Chapter 54: Proclamation

Pang Yu spoke softly, "The most urgent matter right now is the Chizhou Troops, but when the Chizhou Troops arrive, the worst that happens is we leave early and take less silver — there's no danger to our lives."

"The truly deadly problem is Fang Zhongjia." He Xianya was panting. "Once the Chizhou Troops arrive, we'll have no leisure to slowly search for Fang Zhongjia. The moment he returns to Tongcheng, word that we were here will leak out. The country squire faction is powerful — they can kill us at any time."

Jiao Guozha said with a mournful face, "But we never struck or killed that Fang fellow. The one who wounded him was Wang Guohua, and at most my second brother. What does it have to do with me? He shouldn't make trouble for me."

Pang Yu spoke coldly, "I think when Big Brother went to finish him off, Fang Zhongjia was certainly aware of it. He would naturally think that if he hadn't escaped, Big Brother would definitely have given him a few cuts. How could he not make trouble for you."

Jiao Guozha froze, momentarily speechless. What Pang Yu knew even more clearly was that even if Fang Zhongjia hadn't recognized Pang Yu at the time, after everything that followed, he must have known the person who knocked the torch away was Pang Yu.

That single act had wrecked his entire operation. To expect Fang Zhongjia not to seek revenge was nearly impossible.

Pang Yu continued, "Have you thought about why they launched a night raid on Yunji Temple? Fang Zhongjia's group came masked. Whether they came to kill Wang Guohua or to seize the silver, he did not want anyone knowing he had been here. Now we know this, and Fang Zhongjia still has dozens of Da Hang men at his disposal — guess what he'll do."

"Naturally, he'll quietly kill us all," He Xianya said. "And he'll also take the silver we seized, no matter how much."

Pang Yu stared at the torchlight. "He probably didn't come just for the silver. I overheard the two of them talking in the hall — he wanted to kill Wang Guohua. Why he wanted to kill Wang Guohua seems to be because his elder brother had once looked after Wang Guohua. He didn't want this man falling into the hands of the yamen or the Chizhou Troops, and even less did he want him escaping. That's why he risked a late-night assault on Yunji Temple."

"Which means what he wanted most was Wang Guohua's head, and only then the silver." He Xianya paused, then continued, "The difficulty in this matter is that no matter how much silver we bring back to Tongcheng, we dare not breathe a word about having been at Yunji Temple. The same goes for Fang Zhongjia. If neither side speaks out, then after Fang Zhongjia suppresses the civil unrest, he can mobilize the Da Hang to take revenge on us."

Pang Yu added, "He could even use the excuse that we are rioters and simply cut us down with one stroke. We're just a few yamen underlings — neither the Prefect nor the County Magistrate would speak up for us."

He Xianya sighed. "Then let's run."

"What we just said was that we dare not speak out. But what if I do speak out? Tonight, the rioters at Yunji Temple were annihilated to the last man — that is the foremost merit in quelling a rebellion. When the time comes, will he still dare move against us?"

All three stared at Pang Yu in astonishment. What they had been discussing all along was quietly making off with the silver. If word leaked, the gentry would certainly demand they return the dirty silver, and it might also bring retaliation from the rioters' kin and friends. So they had never once considered publicizing the news themselves.

Pang Yu narrowed his eyes, as if trying to see the distant torches more clearly. "I am a yamen runner of Tongcheng, risking my life to quell rebellion for the very homeland of Tongcheng. Right now I hold the heads of thirty rioters, forty thousand taels of dirty silver, and the bandit chief Wang Guohua. I am in the right and fully justified — what is there that I cannot proclaim? Fang Zhongjia is a mere Garrison Commander of Digang, a Military Officer of the Court. Without orders from his superior general, he led troops away from his post without authorization, letting his elder brother, a Country Squire, wield the military authority of the court. The one who dares not speak out is him alone."

Jiao Guozha came back to his senses and said hesitantly, "Can we say the same to the Chizhou Troops? Just tell them we've already quelled the rebellion and ask them to withdraw."

He Xianya shook his head decisively. "Of course not. It's the middle of the night with no one around — the Chizhou Troops won't reason with you. They'll definitely cut us down and swallow the silver. So Yunji Temple absolutely cannot be held. What Second Brother means by publicizing this is to claim the great merit of quelling the rebellion, so the Fang Family won't dare make a rash move against us. But what if those gentry are convinced we swallowed the silver and demand we hand over the dirty silver — what then?"

Pang Yu lifted his chin toward the foot of the mountain. Jiao Guozha suddenly caught on and pointed at the firelight below. "Naturally, it was all seized by the Chizhou Troops. Tomorrow at daybreak, there will be countless witnesses from Guache River market town. Ha, we can at least keep some of the silver."

Pang Yu let out a long breath, turned his head to look at the three companions behind him, his tone filled with resolve. "That firelight looks close, but in truth it should still be some time away. We can use this time to do quite a lot. As long as we do it well, the Chizhou Troops may not necessarily seize the silver. Fortune lies in danger — let's just go all out..."

"How much farther to Yunji Temple?"

"Sir, up ahead is Guache River market town. Past that a little farther, and it's Yunji Temple."

On horseback, Pan Keda put his helmet back on. Before and behind him were household retainers carrying torches, illuminating the surrounding road quite brightly, but compared to the boundless night, it was still only a tiny patch.

After he and Wang Gongbi had settled on their strategy, they feigned a withdrawal but hid a hundred elite troops south of Liantan. At the same time, they arranged for that rioter from Liantan to serve as a spy.

Yesterday, after the spy got word that Huang Wending was heading to Tongcheng, he immediately rushed back to report. Pan Keda brought only this force of nearly a hundred elite troops, moving with great speed, and had already covered a small portion of the distance before nightfall.

Although this small army of his was already handpicked as elite, in truth they were merely household retainers who were somewhat brave and willing to fight. As a whole, they had never undergone rigorous training, much less possessed the ability to carry out military operations at night.

After nightfall, their marching speed dropped drastically. Because there was no starlight or moonlight that night, even the cavalry had to dismount and walk with torches. The entire marching column stretched longer and longer, and about a dozen or so men fell behind, forcing Pan Keda to halt several times.

Torches were far too conspicuous at night, illuminating only a very small area around them, yet others could spot them from a great distance. The closer they got to Yunji Temple, the greater the chance of being discovered by the bandits. The bandits running off wouldn't matter much, but if they made off with the silver, that would be bad.

Now they were finally about to reach Yunji Temple. According to this spy, all the dirty silver was in the temple, amounting to tens of thousands of taels. Just thinking of that scene made Pan Keda's heart grow anxious.

"Move faster."

Once they passed through Guache River market town, he would cut off the Official Road to Tongcheng, and the bandits would have nowhere to flee.

Pan Keda urged them on incessantly, paying no heed to those who fell behind, no longer stopping to gather the ranks. Hurrying and rushing the whole way, by the time the Chizhou Troops finally reached the foot of Yunji Temple, Pan Keda had fewer than fifty men left at his side. Moreover, their formations had been scrambled in the darkness — if they truly encountered a strong enemy, they would collapse at a single blow.

Pan Keda knew Yunji Temple had only one Mountain Path. Only after following the spy to locate that trailhead did he feel slightly more at ease.

The pioneer household retainers filed onto the Mountain Path one after another. Pan Keda suddenly pulled the spy over and demanded, "You said there were sentries posted all night at the foot of the mountain. Where are they?"

The spy said in alarm, "This humble one does not know, but they were always there before. Wang Guohua would sometimes inspect them — truly, they were posted all night without break."

Pan Keda eyed the spy before him with suspicion. He had come from a distant place; his men were weary and his horses spent. If this was a bandit trap, wouldn't he be trying to steal a chicken only to lose the bait rice?

Just as he was hesitating, a household retainer up ahead shouted, "Sir, there's something here!"

Pan Keda led the troops up onto the mountain path. Bringing the torches close for a look, they saw quite a few bloodstains on the steps of the Mountain Path. But what drew them even more were the scattered silver ingots on the road.

The whole lot of grunts began picking them up off the ground, then discovered there were more in the grass. The ranks instantly scattered.

In the late Ming, household retainers were the elite of the army, but in truth they were merely soldiers who received full pay. It was only because the decayed system left General Officers unable to support a full complement of soldiers that they concentrated resources on sustaining a small number of loyal and brave men.

In the Guan-Ning Army, which had the highest pay in the entire realm, a household retainer's Commuted Tax was two taels of silver. The Chizhou Troops, stationed in the secure Nanzhili, received no more than one tael a month. Now, with silver ingots all over the ground, any random piece was worth several months' income — how could they restrain themselves?

The soldiers were instantly beside themselves with excitement, completely forgetting the fatigue of the march. They searched frantically around the Mountain Path, and whenever they came across a large ingot, they fought over it.

In a single moment of Pan Keda's inattention, the Chizhou Troops' discipline disintegrated. Soldiers who caught up from behind also threw themselves into the scramble. Fights had already broken out in several places, and the Mountain Path was a din of uproar.

Pan Keda loudly suppressed them, sending his trusted household retainers to beat them into order, and with great difficulty quelled those few fights. Fearing further complications, he dared not let the troops linger on the Mountain Path and led his household retainers straight for the summit.

Along the way they found more silver, and then a few corpses appeared. The Chizhou Troops began to grow tense. Proceeding cautiously all the way up to the gate of Yunji Temple, they found several more corpses on the platform before the gate.

The soldiers were somewhat hesitant. Pan Keda, seeing the temple gate of Yunji Temple right before him and the tens of thousands of taels of silver within, drew his Waist Saber and bellowed, "Kill every rioter here! Ten taels of silver for each man killed! The first into the main hall gets an extra twenty taels!"

Spurred by the promise of reward, the household retainers immediately surged into the main hall, each vying to be first.

Pan Keda followed behind the main force. The bloody battle everyone had anticipated did not materialize. The floor of the main hall was covered with corpses, but many had only a stump of neck left, their heads nowhere to be found. Scattered among the bodies were a few silver ingots.

Though the soldiers were alarmed, they had numbers on their side. They spread out cautiously, searching the temple in separate groups. When Pan Keda entered the Side Hall, he discovered piles of silver chests.

"Sir, the chests are all empty."

Fury blazed in Pan Keda's heart. He grabbed the spy by the collar. "You said there were tens of thousands of taels of silver here. Where is the silver?"

The spy was so terrified he stammered, "How would this humble one know? It was clearly still here in the afternoon. So many people died here — they must have fought among themselves, and the victors took the silver and fled."

With a clang, Pan Keda drew his Waist Saber and pointed it at the spy. "Which way did they flee? If you can't tell me, I'll take your life!"

The spy collapsed to the ground in terror — how could he possibly answer on the spot?

At that moment, the head of the household retainers came rushing over, panting. "We've checked everywhere in the temple. No silver. But there are some discoveries at the foot of the mountain."

"What discoveries?"

"The road toward Tongcheng is very clean, but on the Official Road toward Huaining, there are silver pieces scattered. Those bandits must have headed for Huaining. With tens of thousands of taels of silver, they can't move fast. If we go after them, we can still catch up."

"They must have gotten word that Tongcheng is no longer an option and plan to flee to another region via Huaining." Pan Keda said fiercely, "I will remain here to guard Yunji Temple, to prevent the bandits from reoccupying it, and also to search the temple more thoroughly. Take thirty men on horseback and pursue them. Carrying forty to fifty thousand taels of silver, how fast can they run? Once day breaks, they won't escape."

"At your command!"

The sky was barely light; a new day had arrived. Shops along the streets and alleys of Tongcheng opened one after another. Ever since Huang Wending and his gang had gone to Yunji Temple, leaving the county seat far behind, the residents had each returned to their livelihoods, and life in the city was returning to normal.

A horse cart slowly entered the county seat through Dongzuo Gate. One person sat in the driver's seat, and the cart bed behind had no cover. With a clip-clop of hooves, the cart made its way slowly down the main street.

At first the common folk along the roadside paid it no mind, but when a few of them inadvertently saw what was loaded on the cart, they suddenly shrieked and recoiled.

Once the other common folk noticed these strange reactions, they all came over to look. The whole street filled with cries of alarm, yet no one left. They all followed the cart from a distance. Word spread with astonishing speed, and people from every direction gathered around.

Pang Yu, covered in blood and grime, sat in the driver's seat, a waist saber hanging at his hip, driving the cart slowly down County Front Street.

When he finally reached the Eight-Character Wall, Pang Yu jumped down from the cart. Facing the dense crowd of onlookers with an utterly indifferent expression, no one in the crowd dared make a sound. The common folk only instinctively backed away a little further.

Pang Yu turned around to face the Ceremonial Gate. Yang Fangzao, having received word, was hurrying over with the support of his Advisor.

When Yang Fangzao stepped out the main gate and looked, there on the cart bed, laid out in neat rows, were severed human heads!

Pang Yu held his head high and chest out, cupped his hands toward County Magistrate Yang, and declared in a voice resonant and clear, "Runner Squad Pang Yu, by order of the Honorable Magistrate to suppress the unrest, after a bloody battle last night, has annihilated the fortified rioters at Yunji Temple. Over twenty heads taken. I have come to report the completion of my mission!"

Yang Fangzao stared dumbstruck at Pang Yu standing before a pile of severed heads. His legs went weak beneath him, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.