Chapter 605: Why Don’t You Join Us Too |
Publish Time: 2026-06-29 20:26:54
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Hedong Road!
Xing Honglang’s forces were stationed inside Hedong City.
Zhao Sheng led a team of clerks to temporarily take over the administration of Hedong Road.
However, everyone knew the imperial court was highly likely to immediately appoint a new imperial commissioner to take over the work of the salt tax office. If they didn’t want to immediately go to war with the court and tear off all pretenses, they would eventually have to hand over these administrative powers to the new commissioner.
Therefore, before the handover, Gaojia Village had better make some solid arrangements.
Xing Honglang took the roster, scanned it briefly, and nodded: “Understood. When reporting to the court, we’ll say these crossed-out people were all killed by bandits.”
Zhao Sheng smiled: “Yes. These people are dead.”
With that, he produced another paper with a number written on it: “This is the total amount of salt the remaining salt craftsmen can produce after this ‘batch’ has ‘died.’ From now on, this new figure is the amount Hedong Road must report to the court.”
Xing Honglang took the paper, glanced at it, and let out a laugh: “Halved?”
The puppet deity on Gao Chuwu’s shoulder laughed with a clattering sound: “Yes! Halved! Zhu Youjian will probably weep when he sees this. His belt was already cinched tight enough, and now the most important salt-producing region halves its output? He might just feel like bashing his head against the wall in the middle of the night!”
Xing Honglang: “Puppet deity, are we fine doing this? Won’t the court send someone to thoroughly investigate?”
“They will!” The puppet deity laughed with a clattering sound: “This kind of blatant tampering will surely displease Zhu Youjian. He’ll send a eunuch to investigate whether the salt output here truly dropped by half.”
Cheng Xu chimed in beside her with a laugh: “Eunuchs are the easiest creatures to handle. Give them some silver, and they’ll tell Zhu Youjian whatever you want them to say.”
Everyone laughed.
The entire Jie Pond was now controlled by Gaojia Village’s militia. They had already dispatched people to arrange things in all the surrounding salt villages, promising the salt craftsmen high salaries to work for them.
The militia grouped the salt craftsmen willing to work for Gaojia Village and those unwilling into separate villages for residence.
From now on, all salt produced by villages working for Gaojia Village would be shipped directly to them. The salt from the unwilling villages would simply be handed over for the court’s sake.
The only lingering issue now was the question of the court’s subsequent appointments.
Whether the court would allow Xing Honglang to remain stationed in Hedong Road was the key factor determining whether their current plan could be implemented.
Just then, the door curtain was lifted, and Iron Bird Flies slipped inside.
Several days had passed. Iron Bird Flies’ injuries had healed. He wore clean clothes, and the Deity Statue on his chest had been washed spotless, no longer stained with blood.
The moment he entered, he grinned: “Hey, brothers! I’m fully recovered. Starting today, I’m back in the fray.”
Xing Honglang cast a deep glance at him: “Your men… they’re all dead, right? Will you be trading alone from now on?”
“Uh…”
Iron Bird Flies froze for a moment—that was a serious matter.
Men could be recruited again, but operating without his own core group, relying entirely on newly hired hands, was an invitation for trouble. Theft, betrayal, murder, “black eating black” robbery—it was all very high-risk.
For instance, if you had twenty loyal men and recruited five more, that was manageable. The new five would learn the ropes from the original twenty.
But if you had none and recruited twenty outright? Chances were high they might just kill you en route during a trade run and split the goods.
Being a lone wolf commander was incredibly difficult in this line of work.
Iron Bird Flies’ expression turned grave.
Xing Honglang smiled: “Iron Bird Flies, you’re practically one of us now anyway. Stop hovering around the edges of the organization. Officially join Gaojia Village and become one of us, part of the leadership.”
Iron Bird Flies: “Huh? Me? I can?”
The puppet deity laughed with a clattering sound: “You can!”
If the Deity Himself gave the golden word, refusal made no sense! Iron Bird Flies was overjoyed: “But I’m merely a salt smuggler! How could I be worthy of such honor bestowed by the Deity?”
Cheng Xu spoke up with a laugh: “The fact that you didn’t spill a word after the Shanxi merchants captured you proves you’re a man worthy of respect. The organization needs talent like yours. Frankly speaking, you’re one hell of a tough son of a gun. If it were me, hah, they probably wouldn’t have even needed to touch me before I spilled everything.”
Everyone: “…”
Cheng Xu: “Hey, don’t look at me like that! What’s wrong with spilling? If I had talked back then, the Shanxi merchants might have sent assassins to try and take out Xing Honglang in Puzhou City. But step onto our turf? They’d have walked in but never walked out. Easier than us storming Hedong City. See! Now those Shanxi merchants have fled, and we haven’t the foggiest clue where to find them. What a pain!”
Everyone: “Pfft!”
Strangely enough, he had a point.
The puppet deity also laughed with a clattering sound: “Ha ha ha! Cheng Xu, you rascal. Talking nonsense without respect for a true man? Fine, five taels docked from your military pay.”
Everyone laughed.
Iron Bird Flies, now officially part of the Gaojia Village leadership, was delighted. He quickly clasped his fists: “Since you all show me such favor, welcoming me in… then I’ll dare to make a request.”
Xing Honglang: “Oh? What do you want?”
Iron Bird Flies: “I want a crack team to hunt down where those Shanxi merchants vanished. Damn them! They slaughtered over a dozen of my old brothers! I swear I won’t rest until I’ve avenged them, or I’m no man!”
Puppet deity: “Approved!”
Once the Deity spoke, that was that.
Zao Ying stepped out from the side with a grin: “I’ll go! My cavalry camp is increasingly sidelined on the main battlefield anyway. Might as well take on some special assignments. This kind of mission—traveling far and wide to track down a target… a cavalry camp is just perfect for it.”
Everyone agreed it made sense.
Cheng Xu said: “Alright then, that’s settled. Zao Ying lends a hand to Iron Bird Flies. Iron Bird Flies, deal with your vengeance first. Once you’re back, we’ll find you a proper position in the army.”
Just as they finalized the plan…
A local Hedong Road constable scurried in, looking flustered and apprehensive. He reported quickly: “General Xing! The newly appointed Provincial Governor of Shanxi, Xu Dingchen, has arrived!”
Everyone: “Oh!”
Everyone perked up, rushing with pride. The Provincial Governor of Shanxi was here—heh heh, interesting times ahead?
Xing Honglang chuckled softly a few times: “Alright. I’ll go meet this Provincial Governor, see what arrangements he’s come to make.”
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