Chapter 437: An Opportunity to Infiltrate the Ming Army
Lao Nanfeng was overjoyed when he heard about his special reward. He quickly followed Zhao Sheng into the ship's cabin, where a peculiar, square-shaped device was laid out.
It was a smart watch!
Li Daoxuan had specially sourced it from a certain online marketplace, a Huaqiangbei product. It cost just over a hundred yuan, yet boasted an exceptionally high-definition screen, unlike the typically pixelated displays of ordinary children's watches.
Its screen was so meticulously crafted that it remained perfectly legible even when magnified two hundred times.
The watch face itself measured only a centimeter or two in length and width, but to the miniature inhabitants of the box, it towered almost a head taller than any person.
Lao Nanfeng stood before this "gigantic screen," a bewildered expression on his face. "What exactly is this?" he wondered aloud.
"Watch closely," Zhao Sheng instructed, stepping up to the watch. "I'm only going to show you once." He brushed his hand across the screen, and the dark surface instantly burst to life.
Lao Nanfeng gasped, "A Divine Mirror?"
Zhao Sheng continued to swipe his hand, left then right, quickly locating the "Play Video" button. He tapped it, revealing dozens of clips. Casually selecting one, he watched as the video began to play.
The moment the images flickered to life, Lao Nanfeng's eyes widened and fixed on the screen. "An immortal maiden is dancing!" he exclaimed. "Wow, she's barely dressed, her arms and legs completely exposed!"
Zhao Sheng clapped a hand over his eyes. "I shan't be watching this," he muttered. "See no evil, as they say. I'll take my leave now. You can watch at your leisure."
Lao Nanfeng was overwhelmed with emotion. "The Heavenly Lord has granted me a vision," he declared, his voice trembling, "celestial maidens dancing and singing from the immortal realm, shown through the Divine Mirror! Hahaha, this... this is far more exquisite than any performance in the lavish pleasure quarter of Jiangnan!"
"Hey, watch sparingly!" Zhao Sheng couldn't help but issue a solemn warning as he exited the cabin. "This device can only be used for a couple of hours before it needs to be returned to the Heavenly Lord for a replenishment of its divine power."
"Only a couple of hours?" Lao Nanfeng stammered, wiping away the drool that had unconsciously escaped him. "That's enough, more than enough! In those couple of hours, I'll watch all dozens of those immortal maidens' dances and songs in the Divine Mirror!"
Zhao Sheng chuckled, shaking his head, and stepped out of the cabin. Just as he closed the door, he heard Lao Nanfeng inside, singing along with the song, completely off-key: "A little ambiguous, secretly happy alone..."
While quiet developments unfolded in Shanxi, Li Daoxuan's attention, however, had already shifted to Hancheng, a pivotal city within the Tongguan Circuit of Shaanxi Province.
Hancheng was Gao Family Village's next key strategic objective.
As previously noted, a "Circuit" (*dao*) was effectively a military district. The Tongguan Circuit served as a vital strategic thoroughfare linking Chang'an and Luoyang, and Hancheng, being an exceedingly important city within this circuit, held a position of paramount significance.
The imperial court maintained a heavy military presence there.
Every time the roving bandits attempted to encroach upon Hancheng, the imperial court responded with utmost gravity, dispatching Hong Chengchou to decisively defeat Wang Zuogua twice and also to thoroughly rout Wang Jiayin.
However, since Hong Chengchou's promotion to Governor of Yansui, Hancheng no longer fell under his purview. It was administered by Shaanxi proper, and the Yansui Commander-in-Chief could not intervene there. Exceeding one's jurisdiction was a severe taboo: at best, one lost their official cap; at worst, their head.
What then, when there was no formidable leader to oversee it? Simple: dispatch another formidable individual!
At this very moment, Hancheng was garrisoned by fifteen hundred Ming troops, led by none other than Wang Cheng'en, the Shaanxi Commander-in-Chief, who had only recently returned from the capital.
Li Daoxuan's field of view now encompassed Hancheng. Locking his "focus" function onto the main command tent within the Hancheng barracks, he observed Wang Cheng'en, his brow deeply furrowed, a profound look of distress etched on his face.
For Li Daoxuan, this was effectively the second time he had encountered this military commander. The last time, in Chengcheng County, Wang Cheng'en had been leading troops to suppress the rebel Fan Shan Yao. However, with the capital in urgent crisis, Wang Cheng'en was forced to recall his troops to Xi'an and rendezvous with the Commanders-in-Chief of four other garrisons before heading together to the capital.
That deployment had lasted over half a year. It wasn't until the Manchu invaders had retreated that he was finally recalled. Upon his return, he learned that most of Shaanxi's roving bandits had already crossed into Shanxi, leaving only the Shen Yikui and Shen Yiyuan brothers still causing trouble in Northern Shaanxi.
Wang Cheng'en then led his army to Hancheng and established a garrison there.
From this position, he could guard the west bank of the Yellow River, preventing the Shanxi bandits from suddenly crossing back into Shaanxi.
This was a critically important mission, and he took it very seriously.
But he was critically short on grain! And pay!
Logistics had almost completely collapsed. Not only were his soldiers starving, but gunpowder, lead shot, and other necessities for their firearms were also severely lacking. He questioned how much combat effectiveness his hungry and disheartened soldiers would be able to muster against the roving bandits.
The moment Li Daoxuan focused his "attention" on Wang Cheng'en, he heard him ask his trusted aide, "How many days' worth of grain do we have left?"
The aide replied in a low voice, "If we ration it carefully and allow the soldiers only half-rations, we should be able to last another five days."
Wang Cheng'en sighed, "Only five days even on half-rations? How are we supposed to fight like this? The moment the roving bandits appear, everyone will abandon their posts and flee."
The aide murmured, "General, you are different from other generals. You never allow your soldiers to plunder the common people. Our provisions, alas..."
Wang Cheng'en frowned. "Borrow some from the magistrates of the neighboring counties," he suggested.
The aide replied softly, "North of Hancheng is Yichuan County. That's under Yansui's jurisdiction, not Shaanxi's, so they certainly won't help us. To the south is Heyang County, and as you know... Heyang County was plagued by bandits before. Before we were transferred to the capital, the Heyang bandit Fan Shan Yao was still causing serious trouble. Magistrate Feng Jun was utterly distraught at the time, repeatedly writing to the Governor for help. Not long ago, he even submitted a memorial saying he couldn't pay taxes, declaring 'no taxes, just my life!' How could we possibly borrow grain from him?"
Hearing this, Wang Cheng'en couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
Indeed, he had heard about this. The magistrates of both Chengcheng and Heyang counties had submitted memorials to the Governor, stating they couldn't pay taxes and playing their tricks with brazen defiance.
As a result, Governor Liu Guangsheng had also followed suit, playing along with their antics. Even the newly appointed Governor Wang Shunxing continued the charade, to such an extent that the Emperor himself was helpless and had to issue an imperial decree to waive the taxes. This whole affair had become common knowledge throughout Shaanxi.
What virtue or ability did he possess to possibly borrow grain from these two shamelessly defiant magistrates?
"Wait..."
"Hold on!"
"Something isn't right here."
Wang Cheng'en suddenly spoke up. "Do you still remember?" he asked. "The night before we rushed to aid the capital, we received very warm hospitality in Chengcheng County. Magistrate Liang Shixian of Chengcheng County even sent us potato and cured meat rice, which all the soldiers thoroughly enjoyed."
The aide suddenly snapped to attention, realization dawning on him. "Huh? That's right!" he exclaimed. "This subordinate also ate very well. Looking at it that way, they don't seem to be short on grain at all."
Wang Cheng'en pondered, "So why do they act so shamelessly when it's time to pay taxes?"
This whole affair felt deeply suspicious.
The aide suggested, "How about I go to Chengcheng County to investigate? Perhaps we could borrow some grain from them to relieve our urgent plight."
Li Daoxuan thought to himself, *Something interesting is happening! This might be a good opportunity for me to infiltrate the Ming army.*
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