Chapter 1409: Killing People to Find the Molds

"Was this robbery an accident or premeditated?"

Chen Chen Guanlou asked curiously.

Chen Guanqiang pondered for a moment, then stated firmly, "It must have been premeditated. The caravan flew the Hou Fu banner openly. The local government tax checkpoints along the way did not make things difficult for them; they were quite accommodating. They only reached the war-torn zone. Logically, with the caravan's martial strength, dealing with mere bandits should have been a trivial matter. Yet, the caravan was robbed. They must have scouted the location beforehand!"

Chen Chen Guanlou nodded in understanding. "Open robbery or covert robbery?"

Poisoning, bribery... various schemes planned in advance, followed by an unexpected ambush on the road—that is covert robbery.

Open robbery involves no small tricks; they just draw their blades and charge! Relying purely on hard strength!

Chen Guanqiang shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure."

Chen Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow. "You didn't question the survivors?"

"We did. They know nothing. They were all young men, brought along to gain experience. They were unclear about many internal matters of the caravan, including the itinerary. The managers and accountants who knew the caravan's situation are all dead!"

Hearing this, Chen Chen Guanlou smiled knowingly. "In that case, it must have been a premeditated hijacking. Otherwise, only the young men would have survived while the legitimate managers were killed. Clearly, they had scouted the location long ago; they even had a plan for who to kill and who to spare. It's just that you were foolish and failed to see through the Guimingtang involved."

Chen Guanqiang's face turned pitch black. "Regardless of whether it was premeditated, anyone daring to hijack Hou Fu's goods is asking for death. Find them and kill them all; leave no survivors. Do not show any feminine mercy!"

He ground his teeth, his mind churning. He had suspected a traitor within the caravan, but he dared not investigate too deeply. The people were already dead anyway. At least he couldn't dig deeper this time. He had only been promoted to the position of Chief Steward for a little over a year, yet such a huge blunder had occurred. If a traitor was exposed at this moment, certain people would surely seize the opportunity to launch a massive attack.

How many people coveted the position of Chief Steward of Hou Fu!

Leaving aside the annual silver income, the authority in his hands alone made countless people covet it.

A single word from the Chief Steward of Hou Fu was sometimes more effective than an official government decree.

A single calling card from the Chief Steward of Hou Fu, presented to a local yamen, was comparable to an 'Imperial Edict'! One calling card was enough to earn a person more money in a short time than they could earn in three lifetimes.

Better to be a maid in a great household than a wife in a small family!

Better to be a slave in a great household than a laborer in a small family!

This is reality!

Driving for a big boss, monthly salary five thousand. Working for a big company, monthly salary twenty thousand.

How to choose?

Anyone with a normal brain and some ambition would choose the former.

The amount of wages doesn't matter; the main thing is the boss is approachable. Driving for the boss brings me glory and pride... As for the rest, dear readers, fill in the blanks yourselves!

Chen Guanqiang was desperate!

Only two thoughts remained in his mind: kill people, and find the molds.

The molds could indeed be remade, but the three lost molds absolutely could not fall into others' hands. Even if the other party guaranteed never to use the molds, it would not be acceptable.

Were those just molds?

They were leverage, evidence of a crime, proof of an intent to rebel!

He dared not imagine how much trouble would erupt if this matter were exposed. The Emperor would likely sharpen his knives; even if he couldn't deal with Marquis Pingjiang, he would take the opportunity to prune the Hou Fu faction.

The losses would be immeasurable!

In the dead of winter, Chen Guanqiang broke out in sweat, layer after layer.

"Brother Lou, you must help me. If you don't help me, I'm finished! The Heir Apparent certainly won't spare me!"

Chen Chen Guanlou asked quietly, "Did you hide the truth about the lost molds from the Heir Apparent?"

"No! How could I dare! The Heir Apparent is lenient; he told me to find the molds as soon as possible, and my merits would offset my faults! If I can't find them, he certainly won't protect me! Brother Lou, given our friendship, if you don't help me, I'm truly done for. I can't find a second capable person to help me. Brother Lou, you must save my life."

Chen Chen Guanlou took a sip of wine, pondered carefully, and said, "Helping you isn't impossible, but you must tell me the truth. Give me a copy of the caravan roster, the cargo manifest, and the account books."

"No problem! The roster is easy to arrange, but what about the manifest and the account books? What do you plan to do?"

"Don't worry about how I do it; I don't want that cargo money. If I wanted to make a quick profit, I have faster and simpler methods. You want me to help you recover the goods, yet you offer no clues. Then we can only start with the cargo manifest and search the markets for traces.

The bandits stole the goods and will surely want to cash them out. To cash out, they must find merchants to sell to. They surely won't dare sell in Jingcheng... We must visit all major towns within a five-hundred-li radius centered on the hijacking location. This is no easy task. This matter requires outside help. Will you find them, or shall I?"

Chen Chen Guanlou's mind was clear; after spending so much time with the brothers of the Six Fan Gate, he had learned some basic investigative logic.

Chen Guanqiang asked quietly, "Can't we go directly to the nearby bandits and force them to talk? For such a huge transaction, the nearby bandits must have heard some wind of it."

"That is why we must pursue two paths simultaneously. Investigate the cargo clues on one side, and find people to interrogate on the other. We cannot rely on just one path. Combine the information from both sides, verify it one by one, and we can distinguish truth from falsehood and identify useful information. Relying on just one path makes it easy to be deceived. This is like the saying: listening to both sides brings clarity, while listening to only one side brings darkness! It is the same principle! The ultimate goal is to recover the molds."

Chen Chen Guanlou analyzed patiently, pouring out his heart and soul.

Even disregarding their friendship, for the sake of Brother Qiang's father, he would help the other party. He had gotten along quite well with the old man and could not stand idly by while Brother Qiang fell into trouble.

He put his arm around Brother Qiang's shoulder. "I know your concerns; you don't want too many people to know about this. How about this? I will organize the men to search for the whereabouts of the goods. How does that sound?"

Chen Guanqiang was very curious. "Where will you find people? The Six Fan Gate? We cannot let the Six Fan Gate get involved! That bunch has no filter on their mouths; I can't trust them."

Chen Chen Guanlou punched the other man in the arm. "You underestimate the Six Fan Gate. That bunch has the tightest lips and knows best what can be said and what cannot. However, your concern is also valid. How about we find people from the palace?"

"Are you crazy? We are already busy hiding this from the Emperor; how could we voluntarily hand over leverage?"

"You don't understand this. Unless the Emperor asks, no eunuch will voluntarily confess. Take this tea, for instance. Do you think the Emperor knows that what he drinks is actually inferior tea? Does he know that the best tea is actually in the hands of the powerful and noble?"

"This..." Chen Guanqiang stared blankly at the teacup. "Can they keep a secret? Can eunuchs leave Jingcheng at will?"

Chen Chen Guanlou chuckled lightly. "Eunuchs cannot leave Jingcheng at will. However, the people under the eunuchs can leave Jingcheng at will. Otherwise, guess how those great eunuchs accumulate wealth? Do they rely entirely on others' offerings? They must have their own enterprises! The Six Fan Gate knows how to investigate cases, but they don't understand trade! When goods are lost, the people most skilled at finding them are actually these merchants."

Chen Guanqiang thought for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said, "Very well, let's do as you say."