Chapter 90: Guang Shiheng

Imperial River Tower in Qingfeng Market — this was the finest restaurant in Tongcheng, and the county yamen often booked its receptions here.

Pang Yu waited downstairs early. Because this banquet for Guang Shiheng was for a Tongcheng native, some clerks from the county yamen also came. Tang Weimin stood beside him.

"Tomorrow in my four wards, the silver chests can be handed over to the Silver Husbands. Should anything be unclear then, I must ask you, Tang Daren, for guidance."

Tang Weimin tilted his head aside. "You're being distant with me again — why call me Tang Daren? Your affairs, Pang Squad Leader, need no mention; your brother here will naturally make things clear to those Silver Husbands."

Pang Yu hurriedly thanked him. If Tang Weimin didn't put in a word, the Silver Husbands would inevitably squeeze a cut from the Fast Squad when testing the silver's purity. As long as Tang Weimin spoke to them, the silver chests from one ward could earn one to two hundred taels.

"Always troubling you, elder brother — this younger brother truly feels uneasy about it."

"I know your Zhuang Squad lacks stipend silver and equipment. I wanted to help, but this year's autumn tax is truly tight." Tang Weimin leaned in and lowered his voice. "When Yang Fangzao left, he took three thousand taels from the collected autumn tax. Now this young Master Yang has been negotiating with Yang Fangzao for a long time and has no choice but to cut expenses elsewhere. If the Household Office can free up any funds at all, it will definitely give priority to our Fast Squad and Zhuang Squad."

Pang Yu shook his head. "I can't put Brother Tang in a difficult position again."

"You're still treating me like an outsider…"

Tang Weimin was mid-sentence when a small sedan chair appeared at the street corner. Yang Erming, who had been waiting ahead, rose from his campstool. Pang Yu guessed it was Guang Shiheng arriving, and the two quickly stopped talking.

The small sedan stopped before the building, and a scholar in a Huzhou silk Daoist robe stepped out. He had a square face, large ears, and an imposing bearing — his movements confident yet refined. In Pang Yu's eyes, this classmate of Yang Erming's, in his thirties, naturally possessed more of a leader's presence.

Guang Shiheng cupped his hands toward Yang Erming with a smile. "Parting from Jinxian at the Capital, and now we meet again — only now I've become the local parent-official of Guang's hometown."

Yang Erming's face reddened slightly. He hurriedly cupped his hands in return. "Nianxiong, you shame me. What a coincidence — Nianxiong, you go to Shu to serve as the parent-official of my hometown."

Guang Shiheng laughed heartily. "When your brother here reaches Sichuan, if the opportunity arises, I must visit Junlian and see what kind of blessed, exquisite land could produce a fourteen-year-old Presented Scholar."

Yang Erming was pleased by the flattery. He exchanged courtesies and led Guang Shiheng into Imperial River Tower. The county yamen had booked the Piaoxiang Room on the third floor; the meal cost around twenty taels.

Pang Yu fell behind. Yang Erming's Advisor, Mr. Sun, walked ahead of him, accompanying Guang Shiheng's advisor. Pang Yu deliberately kept his distance to make it easier for Mr. Sun to hand over the gift money. Tonight Yang Erming would likely have to spend over a hundred taels again.

At the main table on the third floor, besides Yang Erming and Guang Shiheng, there were some of Tongcheng's gentry, all old acquaintances of Guang Shiheng. Among those Pang Yu recognized was that Jiang Chen. The scene had a touch of returning home in glory.

Precisely because Guang Shiheng was a local, the atmosphere at the banquet was far livelier than the usual send-offs and receptions. Guang Shiheng was an excellent conversationalist. When Yang Erming asked about the whereabouts of other classmates from the same examination year in the Capital, Guang Shiheng knew them all like family treasures. Pang Yu could imagine that his days in the Capital must have been filled with wide-ranging social connections.

The advisors, clerks, and Pang Yu sat at a separate side table. Had Guang Shiheng not called him out by name, Pang Yu wouldn't even have made it to the side table.

Once the talk of fellow examination graduates was finished, Guang Shiheng finally remembered Pang Yu. Yang Erming quickly waved Pang Yu over to the main table.

Guang Shiheng looked Pang Yu up and down, then exclaimed in admiration, "Does Pang Squad Leader know — Guang heard your name even in the Capital. Not only that, a secretary of the Ministry of War told this official that even the Emperor asked the Ministry of War whether it was true that a Tongcheng runner killed thirty men all alone."

At these words, everyone looked at Pang Yu with envy. There was only one Emperor under Heaven; to have the Emperor himself hear one's name was already a tremendous achievement for a subject.

Guang Shiheng continued, "As a result, the Ministry of War sent a dispatch to Grand Coordinator Zhang's office to inquire. The Yingtian Grand Coordinator's yamen reported back in detail, saying it was not just thirty killed — afterward you also captured the Bandit Leader Wang Guohua and brought him to justice. At the time, Guang thought to himself: when I return to Tongcheng, I must see this brave and valiant fellow townsman with my own eyes."

Pang Yu was still a bit dazed — he hadn't expected even the Emperor to have heard of him. Instinctively, he said humbly, "Thank you, Guang Daren, for your excessive praise. This humble one is merely a runner, but every common man bears responsibility for the fate of the realm. To slay bandits for the nation is a subject's duty."

Guang Shiheng said in surprise, "That phrase — 'every common man bears responsibility for the fate of the realm' — is excellently put. If every runner in the realm thought this way, why worry that the Roving Bandits cannot be wiped out? Bring wine! For those words alone, let us all toast Pang Squad Leader!"

Everyone rose to their feet. Yang Erming also felt his face was honored today. After one cup, he proposed another toast, and the atmosphere in the room grew spirited.

After Pang Yu returned to his seat, Guang Shiheng turned back to Yang Erming. "Guang originally should have gone straight to Rongchang to assume office this time, but I made a special detour home along the way. I'm not afraid of Jinxian laughing — there was some selfish desire to return home in glory. But more importantly, I must earnestly entrust Jinxian: in this autumn of turmoil under Heaven, protect the people of our Tongcheng and keep this corner of the land at peace."

"Nianxiong, set your mind at ease. I am duty-bound and will not refuse."

Guang Shiheng's expression grew solemn. "Your brother here stayed in the Capital for some extra days. After passing the examinations, I also went to pay calls at Sun Jin Daren's residence, so I heard a bit more. I've been thinking all along of sharing the situation of the Roving Thieves with my fellow graduates serving as Mushou in other regions. If it can add even one measure of vigilance, then Guang's trip will not have been in vain."

The Sun Jin he mentioned was Sun Lin's elder brother, now serving as a Censor in the Censorate at the Capital.

Yang Erming said solemnly, "Nianxiong, please speak."

Although Pang Yu was at the side table, when he heard Guang Shiheng's words, he concentrated and listened intently.

"The Roving Thieves arose at the end of the Tianqi Emperor's reign, spreading from Shaanxi into Shanxi and across the northwest, yet they did not become a prairie fire — until last year's Mianchi South Crossing, when they broke into Henan. Dozens of Roving Thief bands burst forth like festering sores, ravaging the Central Plains and Huguang. Only then did things spiral out of control. At root, the situation rotted because of pacification. The Mianchi South Crossing was like this, and this year's Chexiang Gorge was the same — both were situations where a single push could have wiped them out, yet the Roving Bandits used feigned surrender to escape alive. The Roving Bandits repeat the same old trick and succeed time and again — not because they are exceptionally clever, but simply because among the military men there is the selfish desire of nourishing bandits for self-importance."

Pang Yu listened carefully. He didn't know about the Mianchi South Crossing, nor had he heard of Chexiang Gorge, but it sounded as though the government troops had originally had the chance to destroy the main force of the Roving Bandits.

"According to intelligence from the Ministry of War, the Roving Bandits are built around a core of Border Army deserters and post station runners, absorbing local bandits along the way to swell their ranks, then sweeping up large numbers of refugees as followers. They prize horses and mules from plunder even more than gold and silver, for the sake of preserving their lives. The Old Bandits often have two or three horses or mules and can travel over two hundred li in a single day at speed — government troops usually cannot catch them. Whenever the Roving Bandits fight, they always send spies ahead, disguised as craftsmen of all trades, corvée laborers, beggars, traveling merchants, wandering monks and Daoists, infiltrating cities everywhere to collaborate from within. Jinxian, you must guard strictly against this."

Pang Yu silently memorized this in his heart. This was the first time he had heard relatively detailed intelligence on the Roving Bandits — and it came from the mouth of a County Magistrate just passing through.

"Yang has noted it down. Thank you, Nianxiong, for the warning. Nianxiong, as you go to Sichuan, please also be extremely cautious. The Land of Abundance is not at peace these days either."

"The Roving Bandits have already entered Sichuan several times and are now rampaging through Huguang and Henan, within striking distance of Nanzhili. This year, Sun Jin Daren had an audience with the Minister of War, Zhang Daren, and stated that Anqing controls the critical water and land routes, requesting that the Ministry of War establish a garrison there. Minister Zhang replied on the spot: 'You are a southerner — why worry about bandits? Bandits arose in the northwest and do not eat rice, and bandit horses do not feed on Jiangnan grass.'"

Low laughter rippled through the hall. Yang Erming looked like he wanted to laugh but didn't dare let it out — after all, that was the Minister of War. But from Guang Shiheng's tone, his dissatisfaction with Minister Zhang was entirely undisguised.

The current Minister of War was Zhang Fengyi. His reply to Sun Jin had already become a laughingstock in the Capital. The Roving Bandits were rampaging through Huguang, Sichuan, and other places — all regions that primarily produced rice, and no one had seen the Roving Bandits refusing to eat. Moreover, Anqing was north of the Yangtze, not Jiangnan at all.

If the Minister of War was at this level, Pang Yu could understand why a few dozen men like Huang Wending could shake dozens of prefectures and counties.

Guang Shiheng paused expressionlessly for a moment, then said firmly, "Jinxian, you must still make plans early. Though we are newly appointed, even a single county is imperial land and a fief entrusted to us, with tens of thousands of lives within it. We cannot afford not to exhaust every effort. In these turbulent times under Heaven, this is precisely the moment to throw ourselves into repaying the sovereign's grace."

Pang Yu listened with furrowed brows. From what he had observed so far, the localities were psychologically afraid of the Roving Bandits but dismissive of them in action. Actual defensive preparations were rarely seen, especially below the prefectural level, giving the impression that the Roving Bandits would never come. Yet those at higher levels — people like Fang Kongzhao and Guang Shiheng from the Capital — took the Roving Bandits with extreme seriousness, as if convinced the Roving Bandits would certainly come to Tongcheng.

Now, listening to this Guang Daren, even Sichuan, a basin ringed by mountains on all sides, had not stopped the Roving Thieves — and they had even crossed a mountain range as vast as the Qinling. If they possessed such marching capability, then the Dabie Mountains certainly could not stop the Roving Thieves either, let alone the flat, open terrain toward Anqing and Luzhou.

Yang Erming, having drunk a little wine and heard Guang Shiheng's words, could not help but rise in agitation. "Yang can swear an oath: even if my bones are ground to dust, I will protect Tongcheng's safety. Let us encourage one another, Nianxiong."

Guang Shiheng struck the table and rose, then chanted passionately in a loud voice: "A subject, having pledged allegiance, drawing a stipend dare not be lax. Charged with the affairs of one region, this body — how can it still be mine? Even were I to meet a Guan or Ge, I'd still have to contend for victory. And now, facing a petty foe, how could I hastily retreat? I look up and swear by the heavens above my head; I look down and gaze at the seal at my waist. If my heart be timid and afraid, let the sword gladly take this head. Studying books, I cherish the ancients; from early on I've been ashamed to lag behind. Suiyang and Changshan — even had they failed, it would have been no fault."

Guang Shiheng's face was flushed crimson, his eyes blazing with spirit. One hand slanted like a sword pointing into empty space. After a brief pause, he delivered the ending with resonant force: "Dripping blood, I pledge to the gods; flicking my sword, I listen for the dragon's roar." (Note 1)

Yang Erming and the others burst into thunderous applause. Even Pang Yu, not easily moved, felt that surge of heroic fervor. Guang Shiheng's face was utterly solemn. Having finished reciting the poem, he seemed to radiate the righteous energy of Heaven and Earth. Still immersed in the emotion, even the beard on his chin trembled unceasingly.

"Guang Daren will surely be a capable minister loyal to the sovereign and the nation in days to come — a blessing for the realm, a blessing for the court, a blessing for the Emperor!" Tang Weimin, beside Pang Yu, was full of admiration and said this with deep reverence.

Pang Yu hurriedly echoed, "He most certainly will be."

Note 1: Guang Shiheng, "Southern Tower Oath to the Troops."