Chapter 302: The Treasure in the City

The men at the table exchanged glances. They weren’t stupid. At this critical juncture, Huang Ande had suddenly summoned them all. It was clear he had some “intention.”

These were not peaceful times. It was not uncommon for the army to rape and pillage ordinary, unarmed people, to burn and kill. Even when facing the government, if things went wrong, mutinies, demands for pay, and even killing officials and rebelling were not unheard of. Especially the men around Huang Ande; they were not a peaceful lot.

“Brother Huang, just say it straight. What’s the fortune?” Cao Qing said. “If you can give us a good reason, we’ll all follow you!”

Zhu Si was also excited. “Big Brother Huang, are you eyeing the official treasury in the fortress?”

A large amount of silver and grain was stored in Dengzhou city and the Penglai water fortress. The annual military expenditure for the Deng-Lai region was eight hundred thousand taels. Historically, when Kong Youde’s rebel army broke into the Penglai water fortress, they had seized one hundred thousand taels of silver from the treasury.

“I hear there are hundreds of thousands of taels of silver stored there!” The others immediately perked up.

Huang Ande shook his head. “Even if there’s plenty of silver in that treasury, and it’s left unguarded for us to take, how much can each of us carry?”

Once a city fell, the attacking side would first send troops to seize and protect the warehouses. And the people in the city who wanted to get rich in the chaos would also swarm there. At that time, it would likely be a bloody slaughter. To rob silver from a chaotic army was like snatching food from a tiger’s mouth. Even if you could get close to the silver, one person couldn’t carry much.

Thinking of this, everyone’s spirits deflated.

“I think there must be a lot of money in those waterside pavilions and restaurants along the small sea. Many rich men play there, and the wealthy merchants all stay there—and there are many women…”

At the mention of this place, the eyes of everyone present lit up. The small sea was the inner harbor of the Penglai water fortress. Along the coast were waterside pavilions and restaurants built by merchants, offering all kinds of sensual pleasures. Not only did officials and generals often frequent this place, but the wealthy merchants doing business in Dengzhou also often stayed here. It was a veritable den of iniquity, a land of wine and women.

Silver and women were the two things that interested men the most.

Huang Ande remained silent. He smiled. Zhu Si knew that was not what he meant. He asked, “Big Brother Huang, what is the fortune you’re talking about?”

Huang Ande said with feigned profundity, “Tell me, what is the greatest treasure in this city of Dengzhou?”

Everyone looked at each other. Since the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in the treasury didn’t count, what else could be considered a treasure? Could it be that this Brother Huang knew of a priceless treasure hidden by some wealthy household or high official?

Huang Ande paused and then said in a low voice, “The most valuable treasure is Commander Sun!”

“Commander Sun?!” several people exclaimed in unison, then quickly covered their mouths. This was too shocking!

“Mmm!” Huang Ande stood up, opened the door, and looked outside. Sun Yuan’s brother was keeping watch at the courtyard gate. Seeing him come out, he shook his head. Huang Ande retreated back inside and closed the door again.

“Tell me, who calls the shots in these three prefectures of Deng, Lai, and Qing?”

“Of course, it’s Commander Sun,” Cao Qing said. “He’s the court’s governor, after all.”

“But how can he be considered a treasure?” someone objected. “Once Dengzhou falls, he’ll be a man awaiting punishment. This crime of losing a defended territory could very well cost him his head. Besides, once the city falls, Commander Sun will definitely commit suicide.”

“What if the city doesn’t fall, and he doesn’t die?”

“Then of course he’s still the governor, and his word is law here,” Cao Qing said. “But this city is clearly indefensible.”

“That’s why I said there’s a great fortune waiting for us—but this fortune has to be earned with our heads on the line. Are you willing to do it?”

“No question! Big Brother Huang, just say the word!” Zhu Si immediately responded. He was young and competitive, long tired of this muddle-headed life as a soldier, and eager to do something big.

“Alright, I’ll be straight with you all. This time, what we’re doing is, first, not harming the common people; second, not rebelling; and third, not becoming Tartars. We are going to save Commander Sun. As long as we can save him, we’ll all have a great fortune.” Huang Ande said, “But I have to say this first: anyone who doesn’t want to do this now, I won’t stop you. Just go back and wait for your fate—just don’t sell out your brothers. Those who want to do it must be prepared to lose their lives!”

“No question, I’m willing to do it,” Zhu Si was the first to respond. The others then followed suit, expressing their willingness.

Huang Ande took out a stack of paper from his waist. He carefully lit an oil lamp, keeping it dim, and had them gather around to look.

“These are bank drafts from a Shanxi bank,” Huang Ande said. “Each of you take twenty taels as a family settlement fee.”

Bank drafts from the Shanxi banks in the capital were a relatively common form of large-denomination bills of exchange in the north at that time, but ordinary people rarely saw them, let alone got their hands on one. In Dengzhou, because of the concentration of military pay and the large volume of goods being traded, people were more knowledgeable. They knew this was as good as real gold and silver.

Before Operation Engine, the forward command had exchanged for a batch of drafts from a reputable Shanxi bank with a good reputation and convenient exchange through the Delong Beijing branch, to facilitate their activities. After all, Delong’s drafts had little influence in the north yet.

Twenty taels of silver, if there were no war, would be ten months’ worth of their normal pay! Not to mention that for grunts like them, getting their full pay on time was a fantasy.

Huang Ande’s display of generosity, over two hundred taels of silver, made his resources and credibility even more convincing. Otherwise, where would a poor soldier like him get so much silver?

Cao Qing took the draft and asked, “Old Sun and Little Huang are unreliable now. What about Brother Sun and the other two on duty? Should we bring them in on this?”

“Of course. Especially Big Brother Sun. He’s Commander Sun’s personal retainer. With him, our business is half done,” Huang Ande said. “We have to find a way to get them to come back during the day tomorrow!”

“Alright!” Cao Qing said. “I’ll think of a way.”

Cao Qing was an old soldier, a hustler who knew many people. If he said he had a way, he probably did.

Huang Ande stretched his back. “I won’t say any more. Everyone, go home and settle your families for now. The city will fall in a few days. If your families have a place to hide, have them hide for now. Be back here before dawn.”

“Done!” The men heard his words and knew that the action would be in a few days. They were all eager to get started. Zhu Si said, “I have a sword and a bow and arrow at home. Should I bring them?”

“Don’t bring anything except a dagger,” Huang Ande said. “I have weapons prepared here.”

While this tense conspiracy was unfolding in the Penglai water fortress, Chen Sigen and Zhu Mingxia had already arrived on Dazhushan Island in the Miaodao Archipelago. This place was only a dozen nautical miles from Penglai. Although not as close as Nanchangshan Island, Dazhushan and Xiaozhushan Islands were small, had no heavy troop presence, and no naval vessels. At that time, almost all the large and small islands in the Bohai Sea had Ming troops stationed on them. The two main islands of the Miaodao Archipelago, Nanchangshan and Beichangshan, had a large number of Ming troops and naval vessels.

Although eliminating the Ming forces in the Miaodao Archipelago would be a piece of cake for the Second Fleet, Zhu Mingxia believed it was unnecessary for the time being. As a third party, there was no need to reveal themselves too early and attract the attention of the Ming court.

When they needed a forward base for the Dengzhou operation, Zhu Mingxia decided to first take the lightly defended Dazhushan and Xiaozhushan Islands.

According to reconnaissance, there were no Ming troops on Xiaozhushan Island—the terrain was rugged, and it lacked fresh water, with only a few fishermen living there. Dazhushan Island only had a beacon tower with a dozen or so post soldiers stationed there.

A squad from Chen Sigen’s special recon detachment, on board a fishing boat, took Dazhushan Island with ease, capturing all the garrison troops. Then, another company was transported over to control the civilians and boats on both Dazhushan and Xiaozhushan Islands.

In the entire Dengzhou plan, rescuing Sun Yuanhua was the first step. As long as they could rescue him from Dengzhou one step ahead and preserve his position as governor, he would have a say in whether the court “suppressed” or “pacified” the rebellion, and the three eastern prefectures would have to continue to obey his orders. By controlling Sun Yuanhua, the Engine Forward Committee would also control the initiative of the Ming forces in the Dengzhou rebellion.

As for Dengzhou, Zhu Mingxia believed it would not be difficult to retake. It purely depended on how big a mess Operation Engine needed Kong Youde to make.

For now, they had to let Kong Youde occupy Dengzhou. If the rebel army didn’t occupy Dengzhou, they wouldn’t be able to absorb the local Liaodong people, expand their army, or call upon the remnants of the Eastern River garrison scattered on the various islands of Liaodong.

“Let Kong Youde occupy Dengzhou for now,” Zhu Mingxia said to Chen Sigen in the tent. “Let him use the good things in the city first, and then he can give them to us. That way, that old man Sun Yuanhua won’t blame us for taking the Great Ming’s things. Spoils of war are perfectly justified, after all.”

“However, it will be a bit difficult to fish Sun Yuanhua out of a chaotic Dengzhou. Why not send someone in advance to kidnap him?”

“How can we do that? Dengzhou isn’t his alone. If the governor goes missing, it will definitely be reported to the court. The court will immediately appoint a new governor. Besides, if he’s captured by Kong Youde, and we rescue him, preserving his official position, reputation, and life, only then will he be grateful, right?”

He had to be in a critical situation, but not completely desperate about the situation, so that Sun would choose to cooperate with them deeply.

“Since you insist on waiting until the city falls to make a move, I won’t object. The key is his location.” Chen Sigen said, “I wonder if the intelligence personnel will be up to the task.”

This was the most critical issue. The circumference of Dengzhou city was over 5,500 meters, and the Penglai water fortress was over 2,000 meters. Both were very large. To find and rescue Sun Yuanhua from within them would be impossible without effective intelligence gathering. And their entire source of intelligence was the intelligence agents they had previously dispatched to Dengzhou and Penglai, and the “connections” they had developed locally.