Chapter 512: Misjudgment

When Master Gu finally grasped the contents of the official dispatch, he couldn't help but feel his hands go numb. Though ordinarily mediocre, he understood perfectly well the implications behind this kind of official dispatch pattern — the more ambiguous the wording, the more room left for hints, the graver the matter, and the less it could be treated lightly.

Who the hell knew which big shot up above was coldly watching you?

Fortunately, Adviser Ma on this side was fairly capable. Knowing exactly how much his master weighed, he quickly made a response — urging the Laoye to write letters at once, along with letters he himself wrote to colleagues in the adviser world. The Zengcheng County Office immediately dispatched three or four messengers, heading separately to different yamens and private residences in Guangzhou City to gather information.

The Zengcheng County Office, where information was isolated and the rhythm of life slow, received a steady stream of information over the next few days. Although this information was rather jumbled, some of it contradictory and useless, it was enough to outline the background of that official dispatch.

Then Zengcheng County was dumbfounded. No matter how you looked at it, things seemed off: the dispatch demanded they go to Huangpu to request troops for bandit suppression, which looked every bit like a thankless errand. Without cause or reason, would those battalion troops listen to a county yamen? Who would cover the bandit suppression expenses? Extrapolating from this, perhaps the newly appointed Supreme Commander Xiong wanted to make things difficult for that Regional Commander Cao?

One cannot blame Zengcheng County for this misjudgment: information in this era was extremely slow. The yamen of a remote lower county simply could not figure out the relationships between the big shots in the provincial capital. Master Gu also had no idea that Lao Xiong and Lao Cao had actually been intimate comrades back in Fujian.

In fact, even in the later generations when information was widespread, unless one had an extremely reliable first-hand channel, a county magistrate below likewise could not possibly figure out the relationships between provincial big shots. The gap in hierarchy was too great, and a natural information ceiling existed there.

On one side was a newly appointed civil Supreme Commander, on the other a great general holding military power. Master Gu, believing himself caught between big shots and being ground down, completely panicked... It seemed this time, even if he didn't die, his stern would still bloom.

Yet Master Gu could not refuse to comply. In the current situation, knowing someone behind the scenes was waiting for him to act, he had to act. This was the sorrow of a minor figure — when trouble came, even the option of playing dead did not exist.

Two days later, Gu County Magistrate, wearing his full official robe, descended from his sedan chair with trepidation, his heart in turmoil, and stood before the gates of Huangpu Naval Port.

Seeing the sentries across from him — wearing olive-green front-buttoned short jackets, strange peaked caps, fully armed with live ammunition, standing tall and upright before the gate — Master Gu shivered involuntarily, then exchanged a glance with his adviser.

At that moment, Chang Sui beside him stepped forward on his own and presented Gu County Magistrate's calling card. The next moment, Master Gu saw the duty officer before him reach out to take the card, then actually lower his head and read it carefully.

"Could this man actually read?" Master Gu couldn't help but feel a jolt of surprise.

The officer quickly dispelled the doubt in Laoye's heart: "Go, ride and report to the Daren that Gu Tai, Magistrate of Zengcheng County, seeks an audience."

"Yes!"

After saying this, the Platoon Leader on Duty very adeptly pushed back the gate-pass silver that Chang Sui offered: "You few wait here for now. We'll see whether the Daren will see you."

No deliberate obstacles, no accepting gifts, no arrogance — and the duty officer was literate. This made Master Gu and his party very uncomfortable.

Not long after, the sentry who had gone to report earlier came riding back on a sturdy nag: "The Daren invites Zengcheng County's Master Gu."

Thus, Master Gu met the Pioneer Army Commander, Wang Bo, Lord Wang — whose rank in the Ming Army system was Mobile Corps Commander and who served as Huangpu Naval Port Director.

Everything was not quite as he had imagined.

After Assistant Commander Wang received Master Gu and heard clearly the purpose of his visit to borrow troops for the Bandit Suppression Campaign, he did not display anger, cold laughter, foul-mouthed cursing, or any of the series of actions common to military men.

Not only did he not get angry, Assistant Commander Wang even smiled broadly and nodded repeatedly, agreeing to Master Gu's request.

After carefully observing Assistant Commander Wang's expression and finding it did not seem feigned, Master Gu and Adviser Ma exchanged another glance, each seeing a look of relief in the other's eyes: This was good. As long as they got through this hurdle today, then no matter what mess arose in the aftermath, Zengcheng County's room to maneuver and shift blame would be much greater.

With his mind at ease, the great County Magistrate Gu's mood improved considerably, and he prepared to discuss the specific details with this Assistant Commander Wang.

Unexpectedly, the moment he opened his mouth, Assistant Commander Wang raised a hand to cut him off: "Since this general has already given his word, the matter is settled here in its entirety. There is no need for further concern. In Zengcheng County, many mouths make loose talk. Regarding this matter, I ask Gu Fumu not to make it public; merely submitting the official dispatch will suffice."

Having said this, Assistant Commander Wang ordered tea to see the guest out.

"Alas, in the end, this calamity cannot be avoided. Those two sparring are probably going to employ the 'stalling' tactic."

After emerging from the military camp, Master Gu's mood took another turn. This Assistant Commander Wang had seemed agreeable, yet he had not brought up the most critical matter of provisions and fodder for the troops at all. This was clearly a perfunctory brush-off, a stalling tactic — Master Gu had once again guessed the other party's intentions correctly.

Having no initiative whatsoever in this matter, Master Gu and his party could only return home resentfully. Fortunately, since Assistant Commander Wang on this side had already granted Zengcheng County permission to reply to their superiors, Master Gu had thus managed to extricate himself for the most part from this affair and could now sit securely on the fishing platform.

Yet Master Gu ultimately miscalculated again... A week later, several city gate guards came scrambling and tumbling into the county yamen, shouting all the way: "County Magistrate Laoye! Someone has delivered the head of Lao Qi from Guaitou Wa!"

The reason the Transmigrators wanted to make an example of Zengcheng County involved two considerations.

First, Zengcheng was right east of Huangpu Naval Port, close by. "How can one allow another to snore beside one's own bed?" Cleaning up the bandits near Zengcheng first was the most convenient, whether from the perspective of logistics or troop deployment.

Second, Zengcheng had resources.

Even in the later generations with developed transportation, bulk materials like construction materials and cement became unprofitable beyond a certain transport distance.

Now that Guangzhou City had begun a grand and vigorous infrastructure campaign, relying solely on transporting cement from Taiwan had already completely failed to keep pace. Therefore, the Transmigrators had designated a cement plant in Zengcheng County from the very start — the Zengcheng area possessed vast limestone resources.

Besides limestone, Zengcheng also had some small copper and iron mines, potassium feldspar mines, and kaolin mines — all of which were needed for the current infrastructure push.

Therefore, making an example of the Zengcheng area became a matter of going with the flow, and it was also the preset location for the Pioneer Army's first operation since its establishment.

The target was precisely the Lao Qi Bandit Gang of Guaitou Wa, where He Biandan had previously escaped to.

In fact, what Gu County Magistrate did not know was that the very day he walked out the gates of Huangpu, right after he left, Assistant Commander Wang, who had seemed utterly calm and unruffled, had already ordered the entire army to mobilize, begun assigning combat tasks, and dispatched scouts.