After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Chapter 116 Reward (3 words added)

The following day, Gu Lin went out with Niu Qiang and another bodyguard.

Because the roads outside had not been cleared and the streets were littered with corpses and remains, Gu Lin and his companions walked to the Lucky Tower.

Fortunately, the Good Fortune Restaurant wasn't far away. When they arrived, the restaurant's doors were tightly closed, but they could clearly see that the pillars, doors, windows, and plaques outside the restaurant had been smashed, scratched, and slashed.

Gu Lin was looking down to get his key to open the door when he heard a voice calling from above: "Boss!"

Gu Lin took a few steps back and looked up to see Yu Ercheng and the others standing behind the railing outside the second floor.

Yu Ercheng said, "Please wait a moment, we'll go down and open the door for you now!"

After saying that, Gu Lin saw Yu Ercheng and the others turn around and disappear. A moment later, the door in front of him opened.

Gu Lin stepped inside and was surprised to see the people there: "Xiao Yao, Xiao Cui, what are you doing here?"

Lin Xiaoyao looked at Gu Lin and said, "After the troops entered the city yesterday, they successfully suppressed the disaster victims. We were worried about the situation at Good Luck Tower, so as soon as we were able to travel this morning, we troubled the bodyguard brothers to bring us here."

Xiao Cui nodded, then looked serious as if she wanted to ask something.

Seeing this, Gu Lin said, "Sister-in-law and the others are all fine."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Cui immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, Gu Lin asked Yu Ercheng about the specific details of the attack on Good Fortune Restaurant by disaster victims the night before. He said that all he could see along the street from his home were shops that had been smashed to pieces by the disaster victims. The bigger the restaurant or the bigger the jewelry store, the more disaster victims it attracted.

Yu Ercheng said, "Fortunately, Young Master Zheng asked Da Zhuo to tell us to pay attention to the noise outside at night. As soon as we heard the noise outside, we looked down from the second floor and saw a large group of disaster victims coming. We quickly moved all the tables and chairs behind the gate."

"Unexpectedly, the disaster victims rioted, and we almost couldn't hold them off. Fortunately, several bodyguards hired by Young Master Zheng stood outside on the second floor and shot arrows down. Otherwise, we would have suffered like the other shops."

Speaking of this, Yu Ercheng was still shaken. The situation the night before was extremely dangerous. The disaster victims had gone completely mad. They had no rationality and not only looted gold, silver and grain, but also killed anyone they saw.

As they listened to Yu Ercheng's retelling, the other men's expressions changed, and fear filled their eyes.

Lin Xiaoyao and Xiao Cui were no less formidable, but they were calmer than the other workers. Because their place was extremely remote, there weren't many refugees who attacked them the night before, unlike the other workers and Yu Ercheng who were on tenterhooks all night, fearing that the refugees outside would break in and eat them alive.

Seeing that they were all quite frightened, Gu Lin said, "We will close Good Fortune Restaurant for a while in the coming days."

Lin Xiaoyao, Yu Ercheng, and the others immediately looked up at him, their expressions anxious.

Gu Lin reassured them: "Although the disaster victims have been suppressed, other restaurants and shops in the city have suffered considerable damage. We should not invite hatred in the heat of the moment. During the period when Good Fortune Restaurant is closed, your wages will still be paid."

The men looked at each other, then their faces lit up with a mixture of joy and disbelief.

Gu Lin continued, "You have done a good job protecting Good Fortune Tower and preventing it from being destroyed by the disaster victims. Later, I will have Manager Lin give you a reward."

Gu Lin's praise made the men blush. The reason they had fought to the death against the disaster victims the night before was not to protect Good Fortune Building, but to protect themselves.

Yu Ercheng spoke up loudly, "Master is kind and benevolent, thank you very much!"

The group of men all thanked them.

After dealing with the matter, Gu Lin took Lin Xiaoyao, Xiao Cui, and Yu Ercheng to the backyard to discuss the follow-up matters of Good Luck Tower.

Five days later, Zheng Hao returned from the government office without any warning.

The Zhen family's carriage dropped him off at the door. Zheng Hao got out of the carriage and stepped into the house.

"Uncle Gu."

Zheng Hao first arrived at the main hall, only to find it deserted and empty. He turned around and was about to head to Gu Lin's bedroom when he saw a figure emerge from the kitchen.

Gu Lin was stewing pear soup in the kitchen when he heard someone calling him from outside, so he went out.

Seeing Zheng Hao walking towards him from not far away, Gu Lin knew he hadn't misheard.

Gu Lin said with a slight surprise, "You're finally back. You haven't sent anyone home to get your clothes while you were at the government office these days. I thought you were very busy and didn't dare to let anyone disturb you."

Then, Gu Lin asked, "Are you done with your work now?"

Zheng Hao walked up to Gu Lin in a few steps, and after standing still, he said, "It's over for now. On this trip to the government office, Prefect Zhen asked me, along with Brother Zhen Yuan and Brother Zhen Cheng, to help settle the people in the city. Because the tasks we were responsible for were relatively simple, we finished them quickly. However, due to the large number of people involved in this disaster relief riot, the government office still has a lot to do."

Thinking of the scenes he had witnessed in the past few days, Gu Lin felt deeply sympathetic and nodded, saying, "In this riot, apart from some people living in remote areas who were not attacked, everyone else suffered considerable damage. It is truly remarkable that anyone was able to survive this turmoil."

Zheng Hao knew that he had been dealing with these matters for the past few days.

Then, Zheng Hao lowered his eyes slightly and said to Gu Lin, "Uncle Gu, has the government found out where the swords and knives in the hands of the disaster victims came from?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Lin immediately shifted his attention. He raised his head slightly, his light brown eyes looking at Zheng Hao, and asked, "What's going on? Did Prefect Zhen and the others also notice something amiss?"

Zheng Hao patiently explained: "On that day, I went back to the government office with Brother Zhen Cheng to see Prefect Zhen and Mr. Zhou. During that time, Brother Zhen Cheng reported to Prefect Zhen about the fact that the disaster victims were carrying weapons. Prefect Zhen took this matter very seriously after learning about it, and then sent people to investigate the matter. Finally, they caught several bandits who had deliberately disguised themselves as refugees in the disaster victim camp."

Upon hearing Zheng Hao's words, Gu Lin's expression showed a hint of surprise: "Mountain bandits?"

Gu Lin frowned and pondered, "Could the disaster victim riots be related to them?"

"According to the bandits' confessions, they deliberately hid in the refugee camp to incite the refugees and provoke them into riots."

Gu Lin said in a deep voice, "So, they are the fuse that ignited the riots of the disaster victims."

Having spent a long time with Gu Lin, Zheng Hao understood what Gu Lin meant by the "trigger."

He nodded slightly and said calmly, "First, the clan merchants replaced the soup with swill in the soup kitchens, which caused resentment among many refugees in the camps. Then, the wealthy merchants, unaware of the extent of the public anger, closed the soup kitchens one after another, pushing the refugees' anger and resentment to their peak. Meanwhile, the spies who had been hiding in the refugee camps saw that the time was ripe and began to incite the refugees. The refugees were already hungry and cold. If the wealthy merchants did not give them a way to survive, how could the refugees care about their lives? Rather than starve to death outside the city, they would rather storm into the city and have a feast."

Actually, Prefect Zhen did not tell the three of them about the bandits hiding in the refugee camp; it was Mr. Zhou who told them.

Zheng Hao looked at Gu Lin and continued, "On that day, after Prefect Zhen caught the bandits, he ordered his men to put them in jail. Then he had the yamen runners, who had been interrogating people for decades, interrogate them. At first, these people were very stubborn, but after four or five days, they confessed their origins."

With his light brown eyes fixed intently on the tall young man in front of him, Gu Lin waited for him to continue.

As expected, Zheng Hao lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze half-fixed on the fair and pert nose of the young man in front of him: "Those spies revealed that they were bandits from Mafeng Village. The village chief heard from passing merchants that the famine victims in the south had revolted and established the Red Army. After the leader declared himself king, he saw tens of thousands of famine victims outside the city and wanted to take the opportunity to rebel and become king as well."

Gu Lin frowned after hearing this; he felt that something was amiss.

He's not as easily fooled as he used to be. Gu Lin asked Zheng Hao, "If I remember correctly, every blacksmith shop that sells swords and weapons has to record the buyer's information. How could hundreds of swords and weapons have ended up in the hands of disaster victims without anyone noticing?"

That night, during the famine attack, I saw dozens of people carrying swords and knives. Ironware is expensive, especially weapons. A dozen or so swords might be considered a small sum, but hundreds of swords and knives couldn't be bought with just a few hundred taels of silver. Moreover, how did they manage to deliver the weapons to the famine victims without a single leak?

As Gu Lin spoke, he revealed his conjecture: "If Ma Fengzhai were buying weapons in the city, he would have attracted the attention of the authorities before even leaving the blacksmith shop. It's also unlikely that he was robbing passing merchants from a security escort agency, as those swords were all the same style and their quality indicated they were forged in the same batch..."

Gu Lin pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "...Could it be...that they are privately forging weapons?"

Listening to Uncle Gu's clear and logical analysis, Zheng Hao's eyes flashed with appreciation. He could guess this because he had read a lot of history books, but Uncle Gu was busy with business all day, yet he was able to react quickly.

"Uncle Gu guessed correctly."

A cold glint flashed in Zheng Hao's eyes, and his tone was indifferent: "Several hundred swords could not have been purchased from the common people. The forging techniques of the swords are exactly the same, so they could not have been obtained by bandits robbing passersby."

The most likely explanation is that Mafengzhai secretly hoarded iron ore and used it to forge weapons.

Moreover, the iron mine must not be far from the prefectural city, otherwise they could not have transported such a large number of swords through other prefectural cities so smoothly. Zheng Hao said, "Our prefecture has always been famous in the Great Qian for its iron mines, so it is very likely that they are forging weapons around the prefectural city."

In ancient times, privately hoarding iron ore and privately forging weapons were both crimes, heinous offenses that could lead to confiscation of property and execution.

Gu Lin gasped and asked, "What does Prefect Zhen intend to do with them?"

After concealing the coldness in his eyes, Zheng Hao said to Gu Lin, "Privately hoarding iron ore and privately forging weapons is tantamount to treason. This matter is of great importance. After Prefect Zhen confirmed this, he immediately ordered someone to report back to the capital at an expedited pace. Then the Emperor issued an order, commanding Prefect Zhen and the garrison commander to jointly annihilate Mafeng Village."

After hearing this, Gu Lin remained silent for a moment. For some reason, he felt that the idea that the refugee riot was instigated by the bandits of Mafeng Village seemed a bit unrealistic, especially after the revelation that Mafeng Village was hiding iron ore. Gu Lin found it even more strange.

For a moment, he was speechless.

Gu Lin's expression was very complicated, and he made no attempt to hide his thoughts.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Hao said softly, "Uncle Gu also finds this matter strange, right?"

Gu Lin nodded. What a coincidence, it really was too much of a coincidence.

A group of outlaws who had turned to banditry and violence were able to possess such cunning and scheming, lying in wait in the refugee camp, waiting for the right moment to incite a riot among the disaster victims.

Such meticulous thinking and methods are completely unlike those of mountain bandits.

Gu Lin lowered his eyes, somewhat puzzled.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Hao asked, "Uncle Gu, do you know why, after the captured bandits revealed Mafeng Village, Prefect Zhen and the garrison commander did not immediately send troops to wipe it out?"

Logically speaking, although Mafeng Village had always been infamous, its notoriety could only frighten ordinary people and merchants. To officials like Prefect Zhen, Mafeng Village was nothing more than a bandit stronghold.

The government did not send troops to wipe it out in the past, purely because it did not want to cause trouble, not because it was afraid of the enemy. If it had really intended to wipe it out, no matter how powerful Mafeng Village was, it would not have escaped being reduced to ashes.

After the secret iron mine and weapon forging of Mafengzhai were exposed, Prefect Zhen and the garrison commander could have immediately sent troops to suppress them. But why did neither Prefect Zhen nor the garrison commander do so? On the contrary, they were very cautious and preferred to remain still, report the matter to the capital first, and only dare to take action after obtaining the emperor's permission.

Hearing Zheng Hao's question, Gu Lin frowned and began to think.

Zheng Hao did not interrupt the other person's thinking.

After a moment, Gu Lin raised his head, his brows furrowing slightly, and said, "Prefect Zhen and the garrison commander are acting out of the ordinary, sending troops to besiege Mafeng Village. Is it because they are concerned about something?"

They dared not act rashly, most likely because... there was someone behind Ma Feng Village, and this person was probably someone they couldn't afford to offend. So, they simply left the matter to the Emperor to decide, right?

However, the prefect of Daqian was equivalent to the modern provincial governor and provincial party secretary. For someone to be feared by such a high-ranking local official, the background of Mafengzhai must be extraordinary. Just what kind of status could make Prefect Zhen so wary?

If Gu Lin remembered correctly, Zheng Hao had mentioned that the Zhen in Prefect Zhen and the Zhen in the current Empress's tutor were the same person.

In other words, the Crown Prince stands behind Prefect Zhen. What Prefect Zhen is wary of is that the backer of Mafeng Village is very likely a member of the imperial family, and their relationship with the royal family is very close.

Gu Lin thought about it more and more and it made more sense. His thoughts gradually became clear, and he expressed his ideas one by one.

He said, "If it were an ordinary member of the royal family, Prefect Zhen wouldn't be so cautious."

Gu Lin frowned and thought for a moment, then said to Zheng Hao, "I remember you said before that the emperor has several adult princes. Is it possible that Mafeng Village is the territory of one of the princes?"

"No, no." Gu Lin immediately dismissed his own idea: "If it were the same group of people, they wouldn't have instigated a riot among the disaster victims, nor would they have handed over weapons to them, because the iron ore would definitely not have been hidden. So what exactly are they trying to do?"

Gu Lin's head throbbed more and more as he thought about it. Making money as an ordinary citizen was fine, but when it came to the power struggles and intrigues in the imperial court, it was not his area of ​​expertise.

However, Uncle Gu's line of thinking and analysis still surprised Zheng Hao.

Because compared to others, the other party's guess, though seemingly shocking, was surprisingly accurate.