Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Nine: Fishing at Tianmu Mountain

The following day, Li Yun led Zhou Liang and the others to the armory to collect fifty sets of armor and some bows and crossbows. After half a day of reorganization, he announced to his men that they were departing the main camp.

On the morning of the third day, holding Su Jing’s military orders, Li Yun’s group successfully departed the Ningguo County camp. As he exited, Li Yun glanced back at the encampment. He had spent little more than ten days there—less than half a month—but he had truly learned much. At the very least, he had grasped the fundamentals of building an army. For the current Li Yun, this was critical. Without this fortnight of intensive training and observation, even with the manpower at his disposal, he would have needed considerable time through trial and error to truly mold these bandits into a military force.

Ningguo County was not far from Mount Tianmu, and thanks to the conditioning from their recent daily marches, their pace had improved. Two days after leaving Ningguo, they arrived at the foot of Mount Tianmu. They set up temporary camp outside the village of Xia’ao.

Initially, the villagers of Xia’ao were fearful upon seeing government troops, but once they recognized Li Yun, their demeanor turned warm. The village head, surnamed Chen, ran out to the camp, grabbed Li Yun’s hand, and insisted, "Commander Li, there are plenty of empty rooms in the village. If we squeeze in, we can certainly accommodate you. You are a great benefactor to Xia’ao; in no way should you be staying outside the village." He added, "I have already ordered the chickens to be slaughtered to host you and your men."

Li Yun shook his head and smiled, "Elder, our numbers have grown; it wouldn't be appropriate to crowd into the village, and it would be difficult to fit everyone. Staying here is fine; please do not trouble yourselves."

In the past, Li Yun would have moved into the village, but now he needed to practice basic skills like setting up camp and cooking in the field. Having acquired tents, he could no longer stay in the village. After the village head spent some time trying to persuade him, Li Yun finally had a large bag of money brought over and placed it into Elder Chen’s hands. "Elder, here is twenty guan. If you want to help, take this money and buy us some pigs and sheep to supplement my soldiers' rations."

In this era, military rations were notoriously poor, sometimes even requiring new recruits to bring their own food. Because of this, training intensity was usually low. However, Li Yun’s unit was different; he had ample funds, and those who followed him never went hungry. While they couldn't have meat at every meal, having it every few days was no problem. This was precisely why his men had few complaints during training. In an age of extreme scarcity, these conscripts—mostly from poor families—were receiving a standard of living that would have easily allowed Li Yun to hire laborers for his own personal gain without spending an extra cent.

As Elder Chen hesitated, looking at the money, Li Yun frowned and said, "Elder, do not refuse. Buy as much pork and mutton as this money allows. If you try to add your own money, I shall be displeased."

The village head sighed as he accepted the purse. "I would have liked to add my own, but after those god-forsaken bandits raided us, the village has no money left. I am truly ashamed..."

Li Yun smiled and gestured for a young man from the Cangshan Stronghold to come forward. "Dazhu, take a few men and accompany the elder to help carry the supplies. Remember, use only this money; do not let the villagers of Xia’ao pay a single cent."

Dazhu, about the same age as Li Yun, was one of the young men from the Cangshan Stronghold. Having already been put in charge of several squads, he patted his chest and said, "Commander, rest assured, it shall be done."

Elder Chen paused, looking up at Li Yun with caution. "Commander Li, have you... been promoted?"

Li Yun shook his head. "It is a temporary assignment for suppressing the rebellion. Once it is over, I will return to being a commander in Qingyang County."

The old man asked a few more questions before leaving with Dazhu, shaking his head and muttering, "The imperial court is still good, the court is still good..."

Li Zheng, who had been silent, hummed coldly, "It is clearly my second brother’s achievement; why give the credit to the court?"

Li Yun laughed, "Why bother with that?"

Li Zheng stood behind him and asked, "Second brother, are we... no longer considered bandits?"

Li Yun looked back at him, then at his subordinates busy setting up camp. He thought for a moment and smiled. "I don't think there is any difference, only that our targets have changed. Before, we traded in raiding merchant caravans; from now on, we must set our sights on larger targets."

"Such as?" Li Zheng asked.

"Such as cities, such as land, and such as..." Li Yun looked into the distance and said softly, "the great noble clans and the high-born royalty."

Li Zheng’s breath hitched. He looked up at Li Yun and murmured, "Second brother, you..."

"There is nothing to be surprised about," Li Yun narrowed his eyes, his voice calm. "In this world, if you want to live comfortably, we must at least carve out our own territory. Otherwise, we will always be fish on someone else’s chopping block. This Yuezhou Rebellion is a perfect opportunity for us."

"What kind of opportunity?" Li Zheng scratched his head, still confused. In his view, they were currently government troops suppressing a rebellion; if they failed, they would be punished, and if they succeeded, they were only helping the court, leaving them with even fewer prospects.

"Naturally, the opportunity to grow stronger." Li Yun took a deep breath. "Once we become powerful, whatever we wish to do will become much easier."

On the surface, Li Yun had four or five hundred men, but in reality, only half were from Qingyang, and only half would follow him to the death regardless of his actions. In a few months, he was confident he could make all five hundred men truly his own. This number was already significant. If he could double it again by the time Su Jing left...

Heh, that would be a sight to behold!

...

Xia’ao was already within the jurisdiction of Linshui County, Qiantang Prefecture. After setting up camp, Li Yun sent Li Zheng with a small squad in plain clothes to scout the situation in Linshui County. At the same time, he sent men to the Mount Tianmu stronghold to summon Deng Yang, who had been left in charge.

After descending the mountain and arriving at the village, Deng Yang was stunned to see dozens of tents. He made his way to Li Yun’s tent, saluted, and couldn't help but ask, "Commander, where did all these people come from? I saw at least three or four hundred men outside."

"Over four hundred and eighty," Li Yun replied with a smile. "We are running out of tents."

"Where did you get so many people, Commander? With this many, it wouldn't be impossible to take a prefecture city!"

"It’s a long story." Li Yun stretched and motioned for Deng Yang to sit. "After we left Mount Tianmu, did anyone from Yuezhou come looking for us?"

"They did," Deng Yang nodded quickly. "That fellow surnamed He, who seemed to have a high status in Yuezhou. After you left, two or three groups came. But since we grew up on the mountain, we hid in time and they didn't spot us."

Li Yun stroked his chin, pondering for a moment. "That is truly... catching a treasure, though it’s a pity we sold him too cheaply..."

Deng Yang scratched his head. "Commander, what do you mean by 'sold him too cheaply'?"

"Nothing." Li Yun poured Deng Yang a cup of wine and smiled. "Stay in the camp for a day or two to familiarize yourself, then return to Mount Tianmu. Once back, spread the word that the Mount Tianmu stronghold has captured He Gang, and if they want to ransom him, they must pay one hundred thousand guan."

Deng Yang’s eyes widened. "One hundred thousand guan? Even if they had captured the son of Qiu Dian, they probably wouldn't..."

"They naturally won't pay the ransom." Li Yun patted Deng Yang on the shoulder and chuckled. "Just do as I say. If this is done successfully, I will promote you to a battalion commander!"

Deng Yang immediately clasped his hands. "I will obey!"