Chapter 676 - Remains
"We spent so much effort in Lingao managing Li affairs, did so much work—of course it's pacified there. But this isn't Lingao." Yu Zhiqian's tone was serious. "I think you can't afford to be careless about this."
As they talked, a soldier suddenly rushed in.
"Report!" He hastily saluted. "The Zhaopu Village work team may be in trouble!"
"What?!" Both exclaimed simultaneously.
The news came from a long-range patrol. During a routine sweep, they had spotted large amounts of thick smoke rising from that direction.
This was rainy season—the climate was damp, and wildfires were rare. So the squad leader had sent scouts to investigate. On the mountain path to Zhaopu Village, they encountered large quantities of trees deliberately felled and piled as obstacles. The squad leader judged there was a serious incident in Zhaopu Village and began clearing a path while sending someone back for emergency reinforcements.
"Quick, sound the assembly drum!" Yu Zhiqian immediately ordered. "Light infantry company, form up!"
Liu Yixiao ordered a medical team to accompany the troops immediately. He also strapped on his own weapon belt.
"What, you're going personally?"
"Yes, I need to see for myself." Liu Yixiao sensed something was deeply wrong. He was anxious to learn exactly what had happened at the scene.
"The situation is unclear—you can't go." Yu Zhiqian stopped him. "You're the first-ranking commander here in Danzhou. Your responsibilities are too great. Send the company commander with a walkie-talkie."
So they decided Lin Shenhe would lead the team. He was currently in his tent with the signals officer, deeply exploring certain work issues, and had reached an engaging point. The orderly coughed pointedly outside the tent.
"Company Commander!"
"What is it?" After a long moment, Lin Shenhe poked half his body out of the officers' personal tent.
"The battalion commander requests your presence—orders to issue!"
"I'll be right there."
Ten minutes later, he arrived at the command post in a neat, smart uniform.
"Trouble's come." Yu Zhiqian briefed him on the mission. "Take the light infantry company to investigate. Report any situation immediately via walkie-talkie."
"Where is Zhaopu Village?"
"Here." Yu Zhiqian drew a circle on the glass overlay of the large map. "The path is difficult—beware of ambush en route."
"Understood. I'll prepare and depart in fifteen minutes."
Lin Shenhe led the light infantry company over ten li, then into the mountains clearing the path and moving logs, finally managing to break through to Zhaopu Village.
The thick clouds of smoke had dispersed. The camp still smoldered with wisps of black smoke. The watchtower had completely burned down—only the charred remains of wooden posts still stood. Bodies lay scattered chaotically throughout the camp. All wore uniforms; some had been decapitated. Lin Shenhe suppressed his nausea and looked around, seeing all the heads hanging at the camp's main gate.
Over a dozen bodies were neatly arranged in the camp's center, but they showed no signs of combat. Had they been killed after capture? Though their bodies bore stab and slash wounds, they hadn't bled much.
A woman in gray uniform was curled up in a trench, head drooping to her chest. A terrible gash gaped in her throat; a blood-stained bayonet lay near her hand. This was probably Liu Bing—she was the only woman on the work-team roster.
"Any survivors?"
"No." The first sergeant reported. "But the body count doesn't match. We've only found twenty bodies. The work team should have had thirty-five people."
Had someone escaped? Lin Shenhe quickly dismissed the idea. If anyone had escaped, they would have appeared by now. Perhaps some had been taken prisoner. Then he noticed signs of recently disturbed earth.
Soon they excavated another fifteen bodies. Lin Shenhe gave them a cursory examination and found that except for a few, the bodies showed no external wounds.
They then found buried personal effects belonging to work-team members and soldiers. Lin Shenhe noticed much scattered paper ash in the camp—certainly the remains of burned documents.
"Report, Company Commander. We found the remains of eighteen rifles. All other rifles and pistols are missing."
"Ammunition?"
"No traces of ammunition left. Probably all taken."
Not a single Minié rifle cartridge was found at the scene. Lin Shenhe didn't believe the work team could have exhausted their allotment of one hundred rounds per person. Most had probably been taken by the attackers.
"This is big trouble." He sighed.
Seventeen Minié rifles—if each had fifty rounds, that was more than enough to cause them plenty of trouble. Lin Shenhe didn't think the enemy would remain forever ignorant of how to use Minié rifles—many natives had watched the loading procedure during shooting drills.
"Company Commander! There are many Minié bullets on the ground!" A soldier suddenly called out.
Lin Shenhe crouched and looked. Sure enough, many Minié bullet heads were scattered about. He picked one up and examined it—the projectile showed no rifling marks but had been scorched. He searched further and finally found where the ammunition had been ignited. The ash pile still contained many unexploded Minié rounds.
Thank goodness. He thought silently—these soldiers had faithfully kept their enlistment oath: "Never leave weapons to the enemy."
"Collect everything as quickly as possible! Don't overlook even the debris. Any recognizable friendly bodies should be brought back for cremation."
He sent a squad to search the nearby village, but found only a few old men and women who hadn't fled. They were too frightened to speak. After considerable effort, Lin Shenhe managed to extract the rough course of events from them.
But he still couldn't understand: with a platoon's strength defending a fortified camp, holding off ten times their number shouldn't have been a problem. Why had they been wiped out in less than half a day?
He summoned the old man who had remained in the village.
"Go find the villagers and bring them back immediately. I have questions."
The old man spoke timidly. "This humble one doesn't know where they are either."
The first sergeant had already been burning with rage at this carnage. Seeing this old man dodge and prevaricate, he thrust his bayoneted rifle up against the old man's chest.
"Go now!"
"Even if you kill this humble one, I still can't find them." The old man seemed to have made peace with death.
"Stop." Lin Shenhe halted the sergeant's action and softened his tone. "I just want to question the villagers. Our Fubogun never kills innocents recklessly. You should know that."
"Yes, yes. The Vice Lords don't touch a hair, love the people like children..."
"So you must bring everyone back to me—not one can be missing." Lin Shenhe spoke slowly and deliberately. "Listen well: I give you half an hour. If the villagers aren't back by then, I'll set fire to the village." He pointed at the fields beyond the village. "If they still don't return after the village burns, I'll burn all the crops in the fields, block the springs and wells here, then plow the fields three times, sowing salt each time. You should know: Lingao's smuggled salt is very cheap."
The old men stared at each other with terrified eyes. They had been prepared to die, but hadn't expected such ruthless tactics—the enemy wasn't trying to vent anger through killing.
If they didn't comply, the village's entire material basis for existence would be destroyed. Zhaopu Village would be completely erased.
"Yes, yes. This humble one will go now." The old men panicked and scurried off.
When Liu Yixiao heard Lin Shenhe's report, he could no longer sit still. This incident was too serious—so serious he couldn't explain it to the Yuan Laoyuan. An armed-protected work team, completely wiped out!
"...The situation doesn't seem this simple." Lin Shenhe's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "There are many suspicious points that can't be explained quickly. I recommend a formal investigation."
"Who were the attackers?"
"Currently we only know it was a bandit gang." The walkie-talkie crackled with interference—the signal was poor in the mountains. "We're searching for the bandits' burial site, hoping to find something."
Liu Yixiao said, "It seems we must send another work team to station at Zhaopu, to sort out this incident as quickly as possible." He sighed heavily. He could almost visualize himself sitting in the Yuan Laoyuan hearing room being bombarded in turn.
"From now on, strengthen security measures!" He slammed his fist on the table. "Every work team must have a complete platoon for protection! All work teams within communication range must carry walkie-talkies! No work teams to be sent to places too remote for effective defense."
From villagers gradually returning to the village, Lin Shenhe learned the full story. He also understood why many bodies had shown no external wounds—they had been poisoned.
This shocked him profoundly.
"Where is the village liaison?" He asked hatefully.
"He fled," an old man said quickly. "He did such a thing—he didn't dare stay in the village. He ran off with the bandits."
"He didn't even want his family?"
"He wasn't married. His parents died long ago."
"He won't escape." Lin Shenhe looked at the numb-faced villagers. Their faces showed only undifferentiated fear; their eyes dull and obtuse. They had coldly watched the work team—who had come to improve their lives—be poisoned, besieged, and finally killed to the last person. Not one had thought to send word.
If help had arrived even an hour or two earlier, some lives might have been saved. Lin Shenhe breathed deeply, suppressing his rage.
"All of you, go back to the village. But don't leave. Stay available for questioning."
The mass grave where the bandits had hastily buried their dead was found the next day. Lin Shenhe ordered laborers conscripted for excavation. Eventually over seventy bodies were dug up. The topmost was the missing liaison. Hu Lanyan hadn't wanted to waste the twenty taels of silver he had given him front and back, so when they withdrew, he had simply killed the man who had lost his usefulness.