The big bandit in the Red Mansion robbed Lin Daiyu at the beginning

But the words haven't come out yet.

He already sighed heavily and laughed at himself.

"Haha, I'm afraid my decree has reached the Shandong military camp."

"Without my father's approval, those people in the army won't send out a single soldier, right?"

Dai Quan trembled all over and kowtowed in fear.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

As he spoke, he cautiously turned his head and looked towards the hall entrance.

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and turned around to bow to Emperor Xinglong.

"Your Majesty, you are the Emperor of Daqian, you must not..."

Before Dai Quan could finish his words, Emperor Xinglong waved his hand with a somewhat bleak look and snorted.

"Humph! Never mind, I'm used to it!"

Then he looked at Dai Quan with a smile,

"What are you afraid of, old man? Get up!"

Only then did Dai Quan stand up tremblingly.

Emperor Xinglong heaved a long sigh of relief, and his eyes returned to the pile of memorials on the desk.

After thinking about it, he picked up the red pen and took a memorial to review.

While reviewing the memorials, he asked,

"Is there any news about Lin Ruhai in Yangzhou? How is he doing now?"

Dai Quan bowed slightly and said cautiously,

"According to today's report, Lord Lin dispatched over a thousand soldiers from various Yangzhou government offices, along with salt officials, to Datong Mountain to suppress the bandits!"

"Suppressing bandits? He's just an Imperial Salt Inspector. What kind of bandits is he suppressing? Where is the local garrison?"

Emperor Xinglong paused slightly and turned to look at Dai Quan with a strange expression.

Dai Quan smiled awkwardly, his face twitching.

Or replied,

"According to the Shadow Division's investigation, the Yangzhou Garrison Battalion has a total of 5,000 soldiers, and..."

Emperor Xinglong interrupted Dai Quan's words.

"That's not what I want to hear. Don't tell me that your Shadow Division is full of good-for-nothings!"

Dai Quan had no choice but to bite the bullet and say,

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. According to the report from the Shadow Division, the Yangzhou Garrison Battalion has a full strength of 5,000 men, but in reality, there are only a little over 2,000 men..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Dai Quan lowered his head deeply, closed his eyes slightly, and prepared to face the wrath of Emperor Xinglong.

But after waiting for a long time, he heard Emperor Xinglong's question.

"And then? Where's Lin Ruhai?"

Emperor Xinglong's voice was eerily calm.

Dai Quan was very nervous, but he had no choice but to continue reporting.

"Lord Lin led over a thousand salt guards out of the city to suppress the bandits, but they were captured in a swarm just thirty miles outside the city. Lord Lin was also abducted and taken up the mountain..."

After he said the last word, Dai Quan seemed to have no strength left in his body.

He fell to his knees with a thud, his head buried deep in the ground.

Emperor Xinglong was stunned for a moment.

What? Someone stole your wallet?

Last winter, there was a heavy snowfall in the north, and spies reported that countless cattle and sheep had frozen to death on the grassland.

The northern tribes have been ready to make a move for several years and are in urgent need of silver.

After accounting for all the expenses of the court, there was no surplus.

Now Emperor Xinglong is waiting for this year's tax silver to be delivered to the capital before he can use his military force.

And then tell him that his wallet is gone?

Emperor Xinglong was furious and asked in a cold voice,

"Why isn't the garrison moving out? Even if they only have 2,000 men and have received most of their pay without any evidence, can't they capture a single bandit for me?"

"How could they let a fourth-rank official, a civilian, lead troops to suppress bandits?"

"Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down!"

Dai Quan kowtowed like pounding garlic.

In just a few seconds, Dai Quan's forehead was stained red with blood.

Emperor Xinglong slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and leaned back in his chair somewhat dejectedly.

He raised his hand slightly towards Dai Quan.

"Speak now, tell me everything! I can hold on!"

Dai Quan raised his head and said cautiously,

"Afterwards, the Shadow Division also investigated Yangzhou's defenses and discovered..."

Emperor Xinglong suddenly opened his eyes, looking majestic without being angry.

"What did you find? Could it be that a camp with a full strength of 5,000 people doesn't even have 2,000 people?"

Dai Quan shook his head slightly.

"No, the Yangzhou garrison camp has two thousand soldiers."

Emperor Xinglong then breathed a sigh of relief.

"They still have a bit of conscience. Why didn't the garrison commander of the garrison send troops to suppress the bandits?"

Dai Quan secretly glanced at Emperor Xinglong.