Taiheiki

Chapter 65 Internal strife
"That's right!" Zhou nodded. "Just do it. Also, you have to pay more attention to Ah Sheng!"

"Yes!" the butler replied, and then there were the sounds of light footsteps behind the curtain, evidently he had left. Zhou let out a long sigh and stood up, a gloom crossing her delicate face. "This bastard is always refusing to rest in peace. I had wanted to wait until the funeral was over before dealing with him, but now it seems that won't be possible!" With this thought, she clapped her hands twice, and two maids emerged from behind the curtain, prostrating themselves and saying, "Greetings, Madam!"

"You two came with me when you were still in your mother's family!" Zhou said, "From today on, you two will secretly monitor that evil creature. If you see any movement, report it to me immediately!"

"As you command!" The maid bowed again and stood up to leave. Zhou let out a long breath, a natural air of pride rising from her brow. Coming from the renowned Zhou clan of Lujiang (present-day Chengchi Township, Lujiang County, Hefei), she had married a mere local noble, Nie Zheng, as his second wife. This was a significant step down from her previous marriage. While Nie Zheng's early success and exceptional bravery were certainly the reason, more importantly, it stemmed from the climate changes that had taken place since the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty, especially after 120 AD.

During this period, abnormal weather conditions frequently occurred, with temperatures plummeting, leading to severe droughts, locust plagues, and cold snaps across northern China. These extreme conditions wreaked havoc on agricultural production, causing crop yields to decline or even fail completely, which in turn triggered famine, disease, and widespread deaths in humans and livestock. For example, in the first year of the Yongxing reign (153 AD), one-third of the Eastern Han counties suffered from floods and locust plagues. From the fourth to the ninth year of the Yanxi reign (161 AD), five consecutive years of cold snaps occurred, with "severe winter chills that killed birds and animals and harmed fish and turtles." "Since spring and summer, there have been continuous frost, hail, heavy rain, and thunderstorms." In the ninth year of the Yanxi reign (166 AD), a severe famine struck Sili and Yuzhou, killing nearly half the population.

From a historical perspective, the climate changes during the mid-to-late Eastern Han Dynasty marked the beginning of a six-hundred-year period of dryness and cold. Of course, the people of the Eastern Han Dynasty could not predict future climate change, but they could see the frost, drought, heavy snow, and locust plagues that were unfolding. As a branch of the Zhou family that migrated from Runan, the Lujiang Zhou family, since entering politics during the reign of Emperor Zhang of Han, has thrived for over a century, with two family members even holding the positions of Three Dukes. Families like these, while considering political advancement, also consider their own future.

At the time, Yuzhang County, south of the Yangtze River, was considered an undeveloped wilderness. However, its climate was warmer than Shucheng (the seat of Lujiang County), and it enjoyed abundant water resources, resulting in a vast expanse of land ripe for development. Chaisang, situated at the confluence of the Pengli Lake and the Yangtze River, offered access to the Yuzhang County counties and the Jiangdong County by water. Nie Zheng was a prominent local magnate, and offering a daughter for marriage would provide a strategic advantage for the Lujiang Zhou family, allowing them to continue their southward expansion. Nie Zheng, on the other hand, would also secure support from the imperial court, allowing them to advance from local magnates to high-ranking officials in the prefectures and counties. This was a win-win situation for both families. However, as fate would have it, Nie Zheng died in his early thirties, leaving Zhou a widow. Fortunately, they had a son, but if Nie Zheng could be used to control the Nie family, his death would have been preferable to the Zhou family, and to the Lujiang Zhou family itself.

"Now it seems that little bastard is probably up to something behind the scenes! We should send some people from home to provide backup, so we can be at ease!" Zhou had made up her mind. She called over her maid and asked, "Has anyone from Lujiang sent anyone to pay their respects?"

"Yes!" said the maid.

"who is it?"

"It's the fifth master from the second house!" the maid replied.

"The fifth master from the second house?" Zhou tried to recall for a moment, finally confirming who it was. She angrily asked, "Are you talking about Zhou Xian? Why is it him? That drunkard? Why did the family send him for such a big matter?"

"I heard that there was an epidemic in Lujiang at the beginning of winter. Several of the masters in charge of the family have fallen ill and are resting at home. They can't go far. He is the only one left!"

"Alright!" Zhou lowered her head helplessly. "You go and invite him over! Forget it, which courtyard does he live in? I'll go there myself!"

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Zhou Xian placed the empty wine glass back on the table and reached for the wine jug with trembling hands, only to find it was empty. He sighed in disappointment and called out to the door, "Someone, someone! Bring me some wine!"

The door was pushed open, and Zhou Xian staggered to his feet, holding the wine jug in one hand, cursing: "Why are you so slow? Is everyone in this family dead? I am the elder of your wife. If you are so negligent, be careful of me--"

Zhou Xian's voice abruptly stopped as a stunning young woman in mourning clothes entered the room. It was none other than Nie Zheng's widow, Zhou. Her gaze swept over the wine jug in Zhou Xian's hand, a look of obvious disgust in her eyes. "Fifth Uncle, you're here to pay your respects on behalf of my family. It hasn't even been a few days since Ah Zheng passed away, and you're already drinking like this. What would others think? What would they think of our Lujiang Zhou family?"

Facing Zhou's rebuke, Zhou Xian laughed awkwardly. He quickly put the wine pot behind him and said with a dry laugh, "I just had a craving for alcohol and drank half a pot to satisfy my craving. Besides, I drank secretly in the house, so no one else could see. You won't tell my family about me, will you?"

"You are my elder. How could I, a married daughter, possibly file a complaint against you?" Zhou said. She looked inside the room and said to the accompanying maid, "Go ask the servants to bring some hot soup. Then stand guard at the door and don't let anyone in to disturb us!"

"Yes!"

After the maid left, Zhou walked over to the Hu bed and sat down, sighing, "Fifth Uncle, you should know why I married into the Nie family of Chaisang. Ah Zheng has been murdered, and my child has just been weaned, and that bastard is running around all day, trying to gather support. Who else can I rely on? You are my elder, and yet you are like this, what should I do?"

"Bastard?" Zhou Xian, still drunk, immediately realized, "You mean that Nie Sheng? How dare he compete with you for the family inheritance? How bold! Doesn't he know you're the legal wife?"

"Of course he knows, but the problem is that he is already sixteen years old. How old is my child? Besides, his mother was indeed A Zheng's legal wife. If my child is gone, I can't compete with him!" Zhou said sadly.

"This bastard, barely even fully grown, dares to compete with our Lujiang Zhou family for our inheritance!" Zhou Xian patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, niece. I'll take care of everything. I'll write a letter right back and get some help to kill this brat!"

"How can that be possible!" Zhou shook her head. "No matter what, I am nominally his stepmother. If I kill Ah Zheng before his body is even cold, how can I convince the public in the future? After all, he has his mother's family as an external support!"

"Then what should we do? Niece, you decide! I will follow your instructions!" Zhou Xian said.

At this moment, the maid brought in hot soup from the outer room. Zhou paused for a moment, waiting for the maid to leave. "We, the Zhou family of Lujiang, are a family with a rich tradition of poetry and etiquette. Even if we want to kill him, we must have a legitimate reason. How about this? Tomorrow I will say that I'm overwhelmed with grief and have fallen ill. You write a letter back and ask them to send some people to my disposal. Besides that, you will go to the county tomorrow on my behalf, pay a visit to the county magistrate, and deliver a gift!"

"Write a letter and ask them to send someone over, and go to the county tomorrow to pay a visit and give gifts! Just these two things? I'll remember them!" Zhou Xian slapped his thigh: "Leave it all to me!"

"Okay!" Zhou stood up and said, "Then I'll leave everything to my uncle. Drink some of this hot soup and then rest. I'll put off the wine for a few days!"

————————————————————————Chaisang (now Jiujiang), Woniu Rock.

The planks of the ship creaked down and pressed against the dock with a bang.

The people on shore stared blankly at the boats, bewildered. The decks were filled with warriors in crimson robes and red caps. Quivers and bows hung from their waists, and spears as long as seventeen feet long rested on their shoulders, forming a dense forest. At a command, these sturdy men disembarked from the boats, splitting into two groups. The people hurriedly retreated to the side of the road, kneeling to greet the uninvited guest.

"My dear, everything is ready, please get off the boat!" Liu Jiu bowed.

"Hmm!" Wei Cong nodded in satisfaction. Although this wasn't his first time leading an army, the feeling of being above everyone else was truly intoxicating. No wonder Emperor Gaozu, upon seeing the First Emperor on tour, uttered the timeless line, "A true man should be like this." He straightened his clothes, stepped down from the gangplank, mounted his horse, and rode forward, surrounded by his guards.

"Huang Ping!" Wei Cong asked.

"I'm here!" Huang Ping came forward and asked, "What can I do for you, sir?"

"Do you think I should go directly to Nie's house, or should I send someone to inform Mr. Nie first and then go there?" Wei Cong asked.

"Each method has its own advantages. The former takes the initiative; the latter allows us to wait and see when the opportunity arises!" Huang Ping said with a smile, "But in my opinion, it's better to just go ahead!"

"Why do you say that?" Wei Cong asked.

"When I returned, I never imagined that my lord's men would be so powerful!" Huang Ping laughed. "With these two hundred men, they are more than enough to overwhelm the enemy on the spot! Whether it's Mr. Nie or that woman, they will have no choice but to kneel down and fawn over you. You can wait for the price and choose any one you want! If you choose the latter, you will end up tying your own hands and feet!"

"Hmm!" Wei Cong nodded. "You've been very thoughtful. How about this! Go to the Nie Mansion right now and tell Diwu Deng that I've arrived so he can prepare."

"As you command!" Huang Ping replied, and rode off to Nie's residence. Wei Cong shook his whip and shouted, "Play the drums and music!"

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Nie Mansion, backyard.

"Madam, madam, something's wrong!" The housekeeper rushed into the yard panting and shouted before entering the door.

"What happened?" Zhou opened the door. There were dark circles under her eyes on her beautiful face. It was obvious that she didn't sleep well last night. "Is there something wrong with the eldest master?"

"It's not the eldest son. He left early this morning and hasn't returned yet!" the housekeeper said anxiously, "There's a group of people outside, with drums and scarlet robes, and spears like a forest. What a huge scene, really scary! They say it's General Jiangling in scarlet robes, coming to pay tribute to a good friend! They're blocking the door, madam, please give us an explanation!"

"General Jiangling Jiangyi?" Zhou was stunned. As a lady from a wealthy family, she had certainly never heard of Zhang Bolu. However, she also knew that this "General Jiangyi" was definitely not a general of the imperial court. Even if he was a General of the Central Army, he was at least a senior officer with a rank higher than a thousand stones. Family members knew their own affairs, and her husband didn't seem to have such an old friend. As the saying goes, "Those who come with evil intentions will not be visited by those with good intentions." Could it be that the foreign reinforcements that the evildoer had recruited have arrived? Thinking of this, Zhou gritted her teeth and said, "Since they have come to pay homage to my late husband, my family cannot lose their courtesy. You should first have your troops on guard, and then invite the visitor in to pay homage. I will greet him in the hall!"

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Funeral hall.

The stench is so strong, the body must have rotted. Even with so many spices it can’t be suppressed!
Wei Cong suppressed the urge to vomit, bowed several times to the coffin at the head, and presented the silk offerings. Just then, the woman in white, who had been kneeling behind the curtain, stood up and bowed to Wei Cong. "My late husband was murdered, and you have come all the way from Jiangling to pay your respects. This is truly a gesture of kindness. I, Zhou, am truly grateful!"

"He really wants to be coquettish, dressed in mourning, this Nie Zheng is really lucky!"

Wei Cong pondered this inwardly, then quickly returned the greeting, saying, "My name is Wei Cong, and I'm a clerk in the Nanjun Bandits' Cao. A few years ago, I passed through Chaisang and met your husband. We became close friends. A few days ago, I learned of the tragic news and hurried here to pay my respects. Madam, please forgive me for my impoliteness!"

"Nanjun thief Cao Yuan?" Zhou was stunned when she heard this. "Then, then why did you just say 'Jiang Yi General'?"

"Oh, that's what happened!" Wei Cong laughed. "The Crimson-robed General was originally a river thief named Zhang Bolu. He had four or five hundred fugitives under his command, and they roamed the Jiangbei area for more than a decade, leaving the prefectures and counties unable to control him. I had a conflict with him a while ago and killed him. When the prefect learned of this, he recruited me as a clerk in the bandit department. The prefect wanted to use my reputation to subdue the thieves, so he had his military officers dress like Zhang Bolu's former subordinates, wearing crimson robes and red caps. Some gossipers started calling me 'Crimson-robed General', and over time, the fake became real. Madam, I'm sorry to make you laugh!"

Zhou glanced at Wei Cong's waist and saw the official seal. She thought to herself that Wei Cong's claim to be a thief's official was probably true, but her claim to be a general in crimson robes was doubtful. Although not a general, he was still one of the five officials under the command of a prefecture governor. Judging from Wei Cong's age and appearance, he probably came from a good family. She couldn't afford to neglect him.

"So that's how it is!" Zhou said with a smile, "It's the servants who made a mistake. My dear, you have come a long way, which shows your noble character. Why don't you go to the back hall, drink some hot soup and talk!"

(End of this chapter)