Xing Honglang disembarked with her forty-two subordinates to treat the wounded on the dock, but the hundred water troops remained on the ship. Before they sailed, Li Daoxuan had relayed a strict order from Bai Yuan: This was a trial voyage, not an excuse for trouble. For safety’s sake, they were not to leave the ship unless absolutely necessary.
The water troops strictly adhered to the Decree of the Deity and obediently stayed put. To prevent anyone from suddenly rushing aboard, they deliberately kept the ship anchored more than ten feet away from the shore, watching the grisly spectacle unfold on the distant dock.
The dock was littered with corpses: militia local gentry who’d fallen resisting the bandits, fierce bandit raiders who’d charged and been cut down. One man lay half slumped over the fence, a spear lodged in his body; another floated face-down in the river, several arrows sticking from his back.
These water troops recruited from Bai Family Fortress had been guarding Horseshoe Lake for years, living peacefully and rarely venturing into the outside world. Witnessing the dock’s carnage now, they were shocked to realize how cruel and chaotic the world beyond remained.
Inwardly, they couldn’t help thinking: Thankfully, the Deity protects us back ho. Our blessed lives didn’t co easily; we must guard it ever more fiercely.
The thought process was quite sophisticated.
Xing Honglang handed a bottle of healing ointnt bestowed by the Deity to Iron Bird Flies. He eyed the bottle in his hand. “What’s this?”
“Yunnan Baiyao. Highly effective for wounds.”
Iron Bird Flies: “Powerful dicine? How much per bottle? Na your price.”
Xing Honglang fud: “Your man is writhing in agony on the ground, and you’re haggling over price?”
Iron Bird Flies looked embarrassed: “Business habit. Ahem… business habit.”
Xing Honglang: “No charge. Hurry up and treat your n.”
Iron Bird Flies: “Ah, how can we accept without paying? Even brothers must settle bills clearly. You have to na a price before I dare use it.”
Xing Honglang snatched the bottle back, shoved him aside, and personally began applying the dicine to his n. Her forty-two subordinates spread out across the dock, bandaging wounds and applying ointnts. Many people recognized Xing Honglang here. Several greeted her: “Thank you, Boss Xing!”
“Haven’t seen you in ages, Boss Xing. Still as forthright as ever.”
“Where’ve you been these years? Haven’t seen you buying salt in Puzhou?”
Xing Honglang’s people offered no explanations. Salt smugglers knew the importance of tight lips; revealing their current base of operations was unthinkable. They said not a word about Gaojia Village, focusing solely on applying dicine and treating the injured.
The dock gradually quietened. Uninjured survivors silently began clearing the bodies. It was the sa routine: strip naked, then bury.
Xing Honglang waved Iron Bird Flies over, pulling him aside. She lowered her voice. “What nonsense is happening here in Shanxi? I return only to find this ss. Are the bandits running rampant?”
Iron Bird Flies nodded gravely. “Utterly rampant!”
Xing Honglang: “Tell the details.”
Iron Bird Flies: “Such crucial intelligence? Na your price?”
Xing Honglang raised a bowl-sized fist.
Iron Bird Flies hurriedly added, “Anyone can ask around for this information. Practically worthless, ahem… The Shanxi situation starts with Wang Jiayin. Ai…”
Hearing Wang Jiayin’s na again, Xing Honglang cursed inwardly. That troublemaker really knows how to cause chaos.
Iron Bird Flies: “After Wang Jiayin captured Hequ County and established himself in Shanxi, his forces beca strong and well-equipped. His own core troops exceed thirty thousand n. Moreover, the bandit leaders who followed him from Shaanxi into Shanxi number over a hundred. If they all heed his call, he could potentially command three hundred and fifty thousand troops.”
Xing Honglang: “Damnation!”
Iron Bird Flies: “Seeing such numbers, he got carried away. He declared himself king in Hequ County, calling himself ‘King Yizi, the Horizontal Sovereign’. He set up a mock imperial administration, quite the formal affair. He appointed Wang Ziyong (Zijin Liang) as Left Grand Councilor and Military Strategist, Bai Yuzhu as Right Grand Councilor, Wang Guozhong as Royal Guard Commander… Then, he dispatched the more than one hundred bands of the bandit army now under his command to scatter across Shanxi. Places along the Yellow River got it the worst.”
Xing Honglang frowned. “Declared himself king? Heh! Thinks he’s immortal! The court might’ve turned a blind eye if he hadn’t crowned himself. Calling himself ‘king’? He’ll die swiftly.”
Iron Bird Flies: “Exactly! Contacts of mine on the legitimate channels say the court is marshaling heavy forces to crush him. The fool remains oblivious, drinking and reveling daily in Hequ County.”
Xing Honglang: “He’s a goner. Forget him. What’s the current state here?”
Iron Bird Flies: “A disastrous state, alas… Ah! Right. I have a morial captured from a governnt courier station. Fancy taking a look?”
Xing Honglang instinctively reached for it, then rembered his pedantic nature. She snorted. “You don’t intercept court morials without reason. You captured this to sell it, didn’t you? Price!”
Iron Bird Flies grinned sheepishly. “Then I shall quote: one bottle of healing ointnt.”
Xing Honglang blinked, then smiled faintly. “Know so sense, boy.”
She took the morial and opened it:
“Ever since the Tianqi era began, the land of Jin [Shanxi] has seen not a year without disaster, and last year was especially harsh. Compounding this were the urgent levies along the Yellow River, harder to transport than sparks extinguishing [impossibly difficult]. On paper, the court allocated 220,000 taels, but the actual cost borne by the people exceeded a million. Officials fixated solely on fulfilling assessnts, simultaneously pressing for both new and old taxes. The people sold children to be wives, carved out hearts, and shattered bones – their very substance is exhausted. Now, the spring rains bring no relief [the court offers not a copper of aid]. Strange mists and gales fill the days. Hearts churn with unrest; survival hangs by a thread daily. The weak perish in ditches; the strong glare with unspeakable fury. The rising tide of rebellion is unavoidable and inevitable.”
“To the south of Qinyang and east and west of the city [Yangcheng], rebels declaring titles and raising banners are too nurous to count. So number in the tens of thousands, others re thousands. As soon as one raises the banner, five or six out of ten are coerced into joining. Situations in Shangdang and Fenshui are no different, passing critical points innurable tis.”
“To eradicate Shanxi’s bandits, first pacify Shanxi’s destitute.”
Xing Honglang finished reading swiftly, astounded. “Five or six out of ten Shanxi people have remained as bandits?”
Iron Bird Flies nodded grimly. “Except for those major cities and towns we can tally, nearly half the peasants in the villages have been swept away by the roving bandits… They couldn’t survive otherwise! When the bandits arrive, blades press their necks. Refusing ans fighting to the death, just like us here at the ancient ferry dock…”
Xing Honglang sighed deeply. “The writer of this morial shows considerable insight. He grasps: ‘To eradicate Shanxi’s bandits, first pacify Shanxi’s destitute.’ That idea is the crucial cornerstone. But… you intercepted this morial. So, it can’t reach the emperor now? How will the court provide disaster relief? You wretched fool!”
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