novelSusiti Chapter 322 A Messy Situation
Chapter 322 A Messy Situation
On the 29th, it was broad daylight.
The commotion in the city gradually subsided, as most of the defeated soldiers seemed to have had enough and decided to call it a day, sneaking out of the city.
Prince's guards and government officials cautiously went out into the streets in an attempt to restore order.
The lights in the back hall of the Prince of Zhennan's residence stayed on all night.
Boluobuhua didn't sleep. He sat on a folding chair, with several military reports piled on the low table in front of him, but he didn't read a single one.
The tea had gone cold, the mare's milk jug was empty, and the lamb leg was reduced to a bare white bone, gnawed clean—not from hunger, but from an unconscious action born of anxiety.
Boyan lifted the curtain and entered, his face ashen and his eyes red-rimmed, clearly having spent the entire night without sleep. He held a newly written petition in his hand, paused for a moment at the doorway, and then stepped forward.
"Your Majesty."
"Speak," Boluobuhua said in a hoarse voice.
"Changzhou was looted by defeated soldiers and rioters last night, burning down more than 300 houses and killing or injuring civilians..." Bayan paused for a moment, "The count is not yet complete, but according to rough reports from various wards, there are no fewer than 200 people dead or injured. The official granaries were burned, and most of the grain and silk were lost. The miscellaneous manufacturing bureau, the Huimin Pharmacy, and the weaving and dyeing bureau were all looted, and most of the artisans were kidnapped."
Boluobuhua closed his eyes briefly.
"What about the defeated soldiers?" he asked.
"After daybreak, some fled back to camp, while others hid in the city. The Changzhou Wanhu Prefecture was trying to gather them, but..."
"But what?"
Bayan lowered his voice and said, "Liu Shengzu got drunk last night and hasn't woken up yet. Shou Tong is awake, but he doesn't have many men under him, and the soldiers don't really respect him."
Boluobuhua suddenly opened his eyes, stared at Boyan for a long while, and then laughed: "Good! What a Changzhou Wanhu Prefecture! Rotten to the core!" He stood up and paced around the hall, then asked, "What about the White Lotus Sect in Shilin Village? What about the Yellow Pa Army in Benniuba?"
Bayan shook his head. Who could possibly understand this chaotic situation?
Boluobuhua understood.
Three fires broke out overnight in Changzhou, and none of them could be extinguished.
He walked back to the folding chair, plopped down, and the chair made a dull thud. He reached for the silver pot, only to find it empty. He slammed it to the ground, and the pot rolled twice before hitting the corner of the wall with a clear sound.
"What about Harabha?" he asked.
"I've taken men to Sanbao Street to regroup the guards. Last night, the fleeing soldiers attacked the headquarters, and the guards repelled them three times, suffering dozens of casualties and over a hundred deserters." This number was shocking. If the fleeing soldiers hadn't been only targeting the weak, but had instead set their sights on him, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Changzhou is currently in a delicate situation; can the remaining three hundred or so guards protect their safety?
Boluobuhua was silent for a moment, then his voice suddenly lowered as he said, "Bayan, do you think I shouldn't have come to Changzhou?"
Boyan was taken aback and didn't know how to answer.
Borobudur raised his head and looked at Boyan.
Helpless, Bayan carefully chose his words and said, "Your Majesty, I believe the most urgent task is to stabilize Changzhou. The orders for reinforcements have been issued, and the two Wanhu prefectures of Jiankang and Guangde will arrive within ten days. The Wanhu prefectures of Taizhou and Zhenzhou are also preparing as backup. As for the White Lotus Sect and the Yellow Cloth Army, they are merely minor ailments. Once the reinforcements arrive, they can be wiped out in one fell swoop. If it is truly urgent, I think we can offer Chen Bao'er amnesty. He actually has no intention of rebelling; he is only forced by circumstances. Giving him a minor official position will suffice, and I believe it will be enough to quell the rebellion."
Boluobuhua didn't reply. He gazed at the gradually brightening sky outside the window, his expression a mix of anger and exhaustion.
"Send someone to Jiangyin," he suddenly said.
Boyan was taken aback.
"Tell Jiangyin Prefecture to keep a close watch on their territory and prevent the chaos from spreading. I..." Boluo Buhua shook his head and said, "I'm not going."
Boyan felt a chill run down his spine and bowed in agreement.
Its daybreak.
Changzhou City looked like a gaping wound, a pitiful sight.
Inside Qingguo Lane, the bluestone pavement was covered with bloodstains, rags, and trampled vegetable leaves.
Some of the houses on both sides were burned down to their blackened frames, while others had their doors smashed and were ransacked.
An old woman sat on her doorstep, holding a dead child. She neither cried nor cried, just held the child, her eyes fixed straight ahead. Over in Tianjing Lane, the official granary had been burning all night and was still not completely extinguished.
The smell of burning wafted on the wind, choking pedestrians who quickly moved away.
Several villagers who hadn't come last night squatted in the ashes, rummaging through them to see if they could find any unburnt grain. Their hands and faces were covered in black ash, as if they had crawled out of the stove.
On Juqian Street, the doors of Huimin Pharmacy were wide open, and the inside was completely empty.
The signboard at the entrance was kicked in half; one half lay on the ground, and the other half was nowhere to be found.
The workshop next door was in an even worse state; it had lost even its doors. The yard was piled with scrap iron and rotten wood, and the furnace was still emitting blue smoke, but the sound of blacksmithing could no longer be heard.
Someone had smashed the dye vats at the textile and dyeing bureau, spilling indigo water all over the ground, turning half the alley blue with every step. The streets were deserted; a few daring individuals peeked out, only to turn and run at the sight of officials in their robes. There were, however, many more beggars—not real beggars, but people whose houses had burned down the night before, huddled against walls, their eyes vacant, their clothes still on.
In the Changzhou General's Mansion, Darughachi Hububuhua slumped in a chair, his eyes glazed over.
Judge Li Mao stood before him, his clothes rumpled and a bloodstain on his face, the source of which was unknown. Behind him stood two constables, one with a strip of cloth wrapped around his arm and the other leaning on a wooden stick as a cane.
"Have you finished counting?" Hu Buduhua asked weakly.
Li Mao nodded, his voice hoarse: "The official granary held about 12,000 shi of grain, of which 7,000 shi were burned and the rest were looted. The warehouse contained more than 15,000 bolts of silk and cotton cloth, of which less than 2,000 remain. The miscellaneous workshops, the Huimin Pharmacy, and the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau were basically emptied, and hundreds of artisans and their families were abducted."
Hu Buduhua closed his eyes and didn't open them for a while.
"What about the officials from those three bureaus?"
"A few died, and a few escaped," Li Mao said. "The ambassador and deputy ambassador are still here; they've all rushed over."
Hu Buduhua waved his hand weakly.
"Don't rush to report it," he said. "Let me think of another way."
Li Mao hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "What if the Prince of Zhennan investigates?"
"Pursue them?" Hu Buduhua gave a wry smile and said, "No, he's more anxious than we are."
Li Mao seemed to understand something and fell silent.
"Did they also lose at Benniuba?" Hubuhu asked again.
"Let the General Administration send someone to pacify him, and give Chen Bao'er a patrol inspector position. I'll write a letter later; they won't object in Hangzhou," Hu Buduhua added.
He made this decision without consulting the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion at all, but they all seemed to have come up with this tactic without prior agreement—it was all standard procedure. "As for the garrison," Hu Buduhua added, "I'll go and appease them personally. They've ravaged the city all night; those beasts should be satisfied. Now, they'd better defend the city properly. If the Xiang Army comes, they'll all die without a burial place. Go and reorganize the patrol office; try to gather as many archers as possible into the city." "Yes," Li Mao replied.
"Who robbed Juqian Street last night?" Hu Buduhua suddenly asked.
Li Mao was about to take his leave when he heard this. He pondered for a moment and said, "I don't know. I'll have to investigate to find out."
"Don't rush into an investigation," Hubuhu sighed, "Let's wait until the situation stabilizes."
Li Mao smiled bitterly to himself; this was fear. In truth, he was afraid too…
The distance from Changzhou city to Zaogang is actually not short.
Liang Tai and his group walked all night, and by dawn they were still twenty miles away from Zaogang.
There was no other way; the oxcarts, horse-drawn carts, and donkey carts, along with hundreds of people, moved like a heavy, long snake, slowly inching along the bumpy official road. They had to stop three times in between; once, the wheels got stuck in a mud pit, and it took them the time it takes to brew two cups of tea to pry them out.
The other two times, the elderly and children in the group simply couldn't walk any further and had to stop to rest.
On the afternoon of the 29th, when they saw the pier of Zaogang in the distance, everyone breathed a sigh of relief; they had finally arrived.
Zaogang is not very famous and is not very big.
An earthen embankment extends into the river, and a simple dock is built with stones at the head of the embankment.
Several fishing boats and two dilapidated cargo ships were moored in the harbor, their planks half-rotted, and no one cared for them.
The river was wide, and the reeds on the opposite bank were a hazy gray, with a few water birds flying freely close to the water's surface.
Several men, who appeared to be archers, stood on the dock, hesitantly trying to approach and ask questions. After being shot by an arrow, they immediately scattered and disappeared without a trace.
Liang Tai and his men successfully occupied the Zaogang Wharf, giving the few houses they had to the elderly, women, and children, while the others camped outside. Luckily, they had brought a batch of blankets from the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau before setting off, otherwise they wouldn't know how to get through the night.
"Spread out and keep watch." Liang Tai gathered Bian Yuanheng, Gao Daqiang, and the others to assign tasks. He said, "The boat from Jiangyin probably won't arrive for another two or three days. We'll be staying here for at least tonight and tomorrow night. First, take stock of the dry rations, then distribute them sparingly. Strengthen vigilance tonight, keep a close watch, and don't let anyone escape..."
He gave very detailed instructions, even excessively so, meticulously confirming which soldier would stand in which position, and how the visible and hidden sentries, mobile sentries, and patrol teams would be arranged.
Yes, he was a little nervous, even more so than when he was in the chaotic city of Changzhou. The closer he got to victory, the more nervous he became, afraid that all his efforts would be in vain and that the cooked duck would fly away.
After giving all the instructions, he was still not entirely at ease.
After dinner, he personally went to various places to check and ensure that there were no errors in the implementation.
On the night of the 29th, about ten more people escaped, and several others tried to escape but were caught. This time they weren't killed, but were whipped quite a bit. The entire 30th passed without incident.
That evening, Yang Xunchang brought his family and some freshly prepared dry rations.
His father had squandered most of his savings on the Prince of Zhennan, and in a fit of rage, he "drove" his eldest son, Yang Xunchang, and his family out of the village to seek refuge with Shao Shuyi. He even brought news from the outside world: the Xiang Army did not take advantage of the situation to pursue them, perhaps because they lacked confidence, and instead "spread their teachings" in the victories nearby, using their momentum to expand their followers.
Liang Tai declined to comment.
The White Lotus sect had no real foothold in western Zhejiang, so no matter what they did, they couldn't achieve anything.
To put it bluntly, what good would it do to let them capture Hangzhou? It's not a valid argument.
If local tyrants, gentry, and officials don't support you, even something as simple as collecting grain becomes a huge headache. They can't get people to donate grain voluntarily, so they have to resort to force, which ties up too many people and energy. How can they do anything else? Sooner or later, they'll be driven out.
But that's none of his business; his main task is to take the "spoils" with him.
On the second day of the intercalary tenth month, several shallow boats appeared on the distant river.
As they approached, a red triangular flag was raised.
The waiting fleet has finally arrived!