From bone collectors to the supreme ruler of humanity

Lin Yan received the military order and glanced back at the cliff top. Chen Shi sat sewing clothes in the sun, while Lin Xiu wrote on the ground with a twig beside her.

Xiong Kuo and Sun Dayong were bickering on the slope, while Old Zhou watched with a smile, leaning on his cane.

He walked down the cliff edge and mounted his horse.

"Let's go."

The sun was rising, illuminating the main road leading to Zhenbei City.

The supply depot of Zhenbei City was located in the west of the city, occupying almost half a street.

When Lin Yan arrived with Chen Shi, Lin Xiu, Xiong Kuo, and others, there wasn't even anyone to meet them at the camp gate.

Several supply soldiers were squatting by the wall, basking in the sun. When they saw this group of people, their eyes darted around before they retreated back to continue eating sunflower seeds.

Xiong Kuo slammed his thick-backed knife to the ground:

"Damn it, the military government's transfer order arrived three days ago. Who the hell are they giving this attitude to?"

"What's the rush?"

Lin Yan handed the reins to Lin Xiu, "You two wait here."

He entered the camp gate alone.

After passing through two courtyard gates, I finally saw a chubby clerk in the main hall, hunched over a table calculating with an abacus.

"Lin Yan, I have been ordered to report for duty." He placed the transfer order on the table.

The clerk glanced up and down, then lowered his head again to continue working on the abacus beads: "Oh, Deputy Commander Lin. Commander Wu isn't here today, so you can wait in the west courtyard."

"The West Wing?"

"Yes, the west courtyard." The clerk raised his eyelids. "The main courtyard is full. Commander Wu instructed that the newcomers should make do for now. What, are you not satisfied?"

Lin Yan didn't say anything, picked up the transfer order, turned around and left.

The west courtyard, though called a courtyard, was really just three dilapidated, drafty tile-roofed houses. The yard was piled high with moldy hay, and sewage was seeping from the corners. Xiong Kuo exploded at the sight: "Living here? This is worse than the caves at Iron Coffin Cliff!"

"Alright."

Lin Yan rolled up his sleeves. "Pack up."

Chen didn't say anything, just grabbed a broken broom and started sweeping. Lin Xiu, being sensible, carried a small bucket to fetch water. Xiong Kuo and Sun Dayong grumbled as they moved the hay, while Old Zhou, leaning on his cane, directed them on where to pile it.

After cleaning up until dark, we finally managed to free up two habitable rooms.

The next morning, Lin Yan went to the main hall to report for duty.

This time, I finally met Commander Wu.

Wu Baichuan, in his early forties, with a fair complexion and long beard, was wearing a faded official robe. He sat in a grand chair drinking tea, while two rows of military officers stood below, looking at Lin Yan as if he were a monkey.

"Deputy Commander Lin," Wu Baichuan put down his teacup, "You've come at the right time. The supply battalion is short-handed lately, and the northern camp needs someone to manage the provisions. Go there."

Xiong Kuo immediately objected:

"Commander Wu, Deputy Commander Lin was appointed by the military government. You're sending him to manage the grain supplies?"

Wu Baichuan chuckled: "Even a deputy commander has to start from the bottom. What, you could defend the city at Iron Coffin Cliff, but you can't manage supplies here?"

Lin Yan pressed down on Xiong Kuo's shoulder: "Okay. I'll go."

Wu Baichuan's smile deepened: "Good, young people should have this kind of spirit. By the way, the camp can't free up any positions for the men you brought, so their pay will be suspended until the end of the month."

"Commander Wu," Lin Yan stared at him, "military pay is paid per person per month. They came following the military government's orders, so why are they being paid?"

"Because I am the Commander-in-Chief of the Supply Battalion." Wu Baichuan picked up his teacup. "If you're not satisfied, feel free to report me to the military government."

Someone in the audience burst out laughing.

Lin Yan stood in the hall for a moment, then turned and left.

The Beiying Granary is located in the northwest corner of the town, and it manages one large granary and three branch granaries.

When Lin Yan took office, the old clerk in charge of the granary was surnamed Ma. He was in his fifties, very thin, and looked like a seasoned veteran.

"Deputy Commander Lin."

Old Lieutenant Ma cupped his hands in greeting, "The account books for the Northern Camp's granaries are all here; please take a look."

Lin Yan turned two pages.

The accounts were meticulously maintained, with every transaction clearly documented, and the grain in the warehouse matched the records.

He closed the ledger: "Uncle Ma, how many years have you worked in the supply battalion?"

"Fifteen years."

"You should know the ins and outs of this warehouse better than anyone else."

Old Li smiled and said, "Deputy Commander Lin is joking. We servants are only responsible for keeping accounts and moving grain. We don't know any tricks of the trade."

Lin Yan didn't ask any further questions that day.

Starting the next day, he would go to the granary before dawn every day, helping to move the grain and watching the counting process. He would keep a record of every grain entering and leaving the warehouse.

Three days later, he noticed a detail.

The North Camp granary produces 200 shi of grain every day, and the records show that it is transported to various camps of the Zhenbei Army.

But after he waited at the west gate for three nights, half of the grain carts that left did not head towards the military camp, but instead turned east of the city.

The eastern part of the city is a warehouse for several businesses.

After Xiong Kuo and his men kept watch in the east of the city for five days, they returned and reported to Lin Yan: "There are at least three trading companies in the east of the city that are buying up military rations. The one that is the largest is called Yongfeng, and I heard that it has several important figures behind it."

"Yongfeng".

Lin Yan noted the name down. "Keep an eye on it."

On the sixth night, Lin Yan personally followed a grain truck from the North Warehouse all the way to the back gate of Yongfeng in the east of the city.

The two supply soldiers were driving the wagon, and the unloading crew wore the uniforms of the Yongfeng wagon.

A middle-aged man who looked like a manager stood at the back door, writing and drawing in an account book. As he wrote, he said to the two supply soldiers, "The same number tomorrow, not a penny less."

Lin Yan squatted on the opposite rooftop and saw the whole scene clearly.

After the grain carts left, the manager of Yongfeng also went into the shop, and then he climbed down from the roof and returned to the North Camp.

The next morning, Lin Yan found Old Li Ma: "Uncle Ma, are you aware of the Yongfeng Company's practice of profiting from the soldiers' blood?"

Old Li was taken aback: "What Yongfeng?"

"A merchant firm that buys military rations in the east of the city."

Old Lieutenant Ma's expression changed: "Deputy Commander Lin, you can't say such things carelessly. Every single transaction of military rations is accounted for, and I wasn't the only one involved. How can you say I'm drinking the blood of soldiers—"

"I didn't say it was you."

Lin Yan interrupted him, "My question is, do you know who's behind this?"

After a long silence, the old official Ma finally spoke: "Deputy Commander Lin, knowing too much about some things won't do you any good."

"That means you know."

Old Ma did not respond.

I won't make things difficult for you.

Lin Yan stood up. "These messy accounts will eventually be investigated by someone."

When payday came in the middle of the month, the situation was worse than Lin Yan had anticipated.

As expected, Xiong Kuo and his men's military pay was not issued.

Sun Dayong went to the camp headquarters to inquire, but the clerk in charge of pay just flipped through the account book and said indifferently, "If you're not registered, you don't get paid. That's the rule."

"What rules? I came here from Iron Coffin Cliff with orders from the military government; it's clearly written in the order!"

"The military government's transfer order is a transfer order, but we haven't filed it yet. It only counts once it's filed."

Sun Dayong was about to draw his knife when Lao Zhou stopped him.

That night, Lin Yan stayed in the tent at the North Camp granary all night.

Old Li was kept behind to boil water for tea. After boiling water for most of the night, he couldn't help but ask, "Deputy Commander Lin, what exactly are you investigating?"

"Check the inventory records for the past few years."

Lin Yan said without looking up, "Calculate your wages however you see fit. I won't shortchange you a single penny."

Old Li sighed, "That's not what I meant—"