Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 395: Temporary Restoration of the Strife

Year of Xinhai, January 16th, Tianjin.

Ruyi Temple, inside the Bajiquan gym.

The fire was burning brightly. Li Shuwen sat close to the stove, holding chopsticks in his hand, picking up a roast chicken from a low table beside him while sipping the old wine warmed by the stove.

The roast chicken in Dahuoxiang was golden in color, with the chicken legs still hot and greasy. He ground the whole thing between his teeth and then swallowed it.

Sitting around the stove were Yuan Xiangcheng, Xu Juren and Duan Zhiquan. However, unlike Li Shuwen who was leisurely enjoying wine and eating chicken, they were all staring at Qin Huai and the soldier lying on the ground, with different expressions on their faces.

"Zhiquan, is what he said true? This villain is from our Beiyang?"

After hearing about Qin Huai's experience last night, Yuan Xiangcheng glanced at this sharpshooting apprentice whom he had met once a few years ago, and turned to Duan Zhiquan, the chief military officer known as the "Tiger of the Beiyang" and asked.

"Yin Tong. Gouzui Tong? The commander of the second battalion of the first regiment of the third regiment of the Sixth Regiment?! Marshal, it seems that he is really a soldier of our Beiyang Army!"

Duan Zhiquan went over the names and appearances of the officers of all ranks in his mind, and when he looked at Yin Tong lying on the ground, he found that he looked somewhat familiar.

"You are such a good bastard, we brothers treat you well, right? We even made you the battalion commander, is this how you repay the Marshal?"

Duan Zhiquan rushed forward, grabbed Yin Tong's collar and was about to punch him.

"Okay, Zhiquan, this guy must be a spy that Zaifeng and his men have planted in Beiyang in recent years. He has already received a reward from the royal family. How could he treat us brothers as his own family?"

Yuan Xiangcheng took a sip of hot tea, looked at Qin Huai with a pleasant expression and said, "You were able to think of bringing all of my family to Tianjin to take care of them in time after the incident. That's great. You are filial and resourceful. You are also a bold and careful person who is good at both civil and military affairs."

"There are still a few important positions vacant in the Beiyang Army. Are you interested in becoming a coach among the troops and taking over your master's job?"

"I'm busy. I need to practice martial arts and can't spare the time."

Qin Huai shook his head and pointed at Yin Tong on the ground: "This man is a dead spy. If you can't pry open his mouth, save your efforts as soon as possible. It is urgent to investigate the hidden spies planted in your ranks by the sticky pole."

Yuan Xiangcheng was choked by Qin Huai's straightforward words, but he was not annoyed. He just looked at Li Shuwen and nodded to Duan Zhiquan: "Haha, Zhiquan, we used to laugh at others for being fools, but now in his eyes, we seem to have become the same good-for-nothings as those Manchu nobles. This is not acceptable, this is not acceptable."

"Tongchen's disciple is not an outsider either. Tell him about our dealings with the stick-sticking department. Don't let them look down on us."

After hearing this, Duan Zhiquan put down the limp soldier in his hand and said to Qin Huai, "Little brother, you are not the only smart person in the world. The Marshal has long discovered that someone is trying to sabotage the Beiyang Army. As for why he didn't root them out, one reason is to avoid alerting the enemy and completely breaking up with him; the other reason is that he wants to use the movements of these spies to infer the plans of that old man."

"A few days ago, the number of spies sent by the sticky pole to monitor Beiyang and Gongbao suddenly decreased."

Xu Juren stroked his beard and said in a slow and soft voice, "I originally thought that this was a sign that the Regent was going to re-employ the palace guards, so I didn't pay much attention to it. But recently, when I was chatting with Prince Qing, I heard some news, and then I realized that the Regent who was so elusive might really be planning something big, so he transferred a lot of people."

"what news?"

Qin Huai glanced at this elegant middle-aged scholar and served as a supporting actor out of courtesy.

"Prince Qing said that the rebel investigators at the sticking pole had been pursuing the remnants of the White Lotus a month ago. They had finally made some progress recently, but the next day they found that the leader of the rebel investigators and the new troops they had brought to investigate the case had all disappeared. The rebel investigator was furious, and after asking the regent for instructions, he joined forces with the other five envoys and headed south together to capture Lin Hei'er, who had called herself the Yellow Lotus Holy Mother and had been infiltrating the Red Lanterns ten years ago, and brought her back to the capital."

Xu Juren warmed his hands by the fire, paused, and continued, "I think it was because of the big action at the sticking pole that they had no time to take care of other things, so they couldn't spare any manpower to imitate the previous white terror and use assassination to solve the civil unrest in the three towns of Hubei. In the end, they could only ask Gong Bao to come back and borrow the Beiyang Army to quell the rebellion."

"A mere [Holy Mother of Yellow Lotus] is worthy of this old thing's attention?"

Hearing Xu Juren say this, Qin Huai always felt that there was something else going on. Even if a lonely woman had some extraordinary means, her importance was not as great as that of a province, which made that old immortal so concerned. Moreover, Lin Heier's strength was only around eight extremes. According to common sense, it would be difficult for her to escape from the clutches of that old immortal in the capital.

But since the incident really happened, Qin Huai could only think of one explanation, that is, there were some unknown secrets behind this woman Lin Heier, and that old man was playing a long game to catch a big fish.

"Lin Heier is a member of the White Lotus Sect. It's not surprising that he has some secrets."

Yuan Xiangcheng seemed to have thought of something and said, "I heard Xiang Shuai mention it in the early years. The White Lotus Sect had a close relationship with the Taiping rebels, and also had some relationship with the previous King Chuang. A hundred years ago, the White Lotus Sect started an uprising in Xiangyang, led 150,000 people, and fought in many provinces in Sichuan and Shaanxi, with no shortage of soldiers and supplies. Several decades ago, the Taiping rebels also burned, killed, looted, and had complete weapons and armor. Aren't you curious about where their money came from?"

"Could it be that the White Lotus Sect inherited the legacy of King Chuang?"

Duan Zhiquan frowned and started to guess.

"I'm afraid it's more than that. When the Taiping rebelled, all the wealth of the big families in the south was plundered. Even though Wen Zhenggong later put things right, the money and treasures accumulated by Shi Dakai, Hong Renda, and Li Xiucheng are still missing today. There's no definite answer."

Yuan Xiangcheng took a sip of tea and stared at Qin Huai with a half-smile: "In my opinion, the old man's sticking pole department is so keen on arresting the White Lotus Sect, but every time they come to the border, they choose to let them go. Eighty percent of them are instructed to bait and fish. Otherwise, with the old man's means, how can a White Lotus female thief escape from the Forbidden City alone? Don't even think about it!"

"I see. The Marshal is farsighted and has a keen eye. He can see through people's hearts!"

Seeing Duan Zhiquan's sudden realization, Qin Huai nodded without comment. Yuan Xiangcheng's guess coincided with his idea, and it might be the cause of the unusual movement of the sticky rod. However, those gold and silver treasures were of no use to him, so he didn't intend to get involved.

"My fellow minister, I see that your disciple is very imposing and has extraordinary skills. I wonder if you are interested in heading south to track down that group of people? If we find the treasure, how about you and I split it 50-50?"

Yuan Xiangcheng listened to Duan Zhiquan's compliment and turned to look at Li Shuwen, who had eaten the entire plate of roast chicken until only the chicken butt was left.

"go?"

Li Shuwen looked up at Qin Huai, who was not interested, and asked.

"Don't go."

Qin Huai shrugged and pointed to the weapon rack in the yard: "I just asked A Ge to send visiting cards to several martial arts schools in the capital. I need to ask about boxing in Zhili during this period, so I don't have time."

"That's such a pity. I heard that the group of long-haired people stole a lot of elixirs and precious boxing manuals from the private vaults of the Jiangnan nobles. If the people at the sticky pole get them, the future will be unpredictable!" Seeing Yuan Xiangcheng pretending to be pretentious and looking at him secretly, Qin Huai did not respond but just pretended to be stupid and waited until the three Beiyang people said goodbye and left.

"Ah Huai, you really don't want the White Lotus Cult's stuff?"

Li Shuwen looked at Qin Huai, who was leaning against the door and muttering something like "Big head, big head, no worries when it rains", and asked another question.

"Master, I have secret medicine and a golden building, and I have no shortage of money. I am in good health and have dozens or even hundreds of years to live, and I don't need any medicine to prolong my life. Instead of choosing to be a soldier crossing the river to lead the king, it is better to train your fists to be bigger first, so that you can stand firm in troubled times and pass on your Bajiquan brand for a long time."

"That's indeed the truth."

Li Shuwen nodded slightly and stepped over the threshold: "Let's go, your mistress has just cooked a pot of mutton soup, call A Ge and go home for lunch!"

"Really? Then we are in for a treat today."

The master and disciple chatted and laughed, and called Huo Dian Ge to leave the boxing gym together.
-
Capital city, Regent's Palace.

"Only half of the six medicine envoys from Western Xinjiang returned, and there is no news of the rest. I think they met with an accident. The losses of the other thirty medicine envoys were not so serious, and twenty-five of them returned with precious medicines."

".When the leader of the rebels, Hubilehan, was searching for the remnants of the White Lotus in the smoke and willows of Tianjin, he ran into a mysterious master who died in the line of duty. The deputy leader, Barutu, led his men to search for two days and two nights, but did not find a single body. Later, through hearing the news from the people and merchants, they learned that someone had heard gunshots, flames, and tiger roars in the Chayuan Hualou Street in the south city of Tianjin. It is suspected that when Hubilehan and Lin Heier were fighting, someone let the tiger hurt him and rescued Lin Heier."

".The Blood Blade Master, the Fire Head Venerable, led the Vajra monks to the Cangzhou Salt Mountain yesterday, and has not returned yet."

". Strange people frequently appeared in Zhili area. All major banks, ticket offices, public and private treasuries were not spared and were looted by bandits. The police and the new army had no foreign guns and the sticking pole department was short of manpower, so it was difficult to track down the suspects thoroughly. They could only seek to maintain stability temporarily."

In the deep and dark hall, the chief envoy of the rebel investigation knelt on the ground with bent knees and repeated word by word the telegrams that the six envoys of the Niangan Office had submitted to the capital in the past few days.

Next to the desk, Aisin-Gioro Chuntai, who was hunched over like a dwarf, stood on a rosewood stool. He did not even glance at the pile of memorials on the table. He was just concentrating on teasing the macaw that his subordinates had presented to him as a tribute, just like a stubborn lord of the royal family who did not care about state affairs.

"Quzhi, if you were asked to help Kulun seek justice from the places like Jinmen, what would you do? Investigate or not? Investigate thoroughly or just let it go?"

"I dare not act on my own, but the power of heaven is unpredictable. No matter what decision the master makes, those slaves can only accept it."

"It's okay. I have nothing to do. Just think of it as a test from the king."

Qu Zhi was silent for a while, then he said in a low voice: "I think that the master's plan should be the most important. The boys have been busy tracking down the remnants of the White Lotus recently, and the chief eunuchs have no time to investigate Jinmen. If we only send a few masters to investigate, I am afraid that they will never come back, and we will lose both the lady and the soldiers. So in my opinion, this matter can be put aside for the time being. It will not be too late to investigate after the master's plan is accomplished."

After playing with the parrot for a while, the regent suddenly felt bored and turned around, pretending to be angry and said, "It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. This is the truth, but if we just let it go, where is the dignity of the court?"

"Master, calm down. This servant deserves death."

Quzhi knelt down and kowtowed, but his tone did not change at all.

"You have to come up with a better plan, or you will go south in my place."

"If the master wants to show the majesty of the court, he can order the new cabinet supervisor, Yuan Xiangcheng, the former governor of Zhili who is well-known in Tianjin, to supervise this matter. This way, he can alienate his close relationship with various forces in Tianjin, and on the other hand, he can also give a warning to Yuan Gongbao, who is powerful in the court. Whether he takes it lightly and makes a face, or gets angry and investigates it to the end, it will be in line with the master's wishes and relieve his anger for a while."

Quzhi had already prepared an answer in mind and replied respectfully.

"Let heroes investigate heroes, and let good men investigate good men. Right and wrong, you have been studying history for so many years, and in the end you really live up to the name."

The Regent nodded vaguely and jumped off the stool.

"Master, the judge."

"Anything else?"

Qu Zhi thought for a moment, then said, "These days, Zhili is not peaceful. It seems that hundreds of experienced and ruthless bandits have come. No matter whether it is a business or an official's residence, any place with money has been looted. The children will soon go south to do business. I am afraid that they will not be able to suppress this evil trend, which will damage the dignity of the court and the safety of the capital. I would like to ask the master to announce the decree and issue a reward to lure all kinds of people in Zhili, so that these local snakes can be used by us temporarily to fight with those bandits who have crossed the river, so that they will not gather together and cause some big trouble."

"Okay, you arrange it."

The regent interrupted Quzhi, threw out a rusty blade, and said, "Viyaye's Qi card is broken. I think he was killed. Go check which great master has come to Zhili recently. Inform the six envoys and keep an eye out. Also, give the broken blade to Liu Qing. He will be the head of the Blood Blade from now on."

"Yes."

Qu Zhi stood up, caught the blade thrown to him and was about to leave. Suddenly, the Regent seemed to remember something and asked another question.

"Counting the new medicines brought back by the children, how much longer can the precious medicines in the treasury extend life?"

"It can probably last another three years."

Qu Zhi bowed and looked at the dwarf-like regent, feeling a little reluctant.

"Nothing to do, go ahead."

Chuntai nodded, looking at the rising snow outside the palace, and for no reason he thought of two lines of poetry.

"I don't know how high the blue sky is, or how thick the yellow earth is. I only see the cold moon and the warm sun, which burn the life span of people."

"Time is like a grind, and the passing years are like fire. Living in this world for a long time is also a kind of torment."

Chuntai glanced at the Golden Palace not far away, then disappeared behind the palace walls with his hands behind his back.

(End of this chapter)