Actually, Jin Feng did not just happen to pass through Suizhou. He had been out of contact with Jinchuan and Xichuan for too long, so he deliberately took a detour to stop by Suizhou.
If something happened, Xiaoyu would surely send messages to these branch points he might pass through.
The female manager’s reaction now proved exactly that.
“Jinchuan is in big trouble!”
While speaking, the female manager took several letters from her bosom. “Master, these are the letters we received recently!”
The letters had been kept close to her body and still carried her warmth. With Jin Feng’s usual reserved nature, he would normally feel too embarrassed to take them directly.
But at this moment he no longer cared. Before Tang Xiaobei could reach out, he snatched the envelopes.
He quickly scanned all the incoming letters, and his face turned livid with anger.
The letters had all arrived in the past few days. They not only mentioned Xie Xiguang and Cai Liuyang, but also described the recent bandit troubles in Jinchuan!
“Brother Liang has already wiped out all the bandits in the entire Guangyuan area. How could there still be so many bandits?”
Tang Xiaobei finished reading the letters too and said through gritted teeth, “It must be Xie Xiguang behind this. Husband, let Xiaoyu investigate. I suspect these bandits are disguised imperial soldiers!”
The idea of soldiers disguising themselves as bandits to rob sounded absurd, but in Dakang it had really happened, and more than once or twice.
Soldiers also needed to eat and live. When their pay and grain were withheld by corrupt officers, they had no choice but to do this.
“Other soldiers disguising as bandits works because they know the common people dare not resist and will not leave evidence. But our Jinchuan is different. The escort masters will not hold back. Capturing a few prisoners is easy, and a simple interrogation will reveal everything.”
Jin Feng shook his head and said, “Even if you gave Xie Xiguang ten times more courage, he would not dare do this!”
“But then where did these bandits come from?” Tang Xiaobei asked.
“Xiaobei, in the beginning there were no bandits in the world. When ordinary people were forced to the point they could no longer survive, bandits appeared.”
Jin Feng sighed and said, “From the letters, the first bandits were probably brought in from outside. But the ones that came after are very likely local people around Jinchuan who could no longer make a living.”
“But husband, you gathered all that grain precisely to provide disaster relief!”
Tang Xiaobei felt aggrieved on Jin Feng’s behalf. “How can the common people act like this?”
“This cannot be blamed entirely on the common people. They are only being used by others.”
Jin Feng sighed again and pulled out one sheet from the letters. “Look here. Xiaoyu found out that someone has recently been stirring things up everywhere, saying Jinchuan is full of grain, that our Xihe Bay is especially rich and overflowing with money, with copper coins piled as high as mountains.
This year Sichuan and Shu suffered disasters, especially severe in the northern mountains of Chuan. The people there can no longer survive. When they hear about such a wealthy place, how could they not go and rob it?”
“I can understand the powerful families blocking our granaries so they can sell their own grain at high prices. But why are they inciting the people to rob Jinchuan? What do they gain from it?”
Tang Xiaobei said angrily, “What exactly are they after?”
“What else could it be? They want to force Brother Liang to stop suppressing bandits along the way and hurry back to Jinchuan as soon as possible.”
Jin Feng said, “Powerful families may be filthy inside, but they care most about face.
They can profit from disasters, but they cannot let others know. So they cannot openly build granaries. The best way is to hide the grain in bandit lairs.
When Brother Liang suppresses bandits, he is essentially taking their grain. Of course they are going mad.”
“So that is how it is.” Tang Xiaobei suddenly understood, then asked, “But that still does not add up. Now the bandits are almost surrounding the village. Even if Brother Liang rushes back with the army at full speed, he cannot possibly make it in time, right?”
“It should be that the enemy’s plan miscalculated.”
Jin Feng said, “At first they probably just wanted to find a group of bandits to threaten Brother Liang. They never expected so many common people would follow suit. Now the situation has spiralled out of control.”
“Since it is already out of control, why are they still fanning the flames from behind?”
“Even though it is out of control, their goal has still been achieved.” Jin Feng said, “The village is surrounded by forts. Places like Shuangtuofeng and Heishuigou are easy to defend and hard to attack. A group of hastily assembled bandits will find it very difficult to break through. If Brother Liang does not want to see all of Jinchuan ravaged by bandits, he still has to hurry back to reinforce as quickly as possible!”
Jin Feng continued, “So although their scheme misfired, the goal was achieved, and it succeeded even better than planned. Because the common people taking action now were not the ones they hired. There will not be a single flaw left behind!”
“Then what do we do now?” Tang Xiaobei asked.
“This time there is clearly someone clever plotting behind the scenes. I need to think carefully.”
Jin Feng looked at the female manager. “Prepare some food, and send someone to feed our horses properly.”
“Yes.” The female manager asked, “Master, where will you stay? At the商会 or at an inn?”
“Nowhere. We will eat, rest a little, and leave immediately!”
With such a huge crisis in Jinchuan, Jin Feng wished he could fly back right now. How could he have the mood to rest?
Even while eating, his mind was full of strategies.
The letter paper beside his bowl was already covered in dense writing.
“Send this letter back as quickly as possible!”
After the meal, Jin Feng called the female manager over, pointed to the letter paper on the table, then left with Tang Xiaobei.
While Jin Feng was rushing back madly after receiving the news, far away in the capital, the Ninth Princess went to the Jinchuan商会 to find Luo Lan and also learned about the situation in Xihe Bay.
“What did you say? Jinchuan is now full of bandits everywhere?”
The Ninth Princess looked utterly incredulous.
She had been to Jinchuan and seen its prosperity and liveliness with her own eyes.
In her mind, Jinchuan was the most vibrant county in all of Dakang, with the best prospects for development.
It was also the least likely place for bandits to appear.
Everyone had proper jobs and could earn good wages. Who would risk execution to become a bandit?
“I can hardly believe it either, but Xiaoyu would never joke about something like this.”
Luo Lan handed the letters from Jinchuan to the Ninth Princess.
The Ninth Princess quickly took them.
Xiaoyu had written to Luo Lan precisely to ask the Ninth Princess for help, so the letter included everything that needed to be said.
With the Ninth Princess’s intelligence, she immediately pieced together the whole sequence of events.
“These bastards have lived long enough!”
After reading the letters, the Ninth Princess was so furious that she hurled her cup across the room, shattering it.
Qin’er, who was standing at the door, rushed into the inner room at once.
Luo Lan quickly lowered her head.
Having known the Ninth Princess for so long, Luo Lan had always seen her as dignified and composed. This was the first time she heard the princess curse.
“Qin’er, tell the Zongren Office that this palace demands an audience with His Majesty!”
The Ninth Princess said coldly.
“Your Highness, the Zongren Office said you cannot enter the palace…”
Qin’er said softly.
The Zongren Office managed members of the imperial family. When the Ninth Princess went to Xichuan, she had already signed a marriage agreement with Tubo. According to the rules, she could no longer reside in the imperial palace.
After returning to the capital this time, the Ninth Princess had been staying in a separate residence outside the palace.
The emperor felt guilty, and although the Ninth Princess had submitted several requests for an audience, he had rejected them all.
Under normal circumstances, the Ninth Princess could still wait patiently. But right now she truly could not wait any longer.
“Tell the Zongren Office that this palace must have an audience today. If they dare block me again, they are forcing this palace to perish together with them!”
