Liu Xiantian was the Assistant Prefectural Magistrate, a higher rank than most prefectural officials. He was a third-rank court official, and Yang Fan's rank as a loyal general was half a rank lower than his. Although Yang Fan, Chen Dong, Hu Yuanli, and the others were all imperial envoys, and even if he wanted to curry favor with them, there was no reason for him to greet them as a high-ranking official. Moreover, those who could become the Chang 'an prefectural magistrate were also the emperor's trusted aides. There was no need for him to curry favor with them.
Therefore, Liu Xiantian couldn't take the initiative to greet them. However, according to Liu Xiantian's estimation, it wouldn't be strange if they came this afternoon or tomorrow. After all, he didn't welcome them when they first arrived in Chang 'an. Although that was due to the Lord of Hanoi's interference, he was the one who was rude first.
Now that Chen Dong and Hu Yuanli had come together early in the morning, Liu Guitian was a little overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. He hurriedly went out to personally welcome them and invited them into the study. After exchanging auspicious words of congratulations for the new year, Chen Dong's expression turned serious and he took out a travel book.
Liu Xiantian took the travel book and opened it. He was so angry that his nose almost became crooked. How could people celebrate the new year? You were sent here by the emperor with no relatives, nothing to do, and nowhere to go. We have a bunch of friends, relatives, and colleagues to visit.
Liu Xiantian opened the book and said with a troubled expression, "Hu Qianxian, Chen Xuanlang, both of you are dedicated and diligent. I admire you very much. However, on the day of the new year, the whole country is celebrating. Isn't it a little unreasonable to put people in jail at this time?"
Chen Dong said solemnly, "Prefectural Magistrate, you are wrong. We have come to Chang 'an to rectify law and order and clean up the government. We are in fear and trepidation and don't dare to slack off for even a day. Over the past month or so, we've already caught a lot of criminals. However, most of their leaders have escaped the net.
The reason for this is that these people have been operating for many years. A cunning rabbit has three burrows. Coupled with the fact that they value profits highly, some government officials acted as their eyes and ears and escaped in advance. If we don't capture these people, we won't be able to deter the thieves and evildoers, and we won't be able to truly ensure long-term peace in Chang 'an! "
Liu Xiantian said, "Chen Xuanlang's words make sense, but we don't have to arrest criminals on the first day of the new year."
Hu Yuanli stroked his beard and smiled, "Prefectural Magistrate Liu, the government seals the new year and all business stops. This is also the time when the criminals are the most careless. Plus, who doesn't want to reunite with their family during the new year? These criminals may take advantage of the government's break to return home for the new year and come. "
Liu Biantian still tried to shirk the responsibility. "That's true, but it's too late. Now that the government has been sealed, all the officials are on leave. Other than the ones on duty during the New Year, there's no one else available in the Chang 'an government. I'm afraid we won't be able to catch criminals and thieves."
Hu Yuanli said: "Master Liu need not worry about this. Today, the Thousand Horsemen Battalion is stationed in Chang 'an, and the loyal general of the Thousand Horsemen Battalion, Yang Fan, is personally appointed by the Emperor as the Investigating and Punishing Officials. His assistance in apprehending the bandits is within General Yang's responsibility!"
Liu Xiantian was surprised, "General Yang has such an appointment? How come I know nothing about it?"
Chen Dong's mouth twitched. "It's a long story. I'll explain it to you later. For now, I hope you can transfer as many officials as you can to help us. We are not familiar with the situation in Chang 'an."
Yang Fan did have an appointment as Magistrate Investigating Magistrate. When Wu Zetian appointed him, she didn't add the word "Luoyang" in front of it. In fact, even without the word, his authority was limited to Luoyang because he was also the Commander of the Cavalry and needed to stay by the Emperor's side. How could he be sent to other places to investigate?
But coincidentally, the relocation of the capital happened. Yang Fan, the commander of the imperial guards, was sent to Chang 'an. His position as Magistrate was still there. This was worth considering. Should his position as Magistrate Investigating Magistrate be transferred? Since he wasn't limited to Luoyang, wouldn't it be reasonable for him to be in charge of Chang 'an?
This might be a loophole in the appointment of an official, but Yang Fan took advantage of this loophole and intervened confidently. Moreover, this was likely the Emperor's intention. Without this authority, his Thousand Cavalry Battalion and Wu Yizong's Golden Guards would mind their own business. How could he restrict them?
He didn't even need to provide patrol officers. He only needed to ask for some officials familiar with Chang 'an's geography to cooperate with their arrest operations. How could Liu Xiantian avoid it? He could only summon all the officials he could find to the magistrate's office. Ignoring their complaints, he left them to Chen Dong and Hu Yuanli to deal with.
Hu Yuanli and Chen Dong immediately arranged for these people to lead the soldiers of the Thousand Cavalry Battalion through the streets and alleys, squatting in the pits and waiting to catch the fish that slipped through the net.
…
In Ba's previous fight, both sides suffered casualties and quickly entered a stalemate. The leaders of both sides knew that they were evenly matched. Even if all their men fought, there would still be no winner. Moreover, it would be meaningless to decide the winner then.
However, there was one thing that neither of them knew, and that was that this evenly matched situation had been deliberately facilitated by someone else. At this time, they began to feel that the strategy of "capturing the leader and beheading the leader" might be the most effective way to resolve the dispute.
The ordinary gang members actually cared most about whether they had food to eat. As for who owned the boats and whose flag they were flying, they didn't care. Otherwise, Li Hei wouldn't have been able to smoothly merge the two thousand men of the Flood Dragon Sect into the Shun Sect after decisively killing a few dissenting stewards.
If they wanted to win now, it seemed that they had to use the same method. As long as they killed the leader, the rest would be scattered. After both sides realized this, assassinations began to appear one after another.
Third Brother, the leader of the Circle Sect, was the first to suffer. One of the bodyguards he hired was killed and the other was disabled. He himself lost his life in the ambush. Then, Sheng Long, the leader of the Cao Fist of the Life League, was assassinated. Wei Yongtang of the Sky Eagle Sect was assassinated. He luckily escaped with his life, but he was also seriously injured.
The series of assassinations caused the leaders of both sides to feel insecure. They had to be escorted when they went in and out, and they had to be heavily guarded. There were very few pedestrians on the streets. The strange calm was brewing an even bigger storm. The whole of Ba had lost the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival. There was only a chill, a bone-piercing chill.
Everything that happened on Ba was not noticed by anyone in Chang 'an City, which was very close to them. Although the massive crackdown on the Spring Festival led by Chen Dong and Hu Yuanli had attracted most of the attention and energy of the Chang' an officials, the main reason was that the government had always ignored the special group of Ba's Cao Men.
It had always been like this. Regardless of whether it was the Imperial Court or the local governments, they all knew the importance of the Cao River, and they all knew the importance of the transportation. However, in this process, the only thing they overlooked was the use of people. They overlooked those who braved the winds and waves, drove the boats, passed through the Cao River, and transported the grain to the capital.
Because of the importance of the Cao River, the imperial court would allocate special funds to dredge the river and build dams and gates. Because of the importance of the Cao Transport, there were special officials for the Cao Transport. They had formulated detailed rules for every step from the collection of grain to the transportation and storage.
However, during this process, no one mentioned those water laborers. Perhaps it was because they knew that these water laborers had relied on this line of work for generations. They did not have to worry about them slacking off, nor did they have to worry about them fleeing. That was why they overlooked their existence.
Therefore, the Ba, where the Cao Men gathered, and Chang 'an City, which was very close to them, could only hear each other. Even if some people in the city knew something about it, they would turn a deaf ear to it because it had nothing to do with them and because of the barbaric and bloody nature of Ba.
But this kind of isolation and independence was not absolute, especially for the leaders of the gangs. They could think of using the Cao Men as a middleman and bribe the officials to work for them. How could they not think of using the government at this time?
The leaders of the Five Elements Association, the Circle Sect, the Taiping Gang, and the other Western Alliance gathered together. Qin Zeyuan said in the name of the founder, "The Lantern Festival is coming soon. Once it's over, we have to make arrangements for Yangzhou. But if we don't solve the problem here, how can we go? I think that the only way to break the current situation is to ask the government for help! "
The leader of the Taiping Gang, Yuan Zhiheng, frowned. "I'm afraid that will be difficult. Those officials are all people who turn their backs on us. We promise them benefits, and they provide us with convenience. This is a business, not a friendship. If we want them to go into battle for us, it's impossible! "
Sitting next to him was the son of the Third Master. The Third Master had been assassinated, and he had just become the leader of the gang. He was still wearing mourning clothes. Although he had to avenge his father, he was not a reckless person. He said, "Leader Yuan is right. Besides, it's not like they don't have officials behind them. I heard that the Qiao Family is from the Dugu Family?"
Qin Zeyuan said, "I've already asked around. Although the Dugu Family used to be a rich and powerful family in Guanlong, it's not what it used to be. The Dugu Family lost their power in the court, so they turned to the industry and commerce for profit. Don't be scared by the so-called reputation of the Dugu Family.
Those officials have been feeding us for so long, shouldn't they do something for us? They don't care about us, but they care about their authority being challenged by others. So if we want them to help us … You two are smart people, I don't think I need to make it clearer, do I? "
The two hesitated for a moment, looked at each other, and nodded slowly. "We'll do as you say, Sir!"
At the same time, the leaders of the Shun Faction, the Life League, and the Three River Gang were also discussing countermeasures. The two sides were already incompatible as fire and water, but when the warm spring came and the flowers bloomed, both sides would have to make a living on the same river. If the dispute could not be resolved on the Ba River and then extended to the water, then the loss would be too great.
They had forgotten the reason why things had come to this point. They couldn't remember how they got into conflict with other gangs, or how they formed an alliance with the Shun Faction. They only knew that they were in a difficult situation now. If they didn't solve the dispute as soon as possible, they would be like farmers who missed the sowing in early spring. They wouldn't have a harvest for the whole year.
"In for a penny, in for a pound. Let's just tear down their hall!" The one who spoke was Qiao Mu. The sick lion of the past was now strong and strong, and he also showed his sharp fangs.
Huang Yunshan raised his eyelids and looked at him seriously. He said, "Brother Qiao, what's your good plan?"
Qiao Mu said, "We can't fight anymore. It's too damaging for us to kill a thousand enemies. I think we should use the power of the government to suppress them!"
Huang Yunshan was slightly stunned. He hesitated and shook his head. "No. Although you successfully sent Wenbin to prison, that's because the Flood Dragon Society has fallen and their background is not strong enough. In fact, there are many powerful people in the city, and many of them may not be willing to give in to the Dugu family.
Our current opponents are rich and powerful, far more powerful than the Flood Dragon Union. Their backers are all influential bigwigs in Chang 'an. If we can get the government to help, so can they. By then, both of us will be meat on the chopping block, and the result will no longer be up to us. "
Qiao Mu smiled and said, "Senior Huang, you are well-informed, and you know everything about the Dugu family. However, what Senior Huang said is right, but the situation is a little different now."
Huang Yunshan raised his eyebrows and said, "What's different?"
Gan Qianhui of the Life League also widened his eyes and listened carefully.
Qiao Mu said, "As both of you know, the helmsman of our Shun School's Caokou is Dugu Wentao, he is a member of the Dugu family. He has a cousin, his name is Dugu Huizhi, currently the imperial army's Yulin Guard's Thousand Cavalry Battalion, holding the position of Minister General. Now, this commander is in Chang 'an. He is here because … the emperor is about to move the capital! "
This news was a little shocking to Huang Yunshan and Gan Qianhui. They did know that a large number of officials and an imperial army came to the capital, but they didn't know the purpose of their visit. They heard that some officials from the Ministry of Works came to Chang 'an to dredge the river. They inquired about the details to see if there was any profit to be made. They didn't expect to hear such news from Qiao Mu.
Even if those aristocratic families had declined, the official news was still far better than them. Since Qiao Mu said that this news came from the Dugu family, it should be true. The two almost simultaneously thought that after the emperor moved the capital, the water transport in Chang 'an would be more prosperous. They were happy at first, but then they thought of the current stalemate and couldn't help but frown.
Qiao Mu said in a low voice, "This group of people is not only from the imperial army, but also from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue. There are also a group of officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate. Think about it, what are the officials from the Ministry of Justice coming to Chang 'an for?"
With Qiao Mu's description, a clear picture of the situation slowly unfolded in front of Huang Yunshan and Gan Qianhui: The emperor was going to move the capital, but she had been away from Chang 'an for 20 years. Of course, she needed to renovate Chang' an first.
Therefore, she sent the Ministry of Revenue to investigate the people's livelihood and census, the Ministry of Works to repair the palace, bridges and roads, and the Ministry of Justice to arrest those who broke the law. Then what were the Censorate's Censorate doing?
Around the emperor, there were also differences between close and distant relatives. Now that the emperor was going to move the capital back to Chang 'an, what about these close people? Of course, someone in Chang 'an had to make room for them. The corrupt and mediocre officials had to be purged, and the officials the emperor didn't trust had to be driven away. The Censorate was here to pick a fight.
Now the situation on Ba was changing, and the city of Chang 'an was in a storm. The Chang' an officialdom was facing a situation of reshuffling. The officials we had made friends with over the years might be transferred to distant places in the next moment. In that case, why not let them do something for us in the end? Don't they want to make a profit before they step down?
Huang Yunshan and Gan Qianhui understood Qiao Mu's words very well, but it couldn't dispel their doubts.
When Qiao Mu finished, Gan Qianhui said, "If that's the case, we don't have to worry that they won't be used by us. But if we can do it, so can our opponents. How can you be sure that if we let the officials get involved in our fight, we will be the winner?"
Qiao Mu said, "As I said just now, Dugu Huizhi is the commander of the Thousand Horsemen Battalion. And the commander of the Thousand Horsemen Battalion, Yang Fan, has a close personal relationship with the officials of the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate stationed in Chang 'an. So, who do you think will win this battle?"
Huang Yunshan and Gan Qianhui looked at each other and nodded in unison!
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