Chapter 148: The Old Trade

Ideally, if Li Yun could secure a base of his own—a place where he had absolute authority over all military and political affairs without outside interference—he could attempt to evenly distribute the land among the common people.

He would then levy only a land tax, abolishing the poll tax entirely.

Not only would this significantly improve the lives of the commoners, but it would also boost agricultural output to some extent.

However... for the time being, these ideas remained mere aspirations; the obstacles ahead were simply too numerous.

Putting aside whether the imperial court would allow Li Yun to act as he pleased once he arrived in Wuzhou, even if the court chose not to interfere in Wuzhou's affairs, such a policy would thoroughly alienate the local gentry, wealthy clans, and aristocratic families. These people would undoubtedly spare no effort in colluding with outsiders to overthrow Li Yun's "tyrannical rule."

Therefore, under current circumstances, these goals were simply unattainable.

Unattainable, because his fists were not yet large enough, and he lacked sufficient justification.

Still, one must always have dreams!

Rubbing his eyes, Li Zheng got out of bed and stared at the lines Li Yun had been sketching on the table. After pondering for a long time without understanding them, he looked outside and said, "Second Brother, it's so late, you should get some sleep."

Li Yun looked up at him and said with a smile, "You're awake just in time. There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Stretching lazily, Li Zheng sat down and said, "Go ahead, Second Brother."

"In a few days, we'll be heading to Wuzhou to garrison the area. We'll have an entire prefecture to maneuver in."

"Grand General Su has promised to place two captaincies under my command, which amounts to over a thousand men. Tomorrow, we can begin selecting our personnel. I was thinking, since we've already reached this scale..."

"Should we summon Old Nine and the others from Lingyang Mountain to Wuzhou? From now on, we will plant our roots in Wuzhou."

Li Zheng was taken aback. "Second Brother, you aren't planning to return to Xuanzhou or Qingyang?"

"We will certainly go back eventually. What we need to consider now is where we should truly establish our foundation."

Scratching his head, Li Zheng replied, "Second Brother, I think you're moving too fast. We don't yet know what Wuzhou is really like; we need to see it for ourselves first. To stake our entire livelihood on Wuzhou right now seems a bit too rash."

"Besides, Second Sister-in-law is still in Qingyang, and you'll have to go back there anyway, Second Brother. Let's go to Wuzhou first and assess the situation before making any decisions."

"Whose second sister-in-law?"

Glaring at him, Li Yun laughed and scolded, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"You can't fool me."

Pouting, Li Zheng said, "When we were in Qingyang, I was with you every day. You kept visiting the backyard to see Second Sister-in-law, and some of the brothers in the county office even said they saw you holding hands!"

With a trace of envy in his tone, he continued, "When you sent Second Sister-in-law back to Qingyang, Second Brother, we thought you were possessed by a ghost! Who would have thought you were planning so far ahead..."

Li Yun was momentarily speechless.

These fellows were truly full of gossip.

Standing up, he blew out the lamp, walked back to his bed, and lay down directly.

"Go to sleep!"

Rolling his eyes at him and stretching lazily, Li Zheng returned to his own bed, pulled up the quilt, and closed his eyes to sleep.

***

Over the next few days, Li Yun led Zhou Liang, Li Zheng, and the others to recruit several hundred new soldiers, predominantly consisting of men from Xuanzhou.

Although the dialects varied across the counties and towns of Xuanzhou, the people could at least understand one another. Moreover, with fellow townsmen gathered together and led by one of their own—Li Yun—their cohesion would be much stronger.

On the fourth day, after finishing the selection, Li Yun went to the commander's tent to obtain Grand General Su's military order and the crucial warrant authorizing him to oversee local affairs. Only then did he issue the command for this force of nearly a thousand men to set off grandly, leaving Linshui.

Zhou Liang led the vanguard, Li Zheng commanded the center, and Li Yun brought up the rear.

Once the entire force of a thousand men had marched out of Linshui, Li Yun turned back to bid farewell to Grand General Su.

Just as Li Yun was preparing to depart, Major General Su Sheng stepped forward, untied the sword from his waist, and handed it to Li Yun. "Brother Li, I've noticed you're highly skilled with both the bow and long weapons, but you lack a reliable short weapon. This sword was acquired during my youth and is still quite sharp. Please wear it at your waist."

Those who used long weapons on the battlefield typically carried a backup short weapon, usually a short sword or a dagger.

After all, if one's spear technique was not flawless, an enemy might get inside their guard, and once at close quarters, a long spear became difficult to wield effectively.

Furthermore, a long spear was cumbersome to carry. Take Li Yun, for example; his spear was a heavy lance exceeding a length of one zhang. While it was fine to carry on the battlefield, in daily life, it had to be left on the weapon rack.

Having such a佩剑 (belt sword) was indeed very practical.

Without standing on ceremony, he accepted the sword, smiled, and asked, "Major General, does this sword have a name?"

Su Sheng looked somewhat embarrassed. "Originally it had no name. I gave it a rather tacky name back then, so it's probably better not to mention it..."

Understanding, Li Yun smiled and did not press the matter further.

A sword acquired in one's youth was usually given a rather chuuni name, and the young major general was probably too embarrassed to say it now.

Without further pretense, Li Yun accepted the three-foot-long sword, hung it at his waist, cupped his fists toward Su Jing and his son, and said, "Grand General, Major General, farewell."

With his hands behind his back, Su Jing nodded and said, "I am seventy to eighty percent confident about wiping out the rebels. When we meet again, it will likely be the moment of our victory."

Thoughtfully, Li Yun glanced in the direction of Qiantang Commandery, refrained from asking further questions, and cupped his fists in salute once more.

"Then I wish the Grand General early success in advance."

With that, Li Yun turned and left.

Watching Li Yun and his subordinates recede into the distance, Su Sheng smiled and said, "Although Brother Li comes from a small place like Qingyang, he truly possesses a heroic spirit that rivals those from the great clans."

With his hands clasped behind his back, Grand General Su walked back toward his command tent and frowned. "For some reason, I always feel there is something not quite right about this lad."

Accommodating his elderly father all the way back to the main tent, Su Sheng chuckled, "Perhaps it's because his temperament doesn't quite resemble that of a county office captain."

Once father and son had returned to the tent and seated themselves, Su Sheng looked at his father and asked, "Father, how do you plan to attack Qiantang next?"

Gazing at the map of Qiantang Commandery, the Grand General let out a silent sigh. "That little fellow..."

With no outsiders present, he finally stopped addressing him as "the rebel Zhao."

After all, Zhao Cheng could be said to have grown up under his watchful eye.

Su Sheng lowered his voice. "Since such a tragedy befell Uncle Zhao's family, it's inevitable that he harbors resentment; there's nothing to be done about that."

"The Emperor is capricious. Who could have foreseen that because of such a trivial matter, he would have Uncle Zhao's entire family..."

"Enough, say no more."

Roused from his memories, the Grand General rebuked his son sharply, lowering his voice. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

The army camp was likely riddled with the imperial court's eyes and ears.

Pausing briefly, the Grand General continued, "Once my army has trained for another month, we will begin the assault on Qiantang. They..."

A cold sneer crossed Su Jing's face. "They won't hold out for long."

***

The distance from Wuzhou to Linshui was only about three hundred kilometers. At the pace Li Yun's previous men could march, they would have covered this distance in five or six days.

However, having now supplemented his ranks with numerous recruits whose marching pace could not match the veterans, the overall speed slowed down considerably.

Fortunately, Li Yun also needed some time to study the map of Wuzhou. By the time they finally reached the borders of Wuzhou, Li Zheng came over to inquire about their next move.

"Second Brother, are we heading straight to Wuzhou's prefectural city?"

"What would we go to the prefectural city for?"

Glancing at him, Li Yun retorted irritably, "I've told you to read proper books and study maps more often in your spare time."

Scratching his head with a somewhat sheepish expression, Li Zheng asked, "Where are we going then?"

"Dongyang County."

Closing his eyes, Li Yun conjured the crude map from the geographical gazetteer in his mind and spoke: "That is the border region between Wuzhou and Yuzhou. If the enemy from Yuzhou attempts to flee south through Wuzhou, they will either pass through Dongyang or Wushang, which lies slightly north of Dongyang."

"We will garrison Dongyang and concurrently guard against Wushang."

Nodding initially, Li Zheng looked around to ensure no one else was near, then asked, "Second Brother, if the rebels really do come toward Wuzhou, what should we do?"

"If they all come, there won't be any other good options; we'll simply have to hole up in the county town or fall back to the prefectural city. However, judging by Grand General Su's confident demeanor, that scenario is unlikely to happen."

"Let's garrison Dongyang first and get this thousand-man force properly drilled."

At this point, he looked at Li Zheng and let out a chuckle. "Skinny Monkey, did you ever imagine that one day we'd command a full thousand men?"

"No..."

Shaking his head, Li Zheng murmured, "That's about thirty Cangshan fortresses..."

"Our most important task for the next step is to turn these one thousand men into our own people."

Pondering for a moment, Li Yun continued, "We should arrive in Dongyang in two or three days. Skinny Monkey, you should go ahead to Dongyang tomorrow and use our funds to purchase some pigs and sheep."

Pausing briefly, Li Yun added, "Buy plenty, and ensure everyone gets to eat meat."

To capture a man's heart, one must first capture his stomach.

In an era where simply filling one's belly was a luxury, a superior officer who could treat his subordinates to meat and greasy dishes from time to time was bound to win their hearts effortlessly!

Frowning with a sense of financial distress, Li Zheng muttered, "We haven't received any income from this suppression campaign yet, and the money is flowing out like water."

The Grand General laughed and scolded, "Having manpower is the greatest income of all!"

"Besides, once we reach Dongyang, the revenue will naturally follow."

Curious, Li Zheng asked, "What is Second Brother planning to do?"

Composed and unhurried, Li Yun replied,

"Why, go back to our old trade, of course."

Startled for a moment, Li Zheng cried out, "Second Brother, you're going to rob..."

"What nonsense are you uttering?"

Interrupting him with a serious expression, Li Yun declared,

"We are going to suppress bandits! Suppress bandits!"