Sweep Yuan

Chapter 134 A Merchant from Afar Presents a Generous Gift

As the saying goes, "The spring night is short and the sun rises high, and from then on the emperor no longer holds morning court."

—Of course, that's impossible!
The next day, just as dawn broke, Shishan woke up as usual. The battle of the previous day had not left him with any fatigue. On the contrary, he felt refreshed. When he turned over and looked at the inside of the bed, he did not see the bride with her hair disheveled and her makeup ruined.

"My husband, you're awake."

Liu Ruoyun must have gotten up very early. She had already put on light makeup, but she just sat quietly by the bed, waiting for Shishan to wake up.

Seeing the expectant look on her face, Shi Shan recalled the scene of his wife getting up quietly before dawn and carefully applying makeup in front of the bronze mirror. He immediately thought of the famous line from the Tang poem "Approaching the Examination, Presented to Zhang, the Minister of Waterways": "Having finished her makeup, she softly asked her husband, 'Is my eyebrow makeup fashionable?'" He praised her, saying:

"Fashionable!"

Liu Ruoyun came from a scholarly family and had been literate since childhood. She naturally knew this famous poem, which used the feelings of a bride in her boudoir to describe the complex emotions of a scholar about to take the imperial examination. She accepted her husband's praise with grace and poise.

The poem also includes the first two lines, "Last night in the bridal chamber, the red candles burned low; at dawn, I will pay respects to my parents-in-law in the hall." Since Shi Shan's parents are both deceased, there are naturally no parents-in-law for the new bride to serve. This dressing up is solely for her husband.

But thinking of how Shi Shan had no relatives by his side, how many risks and hardships he had endured, and how much effort he had put in to build such a large family business, Liu Ruoyun felt a pang of heartache. Her heart softened, and she quickly stepped forward, saying:
"This concubine will dress my husband."

After getting dressed and washing up, it was still early, so Shishan immediately summoned his personal guards and went to inspect the military camp.

In the camp, although the generals were somewhat surprised that the marshal, who had just gotten married yesterday, hadn't slept in this morning and was still patrolling the camp as usual, they were all considered to have done their duties diligently, and there was no problem of the system being neglected just because the marshal wasn't watching.

The Red Flag Battalion is thriving, with wide-open career advancement opportunities. All the officers are putting in their best efforts to compete in battle achievements, training, and even sports events, fearing to fall behind others. The atmosphere inside is thriving, and even the few lazy ones are swept up by this mainstream and moved forward.

Seeing that his generals were all performing their duties, Shi Shan was pleased and announced to them the long-planned system of rest and leave for officers.

Officers of rank of squad leader and above are entitled to one day of rest every ten days.

Officers must report to the Marshal's Office in advance before taking leave. During their leave, they may not leave the city without special reasons, and each battalion must maintain at least two-thirds of its officers on duty. The commander and deputy commander cannot take leave at the same time.

This system actually only applied to officers who had settled in Haozhou; even if the rest of the officers were given time off, they had nowhere to go.

For the time being, only Tang He met this condition, but he had been transferred by Shi Shan to Huaiyuan to garrison and could not enjoy this benefit. Hu Dahai, on the other hand, had the idea of ​​bringing his family to Haozhou and made an application to the marshal on the spot.

This is also one of the original intentions behind Shishan's establishment of the rest and vacation system.

Having roots means having something to care about. While a lone soldier might be more willing to risk his life for the Red Flag Battalion, the possibility of being courted or bribed by other forces becomes much more uncertain.

As for the gentry of Haozhou taking the opportunity to win over their soldiers, this was unavoidable and there was no need to regard it as a monstrous threat.

Soldiers are flesh-and-blood individuals who will eventually settle down and start families. People naturally strive for better opportunities. Even Shishan himself has arranged marriages with local gentry. If he forbids his soldiers from marrying into the gentry of Haozhou, they will marry into the gentry of Luzhou, Chuzhou, Jiangning, and other places. There's no way to stop them.

Moreover, the Red Flag Battalion wouldn't stay confined to the small territory of Haozhou forever; they would eventually expand outwards.

In contrast to the leave and rest system for officers, Shishan also introduced a leave application and cancellation system for ordinary soldiers.

During the rest period, soldiers in each battalion may request leave if they need to go out to purchase personal necessities or other personal items.

Leave requests should be limited to no more than 5% of the total number of personnel in each battalion. At least two people must travel together. Leave must be approved by the battalion commander. The leave period is usually no more than one hour and records must be kept. Personnel requesting leave must carry a special warrant for verification.

The military is made up of people, and even the most strictly managed military needs to communicate with the outside world.

In fact, some soldiers from each battalion had already gone out on business.

When the team was small, Shishan could still control the whole team. Now, there are more than a dozen battalions in Haozhou City alone. The approval authority has long been delegated. The introduction of the leave application and cancellation system is actually a further standardization of the established facts.

If a soldier on leave encounters an emergency where the army is gathering and the war drums are sounding, he must return to camp within 15 minutes.

Therefore, even if soldiers take leave to go out, their activity area is actually designated, which will inevitably lead to the emergence of a commercial complex integrating eating, playing and shopping around the military camp. Shishan has long had plans to transform and regulate this area.

The way to manage is to have a balance between strictness and leniency. Keeping the soldiers confined in the camp is neither humane nor realistic. They should be allowed to roam freely when necessary.

However, relaxation does not mean indulgence; it is accompanied by the Embroidered Uniform Guard's supervisory system.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard's original surveillance scope was limited to the camp itself, with a staff of just over three hundred, which was somewhat redundant. This was a good opportunity to teach the soldiers to read and write, so they could identify official documents such as warrants and leave records. Now, with their surveillance scope suddenly expanded to the entire city, Zhou Twelve and his men were bound to be busy for a while. By the time Shi Shan returned to the Marshal's Mansion, it was nearly 9 AM. The personnel from various departments of the outer court had already arrived and begun their day's work, or at least pretended to be busy.

Shishan greeted his subordinates and then quickly entered the inner quarters—he had been busy all morning and hadn't had breakfast yet.

Inside the house, Liu Ruoyun had already prepared breakfast, waiting for Shishan to return so they could have breakfast together.

The Marshal's Mansion now has about a dozen women, as well as a dedicated cook. Liu Ruoyun also has a maidservant who accompanied her in her dowry. Of course, she wouldn't actually cook and make a mess, but this morning she still went to the kitchen to find out her husband's eating habits.

In fact, Shishan didn't have any particular dietary preferences. He had good teeth and a good appetite, and he enjoyed everything he ate. He could eat the coarse food in the army with relish, and he wasn't picky about the fine dishes at the Marshal's Mansion either.

Liu Ruoyun's actions were both a sign of her concern for her husband and an exercise of her duties as the matriarch.

As soon as Shishan returned to the manor, he keenly realized that the maids in the manor were looking at him with much more "proper" eyes, no longer daring to be as intense as before.

Even Huang Shuyao, the concubine who had not yet been taken into the household, was less affected by her feigned coquettishness and showed more resentment during the meal.

Shishan pretended not to see it and continued eating in silence.

As his empire grows, his "harem" will inevitably expand rapidly to fulfill the task of establishing his lineage. However, with his ambitions set on the world, he has no energy to waste on these beautiful women.
Liu Ruoyun has the skills to help him manage his "harem," which is naturally a good thing and should be supported.

After breakfast, Shishan summoned all the maids and servants in the mansion and announced in public that from now on, all affairs in the mansion would be managed by the mistress.

After publicly endorsing Liu Ruoyun, Shi Shan didn't delay any longer and quickly returned to the front office to listen to the work reports from various departments. He had only rested for a day yesterday, and there was no work pressing him down. He thought it was just a routine report to the emperor, but unexpectedly, the newly appointed magistrate Chen Cheng reported on a matter.

"Marshal! Zhou Wendao has come again, with a caravan of twenty-seven people and twenty mules and horses. He insists on seeing you, Marshal."

Last year, after Shishan occupied Hongxian County, he announced a policy to stabilize businesses and the market. Zhou Wendao, a cloth merchant from Taiping Road who had lost money due to being robbed on the way, sensed an opportunity and pretended to "donate 100 bolts of fine cotton cloth to the army" in order to cooperate with the Red Flag Battalion.

At that time, Shishan lacked manpower, money, supplies, and intelligence. Considering that Zhou Wendao could indeed provide intelligence, they chose to cooperate with him.

As a result, several months passed and the two sides completed that one deal. Shishan had almost forgotten about this person when Zhou Wendao reappeared.

The cooperation between the two sides was not just ordinary smuggling trade, but also involved more covert intelligence trafficking and arms smuggling. Zhou Wendao insisted on meeting Marshal Shi in person, and Chen Cheng did not dare to make the decision on his own, so he could only ask Shi Shan for instructions.

"Alright, bring him to see me now!"

Zhou Wendao was waiting outside the Marshal's Mansion, and was brought in shortly afterward.

Compared to his destitute state in Hong County a few months ago, Zhou Wendao was now noticeably more extravagant. His dark blue brocade robe, embroidered with cloud patterns, exuded luxury, but his face betrayed his weariness. He had barely stepped into the side room when he hurriedly bowed and offered his congratulations.
"Congratulations on Marshal Shi's marriage! This is a small token of our appreciation from the Taiping Road Merchants Guild. Please accept it, Marshal!"

Shishan automatically ignored the "Taiping Road Merchants Guild". Although there were many merchants on Taiping Road, their business network was mainly based on water transport. Even if a guild was organized, Zhou Wendao would not be the representative.

Moreover, from the time of the marriage proposal to the time of the wedding, it took less than half a month, which was a very short time. This matter was a big deal for the gentry of Haozhou who had a stake in it, but it was just a rumor on Taiping Road, hundreds of miles away. No one with any interest would bother to spread it.

Zhou Wendao probably only found out he was getting married after entering Haozhou City. In order to get more benefits from the Red Flag Camp, he made up a guild on the spot to increase the value of the "congratulatory gift".

But when Shi Shan received the gift list from Guo Ying, he realized that he had underestimated Zhou Wendao—two hundred catties of sulfur, three hundred catties each of alum and saltpeter.

For a merchant from out of town to be able to bring out so many controlled goods as a congratulatory gift at once, he must have really gone to great lengths. Thinking back to how Zhou Wendao only had forty bolts of cloth last time, yet dared to falsely claim a hundred, Shi Shan quipped:
"Boss Zhou, you're not trying to fool us again by bringing dozens of kilograms of minerals for good luck, are you?"

Marshal Shi brought up the old matter again, and Zhou Wendao was somewhat embarrassed, so he quickly explained:

“In the past, I lost my capital and had no choice but to take risks. Fortunately, the Marshal was magnanimous and did not hold my offense against me. He gave me the opportunity to make a comeback. How could I be ungrateful and take advantage of this? All the above supplies are offered by me willingly.”

In Shi Shan's eyes, Zhou Wendao was a very qualified businessman who would never invest heavily in himself for no reason. Could it be that he guessed that the Red Flag Camp might attack Jiangning and deliberately made a good relationship in advance?

But whether or not they want to attack Jiangning is meaningless. There are plenty of rebel armies that want to attack Jiangning. What matters is whether they have the strength to take Jiangning. The Red Flag Battalion is currently trapped in Haozhou and obviously does not have the strength yet.

If it's not because of seeking profit, is it to avoid harm?

Shi Shan's mind raced, and he quickly came up with a possibility, saying:
"Have the Xu-Song Red Turban Army already captured Wuchang Road?"

(End of this chapter)