CHAPTER 79: CHAPTER 79: SEIZING LAND TO BECOME BANDITS

Chen Family.

Since Chen Mo left, Han Anniang sat restlessly in the cellar, her mind running wild with thoughts.

But she kept Chen Mo’s instructions in mind, not leaving the cellar to avoid burdening him.

"Sister-in-law."

At this moment, the cellar opened from above, and Chen Mo’s voice came through.

Han Anniang was taken aback at first, then immediately climbed up.

Seeing Chen Mo covered in blood, Han Anniang’s face turned pale, and with tear-filled eyes, she asked with concern: "Uncle, are you... injured?"

Chen Mo smiled and reassured her: "Don’t worry, sister-in-law, it’s someone else’s blood."

Then, Chen Mo began to recount the events outside to Han Anniang.

Upon learning that her uncle had killed the officials and was planning a rebellion, Han Anniang was shocked. After a while, she raised her hand to straighten Chen Mo’s collar, her face filled with tenderness: "Wherever Uncle goes, that’s where I’ll go. If Uncle becomes a rebel, then I’ll be a rebel wife. As long as Uncle is safe, I’ll do anything."

Chen Mo wiped the tears from the corners of Han Anniang’s eyes and, to lighten the oppressive atmosphere, quipped: "Sister-in-law hasn’t even given me a child yet; how could anything happen to me."

"Uncle... you..." Han Anniang’s face reddened, but the thought of bearing a child for her uncle filled her with a sense of deep shame. She lowered her head, her hand subconsciously touching her belly.

"Brother Mo, Constable Wu is here."

At this moment, Zhang River, who was standing guard outside, called out.

"Sister-in-law, you stay in the room; I’ll go take a look."

"Okay."

...

In the courtyard, bloodstained armor was being brought in, forming a small mountain pile, with weapons placed to the side.

Wu Mountain entered with his men, looking at the pile of armor, the three of them nervously swallowed.

As Chen Mo walked out of the house, just as Wu Mountain was about to speak, Wang Ping, who had already finished counting, spoke first: "Immortal Master Chen, there are a total of two hundred sets of armor, thirty-two of which are damaged, and also two hundred great sabers."

Upon hearing this.

Wu Mountain’s heart skipped a beat; the Defense Army dispatched to arrest people outside the city numbered exactly two hundred.

It now seemed that this entire force had indeed been killed.

Wu Mountain’s two subordinates broke into a cold sweat.

Chen Mo nodded and instructed Zhang River beside him: "Go fetch the money and meat from my sister-in-law."

Although Chen Mo didn’t have much money at the moment, he could still afford compensation for the casualties and the monthly salary for Wang Ping and the others.

"...Alright." Zhang River imitated Han Wu, cupping his fists.

Then, Chen Mo looked toward Wu Mountain and joked, "Brother Wu, you didn’t leave; you’re here to join me, perhaps?"

"Brother Chen, stop joking; I... my family is still in the city." Wu Mountain smiled awkwardly.

Knowing Wu Mountain had something to discuss, Chen Mo invited him into the kitchen to talk.

Once inside the kitchen, Wu Mountain finally let out a breath; the looks from those villagers earlier seemed as if they wanted to skin him alive.

"Brother Wu, have a seat." Inviting Wu Mountain to sit, Chen Mo poured him a cup of water.

Toward Wu Mountain, Chen Mo felt grateful; taking such a risk to notify him to flee truly earned him the title of brother.

"Brother Chen, did you really kill Chief Peng and the others?"

After sitting down, Wu Mountain cautiously asked.

"Yes, except for the three of you, I killed them all." Chen Mo said calmly.

"Brother Chen, this time you’ve made a big mistake." Wu Mountain slapped his thigh heavily: "After you killed so many official soldiers, Lord Chang will never let you go – especially Chief Peng; he’s also General Sun’s disciple, and the Defense Army won’t let this slide either."

"General Sun?" Chen Mo blinked.

"General Sun is the commander of the Defense Army in the city," Wu Mountain replied.

Chen Mo recalled seeing that general outside the government office before, and then he chuckled softly: "Did I have a choice? The government office never intended to spare me anyway."

"You could have escaped; I notified you yesterday so you could flee."

"In such chaotic times, where could I escape to? As long as the court still stands, my charges remain."

Wu Mountain: "..."

"Brother Chen, aren’t you afraid Lord Chang will deploy the entire Defense Army to hunt you down?" Wu Mountain asked.

"He won’t." Chen Mo replied.

"Why not?"

"Lord Chang’s term is almost up, right?"

This thought occurred to Chen Mo during a previous trip back from the county; the term for a County Magistrate under the Great Song Dynasty was three years, with potential for promotion, transfer, or retention afterward based on performance.

Chang Yuan had been in Pingting County for over two years; as a Third-Class Scholar with connections above, his chances for promotion were quite high, not to mention the rebel threat approaching, making all of Qingzhou unsafe. He couldn’t remain in Pingting County indefinitely.

From a different perspective, if he were Chang Yuan, he would refrain from causing trouble before his term ends; instead, he’d seal information, ensuring nothing from his jurisdiction leaks to jeopardize his promotion, while also focusing on accumulating wealth quickly.

Then, when leaving office, depart with merit and money to take up a new position.

The recent occurrences in the county were too reminiscent of this thought process to Chen Mo.

Collecting entry fees, ignoring matters outside the city.

This approach not only reduced cases, but as long as the city’s residents remained untroubled, with no significant incidents, it attested to effective rule by the authorities, with citizens living in peace.

As for subsequent potential troubles, once I’m gone, that’ll be a headache for my successor.

Should a rebellion arise after his departure, even better; if anything happens, the blame falls entirely on the rebels.

And judging by Chang Yuan’s actions, he didn’t appear to be a responsible or civic-minded official.

Indeed, less trouble is better; if he sent the Defense Army out to suppress bandits and suffered great losses, he’d be unable to account for it to the higher-ups.

Of course, these were just Chen Mo’s guesses; should Chang Yuan suddenly act irrationally and decide to deploy the Defense Army against him, it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility.

However, Chen Mo was already prepared for this.

Fu Ze Village was the closest to Daze Mountain; should Chang Yuan truly order a suppression, Chen Mo had sufficient strategic depth, requiring only a retreat into the mountains.

Hearing this, Wu Mountain was suddenly stunned; he had once overheard the chief clerk mention the nearing end of Lord Chang’s term at the government office.

"Brother Chen, how did you know?" Wu Mountain asked.

"It’s written in books; a County Magistrate’s term is three years, and Lord Chang has been in our county for over two years, so I inferred it." Chen Mo replied, looking at Wu Mountain and said: "Brother Wu, you came to find me because you’re unsure of how to explain things upon returning and want my suggestion, right?"

Wu Mountain gave a thumbs-up to Chen Mo, truly impressed.

"I do have an idea, but it’ll require your cooperation, Brother Wu."

"Brother Chen, tell me, and I’ll definitely cooperate."

...

Seeing off Wu Mountain and his two companions, Zhang River couldn’t hold back his curiosity: "Brother Mo, we have so many people now; shouldn’t we go up the mountain to become bandits? That way, we wouldn’t fear the official soldiers attacking, so why stay in the village?"

"The government isn’t afraid of roaming bandits, but it’s different for those of us who settle."

"???" Zhang River couldn’t understand.

"Spread the word: we’re holding a mobilization meeting at noon."