The Great Ming in the Box

Chapter 401: The Situation in Shanxi

Xing Honglang disembarked with her forty-two subordinates to treat the wounded on the dock, but the hundred water troops remained on the ship. Before they sailed, Li Daoxuan had relayed a strict order from Bai Yuan: This was a trial voyage, not an excuse for trouble. For safety’s sake, they were not to leave the ship unless absolutely necessary.

The water troops strictly adhered to the Decree of the Deity and obediently stayed put. To prevent anyone from suddenly rushing aboard, they deliberately kept the ship anchored more than ten feet away from the shore, watching the grisly spectacle unfold on the distant dock.

The dock was littered with corpses: militia local gentry who’d fallen resisting the bandits, fierce bandit raiders who’d charged and been cut down. One man lay half slumped over the fence, a spear lodged in his body; another floated face-down in the river, several arrows sticking from his back.

These water troops recruited from Bai Family Fortress had been guarding Horseshoe Lake for years, living peacefully and rarely venturing into the outside world. Witnessing the dock’s carnage now, they were shocked to realize how cruel and chaotic the world beyond remained.

Inwardly, they couldn’t help thinking: Thankfully, the Deity protects us back home. Our blessed lives didn’t come easily; we must guard it ever more fiercely.

The thought process was quite sophisticated.

Xing Honglang handed a bottle of healing ointment bestowed by the Deity to Iron Bird Flies. He eyed the bottle in his hand. “What’s this?”

“Yunnan Baiyao. Highly effective for wounds.”

Iron Bird Flies: “Powerful medicine? How much per bottle? Name your price.”

Xing Honglang fumed: “Your man is writhing in agony on the ground, and you’re haggling over price?”Iron Bird Flies looked embarrassed: “Business habit. Ahem… business habit.”

Xing Honglang: “No charge. Hurry up and treat your men.”

Iron Bird Flies: “Ah, how can we accept without paying? Even brothers must settle bills clearly. You have to name a price before I dare use it.”

Xing Honglang snatched the bottle back, shoved him aside, and personally began applying the medicine to his men. Her forty-two subordinates spread out across the dock, bandaging wounds and applying ointments. Many people recognized Xing Honglang here. Several greeted her: “Thank you, Boss Xing!”

“Haven’t seen you in ages, Boss Xing. Still as forthright as ever.”

“Where’ve you been these years? Haven’t seen you buying salt in Puzhou?”

Xing Honglang’s people offered no explanations. Salt smugglers knew the importance of tight lips; revealing their current base of operations was unthinkable. They said not a word about Gaojia Village, focusing solely on applying medicine and treating the injured.

The dock gradually quietened. Uninjured survivors silently began clearing the bodies. It was the same routine: strip naked, then bury.

Xing Honglang waved Iron Bird Flies over, pulling him aside. She lowered her voice. “What nonsense is happening here in Shanxi? I return only to find this mess. Are the bandits running rampant?”

Iron Bird Flies nodded gravely. “Utterly rampant!”

Xing Honglang: “Tell me the details.”

Iron Bird Flies: “Such crucial intelligence? Name your price?”

Xing Honglang raised a bowl-sized fist.

Iron Bird Flies hurriedly added, “Anyone can ask around for this information. Practically worthless, ahem… The Shanxi situation starts with Wang Jiayin. Ai…”

Hearing Wang Jiayin’s name again, Xing Honglang cursed inwardly. That troublemaker really knows how to cause chaos.

Iron Bird Flies: “After Wang Jiayin captured Hequ County and established himself in Shanxi, his forces became strong and well-equipped. His own core troops exceed thirty thousand men. Moreover, the bandit leaders who followed him from Shaanxi into Shanxi number over a hundred. If they all heed his call, he could potentially command three hundred and fifty thousand troops.”

Xing Honglang: “Damnation!”

Iron Bird Flies: “Seeing such numbers, he got carried away. He declared himself king in Hequ County, calling himself ‘King Yizi, the Horizontal Sovereign’. He set up a mock imperial administration, quite the formal affair. He appointed Wang Ziyong (Zijin Liang) as Left Grand Councilor and Military Strategist, Bai Yuzhu as Right Grand Councilor, Wang Guozhong as Royal Guard Commander… Then, he dispatched the more than one hundred bands of the bandit army now under his command to scatter across Shanxi. Places along the Yellow River got it the worst.”

Xing Honglang frowned. “Declared himself king? Heh! Thinks he’s immortal! The court might’ve turned a blind eye if he hadn’t crowned himself. Calling himself ‘king’? He’ll die swiftly.”

Iron Bird Flies: “Exactly! Contacts of mine on the legitimate channels say the court is marshaling heavy forces to crush him. The fool remains oblivious, drinking and reveling daily in Hequ County.”

Xing Honglang: “He’s a goner. Forget him. What’s the current state here?”

Iron Bird Flies: “A disastrous state, alas… Ah! Right. I have a memorial captured from a government courier station. Fancy taking a look?”

Xing Honglang instinctively reached for it, then remembered his pedantic nature. She snorted. “You don’t intercept court memorials without reason. You captured this to sell it, didn’t you? Price!”

Iron Bird Flies grinned sheepishly. “Then I shall quote: one bottle of healing ointment.”

Xing Honglang blinked, then smiled faintly. “Know some sense, boy.”

She took the memorial and opened it:

“Ever since the Tianqi era began, the land of Jin [Shanxi] has seen not a year without disaster, and last year was especially harsh. Compounding this were the urgent levies along the Yellow River, harder to transport than sparks extinguishing [impossibly difficult]. On paper, the court allocated 220,000 taels, but the actual cost borne by the people exceeded a million. Officials fixated solely on fulfilling assessments, simultaneously pressing for both new and old taxes. The people sold children to be wives, carved out hearts, and shattered bones – their very substance is exhausted. Now, the spring rains bring no relief [the court offers not a copper of aid]. Strange mists and gales fill the days. Hearts churn with unrest; survival hangs by a thread daily. The weak perish in ditches; the strong glare with unspeakable fury. The rising tide of rebellion is unavoidable and inevitable.”

“To the south of Qinyang and east and west of the city [Yangcheng], rebels declaring titles and raising banners are too numerous to count. Some number in the tens of thousands, others mere thousands. As soon as one raises the banner, five or six out of ten are coerced into joining. Situations in Shangdang and Fenshui are no different, passing critical points innumerable times.”

“To eradicate Shanxi’s bandits, first pacify Shanxi’s destitute.”

Xing Honglang finished reading swiftly, astounded. “Five or six out of ten Shanxi people have remained as bandits?”

Iron Bird Flies nodded grimly. “Except for those major cities and towns we can tally, nearly half the peasants in the villages have been swept away by the roving bandits… They couldn’t survive otherwise! When the bandits arrive, blades press their necks. Refusing means fighting to the death, just like us here at the ancient ferry dock…”

Xing Honglang sighed deeply. “The writer of this memorial shows considerable insight. He grasps: ‘To eradicate Shanxi’s bandits, first pacify Shanxi’s destitute.’ That idea is the crucial cornerstone. But… you intercepted this memorial. So, it can’t reach the emperor now? How will the court provide disaster relief? You wretched fool!”