Eunuch Lan felt a chill creep up his spine.
Only now did he truly understand—salt smugglers were nothing like ordinary court officials. Before arriving, he had imagined Shanxi as merely another troublesome post. Now that he stood on its soil, he realized that without real capability, one wouldn't last a single season here.
He had brought his own trusted enforcers, but their numbers were pitiful. If Xing Honglang decided to make a move, silencing him would be effortless.
Eunuch Lan cleared his throat nervously.
"Ahem… well… there's no need to inspect every salt village, is there? They're all more or less the same."
Xing Honglang raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Not going to see them? There's an even better one ahead. In the last village, there are piles of bleached bones. When the rebels came, they slaughtered everyone and left the bodies to rot. After nightfall, will-o'-the-wisps flicker throughout the ruins."
Eunuch Lan's face turned ashen.
"Cough—cough! That won't be necessary. This official has already understood the situation. No need… no need to see it personally."
The group returned to Hedong Circuit.
Xing Honglang produced a ledger.
It had been meticulously prepared by Gao Family Village's Middle School graduates—students trained with modern mathematics and accounting. Every entry was clean, logical, and frighteningly precise. Compared to the chaotic ledgers used by the imperial court, it looked like a divine artifact.
Unfortunately—
It was fake.
Eunuch Lan studied it for a long time, nodding repeatedly. With his limited learning, he couldn't detect a single flaw. In the end, he found only one problem.
"The salt output from Xie Lake has dropped sharply," he sighed. "Compared to its peak, production has nearly halved."
Xing Honglang replied calmly, "The solution is obvious—recruit more salt artisans. But Shanxi is engulfed in war. Where would the people come from?"
Eunuch Lan fell silent.
Xing Honglang casually slipped a piece of fine jade into his palm.
Eunuch Lan weighed it.
Heavy. Warm. Valuable.
His expression changed instantly.
"In that case… there's nothing to be done. The current salt tax level will have to remain unchanged for now. This official will report to His Majesty and consider appropriate countermeasures."
Just like that, the eunuch was dealt with.
After Eunuch Lan left, Xing Honglang returned to the main hall—only to find Dai Jun'en still seated there, sipping tea as if he had no intention of departing.
It seemed the poet-governor still had something to say.
"Does Your Excellency have further instructions?" Xing Honglang asked.
Dai Jun'en let out a long sigh.
"General Xing, this old man did not come merely to deliver a eunuch. There are military matters I wish to discuss."
Xing Honglang frowned slightly.
"Shouldn't the Governor be speaking with General You Shilu, the Regional Commander of Shanxi?"
Dai Jun'en shook his head slowly.
"The imperial troops… are difficult to deal with."
Xing Honglang waited.
"They massacre civilians to fabricate merit, submit false battle reports—it's become routine. Every one of them is a rogue soldier. This old man cannot command such men. The previous Governor, Xu Dingchen, was dragged down by them."
Xing Honglang fell silent.
Dai Jun'en pulled out a stack of secret reports.
"Have a look."
She read.
One report accused Deng Qi of allowing his troops to plunder and violate civilians.
Another detailed Zuo Liangyu killing innocents and presenting their heads as bandits.
A third accused Zhang Zongheng of framing Xu Dingchen to escape responsibility.
Among Shanxi's officials, scarcely two were clean.
The final two reports were different.
One praised the White Pole Soldiers for iron discipline, never harming civilians.
The other praised Xing Honglang, stating that her army lived in harmony with the people, distributed grain, resolved disputes, and surpassed even the White Pole Soldiers in popular support.
Xing Honglang frowned.
"So… Your Excellency knows everything."
Dai Jun'en nodded.
"Yes. Including your little performance today—using decayed salt villages to fool Eunuch Lan. To the southwest of Xie Lake, production has increased several-fold. This deception fools palace eunuchs, not administrators who actually care about governance."
Xing Honglang's hand drifted instinctively to her saber.
Dai Jun'en sighed.
"But this old man did not expose you. You spent silver on disaster relief in Puzhou and Hedong. If you hadn't diverted salt revenue, how could you have done so?"
Her grip relaxed.
"If Eunuch Lan had taken that silver," Dai Jun'en continued softly, "it would have vanished into his private coffers. This old man is old and forgetful. I forget many things I see. I only remember poetry now. As for suppressing bandits… I'm likely here only to wander about, write a few poems, and be dismissed in a year or two."
He stood up.
"General Xing, take care of the people."
Then he left.
Eunuch Lan returned shortly after.
"Governor Dai, what were you discussing with General Xing?"
"Oh!" Dai Jun'en exclaimed. "I've just thought of a poem."
His guards rushed forward with brush and ink.
He scribbled, frowned, crumpled the paper.
"Terrible writing."
He turned back.
"Now then… what were we talking about?"
Eunuch Lan hesitated. "We… weren't discussing anything."
"Ah, of course." Dai Jun'en nodded. "What is it I'm supposed to do as Governor of Shanxi again?"
"You're to suppress bandits!" Eunuch Lan shrieked.
"Oh? Bandit suppression." Dai Jun'en turned to Xing Honglang.
"General Xing, I don't know how to suppress bandits. I only know poetry. I'll entrust this task to you."
Xing Honglang clasped her fists.
"Rest assured, Your Excellency."
Dai Jun'en climbed into his carriage. As it rolled north toward Taiyuan, his voice drifted out, reciting poetry.
Moments later, he asked absentmindedly,
"What was I discussing with Eunuch Lan just now?"
The guard whispered, "He said he'd go on an outing with you to compose poetry someday."
Dai Jun'en chuckled.
"Wonderful. Truly wonderful."
The carriage rolled on—
toward Taiyuan,
a city the rebels besieged from time to time,
governed by a man who remembered poems
and forgot everything else.