Chapter 69: The Shooting Star

Before he even reached Old Temple Village, Liu Chengzong spotted the herd.

Thirty or forty horses, every back draped with a saddle, weapons still hanging from the saddles, and then twice as many donkeys and mules as the horse herd, being led by herders to the river to drink.

Liu Chengzong dared not go any closer. He led his horse and crouched on the hillside, carefully watching these people.

Eleven herders, all youths or sturdy women, still wearing filthy winter clothes — padded cotton jackets or fur-lined coats.

Each had at least a blade, sword, or mace and a simple shield; some carried bows and arrows, some carried long spears.

Each herder drove two or three horses and four or five donkeys and mules. Once the large livestock had drunk at the river, they led them strolling around the ruins of Old Temple Village.

It looked exactly like they were standing sentry.

Highly militarized.

Li Wanqing ran up the hillside and lay down beside Liu Chengzong, his eyes constantly flicking between the Old Temple Village ruins and Liu Chengzong.

When he looked toward Old Temple Village, there was a trace of fear in his eyes.

When he looked at Liu Chengzong, his eyes were full of envy.

He envied nothing else — just Liu Chengzong's mount with its red-dyed mane.

Red Flag could lie down on command. Led up the hillside, it would drop onto its side the moment it heard the order.

Li Wanqing's horse was a fool. It couldn't be led up the hillside; he had to find a tree stump at the foot of the hill, tie it up, and only then could he come up.

He whispered, "Tiger General, is this your home? Looks like it got hit by bandits."

"Not my home. It got hit by bandits before — I bought the place."

Liu Chengzong said this, then swept his hand around him: "All the fields you see now are mine."

"Well, I'll be damned!"

Li Wanqing's eyes went wide with disbelief: "You're this rich, and you still do this?"

"None of it's my money. My brother, my father, and my old army brothers from before — they poured everything they had into buying land under my name."

Mentioning this land made Liu Chengzong feel wretched. He waved his hand dismissively: "Don't bring it up. If not for His Highness the Prince of Qin, I don't know how we'd have gotten by... Those might be the guests' horses."

Just as the two were talking, they saw several people emerge from the ruins of Old Temple Village.

The three at the very front were Cao Yao, Liu Chengzu, and a man he didn't recognize. Behind them, four armored men carrying blades flanked them as guards.

The three were pointing out over the landscape like lords surveying their domain. Cao Yao first pointed at the land, then turned to Liu Chengzu with a beaming smile.

Liu Chengzu waved his hand, saying something to the man, and just then spotted Liu Chengzong standing up on the hillside.

All three looked this way.

Liu Chengzong and Li Wanqing led their horses over. From far off, they heard Cao Yao laugh: "Lion, we were just talking about you."

With that, he stepped forward, pulled Liu Chengzong over, and introduced him: "Squad Leader Zhang, this is Chengzong, childhood name Lion. Zhang Wu of Fish River Fort, full name Zhang Tianlin — the Shooting Star of Qingjian, now leading a band in Yanchuan."

Zhang Tianlin was of medium build, wore a three-tuft beard, and his face bore a careworn, weathered look. His eyes were extraordinarily sharp. He clasped his fists and smiled: "Yan'an's great benefactor, Tiger General — my respects."

Liu Chengzong returned the salute: "Well met, Squad Leader Zhang. Brother Cao has been wanting to find you for a long time."

That said, he pulled over Li Wanqing, who was looking a bit timid, and added: "Three elder brothers, this is Li Wanqing, called Sky-Collapser."

Liu Chengzu had no interest in their pleasantries.

He was far more concerned with the plain white inner garment beneath his younger brother's official robe, its collar stained with mud and blood. Frowning, he asked: "Lion, were you hurt on the road?"

"It's nothing. Not my blood."

Seeing that he wouldn't elaborate, Liu Chengzu did not press further, only saying: "The roads aren't safe. When you travel from now on, bring a few men."

They walked into the village together. The ruins of Old Temple Village, rebuilt by Lu Bin and the others, now had a few courtyards where people could rest.

Inside and outside the village, it was now entirely filled with Zhang Tianlin's men. In the courtyards, armored warriors sat in groups of two or three around campfires, drinking and eating meat.

Cao Yao told Liu Chengzong that Zhang Tianlin had brought thirty-two men with him this time.

Twenty-two were herders like those outside the village, and ten were the armored kind here in the village.

One fighter, two attendants, riding two or three horses and four or five donkeys and mules — that made one squad.

The Shooting Star's main force of over three hundred men was all organized this way — very professional.

Once inside the courtyard, they began talking about what they had seen and heard since leaving Fish River Fort.

Zhang Tianlin was rather envious of the group. He laughed and said: "I haven't had it as easy as you lot. I left early — a deserter. Thought it'd be better outside the fort than inside. Truth is, it was worse.

A single bowl of liangpi could make a man throw his life away. The common folk had starved mad, the soldiers had starved mad too. My family's land got seized by others. My elder brother fought them over it, and they reported him to the authorities, called him a bandit.

The officials didn't even investigate — just suppressed us. The government troops chased us and beat us, pushed us until we couldn't take it anymore. We fought back, and we still couldn't beat them."

He swept his hand before him: "At our peak, I had one or two thousand men under me — I didn't even know the exact count. One man joins me today for a full meal; tomorrow he's dead or run off, and new ones come."

We seized a mountain stronghold in Qingjian, built earthen forts — useless. One cannon blast and they collapsed. The moment we got hit, some died, the rest scattered."

He spread both hands, then pointed at his own head: "Later, I used my brain. We all know what government troops are like, right? They go three horses, seven on foot. So I went one man, three horses. Even the tough women ride mules."

He pointed at the armored men sitting in the courtyard and said to the four of them: "No more holing up. If they want to come kill me, they have to run with me for three days first. Any true man who can cover three hundred li — I'll face him in a fight."

Zhang threw his head back in a great laugh, raised his index finger, and wagged it before him: "To this day, I haven't met a single government soldier who could run three hundred li with me."

They all burst out laughing — except for Li Wanqing, who knew nothing of military matters. Every man's smile carried a bitter edge.

Zhang Tianlin's marching speed wasn't actually fast. With that many horses, donkeys, and mules, achieving that speed came entirely from the soles of their feet.

The mighty imperial regular army, so starved that their marching couldn't match roving bandits.

Even standing on the opposing side, the former border soldiers among them all felt a sourness in their hearts.

Liu Chengzong asked: "Squad Leader Zhang, what brings you to Yan'an this time? What are your plans?"

"Running an errand. It's done — I leave tomorrow."

Zhang Tianlin smiled at Liu Chengzu and said: "I came to scout for word of Yan'an Prefecture sending troops. Your brother told me — the prefect couldn't raise the funds, so they can't dispatch soldiers anytime soon.

But I reckon this isn't over. From Fugu to Yanchang County, there are a dozen or so leaders whose names ring out. They've stirred up too much trouble."

Then he rattled off a long string of names, starting with Wang Jiayin, Wang Zuogua, and Wang Heshang, reeling off name after name in a chain.

Added together, they numbered thirty to forty thousand men — a scale the Shaanxi Regional Military Commission could no longer ignore.

"The court will send troops sooner or later. The prefectural office won't provide pay and provisions, so the garrison soldiers, starving and risking their heads to fight us, will find ways to get grain on their own. You'd all best be careful."

At Zhang Wan's words, the hearts of the few men all sank.

Liu Chengzu said, "According to Squad Leader Zhang, it'll be around the start of autumn?"

"Right. Now we can only look to the heavens. One rainfall, and all under heaven is at peace. Otherwise, tens of thousands of men will turn Qin into utter chaos, with not even a chicken or dog left in peace."

After saying this, Zhang Tianlin cursed, "Bandit's mother, there's no chicken left."

Liu Chengzu remained silent at this. What must come will come; there's no avoiding it.

Cao Yao looked at Liu Chengzong. "Shouldn't we also buy some horses?"

Liu Chengzong said, "You read my mind!"