Chapter 103: Approach

In the Tongcheng county yamen, the young County Magistrate stared blankly at the two waist sabers on the desk.

Mr. Sun shot Pang Yu a sidelong glance, then said, "Two swords alone prove nothing. As I've said before, without solid evidence…"

Yang Erming suddenly spoke up: "Summon the Village Elders and the gentry."

Mr. Sun froze, then said urgently, "His Honor, you must not be so hasty. Last year there were two false alarms, and in the end it was all a needless panic. If we keep making a mountain out of every rustle in the grass and disrupting the people's livelihood, the common folk will inevitably heap blame upon you. That would hardly be a blessing for His Honor."

Pang Yu kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, staying out of their dispute. Yang Erming, not looking at Mr. Sun, was silent for a moment, then said, "Then can Mr. Sun guarantee that those inside the city are definitely not Roving Bandits?"

"That, this old man dare not say. But to insist they are Roving Bandits based on nothing more than two swords — that is far too frivolous."

Yang Erming's face reddened slightly. He turned to Mr. Sun and said, "When the gentleman says 'frivolous,' he is still treating this official as a child."

Mr. Sun was startled. This young County Magistrate Yang had grown rather sensitive lately; any hint of condescension and he assumed people were treating him like a child. Normally Mr. Sun was extremely careful, but in his haste just now he had carelessly used the word "frivolous," and sure enough, it had touched a nerve.

"This subordinate would not dare. I merely do not wish His Honor to hand others a handle against him because of this."

"Arresting murder suspects and hunting down persons of suspicious appearance — what handle is this official handing anyone?" Yang Erming was somewhat agitated, his face flushed crimson. "The whole city knows that as that beggar lay dying, he screamed about slaughtering all of Tongcheng. If he were an ordinary suspect, such wild boasts would be laughable. If there truly are Bandit Scouts inside the city, then the main bandit force cannot be far. If we do not prepare early, Tongcheng will not hold, and then this official's problem will not be handing others a handle. Of two harms, choose the lesser — does Mr. Sun not agree?"

"This… this old man…" Mr. Sun stammered a few words, then found himself speechless.

Pang Yu stole a glance at Yang Erming. Ever since taking office, Yang Erming had been little more than Mr. Sun's mouthpiece. Every time Pang Yu came to report, he would face Yang Erming directly but tilt slightly, to accommodate Mr. Sun's feelings. Yang Erming generally followed Mr. Sun's every word, for his own experience was still far from sufficient.

Today, this boyish County Magistrate had finally and clearly insisted on his own opinion, openly overruling Mr. Sun. Pang Yu could already foresee that as Yang Erming grew older and became more seasoned in officialdom, Mr. Sun's standing would steadily decline.

Yang Erming softened his tone and said to Mr. Sun, "Summon the gentry and Village Elders. Intensify the search for strangers in every ward and village. Whether inns, wine shops, Daoist temples, monasteries, or private homes — all must be searched door to door. Inform the residents of every ward that anyone who conceals a stranger overnight without reporting shall implicate ten neighboring households under the Mutual Responsibility System. Also, send a Detailed Report to Anqing Prefecture and the Branch Surveillance Circuit, clearly stating the recent homicides and the suspicious circumstances."

Mr. Sun dared not argue further. He gave a slight bow and withdrew to carry out the orders. As he passed Pang Yu, he shot him a glare.

Only Pang Yu and Yang Erming remained in the Second Hall. Today, Yang Erming had taken an important step in his tenure as County Magistrate, and he was still somewhat stirred. He had likely been planning this in his mind for a long time, and today he had finally dared to act on it — and succeeded. It seemed that only now was the power of Tongcheng truly in his hands, so for a moment he found it hard to calm down.

From Pang Yu's observation, because Mr. Sun was related to Yang Erming by family ties, he often adopted a lecturing attitude when dealing with the fourteen-year-old Magistrate Yang, probably unaware of the concept of a second rebellious phase. Given that attitude, even when Mr. Sun was right, Yang Erming was not necessarily willing to listen.

The two were silent for a while. After a long moment, Yang Erming finally looked up and said, "Pang Squad Leader mentioned earlier that he has already assembled the Zhuang Squad and is making preparations on the city wall."

"Exactly. This subordinate thought, since there are traces of Roving Bandits, it is better to be prepared than sorry. At worst, the Zhuang Squad does some wasted work — we lose nothing. Far better than being at a loss when battle comes."

"Well said. But some people simply do not understand." Yang Erming said huffily. "Pang Squad Leader, go ahead with your preparations. But remember, do not neglect the matter of hunting the murderer inside the city. Be sure to allocate personnel appropriately. You may go now."

This Yang Erming was beginning to adopt the manner of a superior — both tasks fell squarely on Pang Yu's shoulders, yet he did not ask a single question about how to carry them out, giving Pang Yu no chance to raise any difficulties.

Still, having secured his agreement to mobilize the gentry and Village Elders, Pang Yu had achieved his goal for this trip. He quickly acknowledged the order and withdrew from the hall.

…

On the twentieth day of the first month, atop Tongcheng's eastern city wall, Pang Yu frowned as he looked at the Eastern Prosperity Tower opposite.

Around him, men of the Zhuang Squad bustled back and forth, hauling stones up to the wall. Behind him, a row of Grass Depots had been completed — these were the sheds atop the wall, where supplies like lime, gunpowder, and tung oil had to be stored to protect them from wind and rain. Personnel could also rest inside them.

Around the twelfth month of last year, Yang Erming had conferred with the gentry and Village Elders. If the Roving Bandits attacked, Tongcheng would need to mobilize Community Soldiers — one man per crenel. Tongcheng had a total of 1,673 battlements, requiring an equal number of Community Soldiers, all to be issued weapons. In addition, one hundred able-bodied men were to be mobilized as a mobile reserve.

A gust of wind whooshed behind him. Pang Yu turned to look — a Guard was waving a red banner, and in the distance, the Bell Tower waved a red banner in response. Pang Yu had set up a three-color flag system at each gate: white, yellow, and red, with deeper colors indicating greater urgency. If the situation became critical, they were to wave the red banner, and the Bell Tower would dispatch reinforcements from the other gates. They were currently drilling this, but even with such a simple flag signal system, the Zhuang Squad's execution was riddled with errors.

The section of wall where Pang Yu stood was the direction most likely to face a siege. From Nanxun Gate to Dongzuo Gate, although the current in the moat was swift, the area inside the moat was quite broad. The entire Zilai Street lay between the moat and the city wall, resulting in dense civilian housing outside the city, much of it close to the ramparts — providing effective cover for attackers to approach.

Westward from Nanxun Gate, the Tong Stream River flowed out through the city wall, and outside the city were numerous ponds and lakes of all sizes. From the West Gate toward Yimin Gate and on to the North Arch Gate area, although there was no moat barrier, the terrain was rugged, making an assault there more difficult than in the City East direction.

Therefore, Pang Yu concentrated his defenses in City East. If there was still mobilization potential within the city, Pang Yu planned to assign two Community Soldiers to each arrow crenel along this section of wall, set up one High Lamp for every five crenels, and double the allocation of firearms, lime, tung oil, stones, and other supplies. Three Squadrons of the Zhuang Squad would also be stationed on this section of wall.

But no matter how he prepared, Pang Yu always felt it was not enough. He had never seen a Roving Bandit, nor did he know where they were. The more unknown they were, the more mysterious they seemed. If they all fought with the desperate ferocity of that beggar, he would have no confidence whatsoever in holding the defense.

"Second Brother, I hear that the Military Office sent clerks to Liu Xiucai's house again these past two days, demanding he tear down the Eastern Prosperity Tower." Jiao Guozha's voice sounded beside him. He paused, then added, "Jiang Zhihuai, Yao Sunfei, Sun Yi, Wang Wenyao — those fellows went to Liu Xiucai's door yesterday as well, claiming the gentry unanimously demand that Liu Xiucai tear down the Eastern Prosperity Tower."

Pang Yu turned to look at Jiao Guozha. This elder brother rarely made a trip up to the city wall. Seeing the Zhuang Squad busy, he was now helping to set up the High Lamp frames — a rare instance of him actually working.

"Since it's the Military Office and the other gentry demanding it, why is Big Brother telling me about this?"

Jiao Guozha lowered his voice. "Someone in the yamen told Liu Xiucai that you're the one behind the scenes goading the County Magistrate into insisting the Eastern Prosperity Tower be torn down, and that Magistrate Yang only summoned Jiang Zhihuai and the others because of you. Liu Xiucai believes you're spreading alarmist talk to frame him."

"I don't have that kind of leisure. Last time he was right here brawling with Jiang Zhihuai over this, and I didn't say a single word — what alarmist talk?" Pang Yu spat. "Besides, that shabby tower of Liu Xiucai's ought to be torn down anyway. In peacetime, he could build it as high as he liked — build a skyscraper and I'd praise his ability. But what time is it now?"

Pang Yu pointed at the Eastern Prosperity Tower opposite and continued, "See that? Barely twenty paces away. The top floor is so open you could seat a whole banquet table up there. Not only can you observe inside the city, you can shoot arrows down onto the wall. When that happens, no one will be able to stand on this section of wall. If Tongcheng falls because of it, you and I will both be ghosts under the bandits' blades."

Jiao Guozha tossed his head. "Save that for Big Brother. That alarmist talk is fine for inside the yamen, but come on — the Roving Bandits aren't going to just show up that easily. They kicked up trouble twice over in Qianshan, and both times it turned out to be nothing. You think Big Brother doesn't know?"

Pang Yu looked Jiao Guozha up and down, then said, "Big Brother, do you have some kind of hold Liu Xiucai has over you?"

"What are you talking about?" Jiao Guozha hung up a High Lamp, set it aside, and said, "Last time you chopped off three people's hands. Now those three families don't dare come after you, so they're all hounding the Liu family. Liu Xiucai is fed up with it — the bad blood between you two is no small matter. Big Brother's thinking is, if he's really pushed too far, Liu Xiucai could get that cousin of his, the Capital Official, to file an imperial complaint — it's not impossible. Second Brother, you're running a gambling operation; harmony brings wealth, that's what matters. Liu Xiucai has made it clear: the Eastern Prosperity Tower will absolutely not be torn down. And Fang Yingqian has a stake in that tower too. Tearing it down will offend both the Liu and Fang families. A gambling den doesn't exactly have a sterling reputation — once they start filing accusations, no one comes out well. Big Brother is only thinking of your best interests."

Pang Yu shook his head and smiled. "Rare kindness from Big Brother. No one is out to make trouble for Liu Xiucai — he brought it all on himself. That man is narrow-minded and petty. I advise you to stay out of Liu Xiucai's affairs, and don't go carousing with him on ordinary days either."

Jiao Guozha gave two dry laughs. "That's where you're wrong, Second Brother. To those scholars, yamen runners like us are all lowly flunkies. That Liu Xiucai is willing to stoop to associate with us — that means he thinks highly of us. Educated men are different, after all. His cousin is a Capital Official; he's bound to become an official himself sooner or later. If he gives us a leg up someday, we might even secure a future. Even with a gambling operation, having Liu Xiucai as a partner makes it more secure. I just don't understand why you refused him outright that day, and then went and did something so outrageous."

"Even if he becomes an official, he won't be an official in Tongcheng. How's he going to give a leg up to a Tongcheng yamen runner like you?" Pang Yu waved his hand. "Business is better done alone — no need for Liu Xiucai to trouble himself. If the Roving Bandits don't come, no one's going to insist on tearing his house down anyway."

"Let Big Brother play peacemaker on this. I'll invite you both to sit down and talk it out. And Second Brother, you can rest easy — the Roving Bandits will definitely not come."

The moment Jiao Guozha finished speaking, a Runner appeared atop the wall, gasping for breath. He looked around, spotted Pang Yu, and dashed over. Leaning close to Pang Yu's ear, he said, "The mounted courier sent toward Luzhou Prefecture just returned to the yamen. He says the Roving Bandits broke through Fengyang Prefecture on the fifteenth of the first month and are now heading in the direction of Hefei County — only two hundred li from Tongcheng. His Honor requests the Squad Leader return to the yamen at once to confer."