White-robed Minister

0007 [There really were salt bandits]

The temporary camp on the sandbar was hastily built up, and the able-bodied men were finally able to rest for a day.

Exhausted, Xu Lai lay in the shack, sleeping all the time except when eating.

How could they possibly have the energy to interact with able-bodied men from other villages?

Cousin Bu Chao lay beside him, equally exhausted, too weary to even move a finger: "The stockade walls, watchtowers, and moats are all repaired. We shouldn't have to work anymore, right?"

"Hard to say," Uncle Zhang replied with his eyes closed.

Xu Lai said, "A few days ago, I inquired with Yu Tiesi and found out that the regular patrol soldiers are all from the Xiang Army. The patrol soldiers brought by Inspector Huang and Captain Liang only number a few dozen in total. If they want to hold the camp, they will have to train us. I estimate that they will start training tomorrow."

Liu Da was picking lice off Uncle Zhang when he couldn't help but say, "We have to eat solid food during training, right? Thin porridge doesn't keep us full at all, and we have to pay for our own food every day. I've already spent half of the few dozen coins I brought."

Xu Lai closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep amidst the murmurs.

Early the next morning, bugle calls rang out in the camp.

It seems they really are going to train the troops.

Ten friends from the same village gathered together, carrying their homemade weapons.

They encountered a small team on the way, and Xu Lai casually asked, "Where's Shen Erlang from your village?"

One of the able-bodied men replied, "I'm exhausted. I'm sick and lying in the shack; I don't know if I can hold on."

"Ugh!"

Xu Lai sighed.

Eating little and working a lot, those with poor health definitely can't handle it.

The open space in the middle of the sandbar served as the drill ground. Two guards, carrying sticks, would strike anyone who stood crookedly, yelling, "Line up! Line up! Line up!"

Xu Lai was queuing up properly when he was suddenly hit with a stick without even realizing it.

It's likely that the guard got carried away with the fight.

After waiting in line for quite some time, Chief Liang finally appeared, scanned the able-bodied men, and said, "You country bumpkins only know how to swing a hoe and till the land; you'll never learn any military formations. I'll just tell you the rules..."

After rambling on for a while, he quickly added, "We're also setting up a temporary camp at Yinshabu, but we're a bit short-handed. Those whose names are called, take your bedding and clothes and head to Yinshabu!"

A military officer stepped forward and shouted, "Second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth teams, a total of fifty men, proceed to the Yinshabu camp for reorganization!"

Immediately, a squad leader said, "Commander, someone in our squad is sick. Could we take the sick person with us? He's all alone here with no one to take care of him."

The military officer did not answer, but looked at Chief Liang.

Liang, the head constable, nodded slightly.

The military officer then said, "Bring along anyone who is sick, as long as they are not dead."

The ten able-bodied men from Qingxi Village, belonging to the eighth team, were also going to Yinshabu this time.

As Yang Kui went back to the shack to retrieve his luggage, he muttered to himself, "Why do we have to move again?"

“Yinshabu is closer to home and it’s not on a sandbar,” Li Tian said cheerfully. “If the salt bandits really come, we can run faster and escape back to the village in an hour or two.”

Xu Lai, however, was not happy. He poured cold water on the idea, saying, "It must be because Commander Ma personally inspected the area, and the entire patrol office was punished. They've temporarily built another stockade at Yinsha Wharf. We'll have to continue doing hard labor when we get there."

Everyone was stunned upon hearing this.

We just finished building this camp, and now we have to go build another one?

This is never going to end!

Yinsha Wharf is the same as the White Temple Wharf in later times.

Merchant ships heading north docked there, queuing up to wait for boatmen to pull them through the Feilai Gorge.

Xu Lai's elder brother died while repairing the plank road there.

The group traveled upstream by boat, while Xu Lai observed the situation on both banks along the way.

"Are all the people living along the riverbank Tanka people?" Xu Lai asked.

Uncle Zhang said, "From here to Feilai Gorge, the banks of the river are full of Tanka people. They all live in the river. Those wide and flat ones are boat houses, where they eat and sleep. Those narrow and long ones are called small oar boats, which only the wealthier Tanka people can afford. They can be used for fishing and transporting goods... Hehe, they can also help transport smuggled salt."

Xu Lai stared at the banks of the Shixing River (Beijiang River), looking at the boats of the Tanka people, and soon felt a chill run down his spine.

If salt bandits were hiding among the Tanka people in their boats, how could they tell the difference between civilians and bandits?

Jiangxinzhou, southwest of the county town, is very close to Yinshabu. In the blink of an eye, they arrived at their destination, where there was indeed a temporary patrol post.

They hadn't even finished building the straw hut.

Besides Xu Lai and his group, there were already many able-bodied men here, probably forcibly conscripted from the surrounding area.

"Let's set up the barracks (shacks) first, then eat, rest for a while, and then get to work in the afternoon!"

As soon as Xu Lai entered the camp, he heard a military officer shouting.

Damn it, I guess I'll have to do hard labor again.

It was afternoon.

Xu Lai brandished his hoe and asked a burly man beside him, "Uncle, when did you arrive?"

"Yesterday," the strongman replied.

Xu Lai continued to inquire: "Should we report directly to Yinsha Wharf?"

"Mm," the strongman replied.

Xu Lai then asked, "How many of you came this time?"

"I don't know." The strongman didn't say anything more.

Xu Lai's back ached from digging, so he stood up to rest and counted how many people were around him.

Don't be lazy!

The overseer nearby roared.

Xu Lai could only bury himself in his work, occasionally glancing around furtively.

Forget about rallying other able-bodied men; he would be beaten and scolded even if he rested for a little longer.

There is absolutely no freedom.

After working until evening, Xu Lai bought some dry rice and ate it with the free porridge.

Finally, I can rest.

He stood atop a pile of timber, surveying the surrounding area from his elevated position. Pointing to a distant sandbar, he asked, "Uncle Zhang, that sandbar in the river is quite large, and there are many houses there. Who lives on that sandbar?"

Uncle Zhang replied, "They are all Tanka people. The boatmen who pull the boats in Feilai Gorge are from the Tanka people of the sandbar. They are more reliable than other Tanka people, and some of them can even farm on the sandbar. The patrol office often recruits them as sailors."

Xu Lai then pointed to the nearby Yinsha Wharf: "What's that beautiful house?"

My cousin Bu Chao walked over and said, "Yinshawu is where they collect taxes from merchant ships. Merchant ships heading north pay their taxes at Yinshabu. Merchant ships heading south pay their taxes at Chengnan Wharf. My mother often comes here to sell eggs."

It turns out to be a river toll station.

This place has a dock, shops, merchant ships, and a toll station, making it an extremely important location. That's why a temporary stockade was set up here for defense.

Connecting this to the previous sandbar camp, Xu Lai basically guessed the inspector's thoughts.

They never intended to fight the salt bandits; they only hoped to scare them away by stationing troops there.

Upstream lies Feilai Gorge, which requires rope pullers to haul the goods; downstream are the sandbar camps and county town with their warships. Yinsha Wharf is located in the middle, and if salt bandits dare to come, they will be blocked from both ends.

"Yang Peng is sick and has a fever!" Just then, Liu Da came over anxiously.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned serious.

In the past few days, able-bodied men have fallen ill one after another in Shazhou.

Now, one of our companions from Qingxi Village has also unfortunately fallen ill.

This temporary camp at Yinshabu didn't even have a military doctor; if someone got sick, they were left to fend for themselves.

"If this continues, we'll all get sick and die here sooner or later!" Yang Kui said angrily.

The ailing Yang Peng is Yang Kui's cousin.

Bu Chao suddenly suggested, "Why don't we set fire to all the shacks at night, pretending it's a salt thief raid? That'll scare everyone away, and we can escape back to the village in the chaos."

That's a brilliant plan!

It's like a child breaking a vase; he might as well burn down his house so his parents won't find out.

They really couldn't take it anymore, and they actually did it!

Uncle Zhang said, "The food in the camp is terrible. If you don't eat well, your illness will only get worse. Tomorrow I'll try to sneak out of the camp and buy some shrimp porridge from the boat people by the river. It's not expensive; a bowl only costs three or four coins."

Xu Lai said, "We'll see how things go tomorrow."

There was no way to act according to circumstances; the patrolmen were too strict.

These guys knew that being a conscript was hard and tiring, and they were afraid that someone would run away, so they kept a close eye on them at all times.

Uncle Zhang couldn't find any opportunity to leave the camp.

Yang Peng's condition worsened, with alternating chills and fevers.

……

In a brothel at the South Wharf of Qingyuan County, Deputy Inspector Huang Bao was drinking and having sex with a woman.

A middle-aged man dressed in silk was led into the house by Huang Bao's confidant.

Huang Bao patted the prostitute: "You go out first."

The prostitute quickly stood up, lowered her head, and left, not daring to linger.

Huang Bao's confidants closed the door and stood silently outside to guard it.

"Inspector Huang is living a good life," the middle-aged man laughed.

Huang Bao said expressionlessly, "You shouldn't have come this year. The officials in the court have been angered. Since February, three groups of officials have come to question us, all in an effort to completely wipe you out."

The middle-aged man didn't seem to care: "When my father was selling salt, the imperial court said the same thing. And when I started selling salt, the court still said the same thing. The southern prefectures and counties of Jiangxi Circuit are clearly very close to Guangdong Circuit, yet the people can only buy expensive, inferior Huai salt. Without us salt sellers from Guangdong, would the people be able to afford salt?"

Huang Bao said, "You fools! You've robbed Master Yu's hometown! That village is only about ten miles from Master Yu's residence!"

"What's it to me?" the middle-aged man sneered. "I'm from Lianzhou. These salt merchants who robbed Yu Jing's hometown, who knows what kind of bastards they are from Qianzhou."

These salt smuggling gangs have extremely complicated origins and include a large number of Yao and Liao people.

Deng Wenzhi, a major salt smuggler who was recruited by the government during the Qingli era, was even a Yao person who had fled from Hunan.

Huang Bao said, "The salt fields in Guangdong are under strict inspection this year, so not much smuggled salt can be transported out. You should leave quickly. Once you leave Qingyuan County, you can rob any villages and towns along the way as you please. If you dare to plunder in Qingyuan County, I will really lead troops to hunt you down. There can be no mistakes this year, otherwise both I and Inspector Deng will lose our official positions."

The middle-aged man asked, "Is it really impossible to get smuggled salt?"

Huang Bao glared at the other man and said, "The Jiangxi official in charge of suppressing bandits, Cai Xiangong, is the brother of the Guangdong transport commissioner, Cai Xiangong. Now, it's Yu Xiangong who's in charge of Guangdong, and you even robbed his hometown last year..."

"I didn't steal it," the middle-aged man interrupted.

"No matter who stole it, in the eyes of these officials, you are all salt bandits," Huang Bao said. "The imperial court has issued an edict, and Minister Yu and Minister Cai are determined to wipe you out, both for public and private reasons. Can you compare to Nong Zhigao? Back then, Nong Zhigao raised an army in Guangxi and fought his way to Guangzhou, besieging the city for two months. What was the final result? Nong Zhigao's mother, brothers, wife, and children were all captured alive by Minister Yu's troops!"

The middle-aged man remained silent.

Huang Bao softened his tone: "Listen to me, lay low for now this year. This time, in order to suppress the salt bandits, nearly ten prefectures in Guangdong and Jiangxi are conscripting able-bodied men to serve as soldiers. Such a waste of money and manpower cannot be done every year. It's not too late to come next year when the government is more relaxed."

The middle-aged man thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "Okay, I'll come again next year."

Huang Bao finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was genuinely worried that these salt bandits wouldn't know what was going on. Suppressing them was one thing, not suppressing them was another; if they exposed him, the imperial court would truly execute military officers!

He already knew the salt bandits had arrived, and some of his officers knew as well.

However, they had too many concerns and dared not fight the salt bandits, hoping only that the other side would back down.

If nothing goes wrong this year, business can continue as usual next year.

Huang Bao believed the salt bandits were clever; faced with a joint crackdown from multiple prefectures, they would surely be frightened and obediently retreat. After all, they only needed to lay low for a year.

Is that really the case?

Ha ha!

The middle-aged man left the brothel, then suddenly turned back and grinned maliciously.

A thief never leaves empty-handed.

Since he couldn't buy smuggled salt, how could he not resort to robbery?

If you're going to rob someone, rob them in Qingyuan County. They came from Lianzhou by crossing the mountains. After leaving Qingyuan County, all they can go back to are poor, remote villages.

You can only snag the best stuff in Qingyuan County!