Chapter 567: Inner Courtyard

"Sir, I've got it clear. Ren Dalang arrived at Shipai three days ago. After entering the Martial Academy, all word of him stopped. These past few days, other general officers have also arrived and are temporarily quartered in the Academy — they can come and go freely. Only Ren Dalang is nowhere to be seen."

Inside a study in a large residence on the inner street of the Sheng-Tang Gate in Anqing Prefectural City, Yuan Zheng of the Dark Whistle Division Academy stood respectfully before Jiang Fan. He had just finished speaking, his voice kept very low. Beside him stood Xu Da'er, the chief of the Dark Whistle Division's Nanjing Sentinel Station.

This was the headquarters of the Dark Whistle Division, located inside Sheng-Tang Gate, not far from the Wanyi Granary. It had been converted from three adjacent courtyards. Outwardly, it was very low-key — no guards were posted outside the main gate. Even some of the surrounding residents only knew it belonged to the Anqing Battalion, but had no idea what duties were actually performed there.

Jiang Fan had just returned from Huai'an. Recently, general officers from all over the Anqing Battalion had been returning to Anqing, and he was among the later arrivals, his face still covered with the dust of travel.

Yuan Zheng raised his head to glance at Jiang Fan, then lowered his voice and continued, "There is some word that he is being detained inside the Martial Academy, under guard by the Central Army Guard. Some say the Scout Squad is guarding him. But it's certain he's being held in the southwest corner — entry and exit are forbidden there. The outer perimeter is all new recruits from the Infantry Firearms Battalion standing sentry. There's not a single familiar face; there's simply no way to pass word to the inside."

Jiang Fan sat in silence behind his desk for a moment. "Earlier it was said the Second Marine Division suddenly mobilized. Did they go to Jiujiang?"

"They went to Jiujiang. The Second Division was transferred back from Huguang and had only been in camp five days. This time, no order was issued from the Advisory Room — the order token was sent directly from the Central Army Secretariat. The entire yamen was kept in the dark. The Marine Corps Vice Battalion Commander led troops across the river. Only today did the Advisory Room issue the formal military order, directing the Second Marine Division to garrison Jiujiang, and the Land Combat Reserve Division to split its garrison between Zongyang and Leigang. All troop ships are forbidden to leave port. The Water Camp has arrested quite a few people."

"Who else is implicated?"

"The Water Camp's Zongyang Company Commander, Leigang Company Commander, and Jiujiang Company Commander." Yuan Zheng looked up at Xu Da'er beside him. "Just now, the Central Army Secretariat sent someone to the yamen with a verbal message: three men from the Canal Gang have been arrested — the Stick Head of Zongyang Wharf, the Stick Head of Wuhu Wharf, and the Stick Head of Jiujiang Wharf. The troop ships sent to arrest them must have set out days ago, and they're only telling us now."

Jiang Fan remained silent, lost in thought. After a pause, Yuan Zheng ventured, "The Water Camp is no concern of ours, but these Canal Gang men may implicate our Dark Whistle Division."

Xu Da'er stared blankly at the floor, his forehead covered in dense beads of sweat.

After a long while, Jiang Fan, still seated, finally raised his head and looked at Yuan Zheng. "What matters are Jiujiang and Wuhu involved in? Did the verbal message say why Lord Pang chose these two places?"

"It said collusion with Ren Dalang in selling private salt for personal gain, perfunctory and negligent in suppressing bandits on the Qingjiang, and undermining the Coupon Issuance and pass system." Yuan Zheng spoke carefully. "This subordinate has already sent people to inquire. It is said Lord Pang has determined that Ren Dalang's mind was not on the Qingjiang. The river pass flags were supposed to be issued at the wharf only after the coupon transaction was completed and the brokerage had cleared it for departure. Ren Dalang colluded with the stick head Luo San, taking silver privately and issuing pass flags without exchanging coupons or silver notes. Over the past three months, Jiujiang's coupon issuance has fallen by forty percent. The silver bank's performance evaluation was poor, and the shopkeeper sent a formal complaint directly to the Document Receiving Office."

Jiang Fan looked at Xu Da'er and said evenly, "Do you think it was the Jiujiang silver bank branch that complained, or the Nanjing silver bank head office?"

Xu Da'er, as chief of the Nanjing Sentinel Station, had considerable dealings with the silver bank. He thought for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said, "They say the Jiujiang branch complained, but this subordinate believes it must have had Liu Ruogu's approval."

Yuan Zheng said in a low voice, "This sort of thing happens more or less at every wharf. Even at the Sheng-Tang ferry crossing, right under our noses, it exists. Perhaps it's also because of that private salt."

Jiang Fan gave a grunt of acknowledgment, then added, "Do you two think it's ultimately because of the private salt, or the silver bank coupons?"

Xu Da'er wiped the sweat from his forehead. "This subordinate believes it may be because of the private salt. Lord Pang instructed the Dark Whistle Division to investigate the salt smugglers in the Wuhu area, and the Jiujiang Sentinel Station also received orders to investigate private salt."

"Private salt. The Huai'an salt merchants have one million taels of silver on deposit, trading with coupons at the wharves. It's a considerable sum of silver. Lord Pang needs it, but it's not something he absolutely must have." Jiang Fan's face was expressionless. "This official has reviewed all past summary reports in the headquarters. The Jiujiang and Wuhu sentinel stations have never reported any irregularities with the Canal Gang. Did they report it and the headquarters failed to record it, or did the sentinel stations simply never report it at all?"

Xu Da'er said nothing, his face flushed red, only ceaselessly wiping the sweat from his forehead. Yuan Zheng stood silently to one side.

Jiang Fan stood up, walked to the window, and pushed open the leaf. He looked out at the pond in the courtyard. Across the way, a few men from the Dark Whistle Division had been talking quietly in the atrium; upon seeing Jiang Fan, they immediately turned and left.

Jiang Fan paid them no mind, simply standing quietly before the window. After a moment, Yuan Zheng said cautiously, "Ren Dalang is an old hand from the Water Army, one of the earliest to side with Lord Pang. Perhaps this is just a warning shot."

"Was he earlier than Jiao Guozha?"

Yuan Zheng was momentarily tongue-tied. Jiang Fan turned back around and looked at the two men.

"Officials always need people to get things done, and when there are many people, there must be rules — otherwise, nothing gets done." Jiang Fan walked slowly over to Xu Da'er. "You concurrently hold the position of Canal Gang head. Wuhu is under the jurisdiction of the Nanjing Sentinel Station. Luo San's appointment as the Jiujiang Canal Gang stick head was also on your recommendation. The silver collected by the stick heads in these two places — how much of a cut did you take?"

Xu Da'er dropped to his knees with a thud. "This subordinate would never dare. This subordinate did have dealings with him, but didn't — didn't take much."

"This official is asking you: the silver collected by the stick heads in these two places — how much of a cut did you take?"

"This — this humble one received roughly, about four or five thousand, six — seven thousand-plus taels." Xu Da'er stammered. "This humble one can't even tell clearly which part came from these two places, but this humble one did not secretly pocket it."

Yuan Zheng coughed, and only then did Xu Da'er stop talking. After catching his breath a few times on the floor, he calmed down. He raised his head and looked at Jiang Fan. "Back then, this subordinate recommended Luo San because he truly risked his life when seizing the wharf at Hezhou. Later, in Yangzhou, he was also effective in handling matters. This humble official thought he was usable. Who could have known he would act this way? This subordinate failed to judge character, and death would not be enough to atone — I only fear implicating you, my lord. This humble one has failed the years of your patronage."

Jiang Fan stared into Xu Da'er's eyes. Xu Da'er's chest heaved; his eyes met Jiang Fan's gaze.

After a moment, Jiang Fan turned and walked back behind his desk. He said coldly to Xu Da'er on the floor, "Go home and stay there for now. Do not go out or move about these next few days."

"This humble official has let you down, my lord. If using this humble one's head can settle this matter, this humble one will go to Lord Pang's gate myself..."

Jiang Fan waved his hand. "How matters are settled with Lord Pang is this official's concern. Whether your head should be used — this official will tell you when the time comes."

Xu Da'er knocked his head to the floor and sobbed twice. Jiang Fan did not rush him. After a good long while, Xu Da'er finally rose, wiped his face with his sleeve, and went out the door.

Seeing this, Yuan Zheng also made to leave. Jiang Fan called him back. "How far do you think Lord Pang intends to take this matter of Ren Dalang?"

"This subordinate believes that at the very least, you, my lord, are safe. Word of Ren Dalang's situation has already spread everywhere. If they meant to move against you, there would have been no need to go to Shipai — you would have been detained the moment you arrived in Anqing. As long as you, my lord, are unharmed, Lord Pang does not intend to move against the Dark Whistle Division."

Jiang Fan nodded. "Then Lord Pang only means to reorganize the Water Camp?"

"This subordinate believes it still comes down to the coupons. On the river, the Water Camp, the Canal Gang, the silver banks, the shipping companies — they all revolve around the coupons to conduct business. Whoever obstructs the coupons, Lord Pang will have their head." Yuan Zheng paused, then continued. "Furthermore, Ren Dalang has been in charge of the Water Camp for a long time. When ordered to clear the river, the Water Camp only targeted merchant ships. The Water Camp itself avoided the River Bandits and salt smugglers, only picking the easy tasks. Carrying upstream commercial goods on the side has always been customary for the grain transport ships — that was tolerable. But then they started selling private salt themselves, and in the end, they even undermined the silver bank's coupon policy. Lord Pang has long been dissatisfied with the Water Camp, only he was hindered by the fact that Ren Dalang sided with him early on and feared damaging morale by moving against him. The Water Camp is mostly filled with Ren Dalang's old hands. Now that he has a pretext, he wants to replace the entire Water Camp."

"Beyond the Water Camp, what else does Lord Pang want to get out of Ren Dalang?"

Yuan Zheng said in a low voice, "Ren Dalang commands the Water Camp and has long held Battalion Commander rank and status. His military standing is not low — perfect to use as a warning to the general officers, and to take the opportunity to reorganize the military units as well. The Water Camp is no concern of our Dark Whistle Division, but the Canal Gang is implicated. Earlier, He County Yamen wanted to detach the Canal Gang from the Dark Whistle Division and establish a separate yamen for it, starting from Anqing. This Canal Gang was something you, my lord, painstakingly built up. Ruan Jin hid away in Tongcheng acting as his squad leader — when did he ever toil and labor? He County Yamen just moves his lips and wants to snatch it away."

"He County Yamen has always wanted to promote Ruan Jin, his eyes fixed on the Canal Gang posting." Jiang Fan said evenly, "From the Upper River to the Lower River, every major wharf has a Canal Gang presence. Appoint a stick head, and he manages the wharf's affairs. In the end, the Canal Gang operates within the jurisdictions of other yamens. How exactly to manage it — we have no clear approach. As far as Lord Pang is concerned, the shipping companies need to take on business, the silver banks need to issue coupons — he only needs the Canal Gang to hold the wharves. He doesn't care about the rest. As for the Canal Gang itself, once they hold a wharf, with men and blades at their disposal and the Anqing Battalion backing them, naturally they don't want to earn only the wharf's coolie wages. They want to open their own gambling dens and dark doors to make money. For our Dark Whistle Division, it saved money and trouble — originally convenient for both sides. But where no real effort is invested, trouble will eventually arise. Over time, they broke from the rules, and the pass flags became a money-making business. Operating this way, the Canal Gang became useless to Lord Pang. If you go now and speak of past hardships, Lord Pang will not listen."

Yuan Zheng stood with his hands at his sides. If the Canal Gang were carved away, the Dark Whistle Division would indeed lose face within the Anqing Battalion. And it wasn't just about intelligence and shipping control — the Canal Gang entrenched along the river wharves, existing in a gray zone between light and dark. After years of cultivation, they had built up enormous commercial interests. If carved away, it would be a real loss of tangible benefit for the Dark Whistle Division, especially for its various general officers.

But now, with the leverage in others' hands, the Dark Whistle Division truly had no say. A knot of frustration lodged in Yuan Zheng's chest, and he couldn't help saying, "Our Dark Whistle Division is different from the others. The yamen is small but its scope is vast — there are tasks to handle everywhere, north, south, east, and west. The general officers of other divisions are constantly moving about before Lord Pang, able to get a word in. You, my lord, are in Anqing only a few days out of the entire year. And even on those few days in Anqing, perhaps Lord Pang is away. Over the course of a year, do you get two or three chances to speak before Lord Pang? The rest of the time, you're rushing about and toiling, all your work done on the outside, and it's the sort that least allows for showiness. Others see large sums of silver being spent, yet there's no presentable achievement to show for it. In the end, don't let it become a case of thankless effort..."

"Before Lord Pang, it's not the one who speaks most who is effective. What tasks the Dark Whistle Division has carried out — he knows best in his heart." Jiang Fan thought for a moment. "Where is Ruan Jin now?"

"Ruan Jin arrived in Anqing yesterday. After reporting at headquarters, he has already gone to Shipai."

"As this official sees it, before this Military Council concludes, Lord Pang will not pass judgment on Ren Dalang. A blade hanging is more terrifying than one that falls — everyone fears it will land on their own head." Jiang Fan stood up. "When trouble comes, you can't hide from it. How far this will ultimately go — only Lord Pang himself knows. We shall also go to Shipai."

"Identity badge."

At the main gate of the Shipai Martial Academy, Jiang Fan personally handed over his soldier tag and registered at the gatehouse.

Behind him, several general officers of the Dark Whistle Division were also queuing. Though they were all officials, upon reaching the gatehouse of a military camp, each had to hand over his own identity badge and register.

From inside the main gate came bursts of cracking reports like strings of firecrackers, and a faint smell of gunpowder smoke hung at the entrance. Behind the gate stood a training Cloth City, blocking the view of the drill ground like a spirit screen.

After a moment, the registration was complete. Then a soldier of the guard led them inside. Jiang Fan followed him around the Cloth City, and the broad drill ground opened up before his eyes.

In a row, seven or eight bronze cannons were neatly arrayed just inside the main gate of the Martial Academy. Their rammers and tools were all strapped to the gun carriages. On the ground to the left of each cannon sat two wooden chests, their contents wrapped in cotton cloth. A group of men who looked like craftsmen were tidying up around them. Two squads of soldiers were formed up on the north side, with grooms and tethered horses behind them — likely the artillerymen preparing to receive the cannons.

On the parade ground to the north, dense rows of formations — soldiers carrying long spears and fire lances — marched back and forth to the beat of drums.

Jiang Fan knew this was the newly formed Infantry Firearms Battalion. He walked while watching. It seemed many soldiers were still carrying wooden staves, their formations a chaotic mess, with some officers carrying bamboo whips and cursing as they struck the men around them.

None of these soldiers wore armor. They looked much like the infantry of ordinary government troops, only their uniforms were a bit neater.

Around the drill ground, some general officers were observing. Jiang Fan saw Zhuang Chaozheng, Chen Rulie, and others. Wang Zenglu, whom he had not seen in a long time, and the ironworker were also there, along with some mid-ranking officers. Jiang Fan was not in the military affairs system and was not familiar with these mid-ranking officers. It seemed the scale of the Stone Tablet Military Conference was larger than before.

These officers were discussing among themselves, seemingly somewhat curious about the Infantry Firearms Battalion. But Jiang Fan had no interest in the battalion. His gaze swept to other parts of the Martial Academy. The Academy's drill ground was very spacious; on the south side, a cluster of buildings was still under construction.

The guard was leading the way toward the southwest corner. Jiang Fan looked back and saw that the other men of the Dark Whistle Division were being led by two different soldiers toward the northeast.

Jiang Fan's mouth felt a little dry. From the north came the sound of a fierce volley, but Jiang Fan had no interest in looking.

Arriving at the southwest corner, the outer perimeter was entirely soldiers carrying fire lances and waist sabers — this had to be the Infantry Firearms Battalion.

Here they checked identity badges again. The southwest corner was where the Martial Academy handled its business, but unlike ordinary places that only had a main hall, several courtyards were set up here, and there was no telling which one held Ren Dalang.

A guard led him into the largest courtyard. The Central Army Guard stood sentry at the courtyard gate.

A Banner Commander received Jiang Fan at the gate and led him inside. The interior resembled a main hall, but compared to a government office it was somewhat crude — none of the rooms were very large.

The Banner Commander came to a room, gestured for Jiang Fan to enter. Jiang Fan went in. The room was empty, nothing but a single chair.

Jiang Fan sat down on the chair and waited quietly in the room. Occasionally someone walked past outside the door, but Jiang Fan did not look up.

After who knows how long, the Banner Commander finally reappeared at the door. "Jiang Squad Commander, come with me."

Jiang Fan immediately rose and followed behind the Banner Commander. After rounding a corner, another inner courtyard gate appeared. Five or six men of the Central Army Guard stood in front of it; two of them, hearing movement, both looked toward Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan walked toward them calmly. Just as he reached the gate, he saw He County Yamen coming out from inside, and then spotted Mr. Yu behind him. Jiang Fan froze for a moment and let out a breath on the spot.

He County Yamen happened to look up. His face lit up with delight when he saw Jiang Fan, and he hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting. "Jiang, sir, you've come. I heard you only arrived in Anqing yesterday, spent just one night at home, and then had to rush to Shipai. The journey has truly been arduous."

Jiang Fan returned the cupped-hand salute. "On the road, it was only traveling — no worries or cares to trouble the mind. A military council like this has a thousand threads and ten thousand strands; rather, it is Clerk He who has worked the harder."

He County Yamen smiled. "Government office work — I wouldn't say it takes all that much mental strain. It's just document after document. You've managed an office yourself, you know how it is: everything is set out for you, you just follow it and get it done. In the end, it's only effort. It can't compare to the flash of blades and gleam of swords that you, sir, and men like you face. So I always think, if I can put in a bit more effort, perhaps I can help share some of the burden with you general officers."

"Naturally you can. Clerk He, with your mastery of both civil and military affairs, no matter which office or which military unit, you are always able to lend a hand."

He County Yamen hurriedly demurred. Over on the other side, Mr. Yu waited until they had exchanged a few words, then came over and said to Jiang Fan, "Sir Pang invites Jiang Squad Commander in to speak."

Jiang Fan gave He County Yamen a nod, turned, and followed Mr. Yu through the gate.