Chapter 1058 - The Treasure in the City
The men exchanged glances. They were no fools. At this critical juncture, Huang Ande had summoned them all together—clearly, he had some scheme in mind.
These were hardly peaceful times. Armies routinely robbed, raped, murdered, and burned without restraint against defenseless civilians. Even against their own government, the slightest provocation could trigger mutiny or wage riots. Outright killing of officers and full-scale rebellion was not uncommon. The men surrounding Huang Ande were hardly the docile type.
"Brother Huang, say it plainly," Cao Qing pressed. "What fortune are you talking about? Give us a good reason, and we'll follow you."
Zhu Si grew equally excited. "Big Brother Huang—are you thinking about the official treasury in the citadel?"
Dengzhou City and the Penglai naval citadel stored vast quantities of military pay and grain. The annual military budget for the Denglai region exceeded 800,000 taels. Historically, when Kong Youde's rebels broke into the Penglai naval citadel, they seized 100,000 taels of silver from the treasury alone.
"I heard there are hundreds of thousands of taels in there!" The others immediately perked up.
Huang Ande shook his head. "Even if the treasury overflowed with silver and lay wide open for us, how much could each of us carry?"
Once the city fell, the attacking side would immediately dispatch troops to seize and guard the warehouses. Meanwhile, everyone inside harboring hopes of profiting from the chaos would swarm toward the same spot. It would likely devolve into a bloody free-for-all. Trying to grab silver amid the chaos of a rampaging army was like snatching meat from a tiger's jaws—even if you got close to the silver, you could never carry much away.
Considering this, everyone deflated.
"What about the waterfront pavilions and restaurants along the Little Sea?" someone suggested. "They must be full of money. Wealthy merchants lodge there—rich traders doing business in Dengzhou. And plenty of women too..."
At the mention of this place, every eye lit up. The Little Sea was the inner harbor of the Penglai naval citadel. Along its shores stood pleasure pavilions and restaurants built by merchants, offering every conceivable entertainment and indulgence. Officials and commanders frequented them, and wealthy traders from across the region often stayed there. It was a veritable den of gold and a haven of soft pleasures.
Silver and women—the two things that interested men most.
Huang Ande remained silent, merely smiling. Zhu Si recognized that look and knew this was not what he meant. "Big Brother Huang," he asked, "what fortune are you really talking about?"
Huang Ande adopted an air of mystery. "Tell me—what is the greatest treasure in all of Dengzhou City?"
The men looked at one another in confusion. If even the hundred thousand taels in the treasury did not count, what else could possibly qualify as treasure? Could Brother Huang have learned of some priceless jewel hidden by a wealthy family or high official?
Huang Ande paused, then spoke in a grave voice: "The most valuable treasure is Governor Sun himself."
"Governor Sun?!" several men exclaimed in unison before immediately clapping hands over their mouths. This was too shocking.
"Mm." Huang Ande rose, opened the door, and peered outside. Sun Yuan's brother stood guard by the courtyard gate. Seeing him emerge, the man shook his head. Huang Ande retreated inside and carefully closed the door again.
"Tell me," he continued, "who commands authority across the three prefectures of Deng, Lai, and Qing?"
"Governor Sun, of course," Cao Qing answered. "He's the court-appointed Provincial Governor."
"But how can he be a treasure?" someone objected. "Once Dengzhou falls, he'll be a criminal awaiting trial. Losing a defended position could cost him his head. Besides, once the city falls, Governor Sun will certainly take his own life."
"What if the city doesn't fall—and he doesn't die?"
"Then of course he's still the Governor, with absolute authority," Cao Qing said. "But this city obviously cannot be held."
"That is precisely why a great fortune awaits us. But this fortune must be won with our heads on the line." Huang Ande's gaze swept across the room. "Are you willing?"
"Absolutely! Big Brother, just say the word!" Zhu Si responded at once. Young and eager for glory, he had long grown weary of drifting through life as a common soldier. He yearned to make something of himself.
"Good. Let me make things clear." Huang Ande lowered his voice. "First, this has nothing to do with harming ordinary people. Second, it is not rebellion. Third, it is not joining the Tartars. We are going to rescue Governor Sun. If we succeed, we will all share in the fortune." He paused. "But I must also say this plainly: anyone who doesn't wish to participate may leave now. I won't stop you—just go home, stay put, and accept your fate. Only keep silent about your brothers. Those who are in, be prepared to lose your lives."
"Count me in," Zhu Si said immediately. One by one, the others followed suit.
Huang Ande drew a stack of papers from his belt. Carefully, he lit a small oil lamp, keeping the flame dim, and had them gather close to look.
"These are banknotes from a Shanxi bank," he explained. "Each of you take twenty taels—consider it a settlement for your families."
Shanxi bank notes from the capital were widely used large-denomination instruments throughout the north. Ordinary people rarely saw them, let alone held one. Because Dengzhou was a hub for military pay and a major trading center, locals were more familiar with them—they knew such notes were as good as gold and silver.
The Engine Action forward command, to facilitate their operations, had exchanged a batch of reputable, reliable, and easily negotiable Shanxi bank notes through the Delong Bank's Beijing branch. After all, Delong's notes held little influence in the north as yet.
Twenty taels of silver—in peacetime, that was ten months' pay at their normal rate. And soldiers like them could never realistically expect to receive full pay on time.
Huang Ande had just distributed over two hundred taels. Such generosity and apparent wealth made them trust him all the more. How else could a poor soldier come by such sums?
Cao Qing pocketed his notes and asked: "Old Sun and Little Huang are clearly useless now. What about Brother Sun and the other two on duty? Should we bring them in?"
"Absolutely. Especially Brother Sun—he's one of Governor Sun's personal retainers. With him, we're already halfway there." Huang Ande nodded. "We need to find a way to get them back here tomorrow during the day."
"Done," said Cao Qing. "I'll think of something."
Cao Qing was a seasoned old soldier with connections everywhere. If he said there was a way, there probably was.
Huang Ande stretched. "I won't say more than necessary. Everyone go home now and settle your families. The city will fall within days. Anyone with somewhere to hide their family should do so. Be back here before dawn."
"Done!" The men understood from his words that action would come within days. They were all eager to begin. Zhu Si spoke up: "I have a sword and bow at home. Should I bring them?"
"Bring nothing except daggers," Huang Ande instructed. "I have swords and spears ready here."
While urgent conspiracies unfolded within the Penglai naval citadel, Chen Sigen and Zhu Mingxia had arrived at Dazhushan Island in the Miaodao archipelago. This island lay only a dozen nautical miles from Penglai—not as close as Nanchangshan Island, but Dazhushan and Xiaozhushan were small islands without substantial garrisons or naval vessels. At this time, Ming troops were stationed on virtually every island in the Bohai Sea. The two main islands of the Miaodao archipelago—Nanchangshan and Beichangshan—held large Ming garrisons and fleets.
Though eliminating the Ming forces on the Miaodao archipelago would have been effortless for the Second Fleet, Zhu Mingxia saw no reason to act prematurely. As a third-party force, there was nothing to gain from revealing themselves too early and attracting court attention.
When a forward base became necessary for the Dengzhou operation, Zhu Mingxia decided to first seize the lightly defended Dazhushan and Xiaozhushan islands.
According to reconnaissance, Xiaozhushan Island had no Ming troops at all. Its rugged terrain and lack of freshwater meant only a handful of fishermen eked out existence there. Dazhushan Island had only a beacon station manned by about a dozen soldiers.
A single squad from Chen Sigen's Special Reconnaissance detachment took Dazhushan Island effortlessly, using fishing boats as cover. All garrison troops were captured. A company was then brought in to secure control over the civilians and vessels on both islands.
In the overall Dengzhou plan, rescuing Sun Yuanhua was the first step. If they could snatch him from Dengzhou ahead of the rebels and preserve his position as Provincial Governor, he would retain a voice in any court deliberations on "suppression or pacification." The three eastern prefectures would continue to follow his directions. By controlling Sun Yuanhua, the Engine Forward Committee would effectively seize the initiative among the Ming forces dealing with the Dengzhou mutiny.
As for Dengzhou itself, Zhu Mingxia did not consider recapturing it particularly difficult—it was purely a matter of how far the Engine Action needed Kong Youde to escalate matters.
For now, Kong Youde still needed to hold Dengzhou. Without taking the city, the rebels could not absorb the local Liaodong population, expand their forces, or rally the scattered Eastern River remnants on the various Liaodong islands.
"Dengzhou—let Kong Youde keep it for now," Zhu Mingxia said to Chen Sigen in the command tent. "Let him make use of the good stuff inside for a while, then send it all our way. That way old Sun Yuanhua won't blame us for appropriating Ming property—war spoils are perfectly legitimate."
"Still," Chen Sigen mused, "fishing Sun Yuanhua out of a chaotic Dengzhou will be tricky. Why not send someone in advance to kidnap him out?"
"That won't work. He's not the only official in Dengzhou. If the Provincial Governor vanishes, it will certainly be reported to the court. They'll immediately appoint a new governor." Zhu Mingxia shook his head. "Besides—if Kong Youde captures him first and we then rescue him, saving his position, his reputation, and his life... won't that make him truly grateful?"
They needed him to feel endangered, yet never without hope. Only then would Sun Yuanhua choose to cooperate fully with them.
"Since you insist on waiting until after the city falls to act, I won't argue," Chen Sigen conceded. "The key is pinpointing his location. I hope our intelligence people deliver."
This was the most critical issue. Dengzhou City had a perimeter exceeding 5,500 meters; the Penglai naval citadel stretched over 2,000 meters. Both were vast areas. Finding and rescuing Sun Yuanhua from within would be impossible without effective intelligence gathering. And their only sources were the agents previously deployed to Dengzhou and Penglai, combined with the locally cultivated contacts.
(End of Chapter)