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Chapter 618 Bandits

Upon hearing this, Su Lu and the others all changed their expressions.

They were familiar with the name 'Zhang Mao'. He was the leader of the bandits in Bazhou, a major achievement of Eunuch Liu's anti-bandit campaign before the new year. After being captured, he was imprisoned in the imperial prison in the capital and had not yet been dealt with.

Su Man spoke first, his expression serious: "It seems that this group is Zhang Mao's accomplice. They captured Wan Zhou, Wan Fan, and their group to take them hostage and coerce the court into releasing them!"

"This is outrageous!" Zhu Zihe exclaimed angrily. "They dare to arrest our people! They're asking for trouble! Brother, the three major battalions are in dire need of practice after their reorganization. Why don't we request an imperial decree to send the Imperial Guards to wipe them out!"

"Stop shouting!" Su Lu interrupted. "Fifty or so classmates, each one of them is our brother, and the hope of their entire family! If we send a large army to suppress them, let alone whether we can find them. Even if we do, the army has no eyes, and the bandits will only become more desperate... If anything happens to any of them, we will have failed their families!"

Li Qiyu's eyes reddened with anxiety, and he said repeatedly, "Godfather, what can we do? They said that if we don't see Zhang Mao and the ransom before the fifteenth of the first lunar month, they will kill one person every day until they are all gone!"

Lin Zhihong laughed in anger, "These people are quite 'meticulous,' knowing to avoid killing anyone on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and not on the first day of the Lunar New Year..."

"Luckily they have this rule..." Li Qiyu said with lingering fear.

Su Lu patted his shoulder and said softly, "Alright, stop talking. You must have had a tough journey. I'll have Zhihong take you back to take a bath, change into clean clothes, and get a good night's rest. I'll find out the rest."

"Yes." Li Qiyu nodded obediently, the fear that had been building up in his heart dispelled by his father's love...

After Su Lu and the others got out of the car, they simply told Xiao Yu'er to inform his family before returning to the Leopard House.

"Brother Xiao Yi, come in too." Su Lu called out to his chief guard.

"Yes, sir." Song Xiaoyi hurriedly followed behind.

Back at Dongguitang, Su Lu invited Song Xiaoyi into the house and asked in a friendly manner, "Brother Xiaoyi, you are a native of Hebei and have been active in the Zhili area a lot. How much do you know about the bandits in Bazhou and Zhang Mao?"

Song Xiaoyi's eyes flickered for a moment, then he remembered who his real boss was. He put aside his concerns and bowed, saying, "My lord, I do know a little about this matter. The bandits in the southern part of the capital have a long history."

"Explain in detail," Su Lu said in a deep voice.

"Hebei has always been the imperial court's horse breeding ground. Many families were 'horse breeders' who were dedicated to raising horses for the court. In the spring, they would receive foals from the Imperial Stud and in the autumn they had to deliver a qualified large horse. If they couldn't deliver, the horse breeders would have to pay compensation at the price of fifteen taels per horse! Many horse breeders were ruined because of this and turned to banditry to make a living by robbing and plundering."

"Because their horse bells jingle as soon as they appear, they are called 'bandits'," Song Xiaoyi began, launching into his explanation.
"Now, Eunuch Liu is in power and his secret police are everywhere, pressing the people of Beizhili very hard, and chaos is rampant in the local areas. In the areas of Gu'an, Yongqing, Bazhou, and Wen'an south of the capital, many bankrupt farmers and deserted soldiers have become outlaws."

"These bandits have gathered more and more accomplices, and their power has become increasingly rampant. They rob wealthy households and plunder on the road, and have long been a major threat to the area south of the capital. Now they even dare to harass government post stations. It seems that the next step is not far from attacking the county seat."

"They were less than two hundred miles from the capital, which made Eunuch Liu uneasy, so he dispatched imperial censors to various prefectures to be specifically responsible for arresting the thieves."

“One of the imperial censors, Ning Gao, arrived in Bazhou last winter and learned that there was a man named Zhang Mao in Wen'an County who had built a multi-story building and a double wall in his manor. He had gathered followers, stockpiled grain and weapons, and had long dominated the area. Various bandits, such as Qi Yanming, Li Long, Yang Hu, and Zhu Qianhu, all attached themselves to him and regarded him as their leader.”

“Other bandits roam around, but this Zhang, the gang leader, has built a manor and dominated the area.” Su Lu couldn’t help but laugh, “Looks like he has a very strong protective umbrella.”

“Nothing can be hidden from the adults…” Song Xiaoyi forced a smile and said, “Zhang Mao is cunning. He bribes officials to seek protection. His closest relationship is with Eunuch Zhang Zhong. The two were neighbors in their early years, and later, through Zhang Mao’s patronage, they even became sworn brothers.”

"Good heavens, he really has connections everywhere..." Su Lu finally understood why Song Xiaoyi was so troubled.

"And through Zhang Zhong's connections, Zhang Mao was able to bribe the two chief eunuchs, Ma Yongcheng and Gu Dayong, and during festivals, he would often come to the capital to deliver gifts as Zhang Gonggong's servants," Song Xiaoyi swallowed and continued, "He could even enter the Leopard Room to watch His Majesty play football, and his behavior became increasingly unscrupulous, with no one daring to interfere."

"Pfft—" Su Lu almost choked. He had long noticed that the Leopard Chamber Palace was lax in its security, with troupes of actors, acrobats, animal trainers, and people presenting treasures coming and going every day. But he never expected that the leader of the bandits could sneak into the courtyard and even watch the emperor play football!
"Aren't you afraid that the bandit will seize the opportunity to assassinate the Emperor if you let your guard down like this?!" His voice suddenly rose, completely breaking down the defenses.

These days, very few things can make him lose his composure like this, but anyone would succumb to this. Normally, when His Majesty travels, even incognito, he's escorted by hundreds of guards. But once he returns to the palace, it's all for naught—what good is it then?
It's all just formalism!

Not to mention his security; how could he entrust his own and the emperor's lives to these scoundrels?!

“There’s nothing we can do about it.” Song Xiaoyi knew he would be furious, so he quickly explained, “The Leopard Chamber is managed by Eunuch Zhang’s faction, while the palace security is managed by Eunuch Liu’s adopted son. The two factions are not under each other’s command, so this problem naturally arises.” “So the court has been turning a blind eye to him all along?” Su Lu said with a dark face.

"No, not exactly. A couple of years ago, Yuan Biao, the military commander of Hejian, repeatedly led his troops to defeat Zhang Mao's men. Zhang Mao's situation became increasingly dire, so he sought help from his sworn brother Zhang Zhong. Zhang Zhong accepted a large bribe from him and held a banquet at his private residence, inviting Yuan Biao to drink."

During the banquet, Zhang Zhong had the two men sit on opposite sides of the table. He raised his cup to Yuan Biao and said, "This is my younger brother, Zhang Mao. From now on, you must treat him well and not make things difficult for each other." He then turned to Zhang Mao and said, "General Yuan has already agreed to befriend you. From now on, you must not harass Hejian again." Yuan Biao, fearing Zhang Zhong's power, dared not object and could only agree. When the other generals heard about this, they all became timid and hesitant. No one dared to take the initiative to attack Zhang Mao's followers, and Zhang Mao became even more arrogant as a result.

"Zhang Zhong deserves to die!" Su Lu slammed his fist on the table.

Song Xiaoyi shrank back and quickly continued, "Zhang Mao's good days also came last year. Ning Gao went there on Liu Gonggong's mission, so naturally he wouldn't let him go. He pretended to befriend him and even visited his manor. Zhang Mao was wary at first, but as time went on, he thought that he was like everyone else, afraid of his backer, so he lowered his guard."

"At the end of the year, Ning Gao sent a birthday invitation to Zhang Mao. Zhang Mao then went to the prefecture to celebrate his birthday in a very casual manner. However, as soon as he entered the government office, he was pinned to the ground by the warriors he had ambushed, his thigh was broken, and he was stuffed into a prison cart and escorted back to the capital overnight for questioning. When Eunuch Liu received the report, he was very happy and ordered his men to lock him up in solitary confinement and interrogate him severely."

"What are you interrogating them about?" Su Lu asked.

"Interrogate him about who he bribed in Beijing, especially whether he ever went to... Coal Mine Alley," Song Xiaoyi whispered.

Coal Yard Alley was where Zhang Yong's residence was located...

"Hmm." Su Lu nodded. Liu Jin had finally seized this opportunity, and he was definitely trying to implicate Zhang Yong. Even if he couldn't bring him down, he would at least make him lose face in front of the Emperor.

"And then?" he asked in a low voice.

"After Zhang Mao was captured, his followers thought the end was near and scattered in fear. But when no army came, they gathered together again, wanting to rescue their leader," Song Xiaoyi continued.

"I didn't expect these bandits to be so loyal," Su Lu said.

“Hehe, indeed.” Song Xiaoyi chuckled dryly. “But at this time, Zhang Zhong was already in dire straits, and Gu Dayong and Ma Yongcheng took the opportunity to extort bribes, saying that they would have to offer the Emperor 100,000 taels of silver in order to pardon Zhang Mao. In addition, Liu Jin’s servant Liang Hong also took the opportunity to make an outrageous demand, asking for 10,000 taels of gold, otherwise he would obstruct His Majesty from granting the request.”

"Do you think the Emperor is so easily fooled?" Su Lu was speechless.

"It's just a blatant extortion attempt; they had no intention of helping at all," Song Xiaoyi said. "Yang Hu and his gang, however, believed it and began committing crimes on a large scale, trying to raise money to ransom people. That's all the intelligence I have."

He paused for a moment and then guessed, "It seems that the amount was too large and they still couldn't raise it. In desperation, they thought of taking a group of important hostages to demand a ransom and to coerce the court into releasing Zhang Mao—but they ended up taking your friends instead."

"Hmm." After listening, Su Lu finally understood the whole story. "In other words, Zhang Zhong is Zhang Mao's protector. Zhang Mao dares to be so reckless because he relies on his power, thinking that even if something happens to him, Zhang Zhong can protect him. But the people sent by Eunuch Liu are not afraid of Eunuch Zhang at all. They plotted to capture Zhang Mao... and it is very likely that they were targeting Zhang Zhong and Eunuch Zhang behind him."

"Yes, Your Excellency is wise," Song Xiaoyi replied hastily.

"As a result, Zhang Mao's accomplices were extorted by various eunuchs and, having nowhere else to turn, they arrested my classmate, hoping the court would release Zhang Mao?" Su Lu continued.

“That’s exactly right!” Song Xiaoyi nodded.

"In your opinion, what should we do now?" Su Lu then looked up at Song Xiaoyi.

"In my humble opinion, saving lives is of course the priority!" Song Xiaoyi said in a deep voice, "Isn't Zhang Zhong the backer of those bandits? Let him handle it!"

"What if those bandits insist on releasing Zhang Mao?" Su Lu asked.

"Saving people is the most important thing..." Song Xiaoyi said awkwardly.

"..." Su Lu remained silent for a long time before saying in a deep voice, "Go to Coal Factory Alley."

(End of this chapter)