The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 351 The Seeds of Betrayal

The Han Dynasty had neither the online payment system of later generations nor the money shops and banknotes of the Ming and Qing Dynasties; all business activities were conducted in cash.

Cash was in the form of copper coins, mainly Wuzhu coins. These coins not only took up a lot of space but were also extremely heavy, so they were usually stored in boxes or sacks.

Therefore, Pan Zhang instinctively assumed that the box contained either goods from a transaction or copper coins he had received, never dreaming that it would contain stones.

Those damned merchants actually tricked me, exchanging all the copper coins and goods for stones.

Pan Zhang opened several boxes and found only stones. Enraged, he punched Li Tong in the face, causing Li Tong to stagger violently. Before Li Tong could fall to the ground, Pan Zhang rushed forward, grabbed his collar, and demanded sharply, "Why are there stones? Tell me why there are stones! Where's the money? Where's my money?"

Ignoring his pain, Li Tong knelt down and begged for mercy, saying, "I didn't know, I really didn't know, General! I rushed into the military market as you instructed and immediately seized the goods. Afterwards, I was so eager to tell you the good news that I didn't even open them to look inside. I really didn't know that there would be stones inside. I was also deceived by these cunning merchants. General, you must believe me."

Pan Zhang kicked Li Tong in the shoulder, knocking him down, but he was still not satisfied. He continued to kick him while cursing, "I told you to look after the military market, and what did you do? They've been doing this for a long time, and you really didn't notice anything? Or did you take bribes from the merchants to help them out?"

Li Tong dared not resist, curling up to protect his head as Pan Zhang's large feet stomped on him. Hearing Pan Zhang's question, he hurriedly replied, "Those merchants gave me a lot of tribute. The one who gave the most was a merchant named Yu Yang. Yu Yang even assured me that he would abide by the law and the rules of the military market and deliver the protection money to me on time. I thought he was so obedient because he was intimidated by the general's power, so I was a little lax in my supervision of them. But I never dreamed that these lowly merchants would dare to deceive you, general."

"This humble servant knows his mistake. This humble servant is willing to offer all the tribute he received from the merchants to the general. Please spare my life, general! Please spare my life!"

He dared not, nor could he, conceal the fact that he had accepted bribes, because the money he received was all in his own tent, which Pan Zhang could easily find with a search. It was two different things for him to hand it over voluntarily and for Pan Zhang to find it.

Pan Zhang's anger only intensified upon hearing this, and he roared furiously, "I trusted you so I put you in charge of the military market, and this is how you repay my trust? I'll beat you to death, you bastard!"

Pan Zhang kicked him countless times, finally stopping when he was exhausted and panting, saying, "Men, drag Li Tong away and behead him."

Upon hearing this, Li Tong's face changed drastically. Ignoring the pain, he quickly got up and grabbed Pan Zhang's leg, pleading, "General, spare my life! I dare not do it again. I have been following you since I was fourteen. I even fought alongside you and Zhang Liao in the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford. I have served you and worked hard all these years. Please, General, spare me this time for my service. I dare not do it again. Rest assured, General, I will definitely capture those damned merchants and execute them in front of you."

Li Tong was indeed deceived by those merchants. He had recently received far more benefits from the merchants in the military market than he should have, which is why he sent a message to them beforehand, hoping to repay them in return.

In all honesty, he only wanted to spare the merchants themselves, not their goods. He originally planned to inform the merchants and let them leave as a way of repaying their tribute, and then hand over the goods in the general's market to Pan Zhang to complete the task. In this way, he could keep the merchants' tribute with a clear conscience.

But he never dreamed that these merchants were so cunning. On the surface they were trying to please him, but in private they were playing tricks on him.

So when he opened the box and saw the stone, not only was Pan Zhang dumbfounded, but he was dumbfounded too. Only then did he realize that he was a complete idiot who had been sold out by the merchant and was even helping the merchant count the money.

Damn merchants, how could you do this to me?

At this moment, Li Tong wished he could immediately grab the merchant and cut him into a thousand pieces, but the most important thing right now was not revenge but survival, and how to appease Pan Zhang's anger and make him retract his order.

Li Tong kept begging for mercy and kowtowing, his head hitting Pan Zhang's leg so hard that Pan Zhang felt the pain.

Other guards also chimed in, saying, "Yes, General, Li Tong didn't do it on purpose. He was tricked. Please forgive him this time."

Looking at Li Tong's body covered in footprints, Pan Zhang felt a rare pang of regret. Li Tong was originally his personal guard; otherwise, he wouldn't have entrusted the lucrative military market to Li Tong. But this time, Li Tong had truly disappointed him.

Pan Zhang hesitated for a moment and said angrily, "The death penalty may be spared, but the punishment is inevitable. Take them away and give them twenty strokes of the cane. Whether they live or die after that depends on fate. Zheng Qi, you take over Li Tong's position as the head of the brigade. Immediately lead the troops to arrest these merchants. Execute them on the spot after they are caught. I want them to know the price for playing tricks on me, Pan Zhang."

Li Tong was dragged away to be executed, and soon the camp was filled with shrill screams. The screams were loud at first, but they grew weaker and weaker as time went on.

Military rods are not easy to endure. A few hard blows can kill a person, let alone twenty. Few can withstand twenty blows if the executioner does not go easy on them.

Before the execution was over, Li Tong fainted and was on the verge of death. He was carried back to his tent and remained unconscious for several hours until nightfall.

As the commander of an army of two or three hundred men, Li Tong naturally had two or three trusted confidants. Two personal guards sat by his bedside to serve him. When they saw him wake up, they said with surprise, "Commander Qu, you're finally awake! You scared us to death!"

Despite the pain, Li Tong scanned the area and, seeing signs that the tent had been ransacked, quickly asked, "Did the general send someone over? Was our money taken?"

The two soldiers nodded in unison, then complained, "They took it all, not leaving you a single copper coin!"

Upon hearing this, Li Tong felt a surge of hatred, not directed at the merchant but at Pan Zhang. The merchant had cheated him, and although he wanted revenge, he knew there was a reason for it. He thought that if he were the merchant, he would probably have done the same.

But you, Pan Zhang, have gone too far. I only made a mistake at work once, why are you making such a fuss about killing me?

I've been following you since I was fourteen, and we've been through countless life-and-death situations together. Now I'm just a lowly officer, and you want to kill me because of a single work mistake. Am I not worth that little bit of money in your eyes?

The guard added fuel to the fire, saying, "Master Qu, please calm down. Actually, it's better to take it away like this than to have it stolen by the general when you're rich in the future."

Pan Zhang had a history of killing and robbing wealthy soldiers, so his soldiers dared not be too rich, for fear of being targeted.

Although Pan Zhang has not seized his own troops so far, what if he does? What if one day Pan Zhang gets desperate for food and turns on his own people?

It's not that it's impossible!

Upon hearing this, Li Tong shivered and thought to himself, "Yes, I can't follow Pan Zhang anymore. I don't even dare to make more money under Pan Zhang. What's the point of living like this? I might as well ask Guan Xing for two acres of land and go home to my wife, children, and a warm bed."

The seed of betrayal had barely sprouted in his heart before it became unstoppable. Li Tong struggled with the question of whether or not to betray his country for only a moment before considering how to act.

It's impossible to rebel alone; I must contact Guan Xing and rely on his strength.

But how can one contact Guan Xing and express one's desire to abandon darkness and embrace the light?

I have no choice but to ask the merchants in the military market for help, but they have all run away. I am seriously injured and restricted by military discipline from leaving the camp. How can I contact those merchants?

After a moment's thought, Li Tong looked up at his two bodyguards and asked in a low voice with a serious expression, "Stone Dog Egg, how has your brother treated you usually?"

The two quickly pledged their loyalty, saying a lot of polite things like they were as close as brothers.

Upon hearing this, Li Tong asked with a sincere expression, "Then can I trust you?"