When Zhao Hao and his son rushed to Beitabang after hearing the news, it was already midnight.

It was still raining heavily, but torches were lit up on the levee. Almost all the militiamen in the county were mobilized to prevent the enemy from causing more damage.

Under the guidance of Pan Jixun, hundreds of laborers urgently repaired the damaged river embankment.

As soon as he saw the father and son, Pan Zhongcheng roared with his hair and beard standing on end: "This is too bad, it's absolutely too bad! They should all be cast into concrete and built into the river bank!"

"Is the damage serious?" Mr. Zhao asked hurriedly. According to experience, the first flood peak will arrive at dawn. If there is a problem with the levee at this time, it will be fatal.

"No, it will be repaired before dawn." Pan Jixun sneered, "A bunch of fools, holding a pick and a chisel and wanting to dig the embankment, it's like an ant trying to shake a tree, or a toad wanting to eat swan flesh."

"Oh, I was scared to death." Zhao Shouzheng's expression relaxed, and he turned back to his son with a sober face and said, "I thought I was going to die."

"That's right." Zhao Hao replied casually. In fact, he was not worried about the levee. Concrete made of high-quality silicate cement mixed with iron powder, at least in this era, can only be described in one word, that is, "invincible".

But Mr. Zhao's face still looked very unhappy, and he was suppressing the anger in his heart.

I didn't expect that the Xu family's request for peace was just a delaying tactic. After only a few days of peace, they actually attacked me again!

In Mr. Zhao's opinion, the only enemy who has such a deep hatred for him and has such great power is the Xu family.

He is not afraid of provocation from others and is willing to strive for a more favorable situation in the struggle.

But this matter completely crossed his bottom line. How could there be such a vicious person in the world?

Did the Xu family not think of the consequences of the dam breaking when they had this idea? The flood would instantly submerge the nearby villages, and how many defenseless people would die?

Although they failed in the end, that was only due to their lack of ability and it did not change the nature of their evil deeds!

As the saying goes, "All evil begins with the intention." In Zhao Hao's opinion, even if it was an attempted sabotage, only the specific executor could be given a lighter punishment.

As for the mastermind behind the scenes, he has already committed all his crimes and should naturally be severely punished without any compromise.

~~

After making sure that the levee was safe, he separated from Zhao Shouzheng.

Dad wanted to stay on the dike and carefully check with Pan Jixun whether there was any damage elsewhere on the dike. Zhao Hao came to the Dragon King Temple several miles north of the dike.

It was as bright as day inside and outside the Dragon King Temple, and hundreds of gunmen from the gun battalion were on high alert.

In order to prevent any accomplices from robbing the prisoners, Zhao Hao placed all the thirty veteran soldiers of the Qi family army who came to surrender here.

Seeing the young master coming, the gunman guarding the gate hurriedly saluted and made way.

Upon hearing that the young master had arrived, Xiong Dianshi hurried out and welcomed Zhao Hao into the hall.

Perhaps other people in the county didn’t know Zhao Hao well enough, and some even thought he was just an ordinary, motherless young yamen official who loved to hang around his father.

But Lao Xiong was a smart man. He knew that Master Zhao was in charge of the entire county, but Master Zhao was in charge of Master Zhao. Naturally, he had to respect this young master.

As soon as Zhao Hao entered, he saw two boys sleeping soundly on a straw mat.

"It was these two kids who found the thieves." Xiong Xiasheng said, kicking the older child on the butt. "Get up, the master is here to see you."

"Oh?" The child was Miwa. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and sat up.

"Go back to sleep." Zhao Hao smiled faintly and said, "We'll talk about it later."

After saying that, he and Xiong Dianshi went straight into the back hall, leaving Mi Wa standing there in a daze with a confused look on his face.

Who is this? Why did you wake me up? Why didn't you talk to me? Then why did you disturb my sleep?

~~

Before entering the back hall, I heard sounds of beating and screaming coming from inside.

"How many people are there in total?" Zhao Hao asked as he walked.

"It was said that there were 20 people, but we only caught 16. I think the four sentries ran away." Xiong Dianshi hesitated and whispered:

"When they arrested them, they killed four people who resisted arrest, and seriously injured two more. So there were only ten people on trial."

"Is that so?" Zhao Hao knew that the four unlucky guys were most likely beaten to death by the angry militia.

But in the laws of the Ming Dynasty, this issue was never investigated in depth.

In fact, even if the legal system is more sound four hundred years later, dog thieves and cattle thieves who commit crimes in the countryside will definitely be beaten to death after being caught by the masses.

If you die, you can only blame yourself for your bad luck.

So he believed whatever Xiong Dianshi said.

When I entered the back hall, I saw the ten survivors hanging on the beams like a row of roast ducks in an oven.

The shirtless militiamen were torturing them, using canes, sticks, whips, candles and other things, beating them until they cried for their parents and screamed.

"These thieves are very stubborn and refuse to confess. We have no choice but to use torture." Xiong Dianshi didn't know Mr. Zhao very well and was afraid that he would be frightened by the scene before him.

"We confessed everything, but they still beat us..." The prisoner, covered in bruises, protested weakly.

"If you don't tell the truth, you deserve to be beaten!" Xiong Dianshi snorted coldly and explained to Zhao Hao: "These guys confessed before that they were hired refugees and knew nothing."

"What's the result?"

"They are all lying." Xiong Dianshi said bitterly, "There are calluses on the base of their right hands, which are left by holding knives for many years. Their thighs are strong and calluses have grown on the inside of their thighs, which is obviously due to riding horses for many years."

As he spoke, he sneered and said, "Ordinary soldiers can't even get a horse to ride. How can someone who can ride a horse all day become a refugee?"

"That makes sense." Zhao Hao nodded, and looked at Xiong Dianshi with a new respect. He didn't expect that besides being a dike repair maniac, he was also good at his job.

"Who do you think they are, Uncle Xiong?"

"It could be two types of people. A soldier or a private guard raised by a powerful family." Xiong Dianshi lowered his voice and said, "No matter which one it is, the identity of the owner is extraordinary and his name must be well-known."

Zhao Hao nodded, becoming more and more certain of his guess, and then turned his head and looked coldly at the group of 'hanging oven roast ducks', and said softly: "It's useless to be tough, I already know who your master is."

Wu Baihu and others, with bruised faces and noses, reluctantly raised their heads and looked at the child who had popped out from nowhere.

"You are from Huating," Zhao Hao said in a firm tone, "Your master's surname is Xu."

Many of the 'hanging oven roast ducks' couldn't help but open their mouths, with surprise in their squinting eyes.

"Do you still want me to continue?" Zhao Hao became more confident when he saw this. He crossed his arms and said calmly, "If I tell you everything, you will have no chance to talk to me."

ps. Chapter 2, please give me your monthly vote!