"That's the idea," Meng Changdong said, clasping his hands. "Your Lordship, you don't know, but there are shortcuts between these three mountains. If bandits are pursued, they can retreat to the other two mountains within fifteen minutes, and the authorities will return empty-handed."
The authorities were helpless, but the Crown Prince had so many soldiers; a simultaneous siege of the three mountains would not be a problem.
He was too lazy to comment on the Crown Prince's actions and asked, "Where is Chihuo Village?"
"In Jinzhong."
"I seem to recall the batch of copper was robbed in Taiyuan?"
Taiyuan had many bandits, yet an entire batch of copper ended up in the hands of bandits in Jinzhong. This made no sense. Situ Yan pondered for a moment, "Changdong, the Prefect of Taiyuan is likely unreliable. I need to go to Jinzhong. Do you know who the Prefect of Jinzhong is?"
Meng Changdong replied, "He is the son of Cheng Jinghao, the Assistant Minister of Personnel, Cheng Beiyu. Your Lordship, Cheng Jinghao is a man of Prince Ning, and his son is unlikely to listen to you."
"It's him, is it." Situ Yan chuckled. "Then there's no problem. Song Ming."
Song Ming stepped forward and knelt straight before him. "Your subordinate is present."
"It's just a matter of suppressing bandits, no need to be so formal," Situ Yan waved him up. "Assemble three thousand troops, divide them into smaller units, and reach Jinzhong within two days. Changdong, guard this place well and don't let anyone realize I've already left Taiyuan."
"Yes. But Your Lordship, are you truly sure Cheng Beiyu is trustworthy?"
"Bad bamboo can still produce good shoots. Cheng Jinghao would do anything to climb the ranks, but the Cheng Beiyu he raised has integrity. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been abandoned by his father to fend for himself in this godforsaken place." In his academy days, he didn't recognize many people. Besides his two close friends, Fu Chuan was one, and the other was Cheng Beiyu.
Meng Changdong nodded. His Lordship appeared temperamental and easily offended people. However, his intuition for judging character was sharper than a beast's. When he said someone was trustworthy, they generally were: "Then, before we act, should we inform the Governor of Shanxi? Since I arrived in Taiyuan, he has sent people to inquire several times. You bringing five thousand troops here is certainly not something that can be hidden."
"Why should I report my actions to a governor? If he comes looking, tell him I'm suffering from acclimatization and am recuperating." He didn't have a good impression of Ke Cheng either; what kind of person would allow so many bandits to flourish under their rule?
Meng Changdong almost choked on his saliva. "No, Your Lordship, with your physique capable of killing two tigers alone, and after fighting at sea for years, saying you have acclimatization problems? I doubt anyone would believe it."
"Then say I've caught a cold. You figure out the details yourself."
Everyone else: ...
He didn't wait for Song Ming to finish assembling the troops and rode directly towards Jinzhong. Shanxi held more secrets than he had imagined. But it didn't matter; sheer force could overcome all. Once he eradicated these bandit dens one by one, it wouldn't matter who was hiding what, as everything would be exposed.
The next night, at the Jinzhong Prefectural Office
Cheng Beiyu, startled from his sleep, suddenly opened his eyes.
A candle on the table, lit at some point, cast a dim yellow light. A man in black was sitting sideways, drinking tea. After finishing a cup, he turned and smiled faintly at him. "On such a cold night, why haven't you prepared a brazier for warm tea? Prefect Cheng, your life seems to be quite meager."
Cheng Beiyu got out of bed and put on his clothes. "Uninvited guests have no room to be picky. You came in the middle of the night; aren't you afraid of being mistaken for a thief and killed?"
"Judging by your tone, it seems you expected me."
"Chihuo Village is in Jinzhong, so Prince Rui would naturally come looking for me. I just didn't expect you to arrive in this manner. Please give me a moment to collect myself, and then I'll explain in detail."
Situ Yan quickly said, "Don't bother. I rushed here day and night. I'm tired and hungry now. I don't have the energy to discuss serious matters with you. First, have someone bring me a bowl of noodles. Once I've eaten and slept, we can talk." What was wrong with him? Woken up in the middle of the night, and instead of going back to sleep, he wanted to discuss serious matters.
After so many years apart, Cheng Beiyu seemed even less adaptable than when he was at the academy.
Cheng Beiyu: ...