Section 20

"Oh?!" Lin Feng paused slightly, took the memorial casually, and weighed it in his hand. The booklet was quite thick, so he tossed it onto the eight-immortal table and frowned. "Too thick. I'll read it tonight—give me a brief summary."

"Reporting to Your Lordship, over the past few months, Zhao Shenqiao has increased his troops once again!" Wang Shirong said, bowing with cupped hands. "When Your Lordship returned in triumph to the capital after defeating Galdan, Shandong had only a little over fifty thousand troops. Now, there are seventy thousand!"

"Hmm?!" Lin Feng remained noncommittal, shifting the topic to ask, "Does this mean... does this mean Zhao Shenqiao is preparing to fight a war with us?!"

"I cannot be certain!" Wang Shirong thought for a moment before replying. "However, logically it should be so. Although Zhao Shenqiao remains a provincial governor in name, in reality, he is no different from the monarch of an independent state within the interior. Shandong is wealthy, with a population exceeding ten million. Naturally, he wishes to try his hand and stake his claim!"

Lin Feng sighed, pointing at the memorial and remarking, "Never shed a tear until you see the coffin, ah..." He smiled bitterly and shook his head. "This Zhao Shenqiao..."

"Indeed, obstinate and unenlightened, defying the might of heaven—truly hateful!"

"How is his troop deployment arranged?!"

"The front lines haven't changed much," Wang Shirong said. "The primary focus remains on Dezhou, Linqing, and Leling. His most elite troops are garrisoned in Dezhou, guarding the canal waterways, numbering around thirty thousand. They are currently locked in a standoff with our Great Han Second Imperial Guards Cavalry Division and Third Imperial Guards Division!"

"Didn't you say he increased his troops?!" Lin Feng raised a hand. "Oh, Jiyun, there is no need to stand on ceremony. Come—sit and speak!"

"Yes, thank you, Your Lordship! —Reporting to Your Lordship, troops have indeed been increased!" Wang Shirong stood up, cupped his hands, and said respectfully, "Around May and June of this year, Shandong began conscripting able-bodied young men with the intention of forming a new army. However, according to intelligence gathered by my Military Intelligence Agency, this batch of troops is insufficiently trained, poorly equipped, and lacks officers and veteran soldiers. Therefore, Zhao Shenqiao and Shandong Regional Commander Wang Chengye dare not employ them rashly. Instead, they have been deployed along the coastal areas such as Kenli, Dengzhou, and Qingdao to undergo local training while being refitted with weapons."

"Ah, I see," Lin Feng laughed. "It seems he has taken heed of Labu's previous mistake, fearing that we might launch an amphibious landing operation—how laughable. Can two thousand—ah, twenty thousand new recruits secure his rear? If I truly intended to land in Shandong and strike straight at his heartland, what use would twenty thousand new recruits be?!"

"It is merely a gesture to fulfill human duty!" Wang Shirong echoed with a smile.

Lin Feng nodded gently, raised his head, and called out loudly to the guards standing at attention outside the door, "Someone, bring the map!"

As the attendants acknowledged the order, Wang Shirong continued, "Aside from the Imperial Guards, there are also two brigades of Censorate Garrison Troops within Zhili Province, stationed separately in Beijing, Baoding, Tianjin, and other localities to guard government offices and maintain public order." He revealed a trace of a smile and shook his head. "However, most of these Garrison Troops have never seen actual combat, are not equipped with cannons or horses, and consist entirely of musketeers and infantry. While they are adequate for hunting down rebels and suppressing roving bandits, they are useless in a real war!"

"I didn't ask you to count them!" Lin Feng shook his head. "They are internal security forces; I have never considered letting those armchair soldiers take to the battlefield."

The Garrison Troops were a very unique military force within the Lin Han court, subordinate to the Great Han Censorate. They comprised five brigades—four musketeer brigades and one cavalry brigade—equipped with a small number of field artillery pieces. This force originally evolved from the "righteous commoners" who participated in the "Dragon-Suborning and Restoration" in Beijing. Later, after the reorganization of the Han army, these "righteous commoners" were expelled from the regular forces for various reasons and assigned to the command of Censor-in-Chief Chen Menglei, existing as the dynasty's internal security troops.

"Your Lordship is truly benevolent!" Wang Shirong smiled. "I am afraid they are well aware in their hearts that our Great Han army will eventually strike. For them, every day lived is a day fewer, living one day at a time!"

"Hmm," Lin Feng nodded, then suddenly asked, "Didn't you say just now that Zhao Shenqiao is not a corrupt official?!"

"Yes, my investigations have made this very clear. Currently, the governance of Shandong province is rotten from top to bottom. From the provincial administration commissioner down to private secretaries and runners, one might say not a single person is free of corruption. Yet, there are precisely two men who have taken no money!"

"Oh?!" Lin Feng asked in astonishment. "Which two?"

"Shandong Regional Commander Wang Chengye, and Shandong Governor Zhao Shenqiao!" Wang Shirong said solemnly. "One is the top civil official, and the other is the chief military general, yet neither accepts money. Initially, I was extremely skeptical myself, but after a thorough investigation, it proved to be entirely true!"

Seeing the look of skepticism on Lin Feng's face, he said with a serious expression, "Regional Commander Wang Chengye, courtesy name Yingguang, a native of Shaanxi, rose through the ranks from the military. He is uneducated and a rough-hewn soldier. Now that Shandong is a fractured, separatist territory, he stands at the head of all military officials. Countless bribes are offered to him monthly by officials from everywhere, yet he does not take a single coin. Instead, he divides this silver into two portions: the smaller share is awarded to his subordinate soldiers, while the major portion is spent on military rations, weapons, and armor. Upright and self-disciplined, among the hundreds of civil and military officials of various ranks in Shandong, aside from Zhao Shenqiao, regardless of whether they are virtuous or corrupt, all hold him in absolute and heartfelt awe. Whenever there are official gatherings, if he is present, none of the officials dare to speak carelessly or behave wildly." At this point, he could not help but nod and sigh, "A formidable general indeed! Although I am his enemy, I cannot help but feel a deep sense of respect."

"He is a fine general!" Lin Feng also nodded. "We must find a way to recruit this man."

"Yes, I will remember that!" Wang Shirong bowed and said. "As for Governor Zhao Shenqiao, he is also an upright official whose sole lifelong hobby is planting bamboo..."

"What?!" Lin Feng said in bewilderment. "You didn't get it wrong?—Planting bamboo?! Shouldn't it be raising flowers?!"

"Reporting to Your Lordship, I made no mistake. It is planting bamboo, not raising flowers!" Wang Shirong shook his head. "And right now, the steward of his household is actually a secret agent of our Great Han Military Intelligence Agency!"

"A steward?!" Lin Feng looked at Wang Shirong suspiciously. As far as he knew, one hundred percent of the trusted servants of officials in this era were fellow townsmen or hereditary retainers, and some were even nephews and close relatives. Sons and fathers had used them for generations, and most were fiercely loyal. The servants of other minor officials might be different, but Zhao Shenqiao was a provincial governor; how could his steward be easily bribed?!

"Reporting to Your Lordship, Zhao Shenqiao is a native of Zhenjiang in Jiangnan, and his steward is his paternal cousin once removed," Wang Shirong smiled. "However, this cousin of his is no ordinary man. In his youth, he traveled widely and was extremely influential in the pugilistic world, holding multiple identities. At present, his public-facing roles are twofold: one is the uncle and steward of His Excellency Governor Zhao of Shandong; the other is an elder of the Geng-bang..."

"The Geng-bang?!..." Lin Feng frowned.