Chapter 266: So-Called Collusion

"Have you lost your mind? Killing in broad daylight, and attacking a wealthy household like this inside the city walls — these criminals are utterly vicious. How could we possibly afford to provoke them? Let the magistrates above make the decisions." Chen Wu said irritably.

The constable paused, then leaned in close and said, "This Xue family is truly rich. There's plenty to gain inside. What if we..."

"You have to live to spend what you earn. Find two matrons from the jail to go in and keep watch. Post five brothers outside as lookouts. Take everyone else back to the yamen for questioning first." Chen Wu waved his hand dismissively.

Though the men present were unwilling, they knew Chen Wu spoke the truth. Besides, during the search and arrests just now, everyone had managed to pocket a little something on the side, so they did as he said.

The constables had come quickly and left just as fast. Five officers were left to guard the Xue residence, and two matrons from the women's jail were brought in to watch the inner quarters — this could also be seen as a courtesy to Cloud Mountain Temple. Xue Xiaozong's wife, concubines, and daughters were not taken away. Everyone else was brought back to the yamen. In cases like this, when a wealthy household met with disaster, the first suspicion was always collusion between insiders and outsiders. The murderers had certainly fled, but if an inside accomplice could be found, following that thread would lead to rounding up the whole lot.

A large crowd had gathered around Cloud Mountain Trading to watch the excitement — nearby residents and city idlers alike. No one felt much sympathy for this appalling bloodbath. Some even muttered about divine retribution. The factions tied to Cloud Mountain Temple had run rampant through the prefectural city for a long time, and their reputation was abysmal.

Everyone assumed the Xue family bloodbath would be the talk of the town for the next few days. No one expected that near nightfall, shocking news would come from the yamen: a massacre had occurred at Cloud Mountain Temple on Cloud Dragon Mountain. The monk-soldiers had colluded with bandits to stage a revolt, killing the abbot, Yuanxin, and the temple overseer, Runan, along with two hundred and sixteen others. After a massive plunder, they had fled down the mountain, reportedly heading for one of the temple's subordinate branches.

Once this news broke, many in Xuzhou city were utterly stunned. There was a saying: "Even if the Yellow River floods Xuzhou city and soaks Cloud Mountain Temple," in the eyes of many commoners, even if Xuzhou city were submerged by the Yellow River, Cloud Mountain Temple would remain safe and sound. First, the temple sat on high ground. Second, it was the largest landowner in Xuzhou — it had many people, much money, and vast lands. Such a power was bound to stand unshaken, untouchable by anyone. Who could have imagined an internal revolt, with monk-soldiers and bandits colluding to commit such a massive crime?

However, it was only around dusk that someone went to the authorities to report the case. Night was about to fall, the city gates were about to close, and Cloud Mountain Temple lay outside the city. Everything would have to wait until tomorrow. Besides, Cloud Mountain Temple had been throwing its weight around for so long, it had never shown the yamen any respect, let alone offered any customary gifts. Naturally, everything could wait.

There are no shortage of clever people in this world. The relationship between Cloud Mountain Temple's abbot Yuanxin and Cloud Mountain Trading's proprietor Xue Xiaozong was no real secret. Very quickly, someone connected these two major cases, asking: could it have been the same group?

With this speculation, the suspicion on the Xue family's servants and slaves lessened considerably. The money they had on them had already been thoroughly squeezed out, and jail space was tight. After nightfall, they were all released.

The Xue family's second steward, however, secretly sought out the constabulary and said cautiously, "... Just now, with so many people around, this humble one dared not speak. This humble one did see that the murderer was not tall..."

"We know. Go back for now. Do not tell anyone else this information. Be careful on the road."

"Many thanks for Master Chen's concern. My mistress will surely repay you!" The second steward answered with great deference.

Fearing loose lips, such critical information naturally had to be told to the head of the constabulary, with everyone else dismissed. Once the second steward left, Chen Wu hurried out to find Zhao Zhentang. The first thing he said when they met was, "Still young — left loose ends."

By the time the second steward left the yamen, everyone else had already gone back. The steward walked along the road, his face full of worry. It was dark, night had fallen, and anywhere that wasn't a pleasure quarter was desolate and quiet. There were few pedestrians on the road. When he heard footsteps ahead and behind him, he thought nothing of it at first, but the footsteps were urgent and dense. By the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late.

The second steward did not return. No one in the Xue household thought it strange. Too many people had already fled. The day before had been fine, but once word came from the yamen that Cloud Mountain Temple's monk-soldiers had colluded with bandits and that Abbot Yuanxin had been killed, everyone knew the Xue family was finished. The master was dead, and the patron who served as their backer was dead too. What use was a widow and orphaned daughters?

There was a dry well west of the city. Fearing children might fall in, it was covered with a stone slab and weighed down with a large rock. In the morning, someone observant noticed that the slab and rock seemed to have been disturbed. But curiosity aside, since it was still covered, no one was willing to expend the effort to move it.

News like the Xue family being a sinking ship with everyone scrambling to flee, or the dry well west of the city possibly being haunted — none of it could compare to the major news that had just come from the yamen.

It was said that the monk-soldiers of Cloud Mountain Temple had colluded with bandits and planned to massacre He Village. Fortunately, Zhao Jin had sent someone to the garrison outpost to request aid, and through the garrison, they had reached Garrison Commander Zhou. Commander Zhou dispatched his personal guards, who routed the criminals and saved He Village, taking over four hundred heads.

Over four hundred heads — many people instinctively wondered if commoners' heads had been used to pad the count. But the plaintiffs from He Village who came to file the complaint had also arrived in the prefectural city, wailing and weeping outside the yamen. They also had a complaint document signed and thumbprinted by every single person in the village. This was not something that could be faked.

Then, Commander Zhou sent riders at full speed to the magistrate's yamen, stating that he had already received an urgent report from righteous civilians. The bandits and monk-soldiers who had colluded to murder the monks were now holed up at the Xiao County subordinate temple. Commander Zhou had already dispatched his elite troops on a raid, preparing to wipe out this gang of villains in one fell swoop. He had come specifically to inform the magistrate and request that officers and militia be sent to assist.

That Cloud Mountain Temple was a haven for filth, sheltering fugitives and desperadoes, was known to everyone in Xuzhou. It was no surprise that these lawless villains, who answered to no authority, would commit such heinous crimes. Fortunately, the Xuzhou region had not only heroes like the Little Eight Righteous Ones, but also loyal and brave commanders like Garrison Commander Zhou Baolu, who did not hesitate or pass the buck in a crisis, but instead acted with resolute decisiveness.

These monk-soldiers were different from ordinary refugees and bandits. They were strong, well-equipped, and intimately familiar with the Xuzhou region. If they truly began slaughtering villages and press-ganging refugees, it would easily brew into a major rebellion. Commander Zhou's timely dispatch of troops to suppress them, though somewhat irregular in procedure, was in the interest of everyone in Xuzhou. Therefore, the Xuzhou magistrate immediately sent out mounted and foot constables and able-bodied officers. Upon receiving official notification, every area inside and outside the city spontaneously organized militia, instantly mustering over a thousand men.

However, these thousand-plus men could manage defense, but asking them to march for several hours to the subordinate temple in Xiao County was impossible — they would scatter halfway. Those who could actually leave the city numbered just over two hundred, and even that was only after scraping together several hundred taels of silver as a reward to get them to go.

With the prefectural city in such chaos, naturally no one paid any attention to Cloud Mountain Temple. The magistrate's yamen assigned five constables leading a few dozen officers to go there.

After a day spent in fear and trepidation, as nightfall approached again, heartening news came back. Commander Zhou's elite troops had won a great victory. The rebel monk-soldiers had failed to organize any resistance. After over a hundred were killed in battle, they surrendered. During the surrender, they attempted to revolt, leading to another fierce fight, and the rebel monk-soldiers and bandits were all killed.

Hearing this, everyone felt relieved on one hand, but on the other, they drew a sharp breath. The battle was real. The surrender was likely real too. The revolt after surrendering might not have been, but being killed after handing over their weapons — that was no lie. This Commander Zhou had ruthless methods indeed.

Xuzhou could not be called peaceful over the years, but no major incidents had occurred either. The garrison troops and the locals had gotten along reasonably well. This time, however, everyone was given a fright. The imperial army was indeed ferocious and bloodthirsty.

News of the case at Cloud Mountain Temple also came back. It was confirmed that over two hundred monks had died, killed by that same group of rebel monk-soldiers. According to the constables' report, a Buddhist temple was still a Buddhist temple. The eminent monks of great virtue within had already collected and encoffined the bodies, and the traces of fierce battle inside the temple had been cleaned up. The weather was hot, so after the official autopsy, the bodies would be cremated. Furthermore, Cloud Mountain Temple had also submitted a detailed complaint and testimony, signed and attested by monks of standing.

No one found this odd. On the contrary, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Commander Zhou's bandit suppression was now the top priority. Cloud Mountain Temple was a place beyond the reach of the law anyway. Since the murderers had already been brought to justice, and Cloud Mountain Temple was unwilling to make further trouble, it was a convenient arrangement for both sides.

Commander Zhou had obtained nearly a thousand heads this time — a rare military achievement in the Southern Metropolitan Region. Not only his elite personal guards, but even the personnel of the magistrate's yamen would share in the credit. It was just that the formalities needed to be perfected.

For example, Commander Zhou could not have dispatched troops on his own authority. Instead, He Village had begged for help, and the magistrate's yamen, acting out of expediency in an emergency, had sent someone to request aid. Then, on the return journey, they heard that the routed rebel monk-soldiers were hiding at the Xiao County subordinate temple. Making a decisive judgment on the spot, they dispatched troops in pursuit. Only thus did such merit and results come about.

In the final analysis, Commander Zhou had not acted without authorization, but had responded to a request from the local authorities, and at a critical juncture involving life and death for the gentry and commoners, he had no choice but to act. Naturally, this also reflected the loyalty to the sovereign and love for the people of all officials in the Xuzhou yamen, and the gratitude of the common folk...

A bad thing had turned into a good thing. Amidst all this fanfare, on the surface, few knew that the force attacking He Village that night had also included over two hundred cavalry. No one pursued the suspicious circumstances surrounding the deaths of so many prominent monks at Cloud Mountain Temple. If the people didn't press charges, the officials wouldn't investigate — especially since Cloud Mountain Temple was a troublesome entity. Since they weren't talking, everyone was happy to take it easy.

If even these matters could be overlooked, then naturally, no one would delve deeply into the case of Xue Xiaozong's sudden death at Cloud Mountain Trading. It must have been connected to the rebel monk-soldiers of Cloud Mountain Temple who colluded with bandits. And so the case was closed.

Even Cloud Mountain Temple's abbot Yuanxin was dead. Xue Xiaozong, who had only been able to act arrogantly in Xuzhou by relying on Yuanxin's power, was naturally worthless. His death drew little attention.

Thus, even fewer people noticed that on the third day after the case was closed, several creditors arrived at the Xue household. These creditors came from various backgrounds. They presented Xue Xiaozong's wife with several loan documents. Some were for business dealings, some were gambling debts, and others were promissory notes for private dealings of unknown nature. Added together, they amounted to nearly one hundred thousand taels.

To be saddled with a hundred thousand taels of debt for no reason — Xue Xiaozong's wife would certainly not accept it. But none of these documents were privately made; they had actually been notarized at the yamen.

She wanted to check the accounts, but during those days of investigation, all the account books of Cloud Mountain Trading and the household had been thoroughly cleaned out. There was simply no way to verify. By now, the servants had mostly left, and there was no one left to rely on.

Even more absurdly, the yamen officers weren't investigating the case, but were guarding the compound extremely tightly. No one could enter, only leave. Bribes and pleas were useless.

The Xue widow felt as if the sky was falling. Her husband was dead, and the authorities weren't seriously investigating. She believed that as a mere woman, she could never keep an eye on so many male and female servants. Besides, these servants had all been brought in by Xue Xiaozong and had never truly respected her. Now that such a disaster had struck, with so much portable wealth in the house, wouldn't it all be looted? Yet, to her surprise, while many people tried to steal gold, silver, and valuables and run, not a single one succeeded. Often, just as something went missing, before she could even rush to report it, someone would return the items, bruised and battered, and then humbly resign, taking only the wages they were due.

The loyal second steward had vanished without a trace. The head steward was also a man from Cloud Mountain Temple and had embezzled plenty before. This time, he hadn't stolen anything extra, but had frantically claimed a family member was gravely ill and he needed to go home to check. She couldn't stop him. Yet it was said that as soon as the head steward left the residence, he was invited onto a carriage and taken somewhere unknown. The same happened to several prominent managers and accountants from Cloud Mountain Trading and Cloud Mountain Restaurant — one by one, they all left.

At first, the widow was somewhat panicked, but later she felt it wasn't so bad, because the visible family assets had all been left to her. It was enough for her to remarry in style and live a life of luxury.

But however good her plans, she never expected to encounter such a thing. Looking at these loan documents, not only could she not keep the gold and silver in her hands, she actually owed a huge sum on top of it. How could she bear this?

The Xue widow valued money above all else and was ready to go to the yamen to file a lawsuit. The creditors, who had been speaking amiably until then, suddenly revealed vicious faces. Pulling out a knife, they said, "These loan documents have been certified by the yamen. If you go make a scene, not a single copper coin will be left for you. You and your daughter will end up in a living hell to pay off the debt. If you want to play tough, for this much silver, do you think a few lives won't be lost?"

The moment she saw the knife, the Xue widow was terrified out of her wits. She ran out recklessly, screaming for the officers to save her. There were yamen officers guarding the gate outside the residence — surely they couldn't ignore this. She never expected that the officers standing outside would actually close the gate from the outside, turning a deaf ear to what was happening within.

After clutching her daughter and wailing for a while, the Xue widow had no choice but to accept the debt. The gleaming knife and the threat of being sold into a living hell were simply too terrifying.

Fully expecting to be thrown onto the streets, she was surprised when the debt collectors changed their tune. They brought a carriage, gave her a thousand taels of silver, and told her and her daughter to leave Xuzhou.

A thousand taels of silver, spent frugally, was enough for a lifetime of comfort and plenty. After such dramatic ups and downs, the Xue widow dared not stay in Xuzhou any longer. She settled the accounts according to the loan documents, then took her daughter and the silver, boarded the carriage, and left Xuzhou for her hometown of Zhenjiang.

No one noticed that the Xue family's wealth and properties had changed hands. There were too many cases of extortion and plunder; everyone was too preoccupied to pay attention to this one. Led by a veteran habitual thief, several dozen people turned the Xue family's several residences inside out, searching them thoroughly. They packed everything into large and small bundles, then transported them out of the city by carriage. Chen Hong, who had been staying in the city ever since the move, also went to He Village under the escort of the household guards.

"Big Brother, the title deeds for Cloud Mountain Trading and Cloud Mountain Restaurant are all at Cloud Mountain Temple. Once Ruhui becomes abbot, they can be transferred to us. Compared to the Xue family's assets, those are nothing. The Xue family alone had tens of thousands of taels!" Chen Hong said excitedly.

The Xue family's gold, silver, and copper coins alone added up to nearly forty thousand taels. Beyond that, there were shops throughout Xuzhou's one prefecture and four counties, as well as in Pi Prefecture, farmland estates in the Xuzhou area, and a garden residence in Yangzhou. Some could be assigned a price, others could not, but all told, it was certainly an enormous sum.

Such wealth was not surprising. It wasn't that Xue Xiaozong was particularly skilled at business and accumulation, but rather that his father, the abbot Xue Chongxun, had funneled as much of Cloud Mountain Temple's wealth as possible to his own family. With an operation as large as Cloud Mountain Temple, accumulated over so many years, amassing such a family fortune was nothing unusual. Although as abbot he could play some tricks — staging a sudden enlightenment and transmission of the Dharma to pass the foundation to his son — it was ultimately not secure; something unexpected could always happen. He had seized it from Ruhui's father using just such methods. Abbot Yuanxin also had to consider the same possibility. For instance, while he could keep Runan in check now, when he was on his deathbed, it was uncertain whom those monk-soldiers would truly obey.

Given these causes and consequences, he was bound to drain Cloud Mountain Temple dry to enrich his own son. He just never imagined that in the end, all that gold, silver, and wealth would fall into Zhao Jin's hands.

Compared to Chen Hong's excitement, Zhao Jin, wearing his armor, was much calmer. He picked up his tea bowl, took a sip, and said, "If he didn't have two underage daughters, we would have exterminated his entire family this time."

Cloud Mountain Temple and Xue Xiaozong were one and the same. Xue Xiaozong was Cloud Mountain Temple's spokesman in Xuzhou. Many things were not Xue Xiaozong acting recklessly on his own, but merely the manifestation of the will of the Yuanxin and Runan faction at Cloud Mountain Temple. At the same time, Xue Xiaozong could use Cloud Mountain Temple to accomplish many things. They were two sides of the same coin; there was no question of who was the mastermind and who was the accomplice. Neither could escape responsibility.

Zhao Jin led a team to raid Cloud Mountain Temple, while Liu Yong entered the city at dawn to deal with Xue Xiaozong — two routes, one strike. Both achieved their objectives through complete surprise. At the same time, Zhao Jin sent word to his father to ensure official channels provided cover and assistance. Liu Yong had already been operating cautiously, and with both the yamen and the underworld helping to smooth things over, everything could be said to have gone perfectly.

The future trouble from Cloud Mountain Temple's monk-soldiers was also thoroughly eliminated. Ultimately, no one could have imagined that Zhao Jin would launch a surprise attack on Cloud Mountain Temple. The Xiao County subordinate temple was still following Runan's orders, gathering the routed monk-soldiers, with a key figure of the Ru generation overseeing things there. Then, the personal guards and household troops of the garrison commander, having received word, attacked directly.

They were already routed soldiers, panicked and at a loss — how could they possibly withstand those wolf-like, tiger-fierce elite cavalry? What's more, the monk soldiers were all infantry. After the battle, including the execution of those who had surrendered, the remaining monk soldiers were slaughtered nearly to the last man. Word has it that over a hundred escaped, but these monk soldiers are no longer a threat worth worrying about. Neither Zhao Jin nor Commandant Zhou's side is giving them a second thought.