Chapter 46: I Truly Cannot Understand It

Chapter 46: I Truly Cannot Understand

"Who is Infantry Captain Zhang Yuan?" Mao Chunfang asked while mounted on his horse.

The crowd ahead parted, and a tall, sturdy middle-aged man walked forward. "It is I. And you, sir?"

"Mao Chunfang, Magistrate of Yangmen." Mao Chunfang dismounted and cupped his hands in greeting. "Captain Zhang looks very familiar. Have you been stationed at the Weishan County barracks for many years?"

Zhang Yuan returned the salute with a fist to palm. "Yes, I have been transferred to Liangzhou for several years now."

"And now that you are working in Beishan County, are you settling in well?" Mao Chunfang handed the reins to his legal advisor behind him and sat down on a small stool beside Zhang Yuan to talk.

Zhang Yuan said, "One must always adapt when arriving in a new place."

*It's likely not the place you need to adapt to, but the people,* Mao Chunfang thought.

Clearing his throat, Mao Chunfang asked, "How is the construction of the Beishan County city walls progressing? Is Lord Meng confident he can complete them?"

"I am not in charge of the wall construction. As for whether Lord Meng is confident, I do not know either."

Mao Chunfang turned his face slightly, surreptitiously observing him. What kind of grievance had this man suffered under Meng Changqing? The way he spoke carried a hint of a pouting, resentful wife.

"I have spoken too much. Please do not take offense, Captain."

"You flatter me, Magistrate. May I ask what important business brings you here?"

"I heard from my legal advisor that you were receiving people here, so I came specifically to take a look," Mao Chunfang said. "If you are short on manpower, my county yamen can dispatch a squad of bailiffs to assist you."

"Thank you for your kindness, Magistrate. After this batch is taken away, another batch must be received before nightfall. I ask that your bailiffs remain here to first count the heads and verify the rosters."

"That is simple." Mao Chunfang immediately ordered his legal advisor to go call for men. "Pick those who are literate."

He then added, "Your Lord Meng is truly meticulous in his work. To receive the new laborers, he has instructed you, Captain, to carry a permit and come inside the Yangmen County walls to collect them. To have you traveling back and forth like this is exhausting. It would be better if you went back and told Lord Meng that my Yangmen County bailiffs will handle this matter on your behalf."

"Zhang Yuan thanks the Magistrate, but Lord Meng specifically instructed that the escorting of laborers is not to prevent them from fleeing, but to protect them from bandits who might attack at the old site of the city walls."

"Oh," Mao Chunfang said. "I have heard of this. Your Lord Meng killed those twenty-one people who came down from the mountain; I suppose he fears their retaliation."

As the two were speaking, a commotion suddenly erupted from the crowd.

"Why is there an extra person? Why isn't this man on the roster?" A soldier shouted, pulling someone up from among the laborers.

"A misunderstanding! It's a misunderstanding, Officer! He isn't a laborer!" A bystander immediately explained. "He is someone I brought to look at the well-digging locations."

"Can you guarantee that is true?" The guard asked the bystander.

"It's true, absolutely true! This man is very skilled at reading Feng Shui; many people in Liangzhou City know him."

The guard hoisted the man up by his collar and asked, "Does anyone among you know him?"

People nearby began to reply in low voices, "We hired him when we were digging the well in our village."

"He is indeed quite famous in Liangzhou."

"Officer," the old man being held by his collar said, his face turning red from the strain, "please put me down first."

"If you are a Feng Shui master, why didn't you say so earlier? You've wasted our time."

Mao Chunfang had watched the spectacle for nothing. "Has Beishan County not dug a well yet?"

"Not yet. We have been using a mix of snow water and river water."

"Captain Zhang." A soldier who had come with Zhang Yuan approached to remind him, "It is almost time. I don't see anyone else coming from behind."

Mao Chunfang stood up. "I won't take up any more of your time, Captain. We shall chat again when we are free."

"We shall take our leave first."

Mao Chunfang stepped aside and heard Zhang Yuan shout, "Move out!"

The city gates opened, and Zhang Yuan led the way at the front, followed by a massive procession of several thousand people.

It took the crowd half an hour just to exit the city gates.

"Sir, I have returned." The legal advisor arrived with about a dozen literate bailiffs. "Sir? What are you looking at toward the city gates?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Mao Chunfang suddenly shook his head. "I don't understand. I truly do not understand."

"What don't you understand?"

"With Meng Changqing's cunning, he shouldn't be unable to win over even such a person. He shouldn't lack loyal people by his side; why keep someone like this around?"

"Sir, if you want to tell me, why not just say it clearly? And if you don't want to tell me, why say it right in front of my face?"

"Why, why! Why don't you even know what I am thinking!" Mao Chunfang mounted his horse and rode off.

Leaving the legal advisor behind, who muttered to himself, "I'm not a worm in your stomach."

***

The second batch of laborers brought back by Zhang Yuan totaled five thousand, three hundred and twenty-one people.

The camp guards were long prepared. Following the previous method, men and women were separated first.

"Go over there and stand with the women from our village; that way you'll be in the same group," Old Man Zeng said. "In a moment, the guards will distribute tools so you can start digging pits. It's inconvenient to carry a bundle on you, so leave it with me. I'll bring it to you when I finish my shift."

As Old Man Zeng reached for Meizi's bundle, she stepped aside to avoid him. "No need, I'll keep it with me."

"You..."

"Move faster! Men and women, stand in your separate groups! Those who were already assigned to groups, leave immediately; do not linger here!"

Old Man Zeng shuddered in fear. "Fine, carry it yourself then."

Meizi gripped her bundle and stood with the women from her village.

Following the guards' orders to form long lines, she did not ask questions like the other women; amidst the crowd, she appeared exceptionally silent.

Before long, a soldier walked up from the front, counting aloud as he went. When he reached her, he suddenly stopped. "Fifty." One of the soldiers asked her, "Are you from the same village as the people in front of you?"

Meizi nodded. "Yes."

"Then our group has one extra. Fifty-one." The soldier beside him suddenly shouted loudly, "Come on, everyone counted! Follow us! Remember your group number—we are Group 500!"

Meizi's ears rang from the man's shouting.

They followed the guards to an open field, and soon another guard dragged in a cart full of tools.

"Everyone, line up here to receive your tools."

Meizi was issued a shovel. She looked at the brand-new farm tool in her hand; this was far more useful than the scissors in her bundle.

"Listen up," the guard in front shouted. "The pits you are being told to dig now will be your resting places later. The boundaries have already been marked on the ground; dig within those limits. Not everyone has been assigned a tool; those with tools start working first. The rest of you, be proactive—when you see someone getting tired, step up and take their place. Our rule is: whichever group finishes their pits first gets to eat first."

Upon hearing this, people immediately began to work.

Another guard shouted, "The latrines for women are the two furthest to the east." He pointed them out. "Just those two. Men are not allowed to go there; use them with confidence. All other latrines are for the men. I advise you not to go in; if anything happens, you're the ones who will suffer."