Chapter 700: The Vanished Man

The disaster victims saw the county magistrate pulling a young master up the mountain who looked richer than him, and then noticed several sword-bearing guards following behind him, who also looked very rich, so they all rose, watching them with eager expectation.

Dai Rong happily introduced them: "This is Inspector Lord Xue from Jiangnan. Lord Xue will go to the capital on our behalf to see Your Majesty and petition for relief grain."

The moment the common folk heard this, they dropped to their knees in a great rustle, and before long the entire mountain was covered with kneeling people.

Xue Shao went to help the leader to his feet, but couldn't lift him at all, so he could only hitch up his robe and kneel before them, solemnly pledging: "Xue Mou will give his all."

That evening, Xue Shao and his men and Dai Rong slept in the open at the foot of the mountain.

Dai Rong's elderly mother had been settled at the mountaintop, while his wife and children had always lived with him at the foot of the mountain. He brought over a bowl of tea soup and handed it to Xue Shao, smiling: "I have no rice or grain here, not even tea leaves left, I can only offer you twig soup."

Xue Shao sniffed it and smiled: "Plantain. Brother Dai, have you been coughing lately?"

Dai Rong smiled and said: "For epidemic prevention. Atractylodes isn't enough, so we can only use plantain as a substitute — this stuff grows everywhere."

Xue Shao sipped it in small mouthfuls, glanced at Lady Dai, saw her gently coaxing the child to sleep just now, then carrying him and laying him on a blanket, before withdrawing his gaze: "Why didn't you send them to the mountaintop?"

Dai Rong: "Several of the county government office's runners were swept away during the flood relief, not many are left. They live at the foot of the mountain with me, and only then do the common folk feel at ease. When they feel at ease, a great many troubles can be avoided."

Xue Shao: "Now that the floodwaters have receded, you can tidy up the county seat and move back."

Dai Rong frowned: "We're short on grain. The moment we move, people go hungry, so it's better to stay still than to stir."

"Idleness breeds stray thoughts, and stray thoughts breed trouble," Xue Shao said. "Set them to work, tire them out — that will also give them hope."

"Dai Da Ren, using your family as hostages only buys a moment's peace. Such a trade of interests is easily broken. Better to let everyone struggle out a path to survival," Xue Shao said quietly. "You must trust the common folk — trust that the human will to live can overcome many a calamity in this world."

Dai Rong grew tense: "Lord Xue, our relief grain…"

Xue Shao raised a hand to stop him, and said softly: "I will do my utmost to petition, but you must prepare for the worst."

Dai Rong's mouth fell open, the whole man frozen in place.

Xue Shao paid him no more heed, beckoning Xijin over: "Open the bundle. I want to write a memorial."

Xijin hurriedly assented, opened the bundle, and laid out the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

This was the third memorial Xue Shao had written since going ashore.

The previous one was a memorial of self-reproach; the first was a memorial reporting on the mission to the Kingdom of Wa, requesting the imperial court lift the sea ban and dispatch troops to the Kingdom of Wa to protect Great Ming fishermen.

Xue Shao wrote in detail of what he had seen and heard traveling from the Fujian Circuit through Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Southern Zhili, requesting the Emperor send people to relieve the disaster and comfort the people as soon as possible…

Xue Shao wrote by firelight for a long while; the Embroidered Uniform Guard guarding him had all fallen asleep clutching their blades.

Dai Rong was still sitting by the fire in a daze. He wanted to question Xue Shao, but before all these common folk on the mountain, he did not dare speak.

He was afraid.

Afraid the common folk would learn there was not a single word of news from Jingcheng, afraid they would learn Jingcheng might not produce any relief grain…

He thought he had to find a good moment, a suitable place, to ask Xue Shao carefully — what did he mean by what he said just now?

Did the words he had just spoken kneeling on the ground before all the common folk on the mountain not count for anything?

Many questions rose in his mind, his emotions surging. Dai Rong's head ached as if splitting, yet he was wide awake, not a trace of sleepiness.

Xue Shao put away the memorial and his writing implements, walked over and patted his shoulder, saying gently: "Sleep. Dawn is coming."

Dai Rong looked at him with reddened eyes, opened his mouth to speak, then noticed something extra in his sleeve.

He looked down — the exposed corner showed it was a memorial.

He froze.

Xue Shao had already lain down beside him, still in his clothes.

Dai Rong wanted to ask, but saw the few men who had had their eyes closed open them and gaze over intently.

He immediately swallowed his words back and lay down too, still in his clothes.

Others took them for guards, but he knew — those men were Embroidered Uniform Guard.

It belatedly dawned on him that Xue Shao's situation did not seem to be a good one.

Dai Rong covered his face, tears spilling through the gaps in his fingers. He was consumed with regret — if he had known it would be like this, he should have submitted a memorial accusing Xue Shao back then, kept him from putting to sea; at least then he'd have one helper now.

He slapped himself across the face with a crack, cursing himself in his heart — serves you right for gloating back then, serves you right for standing by and watching, now the arrow's come back and hit you, hasn't it?

The next morning, Xue Shao did not eat; he set off while the sky was barely light.

Dai Rong silently saw him off for three li. Neither spoke much, only exchanging a "Treasure" before parting.

Dai Rong had a bellyful of words he wanted to say, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard were right at his side, and now he regretted having said too much the night before.

He wondered whether those Embroidered Uniform Guard had heard him mention his idea of getting at the Ever-Normal Granary.

Dai Rong watched them go into the distance, sighed, and lowered his hand — only then remembering the memorial in his sleeve, and hurriedly took it out to look.

At one glance he froze, then tears welled up.

"Master, what's wrong?" the long-time attendant asked anxiously.

Dai Rong snapped the memorial shut with a crack, wiped the tears from his face, and said in a choked voice: "Nothing. Let's go, back to the mountain. Today we'll serve porridge early; once everyone's done eating, take them back to tidy up the houses, clean up the county seat — we're moving back!"

Dai Rong tucked the memorial into his breast. On it was Xue Shao's order to him to open the Ever-Normal Granary to relieve the people, and at the end it was stamped with his official seal.

As an Inspector, Xue Shao did indeed have the right to act with emergency authority in urgent matters, but…

The probability of being called to account was as high as eighty percent.

But this way, Dai Rong's responsibility was much lighter — at worst he'd be dismissed from office; at least he wouldn't lose his life, and could keep his family safe.

Dai Rong walked back crying as he went. The long-time attendant following him was quite helpless — their master had been awfully fond of crying lately.

Xue Shao picked up the pace, spurring his horse at full speed the whole way, but he still entered every city he passed, even knocking on the city gates at night, borrowing lodging in commoners' homes to inquire about local disaster conditions.

By the time he had traveled this stretch, he had a sense of things in his mind.

Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Southern Zhili and other places each had their losses, but not every place had been hit by disaster.

Fujian and Zhejiang mostly had violent winds and sudden rains, but they stopped very quickly; combined with last year's Wa trouble, that was what made the disaster look severe;

Jiangxi was the same, but its greater disaster now was civil unrest.

Xue Shao had not reached Yushan County and did not know the specific situation, but he was already broadly certain that this summer, under the influence of strong winds and heavy rain, the worst-hit areas were around Suzhou Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture.

These two places were both major grain-producing regions, lands of fish and rice. Xue Shao could already imagine how grain prices in the Jiangnan area would soar this year, dragging the surrounding regions into the effects as well.

If the imperial court cannot exempt the taxes, I'm afraid the peasant unrest will spread over from Fujian and Jiangxi.

Farmers are extremely patient; when they are bullied, they do not rebel immediately—they endure, endure, and endure again.

Only when they can bear it no longer do they rise up in wrath.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, they learned to resist;

After Emperor Taizu founded the state, some among them grew ambitious;

But after the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Emperor Taizu's founding of the state, some people still had not learned to treat the farmers well, nor to know when to stop.

Xue Shao kicked the horse's belly, his body half-suspended, and quickened his pace.

The four of them who had returned to Mount Sanqing turned the whole mountain upside down but still did not find Wang Feiyin, and even the village of Fenshui at the foot of the mountain had no one in it.

The four came down the mountain, stood at the village entrance gazing at the empty village, and belatedly realized: "We're done for~~ Who in the village joined the rebels?"

The four turned around at once and flew toward the county seat.

When they reached the city gate, it happened to be the Chen hour; the sky was fully bright.

Yushan County, whose gates should have been wide open, had them tightly shut; more than ten banners stood on the city wall, and squads of soldiers patrolled atop it.

The four stopped in their tracks and looked up together at Yushan County's city wall.

To tell the truth, after coming to the county seat so many times, this was the first time they had seen Yushan County so solemn.

So it turns out Yushan County's city gate really can keep the enemy army out;

So it turns out Yushan County's tower really can hold this many soldiers;

So it turns out Yushan County really does have a garrison...

The four stood there in a daze for a long while.

Tao Yan Bai asked anxiously: "Little Martial Uncle, if we ask them to open the gate, will they?"

Pan Yun: "Unless we really are immortal cultivators, they won't."

Who would believe these four little Daoist Priests?

Seeing Miao Zhen: "Why do we have to go in through the city gate? Wouldn't it be fine to just fly in?"

Pan Yun: "Exactly!"

At that one word, the four turned and left together, beginning to sneakily feel along the city wall.

The patrolling soldiers on the tower frowned and pointed at the road, asking: "Who are those four? Why did they leave from so far away?"

The person beside him swept a glance and said: "Villagers, probably. Came for market day, saw the gate wasn't open, and left?"

"There's a rebellion in the county seat, and villagers still dare to come?"

"News travels slowly in mountain villages; it's normal for villagers not to know. Even if they do, plenty of them won't grasp how serious it is. They left, that's enough—no need to mind it."

Pan Yun and the others felt their way to a side section of the city wall, pressed against it and listened carefully, confirmed there was no one on the other side, then the four grabbed the wall and climbed up like geckos in a staggered line, and dropped down in a single leap.

The four climbed over the city wall and landed one after another; raising their heads, they found this was still a familiar place.

The Grandma Yu and Little Six that Pan Yun sponsored lived in this area.

The four hurried to look, but saw that the house Pan Yun had paid Grandma Yu to build had its front door ajar, the inside was utterly silent, and the surroundings were silent too.

Pan Yun's heart sank slightly; she reached out and pushed the door open.

The courtyard was a mess—shelves toppled all over the ground, winnowing baskets scattered about, nearly a third of the roof tiles had fallen off, and in a corner of the yard stood an osmanthus tree that had been uprooted.

The osmanthus tree's leaves were still green, but had no luster; reaching out to touch them, most of the leaves fell off—clearly it had been out of the soil for quite a long time.

Seeing Miao Zhen glanced at the traces and said: "It was probably uprooted by a gale. I heard Yushan County was hit by a violent storm as well; it seems the damage is no light matter."

Pan Yun stood in the center of the courtyard, looked at the empty, silent yard, and could not help murmuring: "Where did everyone go?"

Pan Xiaohei suddenly raised his head and let out a "meow" toward one of the rooms.

Pan Yun also caught something off; she spun around and went into the room, pushed aside a cabinet, lifted the quilts piled behind it, and saw a child of about five lying inside. (End of chapter)