Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 417 Daotai Yilin
After coming out of the workshop, Qu Shaoyang immediately ordered the patrol team to assemble manpower.

Given the current uncertain situation, Qu Shaoyang plans to take a thousand people with him first.

The main reason was that Qu Shaoyang did not receive the mobilization order from his superiors, and he rashly led too many people and equipment, which was easy to be criticized.

Once someone accuses you of being disloyal, you will bring disaster upon yourself.

So Qu Shaoyang led this group of people first, and several captains of the patrol team acted in batches and rushed to Kuandian to meet up one after another.

"Xiuyun, Lanxin, I will take people away soon. I don't know when I will be back. I will leave the house to you two."

While the patrol team was gathering its men, Qu Shaoyang took the opportunity to go home and take care of some things.

"The current situation is unclear. If the gold mine is not working, we will stop working and transfer some of the staff back home and some to the explosives workshop.

The current situation of the warehouse business is still uncertain. If the Japanese really attack, we will probably have to stop.

As for the rest, you two can arrange it.

Remember, just keep your home. It doesn't matter if you earn less money, as long as people are safe."

Qu Shaoyang's words couldn't help but sound like he was explaining something, and the two women couldn't stand it.

"Otherwise, I'll go with you. Youqing is old enough now, and my elder sister and mother can help take care of him.

I'll stay by your side and take care of you, so you can rest assured." Meng Lanxin gritted her teeth and said.

"No, no, it's not that serious. I'm going there mainly to see the Taotai and visit my second brother.

If there's nothing serious, I'll probably be back in half a month to twenty days at most.

Lan Xin, you are good at kung fu, so stay and help me protect the family.

Xiuyun has just finished her confinement and hasn't recovered yet. We can't leave all our huge business to her alone."

When Qu Shaoyang heard this, he realized that what he had just said had scared them, and he hurriedly said a few words to comfort them.

“Shaoyang, you don’t have to say anything, I’ll pack your luggage right away.

When you are out, be more careful, and don't confront the governor when you meet him.

He is a high-ranking official, while I am a low-ranking official, so I cannot defeat him.

Don't worry about the house, I will take care of everything and nothing will go wrong.

Don't worry, parents and children, I will take good care of them."

Chen Xiuyun looks gentle on weekdays, but she is very decisive when encountering problems.

She knew that it was useless to say anything else now, as her husband had important things to do and she couldn't stop him.

"Come on, Lanxin, come with me to pack clothes and luggage for Shaoyang. Bring some extra thick clothes."

Chen Xiuyun pulled Meng Lanxin and the two of them went into the inner room to pack their things.

While the two were packing their luggage, Qu Shaoyang went to the courtyard to see Chen and Genyou.

Qu Shaoyang didn't dare say too much to Chen. He just said that he was going out for a while and would be back in a few days.

Qu Shaoyang has been traveling a lot this year, and Chen has gotten used to it. She doesn't know what's going on outside, and only reminds her son to take care of himself as it's getting cold and to wear more clothes.

Qu Shaoyang nodded in agreement, chatted with his mother for a few words, and then returned to the main courtyard.

Just at this time, Chen Xiuyun and Meng Lanxin had also packed their clothes and belongings and rolled up a luggage roll. Meng Lanxin carried it out and handed it to Qu Shaoyang.

"Be careful on the road. If you need anything, send a letter home and I'll bring someone to deliver it to you."

"Okay, I understand. Don't worry, I will send letters back often."

Qu Shaoyang nodded, and without saying much to the two girls, he carried his luggage and went out.

Xingye was already waiting outside. When he saw Qu Shaoyang coming out, he reached out to take the luggage and followed Qu Shaoyang out of the Qu family.

Meng Lanxin and Chen Xiuyun followed behind and arrived at the door of their own house.

Qu Shaoyang jumped on his horse, looked back at Chen Xiuyun and Meng Lanxin, and waved to them.

"Go back. It's windy outside. Don't worry about me. I might be back in a few days."

At this time, Liu Dongshan and Lin Ruolan, a couple from the East Courtyard, received the news and came over.

"Shaoyang, are you leaving now?"

Lin Ruolan was puzzled. She was clearly not in such a hurry during lunch, so how come Qu Shaoyang was in such a hurry to take people away in the blink of an eye?
"How about we leave tomorrow morning? What time is it now? It will be dark before we get far."

"Master, I have something important to do and must leave immediately.

Master, you have to take charge of the family now. I have told Xiuyun and Lanxin everything that needs to be done. For other matters, let them discuss it with you."

Qu Shaoyang did not dismount. He just stood on the horse, clasped his fists towards Liu Dongshan and said.

"Go ahead, leave the housework to me, don't worry.

Alas, your master is old. If I were five years younger, I would go with you this time.

I have to sacrifice my old bones to kill a few Japanese and let them know how powerful I am."

People cannot refuse to accept aging. As they get older, even if they don't exert much strength, the causes of sitting problems when they were young will gradually reappear.

Especially after this year's illness, Liu Dongshan really felt that he was lacking both mentally and physically.

Otherwise, he has to stay with his apprentice no matter what.

"I can only feel at ease when Master is at home. Master, Master's wife, I am leaving now. Take care."

Qu Shaoyang said nothing more, he spurred his horse, and led Xingye and others towards the gate of the enclosure.

When passing by the Chen family, Doctor Chen and Li just came out of the yard.

Qu Shaoyang did not dismount. He just said goodbye to his father-in-law and mother-in-law, then led his men out of the enclosure.

Outside the gate of the enclosure, Zhou Chuanyong and others, led by 200 patrolmen, were already waiting.

A thousand people cannot walk at the same time, as the target will be too big and will attract attention.

Again, Qu Shaoyang has not received any orders from his superiors yet, so it is reasonable for him to take one or two hundred people out, but too many is not okay.

The one thousand patrol teams were divided into several groups. Some went to the explosives workshop to transport grenades and mines, while others pretended to be merchants and transported Maxim heavy machine guns and other weapons.

Qu Shaoyang led two hundred men, riding fast horses, and headed straight for Phoenix City.

He planned to meet Daotai Yilin first.

If Yilin could follow Qu Shaoyang's advice and find a way to contact the generals stationed on the Yalu River, he could increase the defense of Anping River estuary and Hushan.

Then Qu Shaoyang could feel more at ease and lead the thousand men under his command to obey orders and assist in defense.

Alternatively, with permission from his superiors, Qu Shaoyang could also take people to guard the Anping River estuary.

If Yilin refuses to follow the advice, Qu Shaoyang will have no choice but to go to Kuandian and meet up with Chen Yunhan.

Then, together with Chen Yunhan, they tried to find a way to get to the mouth of the Anping River to assist in the defense.

In short, we must not allow the Japanese on the other side of the river to have the opportunity to sneak across the river from here.

The group traveled day and night, and finally arrived in Phoenix after five days.

Qu Shaoyang did not let these 200 people follow him into the city. He only took 20 people with him and settled the rest in farmers' homes outside the city.

Qu Shaoyang brought Xingye and others into Phoenix City and went straight to the East Road Office to ask for an audience with the governor.

Originally, the messenger sent by Qu Shaoyang to deliver the memorial was the one who set off first.

But Qu Shaoyang and his men were almost desperate to get there, so yesterday afternoon, they caught up with the messenger who was delivering the memorial. At the moment, the memorial was already in Qu Shaoyang's arms, but since he had already arrived, it didn't matter whether he handed it over or not.

"I hope you two can pass on the message that the Yalu River Inspector Qu Shaoyang wants to see the Taotai."

Qu Shaoyang arrived outside the government office gate and bowed to the guard.

"Hey, Master Qu, why are you here?"

These officials from the East Road Yamen had all received benefits from Qu Shaoyang, so they were particularly polite when they saw Qu Shaoyang.

"Master Qu, please wait a moment. I will go in and pass the message to you right away."

As they were talking, one of the officers trotted into the yamen.

After a while, the officer came out and said, "Sir, the prefect seems to be in a bad mood and doesn't want to see you.

I have tried my best. Why don't you find a place to stay first and come back another time?" The officer said with an embarrassed look on his face.

Qu Shaoyang was slightly stunned.

When Yuliang was there, no matter when Qu Shaoyang came to the yamen, he would always be able to get in.

Ever since the new Taotai came last year, I don’t know how he is doing in other aspects, but he is quite arrogant.

Qu Shaoyang came five times, and he was not seen twice.

Gifts were given and money was also paid, but the new prefect had a bad temper and refused to see him.

“Well, since the adults are not here, I won’t embarrass Brother Zhu.

Could you please go back and give this memorial to the Taotai?"

Qu Shaoyang thought for a moment, took out the letter from his arms, and asked with a smile.

I have to say that these officials in the yamen were really nice to Qu Shaoyang.

The other party took the letter without saying a word and left again.

After a while, the officer came back and shook his head at Qu Shaoyang.

"Master Qu, you should find a place to stay first and wait for people.

I submitted the memorial, but the prefect just snorted and didn't even look at it.

I estimate that Your Excellency will not be able to read the memorial for a while. Seeing that it is getting late, Your Excellency should go to the inn first.

If there is anything later, I will go to the post house to find you, sir." The officer said politely.

Qu Shaoyang had no choice but to agree.

So he said goodbye to the two runners, took his people to the inn to settle down, ate something, and then went back to his room to rest.

It was getting dark outside, and Qu Shaoyang thought he would not be able to see Daotai Yilin today.

Just as he was about to lie down, the messenger from the posthouse knocked on the door. "Sir Qu, Mr. Zhu from the East Road Office is here to see you."

Qu Shaoyang opened the door and saw that it was the officer from the daytime. "Hey, Brother Zhu, why are you here at this time?"

"Master Qu, hurry up, the Daotai is angry for some reason and wants to see you, right now."

The officer named Zhu was sweating profusely. When he saw Qu Shaoyang opening the door, he spoke hurriedly.

Qu Shaoyang was stunned when he heard this. The Taotai was angry and wanted to see him? What was going on? "Brother Zhu, let me change into my official uniform."

"Don't change it, don't change it, hurry up and go to the government office. The Taotai is very angry, you'd better not dawdle."

The officer named Zhu sighed. If it weren't for the fact that Qu Shaoyang had given them many benefits over the past few years, he would not have bothered to remind them.

Upon hearing this, Qu Shaoyang did not dare to delay, so he followed the officer and went straight to the government office.

"Your humble servant Qu Shaoyang pays respect to Your Excellency."

After entering the government office and coming to the side hall, he saw Daotai Yilin sitting at the desk with a gloomy face. Qu Shaoyang hurriedly bowed.

"Oh, Lord Qu has arrived. I am sorry for not coming to greet you. I am being rude."

Yi Lin, who was sitting behind the desk, did not ask Qu Shaoyang to stand up, but instead spoke with sarcasm in his words.

"No, no, it's my fault.

I thought that Your Excellency was busy with official duties and would not have time to summon me today, so I took the liberty of eating and taking a rest.

It was my recklessness that delayed your business, please forgive me."

Qu Shaoyang didn't understand why Yilin was angry, but it was obvious that his anger was directed at Qu Shaoyang.

Qu Shaoyang did not dare to be careless and responded carefully.

"You don't dare? What else do you dare not do?

Lord Qu is a man of both military and literary talents, a master of strategy and extraordinary bravery. Lord Qu can even predict where the Japanese will attack from. He is truly amazing. I really admire him."

Yilin sat behind his desk and sneered with a look of disdain on his face.

As he spoke, he threw the memorial that Qu Shaoyang had handed over in front of Qu Shaoyang.

"Who do you think you are? You are just a small inspector of the Yalu River, a ninth-rank official. Do you think you can interfere in the affairs of the imperial court?
If you don't know your own limitations, you won't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is.

It's only because you've met me that you're still in the mood to talk to you. If it were anyone else, you'd have been charged with spying on military affairs and plotting something illegal, which is disrespectful."

Yilin raised his voice by two notches and shouted coldly.

This time Qu Shaoyang finally understood what was going on. It turned out that the trouble was caused by his memorial.

"Sir, as the saying goes, every citizen has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country.

Now that Japan is invading, all the people of the Qing Dynasty have the responsibility to defend our territory.

Shaoyang is not talented and dare not say that he has much ability, but guarding the border and protecting the people are my duty.

How can you say that he was spying on military affairs or had any bad intentions?"

"Bold, what is your responsibility?

Your duty is to guard the upper reaches of the Yalu River. Anping River estuary and Hushan are not under your jurisdiction. What does it have to do with you?

You are overstepping your authority. What is your intention in interfering in someone else's jurisdiction?"

When Yilin heard this, he angrily slammed the table, the sound getting louder.

“Sir, I am also responsible for the wood tax on the East Road.

Whether it is Anping River Estuary or Hushan, since they are on the Yalu River, as long as they produce timber and are transported through the area, they belong to me. How can I be considered to have exceeded my authority? "

It was actually a bit of a stretch for Qu Shaoyang to say this, because he was only responsible for the wood tax and nothing else.

But he couldn't care less about those things right now. If he couldn't argue with reason, Yilin would suppress him and just put a accusation on him. How could that work?
Yilin was choked by Qu Shaoyang's words and couldn't think of how to refute for a moment.

"You, you are so bold that you dare to contradict your superior. I think your job as the head of the wood tax department has reached its limit."

Yilin was so angry that he slammed the table and shouted.

Qu Shaoyang was about to argue when Gao Taiyuan's voice came from outside the side hall.

"Sir, the commander of the three battalions of the new army, the Yalu River militia, the East Road and the Central River Taxation Supervisor, and the Phoenix Hall Co-Governor Zhang, requests to see you."

When Yilin heard this, he immediately calmed down and coughed lightly, "Please ask Master Zhang to come in."

There was a response from outside, and after a while, footsteps were heard approaching, and then a man in his fifties, dressed in official uniform, walked in from outside.

(End of this chapter)