Chapter 581: Going Out

"Wang Ranming sent word through someone — he says thirty-one wan taels were robbed this time. Those transport merchants are gathering men in Huai'an, openly threatening that if the money isn't returned, they'll wipe out the Huai'an Canal Gang."

In the Anqing General Military Headquarters, Mr. Yu handed over a letter. Pang Yu took it and skimmed through quickly. "Write back and tell Wang Ranming this: at present, I do not consider him capable of representing the Hui Gang. Let him first settle the internal factions within the Hui Gang, then come talk to me. If he can't do it, then find someone who can."

Mr. Yu immediately said, "Understood. And how should we handle the matter of them going after the Canal Gang?"

"No need to handle it. Intercept those families' salt boats on the river. No unloading permitted at the Jiujiang and Huguang docks."

Mr. Yu quickly noted it down. Pang Ding, standing nearby, helped grind ink. Mr. Yu thanked him, then after a moment's thought continued, "Yuan Zheng reported 200,000 taken. Wang Ranming's side says 300,000 was robbed. This subordinate feels the discrepancy is rather large. In the past, the Water Camp was lax in discipline at the start, and in the end it became unmanageable. For the Hidden Sentry Camp here... should we send someone to verify the facts?"

Pang Yu thought for a moment. "Is there something fishy going on here?"

Mr. Yu said, "When the Banknotes were burned, Yuan Zheng, the Pacification Commissioner, the Clerk Officer, and the Xuzhou branch shopkeeper of the silver house were all present. The tally book bears the signatures and seals of several people. The Pacification Commissioner and the Clerk Officer were both newly transferred there — they lack mutual trust. Those 200,000 should be genuine. The transport merchants claim thirty-one wan. This subordinate believes there is certainly an inflated figure. But after all, they are the weaker party and lack the standing to make outrageous demands. Even if there's a discrepancy, it shouldn't be too far off. This time the difference is eleven wan taels — not a small sum. There may be something unclear in between."

Pang Yu paced a few steps in the room, then turned to Mr. Yu. "Not a single tael of the transport merchants' Banknotes reached Xuzhou. The silver house suffered no run — that means the credit of the Banknotes was preserved. That is the fundamental achievement of this assignment. The mission was handled well. First, commend Yuan Zheng and the Lower River Battalion Commander."

"This subordinate understands."

Pang Yu walked over to Pang Ding. "This eleven-wan discrepancy in the middle — how do you think it should be dealt with?"

Pang Ding thought for a moment. "When personnel return to garrison after a mission, everyone except Yuan Zheng must undergo a body search by the Pacification Commissioner. The Hidden Sentry Camp operates on external missions. The permitted amount of silver to carry is fifty taels — Banknotes count toward that limit. The Pacification Commissioner must inspect and then file a record with the Clerk Officer. Those Hidden Sentries on missions all know this."

Mr. Yu and Pang Yu both listened intently. Pang Ding licked his lips and continued, "If someone really did embezzle, they'd fear being discovered by the Pacification Commissioner's search, and fear being reported by others. Stacks of Banknotes aren't easy to carry on one's person either. Most likely they hid them somewhere. This humble one can say with certainty — hidden along the route from Xin'an Post Station to Xuzhou. Places like ruined, dilapidated buildings. With so many eyes on the road, hiding them hastily out in the wild is also quite possible. In any case, it won't be a secure location. They're just hoping the storm blows over so they can come back early and retrieve them."

Pang Yu grunted. "Tell me — how should it be handled?"

"The men on this mission have now crossed the Shandong border. After lying low for a while to avoid the heat, they can all be transferred back to Anqing. This time they won't go through Pizhou, so they'll have no chance to go back and retrieve the hidden Banknotes. Drag it out until after spring begins — the Huai region gets heavy rain then. These Banknotes, stored without proper protection, will be ruined once soaked through." Pang Ding suddenly clenched a single hand into a fist. "Ruined Banknotes — then they become your silver, Young Master!"

Pang Yu looked thoughtfully at the visibly excited Pang Ding. "You speak of this so clearly and logically — clearly you have rich experience. You've hidden things before too?"

"This humble one has not." Pang Ding hastily stepped back. "Everything this humble one has belongs to Young Master. Holding silver would be useless anyway."

Pang Yu smiled but did not press further. He thought for a moment where he stood, then said, "Do it this way. Transfer this group first to Zhongjiang, to support Ruan Jin in dealing with the salt bandits."

"Young Master still intends to go after the salt bandits?"

"I'm not going after them. What I want is the salt profit. If the transport merchants give me benefits, I'll strike the salt bandits. If the salt bandits can give me benefits, I'll strike the transport merchants. But by my estimate, the salt bandits aren't as cohesive and organized as the Hui Gang — you can't negotiate with them one by one. The Hui Gang is probably easier to talk to. For the salt bandits, first scout and get a clear picture."

"Last time Jiang Fan reported that the transport merchants deal in private salt themselves. They are the biggest salt bandits of all."

Pang Yu nodded. "The interests of transport merchants and sitting merchants are inherently different. For now, we deal with the transport merchants first."

After Mr. Yu finished recording, he handed it to Pang Ding for review, then took an envelope from the desk. "My lord, this is Supreme Commander Yang's reply, just received. It is marked for my lord's eyes only. This humble one did not dare open it without authorization."

Pang Yu took it, tore the envelope open in one motion, and read. After a long moment, he handed it to Mr. Yu. "He has agreed to the establishment of the Xuzhou Regional Commander post."

Mr. Yu let out a breath of relief. "Then my lord has been spared a great deal of trouble."

Pang Yu nodded. The Xuzhou Regional Commander post was extremely important to him. Following normal procedure, he would first need to approach Zhu Dadian and have the Fengyang Governor report to the Ministry of War, then the Ministry of War would report to the Cabinet, and after Cabinet approval, report to the Emperor. This process was both cumbersome and inefficient for Pang Yu, especially in the face of a potential Eastern Invaders incursion as early as next year.

Yang Sichang was Governor-General of Five Provinces, and the Jiangbei region of Nanzhili also fell under his jurisdiction. He still held the title of Grand Secretary, so he could go directly to the Cabinet, or even report directly to the Emperor, cutting out several steps in between. It was just like when he had previously approached Xiong Wencan to establish the Wuhu Battalion — only now the person was Yang Sichang.

This Grand Secretary had arrived in Xiangyang with not many troops under his command. The Government Troops that had previously massed in the Central Plains had all scattered because of the rally to the king. Now, redeploying them to the interior was another time-consuming and laborious task.

"Lord Yang did not ask many questions. Presumably he has guessed what I intend to do with this Regional Commander post."

Mr. Yu set down the letter. "Elder Yang is asking for quite a lot. Besides that unit at Gucheng, he also wants a thousand cavalry, and they must be ones who participated in the rally to the king."

"He's treating us like the Border Army. Only a few hundred came back from the rally to the king. Where am I supposed to get that many cavalry for him? Draft a reply first: the Gucheng troops are at his disposal, but that unit has more infantry than cavalry and is unsuited for long-range pursuit — best used for support operations around Xiangyang and Nanyang. Cavalry can be provided — one thousand — but they will operate independently under the Anqing Battalion and will not march with other battalions. Additionally, Anqing troops will independently clear and suppress the Yinghuo Mountain Area, cutting off the Roving Bandits' retreat route into the mountains for maneuvering. The Yinghuo and Huoshan counties are critical chokepoints, but transporting Rations and Pay is extremely difficult. All troop tax in kind must be calculated at the Marching Ration rate. I ask that he give special consideration in the allocation of Bandit Suppression Pay."

Mr. Yu hurriedly took notes. For such an important letter, he would first draft it, submit it to Pang Yu for review and revision, and only send it after final approval confirmed there were no issues.

Pang Yu walked to the wall and studied the large map for a moment. The flags marking Government Troops were increasing. Yang Sichang was, after all, a Grand Secretary leading troops — coordination from all sides was relatively high. But the Border Army units drawn upon this time were rather few. Probably because the Qing army's last incursion had lasted a full half year, the losses inflicted were excessively severe, and the officials and people of the Capital had been frightened far beyond any previous occasion. The elite of the Border Army needed to concentrate on border defense, leaving fewer available for the Roving Bandits front.

The Roving Bandits' flags, large and small, were scattered everywhere. The largest red marker was in Henan — the Eight Great Kings of the Western Camp. After the Suizhou battle, they had returned to Henan and were now moving toward southern Henan.

Pang Yu's old military unit was also undergoing reorganization, but the tactical and structural changes in this part were relatively minor. The officers and soldiers were all battle-hardened veterans, ready to fight at any time.

At present, for the Anqing Battalion, the most important region remained northern Huguang, the line from Xiangyang to Wuchang. Although it had been ravaged by the Roving Bandits before, it had recovered somewhat over the past two years and could still provide markets and grain.

At the same time, northern Huguang could also serve as a shield for the south. The southern part of Huguang had seen the Lantian miners' revolt the year before last — Changsha had even been besieged — but it had lasted only a short time and the damage was not great.

Further upstream, Sichuan was suffering terribly from the bandits. The markets of Huguang and Jiangxi, these two provinces, were where the true value of the Great River lay. Most of the grain needed by the Jiangnan region came from these two provinces, which were also the primary sales markets for handicraft industries.

For Pang Yu, the difficulty of suppressing bandits had never been combat. Any Government Troops with even a modicum of training could defeat the Roving Bandits. The Roving Bandits' advantage often lay outside the battlefield — their extremely high mobility and recovery ability. And wherever they went, they annihilated the population and markets of that place.

Therefore, the Anqing Battalion's priority was not to chase and strike the Roving Bandits, but first to stabilize the defense of Huguang, wait until troop strength was ample, and then sever the two revolving doors of the Yinghuo Mountain Area and Nanyang, achieving the goal of gradually exterminating the Roving Bandits.

Pang Yu was absorbed in thought. At that moment, someone entered from outside and was speaking in a low voice to Mr. Yu. Pang Yu did not pay attention.

After a moment, Mr. Yu's voice sounded beside his ear. "My lord, an urgent report just arrived from Shandong. Military Commander Shi is in mourning. Shandong will be getting a new governor."

Pang Yu turned his head to look at Mr. Yu and could not help frowning slightly. He had given Shi Kefa a squad of Heavy Armor Soldiers on the condition that they be stationed in southern Shandong, south of Dongchang Prefecture, to prepare for operations against the Qing army. Now, just after arriving in Shandong, before the battalion designation was even settled, they ran into Shi Kefa's mourning leave. With a new governor coming in, a great deal of work would have to be redone, costing more time.

"Send an urgent letter to the Capital. Find out as quickly as possible who the new governor is." Pang Yu stood in place for a while, then said, "To Shipai. I want to see the progress of the Infantry Firearms Battalion."

At the main gate of the Shipai Martial Academy, several military flags fluttered from the gate beam. Inside the gate, a long queue had formed.

Lu Xiaoma looked up at the flags flying above the camp gate, muttering something under his breath.

Zhou Chen ahead of him glanced back. "I need to go back first and find Brother Jiang to settle my previous wages. Let's set a place to meet up. Once I get the silver, we'll have a drink before coming back."

"You think he'll give it to you? You're all Refugees — not as reliable as my gang boss."

Zhou Chen turned his head and cursed, "So what if we're Refugees? Brother Jiang always takes us to work and keeps his word. If you hadn't chased so hard that day, I could've at least gone back and settled my pay before enlisting. Then maybe I wouldn't have ended up in this damn Infantry Firearms Battalion."

Lu Xiaoma spat. "Don't mention those two words 'Infantry Firearms.' I don't ever want to come back to this rotten battalion. Today I'll first talk it over with the gang boss. Then I'll just fail every single Examination and Evaluation and get discharged from training in the end. Plenty of others have been discharged already."

Zhou Chen stared blankly. "Your previous Examination and Evaluation results were all so good. If you suddenly fail everything later, the officers won't believe it. They'll beat you."

"If I hadn't done well before, I couldn't even get out of the camp gate." Lu Xiaoma said irritably. "First I have to get out and talk it over with the gang boss, then I'll get discharged."

"Getting discharged from the Infantry Firearms Battalion — how humiliating."

"Humiliating or not, just don't hold up my learning how to cut purses. That silver's no lie."

Zhou Chen thought for a long while and was about to speak again when a Pacification Commissioner walked past beside them. "No talking in the ranks."

Both fell silent. Lu Xiaoma had been beaten many times over these past two months and no longer provoked the Pacification Commissioners now.

This was the first time the Infantry Firearms Battalion had been allowed to go out. Most of those granted approval were still those with excellent Examination and Evaluation results, yet the queue was still terribly long. Everyone had to return to camp before the gate closed at night. So those in line were all anxious. Even with Pacification Commissioners nearby, they kept craning their necks to peer ahead — they just didn't dare start cursing yet.

When it was finally their turn, it was already past noon. They handed over their Soldier Tags at the gate. The Pacification Commissioner soldier on registration duty looked up and sized them up, verified the physical description on the tags, registered them, and waved them through.

The moment they stepped out of the camp gate, both let out a long breath simultaneously. It felt as if an invisible rope bound around their bodies had suddenly been untied. Their whole bodies relaxed. No more worrying about the drill instructors, no more worrying about the squad leader, no more worrying about the Pacification Commissioners.

The two walked in the same direction. Present-day Shipai, due to the large garrison presence — especially with the cavalry permanently stationed here, some of whom had brought their families and settled down — had seen the market town grow larger and larger. Shipai's overall terrain lay between Matang Lake and the Wan River, so its expansion mainly stretched toward both ends, the street blocks growing ever longer.

The two walked along the street, surrounded everywhere by soldiers and officers of the Anqing Battalion — more people in military uniform than common folk, yet it didn't feel the least bit out of place.

The place Zhou Chen used to live wasn't far; the two soon arrived. It was a courtyard the gang leader had rented.

Lu Xiaoma stopped too and said, "First I'll see whether you can even get your wages."

Zhou Chen said confidently, "Of course I can. The wine's on me."

With that, he headed in through the gate. Lu Xiaoma crouched by the gate to wait. He could only hear someone talking inside. After a long while, the courtyard gate behind him creaked open. Zhou Chen walked out, eyes blank. As Lu Xiaoma stood up, Zhou Chen said in a daze, "They said everyone's gone to Zhangqiu Camp for work."

"Told you he couldn't be trusted." Lu Xiaoma snorted and walked on. After a few steps he stopped, turned his head to look at Zhou Chen, and said, "Anyway, you've got nowhere to go. Come with me. I'll cover your meals."

Zhou Chen answered and followed listlessly behind.

The Chizhou Craftsmen Gang's place was in a temple in the old street district of Shipai. Because the gang had too many people, only this kind of place was big enough to house them. The gang leader had paid silver to the monk, and nearly a hundred people lived in this one temple.

Zhou Chen followed behind Lu Xiaoma. As soon as the two entered the temple, someone greeted them and started talking warmly with Lu Xiaoma. Zhou Chen was in no mood to listen.

A group led Lu Xiaoma into a side hall at the back. For a moment, no one paid any attention to Zhou Chen. Feeling awkward, he had no choice but to follow to the front of the side hall, where he saw Lu Xiaoma with his back to the outside, talking to an old man with an extremely respectful manner.

"Master Wang, I've been thinking of withdrawing from the Infantry Firearms Battalion and coming back to follow you in construction work, to learn how to cut rafters."

"Why withdraw?"

"Just say I failed every single evaluation. The Anqing Battalion will naturally let me go then."

That Master Wang had thick hands and big feet and didn't look much like a master. He popped something to eat into his mouth, clapped his hands clean, and said, "Lu Xiaoma, we make our living on the Anqing Battalion's turf, so we have to follow their rules. In that Infantry Firearms Battalion, even men with no teeth can train up fine. If you insist you can't train well, who's going to believe that? They might even think I put you up to it. We dare not invite that kind of suspicion. Right now in Shipai, Director Wu calls all the shots. Old Yang's crew, the ones running boats out of Chizhou — just because they were busy hauling cargo and didn't bring the Martial Academy's damaged fire lances to Shimen Lake, for that one reason Director Wu has now forbidden them from docking at Nianyu Ferry. What business can they do then? Director Wu is not a man you can reason with. At present, Shipai has the most construction in all of Anqing. Our whole Craftsmen Gang depends on Shipai to get by. It was hard enough just to gain a foothold here. Don't offend him over some trifle and ruin everyone's livelihood."

The gang leader showed no sign of finding it difficult. He glanced at someone beside him. That man hesitated a moment, then said to Lu Xiaoma, "As for cutting rafters right now, all the masters taking apprentices have already taken them on. Nowhere is short of hands. You'd best stick with the Infantry Firearms Battalion and do your job properly. Whatever task is put in your hands, you still have to put your heart into it — otherwise no one will feel at ease with you. Isn't that the truth of it?"

Lu Xiaoma's mouth opened slightly. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

The gang leader coughed once and said to the man on the other side, "Xiaoma rarely makes it back. The food in that soldier camp is poor — settle some silver for him, let him get a bit of meat and grease. Best he eats and then returns to camp early."

The man acknowledged and began fumbling around to one side. No one else in the hall among the Craftsmen Gang spoke. From outside the hall, Zhou Chen looked in. Only Lu Xiaoma's lonely back faced the door.