Chapter 113: Not Yet in Yang Zhou 4: Before the Slaughter [Many thanks for everyone's support

The swift boats carrying the thieves communicated the number of bandits among themselves, then all headed toward the shore together.

Xu Xu Zaijing took some personal guards from both Marquis households, along with his cousin Jing Biao Ge, and went to the shore.

The old steward who had feigned illness and delivered food the previous night, along with Brother Qingyun, had already accompanied the canal soldiers' swift boats; both had taken headcounts, and the numbers matched perfectly—not a single one had escaped.

Brother Qingyun returned to Xu Xu Zaijing's side and said, "The master and servant who drank with you that night are also here; they hid at the very rear of the canal soldiers' boat."

"Hmm. Quite the audacity! Let Cousin Jing Biao Ge attend to them properly and get the truth out."

The thieves were escorted or dragged to the garrison located some distance from the shore.

Xu Xu Zaijing led Zhu Zhu Qinghu and Gu Gu Tingye on horseback to follow, while Zhique and Brother Qingyun followed behind on horseback, carrying a box of silver.

Upon entering the garrison, every canal soldier from Yongcheng who had stripped and entered the river received a ten-tael silver ingot.

This served as both a reward and hush money; those who received it hurriedly ran into the garrison's warming room to soak in a bath while drinking a decoction to dispel cold, forcing the chill out of their bodies.

"Thank you, Elder Brother Tai, for your help in capturing these bandits," Xu Xu Zaijing said, clasping his hands in salute.

Marquis Hu Yan replied, "It was merely the duty of the canal soldiers; however... regarding my cousin Hu Yan Zhao, I beg Han Wulang..."

As he spoke, he glanced at the real Hu Yan Zhao, who was bowing respectfully nearby.

Xu Xu Zaijing said, "Naturally, please let the Hu family handle the loose ends of these matters; we will absolutely not reveal a single word, but since most of those canal soldiers are likely dead or in grave danger, please ensure proper compensation is provided for their families."

Marquis Hu Yan said in a low voice, "We received news last night; early this morning, Constables from Xia Yi County had already found the bodies in a well within an abandoned courtyard in Xia Yi, stating they were gotten drunk and had their throats slit."

"Truly vicious. Regarding these bandits, I ask that Elder Brother Tai allow my cousin to participate in the interrogation."

"Naturally, naturally."

Soon, Constables dispatched by the Xia Yi and Yongcheng county yamen, having heard rumors late last night, arrived hoping to find any ruthless bandits or roaming thieves who had evaded capture for years among those held by Marquis Hu Yan.

Before noon,

Zhu Zhu Qinghu returned to the rear boat reeking of blood.

Xu Xu Zaijing sat in the cabin, carefully sharpening a blade with a whetstone, and asked, "Cousin, how did it go?"

Warming his hands by the stove, Zhu Zhu Qinghu said, "Hmm, I learned quite a few methods of interrogation."

"Have you gotten to the root of who these thieves are?"

"Half of them are water bandits from the marshes to the east, and half are convicts from the Pacifying Sea Army. The one impersonating Hu Yan Zhao was a minor naval officer from Dengzhou who was convicted a couple of years ago; he was on good terms with the Hu family, but unable to endure the hard labor, he joined the water bandits and became their strategist and second-in-command, recruiting many subordinates who had been convicted alongside him."

Brother Qingyun glanced at his Young Master and said, "No wonder there was such a strong smell of the sea on the canal soldiers' boat."

Zhu Zhu Qinghu paused slightly in surprise and asked, "A smell of the sea?"

Xu Xu Zaijing put down the whetstone and said, "It is the Yin family's secret formula that amplifies one's sense of smell. Cousin, don't look at me like that; this requires bitter training from a young age."

Looking somewhat puzzled, Zhu Zhu Qinghu asked, "Jing-ge'er, since you already saw through the fact that the thieves came to scout and yet let them go back, why not cast a longer line to catch a bigger fish?"

Xu Xu Zaijing sheathed his knife and said, "Sister is pregnant; after careful consideration, I dare not let her take risks. If anything happens to her due to lack of care, catching even the biggest fish would be meaningless."

Zhu Zhu Qinghu nodded and said, "Jing-ge'er, after watching the Constable smash every inch of that minor officer's leg bones, we did manage to pry out some information."

Xu Xu Zaijing's eyes lit up as he asked, "Oh? An unexpected surprise?"

"A group of fierce individuals arrived from Yang Zhou Prefecture; they did not know this water bandit second-in-command was formerly a naval soldier, but he spotted some clues and claimed they belong to the Salt Gang."

Xu Xu Zaijing frowned: "The Salt Gang of Yang Zhou Prefecture? Not Yang Zhou itself?"

"Yes."

"Then it relates to salt. So their target is the Bai family? Will they make a move?"

"They will. That minor officer said that when he went to collect the down payment, he heard Japanese spoken, stating they would strike in Chuzhou."

Xu Xu Zaijing's gaze hardened as he asked, "The Eastern Country of Japan?"

"Yes, he learned Japanese in Dengzhou, saying it was convenient for swindling silver."

"Did you interrogate him down to what age he wet his pants?"

"Eight years old; he wet himself when his father tested his scholarly knowledge."

Xu Xu Zaijing and Brother Qingyun exchanged a glance: seventy percent truth, thirty percent falsehood; no wonder he sounded so sincere when speaking.

Brother Qingyun asked, "How was this pried out of him?"

Zhu Zhu Qinghu withdrew his hands from the stove and said, "This ruthless person—you can't tell just by looking at his appearance. That Constable looks refined and handsome... I suspect he also understands medicine; first, he pulled out the minor officer's teeth to prevent suicide, then slowly smashed his bones bit by bit, and even... even focused on using the officer's leg tendons to tie an auspicious knot. Finally, do you know what that minor officer begged me for?"

"To give him a quick death?" Xu Xu Zaijing asked.

"Yes. Before dying, he kept saying he shouldn't have escaped."

"He's dead? Then where in Chuzhou will they strike?" Xu Xu Zaijing asked.

Zhu Zhu Qinghu stammered, "Gai... Se... Ei... Meng."

The people in the cabin looked at each other in confusion, none understanding; Xu Xu Zaijing said, "In that case, this minor officer didn't understand the meaning himself either? Otherwise, he would have stated the location long ago."

"Yes."

Xu Xu Zaijing now understood the bandits' plan in his heart: on one hand, they sent people to pretend to be from the Marquis household visiting Hu Yan Zhao to request canal soldier escorts; on the other hand, they sent people to pretend to be from the Hu family visiting the fleet to show goodwill.

On the second day, those impersonating the Marquis household tricked the escorting canal soldiers away, got them drunk, murdered them, and executed a swap, turning the thieves into canal soldiers who followed behind the fleet.

Since Xia Yi County is not far from Chuzhou, the canal soldiers escorting the fleet all the way to Chuzhou would not arouse suspicion.

Hu Yan Zhao believed his own soldiers were still alive and guarding the Marquis household.

If not investigated, once chaos truly erupted later in Chuzhou, these canal soldiers would certainly be trusted, allowing them to stab from behind and coordinate from within...

Xu Xu Zaijing pondered for a moment and said, "I will go to Wu Da Da Niangzi's quarters."

Arriving at the cabin where Bai Shi was located, Xu Xu Zaijing entered and whispered a few words to Cui Cui Mama Chang; soon, everyone else was called to other cabins.

Only Bai Shi and Cui Cui Mama Chang remained inside Bai Shi's cabin.

Looking at Xu Xu Zaijing with a kind expression, Bai Shi said, "Jing-ge'er, speak up, what is wrong?"

Xu Xu Zaijing roughly recounted the events and his deductions; Bai Shi's expression gradually turned serious, while Cui Cui Mama Chang's hands trembled slightly as she muttered curses under her breath.

"Jing-ge'er, repeat that Japanese term again."

Listening to Xu Xu Zaijing's repetition, Bai Shi closed her eyes, seemingly recalling something; it appeared Bai Shi understood Japanese, after all, since the Bai family rose to prominence through maritime transport.

Bai Shi shook her head and said, "The Japanese language has too many homophones; it is truly difficult to guess."

Xu Xu Zaijing said, "Auntie Bai, why not let the boatmen tell us what there is in Chuzhou?"

"Yes, go summon someone."

Soon, the Bai family's boat captain arrived in the cabin and listened to the questions from behind a screen.

The boat captain said, "Da Da Niangzi, in Chuzhou there is Tie'an Temple, and also the Grain Transport Office. Oh, right! A few years ago, Chuzhou changed its weirs to sluice gates, eliminating one instance of portaging over a weir."

Xu Xu Zaijing frowned and asked, "May I ask, what is portaging over a weir?"

The boat captain replied, "Replying to the young master, the Grand Canal sits higher than other waterways, so weirs must be built to prevent the canal's water from running off. When a boat needs to enter another waterway, it must be hauled along the shore and pulled over the weir; this is called portaging over a weir, and it causes great damage to the hull."

Seeing a look of sudden understanding in Bai Shi's eyes, Xu Xu Zaijing nodded and continued to ask, "I wonder what is special about this sluice gate?"

The boat captain said, "Opening this Chuzhou sluice gate consumes a great deal of river water, so the Grain Transport Office has stipulated that the gate may only be opened after either three days have accumulated or one hundred boats have gathered."

"If we head to the Chuzhou sluice gate now, what might happen?" Bai Shi asked.

"Replying to Da Da Niangzi, since there are few boats at present, we will most likely have to wait by the sluice gate for three days before we can pass through."

"Reward him."

"Thank you, Da Da Niangzi."

The boat captain took the reward money and left the cabin.

Cui Mama Chang spoke angrily, "It must be that pack of ungrateful wolves from the Bai family! They bribed Japanese warriors and colluded with salt smugglers outside the Bai clan. These traitors who bite the hand that feeds them! Our lord kindly took them in back then, yet never did I expect this!!!"

Bai Shi's face also turned somewhat ugly as she said, "If this is truly the case, then Father..."

Bai Shi's hands trembled slightly; she dared not imagine what would become of her if her father had passed away.

"No, let us ride horses. We must reach Yang Zhou as quickly as possible!"

"Auntie, rather than going to Yang Zhou now, it would be better to go to Chuzhou; once we find the person in charge there, we will naturally understand the situation in Yang Zhou!"

"Right! I will go with you!"

"Auntie, you must stay here to oversee the overall situation. Chuzhou is only a few dozen li from here; for every extra person I bring, I gain an additional measure of combat strength. Once I have news, I will send someone back on a fast horse," Xu Xu Zaijing said.

"But, Jing Ge'er, at your age, you should not venture into danger; if anything were to happen, I would have no way to answer to your mother," Bai Shi said after calming herself slightly.

"Rest assured, Auntie; I will only shoot arrows and definitely will not place myself in peril," Xu Xu Zaijing said.

Bai Shi pondered for a moment and said, "Jing Ge'er, once you reach Chuzhou, you must still listen closely to your Jing Biao Ge and Gao Gao Yuhou."

"I accept your orders!"

Since the boat was docked by the shore, soon more than ten horses were led out from the rear cabin.

Amidst the worried gazes of the crowd,

Xu Xu Zaijing, taking with him Brother Qingyun, Zhu Zhu Qinghu, Gao Gao Yuhou, the Xu family's scar-faced personal guard, and a guide familiar with the road to Chuzhou whom Marquis Hu Yan had found—eight people in total, each with two horses—whipped their mounts and rode off toward Chuzhou.

On the backs of all the spare horses, bulging packs clearly indicated they were carrying weapons, leather armor, and similar items.

Tomorrow I will write about the matters in Chuzhou.

It will introduce a character from a TV drama; everyone can guess who it is in the comments below.

I truly wrapped a whole pot of dumplings (padding four chapters) just to reasonably drink a mouthful of vinegar (introduce the character).

Writing this section, I Baidu-ed a great deal of information regarding the Northern Song Grand Canal.

I nearly reached a point where I could not continue writing due to entanglements over place names.

Consider this an extra update.

Tomorrow evening, I should begin writing about Yang Zhou in detail (or start doing so).

For those who dislike content outside of Yang Zhou, the author has clearly marked the newly updated chapters.

Everyone may choose whether or not to read them.

If the writing is poor, please forgive me.

I bow deeply!

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(End of Chapter)