Chapter 2644: Storm over Xiaoyao Market (Part 4)

The earthen wall stood no higher than a man, but topped with a bamboo fence, it rose to more than one zhang. The upper ends of the fence stakes had been sharpened and fire-hardened. At regular intervals, small openings pierced the barrier—likely cannon embrasures. Below the wall, a moat encircled the fortification, its waters connected to the river. Atop the earthen ramparts, several bamboo watchtowers had been erected, and the silhouettes of Kun Soldiers could be seen moving about on their platforms.

Luo Heying possessed some knowledge of military strategy. He understood that while this camp appeared crude, these defenses combined with a squad of elite soldiers would be sufficient to repel an attacking force ten times their number.

"How many Kun Soldiers are stationed here?"

"This lowly one truly doesn't know," the apprentice said with an apologetic smile. "But the workers usually all live inside the camp. A few hundred people, I'd say."

"What kind of nonsense answer is that!" Li Guangyuan snapped. "A few hundred—how many is that exactly? They've been building here for a month, and you don't know how many people there are? Useless rice bucket!"

The apprentice's face crumpled with grievance. The pawnshop's rules were extremely strict. Aside from the shopkeeper, who could go out to conduct business, the apprentices lived no differently than prisoners. They ate and slept in the shop and were forbidden from leaving. Only on the first and fifteenth of each month could they request leave to go out for a bath and haircut, and they had to return the same day. To go home required an urgent matter and special approval. Let alone the Australians being here for over a month—even if they'd been here three or five years, he would have had no way of knowing.

But with the East Owner scolding him now, the apprentice could only listen with lowered brows and an ingratiating expression. When Master Li had finished venting his authority, the apprentice ventured in a low voice: "We lowly ones aren't usually allowed out of the shop. But I've heard idle customers who come in say that quite a lot of people live inside. When they unload goods, they transport whole sacks of rice in there..."

"Oh? Where is this rice transported from? Isn't Fan Family supplying them?"

"I heard it's transported by the Kun People's own trading house. The Fan Family only supplies vegetables to the Kun People."

Li Guangyuan snorted. Beyond his contempt, his heart harbored a trace of envy. Those blind Kun Thieves! How could they choose to partner with Fan Xiao, that Hakka fellow!

Luo Hetu remained unaware of Master Li's inner turmoil. He focused his attention on the camp. After a long while, he spoke: "Is there anywhere nearby to climb for a better vantage point? I want to observe the interior of the Kun Thieves' camp."

A difficult expression crossed the apprentice's face. "There's actually a Literary Pagoda (Wen Ta) nearby. But it's still some distance from here. Even if you climb up, you won't be able to see clearly."

Luo Heying said: "No matter. Master has a Thousand Li Mirror. Just lead the way."

The apprentice took the lead, guiding them out of Xiaoyao Market. They walked along field ridges and narrow paths for quite some time before arriving at a high hillock beside a river branch.

A Literary Pagoda indeed stood here. Though similar in form and structure to others, this type of pagoda was not a Buddhist Stupa (Fu Tu) in the religious sense, but rather built according to Feng Shui principles. Such pagodas varied in scale and size—some couldn't be climbed at all. This particular one, however, was quite small in dimensions yet contained an internal staircase for ascending and descending.

The problem was that each floor's area was too cramped. When the three men reached the topmost level, the space was so tight they stood nearly face to face. Looking out through the small window, they could make out the distant Kun Thieves' barracks in a blur. Luo Heying produced a telescope and examined the scene carefully.

The Kun Thieves' camp was roughly rectangular in shape. At its center rose a small earthen hill. Upon closer inspection, this hill appeared to be the only commanding height near the New Pier.

The fortifications on all four sides were generally consistent with what they had observed from outside. Behind the wall, ladders and scaffolding had been set up for elevated shooting positions. On the open ground within, they had even placed cannons.

Though there were only two small cannons, judged purely by armaments, this camp could already be considered Gu Ruo Jin Tang—solid as gold poured into iron, utterly impregnable. Luo Heying felt a secret shock in his heart. What intentions did the Kun Thieves have in establishing such dense defenses here?

He shifted his gaze to examine the camp's interior. The buildings were all long, rectangular structures arranged in neat rows. In the open spaces, several strange-looking objects had been placed, all covered with canvas tarps. He couldn't tell what they were. "What are those objects? The ones under the cloth covers."

The apprentice took the telescope and looked. He hesitated a moment before speaking: "According to rumor, those are Australian Iron Steel Beasts. Before using them, you have to feed them coal and mud. Then a spell is cast to make the Giant Beast go into a frenzy. A Kun Person then enters an iron cage on the Beast's back to control it. I've heard these Giant Beasts are of Earth Nature—their whole bodies bound with Refined Iron Shackles forged through Australian secret methods. Every time they exert themselves, they roar loud enough to shake the heavens. Their strength is incomparably great, and they're especially adept at digging earth and moving mountains. When the Giant Beasts walk, it sounds like rolling thunder. If these Giant Beasts were to break free of their shackles—terrible! The Beast would immediately burrow underground and cause the earth to tremble for several tens of li in every direction. This entire Kun Soldier camp was built with the help of these Giant Beasts. It took only a few short days to complete."

"And these Long Houses—how many people can they accommodate?"

"This lowly one isn't entirely certain either. I only heard laborers recruited by the Kun People say that the Long Houses contain two-level bunk beds. A single Long House can probably house around fifty people."

Luo Heying carefully counted the number of Long Houses. Approximately two hundred people lived permanently in the camp, give or take. Although the majority were likely laborers and the actual soldiers couldn't be too numerous, laborers issued with swords and spears could still fight and kill. Under normal circumstances, this stockade would be truly impossible to take.

The three men descended from the tower and returned to the pawnshop. Luo Heying asked: "You mentioned earlier that the land was a Feng Shui Treasure Land, and that families who buried their dead there had produced three Cultivated Talents. Which families were they?"

Before the apprentice could open his mouth, Li Guangyuan laughed: "Brother Luo! Stop listening to this Sha Cai spout nonsense! That riverbank is Charity Land. Those buried there are either paupers with no place to call their own, or unclaimed corpses of travelers who died on the road. How could a family capable of producing Cultivated Talents make graves there? A Feng Shui Treasure Land, he says—a Vicious Evil Land is more like it!"

The apprentice smiled awkwardly. "Master, this lowly one was only repeating what others have said."

Luo Heying, however, was calculating whether this matter could be put to use. If the Kun Thieves had truly dug up people's ancestral graves, this could be exploited extensively. But if they had merely cleared away a Charity Cemetery, the situation offered little advantage in truth. He pondered for a moment, then proposed opening a shop near the New Pier.

"That's easy enough. Land there couldn't be cheaper." Li Guangyuan readily agreed. "Just have Shopkeeper Wu handle the arrangements."

"The building doesn't need to be large. The cruder, the better. I plan to open a Tea and Rice Shop," Luo Heying said. "When the time comes, I'll trouble you to introduce some workers."

"A trifling matter! Leave it all to me!"

Within a few days, a Tea and Rice Shop opened near the New Pier—so crude it didn't even have a signboard. To call it a shop was generous; in truth, it was just one room serving as a kitchen. On the wasteland, they had erected a shed of reed mats. Beneath the shed, they set out rough tables and chairs, and that counted as opening for business.

Crude as it was, business proved brisk. Luo Heying's purpose was gathering intelligence, not making money, so his prices were cheap. Moreover, the Australians' large construction site stood nearby. Apart from the core workers, large numbers of subcontracted laborers had all been recruited locally, and the Australians didn't provide meals. The moment this Rice Shop opened, customers flocked to the door, drawn by good food at fair prices.

Luo Heying had truly set aside his status. He personally served as a common laborer in this Rice Shop, hauling water and chopping firewood day after day. Busy inside, busy outside—all while keeping his eyes fixed on the Australian construction.

His knowledge of the Australians was considerable. After observing their defenses, he no longer harbored extravagant hopes of breaching the camp smoothly. However, his superiors had said that as long as he could stir up a wave of anti-Kun Thief sentiment here and draw the Kun Thieves' attention, that would suffice.

He knew something of military strategy. Naturally, he understood this was a "Sound East, Strike West" tactic. Whether the camp fell or not didn't truly matter. Yet he still clung to the ambition of taking it.

His dedication stemmed not only from national hatred and personal vengeance, but also harbored dreams of rapid advancement. Taoist Wood Stone had already declared that capturing a True Kun Thief's head this time would earn a direct award of a Fifth Rank Military Post. Beheading or capturing a high-ranking Fake Kun would merit a Seventh Rank Military Post. To Luo Heying, who had only briefly tasted the flavor of official "Degree," this was an enormous temptation.

And just now, the apprentice's words had revealed crucial information. This place was the Kun Thieves' important construction site. True Kuns or important Fake Kuns often came here for inspections. If he could breach the stockade and take such a head, the merit...

At this thought, his heart burned several degrees hotter.

From conversations with hired workers who came to eat, Luo Heying gleaned more intelligence.

As it turned out, there weren't many Fake Kuns in this camp. Besides thirty Fake Kun Soldiers garrisoning the site, others came and went according to the engineering progress—sometimes more, sometimes fewer. At peak times, there might be thirty-odd; at lean times, only a dozen or so. However, all the Fake Kuns possessed specialized skills. Some could operate those Iron Monsters; some could determine Feng Shui alignments; some understood building construction and road repair...

Though their numbers were few, the dwellings inside the camp were many. Beyond the Long Houses and warehouses he had observed from the tower, many other buildings were under construction. Their specific purposes remained unknown.

As for the True Kuns, they weren't permanent residents. Roughly once a month, one or two would arrive, all possessing "Technology." They would stay a few days and then depart. Whenever one saw Japanese Pirate Samurai wearing iron bamboo hats, or Korean Soldiers in their broad-brimmed hats and white clothing, that signaled a True Kun's arrival.

Regarding the camp's purpose, it was said to be the Kun Thieves' "Yamen." But exactly what level of Yamen, no one could say clearly. This "Yamen" apparently differed from ordinary ones. Besides collecting taxes and holding court trials, it also intended to conduct "Promotion"—supposedly teaching everyone about silkworm raising and silk reeling. They also wanted to establish schools in town, open warehouses, and build workshops. In the future, men would work in the workshops, women would raise silkworms and reel silk, and all children would attend school. Everyone would have employment. Everyone would live good lives...

Whenever Luo Heying heard such talk, he could only laugh inwardly. Did they really believe the Kun Thieves' words? Since ancient times, where there were men above, there had to be men below. Even if everyone lived well, naturally some would live better than others. Right now, it was hard to say whether the Kun Thieves could even fill common people's bellies with rice. Truly, boasting cost no tax...

"What Yamen! You're all just idly spouting nonsense! Where under heaven has anyone ever built a Yamen like this?" A middle-aged fellow sneered. "You don't understand a damn thing!"

"Oh, like you understand anything? Then you tell us!" The crowd was unconvinced.

"I'll tell you exactly what's going on. The Australians are practicing Geomancy Arts (Kan Yu Shu) here. They're setting up a Feng Shui Formation. Either they want to break the Great Ming's Dragon Qi, or they're Seeking the Dragon and Pointing the Cave—building a Tomb..."

Luo Heying was momentarily stunned. This possibility had never occurred to him. Though the claim sounded somewhat absurd, he had to admit it wasn't entirely impossible. Since landing, the Kun Thieves had enjoyed smooth sailing in all endeavors, never encountering setbacks. No matter how dangerous the crisis, they always managed to muddle through. Perhaps they truly had learned some secret method of Feng Shui Geomancy and had broken the Great Ming's Royal Qi.

(End of Chapter)