Chapter 30: Recruiting the Miao People

Chapter 30: Integrating the Miao People

To keep abreast of Hu Sheng's whereabouts, Zhao An visited the bookstore daily. By now, the proprietor recognized him, rendering the jade pendant—Hu Sheng's token—unnecessary. Upon seeing Zhao An, the manager would simply shake his head with a smile, indicating no new information, yet always adding, "The book you requested, sir, is currently out of stock."

Zhao An found himself without the inclination to even feign interest in a storybook. He could only force a perfunctory, "Then I'll return tomorrow," before exiting the shop.

Hundreds of miles away, amidst the undulating green mountains, Hu Sheng, the object of Zhao An's concern, finally confronted the adversaries he had long anticipated. At the urgent call of a cuckoo, Hu Sheng gestured, and ten men simultaneously ignited the fuses of their gunpowder pots. Through rudimentary trials, Hu Sheng had discovered that burying these devices in shallow soil for an ambush proved far more effective than simply hurling them at the enemy.

A dozen breaths later, the distant thud of hooves reached Hu Sheng's ears. The thunderous gallop of hundreds of horses effectively masked the crackling of the burning fuses. Those concealed within the woods held their breath. Moments later, a series of deafening explosions erupted, one after another, like celestial thunderbolts descending from the sky.

Following the blasts, plumes of black smoke billowed thirty *zhang* away, succeeded by the shrieks of horses and the cries of men. The ambushers in the surrounding forest no longer hesitated. Tying their cloth masks securely, they drew their blades and surged into the swirling smoke.

Hu Sheng, moving with unparalleled speed, reached the epicenter of the explosion in an instant. A horse suddenly burst from the black smoke, bearing a terrified rider whose attire suggested he was one of Zhao Nanyu's personal guards. Hu Sheng leaped, swinging his long blade. Instead of a killing blow, he struck the horse's head with the flat of the blade. The immense force sent the galloping steed tumbling sideways, pinning its rider beneath.

Behind the initial escapee, several more figures emerged from the black smoke, all bearing injuries of varying degrees. This time, Hu Sheng disregarded them, as his own men had already advanced. He deftly avoided the frantic horses and men, plunging deeper into the black smoke.

Whether by fortune or ill fate, over half of Zhao Nanyu's men were incapacitated by the explosion. Shielded by his personal guards, Zhao Nanyu sustained only a minor graze to his cheek from flying debris. Yet, it was precisely this encirclement that left him no avenue of escape when the blast occurred. Despite his formidable martial prowess and immediate recognition of the peril, in his panic, he could only seek refuge beneath his horse. However, he was then buried beneath the very guards who had been protecting him, causing the remaining members of his retinue to lose control and scatter in disarray.

As he pushed aside the bodies—some lifeless, some unconscious—and struggled to his feet, his gaze met a pair of piercing blue eyes. Zhao Nanyu's pupils constricted. He couldn't fathom why this accursed half-breed was here, but he understood that this ambush was likely the work of his adversary.

Zhao Nanyu's body reacted faster than his mind. As Hu Sheng's blade arced towards him, he seized a nearby corpse, using it as a shield. With his other hand, he drew the saber from the dead man's belt and lunged, slashing towards Hu Sheng.

Hu Sheng, naturally, would not be wounded by Zhao Nanyu's desperate, defensive maneuvers. He leaped again, vaulting over Zhao Nanyu's head, and as he landed, delivered another swift horizontal slash.

The wind whistled past Zhao Nanyu's ears. He cast aside the corpse and threw himself to the ground, rolling away like a gourd in a frantic attempt to evade Hu Sheng's lethal strike. His topknot, however, had come undone, and the relentless pressure of fleeing for his life left him in a constant state of panic, as if death at Hu Sheng's hand was imminent. Just as Hu Sheng wounded his left leg and he was on the verge of perishing, Zhao Nanyu suddenly looked up, staring intently at Hu Sheng. His bloodshot eyes narrowed slightly, as if he had glimpsed something advantageous.

Amidst the dust churned up by their struggle, a two-inch short arrow shot from Zhao Nanyu's left sleeve. Like a phantom, it flew unerringly towards Hu Sheng's chest.

It was a hidden arrow, launched abruptly mid-combat. By the time Hu Sheng detected it, his blade was already poised to strike Zhao Nanyu's sword-wielding right hand. The distance between them was negligible, and in an instant, the shimmering blue phantom arrow was upon Hu Sheng. Gritting his teeth, he ultimately abandoned his attack, spinning to evade the concealed projectile.

When Zhao Nanyu deployed his trump card, he had already devised an escape. Capitalizing on Hu Sheng's evasion, he slapped the ground and sprang to his feet. Instead of resuming his attack, he swiftly retreated, seizing a man adorned with a silver headdress.

"Hu Sheng, you son of a bitch!" he cursed, venting his rage, then continued, "Let me go this once, and I promise I won't pursue this matter. I'll even give you two hundred thousand taels of silver as a reward."

Seeing Hu Sheng slowly advance like an emissary of death, Zhao Nanyu tightened his grip on the hostage's neck, causing the man's dark, flushed face to turn blue. Zhao Nanyu's voice began to tremble. "Don't kill me. If you kill me, you won't get a single coin."

Hu Sheng's voice was calm, as if reminiscing with an old friend. "I recall you left the northern frontier with nothing. In just three short years, you've amassed two hundred thousand taels. How many lives did you purchase with that money?"

Clearly, Hu Sheng was unmoved by the offer of money. Zhao Nanyu then turned to the others and declared, "That's two hundred thousand taels, not twenty. Are you truly going to let it slip through your fingers? And this man in my grasp—isn't he your brother? Are you going to watch him die alongside me?"

His words were highly inflammatory. Many of the men's sword-wielding movements faltered. Fortunately, a middle-aged man in a long gown with a goatee shouted, "Be careful! Don't capsize in a ditch!"

Though many regained their composure in time, two impetuous young men were still wounded by Zhao Nanyu's remaining subordinates.

At this point, Zhao Nanyu still commanded dozens of men. While clashing with Hu Sheng's forces, they also attempted to converge on Zhao Nanyu. However, though Hu Sheng could not immediately dispatch Zhao Nanyu, no one could breach his defenses.

This time, Hu Sheng did not rush to kill Zhao Nanyu. Instead, he engaged the men around him. Zhao Nanyu watched, his heart pounding, knowing that if all his subordinates perished, he would become a trapped turtle, with no hope of escape.

Just as Hu Sheng turned to decapitate a blood-soaked guardsman, Zhao Nanyu could no longer restrain himself. He cast aside the hostage and, disregarding the wound on his leg, propelled himself upwards, leaping to deliver a downward slash at Hu Sheng's head.

Unbeknownst to him, this was a deliberate feint by Hu Sheng. Had Zhao Nanyu's mind been clear, he would never have fallen for it. But his thoughts were in disarray. The moment he attacked Hu Sheng, he left himself completely exposed, abandoning all possibility of evasion or defense. Hu Sheng turned and hurled his blade, effortlessly piercing Zhao Nanyu's body.

The flying blade carried Zhao Nanyu's body backward. His eyes wide open, he died, breathless and consumed by bitter resentment.

"Zhao Nanyu is dead! Surrender and you will be spared!" shouted Li Dake, the middle-aged man with the goatee, who had been protected by several men behind him, upon witnessing the scene.

A quarter of an hour later, over a thousand people streamed from the direction Hu Sheng and his men had arrived. Many were emaciated, their attire suggesting they were Miao people. A slightly sturdier middle-aged man stepped forward, knelt before Hu Sheng, and kowtowed with a resounding thud. "Thank you, General Hu, for avenging my father's death. From this day forward, I will follow you, through fire and water."

"Rise first. Have your men remove these bodies," Hu Sheng said, accepting Ma Chuan's pledge of loyalty. He helped the man to his feet and continued, "Send a few trustworthy men to gather the scattered Miao people. I will lead you to a safe place."

Hearing of a secure refuge, Ma Chuan's joy intensified. He immediately instructed his men to collect the corpses. Upon seeing the horses killed by the explosions, he began to salivate.

Observing these bustling individuals, Hu Sheng felt a surge of unexpected delight. He had not anticipated encountering these rebellious Miao people while ambushing Zhao Nanyu.

Yet, it was logical. Zhao Nanyu had been pursuing the Miao people, and it was he who had deliberately herded them together to prevent them from dispersing too widely. This allowed him to levy taxes each time they passed through a city.

Hu Sheng ensured the scene was thoroughly cleared of bodies. While traces of the battle were inevitable, by the time the authorities decided to investigate, they would only learn of Zhao Nanyu and his troops' mysterious disappearance—not the massacre of hundreds of government soldiers.

The government sometimes fabricated pretexts to extort money, but when danger loomed, they preferred to retreat into their shells. Having navigated this very system, Hu Sheng dared to openly ambush and kill Zhao Nanyu.

Furthermore, because Hu Sheng had taken in a large number of Miao people, when news of the conflict reached Changxi County, aside from the skyrocketing prices in the city for the first two days, no significant unrest erupted. On the third day, when Feng Shaoping led his constables on patrol and arrested two Miao people, it still caused little disturbance.

Zhao An, already in good spirits upon hearing of Hu Sheng's safety and imminent return, was even more pleased when the kiln produced six more sets of bath pipes for him. Although the market shops were closed, he believed life would soon return to normal.

Following a recent competition, the pig and chickens that had made everyone's mouths water were distributed among the trained militiamen. Consequently, the villagers had grown somewhat lax in their training.

Unexpectedly, Feng Shaoping and his constables, racing along the official road, passed Zhao Village. He called out to some children playing by the roadside and instructed, "Go tell Young Master Zhao that Juren Wang from the neighboring Wang Family Village has been murdered along with his entire household. Most of the villagers are also dead. Tell him to be careful."

Upon hearing this news, Zhao An's heart, which had just begun to settle, immediately leaped back into his throat.

How could he have forgotten? When he first urged the villagers to begin training, it wasn't primarily due to military conflict, but rather the famine that a drought would inevitably cause. Now, his complacency, born from the military conflict being less severe than anticipated, felt utterly foolish.

However, this was no time for self-reproach. Seeing that even Scholar Zhao had come to seek him out, Zhao An could only set aside their past differences and say, "Have each household in Zhao Village send one person to participate in the training. From now on, we will assign twenty people each night, divided into two watches, to patrol the entire village."