Chapter 112: A Piece of Meat

A duck already at his lips — how could Liu Chengzong let it slip away?

The rent silver being robbed was a foregone conclusion.

Liu Chengzong had prepared thoroughly for this raid — ambush troops, defensive positions, the works — only to find it all completely unnecessary.

His four companies charged down from the hills, and the garrison troops and laborers escorting the silver either kowtowed or fled; not a single man fought to the death to protect the prince's rent silver and mules.

Utterly bizarre — over two hundred men, and not one loyal, courageous soul could be found among them.

The vast rent-silver convoy promptly collapsed.

Questioning them afterward revealed the truth: word of bandits running rampant in Yan'an Prefecture had spread too fiercely. Ansai was never peaceful to begin with; the banner troops stationed at the prince's estate could still scare off petty thieves, but the closer they got to the prefectural seat, the more terrified everyone became.

On the very night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, while the silver convoy rested in Ansai city, men whispered to each other on the communal sleeping platforms, trading stories of Commander Liu's camp in the prefectural seat robbing the great households.

Some trembled in fear, others forced themselves to put on a bold front — half the night passed without anyone falling asleep.

The next day at noon, they saw company after company of elite riders charging down from the hills like earth dragons under streaming banners bearing the character Liu, far more imposing than the Liu Camp they had heard about — what will to resist could possibly remain?

The great banner Gao Yingxiang had gifted had earned its merit.

When Liu Chengzong heard the surrendering captives say this, he laughed and asked, "How exactly did you bolster your courage that night?"

The way they had surrendered outright didn't look at all like men who had steeled their nerves.

The captive replied, "We're all poor wretches, and Liu Camp never kills poor wretches."

This drew roaring laughter from everyone.

Liu Chengzong laughed hardest of all.

These men normally drew the prince's stipend and preened themselves as the imperial clan's loyal hounds, yet the moment they laid eyes on his people, they suddenly recognized their own class.

When Liu Chengzong finished laughing, he turned to Cao Yao and said, "Those who have bullied men and violated women, seized commoners' fields, dammed rivers to cut off water, and those dead set on serving the prince's estate — have them pointed out."

"Right!" Cao Yao nodded and went along with it, adding, "After the pointing-out, do we kill the villains, or send the villains back to cut off their retreat and recruit them as auxiliaries?"

Liu Chengzong's expression was still fine through the first half of that sentence, but at the second half he whipped his head around and glared. "What are you, the Timely Rain Song Jiang?"

Cao Yao tilted his head back with a laugh, then shook his head. "Truth is, I think killing them or letting them go makes no difference… the good and evil of little men no longer matters."

Liu Chengzong found himself speechless.

Thousands upon thousands of starving people outside the city walls had nothing to eat, while twenty miles away a dazzling glazed pagoda was being built.

Villages lay desolate, corpses of the starved littered the ground, bodies shovelled into mass graves — yet a single river dam held back the stench of rotting grain from the prince's estate.

This was an absurd, grotesque age of chaos, and Cao Yao had spent ten years running through it like a wild dog — it was easy for him to grow disillusioned with the world.

Good or evil, sickness or hunger — people would die all the same.

Perhaps in Cao Yao's eyes, these men were little men, and he and Liu Chengzong were little men too.

Killing some, releasing some — it neither helped nor harmed the greater picture.

Even the greater picture held no meaning for him.

Staying alive was enough; who still cared about the greater picture?

"It does matter." Liu Chengzong shook his head. "To distinguish good from evil, to separate black from white — that is human dignity."

Not just his dignity, but the dignity of everyone beneath the Liu banner, and even the dignity of those about to be pointed out.

Only humans have morality; beasts do not. And only by treating oneself as human, and treating others as human too, can there be dignity.

This pointing-out business had a prisoner's dilemma to it.

As long as no one pointed first, no one would point at all — but the moment the first person did, everything changed.

"Hey, you son of a bitch, you had a hand in that too! Commander, I'm reporting him!"

"And him too — why are you singling me out!"

"You took my woman, go fuck your mother!"

The two hundred-odd men descended into chaos during the denunciations, some cursing each other out, some brawling.

The soldiers of the Mule Battalion watching from the sidelines exchanged bewildered glances, hardly able to imagine that just moments ago these same men had been marching in formation, escorting the rent silver south.

Cao Yao stepped forward to restore order, fired a shot into the sky, and cursed from horseback, "Stop the random fighting! Form ranks and stand properly. Each man steps forward one at a time — if anyone has an issue, speak up."

He had each man paraded before the ranks under guard; those with problems stood on the left, those without on the right, and they continued participating in the denunciations that followed.

In the end, about a hundred men stood on each side.

Those with problems were mostly servants who worked for the prince's estate; those without were almost all newly recruited famine refugees from Ansai.

And among those with problems, a small handful had a history of bullying the other servants.

Liu Chengzong played the part of a county magistrate in the wilderness, passing judgment and carrying out punishment on the spot.

Six men, denounced by dozens as guilty of heinous crimes, were forced to their knees and beheaded by Han Shipan and Han Shiyou with their household guards. The rest, depending on the severity of their offenses and the number of accusers, received caning or were simply handed over to the famine refugees to deal with.

Quite a few others had committed no real major wrongs — just quarrels, fistfights, and such trifles — and were protected from punishment.

Two more men made false accusations and were shot dead by Cao Yao, one shot each.

Those with minor offenses could have gotten off lightly just by pleading for mercy, but false accusation was different. False accusation was not merely deception — behind the deception lay an attempt to use them.

That was courting death.

As for the remaining men, their physical condition was actually passable — after all, the prince's estate had already screened them from among the famine refugees, and no one unfit would have been sent out on this job.

The five company commanders each led their troops through the crowd to pick men; those who caught their eye were pulled into the ranks and assigned to combat soldiers as auxiliaries.

The whole process took nearly two hours, and the ranks swelled by another hundred or so men.

Liu Chengzong did not get involved in the auxiliary recruitment. He was busy probing for information about the prince's estate and inspecting the spoils.

Most conspicuous were four wooden chests, each weighing over fifty catties, all containing the same thing.

Each chest had three layers: the top layer held one hundred taels of gold, and the two lower layers each held three hundred taels of silver.

In total: four hundred taels of gold, twenty-four hundred taels of silver — worth fifty-six hundred taels of silver.

Then there were the agricultural goods: alkali powder, salt bricks, Sichuan pepper, fine cotton cloth, cured leather, ox and sheep horns, and the like.

The variety of goods was too great; Liu Chengzong did not inspect them one by one, only checking the estate steward's manifest to confirm nothing was missing.

Besides that, there were also twenty-four large horses in excellent condition, twenty two-wheel and four-wheel carts, forty-five fat sheep, and over a hundred pack mules and horses.

What he wanted most — grain — was not among them. There was only seven days' worth of dry rations each person carried with them, though there was quite a lot of horse fodder.

After some questioning, Liu Chengzong learned that this time the princely estate was not the Qin Estate, but a pasture belonging to the Qing Estate.

The first destination they were to deliver to was Ganquan, then from Ganquan on to Fuzhou, from Fuzhou to Qingyang, and from Qingyang to Weizhou in Ningxia.

"You've got some nerve. Did the steward of your princely estate never stop to think the land is crawling with bandits?"

The banner soldier who had already been recruited as an auxiliary was still very afraid of Liu Chengzong. He nodded and said, "We thought about it. None of us wanted to take this assignment, but the princely residence was pressing urgently. The steward also said it would be peaceful once we reached Ganquan, and urged us to set out quickly."

Liu Chengzong had far too many questions. "Peaceful once you reach Ganquan? Wishful thinking. There's quite a lot of goods and wealth here. Since you didn't want to set out, why didn't you divide it among yourselves and each go your own way as outlaws?"

"We didn't dare. Once we got to Ganquan, there was a princely estate there to receive us. Further on to Qingyang, there was also a contingent from the Han Prince's residence. With winter approaching, everyone had to deliver goods to the princely residences."

After explaining why it would be peaceful at Ganquan, the auxiliary soldier gave a bitter smile and said, "There's no grain in here. Working for the princely estate, at least you won't starve to death. Becoming an outlaw, isn't that just... isn't that just being a piece of meat under a great king's hand?"

A piece of meat?

It took Liu Chengzong a moment to react before he figured it out — it meant cannon fodder sent to die. He laughed. "I am Liu Chengzong. Follow me, and I can see to it that you eat your fill... Tell me in detail, exactly how much commoners' land has that princely estate annexed, and how did it end up with so much wealth and goods?"

Having said that, he gave the order for the column to return to Great King Mountain.

On the road, this "piece of meat" gave Liu Chengzong a detailed account of the princely estate's situation.

That princely estate held quite a lot of land under its name, though not absurdly so. By the large mu of five hundred forty paces, it amounted to seventy qing of fine fields along both banks of the Apricot River.

But unlike the earlier Qin Prince's estate, its production was not a single type.

It had not only fields, but also pastures, mountain grounds, grasslands, and riverbanks. It produced horses, mules, donkeys, sheep, and livestock, as well as various minerals. It grew chives, grain, fruit, vegetables, and fodder. And taking advantage of the riverbank location, it could also hunt and fish.

That was truly impressive. Even at Fish River Fort, which guarded the Wuding River, there had been nothing left in that river for two years now.

The reason they had taken such a desperate risk was none other than this: in the eighteenth year of the Wanli reign, the court had set a fixed quota for the stipends of the imperial clansmen in Shaanxi, Henan, and Shanxi.

The officials all detested the imperial clansmen. Even in peaceful years they were unwilling to ship stipend grain to the princely residences. Now that the three border commands could not even issue military pay and provisions, they had finally found their excuse — who still cared about your imperial clan stipends?

With the court no longer issuing stipend grain to the princely residences, the princely residences could only press the stewards of their estates everywhere to send silver over at once.

Once the goods were transported back to Great King Mountain, Liu Chengzong gathered with the five squad leaders to discuss matters, mainly to inform the two squad leaders Yang Yao and Wang Wenxiu of the principles for distributing the spoils of war.

After that, according to the rules: seventy percent to the corps headquarters, twenty percent to the soldiers, and ten percent to the officers.

The merit and reward ledger was given to Chengyun, who was skilled at arithmetic.

Not long after, while the several squad leaders were still discussing the matter of raiding the princely estate, Chengyun came looking for him.

"That fast? Impressive!"

Liu Chengzong's face was full of delight, but when he stepped outside he saw that Chengyun looked somewhat embarrassed. Chengyun pulled him aside and said, "Brother, it's not that I'm fast. It's just... in your setup, a squad sergeant gets less silver than a soldier. Does that make sense?"

Liu Chengzong furrowed his brow slightly, took the account book in hand, and understood at a glance.

The soldiers' two shares of the spoils came to over a thousand taels, while the officers' share was five hundred sixty taels.

According to the rules, a squad leader took ten shares, a company leader took five shares, and a squad sergeant took one share; whereas combat soldiers, based on their merit, could take up to five shares.

Divided this way, a combat soldier would get as little as one tael or as much as five taels.

Meanwhile, officers by rank: a squad sergeant received only one tael and eight mace, a company leader received nine taels, and a squad leader received eighteen taels.

Liu Chengzong chuckled and said, "That's because the camp lacks auxiliaries. My thinking is that auxiliaries don't get a share of the spoils and need the combat soldiers to support them. If a squad sergeant's small unit performs meritorious service, they can be issued reward silver. Just divide it according to this... Have you finished all the calculations?"

It was time to recruit auxiliaries.

Truth be told, he greatly envied the men under Gao Yingxiang — all those various kinds of talented people. Some cut horse fodder, some went to pick fruit, or like the auxiliaries under Guo Tianxing, who could walk horses and stand sentry.

In his camp, all these tasks had to be done by the combat soldiers.

Now that they had more mules and horses, even when encamped, the daily miscellaneous labor could fill up a combat soldier's entire schedule.

It was fine in the short term, but if this went on, it was only a matter of time before combat effectiveness was affected.

Liu Chengzong walked into the cave dwelling where they were holding discussions, bringing Chengyun with him. Cao Yao was the first to come up with a cheeky grin. "So, how much silver can this Cao fellow get from this haul?"

"Squad leader, eighteen taels. Company leader, nine taels."

Among the five squad leaders, Cao Yao, Yang Yao, and Wang Wenxiu had all been leaders themselves before, and they actually did not care that much about money.

Cao Yao smacked his lips and said to Yang Yao with a laugh, "Eighteen taels. Not bad. Didn't do a damn thing this trip and got half a year's pay in the border army."

Gao Xian and Feng Rang, however, reacted differently. To them, this silver was an enormous sum.

As for Wei Qian'er, who commanded the scout cavalry company, he had already been stupefied by the figure. Leaning against the earthen wall, he counted on his fingers for a long while, then asked blankly, "General, I can get nine taels?"

Liu Chengzong nodded.

Wei Qian'er held up three fingers, his expression extremely complicated. "Three years. I worked three years at the post station, and my total wages were ten taels and eight."

Liu Chengzong did not know how to comfort him, so he simply patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's nothing. Keep that foul mouth of yours in check, learn how to lead troops from the squad leaders, and when you've got the skill in the future, I'll make you a squad leader too."

"How the hell do I keep it in check?"

The scout cavalry company leader scratched his filthy headscarf and muttered to himself. The words were already out before he lightly slapped his own mouth. His gaze firm, he stood at attention and said, "General, rest assured, I will certainly win the favor of the squad leaders!"

Having said that, he leaned in closer and whispered, "We don't really have any use for money here. Can I send the silver home?"

Having no use for money was the biggest reason the squad leaders were not very interested in silver.

Cooped up in camp all day, living on the mountain, silver had basically already lost the meaning it was supposed to have.

In fact, this was also why Liu Chengzong had set the rule to distribute all spoils other than money and grain to the soldiers and officers. Later, once there were more people in the camp, wherever they garrisoned would casually become a small market.

The combat soldiers within the ranks could trade among themselves using reward silver and spoils, which would also help keep their minds in check.

He had been a soldier himself and knew all too well the effect that being cooped up in camp all day had on a soldier's mentality. Even if the soldiers were all fond of studying martial skills, they trained at most four double-hours a day. The rest of the time, idle and bored, they would inevitably pick up bad habits.

Like drinking. Like gambling.

Without those two habits, when bored they were prone to slacking off — either running out to do something bad that harmed the common folk, or finding trouble with other soldiers inside the camp.

In any case, it was sure to end badly.

With a small market, the camp could rely on it internally to exchange goods. When soldiers were idle and bored, they could either set up a stall or stroll around — it would serve as a form of entertainment for the peasant army.

Wei Qian'er's words drew sidelong glances from the squad leaders. He envied the squad leaders for having more money; the squad leaders envied him for having a family — for actually having someone to send money to.

Only Cao Yao was especially insufferable. Sitting cross-legged on the heated brick bed, he leaned back. "Bring them over here. Look at me — my wife is just on the other side of the mountain. I'll deliver the silver to her in a bit."

Wei Qian'er's eyes bulged, his mouth already open to curse the street, but remembering what Liu Chengzong had just said, he shut it again and let out a long breath. "Squad Leader Cao is right. I'll bring my family over too, later."

His whole face twisted into a scowl, which made Liu Chengzong laugh. He raised a hand. "You're right. It's best for the post-rider brothers to bring their families here. Sending silver to those with families is also a matter to handle — but not right now."

He sat down on the heated brick bed. "The good things are still to come. Prince Qing's estate has fine horses, irrigated fields untouched by the drought, mountain kilns and iron mines, and unlike Yan'an Prefecture, it's not a strategic thoroughfare. Surrounded by mountains, it's easy to hide people — a perfect place to settle families. Tomorrow, we head over!"