Transmigrating Through the Heavens: Starting with the Silly Pillar of the Courtyard

Chapter 341 Dividing the Spoils

When the prefectural magistrate and the guerrilla general saw the Imperial Guards arrive at their residences, they knew that all was lost and surrendered without resistance.

As officials, they naturally understood the power of the Embroidered Uniform Guard; they had previously thought that what they had done was flawless.

Now that the Imperial Guards had come knocking, the two men collapsed to the ground. They didn't even try to argue or put up a fight.

The three wealthy businessmen, however, still thought of fighting to the death, after all, they were not without the ability to resist.

All three families have their own guards, and even in the city, they have arranged for hundreds of people to protect them in their mansions.

If they were outside, they would have even more subordinates.

Unfortunately, these guards could only barely hold out for a few minutes against the well-trained Imperial Guards who knew how to use combined attacks.

Commander Guo Wei and Commander Ling Tian seemed to have already guessed what would happen.

The two officers sent to capture the prefectural magistrate and the guerrilla general were only two small flag bearers.

The remaining eight flags were divided into three groups and headed straight for the mansions of three wealthy merchants.

Among them, General Guo Wei led three squad leaders, General Ling Tian led three squad leaders, and squad leader Chen Chao also led two squad leaders.

In a swift and decisive manner, all five masterminds were apprehended and brought to justice.

Not only were people arrested, but the homes of five families were also confiscated.

Everyone in the mansion, regardless of age or gender, was taken into custody. At the same time, the entire treasury and underground vault were searched; even a maid's earring was looted.

The mountains of gold and silver treasures made everyone present breathe heavily.

However, none of them dared to make a move, as Wu Tao's personal guards were staring at them with grim expressions.

While they were arresting the criminals, Wu Tao had already led his men back to Cangzhou Prefecture.

It was as if he had just gone out for a casual stroll, but no one knew that five hundred assassins had just been turned into corpses.

Upon seeing Wu Tao appear, General Guo Wei and General Ling Tian immediately stepped forward to pay their respects.

Wu Tao simply waved for them to continue, then leisurely returned to the centurion's office to await good news.

After going out today, Wu Tao first spoke a few words with the special forces reconnaissance soldiers who came to make contact.

Then, as if on purpose, Wu Tao headed towards a secluded path.

This caught the five hundred assassins who were lying in ambush ahead somewhat off guard.

However, they outnumbered Wu Tao and weren't afraid of any tricks he might have up his sleeve. Since Wu Tao wasn't coming, they would go to meet him.

So the five hundred assassins rushed towards Wu Tao.

Unfortunately, they didn't know that the special forces had already laid an ambush while they were heading this way.

The roles of offense and defense have reversed, and they have become the targets.

Once the enemy stepped into the traps they had prepared in advance, the special forces used carefully placed gadgets to kill dozens of enemy soldiers.

Then the special forces began firing crossbows in rapid succession; a single volley from over a hundred men felled more than a hundred enemies.

After only three shots, very few enemies remained standing.

If it weren't for obtaining complete intelligence, there probably wouldn't be a single enemy standing here anymore.

The special forces personnel in charge of the interrogation immediately stepped forward to begin the interrogation.

Despite the various interrogation methods employed by the special forces, the other party persisted for only half an hour before decisively revealing everything he knew.

Just as Wu Tao guessed, they were either acting out of personal gain, or the border cities had long been corrupted by interest groups.

Driven by greed, they disregarded anything related to aiding the enemy. Utilizing their border advantage, they obtained weapons, salt, and cotton clothing from within the Great Yan Dynasty, then sold them directly to the Tartars at exorbitant prices.

Even though they knew these supplies would make the Tartars even stronger, they never cared.

Perhaps in their hearts, the affairs of the imperial court are none of their concern. Only the interests of their own families come first, and they never consider matters of national importance.

Xu Baihu was out there because he had found some clues, and his purpose in taking his men out was to catch them in the act.

However, Xu Baihu underestimated the strength of his opponent and ultimately died a tragic death in the wild.

This time, Wu Tao was the same; the other party deliberately let Wu Tao find some clues.

Wu Tao also decisively led his men out.

Their scheme succeeded once again; they had prepared five hundred assassins, but they were not careless.

This was something the masterminds never expected; they thought Wu Tao would sense it beforehand and not go outside the city.

They had expected Wu Tao to bring everyone from the entire Hundred Households Bureau, but they never imagined that he would kill all their assassins with just that small force.

Everything is predestined, and now the cause and effect have come to them.

The five masterminds have finally failed this time, even though they vehemently denied killing Xu Baihu.

Wu Tao originally intended to investigate further, but then thought better of it.

It's really nothing more than the same things and the same people.

He should just mind his own business; if he really makes a scene at the imperial court, it won't really have much effect.

The key issue is that even the emperor himself is now in a precarious situation. Even if he knew something, he could probably only try to smooth things over.

More than 200,000 taels of silver were found in the home of the prefectural magistrate, and more than 300,000 taels of silver were found in the home of the guerrilla general.

The three wealthy merchants together possessed nearly two million taels of silver, which Wu Tao immediately had sent to the case files of the Thousand Household Office.

The gold and silver jewelry totaled two million taels of silver, and the remaining 500,000 taels was the reward money for the centurion's office.

Upon receiving the news, Qianhu Niu Mang was overjoyed and personally led his men to escort the stolen money.

As for how much of those two million taels of silver was actually turned over to the national treasury, that was not something Wu Tao could inquire about.

Commander Niu Mang simply patted Wu Tao on the shoulder, indicating that he would personally petition the commander to commend Wu Tao.

Even Chen Xiao, the deputy commander, came. He was Wu Tao's former superior. The two had been in contact privately, and Chen Xiao told Wu Tao that he might promote him to deputy commander this time.

Wu Tao smiled but didn't feel much excitement. In fact, he didn't want to be promoted to deputy commander anymore.

Seeing that a major change was about to occur in the imperial court, Wu Tao felt that it would be awkward to be promoted at this time.

Commander Niu Mang and Deputy Commander Chen Xiao arrived with a squadron of flag bearers.

Not only were the stolen money taken away, but the five families of prisoners were also taken away.

These people will either be sent to brothels or die in jail.

Once everything had calmed down, Wu Tao began distributing the bonuses.

A total of 590,000 taels of silver were deducted. This money was personally counted by Wu Tao's guards, and Wu Tao had already collected it in advance using his spatial ability.

The people in the Hundred Households Office knew that Wu Tao had already taken some of the money, but they didn't know exactly how much.

Wu Tao gave each of the generals Guo Wei and Ling Tian 10,000 taels of silver. The ten junior officers, plus Wu Tao's personal guard, Chen Chao, each received 2,000 taels of silver.

As for the captains, each of them received five hundred taels of silver.

Each of the strongmen also received one hundred taels of silver.

Wu Tao also gave each member of the special forces company five hundred taels of silver with the remaining money.

The rest is Wu Tao's personal assets; in short, everyone made a fortune this time.