Ita Era

Chapter 145 King Qi
Maintaining an army is very expensive, especially a thousand soldiers. If Wang Meng can cooperate, they can squeeze a large sum of money out of Yong'an Pass with their combined military and civilian resources. For example, they can reduce the number of soldiers to 500. The weapons of the 500 soldiers can be exchanged for money, as can their salaries and provisions.

Yu Yuan immediately sat down next to Wang Meng and shared his thoughts.

Wang Meng asked, "Should we bring in refugees to make up the numbers?"

Yu Yuan nodded: "Mm."

Wang Meng said, "I need to go to Yong'an Pass to see the specific situation."

Ding Shi suggested, "We should send the soldiers to do engineering projects. It's a risk-free and highly profitable endeavor. There are all sorts of projects, big and small, in the prefecture and its eleven counties. If there aren't any, we can send them to plant rice seedlings, harvest rice, or clear wasteland."

Wang Meng hesitated: "Should we send the soldiers to farm?"

Ding Shi said, "Money isn't important; the most important thing is that it's educational. Let the soldiers experience the lives of ordinary working people, let them know that food is hard-earned, and let them understand the significance of defending their homeland. Furthermore, let the soldiers and civilians interact more, work together, and go hungry together. This is in line with the spirit of unity between the army and the people."

The woman in red couldn't help but say, "Ding Shi, that's enough. You're getting more and more absurd."

Ding Shi retorted, "I call this elegance. Look at Wang Meng and Yu Yuan, they talk about money all the time, how vulgar. We should talk about sentiment, feelings, education, and spirit. Making money is just a byproduct."

While chatting idly, Ding Shi suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "I suddenly thought of a story."

Everyone waits.

Ding Shi said, “I’ve forgotten who the protagonist is, but he must be a famous official. A flood occurred in a certain place, and there were many refugees. Most county magistrates would set up soup kitchens to help the refugees. The protagonist magistrate embarked on a large-scale construction project. He persuaded the local wealthy people to renovate ancestral halls, build bridges and roads, construct temples, and rebuild the county government office.”

The woman in red asked, "And then?"

Ding Shi said, "Then I forgot."

Yu Yuan said, "This is called work relief. Yong'an County is in dire need of help, and I think there is much that can be done."

Chu Yu: "Where did the money come from?" The initial capital is one thousand taels. Exploiting the common people? It might be okay in the first round, but by the second round, the economy and people's livelihood have collapsed, and there's not much left to squeeze out.

Yu Yuan said, “Princess, doesn’t she want to raise an army? We can build barracks at the location she designates, build workshops to make weapons and armor, and help her find soldiers among the refugees. We can announce that we are building a refugee settlement and that the workshops are used to make agricultural tools. With the princess’s help, I can also take back the 400 acres of land belonging to the county government and give it to the refugees to manage.”

Everyone thought it was a good idea; getting on the good side of the princess could solve many problems.

If you can't beat them, join them; there's nothing shameful about it.

Hua Shan, who hadn't participated in the discussion, looked at the three copper coins in front of her and said, "I cast a divination for Huozhong, and the hexagram is 'Inferior Horse.' One possibility is that someone is shirking their duties, another is that they're a black sheep, and yet another is that someone is dragging their feet." Wasn't this supposed to be a math problem? Why is it a language arts question this time? How infuriating!

Ding Shi was already somewhat aware of his identity. As a seasoned undercover agent, he remained unmoved and said, "Xiao Hua, why don't you think positively? Haven't you heard the saying, 'The early bird catches the worm, the early horse runs'?" Was he an undercover agent? How should he go about his undercover work? Was it worth it? These were all questions that needed to be answered after they went to Xia Xiang Lou.

Hua Shan shook her head, looking at Ding Shi with clear eyes, and replied, "I haven't heard of it."

Ding Shi: "You've never heard of it, that's right, I made it up."

Su Su said, "In most cases, 'inferior horse' means something bad, but it also means a horse that is difficult to tame. Difficult to tame doesn't mean it's impossible to tame, and once tamed, such horses are far stronger than other horses of the same type. Xiao Hua, your copper coins aren't good enough. I'll have Ding Ding buy you a string of five-emperor coins another day."

Hua Shan was speechless: "Xiao Hua? You were just calling me Shan Shan. You're such a beauty, why did you have to act like a thief?"

Ding Shi complained, "She's a beauty, a great beauty, not just some pretty girl." The undercover agent's one lie led to his entire gang's rise to power.

Su Su blinked her seemingly innocent big eyes and asked, "I know I'm beautiful, but shouldn't the focus be on learning to be a thief?"

Ding Shi spouted nonsense: "Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me. Scholars are the greatest, and those who are accomplished are my teachers."

Hua Shan was speechless. She remembered the saying "A wise man is a teacher," but she wasn't sure if it meant "A scholar is the greatest." The saying just sounded familiar.

The half-hour preparation time ended amidst everyone's casual conversation.

A skilled undercover agent can drastically reduce a team's efficiency.

……

In the 30th minute of the second round, Xia Xiang Lou...

There was only one table of customers inside. The previously listless waiter and manager immediately straightened up when they saw Ding Shi enter the restaurant, and the two quickly exchanged glances. The waiter hurried to the stairs, made a gesture of invitation, and bowed deeply.

Ding Shi headed towards the stairs, with the waiter leading the way. They went upstairs, turned left to the end, and knocked on the door of the top-tier private room a few times.

The door opened, and a masked woman stepped out of the private room. She was dressed in black, with a willow-leaf dart tucked into her belt and a pair of Emei daggers slung across her left back. The woman sized up Ding Shi for a few seconds, then stepped back to let him pass. Ding Shi entered the room, and the woman closed the door, gesturing for him to walk forward.

Ahead was a horizontal screen. After going around the screen, one could see a wine table and a man beside it. The man was in his thirties, dressed in elegant and luxurious clothes, with a jade pendant hanging from his waist.

The man stood up, holding a folding fan and clasping his hands in a fist salute, and said, "I have long admired your name, Judge Ding."

Ding Shi, missing a hand, raised his fist and said, "I dare not, I dare not." What is your name?
The man said, "I am the Prince of Qi, the younger brother of the current Shrimp King. I am the ninth in rank, and everyone also calls me the Ninth Prince."

Ding Shi thought for a second, then was utterly shocked: "So it's His Highness Prince Qi. I'm so terrified."

King Qi seemed quite satisfied, chuckled, and gestured for Ding Shi to take his seat.

The King of Qi was not a significant figure. He possessed a fiefdom in Yongping County, south of Yong'an County. The fiefdom was tiny, consisting of one town and eight villages, with a population of around 20,000. This information was provided by a black-tech encyclopedia and was temporarily consulted by Ding Shi. A fiefdom is different from a place of residence. A place of residence is subject to taxation, while a fiefdom is essentially an independent kingdom, but it is subject to the supervision of court officials, especially regarding private armies, which are strictly controlled.

Prince Qi wasted no time and got straight to the point: "Last year, Judge Ding was wronged, but fortunately the Second Prince had keen insight and discovered the suspicious points in the case file, which is why the case was sent back from the Dali Temple." He told Ding that he was originally going to be exiled, but the Second Prince promoted him.

Ding Shi stood up and bowed to the east, saying, "Thank you, Second Prince." He then bowed to Prince Qi, saying, "Thank you, Prince Qi." His gratitude was genuine; without the powerful figure's help, he would have been dead. Although nothing is free, survival was paramount.

King Qi gestured for Ding Shi to sit down, and Ding Shi sat down and asked, "I wonder what the Second Prince needs me to do?"

King Qi reached out and took out a scroll from the side. When he unfolded it, he saw that it was a traditional Chinese ink painting of Yong'an Pass.

King Qi said, "The design of Yong'an Pass is very ingenious. Yong'an Pass defends the south but not the north. There are two city gates on the south side, one is an ordinary city gate, and the other is a winch gate with a barbican."

King Qi pointed to the barbican and said, "When the army enters Yong'an Pass, we must break through the barbican gate. The barbican's mechanisms will then activate. This is the first mechanism: 20 long, finely crafted iron spears." Near the barbican gate was a hidden chamber, similar to a bunker, filled with spearmen. Forty spearmen worked in pairs, thrusting and retracting their spears in unison. The spears were over 4 meters long, while the barbican gate was only 3 meters wide.

Ding Shi asked in confusion, "Now that you know the location of the mechanism..." King Qi replied, "I only know the mechanism here."

Ding Shi understood that the King of Qi only knew that there were 20 large spears inside the barbican. From a topographical perspective, whether attacking the city gate or the city wall, the attackers had to attack the barbican. The barbican had a large building area, but the space inside was not large.

King Qi said, "What we want to know most is the location of the winch on the barbican gate. The barbican gate is raised by four thick iron chains using a winch. Once the order is received, the chains will be released and the iron gate will be lowered. The winches on the four iron chains are located in the west, east, southeast, and southwest."

Ding Shi guessed: "But there is only one real winch."

King Qi said, "It's so comforting to explain things to smart people. That's right, there's only one real winch. This is an important deception to prevent spies from sabotaging Yong'an Pass. Not to mention the enemy army, even the soldiers guarding the winch don't know whether the winch they're guarding is the real one."

Ding Shi asked, "Do you want to know the true location of the winch?"

The King of Qi replied, "We also need the defense map of Yong'an Pass, which includes the soldiers' shifts, camp locations, shift change times, personnel stationed in the barbican, and the supplies provided, etc."

Ding Shi said, "You're asking for too much."

King Qi said, "We are not asking you to provide all the information we want to know. We hope you can help us as much as possible. The reward we give you will vary depending on your contribution."

Ding Shi asked, "What if I finish everything?"

King Qi said, "Then I will grant you the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, a fifth-rank official."

Ding Shi said, "I need time to think about it."

King Qi said, "For the next two days, I will stay at Xiaxianglou and await the good news from Judge Ding."

Ding Shi stood up to take his leave, and King Qi asked with interest, "Why didn't you ask why it was you, Chief Justice Ding? Or what my position is?"

Ding Shi said, "The more you know, the faster you die."

Prince Qi smiled and changed the subject, saying, "The Judicial Commissioner is under the jurisdiction of the Court of Judicial Review. The Court of Judicial Review has the Second Prince's men. As long as you do your job well, you will naturally not be treated unfairly."

Ding raised his fist: "See you later."

King Qi smiled and nodded.

The female guard saw Ding Shi off and, upon seeing King Qi, asked, "Why him?"

King Qi said, "I received news that he killed Xu Liao."

The female guard asked, puzzled, "Xu Liao?"

The King of Qi said, "It is the princess's beloved. It is said that on his twentieth birthday, the princess spent a lot of money to have a set of bright silver armor made for him."

……

I have a feeling that something's off about the script.

As Ding Shi rode his electric scooter toward Yong'an Pass, he pondered why he had gotten caught up in this conspiracy, when everyone else was busy with their own affairs. Was it because he was handsome?
Ding Shi acknowledged this, but thought it wasn't enough to make the King of Qi choose him. The difference between him and Yu Yuan and the others was that he faced the Ironclad Soldiers in the first round.

Yu Yuan's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "The princess has agreed in principle." All seven walkie-talkies were encrypted, so outsiders could not eavesdrop on their conversation.

Wang Meng: "Principles?"

Yu Yuan: "She not only demands that they not receive salaries without working, but also requires that 200 soldiers be recruited for them and stationed near Yong'an Pass. You need to recruit 200 refugees and enlist them as new soldiers. The new soldiers need a camp, workshops, stables, a training ground, and a series of supporting facilities. All expenses will be borne by the Princess's Mansion, and the command will be given to the general of the soldiers dispatched by the Princess's Mansion. Please have Chu Yu plan it out and give me a price, and then I will arrange for the refugees to go there."

Su Su asked, "How much silver is the princess willing to give?"

Yu Yuan replied, "She didn't specify the exact figures, but she promised to cover all the expenses and also promised to get back 400 mu of land for us."

Chu Yu: "That means we can't get money from her to improve people's lives."

Yu Yuan said, "To be precise, the princess is responsible for all expenses related to the refugees, as well as the additional expenses incurred at Yong'an Pass. Hiring refugees and the four hundred acres of farmland all fall under this category. By reducing our expenditures, the newly collected tax revenue can be used to improve people's livelihoods and public security."

The woman in red said, "It's just enough to survive; we lack the funds to develop."

Ding Shi interjected, "Have you noticed how strange the second round was? We've latched onto the princess's powerful backer, so it doesn't matter how well we perform. As long as we're obedient, the princess will bail us out."

Yu Yuan said, "It's not surprising. If I'm not mistaken, the Shrimp Emperor will pass away this year, and the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Third Prince will engage in a fierce battle for the throne. The Second Prince's maternal family has 20 soldiers in the south, and Yong'an Pass is an impregnable fortress. The Third Prince and the Princess are in cahoots, and their target is Yong'an Pass. As long as Yong'an Pass is held, the Second Prince's maternal family's 20-strong army will be protected."

Yu Yuan added, "The outcome of the battle at Yong'an Pass will determine which prince becomes the new Shrimp Emperor."

Chu Yu: "But why do I only see the Third Prince's men, and not the Second Prince's or the Crown Prince's men?"

Yu Yuan: "I don't know."

Su Su was optimistic: "Perhaps they don't know yet that we've sided with the princess."

Faced with the naive and innocent Su Su, the traitor Ding Zhun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. At the same time, alarm bells were ringing in his mind: he had secretly met with Prince Qi, who was on the Second Prince's side. The princess was colluding with the Third Prince. What about the Crown Prince? Could the Crown Prince possibly turn members of the Fire Seed faction against him?
……

To reach the Yong'an Pass city gate, one must cross a 10-meter-wide drawbridge. This was to prevent the enemy from directly breaching Yong'an Pass after the city walls were breached. In other words, as mentioned earlier, whether the enemy breached the city walls or the gate, they had to first breach the barbican.

Having just met with three centurions, Wang Meng stood atop the city wall, gazing out at the vast plain. This place was truly magnificent; steep cliffs rose on both sides, devoid of vegetation. Small enemy forces would need a day to circle around the mountains, while large enemy forces would require at least three days.

A soldier jogged up to Wang Meng and said, "General, a magistrate named Ding Shi wants to see you."

Wang Meng replied, "Okay, I understand." He lingered for a while longer before reluctantly taking his leave.

There are two rows of buildings on the left and right below Yong'an Pass, and the Military Affairs Office of the pass is located in one of them. When Wang Meng arrived, Ding Shi was looking at the sand table of Yong'an Pass in the central hall of the Military Affairs Office.

Wang Meng strode in, exuding the air of a general. Coupled with his Sharingan, he inexplicably gave Ding Shi a cool feeling.

Wang Meng waved his hand: "Come in and sit down." He knew Ding Shi must have something on his mind.

(End of this chapter)