Chapter 2242 - Another Lair
"Bring him in quietly—and fast," Bi Da said. "Use him as the breakthrough to catch Zhang Tianbo."
Li Shuangkuai had spent the last few days consumed by fear. Zhang Tianbo's betrayal was no surprise—yamen regulars like themselves had never truly been on the same side as the Australians. But he hadn't expected Zhang Tianbo to be so brazen as to openly play inside-man at the county gates.
True, Sun Dabiao had won a victory at Dalang Market—reportedly taking a hundred Australian heads and slaying the County Magistrate on the spot—and the whole county was buzzing with the news. But Li Shuangkuai, with his years of experience, could guess that the Australians wouldn't take this lying down. Especially since Sun Dabiao had failed to take the county seat itself—the most critical position in the county remained in their hands, and Australian ships still plied the river without pause.
For now, the baldies were holed up in the city. But once they caught their breath and brought in reinforcements, Sun Dabiao's days would grow much harder.
What happened to Sun Dabiao didn't concern Li Shuangkuai. What worried him was Zhang Tianbo.
Not that he worried about Zhang Tianbo's life or death—in fact, if Zhang died now, Li Shuangkuai would breathe easier. He worried that his connection to Zhang Tianbo might bring the Australians down on him.
Everyone in the county knew of his relationship with Zhang Tianbo. The Australians never let a grudge go unanswered. If they couldn't reach Sun Dabiao, venting their fury on Zhang Tianbo was the obvious next step.
Zhang Tianbo was hiding with Sun Dabiao—beyond reach. But his family wasn't at Dalang Market. Though not hidden on Li Shuangkuai's estate, he knew where they were. If the Australians came to force him to reveal their location, what would he do?
Jiang Xiaotian had urged him: just grab your valuables and join Sun Dabiao at Dalang Market—they all had old ties, and Zhang Tianbo was there too.
"You can go; I can't." Li Shuangkuai smiled bitterly. "You're still young, with no family. I've got one foot in the grave and a houseful of women and children. As for standing with Sun Dabiao and Feng Haijiao—I probably still have enough face left for that. Going alone wouldn't be a problem. But I'd have to bring my family. Dalang Market is a bandit lair now—not a single building left, all grass hovels. How would women and children settle in? Even Zhang Tianbo didn't dare bring his family to Dalang Market."
Worrying about the women and children was real, but Li Shuangkuai was even more worried that joining them would count as "going greenwood." Everything he had scraped together over a lifetime—his estate—would vanish.
Li Shuangkuai was loath to give up his holdings but terrified of being implicated. He sighed all day long. He thought of entrusting his family to someone—but looking around, he couldn't find a single person he could trust. He had been a constable in Yangshan for decades, "friends" scattered all over the county—but now, not one was reliable.
Still, the last few days had calmed him somewhat. He had heard the Australians hadn't shipped in reinforcements—instead, they had sent a new County Magistrate—a woman, no less! That became the talk of the county. Everyone—whatever their trade—gaped in disbelief: A female County Magistrate? What kind of move is that?
Li Shuangkuai couldn't figure out what the Australians meant. But since no reinforcements came, they probably wouldn't be taking action. And he had heard that over the past days they had been loading goods and wounded onto boats at the dock—one vessel after another sailing away—no longer bringing things in, only shipping things out.
Could the Australians be running? Li Shuangkuai reckoned it was possible. They had suffered badly at Dalang Market. Without reinforcements, they couldn't hold. And word was their grain-collection teams were having no luck—if they couldn't collect grain, they couldn't stay in Yangshan...
If the Australians couldn't hold on, naturally they would have no time to settle accounts with Zhang Tianbo. Li Shuangkuai felt better—Hurry up and leave!
That evening, Li Shuangkuai finished dinner and went over his accounts. He had his widowed daughter-in-law bring his grandson to recite lessons. This grandson was the only male heir of the Li family. Li Shuangkuai treasured him like a jewel; two years ago he had hired a tutor to begin his schooling. But the boy's aptitude was nothing special. Two years of teaching, and while other children could recite the third or fourth volume of the Book of Odes, he couldn't even finish the first.
The boy stumbled through the Odes. Li Shuangkuai listened with eyes closed—but his mind wasn't on the recitation. He was planning the Li family's next move. Yangshan was full of danger. If the Australians left, the county wouldn't be peaceful. The Ming weren't coming back anytime soon; the various bandit factions would fight it out. Though he had connections with all sides, at this juncture, old friendships might not outweigh hard cash. How should an old man like him maneuver to keep home and hearth safe?
It suddenly occurred to him that it would be better if the Australians did not leave. With them here, at least there was still "law and order"; once they left, it would be lawless chaos. He sighed softly—at bottom, those who ate the yamen's rice prospered only in peaceful times. In troubled times, without the yamen, who would respect a head constable?
At this moment, he even felt a twinge of regret.
The grandson's halting recitation stopped. Li Shuangkuai grunted. "Why are you so rough on the text? Your tutor needs to drill you harder..."
He opened his eyes—and froze in shock.
In the hall, four or five men had appeared out of nowhere. Each wore short jackets and leggings, carrying double-barreled shotguns. They had the servants at gunpoint. His widowed daughter-in-law clutched the grandson, trembling violently.
"Gentlemen..." Li Shuangkuai's heart raced—Which crew is this? Then he knew: Australians.
His heart sank. They came after all.
He forced himself to stay calm. "What hill, what mountain do you good men come from...?"
The lean, dark leader grinned. "Constable Li! No need for thieves' cant—we're from the Yangshan County Government. Please come be our guest."
"I... this old man is getting on in years..."
"No matter. We've arranged a sedan chair. And the County Magistrate says that with law and order so bad, she's worried your family might be in danger once you leave the estate—so she has invited everyone to be guests together."
"Li Shuangkuai's entire family has been brought in?" Bi Da asked.
"That's right." Luo Yiming smiled. "Company Commander Zhen and his men swept up the Li estate—old and young, top to bottom—brought them all to the county seat. Not one got away."
"And the estate?"
"I posted a squad to hold it, along with a few prisoners. Anyone who shows up gets grabbed."
"You handle the interrogation. Get everything about Zhang Tianbo out of them—fast." Bi Da instructed. "The old man was a constable—probably slippery as an eel..."
"No problem. We've got his only grandson—can Zhang Tianbo possibly be more important than his grandson?"
Without much effort—just a mention that his "precious family has been comfortably settled"—the crafty old ex-constable spilled Zhang Tianbo's whereabouts.
Zhang Tianbo was indeed with Sun Dabiao—but he wasn't prospering. His attempt as inside-man had failed; the county gates hadn't opened. Zhang Tianbo had become useless and was being sidelined.
As for Zhang Tianbo's family, they were still at Xin Laonan's estate. But there was another force there now—ostensibly protecting, actually guarding.
"Whose force?"
"I don't know." Li Shuangkuai said dejectedly. "I'm told it's some Ming official's men. Keeping Zhang Tianbo's family hostage."
"We got the location of Xin Laonan's estate from him. We've sent scouts. We should hear back soon."
The scouts brought news quickly: Xin Laonan's estate was indeed heavily guarded—tight security everywhere.
"The estate is in a very remote spot; the terrain is treacherous, hard to find. We couldn't get inside. But we gathered intelligence from nearby villages. This 'Master Xin' always had underworld ties—twenty or thirty thugs under him. Not long ago, a new force arrived and took over the whole place. Now there are over a hundred men—all from out of the county, judging by their accents. Word is they came from Guangning County."
"So Li Shuangkuai's confession checks out. Zhang Tianbo's family really is at Xin Laonan's estate." Luo Yiming slammed his fist on the table.
"If there are a hundred guards, we'll need to deploy troops to grab them." Zhen Huan was already on his feet. "Our company can move out immediately."
"I don't think we need to grab Zhang Tianbo's family anymore," You Ciren said. "The enemy is already guarding against that move. Even if we seize his family, we can't hide the news. Zhang Tianbo would instantly become 'worthless'—very likely he'd be disposed of right then... But there's something odd here."
Everyone looked at You Ciren.
"After Zhang Tianbo's insider attempt failed, he became insignificant. Why would the enemy post a hundred men at Xin Laonan's estate?"
"You mean...?"
"That estate may not be just a hideout for family." You Ciren's eyes narrowed. "It could be one of the enemy's secret lairs... The scouts said the newcomers came from Guangning—and many out-of-county bandits have been pouring in, some joining Sun Dabiao. They're probably all connected."
"Then we hit Xin's estate first?"
"No—our goal right now is to assert authority. Even if we catch a big fish at Xin's estate, it won't help our credibility campaign." Luo Yiming shook his head. "I say we stick to the original plan—attack Dalang Market. At the same time, keep Xin's estate under surveillance. First, we map out their connections; second, if there really is a big fish, we can scoop him up in one stroke."
(End of Chapter)