The journey from Yongcheng to Fengyang passed through quite a few prefectures and counties. As Zhu Jinsong was not in a particular hurry, he ambled along, passing through prefectures and counties, stopping for a couple of days here, and three days there, enjoying himself.
Unfortunately, Zhu Jinsong’s good mood came to an abrupt end when he reached a village near Fengyang.
At the entrance to the village, a woman sat with her legs spread wide, slapping her thighs rhythmically and letting out occasional cries. Several other women surrounded her, constantly trying to console her, but to no avail. About ten paces away from these women, a group of young men had gathered. Many held sticks and cleavers, while some men dressed as militia members carried flintlock rifles. Occasionally, someone would raise an arm and shout something.
As fate would have it, the appearance of Zhu Jinsong and his entourage seemed to provide a target for the young men in the village. When someone pointed at Zhu Jinsong, the group of young men, each armed with their weapons, surrounded Zhu Jinsong and his party.
This genuinely terrified Ke Zhiming.
Under normal circumstances, when the Emperor travels, organizations like the Heaven and Earth Society, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Directorate of Ceremonial would be the first to act, investigating the conditions of the villages and towns along the route. Any hint of danger would be resolved beforehand. If they encountered a situation like Gao Dajin’s, they would even deploy troops specifically to ensure absolute safety before the Emperor’s involvement.
But now, this unremarkable village, Old Wang Village, was categorized in the reports from the Heaven and Earth Society and the Embroidered Uniform Guard as a safe zone that could be passed through with only a few escorts, with no danger to the Emperor or the court. Yet, as the Emperor approached the village, he found the young men of the village gathered at the entrance, holding sticks and flintlock rifles, deliberating on something…
On a smaller scale, this was a dereliction of duty by the Heaven and Earth Society and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. On a larger scale, perhaps thousands of heads would be considered too few.
Just as Ke Zhiming was contemplating whether to atone for his failure with his own death, one person emerged from the group of young men and quickly approached Zhu Jinsong and his party.
This somewhat reassured Ke Zhiming.
Since one person had stepped forward, and they were empty-handed, without any sticks or flintlock rifles, it suggested that something had suddenly happened in the village, rather than someone targeting Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming.
As the man approached, he bowed to Zhu Jinsong, who was on horseback, and asked, “May I ask if you are guests passing through this road?”
After Zhu Jinsong nodded, the man continued, “May I ask, sir, have you encountered anyone on the road? Especially anyone carrying a child about two or three years old?”
Zhu Jinsong thought for a moment and confirmed that he had not encountered anyone like that along the way. He then replied, “I have not encountered anyone along the way. May I ask, brother, has something happened here?”
The man slapped his thigh and sighed, “Another two-and-a-half-year-old child has been lost from our village! These traffickers these days, who knows where they’ll take the child! Damn it all!”
Zhu Jinsong was somewhat bewildered.
Another?
A child had been abducted from the village, and not for the first time?
This was unusual, as the laws of the Great Ming were extremely strict, even cruel, in their provisions for many crimes.
For instance, kidnapping and mutilation, or child abduction, upon capture, would result in all involved, regardless of their role, being subjected to slow slicing, their families confiscated, and their entire lineage wiped out. Even the common exemption in the Great Ming Code, "those aged seventy and above, or seven and below, are exempt from this rule," was specifically removed, making it even more severe than treason or disrespect.
At the very least, Zhu Jinsong had not seen any mutilated children begging along the way, nor had he seen any beggars. Although the remnants of the Great Qing had left many such problems, the Great Ming court in Zhu Jinsong’s version could conduct grid-like investigations through the Provincial Administration Commission, Prefectures, Counties, Townships, and Villages. Once a mutilated child was found, they would be sent to an orphanage. If they could work, they would be assigned tasks, and if they were unable to work, they would be cared for by the government. Able-bodied beggars were directly sent to construction sites to work.
In short, being a beggar in the Great Ming was a dangerous affair, and kidnapping and mutilation were capital offenses that could lead to the death of the entire family. Although it was impossible to completely eliminate child abduction, under the threat of severe punishment and extermination, such incidents were ultimately much fewer.
The problem was, according to the man in front of him, children had been lost in this village before?
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Jinsong directly asked, “Elder brother, from what you said, it seems that children have been lost from the village, and more than one?”
The man clearly had no mood for a leisurely explanation and merely nodded, saying, “With what has happened in the village today, we will not be able to entertain guests.”
Zhu Jinsong quickly stopped the man and said, “Wait a moment! How long has the child been missing? I am not very talented, but I have many connections. I am acquainted with the officials in our county, prefecture, and even the imperial court. Why don’t you explain the matter in detail? I will have someone report it to the authorities, and the constables can investigate. How about it? Also, my dozen or so guards all have warhorses, and behind them are some attendants, who can also help you search for the child.”
The man, who had been somewhat impatient, immediately changed his expression like a performer in Sichuan opera upon hearing Zhu Jinsong’s words. With a face full of gratitude, he said, “That would be wonderful. If the child can be found, all the people of Old Wang Village will be eternally grateful for your great kindness. The Wang Er family will surely erect a longevity tablet for you, with incense burning day and night!”
Zhu Jinsong did not particularly believe in these last-minute promises, nor would he have cared much even if he did. Zhu Jinsong merely asked again, “How long has the child been missing? The shorter the time, the greater the chance of finding them.”
The man quickly replied, “Reporting to the young master, the child has been missing for about half an hour.”
Zhu Jinsong grunted and, after a moment of silent calculation, turned and instructed Ke Zhiming, “Send men to search. With the village as the center, within a radius of fifty li, even rat holes must be turned over and searched!”
As Zhu Jinsong finished speaking, four of the more than ten horse guards following him separated and galloped off in four different directions.
The man’s joy intensified. He immediately bowed slightly and extended his hand, leading Zhu Jinsong towards the village, saying, “Thank you, young master. Please rest in the village for a while?”
The man did not doubt Zhu Jinsong’s bragging, because no matter how unobservant someone was, just looking at Zhu Jinsong’s attire and the fine horse beneath him, as well as the exceptionally spirited horses ridden by his attendants, was enough to prove Zhu Jinsong’s status. If Zhu Jinsong’s Arabian horse were compared to a Bugatti, and the purebred horses of his attendants to a Ferrari, would that be easily understood?
He clearly possessed significant power.
Zhu Jinsong did not stand on ceremony and followed the man into the village.
After all, he was helping them find the child, so it was only fair that they provide him with a meal or two. At most, he would leave them some money before leaving.
As they walked, Zhu Jinsong asked, “I just heard you say, old brother, that another child was lost in this village, meaning that children have been lost before?”
The man replied, “Reporting to the young master, since the reign of Emperor Qianlong, many children have been lost from our village. After His Majesty ascended the throne, the number of lost children decreased significantly, but every year or two, a child still goes missing. Even after reporting it to the authorities and the government dispatched personnel, the child was still not found.”
Zhu Jinsong nodded and continued to ask, “Are both boys and girls lost, or only boys or only girls?”
The man said, “Who would steal a girl? The brothels are strictly managed now, and they are not allowed to raise girls from a young age, so no one would easily steal a girl.”
Zhu Jinsong grunted and asked again, “Are these child disappearances only happening in your village, or are neighboring villages also losing children?”
The man replied, “All of them are losing children!”
Only then did Zhu Jinsong stop asking, nodding thoughtfully.
…
While Zhu Jinsong was resting in the village with the man, the Embroidered Uniform Guard officers who had received Zhu Jinsong’s orders went into a frenzy.
Regardless of the reason, an abduction of a child had occurred right under the Emperor’s nose. What was this? This was the dereliction of duty by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Heaven and Earth Society!
How could the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who always considered themselves the Emperor’s personal guard, tolerate this?
To find the lost child in the shortest possible time, these Embroidered Uniform Guard officers directly found nearby personnel from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Heaven and Earth Society, and then notified the Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guard who were in the vicinity. They immediately sealed off an area with Old Wang Village as the center, within a radius of fifty li!
As Zhu Jinsong had said, they searched thoroughly, overturning every rat hole. Government offices, private residences, shops, and inns were all turned upside down. Even the mountains and wilderness had to be searched.
Such a large-scale search naturally could not avoid alerting the child abductors.
The abductor holding the child became somewhat flustered. “What do we do? This is all ‘hawk-claws’ everywhere. They’re about to search here.”
Another abductor said indignantly, “Don’t ask me, I don’t know either. Damn it, who did we kidnap that the child is so precious?”
The abductor holding the child whispered, “The more precious he is, the more miserably we’ll die! What do we do now? Should we abandon him here, or just kill the child and be done with it?”
Another abductor became even angrier and slapped the one holding the child, scolding in a low voice, “Are you crazy! If we abandon the child, those ‘hawk-claws’ can still take the child back to report their success, and we’ll still have hope. If you kill the child, will those ‘hawk-claws’ let us off?”
“Listen to me, we’ll put the child in a conspicuous place on the road later. Let them find the child. As long as they find him, they’ll naturally disperse. From now on, we’ll stay far away from Old Wang Village.”
“Damn it, it’s really bizarre. This Old Wang Village, a place where not even birds defecate, has such a precious child? Could it be an illegitimate child raised by the Emperor?”
The abductor holding the child shivered violently and said with a mournful face, “Senior brother, don’t scare me. I heard that the Emperor has Embroidered Uniform Guards under him, all of whom are incredibly capable. What if…”
The other abductor slapped the one holding the child again and whispered, “Nonsense about being incredibly capable! So many children have been lost in the past few years, do you think the government wouldn’t have asked the Embroidered Uniform Guard for help?”
“Let me tell you, the Embroidered Uniform Guard are also human. They need to eat, drink, and relieve themselves. Even if they have some abilities beyond ordinary people, they are still flesh and blood. As long as we are careful, they won’t find us.”
The abductor holding the child was finally somewhat at ease and slowly followed his senior brother towards the road.
And the development of events indeed did not deviate from the expectation of the abductor’s senior brother. After discovering the crying child, those “hawk-claws” continued their search for a while longer before ending it, which allowed these two abductors to breathe a sigh of relief.