Chapter Fifty-Seven: Overwhelmed by Hunger

Careful planning is never easy.

The young men of Black Dragon Mountain had begun to eat their fill at the homes of the wealthy, without any organized leadership. Twenty or thirty young women and wives banded together, setting out at dawn to wander through the surrounding villages. Women often found it easier to form bonds than men, and they joined forces with women from other villages. Guided by locals, they identified rich households, acting as the vanguard to push past servants and burst into courtyards. If stopped, they would shout and scream, leaving everyone helpless before them.

Once inside, they would take grain and light fires, regardless of which village they hailed from, gathering to feast together. In the afternoon, they would move on to another village, and by evening, each returned home, often carrying a small bag of grain.

This was something men could hardly do. Some men, seeing the women’s success, thought it a good idea and tried to imitate them, but before they even entered a village, they were beaten and chased away. A band of dozens of men seemed far more destructive.

Liu Chengzong felt a strange illusion, as if the situation had deteriorated within days.

Indeed, the arrival of that gang of thieves from the Cropland Management Team had shattered the ecological balance of Yan’an Prefecture. The people of Black Dragon Mountain, having suffered losses, wandered everywhere, worsening the chaos.

Such restless crowds made Liu Chengzong hesitate to share the news with his clan.

“They could gather a thousand people for me in a single day. In half a month, the numbers would swell to five or even ten thousand, and everything would spiral out of control. How many would I have to kill just to feed them?”

In the ruined cave behind the mountain, Song Shouzhen, his ankle chained with iron, glanced at Liu Chengzong. “Then why did you come looking for me?”

“Because you’re a thief. You know where there are earth-fortresses—the ones you couldn’t conquer.”

Song Shouzhen’s gaze was mocking. “We couldn’t take them, and you think you can with twenty or thirty men?”

Liu Chengzong shook his head. “Ten skilled hands are enough. You had thousands, but not ten true experts among them.”

The musician from Yijun County, standing before Liu Chengzong, felt a crushing sense of defeat. He suspected Liu Chengzong might be right, though he couldn’t be sure, for he had never seen the kind of skilled men Liu described.

Their numbers included some defeated, surrendered soldiers from the guards, but most were townsfolk and farmers. As for himself, having been taught to read a few years by his mother, he was already the intellectual pinnacle of their band.

This made him eager to see what a true expert looked like.

He took a step forward, the iron chain clanking at his ankle. “Take me with you. I’ll tell you where the earth-fortresses are—the ones we couldn’t break.”

“I can take you, but once it’s done, you must follow me up the mountain and become an outlaw. You mustn’t bring trouble back to your family.”

Liu Chengzong had gotten what he wanted, locked up the cave, and left.

Originally, the clan had intended to deliver Song Shouzhen to the city jail, but the authorities bestowed meaningless honors, and people lost interest. Lately, they were debating whether to release or kill him, but hadn’t decided.

Leaving the cave, Liu Chengzong called on Chengzu, Cao Yao, and Cai Zhongpan. Each led a horse, and they set out westward.

The fortress Song Shouzhen mentioned fit Liu Chengzong’s plans perfectly.

“Where exactly are we headed?” Cao Yao asked, clearly disgruntled. He’d intended to dally with his wife in the back cave, but Liu Chengzong had dragged him out before he could even pull up his trousers. “You snatched me out in a hurry—what’s going on? Has the emperor died?”

Liu Chengzu didn’t know either, but hearing Cao Yao’s words, he frowned. “You’re always hoping for trouble. Three emperors have died in a row already. If another falls, how will the common folk survive?”

Liu Chengzong kept silent as they left Black Dragon Mountain and rode for some distance. Once the surroundings were empty, he spoke. “Today I went to see Song Shouzhen.”

“You went to see that thief...”

Cao Yao perked up, spurred his horse forward, and asked, “Did they stash any money or grain somewhere?”

Liu Chengzong shook his head. “They’re so poor they can hardly keep their trousers. But I learned of a place with money and grain—if Cao is willing to go with me.”

Liu Chengzu sensed what his brother intended and frowned deeper.

Cai Zhongpan, who was already aware, simply said, “Don’t leave us hanging—out with it.”

Liu Chengzong smiled, about to speak, when he saw over a hundred dusty figures approaching on the main road. He quickly drew his blade, signaled his companions to take cover.

The group was armed with sticks, knives, and spears. Among them, someone held aloft a white banner inscribed in black with eight characters: “The law is hard to break, but hunger is harder to bear.”

Hungry peasants, furious and armed, were on the move.

Once the crowd had passed, Liu Chengzong and his companions resumed their journey. “About a hundred miles southwest, at the border of Fushi, Ansai, and Ganquan counties, there’s Wang Manor, with vast fields.”

Though called Wang Manor, it was actually the private holding of Prince Qin’s steward, Zhang Qing, who seized tens of thousands of acres of pasture during the Tianqi era. When complaints were raised, he gathered followers and killed officials; even the governor couldn’t control him.

The case was reported to the emperor, who ignored it and left it to Prince Qin to handle. So Zhang Qing was made the manor’s chief. Earlier, the Cropland Management Team tried to besiege it for five or six days, but the fortress had water and grain, and finally, the commander Xiao Guandou drove them off.

Liu Chengzong turned to his three companions and smiled. “What do you say, shall we take it? Would that count as acting in heaven’s name?”

Cai Zhongpan’s eyes widened; he hadn’t thought Liu Chengzong was planning something so grand, and now he realized he truly meant it.

Cao Yao felt tempted but didn’t give an immediate answer. “So, you mean we go take a look first? The four of us surely can’t take it alone.”

Before Liu Chengzu could speak, Liu Chengzong said, “Big brother won’t be involved in this. We’ll scout the place together, and you, with your knowledge of warfare, can help plan the attack.”

“Once we snatch the grain, I’ll go up the mountain. If my identity’s exposed, I won’t bring disaster on the family. Father can consider me lost.”

That shut Liu Chengzu up.

He was angry. “You make it sound simple. If you die out there, what about father and mother?”

“If I die, it’s fate. I wasn’t afraid of death when I defended the empire beyond the Great Wall; I’m even less afraid when it comes to keeping my family from starving. Let’s drop it, brother.”

“Lion is right. Chengzu, you’re too rigid. What’s more just than letting our parents and uncles fill their bellies?”

Cao Yao, always eager for chaos, gave Liu Chengzong a thumbs-up. “Besides, what’s so good about Wang Manor? We rob it, leave no witnesses—no one will ever know.”

Liu Chengzu was silent for a long time, thinking it over, before finally saying, “Lion, let’s not discuss whether Wang Manor can be taken. If you do take it, have you thought about how to move the grain?”

This was crucial.

Liu Chengzong hadn’t considered striking so far afield before, but the lure of Wang Manor was too much.

Not to mention the wealth and grain—at least, on a moral level, he felt no burden.

The legacy of the founding emperor, who drove out the barbarians, had long been exhausted. The princes were nothing but leeches, draining the vast land.

He chuckled, spurred his horse, and said, “Let’s go take a look. With a hundred miles to cover, we’ll need to study it carefully before making a move.”