Chapter 240: Wuqiao

On the seventeenth day of the eleventh month of the fourth year of Chongzhen, after a march of over twenty days, the Dengzhou personal battalion entered the borders of Dezhou Prefecture. They did not receive news of Zu Dashou's death; instead, one order after another from Dengzhou urged them to quicken their pace. The cities and towns along the way remained as wary of them as ever.

Dezhou was the northwestern gateway of Shandong and had been a strategic location since ancient times. After the Ming dynasty, the Grand Canal also passed through here. Because of its critical position, commerce and farming were both highly developed. The residents lived in relative prosperity and had broad horizons, so they were not very hostile to outsiders. However, they were even more guarded against outside armies, especially these Liao people with their different accents.

The Dengzhou army had little military pay left, and the provisions they brought had long been eaten. Even if Kong Youde wanted to use his own silver to buy grain, he could not get cash immediately. The officials had not provided sufficient supplies. The soldiers could only fend for themselves. Along the way, they committed petty thefts, and when they encountered villages in remote areas, they would raid them, running off before the locals could react. The villagers in those mountainous regions were relatively timid and mostly gave up their property to avoid disaster when facing these soldiers. But ever since entering Jinan Prefecture, the common people's courage grew. Some gentry even organized landlord militias to confront them. These Liao soldiers bullied the weak and feared the strong, generally retreating in such cases. Thus, their plunder became much less, and the army went from one full meal to the next bout of hunger.

The Wendeng battalion was already five days ahead of them. After passing Wudingzhou, they turned toward Haifeng and had already passed Cangzhou by now. Chen Xin still sent relay horses to maintain contact with them, indicating the difficulty of purchasing grain along the way. The Wendeng relay riders often cursed the local gentry and officials, a sentiment deeply shared by Kong Youde, Li Yingyuan, and the others. They hesitated at Wudingzhou. Considering that Haifeng was relatively poor and the road from Haifeng to Cangzhou was worse, they did not follow the Wendeng battalion to Haifeng but turned toward Dezhou instead.

The Dengzhou army had marched hundreds of li in the harsh winter cold, their spirits constantly low. A murderous rage had long permeated the ranks. After arriving in Dezhou, they were getting closer and closer to Shanhai Pass. Once through the pass, they would face the formidable Jianzhou bandits. They had also heard the news of the Guanning army's three defeats, and there were many rumors throughout Shandong that the Jianzhou bandits numbered over a hundred thousand. Even with the Wendeng battalion ahead, they did not think they had any chance of victory. The closer they got to Shanhai Pass, the fiercer their resentment grew. From the fall of Liaodong to the killing of Mao Wenlong, and then the various injustices they suffered after arriving in Dengzhou, the army was in a state of fury. Military discipline had long since vanished. Acts of open defiance of orders by lower ranks occurred one after another, and the army was on the verge of losing control.

Like walking a tightrope, Kong Youde dragged these men along, finally arriving on the seventeenth at Wuqiao County in Dezhou Prefecture. Wuqiao lay between Dezhou and Cangzhou, also beside the Grand Canal. Following the canal upstream from here, one would reach Tianjin after Cangzhou, and then after Luanzhou and Yongping, Shanhai Pass.

The Dengzhou army camped east of Wuqiao. As usual, the army received no supplies. Once the camp was set, Kong Youde took Li Yingyuan and other officers and retainers toward the county seat. Outside Wuqiao city, there were quite a few houses and some spontaneous markets. Even in winter, there was a fair amount of activity. Seeing an army pass by, people crowded the roadside to watch the excitement, pointing and gesturing at them. Some merchants simply closed their doors. Shandong had suffered the so-called uprising of Xu Hongru during the Tianqi years. The common people had been robbed by bandits and then plundered by soldiers. Everyone still had some memory of it, and their impression of government troops was naturally not good.

Kong Youde had seen such scenes many times and did not wish to invite a snub. He went directly to the city gate. The main gate of the county seat was tightly shut. Kong Youde walked to the edge of the moat, dismounted, and shouted to the people on the wall, "I am Kong Youde, Assistant Regional Commander of the Left Personal Battalion under the command of His Lordship Sun, Provincial Governor of Dengzhou. By military order of the Ministry of War, I am on my way to reinforce Liaodong at Dalinghe. I request the County Magistrate, my lord, to supply some provisions. I have documents from Dengzhou and the Ministry of War here..."

Before he could finish, a man on the wall who looked like a private secretary interrupted in a sarcastic tone, "This 'lower official,' our County Magistrate happens to be away. We cannot make the decision to supply you with provisions. I advise you, our granaries have been empty for years. Even if the County Magistrate were here, he could not supply you. The tax goods we send to Dengzhou every year are not few. We've paid the Liaodong tax for so many years, yet we haven't seen many Jianzhou bandits die. Alright, this 'lower official,' the Liaodong reinforcement cannot be delayed. I advise you to be on your way sooner."

A clerk beside him laughed loudly, "Exactly. Those Liao soldiers are waiting for you. You can all be on your way together when you arrive."

Laughter erupted on the city wall, and the onlookers below also jeered. Kong Youde's face turned ashen with rage. He had endured much abuse along the way, and being denied provisions was expected, but he had never seen anyone curse him so openly. A fierce light flickered in Li Yingyuan's eyes, and his chest heaved violently.

Kong Youde panted for a moment, finally relenting. He turned and led his retainers away. Li Yingyuan followed reluctantly, muttering discontentedly, "My lord, we should teach them a lesson. We Liao troops are not to be bullied by them. I heard that Assistant Regional Commander Chen in Wendeng is not afraid of these people."

Kong Youde glared at him. "Assistant Regional Commander Chen isn't even afraid of His Lordship Sun. He has silver in his hands, so naturally he doesn't need to fear these people. How can we displaced Liao people compare to him?"

"Assistant Regional Commander Chen is also a Liao person..."

"Shut up!" Kong Youde roared furiously, glaring viciously at Li Yingyuan. "I don't need a Company Commander like you to teach me what to do. Everyone, get back to camp."

Li Yingyuan stared back at Kong Youde for a long moment, finally backing down under Kong Youde's accumulated authority. Kong Youde arrived in front of a grain shop. Seeing a group of soldiers stop, the shopkeeper immediately hung up a "Sold Out" sign and prepared to close. Kong Youde shouted to him, "Why close the door? I'm not robbing you. I'll trade you horses."

The shopkeeper's eyes darted around. "Ten taels per horse. My grain is one tael and five mace per shi."

Li Yingyuan could not hold back again. He stepped forward and cursed, "You dog, the price of horses in Shandong is at least twenty or thirty taels."

The shopkeeper said indifferently, "If you don't want to trade, then forget it. I'm not keen on it anyway. Your horses are so thin they need to be fattened before resale. Ten taels is not bad. I'm telling you, this shop belongs to the Registrar, my lord. Don't even think about using force."

Kong Youde stopped Li Yingyuan and said to his personal guards, "Bring out ten horses. Let's get enough food for the next few days first."

Li Yingyuan said anxiously, "We've already bought quite a few horses on the road. How will we explain this to His Lordship Sun later?"

"I will explain it myself. The horses don't even have enough fodder. They're all starving and have no fat on them. They won't be able to fight when we get to Liaodong."

Without further argument, Kong Youde ordered his personal guards to give up the horses. The shopkeeper called over his assistants to examine them carefully and rejected one that was too thin. Kong Youde had to have another personal guard give up his mount to make up the ten horses. All the retainers looked helpless.

The shopkeeper gave them sixty-six shi of grain in exchange, but he used a short-weight scale, so each shi was only about ninety jin. The total was less than six thousand jin of grain. For Kong Youde's over three thousand men, even with strict rationing, it would only last two days.

Kong Youde sighed and ordered the other personal guards to dismount as well. They loaded the grain onto the horses, and the others carried it on their shoulders back to the military camp. When they reached the gate, they saw groups of soldiers coming and going freely, with no one standing guard or keeping watch.

Some returning soldiers carried chickens and ducks in their hands, and three soldiers were even carrying a sheep. Other soldiers around them gathered with greedy expressions. Several soldiers from their group drew their blades and stood guard, protecting the soldier with the sheep as they returned to their own area. Seeing Kong Youde return, these soldiers showed no sign of restraint. They merely parted indifferently to let him pass, then continued with their own business.

Kong Youde was powerless to stop the soldiers' spontaneous looting. He only hoped that no major incident would occur. He immediately deployed his own retainers to guard the military grain into the camp and had the bugle sounded to summon the officers to collect it.

Seeing the small amount of grain, the officers clamored again in the tent. Li Yingyuan added fuel to the fire by recounting the horse-selling incident. A Company Commander smashed his helmet on the ground and cursed furiously, "Fuck their ancestors! We travel a thousand li to Liaozhen to kill Tatars, we don't even have enough to eat, and we have to suffer scorn everywhere. Ten taels for a warhorse? That dog dared to cheat us Liao people. Today I'm going to smash his damn shop."

The other officers echoed him one after another. Another Company Commander shouted, "Even the Emperor doesn't send out hungry soldiers. His Lordship Sun urges us to hurry every day. We've been on the road for over twenty days, but not a single tael of silver has been supplemented. I'm not going to this Liaozhen anymore."

Kong Youde kept trying to placate them, but the crowd was surging with emotion. The long-suppressed feelings of the men seemed impossible to control. A whooshing sound came from within the tent. The clamoring officers turned to look and saw Kong Youde had drawn his blade. He looked around at everyone, then threw the blade on the ground and said, word by word, "His Lordship Sun has treated us well. If you don't want to go to Dalinghe, then cut me down and run off on your own."

The group of officers looked at each other. Most of them had followed Kong Youde from Dongjiang Town, surviving years of bloodshed by his side. The Company Commander stood frozen for a moment, then stamped his foot and left the tent. The others slowly dispersed. Seeing everyone leave, Li Yingyuan had no choice but to return to his own tent. Just as he reached the entrance, a retainer came up and whispered in his ear. Li Yingyuan's expression changed, and he hurried inside. A person stood with his back to him. The light inside was dim, but the burly figure was enough for him to recognize who it was.

"Father, when did you get back? Did you manage to buy the horses? They could be just the supplement we need." A look of joy appeared on Li Yingyuan's face.

The man slowly turned around. It was Li Jiucheng. He looked somewhat older than at the beginning of the year, his face still full of ferocity. When he spoke, he seemed rather desolate. "I came back alone. There are no horses. The silver for buying horses... is all gone."

Li Yingyuan was so shocked his mouth hung open. The Ministry of Works had given twenty thousand taels for horse purchases. After Sun Yuanhua gave a cut to Zhou Yanru and the Ministry of Works, the amount received was thirteen thousand taels. Ten thousand taels were given to Li Jiucheng. It was originally a lucrative assignment, and earning two or three thousand taels was possible. But now, with not a single horse and the silver gone, there was absolutely no way to account for it.

Li Jiucheng lowered his head and sighed. "I took over ten men with me to Xuanfu. We spent quite a bit on the road. By the time we arrived, only five thousand taels were left. Unexpectedly, Zeng Sier and the others made off with the remaining funds."

Li Yingyuan knew that Li Jiucheng was proficient in all vices—eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring. He must have been unable to resist along the way and squandered the money. Seeing no way to settle the account, the others simply stole the silver and fled. Where could one even find those people now? For a moment, Li Yingyuan felt the world spinning. All the hardships of the journey flashed before his eyes. He sat down heavily on the ground and finally said after a long while, "So be it. Going to Liaozhen is a dead end anyway. Let it all end."

Li Jiucheng kicked him and cursed, "What's with that look? If being a soldier has come to this, then just quit. Why throw your life away? With the skills of us father and son, taking some retainers to become bandits, we won't have to worry about food. Many of the soldiers who deserted from Shanxi Town last year have become big bandit chiefs now. Free and unrestrained, robbing whenever they want, much more comfortable than being in this battalion."

"Wouldn't that be rebellion?"

"Rebellion can still end in amnesty. What would you get if you died? Once we get amnesty later, this horse-buying matter will be forgotten."

Li Yingyuan's gaze was still somewhat dull. In his heart, bandits were, after all, not respectable. Even now, he somewhat disdained becoming that kind of person. A silence fell over the dim tent for a moment.

At that moment, a clamor arose outside the tent, and the commotion grew louder and louder. Li Jiucheng put on his leather hat and wrapped a scarf around his face. The two of them went out together to the vicinity of the camp gate, which was already surrounded by a dense crowd of Dengzhou soldiers.

Amid the noise, Kong Youde's voice could be faintly heard, seemingly explaining something. Li Yingyuan pushed through the crowd with his retainers and saw a group of locals shoving a soldier. The leader was a man in rich attire, speaking with a local accent. "How dare you steal my family's chicken? Do you know whose chicken this is? Look at your own wretched appearance. Do you have the fate to eat chicken?"

Kong Youde said respectfully, "So it's someone from the household of Minister Wang. My subordinates didn't know and have caused great offense. I will compensate you immediately..."

"Compensate? What could a poor Liao soldier like you possibly offer as compensation? My master's students and old friends fill the realm. If people knew our household goods were robbed by you, how could we hold our heads up in public? If you don't give me satisfaction today, I will certainly report this to His Lordship Wang. Have you heard of the Wang family of Dezhou? My master's great-grandfather served as Minister of War, his late grandfather was a Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue, his late father was a Huaiyang Military Defense Circuit, and my master himself rose to Director of the Ministry of Personnel. Just wait for the censors to impeach you, all the way until you're thrown into the imperial prison."

He then said humbly, "Then, sir, state your terms, and I will certainly comply."

The man tilted his head back. Relying on the Wang family's power, he was accustomed to throwing his weight around locally and had always looked down on soldiers. A smug expression appeared on his face. "Seeing that you're somewhat sensible, I'll let you off this once. Just have this soldier paraded through the camp with an arrow through his ear. I want to watch from the side. After the parade, kowtow three times to me, your lord, and return everything you looted here today. Then this matter will be considered settled."

The surrounding Liao soldiers erupted. Kong Youde loudly tried to suppress them. Li Yingyuan panted heavily, staring unblinkingly at that Wang family servant. Beside him, Li Jiucheng's eyes flickered with a cold light.

After shouting the soldiers down, Kong Youde called over his retainers. They pinned the soldier to the ground. Kong Youde personally held his head and pierced the soldier's ear with an arrow. The soldier screamed in pain.

The Wang family servant and his entourage laughed in unison, shouting, "Parade through the camp! Parade through the camp!"

Kong Youde's retainers were about to drag the soldier for the parade, but not a single one of the surrounding Liao soldiers made way. No matter how Kong Youde berated them, they just stood there coldly. Seeing these soldiers dare to spoil the fun, the servant walked over, pointed at them, and cursed loudly, "You lousy soldiers, you dare put on airs before your lord? If you don't get the hell out of the way, I'll have my master submit a memorial to have you all executed! You dogs, aren't you just going to Dalinghe to die..."

A thud sounded. A flash of a blade, and the servant's head flew several steps away. The surroundings instantly fell silent. Everyone froze for a moment, until the headless corpse collapsed with a thump, revealing Li Jiucheng's ferocious face. The followers who had come with the servant were all terrified speechless. They had never imagined these soldiers would actually dare to kill.

Li Yingyuan let out a great shout, "Dare to bully us Liao people! Kill these bastards!" He took the lead and hacked at those followers.

The surrounding Dengzhou soldiers, once they saw blood, could no longer contain their years of pent-up rage. They frantically drew their swords and blades, hacking at the locals in the center together.

The scene was chaos. Kong Youde's voice was completely drowned out by the frenzied shouts. He saw blood spraying in the middle and knew this matter had blown up. In his panic, his mind went somewhat blank. By the time he came to his senses, a waist saber was already pressed against his neck. Kong Youde turned to look at the person holding the blade and murmured, "Li Jiucheng, what do you think you're doing?" (To be continued!!!)