Tiger Owl

Chapter 213 The Leak Incident (Part 1)

Yang Jing had been running a gambling den for so many years, and this was the first time he had ever seen gold used as a bet. At most, it was silver. Gold was such a precious thing; how could it possibly be used for gambling?

This was the first time someone had gambled with gold, which truly opened Yang Jing's eyes. But what surprised Yang Jing even more was that this piece of gold was actually the reward gold that Cao Cao had cast last year.

To commend the officials who had contributed to the defeat of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao specially cast a batch of gold ingots with the words "Reward for Merit" engraved on them.

These two characters were engraved on the gold, which puzzled Yang Jing. How could the gold ingot that Cao Cao cast last year as a reward for merit end up in Yuzhang County?

Yang Jing pondered for a moment, then decided that he had to report this matter to his superiors. He immediately asked the manager, "Tell me, who brought this gold ingot into the gambling house?"

An hour later, the gold ingot that was awarded as a reward appeared on Gan Ning's desk.

Gan Ning examined the heavy gold ingot and asked Lu Su, "Did Yang Jing mention its origin?"

Lu Su nodded. "It was a young man named Liu Wu'er who used it to pay off gambling debts. He lost 230 strings of cash in a few months, and this gold ingot was used to pay off all of it."

"That gambling den must know Liu Wu'er's background, otherwise why would they collect gambling debts?"

Lu Su nodded. "I also believe they know, Lord Chu. There must be something big behind this piece of gold. I suggest a thorough investigation!"

"I understand, strategist, go ahead! I'll let you know the results."

Lu Su bowed and left.

Gan Ning casually pulled the rope, and soon after, Ma Liang rushed in, "Please give your orders, Lord Chu!"

"Send someone to bring Wang Xiaoman to me immediately!"

The brothers Wang Ping and Wang Xiaoman are both captains. Wang Ping commands 10,000 troops to protect the safety of Chaisang, while Wang Xiaoman serves as a captain in the Internal Affairs Battalion, leading 2,000 elite soldiers to guard the interior. Their main task is to combat spies.

Just as Gan Ning established an intelligence bureau and deployed intelligence points in various places, there were also a large number of enemy spies in his territory, and even Jiangdong had spies. Most of these spies were in Chaisang, and they almost all used commerce as a cover to collect various intelligence.

Before long, Wang Xiaoman hurriedly entered the official room, knelt on one knee and bowed, saying, "This humble servant greets Marquis Chu!"

"General Xiaoman, please rise!"

Wang Xiaoman stood up, and Gan Ning handed him the gold ingot. "This was sent by Magistrate Yang. His family owns a gambling den called Nanfeng. This gold ingot appeared at Nanfeng Gambling Den today. It was a reward gold ingot cast by Cao Cao last year. It's very unusual that it appeared in Chaisang. You can go to Nanfeng Gambling Den and find their manager. You must find out the source of this gold ingot."

Wang Xiaoman accepted the gold ingot and bowed, saying, "This humble servant will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly within two days!"

After Wang Xiaoman left Gan Ning's official residence, he did not delay and immediately led several of his men to the Nanfeng Casino.

The Nanfeng Casino was bustling with activity and packed with gamblers. Wang Xiaoman found Manager Xia and was led to the manager's room.

Wang Xiaoman placed the gold ingot on the table and said calmly, "Manager Xia should recognize it!"

Shopkeeper Xia said with a smile, "How could I not recognize it? I just handed it over to my master a little over an hour ago."

"I am a captain of the Imperial Household Department, ordered by the Marquis of Chu to investigate the origin of this gold ingot. Please tell me the truth, shopkeeper!"

Shopkeeper Xia nodded. "This was used by a gambler named Liu Wu'er to pay off his gambling debts."

"Since Liu Wu'er owes gambling debts, you should know his background very well, right?" Wang Xiaoman continued to ask.

"Of course I know. This Liu Wu'er's home is at the west end of the Third Bridge, only a mile away from our gambling den. He is only twenty years old this year. His father is a small charcoal merchant. His family is not bad. To be honest, this Liu Wu'er owes too much gambling debt. We thought he couldn't pay it back. We didn't expect him to bring a piece of gold today."

Wang Xiaoman became even more suspicious. How could the son of a small charcoal merchant possibly have Cao Cao's reward gold ingots?

He immediately said, "Arrange for someone to lead the way; I need to find this Liu Wu'er right away."

The three bridges are not far from the gambling den. There are houses on both sides of the bridge. The guide pointed to a house with a rather large courtyard and said, "That's Liu Wu'er's house!"

Wang Xiaoman stepped forward and saw a sign hanging at the entrance that read "Liu's Charcoal". The gate was open, and the courtyard was piled high with charcoal, like a small mountain, with many customers carrying baskets and selecting charcoal.

The shop owner was a middle-aged man, and he was standing in front of the scale weighing two customers.

The man was Liu Wu'er's father. When he saw several soldiers come in, he assumed they were also there to buy charcoal.

He quickly shouted, "Wu'er, come and greet the guests!"

"coming!"

A lazy voice came from the room, and a young man walked out.

Wang Xiaoman sized up the young man in front of her. He was quite thin, with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face. He looked like an idle playboy who had accumulated more than two hundred strings of cash in gambling debts in just six months. She guessed that his father didn't even know.

The guide, following Manager Xia's instructions, stepped forward and whispered a few words. The young man suddenly widened his eyes and said urgently, "I've already paid it all back!"

"If you don't want your father to know, then let's talk outside!"

Liu Wu'er dared not let her father know, so she said to him, "A friend needs to see me, I'm going out for a bit!"

Liu's father had no way to deal with his son, and seeing that the soldiers didn't seem to be there to buy charcoal, he stopped bothering with them.

Wang Xiaoman also turned around and led her men out. They saw Liu Wu'er standing at the bridgehead, talking to the people from the gambling house, looking very excited.

Wang Xiaoman waved her hand, and three of her men surrounded him. The people from the gambling house were only trying to keep Liu Wu'er calm. Once he saw that the guards had arrived, he immediately left.

Liu Wu'er then realized that he was surrounded by soldiers. He was terrified and was about to shout when a soldier covered his mouth. The three of them worked together to lift him into a carriage by the roadside. Wang Xiaoman also got into the carriage, and the carriage then left the bridge.

Liu Wu'er was terrified and curled up on the floor like a dog, trembling with fear.

The carriage stopped in a secluded spot. Wang Xiaoman knew that Liu Wu'er was easy to interrogate, so there was no need to make a big fuss.

He took out a gold ingot and asked, "Tell me honestly where this gold ingot came from, and I'll let you go if you tell the truth!"

"I found it."

Wang Xiaoman never expected that this scoundrel, who was so afraid, would still dare to lie. He pulled out his dagger, pressed it against the man's ear, and said coldly, "It seems you won't tell the truth unless I leave you with something. I'll cut off one of your ears first!"

He exerted a little force, and a sharp pain shot through him. A trickle of blood flowed down his face. Liu Wu'er was so frightened that he wet himself. He shouted, "I stole it! I stole it!"

Wang Xiaoman stopped brandishing her dagger and said, "Where did you steal it from? Tell me quickly!"

Liu Wu'er burst into tears, saying, "I stole it from my brother-in-law's house."

"My brother-in-law's house?"

Wang Xiaoman became interested. "What does your brother-in-law do? Where does he live?"

"My brother-in-law is a craftsman, and his family lives in Chaixi Town!"

Wang Xiaoman's heart sank. Chaixi Town was an important gathering place for master craftsmen of military industry. How could it involve master craftsmen of military industry?

He pressed further, "What's your brother-in-law's name? What kind of craftsman is he?"

“My brother-in-law’s name is Wang Lei. I don’t know exactly what kind of craftsman he is, but my sister told me that he can earn thirty strings of cash a month.”

Thirty strings of cash a month—that's enough for a top-tier master craftsman!

Wang Xiaoman grew increasingly uneasy and pressed on, "How did you steal the gold? Tell me the truth!"

(End of this chapter)