Chapter 235: Remnant Faction

Source of *The Stubborn Bandit*:

On Academy Street in Xining, Lion Liu was on his way to inspect the warehouse the Prince of Han had bought for him.

"Academy" is an old term for school; at the end of this street stood the Confucian Temple and the Confucian School of Xining Garrison.

Those studying at the Confucian School were all government students — it was not a place for universal basic education.

Precisely for this reason, the street was very empty. After an inspection by Steward Hu Yuan, sent earlier by the Han princely estate, it was deemed highly suitable to serve as a warehouse for King Liu.

When Liu Chengzong arrived, the princely estate steward Hu Yuan was in the middle of studying several inkstones in his hands. Spotting the clearance procession from afar — columns of government troops in gleaming armor marching through the city streets — he guessed it was Liu Chengzong and hurried out to receive him.

He promptly dashed before King Liu's carriage and reported, "Great, Great Commander, this stretch of Academy Street runs one *li* and one hundred eighty paces east to west, bordering East Main Street and North Main Street. The location is quite good. If the Great Commander wants it, I can obtain the title deed."

He had originally been about to say "Great King," but seeing Cao Huachun still following alongside, he switched to "Great Commander."

Liu Chengzong surveyed the area. It bordered the city's East Main Street and North Main Street, and its southwest corner was the main intersection of Xining — a location that could not be more central.

Moreover, East Main Street led to the East Gate. Liu Chengzong saw a row of shops and residences along the way, extremely bustling. He had only given Hu Yuan two hundred taels.

His original intent was simply for Hu Yuan to come scout the area and rent a warehouse yard; he had not expected the man to plan on directly acquiring the title deed.

"Is land in Xining this cheap? Two hundred taels gets you a plot this large?"

"Ah? How could it be that cheap!"

Hu Yuan was baffled. "The two hundred taels His Highness gave me are still untouched. This humble one does not know how the Great Commander operates and dared not give the money away on my own."

Liu Chengzong gave the area a rough look and was fairly satisfied. He said bluntly, "Walk with me for now. The parade ground is to the southwest. First, let's move the troops over and let my brother assess the situation in Xining. On the way, tell me how to handle the title deed for this place."

"Nothing could be better. I'll lead the Great Commander's horse."

As soon as Hu Yuan finished speaking, the young man in red leading Liu Chengzong's horse said, "Just walk alongside the Great Commander. My name is Chen Shifo, I'm guiding the Great Commander."

"That works too."

Chen Shifo was the younger brother of the minor Han chieftain Chen Shiwen, and had been briefing Liu Chengzong on the surroundings the entire journey.

They had entered the city through the East Gate, and Chen Shifo was intimately familiar with every tree and bush within the walls, able to point at every open shop and name which chieftain family stood behind it.

Xining was a very peculiar garrison city — perhaps the most commercially prosperous garrison city in the entire Ming dynasty, yet it had no county administration.

As a result, every trade in this city was monopolized by garrison officers and native chieftains: some monopolized cattle and horses, some fruits and vegetables, some yak-tail tassels.

Before Hu Yuan arrived, Chen Shifo had just been talking about pawnshops. Xining had over eighty pawnshops, each paying the court five taels of silver annually in pawnbroker tax, totaling over four hundred taels.

Most county seats in the interior, aside from grain tax and regular taxes, could not even reach two thousand taels when all miscellaneous taxes for the year were added together.

In Chen Shifo's words, Xining's chieftains were divided into three tiers. The first tier could build great Buddhist temples, with living Buddhas reincarnating generation after generation within their families — these earned a fortune daily. The second tier could monopolize an entire market sector, dictating the price of a single commodity. The third tier followed behind the others.

Liu Chengzong asked, "So what trade does your family monopolize?"

"What trade does the Great Commander think our family could monopolize? If my family could monopolize a trade, would I still dare tell the Great Commander about this?"

Chen Shifo laughed self-deprecatingly. "My family can't even monopolize sheep and horse dung. We only run a small pawnshop, lending out a bit of interest money. No one deposits money with us, so we have no large capital and can't lend any out either."

Liu Chengzong asked, "How do you calculate the interest here?"

"Lending money out, it's three percent monthly interest. Taking money in, others generally offer one and a half percent monthly." As he spoke, Chen Shifo's expression grew complicated. "A minor chieftain who could vanish any day — no one puts money in our family's pawnshop."

Liu Chengzong did a quick calculation. Their pawnshop lending rates were decent; the interest really wasn't that high.

But this Chen chieftain family, honestly, was rather troubling. "All chieftains, yet others monopolize markets and build temples far and wide. How has your family, over more than two hundred years, ended up like this? You run a pawnshop and no one even deposits money with you."

"Well, what can we do?"

Chen Shifo said, "Who isn't a chieftain? Xining has over forty commanders, but my family hasn't received a substantive appointment for generations. Back when troops were dispatched to Huangzhong, our twenty-five soldiers weren't even called up. We can't even afford to hire a *juren* scholar as a tutor."

Liu Chengzong asked curiously, "Can't a chieftain's son attend the Confucian School?"

"The eldest son can. My elder brother studies at the Confucian School over there. I can't — I could only become a monk and study at a temple. But studying at a temple also depends on family background; they divide people into ranks. Rich kids study every day; poor kids do chores all day."

Chen Shifo said, "Actually, those in the middle have it hardest. I can't earn reward money serving noble lamas like the monks from poor families, but the temple's offerings aren't enough to live on or spend, so it's very hard to study in peace. I had to find my own way to make a living."

"Handling funerals for people, making scheduled house calls to chant sutras — earning a bit of money to spend."

As he spoke, Chen Shifo seemed to recall something, his face showing emotion. He said no more, only pointing at a shopfront on East Main Street and saying, "A pawnshop could be opened there. The Great Commander has ample capital; there's profit to be made."

Liu Chengzong dealt in costless ventures and had little regard for trades requiring capital; he lacked interest in such topics.

However, he was quite curious about the two Chen brothers. Both seemed utterly obsessed with money, a world apart from the chieftains he had imagined.

On horseback, he said to Hu Yuan, who was walking beside him, "Tell me — you said you could get the title deed for this place, and earlier you said you didn't know how I operate. Does that have anything to do with buying the title deed?"

"Great Commander, it has everything to do with it. It depends on how you wish to pay."

As he spoke, Hu Yuan glanced toward Cao Huachun and said to Liu Chengzong, "Great Commander, perhaps you could ride ahead with me a little. This isn't the best place to talk."

Liu Chengzong laughed, spurred his horse forward, and advanced a few steps within the column.

Hu Yuan said, "This plot of land belongs to the Xining Garrison. Everyone wants it, but the main person who can contest it with the Great Commander is Chieftain Li of the Eastern Earl Estate. He can't seize it, but he can file a complaint with Lanzhou and ruin the Great Commander's plans."

"So I have three proposals. The first is, naturally, to buy it outright — have the Prince of Su's estate step in and purchase this land. It would cost roughly eighteen thousand taels. The second is to occupy it outright, not paying a single coin. That's also possible. These chieftains will certainly file complaints, but I believe the Great Commander isn't afraid of that."

"The third is to bribe Chieftain Li and jointly develop this area into a warehouse yard. The large western section of Academy Street would serve as the Great Commander's warehouse yard, while the eastern section would be the Xining Garrison's warehouse yard. The thirty-plus shopfronts along the eastern street could be rented out, with the rent going to the Xining Garrison. This humble one believes bribing him would take no more than a thousand taels."

Buying it outright — Liu Chengzong felt that was unnecessary.

Sooner or later, everything in this city would be his. There was no reason to spend money buying something from someone else that belonged in one's own house.

But this city was not yet his, so occupying it outright was also inappropriate. Although the Li chieftain family had only three hundred chieftain soldiers, chieftains had very strong mobilization power — they governed twenty thousand households. If pushed too far, drafting one man per two households would still be quite frightening. There was no need to start a war over this.

As for bribery, Liu Chengzong shook his head. "I heard from Chieftain Chen a couple of days ago that this Chieftain Li does not accept bribes."

"That's true, he doesn't. After all, he's a great chieftain. Hauling silver over to him — wouldn't that make him no better than a brothel actor? I recall the Great Commander has a younger brother. Chieftain Li is fond of inkstones; his stronghold has many inkstones."

"Inkstones are easy."

Liu Chengzong laughed at that. His men had looted plenty of fine goods; they had at least several dozen rare inkstones of various kinds. "So by your account, my brother delivers a cartload of inkstones to him, and the matter is settled?"

"Not the inkstones, Great Commander." Hu Yuan said, "It's the silver. One thousand taels of silver."

Liu Chengzong frowned. "You talk in circles. Then why bring up inkstones?"

Seeing Liu Chengzong growing impatient, Hu Yuan was also troubled. He and this Great Commander were simply not on the same wavelength. He said bluntly, "Here's the plan: have Third Master study inkstones with me for a few days, then take me to the Eastern Earl Estate. I can deliver the thousand taels and negotiate the matter to a close."

"How do you deliver it?"

"Third Master learns to appraise inkstones. We go there saying we're merely visiting to view Chieftain Li's collection. Third Master will take a fancy to one of his inkstones, become utterly enamored and insist on buying it, producing a grand sum of a thousand taels to beg Chieftain Li to part with his treasure despite the pain."

"The silver would have just gone in, wouldn't it? I've seen plenty of people like him in Pingliang — the kind who say they don't take bribes but the whole world knows exactly what they like."

Hu Yuan spread his hands. "Of course we won't tell him. We'll occupy that spot permanently. While Eunuch Cao is here, why not designate it as a granary? Then Third Master can say the Grand Marshal needs the west side for storage, and the shops on the east side can be rented out."

"All the Grand Marshal wants is a way in. But once he's in, can anyone make him leave? Put another way, even if someone wanted him out, First Master is still the Commander of Xining Garrison — when the time comes, who calls the shots isn't certain yet."

Liu Chengzong looked at Hu Yuan carefully. You can't judge a man by his looks — this fellow had a very honest face. He said, "Stay here with me, right in Xining. Stay and deal with the chieftains, the Prince of Su in Lanzhou, and the officials."

"I'm honored by the Marshal's regard."

Hu Yuan cupped his fists in a very formulaic salute. "But this is not something a lowly man like me can decide. If His Highness says I stay, then I stay. If His Highness tells me to go back, I must go back."

"Fine, I'll talk to him..."

Just then, as Liu Chengzong was speaking, a flash of light from a building on the north street caught the corner of his eye, sending a sharp warning through his mind.

The twang of a bowstring followed. He ducked under his horse's belly by instinct. A sharp arrow tore through the air, grazing his helmet and nailing itself into the ground.

Behind him, Fan Sanlang drew her fire lance, bit open the fuse tube, and, with no time to light the match cord properly, held the lance in one hand and pressed the tube against the touch hole with the other. Bang! She fired a shot up at the building.

A man on the upper floor dropped his bow, crouched low and grabbed a saber and shield, just barely dodging the shot. He leaped, stepping off the railing, and pounced down, shouting: "Pay with your life for General Li!"

Because Liu Chengzong had been talking with Hu Yuan, the column had spaced out by over ten paces, and at that moment there was no one to his left or right. The words had barely faded when the man sprang down from the upper floor like an ape.

Chaos erupted in the ranks. The guards at the front turned back to reinforce him, while the Clean Army troops at the rear protected Cao Huachun as they retreated. The cavalry detachment surged forward.

Liu Chengzong swung back up from the horse's side. Seeing there was only one assassin, he scowled, drew his saber, and struck.

The man dodged to the side just as Liu Shizi's blade came slashing down. He raised his shield to block, but Red Flag bit down on it and dragged it aside. Only then did he raise his saber to parry, and he heard Liu Chengzong curse: "Where did this wretch come from!"

"Xining Ma Ke!"

He had barely finished shouting when Fan Sanlang smashed her hand cannon at him. Ma Ke hurriedly raised his shield.

Liu Chengzong honestly could not recall who this man was. Seeing him about to charge again, he slipped his foot from the stirrup and kicked him square in the shield, then forced him back with another saber strike. Only then did it come to him — Ma Ke was one of Li Bei's subordinates. He said, "Li Bei isn't dead!"

In an instant, Ma Ke's movements froze. Just then, the forward guards had already fought their way back and were about to loose a volley of arrows to shoot him dead. Liu Chengzong raised an arm to stop them. "Hold!"

Only then did he say to Ma Ke, "Li Bei isn't dead. Put down your weapon, and I'll let you see him."

Ma Ke stood frozen for a moment, his expression incredibly complicated as he looked at Liu Chengzong. Though he did not drop his saber and shield, the soldiers who surged forward immediately bound him hand and foot and dragged him off to the rear.

He had actually forgotten all about Li Bei's matter. He had even turned bandit once in Yulin to scrape together enough food and travel money for the journey home, following the Great Wall all the way back to Xining.

Before returning home, he had sent a letter asking his family to try pulling some strings to see if he could be transferred back to Xining. Yulin was just too miserable.

But because of the time lag in his journey home, he never received the news of his father's passing, and when he got back, there was hardly anyone left in the family.

It suddenly hit him — he had failed to serve his emperor loyally, and failed to serve his father filially. He had always thought of himself as someone of some standing, but now, looking back sharply, he found he was nothing but a disloyal and unfilial wretch.

It was then, suddenly hearing that Liu Chengzong was coming to Xining, that the thought of an ambush had sprung to mind.

At its core, avenging Li Bei was indeed the reason, but to a large extent, it was because life felt meaningless that he chose revenge.

After all, anyone with half a brain knew that even with a prearranged ambush position, one man alone was just seeking death.

Ambushing Liu Chengzong could have two outcomes — either the ambush succeeded, or it failed.

But no matter what, he was dead either way.

Only now, suddenly hearing that Li Bei was actually still alive, he abruptly realized that not only was he disloyal and unfilial, he was also a colossal fool... His mind went blank in an instant.

The army continued forward. Liu Chengzong had lost all desire for conversation. He merely praised Fan Sanlang, who was holding her broken fire lance. "It's fine, we'll have the work sentries fix it for you later... What is this thing, following me all the way from northern Shaanxi to Xining."

It was Chen Shifo, who had been leading the horse and had just been busy dodging Ma Ke, who came running back just in time to hear this. He chimed in: "Marshal, he's actually one of our Xining men. Went out via the military examinations. I heard he was demoted to a common soldier after a defeat, and last month he came home starving."

"Oh, so he's from Xining? Heh, this isn't a bad thing. Ma Ke has done me a great favor."

Liu Chengzong shook his head with a smile and turned to Fan Sanlang. "Sanlang, go up ahead and find Wei Qian'er. Tell him to pass the word — march all the troops into the city. Wang Wenxiu and Feng Rang are to take over the city defenses. Yang Yao and Cao Yao are to impose martial law on the streets. Have Dai Daozi bring the scout cavalry and seal off the parade ground in the southwest of the city."

As he spoke, Liu Chengzong glanced back at the still-shaken Cao Huachun and said to Fan Sanlang, "Tell them this — if they meet any resistance, just one line: someone in the city attempted to assassinate the Imperial Envoy, and the Lion Battalion is under orders to search for the remaining conspirators. Whoever dares obstruct us is an accomplice. Make sure the sentry commanders understand — we are taking over the city defenses, and you'd better catch me a few of those conspirators."