Taiheiki

Chapter 122 Hunting 3
"I don't think so."

"Not necessarily?" Feng Kun laughed. "Uncle, you're being biased. I once dealt with him in Luoyang. Although he came from a prominent family, he was by no means an extravagant person. After he entered officialdom, he lived a meager life. When I visited him and we dined together, there was only a piece of fish and a vegetable on the table. His wife and children barely managed to keep themselves from starvation, and all his salary and rewards were distributed among the poorer members of his clan, his subordinates, and the students of the Imperial Academy in Beijing. Two years ago, there was a locust plague in Henei, and a dou of rice in Beijing cost four hundred coins. He sold all his belongings and distributed porridge on the roadside to feed the hungry. If such a frugal and honest person were in power, we wouldn't be able to restore the reign of the Ming and Zhang Emperors (the reign of Emperor Ming and Emperor Zhang, the founding emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty), but it would certainly be much better than the current situation, right?"

"There's really nothing to say about Dou Youping's personal integrity, but just because he can keep himself clean, does that mean the entire Dou family can keep themselves clean?" Ying Feng sneered, "If you put it that way, there are eunuchs in the palace who are not without high moral character, but we've all seen what happens when eunuchs come to power. The current situation is very clear: ever since the Party Case, the party members and the eunuchs have been at loggerheads, a deadly stalemate. Once Dou Youping comes to power, he will definitely take action against the eunuchs and exterminate them all. The problem is that the eunuchs know this. Do you think they will just sit there and wait for death?"

"Do you think Dou Youping will lose?" Feng Gun expressed his doubt. "That's unlikely, isn't it? He's already a general, commanding all the troops in the world. If the emperor dies, the empress dowager will be his daughter. Without the emperor's will, those eunuchs are just a bunch of slaves. What's there to be afraid of?"

"If Dou Youping thinks as you do, we're in trouble!" Ying Feng sneered. "You have to understand that once the palace gates are closed, separating the inside from the outside, the palace will be ruled by those eunuchs. Whether it's the emperor or the empress dowager, isn't it all decided by those eunuchs? Spears are sharp, but they're no match for daggers in a fight. Even if Dou Youping holds all the military power, he might not be able to defeat these eunuchs in a hurry!"

"If it's as you say, it will be a disaster for the country!" Feng Gu sighed, "Then what should we do?"

"The country is in great trouble, but this is a blessing for you!" Ying Feng said with a smile, "After the emperor's death, Dou Youping and the eunuchs will fight to the death. Only you hold a large army. If you hold the left, the left will win; if you hold the right, the right will win. No matter who wins in the end, you will be rich and noble. The title of nobility will be within your reach!"

"The title of marquis is within easy reach?" Feng Gun smiled bitterly. "If that's as you say, then I'd rather not have it!"

"You can't say that. You should understand the principle that if you don't take what God gives you, you will suffer the consequences." Ying Feng said with a smile, "Do you remember what I said to you back then? If Dou Youping is right, the responsibility of cleansing the world will fall on your shoulders, Hongqing! If you can accomplish such a great thing, what does a mere title of nobility mean?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Gun remembered Ying Feng's suggestion, made on his way to Jiangling, that he lead the army outside and wait for the right moment to strike. When there was a change in the empire, he could contact important officials at court, coordinate internal and external forces, execute the eunuchs, and restore order. He had initially thought Ying Feng was crazy, but now it seemed that his decision wasn't so crazy after all.

"There's no point in saying this now!" Feng Gun whispered, "Let's negotiate peace with that cunning man first, and then we can conquer the moth thieves. As for other matters, we can only take it one step at a time!"

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Hunting grounds.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days of hunting had passed. The able-bodied men, gathered from the allied villages, hunted during the day and conducted military exercises after dark, becoming increasingly familiar with the sounds of flags, drums, and gongs. Especially those officers appointed as garrison commanders and dubos would gather in the open space before the commander's tent after dark each day to listen to Wei Cong explain the methods of formation, camping, river crossing, and fortification. These once simple and resolute mountain folk eagerly absorbed this valuable knowledge, growing rapidly, many even feeling that the bison, black bears, and deer they had shot during the day were of little importance.

But what these mountain people did not notice was that the dried meat of the prey they shot and smoked was not sent back to the camp, but was put into leather bags and stored in the tents in the rear camp, while the "crimson-clothed people" belonging to Wei Cong himself quietly boarded the boat and went downstream.

Finally, on the morning of the sixteenth day after Wei Cong arrived in the swamp, the sound of horns echoed throughout the camp. The men, accustomed to the orders, formed up according to their ranks in the square near the front gate, preparing to go hunting as usual. But to everyone's surprise, Wei Cong and his followers, who had arrived at the front of the procession, were not wearing light hunting clothes, but rather iron armor and helmets, looking as if they were about to go into battle.

"Today is the fifteenth day of hunting. In the past few days, you have reaped a rich harvest. The warehouses are filled with skins, meat, tendons, and horns. You have also learned how to camp, march, and understand flag signals!" Wei Cong's voice was loud and powerful, and even at the end of the team, it could be heard clearly: "Now the hunt is over! You are about to engage in real battles, not with wild beasts, but with the enemy. What you will gain is no longer skins and meat, but copper coins, gold, silver, cloth, food, titles, and land!"

At this point, he waved his arm violently, and more than a dozen piles of hay beside him were lifted up, revealing neatly arranged piles of spears, bows and crossbows, broadswords, helmets, and armor. "Don't worry about winning or losing. I will provide the best weapons and armor. You should know that since I entered the battlefield, I have never encountered defeat. Life and death are destined. It is better to die on the battlefield wearing a brocade robe and leaving a title to your descendants than to die in poverty on your bed after seventy! What awaits you will be wealth and glory. When you return to your hometown again, wearing brocade robes and with purses full of copper coins, your fellow villagers will look on you with envy, and the most beautiful girl in the village will become your wife! Go, take up arms, for victory, for yourselves, to fight, to conquer!"

Wei Cong's speech was like a spark falling into a pile of dry wood, igniting the soldiers' enthusiasm. They surged forward, weapons and armor in hand, shouting and responding to Wei Cong's call. The ancestors of these hardy and sturdy mountain people (or perhaps the soldiers themselves) had almost all fled their homes to escape the unbearable taxes and forced labor imposed by the government, arriving in remote and dangerous places beyond the reach of the government, clearing land and establishing their own villages.

Life in the mountains is free. Even the most powerful empire will become weak in the mountains. But life in the mountains is also hard and dangerous, full of changes. Wild beasts, diseases, climate change, and various geological disasters all attack and torture the mountain people. Compared with the fertile land in the plains, the land output in the mountains is also poor.

This free yet arduous life has shaped mountain people, making them resilient, strong, yet cunning and suspicious. It's difficult to force them to accept rule through violence, but it's easy to bribe and motivate them through tangible benefits. Furthermore, the decentralized and multi-centered power structure in mountainous areas has made them understand the importance of collaboration. After all, there's no single, overwhelming authority in the mountains, and without mutual cooperation, nothing can be accomplished.

Wei Cong cunningly took advantage of these characteristics of the mountain people. The First Empire of China severely cracked down on all people and forces that competed with it for population. Before the social order was completely destroyed, he could only collect manpower to form his own army from marginal groups in society such as refugees, evildoers, mountain people, and barbarians. These groups were difficult to suppress with the authority of the empire, and he could only take advantage of the situation. Wei Cong appeared in the mountains as a pioneer at the beginning, and then gained the trust of these mountain people by counterattacking and retaliating against the attacks of the mountain beasts, and organized a self-defense military alliance. Finally, he used interests to win them over and lure them, gathering them under his banner to participate in this feast of the twilight of the empire.

After motivating these new mountain folk, Wei Cong led them back to camp, boarded the boats that had been prepared, and sailed downstream to Yuhan County to reunite with Diwudeng. Before leaving, Wei Cong summoned Yang Zheng, whom he had appointed to stay behind while he left before setting off for the hunt.

"Everything here is yours! If you deem it necessary, you can do anything, even destroy everything here and flee to the county seat!" At the dock, Wei Cong looked into Yang Zheng's eyes. The man's eyes were slightly red, a sign of nervousness and tears. "General!" Yang Zheng puffed out his chest. "I will do my utmost to ensure that nothing happens to the camp! Even if I'm torn to pieces, I—"

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" Wei Cong frowned, interrupting his subordinate's determination. "I want you alive, and not just you, but everyone in the camp: men, women, craftsmen, sailors, merchants. Do you understand? Mines, iron smelting furnaces, water wheels, and forging hammers are of course important, but as long as there are people, I can rebuild them elsewhere. It's not just this river that has iron ore. Without people, everything is gone. Do you understand?"

"I understand!" Yang Zheng nodded.

"I understand!" Wei Cong lowered his voice. "Of course, I'm talking about the worst-case scenario. Under normal circumstances, your primary task is to maintain the normal order and production of the entire camp: ensure that every month you provide me with 10 million coins, 200 crossbows, 300 bows, 200 armors, and a number of other weapons and staffs."

"I remember!"

"If we're short on manpower and resources, we can go slower with the copper coins, but we must not be short of weapons, armor, and crossbows!" Wei Cong lowered his voice. "My departure this time will be a huge gamble. The odds of winning or losing are 50-60% with you. We must not lose!"

"General, please rest assured. Even if I die, I will definitely complete the tasks you instructed me to do!"

"Talking about death again? Have you forgotten what I just said? I want you to live. Only when you live can you have a future. If you die, you will have nothing!" Wei Cong angrily punched Yang Zheng. After a moment, his eyes softened. "That's it! The next time we meet, it shouldn't be here! I wish you a long and happy life!"

"I wish my husband a long and happy life!" Yang Zheng's eyes were filled with tears and the man in front of him became blurry.

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Changban in Dangyang, Nanjun.

The Jingshan Mountain Range resembles a giant hand pressing down on the earth, its fingers stretching from west to east across western Hubei Province. By the time its range reaches Dangyang County, the slopes have become gently flat. In ancient times, people called relatively gentle slopes "ban," hence the name Changban. In ancient times, Dangyang bordered the Yunmeng Lake. Although the lake later became land, it remained a flooded area with a network of waterways until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Xiangjing Ancient Road, connecting Xiangyang and Jiangling, passes right through Dangyang. Changban is one of the few accessible routes, making it a strategic north-south junction.

In real history, in the 208th year of Jian'an ( AD), after Cao Cao arrived in Xiangyang, he learned that Liu Bei was leading his army to retreat to Jiangling. To prevent Liu Bei from obtaining Jiangling's large amount of baggage and ships, Cao Cao personally led Tiger and Leopard Cavalry from Xiangyang to pursue Liu Bei. After a day and night of rapid marching of miles, they caught up with Liu Bei in Dangyang and defeated him, seizing all his baggage and troops. Liu Bei's two daughters also fell into the hands of Cao's army. It was here that Zhang Fei led cavalrymen to block the bridge by the water, thus preventing Cao's army from pursuing them. Liu Bei was able to escape and, after reuniting with Guan Yu who had taken the water route, he headed for Jiangxia to reunite with Liu Qi.

It can be seen that Dangyang is an important pass leading to Xiangyang and even Jiangling in the north. Once this place is controlled by the bandits, the main transportation line between Jiangling and even the entire Jingnan and the northern court will be cut off (since Xiakou has fallen, the passage to Xiangyang through the Han River has long been cut off).

Zhao Yannian was awakened by the sound of an axe.

Zhao Yannian couldn't remember the last time he'd fallen asleep. When he closed his eyes, he dreamed of fighting. When he opened his eyes, he was still fighting. Even through the city walls, he could still hear the sound of axes chopping wood. It was the moth thieves cutting wood and making various siege weapons.

When Wen Sheng called him, Zhao Yannian had already woken up. He sat up irritably, wrapped in a bearskin. "Captain!" Wen Sheng whispered, "It's almost dawn. You'd better come to the top of the city wall and take a look. I suspect the moth thief is up to something again!"

Zhao Yannian nodded and tried to stand up, but he was too tired. If Wen Sheng hadn't reached out and pulled him up, he would have fallen. He put on his boots, wrapped his coat tightly around him, and walked out. Both sides of the aisle were full of people lying. Zhao Yannian kicked people from time to time in the darkness, but they were too tired to wake up. Even if they did, they didn't have the energy to curse.

"If only my husband were here!" Wen Sheng whispered, "He would always be able to come up with a solution, and Chen Qi wouldn't have died!"

Zhao Yannian forced himself to straighten his back. "Yes! But what can we do? My dear, he's not here. If we fight, people will die. We can only find a way to deal with it ourselves!"

(End of this chapter)