Chapter 170 She Wants to Be the Profitable Fisherman
"...What? You want to divide your forces?" Bai Jianping was dumbfounded.
Dai Li nodded, “Qinian and Rongrong will return to Yuyang first, while Zhouzhou and I will proceed at a slower pace. The four hundred men will be divided into two groups, with two hundred soldiers accompanying them ahead.”
“But…” Bai Jianping hesitated, wanting to say that it was not quite safe.
Dai Li continued, “Back then, when the Lord and I went south from Yuyang to receive our titles, we only had three hundred people with us. We even went to Chunmiao Mountain to suppress bandits along the way, and in the end, we still arrived in the capital safely. Now, the number of two hundred is indeed less than three hundred, but the entire north is now pacified, and it is all our own territory. What is there to fear? Not to mention that the Xuanxiao Cavalry are all brave and skilled in battle, and they are the most elite soldiers.”
Bai Jianping opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word; he was utterly speechless.
The mistress's words were all reasonable, but for some reason, his heart was like a piece of linen blown by the wind into the sky, never settling down.
Dai Li took in his subtle expressions and added, "Commander Bai, please rest assured, I have already sent a message to Lord Jun, and he will know about this soon."
Bai Jianping breathed a sigh of relief, but then suspicion arose in her heart. "You sent someone to deliver a message?"
Four hundred soldiers could not be accommodated in one post station, so they were scattered in post stations throughout the city. But Bai Jianping recalled the events of yesterday and today, and no one had missed him or heard anyone mention that anyone had been sent to deliver messages.
“Yes, the soldier who came from the north yesterday to deliver a message to me, I sent him to Chang’an. He came from Yuyang, so he must know other news as well, so I also sent him to report to the lord,” Dai Li said.
Bai Jianping said "Oh," indicating that it was no wonder.
Dai Li smiled but didn't say anything.
After dealing with Bai Jianping, the group quickly split in two. The other two hundred people were led by Qin Qinian, while the rest remained with Dai Li.
Dai Li actually wanted Bai Jianping to go back with Qin Qinian, but the village chief Bai refused no matter what and insisted on going with her. Too much of a good thing can be bad, so after being rejected, she didn't try to persuade him further.
Since it was an "urgent matter at home," there was no time to lose, so they quickly packed their bags and were ready to go.
Dai Li looked at the little girl who was leaning out of the car with her hands on the window sill and the boy on horseback, and said, "Qinian, Rongrong, I wish you a safe journey and a peaceful trip."
Qin Qinian: "Mother, you are one too."
"Second Aunt, please take care." Shi Rongyue looked at Qin Yanzhou, holding the little dumpling by the car window. "Brother Chongle, please take care too. Xiaobai and I will come to visit you again next year."
"Woof!" The puppy wagged its tail.
Qin Yanzhou smiled, but the slight curve quickly disappeared.
"Let's set off, the sooner we set off, the sooner we'll get home," Dai Li urged.
The group set off, gradually disappearing into the morning light.
As Dai Li gazed into the distance, a similar yet different melancholy welled up in her heart once more. Barring unforeseen circumstances, she and Qinian Rongrong would never see each other again in this lifetime.
The sun at its zenith begins to decline, the moon at its fullest begins to wane. Life is never perfect; it would be wonderful if everyone could live peacefully and safely from now on…
With a long sigh, Dai Li stopped looking at the convoy that was gradually disappearing into the distance. "Zhouzhou, let's go back."
*
After spending two more days in the small town of Tianchi, Dai Li continued her journey. According to her original itinerary, she was supposed to travel north, then through Bingzhou, and finally to Yuyang in Youzhou.
But in reality, after passing through only two small towns, Dai Li ordered her to change course. Instead of traveling by land, she planned to go to Jinkou to take a boat eastward into Sizhou.
This seemed like a decision made on a whim, which startled Bai Jianping so much that her voice rose two octaves, "Mistress, are you going to switch to waterways?"
Dai Li nodded and said, "Of course. The river flows from west to east, and traveling east by boat is faster than by carriage. Besides, since we've said we want to travel around, how can we not take a boat? Furthermore, Sili is now in your hands, although you've only had it for a short time, you've already brought it under your control, and the heads of some important towns have changed. All the officials, big and small, in the prefectures and counties recognize our tokens. Switching to waterways is fine, except for taking a longer route."
After the defeat of the "Imperial Army" led by Dong Zhou, the leaders of the three prefectures of Si, Yu, and Xu were killed one by one, and their territories were quickly divided up by Qin Shaozong and Nangong Xiong, with the former taking the lion's share.
Not to mention Sili Province, they could also travel freely through Yu Province and Xu Province along the eastward route.
Bai Jianping was stunned.
The mistress's words are quite true. The major powers in the north have been largely wiped out by the lord, and they are no longer able to pose a threat to them. However, he still doesn't want to change his route to waterways...
Bai Jianping tried to persuade her, "Madam, many of our soldiers in the north are prone to seasickness. If we switch to water transport, I'm afraid many brothers will not be able to adapt. If any emergencies occur, I'm afraid we won't be able to respond in time."
Dai Li knew perfectly well that some soldiers couldn't take the boat. "How about this? The soldiers who get seasick will travel by land. Since the corps has many carts, it's impractical to take them all on the boat. It's best to leave them with the carts. Those who can't take the boat will drive east, while those who can will come with me. We'll meet up later, and the final destination will be Chen County."
The Chen County she mentioned was a small county in Yuzhou.
Hearing that she had even decided on the rendezvous point, Bai Jianping's heart skipped a beat. She quickly advised, "Madam, although the Siyu region has been largely pacified, the death of a major power does not mean that minor thieves have all dispersed. If we divide our forces again, it would be like a blind man riding a blind horse or approaching a deep pool in the middle of the night—extremely dangerous. Please reconsider!"
Dai Li remained unmoved. "Commander Bai is overthinking things. Yuzhou is now pacified, and the few petty thieves hiding there are nothing to fear. When you left the city, I told you to follow my instructions. If I wanted to go sightseeing, I didn't need to stop you. How come you've forgotten what you were supposed to do after only ten days?"
Her tone wasn't particularly angry, just cold, but Bai Jianping, who knew her usual way of speaking, knew she was very unhappy.
Seeing his worried expression, Dai Li suddenly took a step back. "Let's put aside the matter of how to allocate the soldiers on land and water for now. We still need to trouble Captain Bai to count how many of the remaining two hundred soldiers can travel by boat. If the number is not large, I will write another letter to the Lord to explain the situation and see if he can send some more people over."
The argument was logical and comprehensive, but Bai Jianping still felt that something was off.
"Commander Bai?" Dai Li asked, noticing his prolonged silence.
Bai Jianping suddenly came to his senses and had no choice but to agree.
Dai Li smiled and said, "I'll leave this matter to you. Zhouzhou and I will go out first to inquire about the situation of the ships at Jinkou."
Bai Jianping watched Dai Li's retreating figure and suddenly realized where the strangeness from earlier had come from:
Is the mistress of the house such a lively and outgoing person?
He reminisced about the past, recalling the winter hunt of the previous year. At that time, they went hunting with the lord, while the mistress remained in the camp and did not accompany them.
On the way south to the capital, he once passed through Qifeng and overheard the Marquis wanting to take his mistress to climb a mountain for a panoramic view, but she refused, saying she wasn't interested.
Was it because she was preoccupied with the matter of receiving the title and worried about what would happen after arriving in the capital that she had no interest in sightseeing?
Bai Jianping couldn't understand it, and had no answer.
A faint cloud of doubt enveloped him.
As a result of his doubts, Bai Jianping was extremely slow in his work. When Dai Li asked him to count how many of the remaining two hundred soldiers were not seasick, it took him three whole days to count before he finally reported the number to Dai Li.
“Mistress, there are forty-two people who can travel by boat, including myself.” Bai Jianping observed Dai Li and, seeing that the other party was not angry because of his dawdling, his doubts deepened.
Dai Li noticed his scrutiny and guessed that he had some doubts.
This is normal, given that her style of doing things this time is very different from her past. If one doesn't suspect it, she is indeed quite careless, and such a careless person could not possibly break through the encirclement of hundreds of Xuanxiao cavalry and take the position of garrison commander.
Dai Li lowered the glint in her eyes, but now was not the time. She had to wait until Bai Jianping's suspicions reached their peak before proceeding to the next step. "Forty-two people is not a small number, but it is not a small number either. Even a small ship cannot carry forty-two people."
Bai Jianping choked up.
The small boat certainly can't hold more than forty people, but was that the reference point chosen?
Dai Li continued, "Zhouzhou and I previously surveyed Jinkou. The Min River is not as large as major rivers, so the most common vessels here are medium-sized multi-story ships, with no large ships. If we're talking about medium-sized ships, about ten pass through the ferry every day, with over 90% carrying cargo, and occasionally a pleasure boat. As for those merchant caravans, they are the easiest to talk to as long as you offer them money."
Bai Jianping stammered, "You...you even found out this?"
That's not all. Dai Li even made a decision: "I plan to divide the forty-two people into three teams, each with about ten people, and have them travel on three separate boats."
Bai Jianping suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Dai Li seemed oblivious to his silent resistance. "The rest of the people will travel by land with the caravans. Traveling by boat is faster than riding horses, so the troops traveling by boat will definitely be in front. The caravans will rest in each town they reach, wait for the land troops to arrive, and then briefly reunite before separating again."
Bai Jianping's brows had been furrowed ever since. "Mistress, this matter is of great importance. I hope you will allow me to go back and study the map first."
Dai Li agreed.
*
Dai Li returned to her room, but not to her own; instead, she went to Qin Yanzhou's room.
"Mom, did Village Chief Bai agree?" The young man stood beside the table, which was spread out with the map that Bai Jianping had mentioned he was going to study.
Dai Li closed the door. "He didn't agree immediately. He said he needed to go back and look at the map. Actually, that's just right. If we rush through this journey, and the Qinglian Sect doesn't have time to organize its forces to get here, that would be a real problem later."
She never forgot the Qinglian Sect, that enormous force hidden in the shadows. After Qin Changgeng consolidated control over the north and the imperial court, the Qinglian Sect seemed to have moved to Sichuan and Chongqing.
Remembering that the Qinglian Sect had once "invited" her, Dai Li guessed that they probably wanted to "invite" her again this time.
She was accompanied by only two hundred men. No, after traveling by water, she only had a few dozen Xuanxiao cavalrymen by her side. It is true that the Xuanxiao cavalrymen are excellent in combat, but this number is much less than usual.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; once missed, who knows when the next chance will come.
Of course, given Qin Changgeng's previous attack on Xuzhou, where "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind," she guessed that the Qinglian Sect would be very cautious and would find out if there were any ambushes nearby.
If we exclude the soldiers who traveled by land, then there were indeed no ambushes. This is because Qin Changgeng was unaware of this matter from beginning to end, and she only had two hundred men at her disposal.
Dai Li and her son confirmed again, "Zhou Zhou, are you sure there are very few Qinglian Sect members with outstanding skills?"
“Yes.” Qin Yanzhou recalled the past, “When I was still in the mountains, following Liu Dao, there were only two training grounds where I lived. They were not very big. One was for children and the other was for adults. There were less than fifty children who trained with me, and even fewer people in the adult training ground next door.”
Dai Li seemed to be deep in thought.
She had heard her son mention "the mountains" before; they had lived there during the Great Famine. "The mountains" was a fairly important stronghold of the Green Lotus Sect, yet the training ground in such an important place was surprisingly small...
Qin Yanzhou said in a low voice, "Mom, Liudao is actually a rather arrogant man. When he taught Diting and Baixiang in the past, he mentioned the story of 'Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors' the most. He values strategy more than brute force and is proud to be the mastermind behind the scenes."
Dai Li suddenly smiled and shook her head, "He may not have acted entirely from his heart; there must have been some helplessness involved. I heard that fifty years ago, the Qinglian Sect supported the Rebel King's usurpation of the throne, but it ended in failure. Afterward, the Rebel King was executed, and the Qinglian Sect was also severely damaged. After this incident, it is certain that they were greatly weakened, and it is hard to say how much capital they have left."
After a pause, Dai Li's bright eyes shone even brighter. "The saying goes, 'The poor study literature, the rich study martial arts.' Few of them practice martial arts, let alone achieve results."
For ordinary people, martial arts are very expensive.
Intensive training inevitably increases appetite. A bowl of wheat porridge that would normally fill you up might require two after martial arts training. Practicing martial arts sporadically is unacceptable; and with prolonged martial arts training, the time spent on farming or other livelihood activities will inevitably decrease, essentially resulting in only input without output. Not to mention, buying weapons and hiring martial arts instructors requires money…
Everywhere costs money, and many people at the bottom of society simply cannot afford it. And the vast majority of the followers of the Qinglian Sect happen to come from the lower classes.
Qin Yanzhou's eyes showed worry. "Mom, this opportunity is indeed rare for them. The Qinglian Sect will definitely do everything in their power. I'm worried that when they have no hope of capturing anyone in the end, they might just kill them outright."
Capturing a living corpse and finding only a body are worlds apart in terms of difficulty.
Dai Li patted her son's shoulder, her heart not heavy. With Zhouzhou's martial arts skills, those believers would definitely not be able to hurt him. "Don't worry, we still have time. Let's think of a few more countermeasures to be on the safe side. We will have to go through this after leaving Qin Changgeng. Now we can use their strength against them and use the North as a weapon to cut down Qinglian again. It's better than fighting alone in the future."
When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits.
She wanted to take advantage of the chaos and become the one who profited.
If the Qinglian Sect can't come, well, then we'll have to start another very troublesome plan.
*
Bai Jianping spent the entire night in his room studying the map, thoroughly researching the area around the Min River. The next day, he went to find Dai Li with dark circles under his eyes.
Bai Jianping said earnestly, "Mistress, let's split into two groups and head east as you previously suggested. However, we don't have many soldiers who can travel by boat. For safety's sake, I suggest we hire a group of bodyguards in the town to accompany us by water. Oh, and we also need to send a letter to Lord Jun."
If they don't have enough manpower, then they can hire a group of martial arts masters, or even charter a ship. It's not like the lord can't afford that much money.
Dai Li was stunned.
Bai Jianping felt that Dai Li's gaze was strange at this moment, whether it was his imagination or not. "Mistress?"
Dai Li coughed lightly, "Commander Bai, you're quite the character."
What sounded like a compliment sent chills down Bai Jianping's spine.
The mistress praised him! But why did he feel uncomfortable?
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