Chapter 572: Farewell for Now |
发布时间: 2026-06-11 23:26:19
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Chapter 573: Actually Wanting to Snatch People »
Everyone had a tasty, full meal by the Yellow River.
There was flour, and luncheon meat.
After they filled their bellies, the exhaustion from the trek out of Daining city was swept away thoroughly; the common folk who had wobbled and collapsed earlier, now full and strong, were all spirited and alert.
They divided the leftover food they couldn’t finish; each gathered a small bundle, tucked it into their lapels, and guarded it carefully.
So the question arose: where should they go next?
Where should they go next? This wasn’t just a puzzle for the common people; it was a problem the white pole troops from the river had to face too.
“General Xing,” Ma Xianglin walked up to Xing Honglang: “We now face two issues—how to deal with the bandits, and how to settle these common folk.”
Xing Honglang nodded: “We definitely can’t send them back to Daining city; that county town is very unsafe right now. We can’t keep stationed there to protect them permanently; once we leave, the roving bandits might strike again anytime. Next time, the King of Disruption might not spare their lives.”
Ma Xianglin: “Then what do you plan for their settlement?”
“Beyond relocation, there’s no better course,” Xing Honglang said: “Move them southward, to places free from banditry.”
Ma Xianglin: “A big migration of thousands—if their destination lacks farmland for cultivation, they can’t sustain themselves.”
“No need for you to fuss over that, General Ma,” Xing Honglang chuckled: “I’ll have them relocate into my territory, and put them to working.”
Ma Xianglin’s eyes lit up: “Have them tag along with you to trade in smuggled salt?”
Zhang Fengyi: “Hey! Don’t glow at any mention of smuggled salt.”
Ma Xianglin: “But she profits massively. I want to earn a bit too, to let Wanshou Village’s villagers afford meat.”
Zhang Fengyi: “Can’t we muster some ambition?”
Ma Xianglin: “Isn’t feeding our villagers meat ambitious? What’s real ambition then? A general’s glory costing myriad bones?”
Everyone hearing this had serious expressions bloom on their faces.
Right!
For a general, what counted as ambition: one man’s success piled on ten thousand bones, or ensuring his subjects ate meat?
The mood turned solemn, edging into philosophical pondering time.
Just then, Zheng Daniu’s head popped out: “When a great general wins honor, are there ten thousand bones for feasting? That sounds splendid indeed. Boiled bone soup tastes better than meat.”
Everyone: “…”
Zao Ying yanked Zheng Daniu into a run: “Don’t interrupt thoughtlessly now, or they’ll label you a fool.”
Zheng Daniu: “But bone soup is truly scrumptious.”
Zao Ying thumped his shoulder with a “thud”: “Quit calling me Instructor Zao every time—too formal. Address me intimately; what bond do we share?”
“That’s true!” Zheng Daniu: “Pal mine, intimate enough?”
“Pfft!” Zao Ying hit the ground, unable to rise.
Xing Honglang approached the refugees and boomed: “Good people, you’re now fed and strong, each carrying extra grain; you’ll live several days with ease. But returning to Daining city risks your lives too much.”
Naturally, the common folk grasped that; the group wore fearful looks, clueless what to do, merely staring beseechingly at Xing Honglang.
“If you trust me, board my ships,” Xing Honglang pointed to the three big vessels still unloading: “Ride aboard, follow my men to a safe haunt. There, helpers shall meet you, providing high-paid labor. Tarry there a spell; when northern bandit woes calm, rejoining Daining city won’t delay a bit.”
How could they doubt her? She’d just handed out flour and meat. Any sane common soul could see this homely female commander was kind-hearted.
She was unbeautiful, yet tender-hearted to the core.
“We believe in you, General!”
“We’ll follow the General.”
“Good!” Xing Honglang declared: “So you’ll journey by ship in batches.”
With plans firmed, Xing Honglang turned to Ma Xianglin: “General Ma, the civilians are boarding here. Likely, both of us have fresh duties.”
Ma Xianglin bobbed his head: “Since folks settled and we hold rations, we must chase the bandit army onward. They’ve quit Puxian and Changning realms, bound to veer north… Crowd that large won’t sate on plundering tiny towns; odds are high they’ll strike… Taiyuan!”
This matched Xing Honglang’s own gut hunch, yet she didn’t fancy galloping farther north toward Taiyuan—too remote. Gaojia Village’s troops craved vast stocks of gunpowder and bullets supply-wise; they couldn’t stray far from their nest.
The Chassepot rifle units could torch a day’s toil of thousands in two mere minutes flat.
Thus, Gaojia Village’s militia couldn’t roam freely like old-style armies, plunging hundreds of li unchecked; they needed more than mere grain propping.
So Xing Honglang cupped her fists: “General Ma, I’m but the Puzhou Defender; I mustn’t wander too far from Puzhou. This spot sits three hundred li or more from my base at Puzhou already. Northward dashes may suit you fine, but not for me—too awkward. My utmost stretch is near Pingyang Prefecture’s edge; beyond is impossible.”
Hearing this, Ma Xianglin mused privately: this rang true. See, she was merely an appeasement bandit; sticking to the court’s plot at her settlement spot was safe, while chaotic roving far off stirred imperial suspicion anew.
With that, Ma Xianglin had to fold his fists at Xing Honglang: “That being so, let’s split forces here.”
Xing Honglang clasped fists: “Green mounts shift not; blue streams flow long. Farewell for now, friends.”
Ma Xianglin guffawed: “Ha-ha, that slogan reeks of gangland flair! Let me mimic that… Green peaks don’t—”
Nearby, Zhang Fengyi glared—fixing a sharp look on him.
Ma Xianglin shut up fast.
Ma Xianglin led out the White Standards Troops; they packed fine wheat flour and luncheon meat, spirits blazing, resuming the hunt northward.
Meantime, Xing Honglang stood shoreline-guarding that three-thousand-strong crowd; observing cargo ships ferry each boatload off to Puzhou. Only then did she face the puppet deity, consulting: “What step now? Gracious Deity’s directive sought.”
The puppet deity weighed deep: “Go back to Pingyang Prefecture, anchor firm, bar bandits from southbound routes; cement our turf. North zones must shift temporarily to Song Tongyin, Provincial Governor of Shanxi.”
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Chapter 573: Actually Wanting to Snatch People »