Chapter Fifty-Three: A Plan of One’s Own

Inside the military camp of Shandong Town, a burly man with a face full of scars, narrow eyes, and a shaved head wore an expression of sheer delight. This man was Liu Kecheng, a subordinate general under Liu Zeqing.

Liu Kecheng exclaimed excitedly but hesitantly, “Commander, can we really get the military pay for twelve thousand combat soldiers?”

Another robust but shorter man with a round face and small green eyes listening nearby was equally thrilled. This was Ruan Yingzhao, another general under Liu Zeqing.

“Twelve thousand combat soldiers, one tael and five qian of silver per month each. Plus eight thousand auxiliary troops, each receiving eight qian monthly. That’s twenty-four thousand four hundred taels for one month. Then there’s the mobilization bonus, the battle allowance, and the risk pay. We’ll feast before departure; all told, if we fight for two months, we’ll be able to squeeze at least sixty thousand taels out of that Qin Knight here in Shandong Town!”

“Mother of mercy… That’s fantastic!” Liu Kecheng’s eyes widened in amazement the moment he heard the figure.

But Liu Zeqing looked at him with disdain. “What are you making a fuss about? You’ve never seen the world beyond this town, have you?”

Liu Kecheng and Ruan Yingzhao, however, were thick-skinned and paid no mind to Liu Zeqing’s scolding. Ruan Yingzhao even smiled ingratiatingly, “Commander, you haven’t told us—this Qin fellow really agreed? Including his own share, once we leave Linqing, he’ll have to prepare at least a hundred thousand taels!”

Hearing “a hundred thousand taels,” Liu Kecheng nodded repeatedly, feeling a bit dizzy, mouth agape with saliva flowing, “We’ll have to empty the treasury for sure!”

At that moment, Liu Zeqing recalled the scene when Zhu Cilang put on a bold front, swelling his face to appear confident.

“Stop making a fuss. I’m telling you, that Qin Knight promised—he promised!” Liu Zeqing laughed heartily.

“Twenty thousand suits of armor, sir promised?”

“Promised!”

“Nine thousand matchlock guns, sir promised too?”

“Yes!”

“Fifty thousand spears and swords, sixteen culverins, four great general cannons, and twenty thousand laborers. Sir… sir!”

“Yes, yes, I promised all of that!” Zhu Cilang helplessly watched Chang Zhilang’s unsteady steps and quickly went to steady him.

Chang Zhilang, however, felt like crying silently. “Sir… sir, how can you promise all this? This is plainly… blackmail, extortion!”

“What if I don’t agree? If Liu Zeqing doesn’t send troops, how else can I enter the Central Plains, quell the rebellion, make merit, and restore peace to Henan?” Zhu Cilang wore a serious expression but couldn’t help laughing toward the end.

Chang Zhilang was speechless. After being appointed to the Imperial Academy’s Taxation Supervisory Division as an academic official, he had in fact started serving as Zhu Cilang’s adviser and strategist.

In truth, the scholars who came were all Zhu Cilang’s close team members, often serving as a think tank. Chang Zhilang was the chief strategist, slowly but carefully building Zhu Cilang’s administrative staff.

Naturally, as the chief strategist, Chang Zhilang had to risk his superior’s displeasure by offering candid advice. He earnestly said, “Sir, where in Shandong Town are there twelve thousand combat soldiers? The four battalion commanders are all empty titles drawing soldiers’ wages. The eight thousand auxiliary troops are more like beggars who can be rounded up anytime. In the end, if five thousand can actually fight, we should thank our lucky stars. As for the armor, weapons, culverins, and great general cannons, there are serious issues. Shandong Town’s armor has always been well-stocked, but no one knows how to use the culverins or great general cannons. His demand is just a pretext to get money and supplies upfront, then use fake accounts to buy cannons! These… are all—”

“All meant to deceive me, right?” Seeing this, Zhu Cilang laughed heartily. “Don’t worry, I have a plan. None of this money or equipment will be wasted.”

“Yes, sir.” Seeing Zhu Cilang’s confidence, Chang Zhilang sighed softly and finally ceased his remonstrations.

This commander had given his opponents one surprise after another.

“Let’s go see our troops. Only these comrades who share our hearts and minds are truly reliable. Liu Zeqing… is but a thin skin to me,” Zhu Cilang said with a smile, spurring his horse to gallop as he led Chang Zhilang and the others into the camp.

The troops Zhu Cilang referred to were, of course, the Crown Prince’s Guard. Stationed north of Linqing City, they were housed in the newly built small fortress.

In secret, Liu Zeqing had sent four or five parties to find more of Zhu Cilang’s soldiers but found none. Instead, they discovered Zhu Cilang loudly recruiting soldiers at the camp’s logistics division.

Though Zhu Cilang held the title of Crown Prince’s Guard commander, it was clearly not a title to be flaunted. Thus, externally, the unit was uniformly called the Customs Tax Division Patrol Army. Of course, the name “Patrol Army” was undignified, so Zhu Cilang gave it the grand title of Linqing Household Department Customs Tax Division Patrol Camp, abbreviated as Linqing Camp.

Linqing Camp numbered only four hundred men. The thousand-man commander Fu Rugui had been dispatched by Zhu Cilang, so he now personally led the camp.

Under the thousand-man commander were three hundred-man commanders: one led infantry, another cavalry, and the last handled three culverins and one large red-coated cannon.

Soon, Zhu Cilang arrived at the camp gate.

“Freeze to death rather than tear down buildings!”

“Starve to death rather than pillage!”

Old Seventeen raised his identification plaque, verified the password, and entered the camp.

Just inside the camp, Zhu Cilang saw Infantry Commander Liu Sheng shouting loudly, leading over two hundred men wielding twelve-foot-long spears, arrayed in formation, bracing themselves against Cavalry Commander Liu Zhen, who led a hundred horsemen.

Zhu Cilang raised his hand, signaling Old Seventeen and Chang Zhilang to keep quiet.

At that moment, all the extra gazes in the camp focused on the staged display.

Liu Sheng led his two hundred plus men with long spears into a battle line. Liu Zhen divided his hundred cavalry into three squads, circling repeatedly, searching for a flaw in Liu Sheng’s formation.

Sure enough, when Liu Zhen personally charged with cavalry to Liu Sheng’s flank, the infantry’s response slowed, and confusion erupted.

Seizing the moment, Liu Zhen roared, “Men, charge with me!”

His shout thundered, spreading the chaos further.

“Fear nothing! If we lose, do we have to wash these bastards’ feet again? Fight with all you’ve got, weapons ready, form line!”

“Lin Liu, have your musketeers ready!”

“Wen Dong, Chen Fangfei, take your spear men with me, weapons ready, face the enemy!”

The chaos lasted only seventeen breaths before Liu Zhen’s front was once again a forest of spears.

“Heh heh, don’t forget what’s behind you!” Liu Zhen swept his lance through the spear wall, the clanging of metal ringing out. Spurring his horse, he turned sharply, and with a dozen men, quickly retreated.