Chapter 12: Please Come to Gao Family Village
In 1627, the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, Shaanxi, Chengcheng County.
Gao Chuwu led three other young men from Gao Family Village through the county town's main gate.
All four were country bumpkins who had never set foot outside their village. The journey from Gao Family Village, over thirty *li* in total, had been navigated entirely by their eager questions, asking for directions whenever they met someone, and finding their way back after several wrong turns.
By the time they entered the county town's gate, the sun hung directly overhead.
It was noon, the hottest part of the day, with outdoor temperatures soaring to 40 degrees Celsius. The four young men were utterly exhausted, panting like dogs, their spirits low, their energy drained, feeling light-headed and weary.
"Brother Chuwu, if we're looking for the strategist, we have to go to the county yamen, right? I'm so scared of the yamen!"
"I heard the magistrate devours people without spitting out the bones."
"Those yamen runners are just as ruthless. It's terrifying."
The three young men were completely intimidated.
He reached into his travel bag and squeezed the large, broken pieces of Divine Rice inside. The village chief had given them five pieces each before they left, as provisions for any emergency.
Touching it, he finally steadied himself. "What's there to be afraid of? We have the Heavenly Lord backing us!"
The three young men, hearing the words "Heavenly Lord," felt their spirits lift, and a little of their courage returned.
The four men, using their polite manners, asked for directions at every turn, and under the guidance of passersby, finally arrived at the county yamen.
Just as they reached the yamen gates, they witnessed an unsettling scene. A clean-shaven, pale-faced, slightly portly middle-aged man, dressed in a long gown, was wailing loudly in front of the yamen. "Esteemed Magistrate, I beg you not to dismiss this humble servant! I have always served you with utmost dedication, working myself to the bone. How can you simply discard me just like that? This, my lord, is what they call 'when the rabbit is dead, the hounds are cooked'!"
As he uttered the last four characters, his tone intensified, his expression grew exaggerated, making him look rather foolish.
The yamen runner guarding the gate shook his head. "Third Master, please stop wailing here. The esteemed Magistrate has made it clear he doesn't want you, and that's final. Crying out here further won't change a thing. Be careful not to anger the Magistrate, or you might end up in jail, which would be far worse, wouldn't it?"
As soon as they heard those words, Gao Chuwu's eyes lit up. "Did you hear that? The yamen runner called him 'Third Master.' He must be the strategist for the magistrate, San Shier, just like the village chief told us!"
The other three young men were greatly surprised. "The strategist is crying? It seems the magistrate doesn't want him anymore?"
Gao Chuwu said, "Who cares? We just need to 'invite' him back. Keep an eye on him. Once he steps into an alley, we'll go fetch him."
He pulled a large wooden club from behind his back; he had picked it up on the way to the county town.
San Shier wailed at the county yamen for a while, but it was useless. Magistrate Zhang Yaocai had long grown tired of him and remained unmoved by his pleas, even sending out two yamen runners to give San Shier a sound beating, leaving him bruised and swollen.
After taking the beating, the fellow knew the magistrate's mind was made up. With a long sigh, he left the yamen, walked a stretch down the main street, then turned and ducked into a narrow alley, hoping to take a shortcut home.
He hadn't taken more than a few steps into the alley when a young man appeared before him, a large wooden club in his hand. San Shier startled, quickly turned, and tried to flee back the way he came, only to find three other young men blocking that end of the alley.
San Shier was utterly shocked. His gaze swept over the four young men, immediately assessing them as poor peasants. He quickly raised his hands and blurted, "Don't hit me! I'm on your side! It was the esteemed Magistrate who desperately collected taxes, it had nothing to do with me. I... I even kept advising him not to levy heavy taxes! That, my friends, is what we call 'speaking up for the common folk'!"
Gao Chuwu gave a simple, honest laugh. "Oh? So that's how it was?"
San Shier quickly replied, "It's true! I was thrown out by the esteemed Magistrate and dismissed precisely because I spoke up for you all! That, my friends, is what you call 'exhausting oneself for the cause'!"
Gao Chuwu scratched his head. "I don't really understand what you're saying, but you sound very learned."
San Shier said, "Exactly, exactly! I am a man of learning; you mustn't be so rough with me. Put down your club quickly, let's talk this over peacefully! That, my friends, is what we call 'to cease conflict and find peace'!"
Gao Chuwu grinned. "Learned is good! A man of learning is precisely who we're looking for. Please, come with us to Gao Family Village."
San Shier said, "Huh? What place is Gao Family Village? I... I'm not going! I don't want to go! This is what you call 'facing—'"
With a resounding "thwack," a club landed on the back of his head. San Shier didn't even let out a whimper, collapsing face down onto the ground.
The young villager behind him put away his club. "I don't know why, but listening to him talk just made me want to hit him. Those last four words of his were so annoying, and I couldn't understand a word he was saying."
Gao Chuwu grinned. "Ha, actually, I was thinking the same thing."
The four of them chuckled. Two of them hoisted San Shier up and, at their fastest pace, started heading out of the county town.
As they walked, a squad of yamen runners appeared on the road ahead. From a distance, they spotted the four peasants carrying a "wealthy man" in a long gown, whose head was bowed, seemingly unconscious. The yamen runners' attention immediately fixed on them.
No matter how they looked at it, the scene appeared to be poor folk robbing and kidnapping a wealthy man.
One of the yamen runners shouted, "You four, what are you doing?"
Gao Chuwu and the others, who were just 'playing at kidnapping,' instantly lost their nerve upon seeing the yamen runners. Their legs began to tremble, and their first thought was to flee.
Unexpectedly, something amusing happened. The yamen runner took a closer look, and to his astonishment, recognized Gao Chuwu. "You... Gao... from Gao Family Village!" he exclaimed.
Gao Chuwu squinted, then recognized the yamen runner as well. "The yamen runner from yesterday?"
It turned out this yamen runner was the very same one who had gone to Gao Family Village to collect taxes yesterday, and whom Li Daoxuan had effortlessly lifted into the air with just two fingers.
The events of yesterday had scared him out of his wits; he hadn't slept a wink all night, terrified of retribution from the "Heavenly Lord." He had been utterly distraught, his soul feeling separated from his body. Now, he wouldn't even dare leave the city alone, and only ventured onto the streets with a few colleagues for courage.
Behind him were the four other yamen runners whom Li Daoxuan had blown away with a single breath yesterday. They were equally petrified, and the five of them were walking together precisely to bolster each other's courage.
Who would have thought that, quite unexpectedly, they would see people from Gao Family Village right there on the county town street?
Could it be... that the Heavenly Lord had sent them to check if they had dared speak of what happened?
The five yamen runners' faces turned ashen with fear.
Gao Chuwu was equally terrified, stammering, "We... our... our friend here got dizzy from the sun, so we're taking him to the river to wash his face."
The five yamen runners stammered back, "Well... you... please go ahead... About yesterday, we didn't... didn't say a single word..."
Both parties, trembling and shaking, nervously skirted past each other on the street.
As soon as they had passed, the five yamen runners took off running. Gao Chuwu and his group likewise sprinted away, both parties fleeing in opposite directions, kicking up dust as they vanished.
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