Chapter 531: Relocation

"Word came from the palace yesterday. After Lord Chen's memorial stating he would not come to Jingshi, the Emperor was quite enraged with our Dengzhou garrison." Zhang Dong laid the intelligence aside coldly. "The rage cannot harm Lord Chen in the slightest, but this next move the Emperor has made behind it is truly a bit of a headache."

Zhang Dahui sat opposite him. Since Chen Xin's last order, Zhang Dahui had moved out of his original residence and switched to operating as a covert line in Jingshi, mainly responsible for external affairs and exchanging intelligence with Zhang Dong on a regular basis. Because he had been in Jingshi for many years, serving both as the head of the Intelligence Bureau and concurrently handling External Affairs Department matters, he had close ties with many capital officials. The newly arrived External Affairs personnel could not take over all contacts at once, so for certain key officials, Zhang Dahui still needed to visit them personally. He had come here today to exchange information with Zhang Dong.

Zhang Dahui took the intelligence and looked at it, saying with some surprise, "A smoking ban?"

Zhang Dong nodded. "It is said the edict will be issued tomorrow. Offenders are to be arrested and beheaded. If tobacco sales are banned throughout the north, our Dengzhou commercial profits will suddenly drop by several hundred thousand taels."

Zhang Dahui mused, "It is not that serious. An imperial edict like this will not make it out of the capital. We are not afraid of it in the provinces, but the annual volume of cigarette sales in Jingshi is enormous, so it will still be no small loss for us."

Historically, Chongzhen's smoking ban came in the eleventh year of Chongzhen, and initially, heads did indeed roll for this matter, but it was only effective in Jingshi; the provinces remained as before. The frontier armies were especially addicted to smoking as if their lives depended on it. In the end, Hong Chengchou submitted a memorial requesting the ban be lifted, enumerating the many benefits of smoking, and only then did the Emperor reopen the prohibition.

"I hear that Cao Huachun told His Majesty that since tobacco was introduced during the Wanli period, people everywhere have been consuming smoke, and 'consuming smoke' sounds like 'consuming Yan,' which is why bandits have swarmed up everywhere under heaven — this is the cause."

Zhang Dahui spat and said, "Cao Huachun himself is running a tobacco shop. Among the hundred officials of Jingshi, those with power and influence are all involved in cigarettes to some degree. Does he, Cao Huachun, dare to provoke public wrath? Let us just leak this matter. He is still not the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial; let us see how many people will impeach him."

Previously, the trading company mainly sold cigarettes and southern goods in Jingshi, only beginning to add cotton cloth last year. If Chongzhen's smoking ban was issued, the trading company would have no choice but to take cigarettes off the shelves. This matter had wide implications, and since it was an order personally given by the Emperor, it was not something the Intelligence Bureau could reverse.

Zhang Dong frowned and said, "The smoking ban in Jingshi is still a minor matter. The Emperor is showing our Dengzhou who is boss, demonstrating that he can affect Dengzhou's financial resources. Especially in the various parts of Jiangnan, where our Dengzhou military power cannot yet reach. The local gentry eyeing the cigarette trade are countless; there are already over a dozen known cases of homemade cigarette production. We have dealt with two of them since this year began, but operations there are often inconvenient, and many times we still have to watch the local officials' expressions. Once this edict is issued, local officials everywhere will have an extra excuse to demand benefits, and the trading company's payoffs will have no choice but to rise with the tide. So a single edict from him can indeed cause quite a bit of trouble for the Dengzhou garrison."

Zhang Dahui agreed, "At the very least, it is a profit of over three hundred thousand taels. That eunuch dog Cao Huachun."

"Lord Chen will naturally have a way to deal with the smoking ban. In Lord Chen's last letter, he asked us to avoid provoking the imperial court as much as possible this year. Maintain peace with the court. We in Jingshi should also avoid provoking Cao Huachun. After all, he is still the Director of the Eastern Depot. He has thousands of agents under his command. Although we are not afraid of him, there is no need to deliberately provoke him either."

Zhang Dahui nodded and said, "Cao Huachun is merely a clown jumping about. Lord Chen wants us to keep an eye on Liaozhen. This time His Majesty is dissatisfied with our Dengzhou, but the most combat-effective forces near Jingshi are still the troops of Liaozhen and Shanhai Pass. The Emperor may once again support Guanning to check and balance Denglai."

"Therefore, Lord Chen specifically requested that starting from July, we spread certain rumors in Guanning and Jingshi, saying that the Jianzhou Bandits and Chahar will invade through Xuanfu and Jizhen, in order to tie down Liaozhen and Shanhai Pass. There is also another task for the Intelligence Bureau: make preparations to sabotage the marching conditions from Yongping to Dezhou, including water sources and grain depots, and also create chaos in the Guanning region. If necessary, mobilize all covert lines to incite defection within the Guanning army."

Zhang Dahui hesitated and said, "Does my lord believe there may be combat with the Guanning army in the autumn?"

"I do not fully understand either. Perhaps Lord Chen merely considers it a possibility. In the past, Lord Chen has also arranged some missions that were ultimately not executed. Nevertheless, we must still prepare thoroughly."

The two men each pondered inwardly. This year, Dengzhou's strategy had changed. In previous years, the External Affairs Department and the Intelligence Bureau were always required to hand over as many official contacts as possible, and if the court did anything unfavorable to Dengzhou, they were to disrupt it as much as possible. This year, they were only required to maintain existing relationships, and the current instructions also demanded they not provoke the court. Clearly, the Dengzhou garrison's strategy was undergoing adjustment.

On another front, grain prices had started rising again this year. Zhang Dong and Zhang Dahui were not ordinary commoners; they could easily tell that the trading company was leading the effort, seemingly even earlier than last year, and the locations were still starting from Tianjin and Linqing. The difference this year was that grain prices in the Yongping and Luanzhou area were particularly high. Clearly, the trading company was specifically targeting these two places.

Both men had some understanding of Dengzhou's strategy. Judging from Chen Xin's recent instructions, the Dengzhou garrison seemed to be guarding against the imperial court, and especially against the Guanning army. Therefore, they were deliberately hyping grain prices in Yongping and other places starting now. Most of Liaozhen's grain was shipped from Tongzhou, passing through Luanzhou and Yongping to Shanhai Pass. If a grain famine like last year's occurred again, Liaozhen's army morale would be unstable, grain prices along the route would skyrocket, and the Guanning army could forget about fighting any war — their very march would become extremely difficult.

Zhang Dahui patted his head and stood up, saying, "Deputy Director Zhang, I am going to make a trip to Qian Yuanke's place. He is now in the Ministry of Personnel, in charge of the Bureau of Appointments, and I need to inquire about the situation regarding the new Qingzhou Military Defense Circuit and the Denglai Provincial Governor. I must go personally."

Zhang Dong personally saw Zhang Dahui out. The place they were currently in was a three-courtyard compound at Xuanwumen. Outside was an alley, and not far from the door was Xuanwumen Outer Street. For intelligence personnel, a street bustling with people made it easier to cover oneself. The outer city of Jingshi had the market first and the city walls later, so the alleys were mostly not as orderly as those in the inner city. The small lanes within were as numerous as ox hairs, and the complex terrain was also more conducive for intelligence personnel to shake off pursuit.

Zhang Dong brought Zhang Dahui to the doorway and turned his head to look at the attic to the north. The window screen there moved; there was a lookout up there who would observe the cover point at the alley entrance. Only if there was nothing abnormal there would personnel be allowed to leave through the side door.

While waiting, Zhang Dahui used glue to attach a tuft of beard to his chin. A moment later, a pot of orchids was pushed out onto the windowsill, indicating it was safe. Only then did Zhang Dong say to Zhang Dahui, "Be careful yourself. Since the Emperor is angry, the Depot and Guard may make some moves. Especially since Cao Huachun has already cut ties with us, no one can easily guess what he intends to do. Usually, bring a few more people for cover. Also, minimize going out and activities for the next month, and do not come here either. Wait until we see clearly what moves the court is making."

"Understood." Zhang Dahui nodded. A subordinate pulled open the side door, and Zhang Dahui strode out boldly.

After the main gate closed, Zhang Dong listened at the doorway for a moment to confirm there was no unusual movement outside before heading back inside. Zhang Dong had been in this line of work for a long time and deeply understood the principle that caution keeps one sailing for ten thousand years, especially now when they were in the core region of the imperial court. Although the Depot and Guard's skill level was far inferior to the Wanli period, they were, after all, numerous in personnel.

For covert forces like theirs, even if the court killed them, the Dengzhou garrison could only swallow the bitter loss in silence. Take someone like Jiang Yuegui, an Eastern Depot squad leader — though he could swagger around Jingshi, once he entered Denglai's sphere of influence, Chen Xin had him killed just like that. Zhang Dong had repeatedly captured imperial court and Later Jin spies in Denglai, and often the other party was exposed by a single small detail.

The more people one captures, the smaller one's courage becomes. Zhang Dong was now in charge of the intelligence system in Jingshi. Originally, Zhang Dahui's several years in Jingshi had been very smooth, because Dengzhou's relationship with the court was very good, and his role was more akin to that of a Dengzhou liaison office, receiving traveling Denglai personnel and relying on the Dengzhou garrison's military achievements. Dealing with court officials was also easy.

Now, as the relationship between the Dengzhou garrison and the imperial court gradually deteriorated, Zhang Dong continuously transferred the original liaison personnel back to Denglai, changing contact points and the locations of resident agents. The previously mixed situation between the trading company and the intelligence system had now been altered; the two lines each did their own work, which made the intelligence system safer.

Zhang Dong returned to his room and sorted through the intelligence from the past two days once more, reviewing it in his mind. Then he got up and walked into the outer courtyard, where there was a shop whose storefront faced Xuanwumen Outer Street. Liaison officers came every day to deliver intelligence. Just as he passed through the door to the outer courtyard, a trusted aide hurried over from the shop and handed Zhang Dong a slip of paper.

After Zhang Dong opened and read it, his expression changed. The trusted aide asked in a low voice, "It is a message sent by the Northern Pacification Office's Battalion Commander. Cao Huachun has named Zhang Dahui and wants his head."

"Is the information reliable? Do they know Zhang Dahui's hiding place?"

"It should be reliable. The news from the Eastern Depot is largely the same as the Embroidered Uniform Guard's, and at the same time. Cao Huachun gave the assignment to Luo Yangxing before noon yesterday, and the Eastern Depot squad leader also received Cao Huachun's order yesterday. Luo Yangxing assigned it to the Northern Pacification Office in the afternoon. This man still knows his place; he specifically sought out a few who are familiar with us. Luo Yangxing knows perfectly well what is going on; this can be considered a warning to us. Judging from the information from these two sources, the Depot and Guard still do not know Zhang Dahui's address, but they will place surveillance on the residences of some court officials."

Zhang Dong frowned and said, "How is it that we are just this little bit late? Zhang Dahui just left. He is going to Qian Yuanke's place. Send someone to the Ministry of Personnel immediately."

The trusted aide stood still. Just as Zhang Dong was about to urge him, the aide said in a low voice, "My lord, Zhang Dahui is someone close to Lord Chen. He has been in charge of intelligence and external affairs in Jingshi for many years. If he returns to Denglai, the most likely place he will enter is the Intelligence Bureau, or he may manage intelligence in the Personal Staff Office. For you, my lord... I fear it would mean one more rival."

Zhang Dong narrowed his eyes and looked at the trusted aide before him. This man was of bandit origin from Pingdu Department, ruthless in character, and had always followed Zhang Dong in his work, belonging to Zhang Dong's ironclad inner circle.

After a long moment, Zhang Dong suddenly gave a cold laugh and said to him, "The fact that you can think of this matter for your superior shows your loyalty to me, but you have applied it in the wrong place. Zhang Dahui, Hai Gouzi, Zhang Erhui, and Wang Daixi were among the earliest to follow my lord. Now Hai Gouzi is dead. If something happens to Zhang Dahui as well, Lord Chen and Lord Liu will certainly place blame. Intelligence from several sources all confirms that Cao Huachun is about to make a move. If I do not handle this in time, when the investigation comes, I will not fare well either. Just look at Hai Gouzi... There are some things you do not know, so you may not understand. In Intelligence Bureau work, it is often a matter of kill or be killed, but being an official is not like that. What you just said is a matter of the loss outweighing the gain. The Intelligence Bureau still has Qin Rong and Wu Jianzhong; rivals are not lacking just one Zhang Dahui. In any case, Zhang Dahui cannot come to harm in Jingshi."

The trusted aide immediately said, "Then I will take men at once to Qian Yuanke's place to provide support."

Zhang Dong said coldly, "No need for you to go. I will personally go to provide support. You are responsible for completely severing the connection between intelligence and the trading company and external affairs. This shop is to close immediately. Personnel are to transfer first to Point No. 2 outside Zhengyangmen. All other contact points known to Zhang Dahui and the trading company are to evacuate immediately. Personnel who must remain are to transfer to backup points and safe houses. Also, prepare two withdrawal routes, ready to send Zhang Dahui away at any moment." (To be continued...)