The labor in the border commandery was arduous—reinforcing city walls, fortresses, repairing roads—especially after the outbreak of war, the labor grew even heavier. It seemed walls, fortresses, and roads everywhere were in disrepair, and local officials would have laborers work day and night if they could.
However, the war also frequently interrupted their labor. Since returning to the fortress in the afternoon after the smoke signal alarm, they hadn’t gone out again until dusk.
Standing at the highest point, one could see the distant firelight and the faint sounds of battle carried on the cold wind. Soon, both the firelight and battle sounds disappeared.
Shortly after, the order to lift the alert was given.
“These damned Western Liang bandits,” the garrison chief cursed angrily, then sighed in admiration, “But our Great Xia men are still mighty.”
Turning to see the laborers crouching not far away, he grew irritated again. Now that it was dark, though the alert was lifted, they couldn’t light torches to work for safety reasons—
“You criminals, get back to your quarters!” the garrison chief shouted angrily.
The laborers scattered immediately. Being cursed at was nothing—today they had essentially done no work, which was the happiest thing. But since the garrison chief wasn’t happy, they would still suffer some torment. For instance, the meat soup and vegetables they should have had tonight became thin porridge instead.
“The entire Yunzhong Commandery is fighting the enemy,” the garrison chief berated them. “Soldiers are giving their lives. You guilty criminals should be grateful to be alive with something to eat!”
His followers cheered, “The garrison chief is mighty!”
“This old bastard,” one brother cursed under his breath, holding his clear-bottomed porridge. “What’s so mighty about bullying us? If he’s got the ability, he should go kill the enemy.”
Liang Qian elbowed him and signaled with his eyes not to say more, then warily looked around. The laborers were all convicts—all kinds of convicts—
If they were reported for another crime, they would die here with no one knowing.
The brother fell silent and began drinking his thin porridge. But when they returned to their quarters, there was a surprise—Second Master Liang had returned.
Not everyone did labor. The young and strong did physical labor, while the Liang family masters did other work, such as sweeping official quarters.
Second, Master Liang not only returned but also brought two roasted chickens. In the small earthen house, one could hear the sound of saliva dripping.
“Father, did Uncle give you these?” Liang Qian asked, not even looking at the tempting roasted chickens, but urgently asking, “Does he have a way to get us out of here?”
When Liang Siqing was punished, his entire family was implicated. But after Liang Siqing was exiled and sent away, he didn’t suffer the hardships of labor or being ordered around. This wasn’t because Liang Siqing’s reputation remained intact, but because upon arriving at the border commandery, Liang Siqing had given his daughter to a local gentry elder in exchange for being allowed to live in the city.
A drooling brother nodded along, looking at the roasted chicken: “Yes, yes, let Uncle find more families. Our family has younger sisters who can be sent too.”
Liang Qian glanced at his little sister being held by their mother in the corner. The child had fallen asleep from exhaustion and cold. Even the aroma of roasted chicken couldn’t wake her, but the child’s mouth occasionally moved, as if eating something delicious in her dreams.
“By the time little sister grows up, we’ll all have died from hardship,” he said in a deep voice, looking at his father. “Father, if we can’t send a daughter, will Uncle not help us?”
Second Master Liang hurriedly said: “He will, he will. Your uncle spoke to his son-in-law. I no longer have to sweep. I’m now a clerk.”
A clerk—that meant returning to being a scholar.
The previously drooling brother clapped his hands with joy: “That’s wonderful! Father has made his way out. When little sister grows up, we can arrange a good marriage for her, and our family can escape labor.”
Second Master Liang nodded with a smile. After being punished, daughters became more useful than sons. Sons, bearing the family’s guilt, couldn’t marry into powerful families, but daughters could. They could be married as secondary wives or concubines, hidden in the inner quarters with no one knowing, yet bringing many benefits.
The only pity was that there were too few concubine positions and too few daughters born.
He called to the young men: “These were given to me by the masters from the county.”
The county officials had intended to reward the soldiers today, but the soldiers didn’t come. The food couldn’t be wasted, so he had brazenly pushed forward, caught the County Magistrate’s eye, and was given two roasted chickens.
In this border town, the roasted chickens were crudely made, but for young men who hadn’t seen meat for months, they were delicacies. They swarmed forward, tearing at the chickens with many hands.
Liang Qian didn’t join the rush. Instead, he walked out and returned to his cold little room, taking out a tattered official notice from under his pillow.
It announced the late emperor’s passing, the new emperor’s ascension, and the installment of the new empress.
Lady Chu, Chu Zhao.
Liang Qian’s gaze lingered on this line.
The notice stated that Lady Chu was brave and wise, protecting the emperor’s grandson with sword and horse.
He could almost see that girl killing her way through the night, just as she had faced the scholars who had been incited by the Third Prince, never retreating or avoiding—
His memories of this girl were few, mainly watching from a restaurant as a spectator when that girl suddenly looked at him and said: “Young Master Liang Qian is not afraid of hardship. Dismounted, he can write with a brush; mounted, he can wield a sword and shoot arrows—”
In that moment, that girl became clear in his eyes, clearer and clearer, until—
The grandson of the Xie clan’s bloodline became emperor, and the Chu girl who was friendly with the Xie clan became empress.
How wonderful it was to be on good terms with the Xie clan.
Befriending the Xie clan meant rapid advancement and soaring high; opposing the Xie clan meant punishment, downfall, exile, and sinking into a deep mire of mud.
The tattered notice in his hand was crushed, becoming even more fragmented.
Suddenly, there was a knocking sound at the broken door, startling the young man inside, who turned around.
“A-Qian,” his father’s voice came from outside.
Why had his father come?
Liang Qian hurriedly opened the door to see Second Master Liang standing outside, still carrying the aroma of roasted chicken.
“What is it, Father?” Liang Qian asked nervously.
Second, Master Liang’s expression was hesitant: “There’s something I’m unsure about and want to discuss with you.”
Liang Qian quickly asked: “Please speak, Father.”
Second Master Liang said softly: “I met an old acquaintance who now has some influence in Yunzhong Commandery. He’s willing to give me a position.”
He looked at Liang Qian as he said this.
“It’s not a position obtained by selling daughters.”
“Nor one gained by flattering superiors.”
“Nor one earned through writing.”
Just these few sentences made Liang Qian’s whole body tingle. He asked: “Then through what?”
Second Master Liang looked at him: “Through our lives.”
…
…
The night was deep as Second Master Liang’s earthen house once again filled with family members. This time, however, there were no roasted chickens to eat, and the lingering meat aroma didn’t make everyone salivate.
“You want us to join the army?” a young man exclaimed softly, trembling slightly, either from cold or fear. “That’s sending us to our deaths.”
Liang Qian said, “Joining the army doesn’t necessarily mean death. There are so many soldiers out there.”
Another young man smiled bitterly: “A-Qian, others are others, and we are the Liang clan—criminals who have a feud with the current Imperial Uncle, the Xie clan.”
The law couldn’t kill them, but the Xie clan had countless ways to make them die.
“Fighting to protect our country and homes—even if the Xie clan is the Imperial Uncle, they can’t harm us because of a private grudge,” Liang Qian said. “Moreover, even if we die, we can clear our criminal status.”
The young man smiled bitterly. What use was clearing one’s criminal status if one was dead?
Although when they were first punished and exiled, everyone had said they would rather die than be humiliated, in the end, no one died.
Life was a bit bitter, but if they endured, it was better to be alive. At least alive, they ate thin porridge for a month, and occasionally had a day when they could eat roasted chicken. Dead, they could eat nothing. Besides, things were looking better—
“Better how?” Liang Qian raised his voice. “By sending girls to be playthings for elderly men? By using our vast learning to be clerks? By marrying into other families as sons-in-law? Is this the good life you want? Don’t forget, we are the Liang clan of Liangshan!”
Perhaps unable to withstand the vibration of his voice, the paper on the broken window made a rustling sound.
And from outside came shouts: “Go to sleep! Who’s making noise?”
Second Master Liang blew out the oil lamp before him with a puff, plunging the room into darkness. Only the sound of everyone’s heavy breathing could be heard.
“A-Qian,” an older clan uncle from a branch family said softly, “All things in the world rise and fall, are born and die. The Liang clan of Liangshan once had nothing. As long as people remain—you, and your children’s generation—there will still be a Liang clan in the future—”
Liang Qian let out a scornful laugh: “That won’t be the Liang clan of Liangshan. It will just be commoner Liang, unworthy of the surname.”
This comment caused the room to fall silent again.
“Since our Liang clan still has some use, we have one more chance, one more path,” Liang Qian stood up and said. “This departure either leads to achievements and a return to the Liang clan’s glory, or to death in battle—”
He looked toward the young men in the darkness.
“Those who find life here worse than death, come with us.”
“Those who can still survive here, stay and take care of the women and children.”
…
…
Due to the war, not a hint of light could be seen in the night. Standing outside the garrison fortress, one could not see their hand before their face.
“Sir,” someone asked softly in the darkness, “Will these cowards from the Liang clan dare to come?”
A person with a large cloak and hood concealing their face rubbed their hands together and breathed on them: “Whether they come or not, we lose nothing. Without them, we’ll just choose others.”
As he finished speaking, someone beside him said softly: “They’re here.”
They turned to look back into the darkness.
…
…
In the end, only Liang Qian and his father came out.
“Uncle,” a young man accompanied them from behind, explaining softly, “It’s not that everyone is afraid to die—”
Liang Qian interrupted coldly: “Being afraid of death isn’t shameful. Just say it directly.”
The young man sighed: “A-Qian, you’re full of resentment now, you’ve lost your reason.”
Liang Qian laughed, looking at this brother: “So Fourth Brother has already submitted. I didn’t expect it. Back at home, when Grandfather praised me a bit more, you wouldn’t accept it and competed with me for half a year. I admired your determination. But now I see it was nothing special.”
The young man wasn’t embarrassed or angry: “It was just ignorant arrogance.”
He was silent for a moment, then continued.
“Besides, the downfall of our Liang clan has shown me those people’s true faces. They wanted our downfall for their benefit. So what does this acquaintance want by helping us now? I don’t believe this person truly is—”
“Even if it is for benefit, so what? Aren’t all things in the world about benefit?” Liang Qian said coldly.
Second Master Liang smiled beside them and gestured to the young man: “A-Si, go back. Everyone has their aspirations and choices. Since we’ve already chosen, let’s not say more.”
The young man stood still, watching as Second Master Liang led Liang Qian striding forward into the night.
“It’s not about benefit, and it’s not about spirit,” the young man sighed helplessly. “Apart from these things, think about yourselves. How can you be so certain that this departure will lead to achievements? Second Uncle, we’ve never been on a battlefield.”
…
…
“Second Master Liang,” the man in the night smiled and bowed, then pulled back his hood, revealing an utterly ordinary face weathered by the border region’s harsh conditions. Even his accent had been influenced, showing he had been in the border region for many years. “It’s been many years since we last met. I never thought we would meet again in Yunzhong Commandery.”
Second Master Liang said: “I suppose this is what they call the unpredictability of life. Back then, I merely spoke a word for you, yet you still remember it.”
The man bowed again: “That word from Second Master allowed me to enter the military department without waiting three more days, and I got the position I wanted. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know where I’d be struggling to survive now. So, Second Master, this isn’t me helping you, but you helping yourself.”
Second Master Liang hurriedly extended his hand to help him up. The two men shook hands and looked at each other, understanding everything without words.
The man continued: “And Second Master’s courage to lay down the brush and take up arms also earns my admiration. I said I would find an opportunity for you, but this opportunity is truly dangerous—it’s exchanging your life. I’m anxious—”
Second Master Liang interrupted him: “Brother Cai, don’t speak like that. Don’t underestimate me as a useless scholar. I can still ride and shoot, and though my hands have never been stained with blood, I won’t hesitate to kill a Western Liang bandit for the country and the people.”
Official Cai laughed heartily: “Second Master jests. Your hands would be wasted killing just one Western Liang bandit. On the battlefield, of course, you’ll serve as an official, a general, planning strategies, your hands indirectly slaying countless Western Liang bandits.”
In the torchlight, Second Master Liang’s face couldn’t hide his surprise. This acquaintance could arrange a position as a military officer for him. This old friend had indeed become powerful.
He could barely remember the details from those days, only that the man had been an unremarkable small military officer.
“This is how Yunzhong Commandery works,” Official Cai said with an imposing manner. “Fortune favors the bold. As long as you’re not afraid of death, as long as you earn military merits, you can rise rapidly. No one can stop you.”
Second Master Liang’s face showed longing, and the young man behind him had eyes that shone brightly.
Official Cai noticed and smiled, looking at the young man: “However, young master, you’re too young. It’s difficult to arrange an officer position—”
Liang Qian stepped forward, interrupting him: “I don’t want an officer position. I will earn my rank by killing enemies and acquiring merits.”
Official Cai nodded: “Indeed. Hardship hasn’t diminished the Liang clan’s spirit.” He turned and called to someone.
From the shifting darkness, someone led horses forward.
Liang Qian’s hand hanging at his side clenched. He took a deep breath and strode toward the horses.
Official Cai bowed to Second Master Liang: “Second Master, please.”
Second Master Liang nodded and walked over, took the reins, and mounted the horse.
Official Cai also mounted his horse: “Then let the brave warriors of the Liang clan come with me to kill the enemy and achieve greatness.”
With his words, hooves clattered as the group galloped away, quickly disappearing into the night.
Silence returned to the garrison fortress.
Whether it was the Liang family members coming out earlier, or leaving in the night, the night patrol that usually forbade loud talking, as well as the fortress guards, all seemed to have vanished as if they never existed.
The night shrouded the earth, as if nothing had ever happened.