The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 022 Man proposes, God disposes

Just then, Zhou Lun arrived with his men.

The moment Zhang Xiuguo saw Zhou Lun and Wang Tieniu lead a group of men straight into the county prison, blocking their escape route completely, he, who had been so confident of victory, was now trapped like a turtle in a jar.

He froze, staring wide-eyed at Zhou Lun who had rushed in, completely dumbfounded.

One moment he had the upper hand, the next the situation had completely reversed. Zhang Xiuguo couldn't help but sigh, painfully closing his eyes and giving up all resistance.

The jailers and constables didn't even need Zhang Xiuguo's orders. When they saw a large group of people rushing in from outside, each carrying weapons and looking fierce, they lost all the courage they had when they were beating Li Wanqing and the others. They hurriedly threw their weapons on the ground, knelt down with a thud, kowtowed repeatedly, and cried out, "Great King, spare our lives!" begging for a way out.

"Big brother! You're injured?"

Zhou Lun noticed blood flowing from Li Wanqing's arm and, in alarm, rushed forward to check on him.

"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious," Li Wanqing said with a sigh of relief and a smile.

The situation just now was really dangerous. If Zhou Lun and the others had arrived even a moment later, Li Wanqing and Li Shoutian would not have been able to hold on.

Once he and Li Shoutian fall into Zhang Xiuguo's hands, even if Zhou Lun and Wang Tieniu arrive later, it will be of no use. With hostages in hand, how could Zhang Xiuguo easily give in? The situation would be hard to predict then.

After carefully examining Li Wanqing's injuries, Zhou Lun finally felt relieved. Li Wanqing's arm looked bad, and he had lost a lot of blood, but the cut wasn't deep. Zhou Lun tore off a piece of his shirt to bandage it up briefly, deciding to find a doctor to apply medicine later.

"You corrupt official!"

Enraged, Li Shoutian strode over to Zhang Xiuguo, who had already surrendered, and slapped him hard across the face.

On one hand, he was furious—he never expected Zhang Xiuguo to turn on him at this moment.

On the other hand, he was angry with himself—if he had been more careful and kept a close eye on Zhang Xiuguo, how could that bastard have gotten the chance to escape? The perfectly good plan almost fell apart because of Zhang Xiuguo, and even caused his elder brother Li Wanqing to injure his arm.

In his anger and rage, Li Shoutian wished he could skin Zhang Xiuguo alive.

Zhang Xiuguo was slapped so hard he fell to the ground, his cheek swollen and two teeth sticking out of his mouth.

He neither resisted nor argued, nor did he struggle to get up. He simply looked up at Li Shoutian with an indescribable expression, which seemed to contain resentment, regret, mockery, and composure.

Seeing the way Zhang Xiuguo was looking at him, Li Shoutian's anger intensified. Just as he was about to raise his hand to give the corrupt official another beating, Zhou Lun suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

"Brother Lun!" Li Shoutian's raised hand stopped in mid-air, and he turned to look at Zhou Lun with a puzzled expression.

Zhou Lun ignored Li Shoutian and walked straight to Zhang Xiuguo, squatting down to examine him.

"Good! Good for you, Lord Zhang. You've been swallowing your pride and enduring humiliation. I really underestimated you before."

"Heh, man proposes, God disposes. It was just a matter of luck, a close call." Zhang Xiuguo said with a bitter laugh.

"Yes! You were so close to succeeding. It's a pity, even the heavens were on our side." Zhou Lun smiled. Luck is also a part of ability. Zhou Lun understood Zhang Xiuguo's unwillingness, but what could he do?

Zhang Xiuguo sighed and stopped arguing.

At this moment, Zhou Lun asked him if he had planned this scheme long ago. He had been thinking about it since the day before the money fell into his hands. The so-called cooperation before was just a performance to lure Li Wanqing and the others into a trap, while at the same time creating an opportunity for himself to escape.

Zhang Xiuguo did not refute this, replying that Zhou Lun's guess was correct. He had failed to escape in time yesterday and fell into the hands of Zhou Lun and his men; at that time, Zhang Xiuguo had been thinking about how to save himself.

After figuring out Zhou Lun and his group's identities and intentions, Zhang Xiuguo outwardly cooperated fully, but in reality, he began to plot. Most of the information he provided about the county prison was true, but he concealed some crucial details. These crucial details were the foundation for Zhang Xiuguo's escape plan and his scheme to turn the tables.

Since Zhou Lun's prison break and rescue of Li Wanqing from the county jail, the jail has indeed tightened its guard. In addition to the original county soldiers, several more yamen runners have been assigned. With tighter security and more people, the chances of successfully bringing Li Wanqing and his group in and finding an opportunity to rebel have increased significantly.

Furthermore, there was one crucial piece of information Zhang Xiuguo hadn't mentioned: County Magistrate Fan Zhengren and Clerk Shi Teng would be visiting the county prison together today. This arrangement had been pre-arranged; their purpose in going to the prison was for inspection, and Zhang Xiuguo, as the County Assistant Magistrate, would accompany them along with Shi Teng.

Zhang Xiuguo kept quiet about this matter, because he was worried that once Fan Zhengren and his men arrived after he entered the county prison, even if he couldn't find a chance to escape, Li Wanqing and his men wouldn't be able to leave easily.

As for Zhou Lun and the others outside, it was the same. Since Fan Zhengren and Shi Teng came to the county prison, they certainly couldn't come alone. Given their status, it was certain that they would be surrounded by attendants.

With constables and yamen runners accompanying them, Zhou Lun and his men wouldn't have an easy time storming the county prison. Moreover, once a fight broke out, it wouldn't be long before nearby police stations and soldiers from the city arrived to provide support. At that point, not only could they escape, but they could also use the opportunity to capture Zhou Lun and his men in one fell swoop, thus achieving a great feat.

But Zhang Xiuguo never expected that before he could lead his men to capture Li Wanqing and Li Shoutian, Zhou Lun and Wang Tieniu led their men to rush in.

Upon seeing their arrival, Zhang Xiuguo naturally understood that the situation was hopeless and further resistance would be futile, so he simply surrendered without resistance.

"Could it be that Magistrate Fan Zhengren and Clerk Shi Teng didn't come?"

After explaining his plan, Zhang Xiuguo couldn't help but ask this question.

"Hehe, you'll find out soon enough." Zhou Lun smiled but didn't answer. He stood up, ordered his men to tie up Zhang Xiuguo and the others, and then led the group out.

Once outside, when Zhang Xiuguo saw Fan Zhengren and Shi Teng, who were also tightly bound, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

They've already arrived? If they're here, how could this be the result? This...this is impossible! How long has it been since I took them to the county jail? This group not only captured me, but even the dignified county magistrate and the registrar have become prisoners?

In addition to them, many other injured constables and yamen runners were also arrested, and they huddled together dejectedly.

Zhang Xiuguo even spotted the still unconscious constable Dong Jincheng in the crowd. The guy was tied up like a dumpling, and if it weren't for the rise and fall of his chest, Zhang Xiuguo would have almost thought he was dead.

"Second brother, how did you know we were in danger inside?" Upon arriving outside and seeing so many prisoners in the courtyard, Li Wanqing was equally surprised and couldn't help but ask Zhou Lun.

Zhou Lun didn't hide anything and directly told them that shortly after they went in, Fan Zhengren and Shi Teng led their men to the county prison.

Although Zhou Lun had never been involved in officialdom, he had interacted with many officials while doing business. Although times had changed, many of the rules of officialdom remained the same. An official of Fan Zhengren's rank was highly respected in the county, and his travels were generally planned in advance. Especially today, with a large entourage leading the way to the county prison, it was absolutely impossible for him to have made such a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Given this, how could Zhang Xiuguo, the second-in-command of the county, not know about this matter? But Zhang Xiuguo didn't mention it at all yesterday. So, what was the other party thinking? Didn't Zhou Lun understand?

This was also the reason Zhou Lun quickly understood. He immediately discerned Zhang Xiuguo's intentions and realized the confidence behind Zhang Xiuguo's actions.

Once Fan Zhengren and his men are imprisoned in the county jail, even if Zhou Lun and his men attack directly, as long as the other side uses the terrain to resist, or even closes the gate, everything will be over.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Lun made a decision without the slightest hesitation.

He knew that taking direct action now was the only option; otherwise, not only would they fail to rescue anyone, but Li Wanqing and Li Shoutian would also be implicated. While the authorities were still caught off guard, he decided to take a gamble, hoping to capitalize on their unpreparedness and perhaps succeed.

Zhou Lun admitted that he had a gambling mentality, but he had to admit that he won the gamble.

Not only did they rescue Li Wanqing and Li Shoutian, but they also unexpectedly captured Fan Zhengren and Shi Teng. Now, all three of the county's main officials are in their hands—a result Zhou Lun himself hadn't anticipated.

He stood in the county prison courtyard, his gaze sweeping over the prisoners, and exhaled a long breath.

Wang Tieniu grinned widely, dusted himself off, and said in a deep voice, "Brother Lun, those bastards are all taken care of. What's next?"

Zhou Lun glanced at Li Wanqing's injured arm, then at Fan Zhengren and Zhang Xiuguo, who were being held dejectedly to the side, and said in a deep voice, "You and your brothers guard the gate. The villagers are still in jail; release them first, and the same goes for the other prisoners. Then lock them all up. Oh, and those three officials can stay here for now; they're still useful, especially Zhang Xiuguo!"

Li Wanqing nodded without objecting, his gaze sweeping over the group of prisoners before finally settling on Zhang Xiuguo, and he let out a cold snort.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiuguo raised his head, his lips twitched slightly, it was unclear whether he wanted to laugh or say something, but in the end he just shook his head, said nothing, and lowered his head again.

Zhou Lun patted Li Wanqing on the shoulder: "Brother, let's deal with the important matters first. We'll settle accounts with these people later."