Chapter 13: The Scapegoat
Inside the Gathering Immortals Pavilion, an eerie silence reigned.
The phrase "complete eradication" hit like ice water in the dead of winter, pouring from the crown of the heads of Cao Xun and the others all the way down to their heels, freezing the marrow in their bones.
They stared at the greasy-faced fat man, and at the twenty silent black-armored demon gods standing behind him, their hearts drained of any flicker of hope.
This was not a negotiation; it was a declaration.
"Commander Fan..." Cao Xun’s voice was as dry as sandpaper, "This matter... this matter is of great consequence. We need to return and deliberate. I beg you, Commander, grant us a few more days’ grace..."
"I said three days," Fan Tong said, picking a bone to clean his teeth without even glancing at him. "Three days from now, I want to see the food supplies and silver at the camp outside the city. If I don’t, I’ll come to your mansions myself and collect it house by house."
His tone was bland, as if he were talking about what to eat for dinner.
Yet that calm tone was more terrifying than any fierce threat.
Cao Xun and his companions fled the Gathering Immortals Pavilion as if pursued by demons.
“Boss, are we really going to let them go just like that?” Bao Nianfeng asked in a low, gruff voice, his hands itching.
“No rush,” Fan Tong tossed the bone onto the table, picked up a roasted lamb leg, and bit into it fiercely. “The fish is on the hook. Now we just wait for them to tighten the net themselves.”
The Cao family mansion was brightly lit.
In a secret chamber, the most powerful merchants of Datong Prefecture sat with increasingly grim expressions.
“Bang!” Wang Chengyu slammed his palm on the table so hard it reddened.
“Outrageous! A mere commander of the Fire Troops dares to defecate on our heads! Does he think we’re made of mud?!”
“What good is complaining now?” another merchant surnamed Li paced anxiously. “That fat man is a madman! I can see it — he means what he says! If he doesn’t get what he wants in three days, he’ll slaughter us all!”
“Quiet!” Cao Xun sat in the main seat, his face dark but his eyes icy calm. He knocked on the table, drawing all eyes to him.
“What’s the panic? The sky hasn’t fallen yet.”
He slowly surveyed the group, his voice devoid of warmth.
“We all underestimated Fan Tong. He’s not a fierce tiger; he’s a mad dog that can never be tamed. Whoever has the hardest bones, he bites.”
“So what do we do? Empty our coffers to him?” Wang Chengyu asked bitterly.
“Empty them?” Cao Xun sneered. “What he wants is an explanation. Since that’s the case, we’ll give him an ‘explanation.’”
He took out a dossier from his breast pocket and tossed it onto the table.
“The Qiao family has risen in the past two years by dealing in leather goods. Their foundation is the weakest, but their ambition the greatest. Moreover, they have never been aligned with us, always wanting to carve out a share.”
The others instantly understood Cao Xun’s meaning.
“You mean... use the Qiao family as scapegoats?”
“What other choice?” Cao Xun’s eyes grew sharp. “Blame them entirely for Li Hu’s defection! Say they colluded with the Yuan and plotted treason, which we uncovered. We’re making amends for our crimes by eliminating traitors for the court! And the grain and silver we gather will be said to be seized stolen goods from the Qiao family!”
“Brilliant!” Wang Chengyu’s eyes lit up. “That way, we protect ourselves, eliminate a rival, and curry favor with Fan Tong — killing three birds with one stone!”
“Let’s do it!”
“I agree!”
The men all echoed the plan, their earlier fear and panic instantly replaced by greed and cruelty.
Cao Xun nodded in satisfaction and added, “We can’t do this halfway. Send men immediately to Yingtian Prefecture to deliver silver to the right people and smooth things out at court. Also, send word to the Northern Desert that we can supply more iron goods. Tell Arutai to stir up some trouble at the border and pressure Xu Da.”
One poisonous scheme after another spilled from his mouth, thickening the room’s air with bloodlust and malice.
---
“As for ourselves...” A flash of murderous intent crossed Cao Xun’s eyes. “Mobilize all private soldiers, just in case. That Fan Tong had better be sensible and take what he wants and leave. If not...”
He made a throat-slitting gesture.
The next day, Wang Chengyu came alone again to the Gathering Immortals Pavilion, his face heavy with sorrow and anger.
Behind him, a few retainers carried several chests.
“Commander Fan! It’s all been investigated! Everything’s been uncovered!”
Wang Chengyu knelt at the entrance, sobbing and pleading, “We are guilty! Fooled by traitors, nearly causing a disaster!”
Fan Tong, supervising the maintenance of the ferocious black-armored demons, raised an eyebrow and watched his performance with amusement.
“Oh? Do tell.”
“It’s the Qiao family! The newly risen Qiao family!” Wang Chengyu beat his chest, playing the part with heartfelt sincerity. “They secretly colluded with the Yuan, trafficked military supplies, and bribed Li Hu! We just found the evidence and raided their homes overnight, recovering part of the grain and silver!”
He waved his hand, and the retainers opened the chests neatly stacked with silver ingots and gold bars.
“Here are one hundred thousand taels of silver, and secret letters they were about to send beyond the border! Please, Commander, see for yourself! We are victims too!”
As Wang Chengyu spoke, he stole glances at Fan Tong’s face.
He saw greed and delight flash across it, and his heart leapt with secret joy.
It worked!
This brute truly was blinded by money!
Fan Tong stepped forward, picked up a silver ingot, bit it, and nodded approvingly.
“Good, real gold and silver.”
He looked at Wang Chengyu, his smile warm and benign as a laughing Buddha.
“Boss Wang understands the situation well. I will surely report this to the commander and commend you.”
“Not at all! Serving the court is our duty!” Wang Chengyu bowed deeply, his heart now calm.
“However...” Fan Tong shifted tone.
Wang Chengyu’s heart jumped.
“I’m a man who believes in seeing is believing. You must have witnesses for these claims.”
Fan Tong clapped his hands.
“Boss Qiao, you heard everything. Come out.”
A trembling figure staggered out from behind a screen on the second floor.
Pale and shaking like a leaf in the autumn wind, it was Qiao Juren, head of the Qiao family.
The moment Wang Chengyu saw Qiao Juren, all color drained from his face. He collapsed, as if his bones had been sucked dry.
Only two words remained in his mind: It’s over.
“Boss Wang,” Fan Tong squatted down with a smile, patting Wang Chengyu’s lifeless face, “Who did you say was the traitor just now?”
“I... I...” Wang Chengyu’s lips trembled, but he couldn’t utter a word.
His supposedly flawless scheme had been a joke from start to finish.
This fat man was no greedy fool; he was a fierce tiger in pig’s clothing, devouring without leaving bones.
Fan Tong ignored him and ordered Bao Nianfeng to drag Qiao Juren away.
---
He approached the terrified Qiao Juren, handed him a piece of watermelon, and spoke warmly as if to an old friend.
“Old Qiao, see, they want you dead, want your whole family to take the blame. Now, I’m giving you a chance.”
Qiao Juren’s breath grew rapid.
“Are their seats comfortable? Do you want to try sitting there yourself?”
That sentence struck like lightning, clearing the chaos in Qiao Juren’s mind.
He raised his head, eyes flashing with resolute cruelty as he looked at Fan Tong’s smiling, fat face.
He knew this was the Qiao family’s only chance.
Either be scapegoats for Cao, Wang, and the others and have their entire family executed...
Or trample those corpses to become the new masters of Datong Prefecture!
“I want it!” Qiao Juren’s hoarse voice rang with conviction.
“Good.” Fan Tong nodded with satisfaction. “Then show some sincerity first.”
He leaned close to Qiao Juren’s ear and whispered, “Tell me, where are those private soldiers they keep hidden?”
A fierce light ignited in Qiao Juren’s eyes.
He knew this was his pledge of allegiance.
“Commander! The private soldiers secretly kept by the Cao, Wang, and Li families number over fifteen hundred! They disguise themselves as caravan guards and tenant farmers on various estates!”
“Their armor far surpasses the garrison’s! Especially the Cao family, who even smuggled heavy armor and powerful crossbows from the Yuan!”
“Besides these, we small merchants have our own alliance. When you give the order, Commander, the Qiao family is ready to be your vanguard, coordinating all families to work with you!”
Fan Tong’s smile grew brighter.
This was exactly what he wanted.
A local power familiar with the situation, carrying a blood feud against the great merchant families.
“Very good, excellent,” Fan Tong said, picking up the so-called “secret letter” from the floor and blowing off the dust.
He looked at Qiao Juren and issued his first command.
“Now tell me, where are their troops hidden?”
A flush of excitement colored Qiao Juren’s eyes as he answered without hesitation.
“To the west of the city, there’s an abandoned Dragon King Temple! Underground in the secret cellar are enough weapons and armor to equip five hundred men! The nearby village is where their private soldiers are stationed!”
“Dragon King Temple?”
Fan Tong sneered and tore the letter to shreds.
“Bao Nianfeng!”
“Here!”
“Gather all the men and depart immediately!”
Fan Tong’s voice brimmed with the cruel excitement of a feast about to begin.
“Now, let’s go give the Dragon King... a little eviction notice!”