Chapter 186: Special Service

Snowflakes filled the sky, drifting down and blanketing the Wendeng Camp grounds in white. Chen Xin had someone light the stove in the official business room, where a group of officers were grumbling at him.

"My lord, Pu Zhuang transferred thirty-five men in one go. I finally got my cavalry trained, how can they be reassigned so recklessly?" Zhu Guobin said angrily from his seat. Dai Zhenggang and the other infantry unit commanders chimed in with a few words of agreement. Many of the men Pu Zhuang had picked were squad leaders and veterans; their infantry units had already had many men drawn away to the farming-soldier system and the training corps, and now Pu Zhuang was pulling more. Naturally, they were unwilling.

Chen Xin unhurriedly went to the cabinet, scooped out tea leaves, then brought over the kettle and let them pour their own water.

Several men stood to take their cups. Only then did Pu Zhuang say, "This is an order signed by the lord. Why can't I transfer them?"

Zhu Guobin said discontentedly, "You were told to select a hundred men from the whole army for training. Our cavalry only has a few hundred, and you picked over thirty, most of them night scouts. If you take them, what am I supposed to do?"

Pu Zhuang scratched his head and said, "Night scouts are the best."

Zhu Guobin slapped the table and stood up. Chen Xin quickly cut in and asked Pu Zhuang, "Why must it be night scouts?"

"My lord, these men often operate alone. Their courage is far greater than ordinary formation soldiers, they stay calmer in a crisis, and many of them can use multiple weapons and have decent martial skills. This special service unit of mine only has so few men — of course I have to pick the best."

Chen Xin thought it over and decided he was right. He shot a look at Huang Side, who steeled himself and smoothed things over: "Right now it's only a call-up for selection training. There's still a screening process — only fifty men total. Not everyone will be chosen."

Zhu Guobin turned his head and said, "And what if they all get chosen? I only have four squads of night scouts in total. Army reconnaissance and security are just as important. Besides, nobody even knows what this so-called special service unit actually does."

Huang Side opened his mouth and glanced at Chen Xin. Chen Xin had no intention of explaining it to them. He cleared his throat and said, "This unit has a separate purpose. But we can't take too many night scouts — at most ten from the night scouts, and at most twenty veterans. Pu Zhuang, go recruit from among the refugees — people who've trained in martial arts and have good physical fitness. With tens of thousands of people, I refuse to believe we can't find enough. But you unit commanders must cooperate with the call-up for selection."

Chen Xin turned to Zhu Daichun beside him and said, "The training corps will post recruitment notices. Have Pu Zhuang go along to pick people. Remember to get some with accents from various regions — it'll make things easier later on."

Chen Xin had relented. Pu Zhuang, whose rank was low after all, had no choice but to abandon his original plan. The unit commanders, having gotten this assurance, finally set their minds at ease and all took their leave.

Chen Xin kept only Zhou Shifa behind. Once the others had left, he asked, "What's this about Jianzhou bandit spies in the report?"

Zhou Shifa replied, "Last month we caught three spies. One was trying to infiltrate the camp area and was seized by the sentries. The other two were spreading rumors in the shack district and were captured by two righteous civilians. All three are from Northern Zhili. They were taken captive this year but not shaved. The Jianzhou Chieftain is holding their families hostage, so they're used exclusively as spies. Under interrogation, they all confessed to crossing the sea from Fuzhou in the sixth month, dispatched by Li Yongfang to scout the true strength of Wendeng Camp. Their group was seven in total. After landing, four others went somewhere unknown. They have no safe house for contact. Li Yongfang's order to them was to finish scouting, then find their own way back to Liaodong. If they haven't returned by the third month of next year, their families will be executed."

"The Fushun son-in-law has some skill. Heh heh, they came so quickly — Huang Taiji really does think highly of me." Chen Xin gave a short laugh. Zhou Shifa said, "The Jianzhou bandits love using spies most of all. In Liaodong they succeeded time and again. According to reports Zhang Dahui sent back from Jingshi, there are especially many slave spies in Jingshi and Shanhai Pass. When they broke through the passes last year, rumors spread everywhere, throwing people into panic. Those men played a big role."

Chen Xin cursed inwardly. The old chieftain, a barbarian, had managed to play this game so well, while the Great Ming's countless officials, for all their classical learning, couldn't match the old chieftain in war — and now couldn't even match him in espionage. All their cleverness wasted. He wondered what on earth the Embroidered Uniform Guard was doing. During the Wanli reign's Korea campaign, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had performed brilliantly, sending back vital military intelligence even in a foreign land. Now they were completely outmatched.

Wendeng Camp had previously been obscure, so it had no dedicated counter-intelligence apparatus. The military discipline unit did have a spy-catching function, but this was the first time they'd actually caught any. Since the Jianzhou bandits were already ahead of the game and the Great Ming's counter-intelligence organizations were unreliable, he needed to establish his own intelligence agency as quickly as possible. Chen Xin ran through the candidates in his mind. Zhou Shifa was the most suitable to be an intelligence chief. He was from Tianjin, had no deep ties to any of the major factions in the army, knew plenty of underworld tricks, and had performed outstandingly during the assassination of Han Bin in Dengzhou — ruthless, tight-lipped. Now that the military discipline system was on track, he could be pulled out. He was the best choice at the moment.

"Shifa, I plan to establish an Intelligence Bureau, an organization similar to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and put you in charge. It will have three duties: first, internal counter-intelligence; second, external intelligence gathering; third — dealing with troublesome individuals. If it involves someone with an official rank internally, report to me before making an arrest. When operating away from here, you may act on your own authority, but keep it clean — don't let the government offices get anything on us."

Zhou Shifa's eyes lit up. He immediately agreed, "Yes, my lord. To be honest, this military judge work is rather dull. This suits my temperament far better. I will certainly do it well."

"For the three items I mentioned above, draft a charter. You will report only to me; orders from anyone else are null and void. I'll give you thirty men to start. All of them must be chosen from those who arrived before this year. You can develop some peripheral personnel. Think about what kind of people you need, set up a few sections, how much funding you'll require — write up the plan for my review. But the most urgent thing right now is to recruit your people and flush out the slave spies in Wendeng."

"I have two candidates who are very suitable, but they didn't come last year. A real pity."

Chen Xin smiled. "You've thought of them that quickly?"

"The two righteous civilians who caught the spies. One in particular, named Zhang Dong — ruthless and cold-blooded, calm in a crisis. He's from Liaodong, even stayed at Thirteen Hills, and went to Guangning to gather intelligence. He's very familiar with the Jianzhou bandits' tricks. Perfect for this work."

"You said they caught two spies?"

"Yes."

Chen Xin rubbed his chin. If they were truly righteous civilians, that was fine, but he feared they might be pawns planted to infiltrate Wendeng Camp, especially the counter-intelligence department. That would do considerable harm. He thought for a moment and said, "Bring them tomorrow. I'll take a look."

Zhou Shifa acknowledged, then asked, "My lord, is the Intelligence Bureau's near-term objective limited to Wendeng territory? So I can draft the plan according to your requirements."

"Wendeng territory is mandatory. For external matters, you only need to focus on one place." Chen Xin lowered his voice and said, "Dengzhou. Besides the Jianzhou bandits' spies, I want you to grasp the full details of Dengzhou Garrison. The key focus is the Provincial Military Commander's Personal Battalion."

Zhou Shifa was slightly taken aback. Monitoring Dengzhou he could understand, but why focus on the Provincial Military Commander's Personal Battalion?

Just then, there was a sound at the door. Hai Gouzi pushed it open and came in with a silly grin. "My lord, Zhang Dahui is back."

"Dahui, sit down quickly." Chen Xin looked at Zhang Dahui and greeted him with a face full of smiles.

Zhang Dahui gave a military salute, then sat down. He looked at Chen Xin and chuckled. Earlier in the year he had linked up with Wendeng Camp in Jingshi for a time. After Chen Xin left, he had stayed on in Jingshi. This was his first trip back to Wendeng in two years. The thriving scenes of Weihai and Wendeng had only strengthened his confidence in Chen Xin.

Chen Xin asked amiably, "Dahui, your return — is there urgent business from Jingshi?"

"It's about the Army Supervisor matter. Because the supervisor appointment was settled so hastily, I couldn't get the full picture in time, so I stayed a few extra days to clarify the situation before hurrying back."

Chen Xin studied this young follower carefully. He now had a face full of shrewdness and worldly wisdom. There was no trace left of that filthy beggar from a few years ago. "Well done. What exactly is this Lu Zhi's deal?"

"I asked around through contacts in the palace. It's not bad news for our Wendeng Camp. This year's military pay for Dengzhou and Laizhou is over seven hundred thousand taels. I reckon His Majesty is a bit uneasy. What His Majesty arranged with Lu Zhi is to look after Wendeng Camp well. Our military pay might end up as much as the Guanning forces get."

Chen Xin's brow twitched. He smiled. "Such a good thing?"

"I also went to Minister Wen's residence and saw the steward. He said His Majesty intends to use Dengzhou and Laizhou to check and balance Guanning, with our Wendeng Camp as the key piece. After the Jianzhou bandits broke through the passes last year, His Majesty believes the dilapidation of Dongjiang is why the bandits have no worries, so this year Dengzhou and Laizhou's military pay is larger than in previous years. Almost every request from Lord Sun is approved. Many officials opposed sending the Frankish instructors to Dengzhou and Laizhou, and it only went through because His Majesty personally intervened."

"Those Frankish instructors have arrived?"

"They should have. But the Ministry of War only says they're on temporary assignment, not permanently stationed here."

Chen Xin chuckled. That was just wordplay to fob off those idle civil officials. He was determined to fight for some of those instructors, and even more so for the military pay. The Emperor was probably scared stiff by the Guanning Army and was propping up Dengzhou and Laizhou as a counterbalance.

Zhang Dahui continued, "Sun Yuanhua is Zhou Yanru's man. They're from the same hometown and have a very close relationship. Ever since Lord Sun took office, gift money has been delivered to Minister Zhou's residence every month. I only found out about things like sable pelts and ginseng — I don't know the silver amounts. Also, Xu Guangqi is his teacher. Beyond that, Lord Sun Chengzong also thinks highly of him. Add to that our Wendeng Camp making a name in one battle, and now Dengzhou and Laizhou's status far exceeds the past."

Chen Xin nodded. In the original history, Sun Yuanhua's conditions had been quite good. Between the third and fourth years of Chongzhen, the military pay for Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Dongjiang was four times what Dongjiang Garrison had previously received — clear proof that the Emperor had placed high hopes on Sun Yuanhua. Sun Yuanhua's troop training and cannon production had also shown some results. No one expected the Wuqiao Mutiny would shatter this dream of a strong army, ultimately requiring the Guanning Army to be called in to suppress it. From then on, Dengzhou and Laizhou never recovered.

"Is there anything else about Lu Zhi coming to Dengzhou and Laizhou?"

"It seems he's also to investigate private smuggling along the Dengzhou and Laizhou sea routes."

"Sea route smuggling? To Liaodong or to Dongjiang?"

Zhang Dahui lowered his voice and said, "Liaodong and Korea. Some days ago, escapees from Liaodong reported that the Jianzhou bandits seized silver this year, but the grain harvest still failed. Liaodong lacks everything. Starting from the sixth month, they've been able to buy goods — grain, tea, tobacco, all of it. The supply routes are estimated to be two: one via the Mongols, the other via Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Korea. Besides those goods, there are also military supplies like saltpeter and sulfur."

Chen Xin frowned slightly. Smuggling by sea to Liaodong was truly hard to stop. The Liaodong Sea was vast — from Dengzhou, Laizhou, Qingzhou, all the way to Tianjin, there was coastline everywhere. Even if the Liaodong Sea could be sealed off, the Huai'an coastal area in Southern Zhili could also reach Korea, and that area was even more expansive. No matter what, it couldn't be completely blocked. And the Jianzhou bandits were fools with deep pockets — the profits had to be enormous. Most likely naval personnel were involved in the operation. If the Dengzhou fleet and the Dongjiang fleet didn't put in the effort, his own small fleet wouldn't make much difference.

He had known a bit about this matter before. When Mao Wenlong was alive, this kind of trade had been less common — the Dongjiang islands had basically sealed off the sea routes entirely. But once Mao Wenlong was dead, the islands were short on grain, the people of Dongjiang lost heart, and enforcement against these private smugglers slackened. Once a merchant ship put to sea, who knew where it ended up?

Chen Xin figured this matter wouldn't yield any results for now and couldn't be bothered to think about it. He simply said, "Leave this matter aside for now. What sort of person is this Lu Zhi?"

"I know one of the junior eunuchs under him. He's from Hejian Prefecture, originally of the Directorate for Palace Servants. He was an ordinary eunuch before, but later, when His Majesty entered the palace, he attached himself early and so became a eunuch director. I hear he's of Cao Huachun's faction. He treats his hometown people very well. He loves money and women, and is especially fond of young singing boys. He has a residence in Jingshi with a wife and a concubine, five servants and maids. In his spare time he likes playing backgammon."

"Hmm. Since our military pay might increase, just sending silver won't be enough. We need to invest more. Send someone to Dengzhou immediately. Buy the best young singing boy in Dengzhou, and also buy a courtesan who can play backgammon. Buy a separate house to settle them in. Have the junior eunuch close to him find out exactly where Lu Zhi's hometown family is, and send people to donate silver in his name — repairing bridges, building temples, that sort of thing. But... where exactly has this Lu Zhi gotten to? Why hasn't he arrived after all this time? Has he gotten so happy collecting silver that he's forgotten to come?" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to come to (.) and cast recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)