The arrival of Bai Yousi's Patrol Cavalry at Yangzi Ford sent shock waves through both local officialdom and the populace. Clearly, quite apart from the special nature of the Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry themselves, their swift journey by fast horses and downstream boats had left Jiangdu no time to receive any useful information... Of course, this was standard practice on their regular patrols: the whole point was to catch local governments off guard and shake things up.
Only this time, everyone in the Second Patrol Team knew perfectly well that there was no transferred case or imperial fugitive. They were simply to wait here until the New Year, collect holiday gifts from the prefectures and commanderies of Jiangdong, then escort replenishment grain back to the Eastern Capital in spring.
It was the twenty-eighth day of the tenth month. The first month of winter was drawing to a close, and deep winter would soon be upon them.
"The common people here are especially afraid of us."
Qin Bao shook his head slightly as he led his Lumpy Spotted Beast toward the posthouse beside the ferry crossing.
"Where aren't the common people afraid of us?" Beside him, Li Qingchen displayed his customary excess of eagerness to talk. "We're Patrol Cavalry from the Jing'an Directorate's Central Pacification Office. We serve as the court's hawks and hounds-the brocade-clad dogs they talk about. Whenever we appear, it's to arrest people and investigate cases. Even central government officials in the Eastern Capital steer clear of us, let alone people in Jiangdu, thousands of li away. Besides, Jiangdu is so wealthy on the one hand, yet on the other it's the court's most distant major regional command. Heaven is high and the emperor far away. As long as they can keep their superiors in the dark, there's no