Chapter 247: Adjustments

"Many thanks to the Old Mother of Mount Tai — I didn't pray in vain. It really is a boy. In a couple of days I must go back and fulfill my vow." Liu Minyou held the baby, wrapped up like a zongzi, gently jiggling him without pause.

A tiny face stirred inside the swaddling clothes, eyes fixed steadily on the person before him — an innocent gaze tinged with a little bewilderment — and from his mouth came two soft cries.

Li Ranzhu, lying on the bed, laughed. "All right, put him down on the bed. You don't even know how to hold him properly — don't twist his neck."

"Good boy, go to sleep now. Papa has to go to a meeting."

Liu Minyou laid the swaddled bundle gently beside Li Ranzhu, then leaned on the edge of the bed, gazing at the little treasure with doting affection. Li Ranzhu laughed. "Haven't you looked enough? Hurry up and go — the army people are waiting over there. Don't hold up important matters. If Li Jiucheng attacks, we'll have nowhere to run."

Reluctant to part, Liu Minyou leaned in and kissed the baby's cheek, reassuring her as he did. "Kong Youde's men have reached Dengzhou. The army was mobilized long ago — nearly five thousand troops, all on alert around Ninghaizhou and Wendeng County. The fortified villages have their own self-defense units too. Kong Youde can't fight his way through."

Li Ranzhu still looked somewhat worried. "You said the rebels have nearly ten thousand men, but Lord Chen only brought two thousand. If Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng fight to the death, could Lord Chen be hurt?"

"He won't be. The silver spent on his two thousand men in one year is several times what Kong Youde's troops cost. It would be strange if he couldn't win with that."

Li Ranzhu shot him a glare. "If it were all a matter of counting silver to see who's stronger, then the Guanning Army would rank first, and those Jianzhou bandits would have been dead and gone long ago."

Liu Minyou chuckled. "In truth, my going there won't do much good. I don't really understand most of what they say. Yesterday at the meeting, Liu Pojun brought out two or three contingency plans. They were prepared long ago and aren't the least bit flustered. The army's mounted scouts have already reached the border area between Ninghaizhou and Dengzhou. Nothing will go wrong."

Just then, a maidservant called from outside the door, "My lord, someone from the Military Orders Bureau says the meeting starts in a quarter of an hour and asks when you will be going."

Liu Minyou answered, "Understood, I'll go at once." He smiled at Li Ranzhu and leaned in to give her a kiss. Li Ranzhu hastily pushed him away. "Why do you always like this? If the maidservant sees, she'll laugh herself silly."

Li Ranzhu had never gotten used to these modern gestures. Liu Minyou had no choice but to grab his coat and head out. Outside the door, a shiver ran through him; he hurriedly draped his outer garment over his shoulders, went to the outer courtyard and called for the Simple Monk, and the two of them led their horses out themselves.

His current residence was in the old Wendeng camp, right next to the old Garrison Commander's residence. He was still neighbors with Chen Xin, though Chen Xin's house was now far larger than his — all thanks to Chen Xin's concubine Juxiang, who believed that a house had to be grand to match her master's status, and so had built a luxurious mansion with gardens on both the east and west sides.

Liu Minyou's gatehouse remained the same as before, with only two old military-household men watching the gate. At the main entrance, Liu Minyou happened to run into Wang Erya and Xiao Jiahua.

The moment Xiao Jiahua saw it was Liu Minyou, she hastily curtsied. "Good day, Lord Liu. I happen to have the day off today, so I came to visit Sister Li and the young master, and to help out a bit."

Liu Minyou smiled and nodded. This Xiao Jiahua had somehow undergone a change of temperament; ever since she started working, she had transformed considerably. After Li Ranzhu became pregnant, she had returned to Wendeng to take charge of the general store operations for the entire Wendeng camp system. Tobacco production and sales had all been assigned to Wang Erya.

Every morning, this Xiao Jiahua would wait at the gate and go to work together with Li Ranzhu. She had long since begun calling Li Ranzhu her sister, and Li Ranzhu often praised this subordinate in front of Liu Minyou. By now, Xiao Jiahua was already the supervisor in charge of the general stores in the five surrounding fortified villages.

"Then I'll trouble you, Miss Xiao." Liu Minyou turned to Wang Erya. "And I'll trouble you as well, Miss Wang."

Wang Erya waved a hand. "I didn't come to see your young master. It's still official business. Once I've seen to it, I have to go back to the Jinghai Tobacco Factory."

Liu Minyou knew Wang Erya's temperament and did not take offense. He merely urged, "In this dead of winter, since you've come, stay a couple of days. Keep your Sister Li company and chat. What's so urgent?"

"Lord Liu, the settlement between the tobacco factory and the general stores needs to be revised. The stores already buy tobacco at a considerable discount, and the settlement period drags on far too long — nowhere near as fast as the cash transactions from out-of-town merchants. Moreover…" She paused. "Some people inside the stores have started scalping on their own, reselling to out-of-town merchants to pocket the price difference. I've come to ask Li Ranzhu just how she's managing things."

Liu Minyou cleared his throat. Seeing the lawsuit-ready look on Wang Erya's face, he knew her fiery temper and was afraid this business-world iron lady would disturb Li Ranzhu. He hastily urged, "Miss Wang, don't get so worked up. Leave this matter to me. Hmm." Liu Minyou noticed Xiao Jiahua standing nearby and said to her, "Miss Xiao, you're here at just the right time. Your Sister Li will be in confinement for the next while. For now, take full charge of the general stores. I'll issue an appointment today — you'll be the Deputy Director of the Internal Commerce Bureau. First, work with Miss Wang to handle the settlement and scalping issues."

Xiao Jiahua gave a very demure acknowledgment. No one who didn't know her would ever guess at the clueless fool she used to be.

Wang Erya shot Xiao Jiahua a glare. "Xiao Jiahua, so you've been promoted. Now that you're promoted, you have to manage things — don't hog the latrine without taking a shit. So tell me, what's the plan? When will the payment for goods be made?"

Liu Minyou did not want to be delayed by their affairs. He said to the gatekeeper, "Old Fan, take the two of them to the second hall. Have the brazier, tea, and snacks prepared. You two discuss things first. I have a meeting — I must excuse myself for now."

With that, he hurried out the door and rode with the Simple Monk toward the military camp. Behind him, the Simple Monk muttered under his breath, "What kind of women are those?"

Liu Minyou felt exactly the same. The unique structure of the Wendeng system had given women opportunities to display their talents. People like Wang Erya had risen to prominence, and other ordinary women could also work and earn money. It seemed that women's rights were already on the rise.

Shaking his head, he urged his horse on and hurried forward. By the time he reached the operations meeting room, it was already filled with red military uniforms. His deputy, Mo Huaiwen, was waiting at the door. By regulation, he could not enter — only Liu Minyou, entrusted by Chen Xin, could. Liu Minyou had no choice but to leave him waiting in the adjacent attendants' room.

Liu Pojun, who was presiding over the meeting, waited until Liu Minyou was seated, then shouted, "All rise! Salute!"

The officers filling the room stood up in unison and saluted Liu Minyou. Somewhat ill at ease, Liu Minyou rose. He did not know what salute to return. After hesitating, he gave a somewhat irregular military salute in reply.

After the officers were seated, Liu Minyou signaled for Liu Pojun to begin. Liu Pojun stood, walked to the map, and began his briefing. "Today, Lord Chen sent a relay horse from Laiyang to inform us that he is stationed at Laizhou with the Shandong Provincial Governor, Yu Dacheng. Under Yu Dacheng's command are the Shandong Provincial Governor's Personal Battalion, the Wude Battalion, the Jimo Battalion, and some guard-battalion troops. Lord Chen intends to lead his troops independently to Laiyang or Qixia, threatening Kong's forces from the south."

He pointed to the location of Dengzhou. "The main force of Li Jiucheng and Kong Youde is encamped at Mishen Shan, south of Dengzhou city. One detached camp guards Shimen Shan to the southwest. Another camp is stationed at Wolonggang, southeast of the city. On the third day after arriving, they attempted to probe and attack Dengzhou but were repelled by the southern troops under Zhang Keda. However, both sides were merely testing — no major battle broke out. Judging from the encampment positions of Kong's forces, they intend to besiege Dengzhou. Their Shimen Shan camp is meant to guard against Yu Dacheng's forces from the Laizhou direction. The main camp in the Wolonggang direction guards against Ninghaizhou. Mishen Shan guards against Qixia. All three main camps control and block key routes. In the Ninghaizhou direction in particular, Kong's mounted scouts have even reached the prefectural city walls and have repeatedly confronted our own scouts. They clearly have designs on our Wendeng camp."

"Lord Chen's order: once the expeditionary battle group reaches Laiyang or Qixia, all mobilized Wendeng forces are to assemble in the direction of Ninghaizhou, but must not approach the city of Ninghaizhou itself, to avoid detection by the rebels. Effective immediately, all units are forbidden to let soldiers leave camp. Recheck all required supplies and equipment. Everything must be ready so that the moment Lord Chen's order arrives, they can move out at once…"

As Liu Minyou listened, he studied the map. He believed Chen Xin's intent was to use Wendeng's forces to block off the south and east, ensuring the security of Wendeng itself. That Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng actually dared to face Zhang Keda directly showed no attitude of accepting amnesty whatsoever. A thread of tension began to stir in his heart as well…

At the Wendeng camp outside Laizhou city, large numbers of refugees had already been redirected toward Laiyang, where personnel dispatched by the civil affairs department received them. Those who remained now were all combat troops.

The atmosphere had abruptly tensed compared to the previous period. The central command had issued an alert order: every regiment had to keep one battalion in armor and loaded at all times. All of the central army's light cavalry reconnaissance teams had been dispatched to scout and probe in the direction of Huangxian.

Chen Xin paced slowly inside the central army tent. Standing before him was Wu Jianzhong from the Laizhou intelligence station.

"My lord, when Li Jiucheng and the others passed through, your subordinate arranged several dozen men inside Pingdu Department city, preparing to create chaos when they attacked the city. Who knew the rebels had no intention of attacking the city at all? Your subordinate could only have Tangdihu raid a few large estates we had previously scouted. But those were few, after all — the truly wealthy households had all taken shelter inside the department city. Your subordinate handled matters poorly. I beg my lord's punishment."

As Wu Jianzhong spoke, he knelt down. Chen Xin hastily helped him up. "The battlefield shifts in the blink of an eye — how can everything go exactly as one wishes? Kong Youde and his men were an isolated force; they must have been in a hurry to return to Dengzhou. It stands to reason they wouldn't attack Pingdu. We'll think of another way later."

Wu Jianzhong had no moral qualms whatsoever. In his view, as long as they could seize enough land for the Wendeng camp, that mattered more than anything else. That way, Lord Chen could support enough troops to fight his way back to Liaodong.

He thought for a moment and added, "My lord, if we're talking about wealthy households, Laizhou city has the most. But the Laizhou Department Magistrate is quite capable — he levies men by household, assigning every man to a specific section of the city wall. Inside the city, strict inspections are enforced. He also called upon the local gentry to contribute funds and grain. For now, the city's defenses appear very solid. Even later on… it won't be easy."

Chen Xin nodded slightly. His original plan had been for Wu Jianzhong to act as an inside agent, helping the rebels take Pingdu and Laizhou. Who would have guessed that Li Jiucheng would pass by without entering, skirting around the outside of the city? That had foiled his plan, and he had to draw up a new one.

The key point now was Dengzhou. Chen Xin imagined the situation from Kong's forces' perspective: what they should fear most was the Wendeng camp. If he got too close, they might immediately accept amnesty, and he would be drawing water with a bamboo basket — all for nothing. But staying too far away wouldn't work either; if they broke through Dengzhou, they would have ample time to fortify the city's defenses. Timing was the most critical factor. Everything depended on the capabilities of the intelligence personnel in Dengzhou.

Chen Xin deliberated for a moment, then said to Wu Jianzhong, "I have already informed Yu Dacheng that my troops will head to Qixia tomorrow. You will remain in Laizhou. Send as many men into the city as possible and await my orders."

Wu Jianzhong looked slightly puzzled. "Qixia is not a strategic location. The route from there to Dengzhou is all mountain terrain — very easy for Li Jiucheng to block. Why is my lord going there?"

Chen Xin said flatly, "Once I am in Qixia, I can act more freely. Moreover, it will ensure that Wendeng is not harassed by marauding soldiers."

Wu Jianzhong silently pondered. Qixia and Ninghaizhou were the two routes to Wendeng. Going there would indeed guarantee Wendeng's safety. But as he thought it through more carefully, a possibility suddenly dawned on him, and the look he directed at Chen Xin could not help but carry an added measure of admiration.