Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 371 Your Food Supplies Feed My Soldiers (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader Chuan Ge's Unattractiveness)

Pudong, Wusong River Estuary.

As the sun sets, the river surface is already tinged with a layer of shimmering gold.

The waves were small, gently lapping against the reeds on the shore.

In the distance, there are rows of houses, docks of all sizes, and vast stretches of desolate grassland.

This is Shanghai County, a very divided place.

Most people live in Puxi, while Pudong has a small number of registered residents, and the few remaining residents tend to live in close-knit communities, leaving behind a large amount of sparsely populated wasteland.

Some of the wasteland can be used to grow crops, and you might even find some villages.

Some wastelands are too saline-alkali, so they can only grow cotton, and there are fewer people there, who are often servants or tenants of wealthy families.

Some wastelands are unsuitable for cotton cultivation, as they are overgrown with salt-tolerant vegetation and can only be used for grazing livestock.

Wusongjiang Estuary is a relatively densely populated area. The reason is simple: maritime trade has attracted a large population.

Shanghai was one of the sub-districts under the Qingyuan Maritime Trade Office. Although the gentlemen preferred to live in the city, most of the large ships anchored near the mouth of the Wusong River in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Therefore, in addition to merchants, there were also official agencies here, such as the patrol inspectors and some officials of the Shanghai Maritime Trade Office.

When the archers of the patrol office saw Governor Wang Hua, they not only did not attack, but instead saluted from a distance.

Wang Huadu greeted them with a smile and sent someone to deliver thirty strings of cash to his brothers to buy tea.

The archers were overjoyed and left, expressing their gratitude profusely.

Wang Huadu then went to a familiar inn, flirted with the innkeeper's wife for a while, and then borrowed an empty space from them to settle the people he had brought.

After doing all that, he plopped down on a stranded old fishing boat, dangling his legs over the gunwale, picking his teeth casually with a blade of grass in his hand.

"Are you all here?" Kong Tie walked over and asked in a low voice.

"That's all, they're all here." Wang Huadu jumped off the old ship, slammed the anchor axe on the ground, braced himself on the handle, grinned, and said, "Brother Shao said we should stabilize things here in Shanghai first, no rush to expand. Forty-odd men are enough, most of them have leather armor, even more luxurious than the government troops, who dares to object?"

Kong Tie glanced at the people that Wang Huadu had brought.

Their clothes weren't exactly neat; there were all sorts of colors, but everyone was wearing armor, carrying weapons, and their faces showed the excitement of someone who had just come from the training field and hadn't completely faded.

Led by Zhao Xiaoer, Ji Wu, and Su Shuisheng, they formed three columns and proceeded to the borrowed open space in turn.

Upon arrival, they sat down on the ground and whispered among themselves. After being reprimanded twice by the officer, they all quieted down.

Kong Tie withdrew his gaze.

These forty-odd people were mainly salt producers from Shanghai and migrants from Jiangbei, with a few local farmers from Pudong added to the mix. Most of the bandits who had been sent over back then had left one after another, unable to stand the discipline, leaving only a few behind.

Kong Tie didn't know how capable these people were in combat.

But they did make a name for themselves in Shanghai, first wiping out the old-established Li family of salt merchants, and then rushing to Jiaxing, where they caught up with Li Jimao and his sworn brother, and took over more than half of the market.

Dog Slave is no simple man either. I heard that in order to control the salt route in Jiaxing, he swore brotherhood with a local wandering knight, calling each other brothers, and quickly gained control of the situation.

In the Songjiang and Jiaxing area, he made all the decisions, big and small. I used to hear him complain that he spent all his time clearing land and farming, which was really boring, but recently I haven't heard him say that anymore. He's obviously enjoying it.

"Dog slave, you're over here—" Kong Tie suddenly said.

"Don't worry, I'm all prepared." Wang Huadu waved his hand dismissively and said, "If Fang Guozhen comes, he will definitely land here. Don't be fooled by the fact that most of Shanghai is surrounded by the sea; there aren't many suitable places to land. And among those suitable places, this is the only one with both people and money. If Fang Guozhen doesn't land here, I'll look down on him. He can't even be a thief; what use is he?"

Kong Tie remained silent, swallowing back the words he wanted to say.

"But—" Wang Huadu said again, somewhat irritated, "will he even come?"

"I don't know." Kong Tie looked up at the gray sea in the distance and said, "But the people of Shanghai think he will come. That's enough."

Wang Huadu was speechless; it seemed to be true.

The two then walked along the pier for a while, which can be considered as a site survey.

There were seven or eight large ships docked at the pier, some unloading cargo and others loading cargo, all moving much faster than usual.

These foreign merchants and travelers, some from overseas and some from China, were all quite conflicted at the time.

Let's set sail and run away, but I'm worried about running into Fang Guozhen on the way and having him robbed of everything.

Staying here seems quite agonizing, because Fang Guozhen's men might go upstream and catch them in the Wusong River, which is a real dilemma.

Today is September 16th, and the situation is getting increasingly tense.

News arrives every day. And in the process of spreading, it is inevitable that things will be distorted or misrepresented, which makes it even more frightening.

Some ships have already decided to risk setting sail and try their luck, rather than stay here and wait to die.

Some hired boatmen at great expense to tow the boats upstream, stopping them near Shanghai County, as far away from the mouth of the Wusong River as possible.

Some people were still undecided, but the ships that Kong and Wang saw were the ones they were looking for.

Their arrival even caught the eye of the seafarers from Persia and Arabia.

Hire mercenaries? They're familiar with that.

After nightfall, Kong Tie boarded a boat in a secluded spot on the river, lit an oil lamp, spread out a sheet of paper, and began to write a letter.

The letter was addressed to Shao Shuyi.

He wrote slowly, his handwriting was messy and his grammar was poor, but every stroke was deliberate: "Hu Guangyan said that Shanghai County sent someone to Liujiagang, probably to talk to you about guarding the dock. People here are restless, and some ship owners have already contacted me privately, asking if I can protect their ships and cargo. On your behalf, I will accept their request and take the goods as a deposit."

This man might be of use to me. Commander Wang has arrived and is stationed at the mouth of the Wusong River, awaiting orders.

After he finished writing, he gently blew away the ink, folded the book, put it into a bamboo tube, sealed it with wax, and handed it to his subordinate, saying, "Send it to Liujiagang tonight."

******

September 19th, Changqiao Water Village, Liujiagang, light rain.

Shao Shuyi is looking at a newly arrived document.

Ever since he took over the water fortress, Yu Chu has been trying to find ways to copy official documents from the government every day.

This is an order issued by the provincial government to Pingjiang Circuit. The wording is very formal: "The prefectures, counties, and districts along the coast should take their own precautions. Any suspicious vessels are not allowed to dock."

Shao Shuyi read the document twice and then put it down.

"They won't allow the prefectural city to send people; they're telling the various prefectures and counties to figure it out themselves." He said to Yu Yuan beside him, "Shanghai County is in a hurry because they received this."

Yu Yuan nodded and said, "Their people are already waiting outside."

Shao Shuyi stood up, walked to the window, and glanced out.

There weren't many people. A leader stood at the front, followed by two attendants, their faces tense.

"Please come in," Shao Shuyi said.

Yu Yuan went out to greet them. A moment later, the leader was led into the room.

"Cai Wenzhong, the registrar of Shanghai County, has come to pay his respects to Shao She on the orders of County Magistrate Zhou." The man cupped his hands in a respectful manner, and his voice remained relatively calm.

Shao Shuyi stood up and returned the greeting, then pointed to the chair beside him and said, "Please sit down, Registrar Cai, and serve tea."

Cai Wenzhong sat down, took the teacup, but didn't drink it immediately. He glanced at Shao Shuyi, seemingly pondering how to begin.

Shao Shuyi spoke first: "Is Magistrate Zhou a newcomer this year?"

"Exactly."

"How have you been?"

Cai Wenzhong put down his teacup and said, "It's alright. It's just that people in Shanghai are in a state of panic these days, and even the county magistrate can't sleep soundly."

"Because of Fang Guozhen?"

"Your Excellency is wise, Mr. Shao." Cai Wenzhong bowed slightly and said, "Your Excellency has heard that you have been stationed at Liujiagang without committing any offenses, and Kunshan Prefecture is at peace. You greatly admire this. Now the rebels are powerful, and the navy cannot control them. Shanghai only has a hundred or so archers, which I fear will be insufficient to defend them. Your Excellency sent me here to ask if you would be willing to move your troops to Shanghai to help defend the port?"

Shao Shuyi neither confirmed nor denied the matter, but instead inquired about the situation in Shanghai, asking, "Have the pirate ships already appeared off the coast of Shanghai?"

"No, not at all," Cai Wenzhong said. "They are still circling around Jiaxing and Qingyuan. These two places are more prosperous than Shanghai, and Qingyuan is an important maritime trading town, where the Maritime Trade Office is located. The bandits probably don't want to leave easily."

Just one—

He shook his head at this point and said, "As the saying goes, greed is insatiable. After robbing Jiaxing and Qingyuan, who knows if the bandits won't come to Songjiang? The county really dares not gamble."

The three words "dare not gamble" say it all.

These lower-level officials in the prefectures and counties have their lives and fortunes tied to this. If they really lose the city, do you think there will be any good things to come?

With the fall of Ganpu Port, officials throughout Jiaxing Road and Haiyan Prefecture were in for a terrible misfortune.

It is certain that some people will die, and others will be exiled to Harahuo Prefecture, or perhaps to another place, because this year the "Western Barbarian bandits" have risen up, attacking and seizing territory everywhere, and Harahuo Prefecture is about to fall.

As for losing his or her job, that is equally unacceptable.

In short, if the officials of Shanghai County don't seek help from others, they'll have to gamble with their lives and see if their own destiny is strong enough.

Now it seems that County Magistrate Zhou Wenzhi dares not gamble.

Shao Shuyi picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then looked at Cai Wenzhong, saying in a calm and unhurried tone, "Helping to defend the port is not out of the question. But there are a few things that need to be clarified first."

"Please speak, Shao She."

"First, my men will only guard the docks and won't enter the city. You can rest assured about that; I'm not here to take over the place."

Cai Wenzhong breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "That's what the county magistrate thinks too."

"Second—" Shao Shuyi held up a second finger, "My men have arrived in Shanghai and need to be able to stop their ships at the mouth of the Wusong River for supplies and to refuel, as well as have barracks."

Cai Wenzhong was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "This is not difficult."

Shao Shuyi then held up a third finger and said, "Third, Kunshan Prefecture will give me three thousand ingots of paper money and two thousand shi of grain every month. Shanghai County is not like Kunshan, so I can ask for a little less, but not too little. Two thousand five hundred ingots of paper money and one thousand five hundred shi of grain per month. If Fang Guozhen does not come, this money and grain will still be paid; if he comes and my men fight desperately and there are casualties, this money and grain will be increased later."

Cai Wenzhong frowned slightly.

He probably did his homework before coming and knew how many people from Kunshan Prefecture had contributed. The number wasn't outrageous, but it was certainly not easy for Shanghai County.

However—this was a life-or-death situation, and he had to pay whatever it took, so he nodded and said, "Okay."

Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "That's great!"

Having said that, he ignored Cai Wenzhong and instead had Yu Yuan discuss the details with him. He then went to the front of the water fortress, summoned Liang Tai, and said, "Buddha's Tooth, tomorrow you pack your things and take 150 infantrymen eastward to Shanghai to reinforce the Dog Slave, in case of any unforeseen circumstances."

Liang Tai hesitated for a moment, then said, "Dividing our forces at this time doesn't seem like a good idea."

"I can't afford to lose Shanghai," Shao Shuyi said. "There are hundreds of acres of farmland, over a hundred households of refugees, the salt route, and the Fei family's connections with foreign countries. We can't lose them. Fang Guozhen's men might have been united when they were driven to the brink, but now they're all plundering and aren't so united anymore. Why not pick on the many easy targets along the coast instead of attacking places with long spears, shields, and powerful bows and crossbows? Don't worry, the 150 peasant soldiers you brought have been trained far more times than the fishermen Fang Guozhen recruited. If you can win, fight; if you can't, run. I won't blame you."

Liang Tai remained silent for a moment, then finally bowed and agreed.

Shao Shuyi nodded to him and then went to check out the newly recruited seafarer camp.

Since arriving in Liujiagang, he has recruited nearly two hundred seafaring boat owners and dozens of fishermen. Seafaring boat owners from Jiading Prefecture have also come to join him after hearing the news, bringing the total to almost three hundred.

Kong Tie went to Songjiang and also poached people there; conservatively speaking, he could recruit over a hundred people.

By the way, recently dozens of defeated soldiers from the Changqiao naval forces slipped back, but were disarmed by Shao Shuyi just as they were about to enter the water fortress.

He originally had over a thousand naval personnel, and now it is estimated that the number will reach fifteen thousand.

Shao Shuyi decided to organize them into three commands, each leading five hundred soldiers. As for the number of ships, he still needed to carefully consider it, since some ships could carry more than ten people, while others could carry eighty or even one hundred.

To date, Shao Shuyi has collected and seized a total of ten Hai Xian He Shao (armed patrol boats).

They were incorporated into the First Command of the Ma Tuo Sha Navy, and the commander was transferred from the Army Division, Li Fu.

The second command has also been reorganized, with Lin Shanyi serving as the commander.

The third command is still undergoing reorganization.

During this time, Shao Shuyi was anything but idle. He was constantly using the money and provisions provided by Kunshan Prefecture to train his soldiers and straighten out internal relations. He didn't want his navy to be in chaos like a vegetable market.

On September 20, just as Shao Shuyi was personally receiving a group of fishermen and boatmen from Jiading Prefecture who had come to seek refuge and distributing rewards to them, the naval commander's first patrol boat returned to port and reported that a man claiming to be Cai Luantou and Li Daweng had boarded a boat and was sailing from the direction of Chongming, requesting to enter the port.

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