Chapter 1087 - Removing Hidden Dangers

According to the civil affairs cadres' reports, the traveling performers' troupe contained both men and women. The Senate had use for the women, but none whatsoever for the men lurking in their shadows. Whether in the old timeline's Wenzhou hair salons or the nightclubs scattered across every province, the pattern never changed—every prostitution ring answered to pimps who pulled the strings from behind the curtain. Without such protection, these operations simply could not function. Here in the seventeenth century, itinerant musical troupes were little more than mobile brothels, and the handful of middle-aged men traveling with them served as handlers for the troupe's female performers. Years of oppression had instilled in these women a bone-deep fear and dependence. Such men would have to disappear.

"Take them away," Zhu Mingxia instructed his orderly. "Hand them over to the military court. The charge is organizing banditry."

Gallows had risen on Qimu Island the moment they began processing refugees. The arbitration tribunal had issued two authorization warrants, empowering the Northbound Detachment to establish military courts on both Qimu Island and Jeju Island—a legal foundation for summary justice in these temporary holdings.

The court existed for one purpose alone: intimidation. With nearly ten thousand souls crammed together in the camp, only the naked promise of violence could maintain order.

Since the gallows went up, they had never stood empty. Each hanged corpse swayed in the wind until the next condemned soul required the noose.

An hour later, a messenger returned bearing the written judgment. As chief military officer, Zhu Mingxia also served as presiding judge of the military court.

He leafed through the documents: clear logic, conclusive evidence, indictment, testimony, and confessions all present and accounted for. Beyond the primary charge of organizing banditry, the prosecutors had appended a litany of additional crimes—human trafficking, intentional injury, illegal detention, unlawful torture, and inciting group violence. Unsurprising, really. It would have been far stranger if such a troupe lacked such transgressions.

Zhu Mingxia nodded with satisfaction. The young officers had memorized their legal articles well. Following proper procedure lent an air of legitimacy to the proceedings. "Rule by law" could not simply be discarded.

"In the name of the Senate and the People, I order the necessary disposal of the following personnel." He signed his name beneath these words and returned the document to the messenger. "Execute immediately."

Once the men who shouldn't exist had been eliminated, Zhu Mingxia found his mood much improved. Gazing through the window at the small square beside the stockade, he watched as dead cattle, horses, and mules were being skinned. Tonight, this butchered livestock would finally provide the Northbound Detachment a proper meal. The soldiers had been eating hardship for far too long—their rations might fill bellies, but offered little difference from refugee fare. Even fresh vegetables had become a rarity, to say nothing of meat.

Even Zhu Mingxia himself hadn't tasted fresh meat in ages. Rather than turning his stomach, the sight of the slaughterwork made him swallow with anticipation. He immediately called out to his orderly: "Tell the cooking squad to prepare some steaks first, then make radish beef meatballs! And beef tendon—add plenty of pepper, Sichuan peppercorn, and cumin..."

While he was still speaking, Lu Wenyuan and Chen Sigen arrived. Both were in high spirits, having just finished drafting a telegram for Lingao reporting this major victory and requesting increased shipping frequency.

The message could be sent under the Jeju Island Forward Command's authority once Zhu Mingxia reviewed and signed it. While the battle hardly qualified as some glorious triumph, it demonstrated that the Northbound Detachment had secured a firm foothold in Shandong, and that Engine Action was operating smoothly.

"If the ships don't arrive in time, a few hundred people will certainly freeze to death when the next snow comes," Lu Wenyuan said with a note of regret. "Would be a waste, after catching so many prisoners."

"Last telegram, Zhao Yingong mentioned he was working on a solution—but what solution?" Zhu Mingxia shared this concern. "It wasn't easy getting all these people. I'd hate to see another large batch die needlessly."

He had no objections to the telegram's wording. As commanding officer, even without embellishment, the commendation of "commanded with proper methods" would naturally belong to him.

After signing, Lu Yang arrived with a report: all corpses had been disposed of.

"Finally finished—got blood stains all over my Dafa boats. Going to need a thorough scrubbing..." He grumbled, "If you ask me, why not just bury them? Call it fertilizing the land—"

"The ground's frozen solid," Zhu Mingxia shook his head. "Digging pits would be backbreaking work. Besides, if done poorly, we'd face plague and groundwater contamination. Better to dump them at sea. Think of it this way: burial makes fertilizer, sea disposal feeds fish. Either way, once the Senators establish themselves in Jeju and Shandong, large-scale fishery development goes straight onto the agenda. Solves a significant portion of our grain shortage while supplementing our desperate need for protein. Everybody wins."

Lu Wenyuan laughed. "Sir Zhu, your comprehensive utilization skills are lacking. Had the Planning Commission been here, they'd have shaved the corpses' hair and woven it into cold-weather felt mats and insoles after high-temperature steam disinfection. They'd dump the bodies into biogas digesters, generating fuel for heating and cooking, slurry for fertilizing fields, residue for feeding pigs—and then, if they still couldn't use it all up, throw it to the fish. Develop fishery production as a last resort..."

"Stop, stop—I'm going to be sick." Chen Sigen grimaced. "After listening to that, I've lost all appetite for fish."

"Alright, enough roasting the Planning Commission. Tomorrow, let's have Little Lu send a ship to contact Sun Yuanhua," Zhu Mingxia said. "First to present gifts, second to see if we can help strengthen Laizhou's defenses. Kong Youde's forces suffered such heavy losses—they'll attack Laizhou with even greater fury now."

"Headquarters already sent word," Lu Wenyuan replied. "They're dispatching a Senator specifically to handle Laizhou's defense and liaison with Sun Yuanhua. They want us to find an appropriate opportunity to facilitate introductions."

"Oh? You mean it won't be me?" Lu Yang's face fell with disappointment.

"You'll be busy soon enough." Chen Sigen regarded him with a malicious grin. "You're the Naval Detachment Commander, not a diplomat. What are you thinking, hanging around Old Sun instead of doing your actual job?"

"Fine, fine, I understand." Lu Yang conceded with a reluctant nod. "I have the utmost reverence for Mister Huodong..."

"Reverence is unnecessary. Respect will suffice." Zhu Mingxia waved dismissively. "Since that's the situation, we need to find the right moment. Perhaps we should hold off on delivering our gifts until the new liaison arrives—send everything together. Make sure Sun Yuanhua owes us the favor."

"Agreed, timing is everything." Lu Wenyuan nodded. "Today is January 24th. In a few days, the rebels will clash with government forces under Yang Yufan and Wang Hong at Xincheng. Better to wait until after the imperial army's defeat, when Laizhou City drowns in panic. Our gifts will carry far more weight then."

Another advantage: Yang Yufan and Wang Hong's loss, combined with Sun Yuanhua's victory in the same report, would do wonders for mitigating Sun's guilt.

"Didn't expect you to have such a keen mind for strategy," Chen Sigen praised. "I think this is workable."

Zhu Mingxia concurred, and together they resolved to "deliver gifts" only after the government troops met their defeat.

Zhu Mingxia also ordered the formation of a commando unit, prepared to "scavenge the battlefield" after the January 30th engagement. Even salvaging some dead horses and mules would prove worthwhile.

Following the skirmish with the rebels, several quiet days passed. While the Qimu Island trio awaited contact from the enemy, their Special Reconnaissance Team returned from Dengzhou reconnaissance—bringing prisoners in tow.

Seeing the ragged figures huddled in the courtyard, wrapped in filthy cotton robes, their spirits utterly broken, Lu Wenyuan immediately recognized them.

These were the Dengzhou officials captured when the city fell: Dengzhou Intendant Song Guanglan, Liaodong-Coastal Supervising Censor Wang Zheng, Governor's Brigade Commander Zhang Tao...

According to the reconnaissance report, they had discovered during surveillance that the rebels were releasing these men. The gesture was surprisingly courteous—not only providing escort out of the city, but furnishing each prisoner with several mules, servants, and personal luggage.

The Special Reconnaissance Team had standing orders for precisely this scenario. They shadowed the group, waited until they were well clear of the city, then struck. The rebel cavalry escort was eliminated, and all remaining personnel taken into custody.

Preliminary interrogation of captured rebel soldiers and servants confirmed these were indeed the missing Dengzhou officials.

"Excellent work." Lu Wenyuan clapped a team member firmly on the shoulder, then turned to Chen Sigen. "Give them merit citations!"

"Absolutely!" Chen Sigen smiled broadly. "Beautifully done!"

Capturing these officials eliminated one of Sun Yuanhua's greatest vulnerabilities. The so-called "unification of narrative" was a matter of considerable importance.

"Have them all brought into the stockade to bathe and change clothes, then give them physical examinations. Prepare a banquet to help settle their nerves afterward." Lu Wenyuan instructed his subordinates. "Return their luggage and servants, but no free movement. Keep them all under house arrest!"

When Dengzhou fell, most civil and military officials either surrendered to the rebels or took their own lives. Those like these men—who did neither—were the rare minority. This very distinction made them prime evidence for court suspicions of "surrendering to the enemy and joining the rebellion" once the rebels released them. But for the Senators, the reason these men refused suicide was no mystery: most were Catholics. Suicide was a grave sin in their faith, unforgivable unless personally pardoned by the Pope after death.

That so many high-ranking Catholic officials had congregated in this small city of Dengzhou was remarkable indeed. Sun Yuanhua had clearly regarded his fellow believers as his most reliable allies. In effect, he had cultivated something of a Dengzhou Catholic clique.

Zhu Mingxia understood the practice well: the reforms Sun Yuanhua had championed were not concepts ordinary Ming officials and scholars could easily understand or accept. Forming a tight-knit faction was entirely excusable.

Though these officials were of little practical use, they represented Sun Yuanhua's most natural allies: colleagues in his administration, brothers in faith, and now partners in crisis. They would be easily persuaded to cooperate. Helping Sun Yuanhua meant helping themselves—a principle they would readily grasp. Once they understood the current situation, they would speak exactly according to the prepared script.

(End of Chapter)