“You’re going to place the main battlefield inside Yueyang City?” Han Cheng and Qian Sheng jumped up together to ask Yun Ye. They almost thought they had misheard. Yueyang City hadn’t been newly built for long. Compared to other cities, it even appeared very new. To construct this city, the prefectural governor at the time, Qi Dali, had exhausted every method. Together with Han Cheng and Qian Sheng, they had built Yueyang City. Due to lack of funds, Qi Dali refused to build carelessly, so almost every brick and tile here condensed their blood and sweat.
Han Cheng hugged a pillar and told Yun Ye that if he wanted to destroy the city, he’d have to smash him to death first. Qian Sheng also said he was prepared to die together with Yueyang City—while the city stands, the people stand; when the city falls, I perish.
If officials from later generations said such things, Yun Ye would immediately drive a bulldozer and bury these two fellows. But this was the Great Tang. Officials of later generations deeply understood the principle of seeking advantage and avoiding harm, unless what you were demolishing was their home. In the Great Tang, officials most prized keeping their word—one spit makes one pit. If they said they’d hug a pillar and resist to the death, they would resist to the death. Weisheng, just to court a girl, could uphold his promise. Yun Ye believed Han Cheng and Qian Sheng were far stronger than that girl-courting Weisheng.
“The bell tower is still new. The bell on top was cast from copper water melted down from one copper coin contributed by each person in all of Yuezhou. You cannot demolish the bell tower.”
“The new city’s area is more than ten times larger than Yuezhou City. You think it’s appropriate to stick a bell tower less than three zhang high here? And that broken bell of yours—its sound is barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz. You still have the face to call it a good bell. The copper coins still have lead and tin impurities that weren’t removed. The proportion is wrong—how could there be good sound coming from it? Listen to the bell sound of Hanshan Temple—it can be heard clearly even across a great river. If you like this bell, take it home. I’m going to cast another large bell.”
“What official has nothing better to do than repair government offices? A bit broken is a bit broken—we can still make do with it for over ten years.”
“Stop embarrassing yourself. The government office must be repaired. Most importantly, we don’t need to spend our own money. This should come from the Ministry of Personnel. My city is stunningly beautiful—you want to place a broken government office here? Embarrassing or not? No discussion—demolish it!”
“You wouldn’t dare demolish this charity house, right? This was donated by folks from ten li around, eight villages wide. It’s specifically a place for elderly people without sons or daughters to retire. If you demolish it, you’ll be cursed to death.”
“This is my upscale residential district. What logic is there in placing a group of old people with all sorts of poor and odd appearances here? Can I still sell my houses or not? Build them a new charity house connected to the academy. Those students in their leisure time can go care for the elderly—a good method for cultivating body and character. Must demolish.”
The three men wore everyday clothes, each holding a fan, walking leisurely on the main street. If one didn’t hear their words, one might think they were composing poetry. Those who heard them speak only wanted to beat the youngest one in the middle to death with a shoulder pole.
Everyone was now busy packing valuables preparing to flee. Three hundred thousand water bandits had already broken through the government troops’ suppression in great momentum and were about to kill their way to Yueyang City. It was said the mountain king had already donned dragon robes, preparing to compete with the current Emperor for who sits on the throne—that didn’t matter, as long as people weren’t killed.
The young naval commander Marquis Yun was said to have already been cut into a bloody gourd at the front. Seven blade edges had already rolled. Even so, he couldn’t block the flood-like assault of the bandits. They would all soon be killed in battle. If people didn’t run now, they’d lose their lives. Each person locked their home’s main door tightly when leaving. Some ruthless ones even bricked up their doors and windows with stones, praying to Buddha hoping their homes would still be there after the war ended.
There were those who feared, and naturally those who didn’t fear. Han Cheng looked at an old woman hugging a doorway refusing to let go. He wanted to step forward and offer a few words of advice but didn’t know where to start, so could only sadly turn his head away.
“Marquis Yun, how can you be so iron-hearted?” Qian Sheng stared with moist eyes at Yun Ye, who was laughing cheerfully at the spectacle. He couldn’t understand why Yun Ye would laugh watching scene after scene of tragedy.
“No special reason. I’m just thinking about how delighted the old woman will be when she returns and sees her beautiful new home, so I’m happy for her and naturally ignore her current sorrow. The common people are short-sighted, so they need us officials with far-reaching vision to consider things for them.”
“Marquis Yun, are we really smarter than the common people?” Han Cheng asked Yun Ye bitterly.
Yun Ye casually pointed at those wealthy merchants fleeing in panic and said: “I’m smarter than them, right?” The facts were before them—Yun Ye had just swindled sixty percent of their land purchase money, so naturally he was smarter than them. Han Cheng was a gentleman not good at lying, so he could only nod.
Yun Ye again pointed at those common people carrying bundles with their old mothers, shouldering their children, and asked Han Cheng: “I’ve told them all that when they return they’ll have good days ahead, yet they still look desolate preparing to flee as refugees. Tell me—am I also smarter than them?”
Thinking of Yun Ye designing such an enormous trap, catching water bandits, common people, officials and wealthy merchants all in one net—such glorious achievements—he could only nod. Yun Ye finally pointed at Han Cheng and Qian Sheng saying: “I’m smarter than you two. You have no objection, right?”
Qian Sheng shook his sleeves in embarrassed anger, unwilling to respond. Yun Ye finally straightened his chest and said loudly: “Since I’m smarter than everyone here, why don’t they listen to my arrangements and happily go to the shelters built in the mountains, but instead look desolate frightening themselves?”
Yun Ye’s shamelessness was perhaps too much even for heaven to watch. A wind rose from level ground for no reason and filled the loudly laughing Yun Ye’s mouth with sand. Seeing Yun Ye constantly spitting saliva, Han Cheng and Qian Sheng finally felt a bit better.
Seeing Dan Ying hurrying in from outside the city gate, Yun Ye closed the folding fan in his hand and went directly back to the prefectural governor’s office. Upon returning to the government office, Dan Ying had already eaten and drunk his fill. Waiting in the study, when he saw him enter he said: “Master Liu Fang said that you’re now also a deity and should be good at using this identity. That fellow called Han Zhe has recently been creating a beautiful corpse. According to him, that corpse has been dressed extremely magnificently—correct, magnificently. He’ll send it to you these next few days. To show the corpse carries divine nature, Han Zhe specifically cut his finger and dripped two drops of blood on it. Supposedly only this way does it match your identity. Once you receive the corpse, it will be time for war to erupt. Make early preparations.”
Yun Ye nodded and let Dan Ying go rest. Dan Ying hadn’t walked two steps when Yun Ye said again: “Don’t attempt to fight those two giants. I’ve already arranged methods to deal with them. You don’t need to get involved. Daya has already borne you a son. Don’t do dangerous things at this time.”
Dan Ying hesitated briefly but still nodded and went out to rest. Yun Ye sat alone in the study carefully researching the battle plans formulated by Lai Chuanfeng, Yang Yueming and the others. The navy’s Liu Renyuan had already returned, holding in his hand a diagnostic certificate given by Master Sun, confirming this fellow had indeed gotten his wife pregnant in the shortest time possible. Only then did he let him go to the navy. With him there, the water bandits in the lake couldn’t play any tricks. The problem was how to lure Han Zhe into Yueyang City to completely annihilate them all in one decisive battle.
Unable to think of a good method, he could only go outside for a walk. Lingdang and her maidservant sat in the pavilion boringly doing embroidery work. Seeing her husband walk out from the study, she quickly went forward, taking Yun Ye’s arm and accompanying him strolling through the garden.
Xiao Miao’s days were very difficult. These days Xiao Miao had been continuously receiving Wu She’s abuse. Her current state was even more exaggerated—she needed to quickly walk from one end of a rope to the other, ten round trips in one incense stick’s time. Just seeing Xiao Miao’s tearful appearance, one knew this rope was very difficult to walk.
Guo’er had actually also become pregnant. Hong Cheng, this cheap father-in-law, was set in that role. Thinking of how he wrote letter after letter begging Yun Ye to protect Guo’er well, at least not allowing illicit affairs with Gou Zi—but no matter how Yun Ye guarded against it, there was no way to prevent Gou Zi from drilling into her boudoir. Once, twice—eventually heavenly thunder would stir earthly fire. Now Guo’er’s visibly pregnant belly explained everything. Yun Ye told Hong Cheng the truth in a letter. He didn’t know what troubles this pair would face when they returned to the capital. But right now their little days were very comfortable.
Gou Zi, who never knew to ask Yun Ye for wages, had already started openly asking for all his wages from the past two years some days ago. A hundred-plus gold coins were tossed over, and he immediately bought two small maidservants to serve Guo’er. Now the two people stuck together all day, not doing a bit of proper work.
Listening to little Lingdang chattering about her experience buying dolls in Yueyang City, Yun Ye was very surprised. Chang’an’s cloth dolls could sell all the way to Yueyang? Everyone else was busy leaving the city—why would new shops still be opening? This was too exaggerated. There was no one in this world who wasn’t afraid of a great water bandit army attacking the city.
He called over Gou Zi and told him to investigate that cloth doll shop—exactly what person had eaten bear heart and leopard gall to dare open a shop at this time? Weren’t they afraid the water bandits would take them along when taking the cloth dolls?
Xiao Miao once again fell from the rope. Without Wu She urging her, she herself returned to one end of the rope and started walking again. It wasn’t clear what kind of martial arts she was practicing—presumably some kind of lightness technique. Previously he had heard Wu She mention that this kind of martial art needed girls to practice. Boys had strong bones and sinews, making it difficult to transform body movements. But girls’ natural talent leaned toward gentle flexibility, making it naturally much easier to practice. Seeing Xiao Miao, who had just finished practicing the rope technique, immediately doing various high-difficulty movements on a carpet, Yun Ye suddenly thought of someone. It was from this person he learned there truly was such martial arts as cock-crowing and dog-thieving in the world. Wu She wouldn’t be making Xiao Miao practice this cruel martial technique, would he? Duan Hong had said this martial art was extremely cruel and poisonous. Ordinary people simply had no way to persevere. If one out of ten could succeed in practicing it, that was already considered very good.
Little Lingdang most feared pain. Seeing Xiao Miao suffering, tears were already flickering in her eyes. She tugged at her husband’s sleeve corner, wanting her husband to speak with Wu She and not torture Xiao Miao like this.