Chapter Ten: Li Hongji

Li Hongji came from a family of horse-keepers, a household registered specifically for raising horses. Both his father and grandfather had worked in this profession. His childhood nickname was Huang Laier, which was really just another way of calling him a yellow-haired boy. Because his family was poor, he was sent to a monastery as a child and called Huang the Monk, but at nine he left the monastic life to herd sheep for the Ai family. He later worked as a handyman, doing odd jobs until his father passed away, and then succeeded him as a courier at the post station in Yinchuan, finally gaining a position within the system.

Now, with heavy dark circles beneath his eyes and an exhausted face, his whiskers merging into his sideburns untrimmed, he looked like a man in his thirties—an old soul in a young body. The sight of the Chengzu and Chengzong brothers delighted him. Rubbing his hands, he looked around, but seeing the inn crowded with soldiers, some sitting, some crouching, he didn't dare approach too closely until Liu Chengzong stood and called to him. Only then did he lead his donkey over.

"Ah, Brother Chengzu, the Liu family’s lion is still as tall and strong as ever. I wondered why there were so many soldiers at this country tavern—didn’t expect to find you two here."

Seeing Li Hongji, Liu Chengzong was genuinely glad. Scenes from the past, when Li Hongji taught him horsemanship, flashed through his mind. But memories overlapped, his heart full of mixed emotions, and for a while he could only smile, at a loss for words.

His elder brother, Liu Chengzu, was far more enthusiastic. He grasped Li Hongji’s arm with a beaming smile. "Brother Huangwa, you’ve come at just the right time. We’ve just stewed some lamb—come, come, have half a pound with some broth."

"This—this won’t do. You’re on duty, you eat. I still have business in the county town, just wanted to say a few words before leaving."

Li Hongji was embarrassed, glancing about as if searching for an excuse to leave, but Liu Chengzu pushed him to the table and signaled the others. At once, a border soldier stepped forward to take his donkey and tie it up.

Feeling awkward, Li Hongji sat down before he had a chance to refuse. A large bowl, half-filled with lamb soup, was set before him. The aroma left him no room for protest—he swallowed involuntarily.

Before he could say anything else, his long-empty stomach grumbled in betrayal. The words of refusal at his lips turned into an awkward smile.

He paused, glancing at Liu Chengzu and then at Liu Chengzong, and finally said with a laugh, "Ah, ever since Fourth Master was promoted to Yan’an Prefecture, I haven’t seen you. It’s been over two years. Later, I heard about what happened with Fourth Master, and that you two went to Yuhe Fort to join General He. Last time I went to deliver a letter, I was thinking of you both, but didn’t see you. Looks like you’re doing well—both captains now."

Liu Chengzu chuckled. "Don’t mention it. The court doesn’t pay the army, and the fort can’t provide rations. So the men had the general send us out to forage, and we’re thinking of heading back to Yan’an Prefecture and taking things as they come."

"Ah, that’s a tough situation," Li Hongji’s smile froze, and he shook his head. "These days times are hard. Not a single youth in Mizhi wants to stay quietly in the fields. Many have turned to banditry."

"In the old days, in years of famine, joining the army and drawing rations was at least a way out..."

Li Hongji shook his head, truly worried for the brothers’ future, when Liu Chengzong asked him, "Brother Huangwa, enough about us. How are things with you? Has the post station really run out of horses?"

This question brought a wry smile to Li Hongji’s face.

"Ha, that’s a story as long as a motherless child’s woes."

He sighed, glanced around, and lowered his voice. "The post station’s fodder has been short for ages, and the horses are in poor shape. Last year, with rebellions everywhere, urgent reports and documents came nonstop. We wore out three post horses and had to pay for them, and there was no one to take responsibility."

"All the uncles are old. I had the strength, so I took on the burden."

Thinking of this, Li Hongji didn’t seem too troubled, but then, gritting his teeth, he slapped the table. "Who would’ve thought that just as I took charge, the court would decide to shut down the post station!"

His slap startled a row of border soldiers eating lamb stew behind him—some even instinctively shifted their hands to their sabers, ready to draw. Liu Chengzu raised a hand to calm them, and Li Hongji sheepishly clasped his hands in apology.

He was barely in his twenties. The post couriers not only delivered official and military messages—they were also skilled riders and archers, a fine reserve of future soldiers. Not only couriers, but constables and patrol bowmen were drawn from their ranks. The job itself played a role in maintaining order.

They were young men with no money, no land—restless, skilled with fists, knives, and sticks; in other circumstances, a source of trouble. With a job that kept starvation at bay, they wouldn’t threaten public order and could be of use to the court.

At least in Li Hongji’s case, even if Mizhi’s youth had all gone over to the bandits, Liu Chengzong could see no hint of rebellion in him.

Instead, he only sighed repeatedly in frustration, looking every inch the long-suffering, law-abiding commoner. "Now, with the talk of abolishing the post couriers, someone like me—who’s worn out three horses—is the first to go, left without a living and still owing for three horses."

"If the Great Ancestor were alive, would such things happen in this world? Even if they sold me, I wouldn’t fetch the price of three horses!"

Liu Chengzu had listened quietly all along. Now he glanced at Liu Chengzong, smacked his lips as if making a decision, and turned to Li Hongji. "Brother Huangwa, why not come with us to Yan’an? As for the three horses, my brother and I will figure something out for you. We already have so many debts, what’s three more horses?"

Li Hongji burst out laughing. Whether Liu Chengzu’s offer was sincere or polite, he didn’t care. He waved it off with feeling. "Ah! If only I’d met you two sooner! But now it’s too late. I’ve taken on another job myself."

"Thanks to the respect of my clan elders, I’ve been elected village head. A hundred and ten households have suffered disaster and can’t pay their taxes, and they’ve entrusted me to go to the county town and ask Master Ai for seed grain, food, and silver. As long as I can get the loan, the villagers will help me settle the three post horses."

Liu Chengzong had lost count of the number of times this young man in his early twenties had sighed and shaken his head. He listened as Li Hongji went on, "I know borrowing isn’t a real solution, but there’s nothing else to do."

"This year, sixteen households couldn’t pay their taxes, burned their houses, abandoned their fields and fled to the mountains. Their taxes have been divided among those who stayed. In a year of disaster, every family is struggling to survive and can’t help anyone else. If this isn’t resolved, both villages will empty out. Borrowing is the only way."

"Next year!"

Li Hongji's eyes widened. "If this year’s crops come in, next year, even if we have to pay back more, once it’s paid off, we can bring our neighbors back from the hills. They’re not cowards or cheats—they’re willing to work the land, and they won’t starve."

Liu Chengzong wanted to speak several times, but couldn’t find the words. Finally, he asked hoarsely, "Brother, have you really thought it through? What if it’s another drought next year?"

"Heaven must give us a way to live, surely?" Li Hongji furrowed his brow, deadly earnest, clearly having considered this. He raised two fingers skyward. "Even if Heaven won’t let us live, would the Emperor and his ministers really stand by and watch us commoners starve or be driven to death?"

"If I truly can’t repay the debt, then Master Ai can do what he likes with me. For now, we just have to get through this year. Hey—no one alive ever died from holding their water too long!"