Hedong Circuit.
Xing Honglang's forces were now firmly stationed in Hedong City.
Zhao Sheng, accompanied by a group of clerks, had temporarily taken over the civil administration of the entire Hedong Circuit. Everyone present understood the reality of the situation clearly: the imperial court would not leave this vacuum unfilled for long. Before long, a new envoy would certainly be dispatched to take charge of the Salt Administration Bureau.
If Gao Family Village did not wish to immediately tear off all pretense and go to open war with the court, then—sooner or later—these administrative powers would have to be handed back.
Which meant that before the handover, everything that could be arranged had to be arranged.
Zhao Sheng rapidly scanned a thick roster, then decisively marked over a hundred names before handing it to Xing Honglang.
"Instructor Xing," he said calmly, "these marked individuals are willing to work as salt artisans for us. The rest… are unwilling to leave."
Xing Honglang took the list, glanced through it, and nodded without hesitation.
"I understand. When we report to the imperial court, we'll say that all of these people were killed by the rebels."
Zhao Sheng smiled faintly.
"Indeed. These people are now… deceased."
He then produced another sheet of paper and placed it on the table. A single number was written clearly upon it.
"This is the total amount of salt that can still be produced by the remaining artisans after we 'lost' a batch. From now on, all salt output reported by Hedong Circuit will be based on this figure."
Xing Honglang looked at the number, then laughed.
"Half the production?"
Perched on Gao Chuwu's shoulder, the puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun rattled and clattered with laughter.
"Yes—half!" it said gleefully. "Zhu Youjian will probably cry when he sees this. His belt is already pulled tight, and now his most important salt-producing region has been cut clean in two. He might even feel like smashing his head against a wall in the middle of the night."
Xing Honglang asked, "Dao Xuan Tianzun, will we really get away with this? Won't the court investigate?"
"Oh, they absolutely will!" the puppet laughed. "Zhu Youjian won't tolerate this kind of nonsense. He'll definitely send eunuchs to check whether the salt output here truly dropped by half."
Cheng Xu chimed in with a grin.
"Eunuchs are the easiest people to deal with. Give them some silver, and they'll tell Zhu Youjian whatever you want them to say."
The room burst into laughter.
At present, the entire Xie Lake region was under the firm control of the Gao Family Village militia. Their people had already visited the surrounding salt villages, offering generous wages to salt artisans willing to work for Gao Family Village.
Those who agreed were separated from those who refused and resettled in different villages.
From this point forward, all salt produced by cooperative villages would be transported directly to Gao Family Village. As for the salt produced by those who refused—
That problem was left entirely to the imperial court.
The only remaining uncertainty lay in the court's next move.
Whether Xing Honglang would be permitted to remain stationed in Hedong Circuit would determine whether all of these arrangements could truly take root.
Just then, the curtain at the door was lifted, and Tie Niaofei slipped inside.
Several days had passed. His injuries were fully healed now. He wore clean clothes, and the effigy of Dao Xuan Tianzun on his chest gleamed brightly, no longer stained with blood.
He grinned as he walked in.
"Brothers! My wounds are healed. Starting today, I'm back in the game!"
Xing Honglang gave him a long, measuring look.
"All your men are dead, aren't they? Are you planning to run your trade alone from now on?"
"…Uh."
Tie Niaofei froze.
This was no trivial question.
He could recruit new men, yes—but without a loyal core, relying entirely on outsiders was dangerous. They could steal from him, murder him for his goods, or tear each other apart over profits.
If you already had twenty men and hired five more, the newcomers would be absorbed.
But if you had no men at all and hired twenty—
You might not survive the first trading run.
Tie Niaofei's expression slowly grew serious.
Xing Honglang smiled.
"Tie Niaofei, you're one of us now. Stop operating outside the system. Formally join Gao Family Village and become one of our managers."
Tie Niaofei stared.
"Huh? I can really do that?"
The puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun clattered loudly.
"You can."
With Dao Xuan Tianzun's word, how could it be impossible?
Tie Niaofei was overjoyed. He quickly clasped his fists.
"I'm just a salt smuggler. What virtue or ability do I have to deserve Dao Xuan Tianzun's favor?"
Cheng Xu laughed and spoke up.
"The fact that you didn't say a single word after being captured by the Jin merchants makes you a true hero. The organization needs people like you. Honestly, no exaggeration—if it were me, I'd have confessed before they even started torturing me."
Everyone stared at him.
Cheng Xu shrugged.
"What? What's wrong with confessing? If I'd confessed, the Jin merchants might've brought people to Puzhou City to assassinate Xing Honglang. Once they entered our territory, they wouldn't have been able to leave. That would've been much easier than attacking Hedong City ourselves."
He sighed.
"Instead, they escaped, and now we don't even know where to find them. What a headache."
Everyone burst out laughing.
…And disturbingly, his logic wasn't entirely wrong.
The puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun laughed as well.
"Hahaha! Cheng Xu, you scoundrel—spouting nonsense and disrespecting a hero. I'm deducting five taels of silver from your military pay."
The laughter grew even louder.
With that, Tie Niaofei officially joined Gao Family Village's management. He was so excited that he immediately clasped his fists again.
"Since you all think so highly of me," he said solemnly, "I'll be bold and make one request."
Xing Honglang raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? What is it?"
Tie Niaofei's eyes burned with hatred.
"I want a strong team to hunt down the Jin merchants. They killed more than a dozen of my brothers. I swear I won't rest until I avenge them."
Dao Xuan Tianzun declared, without hesitation,
"Granted."
With those words, the matter was settled.
Zao Ying stepped forward, grinning.
"I'll go. My cavalry battalion hasn't seen much real combat lately anyway. Tracking people across long distances is exactly what cavalry are good at."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Cheng Xu concluded,
"Then it's decided. Zao Ying will assist Tie Niaofei. Go get your revenge first. When you return, we'll arrange a formal military position for you."
Just as the discussion wrapped up—
A Hedong Circuit bailiff rushed in, face tense, voice hurried.
"General Xing! The new Governor of Shanxi—Xu Dingchen—has arrived!"
Everyone exclaimed in surprise.
Oh?
The Governor of Shanxi had come.
Xing Honglang chuckled softly.
"Alright. I'll go meet this governor and hear what arrangements he plans to make."