Chapter 126: Taking Care of Business

Ren Quan’er also joined the battle. Under the command of Liu Chengzu, the hundred-chief of Yan’an Guard led his troops forward, charging ahead and engaging the official army with the Yan’an Guard’s banner troops. Ren Quan’er was beaten badly by the enemy, his body bruised and battered, but upon hearing that Officer Liu was calling for him, he immediately ran over to report.

Within the Yan’an Guard, Captain Ren often instructed his banner soldiers not to listen to Commander Yang but to obey Officer Liu Chengzong. At times like these, he would use his own experience to explain to those unfamiliar with Liu Chengzong. Before meeting Liu Chengzong, he was just a lowly banner soldier, ordered around by officers since he was five years old.

Those were hard times—so exhausting that he didn’t even have time to trim his toenails. When they grew unbearably long, he borrowed scissors and, squatting on the shared bunk at midnight under the moonlight, carefully cut them. Once, he accidentally pierced his toe, causing an injury with no chance for proper treatment. He was never granted leave, forced to toil endlessly in the fields.

Was living such a life a sign of disloyalty? When Commander Yang sent him to deliver cannons to the rebels, wasn’t that loyal enough? Yet, that kind of loyalty was futile.

With Officer Liu, it was different. Seeing his injuries, Liu personally tended to his wounds, changed his dressings, allowed him rest, and even provided meals. What was this if not the care of a commander? It was like being reborn!

Liu Chengzong instructed him to watch over Li Bei. Without hesitation, Ren Quan’er donned his helmet, put on a solemn expression, and said to Wei Qian’er, “Where is Li Bei? Please take me there... As for that deputy general, if I cause the Yan’an Guard to lose over a hundred good men, what a grave crime that would be!”

Handing Li Bei over to Ren Quan’er gave Liu Chengzong great confidence. Even Li Bei could not grant Ren Quan’er a rank higher than captain.

After the battle, with many tasks to handle and no immediate chance to withdraw, they camped right there, waiting for Chengyun to bring the convoy, resting for a day.

Early the next morning, shortly after Liu Chengzong woke, Gao Yingxiang entered the tent cheerfully, saying, “General Liu, you’ve been surrounded.”

Liu Chengzong, hearing the lighthearted tone, thought it was a joke—what a terrifying way to wake someone up! But stepping out of the tent, he found it true.

Corpses lay scattered across the fields, blood thick in the air. Looking up between two mountain ridges, he saw hundreds of starving people gathering on the western hill, and hundreds of village men assembling on the eastern hill.

Standing in the valley, his millet grains crushed into the soil beneath his feet, Liu frowned, “What are they planning?”

Wei Qian’er stepped forward, “The villagers have always been in the mountains; those villages belong to them. A few days ago, when Gao Chuangwang’s soldiers retreated this way, they hid in the mountains.”

He then looked toward the starving masses on the western hill, “Those people, no one knows where they came from. They stood there since last night, seemingly waiting for the troops to leave.”

“Bah!” Luo Rucai laughed, “I’ll go ask what they want.”

Luo Rucai was in high spirits. The hundred sets of border troops’ armor promised by Liu Chengzong had arrived, and upon waking, he couldn’t wait to put on his armor and parade around for everyone to see.

He led a few riders to the western hill, while some came down from the eastern hill first.

Several young men supported an elderly gentleman who bowed deeply, greeting Liu as “Great King.”

Startled, Liu Chengzong quickly helped the old man up, asking, “Sir, this is unexpected. What’s the meaning of this?”

The elder bowed his head, “Great King, we are humble folks from Guizichuan, living off riverside fields. When the soldiers came a few days ago, we fled into the mountains. Now the war is over, and our village of over a thousand people depends on this grain. We beg the Great King to show mercy and leave us some food.”

Liu Chengzong surveyed the battlefield-turned farmland, recognizing the damage. The marching soldiers had trampled vast patches of millet. Fortunately, the main battlefield’s fields were relatively intact; Li Bei’s troops had discipline, only harvesting about ten acres.

Near the camps of Li Wanqing, Gao Yingxiang, and Wang Ziyong, most fields were already harvested.

Fighting in autumn and camping near fields was strategic—when mealtime neared, soldiers could grab sickles, push carts, fetch water from the river, harvest some grain, and cook rice quickly.

While the destruction of fields was unavoidable during war, seeing the damage now, Liu Chengzong knew it was time to leave.

Waiting two more days would mean the village’s ripe millet would be gone.

Helping the old man up, Liu looked at the young men around him and then at the villagers on the hillside. Their clothes weren’t tattered, but their faces told of hardship.

If they weren’t suffering, they wouldn’t dare break into the military camp over a few acres of land—especially against a rebel army victorious over the official forces.

“We’ll leave today,” he said. “Please rest assured, sir, we will not destroy any more crops. Hmm...” Feeling guilty, he paused, then said, “Let me help you harvest the grain.”

“That must not be!” The elder was shocked, immediately bowing to the ground. “Great King, just leaving us our fields is enough. We dare not trouble you to work for us.”

But Liu Chengzong held him up firmly, preventing him from bowing.

He then ordered the anxious young men from Guizichuan nearby, “Go back and gather everyone who owns fields. I will send men to help harvest your grain. Hurry!”

The youths dared not disobey but were nearly in tears outside the camp.

“This Great King wants to leave us no grain! He even seems to want to endanger our lives!”

Such thoughts weren’t theirs alone; even Gao Yingxiang stepped forward, urging, “Chengzong, that’s enough. Let them go.”

Liu Chengzong frowned, puzzled by the meaning of “enough.”

Cao Yao approached Gao Yingxiang, “King Chuang, General Liu handles matters this way.”

“What does that mean?” Gao Yingxiang asked, confused and angry. “Mistreating common folk—is that how you handle things?”

Cao Yao explained, “In Yan’an, he made a group of rebel soldiers dig irrigation canals for the villagers.”

Not only Gao Yingxiang was stunned, but the elder and other leaders, as well as Liu Chengzu, were baffled.

The Liu family in Fushi County resisted taxes with the people—defying the government to prevent tax collection.

But having soldiers help villagers harvest their fields—what did that mean?

Troops trampling fields was unavoidable in war.

As for the fields harvested, Liu Chengzu’s forces did not damage any villagers’ land, so he had a clear conscience.

Liu Chengzu pondered this and understood.

Yet his understanding was not quite the same as Liu Chengzong’s.

He thought in terms of obedience and discipline: obedience meant soldiers doing what he wanted and being respected; self-restraint meant soldiers willingly doing what he did not want, which was a form of training.

The elder had heard Cao Yao’s words and looked at Liu Chengzong in disbelief, “Great King, do you truly want to help us harvest the fields? We have people—we don’t want to trouble you with soldiers.”

“No need, sir. War brings indiscriminate destruction. We leaders also have limited supplies. Damaging fields was never my intention. I know you have enough hands. Consider this my chance to make amends.”

He turned to several young men, “Go call all the landowners. Hurry!”

This time, the elder nodded and the youth sprinted up the hill with the good news.

Liu Chengzong waved to Wei Qian’er, “Go issue orders to assemble. Soon, we’ll all help the villagers harvest millet. If anyone dares harm them, they’ll answer to me.”

Wei Qian’er, familiar with such commands, smiled and took down the orders.

Hao Xian and Feng Rang were fine with this, having participated in canal building, but new border troop captains Yang Yao and Wang Wenxiu were baffled.

What did it mean to have border troops harvest villagers’ fields?

Though confused, they had not yet seen any mistake in Liu Chengzong’s decisions, so they obeyed.

Once orders spread, the soldiers, aside from the wounded, gathered promptly.

Soon, villagers descended from the hills in groups. The border troops shed their armor, donned military uniforms, picked up hoes, and followed farmers to identify fields.

Liu Chengzu’s troops joined in too. Under Liu Chengzong’s direction, several literate tribesmen were assigned to record whose fields were damaged and how many acres.

While they were busy, Luo Rucai returned. He had observed the activity in the fields from the hill and, unlike other leaders, was not confused.

Luo Rucai was highly perceptive. He ran to Liu Chengzong, “General Liu, those are starving people who came when they heard the noise. They saw food and wanted to snatch it. I told them they wouldn’t get anything here.”

He looked expectantly for praise.

Liu Chengzong glanced up at the hills, where the starving still lingered, and asked, “Why don’t they leave? Are they planning to raid the villagers soon?”

Seeing the elder from Guizichuan present, Luo Rucai patted the old man’s shoulder, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and grinned, “Don’t worry, old man. Even if they dared kill, they wouldn’t be this starving. They can’t beat your village’s young men. Once we leave, just don’t tidy up the corpses.”

Then he turned to Liu Chengzong and others, “I know everyone here is upright, so I let them come down later to avoid disturbing you. But they are near starvation. Should we let some come down to clear the corpses?”

Liu Chengzong hesitated, frowning, then realized the implications and glared.

But it was only for a moment. He shook his head and asked Liu Chengzu, “What’s this world coming to... Brother, do Li Bei’s troops still have some grain?”

The camp had seven stones of grain left.

Luo Rucai strongly opposed Liu Chengzong’s idea of giving the grain away, blocking his way.

“Don’t do it. If we give them grain, whether they eat less or more, it’s only a couple of days’ food. After that, we leave, and they’ll have to dig up the corpses again. A couple days later, we’ll fight the village. Those who live, live; those who die, die.”

“It’s useless!” Luo waved his hand in front of him. “I hate this, too. What can we do? Over a thousand people—who can feed them through winter?”

Luo Rucai calculated the troops’ needs, not counting the dead or deserters. Over five thousand men needed dozens of acres daily.

Last night, he was already thinking that when dealing with soldiers from Qingyang, they’d have to persuade Liu Chengzong to push Gao Yingxiang’s men onto the official army’s front lines.

Even if not pushed, Gao Yingxiang’s troops must leave Fushi County quickly after the fight.

With so many men, if they stayed in Fushi County, they’d compete for food this winter.

Luo Rucai was making his own plans—not out of love for robbing the rich, but because he understood a truth: the wealthy will be plundered eventually. If others rob a bit more, he robs a bit less. It’s better to rob early than late.

Liu Chengzong hesitated.

When a matter can be weighed in pros and cons, it’s simple. But when it becomes a moral choice, it’s harder. When morality becomes a dead end, it’s meaningless.

His hesitation stemmed from disappointment in the world.

In the end, he decided to leave the choice to the people themselves.

“Go ask if they dare kill. If they dare, let them come and take food. If not... then forget it.”

He then ordered Wang Ziyong’s men to dig pits to bury the battlefield corpses.

Putting himself in others’ shoes, Liu Chengzong thought: if he were dying of hunger and one meal could save his life, he wouldn’t mind being bitten. Even if one person’s bite could save a hundred troops, he’d consider it worth it.

But if being bitten meant he couldn’t survive, then never mind. He’d not only accept being bitten but would rise up and slaughter those people.

He told Liu Chengzu, “For a moment, I thought if they didn’t dare kill, I would just kill them all myself.”

Suddenly, he recalled what Cao Yao had said: small people’s good and evil no longer mattered.

At the time, he thought Cao Yao was too pessimistic. Now, he realized Cao Yao was absolutely right.

This was both disappointment and despair—disappointment in himself and despair in the world.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liu En standing behind Liu Chengzu. Liu Chengzong said, “Go, have Ren Quan’er ask Li Bei what I should do in this situation.”

Liu En didn’t return for a long time.

Eventually, he came running, panting, “General Li first said he didn’t know. Captain Ren kept questioning him until he got annoyed. He told you not to bother that damn deputy general anymore—he knows nothing!”

Liu Chengzong laughed. Ren Quan’er was outrageous, not even understanding the real purpose of asking Li Bei.

“Did he get injured?”

“No, but General Li was very angry and told Ren Quan’er to loosen his bonds, saying even three Ren Quan’ers couldn’t beat him. Ren Quan’er ignored him.”

Actually, Ren Quan’er’s words were: “Do you think I’m stupid? I’m only hitting you because you’re tied up.”

Luo Rucai returned, leading over four hundred men, running slower than walking, many collapsing before reaching Li Bei’s camp to seize the grain.