However, they had all dressed as ordinary commoners and slipped in disguised as a merchant caravan, so they had attracted little attention.
Mei Niansu personally brewed the tea, while Luo Yiwu stood to one side in attendance.
"Any new discoveries?" Tang Wen asked after taking a sip of tea and sitting down.
"We already infiltrated Liangzi Stronghold to scout it out. Security has been tight there lately, as though they're guarding against something," Yan Beitian said.
"Could they really have robbed the grain convoy?" Tang Wen stroked his chin.
"It is suspicious, but we also made some inquiries at the government offices. Liangzi Stronghold is just as the rumors outside describe.
"They occasionally rob traveling merchants, but they generally don't hurt anyone. They only take valuables.
"Since they haven't done too much harm, and they have quite a few men,
"the authorities prefer to avoid the trouble. Better one less problem than one more, so they turn a blind eye," Yan Beitian said. "Of course, Liangzi Stronghold's strategic terrain, easy to defend and hard to attack, may be another reason.
"If the authorities wanted to wipe them out, they would suffer considerable losses too.
"They've been holed up on that hill for over a hundred years."
"They seem never to rob government property. Although they're nearly a hundred li from Red River City, that isn't very far. Why were they so brazen this time that they dared to rob government grain?" Luo Yiwu said.
"Yes, I've racked my brains and still can't understand it. Isn't Liangzi Stronghold afraid of being wiped out?
"But apart from Liangzi Stronghold, there simply aren't any large bandit lairs within a hundred li of here.
"There are a few scattered bands, but none has more than two hundred men.
"How could they defeat the soldiers