Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 417 Shadow Slanted Body Straight
Sun Yuerong thought he could see a change of expression on Sun Chengzong's face, something like surprise or horror, but even after he finished speaking, Sun Chengzong remained as calm as ever, the only difference being a few faint wrinkles between his brows. "Has the East Factory already arrested these people?"

"Not yet." Sun Yuerong shook his head and said, "They are still free and are moving around Beitang. However, our people are always watching them in secret. As long as you bring people over, we will tell you the location of these people." The implication is that the governor's office has to take action personally to arrest people.

Sun Chengzong heard the hidden meaning in this and asked again, "Does the emperor know about this?"

Sun Yuerong's pupils shrank slightly, and she didn't answer directly. Instead, she asked Sun Chengzong a question in return: "What do you think?"

Sun Chengzong looked at Sun Yuerong deeply. He noticed the change in Sun Yuerong's expression, but he couldn't tell from it whether the emperor had already known about this matter. After a little thought, Sun Chengzong understood the various concerns of the East Factory and came up with the best answer: "In other words, he doesn't know yet."

"." Sun Yuerong curled her lips and raised her eyebrows, not knowing whether it was a confirmation or a denial.

Sun Chengzong blinked and changed the subject: "Do you have any solid evidence?"

Sun Yuerong licked his slightly dry lips. "We've already gathered enough circumstantial evidence," he said, then took a sip of his teacup to moisten his throat.

By this time, the tea had become a little cold.

"What circumstantial evidence is there?" Sun Chengzong asked after Sun Yuerong put down his teacup.

Sun Yuerong thought for a moment and said, "Since these people on the list arrived in Beitang, two ships that were supposed to be unloading in Gaizhou have already 'sunk'. One was carrying grain, and the other was carrying crude iron. We suspect that if this continues, a ship carrying cash will be lost for no reason."

The continuous influx of soldiers into Liaodong caused the demand for strategic materials in Liaodong to rise sharply to a terrifying level within a few years.

At present, the imperial court's method of replenishing supplies was to have the Ministry of War allocate a batch of military equipment manufactured and stored by the Armory before entering Liao. After entering Liao, strategic materials other than gunpowder were to be manufactured by the Liao garrison.

However, just like grain and military pay, Liaodong could not produce enough raw materials to be self-sufficient and had to import them from outside. Therefore, in addition to transporting grain and military pay, the Military Pay Department was also responsible for the transportation of strategic materials such as cotton cloth, linen, and crude iron.

Sun Chengzong waved his hand. "Captain Sun, this doesn't count as circumstantial evidence unless you find physical or even eyewitness evidence that proves these events are related to them."

"Sun Zhongcheng, as I've just said, the East Depot has been sending people to follow and monitor them." Sun Yuerong gently patted the list on the table. "Before those two ships left the harbor and 'sunk', our people saw these lackeys firsthand and met with the ship owners."

Sun Chengzong nodded and asked again: "Have you found these people?"

"Of course, otherwise how could the secret agents follow them?" Sun Yuerong did not understand what Sun Chengzong meant.

Sun Chengzong gave an apologetic smile and added, "I'm talking about the owners of the sunken ships. Have you found them?"

"That's not the case. We speculate that they should be hiding, or simply fleeing to Korea or even Japan. In the vast ocean, it is easy for a ship to hide, not to mention that these ships also carry hard goods such as food, fodder, and crude iron. However," Sun Yuerong's old habit came back. He dragged out the last word for a long time, keeping the suspense for a while before continuing:

"Fallen leaves always have roots. Our people have already found the hometowns of the ship owner and some of the crew. As long as we capture a few people from these thieves' dens and torture and interrogate them, we will have no problem finding their whereabouts."

"What if we can't find out?" Sun Chengzong asked in an obviously skeptical tone.

"There is nothing in the world that cannot be investigated." Sun Yuerong said.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Sun Chengzong said, looking directly into Sun Yuerong's eyes. "That's all."

"Haha," Sun Yuerong said bluntly, "You mean to say that he confessed under torture?"

Sun Chengzong nodded silently.

"This is a serious matter, and there's no room for such petty trickery. Without irrefutable circumstantial evidence, I wouldn't dare come to you." Sun Yuerong said, "Our investigation has revealed that the families of some crew members, after their ship 'sinking' and their loved ones' disappearance, instead of mourning, went out to the city to live a life of luxury. Where do you think they got the money to live like this? Those whores selling their asses and the owners of the liquor stores are all living witnesses. When you get there, you can ask them first before arresting them and interrogating them."

Sun Chengzong took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and asked, "What do you want?"

"Of course, I want you to send people to Beitang to arrest them," Sun Yuerong replied. "I've already said it before. As long as you bring people over, we can hand over everything we've collected to you."

"No, that's not what I'm talking about." This time, Sun Chengzong didn't have the apologetic smile that came with his "words not being able to express what I meant." "What I want to ask is, what does the East Factory, or Cui Dongchang, want from me?"

Sun Yuerong was visibly stunned. "The credit is all yours, and the honor is yours. We don't want anything from you; this isn't a mercenary transaction. We share the same goal, so why not take different paths? We're all for the Emperor and the Ming Dynasty. If we must be discreet, it's because you're more convenient for this."

Sun Chengzong didn't ask any more questions. After a long pause, he nodded solemnly. "Okay. I'll take my men with you to Beitang tomorrow morning."

"It is a great blessing for the country that the Zhongcheng is so wise and righteous!" Sun Yuerong's face showed an undisguised smile.

"." Sun Chengzong nodded slightly and bowed slightly to accept Sun Yuerong's compliment.

"But you have to bring more people with you," Sun Yuerong reminded.

"Bring more." Sun Chengzong asked, "How much?"

"According to the organization of your regular troops, just bring a part of the troops." Sun Yuerong said.

"One unit!?" Sun Chengzong's voice was distorted. "What do you need so many people for?" Sun Chengzong's battalion was organized according to the standard structure of battalion, department, division, team, and squad, that is, one squad of five people, one team of ten squads, one department of ten teams, one unit of two divisions, and one battalion of two units. One unit was a thousand people, or half of the entire battalion. This size could be used to suppress a civil uprising in a county or city. "To maintain order and strengthen the situation, more people are needed." Sun Yuerong felt that he had become familiar with Sun Chengzong, and even teased him, "I thought you would always have that calm and indifferent look of a 'recluse'."

Sun Chengzong chuckled dryly and looked at the list. "There are only about a dozen people to capture. Bringing two or three squads of soldiers should be enough."

"Why are we only arresting these people?" Sun Yuerong also looked at the list: "Those who worked for them, those who accepted their benefits, and the relatives of the thieves in those thieves' dens should all be arrested and interrogated?"

"Even with all these, it wouldn't take up a whole army." Sun Chengzong shook his head and said, "Tianjin isn't Liaodong, where bandits are pressing in and the country is in turmoil. A thousand men marching out would make too much noise."

"So what if it's a little noisy?" Sun Yuerong said, "As long as we stay within your jurisdiction, even if the entire battalion is mobilized, it's just a normal relocation. Who can say anything to you?"

"There's a Coastal Defense Battalion in Beitang. If you insist on keeping things under control, I can transfer them over." The full name of the Coastal Defense Battalion was the Tianjin Coastal Defense Battalion. Although Sun Chengzong hadn't yet taken charge of them, as the Tianjin Governor in charge of "rectifying Tianjin's military affairs," he could issue orders to them. However, this would have created a potential conflict between the Governor's Office and the Ministry of Revenue. After all, since the Ministry of Revenue was established in the 47th year of the Wanli reign, the Coastal Defense Battalion had been under the supervision of the Ministry of Revenue.

"Hehehe." Sun Yuerong suddenly laughed.

Sun Chengzong didn't feel offended by Sun Yuerong's smile, but he couldn't help but ask, "What are you laughing at, Chief Sun?"

"Sun Zhongcheng. We really are so in tune with each other." Sun Yuerong leaned towards Sun Chengzong, leaning against the coffee table. "Perhaps five hundred years ago, we were really a family."

Sun Chengzong couldn't help but lean back, goose bumps appearing all over his body. "Master Sun, please be more straightforward."

Sun Yuerong didn't realize how much his misuse of the allusion had caused Sun Chengzong to misunderstand him. He straightened up and said in a very serious tone, "My East Factory doesn't trust this coastal defense battalion."

"Are they also involved in this case?" Sun Chengzong's brows furrowed even more. If the Coast Guard Battalion was also involved in this beheading business, then it was indeed necessary to guard against them becoming desperate and taking extreme measures.

"How could it be unrelated?" Sun Yuerong said, "Whether it's delivering money or transporting raw materials, any ship aiding Liao should be escorted by members of the Coast Guard Battalion. How could the officers of the Coast Guard Battalion not know this? Furthermore, we've already discovered that the Coast Guard Battalion is seriously understaffed, corruption is rampant, training is completely abandoned, and equipment is in disrepair. If we rely on them to keep us going, we'll probably end up bankrupting ourselves."

Sun Chengzong was secretly shocked. However, this was not because the problems of the Coastal Defense Battalion were too serious. If the three guards were so rotten, then it was not surprising that the Coastal Defense Battalion, which mainly relied on the soldiers from the guards, was also rotten.

What truly alarmed Sun Chengzong was the East Depot's covert yet seemingly omnipresent reach. If Sun Yuerong hadn't approached him, Sun Chengzong would have been completely unaware that the East Depot had practically infiltrated Beitang. Aside from that question, he could answer almost anything, always beginning with phrases like "Our people have investigated and discovered," or "We've already found out."

If the Beitang military supply department is like this, what should the Zhongwei governor do?
If the Eastern Depot had indeed infiltrated Zhongwei, was this infiltration planned by Cui Wensheng himself, or was it an order from the emperor? If the latter, was it a precautionary measure, or did the emperor begin to suspect him?

Thinking of the full text of Xu Guangqi's memorial recently published in the official newspaper, Sun Chengzong suddenly felt that a palm-shaped dark cloud was looming over his head. Although at this moment, the sunset outside the window was dazzling.

Sun Chengzong wanted to clarify all these questions. But he couldn't ask any of them, didn't dare to ask any of them. He lowered his head, caught a glimpse of his own shadow, and couldn't help but sit up straighter.

--------

The next day, at the hour of Mao, the sky was tinged with a faint red, the color of the early morning sun.

The big drum in the camp was beaten, which was the order to get up.

Soon, under the command of officers at all levels, the soldiers of the Tianjin Governor's regular barracks, following pre-existing camp regulations, dressed, took up their weapons, and marched in relatively orderly steps to the newly built parade grounds for roll call. The soldiers formed into order and soon assembled under the reviewing platform.

After waiting for a while, an even duller drumbeat came from the direction of the Acropolis. It was the hour of the morning.

Normally, at this time, the young guerrilla commander Mao Yuanyi would ascend the stage, flanked by a few personal guards, and silently watch the entire roll call, sword in hand. But today, Mao Yuanyi had retreated to a secondary position, becoming an attendant, and along with his personal guards, he escorted two unarmored men onto the stage.

The soldiers in the audience immediately recognized the man in the crimson official robes. However, no one knew the identity of the mysterious figure in plain clothes standing shoulder to shoulder with Sun Chengzong.

Sun Chengzong had no intention of introducing Sun Yuerong's identity to the officers and soldiers. He just nodded slightly to Mao Yuanyi, and the roll call began as usual.

"The military appearance of your battalion looks really neat." Sun Yuerong complimented loudly.

"I just come to take a look occasionally. Such an army appearance is all thanks to Mao Youji's good management of the camp." Sun Chengzong immediately attributed the credit to Mao Yuanyi.

Mao Yuanyi was right behind the two of them and heard it clearly. He felt proud and his back straightened a little.

"The reason why Youji Mao was ordered to take charge of the camp is because of your discerning eye." Sun Yuerong glanced at Mao Yuanyi sideways.

"I only have a pair of old, muddy eyes, and even if I had sharp ears and eyes, I could accomplish nothing without the emperor's strong will." Before Mao Yuanyi officially received the appointment letter from the Ministry of War, Sun Chengzong and Mao Yuanyi had already heard about the dispute between battalion commanders that was forcibly settled by the emperor. Although the final result was what he expected, whenever someone mentioned the matter in a complimentary tone, his reaction was to praise the emperor.

Sun Yuerong smiled slightly and shook his head, no longer complimenting the boring old man.

After a while, seeing that the roll call was about to end, Sun Yuerong said again: "Sun Zhongcheng, can we get to Beitang today?"

"We can get there, but it's not necessary," Sun Chengzong explained. "Zhongwei is 120 miles from Beitang. If we want to reach it in one day, we have to travel light and keep moving day and night. But if we march like that, we'll be exhausted by the time we get there. It's better to march normally and camp at dusk. We can cover the rest of the way in the morning. That way, we can enter the city at noon tomorrow. Even with the extra half day, we won't make any noise."

"Too."

(End of this chapter)