The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 546 Brothers
Quanzhou.

The pier extends into the murky sea, and several small boats sway gently with the waves. The wooden planks of the boats are mottled, revealing traces of salt erosion and sea worm bites.

The porters gathered in twos and threes in the warehouse, and few of them spoke. Every now and then, they would glance anxiously at the sea, then quickly look back and land on their dusty feet, followed by a few hushed conversations.

The emperor in the north is said to have already crossed the Wu and Yue borders and is perhaps already inspecting his troops, preparing to personally lead an expedition into Fujian. As for Chaozhou, which is only separated from Quanzhou by Zhangzhou, the Tang army is said to have already gathered there, and it is possible that they will crush Zhangzhou and besiege the city at any time.

Quanzhou had enjoyed peace for many years. Once war broke out, amidst the chaos of war, how could those families who relied on the docks and boats for their livelihood, with their boats on their hands and their barely surviving lives, possibly have a good future?
However, while these are concerns, they are not the most pressing issues. Merchants from the north have also spread rumors that the emperor is a rare benevolent ruler who, upon arriving in Wu and Yue, either executed powerful local tyrants or forcibly purchased land at fair prices, redistributing it to the people. But Fujian is mountainous with little arable land; even if it were redistributed, how much could that meager amount of land possibly sustain?
That's fine, but what's truly unsettling is that, to this day, the Min King, who is based in Fuzhou, hasn't given a clear answer: will he fight, surrender, or quietly leave? If a plan were set sooner, everyone could make preparations earlier. Why are we now trapped here, unable to even go to sea, and forced to die? What kind of situation is this?!

In an inconspicuous courtyard at the end of the alley, the wooden door was gently pushed open and closed. After a simple disguise, Li Xingyun took off the sun hat from his head, casually placed it on the stone mill, picked up the water ladle, scooped half a ladle of cold water from the vat, tilted his head back and gulped down several mouthfuls, clearly very thirsty.

Fake Li sat in the shade cast by the old banyan tree in the courtyard, leaning against the mottled trunk, his eyes closed as if taking a nap. He didn't react to the noise Li Xingyun made.

“After looking around,” Li Xingyun wiped his mouth with his sleeve and sat down on the stone bench opposite the fake Li, “it’s still the same. There are only a handful of large ships at the dock that can sail to the open sea. The porters are all complaining that if no large quantities of seafood come in, their families will go hungry.”

Fake Li didn't even lift his eyelids: "If Wang Shenzhi and Xu Wen wanted to move their belongings away, they wouldn't use these dilapidated boats."

“I know,” Li Xingyun frowned slightly, “but this is too clean. But as you said, this is, after all, the largest port in Fujian. Even if the main force doesn’t go through Quanzhou, it would be reasonable to put on a show and send a few decent ships here to attract attention. Now, they’re too lazy to even put on a show. Where are we going to catch any big fish?”

As he said this, he glanced sideways at the fake Li, his tone carrying a hint of deliberate sarcasm, "In my opinion, let's not waste any more time here, we should get down to business as soon as possible."

Fake Li opened his eyes, glanced at him, and sneered: "Everyone knows Quanzhou is a good place, convenient for going out to sea. Xu Wen has left the ship here so openly, is he afraid that the royal army will not be able to find a target?"

"You mean they abandoned Quanzhou and sought another route to the sea?" Li Xingyun pondered. "Going directly to Fuzhou? Or to a more remote harbor? Then why did you send people to gather information these past two days?"

Upon hearing this, Fake Li remained calm and said indifferently, "Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows, let alone an old fox like Xu Wen and a local bully like Wang Shenzhi."

Li Xingyun crossed his arms and glanced at him again, deliberately drawing out his words: "Oh—but I remember, when someone insisted on changing his route to Quanzhou, he swore that there must be big fish here, and that he could catch them one by one."

Upon hearing this, Fake Li finally reacted, instantly standing up in considerable annoyance.

But seeing Li Xingyun's composed demeanor, and realizing that he would be at a disadvantage if a fight broke out, he simply met Li Xingyun's seemingly begging-to-be-beaten look with a forced smile and said, "That's what I thought at the time, that's true. But after calming down and thinking about it carefully these past few days, the situation might have changed. If we go directly from here, before the storm even arrives, we'll probably run into the Northern Dynasty's well-prepared gunboats. Xu Wen wouldn't be that unwise."

Li Xingyun, seeing that things were going well, nodded. The principle was simple, and he didn't dwell on the previous verbal dispute. He chuckled, his expression becoming serious.

"Since we know this place is untenable, why have we been guarding it for so long without finding much evidence of them secretly transferring wealth or gathering men? This doesn't make sense. Even if the main force doesn't leave here, Quanzhou is wealthy and has a lot of money, grain, and supplies stockpiled. Would Wang Shenzhi really be willing to leave it all to the royal army? And would Xu Wen just stand by and watch this piece of fat meat without taking a bite? There should be some action by now."

Fake Li paced back and forth a couple of steps, then turned to look at him: "You also feel something's not right?"

“I’ve had a feeling something was off for a while now,” Li Xingyun chuckled, his tone certain. “Otherwise, do you think I was just wandering around aimlessly these past few days, chatting with laborers and shop assistants at the docks under this scorching sun?”

Fake Li stared at him for a moment, then simply nodded slightly. He walked to the water vat in the courtyard and leaned over to look at his own swaying reflection in the water. “There are two possibilities. First, their actions are extremely secretive. My local thugs are too low-level to touch anything.”

"What about the other one?" Li Xingyun pressed.

The fake Li straightened up, turned around, his back to the water vat, and faced Li Xingyun. "Another possibility is that one of them, or rather, the one in charge of the operation, wasn't even thinking about 'leaving'."

Li Xingyun frowned even more deeply: "Not leave? Stay in Fujian to wait for death? Not to mention that Xu Wen is absolutely out of the question, he's already a stray dog. Besides going to sea to fight for his life, where else can he find refuge? Wang Shenzhi... does he still intend to hold onto the land? The Emperor now has the power to unify the world. Wu and Yue have been conquered, Nanjing has been secured, and Hunan and Jiangxi have been pacified with a proclamation. What makes him think he can hold the land? What can he use to hold it?"

“To defend is a fool’s dream,” the fake Li sneered, but he was also certain, “but surrender is not necessarily impossible.”

"surrender?"

"Wang Shenzhi has governed the Min region for twenty years. Although he holds the title of king, he has not imposed many harsh policies. Among the local gentry and people, his reputation is far better than that of Xu Wen and Zhang Hao. If he were to voluntarily surrender his territory and submit to the emperor, along with 'traitors' like Xu Wen and his cronies, it would be a good strategy for the emperor to avoid war and stabilize the region. In terms of rewarding merit, if Wang Shenzhi truly wanted a leisurely dukedom and the grace to preserve his clan, he might not be unable to obtain it."

The fake Li slowly said, "On the other hand, what way out does Xu Wen have? His family is scattered, his foundation is reduced to ashes, and although the world is vast, where else can he go but risk his life to go to sea and find a remote place to eke out a living?"

Following his train of thought, Li Xingyun gradually understood, but also grew increasingly heavy-hearted: "Therefore, Xu Wen must take Wang Shenzhi with him, at least his fleet, troops, and provisions. Wang Shenzhi, however, may very well want to take Xu Wen's head as a stepping stone to his surrender to the Tang Dynasty."

“Wang Shenzhi is no fool,” the fake Li said as he walked to the stone table. “He has spent half his life in Fujian to get to where he is today. How could he be willing to give up everything, become a commoner, or follow Xu Wen to become a pirate overseas? But if he completely disregards Xu Wen, what if Xu Wen becomes desperate and does something rash, or what if the emperor thinks he is not sincere enough? He can hardly guarantee his safety.”

He raised his eyes and said, "So, what Wang Shenzhi is most likely doing is preparing for both possibilities. On the surface, he may still be playing along with Xu Wen, but secretly, he is probably already looking for ways to get in touch with Jinling. The fact that Quanzhou is so clean now may be a deliberate gesture of goodwill, or... he may be waiting for an opportunity to cooperate with the royal army to clean up Xu Wen and some restless forces in Fujian, doing a favor in the process."

"Will Xu Wen just sit and wait to die?" Li Xingyun pondered.

“If Xu Wen were someone who would sit idly by and wait for death, he wouldn’t have survived until today. I haven’t known him for very long, but I’m familiar with his temperament. Even if Xu Wen hasn’t clearly sensed the danger, he would at least be wary of Wang Shenzhi’s move. For him, the most important thing right now is to make Wang Shenzhi give up any thought of surrendering. Tell me, what’s the best way?”

Li Xingyun's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously asked, "You mean... Xu Wen will target Wang Shenzhi?"

However, he immediately rejected the idea, saying, "No, a direct clash is too risky, and Xu Wen might not be able to completely control the forces in Fujian. Instead, it could trigger internal strife, giving the royal army an opportunity to take advantage. A more effective method is... to make it so that Wang Shenzhi cannot surrender."

“That’s right.” Fake Li said coldly, “If any evil deeds that the Emperor absolutely cannot tolerate occur under Wang Shenzhi’s jurisdiction, causing losses that the Emperor values ​​highly, what right does he have to bargain? What face does he have to negotiate terms?”

Li Xingyun's pupils contracted slightly as his gaze met that of the fake Li, and he almost instantly realized the latter's guess.

Fake Li nodded, speaking as if judging others by his own standards:
"If I were Xu Wen, I would definitely choose to burn Quanzhou. This place is Wang Shenzhi's life's work, the source of Fujian's wealth, and an indispensable cornerstone for our Great Tang's future overseas expansion. If it is burned down, the day the flames reach the sky will be the day Wang Shenzhi's retreat is cut off. He failed to protect the local area, resulting in the destruction of this important port. Whether he participated or not, he cannot escape blame. The Emperor's several visits to Hangzhou are enough to show that he is very satisfied with Qian Liu's achievements in protecting the borders and people and developing maritime transport. If Quanzhou is burned down, would Wang Shenzhi dare to gamble that the Emperor will tolerate such a disgrace? At that time, what other choice would he have but to follow Xu Wen to the bitter end?"

Li Xingyun gasped, as if he could already see the towering flames engulfing the docks, ships, and warehouses, and hear the cries of the people in the inferno.

"What a vicious calculation..."

Fake Li curled his lip, seemingly thinking that Li Xingyun's sentiments were somewhat naive. If Li Xingyun had actually been a bad guy for a few days, he would have thought of this long ago.

He remained indifferent, unsurprised, and said, "Xu Wen is already a defeated dog, so he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Moreover, once the fire starts, the whole city will be thrown into chaos, which will make it easier for his main force to escape from elsewhere. Killing two birds with one stone."

A brief silence fell over the courtyard, broken only by the rustling of the wind through the banyan leaves.

After a long pause, Li Xingyun slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and said firmly, "We can't let this happen!" The fake Li glanced at him but didn't say anything.

“We must stop them,” Li Xingyun repeated, as if speaking to himself and also to the fake Li. “Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of lives lost in Quanzhou, this port alone is a crucial link in the Emperor’s future conquest of the world. It must not be destroyed.”

Fake Li chuckled and finally crossed his arms, saying, "Just you and me? Plus those so-called local bullies outside? If Xu Wen really wants to plan this, he will definitely send elite assassins. We don't even know how many of them there are, where they are hiding, when they will make their move, or how they will make their move. How can we stop them?"

Li Xingyun frowned and quickly said, "We can rely on the power of the Embroidered Uniform Guard! It is said that the Embroidered Uniform Guard has eyes and ears all over the world. Now that they have integrated the Bad People, there must be their spies in Quanzhou City."

"Jinyiwei?"

Fake Li shook his head. "Don't forget, we came here uninvited, taking the liberty of running into Quanzhou. Leaving aside whether the Embroidered Uniform Guard here has established a sufficiently complete network of power, just contacting them and waiting for arrangements at each level—how much time would that take? Would Xu Wen give us that time? What if he suddenly launches his attack while we're making contact and waiting? What can we do then? We can only watch helplessly."

Li Xingyun was speechless at his question. Indeed, distant water cannot quench a nearby fire.

He pondered for a moment, then said, “These past few days, as I've been walking around the docks and the streets, I've heard many people mention Wang Yanbin, the prefect of Quanzhou. His reputation is fairly good. He is the nephew of Wang Shenzhi, and he and his father, Wang Shengui, have both been responsible for guarding Quanzhou for generations. They have been relatively kind to the people and should still have some affection for Quanzhou. After all, he is Wang Shenzhi's nephew. If Wang Shenzhi wants to surrender, he might have the same idea. If we can get him to mobilize the prefectural troops in advance, strengthen port patrols, and closely monitor suspicious persons, we might be able to prevent trouble before it happens.”

After thinking for a moment, the fake Li finally nodded: "Wang Yanbin... is a good option. If we can persuade him and leverage the local resources of Quanzhou, it will definitely be better than us blindly stumbling around like headless flies."

“Then I’ll give it a try,” Li Xingyun said immediately, standing up.

Fake Li shook his head: "It's not appropriate for you to go."

Li Xingyun was taken aback.

"Persuading Wang Yanbin is no easy task. To convince him of this deduction, which concerns the lives of him and his son and the survival of Quanzhou, requires meticulous rhetoric, a clear analysis of the pros and cons, and concrete evidence of possibility, not just empty words. You are good at gathering information and engaging in conversation, but this kind of matter, which involves tact and understanding people's hearts..."

The fake Li said without hesitation, "It would be safer for me to go."

Li Xingyun opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found that what the fake Li said made sense. He himself knew that when it came to such scheming and weighing, he was indeed no match for the fake Li.

However, he immediately thought that since the fake Li had lost all his internal energy and his martial arts skills were greatly reduced, he was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person. If he went to see Wang Yanbin alone, it would be dangerous if they disagreed or something else happened. So he said, "I will go with you. If anything happens, I can help you fight your way out."

"To persuade Wang Yanbin, we need intelligence and persuasion, not force. Having too many people might arouse unnecessary suspicion. Besides, we can't place all our hopes on Wang Yanbin. You also have things to do."

Fake Li said, "As you said, there must be spies of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Quanzhou. Try to contact them, or the Emperor, or even someone else, and pass on our deduction of Xu Wen's plan to burn the port. Even if the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Quanzhou is not strong enough, if we can attract the attention of the higher-ups, we may be able to directly mobilize the troops in Chaozhou to put pressure on them. We must be prepared for both possibilities and not put all our eggs in one basket."

"Alright! I'll leave Wang Yanbin's situation to you. Be careful. I'll go right now." Li Xingyun wasn't one to drag things out, and immediately turned and walked towards the courtyard gate.

But just as he reached for the latch, he paused. He turned around, looked at the fake Li still standing in the shade of the banyan tree, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.

"Li Yi, there's something I want to ask you."

The fake Li turned his head to the side, his face expressionless, waiting for him to continue.

"You insisted on changing your route to this Fujian region back then, saying you wanted to catch some 'big fish.' Now, you're determined to protect Quanzhou." Li Xingyun carefully chose his words and frankly said, "These things seem to have no direct connection to the task the Emperor entrusted to us to go to the Twelve Caves to invite people. Why... are you doing these things?"

He paused, then added, "I didn't mean anything by it."

The courtyard quieted down, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind and faint sounds of noise from afar.

The fake Li seemed taken aback, as if unsure how to answer, or perhaps unsure whether to acknowledge Li Xingyun's sudden question. But after a long while, just when Li Xingyun thought he wouldn't answer, he finally spoke slowly.

“I used to,” he said slowly, “always felt that once I had that identity, that title, everything would be different.”

He raised his hand and touched the scar on his cheek.

“I thought that with it, people would look at me properly, and they would…accept me. I desperately wanted to become someone, or replace someone.”

He paused here, then continued, "Now, the Emperor has given me this identity, and the name Li Yi has appeared in the registers of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs. But after I received it, I realized that having an identity does not mean that people will respect me."

He turned his head and looked at Li Xingyun with such direct calmness for the first time.

"So, I want to do something now."

"Not to prove anything, nor to please anyone."

"I just wanted to... perhaps let some people, like you, like the Emperor, or maybe just let God see..."

His voice gradually lowered until it was almost inaudible.

"I, Li Yi, can also do something... that earns me a little respect."

Li Xingyun stood there, looking at the fake Li, his heart filled with mixed feelings—surprise, realization, and emotion—but in the end he said nothing more, only nodding slightly to the fake Li.

"I understand. Take care."

Having said that, he no longer hesitated, opened the courtyard gate, and his figure quickly disappeared into the alley outside the gate.

In the courtyard, the fake Li stood alone for a long time before letting out a very light sigh. Perhaps he himself felt it was absurd that one day he would say such words to Li Xingyun, the person he once most wanted to replace.

However, after a moment of silence, he moved his lips slightly again as he looked at the empty courtyard.

"Look, I am no longer a shadow."

(End of this chapter)