Chapter 48: Self-Binding

"Young Master, the medicine you wanted is all prepared." Pang Ding held a coconut ladle, his expression tinged with inexplicable tragic solemnity.

Pang Yu took the coconut ladle and shook it a few times — liquid sloshed inside.

"Mostly Grass Crow Poison, a little Thunder God Vine. (Note 1)" Pang Ding's mouth suddenly split open as he sobbed, "Young Master, don't go — let's head to Kongcheng Town and find the Old Master, wuwu…"

Pang Yu tied the coconut ladle to his waist sash. "If I don't wipe out those bandits, Father and Mother won't dare come back. There'd be no way to live this life."

"If anything happens to you, what am I supposed to say when the Old Master asks?" Pang Ding wiped away tears. "Bandits are for the troops to wipe out. Young Master, you're just a Runner — are you really going to throw your life away for that bit of silver? Wuwu… killing so many people just for a little silver."

Pang Yu smacked Pang Ding's head several times. "You dog-thing and your crow's beak of a mouth. Would I gamble my life for a little silver? I only gamble my life for a lot of silver. I've been poor for so long, often unable to produce even a single mace of silver — this young master doesn't want to live like that."

"But this young master isn't planning to kill everyone either. Killing people is the troops' job — I only want the silver." Pang Yu patted the coconut ladle and asked, "Last time, Mother made this Grass Crow Poison sound so potent — it won't poison everyone to death, will it? I only need them unconscious."

"Well, perhaps… roughly, more or less. Young Master, don't put it into hot soup — once this Grass Crow Poison is boiled, it loses its effect."

"Then I'll put it in the wine. You've been with our family ten years, and your professional competence is at this level — no wonder the Pang Family Medicine Shop never grew big." Pang Yu had no time to argue. He patted Pang Ding's shoulder. "Don't follow this young master's example. Find yourself a wife and live a peaceful life."

Pang Ding shed tears without speaking. Pang Yu untied the horse's reins at the doorway, raised his head to check the sky, and reckoned he could just make it to Yunji Temple before nightfall.

Pang Yu led the horse eastward along County Front Street. This horse originally belonged to the Fast Squad. As the primary means of transport, Ming-era county yamens had quite a few horses — mainly assigned to officials and Clerks, then the mounts of the Fast Squad's mounted runners, and finally the post stations and relay posts. Generally, a hundred or more was common.

After this uprising, some Grooms at the county yamen took advantage of the chaos to steal quite a few horses and sell them off to other regions. The one Pang Yu was riding now was the best Jiao Guozha had managed to pick out from the Fast Squad stables.

At Qingfeng Market he turned right and headed south, intending to exit the city through the South Gate. After walking ten-odd paces he stopped, turned around, and headed toward Dongzuo Gate instead. Arriving in front of the Zhou Family Paper Shop, he saw Zhou Yueru busy inside — even Zhou Yongtian was in the shop.

Since the unrest began, Zhou Yueru had not been working her Auxiliary shift normally. The Zhou Family Paper Shop opened and closed sporadically, managing only a few days of business when the situation was stable. Those affected by this disaster were all gentry families — the major paper users had no mind to buy stationery, so the Zhou Family Paper Shop's business was slack, barely enough to sustain the family's livelihood. Moreover, with the roads cut off for so long after the uprising, grain prices in the city had risen considerably. Back in the intercalary eighth month, Zhou Yueru had even borrowed one tael and five mace of silver from Pang Yu.

With a slap, Pang Yu smacked a ten-tael silver ingot onto a stack of paper by the doorway — the very one Huang Wending had rewarded him.

Zhou Yueru raised her head. She looked considerably more haggard this month. Seeing it was Pang Yu, a faint smile appeared. The moment Zhou Yongtian saw Pang Yu, he froze for an instant, then let out a sudden yell, turned, and fled into the back quarters.

Zhou Yueru turned her head to glance at the back quarters; when she turned back, her expression was somewhat complicated.

"I have to go out on a trip." Listening to Shopkeeper Zhou's terrified shouts from the back quarters, Pang Yu said calmly to Zhou Yueru, "Carrying this silver around is inconvenient. Hold onto it for me for now."

Zhou Yueru brushed aside the hair in front of her face and asked in surprise, "When going on a trip, one ought to bring silver along. Why wouldn't you carry it with you?"

"This young master is no ordinary person." Pang Yu turned and walked toward Dongzuo Gate. "If this young master doesn't come back for it, the silver is yours."

"Hey!" Zhou Yueru chased him to the doorway. "Just what are you going to do?"

Pang Yu did not look back. He waved a hand and strode far away.

The whole way, Pang Yu's steps were light and brisk. After crossing Zilai Bridge, there were fewer pedestrians. Pang Yu swung himself onto the horse and rode south along the Official Road.

After riding a little over a li, Pang Yu reined in the horse and stopped, waiting for a figure in the distance behind him to chase up.

Pang Ding, panting heavily, caught up to him. He paused a long while before saying tearfully, "The Old Master picked me up from the roadside. If not for the Pang family, I'd have starved to death long ago. Let me go with Young Master — otherwise, if anything happens to Young Master, I'll have no way to account for it when the Old Master asks."

Pang Yu stared at Pang Ding for a long moment, then suddenly laughed. "This young master will take you along. If we succeed, I'll share the silver with you."

…

The sun had half vanished behind the distant summit of the Dabie Mountains' foothills. The golden sky traced the towering, undulating ridgeline.

In the lingering glow of the setting sun, Pang Yu appeared alone at the foot of Yunji Temple's mountain, riding his horse. The horse beneath him was drenched in sweat, snorting ceaselessly.

Two Rioters on guard at the mountain's base came up and took the horse. Pang Yu thanked them and hurried up the mountain.

There was no sign of Gu Xiaowu — he must have gone to the South Gate in the afternoon to muster men. Pang Yu had originally wanted to persuade Gu Xiaowu to leave for a while, but Gu Xiaowu was deeply attached to this kind of life. Now he could only hope Gu Xiaowu would survive the gentry's extermination campaign tomorrow.

Pang Yu made a circuit through the Main Hall and the Side Hall. The silver chests were all still there. After a rough headcount, he found only about twenty people present, and all of them were Green-Skin Ruffians — slick and cunning sorts in ordinary times. Although they all now carried weapons and cut quite an imposing figure parading through the city for Xingxiang, Pang Yu had never believed they could actually fight. The main issue was that they lacked a fierce, aggressive spirit.

Among these Rioters, the ones with real combat strength were the small groups Huang Wending and Wang Guohua had each gathered. Those did include some strong, ferocious men who knew how to use weapons — they were the backbone of the Rioters, the ones the Rioters' courage relied on. But in reality, each side had no more than seven or eight such men.

Pang Yu felt a bit more confident. At that moment, the bandits began setting out tables and chairs and erecting torches, preparing to drink in the hall.

Just as he was about to go help carry the wine, he suddenly saw Wang Guohua's face appear at the back door of the Main Hall, followed by his trusted, ferocious henchmen.

Pang Yu's heart plummeted straight to rock bottom in an instant.

……

At the Fang Family Mansion in Fengyi Ward, Fang Kongzhao paced back and forth in his Study. This Study had become the command hub for this pacification operation, its importance far exceeding that of the Tongcheng County Yamen.

Though Fang Kongzhao had experienced the ups and downs of officialdom, directing a pacification and slaughter like this was a first. From the moment he received word that Huang Wending had descended the mountain, Fang Kongzhao had been in a state of high excitement — proper rest was out of the question. He could only keep vigil in the Study, waiting for reports from every direction.

Fang Zhongjia entered the Study and said in a low voice, "Elder Brother, we couldn't find out where Huang Wending is spending the night. I'm afraid we can only ambush him tomorrow morning when they assemble at Wuyin Temple. There is one other matter…"

Though the news was unsatisfactory, Fang Kongzhao's composure was considerable. Calmly, he replied in a low voice, "What matter?"

"Wang Guohua did not descend the mountain."

Fang Kongzhao's brow immediately furrowed deeply. In the course of their planning, they had never considered this scenario, because Wang Guohua had never once left Huang Wending's side.

And to Fang Kongzhao, Wang Guohua was more important than Huang Wending, the Alliance Leader.

Fang Kongzhao slowly stood and asked, "Did Wang Guohua contact you today?"

"No. I've been thinking — Wang Guohua is cunning by nature. He must have guessed there was something fishy about Zhang Bingcheng arresting Zhang Ru. But he didn't stop Huang Wending from going down the mountain, and he didn't follow himself. I suspect he's probably got designs on the silver."

"His designs on the silver don't necessarily mean he intends to surrender. It's very possible he means to swallow the dirty silver and flee into hiding in some other region." Fang Kongzhao mused, "Jiang Chen heard from Wang Gongbi that the River Patrol Admiral Ma Shiming has already reported the Tongcheng Uprising to the Emperor. In that report, the names Huang Wending, Wang Guohua, and Zhang Ru are all written out clearly."

Fang Zhongjia's expression grew grave. "That means Wang Guohua can be recruited to surrender, or he can be killed — but he absolutely cannot vanish silently without a trace."

Fang Kongzhao sighed. "This man has both courage and cunning. In these times when the realm is in turmoil, I was also trying to cherish talent for the nation, thinking that one day when I am restored to office, I could use him to serve our Emperor. I never imagined it would come to such a situation."

"But others don't see it that way. Now that Wang Guohua's name has reached the imperial ear, if he seizes the silver and simply disappears, then after you are restored to office, Elder Brother, once someone seizes on this point and impeaches you for having once aided this man — who then vanished without a trace after causing a great upheaval — it will invite endless suspicion."

Fang Kongzhao narrowed his eyes slightly and said with certainty, "The thing an official fears most is leaving suspicion in the Emperor's heart."

Fang Zhongjia pondered a moment, then drew closer. "Only twenty-odd Rioters are left at Yunji Temple. Aside from Wang Guohua's few trusted men, the rest are a rabble. I could take my seven Household Retainers, plus a few able-bodied servants from the mansion, and launch a night raid on Yunji Temple — take Wang Guohua's head first."

Fang Kongzhao did not answer. He paced lightly in the room, seeming to find the decision quite difficult. The greatest advantage in this pacification operation was that Huang Wending's gang had no idea the gentry had recruited several dozen Da Hang fighters, so they were completely off guard.

Huang Wending had even disbanded most of his followers, sending them off in every direction to muster men, only to assemble tomorrow morning. At this moment, the Rioters had no Organization Degree whatsoever — like a sheet of loose sand. It was the perfect moment for pacification.

A pity that with such a golden opportunity, they had not located where Huang Wending was spending the night, and Wang Guohua had remained at Yunji Temple — leaving Fang Kongzhao in a dilemma. He could neither let Wang Guohua escape, nor did he dare risk killing Wang Guohua first and alerting Huang Wending's gang, thereby jeopardizing the overall pacification effort.

"Huang Wending only went down the mountain today. The Chizhou Troops move slowly — they won't arrive until tomorrow at the earliest. I fear Wang Guohua will seize this gap to rob the silver and flee." Fang Zhongjia continued to press his case. "Even setting aside robbing the silver and fleeing — if Huang Wending is defeated and killed tomorrow, and Wang Guohua gets word and escapes first, once he leaves Tongcheng, tracking him down again will be a thousand times harder."

Fang Kongzhao knew Fang Zhongjia's reasoning was sound. Wang Guohua absolutely could not be allowed to escape. Of course, he also understood Fang Zhongjia's designs on those tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Fang Kongzhao hesitated a moment, then finally said, "Ensure that not a single person escapes from Yunji Temple, lest they alert Huang Wending's gang."

"There is also only one Mountain Path down from Yunji Temple. During the raid, we'll use able-bodied servants to hold the mountain pass. My Household Retainers have fought Private Salt smugglers many times — they are all fierce and courageous men. With forethought against the unprepared, we will absolutely not let a single Rioter escape."

"Younger brother, bring me Wang Guohua's head."

"Rest easy, Big Brother. Not a single living soul will be left in Yunji Temple. I'll take men and set out at once."

……

Night fell. In the wilderness, the night held not the faintest glimmer of light; heaven and earth lay in utter darkness. The mountain wind stirred around Yunji Temple, and the rising and falling chorus of insects all around could not drown out the clamor within the great hall.

Inside the hall, over ten torches blazed. The bandits' nightly wine feast had already begun. Not far down the mountain, the mouth of the Guache River was a market town. Huang Wending's gang had silver to spare and had bought up plenty of grain in town in case the Chizhou Troops sealed the mountain — enough now to supply their daily wine feasts.

The bandits sat on the ground. Today they had slaughtered a goat, and the crowd was eating with abandon, tearing into the goat meat and gulping down great mouthfuls of wine.

Wang Guohua sat near the upper end, having taken a small table for himself and a low square stool. He was very quiet the entire evening. Only when someone drank too much and sought him out to toast did he respond with a perfunctory smile, and even then his drinking was a mere sip. A few trusted confidants sat near him, drinking somewhat more heavily.

Carrying a wine jar, Pang Yu diligently made a round pouring wine for everyone. This wine was locally brewed in Tongcheng, a type of distilled liquor. Pang Yu had tasted it once; though the alcohol content was not high, the flavor was rather sharp and pungent — suitable for masking the taste of Grass Crow Poison.

What worried him most at that moment was noticing, while pouring, that Wang Guohua seemed preoccupied. He was drinking very little tonight. If that continued, it would be very difficult to slip him the poison. And Wang Guohua was notoriously fierce and brave; in a normal state, Pang Yu had absolutely no confidence he could defeat him.

The jar of wine in his hands ran empty. By now, the wine had gone three rounds, and everyone had settled into the mood. The great hall was filled with sworn brotherhood and clashing cups. Everyone's sense of taste and smell had dulled from the start — this was the moment Pang Yu chose to administer the poison.

Moving to the side of the Tathagata statue, Pang Yu used the shadow of a hall pillar as cover and took down the coconut ladle from behind him. His mouth felt parched. After surveying his surroundings, he broke the paper seals on three wine jars in quick succession, fought down the wild pounding of his heart, and poured a portion of the poison liquid into each, to disperse the medicinal smell.

Pang Yu angled his body, using his clothes to block the line of sight from the main hall, and covered the mouth of the coconut ladle with his hand, his head swiveling in constant vigilance. If any one of the bandits discovered him, Pang Yu would instantly meet a fate of death without a burial place.

Those brief moments stretched like ten thousand years. The mouth of the coconut ladle was somewhat small, and the poison liquid trickled out sluggishly. Pang Yu burned with impatience, ceaselessly glancing left and right within the pillar's shadow. A single glance from anyone in his direction made his scalp prickle and his heart and gall bladder nearly split with terror.

When at last he finished pouring the poison liquid and hung the coconut ladle back on his waist, confirming that no one had noticed the entire process, Pang Yu's back was almost completely soaked with sweat. He let out a long breath, his mind settling slightly. Just as he raised his head to look around, a hand suddenly clapped him on the shoulder.

Pang Yu jolted, his whole body shuddering, his soul nearly flying out of him. He turned his head — it was Zhu Zong.

Holding a bowl of wine, Zhu Zong threw an arm around Pang Yu's shoulder and boomed, "Brother Yu is a man of loyalty! I want to drink three bowls with Brother Yu."

As he spoke, Zhu Zong lifted one of the wine jars Pang Yu had just poisoned. A rioter beside him immediately brought over an empty bowl.

Pang Yu's soul had only just returned to his body. He hurriedly waved his hands. "Brother Zhu, I'm no good at drinking."

Zhu Zong would not be refused. He filled his own bowl with the poisoned wine, then filled the new bowl and thrust it before Pang Yu. "You must drink. Today you formally join the gang — even if you're no good, you'll drink."

Several Green-Skins nearby raised a chorus of jeers. Pang Yu was about to decline again when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the second poisoned wine jar had already been picked up by another rioter, who was going around filling everyone else's bowls. Wang Guohua had just finished his drink, and that rioter filled his bowl full of poisoned wine as well.

Hearing the jeers, Wang Guohua turned his head to look at Pang Yu, seeming to have taken note of the commotion.

Pang Yu knew that Wang Guohua was ordinarily cunning and suspicious. Refusing to drink might arouse Wang Guohua's suspicion, and then all his efforts would be wasted. If Wang Guohua investigated further and discovered the remaining poison liquid in the coconut ladle, Pang Yu might well lose his life on the spot. Drinking these three bowls before him, however, would avert suspicion. With Wang Guohua off guard, he would soon drink the poisoned wine, and everyone in the hall would drink it. Pang Yu's plan would be more than half a success — but he himself might perish from these three bowls of poisoned wine. Success and failure had arrived at virtually the same instant.

Pang Yu cursed inwardly, "You brought this on yourself." He took the wine bowl, clinked it against Zhu Zong's, tilted his head back, and drained it dry.

……

Note 1: The poison commonly used in the Ming military was Grass Crow Poison. The New Treatise on Military Efficiency states: "Use Light Arrows dipped in Grass Crow Poison, tethered to a stake by a fuse-line at thirty paces…"