Chapter 719 Being Roasted on the Fire
Commander Wang's question hit the nail on the head, and the deputy returned to General Du's side. Now it was General Du's turn to speak to everyone personally.
"The Gao family has already been taken down. Those who conspired with the Gao family to rebel will naturally be dealt with by people from Chang'an. We need to get to the bottom of this matter in Jiangnan East Circuit."
I had already found a reason to send Jiang Qing's troops elsewhere, and Jiang Qing and one of his deputies were also there.
Jiang Qing's side only has one deputy and a few dozen soldiers left. The remaining soldiers are insignificant; we can handle them internally.
As for Jiang Qing's family, I'll trouble Commander Wang to go with them.
Upon hearing this, Commander Wang immediately understood that Emperor Wu's trusted confidant was being asked to act as a witness.
Commander Wang nodded, which was considered an agreement with General Du.
General Du turned to look at the Chai family head, who had remained silent and unyielding throughout: "As for the various families in the city, we will need to trouble the Chai family head to mediate."
The general did not want the economy of the entire Jiangnan East Circuit to collapse just because the Shen family was gone.
If Patriarch Chai does a good job, he will naturally share in the benefits.
Upon hearing this, the head of the Chai family appeared quite apprehensive. He quickly rose from his seat, bowed deeply to General Du at the head of the table, and spoke fluently: "The Chai family will certainly mediate properly for the General and ensure that nothing goes wrong in the market!"
Looking at the demeanor of the Chai family's young master, Li Dalang thought to himself: "The Shen family is a major merchant family in Jiangnan, and they also have kinship ties with Chang'an. Before the opium incident, the Shen family must have been a major local tycoon."
Although merchants have a lower social status than scholars, they are still very wealthy.
This has always been the case. With collusion between power and money, the Shen family fell, and if the Chai family below them takes over this enormous wealth, they could very well become the next Shen family.
Not to mention, Jiangnan is a major tax-generating region; if its economy collapses, the consequences could be dire.
"Regarding," General Du then turned his gaze to Li Dalang, Twenty-Nine, and the others, "the mastermind behind it all should be hiding on a boat on a slow-moving section of the Taipu River."
To avoid alerting the enemy, when Commander Wang was about to make a move, he asked Captain Li and the Bad Guys to lead the Du family army to arrest the person.
No sooner had General Du finished speaking than Twenty-Nine burst out laughing.
Twenty-Nine's laughter displeased the Du family soldiers standing inside the Tang Dynasty. Some of the more impatient young generals were about to step forward and point their swords at him.
"Get down!"
After General Du roared and forced the reluctant man to retreat, he turned around and asked Li Dalang with a smile in his eyes, "Is there any difficulty?"
If that doesn't work, I'll try to find a way to transfer some more people from the army..."
Li Dalang finally understood the meaning of "being roasted on a fire." Looking at the gazes directed at him from all directions, Li Dalang felt truly uncomfortable.
He glanced at Twenty-Nine, who was silent but whose exposed upper face was full of profanities. After waiting for a couple of breaths, he stood up with a look of fear and trepidation and bowed to General Du at the head of the table, saying, "That would be perfect!"
"We and the scoundrels together number only eighteen. If the general could send more soldiers with us, we would certainly have a greater chance of capturing this foreigner in one fell swoop!"
The sound of "tsk tsk" came from Twenty-Nine's mouth. Even the Chai family patriarch, who had always been mute in the main hall, looked up at Li Dalang.
Which soldier would admit to others that he is incompetent?
Especially for a young man like Li Dalang who hasn't even come of age yet, he should logically be someone who, once provoked, would recklessly rush in and fight for it.
Li Dalang's words caught General Du off guard. Li Dalang simply bowed and waited for General Du, who was sitting at the head of the table, to speak and send more men to him.
General Du, who was speechless, rolled his eyes inwardly, but had to soften his tone and say to Li Dalang, "Captain Li is so young, yet he is so thoughtful. His idea of ​​prioritizing the overall situation is truly admirable."
Captain Li, rest assured, I will send Captain Zheng with an entire regiment of soldiers to assist you!
Thus, the task of capturing the foreigners was entrusted to Captain Li and the Bad Guys.
Li Dalang knew when to stop. After receiving those words, he thanked General Du with a grateful expression.
Afterwards, the deputy stepped forward and explained to everyone in detail the Du family army's deployments in various places, and introduced the people to the Du family army's managers who would be following them.
The discussion went on until late at night. After having a meal together, everyone went their separate ways under the cover of darkness.
After retrieving their weapons, Twenty-Nine and Li Dalang walked side by side back to the thatched hut where everyone had rested. Twenty-Nine leaned close to Li Dalang and whispered mocking words about General Du.
"They didn't put on any face at all; they actually set us up in the pit right there."
Li Dalang didn't reply, but just smiled as he looked into Twenty-Nine's eyes.
Li Dalang thought to himself, "As someone below, who doesn't know that General Du and the Emperor had some conflicts in their early years?"
If General Du hadn't prioritized the navy and stayed on the coast all this time, who knows what might have happened.
"I am under General Shi's command. The Bad People are essentially swords in the hands of saints; it's already quite generous of General Du to allow them to participate in this mission."
Upon returning to the thatched hut, a soldier came to deliver a message: "Get ready, we'll be leaving in a quarter of an hour."
Now that they were surrounded by their own people, Li Dalang said to Twenty-Nine, "Since we've arranged for people to follow us, let's go. No matter what, they won't dare to stab us in the back."
We're just lowly soldiers doing our jobs. Even if they don't like us, there's no need to kill us.
But judging from General Du's words, the location of that foreigner's hideout might not be accurate, and whether we can catch him tonight is still uncertain.
"Hey, Brother Li, don't worry, there are indeed people hiding in that place."
Li Dalang widened his eyes slightly as he looked at Twenty-Nine, his eyes asking, "What do you mean?"
"Hey, do they really think we're the only three bad guys who came along?"
With the words "twenty-nine" in mind, Li Dalang felt more at ease.
A quarter of an hour later, they mounted their horses outside and arrived at the dock on the mudflats. The seventh brother, who had been sent by Li Dalang to meet the fifteenth and sixteenth brothers, was now standing at the dock with the fifteenth and sixteenth brothers waiting.
Thus, the group boarded a sampan, then transferred to a warship, where they met Captain Zheng of the Du family army who were leading this operation.
After exchanging greetings and names, Li Dalang quickly deduced that Commandant Zheng was an honest man with no ulterior motives.
After all, someone who can tell others all the deployments, where the ships are docked, and where the backup plans are hidden doesn't seem like someone who would do something underhanded.
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