Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 573 Escort (Part 2)

The second day of the twelfth lunar month, in the morning.

The long queue started from Hefei and headed east.

The Luzhou Wanhu Prefecture dispatched an infantry commander and a cavalry commander to escort the shipment, which consisted of four hundred large carts loaded with arrows, spears, ring-handled swords, large axes, bowstrings, bow tips, wound medicine, and even newly made armor from the rear, plus a small amount of gunpowder for the artillery. After suffering several losses, the Yuan army realized the importance of this stuff.

The road was difficult to travel, slippery and muddy. Standing on the post road, looking from one end to the other, all one could see were endless cart tracks, crisscrossing like scars on the earth.

Yu Que was riding a nag when, around noon, the horse's hoof accidentally stepped into a puddle of mud, splashing him all over. Only then did he realize that the mud, which had frozen there the night before, had long since thawed.

One of the cart wheels got stuck in the mud, and the old oxen pulling it couldn't budge it no matter what they did, no matter how hard the driver whipped it. Helpless, the escorting soldiers had to step forward to help, unloading some of the heavy equipment to lighten the cart's load, and it took them a while to get the cart out of the mud.

Yu Que walked forward at a leisurely pace, and soon saw another overturned vehicle with equipment scattered all over the ground. The driver squatted by the roadside, looking at the injured mule and weeping bitterly.

Several soldiers came over, first harnessed the injured mule, and then worked together to push the cart off the post road.

The carriage tumbled and rolled, crossing a narrow irrigation ditch, and finally came to a stop in a lush green wheat field—the wheat seedlings were sparse, clearly neglected since planting and unlikely to be tended to for the foreseeable future.

"You all stay here and watch. If even one piece of equipment is missing, you will be held responsible." The leader pointed to a few soldiers and ordered them to stay put and guard the equipment while waiting for the Luzhou governor to send someone over.

Yu Que remained silent, because the sign-bearer was simply acting according to custom and had not done anything wrong.

That's just how it is when you're in a siege; it wouldn't be any better if someone were in your shoes. Especially after the recent snowfall, the roads are difficult to travel, so this is the only way.

By evening, the long queue finally came to a stop.

The drivers and laborers felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and instinctively found dry places to sit, panting heavily.

"Lord Yu." Wang Han approached with several soldiers, carrying wine and meat, and said, "I just bought these from a nearby village."

"Bought?" Yu Que asked, somewhat surprised. "How much did you pay for it?"

"Ten ingots," Wang Han said.

Yu Que remained silent. These days, everything is bought in ingots; what use is money anymore?

Before leaving Dadu, he knew that the imperial court had printed a huge amount of Zhongtong and Zhiyuan banknotes. He bought countless things in Dadu and throughout the city without even asking the prices, since it was money printed for nothing. But this incident ruined the last bit of reputation of Zhongtong and Zhiyuan banknotes, and nobody wanted them anymore. Some vendors in the prefectures and counties would even close their stalls as soon as they saw Zhongtong banknotes to avoid being taken advantage of.

From this perspective, currency reform is inevitable. The debates in the government are pointless; opponents will likely shut up when they see the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) banknotes become worthless, because they have no other choice.

The new banknotes of the Zhizheng era, huh. Yu Que gave a wry smile. Does that necessarily mean they have credibility? Probably not.

"Sit down and let's talk," Yu Que said, pointing to the tarpaulin spread on the ground.

"Master Yu, why don't we rest in the village for a while?" Wang Han pointed to the village not far away.

"Let's talk about it tonight," Yu Que waved his hand and said, "I saw dozens of heads at the crossroads just now. Were they bandits? Or civilians?"

"Fleeing convicts." Wang Han placed the wine and meat on the tarpaulin, sat down, and said, "There are always people who escape. Once caught, they're dead. We've only just set off; in two days, there might be more escapes. As for bandits, that's unlikely."

"Why?" Yu Que asked.

"The Luzhou Wanhu Prefecture has been sending cavalrymen to patrol, and even the horse herders at the horse farm have been mobilized to patrol various places."

"Are there still horses at the horse farm?"

"There aren't many left." Wang Han shook his head.

"Aren't there any other bandits in the countryside? I smelled some incense burning in that village just now." Yu Que pointed at Wang

He recounted the route Han and the others had taken.

Wang Han's expression changed. After Yu Que mentioned it, he also felt that he seemed to have smelled it before.

"Don't be nervous." Yu Que waved his hand and said, "These days in the countryside, there are countless people burning incense and gathering in crowds, lighting lamps to worship Buddha, and eating vegetables to appease demons. I remember before I left home for the imperial examinations, the White Lotus Sect, the Maitreya Sect, and the Ming Sect had already spread very widely in the countryside. Over the years, it's probably even worse. The people are suffering, so they need some comfort. It's alright. Those who burn incense and gather in crowds may not necessarily follow the White Lotus Sect in rebellion. Don't be suspicious."

"Lord Yu is far too kind," Wang Han finally managed to utter after a long pause.

Yu Que gave a wry smile and said, "The government can't just keep killing people. Can they kill them all? Even if they do, who will pay your taxes and serve in the army? By the way, are there such people in the army?"

Wang Han thought for a moment and said, "My family doesn't have a chiliarch position, and it's hard to say about the others."

Yu Que responded with an "oh".

However, he guessed that there were such ranks, but they were probably limited to lower-ranking soldiers; those at the hundred-household, thousand-household, or ten-thousand-household levels were unlikely to be included.

Just as they were about to say something, they heard the sound of horses' hooves.

The Luzhou Wanhu cavalry patrolling the perimeter saw this and immediately stopped them. A moment later, they brought over a man dressed as a messenger.

"Please, sir, feed my horse some beans and salt water, otherwise we won't make it to Hefei tonight," the messenger pleaded, his body covered in mud.

Road.

Yu Que nodded and gestured, and soon a soldier took the order and left.

"What urgent military situation is there? Can you tell me?" Yu Que asked.

The messenger hesitated for a moment, then said, "The bandit Shao's fleet appeared near Liyang, sailed upstream along the Wujiang River, breached the royal army's water barricades, killed over a hundred people, and looted and burned their way away."

"I see." Yu Que sighed. With no defenses along the river, they are vulnerable to attacks from all sides, which is indeed a difficult situation.

"Have the bandits left?" he asked again.

"The sandbar outside the dock has been occupied by the bandits and they haven't left," the messenger said.

Yu Que suddenly realized, "No wonder."

He knew that there were sandbars outside the ancient ferry crossing of Liyang, very close to the shore. Some of them gradually merged with the north bank, while others did not. The rebel navy occupied these sandbars in the river and used them as a base to harass the local area, making it truly difficult to defend against.

"Prepare some food and drink for this brother as well, and take him down to rest for a while," Yu Que said.

Wang Han personally distributed some wine and meat to the messenger.

The messenger accepted the letter with profuse thanks, then said, "Sir, be careful on your way forward. I've heard that the attack from Liuhe is very fierce, and the enemy army is about to collapse. They might resort to desperate measures, landing behind our lines to try and cut off our supply lines."

"Thank you for telling me," Yu Que said with a smile.

The messenger bowed again, then turned and left.

Yu Que watched the sun gradually setting in the west, remaining silent.

******

On the afternoon of the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, the transport team passed through the northeastern border of Liang County and entered the territory of Chuzhou.

As I passed a certain spot, I saw many overturned vehicles by the roadside, grain scattered all over the ground, and quite a few bloodstains.

The county magistrate of Liang County and the judge of Chuzhou arrived with their men and were carefully searching for something in the wilderness.

Upon seeing Yu Que, they all came over to pay their respects, and then went back to investigate the scene, as if this matter was of great importance and they dared not take it lightly.

Yu Que inquired a little and learned that a grain transport convoy had been attacked, resulting in many deaths and injuries.

They were guarded by over five hundred soldiers from the Luzhou Wanhu Prefecture, and more than ten of them died in battle. Clearly, this was a large band of bandits.

Yu Que did not interfere with their work, but listened quietly from a short distance away.

In the end, one of the inspectors concluded that this was not an "old thief," but a "new thief."

The reason is simple: soldiers and laborers mentioned that these people were poorly equipped, lacking even basic bows. They used hunting bows to shoot government troops, and in close combat, they used numerous wooden spears, bamboo guns, and machetes. Moreover, if they were seasoned bandits, there would be over a hundred of them, and the results would not have been so meager. The entire grain transport team would have suffered heavy losses, making it impossible for them to continue their journey after repelling the bandits.

Yu Que nodded repeatedly as he listened, but at the same time he was secretly alarmed.

The inspector said that many villages had recently been ravaged by government troops, and the people were starving and destitute. It was normal for them to take desperate measures. They couldn't just sit and wait to die, could they? Therefore, those who tried to rob the grain were actually starving people, newly recruited outlaws. He suggested that they search the nearby villages and they would surely find something.

In addition, this incident also illustrates from another perspective that after the government troops marched south in large numbers, their military discipline was extremely poor, and they severely exploited the local people, to the point that many people could not survive and had no choice but to become thieves.

They're just thieves for now, not daring to raise the flag of rebellion. What will happen to them if the situation changes drastically in the future? Yu Que didn't dare to think about it and left with a heavy heart.

For two consecutive days, the fifth and sixth days of the Lunar New Year, it was drizzling.

Even with a raincoat, the icy rain felt chilling to the bone when it hit you.

On the seventh day, the north wind howled, and the freezing rain turned into heavy snow, making the journey even more difficult. The entire team was filled with complaints, not only from the laborers but also from the soldiers.

On the eighth day, when they finally arrived in Qingliu County, Chuzhou, the entire transport team seemed to be overwhelmed, and more than a hundred people collapsed and developed fevers on the spot.

Yu Que had no choice but to immediately order the Chuzhou government to summon a physician to treat the soldiers and laborers.

Chuzhou initially had no intention of paying attention. Lowly soldiers and scholars, they were already dead, why bother with medicine? Was human life so precious? But there was no other way; he was a vice-commander of the Marshal's Office, so they had to give him face—Chuzhou belonged to Yangzhou Circuit, not under the jurisdiction of the Huaixi Pacification Commissioner's Office, and Yu Que's other identity was not effective here.

After everything was settled, Yu Que gave Wang Han some instructions, and then, with three or five followers, braved the heavy snow and rushed all the way to Liuhe.

On the tenth night, the city of Liuhe was brightly lit. When Yu Que finally met with Shuo Sijian, the siege of the city had reached its final moment, and Liuhe was already teetering on the brink of collapse.

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