Chapter 27

Yu Feng and Song Ji led their subordinates, who had participated in the plunder, to defect.

Although he had prepared a hiding place in advance, it was not a long-term solution.

Some of them wanted to escape to Western Xia, as they were different from the bandits on the border. They were civilians in the villages and bandits outside, causing little harm, and since they were robbing each other, the court turned a blind eye.

They were soldiers with strong combat capabilities and sharp weapons, so they posed a significant threat, and the authorities were strict in pursuing them.

However, only a few wanted to escape to Western Xia, as their families were still in the rear.

Most wanted to escape to the rear, even if it meant becoming bandits and occupying a mountain.

Song Ji used the pretext of avenging Meng Dutou to gather over a hundred subordinates. In reality, he had a plan to join Western Xia.

As long as the border was in chaos, there would be countless opportunities.

Moreover, the court was about to change the garrison. The Zhenwu Camp had suffered a setback, and the morale of the troops was somewhat low.

Decades ago, two scholars from Huazhou, Shaanxi, surnamed Zhang and Hu, went to Western Xia and changed their names to Zhang Yuan and Wu Hao, and wrote, "Zhang Yuan and Wu Hao came to drink here."

Yuan, the beginning of a new era, and Hao, the sun in the sky.

Together, it meant that a new sun would soon rise in Western Xia, marking a new era.

But they said Wu Hao.

Li Yuanhao was extremely angry and had them arrested and questioned, thus entering Yuanhao's field of vision. However, they were indeed capable, and Zhang Yuan eventually became a grand tutor. Unfortunately, Zhang Yuan's dream was to assist Yuanhao in taking over the entire Shaanxi, so he could return to his hometown with honor. However, Yuanhao, who had changed his name to Nangxiao (meaning "Blue Sky" in Chinese), did not listen to his advice and fell out with the Liao Kingdom. Zhang Yuan, in a fit of anger, died of a carbuncle on his back. Otherwise, he might still be influencing Western Xia.

Song Ji also wanted to be like Zhang Yuan.

However, he could not match Zhang Yuan, and even if he joined Western Xia, he might not be heavily favored. But this plan was an opportunity. As long as the Song border was in chaos and the main force, the Zhenwu Camp, lacked morale, they could act as insiders and collude with the Western Xia to invade Yan Prefecture. With such merit, he could go to Western Xia and exchange it for glory and wealth.

In fact, the mountainous area was seeing more and more feuds, many of which were related to them.

Just as they were about to succeed, a large number of Western Xia people suddenly flooded in, including soldiers and civilians. They were not looking for treasure but for them, saying that finding them would lead to the treasure.

This was the Xiantian area, and the Song troops could do nothing about it. With a large number of Western Xia people, including the Song's most hated Qingsheng Army, the local tribes immediately fled. At this point, Cheng Kan saw the benefits and immediately withdrew the troops, strengthening the defenses at each fort.

They arrived just in time, before the feuds could spread on a large scale, which would have caused Cheng Kan a headache.

However, Yu Feng and Song Ji were in a dire situation.

The weather was getting colder, the frost thicker, and the mountains gradually became barren.

Song Ji took a risk and sent someone to contact the Western Xia army across the river. Invade the Song? At this time, the Western Xia was in turmoil, with Miang Epeng and the young emperor fighting for power. Who would want to invade the Song? That would be suicide.

Not only did they not agree, but they also subjected him to severe torture, demanding to know the location of the treasure. Where was the treasure? However, over the years, Yu Feng and his men had indeed accumulated a lot of wealth. Through this person's confession, the Western Xia army found the manor where Yu Feng and his men were hiding and launched an attack.

Fortunately, with Song Ji's planning, half of them managed to escape.

Western Xia was no longer an option. Song Ji secretly gathered the seven leaders to discuss. They were the leaders and had received the most money. As for the small soldiers who had acted as accomplices, how much money and silk could they share? Some had already spent it all on drinking, gambling, and prostitution, and their families had not benefited.

Should they really return and become bandits?

After a discussion, the leaders quietly fled. They had accumulated a lot of money over the years, and if they were smart, there were many places in the world where they could settle. But the small soldiers were stunned.

Dozens of them stared at each other, and then scattered in a panic.

They split into several groups, some heading south, some northeast, and some to the Luliang Mountains.

Without Song Ji's planning, the Yan Prefecture checkpoints and patrolling soldiers quickly caught many of them.

The Black Bee Bandits were defeated so thoroughly that even Cheng Kan was taken aback.

Yan Prefecture was overjoyed, and Zhu Huan was also happy at first, but then became furious.

He sent a trusted servant to the Jingzhao Prefecture's Qinglong Temple to take out the engagement letter for his second son and the Zhao family's fourth daughter, and asked the abbot to divine. The abbot was puzzled, wondering why a marriage in Yan Prefecture was being divined in Chang'an. Nevertheless, he did it for the Zhu family and simply answered with three words: "Upper and lower."

Not the best, but still an upper sign.

The servant, fearing a mistake, spent a large sum of money to consult a high-ranking monk at the famous Daci'en Temple, and received a similar answer.

It should still be a fairly well-matched marriage.

But why did the Daoist Baiyun say that the Zhao family's fourth daughter would harm his son?

Zhu Huan was first angry, then afraid.

If he had not restrained himself and impulsively broken off the engagement, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

At this point, even if the people of Yan Prefecture considered Baiyun a god, Zhu Huan knew something was amiss.

He was a well-known merchant in Yan Prefecture and had done some good deeds, but he was also a private salt trader. Otherwise, he would not have admired Wang Ju.

Slamming the table a few times, he called an old servant: "Find some good hands and bind that Baiyun, and interrogate who instructed him to sabotage my marriage with the Zhao family."

"This might not be a good idea."

"What's not good? Do you want this person to turn around and bite me in the future?"

"Understood."

Kidnapping a famous Daoist quietly was not easy, but with determination and money, it could be done. In fact, Zhu Huan already had a few suspects in mind.

But he changed his mind and, a few days later, hurriedly went to Wang's village.

Wang Ju was surprised: "Sir, why are you here?"

"The Black Bee Bandits have been defeated," Zhu Huan explained the details.

"Yay!" Wang Ju cheered, as these bandits had been a thorn in his side.

"Brother, don't be too happy yet."

"What happened?"

"Yu Feng and Song Ji have disappeared, and their subordinates have scattered. Eight of them were discovered by patrolling soldiers, and four were killed, while the other four were taken to Yan Prefecture for questioning. One of them participated in the battle at Heiao Ridge and, under torture, provided a clue. They lost mysteriously that day, but this person later recalled some details. The weapons you used that day were ordinary bows and arrows, and even the knives were simple. Clearly, it was not a deliberate ambush, as the weapons were too primitive. And there didn't seem to be many people, otherwise none of them would have escaped."

"Ah."

"But this clue was useful to Cheng Gong. He had always thought that such a fierce battle was a trap set by private merchants who hated the Black Bee Bandits, so he had no leads. If it was an encounter, it would be easier to investigate, as it would not target all the major households, but only one or a few."

Is it never-ending?

Wang Ju carefully recalled and suddenly realized. The court had sent Xue Xiang to serve as the transport commissioner, with the main task of overseeing salt policy and blocking Qing salt.

Cheng Kan's move was still a warning.

"Cheng Gong quickly investigated and found that only four or five households had goods in the Cangdi River area that day. However, our goods followed your advice and took the Caoping Creek route, and the timing was wrong, so he suspected Li Yuanwai, the father of Li Wan yuan. Li Yuanwai, unwilling to comply, was presented with evidence of his family's involvement in private salt trading. Regardless of whether they did it, these were capital offenses. Li Yuanwai had to offer 5,000 guan to support the state school."

This tea was expensive.

Cheng Kan still refused, saying, "Would I be greedy for your 5,000 guan?"

He continued to invite Li Yuanwai for tea.

This made the major households in Yan Prefecture uneasy. Who had not been involved in private trade?

Zhu Huan was the most worried.

So he secretly planned with everyone, saying, "Let's all contribute some money to buy peace." This was not a small amount, but with ten households, it was a substantial sum, totaling over 20,000 guan.

Zhu Huan also presented the horse-buying strategy.

In the past, when the two countries traded, Western Xia would bring 2,000 horses and 10,000 sheep each year. But these were the smaller Zubo horses and Khitan Jianshan horses.

This time, the trade involved genuine Western Xia horses, even those from the Beihetao region of the Yin Mountains.

The best horses in the Song Dynasty were from the Fuzhou and Lan Prefecture regions, which belonged to the Beihetao horses.

Not the Tibetan horses, as the Qinghai Lake region had deteriorated, and the horses, like the people, had migrated east of the Red Ridge. The horses were not as tall as the Tibetan horses of the Tang Dynasty, and their explosive power and speed were not as good as the Beihetao horses. Perhaps in the future, the Hequ horses would appear, but not yet.

Certainly not the small Yunnan horses from the south.

The Khitan horses were also not suitable. In fact, the Khitan horses were Mongolian horses, but the Song Dynasty had no ambition to launch a long-distance expedition to the north, so they overlooked their endurance and cold resistance, as well as their ability to travel long distances.

So the scholars said the best horses were the Fuzhou horses, which were actually the Beihetao horses, but the best Beihetao horses were still in the Beihetao region of the Yin Mountains.

Zhu Huan even successfully negotiated with the Yeli tribe in the Changcheng Ridge.

This was not a horse trade, but would give the Song Dynasty many operational options. Think of Zhong Shiheng.

Cheng Kan personally met with Zhu Huan and praised him, but said, "It has nothing to do with your family, but we still need to investigate."