Arrangements

"The big fish eat the little fish. Small and mid-sized gangs like the Globe Amaranth Gang will probably be wiped out before long." Skinny asked him, "What are your thoughts?" He Lingchuan held up two fingers. "First, force the Xiji puppet troops to declare war on Qianjin Stronghold as soon as possible. "Second, ensure that Qianjin Stronghold wins." Skinny was puzzled. "What about those small and mid-sized gangs?" "They're consumables. Even left alone, they'll vanish." He Lingchuan pondered for a moment. "These major gangs have all staked out their own spheres of influence along the trade route, haven't they?" "Right." The Longchuan trade route was vast, and only the major bandit outfits had the standing to stake out their own hunting grounds. "When the Xiji puppet troops absorbed members from other gangs, they took over their territories too. Qianjin Stronghold and the Globe Amaranth Gang were furious about that—it's one of the root causes of their conflict." "How large is their territory?" "From Jixin Pavilion in the north all the way south to Hunlong Ridge." "That big? No wonder Qianjin Stronghold is incensed." He Lingchuan was slightly surprised. "Does that include this Qinglang Courier Station we're sitting at?" "Yep. You and I are sitting right smack in the middle of the Xiji puppet troops' hunting grounds." With that, both men chuckled. "Splendid. Next, the Yuheng Army will throw everything into patrolling the puppet troops' turf, making sure they don't reap a single grain of harvest." This was bound to be one of the most effective ways to escalate internal tensions in Longchuan. "By the way, that intel you gave earlier—no change?" "None." Skinny pointed toward the ground. "I eavesdropped on their plan. It's today, right here." He Lingchuan nodded. "Good." Skinny changed the subject. "I heard that people can redeem military merits in Yuheng City now too?" "Yeah. The redemption hall is called the 'Happy Forest.' Commander Xiao laid out the plans back when he was in Yuheng City, and it was only finished two months ago." "...Who came up with that name?" Skinny asked, as if the place sounded disreputable. He Lingchuan gave a beaming smile. "Me." When Master Sun heard the name, he had spat in disgust as well. "Brilliant!" Skinny gave an immediate thumbs-up, uncaring of the mutton gristle stuck between his teeth. "Uncommonly refined!" "When you're redeeming military merits, who isn't happy?" He Lingchuan scoffed. "You haven't seen those green recruits howling with excitement when cashing in merits—they want this, they want that." It felt like watching his past self. Yuheng City had adopted Panlong City's system: military merits could be exchanged for cultivation methods, martial techniques, weapons, and armor, as well as an assortment of wondrous items, or even directly converted into coin and grain. When the new army's soldiers saw the long redemption list for the first time, their eyes turned green with greed and their breaths grew ragged. "That the bandit sweeps along the Longchuan trade route can keep pressing forward despite the grueling hardship is largely thanks to them." In the soldiers' eyes, bandits were practically walking military merits. The more bandits they wiped out, the sooner they could get the gear they coveted. Otherwise, once the bandit menace subsided and the Xiji region settled into peace, who knew how long they would have to wait to rack up merits? Much like the Panlong City army today: aside from fighting brutal slugfests, it was difficult to quickly amass merits from other assignments. At this point, he asked Skinny, "Can you access the water bandits' fencing channels?" Skinny shook his head and said frankly, "No can do. I haven't been in the gang long, and they don't trust me enough yet. But I've heard the higher-ups mention 'Bantou Town' several times. Seems they ship goods there on a regular schedule." Bantou Town? He Lingchuan thought about it; that place wasn't actually far from Yuheng City. "You can at least get your hands on the plundered loot, can't you?" "That's no problem." Having said that, He Lingchuan produced a small transparent vial the size of a fingertip and slid it across to Skinny. Skinny held it up to the light. Apart from what looked like a few white sesame seeds, there was nothing else inside. Looking closer, they didn't seem to be sesame seeds after all—they were rounder and slightly translucent. "What's this?" He felt he had seen them somewhere before, but couldn't recall off the top of his head. "Clutch-bee eggs." "No wonder they look familiar." Skinny pocketed the vial. "How do you plan to use them?" Clutch-bees were originally native to the Panlong Wasteland; the parent bees would bravely take on beasts like bears, tigers, and wolves to protect their offspring. "Hide these eggs among the plundered goods," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "I have the queen bee. Wherever they're transported, I should be able to track them down." In later eras, Songyang Mansion utilized the properties of clutch-bees to craft tracking compasses. He Lingchuan didn't have that level of craftsmanship, but he had sent men to bring live clutch-bees back from Panlong City, which served the same purpose. Skinny realized the plan and gave a thumbs-up. "Brilliant. Truly brilliant!" When all was said and done, physical tracking methods were still the most dependable. "Once we smash their fencing channels, they won't be able to sell off their goods." He Lingchuan shook his head. "It's not that simple. Longchuan isn't far from Jintao either. If we block this end, they can always go to the other." Skinny was puzzled. If so, was there still a need to control the fencing channels? At that moment, a white bird flew over Qinglang Courier Station, circling twice. Skinny ducked his head at once, his bamboo hat shielding his face. Only after the white bird flew away did He Lingchuan look up at its receding silhouette, his expression darkening slightly. "You should head back," he told Skinny. "Right you are." Skinny grinned and got to his feet. "Thanks for the treat, Boss." Without looking back, he took his leave. Soon, the clatter of hooves fading swiftly into the distance drifted in from outside. The skinny, dark-complexioned youth came over and cleared away Skinny's cup and chopsticks. Unhurriedly, He Lingchuan finished the remaining skewers, ordered another dozen, and topped up with another saucer of salted roasted peanuts. He Lingchuan added, "Remember: three parts fat to seven parts lean, and use the best black pork loin!" His voice was somewhat loud, but people who drank too much often failed to realize just how loudly they were speaking. Several tables of guests sitting by the lotus pond looked up in his direction. The skinny, dark youth started slightly, then nodded at once. "Yes, sir!" During this time, two more merchant caravans arrived at the courier station one after the other—one with over thirty people, the other with more than sixty—all resting and having tea. A few whose appetites were whetted went over to order skewers from the dark, skinny youth and took seats by the lake as well. As He Lingchuan sat with his head down sipping wine, a burly man in his early forties walked over and asked, "Seat taken?" The tables by the lake were completely packed, and only He Lingchuan's table still had empty seats. He Lingchuan looked up at him with a glance. "Yes, it is. I took the whole table." The man gave a loud laugh and sat down anyway. With a full beard, round eyes, and thick eyebrows, he looked like trouble at a glance. Right then, the piping-hot grilled skewers were brought over. Displeased, He Lingchuan said, "This table is mine. You don't get to sit here. Don't you understand human speech?" At that, the man hoisted a foot onto the tabletop with a loud thud, the mud on the sole of his shoe nearly dropping into the platter of skewers. "And what are you gonna do about it?" Instead of getting angry, He Lingchuan chuckled. "If you don't want that foot anymore, I can help you lose some weight." The man roared with laughter. "You? Think you've got what it takes?" Right at this moment, another crowd of riders arrived outside in a flurry of commotion. Over thirty robust men began watering their mounts as soon as they reached the courier station. Two of them scouted around the perimeter and returned only after confirming everything was safe. These were patrolmen from Yuheng City, who happened to be passing through Qinglang Courier Station on their rounds.