Chapter 588: United in Purpose, Together in a Grand Endeavor

A fine book...

Li Xiaofeng had once again returned to this stretch of earthen slope below Mount Jiuzong in Zhaoling Village.

Three immaculately tended grave mounds stood before him, each with a stone tablet at its head.

The middle one was inscribed: "Tomb of the late uncle, Li Gong, taboo name Gao."

The left one was carved: "Tomb of the late elder brother, Li Sanlang."

The right one was carved: "Tomb of my elder sister, Lady Li Daniang, maiden name Xiu."

Li Hanshi stood before Li Xiaofeng, gazing at the towering Mount Jiuzong as she spoke slowly.

"Back then, his mother left without a word. His father searched everywhere but could not find her. Then war broke out again in Guanzhong, and his father was conscripted and vanished without a trace.

The eldest boy thus became an orphan, herding cattle and reaping wheat for the villagers, growing up eating the food of a hundred households.

I remember when I first met him, he took my hand and boasted proudly that he could read, and that it was his mother who had taught him.

He said how his mother cooked such fine meals, how gentle and virtuous she was, and that she had promised to come back and take him to Shu to live a life of wealth. It was enough to bring one to tears!"

The Li Hao family was also a distinguished one. His great-grandfather was Li Shen of the Wuzong reign — the very Li Shen who wrote "Hoeing the grain under the midday sun." His grandfather Li Qianyou had served as Prefect of Jianzhou. His father Li Gao had also served as Administrative Assistant of the Rongguan Military Command. They were a family of officials.

His mother, then, was naturally a well-bred young lady, able to read and write. It seems that after remarrying, though she had wed a farmer, she still kept up the child's education.

As she spoke, tears welled in Li Hanshi's eyes. "A child abandoned by his mother at seven, yet he bore no resentment. When he went south as a sworn follower to fight for his life, he still did not forget to tell me to tend well the graves of his uncle, his sister, and his elder brother."

Li Xiaofeng listened, tears streaming down his face. He turned, knelt respectfully, and kowtowed three times to Li Hanshi.

"Uncle and aunt, for twenty years you have kept my grandfather's grave, so that his descendants would never lack a place to pay their respects. Your kindness is higher than heaven, your righteousness deeper than the sea.

Grandmother in Shu also yearns for Guanzhong day and night, yet because of a certain great man, she has suppressed it until now. My family owes you far too much."

When people do wrong, their first instinct is to cover it up so others will not know. Those who can truly face their mistakes and bravely bear the consequences are few.

But the longer one conceals something, the more severe the consequences once it erupts, and so one often tries even harder to cover it up. Li Xiaofeng's grandmother was exactly like this.

Once the lid was on, she dared not lift it again, for it would deal a severe blow to the Li family's reputation.

And so for all these years, she had never returned to Guanzhong to look for the son she had abandoned.

And to speak truly, the Li family's eldest son had no real connection to Li Xiaofeng's grandfather Li Gao. His mother had abandoned him and run off. It would have been understandable if he were full of resentment.

Yet he had still tended the graves of Li Xiaofeng's grandfather, uncle, and aunt so well. That was truly rare.

Li Xiaofeng's grandmother had abandoned her husband and child in Guanzhong in the fourth year of Zhenming of the Liang (918). This year was the first year of Shaoming (946). That was not merely twenty-some years — it was nearly thirty!

Thirty years as if a single day — "not easy" could never begin to describe it.

"Aunt, if you do not mind, when your nephew returns from the Eastern Capital, come with me to Shu.

Your nephew sees that my young brother already has the bearing of a great general at such a tender age. If he came to Shu and was properly cultivated, he would surely become a pillar of the state."

Li Hanshi's heart stirred, but she shook her head. "Your uncle serves in the army and already holds the rank of Chengxin Lang. We are doing well in the Great Zhou. There is no need to go to Shu."

Li Xiaofeng's heart pounded all the harder. He looked at Li Hanshi before him.

Though this aunt was a farm woman, she was clearly literate. Combined with what she had said earlier about uncle boasting to her of his literacy, it was very likely uncle who had taught her.

Able to read, understanding of principle, bold and spirited, and not blinded by wealth — she would have no trouble managing the household of a wealthy family as its matriarch.

And that younger brother of his had shown the talent of a commander at a young age; with cultivation he would be even more extraordinary.

As for the uncle, though they had never met, Li Xiaofeng knew very well that a military rank officer of the Zhou state was absolutely an elite warrior with real skills.

His father in Shu had already risen to the rank of Chief Minister, his imperial favor secure. What he lacked was a foothold in the military. If he could bring the uncle's family to Shu, it would repay the kindness and strengthen the Li family's power in Shu.

Thinking of this, Li Xiaofeng gritted his teeth. "In the past, my family wronged uncle. I beg aunt to tell me where uncle is. This matter must be asked of uncle himself.

If on one hand I can repay uncle and aunt's kindness, and on the other help grandmother untie the knot in her heart, would that not be the best of both worlds?"

While Li Xiaofeng was making other plans, not far away Zhang Xiaobao had also run into an acquaintance.

It was a man dressed in a commoner's coarse hemp short coat, holding a farming tool, barefoot, walking along the path with mud all over his feet.

Zhang Xiaobao's eyes suddenly went wide, because this man, indistinguishable from any farmer of Zhaoling Village, was the younger brother of his sister-in-law — Wang Jin, Wang Erlang.

Wang Erlang saw Zhang Xiaobao, whose leg was somewhat impaired, and froze too. His lips quivered, but before he could speak, Zhang Xiaobao had already recovered.

"The concealment skills of the Brocade Guard have reached such a level?"

This Wang Erlang had been sharp as a tack since childhood. Though he had slacked off in martial training and could not go to the battlefield, he had a gift for getting on familiar terms with people of all walks of life.

Later he was selected by the Brocade Guard, and his movements became mysterious. It was said he had already risen to the rank of Centurion. To see him again, he was in such a guise.

"Your leg?" Wang Jin pointed at Zhang Xiaobao's right leg, his eyes full of worry.

He knew what a proud man Zhang Xiaobao was. Now that he had become a cripple, and perhaps had even been discharged from the army, what a blow this must be to his fellow townsman of great ambition!

Zhang Xiaobao smiled faintly. Ten days ago, if someone had asked him this, he would have been furious and ashamed.

But now, he had come to take things more lightly. He did not answer Wang Jin's question, but instead pointed over at Li Xiaofeng.

"Who is that man? Does he hold high status in Shu?"

Zhang Xiaobao knew that anyone who could make an elite Centurion like Wang Jin disguise himself as a farmer and personally stake out the place could not be some small fry.

Wang Jin hesitated. Zhang Xiaobao grinned, pulled a silver fish pouch from his bosom, then took out a seal from the pouch and waved it before Wang Jin's eyes.

"I am a Wude Lang of the thirty-sixth rank, Vice Commissioner of the Qiji Court, ordered to serve rotation duty at Jinshan Palace. I may know anything short of top secret."

This was in fact why Zhang Xiaobao did not care about a single office. He already held the rank of Wude Lang, placing him among the vice commissioners of the various bureaus.

Zhang Zhou's rank officers were far more precious than those of the Northern Song. Wude Lang was already a very advanced rank, after which one could apply for rotation duty in the imperial palace and become one of the Emperor's inner circle.

"Stop waving it. I need to see it clearly. Who knows if you're really Zhang Xiaobao."

Wang Jin laughed merrily as he took Zhang Xiaobao's golden Wude Lang seal and examined it over and over, his eyes full of envy.

It was only then that Zhang Xiaobao noticed Wang Jin was not merely dressed as a farmer — he really had been farming nearby.

His fingers were covered with calluses, his legs bore marks of leech bites, and even when he reached for the seal, he set down his hoe with great care, perfectly displaying a farmer's regard for his tools.

Zhang Xiaobao's eyes suddenly grew hot. In corners he could not see, those who did not sweep across battlefields like the wind were also giving their all.

"This is the eldest son of Li Hao, Vice Director of the Chancellery, Minister of Revenue, and Chief Minister of Shu. The Brocade Guard has had eyes on him since he left Chengdu.

This father and son are men of Guanzhong, and both harbor a desire to turn toward the Central Plains. The Guard's Chief Commander, the Marquis of Shicheng, hopes to establish contact with them."

After Wang Jin verified Zhang Xiaobao's golden seal, he said in a low voice, and Zhang Xiaobao nodded, recalling what the Sage had said to him.

'Meng Shu is a steamed bun with thin skin and a large filling. Once the natural defenses on all sides are broken through, and the great army appears on the thousand-li fertile plains of western Sichuan, the great enterprise can be accomplished.

And once western Sichuan is taken, Wanzhou and Kuizhou (Fengjie in Chongqing) in eastern Sichuan cannot hold out on their own. At that point, build tower ships and train a naval force at the seat of the Ningjiang Military Governor in Kuizhou.

As in the old story of the Sui destroying the Southern Chen, let the naval force sail downriver from Kuizhou and take Jiangling, Yuezhou, Ezhou, and Jiangzhou (Jiujiang) in succession, and the lands south of the river can be settled.'

In Zhang Xiaobao's heart, an immature idea suddenly took shape. He looked at Wang Jin and spoke slowly.

"This man has only just acknowledged his kin. He may well want to bring his uncle's family back to Shu with him. His uncle Li Dalang serves at Zhangwu Garrison and even holds the rank of Chengxin Lang, though the grade is rather low, and he may not be entirely reliable.

If we can find a reliable man to follow them back, then as long as the Li father and son want great wealth and rank, we might seize the chance to get someone into the Meng Shu army."

Wang Jin, being a man who worked in intelligence after all, immediately sensed something wrong. He let out a soft hiss and looked at Zhang Xiaobao.

"Zhang Erlang, you're not thinking of going to Shu yourself, are you?"

Zhang Xiaobao chuckled, and for the first time a natural smile spread across his face. He felt he had found his direction again. He tapped his somewhat lame leg with his left hand, rather moved.

"My family were originally herding slaves in Yangfei Valley. When my grandmother died, we had no money even to bury her, and people despised us as Wenmo.

Now my whole family has not only returned to our ancestral bloodline but also gained such wealth and honor — all of it is the Sage's grace.

I have not yet repaid that grace, and my body is already maimed. If I do not think of some way to do something, my heart will never be at ease!"

For the first time, Wang Jin cupped his hands to Zhang Xiaobao with full respect. "You, Zhang Erlang, are loyal and righteous — I am not your equal! If you mean to do this, we must first give him a scare."

Having said that, Wang Jin picked up the farm tools and walked toward Li Xiaofeng, who had just begun to win the trust of his uncle's wife, Lady Li née Han.

When he reached Li Xiaofeng's side, Wang Jin set down the farm tools while pulling up wild grass by the roadside and wiping the mud from his calves.

"The Supervising Secretary certainly is at leisure! But I have been keeping you company tilling the fields until my back aches. Why not come with me for a walk? Perhaps it would be better for everyone if we dealt with each other openly."

Li Xiaofeng was stunned. He nearly jumped to his feet. How could an utterly ordinary-looking farmer know his identity?

His mouth opened to deny it, but Wang Jin had already produced a small jade pendant from his clothing and handed it to Li Xiaofeng.

"This object was lost from the Supervising Secretary's household, was it not? I was fortunate enough to pick it up. It should be returned to its rightful owner."

Li Xiaofeng took it. The jade pendant was carved with the character "Zhen" — it was exactly the pendant made for his eldest son Li Dezhen's hundredth-day celebration.

There had originally been ten of them, but one had been lost the previous year and never found. Several servants had even been flogged over it. He had never imagined it would end up in the hands of this Guanzhong farmer.

"Who might you be, sir?" Cold sweat poured down Li Xiaofeng's back, and his soul was nearly frightened out of him. He hurriedly bowed to the farmer and asked.

Wang Jin smiled enigmatically, then took from his bosom a piece of brocade embroidered with a flying tiger and gave it a light flick.

Li Xiaofeng was even more shocked. What the hell — these were actually the Brocade Guard of the Zhou state.

Good heavens, his household must have been infiltrated until it leaked like a sieve. It seemed he had thought himself well hidden, but he had probably been marked before he even set out.

And so, under the astonished gaze of his uncle's wife, Lady Li née Han, Li Xiaofeng straightened his back and bowed once more to the farmer.

"In that case, please pass word on my behalf. Say that the envoy of the Great Shu state, Supervising Secretary Li Xiaofeng, requests an audience with the Great Zhou's Defender of Chang'an, Governor of Jingzhao, Duke of Qiao, Lord Cao Yuanzhong, and the Grand Envoy of the Guanzhong Circuit and Commander-in-Chief West of the Passes, the Duke of Yin Commandery of Dunhuang."