Civilization Guardian Front

"..." The girl tilted her head and remained silent.

(Conspiracy is not enough, but loyalty is not thorough enough, but it is certain.)

Faced with Chios' harsh accusation, Heimu Zongzhen did not respond positively, but asked after a couple of dry laughs:

"...I don't know how you plan to deal with us?"

The rest of the prisoners of the Kuroki family raised their faces, with hope shining in their eyes.

No one wants to die, it is good to be alive.

"It's very simple, if you want to die, I'll give you all right away; if you want to live, it depends on what price you can pay for living." The subtext of Chios is also very simple...

Life or money, pick one.

Heimu Zong really didn't hesitate long before answering this question:

"What do you think of our Kuroki family handing over all the land of Minami Wakuri?"

Shaking his head, Chios said with a sarcastic smile:

"The land and the right to rule belong to me. Do you think it's appropriate to use my things to buy your life?"

"Minami Wakuri clearly belongs to the Kuroki family!" A member of the Kuroki family roared angrily.

"Drag it out..." Chios glanced at the man lightly.

"What are you trying to do... bastards... ah!"

The Kuroki family member was immediately dragged by the ashigaru by the shoulders and pushed in front of Chios. He was a young man about fifteen years old.

"Undressed and whipped until he admits his mistake."

"yes! "

Beating criminals with sticks and whips was no stranger to Standing Ashgaru, so he responded and immediately carried out the order.

The impulsive young man from the Heimu family was stripped of his clothes, his hands were tied behind his back, his feet were wrapped with thick ropes several times, and he was dragged aside.

popping...

The sound of the sticks beating the flesh was mixed with the painful groans of the flogged, and everyone present couldn't help feeling their scalps go numb after hearing it.

Even Chios himself didn't adapt very well. The difference is that he has long been used to hiding his emotions and making choices with cold reason.

"Damn it, beast! I swear I must..."

The young man from the Kuroki family cursed at the beginning, but under the merciless blow of the ashigaru stick, his back and buttocks were torn apart, and he was trembling and cursing silently.

The pain is not so easy to numb. As the flesh and blood stick to the wooden stick, what is heard is no longer a crisp beating, but a dissonant sound that is similar to being slapped on a sticky substance, making teeth sore.

Everyone in the Heimu family looked pale, no one could keep calm in front of the scene.

"..." Inu Chiyo frowned slightly, turned his face away and stopped looking.

The tortured young man trembled in pain. He didn't know what was going on behind him. The pain made him unconscious, and the voice made him panic.

(How many more sticks can I bear? Did I bleed a lot? Why didn’t my family plead for me?)

His heart became fragile with fear and blurred consciousness. He doubted himself and his relatives, and his only thought was to survive.

"...I was wrong! I was wrong uh... let me go..."

Hearing the cry of pleading, the ashigaru in charge of the execution slowed down, and looked at Chios with questioning eyes.

"The Kuroki family is the master, what do you think..." Chios didn't comment, but instead asked a question:

"Shouldn't we have a consensus on the "price"? "

Kuroki Zong really gritted his teeth, Chios not only wanted the Kuroki family to recognize his rule over Nan Ruoli, but also forced the Kuroki family to hand over their savings accumulated over a hundred years to pay for their lives.

Even if he admits defeat, Kuroki Zongzhen still hopes that the family can regain strength through this money, and he is still unwilling to let go.

"Well, it seems that the consensus is just my wishful thinking." Sighing with regret, Chios' eyes turned cold, and he ordered:

"continue. "

"No! Please...no ahhhhh!"

The wailing sounds of the clansman echoed in his ears, and the tall young man in front of him didn't even hesitate. His cold and cruel gaze made the head of the Heimu family shiver, knowing that he would never be able to win the other party's concession.

If the Kuroki family can't afford the price, they will really die here...

Closing his eyes in pain, Hei Muzong really gave up his chances, and his pale lips trembled and said:

"Please stop."

A gesture stopped the foot light flogging, and Chios finally smiled again.

"The Kuroki family is the master, do we have a consensus now?"

Every time Chios yelled "The Kuroki family is the master", Kuroki Zongzhen could feel the sharp increase in the pressure in the conversation, pressing harder and harder, destroying his original bottom line of negotiation.

"I..." Hei Muzong, who was barely able to calm down before, was really dry, and it was so difficult to spit out every word.

"Yes, we have agreed with you."

Kuroki Zongzhen reached into his arms, took out a roll of yellowed paper, and handed it to Chios slowly and struggling.

He took the paper and looked at it. It was a very simple map with only one red dot and three crosses on it. It was really difficult to find anything based on this map alone.

"The money that Kuroki's family has accumulated for hundreds of years is stored in the mountain city, and the other is hidden underground at the location marked in this picture. Tree. "

After explaining to Chios in a low voice, Kuroki Zongzhen felt dizzy for a while.

The wealth accumulated by the family for generations is just handed over to others...

"Very well, I will keep you and your son safe."

The head of the Heimu family just nodded numbly, he had given up bargaining with the other party.

At least, his bloodline was preserved.

Seeing that Kuroki Munema, Zongsi father and son were taken aside by Ashigaru under the gesture of Chios, and separated from the rest of the clan... The rest of the Kuroki family couldn't help panicking.

However, the commotion had only just begun, and Chios had already said with a warm expression:

"Others can also say that I am not sure I will forgive everyone, so it is worthwhile for you to say it early... Remember to tell me the source of the money, especially the ill-gotten money, so that I can accept it with peace of mind."

As soon as this sentence came out, everyone in the Kuroki family tried their best to think about what could impress Chios.

The most passionate members of the Heimu family have already died tragically one after another, and the rest are relatively calm and selfish. It is of course best to keep everything, but they will not give up if the number of places is limited.

"I robbed a businessman on the official road. I hid the more than 50 copper coins he was carrying. Please spare my life... I, I will tell you where it is!"

"Very well, if what you said is true, I won't kill you." Chios said with a smile, pointing at the man and saying:

"Bring him here, gently."

"yes! "

The ashigaru brought the Kuroki family to Chios's side, and their actions were much gentler.

"I blackmailed the restaurant in the name of the Kuroki family, 23 times!"

"Yes, bring it here."

"I strangled him to death on the way to Inabayama Town with my uncle to do some shopping, and robbed him of the three gold pennies!"

"Wonderful, bring it on."

"I……"

The Heimu family, as long as they have done something, are scrambling to tell their dirty scandals.

Some of the townspeople who were hiding in the private houses had some compassion for the Kuroki family when they saw the misery, but after this incident, they no longer have the slightest sympathy for the Kuroki family.

Chapter 38? Search

As the prisoners of the Kuroki family confessed their evil deeds one by one, a total of eight people, including Kuroki Soma and his son, were taken to the position behind Chios by Ashgaru.

Although the ropes that bound them did not loosen, they secretly began to breathe a sigh of relief that they had escaped with their lives.

The other ten people and the young man who had been beaten not long ago had no choice but to continue kneeling in front of Chios, with a look of despair on their faces.

This scene is not so comfortable in the eyes of Inu Chiyo. Those who pay for their lives are based on crimes, but they can keep those who do evil alive. On the contrary, those who have not done evil want to be killed and accept sanctions?

Perhaps this is the reality, and the girl can't understand it in her heart.

The only thing she doesn't want to see is perhaps this kind of cruel and cold reality, from the hands of her friend, the man Her Highness the Princess likes...

"Come fifteen people and a mule cart, bring the life-paying person with me, and go with me to get the money back. Inu Chiyo will lead the rest to guard the others."

Chios gave the order, turned around and showed Inuchiyo an apologetic smile, approached the girl, leaned over and whispered in her ear:

"Sorry, Inuchiyo, I made you see something uncomfortable, but please help me keep an eye on these people, and I will give you an explanation."

"...(Nod)" Inuchiyo's originally depressed expression improved a lot after hearing what Chios said, and gave Chios a "no problem" look with firm eyes.

(Chios should have done this as an expedient measure. After all, he has just arrived in the territory. Except for the two soldiers borrowed by the elders, he has no reputation, no funds, and can hardly move...)

Chios has worked very hard, and even paid attention to her thoughts...

Considering Chios' difficulty in governing the territory, Inuchiyo couldn't help but feel guilty, and realized that he should be more considerate of the other party.

"Thank you, Inuchiyo."

Seeing that the corners of the girl's slightly hanging eyes turned soft, Chios was relieved and a smile surfaced on his face.

He knew how important it was to appease the girl at this time.

Chios never believed in the idea of ​​"the other party will understand my painstaking efforts". There are too many cases of troubles caused by men because they don't care about details.

Let it go, maybe Inuchiyo will let go of a member of the Kuroki family because of a momentary soft-heartedness, wouldn't that be a blow to his prestige?How should I deal with it at that time?

Not to mention whether he is willing to punish Inuchiyo for this kind of thing, just because she is sent by Nobuna, it is impossible for him to punish her.

As a precaution, Chios immediately stabilized Inuchiyo, and at his own request, no matter how soft-hearted, Inuchiyo would not be able to make a good decision while he was away.

With Inuchiyo's guarantee, Chios immediately took the Kuroki family's life-payers and set off.

Time was precious, and he didn't want to deal with trivial matters until the next day in order to take over a small village-like territory.

Except that the family treasure map given by Kuroki Zongzhen is a bit interesting, the way the Kuroki family hides money can be described as the same.

Either under a certain tree near the mountain city, or next to a certain stone.They all felt that the treasure was hidden very secretly. When Chios took people to dig it, they found that the distance between these treasure places was only a few dozen steps, and the shortest was even within ten steps.

Chios laughed at himself, maybe he didn't need to ask at all, as long as he found some people to dig all within [-] steps around the cottage, he would probably be able to dig out the money hidden by everyone in the Heimu family.

Thinking of half of the people in the Blackwood family who had already been killed, he felt that he must do this when he had time.

After collecting the money that the Heimu family robbed from merchants, leaders, widows, and even fellow clansmen, the mule cart behind Chios was filled with two large boxes of copper coins, which looked quite spectacular.

But in fact, most of them are copper coins with a denomination between one penny and four pennies, and some bad money is mixed in.

Like the Heimu family who extorted the wine shop, they claimed to have got 23 guan, but most of them were evil money. In the eyes of a shrewd businessman, the value is definitely greatly discounted, and they cannot be exchanged for [-] guan of Yongle money.

Three pennies can only buy a big steamed bun, and the real purchasing power of these two boxes of money is far less amazing than it seems.

After enjoying the appetizers, it's time for the main meal...

After the group entered the foothills on the west side of Nanwakali, Chios smiled and made a "please" gesture to Kuroki Soma.

"I will trouble you from here on, head of the Kuroki family, please show us where the money is hidden."

"A hundred steps forward along the path, then twenty steps to the right, at the fork where a statue of Ksitigarbha is enshrined, take the left road and continue for about a quarter of an hour, and you should see an ancient tree."

Kuroki Zongzhen pointed out the way with his fingers while talking.

"Walk through the woods west of the old tree to find the vine-covered mountain wall."

"I heard everything clearly, the Kuroki family is in front, let's go."

Chios followed Heimu Zongzhen's guidance. He did not let go of his vigilance. Instead, he focused to the extreme, capturing all the movements on the way, and asked the Heimu family to walk ahead to explore the way.

The ashigaru people grabbed the hemp rope that tied the Kuroki family and followed behind, but the Kuroki family was terrified when they came to the back, lest the head of the family set some trap and eventually sent them to death.

Maybe it was really disheartened, but Kuroki Zongzhen was very peaceful along the way, without any bad intentions, Chios and others came to a mountain wall covered with ivy smoothly.

Chios felt the air flow towards the mountain wall, and immediately understood the method used by the Kuroki family to hide money, pointed to the green vines and said:

"There must be a cave behind this ivy."

"Sure enough, you can't hide anything from your lord." Kuroki Zongzhen complimented him, and his heart shivered slightly. Chios's meticulous observation really made him afraid.

"After the ancestors discovered this cave, they planted green vines on the cave. After decades, the green vines completely covered the entrance of the cave. If you don't push it hard, you won't find this place at all."