Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

Xuan Zan led his troops and blocked everyone's way!

"Who are you, you ugly wretch? How dare you block my way!"

"Who else could be so ugly besides that ugly son-in-law of the prince?"

"Summon the Prince's Majesty to let us pass. I'll put in a good word for you at the Prince's residence later, and I'll guarantee you a bright future!"

"How about I recommend you for a senior official post outside the capital?"

……

Promises were showered upon Xuanzan one after another.

Xuan Zan placed his hand on the short sword at his waist, his brows furrowed, and his heart was filled with turmoil.

His decision to join Gao Zhao's forces was precisely to take advantage of this great achievement and escape his past predicament of being frustrated and unsuccessful.

However, the people in front of us are all deeply rooted and have a complex network of influence in the court. If we were to take them by force, we would offend a large number of noble and powerful families.

Even with Gao Zhao's support, he would find it difficult to gain a foothold, and his situation would likely be even worse than before!

He hesitated!

On one hand, there was the readily available credit, and on the other hand, there were the favors promised by these powerful figures.

If we let them go, we won't offend the powerful and influential. If they keep their promises, they will face fewer obstacles in their future endeavors in the court.

Although it might displease Gao Zhao, he's nothing more than a spoiled brat...

In a split second, his resolve wavered, and his grip on the knife loosened slightly.

Gao Zhao, seeing Xuan Zan's hesitation across the battlefield, sneered and shouted, "All soldiers, listen to my command! Capture these bandits! Anyone who dares to resist, kill them without mercy!"

"Here you go!"

The soldiers responded in unison, their armor clanging as they bypassed Xuan Zan and strode towards the nobles.

Xuan Zan's expression changed drastically. He instinctively wanted to stop him, but when he looked up, he found that there were several soldiers surrounding him, their swords drawn and their eyes fixed on him warily.

boom!

Xuan Zan's head buzzed as he realized something: these soldiers weren't his own; he could only mobilize them because Gao Zhao had given him the authorization.

He only has what Gao Zhao gives him!

Gao Zhao accepted it, and he had nothing left!

He was never qualified to do anything in this siege!

Now Gao Zhao is bypassing him and giving orders directly to the soldiers. What does this mean?

This means that his hesitation just now displeased Gao Zhao and aroused his suspicion!

He didn't even say a word of probing before directly taking back military power!

This spoiled brat is far too decisive in his actions!

Xuan Zan felt a cold sweat instantly break out on his back. The little bit of scheming he had been plotting against everyone was instantly extinguished by a bucket of ice water.

He immediately realized what was happening and tried to make amends, but it was too late!

The nobles and bandits of Wuyou Cave had no intention of resisting in front of a hundred heavily armored imperial guards and surrendered obediently.

Gao Zhao stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over Xuan Zan without a word. He then turned to the captured men and said calmly, "These thieves are to be handed over to Kaifeng Prefecture to await their fate!"

Upon hearing this, the powerful and wealthy were overjoyed. Going to Kaifeng Prefecture was like going home. If they could make me spend the night in Kaifeng Prefecture, I would admit defeat!

It's good to be able to change places tonight to calm my nerves; it'll be quite an interesting experience.

Be optimistic!

Gao Zhao turned to look at them, a half-smile on his face, and said, "Take these people back to the military camp. I will interrogate them personally and then report to the Emperor for further action!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed drastically, filled with terror!

Going to Kaifeng Prefecture or the Ministry of Justice is no big deal; they can get it out of there directly!

But if it comes to the officials, there's no point in trying to get anything!

It's not that there will be severe punishment, but it will leave a stain on one's reputation with the authorities and affect one's career!

The government might even hold back, using this as leverage to threaten their families, saying that if they disobey, they can use this as an excuse to make things difficult for them!

"Gao Zhao, don't act recklessly! According to the laws of the Song Dynasty, such cases should be investigated and tried by the Kaifeng Prefecture! Your unauthorized detention is against the established procedures!"

"That's right! You Imperial Guards have no right to interrogate us! This is against the rules!"

"Gao Zhao, you are still young. Don't act impulsively and ruin your future! These rules and procedures are for your protection!"

……

A group of powerful and influential people spoke righteously and passionately, denouncing Gao Zhao's inappropriate behavior and trying to persuade him to pull back from the brink and not make a mistake!

"Improper? No problem! You can accuse me before the Emperor! Our Emperor is wise and enlightened, he will certainly not tolerate this, and I will accept it without hesitation!"

Gao Zhao sneered, waved his hand, and shouted, "Take him away!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers swarmed forward and dragged everyone away!

The powerful and influential people knew that Gao Zhao was serious, and their tone was already filled with panic and pleading.

"Brother Gao, we're all in the capital, we'll run into each other all the time, why bother?"

"To be honest, I've always admired Brother Gao's womanizing ways. Let me go, and we can hang out together sometime! It's on me!"

"Brother Gao, I have a younger sister at home, a beautiful young woman of sixteen, who is still unmarried. Why don't we arrange a marriage between her and me?"

……

Gao Zhao remained silent, only gesturing for the soldiers to speed up!

The powerful and wealthy were pushed and shoved, staggering and pleading.

Leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future!

Please show leniency, young master!

……

The cries for mercy gradually faded into the distance, disappearing into the wind and snow of the cold night.

Gao Zhao stood quietly at the exit of the secret passage. The night wind swirled fine snowflakes, which landed on his shoulders and then melted into water droplets that slid off.

Zhou Ang strode over, his double axes still stained with dark red blood, and reported in a gruff voice: "Gate! The remaining bandits underground have been completely wiped out. Fifty-seven were captured, nearly a hundred were killed or wounded, and the rest scattered and fled."

"More than 123,000 strings of cash, a lot of gold and silver, and... coin molds were also found... In addition, several boxes of account books and deeds were found, but most of the writing was covered with ink and had to be deciphered slowly."

Gao Zhao turned his head and looked on in surprise!

But then I realized that without the support of these powerful figures, where would Wuyou Cave get the raw materials to mint so much private money?

That makes sense!

If I hand over these accounts and coin molds to Zhao Ji, it will surely be a sensational case, and these people will be completely finished!

Gao Zhao was somewhat excited, but he was not someone who feared nothing more than a peaceful world. The reason he was like this was simply because he could rid the country of traitors!

However, eliminating traitors cannot be done in a simple and crude way; it requires strategy and methods!

If it were handed over directly to Zhao Ji, it would be tantamount to detonating this bombshell!

Anyone who frequently handles bombs knows that the greatest deterrent effect of a bomb lies in the time before it explodes!

Once he made up his mind, Gao Zhao immediately flew into a rage: "Damn Wuyou Cave, they are truly lawless! How dare they openly hide 23,000 strings of cash in such a place! I will hand it over to the authorities for punishment tomorrow!"

Zhou Ang: "..."

That was a bit too greedy!

"Old Zhou, go check on the brothers guarding the other exits and see how many people they've arrested. Give me a tally so I can report to the authorities!"

"Here you go!" Zhou Ang gave him a look that was hard to describe, then turned and left.

"Old Yang, keep a close eye on the money; I want to hand it over to the officials myself!"

"Yes, sir!" Yang Zhi complied without hesitation.

Seeing that Gao Zhao had finished dealing with the matter, Xuan Zan hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward cautiously and said, "Gate..."