bookpub Chapter 87 Debate
Chapter 87 Debate
Crescent Moon County, south of the city.
Yan Mansion.
Inside the council hall, the patriarch Yan Lie sat upright in the main seat, his figure even thinner than before.
His once square and dignified face now has slightly protruding cheekbones, dark circles under his eyes, and stubborn bloodshot veins in the whites of his eyes.
The onslaught of sleeping sickness meant that even with the constant care and tonics, he could only lean slightly against the armrest of the armchair, his tired eyes wide open.
Watching the two people arguing below.
Third Master Yan Yong, whose left leg injury had not yet healed and who still walked with a limp, was leaning on a hard wooden crutch, facing his second brother Yan Gang, who was sitting in the chair opposite him.
He grinned, his tone utterly undisguised and vengeful:
"Hey, second brother, your legs... you ran pretty fast last night, huh?"
Second Master Yan Gang's right leg was wrapped in thick burlap bandages, with faint bloodstains seeping out. His face, already pale from blood loss and guilt, flushed crimson upon hearing this. He slammed his hand on the armrest of the chair:
"Yan Yong! Stop spouting nonsense! If you had been in that situation last night, you probably wouldn't have made it back. Over sixty border troops, horse demon cavalry, deer demon archers, and wolf demon swordsmen and shieldmen—are those the scattered rabble you've encountered before comparable?"
Yan Yong laughed when he heard this:
"Oh, what did Second Brother say last time... Right, don't make excuses when problems arise. As the leader, you have to take responsibility for the Yan family's losses."
"you--!"
Second Master Yan Gang was so angry that he trembled all over. He pointed at Yan Yong and tried to stand up, but the movement aggravated his wound, causing him to gasp in pain.
That's enough.
Yan Lie, seated at the head of the table, finally spoke. His voice was not loud, but his second and third brothers dared not disobey.
"All you do is argue all day long. Don't you know where the Yan family has fallen?"
He paused, took a breath, and continued:
"Six trips in a row, how much silver, goods, camels and horses have been lost? Just the martial artists of our own clan who have reached the highest rank are gone, nearly twenty of them! The pensions for more than a hundred martial artists are another huge expense. Uncle Shou, tell them how much cash is left in the treasury."
Butler Yan stepped forward slightly and bowed gently.
"Second Master, Third Master, most of the pensions have been distributed, and the cash in the treasury... is less than eight thousand taels. Next month's monthly allowances for each branch and wages for the shop assistants will amount to about five thousand taels. In addition, the advance payment for Baoyao should also be paid."
Eight thousand taels!
Yan Gang and Yan Yong's expressions both changed.
For ordinary people, this is a huge sum of money that they could never spend in several lifetimes.
For a family like the Yan family, which has to maintain its industry, support thousands of people, and train additional martial artists, this amount of cash is already a tight spot, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is in dire need of funds.
Patriarch Yan Lie looked at his two younger brothers:
"Did you hear me? Now you're behaving yourself? Tell me, what's next? How do we restore the trade routes? How do we deal with the mutinous troops? How do we make up for the previous losses?"
Despite the pain in his leg, Yan Gang said in a deep voice:
"Brother, according to the intelligence we planted among the Kang family, the Kang family is most likely behind these recent attacks by the rebel army. Our Yan family's main force of martial arts suffered heavy losses in this battle, and we are no longer capable of fighting against the rebel army on our own in the short term. My suggestion is... to negotiate peace with the Kang family."
"Peace talks?" Yan Yong frowned.
"Yes, negotiate peace. Send someone to talk to the Kang family. For hundreds of years, haven't we three aristocratic families always done things this way? If you gain an advantage today, I'll make it up to you tomorrow. It won't really be a life-or-death struggle. It's just a matter of giving up some profits and sharing some business."
Yan Yong pounded his cane on the ground with a loud thud, and retorted fiercely:
"Second Brother, can't you see? This time is different from the past. Who is the Kang family working for? That demon clan magistrate! Whose soldiers are those rebels? They're the demon clan's border troops! The demon clan would love for our Yan family to be wiped out. Peace talks? That's like asking a tiger for its skin!"
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
Second Master Yan Gang retorted somewhat unconvinced.
"Now that things are like this, we can't afford to be weak!"
Yan Yong's eyes grew increasingly fervent:
"I propose that we take out all the cash, mortgage some of our assets, and raise the money to go to Shazhou, Guazhou, and even Liangzhou to recruit martial artists, offering them hefty sums! We should organize a suicide squad to either wipe out the rebel army or storm the Kang family and eliminate any future troubles!"
Both of them have put forward their ideas.
As the patriarch Yan Lie had expected, his second and third brothers, disliking each other's ideas, started a new round of bickering.
The second brother simply felt that the outsiders they brought in were fine for small skirmishes, but unreliable when facing the border troops.
The third brother felt that negotiating peace would be tantamount to handing over the Yan family's assets to others for nothing, so it was better to fight for it.
Listening to the two arguing, Yan Lie closed his eyes wearily and rubbed his throbbing temples.
Both arguments have merit, but they are both too extreme.
Moreover, the defeated soldiers of the border army were considered rebels by the imperial court. Even if they could defeat them, if they did something to these chaotic soldiers, the border army would then be considered the border army again.
These humans are traitors.
This is tricky!
Yan Lie had no other choice; his brothers were undoubtedly loyal and brave.
But when it comes to coming up with ideas and making plans together, they either have no ideas or are too extreme.
Instead, he was forced to reluctantly make these important decisions, even though he was also not good at it.
He could only interrupt again.
There was a sense of helplessness in his voice:
"I can negotiate peace with the Kang family, but I cannot negotiate peace with the demon race, so let's not discuss this matter again; as for recruiting martial artists, it's too costly and too risky, I can't gamble away the Yan family's centuries-old foundation. You two, think of other solutions."
Yan Gang and Yan Yong exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion and anxiety in each other's eyes.
Given this situation, with a shortage of funds and powerful enemies all around, [the situation is dire].
It seems that no matter which path you choose or what method you use, it doesn't matter.
They're all dead ends.
Could it be that the Yan family has built up a fortune over hundreds of years?
Is it really going to be ruined by their generation?
Just then, the old steward Yan Shou, who had been listening silently, bowed slightly again and spoke.
His voice remained steady as he slowly spoke:
"I do have an idea that we can try... Perhaps we can find the newly appointed head constable, Yin Ruyu, in the yamen."
Upon hearing the words "government office," the head of the household, the second master, and the third master were unusually in agreement:
"No, no, that Magistrate Lun Ren is a demon himself. Going to the yamen would be like walking into a trap!"
For a moment, they all wondered if Uncle Shou was getting old and his mind wasn't working properly anymore.
Unexpectedly, the steward Yan Shou remained calm and continued:
"Master, Second Master, Third Master, if it were the old yamen, the old head constable, they would naturally be unreliable, but this Yin Constable is different."
He looked up, glanced at the expressions of the three men, and seeing that they seemed to be listening attentively, continued:
"I recently received news about the Haitong Securities disappearance case that caused quite a stir a while ago, right?"
The three nodded; everyone in Crescent Moon County knew about this.
"In this case, it was this Constable Yin who overcame all opposition and personally investigated the case despite the lack of support from the county magistrate and the county constable. In the end, she even joined forces with the Mingsha Gang to successfully solve the case and rescue all the abducted children from the Black Fox Gang's lair."