Qiang Jin Jiu (Author : Tang Jiuqing 唐酒卿)

Chapter 118 : Past Affairs

All votes and comments are much appreciated :)

—————

Kong Ling did not dare to grouse to himself for fear that Xiao Chiye might sense something amiss. After wiping his sweat, he took a sip of his tea trying to cover it up, only to make it more conspicuous. He said as he nodded, “Your Lordship is returning to Libei to fight battles with the Biansha Tribes, so Cizhou can’t possibly trouble the Imperial Army any further. Moreover, with the Vice Commander’s presence here, Lei Jingzhe won’t be able to get anything out of it even if he stages a comeback.”

Zhou Gui still had not gotten the hint at this point. He merely said, “The march of an army over a long distance is beset with difficulties. Cizhou is to the south of Libei, so Libei has nothing to worry about back here. If we can be of any use to Your Lordship in the future, Cizhou will surely do its best to help. As for those bandits who have been taken into custody at the prison, how does Your Lordship wish to deal with them?”    

“Several of those bandits were once one of the few bandit chiefs from Mount Luo. There’s not much use in killing them, so why not release them together with Lei Jingzhe?” Xiao Chiye already had a plan in mind. He said, “I’ve already bribed a few of the bandits to spread around the news that Lei Jingzhe has been released by the Imperial Army. Half a month later, they will break out of the prison and flee with Ding Niu and Liu’er. When the time comes, Cizhou can just send men to pursue them and drive them back to Dunzhou’s territory. They have men who died at the hands of the Imperial Army. Once they conclude that the siege in the east was a leak from Lei Jingzhe, they will never let him off.” 

Zhou Gui and Kong Ling nodded in unison. Thinking as Xiao Chiye was about to return to Libei soon, Zhou Gui decided that he had to discuss the military provisions with him. They had conferred with Shen Zechuan a few days ago regarding the military provisions’ allowance for the Imperial Army next year, but Shen Zechuan had promptly turned it down.

“Cizhou had originally planned to give the Imperial Army an allowance of 16,000 dan of grains after spring next year.” Zhou Gui faced Xiao Chiye and deliberated over his words. “We know it is a small amount, but it’s a little token of appreciation from Cizhou to Your Lordship. I have already told the Vice Commander of this. The Vice Commander understands Cizhou’s difficulties. He wants us to sell these grains at a suitable price to Chazhou and use the money as funds for the reconstruction. We have been thinking about it for these few days, and we still feel bad about it. Your Lordship, there is a piece of vacant land to the northwest of Cizhou. It’s the former site of the Beiyuan Hunting Grounds. At the very beginning, we wanted to till the land and cultivate fields there, but the soil isn’t suitable, and we couldn’t grow any grains except sow some rapeseeds. Rather than leaving it idle, we might as well gift it to Your Lordship to create a track for horse riding or to build a new camp as you wish.” 

The emergence of the Beiyuan Hunting Grounds preceded the Nanlin Hunting Grounds. Owing to the rise of Xiao Fangxu in the north later, the Li clan canceled the annual ceremony at the Beiyuan Hunting Grounds and had the venue changed to Nanlin Hunting Grounds, where they could feel more at ease. This piece of land was not small; it was even bigger than Xiao Chiye’s military drill grounds at Mount Feng in Qudu. It was far enough to pose a threat to Dancheng and close enough to provide support to Cizhou. And it also stood on Libei’s boundary line. It was an excellent position from which to advance and retreat, launch an assault and defend. 

Xiao Chiye’s interest was piqued. He dreaded the Qidong Garrison Troops in the south. Shen Zechuan was remaining behind in Zhongbo. If he did not have a place to station his troops, he would have to rush to and forth between both ends. Never mind if it was just him alone. But if he ran around like this with tens of thousands of men in tow, then he would not only expose their tracks but also draw unnecessary troubles to themselves.