Chapter 298: Caution Keeps the Ship Safe for Ten Thousand Years

When Fan Zhi came from the Eastern Capital Luoyang, he brought eight clerks with him.

Among them, the clerk surnamed Zhao had been in poor health ever since passing Qinzhou, and in the end he died outside the city of Lanzhou.

Another clerk, surnamed Zhang, slipped and fell from a snowy mountain while crossing Hongchi Ridge, dying an unnatural death along with his horse.

The remaining one, a clerk surnamed Sun who died in Liangzhou and was his fellow townsman, had also fallen ill because he could not adapt to the local climate, and the illness dragged on for a long time without improving.

As a scholar, when Fan Zhi studied the various classics, he had in fact also learned a little from medical books along the way.

For everyday headaches and fevers, he often prescribed for himself, so he knew very well in his heart that the clerk surnamed Sun had indeed died of a long illness that could not be cured.

Zhang Zhao had indeed intended to kill two of the court's envoys and then pin the blame on the Wenmo of Lanzhou; once he held that leverage, it would be convenient for him to deal with those who were not behaving themselves.

But Zhang Zhao had still underestimated the terrors of long-distance travel in this age, and overestimated the era's level of medical care; there was no need for him to lift a finger at all.

A journey that in later ages would have been an easy trip could, at this time, carry off people whose bodies were not so robust.

From outside the post-house gate came waves of delighted shouts. Fan Zhi gently pushed the door open and looked out; it turned out that some samples had already been delivered of the fifty jin of Hexi white sugar that Zhang Zhao had promised.

And the one making all the noise in front of him was none other than the bookboy who had grown up with him since childhood.

Although their mission this time was to deliver an imperial edict, that still did not stop them from using a dozen or so mules and horses to carry some goods from the Central Plains to Hexi to sell.

Of course, Fan Zhi himself could not possibly do such things; it was all handled by his bookboy and the clerks below him, while he only waited to take his share of the profit.

The bookboy walked quickly up to Fan Zhi. He was called a bookboy, but in fact there was not much difference in their ages; he too was already past twenty.

"Eldest Young Lord, the goods we brought from the Eastern Capital have all been bought up at a high price by a group of Sogdian merchants. On this trip we stand to make at least two hundred strings of cash in profit."

For Fan Zhi, two hundred strings was already quite a lot. Although he had passed the jinshi examination, in the Five Dynasties a civil official with a jinshi degree was not such an extraordinary status, and it was not his turn to extract much money.

Fan Zhi's father had risen as high as Defense Administrative Assistant of Zhengzhou, but the Fan family was not one that prospered through military means; in such chaotic times, being able to protect themselves was already good enough, and they had not managed to amass much money or grain.

So when he heard that they had already earned two hundred strings, he was still quite delighted.

Just then, a minor clerk serving in the Bureau of Military Affairs also walked over to Fan Zhi's side. He eagerly opened a small white packet, then carefully and cautiously picked out a single grain of crystallized sugar.

Fan Zhi was drawn in by the clerk's cautious movements. The corner of his mouth twitched. Was it not just sugar? Was there any need to handle it as though it were gold, pearls, jade, and treasure?

But very soon, Fan Zhi was stunned by the sugar before his eyes. Perhaps one could say that this could no longer be called sugar at all.

Almost every grain was the size of a Shanrong bean, white and glittering, as transparent as a hailstone.

The Bureau of Military Affairs clerk picked up one grain with chopsticks and placed it into the tea bowl in front of Fan Zhi.

"Inspector Fan, please look. This is the Hexi sugar sent over by Minister of Works Zhang. The Hexi people call this rock sugar. This servant just tasted a grain. It is as sweet as honey and pure white in texture. I do not know how the Hexi people refine this sugar. Truly a product of the highest grade!"

This thing that looked like hail was sugar? Fan Zhi was greatly astonished. He hastily reached out, picked up the spoon, and fished the rock sugar out of the tea bowl, which held no water, then put it into his mouth and bit down lightly.

In an instant, a refreshing sweetness burst open in his mouth. Fan Zhi could not help grinding it carefully with his teeth. Crunch, crunch, it went, just like chewing on a piece of ice.

It looked like ice, and it crunched like ice when bitten; no wonder it was called rock sugar.

Before long, his whole mouth had turned sweet, the sweetness extremely rich and long-lasting, sweeter than a whole small handful of ordinary sugar. Fan Zhi narrowed his eyes in enjoyment.

"Its form is like ice, its color snow-white, its sweetness like honey. The name rock sugar is well deserved! It seems this Hexi rock sugar will soon sweep the realm."

The bookboy beside him and the Bureau of Military Affairs clerk also grinned. If such rock sugar were transported back to the Eastern Capital Luoyang, selling it for more than three strings per jin would not be expensive, would it?

In that case, on average each man could earn at least another one hundred and fifty strings or more.

With a large sum of money and goods coming in, the bookboy and the other minor clerks formed an excellent impression of Zhang Zhao, whom they had met once outside the Xuanwu Gate, and the Bureau of Military Affairs clerk did not stint on his praise.

"Inspector Fan, ever since we left the Eastern Capital, whether in the Western Capital Chang'an, or Fengxiang, Qinzhou, not to mention Lanzhou and Weizhou, everywhere we have looked, only Liangzhou is a paradise beyond this world!"

The bookboy was also overjoyed, and having followed Fan Zhi for so many years, always reading and seeing the world, he could be considered to have gained some insight.

He praised with feeling: "Eldest Young Lord, this servant observes that Minister of Works Zhang is generous and open-handed, and can treat worthy men with courtesy. He is truly a lord of men! The people of Hexi have good days ahead!"

Fan Zhi also could not help smiling and nodding. This Minister of Works Zhang of the Guiyi Army truly gave one such a feeling, and Fan Zhi's feeling was even stronger than the bookboy's.

If one were to find a figure in the present dynasty for comparison, this Minister of Works Zhang was remarkably similar to the Sovereign of the Ancestral Temple before he entered the Eastern Capital Luoyang.

He valued people over wealth, honored trust and kept his word, acted decisively, and was extremely good at seizing the right moment.

Suddenly! This Angel Fan, who had been called a child prodigy since youth, abruptly stood up from his chair, his face instantly turning deathly pale.

The bookboy and the Bureau of Military Affairs clerk both stared at him in astonishment and were about to come over and ask, when Fan Zhi suddenly waved his hand at them.

"I am fine. You may go. Keep the receipts safe, and we will take them with us when we return from Shazhou!"

Before the words had even faded, Fan Zhi pushed the door open directly and began pacing back and forth in the post-house courtyard.

The reason Fan Zhi could lose his composure was that he had suddenly thought of a particularly terrifying possibility.

Judging from Jia Yanchang's pointers, and from what he had learned of this Minister of Works Zhang of Liangzhou's deeds,

if those three clerks accompanying him had not died of illness on the road for various reasons, then would this Minister of Works Zhang, who appeared benevolent on the outside but was in fact rather ruthless within, have arranged a little accident for them?

In any case, judging from Minister of Works Zhang's attitude toward Lanzhou this time, he must have had his eye on the Wenmo of Lanzhou for a long time already.

Fan Zhi then thought further: to go from Liangzhou to Shazhou and Dunhuang, one had to pass through the territory of the Ganzhou Uyghurs. He tried hard to recall the information he had gathered from all sides before setting out.

The Ganzhou Uyghurs and the Guiyi Army were mortal enemies. The two sides bore a deep blood feud, and a very important reason the Ganzhou Uyghurs could keep the Guiyi Army pinned down was the Central Plains court's favoritism.

Because unlike the Guiyi Army, which had once proclaimed its own Son of Heaven and had also once reached into Liangzhou, making the Central Plains dynasties quite wary of it,

the Ganzhou Uyghurs put on an appearance of "I am obedient, I only want to be a loyal house slave," and could be called deferential to the utmost.

The frequency and humility of their tribute missions to the Central Plains dynasties could be called the greatest among the several powers of Hexi.

In their memorials they addressed the emperor of the Central Plains dynasty as "maternal uncle" and styled themselves as "nephew." Compared with them, the Guiyi Army could be said to have a record full of misdeeds.

Seen this way, compared with the Wenmo of Lanzhou, the Ganzhou Uyghurs were the true mortal threat to the Guiyi Army.

Then could this Minister of Works Zhang be entertaining the idea of borrowing his head to strike at the Ganzhou Uyghurs? Just as he now intended to use the fact that the Wenmo of Lanzhou had once attacked an envoy mission as an excuse to erupt in fury.

Better to believe it exists than to believe it does not!

Fan Zhi raised his head and looked at the sky. Great flakes of snow were falling. He brushed the snow from his shoulders and sighed quietly to himself.

Better to spend the Lantern Festival here in Liangzhou city, and then go on to Dunhuang. It would also be a chance to observe this Minister of Works Zhang up close. If he truly proved to be a man of outstanding ability, there would be no harm in drawing him in as an outside ally.

For Fan Zhi, born into an official family and having passed the jinshi examination, it was naturally impossible that he would spend his whole life as a mere inspector in the Ministry of Revenue; he too had ambitions.

Although military men held power at this time, high-ranking civil officials such as Academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs and Chief Minister of the Secretariat-Chancellery still held no low status, and lived far better than ordinary people.

Fan Zhi saw this clearly as well. For a man like him, there was only one road into the central government: submit a memorial to the Son of Heaven or to one of the Son of Heaven's close ministers, display his talents, or win their favor.

And to hold a secure position in the central government, military backing was indispensable. But befriending the military governors of Henan and Hebei carried too much risk. Only a governor like Minister of Works Zhang, who was in effect an external vassal, was perfectly suited.

Swish—a soft sound. Though it was only a single soft sound, to the ears of the five or six bandits clambering over the earthen wall, it was like the shriek of a life-taking demon.

The bandit chief, his head wrapped in a crooked headscarf, didn't even grunt. His neck snapped backward, and a long arrow drove deep into his left temple.

The arrowhead pierced through bone. Red and white kept gushing from the wound. He was dead beyond any doubt.

With their leader's sudden death, the bandits on the earthen wall howled in terror and scrambled back over the outside, dropping like dumplings into a pot.

But then came the crack of a wooden clapper, and five or six more arrows shot in from every direction. The few who had jumped a step too slow lost their lives in an instant.

Yet the bandits who managed to leap out fared no better. Creak—the post station's main gate suddenly swung open, and a dozen armored soldiers in lamellar armor, bearing long pikes and bows, charged out.

The bandits at the foot of the wall hadn't even caught their breath before pike tips and white-feathered arrows were upon them. Seven or eight more were struck down on the spot.

Luo Yu'er sat astride a fine horse. Gripping his long pike, he used the horse's momentum to thrust forward, and a fleeing bandit was skewered straight onto the pike shaft.

Then, as casually as tossing aside a worn sack, he flung the bandit's corpse into the Yin River to his left.

"Whose fine warriors are these? Why insult us so? To send such filthy city rats and foxes to scale walls and bore holes—do you look down on the fine warriors of Hexi?"

As he spoke, an armored soldier behind Luo Yu'er drove a great banner bearing the words "Guiyi Army" into the ground with force.

The surrounding armored soldiers roared in unison. Two shield-bearers took the front, four long pikes behind them, and more than ten archers stood tall with bows drawn and arrows nocked. Luo Yu'er, man and horse both armored, struck a charging posture.

With no more than twenty men, they had formed a small-scale battle array combining infantry and cavalry, prepared for both close and distant combat!

"Fine warriors indeed! You do have some skill. I am a deputy general under the Acting Grand Guardian and Prefect of Fenzhou. Have your officer send out three hundred strings of cash, and I guarantee your safety!"

After Luo Yu'er and his men formed their array, armored soldiers in sturdy armor and steady gait indeed appeared on the opposite bank of the Yin River. It seemed these were the true backers of the bandits.

"This deputy general speaks without reason. If you suited my temperament, I would gladly offer not just three hundred strings, but five hundred, to befriend such good men. But extorting us like this—do you take the Guiyi Army for no one?"

With that, Luo Yu'er waved his hand. An armored soldier beside him let out a furious shout, drew a javelin from his back, took a running start, and hurled it across like a thunderbolt.

Here, where the Yin River had been channeled into the city, it was not particularly wide, but it was still well over a hundred paces.

Yet the soldier's javelin easily crossed the Yin River, flying straight at the deputy general speaking on the opposite bank.

The deputy general was an old campaigner. The moment he heard the sound, he knew the javelin was fast and true. He threw himself into a rolling tumble and narrowly dodged it.

He looked back. The javelin shaft had sunk more than two feet into the earth. Had it struck him, no armor would have helped!

"Fine skill! Real strength!" The dirt-covered deputy general neither flew into a rage nor showed lingering fear. Instead, he laughed with a nervous twitch.

"Hey there, fine warrior! My master, Grand Guardian An, has rendered great service in enthroning the new emperor. If you come over to us, gold, silver, and pretty girls—as much as you want!"

Grand Guardian An was this deputy general's commander—An Shenxin, who had just been appointed Acting Grand Guardian and Prefect of Fenzhou by Shi Jingtang.

Luo Yu'er laughed loudly. "Deputy General, if you would come with me to Hexi, my Minister of Works Zhang has no shortage of gold, silver, or pretty girls either!"

The two sides traded barbs across the Yin River for a while. This was already the tenth day that Pei Yuan and Luo Yu'er's party had remained in Luoyang.

In those ten days, Luo Yu'er and his men had killed no fewer than thirty bandits attempting to enter the post station.

They had also sent off several waves of men like this deputy general of the yabing guards under An Shenxin.

The difference was that against the bandits they struck to kill, while against the yabing guards of the various military governors they acted as they did now—displaying their strength on one hand while stalling on the other.

"Please convey word to Grand Guardian An: we are yabing guards under Minister of Works Zhang of Hexi. Grand Guardian An is the new emperor's trusted confidant, and all under heaven know his tiger-like might. In days to come, we shall surely grow close!"

After sparring with words for a long while, Luo Yu'er had not yielded an inch. Finally he cupped his hands in salute and made the statement he and Pei Yuan had agreed upon long before.

"Very well! Then I shall return and report to the Grand Guardian. If Minister of Works Zhang is so inclined, we shall naturally grow close!"

The deputy general considered for a moment. The twenty men across the river all wore armor and clearly were skilled with bow and horse. There was no advantage to be gained now. Better to do them a favor and leave—after all, Luoyang had plenty of other places to plunder.

"Then my thanks to the Deputy General! When the time comes, we shall have to trouble the Deputy General to convey word and make introductions."

Luo Yu'er had given the man full face. A mere deputy general—roughly equivalent to a squad general in the Guiyi Army—had no standing whatsoever to introduce Zhang Zhao to An Shenxin.

A few traces of a smile finally appeared on the deputy general's face. The two sides exchanged a few more pleasantries. By then, the bandits who had been lucky enough to survive had crossed the Yin River and gathered beside the deputy general.

A flash of cruelty crossed the deputy general's face. Then he waved his hand, and the armored soldiers behind him struck out with blade and spear together, slaughtering the bandits who had barely managed to escape.

"Lads, it's getting dark today. Let's go to these bandits' homes and sleep with their women!"

With that, the yabing guards under An Shenxin pulled out the beast tails hanging behind their armor, wiped the blood from their blades, and walked off with savage grins.

Since they weren't going to attack the men in the post station across the way, they couldn't leave empty-handed. These bandits had helped them plunder for days, and their homes surely held plenty of hidden loot. Now was the time to go collect it.

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