Chapter 73: You Could Do It Too

Fang Chongyong was not someone who fattened himself on broken promises; having said he would write a letter of guarantee, he wrote one.

He then took up the brush and ink from the Hexi Jiedu Prefecture study and wrote on a large sheet of office paper:

"Fang Chongyong, an adjutant of a prefecture under Liangzhou Prefecture, voluntarily participates in the investigation and handling of the massacre and robbery of the Tianzhu monks.

And is willing to bear all adverse consequences, which shall have nothing to do with the Hexi Jiedu Prefecture."

After those few lines were written, Cui Xiyi, Guo Ziyi, and the others watching from the side all felt profound respect.

A child this young already knew that a person without trust cannot stand—his future prospects after growing up would be limitless!

Considering further that his father was Fang Youde, their own sons and nephews would probably all have to rely on this "Young Master Fang" for patronage in the future.

Cui Xiyi waved his hand and said with some embarrassment:

"Actually, you need not be so serious.

Things like this in Hexi happen occasionally—it hasn't been just a day or two, nor just once or twice. There have even been incidents ten times worse than this.

As long as there are still Hu merchants taking silk from the Great Tang to sell in the Western Regions, similar incidents will forever be unavoidable."

Making a nine-year-old child who just arrived sign a military pledge—even if Cui Xiyi had no shame, the many bureaucrats and frontier generals of Hexi still had theirs!

"Enough, no need to say more. Jiedushi Cui, just wait for my good news."

Fang Chongyong cupped his hands in farewell to Cui Xiyi and said so, not wanting to reveal too much of his plan.

Because he did not entirely trust Cui Xiyi either.

Examples of local administrative chiefs glossing over troubles and muddling through were simply too numerous to count; being neither kin nor friend, Fang Chongyong did not think he could "awe" the other party just by giving his "tiger body a shake."

Cui Xiyi nodded slightly, then smiled bitterly and said, "Act according to your ability. Even if you do not succeed, I certainly will not make things difficult for you. Matters like this have always been a muddled account."

If word got out that Fang Chongyong had signed a "military pledge," failed to accomplish the task, and was punished by the Hexi Jiedushi—never mind that Fang Chongyong's father, Fang Youde, was the Jiedushi of Youzhou, inherently high in position and heavy in power and not easy to offend.

Even if the other party were just an ordinary local child of Liangzhou, Cui Xiyi still could not bring himself to grab the other party by the neck and push him into a fire pit.

Fang Chongyong said nothing, only bowed to Cui Xiyi, then turned and left with Guo Ziyi and the others. After they had gone, Cui Xiyi gazed at their receding figures and let out a long sigh: "The father is like a tiger, the son is like a dragon. The Fang clan is about to flourish."

……

"Young Master, this errand cannot be undertaken!"

As soon as they left the Hexi Jiedu Prefecture, Guo Ziyi pulled Fang Chongyong aside and could not help sighing to him.

"Why can it not be undertaken?"

Fang Chongyong asked in puzzlement.

"Heh, the Young Master is the son-in-law of Military Commissioner Wang, which makes you half a man of Hua County.

I, Guo, speak to you as half a fellow townsman—these military grunts are no good lot! Knocking over a whole boat with one pole will surely catch some innocent ones, but if you lined them up and stabbed every other person, there would definitely be great villains and wicked sorts slipping through the net!

Even if you knock these people around, they will only behave for a few days; once the storm passes, they will pop right back up."

Guo Ziyi said with no small feeling. Clearly, coming from a military family and immersed in it from childhood, he understood all too well what kind of creatures these grunts really were.

Tang dynasty officers sought to enter the hall and bring glory to their house, while the grassroots ranks fixed their eyes on silks, satins, and gold and silver. Since the Kaiyuan era, generals who rose from fierce soldiers had become fewer and fewer, and officers at every level were essentially monopolized by the so-called "sons of military houses."

Even opening the so-called "military examinations" did not change this situation.

So to talk about benevolence, righteousness, morality, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame with those grassroots sorts who lick blood from the edge of a blade—it is all empty! Not a damn bit of use!

"So what does Judge Guo want to say?"

Fang Chongyong deliberately played dumb and asked. Of course he knew what Guo Ziyi wanted to say—those lawless grunts after the mid-Tang, some of them even made the Jiedushi dance for their amusement!

But wanting to say something yet not saying it through—Old Guo was playing slick, not wanting certain words to get out and offend the grassroots soldiers and officers.

That was hardly the attitude one should have when taking a side!

Guo Ziyi sighed helplessly. This child was truly no ordinary person; he was not someone you could "point and prompt" with half-truths and expect to "understand with a knowing look"—this Young Master wanted an "attitude"!

Guo Ziyi gritted his teeth and said:

"Relying solely on tightening military discipline—that cannot be tightened into shape. It treats the symptoms but not the root.

The court's rewards must also be ample, so that kindness and authority can be applied together and these grunts kept obediently in line.

Where money is concerned, the Young Master does not have the final say, and even Military Commissioner Wang does not have the final say, so that cannot be counted on!

But when it comes to fighting tough battles, you really do have to rely on these men. The trade of licking blood from a blade—either it's the Tibetans or the Turks, and if you're not careful, your life is lost.

Going into battle truly means dying! If you want to count on them to hold the line when trouble comes, you cannot be too harsh on these grunts.

When they violate military law, enforcement is strict and severe; when it comes time to hand out rewards, you are unwilling to reward generously—mutiny among the soldiers is inevitable in the end.

The current matter is merely a common occurrence. To serve as a warning to others, light punishment as a severe admonition is the best policy of all.

I, Guo, believe that in this matter, a note should be recorded with the Hexi Jiedu Prefecture, and when the opportunity arises in the future, the account can be settled after autumn. To pursue it deeply now may well backfire."

Guo Ziyi respectfully crossed his hands and bowed to Fang Chongyong.

"Then once the rumors get out, what if they want to kill me?"

Fang Chongyong looked at Guo Ziyi with a smile and asked.

"This…"

Guo Ziyi was taken aback, then fell silent.

A person may have no intent to harm a tiger, but a tiger has the intent to harm a person. Even if Fang Chongyong wanted to let off those men of the Baiting Army, would those men not still take desperate risks to retaliate over the fish tally matter?

Judging by common sense, it was indeed quite unlikely they would come looking for trouble. But the mindset of the powerful was that any threat, however small, must be nipped in the bud. There was always the "what if" in everything.

Given Fang Chongyong's status, even if he wanted to replace every last one of the more than fourteen hundred men of the Baiting Army, top to bottom, he had aboveboard means at his disposal.

Reasonable, compliant, and lawful—yet it could play those grunts to death!

Did Fang Chongyong have any need to play some "wager" with these grunts?

To gamble that after those people learned it was he, a child, who had found the fish tally, they would not suddenly turn to murder?

When playing Landlord, when you clearly hold all bombs and kings, are you supposed to deliberately split the bombs and play single cards just to humor your opponent?

There is no such rule.

Only dead people pose no threat!

"Then, young master, what plan do you have?"

Guo Ziyi asked in a low voice. He could see it now—no wonder Wang Zhongsi cherished this future son-in-law so much. The boy was a prodigy with both status and intellect; of course he wanted to keep him firmly in hand.

"Because the fish tally was lost, the men of the Baiting Army will certainly be anxious to fence the stolen goods. Very likely tonight, or tomorrow morning when there are still few people about. In any case, the sooner the better; delay risks complications.

But the incident happened suddenly, so it certainly won't be that early—after all, they need to contact the people who will fence the goods and have them come to collect, and those Turks couldn't possibly arrive so promptly.

The Baiting Army will send someone to make contact tonight, and the Turkic merchants still need to inspect the goods and maintain secrecy. The transaction time will likely be around dawn, when people are most drowsy. Once the Turks finish inspecting the goods, they can immediately flee on fast horses and avoid the Tang army's patrol sentries.

Judge Guo, take these fifty elite Chishui Army cavalry and take a roundabout route to lie in ambush north of Baiting Sea (in truth a small inland lake and marsh, with an average depth of less than one meter).

That area borders the Turks, and the Turkic merchants should be coming and going in haste, unlikely to be fully armed.

The Baiting Army's wishful plan is to make a quick transaction, unload that batch of kasaya robes, and from then on the most damaging evidence against the Baiting Army disappears. They'll have nothing to fear, and need not worry about anyone investigating the lost fish tally.

This time, the matter of the lost fish tally could also blow up. With the situation so tense, the Baiting Army certainly won't send many people to deliver the goods, and there's no need to anyway.

And the Turks won't send many people to receive the goods either—too many would alert the Tang border army.

So Judge Guo's men should be able to easily take these people down.

Once you've captured them, Judge Guo, you can send both the Turks who came to fence the goods and the Baiting Army men who came to deliver them to the Jiedushi headquarters in Liangzhou City, and hand them over to Jiedushi Cui for disposition.

The rest will have nothing to do with us. How the Hexi Jiedushi handles the Baiting Army is Jiedushi Cui's business.

If he doesn't deal with it and problems arise in the future, we will have done our best and can naturally keep ourselves clear of it.

What does Judge Guo think of my plan?"

As he spoke, Fang Chongyong walked with Guo Ziyi toward a large compound within Liangzhou City—this was a small barracks of the Chishui Army located in the city.

Converted from the ruins of a prince's mansion in the capital of a certain "State of Liang."

At this moment, Guo Ziyi was completely stunned by Fang Chongyong's meticulous plan.

Is this kid really nine years old?

Could a nine-year-old child figure out the entire chain of events so quickly? And come up with a proper plan to deal with it?

"Young master, are we really going to complicate matters?"

Guo Ziyi dropped his earlier casualness and asked solemnly.

"This isn't complicating matters—this is doing proper business!"

Fang Chongyong met Guo Ziyi's gaze without backing down, correcting the error in his words.

"If robbery carries little risk and lets you live comfortably, then when the Tibetans come, who will still be willing to fight to the death?

If every army thinks to save their own skin so they can keep fishing in troubled waters in Hexi, won't Hexi be in danger?

The trend of pillage must not be encouraged, let alone coddled into something worse."

Seeing that Guo Ziyi seemed somewhat unconvinced, Fang Chongyong understood that Guo Ziyi was actually more concerned about his own prospects, so he raised the stakes further:

"My father-in-law's friendship with you, Judge Guo, is certainly deep. But your ability to lead troops—my father-in-law hasn't seen it yet, or has only heard rumors, and isn't entirely certain in his heart.

If you can handle the Baiting Army matter well this time, my father-in-law will certainly look at you, Judge Guo, in a new light.

Even if he doesn't see it himself, I'll definitely mention it when the opportunity arises.

I am a child who can't ride a warhorse or wield a heavy blade, so this matter can only be entrusted to you, Judge Guo."

Fang Chongyong was pressing the matter because he feared that Wang Zhongsi, upon hearing of it, would lose his temper and march directly to the Baiting Army's station to "rectify military discipline"—that would blow the whole thing up.

Making an example to deter others and putting a stop to bad practices is necessary. But blindly expanding the scope of punishment is pointless. There's no need to reopen old cases from the past either.

At most fifty people participated in the robbery and killings this time. Dealing with those fifty is enough. Since there are laws to follow, handle it according to law!

"In that case, I shall make the trip. Whether it succeeds or not is hard to say, but I will do my utmost."

Guo Ziyi cupped his hands in salute to Fang Chongyong.

He was eight years older than Wang Zhongsi, yet the other man was already Commander of the Chishui Army, just one step away from Hexi Jiedushi. He himself was still languishing, unable to find where his chance for promotion lay.

Every family has its own hardships.

Otherwise, why would Guo Ziyi bother coming here on Wang Zhongsi's recommendation to keep the young master of the Fang household company?

Now there was a chance to earn merit. If he didn't demonstrate his ability to get things done, he feared that the rank advancement from this transfer to Hexi would soon be knocked back to where he started.

The road of life is long, yet the crucial steps are only a few—this is the cruelty of fate.

Guo Ziyi did not want to keep languishing.

"In this matter, if I go I can't do it, but if you go you can."

Fang Chongyong said meaningfully.

Guo Ziyi didn't dawdle either. He took his men to the armory to collect horizontal sabers and the ordinary bows used by militia soldiers on rotation (the kind sold in Chang'an's West Market), then left the compound. They carried only the most basic Tang army equipment, because Guo Ziyi had no intention of actually fighting.

Given the Baiting Army's current situation, the court could revoke their unit designation with a single word. Putting up stubborn resistance would serve no purpose except to drag down their families. Traveling light would help persuade the Baiting Army men to give up resistance and avoid an actual clash.

Once an armed confrontation between the two forces was confirmed, the matter would spiral out of control. Trying to rein it back in afterward would be even harder.

After Guo Ziyi left with his men, the compound was suddenly empty. Only Fang Chongyong and his father Fang Dafu remained—even A Duan had gone along with Guo Ziyi as liaison and observer.

Fang Dafu looked at Fang Chongyong with complicated feelings. He started to say something, but after a moment's thought decided to hold his tongue.

But the ever-loose-tongued Fang Laique couldn't hold back. He came over and excitedly shouted at Fang Chongyong:

"Young master, you were really impressive today! I think you looked more like the Jiedushi—Jiedushi Cui looked like your errand boy!"

The more Fang Laique spoke, the more carried away he got, as though he had been the one to dress down Cui Xiyi.

In reality, Fang Chongyong hadn't dressed down Cui Xiyi at all! On the contrary, to give Guo Ziyi a chance to distinguish himself, he had even written a "letter of guarantee" for Cui Xiyi.

"You embarrassing mutt! Get out of here!"

Fang Dafu gave Fang Laique a light kick that knocked him to the ground, then looked at Fang Chongyong with deep concern and asked, "Soldiers turning to banditry is nothing new since ancient times. Why did you, young master, rectify military discipline on Cui Xiyi's behalf?"

"It's just mutual assistance. To take, you must first give.

We are here in Hexi to gain experience—how could we show weakness to these rough soldiers? Hexi is full of men like them!

Building a good relationship with Cui Xiyi and making the local rough soldiers know fear and respect—this matter could only be handled this way."

Fang Chongyong sighed, his face full of helplessness.

He's still just a child! Why does he have to go through these things!

Fang Chongyong doesn't like to cause trouble; sometimes he's even quite "follow his heart." But if he gets involved in something, he must see it through cleanly and maximize the benefits.

"What the young master says makes sense."

Fang Dafu nodded slightly and said.

Just then, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and Wang Zhongsi, wearing a full smile, strode over, patted Fang Chongyong's shoulder and laughed heartily: "Cui Jiedushi is still worrying you might meet with an accident on the road; I said, with your abilities, how could there be any problem reaching Liangzhou? How is it, has this journey been smooth so far?"

"It had been going pretty smoothly, but on the way from Wulan Pass to Liangzhou City, something went awry. So just now I was still at the Hexi Jiedushi's residence."

Fang Chongyong sighed helplessly, then sat down on the ground, too lazy to move at all.

"This road is only a day's fast ride from Liangzhou; how could something go wrong?"

Wang Zhongsi asked, puzzled.

Suddenly, he noticed that Guo Ziyi and those fifty elite Red Water troops were gone, so he continued to ask: "Where is Judge Guo? And that unit of elite soldiers? How did they all disappear?"

"Well, that's a long story. Why don't you, father-in-law, come inside and we can talk slowly?"

Fang Chongyong said wearily, having traveled all day and then tossed about at the Hexi Jiedushi's residence; now he's utterly exhausted, like a dead fish.

"That's fine too."

Wang Zhongsi nodded slightly, seeming to have a worried look, though he didn't know exactly what he was worried about.