Traveling back to the Northern Song Dynasty: Picking up a princess as my wife

Zhang Cheng dispatched a county constable and a troop borrowed from Li Family Village to swiftly raid all the wealthy households in Tangyin City. Those who voluntarily paid tribute in grain or gold and silver were awarded an honorary plaque on their gates. Those who refused to cooperate were simply raided under the guise of searching for bandits, plundering them extensively and seizing countless valuables such as wealth and grain.

The yamen runners were very familiar with this kind of operation, but in the past they had always targeted ordinary people. This was the first time they had targeted wealthy families. Of course, the wealth they plundered was also far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

The soldiers of Li Family Village did not directly participate in these activities; they only suppressed armed guards and protectors when they resisted. Faced with the heavily armed soldiers of Li Family Village, the so-called folk masters were no match for them and surrendered almost immediately after a single round.

In less than two days, Zhang Cheng completed the task assigned to him, and there was still a surplus of grain and valuables in the warehouse, which made him consider whether he should go to the surrounding villages and towns to take a look.

The late autumn night was already quite cold, and the pale moonlight shone on the earth, giving the night a little light.

At this moment, a group of men armed with weapons were escorting two carts of silver, traveling through a deserted wilderness.

The entire wilderness was devoid of any human presence, save for the unknown night birds perched in the trees, cooing loudly. Anyone traveling alone would be terrified to hear such a sound.

Rotting corpses can be seen everywhere along the roadside. Most of these people died of starvation, and the further away from Tangyin County you are, the more corpses there are.

At this time, most of the northern region was suffering from drought, and coupled with years of war, many villages were deserted, with no sign of human life.

The men escorting the silver cart took a short rest on a hillside.

The leader looked around somewhat uneasily: "Everyone, keep your eyes peeled. The master said that as long as we deliver these two carts of valuables to the destination, we will not only receive a generous reward, but each of us can also enjoy a day at Cuihua Tower."

After hearing the leader's words, everyone shut their mouths from their earlier complaints. Although the job was tiring, it was nothing compared to the pay and the women.

Just as the man was about to say something, a sharp arrow pierced his throat. The man struggled on the ground for a few moments, clutching his bleeding neck, before falling silent.

"Enemies! Everyone, engage them immediately!"

These people were skilled in martial arts; they quickly got up from the ground, weapons in hand, and began to look around.

Unfortunately, the enemy came prepared. Countless arrows rained down like a storm, quickly killing everyone on the spot. Apart from the horses pulling the cart, there was no one left alive.

More than thirty people dressed in black emerged from their hiding place. After carefully checking that no one was alive, the leader of the group ordered everyone to remove their black clothes, change into ordinary civilian attire, and drive towards Tangyin City.

One of them asked, somewhat puzzled, "Master, why do we still need to go to Tangyin? With this money, can't we just go and buy grain?"

“Remember, the most dangerous place is the safest place. Aren’t they going to send these silver coins to Tangyin City? We’ll be there too. No one will suspect that we’ll go into the city on our own initiative. Besides, I heard that there’s fine rice for sale in Tangyin City, and quite a lot of it. As long as we exchange all this silver for grain, our Zoroastrianism will get through this crisis.”

It turned out that this group of people were followers of the Zoroastrianism. After the failed uprising in Kaifeng, they fled north. Along the way, they continuously recruited new followers, gradually increasing their numbers to over ten thousand. Everyone needs to eat every day, and the sheer number of people and animals consuming food daily is terrifying. Li Zhen of Li Family Village, with his spatial abilities, didn't have this problem, but these people had nothing but their own beliefs. Left with no other option, they resorted to raiding wealthy landlords and other prominent families.

It's unclear how they learned that the Cui family had two cartloads of silver to transport to Tangyin City, but they started setting traps to ambush and kill them en route, which led to the scene just now.

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Inside a residence of the Cui family in Tangyin City, a steward stood anxiously outside the gate. A short while later, a servant on horseback galloped over, bringing with him terrible news: two silver carriages had been hijacked en route, and all the escorts had been killed.

Upon hearing this news, the manager immediately collapsed. This silver was the proceeds from selling grain in Luzhou; the two cartloads of silver amounted to hundreds of thousands of taels.

After the steward woke up, he immediately wrote a letter to the Cui family master and also sent someone to the Tangyin County government office to report the matter to the authorities.

Upon hearing that the Cui family's silver cart had been robbed, Zhang Cheng was greatly alarmed. After repeated cleansing by Li Family Village, his jurisdiction was virtually free of large groups of bandits. The fact that over a dozen strong bodyguards had been killed was something no ordinary bandit could accomplish.

Zhang Cheng suddenly thought of the strong and well-equipped soldiers of Li Family Village. Could it be them?

Zhang Cheng quickly dismissed the idea, because he knew Li Zhen's character. Li Zhen had a lot of resources, and he liked gold but had no interest in silver, so it couldn't have been done by the people of Li Family Village.

Zhang Cheng called over the county constable: "Quickly send someone to the scene to investigate. Also, go to Li Family Village and invite Chief Li to come here for a chat. If we want to find out who did it, we'll probably have to rely on Chief Li."

No one knows who spread the news that the Cui family's bodyguards had been ambushed, causing panic throughout Tangyin City. Many shops closed their doors early, before nightfall, and the streets were deserted, for fear of being targeted by those bandits.

Inside an inn in Tangyin City, three or four people were gathered in a fine room. They were Su Chi, the leader of the Zoroastrian sect, and several of its underlings, discussing their next move.

Now the government officials have set their sights on areas outside the city and have strengthened security in the surrounding villages and towns. They have no idea that the villains they are looking for are hiding right under their noses.

Su Chi: "How's the grain store we contacted going?"

One of his men whispered, "Master, the largest grain store in Tangyin City is the Sun Family Grain Store. They not only have ample grain reserves, but they also have high-quality rice that is rare even in the south. However, the price is much higher than in Kaifeng."

Su Chi sneered, “These unscrupulous merchants have no conscience at all. The common people can’t even afford food, yet they’re still driving up prices. Tomorrow, send someone to buy two cartloads of grains and deliver them to the leader and the others first. Then we’ll figure out a place to stay. This inn is too crowded and noisy; it’s not suitable for us to stay long.”

By this time, the silver in the carriage had already been buried in a hidden place in the city. Only two carriages without any markings were left unnoticed. Su Chi's public identity was that of a merchant from the south.