Who was Xu Dalang?
He was the actual head of Jibei's foremost powerful clan, a hereditary remnant of Eastern Qi, a man naturally opposed to Great Wei because the highest avenues of official advancement his family had inherited for generations had been cut off, and the chief of the largest band of outlaws around Juye Marsh.
A man like him had committed more unlawful deeds than anyone could count, yet he had lived perfectly well to this day.
But today, just when every discerning person, himself included, believed his greatest enemy-the Great Wei court-had begun walking down a road of no return, a mere case involving stolen imperial horses had left him drenched in sweat.
The reason could not have been simpler. One wrong turn in this affair, and his property might truly be confiscated and his entire clan exterminated.
The others, whether Li Shu or Xiong Bonan, had clearly realized something too, and fell silent for a time.
To put it plainly, at a time like this, even if you actually rebelled, nobody would necessarily bother with you. Things were too chaotic, and too many people were turning into rebels of their own accord... With so many men deserting, hadn't they only publicly killed a few hundred to anoint the war drums? Had that stopped anyone else from running off to become a rebel?
But a few imperial horses had gone missing, and the Jing'an Directorate was under direct pressure from the very top. They needed to produce results, and with so little time, even if those horses were not in the Xu family's hands, they might well hold the Xu family responsible... Who had made him the number-one outlaw around Juye Marsh?
No wonder Xu Dalang had lost his composure so badly.
"That's all I have to say."