As candles guttered and lamps died in the dawn light, early-rising pedestrians passed by, and the clip-clop of horse hooves echoed on the stone-paved long street outside the teahouse.
No matter how energetic Yao Xishui was, after sitting against the carriage wall all night, her back ached and swelled. She glanced at Han Qian, who was draped in a piece of torn burlap sacking and sleeping with his head pillowed on Zhao Ting’er’s lap. It wasn’t that she felt it was such a serious matter for a young master to be intimate with his maid—she was simply curious how this fellow could sleep so soundly and thoroughly.
A whole night had passed, and no news had yet come from Taowu Settlement’s garrison prefecture, but in the hours before dawn, more and more suspicious individuals had gathered at Longhua Port.
These people were all elite scouts that Zhao Mingting had transferred from the Privy Council’s Bureau of Military Geography.
Elite scouts differed from secret agents and spies—like the elite forces Han Qian had enrolled in the Secret Bureau’s Left Bureau Military Office, they were reconnaissance combat forces. They didn’t need to strictly conceal their identities, so they openly wore swords and armor, rode military warhorses, and in the middle of the night had driven out a household across from the teahouse, requisitioning the courtyard so their men and horses could gather at Longhua Port.
Although Zhao Mingting hadn’t yet appeared, over forty elite scouts from the Privy Council’s Bureau of Military Geography had already assembled in the courtyard across the way. Their leader was a commander named Ji Kun under the Bureau of Military Geography.
“Hah…” Han Qian stretched lazily and opened his eyes to see Zhao Ting’er yawning as she looked at him, her eyelids drooping, appearing listless. He asked, “You didn’t sleep?”
“People kept arriving wearing swords and armor, riding horses into Longhua Port—my heart was pounding so hard with fright, how could I sleep?” Zhao Ting’er reached out to lift Han Qian’s head, rubbing her numb leg as she said, “Young Master, how could you sleep so comfortably?”
“If Zhao Mingting had truly decided to chop us into mincemeat, why would he need to openly deploy troops from the Bureau of Military Geography?” Han Qian couldn’t help yawning as well, thinking he still hadn’t slept enough. He looked toward Yao Xishui and asked, “What news during the night?”
Although Yao Xishui could also surmise that Zhao Mingting directly assembling Bureau of Military Geography personnel at Longhua Port was more likely a show of force to apply pressure on their side, they only had twelve guards available at Longhua Port—who dared say Zhao Mingting’s side definitely wouldn’t strike?
Under these circumstances, the pressure everyone bore in their hearts couldn’t possibly be light.
Yet Han Qian could actually sleep—Yao Xishui had no idea what his heart was made of.
“Around dawn, we ambushed and killed three suspicious individuals at Niutou Cliff, Lanxi Gully, and Zhu Family Village respectively, wounding two others, but regrettably couldn’t capture them and they escaped by jumping into streams. We lacked manpower and couldn’t continue expanding the search area, so perhaps there are still suspicious individuals lurking in the mountains who haven’t withdrawn,” Yao Xishui said. “One of your men died, two were wounded!”
“Mm!” Han Qian nodded.
With seventy or eighty people in the Left Bureau Military Office hunting five secret agents from the Bureau of Military Geography in the familiar terrain of Baohua Mountain—especially since the five Bureau of Military Geography agents were approaching Peach Blossom Cove dispersed—their side still paying the price of one dead and two wounded was clearly difficult to find satisfactory.
However, considering that apart from six household guards and eleven household guard apprentices, the other nearly sixty personnel in the Left Bureau Military Office had all been recruited these past two days, such results weren’t unexpected.
“I need to return to the garrison prefecture. Will Miss Yao accompany Colonel Chai and continue staying at Longhua Port, or come with me to the villa to catch up on sleep?” Han Qian asked.
There was nothing to do staying at Longhua Port. At the same time, Yao Xishui also felt drowsy and worried that continuing to expose herself to the Bureau of Military Geography’s agents’ scrutiny in this state would easily reveal flaws, so she agreed to accompany Han Qian to the Qiuhu Mountain villa to continue observing the situation.
Although the garrison prefecture hadn’t built a stockade wall to completely encircle Taowu Settlement, after full daylight with the garrison prefecture’s sentry posts they could watch all the forest gullies and stream banks. Enemy agents forcing their way in would have nowhere to hide, so Lin Haizheng, Fan Dahei, and Zhao Wuji also led their troops back to the villa to rest and reorganize.
When Han Qian returned to the villa, he didn’t take off his broken old clothes reeking of rancid odor. Instead, he brought Zhao Ting’er, Yao Xishui, and Guo Nu’er to the north courtyard where the original household guards and their families had lived and which currently served as temporary quarters for the military household troops.
Lin Haizheng and the others had just returned to the courtyard to eat breakfast. Seeing Han Qian walk in, those new recruits only realized it was Han Qian after seeing Lin Haizheng, Fan Dahei, and Zhao Wuji stand up.
“Who will tell me about last night’s casualties?” Han Qian dragged over a chair and sat on it backward under the corridor eaves, looking at the scouts packed tightly in the courtyard as he asked.
“Guo Hongpan killed an enemy agent but was counter-stabbed in the chest. When he was carried back this morning, he died on the road halfway,” Lin Haizheng walked over and said. “The other two household guard apprentices’ injuries aren’t too serious.”
“Guo Hongpan was counter-stabbed by an enemy agent—did you witness this personally?” Han Qian raised his head to look at Lin Haizheng and asked.
Seeing the sharp gleam in Han Qian’s pupils, Lin Haizheng was instinctively startled and said fearfully, “I didn’t witness it personally, but I immediately assembled and questioned the troops under his command when I returned. If Young Master feels there’s a problem, I’ll interrogate them more thoroughly.”
“Where are all the members of his squad?” Han Qian raised his head and asked.
Lin Haizheng signaled for four scouts to step forward.
“Confiscate their weapons and armor!” Han Qian said.
Lin Haizheng knew Han Qian intended to severely punish these four men and signaled for those nearby to remove their swords and leather armor. The four men dared not struggle and prepared to receive punishment.
Han Qian looked at the four newly recruited scouts. He still remembered their names—one of them had even served as a battalion commander in the Guangling Army in earlier years and showed potential, but unfortunately, he didn’t want to keep anyone who couldn’t be used by him. He asked in a bland tone, “Do you have anything to confess?”
“We were incompetent, causing our squad leader to be killed. We’re willing to accept punishment.” The four exchanged glances, thinking that displaying a good attitude might lighten the punishment.
“Since you have nothing to say, then presumably you know your error—that makes things easier and saves you from resenting me on the road to the Yellow Springs for wrongly accusing you,” Han Qian glanced back at Lin Haizheng and said, “Kill all four of them now. Then go find Director Gao from the Military Affairs Bureau and have their wives, daughters, and nephews—anyone within their household—all sold as slaves!”
Han Qian spoke these words extremely calmly, but each word was shocking.
Yao Xishui was also shocked, not expecting Han Qian to govern his subordinates so brutally.
Although one death was extremely regrettable, the seventy or eighty people in the Left Bureau Military Office were essentially a ragtag mob recruited just these past two days. To ambush and kill three elite secret agents from the Bureau of Military Geography while successfully preventing the Bureau’s agents from infiltrating could already be considered meritorious with no fault.
Lin Haizheng and Fan Dahei were also slightly stunned, wanting to persuade Han Qian to give them a chance. But recalling how a few days ago at the residence Han Qian had ordered the shooting of the old household guards around Han Jun without the slightest hesitation, they might not be able to persuade him!
The four men completely hadn’t expected to receive such brutal and severe punishment. Not only would Han Qian execute them, but he would also sell their wives, women, and nephews into prostitution and slavery. In their dazed state, they actually forgot to argue. When they saw household guard apprentices like Zhao Wuji, Lin Zongjing, and Guo Nu’er draw their swords and surround them, they wanted to resist, but being unarmed and surrounded in the courtyard, in moments they were hacked to death by random blades!
The other newly recruited scouts watched as the four men’s bodies were hacked incomplete by the random blades. Not yet fully dead, they twitched and trembled in the bloody mud, with fresh blood still gurgling out, expanding the pool of blood until it nearly flooded this level courtyard. Although they were all veteran soldiers carefully selected by Han Qian, they were still extremely shocked, their faces pale.
Especially the scouts from the other two squads whose household guard apprentices had been wounded—their hands trembled involuntarily as they gripped the swords at their waists.
“You all know very clearly in your hearts why these four deserved death and why their wives, daughters, and descendants will fall into slavery,” Han Qian’s sharp gaze swept over the troops in the courtyard. “The other two squads should be grateful that their squad leaders were only wounded. You’ll each receive thirty lashes as warning. Lin Haizheng, Fan Dahei—you two come forward first and administer ten lashes each. You’ve already hesitated twice at critical moments. I don’t want a third time!”
Under Han Qian’s stare, Lin Haizheng and Fan Dahei felt the hairs on their backs stand on end. They also realized darkly that they had indeed hesitated just now. If these four had suddenly erupted and seized weapons from others’ hands, today’s scene would likely have become extremely ugly.
Seeing Lin Zongjing, Guo Nu’er, and other household guard apprentices now gathering around Han Qian to form a protective ring, Lin Haizheng and Fan Dahei also realized darkly that although they more often attended the young master, they were clearly less alert and had grown more lax than these household guard apprentices like Guo Nu’er.
Lin Haizheng and Fan Dahei now pressed their hands to the swords at their waists, glaring fiercely at the scouts from the other two squads that had problems.
The eight scouts from the two squads ultimately didn’t dare resist. They removed their swords and knelt in the mud that had become miry from blood plasma to receive punishment.
Although Yao Xishui had received harsh training since childhood, at this moment she still had to forcibly suppress the discomfort in her heart to avoid leaving early.
Lin Haizheng and Fan Dahei stepped forward with whips and administered ten lashes each to the eight men, lashing their skin open with bloody welts covering their backs.
Han Qian then spoke to the remaining newly recruited scouts: “For the remaining twenty lashes, you’ll take turns coming forward to administer five lashes each, to feel the physical and mental trauma they suffer. This way, during the next mission, you’ll be less negligent! But for the next time, also remember this in your hearts—I don’t have many rules here: those who defy superiors will be executed, those who are negligent in combat will be executed, those who cower before the enemy will be executed…”
Only after the punishment was complete did Han Qian have people drag out the four corpses, and also had the eight men lashed bloody carried into rooms for treatment. He said to Lin Haizheng and Fan Dahei, “First take them to the outer courtyard to summarize last night’s successes and failures, write it up and submit it to me, then go rest…”
After Lin Haizheng and the others left, the household guards and their families remaining at the villa came in to clean up the blood covering the ground.
However, since the courtyard here had earthen ground with blood seeping into the soil, unless they shoveled away all the blood-stained earth, with the weather growing increasingly hot, the entire courtyard would reek of the bloody stench that attracted mosquitoes and flies.