Jin Feng gazed at the river surface before him, his face betraying neither sorrow nor joy.
After several days on the road, he had completely calmed down.
Both sides of this stretch of river were sheer cliffs. Attacking from above was easy. One only needed to throw rocks.
Attacking upwards from below, whether with heavy crossbows or catapults, was extremely difficult.
“This place is indeed perfect for an ambush. Before passing through, why was no one sent up to scout?”
Jin Feng turned his head and asked.
“I am sorry, Sir. My intelligence work was inadequate.”
Yuan Caiwei replied with her head lowered.
She was the head of the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce in Jiangnan. After Tang Xiaobei arrived in Jiangnan, she felt that Old Cai, the leader of the Zhong Ming team, had limited ability. So she temporarily handed the position of Zhong Ming team leader to Yuan Caiwei as well.
Yuan Caiwei’s abilities were indeed strong. After taking over the Zhong Ming team, she cooperated very well with Tang Xiaobei.
Tang Xiaobei had even considered suggesting to Jin Feng that Yuan Caiwei continue concurrently as the Jiangnan Zhong Ming team leader.
Who would have thought that before Tang Xiaobei could return to Xihewan to see Jin Feng, such a major incident would occur.
Upon receiving the news, Yuan Caiwei rushed back from another region immediately. She sent people to search and rescue Tang Xiaobei while investigating the identity of the ambushers.
Today, upon learning that Jin Feng had come in person, she hurried to board the ship with her men.
Yuan Caiwei was among the first batch of female managers recruited by Tang Xiaobei. She had received training from Jin Feng in Guangyuan and was quite familiar with him. She knew very well that Jin Feng hated excuses.
If you made a mistake, admitting it proactively might still give you a chance to correct it. But if you made excuses, there would truly be no chance at all.
So even though Yuan Caiwei was in another city hundreds of li away when Tang Xiaobei was attacked, she did not shirk responsibility. She admitted her error outright.
In fact, the Zhenyuan Escort Agency had now made a name for itself in Jiangnan. Ordinary river bandits and robbers basically no longer dared to intercept the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce’s fleets or caravans.
Let alone the massive fleet of over a dozen large and small ships personally led by Tang Xiaobei.
This was clearly a premeditated, planned ambush targeting Tang Xiaobei.
Moreover, the perpetrators were not ordinary river bandits, but a large bandit group exceeding a thousand men.
Such a major operation could not possibly have no signs beforehand.
As the Zhong Ming team leader, Yuan Caiwei had failed to detect any intelligence in advance. She indeed bore inescapable responsibility.
“The most important thing now is to find Xiaobei first. Your responsibility can be discussed later!”
Jin Feng said, “I am not holding you accountable right now. I just want to know what happened at the time.”
“Yes!”
Yuan Caiwei quickly replied, “At that time, a ship ahead had crashed into the cliff. Goods were floating everywhere, making the river surface quite congested. Ships behind sent people to urge us forward. The brothers in charge of escorting wanted to pass quickly, so… they did not scout.”
“Then when our fleet passed through, we were ambushed, right?” Jin Feng asked.
“Yes.” Yuan Caiwei nodded.
“I understand.” Jin Feng nodded slightly.
To send people up the mountain to scout, the fleet would inevitably have to anchor and stop.
The cliffs on both sides were high and steep. Climbing up would take a long time.
With the river already congested, if Tang Xiaobei’s fleet stopped again, it would effectively block the entire waterway.
Urging from ships behind was also normal.
If the leading escort master harboured any luck, he might very well choose to pass quickly.
And then fall right into the enemy’s carefully laid trap.
“Sir, a surviving escort saw Madam Xiaobei remove the… life-saving bag from the ship before falling into the water. A Lan was with her too. Madam Xiaobei will certainly be fine.”
Yuan Caiwei offered consolation somewhat timidly.
The so-called life-saving bag was an inflated pig bladder.
Hearing Yuan Caiwei say this, Jin Feng felt a slight relief in his heart.
He knew Tang Xiaobei could not swim. Having the pig bladder greatly increased her chances of survival.
“How many brothers from the escort agency and the chamber perished?” Jin Feng asked.
“Quite a few,” Yuan Caiwei’s tone grew sombre. “Forty percent of the escort agency’s brothers perished. Over half from the chamber. All the grain from the dozen-plus ships sank to the river bottom.”
Jin Feng’s eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this. “Have you found out who did it?”
“Yes. The leaders were a group of river bandits active near the Mangdang River. They also rallied three smaller bandit groups, totalling around two thousand men.”
“Mangdang River bandits?” Jin Feng frowned and asked. “What is their background? Who is behind them?”
River bandits in Jiangnan were equivalent to mountain bandits in Chuanshu. Almost every large bandit group had local gentry support behind them. Otherwise, they would soon face encirclement and suppression by government troops.
“The Mangdang River bandits are backed by a prominent local family named Liu,” Yuan Caiwei said. “However, I believe this incident may have nothing to do with the Liu family.”
“Why?” Jin Feng countered.
“After the Mangdang River bandits carried out this attack, their first action was to exterminate the entire Liu family, then flee by boat. They even abandoned their lair.”
Yuan Caiwei explained, “There should be a larger conspiracy behind this. But I have not yet found out who exactly instigated the bandits.”
“They fled?” Jin Feng asked. “Where did they go?”
“After the incident, I sent people in pursuit. But we chased all the way to the sea outlet without catching them.”
Yuan Caiwei said, “It seems they have escaped to the sea to become pirates.”
“Keep investigating. Even if we have to chase to the ends of the earth, I want them caught!”
Jin Feng said with narrowed eyes.
In open confrontation, Jin Feng, who had already established the Zhenyuan Army, feared no one.
Enemies hiding in the shadows were the most troublesome.
No one knew when they might strike.
This time it targeted Tang Xiaobei. Next time it could be Guan Xiaorou, or perhaps Tang Dongdong.
One could be a thief for a thousand days, but one could not guard against a thief for a thousand days.
So even to the ends of the earth, Jin Feng would find the Mangdang River bandits and make them reveal who the mastermind was.
“Yes!” Yuan Caiwei nodded.
“Also, hurry to search for Xiaobei’s whereabouts.”
“I have already mobilised people from various places. They are now searching along the riverbanks.”
Yuan Caiwei said, “Madam Xiaobei is blessed with great fortune. She will certainly be fine.”
Just as her words fell, a sharp whistling sound rose from the shore.
Jin Feng turned to look and saw an escort master on the bank waving frantically below a signal arrow.
Without needing Jin Feng’s order, Da Liu quickly sent a small boat to fetch the man aboard.
“Sir, good news!”
The escort shouted as soon as he boarded. “There is news of Madam Xiaobei.”
Though Jin Feng’s face remained calm, he was still extremely worried about Tang Xiaobei in his heart.
Grabbing the escort’s arm, he asked anxiously, “Is Xiaobei all right?”
“Madam Xiaobei and Miss A Lan are both fine. They were rescued. They are now hurrying this way and will arrive in about one hour.”
The escort said excitedly, “As soon as I got the news, I came ahead to report.”
“Great!”
Jin Feng could not help clenching his fist.
This was indeed the best news in recent days.
