Chapter 56: Great Momentum

Chapter 56: Great Momentum

Chapter 56: Great Momentum
"Wu Laoer's family was freezing, so he chopped down a dying willow tree. The servants of the Huang residence dragged him away, but he was dead when he was brought back. Wu's father couldn't survive, so he collapsed the roof himself. The old couple held their son's body and buried it alive in the cave."

"What did he do wrong!"

"Huang Batian, you have no humanity!"

On the snow, Huang's father and son were tied to three wooden stakes. They were naked and their skin was blue from the cold.

Huang Batian raised his head slightly and wanted to beg for mercy, but all he saw were pairs of eyes filled with anger.

Zhang Yu asked, "Who recognizes the servant who killed Wu Laoer?"

Liu Tong stood up and said, "I recognize you! Hao Mazi, Liu Pangzi, you have the guts to be accomplices of the tiger. Now is the time for retribution. If you are a man, don't hide your head in your pants."

Zhang Yu ordered: "Take them out, strip them naked, and tie them up with the Huang family father and son!"

The two servants cried and begged for mercy, but were still stripped naked and thrown to kneel beside the stake. There were seven other servants kneeling together, all of whom were the most troublesome.

Zhang Yu looked at the old man with icicles on his beard and eyebrows and said, "There are at least 8,000 willow trees on Dongliupo, if not 10,000. Why are you so overbearing and not allowing others to chop wood or pick up branches?"

Huang Batian looked at Zhang Yu and said tremblingly, "Little...Little Second is confused. The fortune teller...said that these willow trees are closely related to the fortune of the Huang family. Outsiders are not allowed to touch them."

"I see!"

"But it seems that his calculations were inaccurate."

"After tonight, the trees will still be there, but the people will be gone."

Zhang Yu looked at the Huang father and son, with murderous intent in his voice.

Huang Batian may have a big name, but he is not a tough guy. He wept and said, "I know I am wrong. Please... please spare my life, Village Master Zhang!"

He felt that his only mistake was not sending money and food to Qingfeng Village as soon as possible as requested in the visiting card.

"Please spare my life, Zhang Zhaizhu. My father and my elder brother did all this. I know nothing about it. If you really want to kill someone, just kill them two."

Huang Fugui had seen Zhang Yu's methods. He killed people like Cao Long like slaughtering chickens. This man was extremely cunning and cruel.

Huang Fuchun was a bit arrogant, and raised his head and said: "I have the honor of being a juren. If you are not afraid of the government army encircling and suppressing you, or the Jinyiwei and the imperial guards questioning you, just come and kill me!"

The three father and sons behaved differently.

But the outcome is already decided.

"The Huang family father and son have committed heinous crimes. We came to Qingfeng Village to enforce justice!"

"Everyone, take revenge if you have grudges, and seek justice if you have injustices!"

Zhang Yu looked at those people who were enraged, waved his hand, and withdrew the Qingfeng Village troops who were standing between the two sides.

Hundreds of farmhands and tenants wore clothes looted from the Huang family's treasury, drank meat porridge, and held a grievance meeting. Their fear of Huang Batian had gradually disappeared.

After stripping off their human-like clothes, they were just three wretched naked pigs and some cowardly lackeys. There was really nothing to be afraid of.

Huang Fuchun saw the crowd gradually surrounding him and said in fear: "What are you going to do? I have a great reputation..."

Before he could finish his words, a rusty sickle stabbed into his left chest. The force was slight, only cutting the flesh slightly. The person holding the wooden handle was an honest man.

He looked at Huang Fuchun timidly, drew back the sickle, and stabbed out a second time.

This time it was really accurate. Half of Huang Fuchun's neck was cut open and blood gushed out like a waterfall.

"I said... I am... a candidate of the imperial court. Are you deaf?"

Zhang Yu turned his head away. The following scene was too bloody. The Huang family father and son, three people, and nine servants were killed without a complete body. The angry crowd was still not satisfied and rushed to the dozen or so servants who were the least evil, punching and kicking them, and clubs flew everywhere. Many of them died on the spot.

Chen Wu came over and reported: "Captain, someone wants to see you." "Who?"

"It's a girl, a maid in the Huang Mansion. She said she has something important to report to the chief."

Chen Wu secretly glanced at Zhang Yu's expression. If a rough and unruly man with no status asked to see Zhang Yu, he naturally wouldn't dare to report it. But this woman was quite pretty. If the leader of the stronghold liked her, wouldn't he have made another contribution?
Zhang Yu looked and saw a woman in plain clothes standing in the distance looking in.

"Let her come here."

The woman was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with an ordinary appearance and a dignified manner. There was indeed some charm between her eyebrows, but there was a black mole at the corner of her mouth. She bowed and said, "Cheng Huan greets the village leader Zhang."

"What's the matter with me?"

"Thank you, Village Chief Zhang, for avenging my father's death!"

Zhang Yu chuckled and said, "There's no need to come here specially to thank them. These people all have a deep blood feud with Huang Batian."

Cheng Huan glanced at him and said directly, "May I ask the village chief how to deal with the tea gardens and medicinal gardens around Yunwu Mountain?"

Zhang Yu frowned and asked, "What do you think?"

Cheng Huan said: "The Huang family's crimes are unforgivable, but they run their tea garden business well. The quality of Yunwu Xian Tea is especially high. It is well-known in Pingyang Prefecture and even in the capital. Their methods may have their merits."

"Tell me."

"Compared to before, tea garden owners of all sizes were fighting on their own, with different standards for breeding, fertilizing, picking and roasting. Although they were all called Yunwu Xian Tea, the quality was uneven and could not be sold at a high price."

"The Huang family unified the classification of tea varieties, selected seeds and cultivated seedlings, which improved the quality of tea and also expanded the reputation of Yunwu Xian Tea."

Zhang Yu looked at her with interest and said with a smile, "You have such insight, so I'm afraid you are not an ordinary maid, right?"

Cheng Huan said slowly: "At the foot of Yunwu Mountain, the owner of the largest tea garden was my father Cheng Quan, who later died at the hands of Cao Long."

Cao Long and Huang Batian colluded with each other and seized property by trickery and plunder. In just a few years, they turned the mature tea gardens around Yunwu Mountain into ownerless land. Dongliu Villa was able to take over these industries at a very low price, and naturally there were many bloody twists and turns.

Zhang Yu nodded and said, "You are able to endure humiliation, which is indeed extraordinary. This village chief does not like to beat around the bush. You must have a plan in mind when you come to see me, so just tell me."

Cheng Huan bowed slowly and said, "I am willing to take refuge under the Qingfeng Village and take over the management of the Huang family's tea garden around Yunwu Mountain. All the money I earn every year will be provided to the village."

Zhang Yu asked, "What do you want?"

Cheng Huan smiled sadly and said, "A person who has lost his home has no worries. Seeing his enemy surrender, his wish has been fulfilled. He should die."

"but……"

She looked up at the large apricot-yellow flag with the words "Carrying out Justice on Behalf of Heaven" written on it.

“Perhaps, I can contribute a little to these four words.”

Zhang Yu looked at the woman's resolute eyes. There were also hundreds of tenants. Apart from those who were picked up to be soldiers, the rest of the old and weak should have a way to survive...

On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, the once-glorious Dongliu Villa was destroyed.

The Huang family father and son and their minions were all burned to ashes by the anger.

Dozens of carts, pulled by oxen and horses, headed towards Yunwu Mountain. All the wealth that the Huang family had exploited over the years was used to support Qingfeng Village.

Zhang Yu recruited tenants as village guards, nearly 300 people, and marched towards Yunwu Mountain in a mighty force.

After tonight, everyone in the underworld of Pingyang Prefecture should know that there is a force called Qingfeng Village.

(End of this chapter)