In the yamen.

The venerable old schoolmaster — a man deeply admired by many — listened to what Tang Qingyuan had to say, and couldn’t help but allow a faint smile to cross his lips. Yet that smile held little warmth or goodwill.

“Young man — what you mean to say is that you want me to hand over all the affairs of Liaocheng to you?”

The old schoolmaster raised a hand and gently stroked his goatee, speaking in the patient tone of one instructing a junior: “By the look of you, you haven’t yet reached adulthood, have you? To have such audacity is certainly enough to make one look at you in a new light.”

Tang Qingyuan answered: “I have not yet turned eighteen.”

“Ha ha ha ha…”

The old schoolmaster, a man surnamed Zhang, truly couldn’t hold back his laughter: “I have lived in this Liaocheng for decades. Every blade of grass and every tree here I know better than anyone. If we are speaking of defending Liaocheng — you, a young man not yet eighteen years old, actually have the nerve to claim you are more suited for it than I am?”

Tang Qingyuan answered earnestly: “I am a soldier.”

Old Schoolmaster Zhang laughed even more freely: “That you are a soldier is true — but you are only a scout, and at your age, you’re still a new recruit, aren’t you?”

Having said this, a ripple of laughter spread through the assembled group.

A burly middle-aged man rose with a smile: “I am the martial artist of this city. I have no military experience, but the number of battles I have witnessed, large and small, is likely far greater than yours. I have only one question — you haven’t even seen blood spilled before, have you?”

Tang Qingyuan still gave the same reply: “I am a soldier.”

The middle-aged man clapped a hand on Tang Qingyuan’s shoulder: “Little brother, do you think those great generals look magnificent leading troops into battle? So you all snuck off on your own, thought you could spin us a few lines, and figured the three of you could become masters of Liaocheng?”

The laughter in the room grew louder.

Someone said with amusement: “My guess is they’re three deserters. Since General Shen left our Liaocheng, how long has it been since we’ve seen a Ning army unit? Now only three show up, and they’re saying a Sang great army is coming to attack the city? Ha ha ha ha… You’ve gone mad with ambition, haven’t you?”

“Young man.”

Another person advised: “If you are truly deserters, I suggest you leave quickly. The fact that we haven’t bound the three of you up and dealt with you already is the greatest mercy we can offer.”

The self-proclaimed martial artist said: “And if you still don’t know what’s good for you, don’t blame me for being impolite. Looking at the three of you — scrawny as you are — you probably couldn’t even take a single punch from me.”

Tang Qingyuan remained as calm as ever. Perhaps the hardships of the grasslands had long since accustomed him to every manner of contempt and insult this world had to offer. Or perhaps he simply looked at these people as nothing more than a troupe of clowns.

“I am not here to negotiate with you.”

Tang Qingyuan said: “None of you have a formal appointment from Prince Ning, so none of you are the chief official or lesser officers of Liaocheng. The three of us are indeed only scouts — but we are the highest-ranking military personnel currently in Liaocheng.”

“Ha ha ha ha ha…”

Old Schoolmaster Zhang laughed so hard he nearly choked, and waved his hand: “Show these three madmen out. We haven’t gone mad ourselves, so let’s be courteous — don’t hurt them.”

“Under the Great Ning military code, anyone who shows disrespect to a military officer shall receive twenty strokes of the military rod. In time of war, any civilian who refuses to comply with military mobilization and coordination may, in serious cases, be executed in accordance with the law.”

Having spoken these words, Tang Qingyuan gripped his sword hilt: “Any person who assaults a soldier — the soldier may kill in self-defense without violating military law.”

*Whoosh!*

Both scouts drew their swords simultaneously. All three held the same posture — bodies leaning slightly forward, left hand gripping the scabbard, right hand gripping the sword.

“I will issue one final warning. One month from now, the reinforcements called from Dragon Head Pass will arrive. Within a month and a half, the Qingzhou Military Governor will personally lead troops here.”

Tang Qingyuan said: “If you continue to defy military orders, we will act.”

“You three truly don’t know what’s good for you!”

The martial artist stepped forward. Perhaps emboldened by his own broad-shouldered, barrel-chested frame, he thrust a hand toward Tang Qingyuan’s shoulder.

Tang Qingyuan instantly drew his blade. The sword turned half a rotation in his grip — blade pointing back, pommel forward — and rammed the pommel into the martial artist’s abdomen. The martial artist bent double in agony, and then the pommel came up again, slamming into his chin.

The martial artist weighed at least two hundred catties, and yet he was sent airborne by that pommel strike from Tang Qingyuan.

That massive frame crashed to the ground, and it seemed as though the floor itself shuddered.

Tang Qingyuan shouted: “Anyone who dares make a scene again — I will kill them!”

The two scouts immediately drew their sabers. Right hands gripping the blades, left hands unclipping the repeating crossbows from their waists.

At this display, the people who had been so full of bluster moments before were all struck dumb. Never mind anything else — those crossbows and sabers were real instruments of death.

Old Schoolmaster Zhang was so frightened he stumbled backwards repeatedly, his hands and feet trembling.

“You… how dare you assault people!”

The old man rasped out the words, his voice so shaken it cracked.

Tang Qingyuan said loudly: “I am here to save you. Within three days, the Sang nation’s navy will land on the coast. Their numbers are at least in the tens of thousands. Within seven days, once they are ready, they will attack this city. Right now, Liaocheng has no regular army. You do not understand military affairs, you do not know how to fight, and you do not grasp the situation — so you must submit to military command.”

He unhooked his identification token and threw it to Old Schoolmaster Zhang: “Look carefully. I am a scout under Grand General Tang Pidi’s command — not the deserter you called me.”

The old man had no idea how to read such a token. He held it, turning it from hand to hand as though it were burning hot.

“Even if… even if you really are Ning army scouts, you still cannot… you cannot just assault people… How can you go around assaulting people? Assault is always wrong.”

Old Schoolmaster Zhang kept saying this over and over, all the bravado of his earlier manner now entirely gone.

“Everyone else, step outside. I have a few words to say to Old Schoolmaster Zhang.”

The expectation had been that these people would at least have the courage to protect the old man — but the moment those words were spoken, it was not the two scouts who stepped out first, but rather the crowd itself who pressed against the walls and fled. Some ran off entirely; others stood in the courtyard, waiting — though none dared come close.

Not long after — perhaps only a quarter of an hour — Tang Qingyuan came out, helping Old Schoolmaster Zhang along.

The old schoolmaster walked before the crowd and spoke loudly: “Listen carefully, all of you. This man is indeed someone under the Grand General’s command. From this day forward, everyone in the city must obey his direction. No defiance is permitted. One month — one month from now, the truth will be…”

He had been about to say *the truth will be plain for all to see*, but swallowed the last part.

Tang Qingyuan said: “There is no need to wait a month. Within seven days, the Sang forces will come. If you don’t believe me, send someone to the coast to keep watch. Within three days, the Sang fleet will certainly appear.”

Although the people were still uncertain — and many were inwardly entirely unconvinced — Tang Qingyuan understood their minds perfectly. So whenever he issued a command, Old Schoolmaster Zhang was always present. And he always consulted with the old schoolmaster first, then let the old schoolmaster do the persuading. It appeared that the old man had quite suddenly learned the art of cooperation.

By evening, the able-bodied young men of the city had all been gathered, and were lining up at the yamen’s armory to receive weapons.

The women and anyone else who could put in labor — if they could contribute an ounce of effort, they were all mobilized, carrying every stone and log they could find up to the walls.

Yet the stones available in a city like this were decidedly not enough for the city’s defensive needs.

“Tear down the buildings.”

Tang Qingyuan looked at Old Schoolmaster Zhang: “Start with all the vacant residences in the city — tear them all down. Whether it’s the bricks and stones or the timber, haul everything up to the walls. If we tear down all the vacant houses and it’s still not enough, then we tear down the yamen.”

“Ah!”

Old Schoolmaster Zhang turned pale with shock: “How can we tear down the yamen? If the yamen is torn down, I…”

Before he could finish, Tang Qingyuan said: “If, due to insufficient defensive materials, the city falls — it won’t be us tearing down the buildings then. It will be the Sang forces. And they won’t just tear down buildings — they’ll massacre the city.”

This was no empty threat. From what could be inferred about the Sang people’s plan, once they took Liaocheng, they would leave not a single survivor.

Because the Sang forces intended to hold the city for at least four months, provisions and supplies would be their greatest concern.

To ensure the Sang soldiers had food to eat — how could the city’s residents possibly be left alive?

Unless the food truly ran short. In that case, these Sang people might keep some of the residents alive as food themselves — it wouldn’t be the first time they had done such a thing.

Old Schoolmaster Zhang still wore a look of distress. The yamen was *his* yamen. He would not obstruct the tearing down of vacant residences — that had nothing to do with him. But tear down the yamen, and what he wanted to ask was — where would he conduct his official business?

“From this day forward, everyone who has been working in the yamen — though you hold no official titles, you must serve as leaders and examples. From now on, everyone is to eat and sleep on the city walls every day.”

Tang Qingyuan gave the order, then looked over at his two companions — one named Du Guang, and one named Wang Senmao.

“The two of you will work separately. One of you go out and select three hundred able-bodied men to form a military enforcement unit. Once the fighting begins, there can be no more defiance of orders — the enforcement unit is there to ensure that. If anyone is found fleeing the battlefield in the heat of battle, deal with them on the spot.”

He moved closer to Du Guang and lowered his voice: “Pick them from poor families. Don’t go looking for the bodyguards and hired hands from wealthy households — no matter how skilled they are, don’t use them.”

Du Guang thought to himself that he had just been about to think of exactly that — only to have Little Tang guess it first.

His plan had been to go to those wealthy households and requisition their bodyguards and retainers. These people had martial skill and would make a formidable enforcement unit.

“Understood.”

Du Guang gave his reply and turned to run off and select the men.

Tang Qingyuan looked at Wang Senmao: “You go mobilize those who cannot fight on the walls — women and the elderly, all of them. Get them organized to make sure the supply line can hold, then go and look for long bamboo poles, or long wooden poles if bamboo isn’t available. Fashion them into hooking poles. The Sang forces will certainly have scaling ladders — there’s no way they’d have the nerve to attack a city this size without them. Our people are not skilled with bows and arrows, and they’re not skilled in close combat either. Once the Sang forces climb up, we lose.”

“Understood!”

Wang Senmao gave his reply and turned to run out as well.

Tang Qingyuan seized Old Schoolmaster Zhang by the hand: “Old schoolmaster, you are the most respected person in this city. If you, sir, climb the walls, the people of the city will certainly be greatly heartened. I know the old schoolmaster is a man of high principles and noble character — you would certainly not refuse. Come, come — walk with me to the walls. From this day on, you and I eat and sleep together.”

Old Schoolmaster Zhang: “I don’t think I’m quite up to…”

He didn’t even get to finish the sentence before Tang Qingyuan had already taken his arm and led him up to the city walls.

Over the following days, the entire city stirred into action. Everyone knew that the Sang nation’s sea raiders numbered in the tens of thousands and might be coming to attack Liaocheng. If they couldn’t defend themselves, not a soul in the city would survive.

When it truly came down to it, the common people’s capacity for action was far more decisive than those who had been sitting in the yamen playing at officials.

Tearing down buildings — people tore. Finding bamboo poles — people found. Hauling stones — people hauled. The city quickly became a place of great and lively industry.

With the entire city mobilized and put to work on tasks like tearing down buildings, the people’s efficiency was staggering — and somehow, many of them even seemed to be enjoying themselves.

In two days, every vacant residence in the city had been demolished. But the materials were clearly not enough, so Tang Qingyuan gave the order: tear down the yamen!

At this — though no one could quite explain why — the people’s reaction seemed even more enthusiastic than when they had torn down the vacant houses.

Very enthusiastic.

Remarkably enthusiastic.

Up on the walls, Wang Senmao couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer, and asked Tang Qingyuan: “That day — what exactly did you say to the old schoolmaster in that room? How did his whole attitude suddenly change?”

Tang Qingyuan smiled: “Three things. First — if the city falls because you refused to follow military orders, and the Sang forces don’t kill you, the Ning military code still will.”

“Second — if you cooperate fully and earn great merit, you — a man with no official standing — might just become a real, official prefectural administrator.”

“Third…”

He paused here, shook his head, and smiled bitterly: “That’s the one I least wanted to say.”

Wang Senmao immediately pressed: “What was it?”

Tang Qingyuan shook his head: “I won’t say it. I’ll tell you two later.”

The other two said he was being stingy, but he simply refused to tell them.

That day…

What he had said was: *I am the younger brother of Grand General Tang Pidi. If I die here, and the Grand General comes — none of you will survive.*

—