Chapter 158: You are corrupt official yoursef, why should we trust you?
On the second day, Lin Beifan returned to Panshan River once again. At this time, the two sides were facing each other with swords and spears, tense and nervous. There was sweat on their faces and blood on their bodies, as if they had just experienced a fierce battle.
“What’s going on?” Lin Beifan asked in confusion.
“Reporting to the prefect, these rebels came to snatch our food again!” a prefect envoy reported.
Prefect Liu smiled bitterly. “This situation is quite common! They have been raiding us almost every day recently, at different times! To appease them, I have prepared some food for them! But the amount is too little, so they end up fighting over it with our government envoys!”
Lin Beifan nodded in understanding.
After all, the food supply for 30,000 people was too large, and only the imperial court could afford it. The local government had no way to handle it.
Now that they had become rebels, the imperial court would definitely not provide them with food.
Instead, the intention was to starve them and make them powerless to resist.
But this put the prefecture magistrate in a difficult situation.
After all, if these rebels caused trouble and entered Tangzhou to cause damage and steal food, the blame would fall on him as the prefecture magistrate.
Therefore, he could only take this compromise approach.
Give them food and wait for the imperial court to send someone to resolve the situation.
At this time, Prefect Liu shouted loudly, “I advise you to surrender quickly, don’t struggle in vain anymore! As long as you give up resistance, the imperial court will take your hardships into consideration and deal with you lightly!”
“Do you really want to become bandits? Do you really want to abandon your identity as soldiers? Are you really willing to give up everything and live a precarious life?”
“Look, even eating is a problem for you now!”
“Think about your wives, children, parents, siblings, and relatives! If you really betray and flee, your loved ones will also be disgraced and despised…”
…
There was some commotion among the rebels, but it quickly calmed down.
Lin Beifan couldn’t stand it any longer. “Prefect Liu, this way of speaking won’t work! They are already tired of hearing these arguments, it won’t have any effect. Watch me!”
“What Principal Lin said is absolutely right, please!” Prefect Liu politely made way, but his heart was full of disdain.
You’re saying my words are not effective?
This is a set of arguments that I painstakingly summarized. What does a young man like you know?
Don’t make the rebels angry and out of control later on!
Lin Beifan stepped forward and said loudly, “I advise you to surrender quickly, it’s a path of no return! If you step on this path, you can never turn back! Do you know what serious consequences there will be?”
One of the leaders of the rebels sneered, “What consequences can there be? We have already thought through everything!”
The other rebels also began to shout.
“That’s right, we have already thought through everything!”
“It’s just death, what’s there to be afraid of? I’ve experienced life and death situations, what should I be afraid of?”
“I have made up my mind on this path, I have never thought of turning back!”
“Do we still have to continue being bullied by you corrupt officials?”
“We are men, we are not cowards!”
…
Lin Beifan shook his head with disdain. “You’re thinking too simplistically! Let me tell you, once you go down this path, you really can’t come back! Your wives will become widows, your children will become orphans! In that case…”
Lin Beifan raised his head high and shouted loudly, “Other men will have the chance to sleep with your wives!”
The rebels exclaimed, “F*ck!”
“They will beat your children!”
The rebels exclaimed, “F*ck!”
“They will humilate your mothers!”
The rebels exclaimed, “F*ck!”
“They will spend all the money you earned!”
The rebels exclaimed, “F*ck!”
“They will seize your houses and lands, leaving you with nothing!”
The rebels exclaimed, “F*ck!”
“In other words, all your years of hard work will be wasted on other men’s pleasure!” Lin Beifan’s voice resonated with conviction. “That man could be your lifelong rival!”
The rebels exclaimed, “F*ck!”
“He could be a ruffian or a rogue on the street!”
The rebels exclaimed, “F*ck!”
“Or he could be the corrupt and greedy officials you despise!”
The rebels exclaimed, “F*ck!”
“After you leave, no one will be happier than them! Because if you don’t leave, they won’t have this opportunity! Once you leave, all of this will be theirs!”
Lin Beifan laughed triumphantly. “And you, you will have to wear a big green hat, carrying this shame, struggling for your whole life! Watching your most hated enemies happily sleeping with your wives, beating your children, humiliating your mothers, spending all the money you earned, and seizing your houses and lands…”
The rebels immediately collapsed!
“Please stop, please stop talking!”
“Don’t say it anymore, my heart hurts so much!”
“Why did you have to tell us about these bloody things?”
“You devil!”
…
Everyone was shocked!
Damn!
Mr. Principal, you’re amazing!
With just a few words, you’ve crushed the rebels’ will!
But I have to admit, those words were too harsh, no man can handle them!
If it were them, they would definitely collapse as well!
Prefect Liu gave a thumbs up. “Principal Lin, you’re incredible, I’m impressed!”
Lin Beifan smiled calmly. I haven’t even used my full power yet.
At this moment, a tall and strong man with dark skin walked out from the rebel ranks. He glanced at the demoralized crowd around him and shook his head helplessly. He loudly said, “You must be official sent by the court, Lin Beifan?”
“That’s right, it’s me!” Lin Beifan stood with his hands behind his back.
“Impressive, truly worthy of being the top scholar, your words are sharp!” the man in front of him said in awe.
“You’re not bad yourself!” Lin Beifan laughed. “You must be the great man who led the rebellion, beheaded the deputy general, and fearlessly turned to banditry. You sure have guts!”
The man didn’t hesitate to reply, “That’s right, I am the one who killed them all because they deserved it! They embezzled our military pay, leaving us with not enough money to eat! They treated us like animals, always beating and cursing at us. And in the end, they even harassed my brother’s wife… Enough is enough! Such officials should be killed. If they’re not, I can’t find peace of mind!”
“That’s right! Such officials should be killed!”
“It’s better to kill them all!”
“If the leader doesn’t take action, I will!”
…
The rebels shouted excitedly, filled with emotions.
Lin Beifan shouted, “Indeed, these officials deserve to be killed! However, it should be done by the court, not by you! What you are doing now, lightly put, is rebellion, and heavily put, it’s treason!”
“Hand it over to the court?” The big man laughed disdainfully. “If the court had found out earlier, this situation wouldn’t have happened! You see, we’ve been oppressed for a whole year! Where were you all during this year?”
The last sentence was practically a roar!
“On this point, the court does owe you an apology!”
Lin Beifan’s tone was gentle. “That’s why Her Majesty has sent me to resolve this matter! As long as you all lay down your weapons and surrender, returning to the military, the court will undoubtedly show leniency!”
“Big man, you’re a clever person, and a loyal and conscientious man! Otherwise, you would have left with them a long time ago! Because you know that by leaving, it would be easy for you, but your brothers who follow you would lose everything! After all, most of them are ordinary people. They have families, wives, children, and they can’t abandon everything!”
Big Bull sighed heavily, never expecting that this corrupt official would understand him so well.
That’s why he hesitated to leave!
Because he was alone, he could eat his fill without worrying about his family going hungry. It didn’t matter where he went, he would be fine. But his brothers were different.
They were the pillars of their families, responsible for taking care of their wives, raising their children, supporting their parents. They couldn’t just walk away. Moreover, life outside was not as good as it seemed. There was chaos and suffering. It was extremely difficult to earn a living, and even more so for a group of wanted criminals like them.
Did they have to live a life on the run, resorting to robbery and theft forever?
It would be better to stay within the military camp, at least they would have food to eat.
So, he had been waiting for the court’s representatives to come and have a proper discussion.
But Big Bull sneered, “Hmph! Your proposal sounds easy! Who knows what you’ll do to us once we lay down our weapons? What if you throw us all into prison or kill us? Wouldn’t that be unjust?”
“Even if the court shows leniency and allows us to rejoin the military, what if we encounter another corrupt official who embezzles our military pay and treats us like animals? What then?”
“And you yourself are a corrupt official, why should we trust you?”
The rebels clamored.
“That’s right! What if we surrender and you throw us in jail?”
“What if we encounter another corrupt official?”
“You yourself are corrupt, why should we trust you?”
…
Lin Beifan calmly responded, “I don’t expect you to trust me, nor do I intend to make you trust me! Because belief is belief, no matter how eloquent my words, you still won’t believe me! So, I have come up with a win-win solution!”
“What solution?” asked Big Bull.
“The solution is for everyone else to rejoin the military, but you, Big Bull, can leave the military! This way, you can secretly monitor our actions! If we fail to fulfill our promises or encounter another case of embezzlement, you can kill us all over again, just like before!”
“You don’t have to believe me or the court, but you should believe in yourself, right?” Lin Beifan smiled confidently. “If you don’t even believe in yourself, then I have no way to help!”
Big Bull was moved by his words.
Indeed, he didn’t trust those officials, but he trusted himself!
If the other side doesn’t handle his brothers properly or encounters another corrupt official who harassed his brothers, he could avenge his brothers, even if it meant sacrificing his own life!
This seemed to be the best option at the moment!
And the other rebels all looked eagerly at Big Bull, waiting for him to make a decision.
“Alright, I accept this solution! But I have one request. The main cause of this situation was me. I was the one who killed the deputy general and led the mutiny. They all followed me blindly. So, pardon them of their crimes!” Big Bull declared loudly.
“That’s impossible!” Lin Beifan firmly rejected. “The court has its laws, rewarding merits and punishing crimes! You have all caused a mutiny. If there are no punishments, how will others fear and respect the court?”
Big Bull and the others’ expressions dimmed.
“But considering the reasons behind your actions and the court’s understanding, we can show leniency. However, each person must receive ten beatings with a stick! And after the beatings, all the owed military pay will be fully given!”
Everyone’s eyes lit up again.
