Chapter 1112: This is Shaanxi, After All
The man Prince Rui had bumped into was none other than Wang Er of Baishui.
To conceal his identity, he had sported a full beard for years. Combined with his imposing height and the aura of the world's foremost rebel leader, he presented quite a fearsome sight.
The moment Prince Rui saw Wang Er, his own swagger diminished by a third. He stumbled back several steps.
His guards swiftly encircled him, shielding the prince as they eyed Wang Er with wary suspicion.
The captain of the guard, leading the formation, even had his hand resting on the hilt of his saber.
Wang Er let out a heavy snort, dismissing them entirely, and simply turned to leave.
Only then did the guard captain exhale in relief. “Phew, what a terrifying fellow. If a true confrontation had broken out, we would have been no match for him. Your Highness might well have been in mortal danger today.”
“What?” Prince Rui jumped in alarm. “How dare he! I am a prince!”
The guard captain whispered, “That man reeked of blood. One sniff was enough to tell he was an utterly lawless individual. If you provoked him, he wouldn't care if you were a prince or not.”
How could the guard captain respond to such a tirade? He could only remain silent.
But then, a peculiar laugh sounded from nearby. “Justice has always existed. As for royal law... Your Highness, reflect carefully: has royal law truly ever existed?”
Prince Rui whirled his head around and saw a chubby middle-aged man, dressed in scholarly robes, appearing somewhat learned, his demeanor very much like a strategist or aide.
He didn't look like a vicious villain, so Prince Rui breathed a sigh of relief. “And who might you be?”
The chubby man smiled. “My surname is San, my given name is Shier. My profession is that of a strategist.”
Prince Rui exclaimed, “Oh! He really is a strategist!”
Prince Rui normally wouldn't spare a glance for a minor figure like a strategist, but this man dared to address him and showed no hint of fear, as if he were no small fry himself. Prince Rui found it even more preposterous. What kind of world was this? Anyone who stepped off a train casually seemed to disregard him entirely!
Prince Rui demanded, “What did you mean by that? ‘Has royal law truly ever existed?’ Are you disparaging the Great Ming Code?”
San Shier chuckled. “If everyone truly obeyed the Great Ming Code, then one could indeed say that royal law existed. But, Your Highness, think carefully: how many people actually abide by the Great Ming Code? Have you yourself ever obeyed it? How many of the great figures have? Ha ha ha... Oh, these two questions of mine, they're likely what we call, 'asking the way of the blind.'”
Having spoken, he turned and departed.
Prince Rui froze for a moment, then roared, “Impudent!”
He was just about to order his guards to seize San Shier and bring him back for questioning, when he saw San Shier swiftly walk over to Wang Er, and the two men headed towards the dock side-by-side.
The guards had just been too intimidated to provoke Wang Er. Now, seeing San Shier and Wang Er together, they naturally dared not provoke San Shier either. The entire group stood frozen, feeling intensely awkward.
Prince Rui fumed, “This is outrageous! These people, every single one of them, are becoming increasingly brazen. No one treats me as a prince anymore, is that it?”
The guard captain lowered his voice. “Your Highness, ever since the bandit uprisings began at the end of the Tianqi era, the realm has grown increasingly chaotic. Various factions are running rampant, and lawless individuals are everywhere. When we travel, it's best to exercise caution.”
“Travel?” Prince Rui scoffed. “This is Hanzhong! Hanzhong, I tell you! What 'travel'? This is my home!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the alarm bells began to clang incessantly within Hanzhong City, a deafening clamor. Everyone at the train station turned in astonishment, gazing towards the city walls.
After all, the train station was located outside the city walls...
From Hanzhong City, a eunuch swiftly emerged, dashing towards Prince Rui and shouting, “Your Highness! Quick, return to the city! Disaster strikes! Bandits are attacking!”
“What?” Prince Rui gasped, startled. “The bandits again?!”
In the early years of the Chongzhen era, a man named Wang Daliang had once stirred up a rebellion in Hanzhong Prefecture. Bandits had also descended upon Hanzhong once before, terrifying Prince Rui so much that he cried out for his parents.
Now, hearing that the bandits were back, Prince Rui was utterly paralyzed with fear. He bolted towards the city gates.
The common folk at the train station reacted identically, all scrambling towards the city.
The logistics soldiers from Gao Family Village, however, could not flee. They instantly swarmed around the platform, guarding the piled-up mountains of supplies.
Following suit, the five hundred militia members who had arrived from Shanxi with Wang Er and San Shier also instantly surrounded the area.
“What’s happening?” San Shier asked Zhuge Wangchan. “Why are there bandits here too? This is **Shaanxi**!” When he uttered the final two words, “Shaanxi,” San Shier's tone was incredibly heavy, many times more serious than his usual playful cadence when using idioms.
Zhuge Wangchan looked equally bewildered. “Indeed, this is Shaanxi. How can there still be bandits? I don't quite understand either.”
Confused, the entire group turned their heads in unison, looking towards Hanzhong City, not far from the train station.
By this time, Hanzhong City had begun slowly closing its gates. The common people still outside frantically rushed towards the city, desperate to enter before the gates fully shut.
The scene was quite terrifying.
Fortunately, the Prefect of Hanzhong and the Hanzhong Regional Commander, Zhao Guangyuan, were still reasonable men. They did not bar the common folk from entering. The city gates, having closed halfway, stopped, leaving a gap for those outside.
A large crowd surged in...
Prince Rui and his guards were swept along in the human tide. As he ran, his steps suddenly faltered, and he stopped, turning to gaze at the colossal train still parked at the station. He let out a pathetic wail: “Oh no! My train is still at the station... the bandits will steal it! This train cost eighty thousand taels of silver to buy, and I own forty percent of the shares—that's thirty-two thousand taels! My thirty-two thousand taels!”
The guards and eunuchs beside him grew frantic. “Your Highness, this is no time to worry about that!”
“No! My thirty-two thousand taels!” Prince Rui wept openly. “My money... my money! My capital hasn’t even been recouped yet, and it earns me hundreds of taels of silver every day... I cannot lose it!”
Everyone stared, speechless.
The guard captain exchanged a look with his nearby subordinates. The guards then forcibly dragged Prince Rui into the city.
A court military official appeared atop the city wall, bellowing at the Gao Family Village contingent still standing motionless at the train station. “What are you all doing out there? Get inside the city quickly! We are closing the gates!”
Wang Er shouted back, “What exactly is happening?”
The official yelled, “A detachment of bandits has emerged from the mountain forests of Sichuan and is about to storm Hanzhong City!”
Wang Er and San Shier exchanged glances, their eyes filled with surprise.
So that was it... bandits from Sichuan had indeed emerged.
Well, then!
Now they understood why Shaanxi was also plagued by bandits.
Comments