With the matter finally settled, Pei Shaojin relayed everything to his grandparents. He lifted the hem of his robe and knelt before them, earnestly beseeching their forgiveness. “Your grandson acted on his own accord, showing neither filial piety nor proper respect. I ask that Grandfather administer the family rules as punishment.”

The elderly couple exchanged a glance, a trace of melancholy surfacing in their eyes. After a few breaths, they sighed, then slowly let it go.

The old master said, “Let it be, let it be. Seeing that you acted out of deep love for your sister, and carried out matters in accordance with your father’s reply… this is not so grave an offense. Let us leave it at that.” He paused in thought, then murmured softly to himself, “We are old now. When we count our past deeds, we have truly done many foolish things. We cannot blame you.”

The old mistress unfolded Pei Bingyuan’s letter. Her gaze fell upon the line: “After the autumn harvest, when the people of Taicang have surplus grain, the merits of flood control and a bountiful year will be sufficient to petition the court for rewards, and from those rewards, Ruozhu’s freedom may be secured — all that is lacking is a pretext for seeking the reward…” And further still: “Should the commandery prince’s household, fully knowing that the Pei Family has no intention of forming a marital alliance, still dare to press forward and petition for an imperially bestowed marriage at court, then together with the Xu, Chen, and Sima families, we shall resist with the full strength of our households — there must be no compromise…”

In former times, her eldest son always spoke in a mild and gentle manner, and rarely used such resolute language. This made his firm resolve all the more apparent.

Bingyuan had written that the autumn petition for rewards still lacked a pretext, the old mistress thought to herself.

A pretext to hasten Bamboo’s departure from the palace.

The old mistress ran her hands back and forth over her walking staff. After a long while, her mind made up, she said to Pei Shaojin, “Jin’er, go and fetch your little mother as well. I have something to say.”

Concubine Shen followed Shaojin and arrived in haste.

“This servant pays her respects to the Old Ancestress.”

While Shaojin had gone to find Concubine Shen, the old mistress had already discussed her plans with the old master.

The old mistress asked Concubine Shen, “My health has not been what it was of late, and I fear I shall need to rest in bed for a time. However, ever since that matter with Nanny Zhou, I have not been able to trust the other servants. I would like you to attend at my side… are you willing?”

Concubine Shen paid her daily respects to the old mistress without fail. Had anything been truly amiss with the old mistress’s health, she would have been the first to know. So why was the old mistress now feigning illness? It was clear there was another purpose behind it.

Concubine Shen glanced at the several pages of correspondence lying beside the old mistress’s table and immediately understood. Tears burst from her eyes. She knelt and replied, “This servant is willing. Attending upon the Old Ancestress is this servant’s rightful duty.”

The old mistress then turned to Shaojin, “Shaojin, go and inform your elder sisters. Tell them that their grandmother has taken to her sickbed, and that whenever they have leisure in the coming days, they should come home to visit.” She added, “For the time being, I shall remain at the residence to convalesce and will not be setting foot outside. Should invitations arrive from other households, decline them all.”

“Your grandson understands.”

Concubine Shen dried her tears with a handkerchief and kowtowed, saying, “This servant thanks the Old Ancestress on Bamboo’s behalf. Thank you for devoting such care and effort on your granddaughter’s account.”

The old mistress said, “It was my own foolishness in the past, failing to shield Bamboo even the slightest bit, leaving her to endure so much hardship alone. Now that my years grow ever greater, I can only do what little I can for her… This is merely planning ahead early, and may not necessarily come to fruition.”

From that day on, the old mistress remained within her courtyard to quietly recuperate, attended by Concubine Shen, while Lian Jie’er and Ying Jie’er both returned home from time to time to visit.

In Taicang Prefecture, the rice paddies in the fertile fields had already sent forth their grain stalks, and the fragrance of rice spread across the land.

With fertilizer applied promptly in spring and the crops untouched by the summer floods and river silt, this year’s grain stalks were larger than any in years past. They hung heavy with clusters of green kernels, awaiting only the grain-filling stage before they would ripen to a golden harvest ready for cutting.

Elders and farming women from every household took turns standing watch at the field ridges, fearing the water level might rise or fall. They kept a shallow film of water, just enough to cover the root systems. Whether the kernels filled out plump and full depended entirely on this period of grain filling.

The able-bodied men had formed a “civilian militia” and were voluntarily drilling alongside the prefectural yamen’s constables, their spirits high and vigorous.

Within the prefectural yamen, Pei Bingyuan sat with furrowed brows deep in thought. With the Taicang harvest imminent, he, as the prefecture’s parent official, had other worries on his mind.

Even though the prefecture had already organized a civilian militia, with men from every household volunteering to stand guard over the grain, and even though the prefect of Suzhou had dispatched a considerable number of constables to strengthen patrols, Pei Bingyuan remained uneasy. He feared that at the most critical moment, the Zhenhai Guard and the bandits might join forces and once again stage the spectacle of letting the enemy through to plunder the grain.

If the defenses were insufficient and the bandits succeeded, an entire year’s efforts would have been for nothing.

He turned the problem over and over in his mind but could find no solution.

When Pei Bingyuan returned home that evening, he was still dispirited, with little appetite.

Pei Shaohuai noticed that his father had something weighing on his mind. He had recently thought of some ideas he wished to share with his father, and so he knocked and entered the study.

“Father.”

“Ah, Huai’er, you’ve come.”

The candlelight was dim at night, and the study was somewhat dark and unlit. In the swaying faint glow, Pei Shaohuai saw that more white hair had appeared at his father’s temples. Water control, the harvest, water bandits, the Zhenhai Guard… with so many thorny matters pressing in at once, it was truly draining.

Pei Shaohuai asked, “Father, is something troubling you?”

“It is still the matter of defending the city.” Pei Bingyuan said. “The harvest days are drawing near. The people are counting on the grain to see them through the new year, and the bandits are counting on plundering that very same grain to see themselves through the new year. The more I think on it, the less confident I feel — I always have the sense that our preparations are not enough, and yet I do not know where to begin.”

In truth, Pei Bingyuan had already done more than enough. The newly assembled civilian militia was more than double the size of those in previous years.

The methods of flood control he had learned through hands-on practice, but when it came to repelling enemies in the military sense, he had little experience, which was precisely why he could not stop worrying.

“Regarding the guarding of the grain, your child has had some new thoughts these past few days that Father may wish to consider,” said Pei Shaohuai.

As it happened, both he and his father had been thinking about the very same matter.

Pei Bingyuan’s eyes brightened. He knew that his son’s ideas were invariably effective, and that his son’s grasp of military strategy had even earned the praise of the Minister of War. Delighted, he said, “Please speak, Huai’er. Your father is all ears.”

Pei Shaohuai came to the desk and first wrote a line on paper: “Act upon them, and you will come to understand the principles of movement and stillness.”

He explained, “If we knew the patterns and timing of when the bandits would come ashore to plunder, the constables and militia could prepare in advance and seize the initiative. I believe there is one pattern in the bandits’ movements that Father may use to his advantage in defense.”

“What pattern is that?”

“The Zhenhai Guard is in collusion with the bandits. Before the bandits move out, the Zhenhai Guard must receive word in advance so they can coordinate and play out the whole performance.” Pei Shaohuai replied.

Pei Bingyuan suddenly saw the light, and with some excitement said, “I understand.” He paced back and forth, thinking aloud, “The military-bandit collusion — we have always assumed it could only cause harm, and it never occurred to us that this very thing could be used to seize the initiative. Brilliant! The water bandits roam all over the place, and infiltrating their ranks from within would surely be no easy task. But the Zhenhai Guard is right there before us. We need only find out when they are moving out at night, and that will roughly be the moment the bandits move out as well…”

Then he saw Pei Shaohuai write two characters on the paper: “Alliance.”

In history, the six kingdoms of Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, and Wei had united to resist the state of Qin — this was known as the allied strategy.

Pei Shaohuai explained, “The Zhenhai Guard holds the geographic advantage and has reaped all the benefits, dominating with no rival. The other guard posts nearby cannot help but covet that position — they, too, may be put to Father’s use.”

This time, Pei Bingyuan did not immediately grasp his meaning. Puzzled, he asked, “Da Qing has laws prohibiting the guard posts from crossing boundaries to deploy troops. How would any other guard post dare to send soldiers to support Taicang?”

“They may not cross boundaries to deploy troops, but surely their vessels may sail out to sea on patrol?” Pei Shaohuai said. “If, in the middle of the night, they happen to come across several dozen empty bandit ships moored along the shore — whether they attack and seize those ships, or burn them — that would count as a merit in its own right.”

Pei Bingyuan immediately understood. His son’s intention was not merely to defend against the bandits, but to cut off their retreat as well.

On land, boundaries were fixed. At sea, the divisions were only approximate and movement was not prohibited.

Why were water bandits so difficult to deal with? Because they came swiftly and fled just as swiftly. Once they plundered the grain, they left immediately, boarding their ships and disappearing in an instant.

Once they reached the water, they scattered and regrouped at will, moving with fluid agility, making it impossible to strike at their roots.

The difficulty lay in the pursuit and capture.

If someone at the rear destroyed their ships, the bandits stranded on shore would have nowhere to go but hide and flee.

Pei Shaohuai added, “With no way to take to the water, the bandits would only be able to hide. At that point, Father can simply send men to search and arrest them at leisure.”

Pei Bingyuan nodded and said, “Your father will go in the coming days to the guard posts stationed in the other counties and discuss this with them. This plan has considerable merit.”

He asked again, “Has Huai’er any other good strategies?”

“The rest cannot truly be called good strategies — they are more like small tricks.” Pei Shaohuai replied. “For instance, the farther the grain is stored from the shoreline, and the more scattered the storage locations, the harder it becomes for the bandits to plunder it. Even if they do manage to get their hands on some, it will take considerable time to transport it — and that window of time can be used for pursuit and capture.”

Father and son talked through these several matters in great detail, until the candle wax had melted and pooled into a small mound on the ground, and the candle on the stand had burned itself out. Only then, in the last faint flicker before it died, did the two of them realize that it had grown deep into the night.

Before Pei Shaohuai took his leave, he said, “Father, when you go out, be sure to bring people with you. Please take care.”

“I understand, do not worry.”

“If Father can capture several hundred or even a thousand bandits, that too would count as a merit. Combined with the summer flood control and the autumn harvest, these accomplishments will be more than sufficient.”

Pei Bingyuan understood what his son was alluding to and nodded to indicate he had taken it to heart.

When autumn deepened, wave upon wave of grain rippled across the fields. The people bent their backs to harvest the rice in great haste, handling the stalks with utmost care for fear that any kernels might fall loose. Basket by basket they carried the harvest home, spreading it out across the courtyards of every household.

Within the Zhenhai Guard, perhaps because they had performed this charade so many times it had become routine, they did not even take the night’s affairs seriously, and prepared without the least guard against trouble.

The men set to move out had donned their armor long in advance.

And so it was that, through a network of informants, word of their nighttime scheme to let the bandits plunder the grain made its way into Pei Bingyuan’s ears.

That night, at the fourth watch, the drums on the city walls rang out in great clamor, and the constables fired signal cannons whose boom split the clear sky like thunder, rousing the entire city.

From the city walls, one could see the bandits advancing to attack — three to four thousand of them, a force neither too large nor too small.

What the bandits never expected was that this time the city gates swung wide open, and out surged a dark, dense mass of militia members, each holding a torch in one hand and a farming tool in the other — pitchforks, hoes, and every manner of implement imaginable.

A few moments later, the households of the city, one after another, began lighting their oil lamps until the whole city blazed with light.

No longer did every family bar their doors and shutter their windows, cowering in fear of catching the bandits’ eye, pleading with the bandits to plunder some other home and leave them just enough grain to survive on.

In that moment, the bandit leader understood — they had been set up.

“Retreat!” The order came without hesitation.

Even if the bandits pressed forward against this militia and fought them to the death, frightening them off, the losses would undoubtedly be severe, leaving them with nothing left over to plunder the grain. The cost would far outweigh any gain.

The bandits fled swiftly. They had long since memorized all the escape routes, and even without torches, they moved through the darkness with ease.

The militia, though vast in number, did not dare recklessly charge out of the city in pursuit.

By the time the bandits reached the shoreline, they could already see a blaze of light on the sea in the distance. Each man’s face went pale. When they drew closer and looked, it was as they had feared — their ships were all on fire.