Chapter 87: Various Tactics

The Wanian County Yamen was located in Qinren Fang. Not far away was the Qingchuan Tavern. It was morning, and there were hardly any customers in the tavern; the main hall was deserted. The staff were busy cleaning. Yet, in a private room at the back of the second floor, there were guests. Several guards stood at the door, preventing even the staff bringing drinks from entering.

Inside the room, Li Qiu was whispering something to Yang Zhao.

“County Magistrate Yang, I know this is a difficult task, but there’s no other way. My father has many important letters stored in his residence in Yangzhou, and they’ve all been stolen by that thief. This is a serious matter. I beg you to help us find this person as soon as possible. My father will reward you generously.”

Yang Zhao picked up his wine cup and took a sip. “Since it’s Prince Qing who is asking, I’ll certainly do my best to assist. But we need some clues! Otherwise, searching for him in Chang’an is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It won’t be hard for us, but we fear it might delay Prince Qing’s affairs.”

“We don’t have many clues either. His original surname was He, but his name has likely changed. We only know that he fled from Yangzhou to Chang’an recently. He has a Yangzhou accent, is of average height, has dark skin, and is in his thirties. He used to be a merchant who worked on waterways.”

“A merchant who worked on waterways?”

Yang Zhao’s eyes lit up as he smiled. “Many cargo ships have arrived in Yangzhou recently. Could he have hidden among them and come to the capital?”

Li Qiu nodded. “That’s indeed a clue. We thought of that too, but since we don’t have the advantages of official authorities, we came to ask County Magistrate Yang for help.”

“Heh, that’s nothing. I’ll arrest all suspects.”

Yang Zhao stood up and bowed. “Please convey to Prince Qing that it’s an honor to serve him. I will do my utmost.”

“Then thank you, County Magistrate Yang. Once he’s caught, please hand him over to our palace. My father will reward you handsomely.”

…

Shortly after lunch, the Wanian County Yamen got mobilized. County Magistrate Yang Zhao issued an order: a notorious bandit had fled from Yangzhou to Chang’an and might pose a threat to the city’s security. He ordered all yamen staff to go out and search for the bandit, focusing on the shipping docks. Not only ships from Yangzhou but also those from the southeast were suspected. All shipowners had to go to the yamen for questioning.

At the same time, Chang’an County was also searching for a flower-stealing bandit linked to Yangzhou. The two counties launched their searches almost simultaneously, and even the patrols of the Jinwu Guard became stricter. Any man with a Yangzhou accent was taken to the military yamen for interrogation.

For a while, the word “Yangzhou” became like a flea clinging to Chang’an.

But there was not the slightest movement in Li Qing’an’s patrol camp; they continued their usual patrols and inspections. Next to the Yizhou Memorial Hall in Chongren Fang, there was a small residence right by the main street. Although it was a residence, several large trees at the entrance were tied with military horses, and soldiers in bright battle robes came in and out from time to time. This was the temporary command center of the patrol camp. At that moment, Li Qing’an was discussing the strange incidents in Chang’an with Li Fei Shouyu. “General, it’s really strange. Chang’an County, Wannian County, and the Jinguwei are all searching for people related to Yangzhou. What’s even stranger is that Chang’an County is looking for a flower thief, Wannian County is searching for a river bandit, while the Jinguwei is pursuing human traffickers. Each has a different target, yet strangely, they all describe the same man: medium build, dark skin, in his forties.” Hearing this, Li Fei Shouyu shook his head in confusion. “It’s truly strange.” Li Qing’an smiled slightly and said, “Actually, it’s not strange at all. This is because the Prince of Qing didn’t tell them the truth—only what kind of person to catch. So they used their own imagination. I doubt even the Prince of Qing expected this outcome. Now, they’ve alerted the suspect.” Li Fei Shouyu was stunned. “How is this related to the Prince of Qing?” “It has nothing to do with the Prince of Qing. Why would Li Qiu go to them?” Seeing Li Fei Shouyu’s puzzled expression, Li Qing’an smiled and said, “This matter involving Yangzhou may seem small, but it can cause a huge stir. We can’t underestimate it.” That morning, Li Qing’an learned from Wang Gong that Lu Huan, the governor of Yangzhou, and Liu Changyun, the transport commissioner of Jianghuai, were accusing each other of releasing salt smugglers. Both petitions had been submitted to the Central Secretariat, but there was no response. Wang Gong then subtly told him that it was this salt smuggler that the Prince of Qing was looking for. Li Qing’an immediately understood Li Linfu’s intention—he wanted him to take charge of this matter. Li Fei Shouyu lowered his head and thought for a moment. “So should we just stand by?” “Why stand by? We also need to investigate this to the end,” said Li Qing’an, handing him a piece of paper. “This is my plan. Follow my instructions.” Li Fei Shouyu took the plan and glanced at it. “I understand. I’ll go arrange everything right away.” He got up and left in a hurry. Li Qing’an fell back into deep thought. Why did Li Linfu want him to get involved in the Prince of Qing’s affairs? What was his intention? …

Night fell quietly, and the streets of Andefang were bustling with people hurrying home for dinner. At that moment, a man dressed in the gray robes of a government official rode into the town gate. Looked exhausted, he cursed as he moved back and forth on the street, clearly very anxious.

The man’s surname was Jiao. He was a legal official in Wannian County. In the Tang Dynasty’s official hierarchy, they belonged to the category of clerks, had no official rank, and were of relatively low status. They only received slightly more land than ordinary people and a small monthly allowance from the government. As for rice rations and salary, they were pitifully small, just enough to support their families. So Jiao tried every means to earn extra money. As the New Year approached, large quantities of goods were being brought to the capital, and he found a part-time job in the Western Market, guarding a rice store at night for fifty coins per night.

He rushed home to have a quick meal, then changed clothes and went to the Western Market. Jiao’s family lived at the end of a secluded alley. The house had been left to him by his father and was already quite old, which was a source of concern for him. He wanted to save up some money as soon as possible to repair the house before summer, otherwise it would leak badly when it rained.

“Honey, I’m back!” Jiao dismounted from his horse and knocked firmly on the wooden door.

The door opened, and a young woman wearing a coarse cloth dress stepped out, whispering, “There are guests at home.”

“Who?” Jiao asked, slightly annoyed. Why did they choose this time to come?

“A few soldiers, led by an officer. He says he knows you. I don’t know if I should cook for them. We don’t have much rice left.”

“Let me go see.”

Jiao was surprised. He pushed the door open and entered the yard, where he was stunned to see several soldiers from the patrol unit standing there. A tall-faced officer was teaching his six-year-old son how to shoot arrows. He recognized him—it was Li Fei Shouyu, the deputy commander of the patrol unit.

“General Li Fei, what… do you need?” Jiao asked, scratching his head.

Li Fei Shouyu set his son down and said with a smile, “We have a small matter to discuss with Jiao.”

“What matter?”

Jiao felt uneasy. Could they have found out about his part-time job? But then he thought it couldn’t be—his job was in the Western Market, so what did it have to do with the patrols in Wannian County?

“Jiao, it’s not convenient to talk outside. Let’s go inside.”

“Okay, please come in!”

Jiao invited them in and gave his wife a glance, signaling her not to cook.

Li Fei Shouyu sat down and took out a silver ingot weighing twenty-five taels, pushing it toward Jiao.

Jiao’s eyes widened. Staring at the gleaming silver ingot, he stammered, “W-what does this mean?”

“Nothing? We just want to make a deal with Judge Jiao.”
“What… deal?”
“You were in charge of the search for that man from Yangzhou today, right?”
Judge Jiao was stunned for a moment before saying, “That was Wang, the county magistrate, who was in charge. I was just his assistant.”
“At least you were aware of everything, right?”
“Of course. But it was a troublesome matter that required immediate investigation. I had other things to attend to that night, so I left it aside.”
Li Fei Shouyu smiled. “You went to guard the West Market overnight, didn’t you?”
Realizing they knew so much about him, Judge Jiao was extremely surprised and quickly said, “Just tell me plainly! What do you really want from me?”
“It’s this: Our patrol unit also received the same task to find this man from Yangzhou, under great pressure. As you know, we’re new and don’t know much about the situation. So we want to make a deal with you. If you provide us with detailed investigation information on Wannian County, I’ll pay you ten taels of silver per day.”
Saying this, Li Fei Shouyu pushed twenty-five taels of silver toward him. “This is extra. What do you say?”
Judge Jiao’s heart pounded. Twenty-five taels of silver could be exchanged for twenty-eight guan, plus ten taels per day. That meant he could earn at least fifty taels in total. How many nights would it take him to earn that much? With this money, he wouldn’t need to guard anymore—he could sleep with his wife at night. Besides, this wasn’t colluding with foreigners; it was just a competition for credit between departments, nothing against national laws.
Thinking this, he swallowed hard and said in a low voice, “As long as you promise not to betray me.”
Li Fei Shouyu laughed. “What benefit would we gain from betraying you? You’re no big shot. If we betrayed you, we’d expose ourselves. Right, Judge Jiao?”
Judge Jiao finally made up his mind. “Alright! Let’s settle this.”
He reached out to take the silver, glowing with excitement. “Today, while checking the grain transport ships from Yangzhou, we found a clue.”
“Oh? What clue?”
“Last night, a group of tea-carrying ships arrived from Yangzhou. The shipowner said there was indeed a man in his forties on board, from Jiangdu, of medium height with dark skin. He used to work in water transport and matched the description perfectly. The man claimed his surname was Su. After landing, he rented a carriage. We found through the carriage shop that he went to the East Market, but we don’t know which shop. The officials are already closely monitoring the East Market, ready to check each shop starting tonight.”
“I see!”

Li Fei Shouyu nodded and smiled, saying, “Then why don’t you go back now and join the search? If you can help us then, we’ll reward you generously.”
“Okay, I’ll leave after finishing my meal. Wife, cook a bit more!”
Li Fei Shouyu quickly stood up and smiled, “No need. We still need to continue our inspection. Just go quickly.”
The group took their leave, and Jiao Facao closed the gate, then jumped up excitedly. He took out the silver ingot, examining it closely with gleaming eyes.
“Jiao Lang, we don’t have enough rice at home! How about borrowing some from my neighbor?” Jiao’s wife came out of the kitchen.
“Why borrow rice? We’re about to make a fortune!”
Jiao Facao handed the silver to his wife and grinned, “Your husband is really capable, isn’t he?”
“Jiao Lang, could anything go wrong?” Jiao’s wife asked anxiously, holding the silver.
“Nothing will go wrong!”
Jiao Facao patted his chest. “I’ve got it under control!”
After taking a few bites of the leftover rice soaked in hot water, Jiao Facao hurried off toward the East Market.