Chapter 66: Reporting the News

Ge Liu and his men galloped back to report the news. The city gate was tightly shut. The squad leader on the wall, a man from Daqiao Mountain, saw Ge Liu and at once joyfully ordered the gate opened.

"Where is Mister Song?"

"At the prefect's yamen!"

"And Zhao Sihai?"

"Leading men on street patrol, I think."

"Good. I'll go to the prefect's yamen first to see Mister Song. You keep watch here!"

Ge Liu had no time to chat with the squad leader. With a flick of his whip he spurred his horse and galloped off.

The squad leader still wanted to ask how things had gone, but seeing this, he swallowed the words on his lips, his heart thumping: Brother Ge Liu is in such a hurry — did Brother Hu and the others win or lose?

The moment Ge Liu reached the prefect's yamen he swung down from his horse and rushed inside, shouting as he ran: "Mister Song! Mister Song!"

Song Xianggong was in the main hall talking with several men. Hearing Ge Liu's shouts outside, he first started, then jolted upright.

Ignoring the men seated there and heedless of his dignity as prefect, he sprang to his feet and dashed out impatiently. Before he even caught sight of Ge Liu, he called out urgently: "How did the battle go?

Victory or defeat? Tell me at once!"

"Victory! Victory!"

Ge Liu roared with excitement.

Only when he rushed up close did he notice several men behind Song Xianggong — the yamen clerk Lu Changyuan and the city magnate Qi Yuantai, along with a few other familiar faces whose names he could not recall for the moment, though he knew they were all gentry and wealthy households of the city who had donated grain to the Taiping Camp.

Lu Changyuan, Qi Yuantai, and the others had been summoned to the yamen by Song Xianggong under the pretext of discussing how to restore spring plowing.

In name, the prefect wished to consult them about spring plowing; in reality, he wanted to keep these men detained in the yamen to prevent them from secretly colluding and plotting.

These past few days, Lu Changyuan and the others had been making constant small moves, and rumors in the city had not ceased. Song Xianggong saw it all and fretted inwardly.

He wanted to arrest them, yet feared provoking a popular uprising. With only the few dozen men under Zhao Sihai, he could not control the situation, so he had no choice but to use excuses to summon these people into the yamen.

When Ge Liu's shouts came, Lu Changyuan and the others showed little reaction, for they did not know Ge Liu. But seeing Song Xianggong dash out in frantic haste, they too grew concerned and rose together to follow him out of the hall.

Tactfully, they stood less than ten feet behind Song Xianggong, every pair of eyes fixed on Ge Liu. When they heard Song Xianggong ask how the battle had gone and the fierce-faced man shout "Victory!", every one of them changed color.

Lu Changyuan clenched his fists, broke out in a sweat, and swayed slightly.

"Truly a victory?"

Song Xianggong still could hardly believe such tremendous good news. Trembling, he grasped Ge Liu's hands.

These days of waiting had truly been an agony, each day like a year, his heart tormented. Every time he opened his eyes he longed for news, yet dreaded it too.

The feeling was unbearable. But at last he had endured it, and the news he most wanted to hear had come!

"Truly a victory, truly a victory!"

Ge Liu paid no attention to Lu Changyuan and the others. Excitedly, he told how the Deqing Green Standard had been lured out of the city and then smashed in a single blow. As he spoke, he gestured wildly, and Song Xianggong listened with beaming delight, nodding constantly.

Over on the other side, Lu Changyuan's face grew uglier the more he heard. Qi Yuantai and the others kept their joy or anger from showing, though their eyes seemed somewhat evasive.

"However..."

Ge Liu suddenly stopped mid-sentence. His expression turned from joy to sorrow, and his eyes reddened at once, as though some great calamity had occurred.

Song Xianggong started in alarm and blurted out: "What is it?"

Ge Liu covered his face and crouched down, saying in anguish: "Brother Hu has fallen in battle!"

"What?" Song Xianggong was utterly stunned. In disbelief he said: "Hu Quan is dead? How did he die?"

"Brother Hu was struck by the Tartars..."

Ge Liu then recounted how Boss Hu had died, but he concealed the repeated dangers the Taiping Camp had faced and how it had nearly been wiped out.

He said only that Boss Hu had been wounded by a hidden arrow from the Qing army, lest Lu Changyuan and the others glimpse the Taiping Camp's true strength and make trouble.

"After our big brother died, Brother Zhou had men find a coffin and lay him in it. He sewed up our big brother's body with his own hands and said he must be brought back to Luoding. The coffin is still on the road now; it should reach the city tomorrow."

"Ah, Brother Zhou is truly righteous and loyal!"

Song Xianggong let out a long sigh. He helped Ge Liu to his feet, wiped his tears with his sleeve, then turned to Lu Changyuan, Qi Yuantai, and the others and said: "Let us end our discussion of spring plowing here.

Each of you go home and speak properly to the common folk. Let those with money give money and those with strength give strength.

Only by planting the crops will there be grain. Otherwise, famine will strike the city in the latter half of the year."

"Yes, my lord!"

Qi Yuantai and the others exchanged glances and answered in unison. Lu Changyuan answered too, but as he left with the group he carelessly stumbled and fell.

After those beside him helped him up, out of the corner of his eye he caught Song Xianggong staring at him. A chill ran through him, and he fled the yamen in a fluster.

Seeing this, Ge Liu's eyes flashed with menace. He said to Song Xianggong: "Mister Song, shall we deal with these people?" His right hand made a downward chopping gesture.

Song Xianggong snorted and waved his hand. "Pay them no mind. The outcome is settled. These clownish buffoons cannot stir up any waves. If we move now, we still lack the manpower. Wait until Brother Zhou returns and settle it then — far safer."

With that, he pulled Ge Liu into the main hall and sent men to summon Zhao Sihai. He questioned Ge Liu in detail about the battle.

Learning that Zhou Shixiang had used prisoners and the Deqing Green Standard to trade for a large amount of grain, and had also schemed with the Deqing Green Standard's Battalion Commander to make a great fortune, Song Xianggong's mood improved at once.

Though his eyes were still red, his tears stopped.

Zhao Sihai had not yet known of Boss Hu's death. When he learned that the brothers on campaign had made a fortune, he grinned from ear to ear. But when Ge Liu told him of Boss Hu's death, he froze on the spot. Only after a long while did he react, bursting into loud sobs.

After he had wept for a while, Song Xianggong went to console him, saying that the dead could not be brought back to life. The brothers on campaign were still on the road home, and there were many wounded, so men must be arranged at once to go meet them.

On the other hand, they must also handle the old, weak, women, and children in the rear camp, giving them some advance word, lest when the troops returned to the city the women find their men missing and make trouble.

The proper compensation must also be paid, and how to pay it must be settled in advance.

Ge Liu also consoled him for a while and told him that the front camp was now under Zhou Shixiang's command. Zhao Sihai had no objection, saying only: "Brother Zhou is a fine man."

The three discussed matters in the hall for a while.

Then Song Xianggong went to the rear camp, Ge Liu organized men to meet the front camp, and Zhao Sihai tightened the city's security, lest those with treacherous intentions learn of this and, driven to desperation, stir up trouble before the front camp returned.

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