Chapter 2248: Revitalization Plan
In the courtyard of the Dragon Mother Temple, baskets, straw bags, and carrying poles were piled everywhere, with grains scattered in the cracks of the stone slabs. It looked no different from an ordinary grain-storage yard, except for several large pools of blood on the ground and steps—a shocking sight.
Inside the various rooms of the temple, grain, cloth, and all sorts of wealth were piled in haphazard heaps—everything from goods of the town's former shops to items Sun Dabiao had looted or requisitioned. Bales and bundles were stacked in complete disorder.
"We've struck it rich this time," Luo Yiming said happily. "The county is poor and bare. Now that we have these spoils of war, it'll be much easier to carry out our work."
Their situation had been so difficult that even the grain and pay for the National Army squad had to be supplied by logistics; they couldn't even produce the money and grain to expand their forces locally. With Sun Dabiao's hoard, many things they wanted to do but couldn't would now be possible.
Bi Da wasn't as excited as he was. Sun Dabiao's wealth seemed like a lot, but measured against the expenses of the entire county, it actually wasn't much. She still remembered what her teacher had said in class: temporary income like captured goods and confiscations, while able to bring sudden windfalls and solve many problems, didn't last long. Local finance still had to rely on long-term income streams like taxation—flowing slowly but continuously.
Destroying Sun Dabiao certainly removed a menace, consolidated the Yao area, and would deter the wealthy magnates in the county. But public security hadn't yet improved. Feng Haijiao and Yang Tianyi's men were still active. After this battle, the enemy's vigilance would undoubtedly increase, and it was hard to say how long the Mountain Company could remain stationed here.
Bi Da knew clearly that this complete victory relied entirely on the Mountain Company's combat prowess. Without this sharp blade, even if she had three National Army squads, she wouldn't have dared implement this plan.
Once the Mountain Company was transferred away, the military pressure on the county would increase steeply.
"Inventory and register the items first," Bi Da said. "Then slowly transport them to the county seat. Don't move ordinary commercial goods other than cloth—we still need to restore local commerce."
The last place to inspect was the "Ticket House." A side hall with two wings confined more than seventy "tickets," separated by gender, ranging from octogenarians to toddlers. They were all dressed in rags, disheveled and filthy. Many had suffered torture and could only lie groaning on the dirty ground. Seeing "officials" approaching, anyone who could move knelt down.
"Old... Lord..." Although the leading elder was dressed in rags and looked listless, judging by the material of his clothes, he was a wealthy man. "This small one..."
"Alright, everyone get up," Bi Da said. "I am the County Magistrate of this county..."
At this, everyone in the Ticket House widened their eyes. Even those who couldn't get up raised their heads to look at the young woman before them.
"You have all suffered!" Bi Da said. "Shortly, we'll send everyone to the county seat first. Once inside the county seat, we'll treat your injuries, then send you back to your respective homes one by one. For now, please rest here and don't walk around—the remnants of the bandits are still being cleared outside."
These few sentences were spoken clearly and plainly, without any stilted "bureaucratic tone." The group of "tickets" was both surprised and overjoyed—surprised that the Australians would send a young girl to be magistrate, and overjoyed that they had finally escaped their sea of suffering. Some had been detained here for more than half a year. Most were local wealthy households; the poorest were owner-farmers. Once here, the men were used as slaves for hard labor; the women—the attractive ones were used by the bandits for their pleasure, while the plain and old were driven to do grunt work. To urge their families to send ransom money sooner, they were tortured every few days. Some were tortured to death because their families couldn't produce the ransom; others committed suicide, unable to bear the torment. Those who survived were muddled, taking one day at a time.
"Many thanks, Old... Lord..." The leading old man was overjoyed and hurriedly kowtowed. "This small commoner will never forget the Lord's grace..."
This immediately drew a chorus of gratitude. The sound of kowtowing rose and fell.
"Alright, alright, rest first. If you need anything, speak to the soldiers here," Bi Da said. "We'll satisfy whatever we can."
The battlefield cleanup wasn't declared complete until noon. In the entire Battle of Dalang Market, more than two hundred bandits were killed, and three hundred and thirty-eight bandits and bandit family members were captured. One hundred and twenty-seven commoners abducted by the bandits were rescued. The county government side suffered only five deaths total, with another seventeen wounded—a complete victory by any measure.
Captured grain amounted to one thousand one hundred shi, salt four hundred shi, silk, satin, and various cloths two thousand bolts, various hides three hundred and fifty sheets, medicinal materials five thousand jin, and various sundries twenty thousand jin. One thousand three hundred taels of silver, eighty taels of gold, and three thousand strings of copper coins were recovered.
"This money is obviously not Sun Dabiao's entire wealth."
"Naturally," Bi Da said. "We'll force the rest out of him in due time."
Just then, someone came to report. "Magistrate, the battlefield cleanup inside Dalang Market is complete."
"How were the corpses handled?"
"Prisoners are being called to dig ditches."
"Don't dig ditches," Bi Da said, taking a deep breath. "Pass on my order: bury these bandit corpses separately on both sides of the main road at the entrance of Dalang Market. The graves don't need to be too deep, but the mounds must be piled high—three meters."
Zhen Huan asked in confusion. "What's the use of building grave mounds...?"
Luo Yiming didn't understand either. But since the Magistrate's order had been given, they would simply execute it—he had originally worried that a young woman couldn't shoulder this burden, but at this moment he was completely convinced.
This battle had been fought crisply and decisively. Not only was Sun Dabiao's gang totally annihilated, but Sun Dabiao's entire family was captured alive, and Zhang Tianbo was killed. Two of the Three Tyrants of Yangshan were destroyed. A large batch of bandit leaders and veteran outlaws were either killed or captured. When the news was sent back to the county seat, the gray haze of low morale among the garrison and cadres was instantly swept away. You Ciren couldn't suppress his joy and immediately ordered the rear cannon on the city wall to fire three celebratory shots. Peng Shou'an was so surprised he tugged straight at his beard: This Li barbarian girl really has ability! When he heard that Bi Da had buried the killed bandits on both sides of the road and piled up large earthen mounds, he was secretly startled: She's building a Jingguan—a mound of skulls! To think this Li barbarian woman knows of such things!
"Magistrate Bi has further instructions," the returning messenger gasped for breath. "First, have Pan Tianshun immediately return to Yonghua to recruit one hundred able-bodied men. Second, select four strong-squad yamen runners skilled in torture, along with the county executioner, from the retained yamen personnel. Have them bring their tools and rush to Dalang Market immediately. Third, the county is to dispatch three hundred militia with plenty of carrying poles, baskets, and wheelbarrows to arrive at Dalang Market tomorrow morning to transport war booty. Fourth, proclaim to the whole county: Dalang Market has been recovered. Original residents of the market or commoners willing to relocate may come to settle in Dalang Market. The county government will provide protection, issue settlement fees and free homesteads, and help them build houses. Merchants willing to come will be allocated shop plots for free. All taxes are exempted."
"People are easy enough to talk about, but the county's strength is depleted. Sending another three hundred militia on the road..." You Ciren hesitated, since the militia still needed troops to escort them. The county's military strength, counted in full, was only a few dozen men.
"The Magistrate has already sent a platoon of Mountain Company soldiers back first. They'll arrive at the county seat before noon."
Hearing that the Li-Miao Company was returning, You Ciren's worries vanished entirely. "Good, I'll go arrange it right away!"
Since they had decided to stay and work here for some days, the National Army squad and the Mountain Company worked together to renovate and reinforce three courtyards. The former mountain goods depot served as the "Agency" location. The Dragon Mother Temple continued as the "Warehouse," and another building was converted into the garrison for the stationed National Army.
The debris around the three buildings was completely cleared away—partly to salvage building materials, and partly to clear the fields of fire between the various large compounds.
Bi Da instructed that the fire-scorched ground be leveled, the roads inside Dalang Market be paved with bricks and stones, and drainage ditches dug. She also sent people to clear all the water wells—any corpses or debris were fished out, and the water was bailed clean. She ordered the construction of sheds on both sides of the road using the remaining wood, reed mats, and other building materials from the fire.
"Magistrate, you're planning to..." Luo Yiming was increasingly confused.
"We're just setting up shop to do business here," Bi Da laughed. "Sun Dabiao said he would rather give his wife to Wang Chuyi than hand over this territory. Now that we occupy it, how can we let it go to waste?"
Luo Yiming understood now and laughed too. "I see! The Magistrate truly has stratagems in her chest."
Zhen Huan, seeing them talking and laughing while treating him with icy frost, felt disappointed. He said, "The county isn't peaceful right now. Who would come here to do business?"
"Precisely because the county isn't peaceful, we can do exclusive business. These salt, cloth, and sundries are all urgently needed commodities in the Yao area—the Yao people of Yonghua, no matter how much they hated Sun Dabiao, still had to come here to buy. We can do this business too," Bi Da said. "These several hundred shi of salt, plus all this merchandise, were originally commodities prepared for sale to the Yao area. There's no need for us to transport them back. Selling them on the spot can stabilize the hearts of the Yonghua Yao people and also acquire materials from the Yao area—transferring those materials to the rear can lighten the Senate's war burden. Everyone is struggling right now."
"Truly thoughtful! Thinking of the Senate everywhere. Truly closer than a daughter..." Luo Yiming joked.
"I am the Senate's daughter," Bi Da said.
Luo Yiming was an old naturalized citizen who understood the burning emotion of "grace of rebirth" that many naturalized citizens felt toward the Senate, but they rarely expressed it so frankly and directly in front of outsiders.
Just then, the cadre responsible for screening and registering prisoner situations came to report: The prisoners had all been screened and registered. The commoners mixed in who had been forced into banditry were identified under the recognition of the "tickets" and other commoners; the rest were confirmed bandits. They were registered separately according to status and magnitude of crimes.
Next Update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Part 453 (End of Chapter)