Chen Mo looked at the several sets of gongs and drums before him. No matter how he examined them, he could not see anything special about them.
They had all been struck countless times, and the originally smooth gong surfaces were pitted here and there.
Putting everything else aside, the imperial court's vigilance regarding the Gray Mist was clearly evident in how seriously it took the matter.
A five-hundred-man military camp was equipped with a full six sets of gongs and drums. The previous Salt Transport Envoy had specially arranged eight groups of four men to patrol the camp and sound the gongs every day.
This was merely the standard equipment for a five-hundred-man military camp. Even though the camp's current state was already close to existing in name only, they had still not relaxed on this point.
In fact, it was not just this military camp. Most of the camps used to protect government salt were basically in the same state.
That was because bandits would not easily rob government salt. Even if they wanted to rob someone, why not target private merchants who were easier prey?
Moreover, most bandits occupied the mountains as their kings, collecting tolls from travelers to get by. They could not possibly risk their lives in bloody fights with others every day—the cost was simply too high.
With no bandits coming, the numerous military camps naturally fell idle. As time passed, they gradually became what they were now.
"I'll keep these two sets of gongs and drums for now. If those other four sets go missing or anything else happens to them, come find me then."
Chen Mo picked up two sets of gongs and drums. They were currently the things he could most easily obtain that could disperse the Gray Mist and those