Chapter 137: Right and Left Hands

Who was Flying Mountain Tiger again?

For a long while Liu Chengzong couldn't recall who this Flying Mountain Tiger was.

Only when Heaven-Reaching Monkey reminded him did it come back — he was Feng Rang's guide.

Liu Chengzong said, puzzled, "What gave him the nerve to kill Feng Rang?"

That was the Left Sentinel, one of the three earliest sentinels under Liu Chengzong's command — they had followed him in attacking the prefectural city, fighting at Yanshui Pass, marching into Shanxi, and even battling Li Bei.

That sentinel had the highest combat strength in the army and the best-equipped fighting men — what gave Flying Mountain Tiger the gall to do such a thing?

The man had done something stupid, and now it brought Liu Chengzong no small trouble; he still had to console Heaven-Reaching Monkey.

After all, the man was Heaven-Reaching Monkey's subordinate — what if the dirty monkey let his mind wander and thought this was a purge of dissenters?

He had not expected that Heaven-Reaching Monkey never even thought in that direction.

He simply sighed and said, "Flying Mountain Tiger was originally the chief of Yijun. When Tall Invader King sent me to Yijun, it was to find him and Big Red Wolf. He had several thousand men under him, but none of them were any good. After I merged forces with him, we trimmed it down to seven hundred and came north to help you."

"When he joined camps with me, he already had some complaints, so I allocated another three hundred men to him, bringing it up to a thousand, and only then did he feel better."

Heaven-Reaching Monkey raised a hand to rub his forehead and shook his head. "By the time you and I merged forces, I didn't hear him say he was unhappy. If something was on his mind, he should have told me."

The man was gone — whatever anyone said now was too late.

A few more days passed. Feng Rang led the Left Sentinel back. The unit was down over forty men; the fighting men were on extreme alert, the support troops were restless, and morale was low.

Flying Mountain Tiger was brought back on a donkey cart, a cloth covering his face. Liu Chengzong lifted it to look — the body was frozen stiff, lying on its side with a hole smashed into the back of the skull.

"Was it worth it?"

Liu Chengzong covered him back up and had men take him into the woods to bury him.

After Feng Rang settled the troops, he and Chen Qindai came to see him, bringing two men and carrying two small bags.

The two bags held over a hundred small iron plaques the size of a palm. Feng Rang said, "This is only a hundred and thirty — the unit definitely has more."

Liu Chengzong picked up an iron plaque and examined it. The casting was crude and rough; inscribed on it were the two characters: Exempt from Death.

Ever since they reached Yijun, no one knew exactly when it started, but Flying Mountain Tiger had begun distributing death-exemption plaques among the troops to his former subordinates, and these plaques had circulated silently through the ranks.

It was only when a plaque reached the hands of a discipline officer, and one of the discipline officers brought it to Chen Qindai, that Feng Rang finally learned of it.

Feng Rang traced the thread back to Flying Mountain Tiger. Flying Mountain Tiger was completely open about it, saying it had been given to him by local Yijun chiefs called Land-Razing Tiger and Hao Xiaoquan.

There was no intent to rebel — he just felt having something like this on him gave a bit more security. If the day ever came when government troops captured him, it might still save his life.

"He was a fool. I gave him a kick."

Feng Rang shook his head. "That one kick ruined everything. That very night, before the death-exemption plaques could even be collected, he colluded with Land-Razing Tiger from outside. One posed as government troops, the other stirred up surrender talk inside the camp."

Even now, recalling that night still made Feng Rang's heart pound with residual fear. "That night chaos erupted. The rear squad leader was killed by his own men. For a brief moment, everyone in the sentinel was suspicious of everyone else, unable to tell friend from foe. It only got slightly better once the squads assembled, but only three squads rallied to me — two were with Flying Mountain Tiger. It came within a hair's breadth of mutiny."

As he spoke, Feng Rang jutted his chin toward Chen Qindai. "He even pulled a few men from my side over to Flying Mountain Tiger's. The cannons were already set up in the camp. If Flying Mountain Tiger hadn't backed down, I was ready to open fire."

Feng Rang was utterly helpless recounting this. He shrugged. "Who'd have guessed — he walked over just as Flying Mountain Tiger was mounting his horse, yanked him down with one grab, and caved his skull in with a single blow from a mace. Then he dragged him out like a dead dog, and the mutiny just fizzled out."

Liu Chengzong blinked and looked at Chen Qindai. He smiled. "Making you a discipline officer was a waste of talent — you should be a squad leader."

"No waste at all. Didn't the General say that night outside the fort? That's exactly what us discipline officers do — unite the soldiers and stop anyone from accepting amnesty."

Chen Qindai stared with utter seriousness, standing at attention. "He made it so the soldiers couldn't unite, and he wanted to lead men to accept amnesty. Smashing his skull in — with no one left to lead them to amnesty, the soldiers united again."

Put that way, it did seem to hold a certain logic.

Having said his piece, Chen Qindai narrowed his eyes and grinned. "I grew up on the streets of Yulin, got into plenty of fights. I've seen standoffs like this plenty of times — no one dares make the first move. As long as I walked over and no one struck me down, then once I smashed Flying Mountain Tiger's skull, the matter was settled."

Liu Chengzong smiled. "You weren't afraid?"

"I was. After I killed Flying Mountain Tiger, I didn't dare move — afraid I'd be hacked to pieces. But then they didn't hack me, so I dragged him out."

Liu Chengzong offered Chen Qindai a few words of encouragement, then turned to Feng Rang and asked, "The forty-some brothers the unit lost — all properly buried?"

"Properly buried."

With that said, everyone's gaze converged on the death-exemption plaques laid out on the table, and they sank into a deep silence.

Liu Chengzong looked at those crudely made iron plaques.

These little objects carried far greater power than any amnesty letter.

They were also a warning to him.

The human heart is a complicated thing — he had still thought about it too simply.

Take this Flying Mountain Tiger. On the surface, it looked like Feng Rang had kicked him and kicked him into rebellion.

But in truth, the man had never accepted the arrangement he'd been given.

He had started out as a chief rallying several thousand men, then merged camps with Heaven-Reaching Monkey, picked out seven hundred strong lads, willingly placed himself beneath the monkey, and in exchange became a chief of a thousand.

And after Heaven-Reaching Monkey threw in with Liu Chengzong, Flying Mountain Tiger became a squad leader of eighty men. No matter who it was, that would leave a thorn in the heart.

The slightest provocation, and that thorn would ache.

While Lion Camp was stationed on Apricot River, that thorn ached but he just had to endure it.

When the Left Sentinel went to Yijun alone and he met his old subordinates again, that thorn in Flying Mountain Tiger's heart ached worse and worse.

Liu Chengzong looked at the iron plaques and wondered — how many of his subordinates carried a thorn like that in their hearts?

"Any idea who issued these plaques?"

Liu Chengzong's silence had Feng Rang somewhat worried. Now, hearing the question, he quickly said, "Hong Chengchou. Shaanxi Assistant Administration Commissioner Hong Chengchou. Land-Razing Tiger and Hao Xiaoquan in Yijun both got death-exemption plaques from the government. Don't know if Big Red Wolf got one or not."

Hong Chengchou.

Liu Chengzong repeated the name silently in his mind — another old acquaintance.

Though he had yet to meet the man, he had heard the name plenty of times. The earliest was at Yuhe Fort — the idea to disband He Renlong's troops had been Hong Chengchou's.

"That's exactly the sort of thing he'd do. The man is skilled with both pen and sword — not easy to deal with."

Liu Chengzong shook his head and said to Feng Rang and Chen Qindai, "I understand now. This matter is past, so let it pass. Brother Rang, don't be rough with your subordinates in the future. Qindai, you did very well this time. I want you to train a discipline officer, and at the same time take charge of all the discipline officers in the Left Sentinel's squads. Can you do that?"

"I — I'm getting promoted?"

Chen Qindai was overjoyed. Fumbling for words, he cupped his fists. "Many — many thanks for the General's promotion!"

"Don't disappoint me. Keep your eyes open in the Left Sentry — any squad commander fit for promotion, report them to me. From now on, each sentry will have a chief and deputy sentry commander, a chief and deputy squad commander, and every unit will have two captains and two squad commanders."

With that, Liu Chengzong said to the two of them, "You may go back now. Settle the soldiers down properly. If there are still any death-exemption tokens in the sentry, whether by open inspection or covert inquiry, find a way to collect them all. Don't blame the soldiers — education comes first. This is something that hurts all our brothers."

The two men acknowledged the order and withdrew. Liu Chengzong looked at the death-exemption token in his palm, his gaze icy cold.

Hong Chengchou.

In his memory, this man was truly the lifelong nemesis of the peasant army.

He received the imperial command to exterminate the peasant army. When Chongzhen hung himself on that old crooked-neck tree, when the Great Ming became the Southern Ming, when the Later Jin became the Great Qing, when the peasant army became the Great Shun and finally turned into the Southern Ming's Loyalty Battalion.

Everyone else changed. Only this son of a bitch didn't change, still fucking exterminating the peasant army.

He sent a verbal message to Cao Yao.

A few days later, Cao Yao rushed back from Yanchuan in a frantic hurry. The moment he arrived, he asked, "Rangzi isn't dead, is he?"

"He's alive, alive and well," Liu Chengzong said. "Nothing like this on your side?"

"Tch, you've probably forgotten what kind of man I, Cao Liu'er, am. Let me tell you, the hearts of our cannon sentry's men are solid as a fortress. Even if you put a life-saving token right in their hands, no one in the cannon sentry would listen!"

If anyone else said that, Liu Chengzong wouldn't believe it. But coming from Cao Yao, Liu Chengzong truly believed it.

This guy was naturally inclined to oppose the court. What Cao Yao thought about wasn't overthrowing the Great Ming to become emperor, or overthrowing the Great Ming to support someone else as emperor.

Cao Yao simply didn't want an emperor at all. Not only did he not want an emperor, he didn't want a governor-general, a prefect, or a county magistrate either... he was just someone who refused to be ruled. His highest ideal was to be a mountain king — men tilling, women weaving, with no ties whatsoever to the court.

Like leader, like troops — on this point Liu Chengzong was absolutely certain.

Even among their bunch of officers, Cao Yao stood out as exceptional.

Liu Chengzong said, "Then I'm relieved. I called you back to discuss this matter — Hong Chengchou. What do you think?"

This time, he really did need to find an aide to consult with.

Fighting battles, procuring grain, drilling troops — even when they received those surrender letters from various places last time, he could figure it all out, his mind was steady, he didn't need anyone else's advice.

Only this time, on this matter, Liu Chengzong felt uncertain.

Their group from Fish River Fort — from the very start, their idea had been to infiltrate the rebel army as moles. Nominally, every one of them was an agent.

And that was just Fish River Fort. The frontier forts all faced the same predicament back then. Hong Chengchou hadn't necessarily given this suggestion only to He Renlong.

How many of the frontier troops across all of northern Shaanxi carried the identity of moles? And how many in the peasant army across northern Shaanxi had already been half-turned?

No one knew.

Cao Yao shook his head. "What's there to think? We can't do anything about him. He can turn our soldiers, but we can't turn his. Besides... people fear losing their fallback."

Actually, whether it was letting the frontier troops go out, or the death-exemption tokens — they were all fallbacks.

Liu Chengzong nodded. "You and I think the same. The authorities didn't send anyone to attack this winter, but they've done plenty of things — all aimed at breaking us apart."

Liu Chengzong had thought the phenomenon of everyone feeling endangered would only exist in utterly disorganized peasant army gangs like Bu Zhan Ni or Hun Tian Hou.

But in reality, he couldn't escape it either. After this incident, even though the Lion Battalion was tightly organized, he inevitably began to worry about the other chieftains.

Feng Rang's trouble this time came about because his man made contact with other chieftains in Yijun.

That Lüe Dihu, Hao Xiaoquan — two chieftains he'd never even heard of — used the death-exemption tokens to make contact with Fei Shanhu.

It wasn't necessarily that Fei Shanhu was dead set on surrendering to the government troops. Most likely, he just wanted to carry a death-exemption token on him, so that if he was ever defeated in battle, he'd still have a fallback.

But if I'm dead set and you're carrying a death-exemption token, then the hearts in the ranks aren't united anymore.

"If you ask me, don't worry so much. Set off for Shanxi as soon as possible — put some distance between yourself and these scheming bastards."

Cao Yao's view on the matter was extremely relaxed. "If you can't afford to provoke them, can't you afford to hide from them? There are plenty of ways to deal with them. Isn't that what the squad commanders you set up in the ranks are for? If that still doesn't stop it, and they really piss me off, I'll have the troops shave their heads."

Liu Chengzong was dumbfounded. The part about the squad commanders he could understand. "Shave their heads for what?"

"Shave it into a bulang'er style, braid two queues — all fucking pretend to be Mongol Tatars. The government troops see that, they'll want our heads on sight."

Cao Yao curled his lip and said fiercely, "Exempt from death? Exempt my ass!"

Liu Chengzong was amused. "Why don't you just advise me to lead the troops beyond the pass? Four thousand fierce tigers strike straight down on Bansheng, drive off the Khutuktu Khan, and I'll become the Shunyi Prince."

"Hahaha!" Cao Yao laughed until his stomach hurt. "Don't joke around — we can't beat the Khutuktu Khan."

Laughing aside, when the laughter died down, Liu Chengzong tapped his hand on the table. "Striking Bansheng is just a joke, but what you said is indeed a line of thought. Using something easily visible on the body to determine allegiance — that can cut off people's fallback."

Shaving the head into a bulang'er style — this was actually the same principle as back during the early years of the Wokou raids, when the Wokou pirates had all their men shave their heads. The hair wouldn't grow back for a while; even if they surrendered, they'd still be taken for Wokou and killed anyway, so they had no choice but to fight to the death.

At this point, Liu Chengzong still felt like laughing. "But fucking pretending to be Mongol Tatars is just too miserable. Besides, if we do that, how do we recruit soldiers later? Right now we're a righteous army — we don't harass the common people. The commoners near Yan'an Prefecture city aren't afraid when they see us; sometimes they even bring us news."

"You shave your head into a northern caitiff bulang'er style, and the moment we march into Shanxi, all the people's national hatred and family vendettas will be stirred up. Wouldn't the local militias everywhere fight us to the death along the road, blocking our way?"

Liu Chengzong shook his head. "The hair absolutely cannot be shaved, especially not into a northern caitiff style. Otherwise, Chengyun would be the first to have it out with me. My uncle was shot dead by the Tatars."

Cao Yao spread his hands. "Then besides this, what other way do you have? Shave it bald? Changing clothes definitely won't work. Shaving bald won't work either. We need something that makes the court want to execute the man on sight, right?"

At this, Cao Yao suddenly slapped his hand on the table. "If you ask me, this rotten idea didn't come from Advisor Hong. Every grievance has its cause, every debt its debtor. He's only allowed to stab us in the back in secret? Let's march straight south to Hancheng, take Hancheng, and finish him off."

"That's also a way, but the road to Hancheng is difficult — you can only go through Yellow Dragon Mountain. We don't have anyone familiar with the route; it's too easy to fall into an ambush. And the Guanzhong plain to the south extends in all directions. Our men are familiar with the mountains, but facing off against government troops on the plains — that's quite hard."

Liu Chengzong noted this down, then said, "Still, that only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. The government troops have more than just one Hong Chengchou. In the future, others will come sowing discord and turning men against each other."

"Then tattooing. On the tiger's mouth — left hand 'Oppose,' right hand 'Ming.'" As Cao Yao spoke, he made a gesture of extending his hands. "Even if they surrender, the moment they stretch out their hands, their heads are delivered to the authorities."

That was also an idea.

Liu Chengzong nodded. "But even if we tattoo, just do it on the left hand — 'Oppose Ming.'"

Cao Yao asked, "Then what do we keep the right hand for?"

"The right hand... I don't know about the right hand. One is enough."

Liu Chengzong stood up, walked out of the room, and took a deep breath.

The right hand — the right hand was reserved for the Qing.

Oppose Ming, Restore Qing.