Chapter 41 Winning Hearts and Minds

The Shen family came to ask Shen Rong for help, but she refused, leaving everything to Jiang Yi to decide.

Once the workshop was built, they would be allowed to work there and receive wages.

If the Shen members failed to work diligently, they would be dismissed.

Lending them money was out of the question; allowing them to work could be considered going above and beyond in terms of benevolence.

Jiang Yi was pondering that the twenty horses could certainly not be kept. Once the Fire Lotus Cult was driven out of Hanzhou, the government would undoubtedly claim those horses as spoils of war seized by the imperial troops from the bandits, easily confiscating them.

"This horse of yours is tall and strong. You must have obtained it from the Fire Lotus Cult bandits."

Chang Youliang gently stroked the horse's back, utterly captivated by one of the bay horses.

"We captured twenty of them. Who do you think these horses belong to?"

"Naturally, they belong to the government. Could it be that you want to keep them? With all due respect, you cannot afford to feed them," Qin Lu replied.

These twenty horses would henceforth serve as cavalry mounts for the Hanyang garrison, and Jiang Yi would be given some monetary reward.

"I know I cannot keep these horses; the government must compensate us with some silver."

Although Jiang Yi felt somewhat resentful, he could not afford to confront the government for the time being.

He believed that enduring minor grievances for the moment would prevent the ruin of major plans. Losing a few dozen horses was far better than facing various forms of harassment and targeting from the authorities.

"You have rendered meritorious service in eliminating the bandits and have captured dozens of fine horses; the Hanyang prefecture will not treat you unfairly."

Qin Lu said this for Jiang Yi's own good. With his current financial resources, he simply could not afford to maintain dozens of horses.

It would be far more practical to hand them over to the government in exchange for money and content oneself with remaining an ordinary citizen.

"I would like to keep a horse or two for convenience in future travel."

Jiang Yi said this merely to probe Qin Lu's attitude, as the latter represented the military.

"I will report this matter to the Prefect and the Censor-in-Chief. If they consent, the two worst horses will be left behind for your use."

Qin Lu deemed Jiang Yi's request quite reasonable. Retaining two horses for traveling or transporting goods, while the fine horses were reserved for military cavalry combat, would also save the expense of purchasing new mounts.

"Captain Qin is right. You truly cannot afford to feed so many horses, but keeping one or two is acceptable."

Jiang Yi figured that keeping two horses for himself was fine. In the past, he lacked the money and could not afford them. Keeping horses was not only expensive, but also difficult.

Now that Jiang Yi had wealth, maintaining two horses was a trivial matter to him.

"The military in Hanyang City lacks horses. Keep two for your own use, and sell the rest to them. Besides, you really cannot afford so many horses. Don't you agree with what I'm saying?"

After saying so much, Qin Lu's underlying intention was simply to have Jiang Yi surrender all the horses to the military.

"Let's put this aside for now and eliminate the Fire Lotus Cult bandits in the village as quickly as possible."

He had no desire to continue debating the ownership of the horses with Chang Youliang and Qin Lu; the priority was to resolve the Fire Lotus Cult bandits within Hanzhou as soon as possible.

Jiang Yi still intended to continue making a fortune and become the wealthiest man in Hanzhou.

"What is the current situation in the village?" Jiang Yi asked.

"The Fire Lotus Cult bandits were ambushed by us and suffered heavy casualties. They are currently gathered on the north side of Funiu Village."

Chang Youliang briefed him on the village situation, noting that there were still about two hundred Fire Lotus Cult members remaining in the village.

"The Fire Lotus Cult bandits who came this time are not weak in strength, and many of our own men have been wounded."

Qin Lu felt that the situation here in Funiu Village was not very optimistic and that they also required reinforcements.

"The Military Commissioner has sent word that the Fire Lotus Cult bandits outside Hanyang City have dispatched another five hundred reinforcements this way."

The majority of the cultists were surrounding Hanyang City to prevent the garrison inside from coming to the rescue.

"Then have the Military Commissioner dispatch troops to reinforce us. We don't need too many—three hundred men will suffice."

One must realize that there were five thousand garrison troops inside the city; sending three or five hundred men to reinforce Funiu Village was no overly difficult task.

"If we only reinforce Funiu Village while the other villages receive no assistance, the people in those other villages will complain."

Of course Chang Youliang hoped the Hanyang City garrison would come to reinforce Funiu Village, but that was an impossibility.

Jiang Yi was well aware of this. If only Funiu Village were reinforced, the other villages would feel it was unfair.

Moreover, the cultists outside the city would encircle the reinforcing imperial troops until they were completely annihilated.

If the military force inside the city became insufficient, Hanyang City itself might fall to the Fire Lotus Cult.

"Sufficient military force must be retained within the city, and those outside can only rely on local militias organized by various villages to protect themselves. We must wait until the imperial court dispatches reinforcing troops to wipe out this band of bandits."

What Qin Lu told them was no state secret; he also hoped the common folk outside the city would understand the difficulties faced by the Hanyang authorities.

While the officials thought this way, the common people did not.

They believed the government was cold-blooded and ruthless, completely indifferent to the life and death of the populace outside the city.

Some villagers harbored deep resentment because of this and joined the Fire Lotus Cult to fight against the government.

"Is there medicine to treat the wounded, to prevent their wounds from becoming infected?"

"Their wounds have been bandaged, but the village currently lacks medicine. If their injuries do not heal, their lives may be in mortal danger."

Chang Youliang had already distributed the village's remaining healing medicines to them, but there were simply too many wounded, and there was now an acute shortage of medical supplies.

Over the past two days, the medicinal herbs in all the pharmacies and medical clinics in Hanyang City had been completely bought up by the government and various major clans.

"There is no medicine left in the city either; the wounded will simply have to endure it through sheer willpower."

Qin Lu was powerless in this regard as well. Aside from official business, no one was permitted to enter or leave the city.

"I still have two bottles of wound-healing ointment at home. I will go fetch them for their use."

These were the ones confiscated from Cui Peng and Yang Liu, and they had been kept at home ever since.

Those two bottles of ointment indeed possessed excellent hemostatic and anti-inflammatory properties; he would bring them shortly to treat those with severe injuries first.

Chang Youliang and Jiang Yi came to the thatched cottage and retrieved two small white bottles from a crack in the wall of the main room.

Having obtained the ointment, they proceeded to the quarters of the wounded.

Hearing the painful groans of the injured, Jiang Yi felt a pang of distress in his heart.

"I only have these two bottles of wound-healing ointment on hand; I can only give them to the most severely injured first."

Before Hanyang City went under martial law, Jiang Yi had purchased a quantity of medicinal herbs from various clinics and apothecaries.

Those herbs had been sent to Mount Niutou and hidden away. He would soon send someone to instruct Shen Rong to have the herbs brought back to treat the other wounded.

Doing this was meant to win the people's hearts. If they acted with ingratitude in the future, Jiang Yi would simply wash his hands of them.

"Everyone, do not worry. A few days ago, I bought some medicinal herbs in Hanyang City. I will send someone to retrieve them from the mountain shortly, and once they are brought back, we will treat your injuries."

Upon hearing this, the wounded were deeply moved; their greatest fear was lacking medicine for their injuries.

They had heard that worsening wounds led to death, and upon learning that the village lacked medicinal herbs for treatment, they had fallen into despair.

"That is wonderful! As long as we have medicine, our injuries will heal."

The injured were extremely excited and felt boundless gratitude toward Jiang Yi.

"You were injured while defending Funiu Village; I will do my utmost to provide assistance."

During their recovery period, not only would they have an ample supply of medicinal herbs, but they would also be well-fed and nourished, which was essential for a swift recovery.

While they found some sense in Jiang Yi's words, they knew they did not possess much grain themselves.

Merely having enough to eat was a challenge, let alone eating well.

"Since you are wounded, you require special care. I will assign people to take charge of your three daily meals."

Jiang Yi had abundant grain at his disposal and would dispatch a few skilled individuals up the mountain to hunt.

Having meat every day and eating decent meals daily would be beneficial for the healing of their wounds.

"This will cost a considerable amount of silver; you are spending a fortune on our account."

Tears of emotion welled in the eyes of the injured, for they knew full well that Jiang Yi meant what he said.

Even before they were injured, it was Jiang Yi who had provided their three daily meals.

"It does not cost all that much. Your brave and desperate fight to defend Funiu Village fills me with admiration."

What Jiang Yi spoke came from the bottom of his heart; the actions of certain individuals truly had not disappointed him.

Their sacrifices would also be richly rewarded, which would encourage more people to bravely defend their homeland.