Chapter 409: Raising My Banner
Here is Chapter 404 of "The Great Ming in the Box": Old Nan Feng arrived at the main fortress of Gaojia Fortress and was promptly ushered... Donât miss it!
Old Nan Feng arrived at the main fortress of Gaojia Fortress and was promptly ushered into the conference hall.As soon as he entered, he saw a group of important figures engaged in a serious discussion.
He only recognized the Saint Lady, Thirty-Two, and Cheng Xu. The others were all strangers to him, so he dared not act rashly. Obediently, he sat down behind Cheng Xu and quietly pricked up his ears to listen.
Thirty-Two spoke first: âWe need alkali production, which requires a large amount of salt. Since Puzhou, Shanxi is a major salt-producing region, procuring salt from there has become an inevitable step. Otherwise, even if we build the chemical factory, weâll lack the salt to start operations.â
Chunhong couldnât help but ask, âDidnât the Deity grant us plenty of salt before? Couldnât we just requestââ
Thirty-Two interrupted her: âWe shouldnât rely on begging the Deity for every little thing. We only ask for help when weâre truly unable to solve a problem ourselves. Salt was a problem we previously couldnât resolve, so the Deity provided it. But now that weâre capable, we must handle it ourselves.â
Cheng Xu chimed in: âExactly! If we had no ships and couldnât reach the ancient ferry dock, begging the Deity for salt would be understandable. But now that we can reach Puzhou, it would be downright shameless to ask for divine help with salt.â
Thirty-Two turned to Xing Honglang: âMiss XingâahemâMrs. Xing, youâre familiar with the situation in Shanxi. Could you explain the process involved in obtaining salt from there?â
Xing Honglang, now wearing her hair in a married womanâs bun after her recent wedding, was present and seemed radiantly happyâas if nothing in the world could dampen her spiritsâbubbling with vitality: âActually, the salt isnât produced in Puzhou. It comes from Hedong Roadâthe hometown of that fellow âIron Bird Fliesâ from Hedong.â
Xing Honglang continued: âIn ancient times, where the Yellow Emperor battled Chiyou and dismembered his body, a large pond formed called Jie Pond. This pond abounds with Jie salt. People settled beside it to produce salt and built a large cityâpresent-day Hedong Road.â
Everyone in the room acknowledged learning something new.
Li Daoxuan also nodded from up in the sky: This uneducated person just gained some new knowledge.
Xing Honglang stated: âSince antiquity, the government has strictly controlled salt. Thus, heavily troops have been garrisoned in Hedong Road to protect Jie Pond. The government manages both the production and sale of Jie salt.â
At this point, she grinned: âBut Jie Pond is massiveâover forty li long and four li wide. How could their garrison possibly patrol such a huge area? The governmentâs salt craftsmen live miserable lives. The salt they make is all seized by the government, leaving them only meager pay thatâs barely enough to survive. So, the craftsmen often secretly sell saltâŚâ
Thirty-Two concluded: âI see. So salt smugglers from Puzhou head to Jie Pond to buy salt directly from the craftsmen? Thatâs how the famed Puzhou salt smugglers emerged.â
Xing Honglang: âExactly! Since Puzhou lies just west of Hedong Roadâvery close to Jie Pondâit became the transit point. Smugglers gather here in droves to find opportunities, sneak to Jie Pond, contact the craftsmen, buy the salt, hurry back to the ancient ferry dock, and ship it across the realm.â
She grinned again: âIn my little hometown of Yongji, nine out of ten villagers have sold smuggled salt.â
Everyone laughed shaking their heads: âJust donât let Fang Wushang visit your village, or heâll haul everyone back for re-education labor.â
The topics discussed today were definitely things they dared not let Fang Wushang know.
Thirty-Two declared: âMrs. Xing has clarified it all. If we want large quantities of salt for alkali production, we need at least one team stationed in Puzhou. Theyâll solidify their foothold there to keep sending salt back continuously. Ideally, we should position ourselves in Jie Pond, but⌠Mrs. Xing mentioned it has heavy government troops. Moving against Jie Pond now would be ill-advised.â
Cheng Xu nodded: âIf we send troops now to seize it, weâd cut off the entire Central Plainsâ salt supply. Thatâs no different from openly rebellingâas foolish as Wang Jiayin declaring himself emperor! Hoarding provisions discreetly and biding our time is the true path to kingship.â
Bai Yuan interjected: âSo overtly seizing Jie Pond now is unwise. But sending a small team to make contact with the salt craftsmen and secure their smuggled salt for usâthatâs entirely feasible.â
Xing Honglang chuckled: âThis is where I excel.â
Thirty-Two said: âIndeed, Mrs. Xing must spearhead this operationâreach Jie Pond and negotiate with the craftsmen. However, relying solely on your team can only handle small-scale salt trafficking. We canât manage bulk quantities like this. Shanxi is unstable now, overrun with bandits scattering every which way. Moving small amounts of salt lets you stay nimble, avoiding both bandits and officials. But dozens of salt carts moving in a long line? You couldnât guarantee avoiding them every time.â
Xing Honglang agreed: âThat is a problem.â
Thirty-Two turned to Cheng Xu and Zao Ying: âThatâs when Instructor He and Instructor Zao come in.â
Zao Ying frowned: âSurely involving us means exposing Gaojia Militia? The court would see us sending a cavalry unit and firearm soldiers to guard smuggled salt. That is tantamount to declaring rebellion.â
Cheng Xu chuckled: âInstructor Zao, youâre mistaken. Why would Gaojia Village get involved? We had no idea about any of this! This was purely bandit work. Shanxi teems with themâwhy would adding one more gang with cavalry and firearms focusing on heavy salt smuggling be unusual?â
Everyone paused in silence.
Xing Honglang laughed: âPerfect idea. Let it fly under my banner. After all, âYongji Xing Honglangâ is a notorious salt lord across ShanxiâI donât have any kinsmen left for them to execute anyway. Just say I rebelled, openly moving massive cavalry and firearm units to handle smuggled salt. The court wonât suspect Gaojia Villageâjust consider me one more fierce bandit chief among Wang Jiayinâs many captains.â
She added with a chuckle: âWang Jiayin might even mistake me for an ally and spare our salt carts.â
Li Daoxuan mentally approved: Not a bad approach!
Thirty-Two stated: âDisguised as banditsâthat could work. But⌠Mrs. Xing, remember weâre just pretending to be rebels, not actual ones. Donât get carried away burning, plundering, or killing.â
Xing Honglang roared with laughter: âDonât worry! I could never do such things.â
Zao Ying grinned: âHeh, guess Iâll tag along with my good sis for some fun in Shanxi.â
Cheng Xu turned to Zao Ying and asked: âCommander Zao, your cavalry camp never reached full strength, right? How many spare warhorses do you still have?â
Zao Ying replied: âThree hundred extras.â
Cheng Xu nodded: âThen Iâll send three hundred of my men along. Theyâll ride horses for the journey but dismount to form ranks when combat demands.â