pork offal and noodles, then drank a large mouthful of noodle soup. He then took out a string of copper coins from his satchel and slapped it on the table.

Just as he was about to call out to the waiter, the young man in front of him smiled and said:

"Master Wei, I have already settled the bill."

Wei Sengteng carefully examined the young man before asking, "I remember your surname is Zuo, what's your given name?"

"My name is Zuo Liangyu."

......

Linqing Prefecture Government Office.

The prefect had just received news that the nunnery in the southeast of the city had suddenly been surrounded by thousands of disaster victims.

The cause was a few rumors that suddenly appeared, saying that the nunnery did not abide by the precepts and angered the Buddha, which aggravated the natural disaster.

Although he had never been there, the prefect had heard that the nunnery was located behind the Prince Lu's Mansion.

The Prince of Lu's mansion is unlikely to directly confront the state government over a brothel.

But the prefect still had to take charge; if the disaster victims suddenly rioted, he had to suppress them!

If the situation cannot be suppressed, more disaster victims will be encouraged, which will inevitably lead to even greater chaos.

Just as the prefect was about to mobilize the local militia, Zhang Kun from the river works camp suddenly requested an audience.

"Your Excellency, the River Works Battalion is willing to share the burden for the prefectural government."

Zhang Kun suggested to the prefect, "Send out the guards to disperse the disaster victims surrounding the nunnery."

"...Commander Zhang, could you tell me why the River Works Battalion is involved in this matter?"

After a moment of silence, the prefect asked Zhang Kun.

"The governor may know that behind this nunnery lies the Prince Lu's mansion."

Zhang Kun presented the prefect with his prepared reasons, and respectfully said:

"If the state government handles this matter, and something goes wrong, it might offend the Prince Lu's mansion."

The river engineering battalion has already recruited 2,500 people, and after a few more days of training, they will set off north.

Even if they mishandle the situation and offend the Prince Lu's Mansion, they are not afraid of being held accountable by the Prince Lu's Mansion.

"The Governor previously helped the River Works Camp; now the River Works Camp should repay the Governor!"

Mishandling? You mean...

Upon hearing Zhang Kun's words, the prefect tentatively asked:

"What could possibly go wrong, or offend the Prince Lu's residence?"

"I heard the nunnery only has about fifty nunneries, how can they hold off more than a thousand disaster victims?"

Zhang Kun replied to the prefect:

"Also, I heard that the protector of the nunnery is the younger brother of a eunuch in charge of the estate of Prince Lu."

If this protector is killed by the disaster victims, his brother will most likely complain to Prince Lu.

Furthermore, there's the matter of the nunnery's money; if it's all looted by the disaster victims, the Prince Lu's mansion will certainly be dissatisfied.

Are you planning to do this?

After pondering for a moment, the prefect tapped the table a few times with his fingers and directly stated his conditions to Zhang Kun:

"The prefectural government is struggling to provide relief to over 200,000 disaster victims. Could the river works battalion provide some financial and material support to the prefectural government?"

After you rob the nunnery, you have to give a share of the money to the state government.

"certainly!"

Seeing that the prefect was willing to cooperate, Zhang Kun was very pleased and immediately agreed:

"The river works battalion will do its utmost to support the prefectural government!"