Chapter 24: Ge Duo's Lair

The north wind rolls over the ground and snaps the white grass; in the lands of the Hu, snow flies as early as the eighth month.

Zhang Zhao softly recited a line to himself, though if Cen Jiazhou had not gone to Luntai but instead taken a trip to the Qilian Mountains, he would have discovered that here, heavy snow could fall even in the sixth month.

It was now the ninth month, a time when in Shouchang and Dunhuang in Shazhou one could still get by wearing only a side-slit shirt, yet here at the foot of the Qilian Mountains the cold wind was already howling.

Zhang Zhao wore a long hemp robe, the kind sewn from two layers of hemp cloth, stuffed inside with scraps of hemp, silk floss, silkworm cocoons, kapok fibers, reed fluff, animal hair, and all manner of odds and ends, then finally pressed down firm.

This was the common folk's winter cold-resistant clothing in the Tang dynasty, and to be honest, it was not very warm.

Pressing all that stuffing down firm was a real test of skill; often one person's work could barely keep in the warmth, while another's could freeze a man to death.

And even when it was well made, there would often be a spot where the stuffing was thin; when the cold wind blew, it made a person shiver uncontrollably.

At the same time, to strengthen the effect, one also had to tie cords around the chest, the waist, and the thighs and calves of both legs — both ugly and troublesome.

Yet it was in just such a situation, with the cold wind blowing in the ninth month, that Zhang Zhao found the first golden finger he could open.

Cotton!

That he could think of cotton was connected to his own experience. Before transmigrating, Zhang Zhao was from Xi'an, but because of his grandfather, he had been born in the southeast of Chongqing in the later Republic, and only moved back to Shaanxi with his family after starting university.

The southeast of Chongqing was a relatively poor region. In his childhood, his padded clothes were basically all made by his family. His mother was a Tujia woman who, besides working as a locally hired teacher, was skilled at ginning and weaving cotton, and his father was a cotton fluffer known far and wide.

Because he was often teased by classmates in childhood for his father being a cotton fluffer, for a long stretch of time, whenever he heard the cry of "Fluffing cotton, hey! Fluffing cotton, yo!" he would develop PTSD, specifically manifesting as a hollow feeling in his chest, discomfort all over, and awkwardly twisting his fingers.

So cotton and cotton fluffing ran through his entire childhood. For a time, his father even hoped Zhang Zhao would inherit the craft, which scared him into studying hard, and in one push he got into a key high school in the provincial capital, which finally made his father drop the idea.

But even so, due to his family's influence and more than ten years of hearing and seeing it daily, Zhang Zhao still understood a fair amount about cotton ginning and cotton fluffing techniques.

Cotton ginning and cotton fluffing seemed like a trade that could not be put on the table in the later Republic, but in the Tang dynasty, it was proper cutting-edge high technology, all right?

"Young lord, up above is Ge Duo's main stronghold. Most of the people in the stronghold are Ge Duo's kinsmen!"

Qiong Re Duojin pointed to a small path hidden among the mountains and said. The main stronghold of Ge Duo was indeed extraordinarily well hidden; no wonder the Shazhou patrol cavalry and yabing guards could not find it.

To reach this mountain stronghold hidden in the vast Qilian Mountains, one actually had to first cross a stretch of desert Gobi more than one kilometer across.

After leaving the Gobi, the surrounding scenery all looked the same. Qiong Re Duojin and Bai Congxin both relied on small stone piles placed on the ground to confirm their direction; people who did not know what information these little stone piles represented would easily get lost.

Since they were going to ambush people, they could not bring too many men; too many would certainly arouse suspicion.

Therefore Qi Xiahu, Zhang Zhong, and the others waited five or six li away with fifty or sixty men, and would only advance after the stronghold sent up wolf smoke.

And by Zhang Zhao's side, he brought only Yin Yaozi, two able-bodied men under Qi Xiahu with decent archery, plus Bai Congxin, Qiong Re Duojin, and a few Uyghurs.

"How many in the stronghold can fight? How far is it from here into the main stronghold?"

Zhang Zhao did not wear his mingguang armor today, because it was too conspicuous and too heavy. What he now wore was a Tibetan lamellar armor covering only the upper body, with the long hemp robe over it. This way the defense was still decent, and it did not stand out.

"Not many can fight. Ge Duo claims five hundred brothers to the outside world, but in reality only a bit over a hundred can fight, and most of those have already submitted to the young lord. As for the rest, they are called brothers under him, but in truth they are all Ge Duo's serfs!"

Bai Congxin said to Zhang Zhao in a low voice, his expression slightly awkward. The two sides were still in the early stage of having just pledged allegiance; he did not entirely trust Zhang Zhao, and Zhang Zhao certainly did not entirely trust him either.

"You and Ge Duo are both of Bai royal lineage. In this stronghold, are there still any of your kinsmen?"

Bai Congxin shook his head. "I am a descendant of the Prince of Changhua Commandery, while Ge Duo is a descendant of the commandery prince's elder brother. Two hundred years ago we might have been one family, but now, how could we still be considered kinsmen? My parents died early and I have not yet taken a wife. My only younger brother also died long ago in battle against the Canwei people."

Zhang Zhao then turned his gaze to Qiong Re Duojin. This was also why he wanted to keep the two men by his side — the two had no time to get their stories straight. As long as he kept questioning them, if anyone dared to lie, the flaws would certainly be exposed.

"Ge Duo was unwilling to part with wealth and goods, and would not keep my family in the mountain stronghold, so I also have no kinsmen in the stronghold.

However, Ge Duo's three sons have all come of age and are quite brave and strong. I can first lure them over, and the young lord can burst out and kill them. Remove these three, and this stronghold will be the young lord's."

Passing through one small path after another, deceiving one hidden sentry after another, a crude mountain stronghold appeared before Zhang Zhao's eyes.

Calling it a stronghold, it was in fact extremely crude. The stronghold was situated on a sheltered high-mountain grassland. Scattered yaks and a flock of long-haired goats wandered around the stronghold, and herders wearing tattered leather robes lay prostrate by the roadside with some awe, not daring to raise their heads to look at the few people climbing the mountain.

Zhang Zhao finally understood why Bai Congxin said the people in this stronghold were all Ge Duo's herding serfs, because if they were truly horse bandits under Ge Duo, they would never be dressed so ragged, nor would their eyes looking at Bai Congxin and the others be so fearful.

'Squelch!' Zhang Zhao stepped on a soft, squishy lump. Looking down, it was actually a damn half-dried cow patty!

This broken stronghold was like one big garbage heap. That dog of a Ge Duo could not even be bothered to tidy the place up.

"White Horse Boy, where's my father? Didn't you say there were pretty Han women? Why don't I see any?"

Before Zhang Zhao could scrape the cow dung off his shoe, a big fat man wearing a snow leopard skin over his clothes and a Tibetan fox fur scarf around his neck came thudding down from a large stone building in the center of the stronghold.

The big fat man shouted Bai Congxin's nickname without any restraint while constantly peering around behind them.

Here, "father" did not mean elder brother, but rather father. In the Tang dynasty, both father and elder brother could be called "father"; it was a form of respect rather than a specific form of address.

"The Han women are down at the foot of the mountain carrying fine cotton cloth. Those few with tender skin have all been saved for the eldest young master. The Tarkhan has also brought some good things for the second and third young masters. Let the eldest young master have them all come out, and we can go down the mountain together to welcome the Tarkhan!"

Qiong Re Duojin bent at the waist, his face carrying a bit of ingratiation as he looked at the fat man before him, just like a steward. This set of movements was extremely practiced, and looked as if it had been honed over many years.

"You dog slave! Since the Han women have arrived, why didn't you hurry and bring one up the mountain, and still make me go receive them myself? If those Han women are all as dark as your sister, I'll give your sister to my groom!"

Zhang Zhao lowered his head and twitched the corner of his mouth. He clearly saw Qiong Re Duojin's lowered hand suddenly clench the hem of his clothes.

This assist was truly right on target! Zhang Zhao had originally been somewhat worried that Bai Congxin and Qiong Re Duojin's hearts were not resolute in pledging allegiance, but now it seemed there was no problem.

Ge Duo's eldest son verbally insulting Bai Congxin and Qiong Re Duojin was a small matter. This was feudal society, and the Qilian Mountains were still in a period of slavery; a master merely verbally insulting his subordinates was commonplace.

The key point was that Ge Duo's eldest son, judging from his expression and words, had absolutely no talent whatsoever!

One had to understand that what Bai Congxin and the others did was the horse bandit trade. Once Ge Duo died, there would be no successor. If they did not quickly find a powerful backer to rely on, their death was probably not far off. As for why they did not set themselves up as leaders — ha! Being a leader was probably not so easy either.

'Thud! Thud! Thud!' Just as the big fat man was looking thoroughly displeased, from the stone building he had just run down from, two little fat men of different appearance but similar bearing also ran down.

The older one looked around eighteen or nineteen, with a face full of fierce flesh; the younger one was probably only fourteen or fifteen. Behind the two of them followed several servants with lowered heads and submissive expressions.

"Second young master, third young master, you've all come! Good! Good!" Qiong Re Duojin, who had been heavy-hearted the whole way while helping Zhang Zhao deceive the stronghold gates, suddenly broke into a delighted smile and said "good" repeatedly.

The several fat men frowned and looked at Qiong Re Duojin in confusion. They were all somewhat baffled.

"Good? You dog slave! What's so good? Have you gone mad?"

The fat man addressed as second young master wore a face full of reluctance. The old man's airs were getting bigger and bigger, and he still wanted people to go welcome him. What was there to welcome? In such cold weather, even sitting by the fire wrapped in a leather robe felt freezing; who would willingly go down the mountain?

"Brother Duojin says 'good' because you've all happened to come, saving me the trouble of finding you one by one!"

The second young master froze for a moment, and then he saw a hengdao saber flashing with cold light, thrusting straight at him.

What did this mean? Someone wants to kill me?

"Aiya! It hurts!" The snow-bright blade tip had already stabbed into his belly before the second young master reacted from his dazed state. He let out a miserable cry and looked at his elder brother. "Elder brother, it hurts!"

"Who are you? How dare you stab my younger brother to death? My elder brother is Ge Duo Tagan!"

The blade came lightning-fast; in the flash of a spark, the second fat brother was already twitching on the ground. The sudden turn of events stunned the eldest fat brother too — he had probably never seen such a scene. It had always been him cursing others; he had never seen anyone dare to draw a blade and stab them.

Swish! The hengdao saber swept across again. Of the five fingers on the eldest fat brother's right hand, which he had stretched out to point at Zhang Zhao, four were instantly gone.

Zhang Zhao drew back the hengdao saber and thrust again. The blood-red blade easily pierced through the leather robe on the eldest fat brother's body. He shoved hard, and the eldest fat brother, unable to withstand the force, toppled to the ground, blood gushing wildly from his mouth, his hand, and his belly all at once.

The remaining third brother was a handsome, refined-looking youth. Though somewhat fat as well, he was far more pleasant to look at than his two elder brothers.

Seeing his two tyrannical elder brothers suddenly gone before his eyes, the third brother let out a wailing shriek, fell backward onto his rear, and scrambled frantically backward on all fours.

The ground was covered in cow dung and thin mud, mixed with ice shards and extremely slippery. The third brother was like a hamster on a running wheel — he thrashed about for a long while but never managed to get far.

Zhang Zhao hesitated. This one looked like a middle-schooler! He had no hesitation about killing adults — if you don't kill me, then I have to kill you. But when it came to a minor, the moral conscience the Republic in his past life had instilled in him still restrained him at the bottom line.

Zhang Zhao hesitated, but others did not. Qiong Re Duojin beside him, seeing that Zhang Zhao had not gone after the fleeing boy, cast him a rather grateful glance. This Tibetan slave-soldier thought Zhang Zhao had deliberately left the whelp for him to vent his anger on.

Thud! Thud! Qiong Re Duojin rushed forward with his black iron hammer and brought it down on the third brother, who was crawling frantically on the ground, pounding him in a frenzy until red and white splattered everywhere.

"You dog-wretch! You're the dog-slave! Your brother's a dog-slave, your mother's a dog-slave, your whole family are dog-slaves! My little sister is going to marry a great hero — it's your sister who'll follow a horse-groom and become a lowly hag!"

Shouting as he hammered, Qiong Re Duojin fell into a frenzy. After finishing off the third brother, he charged over and smashed the head of the eldest brother — who had not yet died and was still struggling on the ground — into a pulped watermelon with one blow of the hammer.

"I am Duojin of the Qiong Re family of the Langmi Stong-sde! Ge Duo is dead! Men of every household, come out and follow me! We'll take Ge Duo's wealth and submit to the Zhang family's Second Young Lord!"

It was as if time itself paused for a moment. The faces of the poor herder-slaves, who had been watching from a distance with blank expressions as they beat Ge Duo's three sons to death, suddenly came alive.

"Let's go! Follow Big Brother Duojin and split the gold and silver!" Someone shouted, and the herder-slaves who had just been cowering timidly surged out of their shacks howling, as if summoned by some call.

Zhang Zhao glanced over. The one charging fastest seemed to be the very herder-slave who had just been kneeling by the roadside.

Blue-black wolf-smoke rose within the stockade. Several horse-bandits armed with weapons rushed out of the stone tower of the main stronghold, but the moment they saw dozens upon dozens of herder-slaves below, already in revolt with wooden clubs and dung forks, they hastily slipped back inside, apparently intending to hold out in the stone tower.

Zhang Zhao suddenly felt it was all rather pointless. He had deliberately put on a suit of Tibetan lamellar armor and frozen half to death on the way, expecting he would surely have to fight a great slaughter in this mountain stronghold. Instead, after smoothly hammering Ge Duo's two sons to death, the herder-slaves in the stockade could finish off Ge Duo's whole family by themselves.

"Second Young Lord, there are still a dozen or so of Ge Duo's trusted men at the key pass below the mountain. Let's go kill them now, and leave this place to Qiong Re Duojin. I guarantee not a chicken or dog of Ge Duo's household will be left alive!"

Bai Congxin assumed Zhang Zhao was uneasy because Ge Duo's wives, concubines, and daughters were still in the stone tower. In such matters, one naturally had to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots.

Zhang Zhao was briefly taken aback, then shook his head without a word. He simply drew his hengdao saber and walked toward the mountainside. If not a chicken or dog was to be left, so be it — that was the rule of this age. If he, Zhang Zhao, had been finished off by Ge Duo in Qi Xiahhu's mountain stronghold, nothing would have been left of the people around him either.

Southwest of Shouchang, a cavalry force of roughly one regiment was resting. The soldiers all wore simple padded robes, brown leather caps on their heads, light oxhide armor on their bodies, and hemp cloth tied over their faces to block the wind and sand.

Each man had two horses — one he rode himself, and the other laden with ring-linked armor of uniform make.

"Fourteenth Young Lord! The stronghold of the Qi family's descendants should be somewhere in the mountains within a few li of here. The traitor from the Sixth Squad, Jiazi Unit, Third Regiment, whom we caught outside Shouchang, said that Lady Sanniang was delivered by them into the Qi family stronghold — but this place is not easy to find."

A man dressed in a hemp robe like a herder came down from a hilltop and reported to a man wearing a luo-futou headwrap.

"Ma Yaozi, you'd best have your lads move faster. Second Young Lord Luo is waiting for you to earn merit!"

The Fourteenth Young Lord glared hard at Ma Yaozi, who had come down from the hill, and deliberately stressed the words "earn merit."

Ma Yaozi's expression changed. Without even pausing for water, he hastily mounted his horse again.

If only Lady Cao Sanniang had been abducted, it might not have been so bad — but Zhang Zhong, who had been living in Shouchang all along, had also disappeared.

Even worse, the young lord whom Zhang Zhong had been protecting had also disappeared.

Worse still, the ringleaders who had abducted Lady Cao Sanniang — Zhai Tongjin, captain of the Sixth Squad, Jiazi Unit, Third Regiment of the Governor's Front yabing guards, and two others — had died in that young lord's cave.

And the greatest misfortune of all was that his master, Escort Officer of the Military Governor and Shouchang Garrison Commander Second Young Lord Luo Xianda's elder brother — Right Horse-and-Foot Chief Escort Officer of the Governor's Front and Commander of the Yunmen Army, Luo Tongda — had once been Chief Minister in the main hall of the White-Clad Son of Heaven. One could even say the three Luo brothers had all been rapidly promoted during the Zhang Chengfeng period.

Now that Second Young Lord Zhang had vanished, and Lady Cao Sanniang had vanished too, anyone with half a brain would easily connect it to the Luo brothers. Therefore, the urgent task was not merely to find Lady Cao Sanniang — they also had to find the Second Young Lord!

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