Chapter 43: What's There to Fear?
San Shier felt a prick of alarm: "Hundreds, even thousands? What kind of bandits could amass such a force?"
Mr. Bai shook his head with a sigh: "About half a month ago, Wang Er of Baishui rebelled and stormed the county seat. You know about that, don't you?"
San Shier: "Of course. That's why I'm hiding in Gao Family Village now."
Mr. Bai: "After Wang Er's rebellion, he immediately led several hundred rebels into the nearby mountains. Inspector Cheng Xu marched his troops to apprehend them, but after searching for days, he couldn't even find a trace of Wang Er."
San Shier fell silent.
Mr. Bai let out a long sigh: "His rebellion set a terrible precedent. Uprisings erupted across the region, with countless farmers, unable to pay their taxes, following Wang Er's example. Inspector Cheng Xu, with only a hundred or so soldiers and no ability to be in multiple places at once, couldn't possibly control so many scattered rebellions. He's been running ragged day and night, suppressing unrest in the east only for it to flare up in the west, then quelling the west only for the east to ignite again... They say he's recently been lamenting that he's so exhausted he sees his great-grandmother waving him over."
Hearing this, Li Daoxuan almost burst out laughing. *Cheng Xu... wasn't he that military officer I scared off with the ghost-girl's laughter last time? So, he's been playing whack-a-mole all these days.*
San Shier: "I've been cooped up in this small village lately, so my information has been cut off; I wasn't aware of this. If the rebels are revolting and Inspector Cheng's forces are insufficient, shouldn't he petition the imperial court for a large army to suppress them?"
Mr. Bai replied with a wry, helpless smile: "He did, countless officials, gentry, and scholars, including myself, collectively signed petitions. But the Governor of Shaanxi, Hu Tingyan, is old and senile. He fears being punished if the situation becomes known to the higher-ups, so he's actively suppressing the information. Why would he ever report it? He had everyone who petitioned for aid flogged twenty times and chased them out of the governor's yamen! He even said, 'These are merely starving vagrants; once they've looted until next spring, they'll settle down on their own.' Does that sound like a sane person speaking?"
Gao Chuwu, standing nearby, asked curiously: "'Loot until next spring, and they'll settle down on their own'? I don't understand that sentence."
Mr. Bai glanced at Gao Chuwu, seeing a young farmer with thick eyebrows and large eyes, and decided not to bother with him.
But San Shier murmured: "That sentence means: let the rebels loot as they please. By next spring, they'll naturally stop and go home to plant their crops."
Gao Chuwu's eyes widened.
The surrounding villagers were equally aghast.
Everyone was instantly speechless...
After several seconds, Gao Chuwu suddenly exploded in rage: "So, if I just grab a knife and go out robbing everyone I see, no one will stop me? And if I loot until spring, then come back to plant crops, I'll be a good citizen again?"
No one answered him, but the somber expressions on San Shier and Mr. Bai's faces gave him a definitive reply.
Gao Chuwu: "Screw it, I might as well rebel too."
Gao Yiye, with a sharp *smack*, delivered a slap to Gao Chuwu: "Chuwu-ge, wake up! Have you lost your mind from anger?"
Gao Chuwu blinked.
After receiving a slap from the Saintess, Gao Chuwu finally calmed down. The people of Gao Family Village didn't need to go out robbing; they had the Heavenly Lord's protection. Moreover, the Heavenly Lord disapproved of arson, murder, and looting. His divine majesty's attitude towards bandits was to flatten them one by one into meat patties.
If he were to become a bandit himself, he might just be the next meat patty.
Mr. Bai's face darkened as he continued: "With the Governor ignoring the situation, refusing to report it or dispatch troops, the news spread rapidly. The rebels, emboldened by this, grew even more arrogant, and their numbers swelled. In just half a month, several bandit groups emerged, each hundreds, even thousands strong. They marauded across the countryside for miles around, forcing anyone willing to join them and slaughtering those who resisted, then plundering their valuables."
Everyone was silent.
As they discussed this, the bandits outside the city walls suddenly raised a ruckus.
Soon after, a figure emerged from the bandit horde, craning his neck and yelling loudly towards Gao Family Village: "Whose wealthy lord built this city wall? Let him step out and speak!"
The villagers' eyes all turned to Gao Yiye.
Seeing this, Gao Yiye was about to step forward, but San Shier quickly blocked her way: "Miss Gao, you are the Saintess. Speaking with such rabble would demean your status, and demeaning you would demean the Heavenly Lord himself. You mustn't do that. Let me speak with them. You merely need to relay the Heavenly Lord's commands."
Gao Yiye remained silent, standing quietly.
San Shier stepped to the forefront and declared loudly: "Who are these insolent commoners, daring to invade my Gao Family Village? Now, be gone!"
Having served as a strategist for many years, he possessed an inherent authority when dealing with ordinary folk.
The bandits didn't recognize San Shier, mistaking him for the wealthy gentleman who built the city wall. So they roared back: "You must be the one in charge here, eh? Excellent! Hand over ten *shi* of grain within half an hour, and we'll spare your dog's life. Otherwise, all the heroes from our stronghold will descend upon you, and we guarantee this little town of yours will crumble into dust, just like Bai Family Fortress!"
Li Daoxuan found this amusing: *This group hadn't directly attacked but was instead attempting to negotiate through threats. It clearly meant they were intimidated by the city wall. They knew that breaching a wall twenty feet high would be incredibly difficult, incurring heavy casualties, and might even be impossible. So, instead of a direct assault, they were trying to acquire grain through intimidation.*
*This is the essence of 'the bigger your fist, the more people will listen to reason,'* Li Daoxuan mused.
Gao Family Village's formidable city wall had transformed unruly bandits into reasonable ones.
San Shier turned to Mr. Bai: "Are there really so many of them?"
Mr. Bai: "Yes, hundreds, perhaps even thousands. I don't know the exact number, but when they attacked, they swarmed like a tide. My Bai Family Fortress couldn't hold them back at all."
San Shier: "Mr. Bai, what do you think? Should we give them grain or stand our ground?"
Mr. Bai paused, glancing outside, then turning his head to observe Gao Family Village. The towering city wall gave him a sliver of confidence, but the villagers manning it didn't seem particularly capable. It was clear at a glance they lacked combat experience; they were even less effective than his own few dozen household guards.
After a few moments of thought, he whispered: "If you are not short on grain, giving them ten *shi* to avoid trouble would be the best course of action. Once this wave of unrest passes, I will send you twenty *shi* of grain as a token of my Bai family's gratitude. You see, among a gentleman's six arts, I am very particular about the 'rites' aspect."
San Shier, however, didn't reply to him. Instead, he turned to Gao Yiye, his gaze clearly seeking her counsel.
Mr. Bai was slightly taken aback: *Huh? So San Shier isn't the one in charge here? This young woman is? Who exactly is she?*
Gao Yiye tilted her head, listening for a moment, then called out loudly: "The Heavenly Lord says, 'What are we afraid of?!'"
Everyone fell silent.
Madam San, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow, whispered: "Saintess, when you speak on behalf of the Heavenly Lord, your choice of words should be a little more elegant."
Gao Yiye: "That's exactly what the Heavenly Lord said: 'What are we afraid of?!'"
Madam San was speechless.
After an awkward silence that stretched for several seconds, Gao Chuwu suddenly burst into laughter, throwing his head back: "Hahahaha, hahahaha! The Heavenly Lord himself has spoken! What are we afraid of?!"
Zheng Daniu also burst out laughing: "Exactly! What are we afraid of?!"
The two blacksmiths raised their massive hammers: "What are we afraid of?!"
The villagers, one after another, knelt down, bowed to the sky, and shouted in unison: "What are we afraid of?!"
With hundreds of voices roaring the same words in unison, the sound was deafening, rattling the bandits outside. They stared, utterly bewildered. *What was happening in this village? Were they refusing a show of respect? Did they prefer punishment to courtesy?*
Mr. Bai, however, was completely dumbfounded: "What... what's happening? This village of yours... it's a bit unsettling, isn't it?"
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