Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 819 Something is fishy
Hearing Zhu Su's question, the old patriarch was startled at first, and then said: "Indeed, a group of Han people passed through our tribe a few days ago."

"Why did the prince ask about them...Why, aren't they the same kind as you, the prince?"

"Humph, they are a bunch of bandits! How can they compare with us!" Chang Mao said. The old patriarch was shocked: "Oh, they are actually thieves? I even gave them a lot of food!"

Zhu Su then inquired about the information of the group that had passed by before, and learned that there were about a hundred people on this road, and they all looked very panicked and embarrassed. It sounded like they were the fleeing religious bandits. Perhaps they did not want to cause trouble, so these White Lotus religious bandits did not cause trouble here, but honestly exchanged a lot of supplies with gold, silver and iron.

Zhu Su asked about their whereabouts again, and the clan leader told him that they were in a hurry and after buying some fruits and grains, they went down the mountain directly to the east.

"Father, to be honest, we came here to hunt down that group of thieves." Zhu Su said with a smile. "This group of thieves are wanted criminals of the Ming Dynasty. They have a bad record and can be called extremely vicious."

"We didn't harass your tribe this time because we were chasing them and we didn't dare to delay any longer. But if we give them a break and let them roam around here, it will definitely be disadvantageous to all tribes. By then, we don't know how many Dawan tribes will suffer from it."

"I have important matters to attend to, so I will not stay any longer..." After saying this, he stood up and was about to leave.

"Your Highness, please stay, please stay!" The old man quickly stood up and stopped Zhu Su and others who were about to leave. "Your Highness is thinking about the people of Dawan, how can I neglect your Highness?"

"It's already late today, and the road down the mountain is steep and difficult to walk on at night. Even if we want to chase the thieves, we have to wait until daybreak, right?"

"Your Highness, why don't you just rest in my army? Tomorrow morning, I will send my men to show you a shortcut. We will help you catch up with the bandits... What do you think?"

The old man's words were quite sincere, and night was indeed not the time to pursue, so Zhu Su thought about it for a while and then agreed.

After chatting for a while, the old patriarch settled Zhu Su and others in several houses in the center of the tribe. He did not disturb Zhu Su's rest anymore and said goodbye to the tribesmen and left.

The night in the mountains was quiet, and the moonlight shone into the windows of the simple wood house. Zhu Su had been sleeping on the boat or in the tent these days. Suddenly, he had a solid bed, and he couldn't fall asleep for a while. He tossed and turned, and his mind was full of thoughts. He still couldn't sleep, so he simply turned over and sat up, saying, "Dog."

"Your Highness." Outside the door, the eunuch Gou'er came in and stood respectfully in the shadows. "Does Your Highness have any instructions?"

"Go and call Di Meng and Duke Zheng here. I have something to discuss with you." Zhu Su said. After thinking for a while, he gave another order: "Remember, don't let the people in this tribe find you."

"Yes." The dog didn't ask why. He bowed and quietly left the house.

After a while, Chang Mao and Di Meng came in quietly from the shadows. They seemed to have not slept yet and their faces did not show any signs of tiredness. After entering the room, they saw Zhu Su putting on his armor, and Gou'er hurried forward to help him.

Chang Mao was puzzled and asked, "Your Highness, what's wrong? Is there something wrong?"

"I don't know why, but I'm always feeling uneasy and can't sleep."

"Brother Chang, how about you? You look so energetic. Are you unable to sleep too?"

"Hey, I finally got the order to leave the capital, and was thinking about getting more military merits so that I could be qualified for a fiefdom. Now the religious bandits are right in front of me, I can't help but be excited... and can't sleep." Chang Mao felt a little embarrassed.

Zhu Su laughed. As the second generation in the military, Chang Mao was much more bellicose than Li Jinglong. Among the second generation of the Duke's Mansion, only Xu Yungong followed his father to the north and led an army alone. He had his own reputation. Chang Mao had already inherited the title of Duke, but his reputation and achievements were not as loud as Xu Yungong's, so he naturally wanted to prove himself.

Although Chang Mao is impulsive, he has been tempered in recent years. He is as rough but meticulous as his father Chang Yuchun... Moreover, he is loyal to the Ming Dynasty and shares weal and woe with Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying, the next two generations of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, Zhu Su trusts him very much.

"But are there any problems with these foreigners?" Di Meng asked while Gou'er helped Zhu Su fasten his armor.

"Maybe I'm overthinking..." The three people in front of him could be regarded as his trusted generals here. Zhu Su was not a stubborn person, so he expressed his doubts to them so that he could discuss it with them. "I always feel that there is something wrong with that team leader."

"What's wrong?" Chang Mao asked.

Zhu Su straightened his armor, thought for a while and said, "It's just too much of a coincidence that there is a clan leader here who used to be friendly with our Ming Dynasty. I don't think that all the foreigners are ignorant, but no matter how smart they are, can they really speak Chinese so fluently in just a few months?"

"Judging from the age of the clan leader, he is at least in his 50s. He was rescued and taken to China by some strange coincidence, which happened at least ten years ago."

"More than ten years ago... the world was still in turmoil, and we Han people were enslaved by the Yuan people, with a status lower than that of pigs and dogs. Were there really Han people who could come here to trade?"

"The most important thing is... when the tribe leader saw me, he subconsciously bowed. He was rescued and brought to China by accident, which happened at least ten years ago. In the past ten years, he has been trapped in this tribe and has very few opportunities to bow. Why was he so smooth and familiar with the bow just now?"

After Zhu Su said this, Chang Mao, Di Meng and Gou'er all looked serious.

"Your Highness, are you saying that... this clan leader might be an impostor by a religious bandit?" Chang Mao's eyes began to show murderous intent.

"...I haven't figured it out either." Zhu Su said. "Logically speaking, the religious bandits are few in number and a motley crowd, so they should avoid us as much as possible."

"We killed some of the Fan people who had surrendered to them near Dadu Creek, so their strength should be even smaller now."

"They are plotting to defraud me on this mountain? What do they want? Even if there are only a hundred of them, can they swallow them all?"

There must be a purpose for setting up a strategy. However, they knew the remaining strength of the White Lotus bandits and would not dare to stay and fight a head-on battle with the Ming Dynasty. They were not strong enough.

It was precisely for this reason that Zhu Su decided to lead his troops in pursuit and not give them the opportunity to seduce more foreign people and grow stronger.

"Could it be that he wanted to poison me?" Di Meng guessed. After thinking about it, he felt that it was unlikely. Zhu Su's food had been checked by others beforehand, and those hundreds of soldiers had never eaten their food.

"Could it be that they are the rear guards, trying to find an excuse to keep us here so that the main force can escape?" Gou'er guessed.

(End of this chapter)