The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

After a bumpy 30-kilometer drive that took more than two hours, we finally arrived at the highway Zhang Hu had mentioned.

There was nothing on the highway; it was eerily quiet.

Chen Shi glanced at his watch; it was almost 1 a.m. He instructed the auxiliary police officer to hide the police car and the twelve men to go into hiding.

After waiting for more than an hour, it was already past 2 a.m. Zhang Hu said anxiously, "Chief Chen, there's been no movement at all. They probably won't take this route."

Chen Shi glared at Zhang Hu: "Stop talking nonsense, keep waiting."

Just then, a car drove up, a large truck, and slowly stopped at the side of the road.

Two people got out of the car, opened the back door, and turned the car so that the rear was facing the embankment.

Chen Shi was overjoyed; it had come true, and he had made the right bet.

The cattle and horses were pulled onto the embankment and loaded directly onto the cart.

Zhang Hu whispered, "They must be the ones who were helping the two thieves. Should we go up and arrest them?"

"Catch the thief red-handed; wait for both thieves to arrive, then catch them both in one fell swoop."

After arranging everything, the two lit cigarettes and started smoking. One of them walked to the bushes where Zhang Hu was hiding, unzipped his pants, and started urinating.

Zhang Hu dared not move, and the urine almost splashed directly on his head. Fortunately, it was slightly off, and only wet his trouser leg.

The two were even more anxious than Zhang Hu. One of them paced back and forth, saying, "Why haven't they arrived yet? Should we call and urge them?"

"Don't call. We agreed on four o'clock at the latest, and it's not time yet."

After waiting for another half hour, the sound of hooves from cattle and horses grew closer. Zhang Hu looked excited as they arrived.

This was his first time apprehending a criminal; it was dangerous yet a little thrilling.

Chen Shi had excellent eyesight. There were two of them, without flashlights, leading two large oxen, a calf, a horse, and a pony.

One of the waiting men called out, "They're here!"

Another person complained, "Why are you so slow? Hurry up, we're in a hurry."

A voice came through: "This time we're going to pull off a big heist, it'll take a while."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hu lowered his voice and said, "It's Ma Shuang, there's no mistake."

Chen Shi gestured for him to be quiet.

The two drove the cow to the edge of the field and then into the cart.

Chen Shi could see clearly and was certain it was Ma Shuang. What a cunning thief! He pretended that his own cattle and horses had been stolen, and no one would suspect that he was the thief who stole cattle and horses from Longtougou Village.

Ma Shuang was in a good mood, clearly having pulled off a big heist and made a good profit this time.

"Two big cows, one calf, one big horse, and one small horse. This time, it's ten thousand, no questions asked."

"This isn't the first time we've worked together. Ten thousand it is, I won't haggle with you."

As he spoke, the man got into the car, took out a wad of cash, and handed it to Ma Shuang.

Ma Shuang took out a flashlight from his person; they were exchanging money for goods.

Turn on the flashlight and start counting the money.

Upon seeing that the culprit was caught red-handed, Chen Shi gave Zhang Hu a look, signaling him to get in the car and remove the keys.

With a wave of his hand, he shouted, "Action!"

Police officers and auxiliary police officers who had been hiding nearby rushed out, turned on their flashlights, and shouted, "Don't move, we are the police!"

Zhang Hu took the lead, filled with excitement, and immediately rushed to the driver's seat and pulled out the key.

The person who got on the bus to collect the money reacted very quickly, trying to run to the car, but unfortunately it was too late. Zhang Hu rushed ahead and pulled out the key.

Just as he approached the car door, Zhang Hu kicked him in the face. He quickly pounced on him and twisted his arm.

The other three tried to escape into a side alley, but were surrounded by police officers who rushed out from all directions.

Each police officer and auxiliary police officer held a flashlight and quickly turned it on, instantly illuminating the area as if it were daytime.

Chen Shi shouted, "Anyone who dares to move again will be shot dead on the spot."

The three men were so frightened that they immediately covered their heads and squatted down. They knew that they had only stolen cattle and horses, which was not a capital offense. At most, they would serve a few years in prison, and there was no need to risk their lives.

The auxiliary police officer quickly stepped forward and handcuffed the three people.

Zhang Hu grabbed one of them by himself, took out handcuffs from his body, and cuffed them.

"Chief Chen, I've caught one."

Chen Shi gave him an approving look, took out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and caught the thief red-handed. The thief from Longtougou Village had finally been caught.

He walked up to Ma Shuang.

"Ma Shuang, it really was you. You were hiding it well, even using Sun Tzu's Art of War, but I still managed to catch you."

Ma Shuang glared at Chen Shi: "How did you know about this place?"

"Zhuge Liang is a master strategist. Even if you were Sun Wukong, you couldn't escape the palm of my Buddha."

Chen Shi won his gamble this time and shouted, "Take these four thieves and the stolen goods to the police station!"

"Zhang Hu, take two auxiliary police officers and go notify the villagers whose livestock were stolen. The thief has been caught. Tell them to come and claim their cattle and horses."

The cattle and horses had already been herded onto the vehicle, saving Zhang Hu the trouble. He tossed the keys to an auxiliary police officer.

"Drive the truck back to the police station."

Zhang Hu, accompanied by two auxiliary police officers, drove a police car to Longtougou Village to inform the villagers of the good news.

Chen Shi looked at Ma Shuang and the other three: "Pull them onto the truck, handcuff them, and take them back to the police station."

Two auxiliary police officers were also assigned to guard the area in a large vehicle.

The rest of the people got on the bus and headed home.

When they arrived at the police station, it was just dawn. The four thieves were dragged into the interrogation room and subjected to a surprise interrogation.

Chen Shi personally interrogated them and caught them red-handed. Ma Shuang and the other three were still not honest, only admitting that they stole this time, but not the previous times.

When dealing with criminals, one cannot be soft-hearted. The veteran police officer used some methods, and only then did the four confess truthfully.

In recent years, the cattle and horses in Longtougou Village have all been stolen by Ma Shuang and Niu Minghan.

They stole the cattle and horses and resold them to Feng Yong and Zhao Sigui, two people from Yixing County, Southwest Province.

Feng Yong and Zhao Sigui took the stolen cattle and horses to Yixing County and sold them to cattle and horse dealers at low market prices, forming a closed loop.

Ma Shuang confessed that they had been stealing cattle and horses from Longtougou Village for four or five years, stealing a total of 21 large cattle, 9 calves, 13 large horses, and 6 foals, and obtaining 135,800 yuan in stolen money, which was consistent with the confessions of Feng Yong and Zhao Sigui.

At this moment, Zhang Hu arrived with the villagers from Longtougou Village whose cattle and horses had been stolen. When the old man saw his cattle and horses, he felt relieved. This was the result of half a lifetime of hard work to save up his family's wealth. It had been stolen overnight. How would his family survive in the future?

The old man was very cautious. He slept with his herd of cattle and horses. He set up a bed in the cattle pen, with the cattle and horses underneath him. He would wake up at the slightest sound to check on his cattle and horses.

But last night, he slept very soundly, not waking up until after five o'clock. He instinctively checked the cattle and horses and found the cattle pen empty. There were no cattle or horses left. He was so frightened that he fell off the bed and landed in the cattle pen. He didn't feel any pain. He got up, woke up his family, and mobilized the villagers to look for the cattle and horses.

There wasn't a single shadow in sight, so where could they look? Just when the old man was so desperate that he wanted to commit suicide, he felt that he hadn't taken good care of the cattle and horses, and that all the hard work his family had put in over the years had been ruined by his own hands.

He had already found the rope and was preparing to hang himself. Just as he put the rope around his neck and was about to kick the stool away, he heard a police siren.

Did the police find the cattle and horses, and immediately abandon the hanging, and run out?

Zhang Hu informed the villagers who were looking for the cattle and horses that the thieves had been caught. The thieves who stole the cattle and horses were Ma Shuang and his companion, and they were taken to the police station. He also told the old man's family to go to the police station to retrieve the cattle and horses.

Zhang Hu also called himself the village chief. He took the missing cattle and horses to the police station to recover the stolen goods.