Chapter 777: Arrangement

“Big fish eat small fish; small and medium-sized bandit gangs, like the Qiaohua Gang, will probably soon disappear completely.”

The thin man asked him, “Do you have any ideas?”

He Lingchuan held up two fingers. “First,” he said, “we must quickly force the West Ji puppet army to declare war on Qianjin Stronghold.”

“Second, ensure Qianjin Stronghold wins.”

The thin man was puzzled. “What about those small and medium-sized bandit gangs?” he asked.

“They are consumables,” He Lingchuan mused. “They’ll disappear even if left alone.” He then added, “These large bandit gangs have all established their spheres of influence along the trade route, haven’t they?”

“That’s right,” the thin man confirmed. “The Longchuan trade route is very long, and only large bandit gangs are entitled to claim their hunting grounds. The West Ji puppet army has taken over the personnel and territories of other bandit gangs. Qianjin Stronghold and the Qiaohua Gang are very unhappy about this, and it’s one of the root causes of the conflict.”

“How large is their territory?”

“From Jixin Pavilion south to Hunlong Ridge.”

“That large!” He Lingchuan was somewhat surprised. “No wonder Qianjin Stronghold is so angry. Does that include Qinglang Post Station, where we are right now?”

“Yes, we are both currently sitting on territory claimed by the West Ji puppet army.”

They both chuckled.

“Excellent. The Yuheng Army will now fully patrol the West Ji puppet army’s territory, ensuring they gain absolutely nothing.”

This should be one of the most effective ways to escalate internal conflicts within Longchuan.

“By the way, has the information you gave me earlier changed?”

“No, it hasn’t,” the thin man replied, pointing to the ground. “I overheard their plan: it’s for today, right here.”

He Lingchuan nodded. “Good,” he said.

The thin man changed the subject. “I hear Yuheng City now allows for the exchange of military merits?”

“Yes, that’s right. The exchange center is called ‘Happy Grove.’ Commander Xiao planned it when he was in Yuheng City, and it was completed just two months ago.”

“...Who came up with that name?” It sounds like a rather improper place.

He Lingchuan grinned. “I did,” he said.

Even Master Sun spat when he heard the name.

“Excellent!” The thin man, ignoring the lamb tendon stuck in his teeth, immediately gave a thumbs-up. “It’s refreshingly unconventional!”

“Who wouldn’t be happy when exchanging military merits?” He Lingchuan scoffed. “You should see those raw recruits, yelling and shouting when they exchange their merits, wanting to redeem this, wanting to exchange that.” It was like seeing his younger self.

Yuheng City also adopted Panlong City’s system, where military merits can be exchanged for cultivation techniques, combat skills, weapons, and armor. They can also be exchanged for various rare items, or even directly converted into money and supplies. When the new army’s soldiers saw the long list of redeemable items for the first time, their eyes widened with greed, and their breathing grew heavy.

“The continued, albeit difficult, anti-bandit operations along the Longchuan trade route are largely thanks to them.” In the soldiers’ eyes, bandits are almost synonymous with military merits. The more bandits they clear out, the sooner they can acquire their desired equipment.

Otherwise, once the banditry subsides and the West Ji region becomes peaceful, they don’t know how long they’ll have to wait to accumulate military merits. Just like the current Panlong City army, it’s hard to quickly accumulate military merits from tasks other than tough battles.

At this point, he asked the thin man, “Can you access the water bandits’ fencing channels?”

The thin man shook his head, speaking frankly. “No, I can’t. I only joined recently, and they don’t trust me enough yet. However, I’ve heard my superiors mention ‘Bantou Town’ several times; it seems they regularly transport goods there.”

“Bantou Town?” He Lingchuan pondered. It wasn’t actually far from Yuheng City.

“You can at least handle the stolen goods, can’t you?”

“No problem there,” the thin man confirmed.

With that, He Lingchuan produced a transparent vial, about the size of a fingertip, and pushed it towards the thin man.

The thin man held it up to the light. The vial appeared to contain nothing but a few white, sesame-like grains. On closer inspection, they weren’t sesame seeds at all—they were rounder and somewhat translucent. “What are these?” he asked.

He felt he had seen them before but couldn’t quite place them.

“Child-carrying bee eggs,” He Lingchuan replied.

“No wonder they look familiar,” the thin man said, putting the vial away. “How do you plan to use them?”

Child-carrying bees were native to the Panlong Wilderness. The parent bees were known to challenge formidable beasts like bears, tigers, and wolves to protect their offspring.

“Hide these child-carrying bee eggs among the stolen goods,” He Lingchuan said with a smile. “I have the queen bee. I should be able to track where the goods are transported.”

In later times, Songyang Prefecture developed tracking compasses using the unique properties of child-carrying bees. He Lingchuan didn’t possess that level of expertise, but he had sent someone to retrieve live child-carrying bees from Panlong City, which could achieve a similar result.

The thin man’s eyes lit up in understanding. He gave a thumbs-up. “Brilliant, truly brilliant!” he exclaimed.

After all, physical tracking methods were still the most effective.

“If we shut down their fencing channels, they won’t be able to sell their goods.”

He Lingchuan shook his head. “It’s not that simple. Longchuan isn’t far from Jintao Kingdom. If we block them on this side, they can simply go to the other.”

The thin man didn’t understand. Was there still a need to control the fencing channels, then?

Just then, a white bird flew over Qinglang Post Station, circling twice.

The thin man immediately lowered his head, his conical hat obscuring his face.

Only after the white bird flew away did He Lingchuan look up at its retreating form, his expression slightly grim. He said to the thin man, “You should go back now.”

“Indeed.” The thin man smiled as he stood up. “Thanks for the treat, boss.”

With that, he departed without looking back.

Soon, the rapid sound of his mount’s hooves faded into the distance.

The dark-skinned server came over and cleared away the thin man’s cup and chopsticks. He Lingchuan unhurriedly finished the remaining skewers, then ordered a dozen more, along with another plate of salted crispy peanuts.

He Lingchuan called out, “Remember, it must be three parts fat and seven parts lean—the best black pork tenderloin!”

His voice was a bit loud, but people who have had too much to drink often don’t realize they’re speaking loudly.

The few tables of guests by the lotus pond all looked up.

The dark-skinned server paused, then nodded immediately. “Yes, sir!” he replied.

During this time, two more merchant caravans arrived at the post station, one after the other. One had over thirty people, the other more than sixty; both stopped for tea and rest.

A few of the more gluttonous individuals also approached the dark-skinned server to order some skewers and sat down by the lake.

He Lingchuan was still drinking, head bowed, when a burly man in his early forties walked up and asked, “Is this seat taken?”

All the tables by the lake were occupied, except for an empty spot at He Lingchuan’s table.

He Lingchuan looked up at him. “No,” he said. “I’ve reserved the entire table.”

The man simply chuckled and sat down without invitation. With his full beard, round eyes, and bushy eyebrows, he clearly wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

Just then, the steaming hot skewers arrived. He Lingchuan said, displeased, “This table is mine, it’s not for you to sit at. Are you deaf?”

Upon hearing this, the man promptly propped his foot onto the tabletop with a slap, mud from his shoe sole nearly dropping into the skewer platter. “What are you going to do about it?” he challenged.

He Lingchuan, instead of getting angry, chuckled. “If you don’t want that foot anymore, I can help you lighten your load.”

The man let out a hearty laugh. “You, alone?” he scoffed.

Just then, another group of people and horses arrived outside.

Over thirty sturdy men immediately began watering their horses upon reaching the station. Two of them walked a perimeter around the post station, returning only after confirming it was safe.

These were all patrol guards from Yuheng City, who happened to be on patrol near Qinglang Post Station.