Chapter 127: You've Stirred Up Big Trouble

"This time we've bitten into a hard bone."

In Yellow Valley, South Township of Xi County, Deng Ye tallied the bandits' casualties. Though he had immediately called for retreat upon realizing the enemy's strength was wrong, several men had still been caught by the charging riders, and quite a few more had been wounded by crossbow bolts from those soldiers disguised as merchants.

Deng Ye examined their wounds, then pulled out a bolt, cleaned it, and studied it. Not only was the ironwork surprisingly fine, but he could even make out the inscription of the Privy Treasury.

That, combined with the enemy's excellent armor and the terrifying sight of a whole troop of cavalry charging out all at once—

"These are no longer the Wuguan garrison or the Right Corps commandery troops. I fear they are the Northern Army," Deng Ye remarked. His men looked at one another, baffled.

"What's the Northern Army?"

"The Northern Army is the imperial host that garrisons Chang'an and protects the Emperor."

Deng Ye was one of the rare educated men among the bandits. He had been a Confucian scholar, but traveling to Chang'an for study required money. So Deng Ye, with his clever mind, hit upon the idea of counterfeiting coins. One large coin of the "Bu Huang Qian" type cost barely half a tael of copper and tin to make, yet was worth over a thousand cash — a profit of ten thousandfold, enough to make a man risk life and limb.

The result was that the very first time they tried to spend their forged coins, they were detected by a Master of Fates of the Five Majesties who had come down to inspect. Deng Ye had no choice but to flee to the hills. With the band of men he had gathered for counterfeiting, he took up an even more ten-thousandfold-profitable trade: robbery.

He had set out to study the sages' books, yet unwittingly ended up following the script of Robber Zhi. Deng Ye himself found it absurd, but after doing it once, he was hooked. Being a mountain king was far more interesting than drudging through the classics.

Over the course of a year and more, he gradually became the chief of all the bandit gangs in South Township and Yellow Valley Township of Xi County. People called him "Commander Deng."

Deng Ye's robberies differed from others' — he was very strategic. He had long since sent men to negotiate with the township Bailiff, giving him ten percent of the plunder and promising: "I only rob outsiders, never locals."

He also made a pact with the County Magistrate, who had sent troops to exterminate him several times only to flee the forest in disarray: "I only rob merchants and commoners, never officials." He also gave the county twenty percent of the plunder.

The biggest protection payment went to the most powerful local armed force — the Commandant of Wuguan to the north. Deng Ye sent men to guarantee: "We only rob those leaving the pass, never those entering it."

Why? Because Wuguan collected taxes. If travelers and merchants were robbed by Deng Ye of everything but their ox-nose shorts before entering the pass, how could they pay the customs duties that profited the garrison soldiers?

This left Deng Ye with only forty percent of the take. He had one final principle: he only robbed goods, never killed. People in this age were zealous about vengeance; one moment of failing to hold back your blade could earn you several, even dozens of blood-feud enemies. Not worth it.

Through this all-around tact and smooth maneuvering, Deng Ye had held this vital thoroughfare for over a year without a single failure. His band swelled to over a hundred men, and every local power tolerated his existence. Yet today, he had been caught off guard.

Deng Ye stared at the crossbow bolt before him, deeply troubled. "The imperial host leaves the great bandits of Jingzhou in the south unassailed, yet deliberately disguises itself as a merchant convoy to trap a petty bandit like me. Could the Wuguan Commandant have gone back on his word?"

As he pondered, men outside the forest cave began shouting: "Yu Kuang is back!"

Yu Kuang was precisely the man who had been intercepted by the Rapid Cavalry camp — a minor headman under Deng Ye. The bruises on his face were still fresh. The moment Deng Ye saw him, he demanded: "How were you able to return?"

If Yu Kuang claimed he had escaped on his own, Deng Ye would immediately seize and kill him — because that was simply impossible.

Fortunately, Yu Kuang told the truth: the government troops had released him.

Deng Ye was extremely wary. "Why release you? Could they be tailing you, to strike at me in the mountains?"

Yu Kuang hurriedly said: "After they interrogated me for a while, I couldn't endure the beating and told them everything I should — including the Commander's place of origin and every deed we've done. Only for our gathering place, I gave them the one on the outskirts of South Township. If they search the hills, the Commander will notice at once. But that Grand Master Diwu, after hearing of the Commander's exploits, was quite appreciative and actually let me go."

"I deliberately circled the mountains several times and made sure no one was following before I came back."

What Yu Kuang said was all true. His wife and daughter were still in Deng Ye's hands; he would not dare act rashly.

But Deng Ye was still uneasy. He immediately ordered provisions packed and moved to another hideout deeper in the mountains. His followers were mostly mountain folk of Xi County, or small farmers bankrupted by the property tax. They moved through the mountains as if on level ground, at a speed the government troops could never match.

Only once they were safe did Deng Ye have Yu Kuang explain: what exactly did this "Diwu Lun" want?

"Grand Master Diwu claims to be an imperial envoy bearing a staff of authority. The men escorting him are the elite of the Northern Army's Rapid Cavalry camp — a full five hundred! They cross mountains and rivers as if on level ground, and once exterminated a Qiang rebellion. Us bandits are even less of a challenge. If Grand Master Diwu wished, he could also request reinforcements from court and send thousands, even tens of thousands to scour the mountains."

Deng Ye was frightened. He had really stirred up a hornet's nest this time. Though relying on deep mountains and dense forests, he did not fear commandery troops and garrison soldiers, once the enemy's numbers were great enough, even three bolt-holes would not suffice. He could not truly become a roving bandit.

"That is the public grievance. And Grand Master Diwu said that last year we also robbed his family's merchant convoy — that is a private grudge."

"But considering that the Commander did not harm his clansmen's lives, Grand Master Diwu is also unwilling to exterminate us completely. And having heard that the Commander has secret pacts with Wuguan, the county, and the township, Grand Master Diwu said he is willing to give the Commander a chance."

Deng Ye was very eager to resolve this enmity: "What chance?"

Could it be that he wanted a cut of the profits?

Yu Kuang said: "From now on, when you see the banner of the Diwu clan's merchant convoy, avoid it and do not disturb it. You must also ensure its safe passage out of the valleys of Xi County."

"If you can do this, Grand Master Diwu will not hold past offenses against you. And when the time is right, he will speak favorably on our behalf — a general amnesty and recruitment, perhaps even an official post for the Commander!"

Yu Kuang made another trip, this time delivering a letter from Deng Ye. In the letter, Deng Ye was utterly obsequious, kowtowing again and again, saying he had eyes but failed to recognize the jade of Mount Jing and had provoked the Diwu clan's merchant convoy. For the goods he had robbed, he was willing to repay threefold — no, fivefold!

From now on, whenever he saw the banner of Diwu Lun or the Diwu clan, he would immediately send men to protect them from afar and drive off any ignorant, petty bandits.

Diwu Lun did not even want compensation. He simply sent Yu Kuang back into the mountains. The deal was considered settled.

Cheng Zhong of the Rapid Cavalry camp, unaware of the inside story, thought Diwu Lun had simply changed his mind. He said: "Earlier, the Baron of Kenü said we should first eliminate the Xi County bandits, lest they cause trouble when we escort the imperial prince back."

"But now you release them instead of executing them — why?"

Diwu Lun laughed. "So, Major Cheng is willing to lead troops into the mountains?"

Cheng Zhong immediately began hemming and hawing, saying they were the elite Northern Army — an ox-slaughtering blade could not be used on a chicken. Moreover, they were on a mission and had no need to waste time on bandits. He even offered a suggestion: "Why not summon the County Magistrate and reprimand him, ordering them to wipe out this band of bandits before our return?"

Diwu Lun shook his head. Relying on commandery and county local troops was even less reliable. They turned a blind eye to Deng Ye's force and even took a share of the spoils. Officials and bandits in league was the national condition of the Great Xin — it was hardly unique to the new Qin heartland.

When they returned in half a month, the commandery and county might indeed produce a hundred heads — but they could be from some other small bandit gang, or even travelers and refugees. There was no point.

What was more, even if they wiped out Deng Ye, other bandits would spring up like hemp to fill his place. The imperial prince and such were minor matters; his family's merchant convoys still would not be safe traveling through. Since the other party was open to terms, it was better to build a favorable connection. This Deng Ye truly had both courage and cunning — he might prove useful someday.

Of course, amnesty and recruitment were impossible, because last year Wang Mang had issued an order demanding that commanderies and counties not tolerate bandits and prioritize extermination. At a moment like this, who would be so stuffed as to openly defy the Emperor's will?

Diwu Lun merely set his face sternly: "Since Major Cheng missed the chance to lure the enemy and annihilate them, and now can produce no better plan to ensure the bandits are purged, we can only stabilize them for now. Do you want to wait until our return journey, when the bandits emerge again, and let the imperial prince be alarmed? If anything untoward befalls the prince, you and I could not atone for it with a hundred deaths!"

This dressing-down, delivered with full official airs, shut Cheng Zhong up obediently. The party continued along the river valley road and encountered no more bandits. A few days later, they emerged from the valley and reached the flat, open expanse of the Nanyang Basin.

The mountains were left behind them, and the world suddenly opened wide, allowing Diwu Lun, long accustomed to the great plains of the Guanzhong region, to breathe a sigh of relief.

Yet the surrounding scenery was hardly reassuring. It should have been the busy farming season of the third month, but spring rains had been scarce. The overwintered wheat in the fields drooped listlessly, and the millet, only recently sown, struggled to sprout and push through the parched earth. He had heard that the Front Corps commandery had already suffered disasters last year; this year was likely worse.

To compound the misery, Diwu Lun and his party often saw on the road many commandery and county soldiers escorting able-bodied men tied with ropes, heading south. The sight made Zheng Tong and Zang Nu, who had once suffered the same treatment, clench their fists.

Diwu Lun sent someone to inquire and learned that Fei Xing, the Governor of Jingzhou, was conscripting troops, probably to choose an opportune moment to advance and exterminate the Greenwood bandits in Jiangxia.

"External wars done, now internal wars — no end to it."

Diwu Lun glanced at the indifferent Rapid Cavalry camp behind him and thought to himself: "If the Governor of Jingzhou coordinates the troops of the entire commandery and still fails to wipe them out, will it then be the Northern Army's turn to act?"

When that time came, with the Guanzhong region left empty, that might be his opportunity — he just did not know when that day would appear. So in this fight, Diwu Lun sided with Greenwood! They had to win.

Right — he had heard that the head of the Greenwood Army was also called Wang Kuang, the same name as Wang Mang's son by a concubine.

Seeing that night was about to fall, and no matter how they hurried they could not reach Wancheng, they lodged for the night in West Township.

Their lodgings were a post station, outwardly resembling a fortified compound, over a hundred paces square east to west and north to south, specifically for receiving imperial envoys and officials. But Diwu Lun's party this time was somewhat large — over three hundred men in total — which immediately threw the small post station into a flurry as they hastily cooked rice and fed the horses for the guests from the capital.

Diwu Lun's quarters were on the second floor of the post station. He discovered that this was the best lodging he'd had since leaving Chang'an — even better than in the county seat. The bed was no longer rock-hard. When he asked, he learned that the local township Bailiff had reserved it especially for imperial envoys and high officials, and it had to be swept clean every day.

Diwu Lun asked a post soldier, "What is the township Bailiff's name?"

"A local man. Surname Ren, given name Guang, courtesy name Boqing."

Just as they were speaking, a quarrel broke out at the stables outside the post station. The arrogant voice of a Yueqi Battalion soldier rang out: "You dare feed the envoy's and the Major's fine horses this withered grass? Were you not told to prepare carefully hulled millet and beans?"

"Honored officer, there truly is no millet or beans left." This was the post station Bailiff, his voice full of entreaty.

Another Yueqi Battalion soldier's voice sounded: "Who says there isn't? I went to the storehouse by the kitchen and looked — isn't there still a great deal piled up? Were you planning to embezzle it?"

The old post Bailiff's voice was pitiful: "All the good millet has already been supplied to you honored officers. Only some coarse rice and old beans remain — those were kept for the people, for us to eat. Last year this area suffered a disaster, and this month's post station grain still hasn't been issued from the county granary. We can barely feed ourselves as it is…"

wWW ▲tt kan ▲￠O

"Insolence! Do you know who has come? The filial and righteous Diwu Lang, famed throughout Guanzhong — Grand Master of Remonstrance at a full two thousand shi, Marquis Who Subdues the Slaves! He is a Heaven-borne envoy of the court bearing the imperial tally. Are his horses not more precious than the likes of you? It matters not if you starve, but how can you let the Heaven-borne envoy's horses go hungry? Fetch it at once! Fetch plenty! The Grand Master has said: whatever his horse eats, our horses shall eat too."

Diwu Lun was furious. Seeing these Yueqi Battalion fellows truly treating him as one of their own, brazenly exploiting his name to bully others and ruin his reputation, Diwu Lun could not sit still. He immediately took his personal retainers downstairs and rounded the corner to the stables, only to see that the old post soldier, because he had firmly refused, had already been thrown to the ground by the Yueqi Battalion men, who had lashed him fiercely several times with a horsewhip, splitting his skin open on the spot.

"Stop!"

Before Diwu Lun could stride over and shout them down, someone else spoke first — and he was closer. In a few steps he rushed forward and seized the hand of the Yueqi Battalion soldier who was raising the whip to strike again.

The Yueqi Battalion soldier turned his head and saw a local clerk past forty, his plain black official robes simple yet strikingly crisp and fresh, a half-seal hanging at his waist, his long beard reaching his chest, his manner mild — but his hand clamped down like iron pincers.

The gang of Yueqi Battalion soldiers making trouble flew into a rage: "And who are you? Do you mean to rebel?"

This local clerk, however, showed a smile. He released his grip and cupped his hands in salute to the crowd: "I am the township Bailiff. This post Bailiff did not speak clearly enough and has offended the royal troops."

"Still, there is reason in his words. The post station's millet and beans, apart from feeding people, must also be kept for the relay horses used in urgent military dispatches. Please do not make things hard for him. Whatever is used today, I shall provide it all from my own stores. I will have it sent over at once."

The Yueqi Battalion men looked at one another, then laughed smugly. Pushing their advantage, they said: "If you have wine and meat, send some of that along too. Otherwise this matter is not settled today, and we shall certainly charge you with disrespecting superior officers!"

"Wine and meat, of course, there is that too." The local clerk sent someone to fetch them at once, while he himself helped the post Bailiff to his feet, urging him not to throw his life away over a trifle — it was hardly the first or second time in Nanyang that court envoys and their soldiers had beaten a man to death and simply swaggered off.

Diwu Lun, seeing the moment was about right, stopped the man who was going to fetch the millet, beans, wine, and meat, and strolled out himself. The several Yueqi Battalion men instantly fell silent.

After sweeping his gaze over the crowd, Diwu Lun circled to the edge of the stables, found his own horse, and patted it, saying: "Many thanks for the Yueqi Battalion soldiers' kind intentions. My horse will eat hay today. The millet and beans — leave those for Major Cheng's mount."

Cheng Zhong had long since heard the commotion and come over to watch the excitement. Because he had not spotted Diwu Lun in the shadow of the courtyard wall, he had not bothered to rein in his men's troublemaking, merely standing by with folded arms, watching with a grin. They had long grown accustomed to such things. No one had been killed, so what great matter was it?

Seeing Diwu Lun speak to this point, Cheng Zhong grew somewhat embarrassed. Only then did he put on a stern face and come out to berate his soldiers, ordering them to withdraw at once and stop stirring up trouble.

Diwu Lun sighed and said: "Major Cheng, the next time your soldiers demand millet, beans, wine, and meat, kindly refrain from using my name. Diwu Lun cannot bear it. Of course, the soldiers have endured much hardship along the road. Once we reach Wancheng, I shall play host and treat the men to their fill. Until then, please do not make things difficult for the local clerks and bailiffs."

The Yueqi Battalion men cheered, and Cheng Zhong mumbled his assent, promising that upon their return he would certainly "severely punish" those few rank-and-file soldiers. The day's incident was thus considered settled. They were not his own troops, so Diwu Lun could not press them too hard — a full-blown mutiny leaving Grand Master Diwu killed by "bandits" was entirely possible. Yet neither could he sit by and watch them run amok. The balance had to be carefully kept.

Zheng Tong exchanged a look with Zang Nu: "They have no idea how ruthless the General is, or how harsh the military law of the Boar-Rush Braves is. Had this happened back in New Qinzhong, these men would have long since been beheaded by the General!"

Only then did the mature-looking township Bailiff come over to pay his respects to Diwu Lun. Bowing low with cupped hands, he said: "Ren Guang, Bailiff of West Township, pays homage to the worthy Grand Master. My deepest thanks for the Grand Master's rescue!"