Chapter 272: This Is Bad

"Sort and inventory everything. Have soldiers guard the city gates at both ends. Pitch the tents inside the barbican. All incoming supplies will be handed over at the inner gate. Until the inventory is complete, no one inside the city is to take a single step out of the barbican."

Inside the barbican at the north gate of Pingdu Department city, Liu Minyou, sporting two dark circles under his eyes, was bellowing at Dong Yu. He had just rushed over from Dengzhou with the civil affairs personnel, every one of them disheveled and grimy, each also sporting a pair of panda eyes.

Lao Cai sat slumped on the ground, his eyes vacant. He had originally been transferred to the school to teach the accounting class — decent pay and not too tiring. This time, Liu Minyou suddenly sent word and transferred the entire class, teacher included, to Dengzhou. After several days and nights of frantic work, they had finally nearly finished, only to be rushed here to Pingdu Department.

Now before him lay another mountain of grain and cloth, and surely a vast quantity of gold, silver, and jewels still needing to be counted. The relentless all-nighters had left Lao Cai barely half alive. Even so, Liu Minyou had still dragged him along to Pingdu Department. For the first time in his life, Lao Cai found himself loathing silver with a passion.

Though Wang Erya's face was also full of exhaustion, the moment she saw the chaotic jumble of supplies piled everywhere inside the barbican, her spirit suddenly flared to life. She began noisily directing the other civil affairs staff, assigning them their tasks. Although Liu Minyou was somewhat displeased with her, Mo Huaiwen had temporarily stayed behind in Dengzhou to handle the farmland, and here she was indeed the most capable, so he made her his deputy, responsible for organizing the personnel.

Dong Yu shook his head vigorously a few times to clear it, then said to Liu Minyou, "I'm starting to regret taking this quartermaster post. It's more exhausting than being a damned combat soldier."

Liu Minyou glared at him. "Can it kill you from exhaustion? When combat soldiers are snatching their lives from amidst a forest of blades and spears, you don't see that."

Dong Yu rubbed his own shoulders, his face full of misery, and said, "Mr. Liu, although the cloth and livestock are few this time, the gold and silver are probably even more than in Dengzhou. We'll be busy for another three days and three nights."

"Good!" Liu Minyou said with a long sigh. The more spoils the better; the current haul far exceeded his expectations. The Wendeng Battalion's raid had taken place at night. In the darkness where nothing could be seen, the rebels, in their panic, had been unable to take much of their wealth with them and had left it behind in their quarters.

"Send a relay rider to Wendeng. Tell Xu Yuanhua to organize all those refugees without land and prepare them to move to Dengzhou."

Dong Yu agreed in a low voice. "There is farmland here in Pingdu Department as well. The Intelligence Bureau is already handling the matter. I heard the rebels killed many wealthy households, leaving behind a lot of land. Geng Zhongming handed over the official seals of the department office and found a few clerks who are now processing the land deeds."

Liu Minyou sighed. Li Jiucheng had committed too many killings. Although having land excited him, many people had died here after all. He only hoped the combat soldiers could exterminate Li Jiucheng soon so these refugees could settle down as quickly as possible.

He recalled the previous incident and asked Dong Yu, "Who is leading the troops pursuing Li Jiucheng now?"

"Still Liu Pojun."

Liu Minyou said in surprise, "Why did my lord Chen Xin let Liu Pojun lead the troops again this time? Wasn't he punished last time?"

"My lord said to let Liu Pojun atone for his crimes by meritorious service, to give him a chance to train. Zhu Guobin and the others are too prejudiced against him. This time my lord kept Wang Zhangfu in the department city and drew one company from each battalion commander's unit to give to Liu Pojun. He also sent Huang Side to assist him."

"This is a matter of life and death. What is there to train for? That Huang Side is all lip service; he knows jack shit about fighting wars." Liu Minyou muttered a complaint under his breath. "Where is my lord Chen Xin now? I'll go find him. We can't let Liu Pojun drag his feet like this."

Dong Yu yawned, then replied, "My lord said it's absolutely foolproof, so you can rest easy, Mr. Liu. My lord should be at the department office right now. That Song Wenxian just got back; they're probably talking."

"Who did you say is back?"

"Mr. Song, Song Wenxian. I ran into him at the west gate."...

"Mr. Song, why have you come back?" Chen Xin's face was full of delighted surprise. Looking closely, the Song Wenxian before him had a face etched with wind and frost, completely devoid of his former roguish charm and cynicism.

Though Chen Xin felt a slight surprise, he was mostly happy. He had known this old rogue for a long time, and Song Wenxian had given him sincere help in the past. He was one of the few people Chen Xin could talk to easily and share some secrets with. Liu Minyou was his best friend, but there were many things he dared not tell him. Zhou Shifa and Huang Side were subordinates. Only this Song Wenxian had the nature of a half-friend. After sending him to Jingshi last year, the two had not seen each other for over half a year. Seeing him now, Chen Xin was quite overjoyed.

Song Wenxian wore a face full of smiles. He scrutinized Chen Xin for a moment, then suddenly dropped into a deep bow. "This subordinate congratulates my lord Chen Xin. If this campaign achieves its full success, our Wendeng Battalion already dominates eastern Shandong. In the future, rising to the highest ranks of officialdom is to be expected."

Chen Xin laughed heartily and quickly helped Song Wenxian up. "This is the result of everyone's combined efforts. Mr. Song exhausted himself in Jingshi; your contribution is equally indispensable." Before Song Wenxian, he did not put on airs and did not deny his ambition to dominate eastern Shandong.

Chen Xin hastily called for tea to be served. The two took their seats. Noticing Song Wenxian's clothes were dirty, torn, and even had a few bloodstains, Chen Xin asked with concern, "The rebels have not yet been eliminated, and nowhere is peaceful. Was Mr. Song's journey smooth?"

Song Wenxian leaned forward and said, "This subordinate left Jingshi seven days ago. Zhang Dahui, fearing the roads were unsafe, sent three skilled agents from the intelligence stations to accompany me. Near Xincheng, there were many robbers, all seemingly common folk with no food. After passing Qingzhoufu, there were indeed many scattered soldiers on the road, all fleeing from the Pingdu area. We dared only take minor paths and encountered danger several times, even losing one man. By heaven's grace, we ran into Wendeng's patrol cavalry near Pingdu. In the end, we arrived safe and sound, though this horse riding has rattled every bone in this old man's body loose."

Although he spoke lightly, Chen Xin knew that, as a scholar, traveling with only a few men must have been fraught with danger. Li Jiucheng's rebellion had completely shattered the original order. The governing structure north of Jinan had been thoroughly broken. Yu Dacheng had been arrested and taken to the capital a few days ago, leaving the officialdom leaderless and unable to recover in the short term. The situation was certainly extremely chaotic.

Chen Xin blinked. "Mr. Song has worked hard. Knowing it was so chaotic, you still risked coming to Denglai. Has some major event occurred in Jingshi?"

Song Wenxian looked at Chen Xin with a smile and said slowly, "There is nothing particularly special. It's just that the other day, while pondering Zhou Yanru's last proposal, this old man suddenly recalled something. I could not sleep the entire night. The next morning, I rose early and brought people back."

Chen Xin's expression changed. "Anything that can worry you, sir, must surely be a matter of great importance. Please do not hesitate to instruct me."

Song Wenxian greatly admired Chen Xin's humility. He had entered the city through the west gate and seen many captured supplies being transported to the north gate along the way. The Wendeng Battalion possessed a powerful troop-training system. Once it had sufficient financial and material resources, it would surely develop into a force capable of influencing the situation in the north. That Chen Xin could still maintain such caution and humility made Song Wenxian feel even more that this young man was someone who could accomplish great things.

He no longer held back and, putting away his smile, said, "What concerns me is still Dalinghe."

"Dalinghe?" Chen Xin furrowed his brow. He had actually been feeling rather pleased with himself lately, rarely even recalling the source of this year's turmoil. Now that Song Wenxian brought it up, he felt he had been somewhat careless.

"The Jianzhou Bandits have yet to withdraw their troops, which means Zu Dashou is still holding out. Word from within the palace is that His Majesty is extremely dissatisfied with Sun Chengzong and has flown into thunderous rages many times. Liang Tingdong personally rushed to Jinzhou, demanding that Liaozhen lift the siege by a set deadline. I fear Sun Chengzong can wait no longer and will soon dispatch the main force of Liaozhen to rescue Dalinghe."

Chen Xin listened attentively, nodding slightly from time to time. Song Wenxian took a sip of tea, then continued, "Wu Xiang and Song Wei only brought small cavalry forces the previous times. If the main army moves out this time, escaping won't be so easy. Sooner or later, it will be another disastrous defeat like Sarhu. By then, Liaozhen's elite will be completely lost. If Zu Dashou is then entirely annihilated, Ningjin will be pitifully weak. What I worry about is..."

"Transferring me to defend Liaozhen," Chen Xin added heavily. According to the last intelligence report, Zhou Yanru also intended to push the Wendeng Battalion into the fire pit of Dalinghe, but that was merely Zhou Yanru's hope. Chen Xin had not been too worried at the time. He only needed to have Lu Zhi and Wang Tingshi write a report of heavy losses, and with Wen Tiren's help, he could delay it.

But now the situation was different. If Liaozhen became too weak, Jingshi would be under dire threat from the Jianzhou Bandits, and with Shandong free of turmoil, it would be very difficult for Wen Tiren to keep blocking the transfer of the Wendeng Battalion to Liaozhen. The Denglai territory Chen Xin had fought so hard to win would then be rendered useless.

Chen Xin tapped the table lightly. "Mr. Song's reminder is timely. I have indeed been overly focused on Denglai lately. That being the case, it seems Dalinghe still needs to be saved somehow. Does Mr. Song have any method to teach me?"

"My lord handles countless affairs daily. It is our duty as subordinates to fulfill the responsibility of reminding you; this is merely our job. In my humble opinion, Liaozhen must absolutely not be gone to. My lord hacked through thorns and brambles in Wendeng, finally putting down roots. Now is precisely the time to grow branches and leaves. Once you leave Denglai, years of foundation will all fall into the hands of others. Although Liaozhen has the Liaodong Tax, a single battalion does not receive much of it. The various officials there have deeply entangled relationships with the grand ministers of the court and long ago divided up and devoured all the surrounding farmland. Going there, you would have to deal with endless, complicated official socializing, and without farmland, you'd depend on superiors for every mouthful. How could that compare to the freedom of Denglai? Therefore, my strategy is: Dalinghe must be saved, yet also cannot be saved."

"Oh? How to save and not save?"

"In truth, my lord had already thought of this before me; you just haven't recalled it for a moment. Liaozhen absolutely cannot be gone to. In matters of war, my lord understands better than I. This is the 'not saving.' Last time Zhang Dahui accompanied Wang Chengen to Shandong, upon returning, he said my lord requested that the secret report to Liang Tingdong include a mention that Chen Youshi might be colluding with Li Jiucheng. From this, I deduced that my lord wants Lvshun. Upon careful consideration, this is a brilliant move to control the Liaodong Sea. It is not only a critical military defense point but also a foothold to step into Liaonan. With our Wendeng Battalion stationed at Lvshun, the Jianzhou Bandits would not dare take it lightly and would be forced to deploy heavy troops to defend the Southern Four Garrisons. This gives us a reason not to go to Liaozhen. My coming here is merely to urge my lord to make this move as soon as possible. This is the 'saving.'"

Chen Xin smiled. "I did have that intention. As Mr. Song has put it this way, Li Jiucheng truly cannot be left alive any longer. We must shift our focus to Lvshun as quickly as possible. Not only must we occupy Lvshun, but we must also send troops to Fuzhou to let the Jianzhou Bandits know we've arrived. That will be saving Dalinghe. But the move regarding Qingzhoufu still needs to be made. Tomorrow I will lead troops to Changyi and drive them towards Qingzhou as quickly as possible."

Song Wenxian was somewhat surprised. Chen Xin roughly explained it to him. Song Wenxian couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration, deeply impressed by this strategic layout. Since Chen Xin said he would go to Changyi tomorrow, it meant Chen Xin had already accepted his advice.

Song Wenxian's eyes lit up. His mind immediately began pondering how to specifically execute the Lvshun matter. He was not yet familiar with the recent situation in Dengzhou and had no clue for the moment, so he asked Chen Xin, "Lvshun has always been the territory of Dongjiang Town. We belong to Dengzhou Town. How can we obtain this place? I wonder if my lord already has a plan."

Chen Xin crossed his legs and said smugly, "Naturally, I do. I've already had Wang Bingzhong and Geng Zhongming each write confessions, in which the key point is stating that this Chen Youshi secretly communicated with Li Jiucheng and agreed to rise up in response. As long as we have this, we can use the urgency of the situation as a pretext to go to Lvshun first and deal with him. Right now, Huang Long, that Regional Commander, is in such a sorry state. With Lu Zhi and Wang Tingshi submitting memorials, and with Grand Secretary Wen saying a few words, on what grounds could Huang Long drive us away? Besides, that place directly faces the Jianzhou Bandits. Apart from us, how many people would covet it?"

Song Wenxian smiled and nodded. "That is indeed the truth. But what if Lu Zhi wants to transfer troops from Dongjiang Town to Lvshun to arrest Chen Youshi? He may not entirely listen to us."

"That's simple. In the confessions from Geng Zhongming and the other, they also vaguely mentioned that other island generals seem to have connections. With the lesson of Li Jiucheng, would Lu Zhi and Wang Tingshi dare to transfer other Dongjiang troops? If Lvshun is lost, who will bear that responsibility? Therefore, he can only use our Wendeng Battalion."

"A brilliant plan, my lord!"

Chen Xin feigned modesty on the surface, but inwardly he was quite pleased. Taking over Lvshun in the wake of the Dengzhou rebellion was the final move in his series of strategic layouts. Once they had a place directly confronting the Later Jin, they would have ample reason to remain in Dengzhou. Relying on Lvshun to contain the various forces around the Liaodong Sea, the most advantageous condition of Lvshun was its sea transport logistics line. Between Dengzhou and Lvshun lay the Miaodao Archipelago. By controlling Lvshun, they could use it as a pretext to build ports and deploy naval forces on the various islands. From then on, all those smugglers and contraband runners in the Liaodong Sea would have to watch his mood.

After finishing his flattery, Song Wenxian still cautioned, "Although my lord has prepared an excellent strategy, this subordinate believes we must still prepare for unforeseen needs. What if the imperial court insists on transferring our Wendeng Battalion to Liaozhen?"

By now, Chen Xin's expression was completely composed. "With Mr. Song's reminder, this official has already thought of several countermeasures. First, keep Geng Zhongming here. The court certainly won't feel at ease leaving him alone in Dengzhou. Second, there are many scattered soldiers this time; most will likely turn to banditry and will surely cause trouble from time to time. We'll send more field reports to the Ministry of War to give them the impression that this place is not peaceful."

"My lord leaves no stone unturned. This subordinate is in awe!"

Chen Xin was smiling, about to return the compliment, when just as he opened his mouth, his adjutant Wang Mafu suddenly burst in without knocking and shouted at Chen Xin, "My lord, urgent report from Liu Pojun! Li Jiucheng's force has suddenly fled towards the coast, gathering boats along the way. They may be about to put to sea."

It took Chen Xin's mouth a long moment to respond. "Put to sea? Damn it. This is bad."