Chapter 655: The Collaborators
The magistrate cursed inwardly, but found it impossible to speak his mind, forcing himself to bite back his frustration.
General Qin frowned. "So, dealing with that Bai Yuan—is that the Prince's order?"
Eunuch Zheng shook his head. "Of course not the Prince's idea! This is just a minor affair, a few hundred taels of silver a year—how could it possibly trouble His Royal Highness? I, your humble servant, must handle this properly before I can even think of reporting it to the Prince."
So, it wasn't the Prince's order at all. It was just *your* idea, you damned eunuch.
General Qin's lips curled into a faint sneer, but he also felt a wave of relief wash over him.
He wasn't foolish.
He had once attempted to clear out the bandits from Xiaolangdi himself, but failed. That dilapidated region was a labyrinth of waterways, and a full-scale sweep would demand immense time, effort, and funds.
Yet Bai Yuan had easily eradicated those water bandits, a clear testament to his immense power.
General Qin had no desire to provoke such a powerful local magnate.
General Qin's expression turned grim. "Eunuch Zheng, this humble general constantly dreams of alleviating the Prince of Fu's burdens. However, I simply cannot spare any forces to engage Xiaolangdi at this moment."
Eunuch Zheng pressed, "Why not?"
General Qin pointed north. "Across the Yellow River, the roving bandits are fiercely active. This general has been ordered to garrison Mengjin County to prevent them from crossing."
Eunuch Zheng countered, "Xiaolangdi is merely forty *li* from here. If General Qin were to deploy a few warships, you could make a round trip in a single day. It wouldn't impede your efforts to guard against bandits crossing the river."
General Qin replied, "Eunuch Zheng, this merely shows your lack of military understanding. Roving bandits move with the swiftness of the wind, capable of covering a hundred *li* in a single day. Should this humble general avert his gaze for even a moment regarding a river crossing, a massive horde of bandits could very well pour into Henan. That's a responsibility I cannot bear, nor can you, Eunuch Zheng!"
Eunuch Zheng's brow furrowed. "So, am I just to be humiliated for nothing by this man Bai?"
General Qin said, "Of course not! Tell you what: once the threat of the roving bandits crossing the river is resolved, and this humble general has some time, I will lead my forces to Xiaolangdi and have a thorough discussion with that man Bai. If I deploy a few thousand government soldiers and demand five hundred taels of silver from him, how could he possibly refuse?"
Eunuch Zheng pondered, "In that case... very well."
The Mengjin County magistrate, who had been listening nearby, could endure no more. With a polite excuse, he slipped out of the guest room, let out a weary sigh, and shaking his head, retired to his own quarters for the night.
General Qin then offered a cup of tea, signaling the end of their meeting.
By then, dusk had settled, and Eunuch Zheng, unwilling to return to Luoyang so late, simply found another guest room nearby and settled in for the night.
Li Daoxuan waited until Eunuch Zheng was sound asleep, then stealthily slipped into his guest room. He scaled a pillar, climbed onto the roof beam, and positioned himself directly above the bed. Aiming for Eunuch Zheng's forehead, he suddenly leaped down...
Eunuch Zheng was in a deep slumber when, abruptly, a searing pain shot through his forehead in his dream. It felt as though something incredibly hard had smashed directly into the center of his brow, striking with a resounding "thud!"
With a pathetic cry of "Ah!" he jolted upright from his sleep.
He frantically looked left and right, but saw nothing around him.
The Reconnaissance Heavenly Lord had long since used the momentum to roll off the bed and was now concealed behind a table leg.
Eunuch Zheng searched all around, yet found nothing. Peering into a bronze mirror, he saw a massive bump rising prominently on his forehead.
"Something truly hit me, yet I found nothing."
"It's a ghost!"
"Aaaah!"
Terrified out of his wits, Eunuch Zheng scrambled from the guest room, huddling with his attendants. He didn't dare close his eyes for the rest of the night, wandering sleeplessly with wide, bulging eyes—
While the Reconnaissance Heavenly Lord was amusing himself by terrorizing Eunuch Zheng...
In a quiet corner of Mengjin County, several men, clad in rough sackcloth and bearing the weary look of impoverished refugees, furtively emerged from an alleyway.
One of them whispered, "Did you get a clear look? Who is the government general?"
Another replied, "It's Brigade Commander Qin Renhong. He tried to suppress us at Xiaolangdi once before, but we easily slipped away from him. He searched for us for half a month without finding a trace, and eventually slunk back, tail between his legs."
The other two chuckled. "So, it's Qin Renhong, a complete good-for-nothing."
The first man asked, "And his troop deployment, you've got that figured out too, haven't you?"
Another replied, "Yes, we have. He commands two thousand five hundred troops, deployed along the line connecting Dongpo, Wengkou, and Dongmiaozhuang. Look, I've even sketched a rough map."
The first man chuckled. "Excellent work! With the government forces' deployment map in hand, we'll take this to Zezhou in Shanxi and present it to our elder brother, Zijing Liang Wang Ziyong. That will be a monumental achievement! Once Elder Brother Zijing Liang successfully invades Henan, we can then borrow some troops from him and reclaim Xiaolangdi!"
The other two clasped their fists respectfully. "Elder brother, you are brilliant!"
It turned out these three men were remnants of the Xiaolangdi water bandits.
The leader's original name was Xu Liyu, or "Xu Carp." But as he grew older, he found the name his parents had chosen quite unappealing, so he arbitrarily changed it to Xu Chenglong.
Among the myriad bandits of Xiaolangdi, he was by no means the most powerful.
When Bai Yuan moved to eradicate the most formidable water bandit factions, this Xu Chenglong opportunistically slipped away. He took his dozen or so boats and dozens of sworn brothers, crossed the Yellow River, and fled to the Shanxi side, taking refuge near a town named Dayu.
Though he had narrowly escaped with his life, the man showed no remorse. Instead, he nursed a bitter grudge against Bai Yuan. Lacking the power to defeat Bai Yuan himself, he deliberated at length, then traveled to Zezhou and pledged his allegiance to Zijing Liang Wang Ziyong.
He offered to scout the government troop deployments in Henan for Wang Ziyong, promising to guide the Shanxi roving bandits across the Yellow River and into the province.
Wang Ziyong was, of course, delighted. He promised Xu Chenglong that if he could successfully lead the crossing of the Yellow River and penetrate Henan, he would be made a minor chieftain with command over several thousand men.
And so, Xu Chenglong once again crossed the Yellow River and infiltrated Mengjin County.
Being a native of Henan, with a local accent, it was effortlessly simple for him to blend into a county town that was actively taking in a large influx of refugees.
Without expending much effort, he quickly ascertained the government generals, their troop strengths, and their tactical deployments.
He even discovered the precise hiding places of the imperial warships.
Xu Chenglong grinned smugly. "Excellent. We can now return to Shanxi and deliver our report."
One of his subordinates whispered, "Big Brother, I'm a little concerned that some of Bai Yuan's people seem to be in the county town as well. That couple who entered during the day, dressed in martial artists' attire—they looked like very important figures close to Bai Yuan."
Xu Chenglong chuckled. "That couple is far too naive. One glance tells you they lack any real experience in the jianghu. Even their guards don't look like seasoned wanderers. We might as well devise a scheme to capture them and take them to Shanxi. Holding them hostage against Bai Yuan could prove quite useful."
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