Chapter 2765: The Capital (Part 121)

"Where are this father and son now?"

"The last time I saw them was in Guangzhou. After that, I lost track of their whereabouts." Liu Sha paused. "This Gou Xunli has since donned monk's robes and taken the Dharma name Haixiang. However, ever since you required monks and Daoists to register, he probably doesn't dare operate under that identity anymore. But I'm certain he's still in Guangdong."

"You seem quite sure of that."

"He's completely useless in the Capital, so naturally he'd stay in Guangdong. He's deeply entangled in the affairs of the religious sects."

"What about Gou Chengxuan?"

"That person's whereabouts are unknown to this Poor Daoist as well." Liu Sha spread his hands. "He vanished after Master Wang left his post in Guangdong. Whether he remained there or went elsewhere, I cannot say."

"Does this Monk Haixiang have an ordination certificate?"

"Where in the Great Ming do monks have ordination certificates?" Liu Sha sneered. "It would be strange if they did. He did burn ordination scars into his scalp, though."

In the early Ming, the management of Buddhist and Daoist clergy had been extremely strict, with cumbersome procedures for taking monastic vows. Such stringent control ironically resulted in most monks and Daoists lacking ordination certificates by the middle of the dynasty. The exact number of monastics became impossible to account for.

This intelligence from Liu Sha, apart from confirming that the Gou father and son were still active, held little practical significance. Moreover, based on his description, both men's appearances had changed drastically compared to the "simulation portraits" in the archives.

"Daoist Priest, your news is quite valuable. The Senate has long wished to eliminate the Gou father and son." Xu Ke's voice carried a note of disappointment. "It's just that these two now look vastly different from before. I'm afraid even if one of them stood before me now, I wouldn't recognize him."

"I do have another piece of information that might help you capture this Gou Xunli."

"Oh?"

"Though this Poor Daoist is uncertain of his exact location in Guangdong, the last place he traveled to was Xiangshan County. It seems they're preparing some kind of operation there."

This was crucial intelligence. Xu Ke leaned forward with interest. "Is the uprising planned by Master Liang waiting for the Imperial Court's grand army before launching?"

"That, this Poor Daoist is also unclear about." Liu Sha shook his head. "Mr. Le strongly disapproved of Master Liang's uprising. He said it would accomplish nothing except sending many loyal and brave men to their deaths in vain."

"What about Master Wang?"

"He was indifferent." Liu Sha shrugged. "After all, the losses would be Liang Cunhou's men and horses, not his."

"So 'Old Stone' has no intention of involving himself in this matter."

"Precisely." Liu Sha nodded. "Old Stone doesn't have many people and can't afford to waste them on such ventures. Mr. Le's strategy was for the various forces in Guangdong to go into hiding. Keep the teams small, he said, and absolutely avoid establishing fixed strongholds. Gather only when striking, then scatter again. Deal the Australian thieves cold, unexpected blows: assassinate a few Fake Australians, set fire to Australian properties, kidnap merchants collaborating with the Australians, ambush cargo ships en route..."

"Harassment." Xu Ke recognized the approach immediately. This Zhou Lezhi was truly cunning—he was planning to wage guerrilla warfare!

"This Mr. Le of yours is a rare talent indeed!"

"Who would disagree? This Poor Daoist admires him greatly as well."

"I'd very much like to catch this Mr. Le. Do you have any suggestions?" Xu Ke smiled.

"As this Poor Daoist has said, he operates alone. I don't know his whereabouts either..."

"The Capital is only so large. Surely he doesn't wander everywhere at random. There must be places he frequents."

Liu Sha hesitated before answering. "There is a residence where Mr. Le once lived that this Poor Daoist has visited. However, Mr. Le hasn't been there for quite some time."

"Where is it?"

"At Wanggong Factory."

"Wanggong Factory?" The name was thunderous in the ears of all Senators. After all, the "Tianqi Explosion" had long been classified as an "inconceivable event," and they had heard about it until their ears were calloused.

"Wasn't that place destroyed in the blast?"

"After it was destroyed, people naturally returned to live there. Land in the Capital is worth its weight in gold—how could any plot remain vacant? The markets simply haven't recovered to their former glory yet."

"Where specifically?"

Liu Sha didn't withhold the information, describing the residence's location and appearance in detail.

"Is anyone still living there?"

"Mr. Zhou's two concubines and two children."

"Children? He has children?!" Xu Ke felt as though he'd stumbled upon major news. "What are their names?"

"The elder is a girl, called Zhou Juli. The younger is a boy, named Zhou Niudun."

These two names were given with extreme audacity—Curie and Newton. Needless to say, Zhou Lezhi was definitely a man of science and engineering. And he'd married two wives besides. Impressive, truly impressive.

"Having family dependents makes things much easier to handle." Xu Ke laughed.

Liu Sha regarded him with a strange expression, and Xu Ke realized his thinking had veered in the wrong direction.

"Does this disciple not visit his mistresses?"

"Mr. Le said it's safer not to visit them. With Master Wang looking after the household, they won't suffer any grievances."

"Are there any letters, notes, or similar materials remaining in the residence?"

"None. Mr. Le took everything away—a full three carts of belongings."

"Where were they transported?"

"Probably to Master Wang's residence. This Poor Daoist doesn't know the specific location."

Although Liu Sha spoke with certainty and had no reason to deceive him, Zhou Lezhi might very well have hidden important documents inside that residence. Just as Liu Sha had concealed correspondence in his own study.

A lonely visitor from another spacetime inevitably harbored a strong desire to confide. Nine times out of ten, such a person wouldn't be content to let their extraordinary experience vanish without a trace. It was entirely possible he had secretly left written materials behind.

As for his wives and children, caution dictated they should be brought under control as well. The children were young, but the wives were adults. There was no telling what Zhou Lezhi might have revealed to them, or what they themselves had observed.

"So this Mr. Zhou had quite a few belongings in the residence at that time?"

"More than quite a few—several rooms were packed full."

"What kind of things?" Xu Ke's interest sharpened immediately.

"Mostly Australian goods." Liu Sha explained that whether Zhou Lezhi was accompanying Wang Yehao to his post in Guangdong or remaining in the Capital, he would send people to secretly purchase all manner of Australian merchandise and books. These goods were mostly unpopular Australian scientific instruments and experimental equipment.

"...He had a dedicated study where he'd commissioned custom tables and cabinets, all filled with these Australian artisan tools. Every few days he would shut himself inside, fiddling and tinkering for hours. He also instructed Wang Zhi and his apprentice to scour everywhere for strange and peculiar gadgets. Sometimes they'd return with dirt caked on their faces from the search..."

At this, Liu Sha couldn't suppress a laugh, probably recalling some amusing scene from those days.

"Did he ever build any devices?"

"He did. He drew many blueprints and crafted small models by hand. When he commissioned craftsmen to produce them, the results were exquisite pieces—though they leaned heavily toward clever contrivances and excessive ingenuity. He loved discussing weaponry, speaking with great logic and conviction, and drew countless fearsome weapons on paper. But when it came to actual production, it was always 'this won't work' or 'that component is missing.' When Wang Yehao asked him to replicate the Nanyang Rifle's cartridges, he pushed the task away claiming ignorance. Asked to cast cannons, he said foundry work wasn't his specialty. He did manage to build a waterwheel on the Dongyang Farm estate, claiming it would blow air into a small blast furnace to produce steel. In the end, no steel was ever made. That waterwheel proved quite useful for hulling rice and grinding flour, though."

Liu Sha's face was full of mockery as he spoke. Xu Ke, however, felt a wave of desolation wash over him.

Putting himself in the other man's position, he could imagine what it was like—being utterly alone among people who couldn't begin to understand you, commanding substantial resources yet unable to transform the ideas in your head into reality. Even with a background in science and engineering, knowing astronomy and geography, memorizing formulas for gunpowder, glass, and soap... when you actually set out to make something, only then did you discover how many prerequisites and process details were missing.

There wasn't a single person at your side who could truly help you, who might understand what you were trying to say.

That terrible sense of loneliness and helplessness... Xu Ke thought, Thank heavens for the Senate!

"Were there books as well?"

"Many, all Australian publications. I don't know who you expect to sell these printed materials to—probably ninety-nine out of a hundred people couldn't make sense of them..."

"Did he write any books or notes himself? Apart from the 'Heavenly Book.'"

"According to Wang Zhi, he wrote every night. After writing, he would teach his apprentice, lecturing deep into the night."

Though Liu Sha didn't know what was contained in those manuscripts, Xu Ke could roughly guess. They were most likely various texts on technology and military matters, perhaps content similar to Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms. Essentially not much different from the various books the Senate itself had published.

...

The interrogation of Liu Sha yielded a wealth of valuable information, essentially mapping out the hidden cards of the Old Stone group. The intelligence on "Mr. Le" in particular could be called a breakthrough.

The most valuable revelation was clarifying the mastermind and network behind the series of incidents that had plagued Guangzhou since its liberation.

Overall, Liang Cunhou hadn't been deeply involved in the Witchcraft Case, and even the Counterfeit Currency Case had little connection to him. But judging from the intelligence Liu Sha provided, he was dead set on "doing something significant." Should he succeed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

At present, the "remnants" scattered throughout the region appeared to have gradually coalesced after several years of turmoil, forming a network that was loose yet tightly interconnected.

However, their consolidation might not necessarily be a disadvantage. Xu Ke mused, At least it gives the Senate a chance to catch them all in one net. This was especially true of Liang Cunhou, who had always endured in silence and resigned himself to adversity, leaving the Political Security Bureau unable to find any leverage against him. Without hard evidence to punish him by law, any action would inevitably invite accusations of "burning the bridge after crossing the river." This was precisely why the Bureau had only maintained surveillance over the years without taking action.

As for those gentry and nobles flying like moths toward the flame—they presented a perfect opportunity for a thorough cleansing. The remaining gentry and prominent households, though not necessarily loyal to the Senate, would at least no longer pose potential threats of rebellion.

After this sweep of blood and fire, the situation in Guangdong would be completely stabilized.

By comparison, learning that "Old Stone" was in fact Wang Yehao was not nearly as urgent a matter. After all, Lord Wang didn't possess much capital of his own; he relied entirely on "Mr. Le," whose origins remained mysterious. As long as Mr. Le was eliminated, the Old Stone group would crumble on its own.

The primary task ahead was to apprehend this Zhou Lezhi. Whether he was a transmigrator, had taken over another's body, or was merely a disciple—capturing him would make everything clear.

(End of this chapter)