With that, he turned, retrieved a brocade box from the shelf, and handed it to He Lingchuan.
Inside lay an official appointment document and a command token.
"Congratulations, congratulations. From now on, you are Commander He."
He Lingchuan expressed his thanks and took it, turning the command token over and over in his hands to examine it. The very next day after he had entered Panlong City, Zhong Shengguang and General Red departed the city, leaving behind only orders for him to take up a new post in Yuheng City.
Receiving this token meant he was now of equal rank with Xiao Maoliang. Even in Panlong City, leaping so many ranks in succession was exceedingly rare.
Seeing him unable to contain his delight, Wen Daolun could not resist pouring cold water on him. "Don't celebrate just yet. An extraordinary promotion usually means the job is a beast to handle."
He Lingchuan shrugged it off. "If the job were easy, how would it ever fall to me?"
Rising from a lowly patrol guard to a commander in the Gale Army within a single year—wasn't that enough to puff his chest out with pride?
Yet he also understood that once promoted to lead troops, his duties and missions would no longer be just simple hacking and slashing.
A new trial had already begun.
Wen Daolun smiled. "Commander Xiao did very well, but Commander Zhong said the northern front is in urgent need of men. Leaving this place for you to temper yourself is just right."
He Lingchuan replied with genuine humility, "Please enlighten me, Lord Wen."
As Vice Commander, Wen Daolun would oversee urban planning, finances, commerce, education, and culture for Yuheng City and its subordinate towns and villages—practically holding total administrative control—except for military affairs, which were entrusted to He Lingchuan.
Indeed, Yuheng City's garrison—from recruitment and drilling to patrols and combat operations—would henceforth be entirely in He Lingchuan's hands!
In such troubled times, military power eclipsed everything else.
This showed just how much Zhong Shengguang trusted He Lingchuan.
Such honor and favor were far beyond what an ordinary soldier of the Gale Army could ever hope to receive.
Wen Daolun led him to the adjoining garrison office to view a terrain sand table, explaining as they went:
"Our Yuheng City lies at the easternmost edge of Xiji, a crucial frontier garrison facing the Jintao Kingdom across a river. That river is the Yin River. Ever since Xiji was annexed by Panlong City, Jintao has been on high alert, massing troops along the border without ever pulling back. When our people fetch water or fish at the Yin River, they are frequently met with shouting and archery from the other side."
He Lingchuan nodded.
Small states like Jintao and Xiji had originally believed they had the backing of Baling and the Beijia Kingdom, finding every excuse to harass and accuse Panlong City. With Xiji suddenly wiped out by Panlong City, Jintao was terrified, so it was only natural that they might overreact.
"If it were merely to defend against Jintao, we wouldn't need to go to such lengths to build up Yuheng City." Wen Daolun did not beat around the bush, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. "What Commander Zhong cares about is this Xiji trade route—which has now been renamed the Longchuan trade route."
Zhong Shengguang wanted the name "Xiji" erased from history entirely, so even the place names and trade routes had to be changed.
He Lingchuan chimed in at the right moment. "I heard that bandits run rampant in southern Xiji?"
Before Zhong Shengguang took charge, the Panlong Wasteland had also been a haven for bandits. Later, that formidable man founded the Gale Army with his own hands and swept clean the entire Panlong Wasteland in less than two years.
After defeating Zhu Erniang, the Panlong Wasteland was now firmly under Panlong City's control, and banditry had long since become a thing of the past there.
"Quite right. Xiji only ever had a veneer of prosperity. Although the southern region had richer soil and more abundant water, no wasteland could be reclaimed there, nor could taxes be collected. Consequently, the former Xiji Kingdom focused its efforts on managing the central and northern areas, turning a blind eye to the bandits in the south. Over time, the bandit scourge grew worse and worse, eventually threatening the trade route between Xiji and Baisha Bay."
Bandits alongside a trade route were nothing unusual. Light and shadow went hand in hand; every merchant knew that traveling trade entailed risk.
However, when bandits were all baring their fangs, waiting to take a massive bite out of you, and when the risk outweighed the profit, merchants would naturally consider taking another route or abandoning the journey altogether.
When that happened, the revenue this trade route brought to its host would plummet. Not only would the flow of goods suffer, but the towns and villages along the route would also lose their lifeblood.
This had originally been Xiji's headache; now that Xiji had been conquered, it had become Panlong City's problem.
"Xiji's government troops couldn't defeat the bandits—there must be a reason for that, right?"
"The root of the problem lies in Longchuan." Wen Daolun pointed to the southeastern quadrant of the sand table. "The bandits you captured indeed came from Longchuan."
He adjusted the sand table view to show more detail, and He Lingchuan saw an expansive expanse of marshes and waterways in the southeastern corner of Xiji, just east of the trade route.
"Are these... lakes?" Good grief, there had to be one or two hundred lakes here, large and small, scattered like stars.
Southeastern Xiji was an out-and-out water country.
"Indeed. This was once a land of fish and rice, about half the size of Chipa Plateau, equally rich in resources, and even possessing salt wells. Later, it suffered several rounds of turmoil, and Xiji failed to manage it properly, resulting in today's situation." Wen Daolun gave a bitter smile. "Longchuan contains a hundred and seventy-six lakes, and the bandit gangs holed up in them number over fifty. It is chaos through and through!"
He Lingchuan didn't even twitch a brow. "Do they all make their living by raiding the trade route?"
Shearing wool from just one sheep?
"They live right inside Longchuan. Usually, they farm and fish, but when they mount their horses and ride out howling, they are bandits. Of course, they don't just rob the southern trade route; they raid the villages in the central and northern regions as well, and sometimes they even cross over to reap spoils from the Jintao Kingdom." Wen Daolun shook his head. "Commoners and bandits are one and the same; that is the greatest difficulty in rooting them out. The Xiji Kingdom tried many times, only to return in defeat every time. It is said that two of the Huyan clan's top generals perished in Longchuan. Eventually, they simply let them be."
These bandits were no weaklings in combat. He Lingchuan had just fought them on the way here and experienced it firsthand.
Although the Gale Army had won... well, of course they had. The Gale Army was battle-hardened and wouldn't flinch even against the regular allied forces of Baling and the Xianyou Kingdom. If the original Xiji army had come to suppress them, their odds of winning against the bandits would probably be only sixty-forty, with forty percent for the bandits purely because their weapons and armor were inferior.
And if the battle took place within Longchuan—the bandits' home turf—the tables might very well turn.
"These bandit gangs must have their own hierarchy and pecking order, right?" Wherever there were people, there would be higher and lower ranks, superior and subordinate. He Lingchuan had no doubt about that.
"Naturally," Wen Daolun agreed with a nod. "There are several major gangs in Longchuan, and it is said the other bandit dens must pay tribute to them, whether in plundered loot or catches of fish."
He Lingchuan gave a scoffing chuckle. "They really treat themselves like local despots."
"But Xiji has ignored them for a long time, and we are newcomers, knowing very little about the internal situation in Longchuan."
He Lingchuan understood. "Then that falls within my duty."
Wen Daolun added, "By the way, ever since the fall of the Xiji Kingdom, several more bandit gangs have sprung up in Longchuan."
He Lingchuan caught on quickly. "Those who refused to surrender took their remnants into Longchuan?"
"Indeed. We captured the Xiji royal palace so quickly that some Xiji generals didn't even realize what was happening before their kingdom fell, yet they refused to surrender. Over the past few months, Commander Xiao has been busy leading troops to suppress rebellions, defeating several armed forces. But those remnants rallied their surviving men and slipped into Longchuan to hide."
"All sorts really do flock to Longchuan." He Lingchuan rubbed his chin. "Interesting."
Chapter 716