Chapter 106: Suppressing Bandits in Xuyi

Cui Ping’s face turned slightly red as he hurriedly said, “I heard he’s still secretly controlling the fleet; probably making a living that way!”
Li Qingan smiled faintly. No wonder the former county magistrate refused to report to the imperial court—he must have received many benefits from Du Boyun. He glanced at Cui Ping, noticing his unnatural expression, and understood a bit more. Without revealing his thoughts, he asked with a smile, “Then why did he threaten to massacre the people of Xuyi County?”
Cui Ping sighed and said, “It was because of an incident that happened five days ago, which forced Du Boyun to seek revenge on Xuyi County. Naturally, he’s a bandit.”
“What happened?”
“Half a month ago, a rapist was active in Xuyi County, raping the daughters of three wealthy families in a row, causing panic among the locals. We managed to identify some patterns in his movements. Five days ago, we set an ambush in one of those wealthy families’ homes. Sure enough, at midnight, the rapist came again. We tried to capture him immediately, but he was very cunning and about to escape. We acted quickly and shot him dead on the spot. Unexpectedly, that rapist turned out to be Du Boyun’s only son, Du Xi. Du Boyun lost his only son and thus decided to massacre the entire county.”
“I see!”
Li Qingan pondered for a moment before asking, “I remember there’s also a military garrison in Linhuai County, your neighboring county. Why didn’t you ask them for help?”
“Ah! Only the Ministry of War has the authority to dispatch troops from Linhuai County. How would they agree? Besides, I heard there are only three hundred soldiers left in Linhuai’s garrison, all old and weak. It would be better to seek help from Yangzhou. Fortunately, we encountered General Li. Please, General Li, help us once again at all costs.”
“I understand!”
Li Qingan stood up and said, “The top priority now is for us to do one thing.”
He turned to one of his attendants and ordered, “Go and call He Yanming here!”
A moment later, He Yanming strode into the room, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, “Please give your orders, General!”
“Take twenty men and rush to Duliangshan to stop those who go there to report the news.”
Li Qingan then said to Cui Ping, “Arrange for a local official familiar with the area to lead the way for us.”
“I’ll arrange that right away!”
Cui Ping called over an official and gave him a few instructions. He Yanming immediately set off with twenty cavalrymen.
At that moment, Li Qingan glanced at Cui Ping and smiled, “To win every battle, one must know both oneself and the enemy. Now I need to learn more about Du Boyun. Should I hear it from you, or from the county magistrate or deputy magistrate?”

Cui Ping’s face turned deathly pale. He understood Li Qing’an’s meaning—Li Qing’an had already figured out that they were connected to Du Boyun. Cui Ping stammered, “General Li, I have no relation with this Du Boyun at all. It’s just that Governor Liu of Sizhou wouldn’t allow me to report matters related to Duliangshan. The reports I wrote were rejected by him. That Governor Liu is my former county magistrate.”

“Then can you swear you haven’t taken a single penny in bribes?” Li Qing’an stared at Cui Ping sternly.

Cui Ping’s face turned as red as pig liver again. He lowered his head and said, “County Assistant Ding brought me fifty taels of gold afterward, claiming it was a gift from the wealthy families in the county. But I knew that gold was related to Duliangshan. Still, I didn’t dare take it home.”

Saying this, Cui Ping took out a heavy cloth bag from the crack in the bookshelf. When he opened it, inside was a square piece of gold, about the size of a book. He placed it on the table and said shamefully, “That’s all there is. I really can’t bring it home.”

Li Qing’an picked up the golden piece and examined it closely. There was a row of numbers engraved on it: Du: No. 899. This was gold privately minted by the Du family.

“When was this gold delivered?”

“Half a month ago.” Cui Ping was also stunned for a moment before suddenly realizing, “Could it be that this gold was brought down from the mountain by Du Boyun’s son?”

“That’s very possible.”

Li Qing’an put down the gold and immediately ordered, “Go and capture that County Assistant Ding!”

…

As Li Qing’an had guessed, He Yanming caught a man looking panicked on the official road ten miles west of the county town. From him, they found a quick letter written by County Assistant Ding Yi to Du Boyun, containing only one sentence: “Five hundred Tang soldiers have entered Xuyi County.”

The atmosphere in Xuyi County immediately became tense. The city gates were tightly controlled, allowing only entry and no exit. The official road was crowded with people fleeing from surrounding areas to seek refuge in the city. The officials went from house to house, urging young men to join the defense of the city and protect their homes. The training camp was even more bustling, with carriages loaded with pigs, sheep, fruits, and vegetables arriving in an endless stream. Nearly a hundred wealthy gentry gathered at the entrance, pleading with the soldiers in the training camp to help them defeat the bandits.

With a thud, two Tang soldiers threw the obese County Assistant Ding at Li Qing’an’s feet. Terrified, County Assistant Ding trembled uncontrollably and couldn’t utter a word.

Li Qing’an looked down at him and smiled narrowed-eyed, “A high-ranking official of the eighth rank in the imperial court, yet you dared collude with bandits. This is a crime punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the family. Aren’t you afraid?”

“General, please spare me! I didn’t collude with those bandits. It was Governor Liu who did. I merely helped them pass messages and run errands!” County Clerk Ding cried, tears and snot streaming down his face as he banged his head on the ground, pleading desperately.
“Hmph! You weren’t afraid of anything when working for Du Boyun, but now that you’ve been caught, you turn into a coward. If you hadn’t colluded with him, why would you deliver messages for him? If I’m not wrong, tomorrow when Du Boyun attacks the county town, you’ll be the first to open the city gates. Am I right, County Clerk Ding?”
“General Li, I’m willing to atone for my sins by performing meritorious deeds. Please spare me once!”
Li Qing’an glanced at him and said, “Speak then! Tell me everything you know about Du Boyun.”
Under intense pressure, County Clerk Ding finally confessed everything honestly.
In fact, two years earlier, the three Du brothers had purchased a large area of forest on Du Liang Mountain and began building temples and Taoist temples. Under the guise of monasteries, they built hundreds of buildings on the mountain. All the monks and Taoists were actually members of the Du family disguised as such. They also bought sixty hectares of land at the foot of the mountain as temple property, claiming it to belong to the Jin family of Sizhou.
With the deliberate protection of the former county magistrate, the Du family was able to develop smoothly on Du Liang Mountain, keeping their activities hidden. If it weren’t for Du Boyun’s only son being accidentally killed by Cui Ping, Du Boyun would have even offered another 500 taels of gold to bribe Cui Ping to continue covering up for them.
Li Qing’an paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, pondering Du Bo Sheng’s whereabouts. Du Bo Sheng had been kidnapped by a group of mysterious people. It seemed highly likely that these people were Du Boyun’s men. Could Du Bo Sheng be hiding on Du Liang Mountain?
After pondering for a while, Li Qing’an dismissed this idea. He probably wasn’t there. If he were, Du Boyun wouldn’t have been so impulsive as to threaten to massacre Xuyi City. At least Du Bo Sheng would have tried to stop him. Moreover, Du Boyun had recruited 2,000 people from the refugees who fled from Henan within a month. What was he planning? To confront the troops sent to suppress them?
Li Qing’an sensed that things weren’t that simple. Why would the bandits launch an attack openly? Wouldn’t that alert the authorities?
……
At dusk, Li Qing’an returned to the camp. Along the way, he saw the officials going from house to house to mobilize the people. Suddenly, he noticed something strange—the officials wore different uniforms. Most of them wore black and red uniforms, but a small number wore blue uniforms, though of the same style.
He stopped his horse and asked an official in blue, “Are you an official from Xuyi County?”

“General, we from the Xuyi Inspection Office heard that bandits were coming tomorrow, so we retreated into the city.”
Li Qing’an was stunned. “Is there anyone left at your office?”
“Temporarily not. We’ll go back once the danger passes.”
Suddenly, an idea flashed through Li Qing’an’s mind. It seemed he had figured something out, but he couldn’t quite make it clear. At that moment, another official said, “I’m worried about those over two hundred government ships at our office. If they get stolen, we’ll lose our jobs.”
“Government ships!”
Li Qing’an suddenly understood. Using feints to deceive others—Du Boyun was truly cunning!
He spurred his warhorse hard and rushed toward the military camp.
…
The Jianghuai Transport Bureau’s headquarters was in Jiangdu, but it had branch offices in some key transportation areas. Sizhou was a crucial junction where the Huai River met the Grand Canal, making it very important for transportation, so a branch office was set up there, with two inspection offices under it: one in Linhuai County and the other in Xuyi County. One was responsible for inspecting ships on the Grand Canal, while the other checked ships coming from the west side of the Huai River. Recently, as Liu Changyun was focusing on tracking Du Boseng, inspections on the rivers were extremely strict. Apart from government ships, all other civilian ships had to enter the port for inspection.
But today, due to the news of bandits from Duliangshan attacking, and with a shortage of staff at the Xuyi County office, Cui Ping invited the officials from the inspection office to help. The office was empty, with only two old clerks guarding the ships.
The branch office was located in a small tributary of the Huai River, about half a mile away from it. A row of five houses had been built along the riverbank, and a narrow path wound its way from the main road, flanked by dense willow forests just a few dozen steps away.
Inside the farthest house, the two old clerks were hiding inside, drinking. One of them, with a green face, sighed, “It’s just our bad luck. They all retreated into the city. What if the bandits attack? Where will we hide?”
“Do you know how you’ll die? Stupidly!” The other man hit him hard. “There are over a hundred ships outside. If the bandits attack, isn’t it safer to hide in the river?”
The man with the green face was stunned for a moment before bursting into a helpless laugh. “I really am stupid, haha!”
“Come! Let’s drink.”
“Drink!”
As the two clinked their cups, hundreds of dark figures quietly approached the inspection office, their knives gleaming. Behind them, over a hundred carriages followed at a distance.
A tall man waved his hand, and dozens of people rushed into the room. Two screams were heard, the lights went out, and the dark figures ransacked the office. In no time, they found a dozen sets of official uniforms and quickly put them on.

“Hurry! Carry the boxes from the carriage onto the ship—be careful!”
The carriage pulled in, and the shadowy figures put down their knives and began unloading the camphor wood boxes from it.
…
Across the small river, in the willow grove just a few dozen steps away, Li Qing’an coldly watched the busy shadowy figures. As he had expected, Du Boyun’s so-called massacre of the county town was a lie; the real goal was to carry away wealth. With official ships and uniforms, no one would inspect them along the way.
They had brought a great deal—over a hundred carriages filled with wooden boxes of various sizes, suggesting they had long planned to leave.
With a gentle wave of his hand, 300 soldiers from the militia camp instantly raised their bows and arrows, aiming their sharp tips at the shadowy figures in the distance.
Li Qing’an drew an arrow, nocked it on his bow, and slowly drew the string back to a full moon shape. As soon as he released it, the arrow shot forth with great force and speed, piercing the back of the leader in black.
“Ah!” A shrill scream shattered the quiet night. That scream served as a signal, and arrows flew in thick showers from the willow grove. The shadowy figures carrying boxes on the narrow path were caught off guard and many were knocked down. The militia soldiers’ well-practiced archery skills proved deadly—more powerful than those of ordinary archers, leaving those hit either dead or severely injured.
Dozens of those pushing the carriages saw the situation turn bad and tried to flee. But Li Fei Shouyu led 100 Tang soldiers to block their escape. The Tang soldiers swung their spears and swords, slashing and stabbing. These carriage drivers were not real bandits; upon seeing the Tang soldiers, they panicked and fled, abandoning their carriages.
“The soldiers are here! The soldiers are here!”
“Run fast!”
Frightened by the Tang soldiers’ onslaught, the bandits wished they had wings to fly away. Those who couldn’t escape knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.
After three rounds of arrows, most of the shadowy figures at the dock were dead or wounded, and those who survived fled far away. In the end, only about twenty remained, surrounded by the Tang soldiers, with hundreds of arrows pointed at them.
“Pity us! Spare our lives!” The twenty or so people knelt together, frantically begging for mercy.
“Where’s your leader? Who is it?” Li Qing’an demanded, pointing with his long bow.
“Sir, our Third Master was shot dead first!” one man said nervously.
“What’s his name?”
“Sir, our Third Master’s name is Du Boyuan.”
It turned out that the third brother of the Du family had been killed by Li Qing’an himself. Li Qing’an grabbed the man by the collar and snapped, “Then where is Du Boseng? Is he on the mountain?”
“Sir… our First Master isn’t on the mountain.”
“Then where is he?”
“We… don’t know either.”

Suddenly, a foul smell came, scaring the man so much that he lost control of his bladder and bowels. “Damn it!”
Li Qing’an threw him to the ground and strode toward the carriage.
Li Fei Shouyu was leading dozens of men in checking the boxes. Li Qing’an stepped forward and asked, “Have you found anything?”
“Qilang, I was just looking for you. Come with me.”
Li Fei Shouyu led Li Qing’an to the last few carriages. Unlike the earlier carriages, these were filled with iron boxes. Li Fei Shouyu pointed to a line of characters on one of them and said, “Qilang, take a look. These belong to King Qing.”
At the lower right corner of each iron box were the words “Property of King Qing” engraved.
“What’s inside the boxes?”
“Guess!” Li Fei Shouyu couldn’t hide his excitement.
Li Qing’an thought of Cui Ping’s gold bars and smiled. “I guess it’s gold bars, right?”
“Almost, but not quite.”
Li Fei Shouyu opened one of the lids. Inside were all temple bronze artifacts—buddha statues about a foot tall, bronze bowls, bells, chimes, and wooden fish, all in smaller sizes.
Li Qing’an picked up a Buddha statue and examined it closely by the torch. It was indeed a bronze statue. At the market price in Chang’an, this ten-jin bronze Maitreya statue was worth five guan.
“Qilang, watch carefully.”
Li Fei Shouyu pulled out a dagger and scraped the bottom of the statue. Where the metal was scraped, the red bronze color disappeared, revealing a bright yellow gold color.
“Are these… all gold?”
“That’s right. All these bronze artifacts in the ten carriages are actually gold, just coated with bronze.”
Li Qing’an gently touched the bronze artifacts, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He suddenly asked, “How much gold is there in total?”
“It’s hard to calculate. There are a hundred boxes in total.”
Li Qing’an’s eyes lit up. A hundred boxes of gold—how much could that be?
“Qilang, what should we do? Should we hand this gold over?”
Li Qing’an pondered for a moment before asking, “What’s in the other boxes?”
“They’re all treasures—silver, jewels, and jade. The quantities are astonishing, but they all belong to the Du family.”
“How many people know these bronze artifacts are actually gold?”
“Just me and He Yanming. He discovered it by accident.”
Li Qing’an walked a few steps with his hands behind his back. He turned around and said, “Shouyu, I want to take this gold. Maybe we’ll need it in Anxi in the future. What do you think?”
“It’s possible, but I think the risks are high.”

“I know the box is heavy, but it’s not large. A hundred men can carry it on horseback. This gold is probably the King Qing’s ill-gotten money; he’d never dare admit it. We should be bolder and not hesitate.”
“I think the same. It’s likely the huge profits from the King Qing’s salt smuggling. Qilang, let’s make things more discreet—buy more copperware and mix it in, then ship it to Chang’an. Even if someone sees it, they’ll never guess those copperware are actually gold.”
“Good idea. Let’s do that. It would be even better if we opened a copperware shop in the Western Market, to further mix the real with the fake.”
“What about the Du family’s money and goods?” Li Fei Shouyu asked again.
“The Du family’s money and goods can be given to the governor of Yangzhou, but…”
At “but,” Li Qingan patted the carriage and laughed, “Since we’ve seized the Du family’s belongings, we should give some to reward our men. We’ll be together for a long time—we can’t treat them unfairly.”
“Qilang, are you planning to…?” Li Fei Shouyu asked in surprise.
“Nothing.”
Li Qingan put an arm around his shoulder and laughed, “The soldiers we’ve trained with so much effort—just to abandon them in Jianghuai? Don’t you think that’s a shame?”
“I understand!”
Li Fei Shouyu waved excitedly, “Alright! Everyone, drive the carriages back to the camp and set off right away!”
…
At Hongfu Temple on Mount Liang, Du Boyun was hugging a young woman while drinking heavily. The woman was very thin, with a hunched back, trembling in fear like a lamb. Behind a nearby pillar, an old man with gray hair clenched his fists in pain.
Du Boyun was in his forties, with a red face and a rough appearance. He glanced at the young woman, snorted suddenly, grabbed her hair, and lifted her face.
“Little lady, if you don’t make me happy, I’ll throw you to my men just like last time. How about that? Want to experience that extreme pleasure again?”
“No, Second Master, please! I beg you,” the woman pleaded in a mournful voice.
“Then smile and cheer me up. Don’t look so sad as if your mother’s dead!”
“Yes—”
The woman forced a smile, but Du Boyun slapped her, “Idiot! Are you crying or smiling?”
The woman covered her face and cried. At that moment, the old man behind the pillar could no longer hold back. He rushed out, knelt in front of Du Boyun, and kowtowed repeatedly, “Second Master, out of respect for having served the Du family since I was young, please spare this girl!”

“Damn it! I’m in a good mood today, but some fool comes to ruin it. Bring him here! Beat this old bastard out, and throw this stinking woman into the dark room—let whoever wants her have her.”
“Lord, spare my life! Please spare me!”
The father and daughter were dragged away. Du Boyun drank another cup of wine and gently twisted his neck, the joints creaking.
At that moment, a young man rushed in and said, “Father, I’m really worried and want to go down the mountain to check things out.”
“What’s there to worry about? Who can see through my carefully planned scheme? That bookworm, County Magistrate Cui? If he could see through it, it would be laughable. Come, Xi, sit down and drink with your father.”
This young man was naturally Du Boyun’s only son, Du Xi. As for that flower-picking thief who was killed in Xuyi County, he was just a bandit who resembled Du Xi slightly.
Duliangshan was a secret gold vault of the Du family, operating since three years ago. They bought land and mountains under the name of the Jin family from Sizhou, built temples and monasteries, and hid nearly half of their wealth there. A few months ago, when the eldest brother, Du Bosheng, was captured, the second and third brothers took advantage of the conflict between Lu and Liu to bribe the officials and rescue him. Due to the dark dealings involving Prince Qing, the Du family realized they could no longer stay in the Tang Dynasty, so they began planning to leave for Japan.
But transferring the wealth abroad was a huge challenge. The Du family devised a three-step plan: First, establish a secret base at Duliangshan and buy off the local officials; second, use despicable tactics like flower-picking to trap Xuyi County. Du Boyun would issue a challenge to Xuyi on the grounds that his son had been killed, forcing the county to evacuate all its people to the city. Then, the third brother, Du Boyuan, would steal the government boats at night and transport the family’s wealth away.
The third step was to recruit soldiers at Duliangshan and rise in rebellion at the right time, drawing the authorities’ attention there while the Du family fled southward.
The three steps were flawlessly planned, with no problems so far and smooth progress. Du Boyun was in high spirits. Once the wealth was transferred today, he could start the rebellion—maybe even wear a dragon robe for a while.
“Xi, come and drink some wine. You’ll leave in a few days too. It’s fine for just me to be here.”
Du Xi drank the wine but remained preoccupied. Just then, urgent footsteps were heard outside. Several of his subordinates rushed in and, upon seeing Du Boyun, fell to their knees and cried, “Second Lord, we encountered an ambush by the soldiers! The third lord was killed, and all our belongings were stolen by them!”

“Clang!” Du Boyun’s wine cup fell to the ground.
……
The next day, the gates of Xuyi County were tightly closed. Five hundred Tang soldiers and several thousand able-bodied men stood on the city walls, waiting for the attack by the bandits. But even by noon, there was still no news from afar.
Cui Ping grew anxious and rushed to Li Qingan, asking, “General Li, what exactly happened?”
Li Qingan shook his head and said, “I don’t know either. Let’s wait a little longer!”
After nearly another hour, the end of the main road remained deserted, with not a single person in sight. Suddenly, several horses rushed in from afar. Cui Ping perked up and shouted, “General Li, the scouts you sent are back!”
Li Qingan waved his hand and ordered, “Open the city gates!”
The gates slowly opened, and Nan Jiyun along with several Tang soldiers rushed into the city. Moments later, Nan Jiyun rushed to the top of the city wall and reported, “General, something seems to be wrong on Duliang Mountain. We saw many people carrying bundles running down from the mountain.”
Li Qingan’s expression darkened. “I don’t want ‘seems’—I want to know exactly what happened.”
Nan Jiyun’s face turned red as he hurriedly said, “We caught two people and questioned them. They said the king is missing, and the mountain is in chaos without a leader.”
After thinking for a while, Li Qingan said to Cui Ping, “I’m going to check out Duliang Mountain. If a large force attacks, light a signal fire. I’ll return immediately.”
“General, I’ll definitely do as you say!”
The gates were wide open, and Li Qingan led four hundred trained soldiers at full speed toward Duliang Mountain.
Duliang Mountain was about forty li away from Xuyi County. An hour later, the riders arrived at the foot of the mountain. After walking a short distance, they reached the main path leading up the mountain. In the distance, they saw dozens of people fighting over something. Li Qingan pointed with his whip and ordered, “Capture them all!”
One hundred Tang soldiers rushed forward. Seeing the Tang soldiers, the dozens of people fled in panic, but it was too late. The Tang soldiers surrounded them.
“Kneel down and put your hands on your heads!”
Everyone knelt down, nervously placing their hands on their heads. Li Qingan spurred his horse forward. Seeing that each of them had large and small bundles, and some even had wives and children with them, he asked, “What exactly happened on the mountain?”
“Sir! Our king ran away last night, and the mountain is in chaos.”
“Is that so?”
Li Qingan looked up at the top of the mountain. Faintly, he could see the temple on the mountain amidst the greenery.
“Take them down and interrogate them one by one. Those who don’t tell the truth will be killed!”
The Tang soldiers rushed like wolves and tigers, grabbing these refugees and dragging them to both sides of the road. It was like slaughtering pigs, with cries of pain and despair filling the air.

In a short while, all the confessions were recorded. Most of these people were new recruits gathered from refugees who had fled the arid regions a month ago. Early in the morning, they saw chaos on the mountain, and many had fled. These people had originally come there to scavenge for food, so they also packed up and ran away. The mountain was in complete chaos, and no one knew exactly what had happened.

Li Fei Shouyu stepped forward and whispered, “Qilang, I’m worried there might be ambushes on both sides of the mountain path. We’d better be cautious.”

Li Qing’an waved his whip and ordered, “Send a few men up the side path to investigate. If they really have fled, set fire to the temple.”

Immediately, several Tang soldiers climbed up the mountain via the side path. Li Qing’an led the main force and waited patiently at the foot of the mountain. After about half an hour, a soldier suddenly pointed at the top of the mountain and shouted, “General, look! There’s thick smoke coming from the temple!”

A column of thick smoke rose from the temple on top of the mountain. “Up the mountain!” Li Qing’an ordered. The Tang soldiers dismounted and led their horses toward the top of the mountain.

There were no problems along the way. Just as the fugitives had said, the temple where Du Boyun and the others used to live was empty. Broken teacups and dishes were scattered everywhere, along with discarded books and letters. In their haste to flee, they hadn’t even had time to burn them.

Li Qing’an bent down to pick up a letter, gently brushing off the dirt on it. The envelope read, “To Brother Boyun,” and it was signed by Liu Ziming of Xuyi, who was now the governor of Sizhou.

Li Qing’an smiled. This Du Boyun wasn’t someone worth getting close to. Governor Liu should be thrown into prison and cry there.

He Yanming searched around and reported, “General, there isn’t a single valuable item left. We captured a hundred people, all of whom are unimportant. They don’t know where Du Boyun has gone.”

“Search more thoroughly and collect all the letters.”

At that moment, Nan Jiyun came over quickly and reported, “General, we found a family in the kitchen cellar.”

A few Tang soldiers pushed an old man with gray hair forward. “Good!” Li Qing’an sat down on a rock and said to the old man, “I don’t want to use torture. Tell me everything you know, and I’ll let you go!”

“Let my wife and daughter go too!”

Li Qing’an glanced at the two women crouched in the corner—a vieille woman and a young woman. Both were pale and very weak.

“Alright! We have an agreement.”

“Lord General, I’m from the Du family and have served them for decades. This time, worried about my wife and daughters, I brought them along when we went up the mountain, only for them to suffer through a nightmare-like ordeal. My heart is now cold—after all the effort I put in for the Du family, this is how I’m rewarded.”
“Just tell me what happened last night!” Li Qing’an interrupted him.
The old man sneered and said, “Last night, over a dozen people escaped back, saying that Du Lao San was caught in an ambush by the soldiers and killed by arrows. All the money and goods were seized by the Tang army. They said thousands of soldiers arrived. Du Lao Er was terrified and fled overnight with his valuables. Hmph! So-called King Jin Wei? I think he’s more of a cowardly weakling.”
Li Qing’an slowly stood up and asked, “Tell me, where did Du Boyun flee to? And where is Du Boseng hiding? If you tell me, I’ll give you 500 taels of silver to help you settle down in your old age.”
The old man lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying, “I don’t know where Du Boyun fled to, but I have some clues about where Du Boseng is.”
“Hurry up and tell me—where?”
“Most people know that the Du family is from Yangzhou. But few know that Du Boseng’s maternal uncle is from Qu’e County in Runzhou. I’m one of those few. Over a month ago, Du Boyun went to Runzhou and took a lot of money and goods with him. Lord General, you might as well investigate that direction.”
“Runzhou!”
Li Qing’an pondered for a moment before immediately standing up and ordering, “Leave fifty men behind to handle matters here. The rest of the troops, follow me to Runzhou!”