Chapter 228: Water Torture

West of the Wen Deng camp wall, less than fifty paces away, stood a newly built large compound. It was wrapped in a tall brick outer wall, and aside from its larger footprint and higher walls, it looked little different from an ordinary courtyard.

Once inside the outer wall, there was another enclosing wall. Two men not in military uniform stood guard at the gate. Beyond this inner wall lay rows upon rows of buildings, with no flowers, plants, or trees planted anywhere.

On the west side rose yet another high wall, with watchtowers at all four corners. Inside stood a row of monotonous, identical buildings.

Beneath the middle room was a dark cellar. The floor and walls were reinforced with stone slabs as usual. A few flames flickered on oil lamps, casting a man's shadow onto the stone wall — the black silhouette swaying with the dancing firelight.

Zhou Shifa wore a faint smile as he stared calmly at a man on the ground and said, "Why make it so hard on yourself, Mr. Yang? I too am a man of learning and propriety. But if you are determined to keep your mouth shut and insist on making things difficult for me, then I will have no choice but to make things difficult for you. I can tell you in advance: so far, no one has endured it three times."

The man lay head-down, feet-up on a slightly tilted wooden board, his hands and feet bound fast. Hearing Zhou Shifa's words, his face showed a mixture of anger, contempt, and terror.

Zhou Shifa crouched down, clamped the man's head between his knees to hold it still, and laid several pieces of cotton cloth over his face. With his face covered and his eyes seeing nothing, Mr. Yang's fear deepened. He had no idea what Zhou Shifa was about to do. Muffled, urgent sounds came from his mouth, the cotton cloth over his lips rising and falling with his breath.

Zhou Shifa shook his head with pity, lifted a wooden ladle, and slowly poured the clear water in it onto the cotton cloth right over the mouth. Mr. Yang seemed not to expect it was only water. After a moment of stillness, he suddenly began thrashing violently. Zhou Shifa's face turned cold. He pressed his left hand hard against the man's forehead, kept his head fixed between his knees, and with his right hand scooped up another ladle of water, slowly pouring it onto the already soaked cloth.

Mr. Yang's body convulsed violently, the veins on his neck bulging, his waist arching high. Zhou Shifa counted the time in his mind while saying with pity, "This is the water torture invented by my lord. You would be wrong to think it is like drinking a mouthful of water. In a very short time, it can make you feel like you are suffocating to death."

A moment later, he finally stopped pouring and tore away the pieces of cotton cloth, revealing Mr. Yang's contorted face. Mr. Yang's eyes were wide open. He strained to lift his head a little, spat out great mouthfuls of water, and then coughed violently. It was a long while before he laid his head back on the board, utterly exhausted. His face and head were drenched, and he panted, eyes blank.

Zhou Shifa had tried this water torture on himself once. The seemingly simple method was exceptionally cruel, completely different from holding one's breath underwater. In a very short time it induced a sensation of suffocation. While tormenting the victim, it let him clearly feel death approaching. Few could endure it twice, and clearly this Mr. Yang would be no exception. Zhou Shifa let him recover for a while, then crouched down and said to him, "Mr. Yang, I said earlier: whichever of the three of you tells the truth first gets to live. Seeing as you are a fellow townsman from Hejian Prefecture, I gave you a chance, yet you repeatedly spat venom. Have you thought it over now? Will you speak or not?"

Mr. Yang's earlier contemptuous expression was gone. He burst into loud sobs and said, "I... Lord Sun showed me the grace of recognition..."

Zhou Shifa directly covered his face with the cotton cloth again. Beneath it, Mr. Yang let out a terrified howl. This time Zhou Shifa did not pour water. Instead, he removed the cloth again and said coldly, "Someone once told me that no human being can endure this water torture. I advise you, sir, not to harbor false hopes. I ask you one last time: what did Lu Chuanzong say to you?"

Mr. Yang's face was covered in water droplets, now mingled with tears and mucus. Haltingly, he said, "He said he would not go to Dengzhou or Dongjiang. He wanted either a post as Assistant Regional Commander along the Grand Canal."

Zhou Shifa's eyes flickered. "And Acting Company Commander Dai?"

"Acting... Acting Company Commander Dai he did not see. He threw the visiting card right back out. He did meet that Mobile Corps Commander from the Wendeng naval force. His attitude was very good, but then he said he would not go to the Dengzhou naval camp for any amount of silver — that he would not live to spend it even if he got it."

"Who else did you see in Wendeng? What else did you do?"

"Huang Gongcheng of Jinghai Guard and an uncle of his, the Wendeng County Magistrate, Vice Prefect Deng of Jinghai Guard, Vice Prefect Zhang of Weihai Guard... those people. Sun Dehai also went to the tobacco workshop and several of the fortified villages around here. He said the Wen Deng camp has five or six thousand troops and he must go back and report to Lord Sun that Chen Xin intends to rebel. Also, before departing, Lord Sun instructed us to gather information on the Wen Deng camp's smuggling activities. We found none."

Zhou Shifa smiled smugly. This was the first time he had heard anyone say Chen Xin was planning rebellion. He asked a few more questions. Once Mr. Yang had started talking, he no longer cared about the grace of recognition. He confessed everything honestly. After listening, Zhou Shifa stood, opened the door, and climbed the steps. On the upper level, he saw Chen Xin sitting beside a copper pipe with Hai Gouzi. Hai Gouzi was plugging a wooden stopper into the pipe's opening, while Chen Xin sat with his head lowered, deep in thought.

Zhou Shifa said in a low voice, "My lord, it matches the other two's confessions. Our officers are all clean. Sun Yuanhua sent them, first, to buy off our officers, and second, to gather evidence of our unauthorized troop training, tobacco production, salt production, and smuggling. We have sold a great deal of southern goods and cigarettes this year. Many come from Dengzhou to purchase stock. Lord Sun must have caught wind of it and knows the Four Seas Trading Company is our operation. Once all this is collected, combined with Huang Gongcheng's impeachment of us for seizing land and plaguing the countryside, the imperial court will certainly be displeased with us. And naturally, His Majesty will not believe our impeachment of him for withholding rations and pay."

Chen Xin slowly raised his head, but what he said was completely unrelated. "Is there any new intelligence from Dalinghe?"

"Just received today. Seven days ago, the Guanning Army engaged Jianzhou Bandit scout cavalry at Shisan Shan and Yizhou respectively. They even scored minor victories. Barring the unexpected, the Jianzhou Bandits will advance in separate columns from Yizhou and Guangning and converge at Dalinghe or Jinzhou. Their current troop strength is unknown, but I believe that since Mongol tribes are contributing troops, their forces will be no fewer than forty thousand."

"Have we found out about the city's troop strength, weapons, and grain supplies?"

Zhou Shifa shook his head. "We know the troop strength — roughly six to eight thousand combat soldiers. The White Rod troops have been withdrawn to Shanhai Pass. The total force inside Dalinghe is around forty thousand. But grain and weapons are hard to calculate. Our men rely on gathering information in the markets and streets; the exact figures are unclear. They only say that in recent days, carts and horses transporting grain have been moving day and night without cease."

Chen Xin said, "Forward this military intelligence to the Staff Department of the Central Army Division. Also, is there any news from Jingshi?"

"Zhang Dahui sent word back that there has been movement regarding Lu Zhi and our impeachment. His Majesty is growing increasingly dissatisfied with Sun Yuanhua. It is basically certain that an official will be dispatched to Dengzhou to investigate — mainly a censor from the Chief Surveillance Bureau. In addition, there will be a capital official of Vice Minister rank or higher, and perhaps an inner court official as well. At present, the factions of Wen Tiren and Zhou Yanru are battling over the candidates for the investigation."

Naturally, the selection of the imperial inspector was something to fight over. It directly determined the final conclusion. Chen Xin had no idea how long they would drag it out. Zhou Yanru would certainly try to delay as long as possible. Now, with the opening provided by Lu Zhi and Chen Xin, Wen Tiren would surely fix Sun Yuanhua as the target — the first step in bringing down Zhou Yanru.

Chen Xin's eyes shifted. "If a censor does come, what other leverage on Sun Yuanhua has the Intelligence Bureau prepared?"

"A list of Dengzhou's smuggling merchants, several of whom are relatives of Sun Yuanhua. Second, evidence that Huang Long resold Dongjiang Town's standard-issue military grain. Dengzhou naval forces transported military grain departing from the naval fortress. Sometimes they never even went to Dongjiang Town, but instead resold it at a nearby private port to several Dengzhou grain shops. Some was also sold to grain shops in Laizhou and Qingzhou. If the censor is one of Wen Tiren's men, we can provide a list of the naval personnel involved. They need only arrest and interrogate them according to the list."

Last time, Song Wenxian had already given Wen Tiren the number of phantom troops in Dengzhou and Laizhou. Chen Xin was basically satisfied with the new evidence the Intelligence Bureau had prepared.

Zhou Shifa looked up and continued, "At present, Liang Tingdong has already sided with Lord Wen. Wen Tiren has given him considerable support, but on the matter of Dalinghe, Wen Tiren has still not declared his position."

Chen Xin smiled. "Building Dalinghe was never his idea to begin with. With war looming, that old fox naturally will not declare a position. If it ends in defeat, he would be implicated along with Liang Tingdong. This Dalinghe matter concerns the official hats of quite a few people — Sun Chengzong, Liang Tingdong, Qiu Jiahe, and perhaps Sun Yuanhua as well."

Zhou Shifa had long since ceased to be surprised by Chen Xin referring to the various lords by name. Working in this line now, he knew far more about these lords' private affairs and had long lost the awe born of mystery. He merely mused, "So that means if Dalinghe falls, Liang Tingdong will still lose his post? Recently, a supervising secretary named Shui was preparing to impeach Liang Tingdong. The evidence was stolen by Zhang Dahui and his men. Mr. Song personally delivered it to Liang Tingdong. He owes us such a great favor — it would truly be a pity if he were dismissed."

Chen Xin had not expected his relationship with Liang Tingdong to become this close. Keeping Liang Tingdong in office was certainly best. After thinking for a moment, Chen Xin said flatly, "Liang Tingdong still cannot be counted as one of Wen Tiren's men. Sun Chengzong can only be counted as the Emperor's man. Neither Wen Tiren nor Zhou Yanru will take Dalinghe too seriously, because it has little to do with them — far less important than their own infighting. If Dalinghe is a victory, then Wen Tiren will formally pull Liang Tingdong to his side. If it is a defeat, Liang Tingdong cannot count on Wen Tiren."

Zhou Shifa was long inured to this state of the imperial court. He sighed and said, "We soldiers fight back and forth, while those lords spout morality from every orifice, telling the common people to be loyal to the sovereign and serve the nation. Yet they have never once taken winning seriously. What they consider is how to exploit the final outcome — whether victory or defeat, it is always the same. If the men lying dead in heaps on the battlefield knew this, they would not close their eyes in death."

Chen Xin stared at Zhou Shifa for a moment. This spymaster still retained at least a trace of sentimentality — he was not a complete cold-blooded animal. Chen Xin nodded approvingly, then put away his smile and said to Zhou Shifa, "Since the Jianzhou Bandits have already come, the time for those lords to get headaches has arrived. We can act freely now. Deal with Huang Gongcheng immediately."

Zhou Shifa acknowledged the order, then asked in return, "We have drawn up three plans for dealing with Huang Gongcheng: using poison, staging a drowning..."

Chen Xin gently waved his hand, cutting him off softly. "Appropriate planning and caution are correct. But right now, Sun Yuanhua has his hands full. Huang Gongcheng is of no use — he is only a minor player, and he is on our Wen Deng camp's turf. There is no need to go to such trouble. I suggest sending men to simply cut him down."

"Yes... And what of the three men locked up here?"

A professional smile spread across Chen Xin's face. "I have changed my mind. Lord Sun went to such lengths to gather evidence — not only to smear our Wen Deng camp's reputation and thereby escape our impeachment against him. I think he may also impeach us for colluding with the army supervisor and inner court official Lu Zhi, exploiting civil officials' wariness of inner court officials to lure neutral civil officials entirely to his side, thus reversing his predicament. These three men are Lord Sun's relatives and advisors — something many people know. Don't be in a hurry to kill them. Lord Sun dares to play rough with me, even going so far as to intercept one of our merchant ships off Dengzhou. This official must give him something rough in return."