xymnovel Chapter 285 The Situation
Chapter 285 The Situation
Chapter 285 The Situation (Part 1)
When Shao Shuyi received the message from the Jiangyin Prefecture government, he was squatting in the Huangtian Trading Company, taking stock of accounts.
There were about a dozen Shengye Trading Company employees standing in the backyard. Some were sharpening knives, some were filling water bags, and others were simply sitting and chatting.
Yan Zhongyi, Ding Ren, Zhou Saner, and Zhou Chongwu were the "Four Great Warriors" of the haulers. At this time, each of them led a team of men, holding long spears, and practiced military formations.
Judging from their serious demeanor, they were very earnest.
"Brother, people from the state have arrived," Tie Niu reported as he entered.
Shao Shuyi closed the account book and looked at Fan Ting, the clerk of the prefectural government, standing outside. He saw that Fan Ting was covered in sweat and his robe was stained with mud, indicating that he had rushed over.
"Come in and talk," Shao Shuyi beckoned.
Fan Ting smiled broadly, bowed upon entering, and said, "Shao She, you must have heard about the Bi Si gang?"
Shao Shuyi grunted and said, "Get to the point. What does the trouble in Changzhou have to do with Jiangyin?"
Fan Ting smiled wryly and lowered his voice, saying, "Shao She is joking. To be honest, we mobilized archers from two counties and one prefecture in Changzhou Road, and also invited the garrison troops from the Wanhu Prefecture to surround the area. However, Bi Si and his men killed and wounded dozens of people and even hijacked an official ship transporting grain."
Now Bi Si, with his thirty-six men, is heading south along the Grand Canal. It's said they've reached the vicinity of the canal's mouth, only a few dozen miles from Jiangyin. The prefect is so anxious he's getting blisters on his lips. After much thought, he concludes that in Jiangyin, the only one capable of fighting is Shao She.
Shao Shuyi remained noncommittal, only asking, "Does the Prefect believe the thieves intend to infiltrate Jiangyin?"
"Exactly," Fan Ting said. "Now that the government troops are mostly in the west, Bi Si, if he's not stupid, wouldn't go west to invite trouble. So the only option is to go east. Considering they've hijacked several ships, the only way now is to sneak into Jiangyin, take the (Xicheng) Canal out to Huangtian Port, cross the Yangtze River, and return to Huainan."
"That's interesting." Shao Shuyi thought about it and had to admit that the general direction of this idea was correct.
"How many people does Bi Si have? What are their weapons like? Do you know the details of their leaders?" he asked again.
Fan Ting was overjoyed to see that he did not refuse, and hurriedly said: "According to news from Changzhou, Bi Si's gang consists of 36 people. They were originally fishermen and commoners from Huaixi. Due to the government's additional levies, they simply raised a flag and became bandits."
The leader was named Bi Si, who was skilled with an iron spear and a good swimmer, able to stay underwater for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.
The rest of the men were mostly from poor backgrounds and seemed to have been through many battles in Huaixi, so they were quite fierce and brave.
Their equipment wasn't bad; they had one or two sets of worn-out iron armor, several new leather armors, and seven or eight bows, but no muskets. But what was most dangerous was that they had seized an official ship, on which, besides provisions, were two military crossbows.
Shao Shuyi frowned slightly.
The crossbow, a proper military weapon, is cocked by stepping on the string and has a range of two hundred paces. Iron armor is as fragile as paper in front of it.
The fact that this gang of thieves could get their hands on something like this means they pose a significant threat. Now, we can only hope that they haven't encountered this kind of thing before and don't know how to use it.
"What other plans does the government have?" Shao Shuyi asked.
Fan Ting sighed and said, "The Darughachi of Changzhou has already issued fire warrants, ordering each patrol office to select archers and able-bodied men to cooperate with the garrison troops in the suppression. But as you know, Shao She, the fighting at Huashan has lasted for more than two months, and the Changzhou Wanhu Prefecture has had many troops withdrawn. The remaining old, weak, sick, and disabled are lucky if they can hold the camp."
Zhang Gong's idea is that before Bi Si sneaks into Jiangyin territory, Shao She, you should take men to intercept them. The prefecture will also send people to negotiate amnesty. If amnesty fails, then—resolve the matter on the spot." When he said "resolve the matter on the spot," his voice was very low, and his eyes flickered.
"Does Jiangyin Prefecture have the authority to offer amnesty?" Shao Shuyi asked.
"No, that's not the case. Let's keep them calm for now and wait for a reply from Hangzhou," Fan Ting said. "Generally speaking, if a local government wants to be recruited, the province is unlikely to refuse and will usually comply."
Shao Shuyi remained silent for a moment, then turned to look at the dozen or so men in the courtyard.
Gao Daqiang was listening intently, and when he saw Shao Shuyi looking over, he nodded vigorously.
After a moment's thought, Liang Tai said, "It's really inappropriate for thieves to block the Grand Canal."
Shao Shuyi then looked at Yu Yuan.
Yu Yuan nodded to Shao Shuyi and said, "Brother, Changzhou is of utmost importance."
"I only have a few dozen men I can immediately deploy," Shao Shuyi said, turning to Fan Ting. "Could the prefecture provide me with two thousand archers? They don't need to be particularly skilled fighters; just enough to bolster morale and guard the retreat route. The prefecture will also provide provisions, arrows, and rewards."
Fan Ting nodded repeatedly and said, "Archers can be transferred, as can provisions and weapons. The prefect said that as long as Bi Si can be pacified, everything will be done according to Shao She's wishes."
After saying that, he added, "I heard that Shaoshe wanted to buy raw silk and brocade, and the prefecture is already making arrangements. Yesterday, Gushan sent 300 shi of raw silk, and today Changjing sent another 470 shi. In a few days, Taining Township will also send more than 300 shi —"
Shao Shuyi stood up, pondered for a moment, and then called out, "Foya, go to Matuosha, gather the men, and take all the weapons and armor. We'll set off tomorrow. Yu She, send someone to the dock to scout out any merchants from Changzhou and find out about Bi Si's group, especially which direction they went."
The courtyard immediately erupted in chaos as Liang Tai and Yu Yuan took their orders and left.
Gao Daqiang then instructed the soldiers to check if anything was missing.
Shao Shuyi walked to the corner of the courtyard, lifted a piece of oilcloth, and revealed several suits of armor underneath.
These were sent over by the Han army's interpreters. There were five sets in total. They were a little worn, but they were iron armor after all, which provided much better protection than leather armor.
He picked out the most complete set and kept it for himself, planning to find someone to help him put on the armor later so he could get used to it.
As for how to allocate the other pairs, he still needs to consider it. In principle, each captain and vanguard must have one.
******
The city walls of Changzhou appeared a weary gray-white in the twilight.
These past few days, the city gates have been closing a full hour earlier than usual. Before the sun has even set, the archers guarding the city have begun to drive away the crowds coming in and out, shouting gruffly, "The city gates are closing! The city gates are closing!" They swung their spears horizontally, shoving away several porters who were trying to squeeze in.
The drawbridge winch creaked and groaned, mingling with the stomping and sighs of people outside the city.
However, it seems there's no major problem.
After sighing for a while, these people almost unanimously began to take a detour, preparing to sneak into the city through the broken part of the city wall. The current city wall of Changzhou was first built during the Yang Wu period. It was 27 li and 37 steps in circumference and 2 zhang high, with nine city gates. It was severely damaged by war at the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty. The next large-scale repair in history would not have been until the period when Zhang Shicheng and Tang He repeatedly fought over this place.
Although the city gates were closed, Changzhou was far from peaceful.
The atmosphere in the signing hall of the governor's mansion was somber.
Darughachi Hubuhu sat in the main seat, his face as gloomy as if it were about to rain.
On the long table in front of him were seven or eight documents. Some were urgent reports from various patrol offices, some were petitions from Wujin, Jinling, Wuxi and other prefectures and counties, and one was a letter of appeal for help written by several merchants on the Grand Canal. The corners of the letters were crumpled, showing that the messengers had been running very fast.
"Bi Si and his gang of thieves hijacked another ship yesterday." Zhang Xiaoxian, the assistant magistrate, stood to the side, holding a newly delivered report in his hand. His voice was dry. "It was a grain ship from Suzhou, carrying two hundred shi of white rice and twenty bolts of silk. There were twelve sailors on board. Three were killed, and the rest jumped into the river. Two of them have not yet been recovered."
Hu Buduhua slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups clatter.
Zhang Xiaoxian gave a wry smile and remained silent.
Judge Li Mao, sitting at the lower seat, sighed and said, "Sir, the garrison troops arrived at the West Gate this afternoon, but before they could even set up camp, the commander of the thousand men said that they didn't have enough rations and wanted to go back to their garrison to ask for more. I pleaded and begged, and managed to scrape together fifty ingots of silver and one hundred shi of rice to keep him here. But the commander said that his soldiers only guard the city, they don't go to the countryside, let alone to the Grand Canal."
"Damn it!" Hu Buhu cursed, but his voice lacked conviction. He knew the nature of these garrison soldiers; they wouldn't necessarily do their job even if they took the money, and if pushed too far, they might even break camp and run away in the middle of the night.
Hurried footsteps sounded again outside the hall, and a constable ran in, sweating profusely, and reported: "Sir, someone from Luoshe Station has come to report that Bi Si's men appeared this morning with two boats, with flags on them, and—and—"
"What else? Speak!"
"They even hung a drum on the boat, saying it was taken from an official ship. They would beat it every time they crossed a ferry, and they would boast that the soldiers on Changzhou Road were all good-for-nothings and that anyone who dared to come would be challenged."
Hu Buduhua was so angry that his face turned white. He stood up and paced back and forth in the signing hall, his boots clattering on the blue bricks.
A moment later, he suddenly stopped, turned to look at Li Mao, and asked, "What did they say in Jiangyin? Didn't Zhang Yang say he'd send someone to invite that salt smuggler?"
Li Mao quickly stood up and said, "This morning I received a reply from Jiangyin saying that a man named Cao Luo has agreed and will lead men to intercept them. Zhang Weigong said in his letter that this man is quite brave and fierce. Last year, when the Huai bandits occupied Qinwang Mountain, it was he who led the men to wipe them out."
Hubuhu snorted and said, "Salt smugglers are bandits after all. But for now—well, let him come. As long as he can settle Bi Si's case, I'll ask for a reward for him."
Having said that, he sat back down in his chair, glanced at the letter pleading for help on the table, and after a moment of silence, suddenly asked, "How many merchant ships are left on the canal?"
Zhang Xiaoxian shook his head and said, "Not many left. Since last month, ships coming from the north have stopped going south after reaching Lianhu Lake, and ships going up from the south have stopped going north after reaching Wuxi. Now the Changzhou section of the Grand Canal is almost completely closed to navigation. Only a few daring official ships still dare to sail. Merchant ships are all moored on both banks, some of which have been moored for more than ten days."
Yesterday I had someone check, and there were over forty boats docked at the canal wharves outside Changzhou city alone, carrying rice, cloth, and other goods.
Salt, ironware, everything was there, the goods worth at least tens of thousands of ingots. The ship owners were in a panic, some already trying to bribe Bi Si to get the thieves to let them pass.
Hu Buduhua became even more agitated upon hearing this.
Thirty-six bandits wreaked havoc in Changzhou, but he was powerless to suppress them and could only watch as the situation deteriorated day by day.
To put it mildly, this is incompetence; to put it more seriously, it is dereliction of duty.
Besides, these days, who in business doesn't have connections? If this drags on any longer, it could cause trouble if someone in the province becomes dissatisfied with him.
"You—" Hu Buduhua pointed at Judge Li Mao and said, "Immediately send someone to Jiangyin to find out where Cao Luo is and send him a letter."
Li Mao was taken aback at first, then replied with a "yes".
Given this situation, the government's authority has been completely undermined, and there is truly no other way.
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