Chapter 319 - County-wide Bandit Suppression
Intelligence collection on Lingao's bandits began in earnest after the Political Consultative Conference concluded. With the liaison officer system now operational, the intelligence department could obtain firsthand information directly from local natives—far more in-depth than the objective observations made by reconnaissance teams unfamiliar with the people and terrain. The context and connections were clearer too.
To ensure accuracy and objectivity, the Intelligence Committee cross-referenced reports from various villages.
Bandits often displayed obvious regional ties. Villages frequently shielded outlaws from their own townships due to clan bonds or shared origins. And bandits typically adhered to the principle of "rabbits don't eat the grass around their burrows"—showing some restraint with locals while specifically plaguing villages in other areas.
Within this social ecology, liaison officers were hardly immune. Their reports inevitably contained concealments or exaggerations shaped by relationships between bandits and their own communities. Feuds between villages and clans also meant some deliberately mixed in falsehoods to slander rivals. Only by comparing intelligence from multiple sources could meaningful patterns emerge.
After more than a month of liaison officer research, the intelligence department had developed substantial insight into Lingao's bandit situation. Another crucial source was Wang Zhaomin. Though an outsider, he had lived here as a guest for over five years and routinely assisted the magistrate with government affairs. He knew a great deal about local conditions, especially regarding banditry, about which the yamen possessed abundant records. The intelligence department met with him privately several times and obtained a wealth of useful material.
"Although Lingao's bandits are a tangled mess, the critical one is the stubborn bandit Dang Namen," Wang Zhaomin said in a low voice in a private room at the "Half the Sky" restaurant. "The others are small bands—they can't cause major trouble. These two groups are deeply entrenched and very difficult to handle. Eliminate them, and Lingao's scattered outlaws will naturally lose their support. The entire county will find peace."
Most bandits were "home-dwelling" types. Destroy the mountain stronghold, eliminate the bandit leaders and core personnel, and these part-time outlaws would lose both their backbone and their sanctuary. Naturally they would lose heart for continued villainy. Pacification and recruitment could then settle the matter quickly.
"Historically, in bandit suppression, the ringleaders must be punished while followers are pardoned," Wang Zhaomin said. "You cannot ignore the four words 'temper severity with mercy.'"
"Yes, yes." Luo Duo nodded agreeably, then asked, "Why do you say this group is the hardest to deal with?" He refilled the man's wine cup. "Please enlighten me, sir."
"It's a long story." Wang Zhaomin appeared slightly drunk, but his mind remained sharp. He understood the Australians' intentions—they almost certainly wanted to clean up their "side of the couch." But this could work to advantage. Since the government could neither handle the bandits nor eliminate the Australians, perhaps letting them tear at each other would allow a third party to profit. So he feigned deeper intoxication and began to talk:
Dang Namen, formal name Dang Guodong, was a native of Daolu Village. After his parents died, he'd made a living herding cattle for a village family. As an adult, he scraped by as a small peddler. Having no relatives in the village, he suffered years of bullying. Even his family's homestead was seized by local rivals.
Dang Namen eventually turned to petty theft. During the late Wanli years, villagers hauled him to the county yamen and threw him in prison. The following year, he broke out, gathered a few like-minded brothers, returned to the village, and slaughtered more than ten villagers with whom he had grievances. He looted their property and fled to Baopang Mountain on the border of Lingao and Danzhou to become an outlaw.
"Don't be fooled by Dang Namen's humble origins—he is literate and loved reading since childhood. Unfortunately, with no one to sponsor his advancement, a perfectly good scholarly seed fell onto an evil path." Wang Zhaomin sighed. "A man who has read books and then turned to crime is far more dangerous than an ordinary bandit."
Because Dang Namen knew his characters and had devoured novels like Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin, he'd absorbed strategies and tactics from these pages. Thus, the bandits he led often made unexpected moves; the county's village braves were simply no match.
"Take his attack on Longbo Stronghold," Wang Zhaomin said with evident relish. "Dang Namen took several dozen men, disguised them as farmers heading to market, and entered Longbo Stronghold with goods. Using the opportunity of paying market taxes, they infiltrated the militia bureau. A few men guarded the door; others set off firecrackers outside as a distraction. He led the charge inside and killed the militia instructor on the spot. The militia fell into chaos, and Longbo Stronghold—defended by over a hundred armed men—was broken by his thirty. Tell me, is that not formidable?"
Luo Duo nodded. This Dang Namen did indeed possess some cunning. The tactic of coordinating inside and outside to strike at the head of the snake had been beautifully executed. No wonder Master Wang considered this group dangerous.
"Moreover, he knows how to win hearts!" Master Wang tapped the table lightly. "This Dang Namen consistently preaches 'rob the rich, not the poor,' which has attracted ignorant followers. It inspired villagers in places like Jialai and Meitai to refuse paying rent, causing landlords endless grief. They constantly filed complaints at the county yamen. Finally, a few years ago, Master Huang helped lead braves who inflicted heavy losses on Dang Namen's gang. Their arrogance diminished somewhat after that."
"Master Huang?"
"Huang Shoutong of Huang Family Stronghold." Wang Zhaomin noted Luo Duo's reaction. "The braves he leads are very formidable—Dang Namen is no match for them. Unfortunately, the common folk are ignorant, and many cover tracks for the bandits, allowing him to escape back to Baopang Mountain in the end. Total success was not achieved—truly a pity..."
"So Master Huang is a public-spirited and righteous person."
"Naturally, naturally." Wang Zhaomin knew vaguely that the Australians intended to establish permanent roots locally, but Huang Family Stronghold's militia remained the only force Magistrate Wu could rely upon. He couldn't allow the Australians to win them over—or consume them under the guise of bandit suppression. "Unfortunately, Master Huang was injured last time and his health has been poor. Regarding bandit suppression, I'm afraid he won't be able to assist."
Luo Duo remained noncommittal, merely nodding.
"...According to intelligence, the Dang Namen bandit gang is primarily entrenched in the Baopang Mountain area at the junction of Lingao and Danzhou—their old encampment." Luo Duo held a pointer against the map. "More than three hundred bandits are stationed there permanently. They possess firearms."
Officers below studied the markings intently. Luo Duo continued: "However, their base of support lies in the 'Thirteen Villages' region at the junction of Jialai and Meitai. Supplies and personnel alike are replenished from this area. In an emergency, they can mobilize another four or five hundred fighters from here."
A murmur of discussion arose. Someone raised a point: "Doesn't that mean 'no good people in Hongtong County'? Are all able-bodied men in this area suspected of being bandits?"
"That is essentially the case." Luo Duo nodded. "The Dang Namen gang treats this area as their private preserve—they never harm it themselves, and they don't permit other bandits to intrude. They enjoy considerable popularity."
"Practically a separatist regime!"
"Not quite separatist—not yet. According to Master Wang, tax payment in the Thirteen Villages area has never fallen short. The county simply receives no extra benefits."
"Actually, Dang Namen's thinking isn't unlike ours: not a penny less for regular taxes, not a penny more for surcharges. With guns backing them up, the county can do nothing."
"Did the Thirteen Villages area attend the recent Political Consultative Conference?" He Ming asked.
"They did. I checked the meeting records. Their representatives kept silent; they basically followed the crowd. Grain requisition, dispatching labor, sending liaison officers—they agreed to everything."
"Dang Namen understands struggle strategy quite well."
"Indeed." Luo Duo answered cautiously. "In terms of struggle strategy, he has considerable sophistication."
"The Dang Namen gang consists mostly of poor commoners, and he himself comes from persecuted poverty. He also practices 'rob the rich, not the poor,' so one might say he possesses revolutionary consciousness." Someone spoke up. "Characterizing them as bandits may be wrong—perhaps they're a spontaneous peasant resistance organization. We could win them over."
"'Not disturbing people' is relative." Luo Duo shook his head. "Only the Thirteen Villages area enjoys somewhat better treatment; harassment elsewhere is severe." Robbery, murder, kidnapping, seizing civilian women—the gang had done it all without exception. The wealthy weren't the only victims; the poor suffered equally. Insisting on calling it "peasant resistance" or "uprising" was self-deception.
He Ming explained: "The Bandit Suppression Command chose to target them first for two reasons. One: their power is the largest—destroying them sends a warning to others. Two: this gang has incurred great public outrage. We have a just cause."
Luo Duo continued: "In the Thirteen Villages area, this gang has two important lieutenants leading twenty to thirty men stationed permanently to maintain control. Their names are Xin Nari and Wang Wushu."
"Xin Nari and Wang Wushu are two of the Four Heavenly Kings under Dang Namen," Wang Zhaomin had told Luo Duo. "The 'Four Heavenly Kings' title is mostly for show, but these two cannot be underestimated."
Xin Nari had been an idler since childhood. As an adult, because he preferred ease to labor, he'd ingratiated himself with the county yamen's "Fast Hands"—the constables—and became a Zuo Gong De, a "functionary." A Zuo Gong De wasn't a formal yamen runner but rather an off-the-books temp whose income derived entirely from customary bribes and extortion. Dirty work that proper runners couldn't be seen doing fell to these men. If trouble arose, they took the fall. Fortunately, with connections inside and outside, they usually got off lightly, and even the magistrate had no recourse. Once the heat passed, they resumed being Zuo Gong De.
Xin Nari had been exceptionally active in this role. Beyond bullying common people, he finally grew too greedy for his own good and turned his schemes against the gentry. Eventually, he couldn't stay any longer—the Fast Hands weren't willing to offend the gentry on his behalf. After all, there was no shortage of Zuo Gong De; one more or less made no difference. Having lost this position, Xin Nari simply went up the mountain to become an outlaw.
"...This person has a flexible mind and some petty cleverness. He excels at sycophancy and flattery. So although he's currently a bandit, he maintains connections with many petty officials in the county yamen and unsavory local gentry. At the slightest hint of trouble, someone tips him off." Wang Zhaomin had warned, "Both Master Wu and Master Huang wanted to arrest him several times, but he slipped away every time."
As for Wang Wushu, while lacking a flexible mind, he was extraordinarily savage and cruel—notorious for killing without blinking. He had practiced martial arts since childhood and possessed some hard qigong skills. During youthful brawls, he had reportedly survived stabbing without serious injury, lending him an almost legendary aura. These two—one the brains, one the brawn—remained permanently stationed in Thirteen Villages territory, maintaining tight control over the area.
After Luo Duo finished his presentation, attendees debated how to suppress this group. Plans basically fell into two categories. The first was to strike Thirteen Villages first, eliminate the bandit forces, cut off the mountain stronghold's supply of grain and personnel, force them into chaos, then besiege the stronghold when conditions were ripe.
The second approach advocated capturing the ringleader first by attacking the Baopang Mountain area to destroy the bandit nest, then forcing the Thirteen Villages bandits to surrender without a fight.
Both plans had merits and drawbacks. After comprehensive consideration, the decision was made to attack the mountain stronghold first.
"If we hit Thirteen Villages first, the civil affairs aftermath will be extremely difficult to manage." Wu De, serving as both a Civil Affairs Committee member and Bandit Suppression Command member, explained the reasoning. "The local people harbor reservations and are reluctant to have much contact with us. With an intact stronghold to fall back on, the bandits can use civilians as cover to launch relentless attacks. If our large force stations there, we become passive. Eventually, we might likely resort to indiscriminate retaliation due to endless attacks, creating an antagonistic relationship that will be very difficult to repair afterward."
The adopted combat approach would be raid operations by lean, synthesized small units. Committing large formations to mountain bandit suppression was not worth the cost. Large troop movements were hard to conceal; bandits could transfer all materials and personnel beforehand, leaving only empty strongholds. Even deploying one or two infantry battalions—let alone searching with thousands of soldiers—would allow bandits to easily evade them. Unable to sustain supplies for prolonged mountain operations, large forces couldn't linger. Eventually, the troops would have to withdraw. Bandits had used this method to counter government suppression for generations—it never failed.
Yang Zeng, Platoon Leader of the 1st Platoon, Jaeger Company, 1st Infantry Regiment, was marching through the mountains. The late spring forest was steep and humid. Sweat had soaked through his uniform. He carried his beloved rifle on his shoulder along with two hundred rounds of ammunition.
Behind him followed his Jaeger platoon, then a mountain howitzer and all its accompaniments: shells, gunpowder, ramrods, and sundry equipment. All of it was transported by men—a full forty "Education Soldiers," recruits still in training who hadn't yet been formally awarded the rank of private. Behind them came an infantry company, then over a hundred more Education Soldiers carrying a large quantity of logistics equipment. Officially called "Military Laborers," they were actually the "Soldiers Replacing Livestock for Transport" system that Xi Yazhou had devised. Recruits weren't of much use in combat, but they could certainly carry things. Bringing up the rear was the Engineer Platoon, led personally by Engineer Company Commander Pan Da.