"The weather is lovely today. Why don't I accompany you there so you can see it for yourself?" Zhao Duan seemed very enthusiastic.
"Of course. But could you call your chief constable over to join us?" Tang Wen asked.
"Rest assured, my lord. Though bandits run rampant in the mountains outside the city, you needn't worry within a hundred li of Red River City. No one would dare set their sights on you." Zhao Duan had misunderstood.
"Haven't I heard that a band of robbers is stationed at Liangzi Stronghold?" Tang Wen asked.
"There is, but what do they amount to?
"They only make a little trouble here and there, and they never interfere with government affairs.
"You're a First-Class Earl and the Deputy Tuanlian Commissioner of Linghai. Who would dare tug at your whiskers?" Zhao Duan stroked his chin and smiled.
His Popularity Little Figure, however, wore a look of contempt, presumably wondering why Tang Wen was so timid and afraid of death.
"But I heard that Linghai's government grain was robbed at Jiudao Liangzi," Tang Wen said.
"That definitely wasn't Liangzi Stronghold's doing. They wouldn't dare. Robbing government grain is a grave crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's clan.
"In fact, I've looked into them. They're a group of impoverished people who had no food left and had no choice but to band together.
"They mainly live by farming and hunting. Only when that isn't enough do they occasionally steal some money, but they never hurt anyone.
"That's precisely why I've let them be.
"After all, there are countless cases like this throughout the country. As long as they don't cause any major trouble or rebel, the authorities keep one eye open and the other shut.
"Otherwise, if we insisted on killing every last