Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 344 Each Displays Their Unique Abilities

On the tenth day of the third month of the seventh year of the Zhizheng era (1347), the weather was gloomy.

Hubuhu, the Right Vice-Chancellor of the Jiangzhe Province, rushed to the Tianfei Palace in Liujiagang.

This is his second visit this year. The first time was in the first month of the lunar calendar, when he distributed the first payment to the ship owners who transported grain. This time, he came to worship the Heavenly Princess and pray for a safe voyage.

After a grand ceremony, Hububuhua, along with the Darughachi Maishuding of the Caofu Prefecture, Wanhu Zhu Yanwen, the deputy Wanhu Fei Xiong, Zheng Yonghe, Xia Di, Bian Zuo, the Darughachi Zuodanashili of Pingjiang Road, the Prefect of Kunshan Prefecture Liu Yesian, and others, rested under a decorated pavilion and drank some tea.

After freezing personnel promotions and transfers for a period of time, the Caofu government began to gradually replace personnel last year.

The former Darughachi and Wanhu were both dismissed from their posts.

The newly arrived Maishudin was a descendant of Hui craftsmen (from the Bukhara people, now known as Bukhara). His ancestors had participated in suppressing the rebellion of Ariq Böke. Before taking office in the Ministry of Revenue, he had served as Minister of Revenue, Councilor of the Central Secretariat, Vice Director of the Xuanhui Academy, and Commissioner of the Central Political Academy.

Zhu Yanwen was a familiar face in the Caofu (Grand Canal Administration). He was originally a commander of a thousand households in the Caofu. A few years ago, he returned to Dadu (Beijing) to take up a post. After many twists and turns, he came back and was appointed as a commander of ten thousand households, which made a group of people who originally held higher or equal positions than him feel very uncomfortable.

After the two top officials were moved, the four deputy commanders would probably also need to be reassigned, as some were old and others were ill, and new people were urgently needed to take their positions. The high-ranking officials naturally started by discussing the Spring Festival travel rush.

According to the auspicious date calculated by the Chinese almanac, the day of the start of the fortune is set for March 28th, which is about half a month later. As for today, it is of course an auspicious day for the sacrifice.

To be honest, the tedious and lengthy sacrificial ceremony was quite tiring. Maishuding, nearing sixty, felt especially exhausted. After taking a sip of tea, he overheard several other officials discussing recent events. After listening for a moment, he looked at Hububuhua and asked, "May I ask, Right Chancellor, has the Incense Army been wiped out?" "It should have been wiped out, otherwise I would have had to take action again." Hububuhua smiled and shook his head, showing little respect for Zhennan King Boluobuhua. "Three or four Wanhu Prefectures were sent to suppress them, and the Incense Army, numbering less than a thousand, was easily subdued."

"Then how could we have lost the previous battle? And why did a commander die?" Mai Shuding asked curiously.

"Perhaps the Prince of Zhennan was careless," Hububuhua said in a very casual tone.

He had just joined forces with Tulu, the Right Chancellor of Jiangxi, to quell the rebellion of Luo Tianlin in Tingzhou. He was full of confidence, and with many people in the province praising him for his "military expertise," he couldn't help but feel proud.

Therefore, seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, he added, "I heard that Chen Bao'er from Benniuba in Changzhou was recruited as a patrol inspector. In my opinion, he shouldn't have been recruited. The imperial army is indeed not as strong as before, but the bandits are even worse. They are overwhelming the weak with their numbers. I don't believe they can't be wiped out." You have to admit, Hububuhua wasn't completely ignorant about military affairs. At least what he said made some sense.

While the imperial army was no longer effective, the rebels were even worse. He had personally witnessed hordes of rebels in Fujian fighting against the government troops with rudimentary weapons. Their fighting relied entirely on "cleverness," that is, taking advantage of their familiarity with the geography and local customs, suddenly emerging from some mountain valley to launch surprise attacks, harass, or attack from both sides.

In the early stages, the government army, led by Wanhu Lianheshang, was short of troops and suffered repeated losses. Later, after reinforcements were summoned from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces, they advanced together, greatly changing the situation and ultimately leading to victory.

Therefore, Hubuhu's current experience in fighting is the same: use superior numbers to defeat inferior forces, use the majority to overwhelm the few, advance step by step, and never engage in reckless battles.

Actually, it's pretty good.

When Mai Shuding heard Hu Buduhua say this, he felt relieved and said, "I have just arrived here and have already heard that Cai Luantou is causing trouble at sea and has repeatedly intercepted and killed cargo ships. He is truly despicable. With the Right Chancellor here, there is no need to worry about the grain transport."

"What Lord Ding said is wrong." An old voice suddenly rang out, "It's not that Cai Luantou is afraid of going ashore, but that's afraid of him not going ashore. The coastal garrison has been dispatched many times, but they either failed to catch him or they were ambushed and defeated. At the end of January, Luantou launched a surprise attack on Changguo Prefecture, burning dozens of government ships and causing the government army to lose face. This was all due to the naval battle."

Mai Shuding was taken aback and said, "People can't stay at sea forever; they have to come ashore eventually, right? Is there enough food on the island?"

"That's the strange thing," Zheng Yonghe sighed. "Luan Tou has plundered the land several times and has been successful most of the time. What's even stranger is that he only plunders Wenzhou, but doesn't plunder Qingyuan, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, or other places."

Mai Shuding suddenly realized and said, "Someone must have tipped us off."

Upon hearing this, Hubuhu snorted coldly and said, "It's true that someone tipped us off. If I were in Wenzhou, I would have turned the place upside down long ago and seen who would dare to tip off Cai Luantou, who would dare to sell stolen goods for him, and who would dare to supply weapons."

Maishuding disagreed again, saying, "We can't act too hastily. If we force more people to become pirates, the situation will only get worse." Hububuhua said displeasedly, "You're being too soft-hearted. After I entered Changting, I purged them one by one, beheading over a thousand people and hanging their heads along the streets. Everyone in the city, good and bad, was terrified. It was only with such ruthless methods that I quelled the chaos. Sometimes, you absolutely cannot be soft-hearted."

After hearing this, no one knew how to respond.

Hubuhu was an expert and an authority because of his "advanced deeds" in commanding troops on the front lines and suppressing rebellions. Whatever he said, others really couldn't refute.

"To be honest, there seems to be a thief in Jiangyin who is quite similar to Cai Luantou in eastern Zhejiang. He just hasn't openly rebelled, but he kills officials and smuggles salt, making him no different from a bandit." Liu Yexian's voice rang out from a corner as he spoke, cautiously observing the expressions of the crowd. Pingjiang Road Darughachi Zuodanashili was quite displeased, giving Liu Yexian a slightly warning look.

Liu Yexian was so frightened that he immediately lowered his head and dared not speak again.

Upon hearing this, Hubuhu looked directly at Liu Yexian and asked, "Yexian, are you referring to Shao Shuyi of Jiangyin?"

"It is indeed this person." Upon hearing the Right Chancellor's question, Liu Yexian was overjoyed and immediately replied.

Hu Buduhua nodded and said, "I have heard of Fang Guozhen from Zhejiang and Shao Shuyi from Zhejiang. Neither of them are good people. It is really puzzling that the court has repeatedly tolerated them. Especially Fang Guozhen, whose salt fields are all over Wen'er Road. Thousands of people eat under his care, and his smuggled salt is everywhere, even in Hangzhou."

"Right Chancellor resides in Hangzhou; he should know that Shao Shuyi surpasses Fang Guozhen even further," Liu Yexian added. "Recently, there have been rumors, truly astonishing..."

Hu Buhu's expression shifted, and his face became even more unpleasant.

Some of the people present were unaware of the situation and subconsciously began whispering among themselves.

Zheng Yonghe was also somewhat surprised. What trouble had Xiao Hu gotten himself into this time?

Fei Xiong remained silent, clearly knowing something.

Bian Zuo and Xia Di didn't even bother to ask, they just sat there drinking tea and occasionally said a few words about managing the household and raising property.

"Alright. It's getting late. If the supervisor has nothing else, I'll head back to my office." Mai Shuding stood up and said.

Hubuhu nodded and said, "Do as you please."

After Mai Shuding left, Zhu Yanwen stayed behind, while Fei Xiong, Zheng Yonghe, and the other three commanders left together.

After exiting the decorated tent, Zheng Yong and Fang, surrounded by servants, arrived at the carriage, where they saw several people walking towards them from a distance.

"Little Tiger?" He was slightly taken aback. "What brings you here?"

Shao Shuyi smiled awkwardly and said, "I have an urgent matter to discuss with Master Zheng."

Zheng Yonghe nodded and said, "Come on up."

Without saying a word, Shao Shuyi followed Zheng Yonghe into the carriage.

The carriage moved in a swarm of small, orderly lines.

Shao Shuyi quickly recounted how someone had spread rumors to frame him.

After listening, Zheng Yonghe remained silent for a long time.

"Husband?" Shao Shuyi waited for a while, and seeing that Old Zheng was still silent, he subconsciously called out.

"Xiao Hu, under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be a big deal. You could just find some people, give some gifts, and it would be over," Zheng Yonghe sighed. "But at this critical juncture, it's become a bit troublesome."

Shao Shuyi grunted and said, "That move was indeed accurate and ruthless, it really hurt me. Heaven have mercy, I really didn't mean to cause trouble, I just wanted to be a wealthy man in the countryside, but who is this, secretly trying to harm me, without any sense of chivalry?"

Zheng Yonghe glanced at him.

Shao Shuyi chuckled, looking like he was grinning foolishly.

"You're wrong," Zheng Yonghe said. "Who framed you isn't important. The rumors have already spread. The most urgent thing is to make the province stop believing them. Do you have a strategy?"

Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "I do have some ideas, but it will take time to implement them. I'm afraid the province might believe the rumors and take immediate action against me, wouldn't that be unfair?"

"Tell me about it," Zheng Yonghe said.

"I would like to get to know someone close to the Left Chancellor, Duo'erzhi Gong. I wonder if I have any connections?" Shao Shuyi said.

Zheng Yonghe pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Forget it, he's going to court."

Shao Shuyi was somewhat surprised and asked, "Is that really true?"

Zheng Yonghe nodded and said, "Before the New Year, Bierqiebuhua will be appointed as the Left Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, and Yilian Zhenban will succeed him as the Grand Censor. However, the position of Right Chancellor will soon be vacant, and it will most likely be given to Bierqiebuhua."

Shao Shuyi was taken aback. "Doesn't that mean Duo'er will be promoted directly to Left Prime Minister?"

Duo'er was previously the Left Chancellor of the Jiangzhe "Provincial Secretariat". If she were to become the Left Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, it would be equivalent to being promoted directly from a branch office to the headquarters with two Chancellors, with the right being the most respected.

"He might stay somewhere temporarily, but his arrival in the capital is imminent," Zheng Yonghe said. "Once he leaves, the Grand Councilor Dashi Temur will be in charge. If you need someone, you should look for one of his confidants."

After speaking, he also briefly explained the origin of Dashitemür.

This gentleman was from the Kangli region. He entered the Imperial Academy at a young age, was well-versed in the classics and history, and was particularly skilled in calligraphy. He served as the Left Vice Minister of the Secretariat and the Academician of the Hanlin Academy. He was transferred to Hangzhou in the first month of the lunar calendar to serve as the Chancellor and participated in the river dredging project.

Coincidentally, Dashi Temur's father, Toqto'a, just happened to share the same name—he had also dredged canals while serving as an official in Hangzhou. Finally, Zheng Yonghe made a dark joke: "Dashi Temur has just arrived and has no trusted confidants."

Shao Shuyi was dumbfounded after hearing this.

"In this matter, he might listen to the opinion of Right Chancellor Hububuhua," Zheng Yonghe added. "However, Hububuhua is..."

At this point, Zheng Yonghe sighed and said, "Hububuhua is here today. He has just quelled the rebellion in Tingzhou, and is full of pride and joy, hating bandits the most. You..."

Shao Shuyi remained silent for a moment.

Going to see Khubuhu is absolutely out of the question. It's already a good thing he doesn't come looking for you; why would you walk right into his trap? You shouldn't even mention your name to him, because Khubuhu might decide to summon you—that would be like the governor wanting to see Fang Guozhen.

"Let me think of something else." Shao Shuyi smiled sheepishly and said, "If Master Zheng can help me stall for a few months, this matter will probably fade away." Zheng Yonghe remained noncommittal, only saying, "Little Tiger, don't make a foolish mistake."

"I really just want to live peacefully in Ma Tuo Sha," Shao Shuyi said with a wry smile. "But some people don't want me to have a peaceful life."

Zheng Yonghe gave him a deep look and said, "We can only do our best in this matter, but whether it will succeed is hard to say."

"I know, I know," Shao Shuyi quickly said. "I just want to drag this out."

Zheng Yonghe nodded slightly and said nothing more.

While Shao Shuyi and Zheng Yonghe were having their secret meeting, an unexpected figure appeared in Hangzhou, hundreds of miles away, and was appointed as the Left Vice Minister of the Jiangzhe Province as a second-rank official.

The first thing this person did upon assuming office was to meet with Dorji and Dashitemur to investigate an old case.

Dorozhi and Dashitemur dared not offend this subordinate, so they immediately summoned the people from the inquisition to review the case files.