The moment Su Mingluan and Su Feihu heard the syllables of “Suoning family,” both gripped the blades at their sides tightly. Su Feihu’s two sons, hearing the word, lost all their school-day joking manner. Their two faces, still bearing just a trace of youth, both turned serious and composed.

The entire Su family stood waiting for Zhù Ying’s order. But Zhù Ying only said, “Scout again.”

After the second reconnaissance, Zhù Ying ordered that no general engagement be launched. Only a small number of people were sent to engage, driving this small band back. The Asu family and the Suoning family had a brief exchange of blows.

The constables and attendants who had come along, knowing they had a strong backing, let out battle cries somewhat louder than usual. The Suoning family’s people on the other side were equally unyielding, shouting back just as loudly. Though both sides were crying out fiercely, when the Suoning side saw that no “great army pressing forward” was coming to back the other side, and the other side saw that there was no pursuit, the exchange broke off as quickly as it had begun.

The attendants Zhù Ying had brought along didn’t even get a chance to trade insults with the Suoning family at the battle line before it was over. After the Asu and Suoning families had traded a few cuts each, both sides withdrew.

Su Feihu and his two sons were extremely disgruntled. Su Feihu urged his horse to pull alongside Zhù Ying and said in a low voice, “Godfather, why didn’t we fight? They didn’t have many people — we could definitely have taken them and made an example of… punished them.”

Zhù Ying tilted her head to look at him. “Out of patience?”

Su Feihu said, “The Suoning family — if you see them and don’t strike, are you going to let them spend the night?”

Zhù Ying said, “Letting them spend a night is exactly the point. Can you actually find your way to their stronghold?”

Su Feihu said quietly, “I’ve been dealing with them since I was a teenager. How could I not know the way?”

Zhù Ying said, “Then come with me.”

She went with him to examine the escorts who had been injured. She hadn’t been present during the earlier attacks by the Suoning family on merchants, and when the wounded had been brought before her the situation had been uncertain. When people come to lodge complaints, they invariably present the most dire circumstances to the world — which can easily lead to misjudgment. Zhù Ying brought Su Feihu to look at the most recently wounded escorts and had him assess the Suoning family’s capabilities from what he saw.

Su Feihu said, “About average — no different from before.”

Zhù Ying nodded, then went about reassuring the merchants: “Once we reach the mountain estate everything will be fine — there won’t be any more trouble.” After that she issued no further orders. No one in the convoy spoke. They traveled in silence all the way to the mountain estate, with every face in the retinue showing resentment.

The moment the mountain estate’s walls came into view, all the merchants let out a collective breath of relief. They were willing to trust Zhù Ying, but the wounds on their bodies were real and “cut to the bone” — the city walls meant safety, and no one could control the instinct to feel reassured. The merchants each made their own way as previous experience dictated: some to rented lodgings, others to the inn. They settled in and waited for the market to open.

Zhù Ying and her party went straight into the main house of the mountain estate, where Xiang Le led a group of people out to receive them. Xiang Le was somewhat embarrassed — similar to what he had reported to Zhù Ying before, in the past two months the number of people coming to take refuge at the mountain estate had continued to decline, deviating greatly from his earlier estimates. It was still just barely over four hundred households. This had made Xiang Le feel deeply uncomfortable.

The number of merchants arriving at the mountain estate to trade this time was slightly fewer than last time — not a major concern. But Lu Guo hadn’t come, and neither had Xi Jin. Only Lang Kunwu and the Mountain Sparrow had arrived, staying as before in the guest quarters.

Xiang Le felt he had not done his job well, and even began to wonder whether his background as a merchant’s son meant his abilities were genuinely inferior to others’. He was habitually a man of few words. He welcomed Zhù Ying into the main house of the mountain estate, reported, “Everything is in order,” then fell silent, lips pressed together, waiting anxiously for Zhù Ying’s assessment.

Zhù Ying said nothing extra. She turned to those who had come with her and ordered: “Unload.”

The constables and attendants who had accompanied her this time numbered close to a hundred. Working in groups of several people to a thick pole, they carried large chests — the chests were extremely heavy, and four strong men found them a strain to lift. Placed on the ground, they made a dull thud. One chest after another was brought into the courtyard and set down.

Zhù Ying said, “All right, everyone rest.”

The constables and attendants withdrew. Their camp was only a few dozen paces from the main house; once at their designated quarters, they settled in, and those who knew each other started murmuring among themselves about how “the tribal people are so arrogant,” “the prefect is too cautious — why didn’t she fight?” and “always enduring.”

Lang Kunwu and the Mountain Sparrow’s father-in-law moved to speak. Zhù Ying again directed Xiang Le: “Store these things.” Then she invited the people of the Asu family, Talang family, and Mountain Sparrow family into the main hall to talk.

The mountain estate’s warehouses were available, and Xiang Le directed the estate’s own workers to carry the chests one by one to the storeroom.

Zhù Ying acted as if she hadn’t noticed that Lu Guo and Xi Jin hadn’t come. In her usual mild tone, she asked Lang Kunwu and the Mountain Sparrow, “Has everything been peaceful lately?”

The Mountain Sparrow’s father-in-law said, “In the mountains, the occasional trouble is to be expected.”

Lang Kunwu was more blunt: “The Suoning family is getting more and more arrogant!” The word “arrogant” was one he had recently picked up while learning the lowland dialect from his Wolf-Brother.

Zhù Ying also asked, “Have you been disturbed by them as well?”

Lang Kunwu said, “I’m farther away from him so they haven’t come after my people yet — but some of my tribespeople were hurt. One who was seriously injured came back and died a few days later.” The Mountain Sparrow’s father-in-law said, “Two people passing through had their noses cut off, and another was beaten to death. Prefect, are we simply going to let this pass?”

Zhù Ying said, “Of course not.”

Everyone’s spirits lifted, and they waited for her to act at last — only for her words to still be: “Xiang Le, go deliver a message to the Yigan cave-chief — tell the Suoning family not to persist in going down the wrong path!”

A collective sigh went through the room. The Mountain Sparrow’s father-in-law began to harbor doubts: he had never seen her take action in all the time he’d known her. There was trade and teaching how to grow crops, certainly — but was she perhaps just hoodwinking him? Had he been giving her rice and cloth all this time for nothing?

Zhù Ying remained entirely composed. Eventually, word came back from the Yigan cave-chief’s side: “The Suoning family has said everything it needs to say. If you won’t agree, show some backbone — give us a straight answer!”

Xiang Le’s expression was black as thunder when he delivered this message. He was entirely devoted to Zhù Ying, and the Yigan cave-chief’s discourteous words felt like a personal insult to him, worse than being insulted himself.

Xiang Le suppressed his fury and asked Zhù Ying, “Prefect — are we to let him be this brazen?”

Zhù Ying asked, “When you went to his stronghold, did you see any Suoning family members there? Any sign that the Suoning cave-chief had arrived?”

Xiang Le said, “Him?”

Zhù Ying said, “Scout again.”

Xiang Le, no longer in the mood to be angry, took the order and left. He returned the next day: “The Suoning cave-chief is still in the Yigan stronghold.”

Zhù Ying nodded. “Tell him: hand over the killers who murdered the merchants, pay compensation for medicine and burial expenses, and cease all incursions into Wuzhou’s territory. If he agrees, the past is wiped clean. If he does not agree, then each side relies on its own abilities.”

Xiang Le’s spirits rose. “Understood!”

“Come back!”

Xiang Le stopped. “Does the prefect have further instructions?”

Zhù Ying said, “How many able-bodied men are in the mountain estate? And those who patrol the mountains, hunt, and guard the estate?”

Xiang Le said, “Around four hundred in total. If you need them, drawing two from each household would give nearly a thousand. Prefect, shall I mobilize them?”

Zhù Ying said, “Begin the mobilization! First, draw two hundred for garrison duty. Then hold five hundred in reserve!”

“The weapons…”

Zhù Ying smiled. “Go deliver the message to the Yigan family.”

“Understood!”

After Xiang Le left, Zhù Ying ordered Little Liu to summon Su Mingluan, Su Feihu, and the others. Both the brother and sister, along with Su Feihu’s two sons, came flying over — all four faces wearing expressions of pent-up frustration.

Before Su Mingluan could speak, Zhù Ying said, “Follow me.”

The group went to the mountain estate’s storeroom. Zhù Ying ordered it opened and had the several chests brought out — Su Mingluan recognized these as the chests brought up from below the mountain.

Zhù Ying said, “Open them.”

One by one the cinnabar-red chests were opened, revealing cold gleams of steel within. Su Feihu was the first to speak: “Excellent!” Inside were weapons.

Su Mingluan stepped forward, picked up a steel blade, and held it upright to examine it closely. “Godfather, these are…”

Zhù Ying said, “How many people do you have again?”

Su Mingluan said, “To escort the merchant convoy I brought two hundred. Behind them another five hundred are on standby. The small relay station has also been completed — getting here within a day is no problem.”

Su Feihu asked, “What ‘small relay station’?”

Su Mingluan said, “Something arranged with Godfather — from our home to the mountain estate, rest shelters were built at intervals along the road. Big brother went down the mountain when that started and the building began right then. It’s already finished, and I leveled the road a bit as well.”

Su Feihu was delighted to hear it. “That makes things so much more convenient! Godfather, I want to go too!”

Zhù Ying said, “No hurry.”

For once Su Feihu had no objection to hearing “no hurry,” and instead asked, “What are Godfather’s plans?”

Zhù Ying said, “We wait for one word from the Suoning family.”

Su Feihu said, “He won’t behave himself and obey! It’s still going to come to fighting!”

Su Mingluan, listening to her older brother being this naive at his age, nearly raised her hand to cover her own face. Of course — that was the whole point. They wanted him to refuse to behave and obey. They wanted to hear him say “I refuse, let’s fight” — otherwise why had they been tolerating him for so long?

Zhù Ying said, “Wuzhou is already established, with five counties in the mountains. The Talang family must be informed as well.”

The Asu family and Talang family had only barely managed a ceasefire at present. Su Feihu said, “All right then. Baodao is a decent man; his tribespeople can fight too. With him, we won’t be at too great a disadvantage against the Suoning family. As long as we can beat them, things will be better afterward.” He was not entirely without judgment and had a reasonable grasp of the relative military strength of the various families.

Zhù Ying asked, “If just your two families fight them, even if you win — how much would you lose?”

Su Feihu paused, then said, “We can always replenish with some slaves captured. As for our own people… there will be casualties, and we compensate them with slaves and grain.” He glanced at Su Mingluan.

Su Mingluan had absolutely no desire for such large casualties. What she needed most of all was population! Even if a few slaves were captured, if the losses among “our own people” were too great, it would still not be worth it. She said, “If not for the Suoning family’s extortion and harassment, I wouldn’t want this kind of fight either. At this point a battle is unavoidable. Even with some losses, if it secures a peaceful life afterward, it still works out.”

Zhù Ying said, “Exactly. And I have prepared weapons for everyone!”

Both the brother and sister’s spirits soared!

Zhù Ying added, “But you must follow my direction.”

Su Mingluan was mildly displeased but still trusted Zhù Ying. “Agreed.”

Zhù Ying also said, “If the Meng tribespeople want to participate as well, that must be accepted.”

Both siblings were considerably reluctant. Zhù Ying smiled. “With them included, if the Suoning family causes any more trouble in the future, there’ll be more people to deal with them together, won’t there?”

Only then did the two agree.

The next day, Zhù Ying presided with them over the opening ceremony for the market. She made a round of the marketplace and found there were still almost no Suoning family merchants coming to trade, and even the Yigan family’s merchants were very few. That same afternoon, Xiang Le returned with the Yigan cave-chief.

The Yigan cave-chief had been running back and forth as go-between many times and was becoming frazzled. Looking around the hall — Zhù Ying above, and only Su Mingluan, Lang Kunwu, and the Mountain Sparrow below — two families hadn’t come, and his tone grew slightly bolder. “The Suoning family has sent people to see you many times. You have treasures piled up like mountains in your city — why not bring out a little to purchase peace?”

Zhù Ying asked in all seriousness, “Just because I have something, I must give it to him?”

“If you don’t agree, he’ll just keep up the fighting — people on your side will keep dying and getting hurt. That can’t be good?” The Yigan cave-chief was earnest in his concern.

Zhù Ying asked, “In past years among the various strongholds there was no shortage of such things happening — and yet I’ve never seen anyone surrender without a fight.”

The Yigan cave-chief fumbled for words. “But you’re someone who doesn’t want… doesn’t want people to get hurt, aren’t you?”

Zhù Ying said, “Carry one more message for me: ask him whether a battle is truly necessary before he’ll be satisfied. I want to hear an answer by tomorrow. I know he is in your stronghold.”

The Yigan cave-chief said, “Why won’t you accept?”

Zhù Ying made a “please” gesture to him.

The Yigan cave-chief sensed that things were looking bad. His heart pounded violently as he stumbled back to the stronghold and discussed the situation with the Suoning cave-chief, who was staying there. The Suoning cave-chief had run out of patience too. “If she won’t be reasonable, then let her find out what we’re capable of! See if she still has things to be smug about!” He was ready to take his attendants and head back to his own main stronghold to muster his forces.

The Yigan cave-chief was worried, but thinking that Zhù Ying habitually refrained from hostility toward people, and that the stone city, aside from having fairly thick walls, was not heavily manned and its defenses were rather relaxed — he thought it probably wouldn’t amount to much, and offered a word of counsel: “Talk it out with her properly. Just let her know what you’re capable of. Don’t bring the government soldiers down on us.” Then he let the Suoning cave-chief go.

The moment the Yigan cave-chief saw his son-in-law off, he ordered the stronghold gates sealed. Except for the Suoning cave-chief’s own return, no one else was to be allowed to open them under any circumstances. He would simply wait for the fighting to be over.

But unbeknownst to the Yigan cave-chief, the Suoning cave-chief had already fallen a step behind. He was traveling the road he always used. He had not gone half a day before he found a large tree blocking the road ahead. He sent people forward to move the tree and discovered there was more than one tree blocking the way. The Suoning cave-chief cursed his bad luck and whipped his slaves to hurry up and clear the obstruction. After straining at this for half a day — just as he was feeling fidgety and irritable — an arrow flew toward him!

The Suoning cave-chief was lucky. The arrow grazed past his ear and flew by. He broke out in a cold sweat. “Who’s there?”

Lang Kunwu appeared from the hillside to one side. “Me! You killed my people — did you think you could just stroll past?”

Dozens of men behind the Suoning cave-chief fanned out with bows drawn and arrows nocked. Behind Lang Kunwu a group of men appeared as well, not only from behind him but also from the hill slope on the opposite side. The Suoning cave-chief had been caught in a pincer!

The Suoning cave-chief broke into a torrent of abuse, and Lang Kunwu gave as good as he got, cursing even harder. Beyond the customary insults the two tribes had long refined for one another, Lang Kunwu added: “And you thought you could extort my Godfather! You’re truly blind!”

The Suoning cave-chief also cursed Zhù Ying: “If she showed up I’d kill her too!”

Lang Kunwu had full confidence in Zhù Ying. “She’s the one coming to kill you! She’s already taken people to attack your stronghold!”

Zhù Ying had not gone to the Suoning cave-chief’s main stronghold. Like Su Mingluan, she first moved to take a small stronghold.

She hadn’t brought many people, so she used no method of direct assault. She had no idea how to storm a mountain fortress, but she was very good at deception.

She could speak Qixia, and there were people among those already living in the mountain estate who also understood the language. In peaceful times, the mountain fortress’s gate was not locked during the day — only two guards stood watch. She sent people ahead to say they had come from “the Flatlands” with a message and needed to see the small stronghold’s chief.

“The Flatlands” referred to the area near the Yigan cave-chief’s territory, where the ground was somewhat more level than elsewhere. Zhù Ying’s mountain estate was not far from there, so those from the estate saying this were not lying at all.

The guard opened the gate without suspicion. Zhù Ying and her group swept in as one!

Once inside the small stronghold, they charged straight toward the largest building, securing the chieftain and his household first. She had brought over a hundred people in total. With the main gate sealed, the dozen or so bodyguards around the chief were pinned down. Under the astonished gazes of the entire stronghold, Zhù Ying brought her blade down and struck open the shackles on a slave’s body!

Zhù Ying said, “Grievances have a source, and debts have a debtor! The Suoning cave-chief killed my people — I am not here to kill you. I am only here to kill him! As long as I am here, no slave in this place need wear shackles! Remove the neck-irons, free the people! Those who farm the land shall receive grain! Where is his granary?! Each person receives one basket of rice!”

She was very careful not to say she was “dividing the land,” as she didn’t know how much farmland was in this stronghold. Nor did she say that the slaves were from this day free — she didn’t know how many slaves there were.

She did not press further, but settled in at this one small stronghold first. The slaves’ gazes were somewhat vacant; they had not yet come back to their senses. Zhù Ying assigned people to gather all those in the stronghold together, and placed the chieftain’s family and household in shackles. Ten people were assigned to guard them.

She then made inquiries about the ratio of grain that the Suoning family extracted, and found it was not much better than what Huang Shi-er-lang had levied down in the lowlands — no wonder they had to keep so many slaves in chains and drive them with beatings to get any work done.

There were also slaves who wore no shackles — some had skills, some served the small chieftain’s family, and lived better than ordinary commoners. The stronghold also had some ordinary commoners who hunted, farmed, and worked, barely surviving. Some who could not get by would sell themselves into slavery, or starve.

Zhù Ying distributed grain in person, with different allotments for slaves and commoners — slaves could only receive eighty percent of what commoners received. The commoners’ mood was also soothed.

Zhù Ying personally oversaw the restoration of order in the small stronghold.

She then sent people out to spread the word: it was the Suoning cave-chief who had offended the master of the Zhù estate. The account was being settled with the Suoning cave-chief’s household alone — no one else would be touched. Whether slave or commoner, land could be distributed.

Her plan was this: for all slaves, the shackles and neck-irons would be removed. Those who knew how to farm could continue farming, receiving land allotted by head count, and would only need to hand over half the harvest — the other half was theirs. Commoners kept their existing land without it being reclaimed, and paid a one-tenth rent. Those commoners with insufficient land could also receive a certain allocation — this category would pay thirty percent. If a small stronghold had insufficient land, they could also go to the mountain estate to open up wasteland, and she would guarantee their safety!

Given the complexity of all this, it was eventually simplified to: kill the cave-chief, remove the shackles, and there will be rice to eat.

Su Mingluan and Su Feihu were still exchanging blows with another small stronghold. Su Mingluan was working on cutting off their water supply. By this point, Zhù Ying had already taken three small strongholds in succession. Aside from the first one, which she had bluffed her way into herself, the other two had been led to her by runaway slaves.

Zhù Ying looked down at a scrawny small slave before her horse. At a glance she could tell this was a little girl — filthy all over, hair matted in clumps, but with eyes bright as stars. The girl asked, “If I take you as my master, can you free my mother?”