Chapter 292: What If the City Falls?

The "refugees" over here looked to be in decent shape, their clothes still fairly neat — around two thousand or so of them. Unlike the fanatical mobs elsewhere, these "refugees" huddled together, weeping and panicking. Around them, scattered in clusters here and there, were armed, able-bodied "refugees."

Suddenly a commotion broke out among the weeping, panicked "refugees." A figure burst from the crowd and sprinted madly toward the darkness. The armed, able-bodied "refugees" cursed and rose to their feet; several of them bolted in pursuit, but it was clear the man was pulling farther and farther away — they wouldn't catch him.

"A bunch of useless trash! If one more gets away, I'll burn you lot as incense offerings!" Word quickly reached Xu Hongju farther off, and he was so furious he roared curses.

"Second Master, don't be angry. If these Xuzhou locals run off, let them run — it won't affect the bigger picture," Hou Wu, standing beside him, spoke up to placate him.

Xu Hongju paced a couple of agitated steps and said in a rough voice, "If Old He were here, we wouldn't need to go to all this trouble. Someone would've already opened the city gates from inside and welcomed us in. Once we take this Xuzhou, I'll make sure to wipe out that Zhao Jin and all those meddling bastards!"

"He Weiyuan really did have a brain, and he'd already started making headway here in Xuzhou. A real pity," Hou Wu chimed in.

Xu Hongju let out a long sigh, sat back down where he'd been, and said sullenly, "The court's Vice General Zhou is right there in Pizhou. Once he sees through our little tricks, he'll come rushing back. Don't let these tens of thousands of men fool you — we can't hold against Vice General Zhou's few thousand troops!"

Xia Zhongjin, who had stayed silent the whole time, now spoke: "The court's elite troops are indeed formidable. But as long as we break into Xuzhou, we won't need to fear him either."

Xu Hongju paused, his expression relaxing a little. He nodded slowly, then looked toward the other side — a spot still several hundred paces away, also dotted with campfires, but a separate encampment. He spoke: "I wonder if these friends from all corners of the land can be relied on?"

Compared to the camps of the refugees and captives, the area of the mounted brigands was far livelier. The pigs, cattle, and sheep seized during the day were all being slaughtered and boiled in great cauldrons. Those with status gathered around the fires, drinking from large bowls and tearing into big chunks of meat. Those without status gnawed on bones farther off, their mouths glistening with grease all the same.

The four hundred-odd riders had split into nearly ten separate groups, all deferring to Liu Cheng as the leader. Setting aside the intimidating might of Kong Tiger from Kong Family Village, the mounted troop Liu Cheng had brought this time numbered over a hundred — the single largest contingent by far.

At this moment, Liu Cheng sat in the midst of the crowd, sipping liquor from his bowl while listening to the shouting and chatter around him.

"Is your chief holding his men ten li out, or twenty?"

"... We've got no call to fight to the death anyway. Since he sent out the invitation, we'll give him face. Let those starving ghosts charge the front in everything..."

Liu Cheng wore a faint smile. He understood these words perfectly well, of course. Since the Smelling Incense Sect had sent invitations far and wide, calling on everyone to join the grand undertaking, not showing up would never look good. The Smelling Incense Sect's influence in Shandong and the surrounding provinces was too vast, and what was more troublesome was how they seeped into every crack — everyone had to give them face.

But no one here was a fool. They all knew that trying to breach Xuzhou City was practically a fantasy. They could lend a hand, but a head-on assault was out of the question. Besides, everyone was here for profit and gain — they'd come to scout things out precisely with the intention of snatching some advantage.

Some bands had sent only a dozen or so men on horseback; their main forces weren't holding still but waiting far off. If the city here really did fall, they'd certainly come rushing over in a hurry.

"Master Liu, they swept through a dozen villages outside Xuzhou today. There are some truly tender little morsels to be had. Would you like a couple brought over to serve you?" someone said with a lecherous grin.

"If you want to go amuse yourself, go on your own. Don't drag me into it," Liu Cheng replied with a laugh.

Once his intent was exposed, the speaker let out a sheepish chuckle. Liu Cheng's expression turned serious. He stood and said, "Brothers, young and old — ever since we started moving with this main force, we've had no shortage of fun along the way. Today we grabbed quite a few respectable, tender young girls, and now you're all getting ideas again, aren't you?"

A wave of raucous laughter rose from below. Liu Cheng raised his voice: "Tomorrow we start fighting. Do you all plan to go weak in the knees on horseback? Get trampled to death? Fall and break your necks? I've already laid down the rule — if any man under me touches a woman tonight, I, Old Liu, will chop off his little head first, then his big head."

He said he was only disciplining his own men, but having spoken this far, anyone with any sense knew what was expected of them. Everyone's faces turned awkward, but no one brought up the women again. Far off, however, someone spat and muttered under his breath, "What's he putting on airs for? Does he think he's going to get into the city and bed an official's daughter? He's gone mad!"

Even without hearing it, Liu Cheng could imagine someone was cursing him. He paid it no mind, sat back down, and continued drinking and eating. A man in his forties sidled over, grinning as he filled Liu Cheng's bowl, then asked, "Master Liu, do you reckon this lot can really break into Xuzhou City tomorrow?"

"I don't know," Liu Cheng said curtly, then added in a measured tone, "But then again, who can say for sure? These tens of thousands have come all this way from Shandong. Along the road, they haven't fallen into infighting, haven't been scattered, and by and large they can be commanded — they go and do whatever they're told. Can something like that be simple?"

The man pouring the wine froze. He mulled it over, a look of shock spreading across his face. Somewhat incredulously, he said, "Master Liu, are you saying that behind all this, from start to finish, someone's been pulling the strings — that this isn't just a spontaneous uprising?"

"This incense-burning lot originally only had believers in two places — among the rich households inside the cities, and among the grain-tribute laborers and transport soldiers on the canal. But these past years, there are people burning incense and bowing to Maitreya everywhere. For them to flourish and grow to this extent — their Dragon Head Big Brother is no simple man!" Liu Cheng remarked with feeling.

The man who had come to pour the wine sank into deep thought. Only after a while did he force a dry laugh and walk away. Clearly, Liu Cheng's words had given him much to ponder. As soon as the man left, a fellow dressed much like Liu Cheng sidled up and asked, "That so-called cult master from Yuncheng — is he really that formidable?"

"If he weren't formidable, why would our Ninth Master let them cross his territory, and even arrange for us to come here?" Liu Cheng countered.

"Wasn't it to use the opportunity to uproot He Family Village?"

"Even if that was the plan, given Ninth Master's status, for him to send us just because they sent an invitation..." Right as he was speaking, a deafening roar of cheers erupted from the main refugee force. It drowned out every conversation, and even the nearby horses were startled into restless movement and neighing.

"... Their skill at rousing people's hearts is truly something else!" More than one person sighed in such a manner.

Such an immense wave of noise startled not only the fields outside the city but also the soldiers and civilian militiamen standing guard atop the walls. Behind the battlements facing the main refugee force, Wang Zhaojing, who had been staring blankly into the distance, gave a shudder. His hand instinctively tightened around the hilt of the sword at his waist.

His reaction was relatively composed. Many of the dozing soldiers and militiamen leapt straight up from the ground; some even cried out in fright. The entire top of the wall descended into chaos. Immediately, officers, constables, and militia heads began bellowing orders, struggling to restore order. It was a hard-won effort before calm was finally reestablished.

"Young master, the hour is late. You should go back and rest," Uncle He, dressed in a close-fitting short robe, said from behind Wang Zhaojing.

Seeing that Wang Zhaojing had not moved, Uncle He spoke again: "There are men here keeping watch and standing sentry through the night. You've been busy ever since you came up this afternoon, young master — several shichen now. It's time to go back and get some rest."

"Uncle He, isn't this supposed to be an age of peace and prosperity?" Wang Zhaojing, still gazing beyond the walls, suddenly asked.

Uncle He paused. Wang Zhaojing continued, as if to himself, "Under the broad light of day, a great city like Xuzhou is besieged by so many roving bandits — isn't this outright rebellion?"

Uncle He smiled briefly, then the smile faded — though Wang Zhaojing, with his back turned, naturally could not see it. Uncle He shook his head and said, "To my humble eyes, the situation right now is already not bad. We're fortunate that there are major troops stationed over in Fengyang Prefecture. The refugees there are either being suppressed or dispersed. If they'd lost control over there too, and hundreds of thousands of refugees were stirring up trouble across the Southern Metropolitan Region — now that would be a real catastrophe."

Refugees in Fengyang Prefecture had gathered along the Huai River, with some moving on toward Pizhou. Though the eunuchs and high officials in Fengyang suppressed the news and did not report it upward, outsiders might not know, but neighboring Xuzhou was naturally well aware.

"... Roving bandits... refugees..." Wang Zhaojing murmured a few words. He stared blankly for a long while at the scattered campfires below. Only after some time did he speak: "Once the weather turns favorable and the harvests are good, these suffering common folk will disperse on their own."

"... What damn use are favorable weather and good harvests? The officials collecting taxes these days want silver coin. You grow the grain, then you still have to sell it to get silver. At the autumn harvest, grain is cheap — you can't get a decent price. The grain merchants and the officials all drive the price down. Some families even have to sell off their own rations. Then they scrape through till spring, when the granaries are empty and the new crop isn't in yet. No food to eat, no seed to plant — they've got no choice but to take out usurious loans to buy grain. And by then, the damn price of grain has shot up again. With all this squeezing from inside and out, who can endure such torment? In the end, they can only sell their land..." A militiaman sitting off to the side chimed in.

It was only because he saw that neither Wang Zhaojing nor Uncle He were from the yamen that the militiaman dared to speak up. The mood atop the wall had been deeply oppressive. Once someone broke the silence, others joined the conversation, and the floodgates of talk were opened.

"... Buying low and selling high isn't even the worst of it. Among my relatives outside the city, those with some means have all given their land holdings over to the powerful to evade taxes. Since the yamen can't collect taxes from them, they make those without the means to hand over their land pay extra. And those runners and clerks, whenever anything passes through their hands, they've got to scrape off a cut. With all this piling up inside and out, there's just no way to survive..."

"... You think handing your land over to the powerful is anything good? The moment they turn on you, they swallow everything you've got..."

"All of you, shut your damn bird-beaks! Do you think you're lounging against a wall sunbathing somewhere?" An angry shout came from the distance, and the area instantly fell silent. The civilian militiamen had been chatting away happily, but there were also yamen runners atop the wall, and they naturally had no wish to hear such talk.

"Young master, the night wind is strong and chill. You really should head back soon," Uncle He urged once more.

Wang Zhaojing turned around, a smile on his face. Lightly, he said, "I remember Brother Zhao once spoke of this very matter — buying low and selling high. He said there were boundless business opportunities in it and even wanted to get involved in the trade himself. It was only later that he realized the waters there run far too deep — not something so easily touched."

Without waiting for Uncle He to urge him again, Wang Zhaojing started toward the steps leading down from the wall. When he reached the stairway, his steps paused for a moment. He muttered to himself, "With such unrestrained blood-sucking and marrow-extraction, even in a good year people go bankrupt and lose their homes. With the slightest misfortune, wouldn't the land be filled with refugees... Doesn't that mean there's no solution..."

He spoke these words very softly; no one could hear them.

At this moment, He Family Village was very much a miniature Xuzhou City. Outside He Family Village, too, campfires burned everywhere. Around the fires gathered people of every description. In the inner circle were squads of able-bodied men, weapons close at hand. The outer circle, all at some distance from the village, consisted of commoner households — their faces clouded with worry as they huddled around the fires, occasionally staring toward He Family Village.

Wave after wave of common folk fleeing disaster were driven off, only for more to arrive. Under the threat of sharp blades, clubs, and whips, they dared not force their way in, nor could they linger near He Family Village. But if they were to go to places like Little Rock Village, aside from those places already being packed to bursting, they also felt uneasy. So they simply stayed here, far off.

Inside the village, it was bustling and busy. Steaming hot steamed buns by the cauldron-load, basins of meat soup, and wooden tubs of pickled vegetables were carried out in an endless stream. The able-bodied young men gathered around the campfires all ate with hearty enjoyment.

Meanwhile, in Zhao Jin's courtyard residence, several banquet tables had been laid out. The fare here was not the coarse food of buns and meat soup, but dishes meticulously prepared by chefs. Two jars of Hanjing Famous Liquor had also been opened. Seated at the tables were the prominent figures from various places.

"Elder Cai, you've only just arrived. Please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality," Zhao Jin said politely. He wore a smile, but inwardly he thought very little of this Senior Licentiate Cai.

As dusk fell, the gentry and local strongmen who had come begging for aid that morning arrived one after another with their families. Not only did they bring every member of their households, but their servants and attendants came along in full force as well. Senior Licentiate Cai had brought his own two cooks; the exquisite dishes now on the banquet tables were the handiwork of the Cai family chefs.

In addition to their families and servants, these gentry and local strongmen had also brought all their militia and village braves with them. Combined, they numbered around sixteen hundred, and they had even managed to scrape together over a hundred riders. Among them, a small portion looked quite elite and strong — clearly men who possessed martial skills.

No doubt, in the places these gentry and local strongmen had come from, many common folk were still panicking and in need of the village braves' and militia's protection. But these so-called local leaders, heedless of all else, had brought their men here. As long as their own families were safe, who cared whether the common folk lived or died?

Toward such behavior, Zhao Jin could only sneer. The village braves and militia were the able-bodied young men from the local commoner households. By acting this way, the gentry and strongmen were alienating themselves from their own fellow villagers. When a true life-or-death moment arrived, the consequences would likely become all too apparent.

Once everyone had settled in, their minds grew considerably calmer. Soon after, definite word arrived: tens of thousands of refugees had encircled Xuzhou City and were not leaving.

When this news arrived, the entire He Family Estate was instantly filled with laughter and cheerful voices. Things were manageable on Zhao Jin's side, but the gentry and wealthy households who had taken refuge here all wore delighted expressions and immediately sent their servants back to check on the situation; a few of the more impatient ones were already preparing to return tomorrow.

At Zhao Jin's table sat only their group of brothers plus Honorary Licentiate Cai; Ruhui was also at this table, while Zhou Xuezhi was seated at the secondary table. No one felt slighted — given Zhao Jin's current status and position, his doing so was already a full measure of courtesy.

Their group of brothers was courteous, and Honorary Licentiate Cai Zhengqiu's expression was relaxed, but he could not drink strong liquor, and Zhao Jin's brothers still had important matters to attend to, so no wine was served at this table.

"The prefectural seat is sturdy, its walls high and thick, its grain stores and able-bodied men both ample — defending it poses no problem. Once Commandant Zhou returns, the roving bandits will not be a threat." Honorary Licentiate Cai said with a smile, though there was a hint of schadenfreude in his meaning. The prefectural seat and the county seats had closed their gates early, so the wealthy households from every area could only come to He Family Estate to take shelter, and of course they harbored resentment.

But by common-sense analysis, everyone also understood that Xuzhou City could not possibly be breached; at worst, it would suffer a bit of hardship. So it was merely schadenfreude.

Honorary Licentiate Cai was a local notable with an official degree to his name, so naturally he could not speak too bluntly, but everyone understood the implication. Ruhui smiled faintly, but Zhao Jin's expression was solemn. He set down his chopsticks and said, "Elder Cai, tens of thousands of roving bandits have traveled all the way from Shandong to Xuzhou. They did not scatter along the way, and they even managed to cross the Yellow River and reach the walls of Xuzhou City. Someone must be orchestrating this from behind, and within the refugee horde there are likely people with sinister intentions directing things."

Hearing Zhao Jin speak this way, Honorary Licentiate Cai slowly nodded. Zhao Jin swept his gaze across the room — the other tables were all abuzz with lively atmosphere, laughter and cheerful voices. Zhao Jin continued, "Elder Cai, it is not just you and I who think the roving bandits cannot take Xuzhou City; everyone else thinks the same. I hear that all within the city think so as well. Earlier I mentioned that there is a capable person directing the bandits — do you think he does not know this?"

At this rhetorical question, Honorary Licentiate Cai's expression also turned solemn. Chen Sheng and the others all listened intently.

"Knowing full well they cannot take it, yet still launching a forceful assault — that will surely result in heavy casualties with nothing to show for it. Why go to such trouble? And do they not know that plundering the countryside would yield far more? Grain, oxen and horses, people — none of these are lacking in the villages and hamlets. Why then do they still insist on attacking the city with force? The news that came back today says the bandits did not even touch the nearby Cloud Mountain Temple, acting as if there was nothing on Cloud Dragon Mountain at all. Why is that?"

Honorary Licentiate Cai slowly nodded. The grain and gold and silver stored at Cloud Mountain Temple were exceedingly abundant; if opened, even tens of thousands of refugees could receive substantial replenishment. And yet such a place, practically within arm's reach, had been completely ignored — that was far too strange.

"At the risk of being presumptuous, I will say something startling: I fear the roving bandits have the confidence to breach the city!" Zhao Jin said in a grave voice.

The moment these words were spoken, Honorary Licentiate Cai's hand trembled, knocking the porcelain bowl beside him to the ground. It shattered with a sharp crack, drawing the gazes of everyone at the other tables.

"... breach the city..." Honorary Licentiate Cai forced these words out in a trembling voice. Zhao Jin nodded.

After a brief pause, Zhao Jin said solemnly, "If the prefectural seat is breached, the roving bandits' strength will surge, and their next step will be to plunder the Xuzhou countryside. When that time comes, we will still be unable to escape. If the prefectural seat is not breached, the bandits, left with no options, will still scatter and plunder, and the Xuzhou countryside will likewise suffer."

Honorary Licentiate Cai Zhengqiu, a man of considerable self-cultivation, had turned pale. The beard on his chin trembled ceaselessly as he simply stared at Zhao Jin, his Adam's apple bobbing, wanting to speak but unable to get the words out.

"Elder Cai, if the city is breached, I fear not a blade of grass will be left standing in all of Xuzhou. Even if we flee, we will have nothing to return to. With the land laid waste, how could we remain? We would have no choice but to go elsewhere and become rootless duckweed." Zhao Jin spoke earnestly. Ruhui nodded slightly — before delivering this speech, Zhao Jin and Ruhui had carefully discussed it. When speaking with a scholar like this, a direct approach would not work, nor could the words be too plain. Thus the language was rather polished, and it targeted what these local gentry cared about most.