Chapter 1: Yang Lao Ye Takes Office

  A group of people came to such a remote place, naturally becoming the focus of everyone's attention, especially when there was a blond-haired foreigner among them. Although Yang Bo had been trying his best to block Bi Fangji in front of him, unfortunately, the golden leopard official uniform on his body did not attract anyone's attention at all.

  "Come here."

  Yang Bo pointed at a young man who looked somewhat cultured and said that the man let out a cold snort, rolled his eyes, and continued to watch the monkeys.

  "My grass, these villagers are so ignorant of etiquette, I'm at least a sixth-rank official, aren't I?" Yang Lao Ye was furious after being humiliated, he casually pulled out a piece of broken silver.

  "Whoever takes us to Shi Chongzi, these two silver coins will be his..."

  With a loud noise, countless people surrounded Yang Bo, enthusiastically recommending themselves, and Yang Bo looked at them with a domineering gaze.

  "This military officer, are you going to take a look at Andong Weicheng first?" asked Li Dexing in a flattering tone.

  "That's where I'm going" Yang Bo thought for a moment, and still let the priest wait at Antongwei Castle until he settled down before saying anything, it wouldn't be good to bring him along.

  Li Dexing nodded, as a local born and raised here, he naturally knew everything about this place like the back of his hand.

  "As for An Dongwei's background, it's a long story..."

  Li Dexing cleared his throat.

  "It all started from the 16th year of Hongwu, when Taizu ordered Xinguo Gong Tang He and Jiangxia Hou Zhou Xing to inspect the eastern coast for thousands of miles. They planned to set up Wei and Suo in strategic areas to defend against Japanese pirates. Soon after, they established Andongwei, setting up a touring office and a commander (in charge of five thousand households: left, right, middle, front, and back). The front and left households were stationed in the city of Andongwei, while the rear household was stationed 90 miles northeast of the city. It was originally called Shizhen Stockade, but later renamed Shizhen Suo, which is where this military officer is headed."

  "... during the Tianshun period, he was transferred to the Tianjin Garrison and then to the Xuzhou Garrison. Only three thousand households under the Andong Garrison remained: the front, left, and rear. Each garrison had a chief and deputy commander, as well as other officials..."

  Li Dexing looked at Yang Bo and said: "Is this military officer the hundred officials of Shitou Village?"

  Yang Bo nodded proudly, but didn't say a word, only shook the copper plate at his waist.

  "Are you familiar with Shizui Village?" Bi Fangji asked, this was his most concern.

  "Li Dexing nodded and said: "How much is also known""

  "Shi Dui Village is nearly ninety miles away from here, located in a remote area. Locals generally refer to it as the Shi Dui Village Backup Thousand Household Department. The first hereditary chief was He Ruolao, and the current chief is Zhou Guangbi, Lord Zhou..."

  Yang Bo suddenly asked: "Which jurisdiction does Andongwei belong to?"

  Li Dexing said: "Originally, it was under the jurisdiction of the Weiyuan Commandery, but during the Yongle period, Shandong Province set up three camps, namely Jimou Camp, Wenden Camp, and Dengzhou Camp. The Jimou Camp was in charge of Andong Wei, Lingshan Wei, Aoshan Wei, and Dashan Wei, a total of four Weis, as well as the six thousand households of Shizui, Xiahe, Jiaozhou, Fushan, Xiongya, and Haiyang..."

  Yang Bo nodded, guessing that the one in charge of Qingzhou Prefecture was the commander of Jimo Camp, which made him a direct superior of Shi Chui's superior. It seemed that this Chen gentleman from Qingzhou Prefecture had taken the money and still intended to get things done.

  Thinking of this, Yang Bo couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself. He thought he had grasped a powerful leg, and when the time came, as long as he took out Old Master Du's letter, wouldn't that intimidate everyone?

  "...The Andong Garrison was built in the third year of the Hongzhi era, and was renovated by Wei Heng, the commander of the garrison, during the Jiajing era. The city wall is 2 zhang 1 chi high, with a circumference of 5 li, and is 2 zhang thick. There are 1300 battlements, 4 gate towers, and a moat that is 2 zhang 5 chi wide and 8 chi deep. Inside the city there are government offices, Confucian schools, granaries, armories, martial arts halls, temples, etc. The government offices include the Procuratorate, the Guardian Commandery, the Garrison Headquarters, the Commander's Office, the Pacification Commission, the Confucian School Office, the Patrol Inspectorate, the Battalion Commander's Office, the Left and Right Garrisons, and the Front Garrison. There are also temples dedicated to the Emperor, the Three Officials, the Martial God, the Fire God, and the City God. The main streets have stone archways at the east and west ends, with four major streets (east, west, south, and north) that have a total of eight shops, and four small alleys that have four shops."

  "...When Andong Wei was first established, its status was as important as Weihai Wei and Tianjin Wei. In the Ministry of War, it was a named unit that required special care. This special care means that there were differences in personnel, supplies, and organization. Even in terms of financial allocation, priority supply was given." Li Dexing spoke fluently, spitting saliva onto Yang Bo's face.

  "...because of its strategic location, the establishment of Andong Wei is somewhat special. Other Weis are in charge of five thousand households, each with a thousand military households, adding up to more than 5,000, while the organization of Andong Wei is somewhat different, Andong Wei also has five thousand households but has nearly 9,000 military households" Li Dexing was full of pride

  "Why has its status declined so much now?" asked Bi Fangji

  "In the past, the Wei Suo was set up to prevent the invasion of Japanese pirates, but now it is neglected, and there are many rumors. I don't know the real situation either." Li Dexing shook his head.

  Yang Bo nodded, guessing that these were all decisions made by the big shots in the imperial court. Perhaps they saw the decline of their strategic position and split into two thousand households. Now Andong Wei is no longer as powerful as before, but this has little to do with him, and he doesn't bother to care.

  "Your accent doesn't sound like a local?" Yang Bo asked curiously, this person's speech was fluent and didn't have the Shandong accent he remembered.

  "My ancestors were originally from Yunnan Prefecture, and my predecessors followed General Fu Youde of the imperial court to pacify Yunnan. After that, they settled here, which was also several generations ago..."

  Yang Bo originally wanted to ask Shi Tuo some more detailed things, such as population and land, but seeing Li De Xing's evasive appearance, he knew that he was not too familiar with those things either. Since the carriage driver would only go to Andongwei City, Yang Bo and his group could only find another carriage rental in the city, so they entered Andongwei City, sent away the horse-drawn carriage and Li De Xing, and found an inn to temporarily settle down.

  As the largest Wei Suo in Qingzhou Prefecture, the city wall of Andong Wei Cheng was much higher and larger than ordinary Wei Suo. However, due to the laxity of the Wei Suo system, the few soldiers wandering around the gate were also listless. The streets on both sides were muddy and dirty, with a foul smell filling the air. Yang Bo couldn't help but frown and cover his nose.

  "This is a place you chose yourself." Bi Fangji was not dissatisfied at all, and he didn't forget to take the opportunity to mock him. He eagerly scanned the crowded crowd around him, these were his future targets after all.

  "Right ahead is the official residence of the Commander-in-Chief, shall we go take a look?" Bi Fangji pointed to a magnificent building in front of them, this official residence stood tall and proud within the walls of Andong Garrison.

  "No need, I'm just a trial hundred households, and there's still a thousand households in between." Yang Bo shook his head, being new to the place, he hadn't even figured out the basic relationships yet, so naturally he wouldn't go running around to be looked down upon...