White-robed Minister

0009 [Crisis: Danger and Opportunity]

evening.

A camp on the riverbank.

"Is Yang Peng feeling any better?"

"It's still the same, hot one minute, cold the next."

"He probably won't make it this time."

"What can we do? This is our fate as mountain people."

"..."

Xu Lai listened silently without offering any opinion.

Before he traveled through time, he had a good impression of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Aside from its poor military prowess, the Northern Song Dynasty seemed to excel in every aspect. It was a prosperous and wealthy society, rich in culture and refinement, a near-perfect classical society.

Ha ha!

The more Xu Lai saw the true face of the Northern Song Dynasty, the more determined he became to take the imperial examination and become an official.

If you can't become an official, you'll be at the mercy of others for the rest of your life.

Wang Anshi implemented reforms during the Xining era, and it is now the seventh year of the Jiayou era. How many years have passed in between?

It seems that Emperor Yingzong, who died young, was also involved.

If I succeed in the imperial examinations, I might be able to work under Wang Anshi.

Lost in a jumble of thoughts, Xu Lai stared blankly at the river, pondering how to get to know the county magistrate.

He needs a guarantee of passing the exam issued by the county magistrate!

Two barges sped over and anchored at Yinsha Wharf.

Xu Lai pointed at the junks and asked, "Uncle Zhang, those two ships are huge, and their flags say 'Maritime Trade Office.' What are the Guangzhou Maritime Trade Office's ships doing here?"

"The tribute goods were sent to the emperor," Uncle Zhang explained. "They would come once a year, sometimes in late autumn, sometimes in early winter. Salt bandits dared not rob the tribute ships; the escorts on board would fight to the death."

Xu Lai thought to himself: Is Emperor Renzong of Song about to die? He probably won't have the chance to enjoy these tributes.

A river breeze blows, and night falls.

The shops and merchant ships to the east gradually lit up. The boat houses of the Tanka people to the west also faintly glowed with light.

The lights reflected in the river, twinkling like stars, creating a beautiful scene.

There were even boat people singing boat songs, adding a touch of comfort to the harsh reality.

Xu Lai lay down in the shack and tossed and turned, picking at lice.

God knows where it came from.

Anyway, he hadn't bathed for quite some time, and he often came into contact with other strong men, so before he knew it, his whole body was covered in lice.

A cold night wind blew by, and the straw hut couldn't keep out the chill at all. Xu Lai shivered and quickly tightened the blankets around him.

My cousin told me that it used to be quite warm at this time of year, but this year the temperature dropped earlier than expected.

For able-bodied men, this was truly a case of misfortune never coming singly.

After a while, Xu Lai fell into a deep sleep; he was just too tired from working all day.

"Knock knock knock!"

"kill!"

"Salt thieves are here! Salt thieves are here!"

He didn't know how much time had passed when a jumble of noises suddenly woke Xu Lai from his dream.

He grabbed his broadsword and shouted, "Cousin, Uncle Zhang, wake up! The salt bandits are attacking!"

Ten strong men from Qingxi Village shared a straw hut with five of them. Soon, all of them woke up—except for Yang Peng, who was seriously ill.

"Bu Chao, you're strong, carry Yang Peng on your back!" Uncle Zhang shouted.

Qingxi Village is full of fifth-class households; there isn't a single fourth-class household.

Therefore, they are very united.

Why unite?

Because fifth-class households did not have separate household registration certificates, seven families shared one household registration book. Taxes also had to be paid by all seven families together, which was a mandatory regulation imposed by the government.

If any of the businesses loses its workforce and is unable to pay its taxes for the year, the other six businesses will have to pay to help make up the difference.

Only when everyone is doing well can we get through this difficult time.

The village has only about thirty households, and people from outside the mountains discriminate against them. Apart from exchanging marriages with other villagers, the only other option is to marry within the village. Over the past hundred years, every family has become related.

We all prosper together, and we all suffer together!

The bandits attacked at night, and everyone from officials to merchants, from generals to able-bodied men, was fleeing in panic.

The companions from Qingxi Village, however, managed to suppress their fear and carry their friend along. They even shielded the sick Yang Peng in their midst as they fled for their lives.

Xu Lai kept turning his head to observe the situation. He saw that it was dark nearby, with shadowy figures all around, and people were fleeing for their lives everywhere.

On the side of the camp closest to the river, torches had already appeared.

With a loud crash, the simple village wall collapsed.

Countless salt bandits rushed in with torches, setting fire to the shacks built of straw and bamboo poles.

In the blink of an eye, the entire camp was ablaze with flames.

Next, in the direction of Yinshabu, shops and tax offices were set on fire one after another, and the people fled in terror just like the soldiers.

"Ouch!"

It was pitch black ahead when his cousin Bu Chao lost his footing and fell down with the sick Yang Peng.

His companions quickly helped them up, and then dragged Yang Peng away while supporting him on either side.

Xu Lai quickly said, "Don't panic, you can slow down. The salt bandits aren't chasing us."

Upon hearing this, everyone stopped and turned to look at the riverbank.

The salt bandits did not pursue them further; they were busy looting the goods.

If we were to lead a few dozen elite soldiers to attack at this moment, we would surely catch the salt bandits off guard.

However, Xu Lai had no soldiers. Including himself, he only had ten villagers from the same village, and they were all exhausted from working for days.

The remaining officers, soldiers, able-bodied men, and civilians all fled in panic. Even though the salt bandits did not pursue them, they continued to run frantically, hoping to get as far away from the river as possible.

At this moment, Xu Lai finally understood what a night raid meant.

Imagine you're half asleep when you're suddenly jolted awake by shouts. You have no idea what's going on, you just know the enemy is attacking, everyone around you is running, so you have to run too.

If you run too slowly, you'll die if you get caught!

"Let's take a break." Bu Chao sat down, panting.

Having survived the ordeal and no longer in danger, the group sat in the field watching the spectacle.

Actually, you can't see clearly at all because you've run too far away; you can only see patches of fire.

Xu Lai took off his coat and helped Yang Peng put it on to keep warm, so that the night wind would not worsen his condition.

Cousin Bu Chao, a scoundrel, laughed heartlessly, "Haha, well done! Loot all those shops and merchant ships!"

"Yes, it would be better to kill them all. There isn't a single good person among the people outside the mountains!" Liu Da said.

After those two guys cheered, the rest of the people actually chimed in.

It is obvious that the mountain people have been oppressed for too long and harbor deep hatred for the outside world.

Chen Da asked, "Brother Zhang, where are we going now?"

Uncle Zhang replied, "Go back to the village. We were just conscripted and temporarily trained as local soldiers. The government troops have already been defeated. If we escape back to the village now, we won't be punished by the government. If we don't go home, we'll all die of illness or starvation here!"

"Back to the village, back to the village!"

The crowd cheered excitedly, their morale soaring like never before, and the gloom of the past few days vanished.

They seemed unaffected by the night attack, as if they had never encountered any danger, and marched joyfully toward their homeland, as if they had just won a great victory.

They would walk for a while, then stop to rest, taking turns carrying their sick companions home.

Xu Lai listened to everyone humming folk songs softly and was quickly infected by their joyful mood.

At least everyone survived; no one has died from conscription yet.

They had to thank the salt bandits for arriving so timely.

If the salt bandits delay for another two days, given Yang Peng's current physical condition, he will definitely die of illness by the river and be abandoned like a stray dog.

That's just how absurd life is.

They were forcibly conscripted by the government because of the threat of salt bandits. They were lucky enough to escape with their lives thanks to the timely arrival of the salt bandits.

"The valley entrance is just ahead; we'll be entering the mountains soon. Let's rest for a bit."

"Haha, none of us died this time. We'll have to celebrate with eggs when we get back to the village."

"The salt bandits are coming just in time."

"Why didn't you come sooner? You made me suffer for several more days."

"Exactly, these salt bandits are too slow. They don't even know how to hurry up with their killings and arson."

"..."

Listening to his companions' words, Xu Lai was both amused and exasperated.

With the valley entrance leading back to the village in sight, everyone relaxed completely, laughing and joking as they slowed down their pace.

wrong!

Xu Lai, who had relaxed, suddenly realized something and turned to look in the direction of the camp.

They fled so far that they could no longer see the firelight.

Only endless night remained.

What's in the night?

There's an opportunity!

Just as everyone sat down to rest, Xu Lai spoke to the air: "Upstream is Feilai Gorge, where boats need to be towed across by boatmen. Downstream is Shazhou Camp, where Inspector Huang and his troops are stationed, along with many other patrol boats. Salt bandits have come to plunder Yinsha Port; where can they escape to?"

"Who cares about all that? It's none of our business," Bu Chao laughed.

Uncle Zhang thought calmly and said, "If the salt bandits want to escape by boat after stealing our goods, they can only go through the Fenggu River. But the Fenggu River is shallow and narrow, and we won't be able to get very far before we have to abandon the boat and go into the mountains."

Xu Lai said, "Inspector Huang's warships are very close to Yinsha Wharf. They will arrive soon after receiving the news. If the salt bandits don't have time to escape, many of them will probably be trapped on the river."

Everyone was confused, wondering why he was saying all this.

Xu Lai coaxed, "What if there are a few lone salt bandits? Could we kill them and claim the reward?"

Bu Chao sneered, "The government has harmed us so badly, even if the salt bandits knelt before me, I wouldn't help the government kill them!"

Xu Lai asked, "If we kill the salt bandits, can we claim a reward from the government? Or even be exempted from corvée labor for the entire village?"

"Can we be exempted from corvée labor?" The companions were finally tempted.

Whether or not they give a reward money is irrelevant; for the mountain people, being exempt from corvée labor is enough.

Uncle Zhang said, "I'm afraid of doing a lot of work for nothing, and then being accused of hiding dirty things, and instead of giving us a reward, we'll be asked to pay compensation."

Xu Lai said, "Therefore, if we capture and kill salt bandits, we cannot go to the inspector's office as local soldiers to collect the reward. Instead, we must go to the county government office openly as righteous citizens to collect the reward!"

"What's the difference?" Although Uncle Zhang was familiar with the local customs, he didn't know the ways of the government.

Xu Lai explained, "We are local soldiers who were temporarily organized, and it is our duty to capture and kill salt bandits. Moreover, the credit is likely to be pocketed by the military officers. We don't even need Inspector Huang or Captain Liang to take action; the subordinate officers and generals can steal the credit."

"But what if we weren't soldiers, but ordinary civilians?"

"When I was in Shazhou, I inquired with Yu Tiesi. If villages and customs in the countryside were looted, the patrol inspector would bear primary responsibility, the county lieutenant would bear secondary responsibility, and the county magistrate would only bear joint responsibility, at most affecting his future promotion."

"If we capture and kill the salt bandits and present them to the magistrate as righteous citizens, he can seize the opportunity to make a big fuss. If those two merchant ships are robbed, the magistrate, for the sake of his own career, will be even more eager to reward us, shaping us into exemplary righteous citizens to demonstrate his educational achievements!"

The others were a little confused, but it seemed like something they could do.

What if I could actually get the reward money?

What if we could really be exempt from corvée labor?

Xu Lai said, "So, we can go back and ambush them. If we encounter a lone salt bandit, we'll join forces and kill him. If we encounter a group of salt bandits, we'll hide and let them pass. Either way, we won't lose out!"

Uncle Zhang discussed the matter with everyone and quickly made arrangements: "Chen Da and Yang Er, you two will take turns carrying Yang Peng home to recuperate. If we can really capture and kill the salt bandits, you'll get a share of the reward. The rest of you, come back with me to ambush them."

Xu Lai gripped his broadsword tightly, his whole body burning with excitement.

This is a fleeting opportunity, and it also depends on luck.

We must do everything in our power to seize it.

-

(If you feel this book is too short, you can check out "The Corpse Disaster 1644". Before you go, please leave your brain with me, lest you suffer a brain hemorrhage and can't be saved.)