Chapter 166: Spoils of War

The West Office's specialized prison carriage has a somewhat peculiar design; it doesn't look like a cage, but rather like a wooden rack for hanging things.

The West Office prison carriage is neither a "standard room" style single-person vehicle, nor the common type holding two criminals, but rather the large prison carriage used on the battlefield, converted from a cargo wagon.

After arriving at the West Office, it underwent further modification to make it convenient for public parading.

The newly modified large carriage can hold about ten people.

One, two, three bandits already captured were successively tied onto it, hung in a string.

"The leader isn't among these."

Fu Ju did not stay in place to dawdle, continuing to look for the next target.

If he doesn't fill the prison carriage to the brim today, he won't go by the name Fu!

As for the horse bandits who had previously robbed their military supplies, grain, or other items, they had already cut them down once at the beginning of the chaotic times.

This time is merely cleaning up the ones who slipped through the net.

The Caishan Horse Bandits robbed their things, so of course there is a grudge!

What kind of revenge is revenge that comes late? At best, it is nothing more than venting anger.

A gentleman is one who finds ten years not too late, but he, Fu Bailuo, is no gentleman; he is a petty man! He likes to settle grudges immediately!

Being late by even a day is a heart demon; having held it in for several years, he was almost driven insane.

With new grudges and old hatreds combined, it would be strange if his attitude were good!

It looks like a very ordinary commoner's ward.

A Clerk walks quickly toward his home; just as he is about to reach his doorstep, he suddenly stops.

That hearty face instantly becomes fierce and sharp.

Just as he is about to turn and leave, six or seven people quickly surround him from behind, all from the Patrol Guard Division.

At this moment, a voice comes from inside the house: "The Chief is back? You've reached the doorstep, why not come in?"

The door opens, and a person walks out from inside, a faint smile appearing on their face, though the smile does not reach their eyes: "Do you

recognize me?"

The person outside the door says with a cold face: "Commander Ming."

Ming Tiao looks at the Clerk's uniform on the other person.

The standard-issue clothing worn by grassroots Clerks in the wards doesn't have the imposing aura of their Patrol Guard Division uniforms, but it is enough to intimidate ordinary commoners.

In the eyes of commoners, it also counts as a minor official.

Ming Tiao mocks: "This skin you've changed into is quite nice."

You all really know how to hide!

Who would have thought that a mountain bandit would wear an official's clothing, serving as an official while acting as a bandit. And a bandit chief at that!

The bandit chief closes his eyes at this moment; when he opens them again, they still carry sharpness.

Things having reached this point, he only feels the unwillingness of a move gone wrong.

Regardless of whether the Patrol Guard Division used the Immortal Pill to lure them, the Immortal Pill is real, and it is also true that they did not manage to seize the Immortal Pill.

Losing is losing!

When he was tied up, he did not resist; during his time as a grassroots Clerk, he had already witnessed the combat prowess of those few from the Patrol Guard Division.

He could beat the other members of the gang, could beat the guards of those merchant caravans, and could beat many of the government soldiers escorting military supplies, but these few leaders who killed their way out of the Border Army—

Once they truly made a move, he might not necessarily survive under their hands.

Still the same saying, he is a horse bandit, not a death-sworn soldier; he has no so-called loyalty or belief that "a scholar dies for one who appreciates him," and he cares even less about whether his family members are threatened.

For the sake of his own interests, he can cast everything aside.

What he needs to think about now is how to find another chance to survive, not to prove his resolve through death.

He does not know how the Patrol Guard Division discovered them, but he can only see that the current Patrol Guard Division is very different from the officials he has dealt with in the past!

The Caishan Horse Bandits had been hiding in Xinzhou City for two years, yet the Patrol Guard Division was able to cast such a net in just a few short days, and was able to lie in wait with such precision!

Two years of hibernation, and they lost completely within a single hour!

Is this something a human can do?

The bandit chief being escorted to the prison carriage, as his thoughts extended, actually revealed a hint of horror in his eyes.

The more he thought, the more he felt—

The Patrol Guard Division is like a giant beast covered in eyes.

In this Xinzhou City, the giant beast's eyes and ears are distributed everywhere!

Plague Ghosts have already appeared, so it is possible for other monsters to appear, right?

When escorted to the large prison carriage, the bandit chief did not look at his brothers who were already hung up; he took a deep breath and said: "You Patrol Guard Division, you are monsters!"

Fu Ju, who was standing to the side with a gloomy face, immediately burst into laughter upon hearing this, clapped his hands, and praised: "I love hearing this! You really know how to talk, say more!"

Bandit chief:

"

Damn lunatic!

Ming Tiao pushes the bandit chief over: "Read more books!"

Don't drag everything toward gods and ghosts!

They staked out many locations; of course, not every one was a horse bandit, but as long as an anomaly appeared, there was no need to hesitate—just arrest them!

Being able to stake out the locations precisely this time relied on Deputy Envoy Wen's grand strategy!

Ming Tiao actually doesn't quite understand what a grand strategy is, but that's how he heard Chief Pei praise it.

The people of the Patrol Guard Division were arresting bandits everywhere, and the West Office's modified prison carriage was gradually filled up.

People from the City Defense Army and the Xianshou Army were also dragged out; there was even a bandit guarding the city gate today!

They say it's to take someone's shift, but if you think about it, it's definitely a calculated move!

A single large prison carriage couldn't hold them all, so Fu Ju arranged a sequence for them internally; the ten most important people were chained to the large carriage, and the other small fry were locked in smaller prison carriages.

In the span of one hour, most of the targets had already been captured.

The people from the Patrol Guard Division had laid in wait at various locations in advance, acting almost all at the same time; the commotion of the arrests was quite loud, and all sorts of outrageous rumors were circulating in the wards.

The Patrol Guard Division didn't intend to drag things out, and they soon lined up the prison carriages to parade them through the streets for all to see.

Hearing that there was a spectacle to watch, and hearing that some very formidable horse bandits had been caught, some people who were idle at home ran out to take a look, even braving the sun.

The lead carriage was particularly eye-catching; not only was it large, but its design was also quite strange, and the string of people hanging on it caused many people's focus to go a bit astray.

The onlookers originally intended to see what the horse bandits looked like, but now they were more concerned with the design of that first prison carriage.

How strange.

Take another look!

Fu Ju had resolved a bit of his inner demon and was happily showing off his spoils while following the prison carriages on their patrol.

Their Patrol Guard Division was going to tie up the Caishan Horse Bandits and show them to everyone!

Anyone who had crossed paths with the Caishan Horse Bandits could recognize at least one or two of them, proving that the Patrol Guard Division wasn't just making random arrests, nor were they using others to impersonate them, but had truly strung up the Caishan Horse Bandits and beaten them!

Supplies were currently scarce, so there were no rotten vegetable leaves for the onlookers to throw, and melons, fruits, and eggs had become expensive goods, so they could only pick up pebbles and clods of dirt.

Someone in the crowd of onlookers said in a muffled voice: "They actually caught them; look at how this prison carriage was modified—it's worthy of Fu the Little Bird!"

Who?

Who is cursing me?!

Fu Ju had sharp ears; he glared over with eyes full of murderous intent, then turned back with an expressionless face, pretending he hadn't heard anything.

Can those old generals who retired from the front line just shut up!

Don't shout blindly!

You can call me Fu Bolao, but what is this "Fu the Little Bird"?!

Don't think I won't dare to hit you, old leader!

The streets outside became lively, and the rumors in the wards were quickly dispelled.

In this day and age, in this city where survivors have gathered, whether it is finding food or capturing bandits, it is a shot in the arm for all survivors.

Jingxing Fang, Huwei Escort Agency.

A young woman watched her young son practicing martial arts with an escort.

Head Escort Lin returned from outside at this moment, looking quite happy.

Seeing the young woman, he walked over and said: "Liang, the clues we provided earlier should all be useful!"

They had provided some clues to the Patrol Guard Division, and the patrols had staked out the locations.

Liang just smiled lightly and said: "Whether it's useful or not, we have no way of knowing, but at least we've shown our attitude; even if we make a small mistake in the future, the Patrol Guard Division might be able to show some leniency."

The escort standing beside Head Escort Lin, who was also a veteran of the escort agency, said at this time: "Ward Chief Wen has become Deputy Envoy Wen; should we show some more appreciation and pay our respects?"

Liang and Head Escort Lin both looked over with expressionless faces.

Head Escort Lin said: "What can you use to pay your respects? You can't even beg for a single Immortal Pill from your grandfather or grandmother, you can only beg Qingyi Daozhang. But Deputy Envoy Wen has as many as he wants!"

"That man is the cousin of the Zhao Family, one of the top-ranking figures in power in all of Xinzhou! He has achieved success after success and even saved the life of the Young Master!"

"When he needs us, being able to do things for him is the greatest sign of respect! Besides, it won't harm our interests."

Capturing the horse bandits and removing a potential threat was beneficial to their escort agency.

Besides, Wen Gu had already done them a favor; how did the "Huwei Escort Agency" come to be?

Without Wen Gu, there would be no escort agency for them!

However, Liang had also privately reminded Head Escort Lin many times:

Never think about talking about sentiment with Wen Gu!

Maintaining boundaries is the safest thing for their Huwei Escort Agency!

At the same time.

In a ward where the wealthy gathered.

Several wealthy households sat together drinking tea and chatting.

They had all fled from the south together at the beginning of this year and were now huddling together for survival in Xinzhou City.

Living close by, they would gather from time to time to exchange information and talk about their current plight, which could be considered a way to relieve the worries in their hearts.

The atmosphere of today's gathering was quite relaxed.

"Hasn't everyone gone out to take a look? I heard the Patrol Guard Division caught those so-called Caishan Horse Bandits!"

Someone snorted: "What Caishan Horse Bandits, famous for a time and terrifying to hear about, haha! Have you ever heard of them before?"

The others just smiled and shook their heads.

The fame of the Caishan Horse Bandits was only in Xinzhou and could not spread out.

One of the gentlemen, whose status was slightly more noble and who had fewer scruples, said: "Well, Xinzhou is a poor place, so that's how it is."

The others expressed their agreement.

Isn't that just it!

Heh, a poor place!

A few petty thieves, making such a big fuss—aren't those people in the Patrol Guard Division just trying to exaggerate their own achievements?

However, there was one person sitting on the side who hadn't spoken, and he muttered: "I seem to have some impression—"

He held his teacup, sipping it in small mouthfuls, recalling in his mind.

The long-term attendant beside him changed his expression at this moment and quickly whispered a few words into his master's ear.

That gentleman slammed his teacup down, not even bothering to wipe the tea that splashed onto his hand.

"Damn it!"

It's them!

The wealthy master's face twitched as if he were having a spasm.

These Caishan Horse Bandits—they had robbed his family's goods before!

Not knowing what he was thinking of, the wealthy master huffed in anger, called over another attendant, and shoved a handful of Grain Tickets at him: "Hire a bunch of people to go throw stones for me! Pick the big ones! Smash them to death!"

Someone nearby asked curiously: "You've had your goods robbed by them? What kind of goods? Your merchant caravan actually came to the northern Quechang?"

Most of us used to run maritime trade; when did your caravan ever run the Quechang?

The master did not speak.

The others exchanged glances and understood.

Holy crap, you're smuggling!

But that wasn't the point; everyone smuggles.

The point is, what kind of things were you smuggling to the northern Quechang?

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