Chapter 23: The Sages

Cao Er, who had just finished dressing under Song Man's care, heard the recitation from outside; his brows immediately knitted together, and little Song Man, seeing this, timidly stepped back half a pace.

Cao Er ignored her, quickly exited the courtyard gate, and saw Li You by the dry riverbed, teaching a group of children from Yu Zhengchun, drawing with tree branches on the ground...

"Song Baishun, I know you can write a few characters, but did I ask you to write characters now? Didn't I say to write strokes first... strokes, which are the 'horizontal, vertical, pie, na, dot...' I just mentioned."

"Little Xiao Juzi writes better, stroke by stroke, straight and flat... He is only five years old; aren't you ashamed?"

Cao Er's brows furrowed even more severely; he was an old-fashioned, stubborn traditionalist who hated any new changes in Longmen Stronghold, and this uncertain change now made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

He already regretted protecting Li You that day; he should have exposed his status as a Xiucai and let him die sooner.

But secretly instigating Tian Si had backfired; now the atmosphere among the three leaders was extremely subtle, and he could not figure out what medicine Wu Zhuge was selling in his gourd.

These past few days he still ignored Li You, waiting to see Wu Zhuge's next attitude before making a decision, but in just three or five days, Cao Er discovered that Li You had gained immense respect among the mine workers and salt slaves of Nanshan.

This did not make him wary; what made him most wary was that some bandits, including his own direct guards Chen Shu, Mu Qianjun, and Xu Lifang, had become respectful and fearful toward him, especially Wa Qingyun and Liu Longjin.

"Kingly Qi?"

Cao Er murmured; after Yingzong, Ming thought became extremely diverse, scholars mostly studied a wide mix of subjects, and by the end of Chongzhen with constant natural disasters, the I Ching and the Tang Dynasty's "Wang Qi Jing" became extremely popular, and the "Wang Qi Shu" was highly regarded even by commoners.

In fact, Li You's ability to earn simultaneous respect and love from both bandits and slaves was not only due to the title of "Divine Doctor" and his acts of saving lives, but more so belonged to "charisma."

A modern person accustomed to equality, arriving in a feudal era thick with elaborate rituals and dross, would be strange if his every move did not stand out.

This was also the reason Wa Qingyun felt Li You was very different upon first seeing him.

The moment the thought of "Kingly Qi" flashed through Cao Er's mind, his heart gave a "thud," his expression changed, he immediately beckoned Shi Jiu'en beside him to whisper two sentences, cast a sinister glance at Li You, and returned to the courtyard.

By evening, after the mine workers and bandits finished their meal, they all settled into their ground nests.

A ground nest was a dwelling dug as a pit in the sandy soil to serve as a bed, covered with grass leaves for sleeping; "migratory bandits" during military campaigns rarely set up camps, sleeping mostly in ground nests.

Li You ran over to check on Wu Dading; perhaps having heard him teaching earlier, a mine worker named Song Jinyin had asked him to tell a story.

Li You could not refuse; ancient night life was indeed too dull, so he tried telling a segment of "Jianghu Haokan Zhuan," but this "Jianghu Haokan Zhuan" differed greatly from the later "Water Margin,"

yet it still received cheers from the crowd; even many bandits gathered around, listening with great interest.

As night fell, the dry riverbed slowly returned to its usual calm.

But by this time, the cold made it difficult to sleep.

The climate of the Yuan and Ming dynasties was extremely abnormal; "The Harvard History of China" states: "Except for the relatively warm years of Wanli 17 and 18 (1589, 1590), the entire late Ming period was very cold."

In the winter between Wanli 25 and 26 (1597, 1598), the Jesuit Matteo Ricci (MaeoRi), upon returning south along the Grand Canal after his first entry into the capital, found that "once winter arrived, the rivers of North China all froze, making navigation impossible; sometimes carriages could even run on the ice."

Such low temperatures persisted until the end of the Ming Dynasty, with the temperatures from Chongzhen 2 to 16 (1629–1643) being unprecedentedly low.

The final decline period of the Ming Dynasty was the magnificent "Abyss of Chongzhen" (1637–1643); the seven-year great drought was merely its beginning."

With such bizarre weather, one can imagine how painful it was for the mine workers and salt slaves sleeping in ground nests.

In this wind-sheltered area, the mine workers were divided into four large nests.

One was the Xiang clan from the local Xiangjia Village, one was the Dang clan from Dangjiaping, one was scattered, single mine workers and salt slaves of various surnames who had been captured, and the last small nest consisted of the seven people Li Qinxiang followed, including Wu Dading.

Gao Conglong, resting his head on a square stone, shook the chains on his feet and couldn't help but complain: "Sigh, in the blink of an eye it's been five days; how much longer must we endure...

At this rate, we'll eventually be exhausted to death, frozen to death, or starved to death... What a bunch of unlucky ghosts; following you is just bad luck. Poor my younger brother, only seventeen this year, hasn't even consecrated his Golden Cudgel yet!"

Gao Conghu was greatly embarrassed, his eyes flashing with anger as he roared: "Ah, brother, what are you saying!"

He had injured his hand a couple of days ago and was stitched up by Li You; since the injury was not serious, he had long been sent back by Huang Mao to work.

Guan Hongxin sat up and said: "Donkey, if I had my way, when those chains were untied that day, we should have rushed up and *** that Wu Datou, taking him down with us; dying would have been worth it.

A bunch of cowards and weaklings; even when given a sign, you didn't move. Don't tell me you actually believe that Xiucai's nonsense? That Wu Datou is his grandmother's chosen son of heaven? He's just scum!"

"Cowards? What a load of bullshit!"

Gao Conglong also sat up and cursed: "I've been fighting since Chongzhen 3; in Chongzhen 9, I captured 'Chuang Wang's' key general Huang Youtian in Zhouzhi... I've seen every storm and wave; why, when there's even a sliver of a chance to live, should I go seeking death again?

My life is precious; at worst, let's all just become carefree bandits! Look at how eloquently that Li Xianggong spoke that day, yet now isn't he still stuck here living well? Damn it, he doesn't even have to work!"

Wang Tingxing said quietly: "Heh, Gao Wazi, you talk about deserting so proudly?"

"You, Qi Sun, aren't you one too?" Zhou Yin, who usually spoke little, seemed to have been struck at a sore spot first and twisted his head to retort.

Gao Conglong happily made faces and winked.

Wang Tingxing snorted lightly and was too lazy to say more.

The younger Gao Conghu pulled on Gao Conglong beside him and said: "Brother, sit down... I feel that Li Xianggong is really different; perhaps he can lead Longmen Stronghold to conquer the world!"

"Conquer the world? What are you thinking? He's just good with his mouth, scaring Wu Datou; for these past few days, no one has seen him appointed as a dog-headed military advisor, so what's the point of running over here to be an accountant?

This iron mine and salt field are golden nuggets; the backers behind them, their background must be bigger than the sky. Would Wu Datou really dare to rebel?

Being an official-bandit is so comfortable! When the world is chaotic, we rob back and forth with no one controlling us; when the world is good, we transform overnight, aiming for amnesty, at least avoiding becoming a Lianzong or a Police Inspector Si!"

Gao Conglong was somewhat angry at his younger brother's naive nature and sternly lectured: "Wait until Wu Datou completely forgets him; he will end up just like us!"

"Heh, this Xiucai has been sifted; he's a lump of fat oil. To become a Xiucai, his family background must be very thick," Guan Hongxin suddenly chuckled.

Gao Conghu "zeng" jumped up; he was clearly truly angered: "Brother, Brother Guan, how can you curse Li Xianggong like that? We were saved by him! And my hand was treated by Li Xianggong!"

The previously joyful atmosphere instantly vanished; everyone suddenly fell silent like ducks with their throats pinched, mouths open, faces red, unable to speak, after all, Li You had truly saved them from Wu Zhuge.

But they had no bad intentions; they were just foul-mouthed; struck by Conghu like that, they truly seemed like ungrateful villains.

"Recently, get closer to that nest of people over there, the Xiang and Dang families; I feel they are making a move... perhaps following them we can still fight for a chance..."

Li Qinxiang, the most steady in character, suddenly spoke, and everyone fell silent.

After speaking, he thought of Li You and furrowed his brows; to stand firm in this bandit den, one needs real skills, roots...

But this Li Xianggong is truly impossible for him to fathom; young as he is, he already holds the Xiucai title, and his eloquence is remarkable; not only does he understand Liu Ren divination arts, but his surgical skills are also superb.

Most terrifying is that he possesses martial arts honed for at least a decade; if this were a Xiucai of forty or fifty, perhaps Li Qinxiang could understand, but Li You is now only nineteen!

Did he start learning various skills from the womb? Or is he a sage born with innate knowledge?