Chapter 156: Volume Three: Shunxiang Fort Garrison Commander, Chapter 151: Being a Concubine Can Be Considered

Volume Three: Shunxiang Fort Garrison Commander, Chapter 151: Being a Concubine Can Be Considered

Wang Dou looked at Li Tianxu. The lean, dry face of this militia headman was filled with caution. The Baoan Department militia numbered over two hundred men, divided into four headman militia squads. The Li Tianxu brothers each led one headman squad of over fifty men, and ordinarily they ran rampant and tyrannical within the department city, insufferably arrogant.

However, when Wang Dou first arrived at Baoan Department city, because of the brothers’ past grudges with Wang Dou, Baoan Department Commandant Han Daguan personally brought Li Tianxu and Li Tiancheng to kowtow and admit their fault before Wang Dou. At the time, Wang Dou merely smiled faintly and let bygones be bygones; he no longer had any interest in dealing with such petty figures.

When Wang Dou exterminated the mutinous troops, the Li Tianxu brothers had watched in terror, secretly rejoicing that they had admitted fault quickly. Otherwise, with the mere handful of militia they led, they would have been no match for Wang Dou at all. This time, he had come under his uncle’s orders, hoping to form a marriage alliance with Wang Dou.

Li Tianxu’s uncle was Li Shichen, head of the Li family of Xinzhuang. Their family had been a scholarly household for generations and could be considered the foremost gentry of Baoan Department. Li Shichen’s ancestor, Li Tinggui, had passed the Provincial Graduate examination, and a Dengke Arch had been erected within Baoan Department city. Among all the scholars in Baoan Department over the generations, only the Li family enjoyed this honor.

In Baoan Department, the Li family could be said to wield enormous power. Not only did they own up to a thousand mu of fertile land near Xinzhuang, but their family descendants also owned nearly ten thousand mu of fertile land throughout the entire Baoan Department. The family’s enterprises spread across every part of the department city — rice shops, cloth shops, cattle and horse brokerages, mining properties, and more; the Li family had a hand in all of them.

The brothers, sons, and nephews of their family all served as militia headmen, squad leaders, or in other important positions within the department. They were intertwined with the local gentry everywhere. No matter which official was transferred to Baoan Department, without the Li family’s nod, the promulgation of any tax, corvée, or administrative matter should not expect to proceed smoothly.

He had not expected Li Shichen to suddenly want to marry his daughter to him. Hearing this news, Wang Dou was momentarily stunned, thinking to himself: could it be that the Great Ming’s landlord class had recognized him as a stock with potential and had set their minds on drawing him in?

Wang Dou had indeed heard that Li Shichen had a daughter, said to be as beautiful as flower or jade, but she had always lived within the department city. From childhood to adulthood, Wang Dou had never seen her. Whether his desire to marry his daughter to him was a sudden whim or had another purpose, he did not know.

Thinking of this, Wang Dou smiled faintly and said, “I never expected Uncle Li to show such regard. This is truly unexpected.”

Li Tianxu laughed and said, “My lord is a hero of this age, slaying the Tartars and distributing land and fields to the common people. Whenever my uncle speaks of it, he is full of admiration. Speaking of that niece of mine, she too is excellent in both appearance and bearing, the foremost beauty of Baoan Department, and thoroughly versed in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. A beauty matched with a hero — this is a fine match made by Heaven. Indeed, my uncle also said that as long as our Li family and my lord become one family, not only is he willing to put forth ten thousand taels of silver as a dowry, but should my lord have any difficulties — for instance, with plow oxen or farming tools next year — my uncle, in his old age, is willing to exert himself fully for my lord.”

Wang Dou laughed heartily and said, “Uncle Li shows me, Wang Mou, far too much regard. To be willing to let the young lady of the Li family lower herself to be a concubine — I, Wang Dou, am unworthy of such honor.”

At that moment, standing beside Wang Dou were also Wen Fangliang, Han Chao, Han Zhong, Zhang Gui, Clerk Feng Dachang, and others. Hearing that the Li family was willing to offer a dowry of ten thousand taels of silver and was also willing to help resolve the department city’s problems with plow oxen and farming tools, their eyes all widened. Wen Fangliang and Zhang Gui in particular were envious beyond measure. Though none knew whether that young lady of the Li family was beautiful or ugly, the expressions in each man’s eyes clearly urged Wang Dou to make a small sacrifice and agree at once.

Only Xie Yike glared at Li Tianxu with a face full of hostility.

“A concubine?”

Li Tianxu was taken aback. He laughed awkwardly and said, “My lord jests. Given my niece’s status, how could she be a concubine? If word got out, we would be a laughingstock. She must have the title of principal wife to befit her status and propriety.”

Wang Dou smiled again. Xie Yike looked at Wang Dou with a face full of tension, afraid that a single sentence — “A wife it is, then” — would come out of his mouth.

After a good while, they finally heard Wang Dou say flatly, “Being a wife need not be discussed; being a concubine can be considered.”

Li Tianxu laughed dryly without end. A victorious smile appeared on Xie Yike’s face. He glared fiercely at Li Tianxu, his eyes shifting, wondering what he was thinking.

……

When Wang Dou returned to the rear courtyard of the Garrison Commander’s residence, his son Wang Zheng was happily rolling back and forth on the bed. But looking at his mother, she sat there with furrowed brows, and his wife Xie Xiuniang also sat to one side without a word, her head lowered, her eyes red and swollen, as if she had been crying.

Seeing Wang Dou enter, his mother, Lady Zhong, summoned Wang Dou to her side with a stern expression. She spoke with earnest gravity: “My son, Xiuniang was raised by my own hand. I recognize only her as my daughter-in-law. You must not betray her. You have heard the stories and seen the plays; that Chen Shimei is despised by all. My son must never, ever learn from him.”

Wang Dou guessed that Xie Yike, that big mouth, must have already told his sister what had just happened. He did not know whether to laugh or cry and said, “Mother, rest assured, your son is not that kind of man.”

Lady Zhong nodded sternly. “With these words from my son, your mother is at ease.”

She gestured to Wang Dou. “Go see to your wife.”

She sighed and walked out.

Wang Dou came to Xie Xiuniang’s side. Her thin, small frame trembled slightly. He said softly, “Xiuniang, what is the matter?”

Xie Xiuniang raised her tearful eyes. Sobbing, she said, “My husband, it is only that your wife is of lowly birth and cannot share your burdens or solve your troubles. Your wife is useless.”

Wang Dou held Xie Xiuniang’s cold little hands and said gently, “Where is your husband’s birth so noble? You speak such foolish words. Xiuniang, we are a couple who have shared hardship, destined to grow old together. I promise you, you will always be my principal wife.”

Xie Xiuniang said, overjoyed and astonished, “Brother, is what you say true?”

Wang Dou nodded affirmatively.

Xie Xiuniang was overjoyed. She cast aside reserve and shyness and embraced Wang Dou tightly. In his ear, she said bashfully, “Brother, let me bear you another son.”

……

Wang Dou came out into the main hall feeling completely relaxed, wanting to drink some tea to replenish his vitality. Today’s Xie Xiuniang had been five times more formidable than usual.

Before he could sit down, however, he saw Han Chao hurrying over. Han Chao reported to Wang Dou in a low voice: “My lord, just now Brother Xie led a few men out in a fury. Fearing something might happen, I sent men to follow discreetly, and they actually saw Brother Xie drag Li Tianxu and his men into an alley and beat them. I have looked them over; Li Tianxu and his men are all injured, and Li Tianxu himself was beaten until his bones broke and he vomited blood.”

Wang Dou was furious. “That wretched scoundrel.”

……

The following days, however, were calm and uneventful. Xie Yike was also confined to the Garrison Commander’s residence and forbidden from going out. Even after receiving twenty military rods, he was still bursting with life and energy. He was smug and proud, and throughout the entire Garrison Commander’s residence, one could hear his off-key, high-pitched singing. Under his loud, strange warbling, the household’s chickens and dogs kept quiet.

Xie Xiuniang, distressed by her younger brother’s injuries, personally prepared medicine for him. Xie Yike accepted it with ease, bearing the air of a meritorious official.

On the seventh day of the twelfth month of the ninth year of the Chongzhen reign, Han Chao came to see Wang Dou. He said, “My lord, there is a man my lord might perhaps meet.”

Wang Dou voiced his assent. He knew Han Chao had rather high standards; if he personally recommended a talent, the man must be quite good.

He asked a few questions, and the more he heard, the more astonished he became. It turned out Han Chao was recommending a young Squad Leader named Gao Xun, who had been under the mutiny leader, Squad Commander Chi Dengshan, serving at the time as a Squad Leader in charge of ten soldiers. When Chi Dengshan’s several hundred troops were all executed, only the soldiers in Gao Xun’s squad remained safe and sound. The reason was that at the time, Gao Xun had persuaded the soldiers under him not to participate in the mutiny, and in the end, that squad of soldiers was spared. Not only did everyone find this remarkable, but the soldiers in that squad also regarded Gao Xun as a second parent.

Not only that, but this Gao Xun was also highly skilled in martial arts, especially peerless in archery, and was reputed to be the number one divine archer of Baoan Guard. Han Chao said he had tested him himself, and even he was full of admiration for his archery. Yet such a talent had never been promoted. The reason was that he was upright and unwilling to go out and seek illicit gains, so naturally he had no money to offer as tribute. His superiors disliked him, so how could he rise high?

Such a talent was precisely what Wang Dou urgently needed. He said, “Quickly bring him to see me.”

Gao Xun strode in, his back ramrod straight, his gaze fixed straight ahead, his every step exuding a heroic bearing.

His heart was stirred with emotion, yet outwardly he remained composed.

“Why should a man not carry the Wu hook, to seize the fifty prefectures beyond the mountain passes!”

“Thinking of that day when I bound my hair and joined the army, thinking of that day with the frosty horn at the camp gate, thinking of that day gripping my sword that startled the wind, thinking of that day leveling my lance that pierced the clouds…” As a man of hot blood, who has no ideals to pursue? Who does not wish to realize his own ambitions?

“A true man born into this world should take up blade and sword, roam freely across the land, and establish an unparalleled enterprise — only then will he not have lived in vain.” This was the phrase Gao Xun most liked to say in daily life. Alas, fate made fools of men, to have come to this. He considered his own skills peerless, yet he had never found an opportunity to rise and spread his wings. His heroic words and grand declarations were regarded by outsiders as nothing but the ravings of a fool.

When the newly appointed Garrison Commander first arrived at Baoan Department, Gao Xun went to observe. Seeing the might of his ironclad army, he sighed deeply: “A true man should be like this.”

After returning home, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He had the heart to offer his service but suffered from having no opportunity for an introduction. He reasoned that Wang Dou governed his troops with extreme strictness and that such a man would certainly be decisive in killing and judgment. When the officers and soldiers mutinied, he realized his opportunity had come and immediately persuaded the comrades under his command not to join the mutiny. Sure enough, by standing out alone, he succeeded in drawing the Garrison Commander’s attention to himself. His wish was fulfilled — how could his heart not be stirred? But he was a man of considerable depth. Though inwardly overjoyed, outwardly he appeared as if nothing were amiss, still conducting himself with proper measure.

He strode in. The broad main hall of the Garrison Commander’s residence was filled with officers. A surge of heroic passion rose in Gao Xun’s heart. The Garrison Commander’s subordinates were as numerous as clouds of fierce generals; he himself might not be unable to rank among them.

He saw Han Chao, and in his eyes was a look of deep gratitude. The kindness of Sir Han’s introduction was something he would never forget in this life. Then he saw, seated high upon the dais, the Garrison Commander, Lord Wang Dou.

He pushed aside the golden mountain and toppled the jade pillar, prostrating himself before Wang Dou, and declared in a clear, ringing voice: “Gao Xun, hereditary Squad Leader of the Right Company of the Baoan Department Middle Battalion, pays his respects to the Garrison Commander.”

All eyes in the hall turned to Gao Xun, and everyone thought to themselves: “What a handsome man!”

Gao Xun wore the uniform of a Squad Leader adorned with rhinoceros patterns, with stiff leather boots on his feet. His figure was tall, slender, and robust, his back straight, his posture superb. In particular, he had red lips and white teeth, yet was also brimming with heroic spirit. Amidst his handsome beauty shone a tough, masculine quality, his body full of strength.

His handsomeness could compare with Wen Fangliang’s. If Wen Fangliang’s good looks carried a hint of the effeminate, best described as pretty, then he was incomparably dashing and handsome.

Wang Dou too was full of admiration. He smiled faintly and said, “Gao Xun, rise!”