Chapter 212: A Sinner of History

Source of *The Stubborn Bandit*:

Truth be told, Liu Chengzong only wanted the post of Xining Guard Commander.

He didn't even need the Commander title — just safe passage for his troops across Liupan Mountain would do.

Once past Liupan Mountain into Longxi, the sea is wide for fish to leap, the sky is high for birds to fly — even if the government troops tried to encircle him, they couldn't hold him in.

The official post didn't matter. Judging by Yang He's situation, he wouldn't last long as Tri-Border Governor anyway. He'd find a place in Longxi to rest and recover for half a year or so.

Once the court removed Yang He, he'd raise the rebel banner again and take Lintao, Lanzhou, and Minzhou all in one sweep.

If anyone asked, the answer was simple: the Grand Man who recruited me was dismissed, and my heart is uneasy.

But when the words reached his lips, he spoke of the Qinghai Pacification Commissioner instead. To be honest... he actually wanted it a little.

Because rationally speaking, this was the path closest to survival, and the court would be most likely to accept it from a "use the tiger to drive out the wolves" perspective.

But emotionally, the court was not rational.

The jimi system was, in essence, a compromise — one regional strongman after another: Yang Yinglong, She Chongming, An Bangyan, even Nurhaci could be counted among them. All were products of compromise born from mountains high and emperors far away.

And below the average line of Ming emperors' talent, the word "compromise" seemed not to exist.

At the very least, the moment Zhou Riqiang heard the phrase "hold this land in perpetuity," he had already become irrational.

His heart and liver trembled. He trembled for a long while before it dawned on him that the court had no Qinghai Pacification Commissioner's Office.

Zhou Riqiang had originally prepared himself mentally — no matter what Liu Chengzong said, he would not argue.

But at this point, he truly could not bear it. He said, "General, you are daydreaming! You want the court to establish a Qinghai Pacification Commissioner's Office — I can convey that on your behalf — but it's impossible to give you the Pacification Commissioner post and the Xining Commander post at the same time. Handing you the entire western gate!"

Liu Chengzong leaned back, dumbfounded. Was the Qinghai Pacification Commissioner not even worth a Xining Guard Commander?

After he recovered, he said, "Then what if you hold the western gate and lock me outside the pass? With Xining Guard, if I lose a battle out there, I'd still have a place to rest and resupply."

Zhou Riqiang raised a hand and waved it. "What if you collude with sea bandits to enter the pass? Impossible. No room for discussion."

"Me, collude with sea bandits to enter the pass?"

Liu Chengzong looked as if he had heard the most absurd joke. "First, there is no pass west of Xining. Second, how much food is out there? For my men to survive out there, we'd have to rely on raiding and fighting. Prefect Zhou, do you know where we stand right now in history?"

Where we stand in history?

Zhou Riqiang moistened his lips with his tongue and swallowed.

He thought to himself, just look at the man sitting before him!

He had defeated government troops time and again, fought everyone from Company Commander to Regional Commander, his forces spanning counties and prefectures.

Yet inside his command tent there was no furnishing at all — no greed for pleasure, living simply; his courage surpassing others, harboring soaring ambitions; and he had deeply won the hearts of his soldiers while scorning imperial authority.

Most importantly, he was young — he could fight the court for another forty years!

Yang He was a sheep turd, glossy on the outside; His Majesty the Emperor didn't seem too bright either. If they actually agreed to this matter...

Zhou Riqiang drew a deep breath. "A sinner of history."

Liu Chengzong was quite taken aback. Honestly, he had thought he was the only one with a historical perspective — he hadn't expected this Prefect Zhou could also contemplate the present from the angle of history.

Only, arriving at this conclusion was a bit ridiculous.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Riqiang repeated it emphatically: "If I agreed to you, I would be a sinner of history. Posterity would stab me in the back."

"No!"

Liu the Lion flatly denied it, gesturing toward Zhou Riqiang: "Prefect Zhou would be expanding the Great Ming's territory. The court never had a Qinghai Pacification Commissioner's Office — this is the great enterprise of opening new frontiers!"

"General Liu, you cannot deceive me."

Zhou Riqiang adjusted his robes and shook his head. "You have no heart of submission. Entering the Western Sea is merely to evade punitive expeditions. Even if, as you say, it is opening new frontiers — what benefit is opening frontiers within the realm?"

"Even if a Pacification Commissioner's Office were truly established, could you possibly submit tax revenue to the court? Not only would there be no tax revenue, but the soldiers and civilians following you number in the tens of thousands. The court would lose population and taxes, and still have to hand you the western gate."

"The sea bandits and barbarian tribes lack iron but have many horses, yet you have countless fine craftsmen. You could easily go beyond the frontier, open mines, and smelt iron. Lintao Garrison can still hold off the sea bandits for now, but given time for you to rest and recover, how could they stop you?"

Too far.

Could these things be laid bare?

Liu Chengzong frowned. "Prefect Zhou, with Ning Prefecture governed by you to such a state — weeds covering the land, not a cock's crow for a hundred li — there's no need to display your fervent patriotism before me, is there?"

At this, Zhou Riqiang grew agitated. You may doubt my loyalty to the court, but you cannot doubt my ability, or even my intelligence!

He said, "With the court's heavy taxes, what can I do? Am I to send troops to round them up and make empty-bellied, naked commoners zealous for public duty?"

He was agitated, so Liu Chengzong's heart grew calm and serene.

Liu the Lion watched him quietly for a moment, then spoke with great ease: "Then you should know better than I do — the problem isn't the starving people and starving troops, it isn't me. The problem is the Zhu family's court."

Zhou Riqiang wanted to cover his ears, even wanted to turn and walk out. In that instant, he thought of that Mongol standing on the millstone in the fields, rousing the bandit horde.

What kind of man was this? In Zhou Riqiang's mind were many examples of heroes and great men — they shared many common traits, such as living simply and maintaining strict military discipline, but none were as skilled at deluding the masses with wicked words as Liu Chengzong.

Just then, Liu Chengzong asked, "Is Prefect Zhou a Presented Scholar?"

Zhou Riqiang shook his head. "Provincial Graduate from Li County, Baoding Prefecture."

"You are the chief official of a prefecture. Among the realm's teeming millions, prefectural officials number only a few hundred — you are the elite of the elite, the eminent among the eminent. You ought to be wise and far-sighted. Do you know what it means for the gentry to be without proper purpose?"

Liu Chengzong raised a finger and pointed at Zhou Riqiang. "Men of surpassing talent, high officials and eminent nobles — those qualified to guide the realm's future — yet ignorant of where they stand in history, muddled and confused, drifting through their days."

"Since the August Emperor drove out the Tatar caitiffs, the common people have dwelt in peace for over two hundred years. Now the court, riddled with chronic ills, for the sake of preserving one family's and one surname's imperial power, acts in perverse ways, plunging the realm's common folk into fire and water, hanging the people upside down in dire straits. Everywhere in the human world, wives separated from husbands, children from parents, homes broken and lives ruined — such tragic scenes, how can one bear to witness them?"

Liu Chengzong bent forward to look at Zhou Riqiang. "I, Liu the Lion, am but a lowly frontier soldier. I can well say I am helpless and powerless. You, Prefect Zhou, as father and mother to the common people, what face do you have to say you are helpless? Grand but without proper purpose!"

Zhou Riqiang's head buzzed. A rebel ringleader, teaching me how to be an official?

Damn it, who didn't understand these principles? But in a place like Ning Prefecture, drawing the court's salary meant tearing off your mask and flaying flesh from bone. To solve the present situation, you'd have to raise a banner and rebel.

But he wanted both a clear conscience and to avoid rebellion. All he could do was report tax arrears to the court year after year. If the common people hid away, they hid away — what else could he do?

"The Great Ming has been fine — over two hundred years. The Great Tang, after Wu Zhou, only lasted two hundred years. Do you now know where you stand?"

"Perhaps I am nothing more than a Huang Chao." Liu Chengzong tilted his chin slightly up, eyes slanting downward as he pointed at Zhou Riqiang. "But people like you — beneath the raging waves, the great edifice about to collapse, lacking the ability to turn back the heavens with a single hand — shouldn't you at least consider what to do after it falls?"

Zhou Riqiang was stupefied, utterly surreal.

What Liu Chengzong spoke of, he had never heard before, and naturally had never considered — what to do after the Great Ming fell.

Yet to Zhou Riqiang, this seemingly profound question had an obvious answer: if it falls, just set up a new one.

Zhou Riqiang said, "But the Great Ming hasn't fallen yet, and this official does not believe you can topple it."

"What virtue or ability do I have to topple the Great Ming?" Liu Chengzong laughed with satisfaction. He spread his arms and looked himself over from head to toe. "For this tall tower of the Great Ming to fall, the pillars fall first. I, Liu the Lion, am merely one of those several fallen pillars."

Having said this, he couldn't help showing a proud expression. "But my pillar, though fallen, is still intact. You've seen my men — after entering Qingyang, some chieftains attached themselves to me, and the ranks gained some famine refugees."

"But my core force of three thousand border troops all shed blood defending the frontiers for the court. They are battle-hardened veterans. The court wanted to starve and impoverish us to death. On the border walls, our hands and feet were powerless. Once out here, I led them to eat and drink their fill."

Liu Chengzong sat back down. "The border troops follow me and have even better discipline. Your offer of amnesty is meaningless. Even if I kept a thousand men and became a Regional Commander."

"The remaining two thousand would still revolt. They aren't farmers. Released to rebel, the starving armies of the Three Frontiers still couldn't defeat them, and without my restraint, I guarantee they wouldn't refrain from plundering the local populace as they do now."

Zhou Riqiang also recognized this problem.

Before coming, he had thought like most people — that amnesty meant weeding out the old and weak, and in the end, keeping one-fifth or even one-tenth as combat-ready troops would be good enough.

He never expected that even at Liu Chengzong's current force size, counting only combat-ready soldiers, they exceeded five thousand.

He sighed silently. "The court cannot possibly grant General Liu the post of Chief Regional Commander."

"That's why I said, I'll give you a solution. Pacification Commissioner of Qinghai — a Pacification Commission that doesn't exist. The court only needs to give me a title. In truth, giving the title is for your own good. Just open the gates and let me go west, that's all. I don't want to keep fighting here either — the ones dying are all our own people."

Liu Chengzong looked at Zhou Riqiang and said, "You're from Northern Zhili. The Eastern Invaders have already founded a state, and in the Central Plains, the court suppresses all — no military governors within, starving troops sent to the frontiers. When the Great Ming collapses, who will seize the realm?"

"Impossible."

Zhou Riqiang was brimming with confidence. "The Shanhai line is as solid as metal and stone. How could the Eastern Invaders use the small to overcome the great?"

"Hong Taiji thinks the same. But if it's truly as solid as metal and stone, why did the Western Army have to come to the Emperor's aid? During the Jisi Incident, I read many battle reports. The state is weak and easily bullied. If I can see it, can't Hong Taiji see it?"

"Shanhai is as solid as metal and stone — what about Wanquan? What about Xuan-Da? The court only has Shanhai as solid as metal and stone. I, in northern Shaanxi, have already taken in Mongols who submitted amid the chaos beyond the frontier. The Eastern Invaders will soon become the Northern Invaders! Where is there any military funding on the Nine Frontiers? Everywhere except Liaodong Garrison is full of holes."

Zhou Riqiang showed a puzzled expression. Thinking it over carefully, he still found the idea of the Eastern Invaders seizing the realm after the Great Ming's collapse utterly absurd.

He sat perfectly straight, smacked his lips, and looked at Liu Chengzong with utter sincerity. "General Liu, you say the Great Ming is about to perish. Though this official dislikes hearing it, sometimes what I witness is indeed too frustrating for words."

"But as for what happens after the realm topples — if you told me with absolute certainty that you could seize the realm, I would merely think you far too arrogant."

"But when you say the Eastern Invaders will win the realm, this official thinks you might as well be called the Living Lü Bu. After all, with such intellect, I fear you are very far indeed from seizing the realm."

Liu the Lion immediately glared. This grandson — you're speaking nicely and then you go and insult me?

But then he laughed and said, "If you can report back to Yang He like that, then I'll feel much better. Liu is but a mere military man, so you should be all the more willing to help me bring about this westward journey."

"Why is that?"

"It benefits you. My talent and strength are merely mediocre — I can be toyed with in the palm of your hand. But if you let me run rampant between Shaanxi and Gansu, I will inevitably bring calamity to the Three Frontiers from without and destroy the Four Princes from within. The harm would be far greater than a loss of twenty thousand people. The government troops I've defeated alone already number no less than ten thousand."

Zhou Riqiang narrowed his eyes. This statement carried a strong threat. Bringing calamity to the Three Frontiers from without was one thing, but destroying the Four Princes from within — who knew how many heads would roll.

At the very least, Yang He's official position would certainly not be kept.

For the first time, he leaned forward, propping his arms on the kang table. "General Liu, destroying the Four Princes from within would sever the path of amnesty entirely. You must consider this carefully!"

"Heh heh."

Liu Chengzong pressed his lips together and chuckled softly, utterly satisfied at his worried expression. Then he put away his smile and said, "My men will no longer protect the Zhu family emperor. So don't count on something like Xiong Wencan granting amnesty to Zheng Zhilong. But I can ensure they do not bring disaster to Shaanxi and Gansu."

"If the court can block the Eastern Invaders, and the drought ends in another year or two, then Liu, as a tribal chieftain in Qinghai, would likely be quite obedient. At worst, I simply won't have dealings with the court. What is there to fear?"

Zhou Riqiang was pondering exactly this logic.

During this time, he had analyzed Liu Chengzong very clearly. Liu's power, though strong, was merely taking advantage of the drought.

The government troops couldn't plunder all around and couldn't eat their fill, so they couldn't defeat him. If the government troops could eat their fill, he would cease to be a problem.

And the threat of the Lion Camp right now was visible and tangible. From the sound of his words, he intended to attack and seize the princedoms — a crime no one could bear responsibility for.

If they threw him into Qinghai, and the drought ended in two years, with troop provisions and supplies restored, even if he then wanted to cause trouble, a pincer attack from Gansu and Lintao might well be more than he could withstand.

Thinking of this, Zhou Riqiang smiled, cupped his hands, and said, "These matters are not for this official to decide. I will go now and tell my personal attendants to relay this to Supreme Commander Yang. I hope General Liu will remain calm and wait a few days here on the plateau. There will certainly be a response."

"Good. Oh, I must tell you two things. You must relay them to Yang He. First, the only one Liu fears is Cao Wenzhao, so don't bother transferring troops from all directions — you'll only harm other people's lives in vain."

Then, Liu Chengzong stood up and added with emphasis, "Also, regarding my request for the post of Qinghai Pacification Commissioner, Supreme Commander Yang must tell the Emperor. This is a good thing — opening up new territory. It doesn't matter if the Emperor doesn't agree, but Yang He must not refuse on his own authority."

"After all, if this matter fails and I later make some big commotion, don't let the Emperor blame Supreme Commander Yang. I fear his Eight Characters aren't sturdy enough, and he might be cursed to death by the Chongzhen Emperor."

Zhou Riqiang didn't take up the thread. Those words were far too caustic.

His own guards followed Zhou Riqiang to find his personal attendants and deliver the message. Before long, word was reported back to Liu Chengzong — it had gone fairly well. They only said that Liu's troops were elite and not easily dispersed, and also relayed the demands regarding Qinghai and Xining.

As for the hand tattoos and the content of their conversation, none of that was mentioned. They only leaked the news that Liu Chengzong feared Cao Wenzhao.

The corner of Liu Chengzong's mouth lifted in a smile. He immediately ordered the entire army to break camp in half a shichen, leaving Wang Wenxiu's rear guard along with Han Chaozai's, Hu Sanzha's, and the other units stationed there to hold off Yang He's relief forces.

Zhou Riqiang had just sent off his attendants when he was shocked to hear the entire army was breaking camp. He hurriedly ran to Liu Chengzong and asked, "General Liu, what is the meaning of this? A reply will come in a few days at most. You—!"

"For Yang He to report this to the court, the round trip will take at least half a month. Am I supposed to just sit here waiting for the government troops to come and exterminate us?"

Liu Chengzong smiled and gave a look to his attendants, who promptly took control of Zhou Riqiang and his personal retinue. He said, "Yang He is here. All units will come to Ningzhou to rescue him, and Ningzhou is a poor place. So, Magistrate Zhou, bear with the hardship — we're going to Gushi to take a look around."

"By the time we return, Cao Wenzhao will have about arrived too — just in time to deal with him."

Zhou Riqiang's eyes widened. "You... aren't you afraid of Cao Wenzhao?"

"I'm afraid he'll go after someone else. Others can't withstand those well-fed Guanning troops. That's why I borrowed the magistrate's mouth to have Yang He summon him here."

Liu Chengzong smiled and shook his head. "I can eat my fill. Eastern troops, Western troops — who's afraid of whom?"