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Chapter 1177: The Bruises Faded

Lu'an, Shucheng!

Zuo Liangyu was in his main tent, dining with his son, Zuo Menggeng.

Outside, a famine raged, and people struggled just to survive. Yet, Zuo Liangyu's dining table was laden with delicacies—chicken, duck, fish, and meat; not a single desired dish was missing.

Zuo Menggeng asked, "Father, the Grand Coordinator of Yingtian, Zhang Guowei, has issued proclamations three times, demanding that we enter the mountains to exterminate the remaining rebels. But we've remained idle. Won't this look rather inappropriate?"

Zuo Liangyu guffawed. "Zhang Guowei is useless. Why should we listen to him? What can he possibly do to us?"

Zuo Menggeng replied, "The Anlu Circuit Censor, Shi Kefa, also wrote to us, telling us to march west and pressure the Eight Great Kings."

Zuo Liangyu scoffed. "The Eight Great Kings are a tough nut to crack. I'm no fool; why would I go pick a fight with them? I'd rather just dawdle around here. Shi Kefa can't do anything to me anyway. He's just an Anlu Circuit Censor; he can't leave Anqing or Lu Prefecture. Is he going to jump out and chop me down himself?"

Zuo Menggeng faltered. "I just feel like we're playing with fire here, and it's escalating. I'm afraid that someday..."

Zuo Liangyu waved him off. "Don't worry, son. You don't know what your father witnessed back in the day."

His voice dropped, heavy with gravity. "When I was the Commander of the Right Flank Chariot Battalion in Liaodong, I personally witnessed the might of the Manchus. Let your father tell you plainly: the imperial court absolutely cannot defeat the Manchus. They simply can't! Sooner or later, the Manchus will storm into Beijing and trample Zhu Youjian underfoot."

Zuo Menggeng gasped in shock.

Zuo Liangyu continued, "Since your father returned from Liaodong, I've had no desire to ever go back. Going there means certain death. It's better to suppress bandits here in the Central Plains. Heh... these bandits, do you think they can ever be completely eliminated? Let me tell you, son, they can't! They absolutely cannot be eliminated. As long as the court has no money to pay soldiers or relieve the refugees, these bandits will just keep needing to be suppressed. And the court having money? That's a pipe dream! This damned imperial court will never have money."

Zuo Menggeng asked, "Why won't the court have money?"

Zuo Liangyu shrugged. "Why? Your father can't quite explain it. Only those civil officials can really figure that out. Anyway, let me put it this way for you: this Zhu family's empire is unstable. Our Zuo family needs to make plans early. Who knows, perhaps in the future, this empire will be named Zuo?"

Zuo Menggeng was greatly startled; he never imagined his father harbored such immense ambition.

He scratched his head. After a long moment, he finally said, "But... even so, we shouldn't be plundering women, should we? Doing that is ultimately a bit..."

Apparently, just a short while ago, the Grand Coordinator of Yingtian, Zhang Guowei, had demanded that Zuo Liangyu search the mountains to root out the bandits hiding there. But Zuo Liangyu disliked searching the mountains; it was arduous, exhausting, and offered no spoils. So he simply unleashed his troops to rob ordinary people and abduct women in Southern Zhili.

Money and provisions were one thing, but to abduct women was truly deranged. He even distributed them among his bandit soldiers as wives, to ensure his men's unwavering loyalty.

While this tactic secured the loyalty of his bandit soldiers, the common people suffered terribly. Especially the women; their wails and cries could be heard throughout the entire camp.

Zuo Liangyu snorted. "What do you know? Those who achieve great things don't fuss over minor details. Your father's funds and provisions are limited; I can't reward my subordinates with vast sums of money like others. If I want my men to be loyal, I naturally have to use extraordinary measures."

Zuo Menggeng fell silent.

Just as they were discussing this, a soldier entered from outside. "Report, Commander! There's someone outside sent by the Governor of Henan."

"Eh? The Governor of Henan?" Zuo Liangyu wondered aloud. "I'm currently in Hubei; what would a Governor of Henan want with me? Tell him to come in."

A moment later, the messenger entered.

Zuo Liangyu took a closer look. Eh? He recognized this messenger. It was a former rebel leader he had recently absorbed, whose bandit moniker was Daijin Wang, real name Zhang Xiaoyi.

Zuo Liangyu exclaimed in astonishment, "Eh? Aren't you my Runing Garrison Commander? Why are you now delivering messages for the Governor of Henan?"

At the mention of this, Daijin Wang looked aggrieved. "General Zuo, the official post of Runing Garrison Commander you gave me—it's fake, isn't it? It was never reported to the imperial court. It was a document you forged."

Zuo Liangyu chuckled. "What do you mean, 'fake'? Once I hold real power, this document won't just become real, it'll become a treasured artifact, worth who knows how much!"

Daijin Wang thought to himself: Treasured artifact, my foot! Everyone knows you're illiterate. This fake document wasn't even written by you; you just found some random person to pen it for you.

Zuo Liangyu interrupted, "Why are you here? Speak quickly."

Daijin Wang explained, "A few days ago, I was captured by an immortal. Now I've become a labor reform prisoner. I've come this time hoping to atone for my crimes through service."

Zuo Liangyu stared blankly.

Daijin Wang continued, "The Governor of Henan sent me with a message for you: 'Surrender at once, go voluntarily to Luoyang to accept punishment. That way, you'll still have your life. If you refuse to turn back, and persist in your own stubborn way, there's only one path: certain death...'"

"CRACK!"

Before Daijin Wang could finish his sentence, Zuo Liangyu's foot slammed into his stomach.

Daijin Wang flew backward at least a meter, hit the ground with a heavy thud, and tumbled several times before finally stopping.

Zuo Liangyu roared, "Get out! Get as far away as you can!"

Despite the beating, Daijin Wang's face showed no anger; instead, a hint of delight appeared. "Oh, well, a beating isn't so bad either," he muttered. "The more abuse I endure here, the greater my merit will be when I return, right?"

Zuo Liangyu blinked.

This was truly intolerable. "You brat, you were originally my man!" Zuo Liangyu snarled. "Now you're helping the Governor of Henan to provoke me? Believe it or not, I'll chop you up right now."

Daijin Wang flinched in alarm and quickly dropped his foolish pretense. He adopted a submissive demeanor. "General Zuo, please calm your wrath. This humble one was wrong."

"Get out, fast!" Zuo Liangyu commanded. "Go back and tell the Governor of Henan that I'm currently in Huguang, and I have no time for a mere Governor of Henan. If he's got the guts, let him come to Huguang and kill me! Does he dare leave Henan? Does he dare?"

Daijin Wang whispered, "General Zuo, that Governor of Henan has an immortal helping him, you know. His name is Dao Xuan Tian Zun. He's very powerful. Perhaps you should reconsider..."

"CRACK!"

Daijin Wang took another kick, and rolled several more times on the ground before stopping.

Zuo Liangyu declared, "An immortal, you say? I'll kill even an immortal for you to see!"

Daijin Wang responded, "I'm afraid that might not be possible."

"CRACK!"

Another kick...

Daijin Wang simply kept rolling until he was out of the tent entrance. He dusted himself off, and left, to report back.

After taking all those kicks, even if he didn't get credit for success, he'd surely get credit for his suffering. Heh heh heh.

He rushed back towards Luoyang, grinning contentedly along the way as he looked at the bruised spots where he'd been kicked. He thought to himself: 'Back home, these bruises alone will count as great merit for my hardship, hahahaha!'

However...

The journey from Shucheng all the way back to Luoyang took too long. The bruises... had faded.