Shimen Fan (Part 4)
The child drinking porridge nearby chimed in: "Uncle Wazhi, you make it sound so easy. Who's going to quell the rebellion? The leaders of the Shimen Fan are all greedy wolves, busy seizing people and land all day long. When have they ever cared about the lives of us common people? If you want to pay back, you have to. I don't want to pay back!"
"You little wolf cub!" Wazhi picked up the porridge bowl and put it down again. "What nonsense are you talking about? Your mother and brothers are still in Hengjiang. You want to abandon them and leave them behind, don't you?"
The child muttered, "My mother always said that if it weren't for you and Grandpa stopping her from marrying so far away, I would have been born a Song person, and I wouldn't be suffering like this now..."
Wazhi was so angry that he puffed out his beard and glared at his opponent: "If that's the case, then you're gone!"
"Alas." Erguotou sighed deeply, "Of the three barbarian tribes of Bodao, Mahu and Nanguang have already been incorporated into Song territory, leaving only us Shimen barbarians. The more we jump around, the poorer we become, and we can't live in peace! Nare's brother—the previous chief of the Wumeng tribe—was willing to surrender his territory to Song, but unfortunately, he was killed before he could do so."
I instructed Feng Qiao, "Go and bring all the dry rations from the house." Then I took out a jar from under the counter, poured out all the money inside, wrapped it in a cloth, and gave it to Wazhi, saying, "This money should be enough for the journey to Huaiyuan."
Wazhi hurriedly declined, saying, "Qingcheng girl, you can't do this!"
"Brother Wazhi, why are you being so polite with me?" I shoved my wallet into his hand and distributed the dry rations to everyone. "If I were in trouble today, wouldn't you treat me the same way? Don't delay any longer, let's get going! I have things to do, so I won't see you off."
Wazhi's voice choked with emotion: "Qingcheng girl, it's not that I'm being harsh, but Nare's army is almost here, and I don't know if you can hold them off..."
"Don't worry, Brother Wazhi, we can hold on!"
"Okay! Take care!"
After bidding farewell to Wazhi and his group, Lin Zhong, Feng Qiao, and I rushed to Yanziping.
At the entrance of Liu Xingjian's courtyard, several archers from the patrol office were guarding the entrance. It seemed that Huai Xu had successfully made contact with Guo Cheng.
I pushed open the door and entered. A group of people were gathered around the table. Hearing the noise, they all turned to me and clasped their hands, saying, "Qing Niangzi, you've come!"
"They've arrived." I glanced at them: besides the four of us from the inn, there were also Guo Cheng, Liu Yu, Qu Bu, and the Liu Wang and Xu couples inside. They were all reliable people, so I recounted my experiences from the afternoon until just now to everyone.
Wang Yunhui brought me a cup of tea and handed it to me, saying, "Qingcheng, have some water to soothe your throat."
"Hmm." I took a sip of tea and looked at everyone. "Three days from now, on the winter solstice according to the Song calendar, the Shimen Fan army will arrive. Nanguang is in grave danger. If we want to protect our homeland, we must first save ourselves. Qingcheng earnestly requests that everyone work together to support us in this critical situation."
Liu Xingjian stood up and took his hand: "We are both citizens of the Great Song Dynasty, and we have a responsibility to defend our land."
Liu Yu, Xu Shan, and their group also stated: "It is our duty to defend this territory!"
Holding a bamboo branch, Liu Xingjian pointed to the map on the table and said, "Please take a closer look, everyone. This is a map of the southwest that I spent half a year drawing."
"Of the original three tribes of the Bodao, the Nanguang tribe was in the middle, with less land and population than the other two; the Mahu tribe was in the west, the strongest, and the first to surrender to the Song; the Shimen tribe had the widest territory, the most dispersed power, and a complex surrounding geography, making it extremely difficult to integrate."
Guo Cheng nodded: "Yes. Shimen is bordered by Dali to the south and Luo to the east. Some of their tribal leaders are pro-Dali and some are pro-Luo. Noble families intermarry frequently, and the shadow of neighboring countries is always behind every internal conflict."
Liu Xingjian continued, "The Luo clan kingdom to the east of Shimen Fan has been ruled by the previous dynasty for generations of ghost lords, and has not surrendered to this day. Nan Guang is sandwiched between Rong and Lu prefectures and Shimen Fan, and originally served as a buffer between the two sides, but after Nan Guang was submitted to the Song Dynasty, this buffer was lost."
"In recent years, the Shimen Fan (a Tibetan) region has been at odds with Dali, with constant internal wars and scarce resources, relying entirely on the tea-horse trade for survival. The imperial court's reopening of the tea-horse trade in Yuezhou is also intended to entice them to return."
"It's a pity that the pro-Song leader that Qing Niangzi mentioned earlier has already been killed. Now that the Shimen Fan are attacking aggressively, they must have the help of neighboring countries. Dali can be ruled out, so it must be the Luo family country without a doubt!"
Liu Xingjian's analysis was so insightful that I couldn't help but gasp: "In this light, Yan Yi's attack on Yujing was no accident; the influx of refugees from the lower reaches of the Yongning River into Yanzhou; the murder of Prefect Huang, the attack on Meiling Fort, and the new Ghost Lord of the Luo Clan Kingdom—these are the biggest driving forces behind it all!"
Liu Yu sighed: "I'm afraid the former Ghost Lord didn't actually die suddenly. The successors vying for the throne was just a deliberate illusion he created."
Aunt Xu clicked her tongue: "What... ghost, he's so wicked! What is he trying to do after going through all that trouble?"
Xu Shan replied, "He probably wants to stall the Changning army."
“Indeed.” Liu Xingjian pointed to the map. “This is a trap. In this way, the Changning Army, which is most convenient to reinforce, will be caught up in a fierce battle and unable to attend to other matters. Once the Shimen Fan takes Nanguang, the next target will definitely be the Mahu tribe, which has betrayed the alliance and surrendered to the Song.”
"With the three tribes of the Bo Dao combined, plus the Luo Clan Kingdom, the southwestern border is in grave danger!"
Wang Yunhui interjected, "We absolutely cannot let their conspiracy succeed!"
“Yes!” Huai Xu asked, “Inspector Guo, Mr. Liu, what should we do next?”
Guo Cheng said, "By the way, before Prefect Wei went to the Rongzhou government office on official business, he gave me a private seal for safekeeping, saying that it was for unforeseen circumstances."
Liu Xingjian asked urgently, "Do you have it with you?"
"I brought it!" Guo Cheng said, reaching into his robes and pulling out a small jade seal, which he then handed to Liu Xingjian.
Liu Xingjian picked up the seal, examined it for a moment, and said, "Well done, Wei Jizhou! He truly has foresight! The first thing we need to do is—send a message."
"Tip-off?"
"Tip them in the foot!"
Liu Xingjian stroked his beard: "Feng Qiao, take up your pen—'Shimen Fan Na Re has led his army on a surprise attack on Nan Guang. Yuezhou is in grave danger. We urgently request joint defense and reinforcements.'"
Feng Qiao responded, took the paper and pen handed to him by Wang Yunhui, sat down, and began to write furiously.
Liu Xingjian then said, "Inspector Guo, please send someone immediately to deliver the letter to the Rongzhou government office and the nearby fortresses."
Guo Cheng nodded: "Okay! I'll make the arrangements."
After copying, stamping, and sealing the letter, everyone quickly prepared it, along with dry rations and water, and handed it over to the archers of the patrol office. Guo Cheng gave a strict order: they must deliver it within twelve hours, without rest or sleep.
Qu Bu whispered to Liu Yu, "Godfather, when are we going to rescue Lord Wei?"
Liu Yu replied, "Don't be impatient, I'll follow Mr. Liu's instructions."
Aunt Xu couldn't wait any longer: "Lord Guo, Mr. Liu, Lord Wei and the boy next to him are still being held in custody."
Liu Xingjian nodded: "Saving lives is of paramount importance. Firstly, the prefect appointed by the court is the face of the Song Dynasty; secondly, to unite the people and jointly resist foreign aggression, he must take charge of the overall situation. Lord Wei must be saved, and Chief Luo must also be protected. Otherwise, if the Han officials cannot be of one mind, there is no way to talk about resisting the enemy."
"If we want to achieve the best of both worlds, we must eradicate the Nare envoys around Luo Zhong and their accomplices in Junlian." Guo Cheng turned to Lin Zhong, solemnly clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I am outnumbered and hope that Brother Lin Zhong can lend me a hand!"
Lin Zhong took his hand and said calmly, "No problem."
Liu Xingjian was overjoyed: "Then I'll leave it to you two!"
Huai Xu shouted, "I'm going to save Lord Wei and Shi Yu too!"
I glared at her: "Have you forgotten that you showed your face at the state government office today and were even followed by them?"
Huai Xu gave an annoyed "Oh".
Liu Xingjian turned to me and said, "Qingcheng, I once heard the villagers say that those who have been to the sinkhole are qualified to convene the Liao people for a meeting. Is this true?"
“That’s right.” I nodded. “The Dong people believe that those who can cross the sinkhole will be protected by the mountain god and can go into the mountain to ask for a bronze drum in case of an emergency.”
Liu Xingjian pointed at Huai Xu and said, "Then let Huai Xu go to the various streams and caves to gather the Liao people for self-defense. What do you think?"
Huai Xu eagerly replied, "I'll go, I'll go!"
Qu Bu said, "I know this area of streams and caves well. I'll accompany Sister Huai Xu."
Everyone agreed that it was feasible. Liu Xingjian then offered a few more words of advice on their arguments, and seeing that there were no loopholes in their responses, he nodded in satisfaction.
Guo Cheng added, “The southwestern half of the country has a hot and humid climate and complex terrain, making it difficult for outsiders to adapt in a short period of time. The defense here has always relied on the Changning Army. If the Changning Army cannot come to our aid in time, the local people and young men of the tribes in Nanguang alone will probably not be able to withstand the Shimen Fan army.”
The chaotic battle between Nan Guang and Shi Men Fan twelve years ago is still vivid in my mind. I agree with Guo Cheng's opinion: "Yes. Among the three Yi tribes of the Bodao, we, the Liao people of Nan Guang, have always been the weakest."
Liu Xingjian's expression turned solemn: "So we still have a very important task to do—seek reinforcements!"
I quickly asked, "Where can I find it? Please tell me, sir!"
Liu Xingjian pointed to the map: "Mahu 'Tu Ding' and Renhuai Army."
Guo Cheng frowned deeply: "These two teams are indeed well-suited for mountain warfare."
"However, the Dong family of Mahu and the Luo family of Nanguang have always been at odds, so it may not be easy to ask them for help; and the Renhuai Army is stationed in Zizhou, and Rong and Lu are not within its defense area, so the procedures for transferring troops from other places are extremely complicated."
"The border between Nanguang and Shimen is long, and the passes have been in disrepair for years. It's hard to say whether they can hold out until reinforcements arrive..."
“We need two excellent persuaders,” Liu Xingjian said, leaning on the table. “One should go to Mahu to persuade the Dong family to put aside their grudges and help Nanguang; the other should go to Renhuai Army. It’s not about asking them to leave their defense zone to fight, but simply to ask them to deploy some troops to the east bank of the Yongning River to form a joint defense with Jiangmen Village on the west bank, so as to prevent the Luo family’s ghost lord in the south from making any rash moves.”
Liu Yu said, "I once served in the palace as the aunt of Shen Yunzhi, the military commander of Renhuai Army—the Dowager Consort Shen. I have some connection with the Shen family. I might give it a try to persuade the Renhuai Army, but I am not good at riding..."
Huai Xu pulled Feng Qiao over: "Dr. Liu, let Feng Qiao take you there!"
Feng Qiao nodded: "Yes, I can!"
Only Mahu remains.
A moment of silence fell over everyone. I took a deep breath and said, "Mahu Department, I'll go."
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