Chapter 478: A Thorny Problem

The Wen Deng Old Camp — the military academy of Dengzhou Garrison was established here. It was not far from the Wen Deng Grand Academy.

Wen Deng was the place where Dengzhou Garrison first rose to power. The local grassroots were almost entirely controlled by Dengzhou. The county magistrate simply holed up inside the county government office, his administrative orders unable to leave the government office gates. It could be said to be the place where Dengzhou Garrison's influence was strongest. Even Wang Tingshi and Lu Zhi no longer came here to inspect; the one time they came each year, Chen Xin would accompany them on a cursory tour.

The Wen Deng Old Camp was now bustling with population. Although its commerce could not be considered developed, the common people could live and work here in peace and contentment — it was already a blessed land in these times. Workshops of every kind established by the fortified villages stood in great numbers, displaying the rising momentum of Dengzhou Garrison.

But inside the headmaster's office of the Dengzhou Military Academy, a desolate atmosphere prevailed. Lu Chuanzong coldly surveyed the scene outside and was about to turn back toward his desk when suddenly he turned forward again, spotting a laborer sweeping the road outside who looked extremely familiar.

The laborer quietly raised his head for a glance. Lu Chuanzong stared intently for a moment, then turned to his desk and pulled a bell cord. The adjutant quickly entered. Lu Chuanzong said coldly to this adjutant transferred from the Aide Office, "Find someone to come clean the room."

The adjutant looked around the room and said, "My lord, the room was just cleaned this morning."

Lu Chuanzong narrowed his eyes and said, "Find someone to clean. I like having people moving about in the room. The way I hold this headmaster post, ten days or half a month can pass without a single person coming."

The adjutant hesitated a moment. At this hour the laborers were all absent. He looked out the doorway and saw one who swept the roads nearby, so he beckoned him in to clean. After the laborer entered with bowing and scraping, the adjutant stood at the doorway watching.

Lu Chuanzong closed his eyes to rest. When the laborer swept behind him, using Lu Chuanzong's body to block the adjutant's line of sight, he swiftly stuffed a paper ball between Lu Chuanzong's back and the chair back.

Lu Chuanzong's expression remained calm. The laborer quickly finished sweeping. He walked to the doorway and said to the adjutant, "Sir, it's all clean in here. Nothing left to sweep."

The adjutant said to Lu Chuanzong, "My lord, you—"

Lu Chuanzong nodded. The adjutant dismissed the laborer, then closed the door. The office sank once more into desolation. Lu Chuanzong slowly retrieved the paper ball from behind him, unfolded it, and saw written the eight characters: "Every day at the hour of Wei, Anshun Tea House." Lu Chuanzong struck a fire stick, burned the paper slip, and brought it close to light a hand-rolled cigarette.

The next day at the hour of Wei, Lu Chuanzong sent his adjutant out to buy things for him. Shaking off surveillance, he arrived at Anshun Tea House. As soon as he entered the tea house, he spotted Er Tun sitting in a corner. Lu Chuanzong first swept his eyes over the situation inside the tea house, memorizing every place from which one could escape, and only then sat down at Er Tun's table. After seating himself, he looked across at Er Tun, whose eyes were already red-rimmed.

Lu Chuanzong took a light sip of tea and sighed, "Er Tun, you needn't be like this. No matter how you put it, it's better than what you had before. At least you don't have to worry about making a living."

Er Tun wiped the tears from his face. "The people from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce and the Intelligence Bureau came and just forcibly seized the goods in the shop, without returning the payment either. The silver we earned is all gone, and I was arrested along with them. I spent all those days in the Civil Affairs Department's Inspectorate and the Intelligence Bureau, and I didn't say anything harmful to you people. After I got out, I've been scraping by doing hard labor. At any time someone still comes to check on me. Today, too, I only managed to come to Wen Deng by relying on someone else's help, and only got in to see you by enlisting as a laborer. Lvzi, you have to stand up for me."

"How am I supposed to stand up for you? Don't you see I've also been shuffled off to the military academy, holding this post of headmaster that has the name but no substance, with only one adjutant under me? And this adjutant was transferred from the Aide Office and in reality only listens to the Aide Office. All funds, grain, and personnel matters in the academy require Shi Pingli's signature to take effect. What can I help you with?"

Lu Er Tun said indignantly, "Lvzi, back in the days in Tianjin, Chen Xin was nothing but a commoner. If not for you and Brother Dai helping him, how could he have the power and prestige he has today? And in the blink of an eye he disowns people. We just sold a few hand-rolled cigarettes, we didn't take things from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce for nothing — we bought them with real silver. Never mind Wang Tingshi and Lu Zhi — Liu Minyou and Song Wenxian even gave low-price cigarettes to Xu Congzhi in Jinan, and the same goes for those people in the capital. Could it be that all your desperate struggles for him are worth less than some outside provincial governor?"

A look of resentment surfaced in Lu Chuanzong's eyes. He stared at the tabletop, his expression shifting between dark and light. After a long while he shook his head and said, "Er Tun, let me tell you — you may not understand, but I've been with Chen Xin a long time. I know all the ins and outs behind him. If Chen Xin had truly made up his mind to deal with us, we'd have met each other at the execution ground long ago. The fact that they didn't torture you in the Intelligence Bureau already means they let us off the hook. Whatever his purpose, this time was the final warning. If there's a next time..."

Er Tun wept, "Lvzi, are you just going to swallow this? All these years you've fought battles and trained a body of skills — are you just going to end your days in this empty room? Are you willing to accept that?"

Lu Chuanzong stared gloomily at the tabletop. Er Tun continued to urge, "That Zheng Sanhu, Fan Shouye, and the rest — they were all soldiers under your command. Li Donghua only came in the second year of Chongzhen, and now he's become a bureau chief. And you, Lvzi, you've become nothing but this military academy headmaster. What gives Chen Xin the right to treat you like this? You can still get by now, but in another two years, people like that Zhong Laosi will be sitting ahead of you. Never mind anything else — back when Chen Xin first went to sea, you were the only one helping him, and now he's forgotten it all."

Lu Chuanzong glared fiercely at Er Tun. "Enough. What use is there in saying all this? Right now only Dai Zhenggang has troops, and he's been transferred to the Third Battalion in Pingdu Prefecture, hundreds of li away from me. And you understand Dengzhou Garrison's system perfectly well. Never mind whether Dai Zhenggang would be willing — even if he truly were willing to rise up with us, there wouldn't be many soldiers who would obey him."

Er Tun lowered his voice and said, "We don't need to rise up."

Lu Chuanzong's face was full of doubt. "Then what else can we do?"

"Switch allegiance to the imperial court!"

"The imperial court?" Lu Chuanzong fixed his gaze intently on Er Tun.

Er Tun pointed at a person sitting alone by the entrance. "Yes. The Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard have come to Dengzhou and Laizhou to keep watch. There's also a secret agent who came with me to Wen Deng — he's over there, ready to coordinate."

"What have you done!" Lu Chuanzong shouted in a low voice. "How did you make contact with them? Were you followed? Do you think Zhou Shifa eats plain rice for nothing? Do you really believe Dengzhou Intelligence let you go home and then just stopped watching you?!"

Er Tun's eyes turned red. "I know there are people watching me normally. I couldn't have gotten out on my own. This time, too, it was only by relying on the Eastern Depot secret agent that I shook off the Dengzhou Intelligence Bureau. When Zhou Shifa's people came to my shop to make arrests, they beat my brother and sister-in-law to death. I and Chen Xin and Zhou Shifa cannot share the same sky."

Lu Chuanzong leaned his head back against the chair back, silent for a long time before asking, "What terms did the court offer?"

"The person who came is the Eastern Depot's Chief Agent Jiang Yuegui. He acts under orders from the Eunuch Director of Ceremonial Writing, the Capital Garrison Military Administrator, and the Eastern Depot Director Cao Huachun. He said they'll at least give you, Lvzi, a Regional Commander post in Xuanfu or Shanxi. If you're willing to stay in the capital garrison, that's also possible — likewise a Regional Commander post."

Lu Chuanzong's eyes shifted. "Then how will they help me get away and leave Dengzhou and Laizhou? I know so many of Chen Xin's shady schemes, and now my relationship with him is what it is. Knowing Chen Xin's character, if the court transfers me today to serve as Regional Commander in Xuan-Da, tomorrow I'll die of a sudden, violent illness."

"The Eastern Depot will go directly to Wang Tingshi and demand to station observers in Dengzhou and Laizhou, with you and Wang Tingshi selected. He says this is the court's formal authority — Chen Xin cannot refuse. According to the court's military system, you, Lvzi, are the Vice Regional Commander of Dengzhou's Right Wing, stationed at Zhaoyuan. Military officers are not permitted to leave their designated posts without authorization. Chen Xin will soon have to transfer you back to Zhaoyuan to deal with the Eastern Depot. The journey will be the opportunity to slip away. Even if you can't get away on the road, once you reach Zhaoyuan, there are many mountains there and it's close to the sea — it'll be easier than escaping from Wen Deng Camp."

A sharp light flickered in Lu Chuanzong's eyes. Er Tun continued to urge, "As for the family dependents and such — they can't be taken along. As long as you, Lvzi, can get away smoothly, presumably Chen Xin won't go so far as to strike against the family dependents."

Lu Chuanzong pondered for a long time, then abruptly nodded. "Worth a try. Better than this current house arrest. Most of our people are in Dengzhou, many of them sitting idle. These people are thoroughly familiar with Chen Xin's various bureaus. When we train our own troops in the future, we'll have to rely on them, so we must take them with us. I'll give you a list of names — these are all reliable people who came from Yanggu. Go contact them. I know all of Chen Xin's little tricks, and I'm not afraid of anyone in battle. We'll go to Xuan-Da and train a frontier army — it won't be inferior to Chen Xin's. Chen Xin's sea trade and cigarette operations, I more or less understand those too. We'll set up fortified villages as well. One day, I'll face him on the battlefield and settle who's better."

Er Tun's eyes lit up. "Right, we'll set up a trading company too, all using our Yanggu people. Xuan-Da will be ours for the taking. Silver by the cartload will roll in, and as many women as we want."

Lu Chuanzong said coldly, "Chen Xin has shown me no benevolence, so don't blame me for lacking righteousness. But we can't rely entirely on the Eastern Depot people. We must prepare an escape route of our own."

"What kind of escape route are you thinking of?"

"We need to prepare a boat of our own. We'll find someone Chen Xin is unwilling to move against, say we want to ship a boatload of grain to Tianjin, and secure a boat first. This is something you can't handle — have Huang Yuan go find that person. That way, even if we're discovered, at worst it's private smuggling. If we drag in one of Chen Xin's people, he won't dare to kill us outright — otherwise, how would he maintain discipline before everyone?"

"Mm. Lvzi, tell me who to look for."

"This Eastern Depot chief agent is called Jiang Yuegui. In his early years he served as an Embroidered Uniform Guard under Luo Sigong. He's trained in martial arts since childhood and is also highly proficient in the ways of the jianghu. On the priority list Zhang Dahui sent over, he was the last Eastern Depot chief agent not yet located. The Tianjin station lost his trail at the Grand Canal docks. According to intelligence provided by Lu Zhi, this man followed the Grand Canal south, bypassed Yanzhou, and entered Qingzhou Prefecture from Yizhou."

Chen Xin nodded as he listened to Zhou Shifa's report. He interrupted Zhou Shifa and said, "Kill this man directly."

"My lord, there may be some difficulty with this matter now."

"Why?"

Zhou Shifa said cautiously, "This man is quite cunning. After leaving Lu Zhi's place, he went directly to the Provincial Governor's government office, presented the Eastern Depot waist token and the Eastern Depot warrant to Wang Tingshi, and directly demanded to be stationed as an observer in Wang Tingshi's residence. This... Wang Tingshi had no way to refuse and could only agree. It's not that we can't strike inside Wang Tingshi's residence, but it would implicate Wang Tingshi. If the court then transfers Lord Wang away, dealing with a new provincial governor would take another round of effort."

Chen Xin was briefly stunned, then laughed. "Bold. And judging from his warrant, Jiang Yuegui was already prepared back in the capital — he planned before he moved. Now he's openly identified himself and moved into Wang Tingshi's home. There truly is no place safer than that. This also shows he doesn't trust Lu Zhi either. After revealing his whereabouts at Lu Zhi's place, he simply showed his identity openly, which instead makes it difficult for us to act."

"This man is not on good terms with the other chief agents. According to intelligence provided by the other chief agents, he is traveling with three secret agents, all veterans of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Judging from his actions, he likely moved into Wang Tingshi's home himself to draw our attention, while the other three secret agents operate in the shadows."

Chen Xin thought for a moment and said, "That means if we want to kill this Jiang Yuegui, we can only do it on his journey back to the capital."

"Yes. This subordinate believes his most likely method is to take a boat, most probably at night. Once he's at sea, he'll be nearly impossible to track. Additionally, he still needs to maintain contact with the three secret agents. We can first kill these three operating in the shadows. Then Jiang Yuegui will have to go out and handle matters himself, and at that point there will be an opportunity to kill him directly. If he dies outside Wang Tingshi's residence, the blame cannot be traced to Wang Tingshi."

Wu Jianzhong interjected, "This subordinate believes that since Jiang Yuegui openly identified himself and moved into Wang Tingshi's residence, the blame can be traced to Wang Tingshi no matter what. Therefore we cannot act in Dengzhou. We can only act once Jiang Yuegui sets out on his return journey. Otherwise the court will be able to find grounds."

Chen Xin thought for a moment, grunted in acknowledgment, agreeing with Wu Jianzhong's point. He then turned to Zhou Shifa. "Then what movements have there been among our people inside Dengzhou Garrison?"

Zhou Shifa said in a low voice, "That Er Tun who was left alone last time suddenly vanished. The Wen Deng intelligence station soon discovered Lu Chuanzong meeting with someone at a tea house. Based on height, walking gait, and the swing amplitude of the person's left hand, it was determined to be Er Tun."

Chen Xin narrowed his eyes. Hearing about Er Tun's left hand, he recalled that Er Tun's left hand had once been broken, and its swing amplitude was different from normal — it was one of his distinguishing features. Back when they went to Tianjin, Er Tun had gotten into a fight by the canal and had his left hand smashed. He later recuperated in that small courtyard in Tianjin. It was through that fight that he came to know Lu Chuanzong and Dai Zhenggang. Among them, Lu Chuanzong was the first to follow him and even went to Japan with Chen Xin, becoming Chen Xin's sole core team at the time and making the most important contributions to Chen Xin's primitive accumulation. He could truly be considered the most senior founding veteran.

Zhou Shifa's voice continued, "The Wen Deng intelligence station tailed Er Tun, but in the end they discovered the tracking agent had been killed in a narrow alley. The wound was a knife wound, straight to the center of the chest."

Chen Xin returned from memory to reality, gently shook his head to erase the traces of those memories from his internal storage, and buried them back into the hard drive of memory.

"That is to say, Er Tun is the person the Eastern Depot made contact with. At least one of the secret agents under Jiang Yuegui is covering Er Tun, and what's more, it's an expert from the Eastern Depot or the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Zhou Shifa nodded. Chen Xin turned to Wu Jianzhong and smiled. "Our Intelligence Bureau has crossed moves with the Embroidered Uniform Guard a few times in the capital, but that was small-scale skirmishing. Now, on our own turf, they're killing our people. If we let them return to the capital, Dengzhou's face will be utterly lost."

Wu Jianzhong and Zhou Shifa both bowed together and said, "Rest assured, my lord. We will certainly not let them escape."

Chen Xin waved his hand and said, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard are external thieves — they're easy to guard against if you're on alert. But the most important thing is still the internal thieves of Dengzhou. We must catch them all in one net. This time, I don't care about evidence or lack of evidence. In urgent moments, don't worry about whether it's easy to explain to Wang Tingshi. There is only one rule: absolutely do not let the internal thieves slip away."