Qing Yao

Chapter 379 I paid the fine for my crime!

Wealth and honor do not return to their hometown, just like walking in brocade at night.

Who wouldn't want to achieve great success, return to their hometown in glory, sing a song of the wind, hand out a few packs of Zhonghua cigarettes and two bottles of Wuliangye liquor to the elderly in the village, and receive envious glances from their neighbors?
The problem is that Zhao An's identity is really awkward.

On the surface, he is Zhao Youlu, not Zhao An!

There is no such thing as a birthplace in Xinghua, let alone a hometown in Xinghua. Even if there were a hometown, it would be the hometown of the dead "Zhao Youlu," which was demolished and razed to the ground.

Therefore, Xiao Shuan's unintentional question to Zhao An about when he would return home in glory was perceived as extremely dangerous by Zhao An.

Before he could successfully withstand the old master and his family's debt collection team, any involvement related to his true self would be fatal for Zhao An, enough to plunge this rising star of the Qing Dynasty's political arena, currently enjoying the emperor's favor, into an abyss of no return.

If we can successfully reverse the debt collection, then it doesn't really matter whether it's called Zhao An or Zhao Youlu.

Anyway, all the contacts in my address book are fake.

With fists big enough, you can call them John or George!
Even if the whole world knows he's a fake official, so what!

Come and hit me if you dare.

The saying goes, "Prevention is better than cure." Xiaoshuan's intentions were both good and unintentional, but these good intentions and unintentional actions must be resolutely suppressed to ensure that this secret is forever buried deep in his heart.

How can we do it well?
Zhao An fell into deep thought, his fingertips unconsciously tapping on the table, making a dull "tap-tap" sound.

He knew all too well that if it were a true tyrant, for absolute safety, he would probably have already made Yang Xiaoshuan and Bao Dawei, his two childhood playmates who knew each other inside and out, disappear completely.

Because only the dead can keep secrets forever.

But he couldn't do such a thing. Not killing innocent people was the bottom line he set for himself, let alone poisoning his childhood friend with whom he had grown up naked.

Moreover, Yang Xiaoshuan and Bao Dawei are not the only ones in the world who know his true identity.

Old Ding, Old Song, Uncle Wang Defa and his son, and his two wives who bore him a son and a daughter—are they all going to be disposed of?

As he pondered, Zhao An's expression gradually became very serious.

This scene struck Yang Xiaoshuan like a thunderbolt. He was initially bewildered, wondering where he had said something wrong. Then he realized that he had forgotten that Brother An was carrying a huge secret—an “identity crisis” that could cost him his head!
He keeps clamoring to get his brother, who has become a high-ranking official in a province, to take some time to return to his hometown and bring glory to his ancestors. It's like carrying a torch and rushing into a powder keg. He's trying to kill his brother!

If An Ge's true identity were discovered by the imperial court, Yang Xiaoshuan was terrified just thinking about the consequences.

Not only will Brother An lose his head, but his and Bao Dawei's lives will also be in danger!

Overwhelmed by panic and self-reproach, Yang Xiaoshuan's knees buckled and he collapsed to his knees before Zhao An, his voice trembling. "Brother An, I didn't mean to hurt you! We grew up together, how could I possibly have any malicious intent? I just spoke without thinking... Brother An, I swear I have absolutely no ill intentions towards you, you have to believe me!"

Yang Xiaoshuan, who was not yet twenty years old, was so anxious that he was sweating profusely and almost swore an oath to the heavens. His face was also very pale.

Xiao Shuan's kneeling startled Zhao An awake. Looking at his childhood friend's pale face and frightened eyes, Zhao An felt a sudden softening in his heart. After a moment of silence, he looked at his childhood friend, whom he knew so well, with a complicated expression.

"Xiao Shuan,"

Zhao An's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable force: "I want you to forget your hometown of Xinghua from this day forward, to forget who Zhao An is, because in this world there is only Zhao Youlu, not Zhao An! If you can't forget, we'll be in big trouble, and many people will want us dead, understand?"

"understand!"

When Yang Xiaoshuan looked up at Zhao An, he was no longer the naive boy from the village, nor the little follower who would cry whenever he saw Zhao An. His voice trembled but he said with unwavering determination, "Don't worry, sir. I will keep this to myself from now on. If I can't keep this promise, then you can kill me!"

Zhao An was taken aback by the address "Sir," and sighed inwardly before saying in a deep voice, "I brought you and Dawei out because I trust that you won't betray me and that you are loyal to me. But the most important thing about this loyalty is keeping your mouth shut. If even a single word of what happened in the past leaks out of you, it won't be helping me but harming me, and it will harm yourselves as well. It might even implicate the people back in Xinghua and your parents."

After saying that, he helped Yang Xiaoshuan up from the ground, patted his dusty knees, and his tone became very gentle. "From now on, you can work with me without worry. When this bandit suppression is successful, I will ask the court for your merit and guarantee you a proper future as an official. Although I can't go back to my hometown to bring glory to my ancestors, you and Dawei can. When you go back, just pay respects to my parents for me."

"Ah."

Yang Xiaoshuan nodded emphatically, saying nothing, but his eyes clearly told Zhao An that he would never ask a stupid question again, much less do a stupid thing.

After Xiaoshuan left, Zhao An felt quite uneasy. It wasn't that Xiaoshuan's loyalty was questionable, but rather that he felt a chasm seemed to have grown between him and Xiaoshuan.

A chasm that automatically forms between those in power and their former playmates, whether they like it or not.

Or rather, it's a kind of distance.

It's like a listed company boss returning to his village and offering a cigarette to his childhood friend with great warmth and affection, but the childhood friend can never put himself on the same starting line as the boss again, and can never go back to the scene of their childhood.

On the Green Standard Army side, the various units that received the troop transfer order issued by Zhao An in his capacity as acting governor dared not slack off. Although these people were usually lazy and had a habit of drawing salaries without working, and were very resistant to the military order to go north again after just returning to their defense zone, the order to deal with those who did not arrive by military law still forced these generals to rush to Fengyang.

Because of their proximity, all the units in Huaibei Town in northern Anhui arrived at the assembly point on the scheduled time, and some even arrived early. For example, Zhou Ku, the guerrilla commander in charge of defending Suzhou, led his troops to Fengyang three days in advance.

The Green Standard Army units in southern Anhui were relatively far from Fengyang. The troops from Shouchun Town, Anqing Brigade, Huizhou Brigade, Wuhu Battalion, and other units rushed as fast as they could, and although they complained constantly on the way, they still managed to arrive at the designated assembly point outside Fengyang Prefecture within the deadline.

Zhao An also arrived at the assembly point that day. However, when the officers counted the number of people at sunset, they found that one unit had failed to arrive on time.

It was 600 Huainan soldiers led by Geng Dayong, the garrison commander of Huainan Battalion.

When the situation was reported to Zhao An, Zhao An was talking with Qin Guodong, the general of Shouchun Town.

Qin Guodong is over fifty years old this year. His resume shows that he participated in the Qing army's campaign against Burma when he was young, and later he also went to the Greater and Lesser Jinchuan. He is a general who rose step by step from the grassroots level based on his military achievements.

However, due to the many injuries he sustained while charging into battle in his youth, General Qin's health is now far worse than before, and he came here this time despite his illness.

He was not a product of the "legacy" of the former governor Zhu Gui. He may have had problems such as receiving salaries without working and exploiting soldiers, but overall he was an elderly man who was plagued by injuries and illnesses, had lost his "ambition," and did not want to offend anyone.

The kind of person who's just waiting to retire.

Thus, General Qin had no objection to Zhao An's "four main and six corner" encirclement plan. The general was a second-rank military official, while the provincial governor was a second-rank local official. The provincial governor had no power to control the general, but Zhao An was the acting governor and possessed the Ebilun sword. Therefore, General Qin readily handed over command of the Shouchun Green Standard Army to Zhao An.

This pleased Zhao An greatly, and he planned to ask Qin Guodong to make a name for himself after the war, and see if he could receive extra rewards and retire in a grand manner.

It's highly unlikely that he'll be promoted to admiral.

During the Qianlong era, most of those who could serve as Green Standard Army commanders in a province were Manchu bannermen. There were Han Chinese officials, but they were extremely rare.

Qin Guodong was not a bannerman and was in very poor health. The imperial court would never allow such a sickly man to be promoted to the important position of admiral.

Upon learning that Geng Dayong's troops, the garrison commander of Huainan Camp, had failed to arrive on time, General Qin was naturally displeased and said a few words to Geng Dayong. However, he then pleaded for him, explaining that Huainan Camp was quite far away and that something might have happened on the way that caused the delay. He hoped that Zhao An would not be angry.

Zhao An nodded and chuckled, saying nothing, but postponed the raising of the tent ceremony, which was supposed to take place today, to tomorrow.

The next morning, the men from Huainan Camp finally arrived, but they were slow and their discipline was clearly poor.

Their combat effectiveness is estimated to be even worse.

Now that everyone has arrived, let's move to the main hall.

Raising the tent was not only a symbolic ceremony, but also the key to Zhao An taking over command of the Green Standard Army. At the same time, all the arrangements for this bandit suppression campaign would be carried out after the tent raising.

In modern terms, it was a pre-war military conference.

It wasn't opened in Kaifeng, nor in Xuzhou, but in Fengyang.

The generals attending the meeting need to know who their enemy is, how to fight him, and from where to fight him.

Upon hearing the drumbeat signaling the arrival of the generals, all the generals donned their armor and rushed to the main tent. An official in the tent introduced each of the generals, and Zhao An recognized several of them.

Because their names had appeared in Zhu Gui's memorial to the court requesting merits, all of them had fought bravely and effectively in suppressing bandits.

The truth is that innocent people were killed and their merits claimed.

The group of people who killed innocent people and claimed credit for the crime in Fubiao were eliminated by Zhao An, who was actually Zhang Chengji, the fake provincial inspector. The relevant confessions and evidence had already been reported to the criminal bureau. The evidence was irrefutable and could not be overturned. They were just waiting to be executed in the autumn.

The Green Standard Army in Huainan has not yet been touched. It would be best to eliminate them through the salt bandits. If they cannot be eliminated, Zhao An will have to deal with them personally.

The evil practice of killing innocent people and claiming credit for them must be eradicated at its root, otherwise countless innocent people will die in the future. In particular, if Zhao An wants to turn the Anhui Green Standard Army and local militia into a Huai Army, and this new army is also filled with the evil practice of killing innocent people and claiming credit for them, then using it to quell the White Lotus Rebellion will undoubtedly be just like the Xiang Army under the devil Zeng Guofan, slaughtering everyone they see.

Furthermore, eliminating these generals plagued by bad habits would also help Zhao An seize power over the entire Anhui Green Standard Army.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Geng Dayong, the garrison commander of Huainan Camp, was the last to be called out. Upon hearing his name, Geng Dayong quickly led his officers and lieutenants into the tent, and then they all knelt on one knee to pay their respects to Acting Governor Zhao.

The tent was now filled with dozens of Green Standard Army officers.

Next, like the others, they were to be allowed to stand in line on both sides by Lord Zhao's light permission. Unexpectedly, Zhao An did not let Geng Dayong and the others stand up. Instead, he looked at the garrison commander who looked quite like Zhang Fei and asked him indifferently, "The deadline for my transfer order was before sunset yesterday. Why did your unit arrive so late?"

Geng Dayong paused for a moment, then hurriedly said, "Reporting to you, sir, I received the transfer order a day late. In addition, the mountain road from Huainan to Fengyang is rugged and rain has blocked the way, making it difficult for the brothers to travel. Therefore, it was a day late. Please forgive my situation."

"To show compassion for those below?"

Zhao An sneered, "Military orders are like mountains, how can they be treated like child's play? I have repeatedly stated in my orders that failure to meet the deadline will result in military law. Do you think I am joking with you? Hmph, since you know that the mountain road from Huainan to Fengyang is rugged and blocked by rain, why didn't you set off a day earlier? Why didn't you quicken your pace along the way!"

Seeing Zhao An's anger, Qin Guodong, the general of Shouchun who wanted to play peacemaker, quickly stepped forward and said, "My lord, please calm down. I think what Commander Geng said is true. The journey is indeed difficult. It is not that they intentionally delayed the military mission."

"General Qin, please do not plead for them. I have my own decision."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao An slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Men, seize Geng Dayong and all his officers, including his captains and lieutenants!"

"Whoo!"

The fierce-looking guards outside the tent immediately rushed in and pinned down Geng Dayong and the others, giving them no time to react.

Upon seeing that the acting governor was serious, Geng Dayong panicked and struggled to shout, "Sir, this humble general did not intend to delay military affairs. Please give this humble general a chance to redeem himself!"

"Yes, Geng Dayong is, after all, a fifth-rank garrison commander appointed by the imperial court, and he has a proven track record of leading troops. Lord Zhao might as well give him a chance."

The reason Qin Guodong pleaded for Geng Dayong was that Geng Dayong had shown him great respect during his tenure as the garrison commander of Huainan, and the two had developed a close relationship.

Geng Dayong's father, Geng Mao, had participated in the Burma campaign with Qin Guodong, but Geng Mao did not survive the campaign, while Qin Guodong fought his way out and escaped.

I'll help the son of an old friend if I can; after all, being a day late isn't a big deal.

Seeing this, the other generals also echoed his sentiments.

"Let alone a fifth-rank garrison commander, even a first-rank admiral who misses a military opportunity will be executed without exception!"

Zhao An showed no respect to General Qin. He glanced at the generals pleading for Geng Dayong, took off his Ebilun sword from his waist, slammed it heavily on the table, and shouted, "With the Ebilun sword here, it's as if the Emperor himself is here! Geng Dayong and several others disobeyed military orders and delayed military operations. Their crimes are unforgivable. Drag them out and execute them!"

After saying that, he added coldly, "Anyone who pleads for Geng Dayong again will be dealt with accordingly."

"Whoo!"

The guards of the Fu Biao Army responded loudly, ignoring the cries, pleas for mercy, and curses of Geng Dayong and the others, and roughly dragged them out of the tent.

Overwhelmed by the "pressure" of Ebilun's sword, Qin Guodong and the others dared not plead for mercy and could only watch helplessly as Geng Dayong and the others were dragged away to be executed.

Geng Dayong, who was being forcibly dragged to the tent entrance, suddenly remembered something and quickly shouted, "Sir, you can't kill me! I've already paid the fine for my crime! I've already paid the fine for my crime!"

(End of this chapter)