Chapter 88 Military and Political Controversy

At night, the atmosphere in Dongcheng City had become a little weird. There were janitors everywhere. Nearly a hundred yamen runners from Wannian County, and two hundred yamen runners borrowed from Jingzhao Prefecture, the entire Dongcheng City was controlled. Hundreds of torches were lit at the door, and dozens of yamen runners stood guarding the gate like daytime. Every time someone came out, they had to check carefully. The middle-aged man of medium height and slightly dark skin would be detained.

Each carriage must also be searched carefully, the boxes are opened and the bundles are unbuttoned, and no suspicious corners are left. The other yamen runners are divided into four groups, and they start to investigate door-to-door along the four main roads at the same time.

In the Pingjiang bronze shop, the owner Su Yuanlun ran all the way into the inner courtyard. He ran up to the second floor and knocked on the door quickly, "Third brother, open the door quickly! Hurry up!"

The door opened, revealing the dark face of the middle-aged man. His name was Su Yuankai, who was the confidant sent by Du Bosheng, the great salt lord of Yangzhou, to come to Beijing to file a lawsuit. If King Qing's power in Yangzhou was not eliminated, Du Bosheng would never have a chance to make a comeback.

Su Yuankai had a distant uncle, Suning, the young minister of the Sinong Temple. Su Yuankai wanted to hand over the paper through his relationship. He went to find his uncle early in the morning, but learned that his uncle had gone to Longyou to inspect the water truck and would not return ten days later, which made him very upset.

Unexpectedly, from the afternoon, the city began to search for suspicious Yangzhou people. Su Yuankai immediately realized that this suspicious Yangzhou person was most likely talking about himself. He did not dare to stay on the street anymore and hurriedly hid back to his brother's shop.

"Brother, is there any incident?"

"Third brother, things are not good. Dongshi has begun to check from house to house. It is too dangerous for you to hide here. I must send you away."

"But, how could I leave the East City Gate?"

Su Yuankai also said anxiously: "It's better to do this. I'll hide in a well or a cellar, maybe I can escape their search."

"I thought about it, but I was worried that the guy would betray us."

Su Yuanlun lowered his head and walked a few steps, suddenly raised his head and said, "Why not do this, you leave the gate, then climb over the wall from the back door, and climb over the old locust tree in the middle. I will put a staircase there."

"Okay, I'll leave now."

Su Yuankai simply packed up a little things and hurried out in the sight of several friends. But soon, he quietly hid in the cellar and was locked under a huge copper bell covered with copper rust and spider webs. Su Yuanlun casually threw some scattered money and stuff into the room.

"Open the door!" The door of the bronze shop was knocked so loudly.

A sceptic opened the door in fear, and Jiao Facao broke in with more than a dozen yamen runners.

"Are you the owner here?"

"Oh! Now!"

Su Yuanlun hurried out, bowed and smiled, "I am the owner."

Jiao Facao looked him up and down, "Where are you from?"

"The villain was originally from Hailing County, Yangzhou."

"Yangzhou native?" Jiao Facao snorted and asked, "Are there any relatives and friends coming from Yangzhou these two days?"

Su Yuanlun glanced at several guys, his head shaking like a rattle, "No, absolutely not!"

"Okay, according to the rules, I'll check it out and hand over your roster."

Jiao Facao waved his hand and the yamen runners began to search in the house. It was fake to search people, but it was real to search money. Almost every yamen runs to the inner courtyard.

You dare not take big things, and thieves are always inevitable. It is best to meet women's gold hairpins, silver bracelets, etc., and then you can hold them back.

Soon, they gained something, and almost everyone found valuable things, either silver hairpins, scattered copper coins, or purses decorated with pearls, etc.

"Fa Cao, no suspicious person was found!" The yamen runners who had gained the harvest were unwilling to stay for a long time.

Jiao Facao nodded, and he threw the roster of the guys on the table and said to everyone: "Let's go!"

But just as he turned around, he suddenly found a guy winked at him.

The Wannian County Yamen's actions in Dongshi quickly attracted the imitation of the Jinwu Guard. Nearly 500 Jinwu Guard officers and soldiers also began to conduct investigations like a net-closed investigation in Dongshi. At the same time, 150 patrol battalion cavalry also appeared on the streets of Dongshi.

There were three systems of troops in the East City, two armies and one government. The Wannian County runners certainly had the power to capture thieves in the East City; and patrol camps to maintain public order is also their job; the Jinwu Guard's street patrol made it more natural to catch thieves.

The teams of the three systems were like a lantern, coming in and out of hundreds of shops in the East City, in a mess. After singing and coming on stage, we kept going until the hour of Hai. When the golden bell of three hundred closed, nearly a thousand military and political personnel retreated like a tide, and no one caught the so-called "Yangzhou thief."

Jiao Facao returned to the county government office to sign and could go home. At this time, the sound of drums in the closed fang in Chang'an City also began to ring. People on the street ran towards the fang where they lived. After the drum beats eight hundred times, the gate of the fang will be closed, which will last for more than a moment.

Jiao Facao ran away with his horse, but when he was hundreds of steps away from Andefang, dozens of cavalrymen from the patrol camp blocked his way in front of him.

Li Qingan finally showed up. He followed Li Fei Shouyu without saying a word. Li Fei Shouyu stepped forward and smiled, "Jiao Facao, can you find anything tonight?"

Jiao Facao knew Li Qing'an, and he quickly bowed to Li Qing'an and said, "General Li, the county government has no gains, but I know where the Yangzhou man is hiding, and I am about to tell you."

"Where is he hiding?" Li Qingan asked.

"General Li might as well check the Pingjiang bronze shop in Dongshi. I think there is something wrong with this shop."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Qingan waved his hand and said, "Return to East City!"

Dozens of cavalry rushed away like a strong wind, leaving behind a stunned Jiao Facao.

The gate of East City should have been closed at this time, but Li Qing'an saw a crack left in the gate, and more than a dozen yamen runners were blocking the gate. Li Qing'an's eyes narrowed, which shows that Yang Zhao also received the news.

"Roar in!"

Li Qingan pulled out his horizontal knife, waved it in the air, and shouted loudly: "Does go!"

The sword light was cold, and more than a dozen yamen runners recognized him, and they were so scared that they dodged to both sides. Dozens of cavalry rushed into the East City in an instant, and the fierce sound of horse hooves smashed the quiet night.

The iron hooves of war horses hit the stone slabs, and dozens of cavalry rushed toward the bronze ware in the southwest corner, and countless windows were pushed open a crack. Pairs of eyes watched the iron cavalry speeding past his shop. When passing the 'Tuozhi Township' jewelry shop, the window also quietly pushed a crack open. An elderly Sogdian stared at Li Qing'an with bright eyes. After a long time, he nodded and turned around and said, "It's him!"

In front of the Pingjiang bronze shop, dozens of yamen runners held torches in their hands, illuminating the shop like daytime. Yang Zhao stood on the street with a long sword in his hand, staring at the situation in the shop with all his attention. A guy stood next to him, carrying a large bag of money in his hand, which was the reward he received for reporting the shop owner.

At this time, a shout came from the shop, "Catched!"

Yang Zhao immediately became excited and walked quickly to the store door. He saw dozens of yamen runners dragging a man out of the inner courtyard. He was of medium size, dark skin, and full of resentment. He was Su Yuankai who was found in the cellar. Behind him, his brother Su Yuanlun was also caught. He suddenly saw the guy, and his eyes were so hated that he was about to spit out the fire. The guy lowered his head in fear and did not dare to look at him.

Yang Zhao slowly walked forward, raised Su Yuankai's chin with his long sword, and smiled proudly: "I didn't expect it! I came to Chang'an yesterday, and I was caught by the county today."

Su Yuankai shouted angrily: "What kind of king's law did I violate? You can catch people at will!"

"Haha! It's indeed a Yangzhou accent."

Yang Zhao sneered and said, "If you hand over King Qing's things, maybe I will spare your life."

"I don't have anything to do with King Qing! You caught the wrong person."

At this time, the horse's hooves were thunderous. Li Qing'an led dozens of cavalry to arrive like lightning. They ran around the yamen runners without stopping. The yamen runners were dizzy and they were all uneasy. Yang Zhao's face changed drastically and he stared at Li Qing'an fiercely. Is this bastard going to ruin his own affairs again?

Li Qingan waved his hand and the cavalry stopped. He immediately bowed and smiled at Yang Zhao, "Brother Yang, it's so late, why don't you go home to rest? Be careful that your wife's wife will misunderstand again."

"Hmph! General Li's nose is so good!"

"Each each other! Each other! Isn't County Magistrate Yang all well-informed?"

Li Qing'an pointed a knife in his hand, "Come on! Take this person away."

A dozen cavalrymen came up and wanted to steal people. Yang Zhao was furious and stopped the cavalry and said, "Let's wait!"

"What? Is County Magistrate Yang hindering military affairs?" Li Qingan said lightly.

"Don't use a big hat to suppress me. I'm also performing official duties. I caught this thief, so I will naturally handle it. You have to interfere when you patrol the camp."

At this time, a yamen runner ran out with a blue coarse cloth package, "County Magistrate, this is his package."

Li Qing'an stepped forward, and without waiting for the yamen runner to react, he picked up the package and put it in his hands.

"Very good, thank you for your hard work."

"Li Qing'an!"

Yang Zhao finally roared, "Don't bully people too much."

Li Qingan smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Yang is too exaggerated. How dare I bully you? You catch the thieves in the Yangtze River, and I also catch the thieves in the Yangtze River. You are for the official business, and I also do business. You have the right to arrest people, and I also have the right to arrest people. Yang County Magistrate, don't worry, I will express your merits in the memorial. In fact, we are all doing things for the emperor, so why bother with us?"

After saying that, he winked at the cavalry. Li Fei Shouyu shouted loudly and rushed forward first, rushing away the yamen runners and Su Yuankai. Then dozens of cavalry went forward one after another, forming a wall of horses. Before Yang Zhao and the others rushed up, the cavalry turned around and ran towards the gate. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared at the turn. Several yamen runners who were holding Su Yuankai were beaten to death and covered their heads and squatted on the ground, while Su Yuankai was gone.
Chapter completed!