Taiheiki

Chapter 36 Revenge
"That's nothing to laugh about!" Deng Zhong laughed. "Although the thief Cao Congshi is only a hundred stones, it's just right for you, Meng De. Zhang Bolu has been rampant in Jiangbei for so many years, harming many people and having many followers. If you can't eradicate him completely, you will suffer endless troubles!"

"Shi Mao is right. I will be careful in what I do!" Wei Cong suddenly came to his senses. In fact, he had considered this before, but the solution he came up with was to give the credit and fame to Cao Cao, and live in seclusion behind the scenes to avoid disaster. Deng Zhong simply got himself an official position as the thief Cao, so that he could use public power to cut the roots and prevent future troubles.

"Jiangling is the strategic point of Jingzhou and the old capital of Chu. Our careers are inseparable from this place. If you have a position here, many things will be much more convenient! As for the humble position!" Deng Zhong smiled and said, "When I arrived, Feng's cavalry had already reached Wancheng. Once the war begins, there will be more opportunities!"

"Hmm!" Wei Cong nodded. Han society was still heavily militaristic, with no distinction between civil and military officials. Military merit was the most direct and fastest way to achieve higher rank. Jiangling, the former capital of the Chu State and the Eastern Han Dynasty's greatest military stronghold in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, offered ample opportunities for military exploits in the upcoming war against the Wuling barbarians.

"And..." Deng Zhong hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Since you're going to Jingzhou, you can't avoid Huang Wan. He's a very upright person, so you have to be careful when dealing with him. Don't leave a bad impression on him, or you'll have a lot of trouble not only in Jingzhou but also when you return to Luoyang!"

"Why do you say that?"

Deng Zhong sighed and began to explain carefully. It turned out that Huang Wan was not only a member of the Jiangxia Huang clan, a prominent family in Jingzhou, but more importantly, he was a contemporary descendant of the Ouyang clan, the orthodox lineage of the Modern Text Book of Documents. During the Han Dynasty, numerous Confucian scholars emerged, and a strong tendency towards Confucianism was evident. During the Qin Dynasty's burning of the various schools of thought, Fu Sheng hid the Book of Documents in the walls of his home. In the early Han Dynasty, he breached the walls and discovered only twenty-nine chapters (some say twenty-eight). Later, he lectured in Qi and Lu. During the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, he sought knowledge of the Book of Documents, but no one responded. Later, Emperor Wen learned of Fu Sheng and ordered him to appear before him, but Fu Sheng was already over ninety years old. Consequently, Emperor Wen sent Chao Cuo, the official in charge of the Imperial Secretariat, to seek his guidance.

Thus, the Book of Documents was able to be passed down. People of the time said that without Fu Sheng in the Han Dynasty, the Book of Documents would not have been passed down; and that without Fu Sheng, the Book of Documents would not have been understood. The Ouyang School of Documents inherited by Huang Wan can be said to be one of the three orthodox branches of the Modern Text Book of Documents (Ouyang School, Da Xiahou School, and Xiao Xiahou School). Its founder, Ouyang Sheng, was a disciple of Fu Sheng from Lu during the early Han Dynasty and held a high position of influence among scholars.

"Shimao, don't worry, I'll be careful!" Wei Cong let out a long sigh and said with a wry smile, "No wonder you were so respectful to him just now!"

"There's nothing we can do about it!" Deng Zhong sighed. "People like Huang Wan don't want money or power, and they're not afraid of death. Not to mention me, even the Queen Mother, the General, and the Emperor would be in a lot of trouble if they met him. You and I are both people who want to get things done. As long as we do things, we can't guarantee that we won't get our hands dirty. It's better to stay away from people like him."

"Brother Shimao is absolutely right!" Wei Cong nodded sincerely.

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In the prefect's mansion.

The maids and servants had all left, leaving only Han Chun and Huang Wan sitting at the table. The night wind blew, causing the candlelight to sway, and the shadows cast on the ground were like ghostly shadows, captivating people.

"Zi Yan, who do you think is telling the truth, Cao Cao or Wei Cong?" Han Chun asked, putting down his wine glass.

"Of course it's Wei Cong!" Huang Wan sighed. "Wei Cong is just an exile. How dare he take credit for the work of a member of the Grand Chamberlain's family?"

"Hmm!" Han Chun smiled and said, "Will you still write a letter of recommendation to Chen Zhongju on his behalf?"

"Of course not!" Huang Wan snorted coldly, "This eunuch's son has a low character. I was actually fooled by his little tricks!"

"Zi Yan, you weren't deceived by that kid surnamed Cao, but you were doing it to save face for the Cai family, right?" Han Chun smiled and said, "No matter what, your Huang family still wants to be in Jingzhou, so you can't avoid the Cai family! There are some things that you can only pretend you didn't see and let them go!"

Huang Wan didn't say anything, but it was clear from his expression that he was unhappy. After a few minutes, he asked, "What about Wei Mengde? What are your plans?"

"Hahaha!" Han Chun laughed. "Everyone says the Cai and Huang families are the wealthy, but in reality, the Nanyang Deng family is the one that lives and dies with the country. Classical learning, military exploits, and the like are unimportant to them. If the emperor wants to arrange marriages, he can only choose from among their families. Every few decades, there's always an empress dowager or a great general who rules the country for a decade or two. So, in his life, it's really only others who beg him, not him. And to be honest, this is the first time I've seen Deng Shimao of Nanyang speak up for someone else!"

"Then why did you only give me a hundred stones?" Huang Wan asked.

"I told you! Did you forget?" Han Chun said a little aggrievedly, "Isn't it unfair to say a mere 100 dan? Deng Shimao said 100 dan, so it's 100 dan. Since he's already agreed, why should I make a fuss?"

"Haha!" Huang Wan laughed, "Master, you seem a little afraid of this old friend!"

"Afraid?" Han Chun gave a bitter smile. "Of course I'm afraid! My ancestor, Emperor Gao, fell into decline. His ancestor was the chief general of the Yuntai, a hero of the Guangwu era. Even if he poked a hole in the sky, there would be someone to patch it up for him. I don't have that blessing. I've known him since I was a child. He's a reckless person. You could say he's moody. He could be chatting and laughing with you just now, and then turn hostile in the blink of an eye, and even stab you!"

"Is that true?" Huang Wan was surprised. "It looked fine just now."

"That was all when he was young. You weren't close friends with him, so of course you didn't know!" Han Chun waved his hand. "How else could he, with his family background, have only inherited his ancestral title and no official position in his thirties? It's all because of his temper!"

"So there's such a thing! I really didn't realize it!" Huang Wan frowned. "Then, according to you, what's going on with Wei Cong? At least on the surface, your friend seems to be very nice to Wei Cong!"

"So, I'll give him a job as a Thief Cao assistant first. If he can get rid of the Zhang family's gang of thieves, I'll promote him to Thief Cao Yuan. Anyway, we'll just take it one step at a time!"

"That's all we can do!" Huang Wan sighed. "It seems like being the Nanjun prefect isn't easy after all!"

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"My lord, get dressed!" A Jing carefully put the bronze seal into the belt bag and hung it around Wei Cong's waist. He then tied the yellow ribbon, knotted the two ends and let them hang down, then stood up and stepped aside.

"Hmm!" Wei Cong nodded. He walked to the bronze mirror and saw himself in a dark black robe, a hat on his head, a yellow sash around his waist, a bag with a bronze seal hanging from his left waist, and a sword hanging from his right. He had fair skin and three strands of beard under his chin, looking like an official. He turned around and asked Ah Jing with some uncertainty, "Ah Jing, do I look okay?" "Haha!" Ah Jing laughed, "You're asking the wrong person. I belong to you, my husband. In my eyes, whatever you wear is good. Why don't you ask them?" She pointed to Zhao Yannian, Wang Shou, Diwu Deng and others standing nearby.

"Young Master has a majestic demeanor and an extraordinary appearance!" Zhao Yannian said in a deep voice, "He has the appearance of a master!"

"Yes, yes!" Wang Shou glanced at Zhao Yannian angrily, regretting that he had been beaten to the punch again. He quickly said, "My dear, if you say you have a salary of two thousand dan, people will believe you!"

"Yes, yes, he looks almost the same as the governor!"

Hearing his men's compliments, Wei Cong waved his hands in embarrassment, "You're just talking nonsense to cheer me up again. You've all mentioned the emperor, the two thousand stone official, and the prefect. I'm just a thief Cao Gongshi with a mere hundred stone official. I'm still far from that!"

"You can't say that!" Wang Shou stepped forward and said with a smile, "This thief Cao Congshi is not just a 100-stone official! My dear, do you remember Cai Buyi? He was just a county patrolman, far inferior to your thief Cao Congshi!"

"That's right!" Zhao Yannian interjected, "The Thief Cao is one of the five officials under the governor. Although his position is humble, his power is not insignificant. Apart from anything else, my lord, don't you want to completely eliminate Zhang Bolu? Becoming the Thief Cao's assistant will give you the full authority. With the bronze seal, you can recruit soldiers and run the army to destroy Zhang Jiawu Fort in one fell swoop!"

"Can I also use it to recruit soldiers and conscript labor?" Wei Cong was startled and asked, picking up the bronze seal at his waist, "Just this?"

"Of course! Otherwise, what's the use of this seal? It won't look good, will it?" Zhao Yannian said with a smile: "Of course, your rank is not high enough, so it's a bit difficult to recruit county soldiers, but it's not a big problem to recruit strong men from the village, such as those rowers-"

"Oarsmen!" Wei Cong immediately realized, "You mean to conscript those oarsmen as laborers? Would they be willing to do that? Rowing is not something you can do casually. If someone harbors resentment, there will definitely be trouble on the battlefield!"

"Of course I'm willing!" Zhao Yannian said with a smile. "They all have to deal with government labor. Serving as rowers for you means they don't have to do other labor. Compared to building city walls, burning bricks, pounding rice, and clearing canals, rowing is easy work. At least rowing for you doesn't require me to prepare my own meals, so I can finally save on food!"

"That's right!" Wei Cong also understood. "Not only do we not have to eat, but we can also give out some money. Let's call it straw sandal money! Ten coins per person per day, how about that?"

"My dear, you are so generous!" Zhao Yannian said with a smile, "Yang Zheng and the others will definitely be very happy when they find out!"

"Yes!" Wei Cong nodded excitedly. "Since we are going to besiege Zhangjiawu Fort this time, these rowers must be equipped with weapons, even if it is just for the sake of emergency! They should be equipped with small shields, short bows and slings. This matter will be left to—" At this point, Wei Cong suddenly realized that something was wrong and quickly turned to Wang Shou: "Leave it to you!"

Wang Shou's spirits lifted, he stepped forward and said, "As you command!"

After his men left, Wei Cong let out a long, tired breath and opened his arms, saying, "Ah Jing, come over and help me get these messes off!"

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Ah Jing stood aside, looking at Wei Cong with a smile: "My dear, you look so good like this. I want to look at you for a while longer!"

"It looks good like this?" Wei Cong couldn't help but laugh: "Such a long piece of cloth around the waist is so ugly!"

"What do you mean by 'a piece of cloth'? That's so ugly!" Ah Jing smiled and walked over to Wei Cong. She put her arm around his waist and adjusted the yellow ribbon, whispering softly in his ear, "This is called a ribbon, but it's not something that ordinary people can wear. What do men want most? Isn't it to embrace gold and purple? You have a copper seal and a yellow ribbon today, tomorrow it will be a copper seal and a black ribbon, then a silver seal and a green ribbon, and one day it will become a gold seal and a purple ribbon!"

Wei Cong felt an itch in his ear as he listened to Ah Jing's whispers, and instinctively kissed her neck. Ah Jing felt her body soften and fell down, and Wei Cong followed suit, pressing Ah Jing under him. At this moment, Wei Cong felt a cool breeze blowing over his head, and heard a noise. A lamp stand not far away overturned, and the lamp oil spilled all over the ground and caught fire.

"What happened?" Wei Cong thought he had accidentally knocked it over. He sighed in disappointment and was about to get up to clean up the scene, but was stopped by A Jing.

"My dear, look, on the wall!"

Wei Cong looked in the direction Ah Jing pointed and saw a crossbow bolt stuck deep in the wall. Judging from the direction, it should be where he had just stood. He finally realized what was going on. He felt a chill in his back and shouted, "Assassin, there's an assassin!"

Wei Cong's cry echoed in the silent night sky, a particularly desolate and terrifying sound. The sound of footsteps, shouts, and the clash of weapons immediately ripped through the night air. Wei Cong drew his sword and held it across his chest. With his free hand, he grasped Ah Jing's hand. "It must be the Zhang family's assassin. Ah Jing, don't be afraid. The yard isn't big. Zhao Yannian and the others will catch the assassin quickly!"

"I'm not afraid!" Ah Jing tightly grasped Wei Cong's hand: "As long as you are not hurt, it's fine. We must kill these thieves completely!"

A few minutes later, Zhao Yannian came up with a thin man. He smelled foul, was skinny, had limp hair, and had dull eyes sunken in his bony face. A short crossbow was thrown beside him.

"If it weren't for this woman!" he muttered darkly, "I would have shot it just now!"

"Didn't I tell you to be on high alert?" Wei Cong, nearly shot to death, lashed out at Zhao Yannian with a rage, "Is this how you're supposed to be on high alert?"

"My dear, please forgive me!" Zhao Yannian knelt down hurriedly. "This guy just got in through the sewer. We just moved into this house. I don't know the way around here very well. I only sent people to guard the entrance and the walls, but not—"

"Alright, alright, stop talking!" Wei Cong covered his nose. He finally understood where the stench came from. This guy must be a tough guy to have managed to get in from the sewer. He snorted coldly, "Who told you to come?"

　Thanks to book friend Yue Weiyang cd for the reward!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)