Chapter 114: Two Completely Different People

The Qing Prince Manor by the Apricot River.

In the end, Cao Yao never got the chance to prove the times had changed.

Instead, the Han brothers proved the times hadn't changed — it was just that others weren't strong enough.

And the petty headmen in the Prince Manor gave Liu Chengzong a profound lesson.

Facing the armored cavalry, the manor tenants who still had the courage to meet the enemy, even running on their own to the unfinished mountain fort to stand guard, were persuaded to surrender by those very petty headmen who groveled before Liu and threw their weight around behind him.

The entire Prince Manor swiftly returned to a state of peace.

Truly, a turncoat lapdog is worth a hundred thousand crack troops.

Atop the still-unfinished mountain fort, Liu Chengzong extended his monocular and gazed into the distance. Without turning his head, he asked, "You said that scholar insulted his lord — so it was just a quarrel with his wife, and he got sentenced to military exile?"

The cost of a marital spat is steep indeed.

The servant behind him shook his head like a rattle-drum: "Not his wife. His wife is the Township Princess of Shajing. He cursed the State-Founding General — charged with unfilial conduct."

Oh, the State-Founding General — the Township Princess's father.

Liu Chengzong nodded, understanding: "A quarrel with his father-in-law."

It certainly didn't come to blows; if it had, he'd be dead already.

Of all crimes under heaven, none is greater than unfilial conduct.

For other offenses, dragged before the court, one still has some chance to argue one's case. This one not only violates the law, but also draws moral condemnation.

Never mind a Township Princess's Princely Son-in-Law — even a Commandery Princess's Princely Son-in-Law, if he dares strike his parents, and the local county magistrate learns of it, so long as the evidence is conclusive and the parents bear injuries, there is no need for a trial.

He is bound directly beneath the steps of the yamen, and the runners and common folk are ordered to beat him to death with fists and feet. No one wishes to share the world with such a person.

The moral condemnation is brutally simple and direct: sharing the same sky is intolerable.

Liu Chengzong knew little of imperial clan affairs — they lived in two completely different worlds. But now his curiosity was piqued. He asked, "Why did he quarrel with his father-in-law?"

He had barely finished asking when Han Shipan, standing in attendance behind him, said in a low voice, "General, Transport Squad Leader Chengzong has arrived."

Liu Chengyun's title was Transport Squad Leader, but in truth he was a commander without troops — the entire squad consisted of him alone.

His five squad captains were, respectively: Vanguard Captain Jack Donkey, Rearguard Captain Jenny Mare, and Left, Right, and Center Captains — all mules sired by the two of them, the mountain-guardian spirit-beasts of Black Dragon Mountain.

"Brother."

Chengyun greeted him. Liu Chengzong smiled first: "This place isn't bad, is it."

Only then did he ask: "Have all the goods been tallied?"

Chengyun shook his head, glanced at the several Prince Manor servants nearby, and said to Liu Chengzong, "There's too much — I can't finish the count anytime soon. But I found a letter from Wu Zimian, the Yulin Regional Commander, demanding horses and fodder from the Prince Manor."

Hearing this, Liu Chengzong laughed: "Ha, Regional Commander Wu's prestige is undiminished as ever!"

As a former border soldier of Yulin Garrison, Liu Chengzong had not a shred of good feeling toward the corrupt and venal Regional Commander Wu Zimian. It was just that in the past, he'd never imagined Wu would stoop to demanding grain and horses from a Prince Manor.

So the season for riding beyond the passes to burn the grasslands had come around again.

But Chengyun was deeply troubled: "He's not the issue. It's Li Bei. Brother, Li Bei is being appointed Yan'an Adjutant General. The horses and fodder — they're for suppressing us."

Li Bei?

Liu Chengzong's heart lurched. He hurriedly took the letter to read it.

The letter said that the Chahar's Khutugtu Khan was leading two hundred thousand men to assault the passes, and with Yulin mobilizing troops, the court had promoted Li Bei to Yan'an Adjutant General. Wu Zimian wanted to secure some warhorses and fodder for his old subordinates, and so sought help from the Prince Manor.

The gist was simply that if Li Bei put down the bandits, it would benefit the Qing Prince Manor too — let us weather this hardship together.

The so-called Chaha Tribe was in fact the Chahar Mongols, whose chieftain was Ligdan Khan.

It was just that a Great Khan was unworthy of possessing a proper name in Han lands. Ming official documents referred to him and the Chahar tribe as Khutugtu and the Chaha Tribe, respectively.

Sometimes they were bluntly called the Eight Great Camps of the Chaha Khutugtu. They had migrated from the east, driving out the former Prince of Shunyi, Boshugtu, from the fortified settlements of the Tumochuan Plain.

The Chahar Mongols' westward migration was primarily due to famine.

After Ligdan Khan moved west, to the east there remained the Five Great Camps of the Inner Khalkha's Chao Hua, the Nuantu and Guiying tribes, and others — all Mongol chieftains quite famous in Han lands. In the court's wars against the Later Jin, they were often bribed to threaten the Later Jin's flanks.

During the Battle of Guangning in the second year of the Tianqi reign, the Nuantu and Guiying tribes had lent Zu Dashou twenty thousand cavalry to pin down the Later Jin.

But the situation now was no longer the same.

In the first year of the Chongzhen reign, famine struck beyond the passes. The tribes petitioned the court for grain, and the Chongzhen Emperor resolutely refused.

Yet the Later Jin's Hong Taiji gave it to them.

So now, Later Jin troops could come knocking directly at Xuanfu and Datong.

And the pressure from the Chaha Tribe, once spread across the Yulin, Xuanfu, and Datong line, now bore down entirely on Yulin Garrison. Riding five hundred li from the fortified settlements, Khutugtu could reach Fugu and knock, asking whether Wu Zimian was home.

Liu Chengzong was not worried about Wu Zimian. Yulin Garrison's external circumstances would not permit Wu Zimian to dispatch troops to suppress the interior.

But Li Bei's appointment as Yan'an Adjutant General was a different matter. This was a post specifically meant to deal with them, and he knew Li Bei was a ruthless man.

Though in Liu Chengzong's heart, he vaguely felt that the subordinates who had last marched four hundred li in two days and nights under Li Bei were likely dead or crippled by now, and might no longer be fit for service.

But Liu Chengzu had said: if a small band of raiders could flee a hundred li a day beyond the passes at their fastest, then you had to estimate their speed as if they could cover a hundred li every single day.

Calculations may err, but the battlefield never gives a second chance to those who err.

"Guo Zha, find Wei Qian'er of the Scout Cavalry. Have him post scouts at the ten-li High Bridge to the southeast and the twenty-li Tangping; also dispatch a scout familiar with the Yanchang road to set out with you immediately. You must reach Zuantianmao by tomorrow morning and report to my elder brother the news of Li Bei's promotion to Yan'an Adjutant General."

"The remaining scouts are to go to Yanchang County and inform Chief Gao of this news." Liu Chengzong paused, patted Guo Zha, and said, "Remember to have my brother notify every village and hamlet — if Li Bei enters the borders of Fushi County, we need to know."

Having an enemy was like having a blade suspended overhead.

And when this enemy was renowned for his marching speed, it meant he could not see that blade. Even if he did, he would not know when it would stab down, much less where it would strike.

Liu Chengzong breathed on the lens of his monocular and wiped it clean with the hem of his coat. He heard Chengyun ask, "Brother, with Li Bei coming as Adjutant General, what do we do?"

What to do? For the moment, there was no solution.

He let out a breath, put away the monocular, and said, "Right now in Yan'an Prefecture, we likely have the best intelligence. We haven't yet received word of Li Bei entering Fushi County. I believe he is still in the north and hasn't set out."

So he patted Chengyun, feigning ease: "It's fine. You go on and finish tallying the Prince Manor's goods. I'll go question that steward."

This stone fortress, built on the plateau of the mountain ridge north of the river, was truly excellent.

Both its location and its construction were excellent.

Two hundred paces from the river-valley fields and six hundred paces from the cliff face across the river, both banks of the valley between were well-cleared farmland — eleven qing and forty-three mu of top-grade fertile land.

West of the north-bank mountain fort, a small path led to the mountain kilns. The surrounding mountains were bounded by the North Kiln and East Kiln areas — over thirty small hills, with terraced slope fields opened on the heights and alfalfa and horse-fodder planted below.

In the hills of the south bank, several feeder streams of the Apricot River also had village folk living there, with the same capacity for irrigating fields.

To the southeast, at intervals of two or three li, the foundations of three loess platform towers had been built, coordinating with this mountain fort to choke off the main road — presenting a look of easy to defend and hard to attack.

In Cao Yao's words, set up a few large Folangji cannons or thousand-catty General Cannons on the fort, and as long as the enemy didn't know the terrain, once they entered this river valley they could forget about getting out.

Liu Chengzong had been inside the earthen fort built at Prince Qin's estate; this fort was about the same size, its stone walls sturdier than rammed earth but built lower — only about twelve or thirteen chi high.

But the interior of the Prince Qing estate mountain fort was vastly different from Prince Qin's estate, giving Liu Chengzong the feel of a military stronghold.

It didn't have as many troop-hiding tunnels and twisting passages as a military fort, but the overall austere feel was very much like a military stronghold — the sort of thing a Northwest guard-post xiucai could build.

The stone rooms along the fort walls on both sides of the front courtyard looked like rows of tightly packed barracks, with only rammed-earth communal sleeping platforms inside, no water-drawing courtyards, and no well dug within the fort.

The main hall in the rear courtyard had poor light — very dark.

It was outside the main-hall courtyard that Liu Chengzong saw Lin Wei, bound and under guard.

This Gansu xiucai had a very strange look — neither the cowering manner of someone after capture, nor the stiff-necked look of someone courting death; he was simply tied to one side, looking as if he were deep in thought.

Liu Chengzong asked, "This letter from Wu Zimian — when was it delivered?"

The questioning went very smoothly, as if no intimidation were needed. Lin Wei answered like a normal conversation: "The day before yesterday. Li Bei is about to arrive. This fort isn't finished yet. Take what you've seized and leave quickly — this place can't be held."

His attitude amused Liu Chengzong. "Oh? I've raided your prince's estate, and you don't hate me? You're far more broad-minded than the steward at Prince Qin's estate."

Lin Wei turned his face away with a sigh, then looked back and asked, "Has the Great King seized all the goods being sent to Gansu?"

Seeing Liu Chengzong nod, Lin Wei briefly closed his eyes, understanding in his heart.

The moment he saw Liu Chengzong, Lin Wei knew in his heart that the shipment headed for the prince's manor was likely gone.

It wasn't that he was broad-minded — he was very clear that there was no way out, no room to salvage the situation.

Whether goods were plundered or the prince's estate was seized, either matter falling on another steward would have been of little consequence.

But falling on him, it was disastrous — either one happening meant certain death.

So both happening together couldn't cause much greater emotional turmoil.

Since it couldn't be changed, he could only accept it as calmly as possible.

Three days — Liu Chengzong thought, Wu Zimian had sent this letter three days ago, so Li Bei very likely had not yet set out.

He should still have time to discuss countermeasures.

Just then, Lin Wei seemed to be waiting for him to say something. Seeing him remain silent, he took the initiative and asked, "What does the Great King intend to do with me?"

Liu Chengzong only felt this man was very strange — extremely calm.

The skill of flicking aside an arrow with a blade wasn't something everyone possessed, but in the border defense regions, at over ten paces, if the bow draw was light enough, an expert had a good chance of flicking aside a feathered arrow.

Back at Yuhe Fort, the vanguard troops, when idle, often played around shooting blunted arrows at each other.

But in battle, generally no one used it — it was play, and a miss didn't matter; in battle, a miss could very well mean the man was gone.

Compared to flicking arrows with a single blade, a shield was far more reliable.

But to dare strike that posture when there was no other choice — Lin Wei had courage.

Liu Chengzong therefore asked, "Earlier you barred the way with your blade across your horse — why are you now like a different person?"

"That was a moment of anger. I was already a man bearing guilt. Now that the estate and kilns have been taken by the Great King, I cannot live." Lin Wei said, "Thinking it over carefully, if the Great King does not kill me, I might as well throw in my lot with you and fight at your stirrup — perhaps I can live a few more days."

This was the first time Liu Chengzong had ever seen a man with a xiucai degree turn bandit so cleanly and decisively.

Compared to himself, this was a real bandit — the same type as Cao Yao, both possessing flexible moral bottom lines.

Thinking of this, Liu Chengzong looked around and easily found Cao Yao — the fellow had climbed onto a roof in the distance, standing on the rooftop behind the protection of a half-wall, aiming a three-eyed gun toward the fort wall.

Who knew what he was playing at, all by himself at his age.

He refocused and asked, "Why did you curse your father-in-law?"

Lin Wei was startled at the question, then realized someone must have been asking about him. He sighed and said, "Unfilial, that's all. I never wanted to be a princely son-in-law to begin with, but couldn't defy the powerful. My parents were gravely ill, and a princely son-in-law cannot fulfill filial duties. I drank and cursed people — nothing much to say."

Lin Wei felt this was unimportant, so he didn't elaborate, only saying to Liu Chengzong, "I am a shengyuan of the Ningxia Central Guard. Well-read in classics and history, passable in martial arts — bows, crossbows, firearms, and cannons, I can use them all. The Great King's troops are disciplined and orderly. I dare not say I'd be wings to a tiger, but at your stirrup I'd be one more useful hand. What do you say?"

Liu Chengzong pondered a moment, nodded, and asked, "Do you know who I am?"

Lin Wei looked again and again, his peripheral vision catching the Liu-character banner planted atop the stone fort's gate tower. He lowered his head. "I dare not know."

"I am Liu Chengzong. You say I should take you and leave…"

Liu Chengzong paused, then asked, "What if I said I don't plan to leave?"

"Don't… don't plan to leave?"

For the first time, a look of shock appeared on Lin Wei's calm face. He said urgently, "It can't be held! This fort isn't even finished yet, and even if it were, it couldn't be held. The Great King's troops may be elite, but at best that's an even match with government forces.

That Li Bei has been appointed Yan'an Regional Commander. Right now, everywhere in Yan'an Prefecture is swarming with bandits. He may not recruit locally at the prefectural seat — perhaps he'll assemble his troops at the border wall, lead the garrison troops south, take the Suide, Yanchuan, Yanchang route, and when the time comes, block the way out from the southeast.

When that happens, the only escape from here is northwest into Bao'an County — that's dead ground. To the north are the Dingbian and Anbian garrisons, to the southeast the elite troops of the Yan'an Regional Commander, and to the southwest the Second Border Wall blocks entry into Qingyang."

Lin Wei suddenly rattled off a string of words, then at the end sighed and glanced cautiously at Liu Chengzong. "If the Great King won't leave, and doesn't want to kill me, then let me go. I am a man already doomed to die — I won't report to the authorities. I only seek a way to live."

Liu Chengzong smiled. In truth, what Lin Wei had said was not far from his own thoughts.

This fort, this prince's estate — it was a good place, but with the government army threat at its flank, it could not be held.

"Get up. Never mind what I think — first tell me, how much farmland does this fort have, and how many people can it support?"

Liu Chengzong ordered Lin Wei untied. Though the man had martial skill, he had no weapon on him, and with the Han brothers beside them, there was no need to worry.

Lin Wei said, "The eleven qing of top fields in the river valley and the fifty-odd qing of slope fields in the mountains are all princely fields. The common folk on the north and south hills have donated over sixty qing of fields — the land rent on those is four dou, and in the future they won't need to pay grain to the authorities either. The annual grain harvest is over ten thousand shi."

"You still pay taxes? Then why would common folk donate their fields to the prince's estate?"

"Apportionments. How much silver is that bit of grain the court collects worth? Compared to the apportionments of the prefectural and county yamen, the prince's estate rent is a little less — the common folk are willing to donate their fields."

Just as he was speaking, Cao Yao jumped down from the roof and shouted, "General, the scout cavalry is back, bringing one rider — looks like Liu En."

Liu En was a horse-herder from Black Dragon Mountain. At these words, Liu Chengzong had no more time for Lin Wei and hurriedly ran outside the fort.

He saw Liu En's horse run until its mouth frothed white. Liu En came up, swung off the horse, and before his legs were steady, knelt on the ground. Only after forcing two breaths did he say, "Second Master, the Old Master says a man from Yanchang bearing the 'Charge' banner came to Great King Mountain. He said the news must reach you — said Yanchuan, Yanchuan's Hun Tian Wang was routed by Yan'an Regional Commander Li Bei and fled into Yanchang."

Liu Chengzong said nothing, clenching his fists tight.

Li Bei. Li Bei had come.