Chapter 766: No Southern Tang, Only the Great Tang

"Da Ling" is an elegant honorific for a County Magistrate. As magistrate of Jiangdu County — the primary county attached to the seat of Jiangdu Prefecture, the Eastern Capital of the Southern Tang — Magistrate Sun was called Sun Daling, and it was a title he fully deserved.

But today, Sun Daling wished he had never come. He was waiting here on the second floor only because he wanted to see the Zhou family matter through to a conclusion and then collect the hundred mu of land promised to him.

As a younger cousin of Sun Sheng, Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, Sun Daling was not of high rank, but his mind was clear, and he had some political insight.

He knew that he had now fallen into a terrifying trap — a trap that could very well burn him to ashes.

A silver-white flying-fish robe! Everyone knew that the Great Zhou now ruling the Central Plains was of the Metal virtue, which honored white. And this flying-fish robe was a high-grade ceremonial garment created by the Zhou Son of Heaven, second only to the python robe.

The Southern Tang ruler Li Jing himself had four python robes. The ruler's younger brother, Royal Younger Brother Li Jingsui, and Prince of Yan Li Jingda each had one python robe and one flying-fish robe.

Apart from them, no other Southern Tang official had ever received a flying-fish robe. It was said that even in the Zhou state, not many had been granted one.

For that fellow standing over there to possess such a flying-fish robe — and a silver-white one at that — he could not be some minor figure. He might well be a founding meritorious official of the Zhou state.

Sun Daling guessed correctly. Guo Zhao was a descendant of Guo Ziyi, Prince of Fenyang. His silver-white flying-fish robe had been granted to him when he submitted to Zhang Zhao as soon as Zhang Zhao first entered Guanzhong, and later, together with Li Shouling, Duke of Longxi Commandery and descendant of the Li Tang line, welcomed Zhang Zhao into Guanzhong.

Although Guo Zhao had no battle achievements, he could indeed be counted as a founding meritorious official.

Since Guo Zhao's status was not low, the fact that he still looked as if he were courting death meant he was gambling on two things.

First, if he, Sun Daling, went over there, then he would inevitably be unable to stand by and watch a meritorious official of the suzerain state be beaten to death by an angry mob. He would have no choice but to disperse the crowd.

And that was exactly what the other side most wanted to see: a Zhou man openly killing Southern Tang commoners on Southern Tang soil, and spouting arrogant words besides — while he, a Southern Tang official, dared not detain the Zhou man, but instead dispersed the commoners.

The blow to morale and popular sentiment would be enormous. The Southern Tang's legal and popular legitimacy was already very weak; with a display like this, everyone would see that even the ruler and the court feared the Zhou people. Would they still have the will to resist?

If he did not appear, and sat by while this Zhou meritorious official was beaten to death by Southern Tang commoners, then the Zhou army would have every reason to march south and demand an accounting.

Everyone knew that the Zhou Duke of Wei, Li Cunhui, had not even stayed in Xuzhou, but had stationed his troops directly at Huaiyin Prefecture.

If the Zhou army were provoked into marching south, never mind whether the Southern Tang court could survive — he, Sun Daling, would certainly be beheaded by the court and the ruler as the chief culprit before the Zhou army arrived, his head delivered to the Zhou people, and very likely his entire family's lives would be thrown in as well.

The atmosphere in the tavern was extraordinarily frozen. The clamor outside sounded as if it came from another world.

The county lieutenant, the constables, and the arrest officers of the Jiangdu County yamen all stared at Sun Daling, who was sweating like a fountain, unsure whether to pity Sun Daling or to pity themselves for likely being dragged down with him.

After a long while, just as the uproar before the Zhou family ancestral hall reached a fever pitch and the noise grew louder and louder, Sun Daling raised his sleeve and wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

Enough, enough! This Southern Tang state was not surnamed Sun, and he was not the Royal Younger Brother. If he did not go out now and sat by while that Zhou man in the flying-fish robe was beaten to death, then he might well end up buried with his entire family.

If he went out now, although it would damage the Southern Tang's national fortune, he himself would at worst lose his post, go home, and live off the family's old rice. At the very most — the very most — his own life might not be preserved, but his wife, children, and elderly parents could still be saved.

"Raise the banners and tablets of the Jiangdu County yamen, and disperse the crowd before the Zhou family ancestral hall. After that, all of you, like me, may go home and amuse yourselves with your children and grandchildren."

In the room, hearing Sun Daling speak thus, the county lieutenant, the constable captain, and the others all breathed a collective sigh of relief, acknowledged the order in low voices, and went downstairs.

At the Zhou family ancestral hall, Guo Zhao's cold sweat had soaked through the back of his robe. He now wished he could rush to Kaifeng Prefecture, the Eastern Capital, and give that wretch Zhang Lieming several hard slaps.

Because Guo Zhao had spotted in the crowd at least three men who were clearly agents of the Brocade Guard. They were even among the most violently agitated in the crowd, and seemed to have some intention of inciting the commoners to rush forward and beat him to death.

Although he had resolved to die, if he could live, Guo Zhao still wanted to live.

"Clang! Clang!" Just at the critical moment when the crowd was about to be stirred into action, the piercing sound of brass gongs rang out, and a procession flying the banners and tablets of the Jiangdu County yamen hurried over from the distance.

At the front of the procession were several constables brandishing street-quelling whips, cracking them loudly.

The Brocade Guard agents in the crowd cast envious glances at Guo Zhao. This fellow had won merit, and he did not even have to die. With a touch of jealousy, they shouted loudly: "Sun Daling is here! Sun Daling is here! Let us go ask Sun Daling to render justice!"

The commoners thought it over and agreed — why should we stick our necks out here when there are court officials present? So the vast crowd parted into two rows, clustering around the county yamen officials who came bearing banners and tablets.

One Brocade Guard agent suddenly lunged out and stopped Sun Daling on horseback at a distance of ten or twenty paces from Guo Zhao.

"Magistrate! A Zhou man has killed our Great Tang commoners in the open street, and he is so arrogant and domineering! Please, Magistrate, render justice for us!"

Sun Daling's cheek twitched. Render justice? Justice my ass. He dismounted, walked over to Guo Zhao with a pretense of formality, and in a soft, careful voice began asking about the origins of the matter.

Guo Zhao stood with his hands clasped behind his back on a stone block, looking down from above with an arrogant expression. The scene did not look like Sun Daling, a Southern Tang official, questioning him, but rather like Sun Daling paying his respects to Guo Zhao.

"I ask the Magistrate only one thing: is this Southern Tang state a vassal of the Great Zhou, and is the Southern Tang ruler a subject of the Great Zhou Emperor?" Guo Zhao was supremely arrogant, his nostrils pointed at the sky.

The surrounding commoners were so enraged by his manner that their lungs seemed about to explode. It was not that they were particularly loyal to the Southern Tang state, but rather a kind of regional solidarity: "You stinking bird-man from the Central Plains actually dare to come and shit on the heads of us Yangzhou folk."

The people of Yangzhou might not care who won or lost the Zhou-Tang conflict. If unification came, they might even benefit more — at least they could live in peace thereafter.

But they absolutely could not endure the Zhou people treating them with such contempt, such scorn, and such overbearing arrogance in their own homeland.

Sun Daling glanced back at the constables behind him. There were quite a few of them, and they carried weapons. With them present, these commoners probably would not dare to rise up suddenly; he could still hold the line.

So Sun Daling raised his head bitterly, looked at Guo Zhao, and answered respectfully: "The Southern Tang state is indeed a vassal of the Celestial Court, and our ruler is indeed a subject of the Sage Son of Heaven."

The people of Yangzhou stared at Sun Daling in disbelief. Many of them felt a suffocating oppression in their chests, all sharing the same thought: "Fuck your mother, you dog official — you have less backbone than we do."

Guo Zhao was overjoyed. Pointing at the fat corpse lying in the Zhou family ancestral hall, he shouted in an arrogant tone: "This man spoke wild words and insulted the Sage. Was I right to kill him, or not?"

Sun Daling wiped the cold sweat from his head and answered obsequiously: "Right! The young lord of the superior state killed him well!"

"O Heavens!" A miserable cry startled everyone. A burly man in the crowd dressed as a fisherman, but clearly a Brocade Guard agent, wailed loudly.

"A Zhou man kills our fellow countrymen on our own soil, and it is called a righteous killing! You dog official, you have eaten the grain of us commoners and of the court for nothing!"

The crowd's fury was immediately redirected onto Sun Daling, and there were faint signs it was about to spiral out of control.

Sun Daling gritted his teeth. "Even if the ruler himself were here, he could not insult the Son of Heaven of the Sage Dynasty! What do you ignorant rustics know of affairs of state and nation!

Attendants, if anyone dares to incite again, seize them at once."

"Yes!" At Sun Daling's command, the constables and arrest officers of the Jiangdu County yamen immediately drew their clubs and blades.

"Fuck your mother! Dog official! Dog official!" The commoners were enraged, and the crowd's fury was being stirred up step by step.

By now there were at least a thousand people. The mutual contagion of rage had begun to cloud their reason, and it looked as though they were about to lose control at any moment.

At that very moment, the man disguised as a fisherman threw away the fish basket in his hand. The surrounding commoners thought he was about to lead the charge and beat the dog official, but unexpectedly he covered his face with his hands and burst into loud weeping.

"Enough! Enough! This splendid realm — you meat-eaters do not cherish it, so should a fisherman like me fight to the death to protect it?

When did the ruler in Jiangning City ever grant me a single foot of cloth or half a peck of grain? Even the taxes — he never remitted a single cent for me.

This state — whoever wants to protect it, let them protect it. I will not. With this energy, I would do better to catch a few more fish, sell them for a bit more money, and support my parents and feed my children."

"Aye, aye! If the Zhou Son of Heaven comes, he won't collect one extra cent from me either. I'm off to sell my charcoal — earn a bit more money so I can buy my wife a length of silk for a kerchief."

A Brocade Guard agent disguised as a charcoal seller also put on an expression of utter despair.

These words left the crowd disheartened. The frenzied rage of moments before was like a basin of cold water poured over their heads. Everyone stood frozen, deeply uncomfortable and lost in thought.

Right! We're all just commoners. Those officials who feast on fish and meat every day don't protect it — why are we getting so worked up here?

So what if the Zhou people come? I hear the Son of Zhou long ago abolished harsh taxes and levies. If he comes, our taxes might even go down a bit.

The Yangzhou commoners gathered around had first been united in shared indignation, and just when their fury reached its peak, a bucket of cold water was suddenly dashed over it.

It was like being lifted up to the heavens and then immediately slapped ten times across the face. This kind of extreme whiplash was utterly devastating, and in many people's minds, even the image of the Southern Tang state began to blur.

"Zhou Erlang, Zhou Sanlang, your ancestor the Prince of Xiping was a founding hero, and father and son alike were men of loyalty and righteousness. Yet today you brothers have followed the Zhou state. What has the Son of Zhou given you, that you would cast aside the loyal name of your fathers and grandfathers?"

The Brocade Guard's skill was of course not limited to this. Just as the watching commoners were sinking into despair, the third spy stepped forward.

He was a rather famous leader of the trackers on the official canal, a true local man with real prestige — but he too had been turned by the Brocade Guard.

Hearing the tracker leader's question, Zhou Fengyi felt not the slightest shame. Instead he stepped forward and bowed to the crowd all around.

"Fellow neighbors, most of you watched Zhou grow up or grew up alongside him. You know that I, Zhou Fengyi, have always been blunt and upright by nature, not the sort to bow and scrape.

Why did I follow the Son of Zhou? Because a sage ruler has appeared in the Central Plains, and the peaceful days of a unified realm are at hand. The Sage Shaoming is a sage Son of Heaven just like Emperor Taizong the Civil!

This realm has been in chaos for two hundred years. It is long past time for unity. We are all our own people — why divide into Zhou people, Southern Tang people, Yue people? We are all Han, all sons of Tang!"

As he spoke, Zhou Fengyi suddenly reached out and tore the coarse hemp cloth from the three packhorses beside him. The watching commoners at once let out shocked cries.

For on the first packhorse lay gleaming, brilliantly colored Shu brocade — no less than fifty bolts of it.

Even in Jiangnan, which produced its own brocade, Shu brocade was a top-grade luxury that could be used directly as currency. Fifty bolts of Shu brocade was more than many families could earn in a lifetime, all put together.

On the second packhorse were several large sacks. Zhou Fengquan slit one open with a dagger, and with a rustling spill there appeared fine white sugar and rock sugar from Hexi, cardamom, pepper, and cinnamon rarely seen in Jiangnan, as well as the non-edible benzoin and storax — four full sacks, worth a thousand in gold!

And on the third packhorse sat two tall, golden-haired, blue-eyed Hu beauties in light gauze, their snow-white skin faintly visible, full-breasted and round-hipped, enough to set a man's blood surging.

These were top-grade Hu beauties! Since the decline of the Great Tang, such quality of Hu beauties had grown rare in the Central Plains — even in the Southern Tang ruler's palace they were extremely uncommon.

In the Great Tang, Hu beauties had been nothing novel; many people had not even liked them.

But by this season, no Hu beauties traveled ten thousand li to the Great Tang to seek their fortune anymore. The Hu people who remained in the Great Tang mostly had gray hair and gray eyes; even yellow-haired ones were few.

When a thing is rare, it becomes precious. Golden-haired, blue-eyed Hu beauties at once became a mark of high status.

Zhou Sanlang, Zhou Fengquan, stepped forward and swept the rather voluptuous Hu beauty straight off the horse into his arms. That flash of exposed spring beauty and loveliness set the eyes of the Yangzhou crowd blazing red.

Zhou Fengquan laughed loudly: "You ask why I would sell my life for the sage Son of Heaven? I'll tell you — because it's worth it!

I followed the Sage beyond the frontier, raised a mound at Langjuxu north of the Great Wall, and sent the barbarians fleeing at the sight of us. It greatly swelled the pride of us Han men — far more glorious than killing our own people."

"Look at all this spoils of war." Zhou Fengquan swept his hand toward the three packhorses and the Hu beauties and roared.

"No matter how much wealth, the sage Son of Heaven takes not a single coin. No matter how beautiful the women, he does not keep them in his palace for his own pleasure. He gives it all to us poor wretches who serve him loyally.

With a sage lord like this, why wouldn't I follow him?"

(End of Chapter)

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