Chapter 19: Humans and Tigers Live Half and Half; Harming Each Other, Yet Both Endure

Fang Chongyong needed to brew large quantities of Red Lotus Spring, and a high-quality water source was essential. River water with high silt content would never do, nor could they use well water from the city. To brew fine wine, they had to bring in large amounts of mountain spring water. Relying on people to carry it was out of the question, so they could only use bamboo to make "water pipes," connecting them to channel water from the mountaintop into the city.

Whether for brewing tea or making wine, mountain spring water was always the first choice.

The common folk of the city volunteered themselves—some went to the bamboo groves outside the city to fell moso bamboo, others went up the mountain to survey the terrain and select a suitable water-channeling route, all eagerly and enthusiastically taking part.

On this day, in the bamboo grove north of the Kuizhou prefectural seat, many woodcutters from the city were hacking away at bamboo with abandon, each stalk as thick as a grown man's arm. After cutting the bamboo into sections, they hollowed out the centers and laid them to one side. This bamboo grove had become a massive construction site. Since the mountain spring at the summit was quite far from the prefectural seat, the quantity of bamboo needed was staggering.

Zheng Shuqing brought Fang Chongyong and Fang Laique to the bamboo grove to inspect the progress of the work, and all were highly satisfied.

"Brewing wine doesn't require such a grand undertaking—carrying water by hand would suffice. Why did you suggest building such extensive spring water pipes to channel mountain spring into the city? This is all money from the prefectural treasury."

Zheng Shuqing asked in puzzlement. The "small sum" for building the pipes wasn't worth this Inspector's notice—after all, he had already seen the "big spectacles" of hundreds of thousands of strings of cash. He simply felt there was no need for all this needless fuss.

Truth be told, his outcome next year was either to enter Chang'an and serve as a fiscal official at the court, or to be dismissed and return to his hometown in Xingyang. It was impossible for him to continue sitting comfortably in Kuizhou playing dead.

Zheng Shuqing's days in the Kuizhou prefectural seat had already entered a countdown.

Adhering to the principle that one less matter was better than one more, Zheng Shuqing actually had no desire to build any water-channeling pipes. It was troublesome, entailed a lot of work, and would not be recorded in his official performance review. When it came to doing things for the locality, only "flourishing culture and education" would be noted in the review—anything else, no matter how much was done, was useless.

It was just like how in a math exam you couldn't write an essay after the question—no matter how well written, it would never earn any points!

Although the Tang dynasty ostensibly required every prefecture to establish new schools and recommend scholars for the imperial examinations, in actual practice the whole thing had completely changed in tone, degenerating into a form of formalism to some degree.

Taking the imperial examinations without renting a place to live near Chang'an was like lifting tofu with a hemp rope—don't even bring it up.

Everyone knew that the Tang dynasty's imperial examinations did not conceal candidates' names. This was a "catfish" that the meat-eaters had devised to spur on the sons of prominent families. Why did one have to live near Chang'an for the examinations? One could only say that those who understood, understood—no need to spell it out so plainly!

Since it was all for show, then who was the audience? Who would truly charge headlong down a road they knew was a dead end?

So in many places outside the Guanzhong region, those with the financial and material means to take the imperial examinations didn't care much at all for the examination route. It wasn't that people everywhere in the Tang dynasty yearned for the imperial examinations—the prevailing custom was simply thus, which also had to do with the narrow prospects it offered.

Kuizhou, for instance.

Kuizhou was far from the political center, so naturally its cultural and educational standards couldn't be very high. The locality had never produced any respectable scholars.

The locals disdained the imperial examinations—their eyes were all fixed on the square hole in the middle of a coin! If one could make a living through manual labor or commerce, then why bother taking the imperial examinations to become a jinshi?

Du Fu had a poem describing the local customs of Kuizhou:

"The men of the gorges make light of death; few serve in public office, most are on the water."

"The wealthy have money to pilot great barges; the poor earn their keep plying small boats."

"The young study no further than the Analects; the older ones gear up and join the merchant caravans."

In the court's eyes, Kuizhou was a place of "barren mountains and foul waters breeding unruly people"—nothing but money, money, and more money! Zheng Shuqing shared this concern and did not want to waste effort on things that served no purpose.

It was only under Fang Chongyong's earnest persuasion that he reluctantly agreed, which did not mean he himself was particularly enthusiastic.

"My Lord, your tenure in Kuizhou may be of no consequence to you, but you've handed the next Inspector of Kuizhou an enormous problem."

Fang Chongyong couldn't resist needling Zheng Shuqing with this remark. He picked up a half-cut section of moso bamboo from the ground and found that this type of bamboo was indeed quite sturdy. If not for damage by mountain animals (tigers, for instance), this pipeline should last a long time.

"Why have I handed the next Inspector a problem?"

Zheng Shuqing was bewildered by the question.

"Because during your tenure, My Lord, you scraped together hundreds of thousands of strings of cash for His Majesty. Although some of this was due to circumstance, His Majesty will certainly conclude that Kuizhou is prosperous, that he had underestimated this place before, and that he must intensify the extraction in the future! Even if they don't drain the pond to catch every last fish, they'll at least cast their nets several more times and scoop with abandon."

One can imagine that the next Inspector of Kuizhou will bear mountainous pressure on his shoulders. His Majesty will demand that he rake in more money, and he will inevitably have to exert every ounce of his strength to deliver. Given this, is it so hard to imagine whether the common folk of Kuizhou will fare better or suffer more?"

Fang Chongyong fixed his round eyes on Zheng Shuqing's face and asked in return.

"This... is not something that I, this official, can change."

Zheng Shuqing murmured, not daring to meet Fang Chongyong's gaze.

"Which is exactly why I say this: since you, My Lord, have brought such a great calamity upon Kuizhou, building a mountain spring pipeline for the people of the prefectural seat so that everyone can drink clean water, doing a good deed for this place—is that not only right and proper?"

Fang Chongyong loudly rebuked Zheng Shuqing.

"I stand instructed."

Zheng Shuqing bowed and formally paid his respects to Fang Chongyong.

Just then, someone in the crowd cried out, "A great bug! There's a great bug!"

Fang Chongyong was startled. His first reaction was not fear, but trying to recall what exactly a "great bug" was.

The ancients called all animals "bugs"—those that flew in the sky, walked on the ground, crawled, or swam in water were all called "bugs."

Even humans were called bugs—for instance, an extremely lazy person was a "lazy bug," and an extremely lustful person was a "lecher bug."

A tiger was called a "great bug," a snake a "long bug," and a fish a "scaled bug." The "great" here meant "the boss, number one," describing the tiger as formidable. The Tang dynasty's Li ancestors included Li Hu, so clearly the Tang dynasty had to observe this taboo—the tiger could not be called a tiger. In written language it was generally referred to as "beast" (though some poems did write "tiger" directly).

Among the common people, the tiger was generally called the "great bug."

"Step back, young master! I'll hold off the great bug!"

Fang Laique, axe in hand, volunteered himself and stepped forward, shielding Fang Chongyong.

Zheng Shuqing, the Inspector of Kuizhou, was so frightened his legs trembled, nearly fleeing on the spot, yet his whole body was frozen and could not move.

The woodcutters who had been chopping moso bamboo ran off shouting and hollering—who had time to worry about Zheng Shuqing and his party? At eight hundred cash a month in wages, nobody was going to risk their life for anyone.

In the end, Zheng Shuqing and his party hadn't been in Kuizhou long, and having had smooth sailing all along, they had lost their reverence for the ferocity of nature—let alone Fang Chongyong, who hadn't even figured out the local roads yet.

In many places tigers feared humans, but Kuizhou was different. Kuizhou tigers lived alongside the Liao people, even serving as direct neighbors. Outside the Kuizhou prefectural seat, tigers were thoroughly accustomed to clustered human settlements and felt no fear whatsoever. Tigers sneaking into rural dwellings in Kuizhou was a commonplace sight.

The local Han Chinese likewise learned from the Liao people, felling trees to build stockades, enclosing their courtyards as barriers against tiger attacks.

In Kuizhou, the prefectural seat and the riverbank ferry landing were one world; the deep mountains beyond the prefectural seat were another world entirely.

Du Fu had a poem describing the tiger plague in Kuizhou: "The gorges open four thousand li, the waters merge from hundreds of sources. Humans and tigers live half and half; harming each other, yet both endure."

"Step aside, watch me give it a sliding kick!"

Fang Chongyong snatched the moso-bamboo-chopping axe from Fang Laique's hands, gripping it with both hands, his eyes staring straight at the striped tiger dozens of paces away! The tiger was watching Fang Chongyong and his party, seemingly calculating which one would be tastier.

After all, a tiger could only eat one person at a time! If it ate someone else, that meant you yourself were safe.

Zheng Shuqing somewhat regretted sending Yang Ruoxu to Yangzhou to deliver the tax payments. If Old Yang had been here, with his unfailing marksmanship, playing the tiger-slaying hero would certainly have been difficult, but driving the tiger back would have been no problem.

Just then, a desolate rhinoceros-horn call sounded, accompanied by the thunderous beating of drums!

A dozen-odd Liao men, wearing only front-buttoned vests on their upper bodies and shorts below, charged straight at the fierce tiger!

That's right—it was not the tiger pouncing on people, but people pouncing on the tiger!

The tiger's paw knocked a laborer flat, but that man used the roll to shake off the blow's force. A companion beside him, seizing the tiger's momentary distraction, instantly fired his bow, striking one of the tiger's eyes!

The tiger howled in pain, rolling wildly on the ground!

In the blink of an eye, several laborers swarmed forward; one pinned a part of the tiger and pressed it hard to the ground, while the rest rushed up and, with a few quick moves of rope, bound the tiger tightly.

Such skill in fighting the tiger left even Zheng Shuqing stunned, let alone Fang Chongyong; had he not seen it himself, he would never have believed it was real.

Ordinary people would be terrified at the sight of a tiger, but these laborers handled it like a stray dog. Fang Chongyong's 'sliding shovel' was temporarily useless, yet he also saved his life, escaping the tiger's jaws.

Seeing Fang Chongyong's group, the laborers naturally recognized Zheng Shuqing's official robes and warmly invited them to stay at their nearby dwelling.

Unable to refuse the warm hospitality, Zheng Shuqing sent an attendant back to report, while he himself led Fang Chongyong and Fang Laique to follow the laborers to their residence.

It was a protruding flat area on the mountainside, half of it hanging over empty space!

The laborers propped up a huge 'wooden compound' with many thick round logs; the space underneath was about half a person high, piled with miscellaneous items and firewood.

Though the compound was small, it was fully equipped: it housed a huge wooden water tub of shocking size, containing many slender white silver fish, and around it were several cormorants with ropes tied around their necks.

To the laborers, cormorants were like hunting dogs, specially trained to catch fish.

Soon, the laborers brought up a ring-shaped cake, resembling the twisted dough sticks Fang Chongyong knew from his past life, topped with caramel they had boiled themselves.

This looks hard to make! Not only the laborers, even ordinary Han folks rarely get to eat it.

Jia Sixie's Qi Min Yao Shu says: 'For this steamed wrapped cake, steam and wrap to a square seven cun; cook the fermented soybean broth with glutinous rice, fresh ginger, orange peel, cilantro, garlic, salt, finely chopped millet, coat the dough with oil, wrap it in reed leaves in a cross shape, place the filling on top, then wrap again with the folded reed leaves.' This ring-shaped cake is this steamed wrapped cake.

I almost forgot—today is the laborers' great festival! That tiger was meant for the sacrifice!

Zheng Shuqing suddenly understood and said.

The local laborers of Kuizhou hold a major sacrifice every October 1, which they call 'Zichen'. On that day, no matter how deep the grudges, they set them aside to celebrate and sacrifice together.

After hearing Zheng Shuqing's account of these local customs, Fang Chongyong suddenly realized: no wonder the laborers came out today to catch a tiger for their festival, no wonder they warmly invited us to be their guests—the reason lies entirely here.

The laborers didn't seize the tiger because it was easy to bully, but because they needed to observe the festival. Making such intricate steamed wrapped cake wasn't for mere appetite but for festival celebration. Inviting Fang Chongyong's party as guests was not only because Zheng Shuqing carried weight, but also because observing the grand festival was a major motive.

The laborers have no horses in the mountains, yet they use horse saddles as wall decorations—truly strange!

Fang Chongyong couldn't help sighing as he took a bite of the steamed wrapped cake; a strong local flavor filled his mouth, he swallowed it with difficulty and refused to have a second bite. Meanwhile, Fang Laique ate it with relish, as if any food in his mouth were delicious and impossible to refuse.

The laborers are organized around large clans, barely qualifying as tribes; each clan has a dozen or so adult males, with more females than males. The clan chief came to pay respects to Zheng Shuqing and brought forward the teenager, just over ten, who had shot the tiger's eye with an arrow, asking in halting Han speech whether Zheng Shuqing still needed attendants.

Fang Chongyong and Zheng Shuqing exchanged a glance, realizing these laborers must have been lying in wait here; when they invite you to be a guest, they certainly have an agenda, not acting at random.

Even though the laborers have long been self-sufficient in the mountains, they inevitably come and go to Kuizhou prefecture city; otherwise they wouldn't recognize Zheng Shuqing as the Kuizhou prefect, nor would they have the idea of leaving the mountains. Many laborer youths follow passing merchants to Kuizhou, serving as guides or guards; outside information may be delayed, but it has never been cut off.

I am returning to Chang'an; in the future, serving in the central secretariat, I will have no need for guards.

Zheng Shuqing pondered for a moment and said.

That laborer clan chief's face visibly darkened.

But this one.

Zheng Shuqing pointed at Fang Chongyong and said: 'His father is a palace censor of the court, a high office, and he certainly needs someone by his side. What do you think—would this work?'

Having said that, he gave Fang Chongyong a look, signaling him to agree.

The laborers' attendants certainly have many shortcomings compared to ordinary Han folks, but they also possess an advantage no one else can match: their social relations are extremely simple!

The merchants here often hire laborers as guards and guides, fearing unfamiliar terrain and falling victim to bandits who would kill and loot! Even if the laborers wanted to kill and loot, they have no channels to fence the goods! The laborer community also pays close attention to this, deliberately avoiding such conflicts.

Fang Chongyong pondered briefly, then suddenly understood. He now owns nothing, a half-grown lad, easily controlled by anyone. Fang Laique may be brave and loyal, but he is so lovably stupid that at crucial moments he is utterly useless.

As departure from Kuizhou looms, I indeed need someone with simple social relations as a personal guard. This laborer youth also owes me a life-saving debt; it would be better to take him into my service.

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly and said: 'From now on, follow me; what is your name?'

'A Duan.'

The laborer youth with superb archery skills said in a low voice.