Chapter 572: Till We Meet Again
Everyone gathered by the Yellow River and enjoyed a delicious, hearty meal.
There were noodles and luncheon meat.
After they had eaten their fill, the exhaustion from their long journey from Daning County finally vanished. The common folk who had collapsed from exhaustion earlier, unable to walk, now that they were fed, had regained their strength. Each of them looked invigorated.
They divided the leftover food, each person packing a small portion and tucking it into their clothes, guarding it carefully.
Then, a question arose: where should they go next?
Exactly!
Where to go next? This wasn't just a dilemma for the common folk; it was also a challenge for the Sichuan White Pole Soldiers.
"General Xing," Ma Xianglin said, approaching Xing Honglang, "We now face two issues: first, how to deal with the bandits, and second, how to resettle these common folk."
Xing Honglang nodded. "We certainly can't send them back to Daning County. That county town is still very unsafe, and we can't garrison the town indefinitely to protect them. The moment we leave, the roving bandits will return. And next time, the Chuǎng Wang might not be so lenient."
"Aside from relocation, there's no better solution," Xing Honglang replied. "We'll move them south, far from where the bandits roam."
Ma Xianglin said, "A mass relocation of several thousand people... if there's no farmland for them to cultivate at their destination, they won't be able to survive."
"General Ma, you needn't worry about that," Xing Honglang chuckled. "I'll have them move to my territory and arrange work for them."
Ma Xianglin's eyes lit up. "Are you going to have them join you in smuggling salt?"
Zhang Fengyi interjected, "Hey! Don't get that gleam in your eyes every time someone mentions salt smuggling!"
Ma Xianglin defended himself, "But it's so profitable! I also want to earn some money so the folks at Wan Shou Zhai can have meat to eat."
Zhang Fengyi sighed, "Can't we aspire to something greater?"
Ma Xianglin shot back, "Is ensuring our villagers have meat not 'aspiring to something greater'? What *would* be considered 'aspiring to something greater' then? A general achieving fame over a mountain of corpses?"
Hearing this, everyone's faces grew solemn.
Indeed!
For a general, which was the greater achievement: to attain glory over a pile of countless bones, or to ensure all their people had meat to eat?
The atmosphere grew heavy, slipping into a moment of philosophical contemplation.
Just then, Zheng Daniu's head suddenly popped into view. "If a great general achieves merit, they get ten thousand bones to gnaw on as they please? That sounds amazing! Bone soup is better than meat."
Everyone: "..."
Zao Ying quickly pulled Zheng Daniu away. "Don't interject randomly at times like this. They'll think you're an idiot."
Zheng Daniu insisted, "But bone soup *is* delicious."
Zao Ying promised, "When we get back, I'll treat you to some pork bone soup."
Zheng Daniu drooled openly. "Instructor Zao is truly a good person!"
Zao Ying playfully punched him hard on the shoulder. "Stop calling me Instructor Zao all the time. It's too formal. Call me something more intimate. What kind of relationship do we have?"
"That's true!" Zheng Daniu pondered, "Good buddies? Is that intimate enough?"
Pfft! Zao Ying collapsed, unable to get up.
Xing Honglang stepped before the refugees and announced loudly, "Everyone, you've eaten your fill, regained your strength, and you still have some leftover provisions. You'll be fine for a few more days. However, if you return to Daning County, it will be far too dangerous."
The common folk, of course, understood this logic. A group of them looked terrified, uncertain of what to do. They could only gaze at Xing Honglang with hopeful, anxious eyes.
"If you trust me, board my ships," Xing Honglang said, pointing to the three large vessels still unloading cargo. "Take the ships, follow my people, and go to a safe place. There, you'll be met by others who will arrange well-paying work for you. You can live there for a while. Once the banditry in the north subsides, it won't be too late to return to Daning County."
How could the common folk not trust her? She had just given them flour and meat. Any commoner with a sound mind knew that this rather plain-looking female general standing before them was a good person.
She might have been plain, but she was kind.
"We trust the General!"
"We'll follow the General!"
"Good!" Xing Honglang declared. "Then you may all board the ships in batches and depart."
With the arrangements settled, Xing Honglang turned back to Ma Xianglin. "General Ma, the common folk are departing by ship from here. As for the two of us, I fear new tasks await."
Ma Xianglin nodded. "Since the common folk are resettled and we have military provisions, we must, of course, continue pursuing the bandit army. The bandits have now withdrawn from Puxian and Changning County. They are bound to head north. Given their current size, plundering small towns and counties won't satisfy them. They are very likely headed for... Taiyuan!"
This thought had indeed occurred to Xing Honglang. However, Xing Honglang had no desire to continue northward to Taiyuan. That was simply too far. Gao Family Village's army required massive amounts of gunpowder and bullets for logistics. They couldn't stray too far from their base.
The Chassepot Rifle unit could expend a thousand men's worth of daily labor in just two minutes.
Therefore, the Gao Family Village Militia could not casually leave their main base like cold weapon armies, which could range three thousand li deep as long as they had grain.
Xing Honglang had no choice but to cup her fists and say, "General Ma, I am merely the Puzhou garrison commander and cannot venture too far from Puzhou. This place is already over three hundred li from my station in Puzhou. While pushing further north might be fine for a general like you, it wouldn't be appropriate for me. My absolute limit is the vicinity of Pingyang Prefecture."
Ma Xianglin considered her words, thinking to himself, "Her reasoning holds weight. After all, she was a pacified bandit leader. If she accepted the court's arrangements and remained in her designated settlement, there'd be no issue. But if she were to roam around freely, far from her settlement, it would undoubtedly draw suspicion from the court."
With that in mind, Ma Xianglin had no choice but to cup his fists towards Xing Honglang. "Since that's the case, let us part ways here and go our separate routes."
Xing Honglang cupped her fists in return. "The green mountains remain, the waters ever flow; till we meet again."
Ma Xianglin burst out laughing. "Hahaha, that parting phrase of yours truly has a martial arts flair! Let me try it too. Green mountains don't..."
Beside him, Zhang Fengyi shot him a warning glare.
Ma Xianglin quickly fell silent.
Ma Xianglin led his White Pole Soldiers away. The White Pole Soldiers, with their fine flour and luncheon meat tucked away, their spirits high, resumed their pursuit northward.
Xing Honglang, meanwhile, stayed by the riverbank, guarding the three thousand common folk. She watched as cargo ships ferried them away, boatload by boatload, all bound for Puzhou. Only then did she turn to the Puppet Heavenly Lord and ask, "What should our next step be, Heavenly Lord? Please instruct us?"
The Puppet Heavenly Lord considered deeply for a moment. "Return to Pingyang Prefecture, hold the line, and prevent the bandits from moving south. Consolidate our current territory. As for the north, we can only temporarily entrust it to Song Tongyin, the Governor of Shanxi."
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