"We've struck it rich, struck it rich!"
"We've finally struck it rich this time!"
As the saying goes, one man's joy is another's sorrow. The Yan army's great defeat and panicked retreat were utterly miserable, while the Xia army's resounding victory yielded countless spoils of war, including weapons, horses, and provisions. A group of Xia soldiers, stumbling upon a cellar abandoned by the Yan forces, discovered over ten large chests filled with gold, silver, jewels, and even land deeds. It was an immense fortune.
Twenty to thirty Xia soldiers immediately surrounded the chests, cheering with unrestrained joy.
"What's all the shouting about? Keep it down!" Hong Wuji berated them as he entered the cellar with twenty robust Xia soldiers.
"Greetings, Assistant Commander Hong!"
Hong Wuji, now the second-in-command of Min Wuyan's unit, immediately silenced the soldiers.
"General Min has decreed," Hong Wuji said, casting a glance at them. "This wealth was extorted from the populace by the northern barbarians. With the imperial court relocated south and the nation in dire straits, General Min orders me to return this treasure to the court and deposit it in the national treasury."
What Hong Wuji said was true. Min Wuyan had discovered this hoard of gold, silver, and jewels earlier but was too preoccupied with pursuing the Yan army at the time to deal with it. Hence, he had ordered Hong Wuji and his men to handle the matter.
"Assistant Commander Hong, it all goes to the national treasury?" a Xia soldier asked, visibly reluctant.
Hong Wuji shot the soldier a glance. "General Min gave that order. However, I am not an unreasonable man. My brothers have worked hard all day; some compensation for your labor is in order. Rest assured, you will not be shortchanged. Hurry now and load them onto the carts. Remember to cover them thoroughly with oilcloth so no one else finds out about this."
"Understood!" The Xia soldiers were overjoyed. They quickly found oilcloth and ropes, bound the ten-plus chests securely, and loaded them onto the carts.
Money makes the world go 'round.
Hong Wuji gazed at the large chests, the phrase suddenly surfacing in his mind.
...
"Money isn't everything, but without it, nothing is," Zhou Fugui said, taking a piece of baked flatbread and offering it to Xiao Yunu, who sat before him on the saddle. "Brother is so poor now, all he has left is this flatbread. Eat up, Yunu."
Xiao Yunu, ravenously hungry, revealed a row of small, pearly teeth as she bit into the flatbread. But the obedient and sensible Xiao Yunu, with a twinkle in her eye, released her bite and offered the bread to Zhou Fugui. In her childish voice, she said, "Big Brother, you eat."
Xiao Yunu's remarkable obedience and thoughtfulness were heartbreaking. Zhou Fugui swallowed hard, patted her head, and smiled. "Brother is already full. You eat quickly."
In truth, Zhou Fugui was nowhere near full. He hadn't eaten a single grain of rice for a whole day and night. The entire White Tiger Battalion was in the same boat; they had run out of food.
The White Tiger Battalion wasn't truly as poor as Zhou Fugui claimed; they still had some valuables. But on this desperate flight, with bleached bones scattered across the fields and no sign of life for a thousand miles, what good was gold and silver? Where could they buy food and drink? Even if they plundered, there was nowhere to do so.
Xiao Yunu looked at Zhou Fugui with a mixture of doubt and belief before happily munching on the flatbread.
"Eat slowly, don't choke," Zhou Fugui said, handing her a pouch of spring water. He then surveyed the desolate wilderness and asked, "How far to Xuzhou?"
"About a hundred and seventy li," replied Feng Cheng, the scout flag bearer.
"Damn it, still that far?" Zhou Fugui exclaimed.
Zhou Fugui and the White Tiger Battalion had barely managed to escape to Guangling Commandery, only to find it in ruins. The city walls were damaged, houses collapsed, and aside from the fleeing Yan soldiers, not a single Xia person was in sight.
After conquering Guangling Commandery, the Yan army had gone on a rampage of burning, killing, and looting. In their rage, they had destroyed the city walls and houses of Guangling Commandery and its surrounding towns. Now, the Yan army was suffering the consequences of their own actions.
Unable to find supplies in Guangling Commandery, Zhou Fugui and the White Tiger Battalion were forced to continue their flight north, intending to reach Xuzhou for a much-needed respite.
With a hundred and seventy li still to go to Xuzhou, it felt as distant as the horizon to Zhou Fugui and his men. In normal times, if they were all cavalry, they could have reached it within two days. But now, exhausted and starving, they could barely move.
"Mmm... This is so delicious!" Xiao Yunu finished the flatbread and drank some spring water, letting out a contented sigh.
If Xiao Yunu hadn't expressed such joy, Zhou Fugui wouldn't have felt such a pang in his heart. For noble families, a humble flatbread like this was fit only for livestock, yet here was Xiao Yunu...
"Things cannot continue like this," Zhou Fugui thought to himself. "We can endure hunger, but Xiao Yunu cannot."
"Yunu, when you're full, can you go sleep for a bit? Brother needs to discuss some matters with our uncles and brothers." Zhou Fugui said to Xiao Yunu.
"Mmm..." Xiao Yunu, being a child, fell asleep as soon as she was told. She nodded and within moments, was asleep in Zhou Fugui's arms.
Zhou Fugui dismounted and gently carried Xiao Yunu into a cart, settling her in. He then beckoned Dian Meng, Xu Mancang, Suo Dacheng, Pan Guigui, Feng Cheng, and Li Qing to gather around him.
"Things cannot continue like this," Zhou Fugui stated to his assembled officers. "Otherwise, we won't reach Xuzhou; we'll starve or die of exhaustion on the way. Feng Cheng, are there any cities nearby? Even small counties?"
To survive, for Xiao Yunu's sake, Zhou Fugui was willing to throw caution to the wind and attack a city.
"Your subordinate will check," Feng Cheng replied, taking out a sheepskin map that detailed the cities and towns near Xuzhou.
"Here..." After a moment, Feng Cheng pointed to the map. "Suining County. We are less than ten li from here; cavalry can reach it in moments. However..."
"However, what?" Zhou Fugui asked, looking at the map.
"Suining County is a remote, small county town. After the main army took Xuzhou, they might not bother with such a distant place. Therefore, we don't know who controls Suining County. If it's in Xia hands, our White Tiger Battalion only has over four hundred cavalry. Can four hundred cavalry take Suining County?" Feng Cheng responded.
"I don't care who holds it," Zhou Fugui declared. "No matter who it belongs to, we just need food and drink. If we can't get it through soft means, we'll use force. As for the four hundred cavalry... Haven't you heard the tale of Guan Yu passing through five passes and slaying six generals? Besides, our White Tiger Battalion still has over two thousand infantry. That's it, cavalry will strike first, followed by the infantry. We march to Suining County immediately so the brothers can eat and drink their fill."
Who was Guan Yu, and who were they? everyone thought with disdain, but they had no better solution. Thus, they all nodded in agreement.
...
"What's happening outside?"
Suining County, a remote county under Xuzhou's jurisdiction, was characterized by rolling sand dunes and saline-alkali soil; it was a poor county. As Feng Cheng had predicted, after the Yan army captured Xuzhou, they had bypassed Suining County, a remote backwater, and continued their southward advance. Thus, Suining County remained in Xia hands.
The magistrate of Suining County, Wu Tiangui, was over sixty years old and had held his position for over a decade.
Wu Tiangui's governance was mediocre, and he never received a promotion. Eventually, he simply decided to stay put, intending to serve until his retirement.
Kneeling behind a low-legged huanghuali wooden desk, Wu Tiangui sipped expensive Fuliang tea, idly playing with a pair of golden Pixiu figurines in his hands, and asked a yamen runner before him.
As the saying goes, "poor temples have rich monks," Suining County was a poor county, yet Wu Tiangui was not only not poor but exceedingly wealthy. Of course, this wealth was all extorted from the populace, which was one of the reasons Wu Tiangui was unwilling to leave Suining County.
With the mountains high and the emperor far away, Wu Tiangui enjoyed a life of leisure and privilege here.
Previously, Wu Tiangui had worried about the Yan army. But as time passed and no Yan soldiers appeared in Suining County, his worries gradually subsided, and he continued to be the county magistrate.
"Your subordinate just heard," Wu Tiangui's yamen runner replied. "The northern barbarians were soundly defeated, and our army achieved a great victory. The barbarians are retreating northward, and the imperial army is in pursuit."
"Hmm, the barbarians were soundly defeated, and our army achieved a great victory?" Wu Tiangui asked, not with joy, but with a hint of unease. After a moment of thought, he inquired, "Is this absolutely true?"
The key to Wu Tiangui's tenure as magistrate was stability. He wanted to serve steadily until his retirement, then take his ill-gotten gains and find a place with good feng shui to enjoy his twilight years in peace.
If the Yan army didn't harass them, Wu Tiangui was happy to continue as magistrate. If the Yan army had attacked, he could have surrendered and still kept his post. But now, with the Yan army defeated and the Xia army victorious, if the Xia court investigated Wu Tiangui for his passive stance, he might find himself unable to continue as magistrate.
"Absolutely true! Your Excellency, please..." the yamen runner began.
"Bang!" With a loud crash, before the yamen runner could finish, several yamen runners burst through the county yamen doors and stumbled before Wu Tiangui.
"What has happened?" Wu Tiangui asked indignantly.
"Bar... Bar... Bar..." One yamen runner stammered in panic, unable to utter a coherent word.
"Bar what?" Wu Tiangui asked.
"Barbarian soldiers are attacking; they've already entered the city," another yamen runner, slightly calmer, replied.
"What?" Wu Tiangui's eyes widened in terror. The porcelain teacup in his hand "crashed" to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Wu Tiangui had already planned his response, but faced with the reality, he was utterly petrified.
"Your Excellency, please flee! It will be too late if you don't!" the yamen runners cried out in unison.
Just then, the county yamen doors were once again forced open, and over a dozen Yan cavalrymen rode in. A young Yan general reined in his horse and, looking at Wu Tiangui, smiled. "We are here to beg for a meal, Your Excellency. What, the magistrate wants to run? Is that not showing us enough respect?"
"Hahahaha!" The Yan soldiers erupted into laughter.