"If I reveal this person's name, will you let us go?"
"Don't try to negotiate. If you keep arguing, your accomplices will suffer the same fate. I wouldn't mind cutting off one of your arms first." Zhao Cheng finished speaking and drew his sword.
"I'll talk, I'll talk." The bandit was terrified. He had already experienced Zhao Cheng's prowess. If this guy were to cut off one of his arms, it would be too easy for him.
"It's Wang Xiang."
"Who is Wang Xiang?" Zhao Xian was a little surprised. He had never met anyone named Wang Xiang, and it seemed that there was no such person in the village.
“Wang Xiang is the nephew of the wealthy Wang family in Wangba Village, not from your village.”
Zhao Xian remembered that about ten days ago, the Wang family in Wangba Village was robbed. A lot of bandits came that time, and they not only stole a lot of grain, but also injured several of the family's servants.
"Ten days ago, you robbed a lot of grain from the Wang family and injured their servants. Did Wang Xiang tip you off so you could rob his uncle's grain?"
"How did you know this?" the bandit asked, quite surprised.
"If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. Tell me, did Wang Xiang send you to rob my house? What is your relationship with Wang Xiang?" Zhao Xian said angrily.
"Wang Xiang is a local thug from Wangba Village. He often goes to Qianniu Mountain to try to join our gang, but our leader doesn't agree. Instead, he asks Wang Xiang to provide us with information, and we give him a share of the loot we steal."
Master Wang was in the grain business. Recently, grain prices had soared, so he bought a batch of grain from another place and stored it at home, planning to transport it to the town to sell the next day.
Wang Xiang told us about this, and that very night, we went to Wang's house to rob him of his grain. However, because there were many servants guarding the house, we only managed to take a portion.
"This beast, he doesn't even spare his own uncle's family." Zhao Xian was speechless again.
"When the government launched a siege of Qianniu Mountain, the chief and second chief led us to escape. We didn't get far before the government soldiers caught up with us. After a fierce battle, the chief and many brothers were captured."
After a fierce battle, the second-in-command led five or six of us brothers to break through the encirclement and escape.
Unexpectedly, the government set up many checkpoints along the way, making it difficult for us to escape. We had no choice but to sneak into Wangba Village at night, find Wang Xiang, and go to his house to lay low until things calmed down before leaving.
Wang Xiang told us that Zhao Xiucai from Shuixian Village was very rich; his house was full of silver notes, and we could rob him.
Zhao Xian was speechless. A few days ago, Zhang the wealthy man came to collect a debt, and his family paid with silver notes. Unexpectedly, word got out that his family was very rich and that they were only able to pay with silver notes.
"Was it Wang Xiang who brought you here? Where is he now?" Zhao Xian continued to ask.
"He brought me here this afternoon to scout out the location and figure out where your house is. He's at home now, with our second-in-command and a few brothers."
As soon as the bandit finished speaking, Zhao Xian kicked him in the head, and the bandit immediately passed out.
Zhao Xian never expected that Wang Xiang's family was harboring several bandits, including the bandit's second-in-command.
In two hours, it will be dawn. By then, the second-in-command will find that his accomplices have not returned all night and will definitely escape. It will be much more difficult to catch them then.
We must report to the authorities immediately and capture those bandits before dawn, or we will miss this crucial opportunity.
"Zhao Cheng, go to the county government immediately and inform Magistrate Cao to send soldiers to Wangba Village to arrest the bandits."
“Okay, I’ll ride a mule there. Although mules aren’t as fast as horses, they have good stamina and can run all the way to the county government office in one go.” Zhao Cheng said and was about to leave.
"Wait, I'll write a letter for you to give to Magistrate Cao. That way you won't have to waste your breath."
"Okay, then I'll bring the mule over first." After saying that, Zhao Cheng went to the workshop and brought the mule over.
Zhao Xian quickly wrote a personal letter and handed it to Zhao Cheng.
Zhao Cheng put the letter away, mounted the mule, squeezed his legs together, and the mule galloped away, disappearing into the night.
Mules have excellent night vision and can see everything around them clearly, so Zhao Cheng wasn't worried at all. He squeezed his legs together and made the mule run fast.
More than an hour later, Zhao Cheng arrived at the county town. At this time, the city gate was closed and several soldiers were walking back and forth on the city tower.
In my haste, I didn't consider that it's not allowed to enter the city at night unless it's an emergency and you need a special pass.
What should we do? Since he's already here, let's explain the situation and the pros and cons. Maybe that will get him into the city.
Thinking of this, he shouted to the soldiers on the city wall.
"Listen up, sentry! I am a villager from Narcissus Village. Bandits have been discovered in the village. Open the gate quickly, I need to see Magistrate Cao."
"The county government has ordered that if there is any bandit activity, you may enter the city to report it at any time. Falsifying reports of bandit activity will be severely punished. You are certain that you have discovered a major bandit activity," the sentry guarding the city replied.
"It's absolutely true! Please open the city gates immediately, I need to see Magistrate Cao." Zhao Cheng was overjoyed, he hadn't expected that reporting the bandit situation would allow him to enter the city.
The city gate opened quickly, and two soldiers walked over, sizing up Zhao Cheng.
“We will go with you to the county government office. If you falsely report banditry, you will be thrown into jail.”
"Then let's hurry, or it will be too late."
Two soldiers mounted their horses and followed Zhao Cheng to the county government office.
Zhao Cheng dismounted from the mule, and two soldiers dismounted from their horses, and they walked towards the entrance of the county government office.
The soldier bowed to the guards and said:
"These are villagers from Narcissus Village. They discovered banditry in their village and came to the city to report it. Quickly notify the constable."
"Please wait here for a moment while we inform the constable."
Seeing the soldiers and yamen runners so polite and businesslike, I couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
"I wish to see Magistrate Cao. May I report this directly?"
The yamen runner glared at Zhao Cheng, thinking to himself, "How can this country bumpkin not know any manners? Is the county magistrate someone you can just see whenever you want?"
"The handling of banditry is the responsibility of the constable. If you don't understand, don't spout nonsense."
Zhao Cheng knew that if he handled the matter step by step, even if he waited until dawn, the matter might not be resolved.
Once the troops are dispatched, the bandits will flee. This won't do. My master has asked me to find Magistrate Cao, so I must see Magistrate Cao.
Thinking of this, he looked around and saw the big drum next to him, and suddenly he had an idea.
He walked silently to the drum, picked up the drumsticks, and began to strike it forcefully.
In the stillness of the night, the sound of drums carried far and wide, reaching the entire Zhengyang County.
The yamen runners and soldiers were shocked. How could they have encountered such a fool, beating a drum in the middle of the night for no reason? Was he playing a joke?
This caused a major incident. The constables and soldiers rushed forward to stop them, but it was too late.
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