Chapter 166 - 96: How Dare You Embezzle My Silver?

Chapter 166: Chapter 96: How Dare You Embezzle My Silver?

"This humble official, Zheng Jun, pays his respects to Duke Tang!" Zheng Jun did not hesitate in the slightest. His voice resonated with firm strength as he immediately prepared to bow.

"No need for such formalities, no need," Governor Tang said with a faint smile. He grabbed Zheng Jun by the arm, leading him directly into the Governor’s Mansion, treating him entirely like a trusted confidant.

The guards stationed at the mansion gates were thoroughly astonished, whispering amongst themselves. They were discussing only one thing: just what kind of background did this General Zheng have to warrant such high regard from the Lord Governor?

Inside the Governor’s Mansion, Zheng Jun was welcomed to a seat right next to Governor Tang. This left him somewhat perplexed, though he decided to observe the situation first. He wondered, "I have never met this Governor Tang before, so why is he showing me such extreme deference? Does he have some ulterior motive?"

"Zheng San is a young hero," Tang Yu said with a pleasant expression. Instead of getting down to business, he asked about family matters. "I wonder, how many brothers do you have in your family?"

"To tell you the truth, Duke Tang, I am the youngest son in my family. I have an older sister and an older brother above me. My brother went up Black Mountain to gather herbs a few years ago and hasn’t been seen since..." Zheng Jun, not knowing the reason for the question, could only answer honestly.

"As for brothers within the clan, our lineage has withered. There are only two branches left: my eldest uncle’s and my own. My eldest uncle has three sons and one daughter. His eldest son, who is a year older than me, is the second brother of our Zheng Family. Five years ago, my eldest uncle committed a taboo offense, and his entire family was exiled to Yunzhou for military service. We haven’t heard from them since."

The title of ’Sanlang’ naturally came from his ranking within the clan. In the Great Zhou, sibling rankings ignored females and only counted males of the same lineage—that is, paternal cousins. Ranking third among his cousins, Zheng Jun was naturally referred to as Zheng San.

"Alas, to think such trivial matters would ruin a family!" Governor Tang sighed. "Later, I’ll have someone go to Yunzhou to make inquiries. If there’s any news of them, I’ll have them brought back so your brothers can reunite."

Governor Tang was still beating around the bush, but Zheng Jun remained patient, keeping him company in idle chatter.

After chatting for an entire two-hour period, the conversation finally returned to the main topic. "The establishment of the Black Mountain Stronghold this time is meant to guard against the Black Mountain Thieves, especially that Lu Hao... Do you have the confidence, Sanlang, to hold off the Black Mountain Thieves for me?"

Zheng Jun patted his chest and guaranteed, "Rest assured, Duke Tang. With me here, those Black Mountain Thieves will never dare to come down the mountain!"

Regardless of whether they could actually come down or not, at a time like this, he absolutely had to put on a confident front!

"Alas, if it were only Lu Hao, there would be no cause for concern. The main issue is..." Governor Tang began to explain in detail.

When Zheng Jun heard that Lu Hao was at the Peak of Outer Gang, possessed Demon Fiend arts, and had a record of Slashing Outer Gang Martial Artists at least a dozen times, he simply gave a faint smile.

When he heard that Lu Hao was on good terms with Outer Gang Demon Fiends and might have two or three of them charging in alongside him, Zheng Jun’s smile faded.

And when he heard that Lu Hao had become a Prince under the Great Righteous King and was appointed as some Grand General of the Pillar, meaning the Great Righteous King Zhang Bengong might even send subordinates to help, Zheng Jun completely lost the ability to smile. Instead, his scalp went numb.

He thought, "Bro, how many enemies is that? Lu Hao at the Peak of Outer Gang, plus two or three Demon Fiends comparable to the Peak of Outer Gang, and on top of that, trusted generals of the Great Righteous King Zhang Bengong. That’s a minimum of three Peak Outer Gang experts and four or five Outer Gang Martial Artists! And you expect me to stop all these people with just 1,800 men?"

Zheng Jun braced himself and looked at Governor Tang. The governor didn’t seem to think anything was wrong and simply continued, "Within the four counties, there are currently seven Outer Gang experts. If we add the Garrison Command Government Office, that makes eleven Outer Gang Martial Artists..."

"If things go awry, Sanlang, you can use a dispatch order to have the County Magistrates and County Captains of each county step in together! Furthermore, the Commander of the Garrison Command isn’t just sitting around eating free meals; he’ll have to take action eventually."

Hearing this, Zheng Jun couldn’t help but take a deep breath. Over the past few days, he had gained a basic understanding of the situation.

Although the County Magistrates and County Captains were Outer Gang Martial Artists, they were usually only at the First Layer Heaven of the Outer Gang Realm. And among those in the First Layer Heaven, their methods were on the weaker side, much like True Man Yuan Yi. Outer Gang experts from Jianghu Sects frequently engaged in one-on-one combat to the death, but where would these Civil Servant County Magistrates and County Captains get any experience in life-and-death duels?

Even though some of them had retired from the front lines in Yunzhou, their roles there had been similar to the Decurions in Zheng Jun’s Black Mountain Guard. They were merely there to provide True Qi to King Yan and the Grand General in Yunzhou. They had absolutely no one-on-one combat experience.

Only the Commander of the Garrison Command had any real combat experience, but even he was far less formidable than a Demon Fiend. With all eleven of them combined, they would be lucky to stop even two enemies. Moreover, it was completely unknown if there were any Demon Fiend spies among them like Meng Xian, or if any had secretly sworn allegiance to the Great Righteous King!

There was an even more critical issue: why would these County Magistrates and County Captains listen to his orders in the first place? By position, he was a military general, while they were Civil Servants. The Great Zhou did not have a tradition of military officials commanding civil ones.

By Cultivation Realms, he was a Qi Storage Martial Artist, while they were Outer Gang Martial Artists. Although he had Slashed True Man Yuan Yi, proving he had Outer Gang combat power... a Qi Storage expert commanding Outer Gang experts? It would inevitably provoke their displeasure.

At this thought, Zheng Jun felt his scalp tingle with dread.

Seeing Zheng Jun’s expression, Governor Tang nodded and then lowered his voice. "I heard that Sanlang is going to marry the Ninth Miss of the Cai Family? This matter is of grave importance. I wonder if Sanlang could speak with your in-laws and ask the Cai Family to provide some assistance to help us out here in Pingzhang Commandery?"

He thought, "So that’s what this is all about!" Realizing the true motive, Zheng Jun immediately nodded and replied, "Duke Tang, I will do my best."