The Ming Dynasty: Starting with bandits, it swept across the land.

Chapter 57 Sun Kewang

In the Yanhe Valley south of Yanchang County, what should have been a quiet night has become noisy.

Li Chengye's men will set up camp here tonight; they are currently building their camp.

Now, Li Chengye's team has more livestock than people, and getting drinking water every day is a big problem. So every time they set up camp, they try to get as close to a water source as possible.

The crowd lit torches, chanted slogans, and worked together to build a wooden fence.

After building the wooden wall, they dug a trench about five steps inside. The trench was not deep, only a foot deep.

The excavated soil was then piled at the foot of the fence to stabilize its foundation.

This move was taught to Li Chengye by Luo Dai.

When setting up camp in the field, if possible, dig two trenches, one inside and one outside. The outer trench should be wide and deep, while the inner trench does not need to be so; a foot deep is sufficient.

Anyone attempting to raid the camp will generally relax once they cross the fence, making them more prone to falling into the ditch. This can be a temporary hindrance, but sometimes that moment can be a lifesaver.

However, on the north side of Li Chengye's army camp, there was another group of people in a mess. Their camp was much larger than Li Chengye's, but it was not as well-organized. Most of the people inside were scattered and disorganized.

The room was mostly filled with young men, but you could also hear women crying.

These people were the other small bandit groups that had been trying to join Li Chengye in attacking Yanchang County in recent days.

Their total number was nearly two thousand, among whom were two prominent leaders.

One of them was called Winged Tiger, whose real name was Zheng Guangqiu.

His background was similar to that of Black Scorpion; he was also a bandit in the mountains, but his reputation was much better than Black Scorpion's.

He robbed people on the road, targeting only the wealthy and not ordinary people. He would even give some money to the common people after robbing a lot, so he had a pretty good reputation.

But it was precisely this reputation that dragged him down.

When the famine struck, many people from the surrounding areas came to seek refuge with him.

He originally had only about a hundred people, but in the blink of an eye, he had seven or eight hundred.

There wasn't enough food in the mountain stronghold, so he ruthlessly drove away a group of people, but not long after, another group arrived.

Finally, having no other choice, they had to go down the mountain to rob wealthy families.

As a result of not conducting prior reconnaissance, the wealthy family they robbed was surnamed Zhang, and the family consisted of a retired official whose son was still working in Xi'an Prefecture.

This robbery stirred up a hornet's nest, and the Zhang family complained to Liu Yingyu, who then asked Mao Bing to handle it.

As a result, Zheng Guangqiu ran right into the line of fire. Mao's soldiers who entered the mountains burned down the stronghold, and he could only escape and wander.

When Li Chengye first came to Yanchang County, he robbed several wealthy families around the county town and obtained a lot of grain, which he then distributed to the people.

When Zheng Guangqiu saw this, he came to ask for grain. Li Chengye thought this man was somewhat interesting, so he gave him a hundred bags of grain as a way of making a good connection.

Later, when he heard that Li Chengye was coming to attack Yanchang County, he volunteered to bring his men to help.

The other leader was a poor Taoist priest with a rather elegant name, Wang Pingyue. He came from a small Taoist temple in Yanchang Township, where there were only three people: his master and a junior brother.

He usually makes a living by handling funerals and fortune telling for ordinary people, earning some money from incense offerings.

But when a major disaster strikes, people don't even have food to eat, so where would they find the money to worship gods and consult fortune tellers?

The Taoist temple's life became increasingly impoverished.

In the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, the three masters and disciples, who were starving and emaciated, finally took on a big job—praying for rain.

It was Liu, the local landlord, who invited them. In fact, Liu not only invited them, but also some well-known Taoist priests and monks from the surrounding area, and even a Nestorian missionary.

He promised on the spot that if they could pray for rain, he would ensure they would have enough to eat and wear for three years.

Being able to have food to eat and praying for rain is also a good deed that can accumulate merit, the three of them, along with the monks, Taoists, and missionaries present, all used their best skills.

So the Three Pure Ones, Buddha, Jesus, and God came together, chanting the true scriptures left by their respective patriarchs.

But God just wouldn't cooperate; we prayed for forty-nine days straight, and not a drop of rain fell.

The onlookers were initially hopeful, thinking that with so many experts around, surely one of them could bring rain. But the longer they waited, the more desperate they became. Not only did it not rain, but they didn't even see a single cloud. By the forty-ninth day, even Wang Pingyue felt that God was deliberately trying to kill them.

Unfortunately, someone spread a rumor that Master Liu had done his best to perform the rituals, and there was nothing he could do if the heavens didn't send rain, but the rent still had to be collected.

The local people were immediately in an uproar and rushed into Liu's house.

The monks and Taoist priests who were performing rituals inside also suffered. In the chaos, Wang Pingyue's master was hit with a stick by someone and died on the spot.

The Liu family landlords were no pushovers either; they had long ago employed men to quell the unrest among the people.

Wang Pingyue and his junior brother buried their master under the old locust tree in the Taoist temple. He told his junior brother, "We can't recite the scriptures anymore. Our master died from reciting scriptures."

So he took the magic sword his master used for rituals, and led a group of villagers carrying hoes and carrying poles to the Liu family's house.

At the time, the Liu family landlord was hosting a banquet for his men, celebrating that he had driven away the common people and saved his family business, and was not on guard.

As a result, Wang Pingyue and his men broke through.

Wang Pingyue even adopted the nickname "Dragon Entering the Clouds" from the novel "Water Margin".

Because he had followed his master to perform rituals and tell fortunes in the surrounding villages since he was a child, he was familiar with the roads and was able to lead his men to escape several county inspections and garrison raids in advance.

But gradually, the small landlords realized that there were many bandits in the countryside, so they all moved to the county town. They couldn't rob the big mansions with their limited manpower, and they lived a very difficult life.

Hearing that Li Chengye, the timely rain of Huanglong Mountain, had come out of the mountains, he brought his three or four hundred fellow villagers to seek refuge with him, hoping to make a living together.

At this moment, Zheng Guangqiu and Wang Pingyue, the "tiger" and the "dragon," were sitting around a campfire in the camp with several captains under Li Chengye.

An iron pot sat on the fire, stewing mule meat inside.

This mule was unlucky; it accidentally stepped into a ditch before setting up camp and broke its leg. If Master Qin were here, he might have been able to save it, but since he wasn't, the mule became everyone's extra meal.

"Manager, I've heard some news," Han Sanhu said first. Because there were outsiders present, he didn't mention Su He, but referred to him as Li Luo. "Li Luo said that Liu Yingyu returned to Xi'an Prefecture a few days ago, and then those Mao Hulu soldiers also received orders and went to Shangluo Road."

As for the details, we haven't been able to find out yet, and there's been no news from the other side.

"Okay, I understand," Li Chengye replied.

Seeing Li Chengye deep in thought, Zheng Guangqiu, who was standing to the side, became somewhat anxious.

Worried that Li Chengye might abandon the attack on Yanchang County, he asked directly, "Brother Li, are we still going to attack Yanchang County? My men are running low on food. They've gathered here on your orders just to have a meal to survive!"

Wang Pingyue, who was standing next to him, nodded slightly without saying anything, clearly agreeing with Zheng Guangqiu's statement.

Luo Dai, to Li Chengye's left, felt that Zheng Guangqiu was ungrateful. They were already certain of taking Yanchang County, and sending him was just to bolster their morale as a precaution. Now, he was complaining, so Luo Dai wanted to make sarcastic remarks.

Before he could speak, Li Chengye asked with a smile, "Brother Zheng, how much grain do you have left in your camp?"

Zheng Guangqiu thought for a moment: "Less than sixty shi (a unit of dry measure) is enough for five or six days."

Li Chengye said, "That's enough. I will take Yanchang County within five days. When that time comes, I will only take what I need from the city's grain, and leave the rest for you as much as possible."

Zheng Guangqiu secretly felt that Li Chengye was being arrogant.

Yanchang County is nestled between mountains and water, with a strategically important and difficult terrain. Even if the defending troops are lax, a direct assault would be extremely difficult.

Moreover, he had heard that another troop of guards had arrived in the city. How could they be easily defeated? How could Li Chengye dare to make such a boast? But since the other party had already promised to distribute more grain, he could not say anything more.

Upon hearing this, Wang Pingyue's eyes lit up, and she said, "It seems that Chief Li has already made a plan. But what do you need us to do? We can't just take the food empty-handed. Please give us your instructions, Chief."

Zheng Guangqiu quickly chimed in, "Yes, we're not just sitting around doing nothing. Give us a call, and we'll take care of it!"

Li Chengye looked towards the Yan River beside the camp and said, "For me, the only difficulty in crossing the river in Yanchang County is this. I've heard there are many boatmen and sledders along both banks of the river. I would like to ask for your help in gathering some boats and manpower so that we can cross the river and attack the city."

This request was quite unexpected for the two of them, but it was not difficult, and they immediately agreed.

By this time, the mule meat in the pot was cooked, and its aroma filled the air with the bubbling broth.

Li Chengye picked up a spoon and gestured for everyone to share the meat. After they finished eating the meat in their bowls, Zheng Guangqiu and Wang Pingyue, seeing that Li Chengye had no intention of talking further, took their leave.

Only Li Chengye, Luo Dai, Liu Ye, Han Sanhu, and other members of their own group remained by the campfire.

Luo Dai said indignantly, "Brother Chengye, are we just going to give them the grain for nothing after we've taken the city? That's giving them too much face."

"Yes, brother," Cheng En agreed.

Li Chengye said, "Brother Luo, Cheng'en had already agreed that our primary objective in this expedition is to cover the old camp; capturing Yanchang and gathering supplies are secondary. To maintain our marching speed, we cannot carry too much food and supplies, as you know."

Luo Dai listened and then fell silent.

Liu Ye chimed in, "But I've scouted it out. Yanchang County is indeed difficult to attack, even more so than Yijun City. The city is certainly not unprepared, and we're afraid we'll suffer heavy casualties if we rely on ourselves."

Li Chengye looked at Han Sanhu: "Sanhu, tell everyone about the situation in the city."

Han Sanhu replied, "Yes. When we came to Yanchang County last time, the manager gave the order to leave about fifty brothers behind. After we left and traffic in the city resumed, those brothers had already infiltrated the city and joined up with Li Luo and the others. They just need to seize the city gates when we attack the city, and with their help from inside and outside, the city will be easy to break through."

Hearing that there were already inside agents in the city, everyone felt much more at ease.

Someone joked, "Brother Chengye, I think you shouldn't be called 'Iron-Faced Judge,' you should be called 'The Wise One'!"

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.

After laughing, Li Chengye noticed that Liu Ye, who was standing to the side, still had a furrowed brow, so he asked, "Gangfu, why are you still frowning?"

Liu Ye said, "I really can't understand why Liu Yingyu suddenly withdrew his troops when the current situation is so favorable to the government troops?"

Li Chengye smiled and said, "No matter what his plans are, once we break through Yanchang County, his intentions will be exposed."

Liu Ye thought about it and nodded, saying, "That makes sense."

-----------------

The next morning, a loudspeaker woke Wang Pingyue.

When he crawled out of the tent, he saw his junior brother, Li Qingfeng, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he came out. He asked, "What's wrong, senior brother?"

Wang Pingyue said, "It's not our side, it's Li Chengye's side."

The two camps were close together, and he saw that Li Chengye's camp was already awake and busy—some people were dismantling tents, some were washing and tidying up, and some auxiliary soldiers were setting up large pots to cook food, which should be millet porridge, and the aroma was faintly wafting in with the morning breeze.

Everyone in the camp performed their duties, with a tight division of labor, and the operation was as precise as a well-oiled machine.

Smelling the aroma, Li Qingfeng said with some envy, "Senior brother, I heard that over there, even auxiliary soldiers have plenty of rice porridge and steamed buns, and combat soldiers can eat meat every day. Is that true?"

Wang Pingyue said, "No, the auxiliary soldiers also get to eat meat."

Li Qingfeng exclaimed in surprise, "My goodness! Li Chengye is so extravagant!"

Wang Pingyue said, "So, do you think just anyone can be called 'Timely Rain'? For someone to 'bring rain' to others, they must first have 'water' in their own hands."

Stop being envious, go and wake everyone up. We're cooking porridge this morning too, and we have important business to attend to after breakfast.

Junior brother Li Qingfeng asked, "Are we going to attack the city?"

Wang Pingyue shook his head: "We will not attack the city for now; there are other plans."

Zheng Guangqiu, who was standing nearby, also noticed the commotion in Li Chengye's camp and couldn't help but mutter, "It's true what they say, comparisons are odious!"

He kicked the second-in-command beside him and ordered, "What are you still looking at? Go and wake the brothers up! Let's hurry up and pack up, don't fall behind!"

The second-in-command hurriedly replied, "Yes, sir!"

Although Li Chengye's troops got up early, their march was not fast this time.

After everyone finished breakfast, they loaded the supplies onto the trucks. After making sure nothing was missing, they dismantled the camp and didn't waste the wooden fences either, loading them onto their own large trucks. Only then did they slowly head towards Yanchang County.

Their camp was only five or six miles from the county town, but it took them two hours to walk there. When they arrived at the city, the gates of Yanchang County were already tightly closed, the surrounding area was silent, and the city walls were full of guards.

As Magistrate Yu Shideng gazed at the densely packed crowd of people stretching along the ancient river path, he couldn't help but swallow hard. Especially the more than a thousand people at the very front, their ranks were perfectly aligned, each person carrying sophisticated weapons, and they were even beating waist drums as they marched, exuding a fierce and imposing aura.

Which border troops... have rebelled?

The group stopped by the moat.

Li Chengye waved his hand, and two loud-voiced soldiers stepped forward and shouted:

"The Ming Dynasty is tyrannical, and the people have every right to rebel! Magistrate of Yanchang County, if you repent and open the city gates soon, you may be spared!"

Yu Shideng almost laughed in anger, cursing inwardly, "Damn it, how come these rebels talk like government troops? They're so righteous!"

He wanted to find someone to yell back, but looking around, the guards were all pale and terrified. He had no choice but to lean over the crenellations himself and shout at the top of his lungs:

"I am an official appointed by the Ming Dynasty, and I have a duty to defend this land! If you are willing to repent and return from your misguided ways, I may petition the court to spare your lives!"

He added at the end, "Anyone who can capture and behead the bandit leader and present him to me will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver!" He originally wanted to ask for ten taels, but felt that was too stingy, so he gritted his teeth and raised it to one hundred taels.

Even though he tried his best, his voice did not carry far; only the rebels at the forefront of the city could vaguely hear it.

Those people sneered and laughed, and no one responded.

At this moment, Han Sanhu leaned close to Li Chengye and whispered, "Manager, with all this commotion, Li Luo and the others in the city should be prepared."

Li Chengye nodded: "Yes. But we'll have to wait a little longer."

Han Sanhu was puzzled. Who else were they waiting for? But Li Chengye did not say.

About half an hour later, Wang Pingyue led a boy with large hands and feet, a dark face, but exceptionally clear eyes to approach.

He was about fifteen or sixteen years old, similar in age to Cheng En, dressed in rags and barefoot.

Wang Pingyue stepped forward first, bowed, and said, "Chief Li, this is Sun Kewang. His father, Sun Xuan, had a past relationship with my master. He knows that the Grand Commander needs boats to attack the city, and he also knows where the boats along the river are hidden."

"Sun Kewang?" Li Chengye murmured the name, a slight thought crossing his mind, and asked, "Which 'wang' is it?"

Wang Pingyue was slightly puzzled, wondering why they asked for the name before asking about the ship. Just as she was about to explain, Sun Kewang beside her spoke up first: "The character 'Wang' has the sun on the left and the king on the right."

After saying that, the boy looked up and stared directly at Li Chengye, his gaze unwavering and without any fear.

Li Chengye inwardly praised, "What courage!" and then asked, "You say you know where the boatman hid the boat? How did you find out?"

Sun Kewang replied, "I used to work as a porter for the Fan family in the city, helping them transport goods for trade. The goods were delivered directly to the ships. Now that I've heard you're coming to attack the city, these wealthy families like the Fan family will surely hide their ships."

I suspect they've hidden their boat in the bay where we used to load and unload clandestine cargo.

He paused, then continued, "In the past, if Master Fan had goods he didn't want the authorities to know about, he would have me unload them at a secluded bay along the river. This time, the hidden boat is most likely there."

Li Chengye repeatedly said, "Good, good! How far is that place from here?"

Sun Kewang said, "It's not far, at most ten or so miles."

Li Chengye immediately shouted, "Han Sanhu!"

Han Sanhu responded, "Yes!"

"Take a team of men and go with this brother to that bay to retrieve the boat."

"Yes, sir!" Han Sanhu replied, walking up to Sun Kewang and sizing him up. "Can you ride a horse?"

Sun Kewang puffed out his chest and said, "Yes! I'm more skilled at riding donkeys, and I've also ridden mules when driving carts."

Han Sanhu grinned: "Hmph, riding a horse and riding a mule are not the same thing... but they're pretty much the same. Let's go!"

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the horse team with Sun Kewang.