The Prodigal Son

As Qin Yu interrogated him, more inside information was uncovered.

Actually, that small restaurant wasn't entirely a shady establishment.

The small restaurant was merely a strategic partner of Pangolin and his gang.

The small restaurant used Xia Guang Xiang rice wine to screen potential targets. Once a suitable target was found, they would send someone to inform the pangolin.

Then, the pangolin led a group to block the road and demand a toll.

"How did you select the candidates?"

Qin Yu asked with great interest.

The shop assistant lowered his head and answered in a trembling voice, "If passing merchants are cheated by our 'Radiant Clouds Fragrant Rice Wine' and insist on causing trouble for us, they're probably tough guys. They'll obediently return the money and go back to doing legitimate business..."

"Oh, I understand!"

Before the waiter could finish speaking, Nan Que'er realized what he meant, "So many of us were ripped off by you, yet we didn't dare cause you any trouble and obediently paid the bill, so you treated us like easy prey, right?"

"They're fat and cowardly soft persimmons!" Lu Si added.

The guy froze, his head practically buried in his crotch.

"You guys are really something! You've taken bullying the weak and fearing the strong to the extreme!"

Qin Yu almost laughed out of anger.

He really learned a lot today!

I didn't bother arguing with them, and instead they treated me like a fat sheep to be slaughtered at will!

"Tell me, how long have you been doing this? How much money have you made by robbing people on the highway?"

Di Rong then began interrogating the assistant and the pangolin.

"Not long, really not long!"

Pangolin waved his hands frantically and stammered, "I only escaped here last June. I never collected much toll each time, sometimes one or two taels of silver per person, sometimes even one hundred or eighty coins per person, but... this time I collected the most..."

"Because we're the fattest and the most timid, right?" Di Rong asked with a half-smile.

"Yes……"

The pangolin responded in a muffled, buzzing voice.

"There should be around a hundred people here, right?"

Qin Yu glanced at the bandits kneeling on the ground, then asked Yang Jichun, "According to the imperial law, what should be done with those who gather in the mountains to become bandits?"

Yang Jichun smiled and replied, "Anyone exceeding one hundred people will have their leaders and key personnel executed, while the rest will be branded and exiled to the army or forced into hard labor for life!"

Hearing Yang Jichun's words, the pangolin trembled and wailed, "My lord, please understand! I only have about twenty brothers under my command. The others are villagers from the two villages ahead. I only brought them here to bolster my forces..."

"Villagers?"

Qin Yu frowned and immediately gave Di Rong a wink.

Di Rong understood and summoned several people to interrogate the others.

Soon, two golden-armored imperial guards returned and reported, "Many of those people are indeed villagers from the two villages ahead."

"According to the villagers, the pangolin has never robbed them, and sometimes it even gives them some money and food."

"When the authorities investigated, they helped the pangolin cover for them."

"When Pangolin occasionally encounters a big job, he'll hire them to help build up the scales, and afterwards each person gets a share of the money based on how much they managed to stop the enemy..."

Hearing their reports, Qin Yu couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

This bastard actually knows how to build a grassroots base?

If we really give this bastard a few years to develop, he might actually become something of a threat!

Qin Yu pondered for a moment, then instructed Di Rong: "We'll take these people to the village ahead. Send a few men to fetch all the staff and employees from that small tavern. You personally lead a few men with this Leopard Lord's men to their stronghold to see if there are any accomplices or anyone else who has been kidnapped..."

"No, no! There are only two brothers guarding the stronghold..."

The pangolin quickly answered.

"Whether it's there or not, it's not up to you to decide; I'll have to send someone to check it out!"

As Qin Yu spoke, he whispered a few words into Di Rong's ear.

Di Rong accepted the order and quickly went to make arrangements.

"Take away!"

With Qin Yu's order, everyone was taken away.

On the way, through interrogating the pangolin, Qin Yu learned that the pangolin's name was Chen Bao, and he was originally from Sanshui County, Guangde Prefecture, Haizhou Prefecture.

It was because the local bully had taken a liking to his wife and harassed her repeatedly that he could no longer tolerate it and fought with the bully's men, accidentally killing the bully in the process.

After that, he fled with his wife and children, and along the way he recruited a few people who knew some martial arts.

After fleeing to this area, they discovered a stone stronghold left by former bandits, settled down here, and gave themselves the nickname "Panther."

After that, he recruited several more brothers, and some bold young men from the nearby villagers also joined him.

The owner and waiters of the small restaurant in town were all from those two villages.

That small restaurant only opened after last autumn harvest.

Chen Bao also knew that he and his twenty-odd brothers were only good at dealing with easy targets; they would definitely be in trouble if they encountered a tough opponent.

They thought their model would minimize the chances of encountering tough opponents, but they didn't expect to fail after only a few months.

Looking at Chen Bao's ashen face, Qin Yu couldn't help but ask curiously, "Who came up with the idea of ​​the large and small characters on the wine flag?"

"It's Manager Mi."

Chen Bao replied, his face pale, "He was responsible for tipping off the enemy, and I was responsible for leading the men to rob them on the road. We would take their money but not kill them. He would take 30% of the loot, and I would take 70%..."

"You've certainly thought this through thoroughly."

Qin Yu shook his head and smiled to himself.

Chen Bao hung his head, hesitated for a moment, and then tentatively asked, "Are you... are you Lord Qin, the imperial envoy?"

The only person who could lead the Imperial Guards was probably that powerful imperial envoy.

Qin Yu nodded and smiled, "I'm so famous that even you know about me?"

"Famous, sir, you're incredibly famous!"

Chen Bao quickly flattered him, "I had previously heard about your deeds from merchants from Yuanzhou. They said you are an unparalleled general, decisive and upright, and that you uprooted a whole host of corrupt officials in Linhai with a mere wave of your hand..."

Chen Bao seemed to have grasped at a straw, frantically flattering Qin Yu, making Lü Si, who was standing to the side, feel nauseous several times.

"Stop flattering me, I don't fall for that."

Qin Yu raised his hand to stop Chen Bao, "If you can provide me with some clues about smuggled salt, considering that you're only after money and not killing, I might consider giving you a lighter sentence!"

"this……"

Chen Bao immediately shut down, his head drooping again.

"You're supposed to be a bandit king of the mountains, yet you don't have a single clue about smuggled salt?"

Qin Yu glanced at him sideways.

Chen Bao's face was full of bitterness. "Manager Mi does know a salt smuggler, but the magistrate probably wouldn't think much of that salt smuggler..."

That salt smuggler would go to the coast, buy some homemade salt from the fishermen, process it briefly, and then sell it to two or three surrounding towns.

It's obvious that Qin Yu, the imperial envoy, would look down on such a minor character.

"I certainly wouldn't deign to look down on such a minor character."

Qin Yu nodded, then asked half-jokingly, "Don't you have anything in return for leniency from me?"

Chen Bao racked his brains for a long time, but finally shook his head helplessly...