"The imperial court sent word that unidentified bandits have been roaming this area. They ordered me and the garrison commander of Anyang Prefecture to dispatch elite troops to investigate the region thoroughly."
Sun Shouren kept marking places on the map, his tone filled with genuine puzzlement.
He knew the situation here well. Logically speaking, there were barely any living people left, so how could bandits possibly be roaming about?
Even if refugees had truly formed a band of bandits, they should have wandered into Xingyuan Prefecture or Anyang Prefecture.
There was nothing worth looting in this area now. What kind of bandit would be so foolish as to stay there?
Anyone who wanted to rob something would have to travel a hundred or two hundred li round-trip.
Sun Shouren genuinely could not understand why bandits would want to remain there.
Of course, by his estimation, it was more likely that bandits had indeed been roaming that region, but had already left by now, while the intelligence provided by the imperial court had been severely delayed.
But even if the court's intelligence was wrong, he still had to send people to investigate, and he had to show sufficient regard for the matter.
This was an order handed down from above, not a request.
"You five, make some preparations. Take five soldiers each, travel light, and enter this area to investigate. If you encounter bandits or anyone behaving suspiciously, you may kill them on the spot." At this, Sun Shouren's tone turned stern.
If the intelligence was accurate and bandits were roaming there, they might very well have already crossed into Xingyuan Prefecture.
As the garrison commander of this region, he would soon have to mobilize troops to suppress them.
The garrison forces stationed in the various places naturally could not be counted on. He could only rely on his personal guards and some of the elite soldiers trained during this period.
"Understood." Mo Dao nodded and accepted the order. Chen Mo and the others did the same.
"I won't assign you any of the other personal guards in camp. New recruits will enter the camp tomorrow; each of you can choose five." Sun Shouren gave them his instructions.
The investigation itself would not serve much purpose. They might simply go through the motions and end up finding nothing.
But they could not avoid going. This was a direct order from the imperial court. Even if they were doing pointless work, he had to show a sufficiently solemn attitude.
As the garrison commander of a region, loyalty to the imperial court and loyalty to His Majesty were the most important things.
As long as one could accomplish that, even if one fell short in other areas, one's official career could still prosper.
But if one failed in that regard, then no matter how capable one was, one could never receive a promotion or be entrusted with important duties.
Sending several of his adopted sons and nephews would both give the new recruits experience and demonstrate his regard for the matter. The extra personal guards could also be used to prepare for the bandits that might come later. It truly accomplished three things at once.
Chen Mo and the others each accepted their orders and went to prepare. There was not much to bring. Chen Mo packed some extra dry rations and a clean change of clothes.
As for the new clothes Zhao Yu had made for him, it would be better not to wear them on this long journey.
He did not want to get his freshly made clothes dirty and torn, turning them into old clothes.
The next day, more than one hundred and fifty new recruits who had passed the selection and assessment gradually joined the Guard Camp. These recruits had been screened earlier from the various military camps.
Those with the best results entered the Guard Camp. Those who ranked slightly lower could continue training under General Sun and could still be used as veteran elite soldiers once a real battle began.
As for those who ranked at the very bottom, they went back wherever they had come from.
"Mo-ge!" Ma Cai spotted Chen Mo from far away and waved to him happily.
"Good. Follow behind me, and come along with me later." Chen Mo pulled him over without hesitation.
Chen Mo was unfamiliar with everyone else. Since he happened to have an acquaintance here, he naturally had to draft him into service.
Besides, Mo Dao had roughly analyzed the situation with them the previous day. That band of bandits might have been roaming there earlier, but by now they had most likely already entered Xingyuan Prefecture.
The main reason their adoptive father had ordered them to investigate was to demonstrate their regard for the matter and let the imperial court know how seriously they took its orders.
So compared with staying in the military camp and confronting the bandits head-on, going out to investigate was relatively safer.
Even if they truly encountered bandits, there were few of them and they could run fast. That group would not be able to catch them.
"Okay." Ma Cai nodded and agreed without asking further questions. It seemed the training over the past few months had not been in vain.
When faced with an order, he now knew to carry it out instead of asking too many questions.
"Are there any other capable men among the personal guards who came in this time? Go pick four more for me." Chen Mo ordered Ma Cai.
He was not familiar with these new recruits. He had not taken part in their training, but Ma Cai had trained alongside them, so he should be somewhat familiar with them.
"Yes." Ma Cai accepted the order and quickly selected four men to follow him.
Mo Dao and the others also each called over several new recruits. None of them took the matter particularly seriously, because although it was important, it was not dangerous.
"Mo-ge, this is the money I owe you." Following behind Chen Mo, Ma Cai took the opportunity to pass him several pieces of loose silver.
He had had money on hand for some time, but he had never had the chance to see Chen Mo, so he had been unable to repay him.
Now that he had finally run into him, he naturally wanted to return it quickly and put the matter weighing on his heart to rest.
Chen Mo weighed the amount in his hand and stuffed it into the purse at his waist.
"We'll take a carriage to the courier station and go to Qingmu County first. We'll rest there briefly and gather information, then travel light into this area to investigate."
Mo Dao instructed everyone, and Chen Mo and the others had no objections.
General Sun had already told them beforehand that Mo Dao would be in charge of everything during this outing.
They left the military camp and headed south. Since this was official business, they did not need to stay at the large inns anymore; they could rest at courier stations along the way.
Three days later, they arrived in Qingmu County. Mo Dao went to find the local magistrate and county commandant to learn whether there had recently been any reports of bandits entering the county.
Under the arrangements of the local officials, Chen Mo and the others found a place to rest properly and recover from the weariness of the journey.
Although riding in a carriage was easier than walking, the constant jolting left Chen Mo and the others more or less fine, while the new recruits were somewhat fatigued.
"I asked the county magistrate and county commandant. Qingmu County is very peaceful, with no trace of bandits anywhere." After learning the situation, Mo Dao informed Chen Mo and the others.
"That means either that group of bandits hasn't entered yet, or they've gone straight to Anyang Prefecture." Mo Hu spoke up. His idea was also what most people were thinking.
Chen Mo said nothing, but he had another guess in his heart.
That the bandits had already entered Qingmu County, but instead of robbing anyone, they had scattered and gone into hiding.
However, this possibility should be unlikely. If it were true, then these bandits would not only be exceptionally elite, but whatever they were plotting would also be extraordinarily ambitious.
"Regardless of the exact situation, we still have to go take a look. Once we get there, investigate first. If we encounter a small number of bandits, kill them directly.
"If we encounter a large group of bandits, avoid them for the time being. Do not engage them head-on." Mo Dao carefully instructed the others.
Chen Mo did not mention his guess, because the likelihood of it was simply too low.
Great Qian had stood for three hundred and seventeen years. By now, it had indeed begun to decline. Its officialdom was corrupt, and corrupt officials ran rampant.
Qing Province had suffered an even greater disaster, and no one knew how many people had starved to death.
By now, popular uprisings did exist, but there truly had not been anyone hiding elite troops and preparing to raise a banner in rebellion.
Chen Mo absolutely did not want such a situation to occur either. His life was relatively peaceful. As long as he waited a few more months and went to take the Prefectural Examination, he would at least obtain an academic distinction and leave the military register to become a member of the scholar register.
The group discussed the remaining matters and then retired to rest.
The next day, they officially set foot within Qing Province.
Before you continue