Chapter 20: Black Dragon King Temple Mountain

The rendezvous went smoothly, and they didn't waste any time on the road.

That evening, the able-bodied men of Black Dragon King Temple Mountain and the border troops arrived back in the village driving dozens of grain carts. The village women had long since set up large cauldrons outside the Temple of Emperor Guan west of the village, steaming fragrant millet rice, just waiting for them to return and enjoy it.

On the road, Liu Chengzong had thought through all the changes in his hometown.

Everyone knew they were in the grip of a drought, but everyone secretly clung to the hope that next year things would get better. In Xingping Village, his father Liu Xiangyu, relying on the clan's respect for his status as a Provincial Graduate, had pushed through a decision at the clan council for the entire clan to plant drought-resistant crops and dredge irrigation channels.

The first year of the Chongzhen reign saw a full year of drought, which proved his decision correct. The foresight of the water channels and the choice of grain crops allowed the elders and villagers to endure the drought.

Facing the surging tide of refugees, after calculating the clan's grain reserves, his father once again overrode all objections at the clan council and took in forty-two refugee households. Their family alone took in seven households, including Shi Wanzhong's.

Each of these refugee households had at least one able-bodied laborer, and they contributed a great deal of effort this spring in repairing the water channels and reclaiming nearby unowned farmland.

Liu Xiangyu was the famine savior of Dragon King Temple Mountain. If not for him, Xingping Village would have been no better off than Li Hongji's hometown. None of the clan elders or village heads would have been able to stay idle; they would all have had to go beg for loans from wealthy households.

Precisely because of this, the clan elders knew Liu Xiangyu had saved them enormous trouble, and they were willing to repay his kindness by supporting him in daily affairs. That became the current situation in Xingping Village.

After they became the only surviving village among the surrounding eight villages, Liu Xiangyu was recommended by the clan elders to be the militia training commander for the northern township. Xingping Village's original militia quota of three men was also raised to twenty-four.

This was the militia establishment for the entire northern township of Fushi County. Since the implementation of the Yellow Registers in the early Ming dynasty, the lijia system had served as a grassroots militia organization, based on the principle of every man defending himself and every household fighting as a unit, ensuring the safety of the common people.

The militia system developed on this foundation during the Xuande and Zhengtong eras, when bandits rose everywhere and northern barbarians raided the borders. They were mustered when alarms were raised and returned to the fields when peace was restored. It was both a form of corvée labor and a source for recruiting garrison troops.

The training commander was only responsible for drilling the troops. In times of crisis, they were conscripted by the imperial court, and the commanding officer was a deputy official dispatched by the local government, usually drawn from the guard post officers.

The border troops had come from afar, and Liu Xiangyu fulfilled his duties as host, entertaining them with millet rice before arranging for them to stay in the Temple of Emperor Guan.

The Temple of Emperor Guan on Black Dragon King Temple Mountain was not dilapidated. Last year, dozens of refugee households had temporarily stayed there and set up beds. This year, fearing more refugees might pass through, the village women had cleaned it up just a few days ago.

The Liu brothers did not sleep in the temple that night. Liu Chengzu asked the two squad leaders, Gao Xian and Tian Shoujing, to look after the troops, and then went home with Liu Chengzong to pay respects to their parents.

During the day, in front of so many fellow villagers and border troops, there were many things father and sons could not say to each other.

The Liu family's two-courtyard residence was on the west side of the village. It was built by the clansmen after Liu Xiangyu passed the provincial exam and obtained a substantive post as an instructor in Yan'an Prefecture. Back then, they even planted a southern osmanthus tree by the gate, and in the years that followed, Xingping Village did indeed produce two Cultivated Talents.

But that osmanthus tree had a rough time. It was simply not suited to grow in this land. Even with the villagers' careful tending, it was barely clinging to life now, neither fragrant nor blooming.

The residence backed onto a small loess hill, where a row of cave dwellings had been dug. Earlier, the caves had sat idle and fallen into disrepair, but recently, with newcomers arriving in the village, they had been given a little patching up.

Back when this two-courtyard house hadn't been built yet, Liu Xiangyu had passed the provincial exam but not yet received a substantive post. Many students from Yan'an Prefecture, drawn by his reputation, begged to become his disciples. Some simply wanted to settle on Black Dragon Temple Mountain, so they dug cave dwellings beside the courtyard.

Speaking of which, Liu Chengzong found this courtyard utterly unfamiliar. Standing under the osmanthus tree, he sighed to his elder brother, "It's been over ten years, and the two of us have lived in this new house for barely more than a year in total."

"Speaking of which? Ha!" Liu Chengzu was far more direct. He looked up at the gate and said, "Speaking of which, this house wasn't built for our family at all. Our father and mother haven't even lived here for a few years."

Just as the brothers were talking, someone inside the courtyard heard the conversation outside. The gate opened a crack, and a young man's head, bound with a hair cloth, poked out. Liu Chengzu pointed at him and laughed to his younger brother, "The person who lives in this house has come out—Chengyun!"

"Eldest Brother, Brother Lion! I heard Second Uncle say you'd be back tonight. I've been waiting behind the gate the whole time!"

The young man who poked his head out was a year younger than Liu Chengzong, with a clever look in his eyes. His name was Liu Chengyun, the orphaned son of the Liu family's eldest uncle.

In the second year of the Tianqi reign, Liu Chengyun's parents and eldest brother had all died in the chaos of a Tatar raid. He was still young then, so he was brought here to live. Over all these years, he had ended up living in this house the longest.

Before the two brothers could say anything, Liu Chengyun had already dashed out, taking the reins and tethering the horses while chattering nonstop: "It's so good you're back. I just got back from the south tonight, otherwise I would have definitely gone to meet you on the mountain road."

"Back from the south." Liu Chengzu had just stepped over the threshold. Puzzled, he asked, "It's chaos out there with soldiers and bandits everywhere. What were you doing in the south?"

Liu Chengzong also frowned inwardly. This kid Chengyun was a year younger than him and had no martial skills to protect himself, yet he dared to run around outside recklessly. He was a bit too bold.

"I did a lot of things."

Chengyun was not at all frightened recounting this slightly risky journey. Beaming with excitement, he said, "After you two joined the army, I went to learn some skills from Accountant Wu, the son-in-law of the second branch, and saved up a bit of money. With all goods being dirt cheap right now, I bought two shopfronts in the prefectural city for Second Uncle and Second Aunt."

"I also bought a few things for you two, and stopped by to see my father-in-law."

These words made the two brothers stare at each other wide-eyed. "You... you already have a father-in-law? When did this happen?"

"Just last year, after the Emperor's amnesty, I arranged the match... You've been away from home too long. It's a long story for me. Let's go inside first and see Uncle and Aunt."

As they spoke, the three brothers passed through the festooned gate behind the spirit screen and entered the inner courtyard. From a distance, they heard the sound of their mother's complaining and nagging voice, and couldn't help but exchange knowing smiles.

They saw the lamplight inside casting silhouettes on the window. Their mother was complaining about their father's hands-off attitude, ignoring all household matters, letting their grain stores dwindle, and spending his days either drilling troops or compiling books, never doing anything proper.

Their father was silent for a long time, until their mother mentioned that with the two sons back, they would have some support and wouldn't need to fear soldier disasters or mob unrest. Only then did he mutter, "Set your mind at ease. No one can harm our family. On Black Dragon King Temple Mountain, I fear no one who comes."

"Alright, Chengyun has been out for a while. It's probably the two boys coming back. Don't argue in front of them. You worry more about the household affairs, and leave a way out for the tenant farmers."

"Who's standing in the courtyard?"

Liu Chengzu answered, "Father, Mother, Lion and I are back."

"If you're back, come in quickly. Don't stand out in the draft in the courtyard. Wait for your mother to tidy up the room so you can sleep well tonight."

The old man was still talking when Liu Chengzong had already let Little Whirlwind loose to frolic in the courtyard and casually placed Mei Dianmei's little house by the door of the side room. Only then did he follow his elder brother inside to kowtow to their father.

Liu Xiangyu sat in the main seat of the central hall, a still-unlit smoking pipe resting on the table beside his hand. He looked long and hard at his two sons kneeling before him, and only after a long while did he tell them to rise. He turned his head away and let out a deep sigh.

"Earlier, I thought it wasn't good for you two to be soldiers. Who knew the world would go so bad right before our eyes? Now that you've brought troops back, what are your plans?"