Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 179 Arbitrary Judgment in the Countryside

On the thirtieth day of the first lunar month, the day after Shao Shuyi and his group arrived, a group of people appeared at the entrance of the village in the distance.

When Jiang Guanbao, the patrol inspector of Ma Tuo Sha, saw the rows of small, covered boats moored in the harbor, he had a bad feeling.

When the north wind blew and a strong fishy smell wafted from the boat, his expression immediately changed.

He grabbed the Zen Master Huiyong who was leading the way and angrily asked, "Do you know who they are?"

Huiyong broke free, chanted a Buddhist prayer, and said, "Brother, they are farmers and fishermen."

Seeing that he was still not behaving himself, Jiang Guanbao disregarded their past friendship and kicked him to the ground, saying, "Get out! I'm not your senior brother, and my family doesn't want your nunnery anymore."

Hui Yong's face turned pale. He thought to himself that he had really miscalculated this time and was afraid that he would lose his job. He had really fallen for the tricks of Chong Sheng Temple.

The term "nunnery" refers to a Buddhist hall built by wealthy families in the countryside next to their ancestral graves, or sometimes a Taoist temple, which is managed by monks or Taoist priests.

People who worship Buddhism often take monks as their adopted sons. The monks, knowing that the temples they manage need donations from the owners, then call them their adoptive fathers and mothers, and refer to the owners' children as their fellow disciples.

This also caused certain problems. For example, monks were eloquent and often had a sisterly relationship with the women of the household, leading to easy intimacy and frequent incestuous encounters. Women in Zhejiang and Jiangsu were known for their open-mindedness, and it was common for some to have affairs with monks or Taoist priests, even involving entire families of women who were involved with monks – a source of gossip. Huiyong was the head of the Jiang family nunnery. At the request of a monk from Chongsheng Temple, whom he knew well, he contacted Jiang Guanbao, the patrol inspector of Ma Tuosha. After some persuasion, he persuaded Jiang to bring six archers and more than ten able-bodied men to collect the land.

It now seems that Huiyong was also fooled; he, too, had no idea what the people who seized Chongsheng Temple's land were up to.

Farming and fishing? That might be true, but it's not the whole story. The worst part is that this missing piece of the truth is the most fatal.

What happened next quickly confirmed Huiyong's guess.

Suddenly, a sharp bamboo whistle sounded from the weeds.

An arrow flew from the opposite bank of the stream, shooting down the only archer in the group who was looking around.

Jiang Guanbao was shocked and panicked. Just then, more than ten people appeared in front of him and quickly formed a military formation. Two archers hovered around the left and right, and arrows flew out one after another, shooting down the two strong men who were leading the way.

Shortly after, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed from the rear of the column. More than ten men, shouting like thunder, wielding knives, spears, and clubs, formed a battle formation and advanced in a wall formation. Jiang Guanbao's mind went blank.

Oh no! We've been ambushed!

We're surrounded from both sides, attacked from the front and rear, completely finished!

Just as he was in a daze, Hui Yong tugged at his sleeve and shouted, "Senior brother, you think you can win after being ambushed? Run!"

Jiang Guanbao realized what was happening and, almost without thinking, quickly walked towards the bushes on the right.

The archers and able-bodied men were in an uproar when they saw this.

Some followed Hui Yong and Jiang Guanbao in their escape, while others stood there dumbfounded, unsure of what to do. Still others, in a daze, turned and ran back, only to run into more than ten "shop assistants" from the trading post who had surrounded them.

The worst off were the archers from the patrol office who still had some morale and wanted to show off their skills. However, they were affected by the fleeing able-bodied men around them, and their morale plummeted until the string in their minds snapped completely, and they fled along with the others.

Jiang Guanbao couldn't care less about his men. He was terrified and only wanted to escape. What would happen after he lost his men was a matter for the future, and he couldn't worry about it too much.

The road ahead became increasingly difficult, with arrows flying overhead. Jiang Guanbao was sweating profusely with anxiety. In a moment of carelessness, his right foot sank into a mud pit. He tried to pull it out several times, but to no avail. To make matters worse, his left foot also sank in.

Hui Yong had already rushed out about ten steps when he heard Jiang Guanbao's cry for help and quickly turned around.

But how could such a filthy mud pit be so easy to deal with? He used all his strength, but he couldn't pull Jiang Guanbao's legs out even an inch; instead, he sank deeper and deeper.

At that moment, several men armed with knives and guns rushed over.

Hui Yong and Jiang Guanbao instinctively stopped what they were doing; this was truly the end...

By the time Shao Shuyi crossed the river from the other side, the battle was already over.

The men sprang into action, swift and decisive, and routed the dozen or so men from the patrol office as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

Roughly speaking, they killed three archers from the patrol office, one of whom was a real archer; they also killed three able-bodied men, seriously wounded one, and captured the rest. After losing their weapons, they knelt on the ground by the river.

Jiang Guanbao and Hui Yong were also brought back and forced to kneel under a willow tree, their faces filled with fear.

Liang Tai, the head of the trading post, was in charge of the interrogation. After a short while, he came to Shao Shuyi's side and whispered something in his ear.

As Shao Shuyi listened, he nodded. Finally, he came up to Jiang Guanbao, held the knife to his chin, and slowly lifted it up.

Jiang Guanbao was about thirty years old, his face was pale, his lips trembled, and his eyes were full of pleading as he looked at Shao Shuyi.

"You weren't the inspector last year, are you new?" Shao Shuyi asked.

Jiang Guanbao instinctively wanted to nod, but with the chilling blade pressed against his chin, he dared not move. He could only say, "I received this official position after donating...donating 360 shi of grain before the New Year."

"The price has dropped. I remember it used to be 500 shi of grain," Shao Shuyi said.

"That was the price from over a decade ago." Mentioning how much he spent on buying an official position, Jiang Guanbao surprisingly showed some apprehension, and bravely replied. Shao Shuyi couldn't help but chuckle.

All this guy thinks about is buying official positions; he knows the prices inside and out. No wonder he's so useless.

"You're a local from Matuosha, right?" Shao Shuyi asked.

"Yes, hero, your eyes are sharp, you know everything from astronomy to geography, you are a dragon and a phoenix."

"Enough." Shao Shuyi sheathed his knife, patted his face with the back of the blade, and asked, "Where is Ma Tuosha from?"

"From Gushan."

"Is it worth spending 360 shi of grain to buy an official position?"

"It's worth taking it slow." Jiang Guanbao glanced at Shao Shuyi and said boldly, "Earning over ten ingots a year by drawing a salary without working, a few ingots by reselling some goods, and twenty ingots by accepting bribes from prisoners' families, that's no less than forty ingots. If we have time, we can also go to Yamen Street or the countryside to make some more money. In this way, we can break even in three years at most."

Shao Shuyi laughed heartily upon hearing this, kicking Jiang Guanbao to the ground and saying, "The Great Yuan Dynasty is truly blessed to have officials like you." The men who gradually gathered around also laughed. However, under the piercing gazes of Wu Heizi and Gao Daqiang, who were leading the group, they all subconsciously straightened their chests and tucked in their stomachs, standing upright on the spot and daring not to make a sound anymore.

The older brother told us not to laugh, but you all laughed? What kind of behavior is this!

Shao Shuyi stepped forward, stomping on Jiang Guanbao's chest, and said, "Looking at you, I'm too lazy to kill you. Tell me, among those who came here, which ones are from Jiangyin?"

Shao Shuyi's "Jiangyin" here clearly refers to the Jiangnan part of Jiangyin Prefecture, since Matuosha is theoretically a township under the jurisdiction of Jiangyin Prefecture. Jiang Guanbao understood, of course. His eyes darted around, and then he pointed tremblingly at a person in the distance, saying, "Hu Si's family is in the Chaozong Sect." Hu Si trembled and was about to say something when he was held down by several burly men.

"Kill them!" Shao Shuyi ordered.

"Jiang Guanbao, I'll seduce your mother... Ah!" Hu Si was only halfway through his sentence when someone grabbed his hair and slashed his throat, causing blood to gush out. He collapsed heavily to the ground, his eyes gradually becoming unfocused, his mouth twitching and filled with blood and foam.

"Is there anything else?" Shao Shuyi asked.

"It's all gone, really gone." Jiang Guanbao said repeatedly, "I brought six archers, two of whom were from Jiangyin, and the other one is already dead. The thirteen able-bodied men were all local villagers. When the village head heard that I was going to the countryside to collect land for Chongsheng Temple, he claimed to be seriously ill and refused to help me recruit some ruffians and nameless archers to arrest people. I went to find them myself, and in my haste, I only managed to bring back thirteen."

Shao Shuyi slowly withdrew his foot and asked, "Do you want to live?"

"Yes." Jiang Guanbao's face gradually regained color, and he nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"If you want to live, behave yourself and don't cause me any trouble." Shao Shuyi glanced around and said, "You're still the inspector, but you need to know what to do. I know your family is a prominent one in Gushan. If you anger me, burning down your ancestral home is no big deal."

As he said this, Shao Shuyi's gaze swept over the surrendered men repeatedly, clearly indicating that he wasn't just speaking to Jiang Guanbao.

The able-bodied men were all local villagers; how could they dare to stand up to such vicious bandits?

The two surviving archers lived on Yamen Street, isolated and vulnerable. Their entire family could be wiped out easily; why bother with blind loyalty to the court? It wasn't worth it. After taking in everyone's expressions, Shao Shuyi waved his hand and said, "Where is the primary school now?"

"Brother, I'm here." Yu Yuan stepped forward and bowed.

Shao Shuyi bent down and helped Jiang Guanbao up. He said to Yu Yuan, "The brothers from the Patrol Office have been frightened. Give each of them five strings of cash to calm their nerves." "Yes," Yu Yuan replied, then began counting heads. Finally, he said, "Brother, there are twelve in total, but one of them is dying." "Then there are eleven. Give them the cash," Shao Shuyi said. "Take out another five ingots to buy them some coffins, so no one will say I'm not generous."

"Yes." Yu Yuan personally took out the banknotes and distributed them one by one, giving each person five strings of cash, regardless of their social status.

After distributing the money, he took five ingots of paper money and gave them to Jiang Guanbao, saying, "Sir Jiang, a thin coffin on Yamen Street costs no more than twenty strings of cash, so eight people would only cost one hundred and sixty strings. The remaining ninety strings are for their funeral expenses. Don't embezzle them."

"Yes, yes," Jiang Guanbao replied immediately. "I'll take out another five ingots of paper money so the brothers can leave in style. Don't worry, my lords, everyone's keeping their mouths shut. If anything happens, none of us will get away with it. I'll keep them in check."

Yu Yuan retreated without saying another word.

Shao Shuyi glanced at Jiang Guanbao again and said, "All I want is money. As long as you don't interfere with me, we'll keep to ourselves. If anyone makes a big fuss, their whole family will be wiped out. I mean what I say."

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "This monk stays, the rest of you get out of here."

Everyone felt as if they had been granted a pardon and stood up.

Jiang Guanbao hesitated for a moment, then said, "Hero, Hui Yongyi."

"Get lost," Shao Shuyi said impatiently.

Jiang Guanbao turned around and left.

Shao Shuyi kicked Hui Yong and said, "Take me to see someone, and you can live."

Hui Yong, being a bachelor, immediately kowtowed on the ground, saying, "Brother, you are the one who makes the decisions in this village. From now on, Ma Tuosha will obey your every command." After Jiang Guanbao and the others had gone far away, Shao Shuyi grabbed Hui Yong by the collar and said, "Take me to see the village head."