Chapter 135: Nightmare

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Liu Xiangsheng carried a coal basket on his back, step by step, walking along the narrow path on Black Dragon Mountain. He passed by his own leased fields, glanced at the wheat covered under a thin layer of snow, and a slight smile appeared on his face. His steps quickened as he headed home. Xingping Village looked the same as ever. From a distance, Liu Xiangsheng caught sight of the largest and most magnificent house built in the village, then turned and entered the small private courtyard on the west side.

He had just set down the coal basket, rubbing his shoulder where the straps had left red marks, when his wife came out and asked, “So, is the county recruiting winter workers?”

Liu Xiangsheng shook his head, sat on a stool inside, and after a long pause said, “I gathered some coal. After the New Year, you’d better not move around much. Eat less; if we can just get through, I’ll go haul coal for the Prefect’s uncle.”

Mining coal was hard work. In the past, people in Black Dragon Mountain could dig coal freely, but now the mines belonged to the Prefect’s uncle, and no one was allowed to dig without permission.

Before, villagers would take a day or two in winter to enter the mountains and dig enough coal for heating their own homes. No one opened mines for sale, and there was no market for surplus coal nearby. Even if they hauled a cartful out to sell, no one would buy it, as selling to common folk barely covered the cost of the cart.

Now things were different. The Prefect’s uncle operated the mines in the mountains and sold coal through official workshops to iron merchants and mine supervisors at twenty percent above market price, and there was no avoiding the purchase.

If you didn’t buy coal, you had no work; no work meant starvation.

His wife didn’t mind him sitting idle through winter but whispered with a hint of scorn, “That Prefect’s uncle is blinded by greed, coveting even our old Liu family’s land. I say you’re too stubborn. The good carpenter Xiang followed the Liu family to Liu Village; why didn’t you go?”

Liu Xiangsheng replied glumly, “Going there means becoming a tenant of the Xiang Yu family.”

“Well, staying here you keep your fifty acres, but you’re still a tenant,” she said, frustrated at his obstinacy. “You asked Xiang Yu twice, once to be a constable in Mizhi, once for a tax official post in the prefecture city. If he said no, he said no—it’s not just you he’s refused, no grudges intended.”

“The Xiang Yu family is building a grand house. I even hauled a cartload of bricks for them; I installed all their tiles... Once we’re gone, who’ll watch over our ancestors?”

At this, Liu Xiangsheng fell silent, finally muttering from the heated kang: “In the end, people have to rely on themselves.”

But if he lacked ability and could not be relied upon, what then?

Suddenly, the sound of drums and a thunderous huqin melody echoed from Black Dragon Mountain.

Liu Xiangsheng felt the tune was familiar but couldn't quite recall it. He hurried outside.

As he ran through the courtyard gate, he suddenly remembered—it was the tune the minstrel locked in the cave often played!

Many villagers heard the drum and huqin sounds coming from the mountain and rushed to the village entrance, looking toward the mountain pass.

Snowflakes filled the sky. Mounted soldiers clad in crimson armor galloped along the field paths, holding high a scarlet flag emblazoned with the character "Liu."

Flags of various sizes were planted at the mountain pass. Mules were left behind while horse soldiers led the advance into the village, infantry marching swiftly in formation.

Two double-horse, four-wheeled war chariots moved along the field road, one in front and one behind. The front carried a heavy cannon, with Song Shouzhen mounted atop, bowed head pulling the huqin.

The rear chariot bore war drums, heavily beaten by strong men.

Officials’ attendants and the Prefect’s uncle’s family members, dressed in heavy coats and robes, stood stunned at the village entrance and on rooftops.

That red flag with the character "Liu" was their nightmare. Even though they had beaten the drums a thousand times in daylight to rally themselves, the Liu family dared not return.

At night, they still feared the neighing of warhorses, and now, the nightmare had become reality.

No one knew who started it, but everyone suddenly went mad, running toward the mountain fortress.

Liu Chengzong rode through familiar fields, flicked his whip, and smiled at Chengyun: “That bastard is still building a decorative tower in the courtyard. I’ve figured something out.”

It was laughable. Despite the grand and beautiful mansion on Black Dragon Mountain, for a long time, Liu Chengzong had never truly felt at home here.

Neither the West Office of Mizhi County nor the sunken cave courtyard in Yuhe Fort felt more like home than Black Dragon Mountain.

After all, he had lived here less than three months.

This place felt more like Chengyun’s home.

But Black Dragon Mountain was his hometown.

Liu Chengyun rode a donkey, unarmored, carrying neither bow nor sword.

He only had a flintlock pistol at his waist—a Buddhist wolf-barrel hand cannon—which he couldn’t use but carried for courage.

He asked, “Brother, what have you figured out?”

Liu Chengzong turned his head and said, “Avoiding Black Dragon Mountain isn’t the solution. If we run, others will occupy it. The ancestral graves and spirit tablets are in the caves. If someone occupies them, it’s a problem. No one will listen when you say ‘don’t occupy.’”

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Liu Chengzong continued, turning his head: “Those who occupy will die. Others will know what to do.”

Two units of soldiers passed by in single file. This time, they brought Gao Xian’s troops—the first real battle after joint training. The enemy was weak, merely holed up in a stronghold, so they brought a heavy cannon.

But what Liu Chengzong valued more was the effect of the new twelve-man squads formed after integration—mixed formations of fighters and auxiliaries—and how they influenced soldier combat effectiveness.

Two squads of cavalry, three riders per group, blocked key village roads. Two company commanders brought auxiliaries into the village, awkwardly reassuring the villagers.

Both sides were inexperienced; villagers feared the soldiers, and soldiers feared the villagers.

Then the infantry continued marching toward the mountain fortress.

When Liu Chengzong rode into the village, many villagers had already fled, leaving only elderly, women, and children of tenant families hiding at home, and a few tenants standing in their yards.

These tenants were unfamiliar faces. Only Liu Xiangsheng stood at the gate, both startled and timid.

“Uncle Xiangsheng, you’re still home? Why didn’t you go to Liu Village?”

Liu Xiangsheng looked carefully, recognized Liu Chengzong, and opened his mouth but hesitated, then said, “Shiwa, the family has land, so we didn’t leave.”

Actually, he and Liu Chengzong were not close. Village kin had only mentioned that the two sons of Xiang Yu’s family were scholars and both had joined the army. They had met only a few times after the two returned from Yuhe Fort, exchanging distant greetings.

Liu Chengzong, however, remembered Liu Xiangsheng.

If he had seen others, he would have wondered why anyone stayed when everyone was told to hide at Liu Village.

But for Liu Xiangsheng, it was not surprising.

He had wanted to flee early with his wife after hungry refugees looted Xingping Village. That night he had cut off a cartload of heads and jumped into Panlong Stream to wash himself.

When Uncle Xiang saw him, he thought it was ancestral spirits manifesting and was frightened away.

Liu Chengzong found it somewhat amusing; the power of ancestral spirits was far stronger than hunger and hardship.

Liu Chengzong asked, “That little brother-in-law of Zhang Nian, hasn’t he occupied your land?”

“He has,” Liu Xiangsheng said sullenly, “He took twenty acres and leased me fifty acres at three dou rent.”

“What’s he thinking? All the land in Liu Village is ours. Without rent or grain taxes, you can farm as much as you want. This is suffering. Never mind... Your wife is coming out.”

As Liu Chengzong spoke, Liu Xiangsheng’s wife also came out and asked, “Chengzong, riding horses in armor is truly impressive. You say Liu Village pays no rent or taxes—is that true?”

“Why would I lie? But don’t worry, I’m back. Anyone who occupies our land will be made to give it up.”

Liu Chengzong was not here for small talk. He asked, “Uncle, Aunt, how many people are in the mountain fortress? How many soldiers does Zhang Nian’s brother-in-law have? Do they have cannons or firearms?”

The couple were honest farmers and were startled by his questions. Liu Xiangsheng’s wife was braver and said, “There are about seventy or eighty people in the fortress. Shiwa, be careful. They don’t have cannons, but Auntie has seen firearms.”

No cannons was good.

Liu Chengzong turned to see the familiar company commander Jin Pu calming the villagers with a gentle demeanor. He waved and called out, “Commander Jin.”

He liked this commander. Jin Pu had brought Lu Cheng’s corpse back home—he was a loyal man, and fate had tied them together.

In vast northern Shaanxi, Jin Pu buried Lu Cheng, didn’t want to rejoin his unit, wandered around, joined Yang Yao’s command, and ultimately followed Yang Yao to join Liu Chengzong.

Fate indeed.

Upon hearing his call, Jin Pu hurried over with two auxiliaries. “General, what is it?”

“That fortress has firearms. Have two men shield you. Stand fifty steps outside and call for surrender. Tell those in the fortress to kill the bastard occupying Liu’s land. Spare their lives if they comply.”

The fortress on Black Dragon Mountain was in chaos.

Zhang Nian’s brother-in-law was Xing Xuan.

He was a local of Yan’an Prefecture. His parents ran a medicinal herb business in Yaozhou, once wealthy, spoiling him rotten. He indulged in drinking, gambling, and debauchery. His father, hot-tempered, grew angry at his son’s failure and had another child, then disowned him.

He idled in the prefecture city, supported by his sister’s help. Life wasn’t bad, but after a drought, his parents sent the shop to him and his sister in Yaozhou.

He had no business acumen. A circle of drinking buddies showed no legitimate path. The pharmacy soon closed, cutting off income.

Someone suggested selling his beautiful sister.

Sending her to the Prefect’s bed was the biggest and smartest move he ever made.

Since then, leveraging Zhang Nian’s name and a gang of unscrupulous friends, they plotted schemes.

They couldn’t achieve much legitimately but were unmatched in illicit dealings.

The county magistrate was already a local despot, not to mention the Prefect. Besides, a broken postal road meant no one knew what was happening here.

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Moreover, he lived in Liu Chengzong’s house.

At first, people scoffed when they heard he was the Prefect’s brother-in-law. But when they learned he lived on Black Dragon Mountain—where the Liu brothers had besieged the prefecture city multiple times and dared not be provoked—the uncle was formidable.

The coal of the prefecture city, the mines of Ansai, the courtesans of the brothel, and the cattle and horses of the market—except grain—anywhere they could meddle, they did.

They tried to get involved with grain but were blocked. They sent two men to cause trouble at the granary; both were locked up by the city’s constables.

He didn’t dare tell Zhang Nian or anyone else. No one explained why.

From top to bottom in Yan’an Prefecture, county and prefecture constables and clerks all controlled the granary grain. No lowly scoundrel could touch it.

Everyone tacitly understood except Xing Xuan.

To this day, he believed Zhang Nian secretly controlled the grain. Who else could catch him?

Later, he dared not linger in the prefecture city and moved into the mountain fortress.

Just before Liu Chengzong entered the mountain, despite it being afternoon, Zhang Nian’s little brother-in-law lay comfortably on a Qiang staff bed, sound asleep.

This Qiang staff bed was made during the Tianqi era by an eunuch from Yan’an, crafted by expensive artisans, intended as a gift for the Nine Thousand Years Wei Zhongxian. But before it was finished, Wei Zhongxian died.

Xing Xuan got the bed without spending a silver tael.

But today, for some reason, he had a nightmare.

In it, Liu Chengzong led troops back to kill him. He woke soaked in cold sweat, chased away two women who slept by his side, and covered his head to sleep again.

Just as he fell asleep, the women shouted loudly, “Master Xing, Liu Shiwa has returned!”

This time, he awoke calmly, rose from the bed without dressing, and muttered, “I guess I won’t wake up from this dream.”

The fortress was chaotic. Men and servants stood on the walls, some trembling, others eyes darting wildly, but all were soon frightened by Xing Xuan.

“Where did that naked monkey come from?”

“Master Xing, several hundred men, with cannons, are shouting for surrender.”

Xing Xuan gradually realized this was no dream. He pulled on some clothes, wrapped himself in cotton, leaned heavily on the earth wall, and looked down, feeling dizzy.

There were soldiers everywhere.

A heavy cannon had been unloaded from the chariot. Jin Pu loudly shouted, “You thieves dare occupy General Liu’s hometown? Zhang Nian is dead. Kill your uncle and open the fortress gate to save your lives. Otherwise, not one will live a moment longer!”

As soon as Jin Pu shouted, chaos erupted atop the fortress walls.

Liu Chengzong smiled behind the lines. Jin Pu had talent, knowing how to break their will.

Zhang Nian was, of course, not dead, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was those in the fortress believed he was dead.

The one who sold his sister had no real power; Zhang Nian held it all. As long as they thought Zhang was dead, the fortress would not hold fast.

This suited Liu Chengzong perfectly.

Though he brought a heavy cannon, he truly did not want to bombard his own family’s fortress.

Besides, he had helped build it and knew well that the two-zhang wide base and one-zhang wide face earth fortress could not be breached quickly.

But no matter how solid, a fortress depended on its defenders.

When this fortress was built, it relied on the Liu family’s border soldiers. With muskets and crossbows exchanging fire, bandits could never gain the upper hand.

But now it was different. His troops were far superior to the defenders.

He had already ordered his men to push right up to the fortress, with auxiliaries protecting combat soldiers, shooting down twenty or thirty defenders with bows and muskets to open the gate.

No one expected Jin Pu’s call for surrender would actually work.

A gunshot rang out from the fortress wall, and soon someone threw down a head, shouting from the rampart, “General Liu, we surrender. Will you spare our lives?”

Liu Chengzong circled the fortress on horseback, blinking at the walls.

To be honest, he was not inclined to show mercy.