According to Li Dewen, this was probably the work of Liao Yu. Liao Yu was a ruthless person. If Zhao Jun had arrested them directly, knowing the consequences of abducting the clan girl, he would probably have refused to admit it, and then it would have been impossible to get her back.
Zhao Jun wasn't afraid to act rashly; he already had all the evidence in his hands, so he didn't mind arresting the person directly. He was mainly worried that something might happen to the clan daughter, and it would be difficult to report to Zhao Zhen, after all, he had harmed an ancestor of his family.
"I don't have any good solutions right now. I can only say that I didn't expect these people to be so cruel and ruthless that they even dared to kidnap the daughter of the clan. This is something I never expected."
Zhao Jun scratched his head and said, "I can only think that they were trying to force the Imperial City Bureau to submit. It's impossible for them to really kill the princess. So the princess should not have been sent to Guifan Tower. But Bianliang is so big, it's too difficult to find someone."
Fan Zhongyan said, "You can first investigate the places where Liao Yu often hangs out, but he won't do it himself. He will probably order his men to do it. If I were you, I could kill his men."
"I thought so too. I've already sent people to follow his men. Now I'm afraid that if we take direct action, his men will attack the girl and kill her."
"Then why are you so reckless? Arresting Li Dewen directly?"
"First, I want to see if Li Dewen is involved in the disappearance of this sect girl. I heard that he's the most reckless person, so I suspected he was the one who did it, but it wasn't. Secondly, I want to alert the enemy. Maybe when these people see Li Dewen being captured, they'll be so frightened that they'll choose to move the sect girl away, and I can wait for an opportunity to strike."
"Well, that's right."
"Unfortunately, these are the only two solutions I can think of for now. I still don't think they're very safe, so I came to you."
Zhao Jun shook his head.
In ancient cases, the kidnapping of young and beautiful girls often occurred. For example, the method used by Gui Fanlou was used on a clan girl during the Xuanhe period, who was sold to a wealthy man as a concubine.
This is something recorded in historical documents, but during the Jingyou period, Gui Fanlou was not so rampant. Under normal circumstances, not to mention the daughters of the royal family, even the daughters of officials did not dare to take action.
Zhao Jun hadn't expected that the people behind the scenes would go to such extreme lengths to bring down the Imperial City Administration. Therefore, in addition to making preparations for both scenarios, he also had to ask Fan Zhongyan for his opinion.
Fan Zhongyan pondered for a moment and said, "There is another way."
"What method?"
"Although places like Wuyou Cave, Guifan Tower, the Beggars' Gang, and the Ghost Market are places where scoundrels run rampant, they are also mostly filled with homeless and pitiful people with nowhere to go. Some people rely on them and specialize in trading items that are prohibited by the government. As a result, the Ghost Market has flourished. The Ghost Market not only buys and sells things, but also buys and sells information."
"You mean to ask me to go to the ghost market to buy information?"
Zhao Jun opened his eyes wide.
Although spy news about buying information is often seen in later generations, it is indeed rare in real life.
Even though historical records have recorded underground evil organizations in the Song Dynasty, such as Wuyou Cave, Guifan Tower, Ghost Market, and Beggar Gang, they often record how vicious they were and what bad things they did, but rarely record the specific circumstances.
So Zhao Jun naturally didn't know about the trading of information in the ghost market.
Fan Zhongyan laughed and said, "That's right. Gui Fanlou loves to plant servants in the mansions of the wealthy, so they can steal, defraud, and kidnap property and people. If those wealthy people want to redeem the young men and women they've abducted, they naturally have to ask someone with connections to do so, which is how these middlemen came into being."
"I understand."
Zhao Jun immediately understood that this so-called middleman was a form of insurance for criminals. If they sent people directly to the mansion to negotiate, they might be reported to the police and have the criminals arrested.
If there is a middleman, even if someone is arrested, it will be the middleman, and it has nothing to do with the criminals. It is naturally convenient and easy to use.
Therefore, this kind of middleman was generally called "yahang" in ancient times. Some black yahangs were engaged in human trafficking and helped human traffickers deal with the abducted people. Therefore, there was a saying in ancient times that "the middlemen in carriages, boats, and shops should be killed even if they are innocent."
"You can also check on that slave."
“It’s already being done.”
"It seems you've done it fairly prudently. You've thought of every possible solution."
"If we really have no other options, we can only kill Liao Yu first. Unless he is so mad as to not even want his offspring, I don't believe he won't speak up."
Zhao Jun shook his head helplessly.
Fan Zhongyan said, "Well, you can do it yourself, but I remind you that you may need to be careful about Dingdu."
"Be careful what he does?"
Zhao Jun was puzzled.
This old guy is indeed stubborn. He has been arguing with Zhao Zhen every day recently, but what’s the use?
Fan Zhongyan laughed and said, "I know all the tricks of those people in Kaifeng Prefecture, and I also know who is standing behind them, but the people above them will not come forward, so they will definitely find a fool."
"That fool is Dingdu?"
"Indeed, from what I know about those people, they will probably use the excuse that the Imperial City Bureau took Li Dewen away as an excuse to incite Ding Du to break into the Imperial City Bureau and seize him. By then, will you be able to fire your crossbow?"
"That's a problem."
Zhao Jun frowned. Old Fan had actually told him the background of the group in Kaifeng Prefecture.
For example, Ma Yi, who entered the officialdom through family connections, had an uncle named Ma Liang, a corrupt official in the late Zhenzong and early Renzong periods of the Song Dynasty. Although he had achievements in local and imperial government, historical records show that he was "completely corrupt," meaning he abused his power for personal gain and profit wherever he went.
As the elders set an example, the younger generation naturally followed suit. Relying on his elder brother Ma Yuan and his cousin Ma Zhongfu, one serving in the Imperial Censorate and the other in the Ministry of Revenue, and with the support of his uncle's students and former officials, Ma Yi committed evil deeds in Kaifeng Prefecture, often competing with Liu Yuanzhi and Gao Dingyi for power and personal gain.
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