Chapter 30: 17th-Century Deduction

“Do you have an acquaintance at the Qiwei Escort Agency?” Xiao Zishan asked.

“Indeed,” Sun Chang said. “The manager and escorts there are all from my hometown.” The Qiwei Escort Agency, it turned out, was staffed entirely by people from Jiangxi, and their escort routes were limited to Guangzhou and Nanchang. Many of the escorts were even Sun Chang’s former martial arts brothers.

Xiao Zishan didn’t dare to make the decision to involve them. He told Sun Chang they would discuss it, and instructed him to guard the doors.

The Executive Committee, upon receiving the news, convened an emergency meeting. Someone had dared to kidnap a transmigrator! This was intolerable. They summoned Ran Yao, the former police officer, and several mystery enthusiasts. Xi Yazhou took out their few hidden shotguns. Someone suggested making hand grenades to “give the natives a taste.” Someone else was preparing to make sulfuric acid bombs. As the crowd grew more and more agitated, Ma Qianzhu stood up.

“We can’t send so many people.”

“Why?!” Engineer Wang demanded.

“It would be chaos,” Ma Qianzhu said. “That is Guangzhou of the Ming Dynasty. We are not familiar with it. What’s the use of sending so many people? We don’t even have a map. Even if we knew where Chief Wen was being held, could you find him?”

The crowd fell silent. No one had thought of that.

“The problems of the Ming Dynasty should be solved by the people of the Ming Dynasty. We need intelligence. Once we know his whereabouts, we can handle it. A military rescue or a ransom, neither is a problem. But a chaotic mess of people will only make things worse.”

“Ransom? I can’t believe you thought of that,” someone said indignantly. “We don’t do soft-egg things!” A murmur of agreement went through the crowd. They were “civilized and advanced modern people.” To compromise with the “ignorant and backward ancients” was a serious blow to their pride.

“If it can be resolved quickly and safely, compromise is not necessarily a bad method,” Ma Qianzhu insisted. “A military rescue is risky. We have no intelligence, and it could endanger Chief Wen. Our goal is not to fight the Ming Dynasty’s underworld.”

The crowd settled down.

“We will prepare with both hands,” Ma Qianzhu continued. “Ran Yao will go and check the scene. I believe his criminal investigation knowledge is sufficient. This is not some locked-room murder case, so the mystery buffs don’t need to go.”

A few weak protests were heard.

“In case a military solution is needed, Bei Wei is already there. The Sports Group will send two more people to assist him. Too many people would be a hindrance.”

Lin Shenhe squeezed forward. “I’ll go too. Let me take that Emei small-caliber rifle. I’ve played with sniper rifles in the US. I can hit a target at 500 meters.”

“Alright, you go too.”

“That’s all,” Ma Qianzhu said, waving away the other eager volunteers. He turned to Engineer Wang. “Tell Zishan to use the strength of the Ming people as much as possible, and not to be too superstitious about military force.”

“Alright.”

Ran Yao packed his camera and criminal investigation notebook. The Sports Group brought three five-shot shotguns, with only ten rounds each, and an assortment of reconnaissance equipment: night vision goggles, wireless beacons, recording pens, microphones, and cameras. They also packed two large backpacks full of smoke canisters, tear gas grenades, gas masks, and other miscellaneous items.

Ran Yao, with Xiao Zishan and Sun Chang, inspected Chief Wen’s room and the entire courtyard. Sun Chang was more surprised to see several more Australians appear out of thin air than he was to learn that Master Wen had been kidnapped. He watched as the new Australian silently searched the house and courtyard, climbing ladders, lying on the ground with a small glass mirror, scribbling in a notebook. He must be an Australian constable, he thought.

After more than an hour, Ran Yao had a general understanding of the crime.

“This was a coordinated effort,” he said, drawing a floor plan on a black-lacquered rosewood table with a piece of chalk. “The criminals came over the wall here. It’s high, 7-8 meters. They must have used a grappling hook. There are scratch marks on the top of the wall, and a lot of tiles have fallen off.

“They used knockout incense in the outer courtyard to knock out the servants, then came in and knocked out our four comrades, from east to west. They searched the rooms, then tried to pry open the grate of the crossing point room. There are at least three or four pry marks on the grate.

“Finally, they took the unconscious Chief Wen and left through the back gate.

“From the footprints, there were at least four people, between 1.55 and 1.60 meters tall. They were professionals.

“There is a rather peculiar phenomenon. One of the four sets of footprints was barefoot. This could be a breakthrough.”

“Do you mean those social groups that are accustomed to being barefoot?”

“Yes. It shows that there are people in this group who are accustomed to being barefoot. This is unlikely to be a personal hobby, but a common habit of a certain social group.”

“Then who could they be?”

“I am not a historian,” Ran Yao said helplessly. In modern times, this case would be simple. But this was the 17th century. There were no fingerprint files, no criminal records.

The group was disappointed. They had thought a professional criminal investigator would solve the case in a flash.

“Can you see anything else? The motive?” Xiao Zishan asked.

“It was premeditated. The criminals knew the layout of the courtyard. They only used knockout incense in the inhabited rooms. And they knew you had strong defensive capabilities. This was a reconnaissance operation.

“As for the motive, it’s puzzling. They came for property, but to kidnap only Chief Wen… it seems to be a targeted kidnapping.”

“Do they know his identity as an Australian sea merchant?”

“I think so. They stole your modern small things—shoes, socks, pens. They came prepared.”

“What do you mean?”

“This matter is not as simple as theft or kidnapping for ransom. I don’t think kidnapping Chief Wen was necessarily for the purpose of extortion.”

They agreed to use the power of the Ming people to gather information. Xiao Zishan called Sun Chang. “Call the manager of the Qiwei Escort Agency here.”