Chapter 921 - 766: Family Letter

Chen Ji whistled a tune as he walked down from the city wall with the Wuxiang Morning News tucked under his arm. Yuan Xing and the others were puzzled as to why he suddenly became cheerful.

At the foot of the city tower, Zheng Jiye was dancing around with the thousand-household waist tag of the Anti-Japanese Army.

Seeing Chen Ji approaching, he quickly composed himself. "Ahem, thank you sir, now my title of a thousand households is justified... But our Anti-Japanese Army is out of food, we can’t keep relying on the people’s charity, we must find a new place to sell smuggled salt."

"We don’t have to work hard to earn military pay anymore," Chen Ji retorted, "What about the Wang Family?"

Zheng Jiye asked in confusion, "What Wang Family?"

Chen Ji calmly replied, "These pirates came to kidnap the King Family of Jingjiang, and now that the Anti-Japanese Army has solved their problem, they haven’t made an appearance?"

Zheng Jiye hadn’t thought of this at all and said blankly, "No, I haven’t seen anyone from the Wang Family."

Yuan Xing scoffed from the side, "They really have the nerve, even the people of Jingjiang know to send rice cakes, fish, and eggs, yet they show no gratitude at all?"

Chen Ji asked again, "Where is the county magistrate?"

"The county magistrate has gone to Guangling County."

Chen Ji asked again, "And the county chief?"

"The county chief went together with him."

Jiang Chai sneered, "No wonder even small pirates dare to enter the city and kidnap people, such a large county doesn’t have a single person to handle things?"

Old Ears spoke slowly, "Originally, Southern Zhili had forty-two garrisons all over Jiangnan, but this garrison system was a hereditary farming system for military families. The military stipend was small, and they relied on farming to support their families. Later, the scholars and nobles encroached on the garrison soldiers’ lands, leading many military families to flee to the Southern Ocean, which is also why there are many Han people in the Southern Ocean."

Old Ears chuckled, "These Jiangnan gentry are too far from the Nine Border, they think when war breaks out, they can just negotiate conditions with the court and donate silver. Jing Dynasty can’t reach the south anyway and doesn’t need garrison soldiers. With the garrisons present, occupying a lot of land, and military families holding power, they feel threatened. They never expected something like pirates."

"Jingjiang County is perfect for me to settle, I can’t leave yet," Chen Ji said to Zheng Jiye, "Go to the Wang Family and say that our Anti-Japanese Army will leave Jingjiang County tonight and head to Guangling County, they had better watch out."

Zheng Jiye agreed and quickly ran to find the Wang Family.

Li Si was obediently packing his things when Yuan Xing smacked him on the back of the head, "You’re too honest, we’re not really leaving."

Ten minutes later, Zheng Jiye rushed back with a sedan chair.

Behind the sedan chair, a group of servants followed, pulling a few cattle carts loaded with bags of grain, two pigs, and six baskets of fish.

After the sedan chair was set down, a middle-aged man stepped forward and cupped his hands to Chen Ji, saying, "Honorable sir, the Anti-Japanese Army has just finished a great battle, how could you leave in haste? Our King Family of Jingjiang has brought some provisions to reward your efforts, and we invite you to stay in Jingjiang County for a while longer to recover before leaving."

Chen Ji didn’t argue with him, he waved over Jiang Chai to take the provisions and turned towards the county government building, "From now on, we’ll reside in the office rooms of the county government, and the Wang Family should send the same amount of provisions daily. We’ll leave the day the provisions stop."

The Wang Family watched Chen Ji’s figure disappear, cursing their luck, yet they still forced a smile and said, "Rest assured, sir, the provisions will not be lacking."

Chen Ji and his men entered the county government, where they immediately drove out the constables and clerks.

He led Yuan Xing and the others to stay in the magistrate’s residence, while the rest of the Anti-Japanese Army moved into the rooms of the county chief and clerks, the large shared space barely squeezing in over a hundred men.

The Anti-Japanese Army set up several large pots in the courtyard to cook meals, while Yuan Xing and the others sat at the main hall’s desk, play-acting and calling out, "Court is in session, who in the audience has come to appeal?"

Li Si smirked, "You’re not convincing."

Yuan Xing laughed heartily, "I just remembered, you actually served as a county magistrate. Tomorrow, you’ll stay here at the county government and act as the magistrate for a few days."

Jiang Chai didn’t join in their mischief and instead found a map of Southern Zhili inside the county government. He studied it for an hour before heading out to find Chen Ji.

Chen Ji was tidying up the bedding in the main room when Jiang Chai excitedly asked, "Godfather, are you planning to stage a rebellion in Jiangnan?"

Chen Ji glanced at him, "Why are you so excited?"

Jiang Chai’s eyes glowed as he analyzed, "I just looked at the map of Southern Zhili. No wonder you want to set up camp in Jingjiang County. This place is full of sandbars, the official army and garrison military are lax, and river patrol boats are scattered, making it hard to enforce a comprehensive blockade, an ideal location for starting an uprising. We can hijack river ships and raid between Taixing, Guangling, Jiangyin, and Tongzhou. We won’t attack fortified cities or hold out in county towns, but use sandbars and riverbank forts as temporary bases. If we win, we can plunder cargo and salt ships; if we lose, we’ll immediately escape via the river or sea..."

Jiang Chai continued, "The Lianghuai salt fields are highly profitable, smuggling salt can quickly fund our military expenses. We can connect to the Huai River in the north, find places to breed horses, and make up for the southern deficiency in cavalry. By studying the map, it’s clear we must guard the Yangtze to guard the Huai. We should seize the opportunity to control the north of the Yangtze, only then can we shield the Jiangnan heartland... Godfather, let’s send a ship back to Jing Dynasty, and I’ll gather more people for you! Ning Dynasty’s elite forces are all in the north, defending against Jing Dynasty, unable to spare attention for Jiangnan. This plan is feasible! Then, you can found a new dynasty and call it ’Great Chen’!"

Chen Ji couldn’t help but laugh, "It’s not necessary."

Jiang Chai was stunned, "Why not?"

Chen Ji continued organizing the bedding, "The dynasty name sounds bad."

Jiang Chai was momentarily speechless, "We can discuss that further."

...

...

In the early morning, before the roosters crowed, there was suddenly a loud banging on the door next door.

Just as Chen Ji opened his eyes, he heard Zheng Jiye shouting loudly from the courtyard, "Get up, get up, how can you be so lazy? How will we resist the pirates? How will you become an elite force?"