Chapter 822: The Hearts of the People of Qingjiangpu

This friend had really gone to some trouble — he'd come bearing several jars of fine wine, the kind of Xuzhou burnt liquor that makes a man's mouth water but his purse too light to afford. He'd sliced up some cooked meat and pickled vegetables, and as they drank cup after cup, reaching that perfect state of tipsy abandon, the friend spoke with righteous fury.

Even with the wine buzzing in his head, Liu Xiaoke was never the least bit careless when it came to life-and-death matters. Hearing this, he hastily waved his hands and said, "That crew from Xuzhou are a bunch of bloodthirsty killers. How many times has our Qingjiangpu been washed clean? Those big shots who usually walk around with their noses in the air — dead, gone, every last one of them. If that's how those people ended up, and we go stirring up trouble, they'll just reach out a finger and squash us all!"

"That's where you're not thinking clearly. Look — those Xuzhou men blocked the river, but all they've said is they have grievances. They don't dare make too big a scene. That means they're holding back, they don't dare go too far. It shows they're afraid of things blowing up. If they really drew the court's official troops down on them, how could they possibly hold out?"

"Didn't they say they've already routed several columns of government troops?"

"You believe the bragging that goes around the jianghu? If they can make trouble, if they can threaten, then why can't we brothers make trouble too? They blocked the river — how many people have no way to earn their rice now? How many hearts are burning with rage? Those Xuzhou savages can run wild, sure — they can kill one man, they can kill a hundred, that's just jianghu slaughter and gang feuds. But if it's thousands, tens of thousands — do you think they'd still dare make a move?"

Liu Xiaoke's friend showed not the slightest sign of drunkenness as he poured out this torrent of words. Liu Xiaoke nodded blankly — what the man was saying actually seemed to make some sense.

"We raise a ruckus, and those Xuzhou savages will fear a crowd too. They'll have to hand over some benefits to us. And even if we get nothing at all, at least we'll vent this bellyful of foul air!"

Hearing these words, Liu Xiaoke grabbed his wine bowl and took a great gulp. A fire seemed to blaze through his whole body. Men who scraped by on the streets all had that reckless, devil-may-care streak. After being crushed under those Xuzhou savages for so long, raising a ruckus — even just to vent this anger — would be worth it!

"Let's raise hell! Raise hell and be damned!"

These weren't just words tossed out and forgotten, nor mere drunken talk. The next day that friend came again, still bearing silver and wine and meat. But this time he told Liu Xiaoke to go call his friends and gather them together — everyone.

A crowd means loose tongues, and wine makes it even easier to stir men up. They cursed Zhao Jin, cursed Xuzhou, and then all agreed they had to go raise a ruckus.

Over the next few days, the crowd swelled to several dozen. None of them were fools — after all this commotion, everyone knew that this so-called friend had ulterior motives. But the man had wine and meat in hand, and silver to scatter around. What was a man living in this world even after, if not this very pleasure?

That friend paid out silver freely — so many wen for every man you brought in. And then, as they traded information among themselves, they learned that on the streets of Qingjiangpu, more than one person was recruiting, more than one person was doing these very things. Even among the common folk, someone was stirring things up...

Numbers embolden men. Word kept coming back, making everyone bolder and bolder. As for the Xuzhou side — whether it was their household troops, militia, or patrolmen, or those Xuzhou martial artists in the training halls — not a single one paid any attention to this. They were all guarding a few key locations. As the crowd grew larger, people even stopped worrying much about being discovered. Knowing that so many others were doing the exact same thing, every man instinctively felt his courage swell and his voice grow louder!

As time passed, a date was even set: the seventeenth day of the seventh month. That was the day for worshipping the River God. Everyone would gather at the docks — not just the boatmen and river laborers making their offerings, but the common folk of Qingjiangpu as well. It was the perfect moment to assemble the largest crowd.

As the day drew near, those involved grew more and more anxious, terrified that the Zhao Character Camp had already laid a great net, just waiting for them all to walk in and be caught in one sweep. Some even took it upon themselves to watch the Zhao Character Camp's encampments and stations throughout Qingjiangpu, trying to spot any corresponding movements. What they found was that the Zhao Character Camp had plenty of activity — but none of it was directed inward. They were drilling their troops hard, or marching units out to operate on Qingjiangpu's outskirts. Their scouts and mounted patrols were all deployed in the surrounding areas. No one was paying any attention to what was happening inside.

They even spotted government runners from Huai'an Prefecture and Shanyang County on the streets of Qingjiangpu. It had been many days since anyone had seen them out patrolling in their official uniforms. They couldn't deal with the Zhao Character Camp, but they could talk to these fellows. On asking, they learned that the Zhao Character Camp was short-handed, so they'd told the government runners to help keep order.

Once they learned this, the city foxes and shrine rats of Qingjiangpu grew excited all at once, and their activities immediately increased by quite a bit.

Every one of them was a local ghost who knew every inch of their territory. Not only did they have a whole crew of idle, loafing good-for-nothing friends, they were also intimately familiar with their own neighborhoods. Since the Zhao Character Camp wasn't bothering to interfere, they dared to act freely.

Caution was still necessary. It wasn't until the night of the sixteenth of the seventh month — the eve of the River God worship at the docks — that Liu Xiaoke and his crew finally began threading through the alleys, knocking door to door, house to house.

"Brother Zhang, when we used to haul loads on the docks, when was it ever this exhausting — carrying rocks and digging ditches? And back then we could eat that year's new rice, and every few days there'd be a fish. But now what we're eating is rough rice and pickled vegetables. Our shoulders and arms are all torn up. Can we really bear this? Tomorrow when we worship the River God, we've got to lay out these grievances before Lord Dragon King. No matter how fierce and brutal those Xuzhou savages are, they'll have to care about the grievances of thousands, tens of thousands of people!"

"... Tomorrow, you dare not go? If you don't go, I'll burn your house down tomorrow, I swear it..."

"... You don't need to be afraid. Look — they blocked the river channel, but they don't dare make a big noise about it. They haven't beaten anyone, they haven't killed anyone. They're scared too. If all of us twist together into one rope and just open up this blocked channel ourselves, what can they do about it..."

Local ghosts like Liu Xiaoke knew each household's situation inside and out. Some got threats, some got earnest pleading, and some got the lure of profit. He also knew he couldn't talk every household around — those with few family members were genuinely afraid. But families with three or four sons truly didn't take him seriously. Still, having taken that friend's silver, he had to make his rounds to every place he was supposed to go. He couldn't even show up empty-handed — he went carrying pastries.

The household he went to this time was a middling family, with four sons. The youngest was a wastrel, so Liu Xiaoke could at least exchange a few words with him. The moment he stepped through the door, the rest of the family gave him dirty looks. He'd barely gotten out a single sentence when he heard someone outside shouting that Master Ma had arrived.

This Master Ma was a prominent figure in the area, and he even held the scholarly rank of Xiucai. It was said his cousin was a Juren. In this part of town, his was a top-tier family.

The moment they heard he'd come, the family Liu Xiaoke was visiting scrambled frantically to go out and receive him. How could a street-level ant like Liu Xiaoke dare cross paths with Scholar Ma? He panicked and tried to leave. The eldest son of the family was a bit quicker-witted and said to the youngest, "Quick, take this wretch and hide in the inner room! If Master Ma sees him, our family's face will be utterly lost."

The logic was sound. The youngest son grabbed Liu Xiaoke and dragged him toward the inner room to hide. Liu Xiaoke, thoroughly abashed, didn't dare argue and let himself be pulled along.

For this household, a visit from Scholar Ma truly brought light to their humble home. The whole family was beside themselves with nervous awe. Normally, Scholar Ma's face was turned up to the heavens — how would he ever deign to look upon common folk like these? Liu Xiaoke was puzzled too, and from the inner room he pricked up his ears and listened.

"Do you people know? That Xuzhou crew is plotting rebellion! They've blocked the river channel to starve us Qingjiangpu folk, and they want to force us to rebel along with them. When the court's great army arrives, they'll surely wipe out these Xuzhou savages. But if we Qingjiangpu people just stay silent and do nothing, the officials will definitely brand us as rebel followers — a crime punishable by beheading and the confiscation of our homes!" Scholar Ma spoke with fierce intensity.

What common folk trust most are the learned men. Hearing Scholar Ma speak like this, they panicked at once and asked over and over what they could do to escape this fate.

"Tomorrow, when we worship the River God, all of us will go there and speak our grievances, raise a ruckus. Remember what happened a few years back? When we commoners gather together, even the government has to pacify us. Those Xuzhou men are nothing but a gang of local thugs. If we Qingjiangpu folk unite as one, they'll have to be afraid too. Then maybe they'll open the river. And even if they don't, when the court's great army comes, we'll be credited as loyal subjects!"

Listening in secret from inside the room, Liu Xiaoke found it stranger and stranger. This line of talk, though it sounded very intimidating, was no different from what he himself had been saying. Wasn't it just stirring people up to make trouble?

This strangeness didn't frighten Liu Xiaoke — on the contrary, it excited him. Even the learned gentry were getting involved! What did he have left to fear?

Scholar Ma roused them up for a while, thumped his chest and swore he himself would go and take the lead, then promised a few more benefits and went off to the next house.

Since the stirring-up here was already done, Liu Xiaoke had no desire to stay and endure cold stares. The moment the man left, he bolted out. Liu Xiaoke had come out a bit early, and only then did he see that many people were going door to door. Some were street-level characters like himself, others were normally respectable merchant house managers, scholars and students — he even spotted a Juren. Liu Xiaoke felt his heart blaze hot and fearless. He could barely contain himself — he wanted the chaos to erupt right then and there.

By the time he got back to the rundown courtyard where he lived, his closest brothers had all returned as well. They traded stories and found that what they'd all seen and heard was much the same. Throughout the parts of Qingjiangpu near the canal, everyone was linking up. Many had been stirred into action. There were cautious ones among them who said that with all this activity, they hadn't seen a single move from the Xuzhou men. Even the people from those two martial training halls were all stationed at the blocked river channel and the surrounding areas — no one was paying them the slightest attention. This made everyone even more excited. It looked like this great undertaking might actually succeed.

That friend of Liu Xiaoke's came again in the middle of the night. This time he'd brought plenty of silver and several brass gongs. He said that the next day, they'd need to beat gongs and raise a clamor to rally everyone. Then he handed Liu Xiaoke his silver.

The friend seemed excited too. That night he couldn't help telling Liu Xiaoke that if Liu Xiaoke hadn't helped him out with money back in the day, this fine opportunity wouldn't have come his way. Once this was accomplished tomorrow, it would surely be a fortune as vast as the heavens. Liu Xiaoke's friend even couldn't resist dropping a few names.

When he heard those names — names that shook all of Qingjiangpu — Liu Xiaoke nearly dropped to his knees before his friend. With such powerful figures behind this, how could it possibly fail? It seemed these Xuzhou savages truly had outraged both heaven and the people. By taking part, by managing to attach himself to such powerful figures, wealth and status were surely his for the taking in the days to come.

Thanks to the three old friends "Sweet Sugarcane, The World Roams With Me, Yuan Heng Lizhen" for their tips, and thanks everyone for your subscriptions and monthly tickets.