Chapter 27: Section Six

Sun Degong paced back and forth in his study, flipping through the thick report in his hands. Huang Shi, Vice Regional Military Commissioner of Guangning, stood ramrod straight before the desk; the rustle of turning pages made his mood rise and fall in waves — this was the fruit of many days of painstaking effort.

The report contained detailed equipment conditions for every unit, and also listed the training and morale assessments Huang Shi had compiled, along with the bribery figures for each official. At the end of the report was Huang Shi's analysis based on this data, ranking each unit's combat effectiveness according to their overall situation.

"Vice Regional Military Commissioner Huang," Sun Degong actually addressed him by his official title as he set down the report — the first time he had done so when the two of them were alone. "You wrote this report?"

"Yes, I wrote it myself."

…

Five days earlier, when Huang Shi had gone to report on his work to Sun Degong, Sun Degong had opened his mouth and laughingly cursed at Huang Shi: "You little bastard, you've scooped up quite a bit this time, haven't you?"

Huang Shi, his expression utterly serious, swept a glance over the personal guards around Sun Degong and requested a private conversation. Once everyone had withdrawn and closed the door, Huang Shi submitted the report on the East Gate — worth tens of thousands of silver taels. Sun Degong, his face full of suspicion, took it and sighed before he had even looked at it:

"Little Huang, you're new here. There are far too many things you don't understand. Things cannot be done this way."

"I beg my lord to instruct me."

Sun Degong explained with earnest patience that if a report this blunt and unvarnished were submitted, the flood of criticism alone would drown Huang Shi. True, Wang Huazhen would certainly be furious, but the law does not punish the multitude, and in the end the matter would be left unresolved. The only one to suffer would be Huang Shi himself — and perhaps Sun Degong would be dragged down with him.

At the time, Huang Shi's face had been utterly indifferent. Sun Degong admonished him with deep sincerity: Provincial Governors come and go, term after term, but colleagues are neighbors for a lifetime, for generations. When a military man offends his colleagues, he can die without ever knowing how he died.

Sun Degong's lengthy discourse was shattered to pieces by a single sentence from Huang Shi: "What colleagues? Colleagues of the Great Ming?"

Those words left Sun Degong gaping and speechless on the spot. Only after a moment did he recover from his petrification. Sun Degong was no fool — a single hint was enough to make everything clear. He immediately snatched up Huang Shi's report and read it again, and when he spoke, his voice was already trembling.

After Huang Shi assured him that the data was absolutely accurate, it was no longer just Sun Degong's voice that trembled. As he suddenly slammed the table, everything on its surface shook and clattered to the floor: "A monumental achievement!"

Setting down the report, Sun Degong's voice had regained its steady confidence: "Huang Shi, there are less than ten days until the year-end. Are you confident?"

"My lord, set your mind at ease. Even if I must go without food or drink, I will complete the task my lord has assigned."

"Good." Sun Degong clapped his hands and summoned his personal guards, gave a few instructions, and before long Sun Degong's subordinates came hurrying in at the call.

"I have discovered that this year's year-end review is riddled with errors, incomplete and untruthful. It is therefore rejected and must be re-investigated." Sun Degong's voice rang out, forceful and resolute. Amid the crowd's bewildered expressions, he bellowed: "Huang Shi!"

"Your subordinate is here, my lord." Huang Shi answered with an equally thunderous shout.

"Guangning Company Commander Huang Shi, receive your orders. I hereby appoint you as Vice Regional Military Commissioner, with full authority over the re-investigation. Within five days, I must see a detailed report."

"Yes, my lord. Your subordinate obeys."

Although he had expected this order to spread swiftly throughout the entire Guangning garrison, when Huang Shi galloped back to his residence to muster his personal guards and escort troops, he was still astonished to find that they had all already heard the news.

On the faces of Yang Luhuo and the other personal guards was undisguisable shock. The night before, when Huang Shi had said he was going to demand full investigative authority over the entire city from Sun Degong, they had all thought Huang Shi was boasting shamelessly. They never imagined Huang Shi would actually get it — and bring back with him a Vice Regional Military Commissioner rank of the upper fourth grade to boot. At this moment, Huang Shi felt that the gazes they directed at him were filled entirely with adoration and excitement. He smiled and asked his personal guards: "Well?"

"My lord is divinely mighty. We are in awe."

This completely off-the-mark flattery made Huang Shi burst out laughing for a long while. Then, with an air of swagger, he waved his hand: "Begin the re-investigation immediately."

The following days in Guangning City could only be described as utter chaos. Huang Shi relentlessly drove the several Company Commander units that Sun Degong had temporarily placed under his command, pushing them to verify everything at breakneck speed. Meanwhile, Huang Shi himself constantly launched surprise inspections, spot-checking their work. On the second day, a Company Commander was discovered to have privately made deals with others. Huang Shi reported this to Sun Degong without a word of hesitation, and the other Company Commanders watched in terror as Sun Degong, utterly disowning the man, stripped him of his Company Commander rank in one stroke and installed a trusted confidant as acting Company Commander.

"Vice Regional Military Commissioner Huang, this is your subordinate's verification report." The Garrison Commander of the North Gate, trembling with fear, respectfully handed over a stack of data.

After taking the report, Huang Shi pressed his finger to the paper and moved it word by word, line by line, occasionally posing a few questions. The personal guards sat to the side, abacuses in hand, and soon began clicking away. The crisp sound of the abacus beads made the Garrison Commander's facial muscles twitch ceaselessly. Huang Shi sat leisurely, sipping tea, watching the Garrison Commander's sweat pour down in streams.

After who knew how long, the sound of abacus beads finally ceased. Huang Shi swept a glance at his personal guards' reactions and uttered four words: "No further issues."

"As long as Vice Regional Military Commissioner Huang is satisfied." The forty-something Company Commander let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Yang Luhuo escorted him out the main gate.

When he returned, Yang Luhuo was still tossing a piece of silver in his hand: "My lord, these past few days your subordinate has earned more tea money than others make in a lifetime. One payment coming in, another going out — truly unheard of."

As the re-investigation proceeded, the morale of Huang Shi's subordinates rose higher and higher, which pleased him greatly. Huang Shi had not tried to guess which among them was the mole Sun Degong had planted, but he believed that winning this mole over was now only a matter of time. The day's work had left him utterly exhausted: "Where are the others?"

"Those being investigated are naturally giving even more," Yang Luhuo said, sidling up shamelessly to massage Huang Shi's back. "Today several more came to offer their respects to my lord. A few who lacked sense were sent packing by your subordinate. My lord, shall I report the figures to you?"

"No need. I have no time to manage that. You handle it." Yang Luhuo's soldierly technique was clearly unsuited to shoulder massage. Huang Shi struggled: "Why so much force? Get lost."

"My lord, forgive me," Yang Luhuo immediately leapt away. "Shall your subordinate find my lord someone clever and deft-handed?"

Seeing the eager light shining in Yang Luhuo's eyes, the refusal on Huang Shi's lips took a turn and became: "Only one?"

"Your subordinate understands. Your subordinate will see to it at once."

Huang Shi then summoned Jin Qiude and ordered him to tail Yang Luhuo. After the incident that day, Jin Qiude had become another personal guard worthy of trust. Jin Qiude, his face as somber as ever, took the order and left. He secretly monitored Yang Luhuo's movements and reported back to Huang Shi — Yang Luhuo had gone straight to the brothel to fetch someone, without stopping anywhere along the way — and that naturally included Sun Degong's location, which Huang Shi had suspected.

Through unremitting effort, Huang Shi finally delivered both reports into Sun Degong's hands in time. One was for Wang Huazhen, which Huang Shi had sold for a decent price. The other was for Sun Degong, which was tantamount to giving it to the Later Jin — what Sun Degong had called "a monumental achievement." As for the original data, Huang Shi had recorded it in English and Arabic numerals; he was certain that no one could decipher this method of notation.

"Very good, very good," Sun Degong murmured, as if unconsciously, his gaze once again falling on Huang Shi's report. "Vice Regional Military Commissioner Huang has written this extremely well."

Huang Shi felt that the final look Sun Degong directed at him was somewhat strange. After stepping out of the study, he tried to puzzle out the meaning of that expression.

"Young Master."

A girl's voice sounded by his ear.