Chapter 153: Sudden Change

Gao Yingxiang discovered that in the hearts of the common people of Yonghe County, passing troops could be divided into five categories.

General Liu's soldiers, the border troops, the garrison troops, the Shaanxi rebels, and the Shanxi rebels.

The news brought back by the horse bandits later was also quite beyond the imagination of the dashing King Gao. The horse bandits had reported:

"The common people are all shielding Lion Liu. We caught three people and asked them what Lion Liu had been doing. None of them were afraid of him, and all three insisted that General Liu hadn't done anything at all."

How could that be possible?

Fortunately, this bizarre phenomenon only appeared in the western part of Yonghe County. Taking the Yonghe County seat as the boundary, the common people to the east of the county seat were much like the people of Fenzhou Prefecture.

They were afraid of rebels too; those who needed to run fled into the mountains, leaving behind only elderly people with one foot in the grave and bankrupt farmers. One only needed to send someone over to recruit the bankrupt farmers.

Upon closer inquiry, some common people didn't even know who Lion Liu was; they only knew that there was fighting in Xizhou, but who was fighting whom, and who won or lost, they had no idea.

Gao Yingxiang had heard that Lion Liu had appeared in Shilou, and he originally wanted to come over to discuss some matters with him.

He had not expected to witness such a marvel in Yonghe County, which only made him even more determined to meet Lion Liu.

So much so that, leaving the Shilou County seat besieged by his troops, he spurred his horse and chased along Liu Chengzong's line of march.

However, the Lion Battalion had the defeated soldiers of the Pingyang Garrison leading the way, and they moved exceptionally fast.

From Yonghe County to Xixian, from Xixian to Puxian, from Puxian they headed straight into the Luliang Mountains.

Had Li Wanqing not come over from Shaanxi, causing the Lion Battalion to temporarily camp in the Luliang Mountains, Gao Yingxiang might not have caught up with them at all.

In fact, even Li Wanqing had almost failed to catch up. Thanks to Cao Yao, that old bandit had gone to a temple and stripped away a bronze arhat statue, making his entire contingent unable to move fast.

Suddenly hearing that Gao Yingxiang had arrived, Liu Chengzong was surprised. He hurriedly led his men to welcome him outside the mountain camp, walking briskly from afar and calling out, "Master Gao, why have you come?"

"I heard your soldiers entered Shilou, so I came to see you."

Gao Yingxiang's face was beaming with smiles as he returned the greetings of Liu Chengzong's various sentry leaders. Seeing that Li Wanqing was also there, his expression changed slightly before he smiled and said, "Shooting Down the Sky is here too."

Everyone entered the camp. Inside, people were digging cave-dwellings, and the sounds of dragging and chopping timber echoed everywhere.

Liu Chengzong's central army quarters were also in a cave-dwelling, albeit a slightly larger one.

Liu Chengzong invited Gao Yingxiang onto the *kang* platform. Amidst much laughter and chatter, Gao Yingxiang brought up his experience in Yonghe County: "I have no idea how the Lion manages you people, but the common people over there are tight-lipped indeed. I asked several of them, and guess what? They all said General Liu hadn't done a single thing!"

"Not a single thing?"

The crowd was stunned at first, and then burst into hearty laughter.

Even Liu Chengzong couldn't help smiling, and said to Gao Yingxiang, "Master Gao, we really didn't do anything."

Gao Yingxiang froze, blinking at Liu Chengzong: "Really didn't do anything?"

He immediately shook his head and said, "That can't be. I didn't do anything up north either. Before entering Shanxi, you and I agreed not to harm the common people. Aside from the wealthy households from whom we had to procure grain and forage, as for the rest of the common people, let alone killing them, I didn't even allow my men to get into verbal disputes or lay a hand on them."

With that, Gao Yingxiang spread his hands: "Yet they are still afraid! But the people of Yonghe County weren't afraid at all. When my men stopped them, they even asked whether we were your men, border troops, banner troops, or bandits. Look at that, you were right ahead of the imperial troops."

Gao Yingxiang's state of mind was quite complicated.

When he first entered Yonghe County and the common people ignored him, it certainly felt rather unpleasant.

But after leaving Yonghe County and seeing the people of Xizhou flee at the mere sight of troops, his perspective shifted.

In this day and age, which commoner wouldn't run upon seeing soldiers?

Shanxi was still considered relatively decent; sometimes people wouldn't run away even when they saw troops in the distance, merely hiding inside their homes and praying to Guanyin, hoping the imperial soldiers wouldn't enter their village.

Back in Shaanxi nowadays, every village had to flee at the sight of humans, unless it was a powerful, influential clan with backing.

Whether the common people of a locality ran away upon seeing an approaching military array depended on three things: first, their level of wealth; second, the degree of local authority; and third, the discipline of the troops commonly seen in the area.

If it had happened even once that troops arrived, didn't run, and the village was destroyed, then from then on, every village in that region would flee at the mere sight of a military array.

The place called Yonghe County was so poor that even the Prince's Estate looked down on it, so it clearly had nothing to do with wealth or the extent of local power.

What did it mean when the common people didn't run? It meant they were used to it.

Once he figured this out, Gao Yingxiang felt deeply envious of Liu Chengzong.

However, his guiding principle remained unchanged: if something didn't work, change it; if you don't know how, learn. He leaned sideways toward Liu Chengzong and asked, "Lion, how did you pull that off over there? Teach your master."

Gao Yingxiang's attitude actually made Liu Chengzong feel a bit embarrassed. He replied, "I didn't really do anything. The imperial troops of Fenzhou Prefecture crossed boundaries disguised as bandits, massacred two villages, and then came to attack me—and failed."

"Those two villages were slaughtered by the garrison troops? That's even more ruthless than bandits."

"We are different from the imperial troops. It's not that bandits have high moral standards; robbing a wealthy, powerful family provides enough food for hundreds of people for a year, so there's no need to plunder ordinary common people. Imperial troops, on the other hand, might do it for merits, for wealth, or for grain."

Liu Chengzong raised a hand and tapped his temple: "When we kill common people, it's either for amusement or because we've gone mad."

However, Gao Yingxiang did not agree this time. He said, "Lion, not everyone is like you, with thousands of veteran border soldiers at your command. Everyone knows wealthy households have money, but how many can actually break into a rich man's estate? Who wouldn't want to be a good person like you?"

Liu Chengzong was taken aback. He sighed softly, shook his head, and said, "I'm only a man. The good people of northern Shaanxi all died in the drought."

These words filled Gao Yingxiang with a myriad of emotions, and the atmosphere suddenly turned heavy. He comforted him, "At least you don't kill good people."

Liu Chengzong felt that the place where he wasn't a good person was precisely right here. Master Gao's remark was truly hitting him right where it hurt.

He felt deeply guilty.

Could the starving refugees who rushed into Black Dragon Mountain all be considered bad people?

Or were the yamen runners in Yan'an Prefecture who died doing their duty all bad people?

Were those border soldiers filled with pure loyalty to the emperor and marching everywhere to suppress rebellions simply wicked?

The people who were still alive had stepped over soil soaked with blood, and he was no exception.

"Let's not talk about this."

He waved his hand, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's get back to Yonghe. I killed the banner troops involved in the massacre among the imperial soldiers and hired local common people to dig pits... I figured they probably both respected and feared me, so I ordered my subordinates not to bother the common people. Once the people got used to it, they simply ignored us."

Not bothering the common people was actually not a simple requirement.

Gao Yingxiang shook his head: "Then where do you sleep at night? In this weather, if you sleep out in the wild in the mountains, half of your men will wake up sick with the cold. Many of my people are sick; we have to sleep under a roof."

"That's why I didn't move around much. At first it was Yantou Mountain, then Huojiabufang. A few days ago, when the imperial troops moved out, after fighting them we slept in their camp. We spent one night sleeping in the mountains, and it was unbearable. Outside the mountains with cotton-padded clothes and quilts, it's all right."

Gao Yingxiang clicked his tongue, losing the desire to chat with Liu Chengzong.

The two of them were simply not talking about the same kind of mountain.

The mountains Gao Yingxiang referred to were a general term for all wilderness. The weather was cold, and many of his subordinates had shivered and endured the entire winter huddled in Yanchuan County.

Cotton-padded clothes were insufficient, cotton quilts were lacking, and many of his men wore a single outfit through all four seasons—too reluctant to take it off when it was warm, and with nothing else to wear when it was cold.

As for what Liu Chengzong meant, it was the Luliang Mountains, where trees and grass still grew. The early morning chill there was definitely unbearable—unbearable because of the mountain dampness and dew.

It was entirely different from what he was worried about.

This Lion Liu was truly rolling in wealth, with cotton-padded jackets for everyone!

Gao Yingxiang suddenly realized something and asked, "Those cotton jackets of yours—did you make them yourselves at Xingzi River? Were the cotton and cotton cloth all bought?"

Not knowing why Master Gao reacted so strongly, Liu Chengzong nodded twice.

*Crack.*

Gao Yingxiang slapped his own thigh, looked at the group in the cave-dwelling, and said, "Damn it, no wonder I couldn't buy any cotton cloth or raw cotton at all last year!"

"I get it now. When you said you didn't do anything, it means you didn't cause the common people a single bit of trouble. You set up your own camps to sleep and cook your own meals. Did you never buy anything in Shanxi either?"

Liu Chengzong nodded.

They were self-sufficient.

Gao Yingxiang's eyes remained filled with envy, but not a shred of jealousy.

Lion Liu had attracted the attention of two garrisons in the south, which allowed him to scatter his large army in the north, besieging cities where appropriate and plundering wealthy households where appropriate.

That was probably just how everyone had their own way of doing things.

Thinking of this, Gao Yingxiang lost the mood for idle chatter and straight-facedly said, "Lion, can you have the brothers all step outside? I have some private matters to discuss with you."

Private matters?

Liu Chengzong exchanged nods with everyone present, telling them to step outside first, and then turned his gaze back to Gao Yingxiang.

After waiting for a long time, until he felt the people outside had moved far away, Gao Yingxiang lowered his voice and asked, "Why did Shooting Down the Sky come over?"

"I'm planning to send some supplies to Yan'an Prefecture. My family's side is currently gathering carts and horses, and since he was bored waiting in Yanchuan, he came over to hang out for a few days."

As he spoke, Liu Chengzong noticed Gao Yingxiang's cautious demeanor and asked, "What's wrong with Shooting Down the Sky?"

Gao Yingxiang shook his head and instead asked, "He's fine. Don't send supplies to Yan'an Prefecture. Hurry up and tell your family to halt all the transport teams. Has Left-Hanging-Hat contacted you?"

Liu Chengzong replied, "No. Master Gao, what on earth has happened?"

"Something's happened back home. Absolutely do not send silver and grain to Shaanxi. It's best not to transport anything back home at all."

Gao Yingxiang paused for a moment, appearing to consider how to phrase it, before continuing: "Ying'en was transporting goods westward from Wubu and ran into Left-Hanging-Hat's defeated troops. Since he failed to defeat Hong Chengchou in Hancheng, logically speaking, when an army is defeated, they should notify us. But they didn't. There's something wrong."

Liu Chengzong wore a troubled expression: "He was defeated again?"

It seemed that the lifelong career of Wang Left-Hanging-Hat was reduced to fighting Hong Chengchou and nothing else.

"Defeated again. And before I came over, I also heard that the newly appointed Yan'an Regional Vice-Commander, Ai Mu, has already assumed office. How many troops he brought is unknown, but Zhang Shusheng and Ji San'er, those two leaders on the west-of-the-river route, have already surrendered."

The west-of-the-river route referred to the Yan'an and Qingyang prefectures.

Gao Yingxiang said, "Yang He wants them to station troops in Suide. As it happened, Ying'en ran into their marching column, which is how I found out about this. I suspect Left-Hanging-Hat has also surrendered."

"Master Gao means that Left-Hanging-Hat will help the imperial troops attack us?"

Liu Chengzong narrowed his eyes, pondering this possibility: "Since Governor Yang stationed them in Suide, I suppose it's meant as a gesture of buying a dead horse's bones at a high price to entice others."

"Right, that's most likely the intention—to let all the various leaders see that life under the imperial court's surrender isn't too bad either," Gao Yingxiang nodded and said. "Lighting-Lamp is saying the same thing."

Lighting-Lamp?

Liu Chengzong had some impression of this person. In his memories, many major leaders were unknown to him, but he knew this one because his name was Zhao Si'er.

Then he heard Gao Yingxiang say, "Lighting-Lamp's real name is Zhao Sheng, a scholar from Qingjian. He originally wanted to take the imperial examination for a *xiucai*, but was falsely accused by the county magistrate of burning lamps at night to study military books and imitating the old ways of Huang Chao. Driven to rebellion, he surrendered to Untainted Mud and became a second-unit commander."

Liu Chengzong smiled: "Another person who could have been a good person, but unfortunately didn't want to die."

Smile as he might.

The situation had become severe.

There were surrendered rebels in the north, and Wang Left-Hanging-Hat was very likely among them.

The imperial court had also assigned a new regional vice-commander to Yan'an.

Liu Chengzong was deeply worried about his family.

He asked, "Master Gao, where is Ai Mu?"

"I'd like to know where he is too," Gao Yingxiang slowly shook his head and said. "But having learned from Li Bei's lesson, no one has received any news of him so far."

At this point, Gao Yingxiang reacted and hurriedly asked, "What are you planning to do?"

Liu Chengzong replied as a matter of course, "Return to Shaanxi and wipe out Ai Mu."

Dealing with Li Bei last time had required gathering leaders from all directions.

Now he had three thousand soldiers under his command dedicated solely to fighting, and they were not necessarily inferior to the Yan'an Regional Vice-Commander.

He had made up his mind: for every regional vice-commander the imperial court sent to Yan'an Prefecture, he would fight one, until the court sent someone to his liking.

Such as Yang Yanchang.

Thinking of Yang Yanchang, Liu Chengzong couldn't help showing a troubled look; had he known better, he wouldn't have let Yang Yanchang go to assist the capital.

The regional commander had managed to anger the coordinator to death, and now nobody knew where Yang Yanchang was.

If he were still in Yan'an Prefecture, the worst that could happen was letting him annihilate his own force once, which should somehow qualify him to become a regional vice-commander.

"You mustn't be rash. Right now, the imperial court hasn't just assigned a regional vice-commander to Yan'an Prefecture; they've also re-employed Du Wenhuan as the Regional Commander of Yansui, overseeing Guanyuan affairs. Furthermore, I've heard that officials in Shaanxi and Shanxi are memorializing the court, hoping to have an official jointly govern both provinces. At a time like this, you must not act rashly."

"Du Wenhuan?"

Liu Chengzong furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth: "Du Wenhuan!"

Du Wenhuan was an old veteran from a military family lineage.

Cheng-yun's father had died during an incursion by the northern nomads. That incursion had been provoked when Du Wenhuan raided their nests to avoid being dispatched to aid Liaoning.

Consequently, to retaliate, the Mongols slaughtered their way into Yan'an Prefecture for a full ten days, while Du Wenhuan didn't even dare let out a fart.

In Liu Chengzong's mind, Wu Zimian, whom the soldiers of Yuhe Fortress cursed every morning upon waking up, was ten times better than Du Wenhuan.

At least when Wu Zimian guarded the Yansui Garrison, the northern barbarians didn't break into Yan'an Prefecture to burn, kill, and plunder.

Liu Chengzong turned the matter over in his mind: the imperial court was currently setting about reorganizing the Yansui Garrison and Yan'an Prefecture, and the ones causing a ruckus over there right now were all minor leaders. Probably no one could keep Regional Vice-Commander Ai Mu in check.

Last year, his father Liu Xiangyu had been able to wield wind and rain in Fushi, Ansai, and Ganquan counties entirely because the authorities had no available troops while they did.

Once Ai Mu arrived in Yan'an Prefecture, the cornered Zhang Nian would instantly become like a tiger released from a cage.

Now there were only two options: either he went home, or his family came over to Shanxi.

Of course, he could also sit by and do nothing, but he was afraid of regretting it for the rest of his life.

He asked, "How many soldiers does Master Gao have?"

"Four thousand capable of fighting, plus two thousand recruits and four thousand farm laborers. What are you trying to do?"

Goodness gracious, Gao Yingxiang hadn't recruited a small number of soldiers since entering Shanxi.

Liu Chengzong said, "There aren't many banner troops left in Pingyang Garrison and Fenzhou Garrison. Master Gao, take my craftsmen along this road into Pingyang Prefecture, find the ironworks, and have the craftsmen cast cannons and cannonballs for me—as many as can be cast."

"I am going back to Shaanxi to have a showdown with Regional Commander Du and Vice-Commander Ai."