"Let them be," said Ling Zhang.

It was a good thing that the locals were vigilant. Besides, right now it was unnecessary for them to come into conflict with any of the residents.

"Yes, Young Master," responded Wang Dashan.

...

The caravans Wang Dashan had mentioned were staying in another local inn which focused on accommodating members of caravans and boasted a big open space and special sheds for caravans to put their goods.

The two caravans Wang Dashan had referred to were both from Youzhou, a northern prefecture.

When caravans from Youzhou traveled south, they would normally go to the capital city. It was very rare for them to specially come to Cangzhou, because apart from everything else, the journey alone would take them a lot of time. No caravans, except for large ones, would choose to enter Cangzhou at this point in time.

Apart from the fact that these two caravans were lingering despite the manifestly poor business performance, it also struck Ling Zhang as quite suspicious that they were from Youzhou.

...

While Yao Yi and some others were going in the direction provided by Ling Zhang to hunt for that secret agent from the Wan Kingdom, Jiang Yu's men had also exited the county seat and begun to conduct a covert search of nearby villages. It would take some time for them to finish the search, so Jiang Yu returned to the residence first. Seeing Ling Zhang was back, he hastened to walk up to him.

"Did you find anything out there, Young Master?"

Ling Zhang inclined his head and gave him a sketchy account of the recent movements of the rebel forces in Jiangzhou and also told him about his suspicion that Shan Congyi was planning to deliver money to Wang Xiangxin.

After hearing it, Jiang Yu said, "I've already arranged for my family's social contacts in this county to secretly search the nearby villages. I've also sent some men to go in the direction you told me. If there's indeed something out there, I would probably receive a message in a day or two."

Ling Zhang said with a bob of the head, "Good. If they really locate Shan Congyi and ascertain whether he's hiding any money in this area, it would be perfect."

"Incidentally, there are two caravans in the county seat. I want you to instruct your bodyguard to go there and check out the lay of the land when he comes back," Ling Zhang added and then had Wang Dashan tell Jiang Yu about the matter of the caravans in detail.

When Wang Dashan had finished explaining, Jiang Yu said with an inclination of the head, "Okay. I'll have him handle this matter."

Ling Zhang observed, "If the two caravans do have ulterior motives, there would be an eighty-percent chance they have something to do with Shan Congyi."

No matter what, the truth would come out after the bodyguard checked up on them.

When Jiang Yu's bodyguard returned, Jiang Yu had him take Wang Dashan out to look into the background of the two caravans together.

The bodyguard was fairly popular in this county and had a lot of close friends and relatives who were willing to provide him with information he needed. After making a few visits, he and Wang Dashan got almost all what they wanted. It'd been almost half a month since the two caravans' arrival in the county seat, and they'd been staying in that inn all along. All their goods were Youzhou specialities – a waiter of the inn had stealthily checked them shortly after the caravans checked into the inn. Local residents were quite wary of out-of-towners, so these two caravans naturally struck most locals as suspicious. However, local residents tended not to assume the worst about people. After confirming that the two caravans' goods were indeed Youzhou specialities, they'd lowered down their guard considerably. The waiter of the inn was still keeping an eye open for their behavior, but other local residents had gradually got used to the existence of the two caravans during the past half a month.

"It's Youzhou specialities that they're selling, all of which are dry goods. Locals have bought a lot of them in the past half a month, but not many residents are struck by Youzhou specialities, so more than half of their goods remain unsold. It's said that in the last few days the two caravans have prepared to transfer to nearby villages to peddle their goods and, for good measure, purchase some Cangzhou specialities, that they'll return to Youzhou after the goods are sold out.

They explained that as they'd already come here, they couldn't return without selling all the goods, otherwise they'd suffer heavy losses, but the way I see it, they're just making excuses to nose around in nearby villages."

After returning to the residence, the bodyguard and Wang Dashan told Ling Zhang the information they'd gathered and their own opinions about it. Wang Dashan suspected that those people were up to something else.

Jiang Yu's bodyguard also said, "I asked some locals and they told me that all villages close to Jincang County, except for Xiaofeng Village, are no longer in the peaceful state they used to be in. What with the rebel forces of Cangzhou, all villages, to a greater or lesser extent, suffered losses. Right now all of them are occupied with rebuilding their communities and resuming agricultural activities. They barely have any surplus of money to buy things from caravans. The two caravans were informed of this after they made some inquiries about nearby villages and disclosed their intentions to some locals, but they took no heed and prepared to exit the county seat tomorrow."

"Young Master, this makes them even more suspicious now. Should we go and restrain the two caravans straight away and interrogate them?" asked Wang Dashan.

Ling Zhang gave it some thought and said, "We can't do that for the moment. It's inadvisable to alarm the enemies. But there are still things we can do. First, we need to verify that it's indeed dry goods from Youzhou that the two caravans are selling, that they're not hiding anything else; second, look into their background and find out if they're really from Youzhou; third, send some men to shadow them and ascertain what they're up to exactly."

"I'll check their goods and look into their identities," said Jiang Yu on the side.

The Jiang family had a long-standing network of contacts in Cangzhou. As the saying goes, "A centipede does not topple over even when dead." And the Jiang family wasn't really "dead." In this small county, the Jiang family's influence could be very helpful. It would be more efficient for some locals to look into this matter than it would be for Wang Dashan and his men to do it, and the chance of arousing people's suspicions would be lower.

"Okay. I'm putting you in charge of it," agreed Ling Zhang.

He found that he'd done the right thing by bringing Jiang Yu to Cangzhou, that it was more convenient for Jiang Yu to deal with things in this small county than it was for him.

"Then I'll go and tail them," offered Wang Dashan.

Ling Zhang said, "Be extra careful."

"Yes, Young Master," Wang Qing answered.

Wang Dashan and his men had changed a lot compared with the persons they'd been when they'd been in Tanyang, but this was the first time that they'd followed Ling Zhang out of the capital city and to a strange county, so Ling Zhang was inclined to toughen Wang Dashan and the others further.

The two caravans in another inn in the county seat were unaware that some men were secretly spying on them. The next morning, they prepared to leave the county seat and go to nearby villages.

The innkeeper made another attempt to dissuade them. "You should heed my word. It's pointless to go to any of those villages, because people there barely have enough food, and they certainly don't have any money to buy your goods. You might as well backtrack and try your luck in the towns and prefectures you'll be traveling past on your way back. Maybe your goods will be sold out before you get home."

"Thank you for your kind advice, but taking these goods back is too much trouble. Besides, we have our plans. We'll trade our goods for things the villagers have. We don't necessarily have to sell them for money."

"Trade your goods for things they have?" The innkeeper was bemused. "But your goods are all very pricey, aren't they? This is a backward area, and those villagers are particularly poor. What could they possibly offer you that has the same value as that of any of your goods?"

"Things that have little valuable in your eyes might sell for very high prices if we take them to Youzhou."

The innkeeper tried hard to talk them out of it, but the two caravans still insisted on sticking to their plan. Resigned, the innkeeper eventually lapsed into silence and watched them leave. As both of the caravans disappeared from view, the innkeeper's face immediately became impassive. "Send someone to inform the county magistrate that the two caravans are up to something else."

"Yes, Childe Ling."

Naturally, these things soon reached the ears of Jiang Yu via the Jiang family's contacts in this county and then came to Ling Zhang's knowledge.

"I knew it," Ling Zhang sneered. "What about their goods? Have they checked them?"

"The caravans left very quick, so my men didn't have enough time to check them thoroughly and just cast an eye over them. As far as they could tell, those goods are indeed all dry goods," replied Jiang Yu.

But now that even local residents had perceived that the two caravans had ulterior motives, how was it possible that they were clean? Ling Zhang felt it necessary to carefully double-check those goods.

"It would seem we need to comb through their goods when they're not looking," commented Ling Zhang.

"The two caravans are quite wary of people unfamiliar to them. They have specially assigned some men to watch over their goods. Strangers will be warned if they approach the goods. How to get close to them and examine their goods is now also a problem," said Jiang Yu.

Given all these questionable points, the two caravans sure as hell harbored evil intentions.

Ling Zhang gave it some thought and then a plan gradually took form in his mind, which he decided to have Wang Dashan and some others to carry out and would require Jiang Yu's men to cooperate.

"Young Master." Wang Dashan, Liu Yi and Yang Liuzi walked inside. "What do you want us to do?"

"The thing you're best at," replied Ling Zhang.

The plan was to put up a smokescreen to arouse the two caravans' suspicions, who would then have no choice but to check what concerned them. However, Ling Zhang's men needed to be careful not to go too far, lest the caravans perceive that some people were making trouble for them. Therefore, they had to make a detailed plan.

After Ling Zhang told them about his opinions and plan in general. Jiang Yu first went to talk with his men to find out to what degree they would be able to cooperate with Ling Zhang's bodyguards. Then he came back and conferred with Wang Dashan and the others. Eventually they finalized a detailed plan.

"There are two caravans. One of them is heading south, and the other east. Both their destinations are close to Jincang County. It's only too obvious what their intentions are."

Those tailing the caravans had been keeping Ling Zhang posted on the whereabouts of the two caravans. As things stood, those people were exceptionally suspicious.

"The plan is to be executed tomorrow. Today you should get everything ready."

"Yes, Childe Ling."

...

At this time, Yao Yi and the others, who had secretly searched several villages, were quietly heading for a place named Taowang Village, which was located in the south-west corner of the county.

Taowang Village abounded in a kind of special clay, and all residents here were potters. Previously, before the armed uprising, villagers here had sold their pottery to Jiangzhou pretty often, and every year several caravans would come to this village to help transport their pottery to Jiangzhou to be sold, getting a certain amount of commission in return. At that time, overall, Taowang Village had been even wealthier than Xiaofeng Village. It was also a large village – larger than Xiaofeng Village actually. However, after the revolt, residents of Taowang Village had stopped making pottery; the national road leading to Jiangzhou had been cut off; caravans had stopped coming. Even if villagers started making pottery, they wouldn't be able to sell them to anybody.

At this moment, within the Taowang Village reigned a death-like stillness. The uproarious scene of people making pottery had long since disappeared. All villagers' faces registered apprehension and depression. They had got used to earning their living by making pottery, and everybody in this village had entered the industry and was no longer interested in farming. Even if they wanted to resume farm work, there wouldn't be much they could do, because winter was coming, which meant they'd have to wait until next spring to plow and sow.

Without regular income, wondering when the army of the imperial court would unblock the national road leading to Jiangzhou, residents of Taowang Village had been going to Xiaofeng Village to make inquiries on a frequent basis lately, trying to find out when the army of the imperial court would attack. Unlike residents of other villages all of whom wished for a peaceful solution of the issue, people of Taowang Village were eager to see a fight break out. In addition, although pottery making had been suspended, none of the villagers had evacuated. They were all anticipating the day when the situation would take a turn for the better.

When Yao Yi and some others secretly arrived at Taowang Village, the group of men sent here to look into the matter by the Jiang family were also approaching.

Before entering the village, Yao Yi sensed a whiff of anomaly in the atmosphere in Taowang Village – the security here was too tight. Common villagers could never organize a military-grade defense, no matter how hard they tried. It had been so easy for Yao Yi and his men to enter the other villages without alarming any of the villagers on patrol, but on this occasion, Yao Yi, who hadn't entered the village yet, perceived that there were hidden sentries posted on the periphery of the village, which was by no means something common villagers normally were capable of.

Yao Yi gestured for his men to stop, looking at Taowang Village which was not far away, a vigilant and incredulous expression in his eyes, feeling that this village was highly suspicious.

"Captain, Taowang Village is even larger than Xiaofeng Village, which makes it a lot easier to hide some men here than it is in other places. Do you think it's possible that Shan Congyi and his men are in this village?" asked one of Yao Yi's men.

Staring in the direction of Taowang Village, Yao Yi replied, "Given that there are so many hidden sentries posted on the periphery of this village, even if Shan Congyi and his men are not hiding in there, this place is by no means as simple as it seems. It's not far away from the encampment of the army sent by the imperial court, so at this juncture, we must ascertain the identities of those hiding in there, no matter who they are. In a few moments, you guys are to put out feelers and see who those hidden sentries are, and how quick their reactions are."

"Yes, Childe Ling."

Yao Yi gathered his men, first instructed them to scout out the lay of the land in Taowang Village and then made a plan to put out feelers.

When Yao Yi took some men to probe the hidden sentries of Taowang Village, a horse-drawn carriage wobbled over along a country bridle path, which seemed to be from the county seat and was going into the village.

"Captain, someone's going in there."

Yao Yi also saw the horse-drawn carriage. He watched carefully for a while, then quietly went to check the carriage and found that there was a woman and a boy about ten years old inside. Apart from the driver, a man was also driving the carriage. There were also a couple of traveling bags in the carriage. It seemed that they were family, but there was no telling whether they were natives of Taowang Village returning from afar or out-of-towners coming here to look up their relatives.

Originally Yao Yi had wanted to sneak in, but afterward he'd found that some men were standing guard at the entrance. On top of that, there were also some hidden sentries nearby, so he kept from taking the risk and decided to stick to the plan, put out feelers to the hidden sentries and ascertain their identities first.

While they were making their move, the horse-drawn carriage gradually approached the entrance of Taowang Village.

"Stop! Identify yourselves!" yelled a villager in the distance.

"Brother Adong?" called the man sitting beside the driver. "You're Brother Adong, right? I'm Wang Sheng. I came here with my wife and kid to look up my father-in-law."

"Wang Sheng?" the villager guarding the entrance recognized the man sitting beside the driver. "It's really you. Long time no see. Why did you come here at this point in time?"

The horse-drawn carriage gradually trundled close to the entrance. The man directly jumped off the carriage and walked towards the villager, flicking a glance at the other villagers on guard duty at the entrance, his ears twitching, seeming to be listen carefully to see if there were any other movements nearby. Making towards the villager he called Brother Adong, he said, "I have some free time on my hands these days, so my wife hurried me into coming here. She's been worried about my father-in-law's and mother-in-law's safety. It's been quite a while since the last time we came here, what with those rebels. Now the rebel forces have been taken care of, and things in my family are slowly getting better, so I could spare some time to return here to take a look. How have things been going in this village? And how are my parents-in-law? You guys are... Why are so many people here? Something happened in the village?"

Seeing Wang Sheng walking over, the villager called Adong first greeted him, and then, after hearing Wang Sheng's words, sighed, "The national road leading to Jiangzhou has been blockaded, so we have nowhere to go to sell our pottery. Everybody's having a tough time. The situation in your father-in-law's family is not really that bad. Some families are short of money, and they haven't smiled for quite some time."

As regards why so many people were on guard duty at this entrance, Adong gave no explanation.

"The situation is so dire?" Wang Sheng was startled, his suspicion and vigilance building up, but on the surface he only put on a surprised face. "Then we need to go and check on my parents-in-law straight away. It's so unfilial of us not to have come here to look them up sooner."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. You have your own life," Adong consoled him, looking at the carriage. "Is your wife in there?"

"Yeah, and my kid, too," replied Wang Sheng.

Adong walked up to the carriage, sized up the driver first and then inquired, "Is this driver the same one who took you here the last time?"

Wang Sheng said, "Yeah. It's a long trip. I was worried that my wife and my son would tire out if we walked here, so I rented a carriage."