novelAbuy Chapter 222 Touching and Invigorating
Chapter 222 Touching and Invigorating
Chapter 222 Touching and Invigorating
The people who cleaned up the battlefield returned quickly. In addition to some weapons and money, there was also a thief with a leg injury, who was handed over to the patrol department.
As darkness fell, a bonfire was lit on the wasteland.
Fifty men went into battle. Guo Xian was killed in action. Wu Mazi was hit by a bandit with a blunt weapon during the fierce battle and was wounded and fell to the ground. He seems to be able to survive for now, but Gao Daqiang told Shao Shuyi that Wu Heizi's nephew might have to leave the trading post and would never be able to go to the battlefield again.
Several others were also injured. For example, Li Fu felt a sharp pain in his left wrist, Wei Da had a cut on the back of his hand, Zeng Yi's shield had a visible crack, and his entire arm was a little numb.
They were too embarrassed to report these minor injuries; they couldn't bear the shame, and others would think they were trying to scam money for medicine.
However, Shao Shuyi still inquired about each of them.
On the other side, in Xia City, Prefect Zhang Yang dismissed irrelevant people and pulled together Zhu Daocun, the Assistant Prefect, Chen Zi, the Inspector of Chengjiang, Huang Sheng, the Inspector of Changjing, He Shuo, the Clerk of the Military Affairs Office, Ge Daji, the Chief Clerk of the Case Files, and others who had just arrived with supplies to hold a meeting under the shed.
Zhang Yang's first words were weighty: "From this day forward, no more idleness is permitted among the civil and military officials in the prefecture. If any patrol officers are lacking any equipment, report it directly, and I will find a way to procure it for you. As for the overdue rations..."
Zhang Yang looked conflicted, and after a moment he gritted his teeth and said, "I'll think of a solution."
Chen Zi and Huang Sheng exchanged a glance, their faces beaming with joy, and immediately bowed, saying, "We will obey the governor's orders."
This is no easy task.
According to regulations, only a general's office at the level of a Lu Zongguan was entitled to ten bows and arrows, a prefecture or state office to seven, a county office to five, and a patrol inspector's office to three. While this was meager, it wasn't exactly a small number, as that was the rule.
Prefect Zhang certainly couldn't obtain extra equipment through official channels; he could only pay someone to forge it. With the prefectural government as a guarantor, the craftsmen shouldn't make any excuses. After all, in their eyes, the prefectural government was the place they interacted with most often, and the prefectural government represented the imperial court and the emperor. Whatever the prefectural government said was law, without needing to think twice.
Zhang Yang was also satisfied with Chen Zi and Huang Sheng's attitude, and encouraged them, "At this critical moment, you should all work together diligently in the affairs of the king, and you must not slacken your efforts."
"Yes," Chen Zi and Huang Sheng replied.
Who wouldn't like replenishing equipment and issuing extra pay and provisions? Leaving aside the weapons, how much profit can be made from handling the money and provisions? The prefect is such a good man, shouldn't we kowtow to him?
Zhang Yang nodded, and was about to look at He Shuo, the clerk of the military affairs office, when he suddenly asked, "Does the patrol inspection office have any other burdens?"
Chen Zi opened his mouth, but hesitated, realizing he had too many burdens to bear.
"Please feel free to speak," Zhang Yang said magnanimously.
Arresting and interrogating prisoners are part of their job duties, so we won't discuss that. Assisting with tax collection is purely a burden, but it's not unacceptable in the current context.
What troubled the patrol inspectors most was escorting officials and envoys on long journeys, escorting thieves to various places, and the worst of all was going to remote places of exile, as well as escorting tribute to the capital.
Is it possible to talk about something like this?
Chen Zi thought for a moment and said, "Escorting thieves to remote prefectures and counties is a daunting task for archers."
Huang Sheng said, "Nowadays, the tribute goods are mostly transported to the capital by land, but the Huai River region and Henan province are rife with bandits, making it extremely dangerous. Perhaps we could take the sea route?"
Zhang Yang frowned slightly upon hearing this.
This is a systemic issue, and he can't easily resolve it. If the patrol and inspection commission doesn't do these things, are they going to let the garrison troops do them? Obviously, that's unrealistic.
However, since they had already made their demands, they couldn't leave without giving an answer. So they said, "When escorting thieves, perhaps the yamen runners can help share some of the burden, and the same goes for escorting officials and envoys. As for escorting tribute, the patrol inspectorate will still have to take on the responsibility."
Chen and Huang were slightly disappointed upon hearing this. However, upon further reflection, they realized that the burden had been somewhat reduced, not to mention the distribution of money, rations, and equipment. From now on, the patrol and inspection division would indeed have an easier time. As for whether they would need to reorganize personnel and strengthen combat capabilities after things got better, that was another matter entirely.
After finalizing the matter of the patrol office, Zhang Yang looked at He Shuo and said, "Officer He, the practice of arresting ruffians and nameless archers is an ancestral system of our dynasty. If they are not trained for a long time, it may not be good."
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Upon hearing this, He Shuo rose and bowed, his face contorted with worry. "Your Excellency, you are unaware of this. The saying 'farmers have few idle months' is not an exaggeration. Farmers have to prepare the fields even in the first month of the lunar year, meaning they are busy all year round with no free time. Training is extremely difficult."
"Busy all year round? Tell me, what do you do every month?" Zhang Yang said unhappily.
"In the first month of the year, the fields are leveled, ditches are dredged, and silkworm rearing equipment is repaired."
In February, people prune mulberry groves, clean silkworm rearing rooms, select superior seeds, prepare farm tools, and plant vegetables.
March is a busy month, as soaking seeds and cultivating seedlings is a major undertaking for the whole year.
April----"
He Shuo counted on his fingers, clearly explaining the tasks that a farmer has to do each month.
Zhang Yang was speechless.
He knew that farmers were busy, but he didn't realize they were this busy. They really had a lot to do every month and couldn't be away from their work for even a moment.
With so many things to do, such as raising silkworms, transplanting trees, planting vegetables, harvesting rice and wheat, weaving tools, raising livestock, and even performing corvée labor, there was no time to practice.
"No matter how busy I am, I still have to set aside some time to practice," Zhang Yangqiang said.
He Shuo replied helplessly, "Yes."
Zhang Yang opened his mouth, intending to say that he would give some food and money to the ruffians and nameless archers who participated in the training, and even exempt them from miscellaneous corvée labor, but he swallowed the words back.
That's unrealistic; he can't do it.
First, the government was short of money. Second, exempting people from miscellaneous corvée labor would mean spending money to hire people to do the work, which would be a huge expense and difficult to implement.
"Let's do our best—" Zhang Yang said, even though he himself didn't believe it. He looked at He Shuo and said, "We can try selecting some of the stronger and more robust individuals to train with."
"Yes, sir," He Shuo replied.
He agreed, but whether he'll actually do it, and to what extent, is anyone's guess.
Zhang Yang wanted to say something more, but after thinking it over, he realized there were many difficulties. It seemed that whenever he tried to do something, there were always countless obstacles, resulting in much ado about nothing, and the project failing to materialize.
Getting anything done is so difficult.
"That's enough." He sighed finally, "It's enough that you all know the country is in trouble. You must do your best from now on, otherwise these days will be very difficult. Let's disperse, that's all."
The group bowed and then dispersed.
Zhu Daocun stood up, went up to the city wall, and looked north.
At the foot of Qinwang Mountain, bonfires blared one after another, and hearty laughter filled the air, interspersed with cheers and exclamations of amazement.
Archers filled the top of the wall, craning their necks to watch the victorious group and whispering among themselves.
"I heard there was a bandit leader who wielded a horse-slaying saber. He was seven feet tall and had a waist circumference of seven feet. When he charged into battle, a thousand soldiers would flee in terror, and no one could stop him. In the end, Cao She personally took up his Seven-Star Sword and fought him for three hundred rounds before finally winning."
"You saw it with your own eyes? You'll die if you don't lie! Cao She killed the bandit leader with an arrow, and he fired three arrows in quick succession, all hitting the same spot. That's how he killed the bandit leader."
"Cao She is that good? The best archer in Jiangyin!"
"Zhu Ding was shot to death by him, how could he not be formidable?"
"Wasn't Zhu Ding killed by having his throat chopped off? I was assigned to guard duty at the Confucian Temple that day, and I saw it with my own eyes."
"You know nothing. Cao She even raided salt fields. I overheard it when I was escorting the clerk from Nantai to Kunshan the other day. If he can raid salt fields, what's killing a few Huai bandits?"
The archers chattered amongst themselves, sharing hearsay that had been passed around many times, making the whole situation both laughable and absurd.
Zhu Daocun was extremely annoyed by what he heard.
A bunch of clueless idiots, speaking without thinking at all. He didn't even bother to stop them from spreading rumors, because they were so outrageous that no one with any sense would believe them.
His only concern now is what will become of the situation in Jiangyin in the future.
In truth, Cao Luo hasn't reached the same level as Zhu Ding back then. Zhu Ding only did dirty work and made dirty money for others, and his influence was indeed considerable, but it always felt like something was missing. Looking at it today, it turns out that he lacked deterrent power.
Zhu Ding was very capable and daring in battle, but the archers and garrison soldiers did not have a direct understanding of this. After Zhu Ding's death, the government issued an order, and these people dared to raid Zhu Ding's home and strike at his remaining forces.
But Cao Luo was different.
The government clearly couldn't subdue the dozen or so bandits from Huai, but Cao Luo and his men wiped them out. The archers witnessed this and naturally had their own opinions. Would they dare to attack Cao Luo if the government gave the order in the future? It's hard to say.
This man will likely become increasingly difficult to control in the future. I wonder if Zhao Yangui can rise to power. If the state government secretly supports him, allowing him to quickly accumulate wealth and control more people, is there any hope that he could grow into someone who can rival Cao Luo?
Furthermore, if Zhao Yangui were given the authority to train troops, could he effectively counterbalance Cao Luo?
No one can answer that.
Zhu Daocun thought of many things, but still couldn't find a solution.
In the end, all I could do was sigh and decide to take a longer-term view.
On August 23, two hundred able-bodied men from Laichun Township arrived in Xiacheng. Led by Huang Sheng, the patrol inspector of Changjing, they went into the mountains to search for any remaining bandits.
That afternoon, Zhao Yangui arrived in Xia City with dozens of people and met with the prefect and the assistant prefect.
As for the interpreters and Han troops, they were still being mobilized and had not yet set off.
On this same day, Shao Shuyi met Zhao Yangui for the first time.