Chapter 110: Attacking from Afar

At that moment, a guard reported, “Young Lord, Envoy Liu has brought Li Qing’an here.”
“Oh! Have them come in at once.”
A moment later, Liu Changyun led Li Qing’an into the room. Li Qiu greeted him with a laugh, “General Li, long time no see!”
Li Qing’an smiled and bowed. “I met many old friends in the Jiangnan region these past days, which made me realize how small the world really is.”
“Did General Li meet anyone else from the capital?”
“Nothing much. I just ran into Cui Ping, my former colleague, in Xuyi County, Si Zhou, which gave me some thoughts.”
“Come! Please, General Li, have a seat.”
Li Qiu had already prepared a full table of dishes. He poured a cup of wine for Li Qing’an and raised it, saying with a smile, “Let’s drink to our meeting in Yangzhou.”
“Let’s drink!” Everyone raised their cups and drank them in one gulp.
After eating a few bites, Li Qiu asked concerningly, “General Li, I heard you were attacked and injured when you first arrived in Yangzhou. Are you alright?”
Li Qing’an held up his cup. “It was just a minor cut; not really an injury. But that attempt on my life was quite strange.”
“How strange?”
“There were no signs before it happened, and after it occurred, the attacker disappeared without a trace. It’s been almost a month now, and nothing more has happened—it’s as if it was just a dream.”
Li Qiu drained his cup and said, “General Li, I might as well tell you the truth. We’ve already figured out who tried to assassinate you.”
“Who is it?”
Li Qiu didn’t answer. He smiled slightly and asked in return, “Then can General Li tell me if you’ve caught Du Boseng?”
The atmosphere at the table suddenly became tense. Even Yan Kai hadn’t expected Li Qiu to ask so bluntly. He exchanged a glance with Liu Changyun, both showing a hint of embarrassment.
Li Qing’an held his cup, deep in thought, before finally sighing softly. “The Lord is truly formidable!”
Li Qiu perked up and pressed further, “Could it be that General Li has indeed caught him?”
Li Qing’an shook his head. “Since we’re already at this point, there’s no need for me to hide anything. Yes, I received information that Du Boseng might be hiding in Qu’a County, Runzhou. I rushed south day and night, but by the time I arrived in Qu’a County, it was too late—Du Boseng had already fled. His uncle, Mei Fanghe, flatly denied knowing where he was, which is extremely disappointing.”
Li Qiu stared at Li Qing’an for a long time, feeling deeply disheartened. With Du Boseng now on the run, it would be very difficult to catch him again.

At that moment, Yan Kai suddenly asked, “Since Du Boseng fled in a hurry, his valuables and documents should still be there, right?”
“Yes! General Li, have you obtained the Du family’s valuables and documents?”
Before leaving, Li Qiu had been repeatedly instructed by his father to retrieve his gold at all costs and destroy those records of illegal salt trafficking. These two matters kept Prince Qing Li Cong awake at night and troubled his peace of mind.
He looked at Li Qingan full of hope, but to his surprise, Li Qingan shook his head. “Since I couldn’t find Du Boseng, I have no proof to claim that the Mei family’s vast wealth belongs to the Du family. Forget it. I achieved a great victory at Duliang Mountain, but failed miserably in Qu’a County.”
With that, he took out a list and handed it to Li Qiu, saying, “I’ve handed over some of the money seized at Duliang Mountain to the Yangzhou authorities. Here’s the list; please take a look, Your Highness.”
Li Qiu quickly took it and examined it carefully. It listed various gold, silver, and jewels, but everything was written very vaguely, with no mention of 100,000 taels of gold. Anxious to ask, he couldn’t bring himself to speak up, so he could only sigh and say, “Thank you, General Li, for being so honest.”
Li Qingan smiled and asked, “Then who tried to assassinate me…”
“We suspect it might be related to the Yangzhou Military Governor’s office.”
…
In Chang’an, a carriage slowly stopped beside Li Linfu’s residence. Two attendants helped the obese Prince Qing Li Cong out of the carriage, and Li Linfu, who had been waiting on the steps, went to greet him.
“Your Highness coming in person—your humble servant isn’t worthy of such honor.”
“I have a request, so I dare to come to you despite my lowly status.”
Li Linfu quickly invited Li Cong into his house. The two entered the study and sat down, with maids bringing them two cups of fragrant tea.
“Prime Minister, I’ve come to ask for your help regarding Yangzhou.”
Li Cong got straight to the point. Li Linfu looked puzzled. “Yangzhou? What happened there, Your Highness?”
Li Cong sneered inwardly but forced a smile. “Prime Minister should be aware—it’s about that salt smuggler, Du Boseng. My son Li Qiu has already gone to Yangzhou.”
“Oh!” Li Linfu seemed to suddenly understand and quickly said, “Wasn’t that matter already resolved? Gao Lishi has already approved it on behalf of the emperor, so it’s temporarily put on hold.”
“Alas! Prime Minister Li may not know, but the matter isn’t resolved. Recent developments have stirred things up again. Li Qingan has been appointed as the military commander of Jiangdu, stirring up more chaos.”

“Li Qing’an?” Li Linfu snorted heavily. “I detest this man deeply. He’s just a minor fourth-rank general who, relying on Gao Lishi’s backing, tries to wreak havoc in the capital. During the fire in the East Market on New Year’s Eve last year, I was responsible for inspecting the barracks, so I advised the emperor to dismiss him. Yet he harbored resentment and spoke ill of me several times in front of Gao Lishi, showing no understanding of the complexities of officialdom. Now he’s causing trouble again in Yangzhou. It seems we must make him suffer a bit—otherwise, he won’t learn how to behave properly!”
Li Cong also disliked Li Qing’an greatly, but since it was first recommended by his advisor Yan Kai and then praised by his son Li Qiu, he wavered and hesitated between accepting or rejecting him. If Li Linfu had praised Li Qing’an for his youth and talent, he might have decided to bring him into his camp. But Li Linfu angrily condemned Li Qing’an for being ungrateful, which undoubtedly added weight to Li Cong’s decision against him. Bringing Li Qing’an in would mean offending Li Linfu, a costly mistake. At that moment, he firmly closed the door to Li Qing’an in his heart.
“Prime Minister, I also dislike Li Qing’an. Leaving him aside, Prime Minister, the matter in Yangzhou is indeed related to me. My son Li Qiu is still young and inexperienced; he was exploited by the salt smuggler Du Bosheng and involved in selling illegal salt several times. With the salt scandal in Yangzhou breaking out, my son is likely to be implicated, and perhaps even I will be drawn in. That’s why I’ve come to beg you to help me conceal this from the emperor.”
As he spoke, Li Cong tried to stand up to bow, but Li Linfu quickly helped him sit down. “Your Highness, please don’t overdo it. Sit down quickly!”
Seeing Li Linfu remain silent, Li Cong took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of his eyes. “I have only this one son. He’s young and inexperienced, which led to such a grave mistake. I implore you, out of consideration for me, to give my son a chance to reform.”
Li Linfu sighed. “Your Highness, of course I’m willing to help you. But Du Bosheng has been smuggling salt for a long time, evading 200,000 guan in salt taxes—a huge amount. We need to find someone to take the blame so that I can free you from guilt.”
“What do you mean, Prime Minister Li…”
“If he’s been smuggling salt for so long, how could the Transport Commissioner Liu Changyun remain untouched? To free you from blame, we must have him take the fall.”
Li Cong lowered his head in silence. Liu Changyun was his confidant, bringing him great benefits and maintaining a close relationship with him. He simply couldn’t bring himself to do that.
Li Linfu glanced at him and said calmly, “If you’re in trouble, just consider I didn’t say anything tonight.”
“Very well!”
Li Cong sighed deeply. “I’ll do as Prime Minister Li suggests.”

Yangzhou is separated from Runzhou by just a river; crossing it brings one to Runzhou’s territory. Two days later, news of what happened in Pingdu Town and Qu’a County reached Yangzhou. The Du Bosheng case, which had been quiet for months, saw some stir again, but the smuggler Du Bosheng remained missing, adding to the mystery of the case.

Li Qing’an’s efforts to suppress bandits in Duliangshan and his pursuit in Qu’a were not carried out in secret. As time passed, many details of these operations came to light. Both Li Qiu and Lu Huan, based on various clues, concluded that Li Qing’an was likely to have captured Du Bosheng, but there was no evidence, and Li Qing’an himself denied it outright. Before long, he led his troops out for training again, leaving the two groups hanging in uncertainty. His ambiguous attitude truly worried Li Qiu and Lu Huan.

Although the situation in Yangzhou remained calm on the surface, beneath it, turbulent currents were at work. Both groups were gearing up, waiting for their final confrontation.

That late night, the moon was absent, and the darkness was profound. Early spring mist covered the streets of Jiangdu, making it impossible to see anyone more than a dozen steps away. The prefecture’s warehouse was about a hundred steps from the government office, located in an alley. Four officials were on duty each night to guard the warehouse’s security. But these past two days, due to the huge amount of wealth stored there belonging to the Du family, the government had increased the number of guards to twenty.

At the third watch of the night, the streets of Jiangdu were utterly silent.

“Bang! Bang bang! It’s dry and flammable—be careful with fire.”

Only the sound of the night watchman echoed in the streets. Suddenly, several dark figures appeared dozens of steps away from the warehouse, observing the movements at the warehouse door.

After a while, someone threw a stone in their direction, signaling that there was no one at the warehouse entrance. A tall dark figure gave a signal, and nearly a hundred more dark figures rushed over from a distance.

“Listen up, the goods are in Warehouse No. 3A—the innermost room on the left side right after entering the gate. Act quickly and ruthlessly. Anyone who tries to stop you must be killed. Once we have the goods, we evacuate immediately.”

At that moment, a low dog bark came from the warehouse—it was the signal. “Go!”

At that command, nearly a hundred dark figures rushed toward the warehouse. They were all agile and moved swiftly, reaching the warehouse door in moments. Since the door was locked from the inside, they didn’t enter but quickly built seven or eight ladders to climb over the wall.

Suddenly, shouts erupted in the courtyard, “Thieves! There are thieves—ah!”

The shouts turned into a scream before stopping. Soon after, there were sounds of fighting and cries for help, “Someone help! Thieves are robbing the government warehouse!”

The twenty yamen guards were no match for the men in black. They fought their way back, being forced into a large warehouse, where the men in black locked them inside.
The warehouse storing the Du family’s money and belongings was forced open; it was filled with boxes of various sizes, all sealed with official stamps. “Hurry! Everyone, start carrying them away!”
Nearly a hundred figures moved with great speed. They carried boxes and baskets, and in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they had moved most of the goods from the warehouse.
The main door opened, and as footsteps faded away, the hundred-plus figures disappeared quickly into the dark night.