usatvline Chapter 203 "Recapture"
Chapter 203 "Recapture"
On the main road, a dozen or so oxcarts traveled in a long, winding path.
Most of the drivers were temporarily "borrowed" from wealthy families. At first, they were terrified, but their fear gradually disappeared after the bandits borrowed wine and meat from the wealthy families and distributed the money they had found in the salt fields.
They're just here to grab salt, not to rob us poor folks. There's nothing to be afraid of.
A few years ago, there were also smugglers from other places who were caught by the inspectors or salt field guards while collecting salt. The two sides fought fiercely, but no matter who won in the end, they didn't do anything to these small fry.
Just don't worry about shipping it.
Just as dusk was falling, the convoy arrived at Xiajiaba.
Bags of salt were piled up on the ground, almost like small mountains.
The thatched hut still stood, and more people had gathered there. They remained silent, carrying bags of salt onto the small boat, then rowing with all their might toward the large ship anchored in the deep water.
The workers included not only the sailors who stayed behind on the Pingjia and Pingyi ships, but also some local fishermen. Unfortunately, most of them were too timid, and even with a large sum of money to recruit them, only a dozen or so were willing to help in the end.
"Quickly, come and help unload the goods." Wu Heizi, who was sitting at the entrance of the thatched shed, blew the bamboo whistle hanging around his neck when he saw the convoy arrive.
A moment later, seven or eight soldiers came over and helped.
Wu Heizi was slightly anxious.
After an entire afternoon, only 35,000 jin of salt have been transported. It looks like they'll have to continue transporting it tonight and even tomorrow.
Furthermore, transporting salt from the salt field to Xiajiaba is easy, but transporting it from Xiajiaba to the Pingjia and Pingyi ships is not so easy and takes much longer. Wu Heizi thought that next time he should probably bring some manual laborers along; they wouldn't need to fight, just help with transporting goods.
As the moon rose above the willow branches, more than ten trucks had finished unloading salt. After a short rest, escorted by six soldiers, they turned around and headed back to the salt field to begin the third transfer.
At 9:00 PM, the convoy arrived at the salt field.
The residents of Yanhuting, who had been waiting in the warehouse for a long time, carried out their salt bags one after another and loaded them onto the carts.
On the open ground, several iron pots were set up, and the aroma of meat filled the air.
After finishing their work, the villagers could come here to rest and enjoy some meat and wine that they rarely had the chance to enjoy on a regular basis.
The seven or eight ingots of paper money looted from the salt field were scattered on the ground. The person in charge said that they would all be theirs in a while.
The only thing that makes them uneasy is probably what to do in the future.
The salt fields were ravaged, officials were either killed or fled, and it was clear that the salt fields were doomed. The question was how long it would take to recover.
Yes, they were usually exploited terribly by the saltworks, barely clothed and starving. But if you told them that the saltworks were gone and they had to fend for themselves, they would be completely lost.
They only know how to boil salt; they can't do anything else. Besides, the land in Lüsi doesn't grow much grain, and farming isn't a viable path. What else can they do?
Therefore, during Shao Shuyi and his group's stay, people kept coming to ask to join them—most of them were single and had no family burdens. Having stolen so much salt, Shao was very optimistic about his financial situation for the foreseeable future, so he spent some time "interviewing" those who came to join him.
They were transporting salt while simultaneously recruiting workers.
In the eyes of the wealthy residents of Lüsichang, this gang of thugs who appeared out of nowhere was truly arrogant.
On the 25th, Zhang Quan, weary from his journey, finally returned to the Lüsi Patrol Office.
Li Zhai, who was left behind, climbed onto the wall first. After confirming the situation, he opened a crack in the door and let Zhang Quan and his two attendants in.
"Are you alright?" Zhang Quan asked, catching his breath.
Upon hearing this, Li Zhai lowered his head and said, "Sir, yesterday a patrolman from the salt field came here and said that the bandits had attacked Lüsi Salt Field. They only had about ten men, and they couldn't hold them off and scattered."
Zhang Quan was already exhausted from his continuous running around, and upon hearing this, he swayed and almost fell to the ground.
"What? Say it again." Zhang Quan shook off his attendant's support, steadied himself, and asked.
Li Zhai repeated it.
This time, Zhang Quan remained silent for a long time.
"You've ruined me!" After a long while, Zhang Quan sighed deeply, his face extremely pale.
Li Zhai kept his head down and didn't say anything.
The archers standing in the courtyard looked at each other, some guessing what was going on, while others were completely bewildered, not understanding why the inspector had said that. "Gather all the men immediately!" Zhang Quan wiped the sweat from his face and gave the order.
Everyone looked at him in surprise, confused. Only Li Zhai understood. He turned around and shouted, "What are you dawdling for? Get your equipment ready and form a line!"
The crowd responded sparsely, then listlessly went inside to retrieve their equipment and lined up in the yard.
Zhang Quan personally opened the gate, looking out at the empty and silent wilderness.
Li Zhai quietly approached and asked in a low voice, "Sir, have you summoned reinforcements?"
Zhang Quan hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly, then shook his head, saying, "It will take time to mobilize troops. In the short term, the only ones we can use are the archers from the patrol offices in Tongzhou."
Judge Lu said he would summon archers from the Taizhou Patrol Office, but Tongzhou is Tongzhou and Taizhou is Taizhou. With official documents going back and forth, it would take at least ten days for them to arrive.
As for the Jiangyin Naval Commandery, it required the approval of the Yangzhou Circuit Governor. The round trip took more than ten days.
Perhaps the soldiers from the Lianghuai Salt Transport Office could arrive faster, but they don't have many men. The twenty-nine salt fields of Lianghuai only have a few hundred patrolmen combined. The Transport Office judge might have a hundred or two more, but they're far away in Yangzhou; when will they be able to get here?
Li Zhai turned ashen-faced upon hearing this.
We're not new officials; we know how government offices operate.
Without a high-ranking official to coordinate and command, simply mobilizing the archers from the patrol office in neighboring Taizhou is a troublesome matter, let alone mobilizing the local garrison troops. Procedurally speaking, that's not something a judge or prefect can mobilize, unless they have a good personal relationship with you and are acting in violation of regulations.
Thinking about it this way, Li Zhai felt that he probably wouldn't get any reinforcements in three to five days. At most, the nearest patrol office, Yu Xi, would send some people over, but what good would that do?
"Don't think about that too much." Zhang Quan took a deep breath and said, "Let's think about how to lessen our punishment. I'm the inspector, and you're the clerk; neither of us can escape if something happens. I just thought of a plan."
Li Zhai's eyes lit up, and he subconsciously asked, "What's the plan?"
Zhang Quan pondered for a moment and said, "We can take the lead in 'recapturing' the salt fields. If we can kill some of the bandits, that would be even better." Upon hearing this, Li Zhai felt that there was indeed no better way, and reminded him, "Sir, since this gang of thugs can break through the salt fields, they can also break into the patrol office. We must be careful with our actions."
"Hmm, I understand." Zhang Quan sighed and said, "Go and urge them on quickly, we'll set off as soon as everyone is here."
Aside from leaving two men to guard the house, Zhang Quan and Li Zhai led more than twenty archers out of the patrol station and headed east.
They walked slowly, sending two nimble men ahead to scout ahead as they went.
Half an hour after leaving the patrol post, a report came from the front: the thieves had already left.
Zhang Quan and Li Zhai exchanged a glance, both of them extremely excited.
At that moment, Zhang Quan swept away his previous dejection, drew his sword with a swift motion, and resolutely declared, "Today is the day to recapture Lüsichang, which has fallen into enemy hands. Soldiers, follow me!"
Having said that, he took his sword and walked away first.
"What are you standing there for? Come on!" Li Zhai waved his hand, signaling the archers not to dawdle and to hurry up and catch up.
The soldiers hesitated slightly, because they did not know that Lü Sichang was already deserted. But they could not openly disobey orders, could they? So they could only follow Zhang and Li dejectedly, thinking that they would run away if anything went wrong.
The two spies disappeared again, going off to gather more information.
Half an hour later, Lüsichang was already in sight.
With a resolute expression, Zhang Quan took the lead, selecting seven or eight elite archers to charge directly into the salt field.
Upon seeing the gruesome human head on the fence, Zhang Quan hesitated slightly, but ultimately gritted his teeth and continued forward. Fortunately, the scout's information was correct; apart from bloodstains and the human head, there was almost nothing else in the devastated salt field.
Once the salt was gone, twenty countries were robbed.
The money is gone; it must have been taken by thieves.
With the equipment gone, the thieves clearly wouldn't let go of any usable weapons.
They even took away the bronze incense burner from the temple school, the instruments of torture from the makeshift prison, and the cured meat and pickled vegetables from the kitchen...
"Damn it, why didn't you take the toilet sticks from the outhouse too?" Zhang Quan cursed under his breath, ordering the archers to scatter and carefully inspect the entire salt field.
"Congratulations, Inspector! Congratulations, Inspector!" Clerk Li Zhai approached with a broad smile.
Zhang Quan's lips twitched, and he asked, "What's the cause of your joy?"
"Upon returning from the prefecture, Your Excellency disregarded your own safety and led the patrol officers and soldiers straight to the Lüsi Saltworks. There, he fought a fierce battle with the bandits, sustaining seven wounds and barely managing to walk." Li Zhai put away his smile and said solemnly, "The patrol officer killed several people on the spot, and the soldiers charged forward with great fanfare. The bandits suffered heavy casualties and fled in disarray."
Zhang Quan was silent for a moment, then asked, "Where is the enemy I killed?"
Li Zhai took two steps closer and whispered in his ear, "Sir, although almost a day and a night have passed, how could so much salt have been transported in such a hurry? Someone must have helped. The bandit's head is right here."
Zhang Quan suddenly realized what was going on. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Go quickly and find the village head and the chief of the city. Gather as many ruffians and nameless archers as you can to apprehend the suspect. Be quick and get this done before reinforcements arrive."
Li Zhai understood, bowed, and took his leave.
Zhang Quan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had done all he could; what happened next depended on luck.
While Zhang Quan and his group were "recaptured" Lüsichang, Shao Shuyi and his group had already returned to Xiajiaba.
Looking at the mountain of salt bags, I felt satisfied, but also a little overwhelmed.
But it doesn't matter anymore.
Shao Shuyi remained at the thatched hut, overseeing the transfer of spoils of war and even accepting the fish and salt sold by salt merchants and fishermen. While one should not underestimate the enemy's strength when traveling, there's no need to be overly suspicious.
At this point, unless the Yuan court can quickly mobilize a cavalry force, marching day and night, to launch an unexpected surprise attack, the situation will be dire.
Otherwise, it would be safe for the next five days, as the government troops wouldn't be able to arrive so quickly.