A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 377 A mistake
Xuanjia was stumped by Song Xuan's question.

Because he had also had a lot of contact with people whose families had been kidnapped and were being forced to pay ransoms.

Every one of them looked anxious and begged him to release their children.
Even people with some power have to be polite to each other.

Otherwise, once you enter the Worry-Free Cave, getting out will be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

There have been instances of people escaping from Wuyou Cave, but they are extremely rare.

It was understandable that Song Xuan's second brother had never heard of the famous Wuyou Cave before.

Song Xuan's answer at this moment shocked Xuanjia even more than when he knew that Song Xuan knew martial arts.

This was a carefully orchestrated plan by the strategist Bai Zhen. They all believed they had the trump card (Song Kang) and would surely be able to force Song Xuan to submit.

After all, in Song Kang's description, their brotherhood couldn't be more genuine!
Only in this way can Song Xuan be controlled.

Their assessment of Song Kang's value as a hostage was extremely flawed.

Xuanjia endured the pain:

"Song Xuan, your second brother is your own flesh and blood!"

"He took good care of you since you were little, giving you the opportunity to study instead of him. Without him, you wouldn't be where you are today!"

"You actually said you'd pay more to kill him!"

"ungrateful."

"Pooh."

"Ok?"

Now it was Song Xuan's turn to be a little confused.

What kind of mess did they make of their gambling-addicted second brother?
How can you believe such a thing?
Before they kidnapped the person, they didn't inquire about any details in order to avoid attracting too much attention!
The people of Wuyou Cave have been trapped in the path dependency of Tokyo City for too long, and they think that everyone has to follow the path they have drawn.

Is this right?
Guo En remained silent to the side; he knew some things about Master Song.

Everyone knows his father is a gambling addict, but no one mentions his second brother's situation.

However, Guo En believed that Master Song would never do such a thing, especially what he said to a thief from Wuyou Cave.

It could be said that the thieves in Wuyou Cave were his father's killers!
Guo En didn't know who to seek revenge against, but he could certainly pin the score on the Cave Master of Wuyou Cave.

Xuanjia chuckled as he looked at Song Xuan's expression.
"Scholar Song, you don't think I'm lying, do you?"

Song Xuan fiddled with the golden mace hammer in his hand:
"Who is the master of the Worry-Free Cave? I can make your death quicker."

Xuanjia was bound and kneeling on the ground, feeling somewhat anxious. Did he already know that Song Kang was here and had spies around all along?

“Scholar Song, let me go, and I’ll give you a condition you can’t refuse.”

"Ok?"

Xuanjia breathed a sigh of relief and quickly pointed to the side:
"There's a chest of gold in a hidden compartment under my bed. I can give it to you; just let me go."

"This damn thing dares to call itself an irresistible condition?" Song Xuan tapped Xuanjia's head with his golden mace.

"Fool, even if I kill you, the gold will still be mine!"

Song Xuan's shameless words left Xuanjia at a loss, and for a moment he forgot his pain.

Was he really the top scholar who passed all three levels of the imperial examinations?
Is this something he should have said?
Guo En swallowed hard. Despite his young age, he thought that Master Song's words sounded domineering!
And it makes a lot of sense!

No wonder he's the top scholar!
Song Xuan fiddled with the golden mace in his hand: "I'm asking you, where is the cave master of Wuyou Cave hiding?"

"I do not know."

"do not know."

Song Xuan pressed down on his broken wrist with a hammer.

"what!"

Because his wrist had been broken by Song Xuan, Xuan Jia only just realized what was happening when Song Xuan mentioned it. His adrenaline was no longer working, and he immediately screamed in pain.

"Slap him twice to shut him up."

Upon hearing this, Guo En stepped forward and slapped him twice viciously.

popping.

Xuanjia's cheeks immediately became red and swollen.

Guo En, still not satisfied, spat at him.

The handprint on Xuanjia's face was very bright.

Seeing Song Xuan's completely indifferent expression, he glared angrily and said:

"I do not know."

"Still gotta keep your mouth shut."

Song Xuan looked around, then grabbed a towel and the teapot they were drinking from.

"Hold him down."

Guo En shoved Xuanjia's head directly into the chair.

Song Xuan covered Xuanjia's face with a towel and poured water directly on him.

As the towel became soaked with water, Xuanjia felt he couldn't breathe.

He kept twisting his head, opening his mouth wide to breathe and swallow forcefully.

With his movements, large amounts of water were drawn into his stomach, lungs, and trachea.

Guo En gritted his teeth and controlled the fiercely resisting bandits, while Song Xuan also stepped on the black armor.

After the pot of water was poured, Xuanjia coughed incessantly, and a large amount of purulent snot flowed from his face.

He lost control of both his bladder and bowels.

The pain of drowning and the fear of impending death.

It's not something an ordinary person could endure.

"The top scholar of the Song Dynasty?"

Yang Yuzhen leaned against the window, blinking her eyes.

"Ok?"

The moment Song Xuan raised his eyes, even Yang Yuzhen, who had been in the military for a long time, was somewhat dazed.

He was certain he saw the murderous intent emanating from Song Xuan's eyes.

"His Majesty is worried about you. Let me see if Scholar Song has finished his work yet?"

After saying this, Yang Yuzhen climbed out the window.

He looked at the thief in front of him, who was covered in excrement and urine, and figured he must be a gang leader.

Otherwise, Song Xuan wouldn't have interrogated him like this.

Where did the top scholar Song learn this ruthless trick?

Oh, this young man seems to be quite ruthless; it turns out to be a family secret technique.

Looking at Guo En's appearance, Yang Yuzhen, who had also inquired about him, immediately understood.

"almost."

Song Xuan heard that there was not much noise outside anymore.

Guo En held his breath. He had indeed learned some methods of torture and forced confessions from his father, and he thought they would come in handy.

I never expected to learn so much from Master Song today. He didn't even need to scold or beat me; he managed to clean up this little towel like this.

Is it really that powerful?
Song Xuan put his hand under his nose:
Who is the master of the Worry-Free Cave?

"I'll give you a chance."

"Cough cough cough, I really don't know."

Seeing Song Xuan pick up the wet towel again, Xuanjia quickly begged for mercy:
"My lord."

"grandfather!"

"Don't."

Xuanjia coughed a few more times, breathing heavily:

“I said that the cave master never shows his true face and always wears a mask, but he has a strong scent of incense on him.”

"I really don't know anything else."

Yang Yuzhen noticed bloodstains on Song Xuan's hammer and looked at Song Xuan's back with great suspicion.

Could it be that he knows martial arts?

But by the time Yang Yuzhen saw Song Xuan turn his head, he had already wiped the blood off the hammer with a wet towel.

Yang Yuzhen didn't say much, but walked to the window and spoke:
"Safety."

He dared not call out to the officials, for fear that some might slip through the net and expose their target.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhen breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing a large group of people go in and kill made him genuinely worried about Song Xuan's safety.

After all, such terrain is dark and cramped, and without armor, one is vulnerable to ambushes.

He had never experienced anything like witnessing someone fall to the ground and die.

"Twelfth Brother, the man has been brought under control."

Wang Gui called out from outside the door.

Guo En quickly pushed open the cabinet and welcomed the person in.

"Second brother, you've finally come to save me!"

Song Kang yelled and lunged forward, but Guo En stopped him.

“They drugged me and kidnapped me. I woke up on the boat. You have to explain this to Grandpa properly.”

He was afraid that his grandfather would break his other leg when he got home.

He definitely didn't run away on his own initiative.

Song Kang felt wronged!

Seeing the brothers' expressions, Yang Yuzhen knew there was more to the story.

Song Xuan looked at his second brother: "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"They dare!"

Upon hearing Song Xuan's concern for him, Song Kang immediately trembled:
"They treated me to the best food and drink along the way, and I completely fooled them."

"Ah."

Song Xuan nodded. He had understood what Xuanjia meant from his threat, and then he said:

"Second brother, you rest here for a while, I still have official business to attend to."

"Okay, hey, Third Brother, you go ahead and get busy."

Song Kang wore a fawning smile. So many people listened to Song Xuan, especially officials, which made him somewhat afraid.

But when Song Kang saw the head of that Worry-Free Cave and his miserable appearance, he sneered.

“Hey, third brother, he’s not the leader.”

Song Kang immediately raised his hand and said, "There's another old man who speaks in a refined manner; he's the real leader!"

"Well, I understand."

Song Xuan walked out of the room carrying a hammer:

"Banfeng, have any brothers been killed or wounded? Prepare stretchers immediately and bring them up. Let me take a look first."

"Have someone interrogate all the old men thoroughly."

"Yes."

Ban Feng responded.

There were indeed casualties when they charged in.

Such large-scale battles are indeed not something that county governments often encounter.

Song Xuan quickly checked the medicine box with a hammer and then called Wang Bao to bring it over.

He was there giving emergency bandages to the wounded.

Yang Yuzhen was even more puzzled when she saw that Song Xuan knew medicine.

He was clearly a top scholar in the civil service exam, so how come he studied so many different subjects?

However, after years of experience, Yang Yuzhen was no longer a naive young woman, so she kept quiet and did not ask any questions, simply serving the emperor.

"Twelfth Brother, are you alright?"

Because Zhao Zhen noticed that Song Xuan was covered in blood.

"It's all the blood of my brothers."

Song Xuan instructed them not to get their wounds wet, as it could easily lead to infection.

It wasn't easy for him to save the person; relying solely on the small amount of allicin he brought was difficult.

As for the two people who died, Song Xuan really couldn't save them.

One knife pierced the heart, another slashed the carotid artery; the blood was almost drained away.

When Zhao Zhen came up from outside, he saw people collecting the corpses of the thieves. At the same time, the house was also filled with wounded people lying haphazardly and groaning in pain.

If a real war were to break out, it would likely be far more dangerous than the scene before us.

Zhao Zhen glanced at Wang Gui and Di Qing again; he had witnessed their bravery earlier.

If he were to take the field in the future, he would definitely be a top performer; we've struck gold!

Song Xuan wiped the sweat from his brow.

He sat on the footstool by the bed and instructed people to move the wounded and sick to the room next door, which happened to be a warehouse with enough living quarters on the second floor.

"My lord, we couldn't find that scholarly old man."

Only then did Ban Feng dare to step forward and report.

"There's an old man." Song Kang quickly stood up:

"He's the one who kidnapped me from my hometown and made me write letters to threaten you. You can ask that person if you don't believe me."

Xuanjia was pointed at, and before Song Xuan could speak, he immediately said after a glance:

"He was talking about the strategist Bai Zhen. It was quite chaotic just now, and I didn't see where he hid."

"Are there any tunnels?"

"Yes, they're all filled with water."

Xuanjia endured the pain and dared not hide anything any longer.

"Go and check it out."

"Yes."

Yang Huaimin's eyes lit up as he looked at the results of the battle; this was the Xuanwu Hall stronghold of Wuyou Cave.

That was the Vermilion Bird Hall.

The top scholar Song destroyed two dens in one go, but why is there still no sign of the Lin son?

Could it be that it wasn't placed here, or what?
Yang Huaimin had too many questions in his mind, but he dared not ask them, after all, the officials were all here.

He thought Song Xuan was incredibly capable, taking advantage of the opportune moment and location, and even bringing the emperor himself along – he was simply audacious.

Yang Huaimin looked at these results.

He felt that if Song Xuan dared to do this, it meant he was very confident and had probably thought it through long ago.

Yang Huaimin wanted to hurry back and report the news, but these yamen runners all listened to Song Xuan, and he was afraid he couldn't row the bamboo raft by himself.

As for wading back, that's absolutely out of the question; it would easily get your crotch dirty.

“My lord, we’ve searched the entire area, but we really can’t find that old man.”

Upon hearing Ban Feng's report, Song Xuan stood up and paced back and forth.

"You searched every room?"

"They searched everything, even the goods."

Song Xuan ordered that Xuanjia be locked in a room alone and that someone be assigned to watch over him.

"My lord, could you treat me too? I don't want to die."

"Wait for the doctor to arrive."

After waving his hand, Song Xuan had someone take him out.

"That's strange, could it have grown wings and flown away?"

After Song Kang finished speaking, he added:
“Third brother, when I last saw him, I told him that there was an undercover agent you had arranged in Wuyou Cave. He thought it made sense, and after hearing it, he ran away.”

"what?"

Song Xuan turned his head and asked:

"What did you say to him?"

Song Kang recounted the story.

Song Xuan actually thought that the strategist Bai Zhen's guess was pretty good!

He originally planned to wait until after this heavy rain so that the Imperial City Guard could take the opportunity to infiltrate Wuyou Cave.

Now that he had Bai Zhen's imagination, he was no longer in a hurry to search for this person.

"Twelfth Brother, could it be..."

Di Qing pointed to the roof. Since there was no way to get underground, climbing onto the roof to escape was the only way out.

Song Xuan gestured to Wang Bao to close the window.

"Fine, if we can't catch them, we won't."

Di Qing was somewhat puzzled. If they sent someone to search the rooftop now, the old man certainly wouldn't have gone far.

Having been by Song Xuan's side for so long, Zhao Zhen immediately realized how things were going.

Moreover, he had already discussed with Song Xuan how to destroy the Wuyou Cave organization.

That means finding spies to infiltrate. Now that the strategist has been fooled by the twelfth brother's second brother, that's much more effective than sending low-level spies.

Zhao Zhen immediately spoke up as well:
"That's right, he's just an old man, don't worry about him."

Song Xuan gave him an approving look.

Zhao Zhen couldn't help but smile.

My twelfth brother praised me.

Once the official spoke, Di Qing and the others fell silent.

The Imperial Guards and constables were all calmed down.

"No one is allowed to talk about what happened in the room just now."

Following Song Xuan's instructions, everyone bowed again.

Song Xuan told everyone to stop dwelling on the matter:
"Banfeng, send someone to invite a doctor over. Have him bring the best wound medicine to treat the brothers and put it on the Kaifeng County government's bill."

"Second, call Zheng Wenhuan over to register everything and record today's results."

"Once most of the brothers have recovered, we will distribute the rewards. The families of the two brothers who died in battle should be invited to come and see them one last time. After their burial, I will personally present the compensation to their families."

"Yes."

After giving some instructions, Song Xuan ordered Ban Feng to guard the place.

"Second brother, come with me. After I'm done with this busy period, I'll take you to Fanlou to calm your nerves."

"Fanlou?"

Song Kang's eyes lit up. He had never heard of Wuyou Cave, but he had heard of the famous Fanlou Restaurant.

"Good good."

After making the arrangements, Song Xuan prepared to leave.

No matter how you look at it, my second brother was kidnapped because of me.

And since he helped me by accident, I must treat him well.

The constables and yamen runners were all beaming with joy upon hearing Ban Feng's announcement.

Following Master Song is truly wonderful!
They used to have no chance to work hard to make money, but instead were treated like servants by the county magistrate, who ordered them around. They didn't have any money, but they had to contribute money for festivals.

Now, following Master Song means not only a life of luxury, but also the immense wealth and resources he's poured into the task of eradicating Wuyou Cave. Naturally, the constables and yamen runners are eager to risk their lives for him and make contributions.

So even though there were deaths and injuries, I was still happy.

Looking across the entire city of Tokyo, no one else even has the chance to earn this kind of money.

Song Xuan was going to take his men to Kaifeng County to take over Li Zhaoliang's Zhuque Hall and find out what was going on.

So they left behind thirteen wounded men and another thirty men to care for and watch over them.

Song Xuan boarded the bamboo raft again, and this time Zhao Zhen did not get on the wooden boat, but followed Song Xuan.

Song Kang stood on the small wooden boat, observing the scene in Tokyo.

He found it hard to believe that the city was almost like a river.

He had never heard of having to travel by boat within the city of Tokyo.

As expected of a megacity with a million inhabitants, it truly stands out from the crowd.

Song Kang was very excited. He had originally planned to come to the capital to play when Song Xuan got married in Tokyo.

But his grandfather stopped him and told him to stay home quietly.

The main reason was that the old master of the Song family couldn't keep an eye on the two gambling addicts by himself, and he was afraid that they would embarrass the most promising child of the Song family in Tokyo.

Even if something unexpected happened, and it was something that happened against his will, Song Kang still felt that he had gained something.

That's Fanlou!

"Twelfth Brother, I am extremely excited about this great victory."

Although Zhao Zhen was wearing armor and was somewhat tired, he didn't feel tired anymore when he thought about the scene just now.

"Ah."

Song Xuan responded, "Fortunately, we caught them off guard. I was a bit impulsive today."

"What impulse?" "I should have launched a large-scale attack at the main gate, making them want to escape, and then surrounded them on three sides while leaving one open, so that so many people wouldn't have died or been injured."

Song Xuan was also reviewing the situation in his mind. If a war really broke out, it would indeed have inspired these people to resist to the end.

If they had launched a strong attack from the front, and the Wuyou Cave people had fled from the backyard and been ambushed by Banfeng and his men, perhaps the casualties would not have been so great.

But if they did that, they would have to face the threat to Song Kang's life from the thieves head-on.

And the inability to make the strategist Bai Zhen realize that he had already planted a mole, thus preventing them from sowing the seeds of internal strife.

Pros and cons.

Song Xuan sighed softly. Indeed, there is no perfect solution in the world.

"Twelfth Brother, don't worry about it."

Zhao Zhen chuckled:

"This isn't a military campaign. The fact that so many yamen runners suffered so few casualties is already a great victory."

A smile appeared on Song Xuan's lips:
"That's right, let's see if they still dare to be so arrogant."

Yang Yuzhen noticed the two golden maces that Song Xuan had tucked into his belt at the back of his waist. He had asked about them earlier and learned that Song Xuan had used them on the bandit leader.

Moreover, their movements were so fast that even the thieves couldn't react in time.

This matter was truly incomprehensible to Yang Yuzhen, a veteran eunuch.

How did he learn martial arts?

Because he spent many years in the army, this eunuch was considered to have a higher status among scholars than among military men.

At least when the eunuchs rebelled, no one followed them.

Most people are not seeking their own wealth and status.

Since one must have the merit of "following the dragon's lead," then the benefits must extend to one's descendants. How many people could a eunuch have if he didn't even have a biological son?

Such talent is extremely rare.

Yang Yuzhen was inwardly complaining, while Yang Huaimin was chatting with Song Kang.

After Song Kang was assured of a "bottom line" by Song Xuan, he began to boast about how he had deceived the group of thieves.

Because of Song Xuan's biased perspective, Yang Huaimin, who was unaware of the truth, was immediately intrigued and secretly grumbled in his heart.

These two brothers are indeed extraordinary.

The strategist Bai Zhen, who was perched on the roof, watched as everyone moved away before cautiously shifting his position, preparing to run to the dock and escape.

Luckily I was quick-witted, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have been able to escape.

"Hmph, no matter how many spies you, Song Twelve, have planted beforehand, you still can't catch me."

Zuixianlou Restaurant in Kaifeng County.

Xiao Feng's face lit up with joy. He had just learned from Cang Lin that the strategist Bai Zhen had finally managed to capture Song Xuan's second brother.

Once the rain stops, he will send someone to deliver a message to Song Xuan.

This would definitely restrict Song Xuan's actions and even make him turn around and help Wuyou Cave, becoming Wuyou Cave's puppet.

"Big brother."

Xiaofeng chuckled at Canglin's whimsical ideas, but then had some questions:
"What if Song Xuan is unwilling to accept the strategist's conditions?"

"You won't accept it?" Cang Lin was starting to realize what was happening.

"That is indeed possible. Song Xuan is a tough man. If he were to kill his second brother, it would only deepen their hatred towards us."

"Brother is right, so we can't get involved in this mess. Let the strategist handle the negotiations."

Xiaofeng felt that someone like Song Xuan was difficult to threaten.

There is a very high possibility that they might do something that would lead to mutual destruction.

Especially since they are young and hot-blooded, and won't be threatened by you.

"Yeah."

Cang Lin stood up and said slowly:
"I underestimated him. Song Xuan is not someone that ordinary people can easily figure out what he's thinking."

"This person is probably hard to control, especially a top scholar who has won the imperial examination in three consecutive years. He must be arrogant at heart, and we might even end up destroying him."

"Ah."

Just as the two of them were discussing, Chi Yu, the head of the Vermilion Bird Hall, rushed in with a hurried expression.

"what happened?"

Cang Lin looked at Chi Yu, who was running out of breath.

Xiaofeng quickly went to the window and looked outside, afraid that someone was following them and would reveal their location.

The light rain hasn't stopped yet, and there's no one on the street.

He knew that Akabane's frantic running meant something terrible must have happened.

Could it be that the strategist couldn't resist sending a message to Song Xuan before the rain started, which led to the unexpected incident?

Akabane took a deep breath and shook his head: "I don't know what happened, but I felt something was wrong, so I ran away first."

"Ok?"

Cang Lin knew that Chi Yu was specifically responsible for planting people in government offices and guilds to collect information, so having multiple burrows was normal for him.

"What do you mean?"

"When the Imperial Guards suddenly came to my warehouse to investigate some Western Xia spies, I sensed something was wrong and ran away immediately."

Upon hearing Chiyu's explanation, Canglin quickly pressed, "Were there any officials from Kaifeng County?"

"I didn't see anything; it was all Imperial Guards, blocking both the front and back gates."

Akabane sat in a chair and poured himself a cup of hot tea:

"Luckily I ran fast, otherwise I would have been detained too, and then handed over to Song Xuan. Being assigned to clean ditches would have been the least of my worries."

Xiaofeng, while keeping watch outside, heard Chiyu say again:

“You don’t need to worry, I definitely don’t have any tails following me, otherwise I wouldn’t have come here.”

The main problem was the heavy rain, even though Kaifeng County did a good job with the dredging.

However, the underground caverns in Kaifeng County are all filled with water.

It's almost impossible to get underground.

"Yes, better safe than sorry."

Cang Lin nodded: "We are all ordinary people registered in Kaifeng County. As long as we are not caught by Song Xuan, he can't do anything to us."

"He can't arrest people without evidence."

The other two nodded.

However, they were naturally still shaken by the sudden search by the Imperial Guards.

After all, he had something to hide.

"You should rest for a while. After the rain stops, send someone to Kaifeng County to find out some information."

"it is good."

Chiyu had planted an undercover agent in Kaifeng County, but he didn't activate it easily.

Once the bamboo raft left Xiangfu County, Song Xuan had people hold it aloft to prevent it from being swept directly into the ditch.

The group disembarked from the bamboo raft and headed towards the warehouse in Kaifeng County.

The Imperial Guards were already standing guard at the gate.

When they saw a group of people coming, someone went in to report.

Li Zhaoliang hurriedly ran out to greet him personally, after all, the Emperor was here, and he dared not be presumptuous.

"The top scholar of the Song Dynasty".

Li Zhaoliang greeted the emperor but did not bow to him; he simply nodded slightly.

To avoid being exposed.

"How about it?"

"Things haven't been going very smoothly," Li Zhaoliang coughed.
"After interrogation, it was found that someone had escaped through the secret passage. Kaifeng County has good drainage, so there was no water accumulation in the tunnel."

"Well, they've escaped, so they've escaped."

Song Xuan felt that Bai Zhen, the strategist of Wuyou Cave, had a great influence on the internal turmoil within Wuyou Cave.

"Have you taken care of everyone inside?"

"It's all set." Song Xuan nodded.

"I'll have someone check the goods, and General Li will leave three people to supervise, so we can split the profits 50/50."

"There's no need for that. Do we really need this between us?"

Li Zhaoliang naturally wouldn't agree; he didn't care about the reward money, especially since the bandit leader had escaped.

"No, we agreed before that if nothing happens, these brothers can continue to guard this place. Everyone has seen how well the registration is being done."

Song Xuan punched Li Zhaoliang on the shoulder:

“You may not care, but I, Song Xuan, am a man of my word. I will never let you make things difficult in front of the soldiers. Everyone has put in the effort.”

"That's fine."

Li Zhaoliang stopped worrying about it; whatever amount of money he could get, he would accept.
It was all goods, unsellable and worthless; as for real gold and silver, we didn't find much.

It looks like an ordinary warehouse.

"Scholar Song, is the intelligence truly accurate?"

Li Zhaoliang asked again in a low voice, saying that he hadn't seen any contraband yet.

A secret passage is quite common.

He had heard of the tragic state of Taoran Inn, but found nothing of it here.

Even if you learn from your mistakes, there's nothing wrong with other people's accounts.

Check-in and check-out procedures were both normal.

"Just leave the interrogation to us."

Song Xuan didn't say much: "After all, when interrogating spies, I can find someone to impersonate someone from the Imperial City Guard."

"That's a good idea."

Yang Huaimin was getting anxious. The heavy rain was getting lighter and lighter. Should he urge the top scholar Song to enter the palace?

Especially after learning about the major breakthrough in eradicating the Worry-Free Cave.

Yang Huaimin really wanted to go back and talk to the Empress Dowager first.

Song Xuan sent someone to the Kaifeng government office to invite Zhongli Jin. Since it was about the matter of annihilating Wuyou Cave, he reluctantly asked him to come.

With Yang Huaimin present, this matter could no longer be kept secret.

However, Song Xuan could shift the blame to the military, saying that when they were searching for Western Xia spies, they happened to seal off the warehouse in Wuyou Cave and found new clues.

The group rested there for a while, as the fighting and rowing had taken a lot of energy, and they also ordered takeout to eat.

Zhong Lijin was very excited and quickly ran to the scene of the incident, her clothes almost completely soaked.

"Magistrate Song, do you have any new leads?"

"Have you eaten?" Song Xuan pointed to the Cao family meat pie next to him: "It's fresh out of the oven and very delicious."

Zhong Lijin desperately wanted a promotion; he longed to become the Prefect of Kaifeng.

He wasn't really thinking about anything at the moment, and simply sat down: "I'm not hungry, I just feel a pleasant surprise."

"Is there any lead on Madam Lin's son?"

"No."

Song Xuan, biting into a meat pie, said, "None of these people will admit anything. I'll send some men to beat them up again."

"Never use torture to extract a confession."

Zhong Lijin quickly rejected Song Xuan's suggestion.

How can we find someone to confess to the crime, but we can't find Mrs. Lin's son?

Especially since Madam Lin is a close confidante of the Empress Dowager, it would be excellent if she could speak on her behalf.

"After I left that day, I prayed for rain, and it actually rained. Prefect Chen's face was very ugly."

Zhong Lijin smiled and said, "A heavy rain has at least led us to a clue, that's good!"

"The people of Wuyou Cave will certainly not dare to stay underground any longer. This is the perfect opportunity for us to capture them. If we follow the clues, we will surely find some leads."

“I will interrogate them myself.”

"Qiao Tianrui, take Zhongli Tongpan over there."

"Yes."

Qiao Tianrui, the constable standing guard outside the door, responded and left with Zhong Lijin.

Song Xuan thought Zhong Lijin was out of his mind; did he really pray for the rain to come?
Didn't you know the Yellow River had breached its banks?

If someone uses his words to make a fuss, and it gets out that he leaked it himself, such a fool would definitely believe it.

So Song Xuan simply sent him away to keep him busy and reduce his troubles.

Zhao Zhen, who was eating a meat pie nearby, looked doubtful: "Twelfth Brother?"

Song Xuan pointed to his head:

"Sixth Brother, there's something wrong with him, don't worry about it."

"I see." Zhao Zhen chuckled a few times.

Yang Huaimin wiped his mouth: "Scholar Song, when are we going to enter the palace?"

"Didn't the Empress Dowager say she would wait for the rain to stop?"

Song Xuan continued biting into the meat pie:

"Eunuch Yang, I'm quite busy here. Such an important matter as river management is unlikely to fall to me, so there's no rush to go. Let them discuss it first."

With officials present, Yang Huaimin didn't say much, only smiled and nodded.

Moreover, Song Xuan is right; he would never be allowed to handle such a breach and its management.

"Twelfth Brother, do you have a solution?"

"No."

Before Zhao Zhen could continue asking questions, Song Xuan said:

“I don’t know what the breach looks like. Even if I want to help, I have to go to the site to see it and draw a diagram before I can find a suitable solution.”

"Otherwise, if we just make decisions based on gut feeling and follow the instructions blindly, problems are bound to arise."

"Been taught a lesson."

Pan Chengjin admired Song Xuan's sense of responsibility.

“Repairing the river is no small matter. If we don’t conduct a proper survey before making haphazard repairs, we will only make the Yellow River more and more turbulent, and eventually it will really flood Tokyo.”

Song Xuan took a sip of hot soup: "When the Yellow River gets angry, it doesn't care whether you are a wise ruler or a virtuous minister, it will still elbow you."

"Hahaha."

Several people burst into laughter, but with officials present, they quickly restrained themselves.

Zhao Zhen recalled Song Xuan's actions, the perfect combination of tactics and timing.

They would resume their operations after the tunnels were flooded by torrential rain, thus crippling the thieves' main escape route.

Using floodwaters to launch surprise attacks on warehouses with boats and rafts instead of infantry, creating a "water battle" within the city of Tokyo, was a truly novel and impactful tactic.

This inevitably reminded Zhao Zhen of Guan Yu's heroic feat of flooding the seven armies. Although the scale of the battle in Tokyo was small, it showed Zhao Zhen that this tactic was feasible.

The Yellow River now flows into the sea via the Haihe River (Tianjin), which presents an opportunity for implementation.

Zhao Zhen became more and more excited as he thought about it.

The strategist of Wuyou Cave, Bai Zhen, was pale and staggered as he finally entered Zuixianlou.

Xiaofeng, who went downstairs to get the food, saw him like this and quickly helped him up and took him to the second floor.

Cang Lin was surprised to see that he was also soaked, and quickly asked someone to bring a blanket.

They made the white pheasant take off its clothes, wiped it clean, and kept it warm.

Otherwise, an old man of his age would probably be dead.

"Strategist, why do you do this?"

Faced with Cang Lin's question, Bai Zhen answered tremblingly:
"Let me warm up a bit."

Because he also saw that the Suzaku Hall Master, Akabane, had wet hair, was here.

Why is he here?

Cang Lin took the initiative to raise his questions about Chi Yu, saying that the Imperial Guards had gone to search for spies from Xixia and detained them, which was why he had fled here.

The strategist, Bai Zhen, drank some hot water and shook his head: "Things are definitely not that simple."

"what?"

"Why?"

Xiaofeng also felt that something was strange today.

How can a strategist be without someone to serve him?
"Song Xuan led over a hundred men in a surprise attack on the Xuanwu Hall's outpost, Fengyu Inn, and they were all wiped out."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, the three high-ranking officials naturally took a step back.

My body couldn't stop itself from retreating.

How could a strategist who has no martial arts skills possibly escape alive?
Xiaofeng continued to run to the window to observe, and this time even Chiyu ran to the side to observe.

The two of them carefully watched the pedestrians on the street, and if anyone gathered together, they would run away.

The fact that the Imperial Guards and the county government troops acted suddenly in two separate groups, especially while the rain was still pouring down, suggests they must have received advance warning.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen to do it when it was raining and the underground passages of Tokyo City were full of rainwater.

"Strategist, what exactly is going on?"

Cang Lin poured Bai Zhen more hot tea: "Didn't you capture Song Xuan's older brother?"

"Correct."

The white pheasant nodded:
"I did capture his older brother and took him to the Xuanwu Hall's outpost to hide. Before I could even send the letter to Song Xuan, Song Xuan came with his constables to rescue his brother."

"what?"

Cang Lin's eyes showed disbelief: "How did Song Xuan get the news so quickly?"

"Yes, I find it strange too."

The strategist, Bai Zhen, held his teacup and gently blew on it to take a sip:
"I suspect that someone in Wuyou Cave has been bribed by Song Xuan and leaked their whereabouts."

"Ok?"

A look of doubt appeared in Cang Lin's eyes. After careful consideration, he realized that it was indeed possible.

But you should never easily doubt others.

"Strategist, could it be a mark left by Song Xuan's older brother along the way?"

"impossible."

The white poisonous bird shook its head:
“There is a dock in Song Xuan’s hometown of Lema Town. We drugged Song Kang and took him on the boat.”

"When he woke up, he was still on a boat at the Tokyo City dock. They brought him in after dark."

"Even if he wanted to leave a mark along the way, it would be very difficult for him to do so."

"So someone must have tipped Song Xuan off for him to arrive so promptly."

"Otherwise, once the letter reaches Song Xuan, we will definitely send someone to monitor him."

"They can notify us immediately if there is any disturbance in the county government."

"Without an undercover informant, Song Xuan could not have rescued his own brother so quickly."

After listening to the strategist Bai Zhen's analysis, Cang Lin couldn't find any flaws for a while.

"So, Song Xuan already knew about the secret strongholds of the Vermilion Bird Hall and the Black Tortoise Hall?"

A look of terror appeared in Cang Lin's eyes.

If even they are exposed, how can our Drunken Immortal Pavilion not be exposed?

Reminded by Cang Lin, the strategist Bai Zhen almost dropped his teacup; he even considered fleeing the place.

If that's the case, then it means that even Zuixianlou, its largest stronghold, isn't safe.

Xiaofeng's ears were also perked up the whole time. Hearing Canglin's reminder, he immediately pulled the window wider, wanting to see further.

If Song Xuan finds out about this place, we're doomed.

Akabane abandoned his observation and walked up to the strategist: "Strategist, do you think we've been betrayed?"

"Correct."

The white pheasant nodded repeatedly:

"Otherwise, it's hard to explain how Song Xuan could be so accurate and seize the opportunity to destroy the strongholds of Xuanwu Hall and Zhuque Hall in one fell swoop."

"Who could that be?"

Chi Yu, the leader of the Vermilion Bird Hall, glanced at Xiao Feng, who was still looking around and observing the enemy's situation, with a hint of suspicion on his face.

He was the youngest in terms of seniority, and his hideout was the first to be raided by Song Xuan.

Those of his men who were arrested are unlikely to be die-hards.

Akabane knew perfectly well that no one could withstand the severe torture inflicted by the county magistrate; at that point, they would reveal everything.

"Don't let my youth fool you." Xiaofeng turned around and received a suspicious look from Chiyu:

"I would never do something like betraying my brothers."

"I know, but not many people know about the other outposts as well."

A look of suspicion appeared in Akabane's eyes: "Then who could have betrayed us?"

(End of this chapter)