I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 584 Frog in the Well

Chapter 584 The Frog in the Well

The next day, instead of Jiang Ming, the prefect of Hezhou, Wang Wenzhou was greeted by tens of thousands of people from Dangtu County.

Niu Dalei walked at the head of the procession with an imposing air, followed by four constables carrying a coffin. Tens of thousands of people from Dangtu County, led by Niu Dalei, stormed into Yinfeng Village in a fit of rage.

Wang Wenzhou, with his arm around Empress Zhou, cursed and said, "Niu Dalei is really courting death! Overnight, he actually incited the people of Dangtu to smash, loot, and vandalize shops owned by the people of Hanshan. Is this something a county magistrate should do?"

"Sigh..." Empress Zhou sighed. You have the nerve to talk about Niu Dalei like that, you rascal. What about you? You didn't do the same thing either.

Li Hechen asked, "Sir, what should we do?"

"Hmph!" Wang Wenzhou snorted coldly, saying irritably, "Do you think I'm afraid just because Niu Dalei incited tens of thousands of people to come and die? If they dare to come and die, we dare to kill them! Pass down the order: as long as these people dare to step into Yinfeng Village, no matter who they are, kill them without mercy!"

"Yes!" Li Hechen accepted the order.

"Wait!" Empress Zhou said hurriedly.

Li Hechen was unaware that Empress Zhou was the current Empress Dowager. He assumed that Empress Zhou, like Li Mei, was a new concubine of Wang Wenzhou. Li Hechen had been with Wang Wenzhou for a long time, and he understood that while one could sometimes disobey the orders of an official, one must always obey the orders of one's wife.

"Sister-in-law, what are you trying to do? Niu Dalei has already brought his men to our door, I can't back down! I know Niu Dalei has no good intentions. He tricked so many people into coming here so I can go on a killing spree. The more I kill, the happier he is. He thinks that if I kill some people, Zhu Youjian will punish me! That damned frog in a well, as long as I don't rebel, even if I kill people every day for fun, Zhu Youjian will turn a blind eye!" Wang Wenzhou said, cursing.

"Boxin, don't be angry. I'll go and persuade Lord Niu." Empress Zhou was worried about the deaths and injuries of the people. Wang Wenzhou was a madman; when he went crazy, he could really kill all these people. But even if Wang Wenzhou did do that, Zhu Youjian would not punish him. Wang Wenzhou held a large army, and Zhu Youjian was most afraid of Wang Wenzhou rebelling. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent her to Hanshan.

Wang Wenzhou hugged Empress Zhou and kissed her, laughing as he said, "Sister-in-law, what's the point of talking to that idiot Niu Dalei? What use is he with so many people? I have elite troops at my disposal. One charge, and these people will be scared out of their wits. Then I'll kill Niu Dalei, and that'll be the end of it. Don't worry, sister-in-law, not many people will die!"

"Sigh..." Empress Zhou sighed. She finally understood why Wang Wenzhou and Zhu Youjian had fallen out like this. The two, the emperor and his minister, used to be as close as brothers, but now they were wary of each other and distrustful. The root cause was the Donglin Party. Wang Wenzhou had a grudge against the Donglin Party, and they would try to sabotage him at any time.

Take today's incident as an example. Even if Wang Wenzhou was wrong, Niu Dalei, as the magistrate of Dangtu County, would not have escalated the situation to this extent if he had any regard for the people. Niu Dalei's actions were a way of risking the lives of the people of Dangtu County to curry favor with the leaders of the Donglin Party. If Wang Wenzhou had killed many people, even if Zhu Youjian did not punish him, Wang Wenzhou's reputation would have been damaged again.

"Boxin, the people are innocent! Don't be angry. I'll go see if I can persuade Niu Dalei to convince the people to retreat," Empress Zhou advised again.

Wang Wenzhou thought to himself, "My sister-in-law is so kind-hearted." He decided that since she had already asked, he couldn't very well refuse.

"Alright!" Wang Wenzhou nodded, then said irritably, "Sister-in-law, we have to make this clear. When you return to the capital, remember to tell Zhu Youjian to dismiss Niu Dalei from his post. That bastard is too wicked; he doesn't care about the lives of ordinary people!"

"Alright, alright! I'll go and try to persuade him first." After saying that, Empress Zhou pulled Wang Wenzhou's hand out of her clothes and, under the protection of Li Hechen and others, went to persuade Niu Dalei.

Niu Dalei, with his nose in the air, glanced arrogantly at Empress Zhou and said irritably, "Mad dog Wang Wenzhou, you don't have the guts to speak to me, so why did you send a woman like you?"

Li Hechen was furious on the spot. He shouted, "You bastard surnamed Niu, how dare you talk like that? Don't push your luck!"

Empress Zhou waved her hand at Li Hechen, who immediately shut up, as he couldn't disrespect his wife.

Empress Zhou cupped her hands and said with a smile, "Lord Niu, you may not know what kind of person Wang Wenzhou is. You brought so many people here, yet you have put them in danger. When Wang Wenzhou goes mad, he really won't care about the lives of these people. Lord Niu, you are also a local leader. For the safety of the people, please persuade them to go home. I will persuade Wang Wenzhou to handle this matter properly, you can rest assured."

Niu Dalei curled his lip and said disdainfully, "Look at your clothes! A woman, exposing her thighs, shameless! Hugging and cuddling with mad dog Wang Wenzhou in public. This isn't a brothel, and I won't listen to a brothel girl. Get out!"

"Pfft..." Empress Zhou's face turned pale with anger. "I...I'm leaving! You're asking for it!"

Empress Zhou turned and left in anger.

Niu Dalei smiled slightly. It seemed that Wang Wenzhou, the "mad dog," wasn't a fool after all! Niu Dalei figured Wang Wenzhou was afraid, which was why he sent his wives and concubines to negotiate. How could Niu Dalei agree? If any civilians were killed or injured, the matter would escalate significantly, and Wang Wenzhou would suffer the consequences. Niu Dalei, of course, would profit from it.

When Wang Wenzhou saw Empress Zhou return in a huff, he asked with a smile, "Sister-in-law, how did your talks go?"

Empress Zhou couldn't dissuade Niu Dalei, so she could only persuade Wang Wenzhou. She hugged Wang Wenzhou and whispered, "Boxin, stop making a fuss. Withdraw the troops. The people are innocent! Everyone has parents and children. If someone dies in a family, it's a huge disaster for that family."

Wang Wenzhou gently patted Empress Zhou's back and said with a wry smile, "Sister-in-law, is this my fault? It was Niu Dalei who was blinded by greed and incited the people to come and die. If I back down, how will I face the world in the future?"

Empress Zhou held Wang Wenzhou in her arms and said softly, "Boxin, I'm begging you!"

“Sister-in-law, it’s not that I’m disrespecting you! If I withdraw my troops, losing face is a small matter, but what about the losses suffered by the people of Hanshan? These people of Dangtu County are not innocent either! Last night, they looted all the shops run by the people of Hanshan in Dangtu County, and many of the people of Hanshan in Dangtu County were beaten.” Wang Wenzhou said irritably.

Empress Zhou quickly said, "Boxin, you must swallow this for now. I will definitely give you an explanation and bring Niu Dalei to justice later."

Seeing that Wang Wenzhou was unwilling to agree, Empress Zhou thought for a moment, blushed, and whispered, "Boxin, as long as you withdraw your troops, I will agree to play that game with you!"

Wang Wenzhou asked with a smile, "What game, sister-in-law?"

"Ugh!" Empress Zhou rolled her eyes at Wang Wenzhou and asked irritably, "Do you even want to play?"

"Alright!" Wang Wenzhou nodded and quickly ordered, "Li Hechen, send the order to retreat. We're going back to Hanshan."

"Yes!"

Wang Wenzhou got into the sedan chair, and Empress Zhou and Li Mei knelt on either side of Wang Wenzhou's thighs.

Empress Zhou gave Wang Wenzhou a resentful look, thinking to herself, "Who told me to agree to my nemesis's request?"