Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 6: Rudeness is not the real face
As a military officer recommended by a local clan, Xu Wujiang was a low-ranking soldier in the Inspection Office. However, apart from the fact that the Xu family behind him was a powerful family in Tongbai Mountain, he himself was a strong fighter and well-known in the village.
The team of warriors led by Xu Wujiang was mainly composed of members of the Xu clan and farmers of other surnames from Lutai Village.
Deng Gui treated him very well in normal times.
Xu Wujiang lived in a small courtyard north of the military camp inspection office. After his mother passed away, Xu Huai had been hanging out with Xu Wujiang for the past two years. Usually, he and Xu Xin'an, as his followers, also lived in that courtyard.
Apart from Deng Gui, the two captains and six Jie-level officials of the Inspection Office were all accompanied by two or three trusted companions who lived and ate with them. They had been receiving military pay from the Inspection Office over the years and accounted for almost one-third of the troops in the Inspection Office.
Xu Huai is not yet of age and is not considered an official soldier of the Inspection Office, but Xu Wujiang still receives a share of his salary and helps him save it for marrying a wife in the future.
Xu Huai followed Xu Xin'an back to his residence, where Xu Wujiang, who had taken off his armor, was standing in the corridor wiping his face with a towel.
Xu Wujiang's wife Di Niang was a sturdy woman. She was not absolutely beautiful, but she was pretty and generous. At this time, she came out of the wing room and saw Xu Huai. She complained, "You fool, why did you go to Yingzizui to hang out again? If you get killed by those horse thieves today, how can I explain to your dead parents!"
She took the towel from Xu Wujiang's hand and pulled it towards Xu Huai with a look of disappointment.
It wouldn't hurt if he was hit, so Xu Huai didn't dodge.
Xu Huai used to be mentally confused and didn't know much about his family affairs. He only knew that his father Xu Wuxuan was a military officer of the imperial army in his early years. He left the barracks fifteen years ago. On his way back south, he met Su Di's family who were fleeing famine. He helped them settle down in Yuhuangling, where the Xu family lived together.
Xu Huai's father died two years after returning to his hometown. For more than ten years, his mother raised him and Su Di's family. Two years ago, there was a big epidemic in Biyang County. His mother and Xu Wujiang's wife died of the epidemic. Su Di married Xu Wujiang as his second wife and became Xu Huai's "Seventeenth Aunt".
Xu Wujiang took him in mainly because Su Di was worried that he was clumsy and could not support himself with only three or five acres of thin land.
Xu Huai felt that if there was anyone in this world who truly cared about him, it was Su Di.
The sweat towel hit Xu Huai's neck with a "snap" sound. Di Niang felt distressed. She grabbed his shoulders and saw a light red mark on his neck. She cursed, "You idiot, you don't even know how to dodge. Does it hurt?"
"Xu Huai hasn't made much progress in martial arts, but his body is as tough as a head of copper and bones of iron. Even if you hit him with an iron bar, he may not cry out in pain!" Xu Wujiang said with a smile.
"Haven't you eaten yet?" Oi Niang asked, and ran to the kitchen to prepare food for Xu Huai.
Xu Wujiang called Xu Huai and Xu Xin'an to the east wing and questioned them:
"Today is really as Mr. Wang said. A few bandits came to Huaiyuan Town to rob people?"
If Xu Wujiang asked him on the way, he really didn't know what to say, but for now he decided to keep it a secret and said in a muffled voice: "It should be, I didn't see it too clearly."
If not, does that mean he had already anticipated that Wang Bing would be in trouble in front of Yingzizui Cliff today?
Could it be that when he was in Yingzizui, he realized that the three horse bandits were actually assassins who were hunting down Wang Bing?
Could it be that these three assassins were most likely sent by Cai Ying, the Privy Councilor of the current dynasty?
He couldn't figure out what was going on. How could it all be explained clearly?
Seeing Xu Huai acting stupidly again, Xu Wujiang walked to the window and said to himself:
"Wang Bing must have offended someone in the court and was demoted to Tangzhou, but Deng Gui can just stop getting close to Wang Bing, and there is no need to rush to avoid him! This is really not right! Besides, the groups of people in Hutouling and Xiemashan have been quite honest in recent years. They usually receive tributes from nearby villages in secret. They should not attack an inconspicuous old carriage. If they are horse thieves from other places who are eyeing a fat sheep, they can't run to Yingzizui to attack, right?"
Listening to Xu Wujiang analyzing today's events to himself, Xu Huai looked at him in surprise.
He was in a daze before and his understanding of the people around him was superficial. However, he did not expect that his seventeenth uncle Xu Wujiang, who was usually quite rude, seemed to have no scruples in front of Wang Bing and others just now. In fact, he had already noticed many suspicious points.
"If he's not a bandit out to rob money, could he be an assassin chasing after old man Wang Bing? I think you're just overly suspicious, Uncle Seventeen." Xu Xin'an said heartlessly.
"Am I suspicious?" Xu Wujiang raised his hand to hit Xu Xin'an, saying, "According to the rules, the inspector must personally lead the soldiers to inspect the villages under his jurisdiction every month to prevent the breeding of bandits. But Deng Gui has been in office for more than two years. Except for the first two or three months, he was quite diligent. After that, he stayed in the military camp to drink, or went to the market to brag and sleep with Sister Hua. What serious work has he done?"
Xu Xin'an asked, "Uncle Seventeen, what you said is a bit strange, but Mr. Wang has already stayed at the inn. Before Mr. Deng left, he told Uncle Seventeen to recruit them. Do you still want to go?"
"Mr. Deng, Mr. Deng, you are taking chicken feathers as a token of authority. Are you attracted to the young lady from the Wang family? Why don't you take a piss and look at your face?" Xu Wujiang laughed and kicked Xu Xin'an's buttocks, cursing, "Deng Gui ran away in a hurry, why should we join in the fun?"
"What about the escort tomorrow?" Xu Xin'an asked.
"Go to the street market and ask which horse team will go to the county town tomorrow. You and Xu Huai will accompany them. After sending them to the county town, come back overnight. Don't delay..." Xu Wujiang instructed Xu Xin'an.
"Yeah!" Xu Xin'an responded.
"Oh, by the way, go find Xu Sihu and the others and tell them to keep their mouths shut and not spread nonsense about what happened today. No matter what's strange about this matter, there are horse thieves in Yingzizui, and 'banditry' is a crime that can be serious or minor. It will not be a good thing if it gets to the county. Don't make trouble for yourself." Xu Wujiang ordered again.
"Okay, I understand all this! But I can't guarantee anything about Mr. Deng!" Xu Xin'an said.
"Mr. Deng doesn't need a fool like you to worry about his work. Why can't you learn from Xu Huai and shut up and stop complaining?" Xu Wujiang glared at him.
"He can't even make a single move even if you hit him with three sticks. Doesn't Uncle Seventeen feel bored keeping him around all by himself?" The things Xu Wujiang ordered required quick thinking, and Xu Xin'an felt that only he was capable of doing them, so he agreed to all of them.
Xu Huaile was enjoying his free time. When he heard Oiniang calling him from behind, he ran over to eat.
"Here! Eat quickly. Look how hungry you are. You've lost a lot of weight in the past two days!" When Oiniang saw Xu Huai running over, she stuffed a bowl of freshly heated coarse grain rice into his hands and gave him a pickled cucumber.
Xu Huai poked the bottom of the bowl with chopsticks and pulled out a large piece of greasy and fragrant bacon. He suddenly felt the hunger in his stomach wake up and cry out desperately: I want to eat meat.
There was a dining table in the back kitchen, but the room was too dark, so he squatted on the porch, eating his meal while thinking about things.
Xu Huai used to be in a daze and no one told him many things. But after he regained consciousness, he knew from what he saw and heard every day that there had always been unrest in Tongbai Mountain.
There has never been a shortage of criminals in this world. Coupled with the exploitation by the government and wealthy clans, it is not uncommon for villagers who can't make a living to turn to banditry.
The extremely dangerous and remote areas in Tongbai Mountain are the most likely to harbor dirt and filth.
Therefore, banditry has long been a problem that has plagued Tongbai Mountain. When the banditry was at its worst, all business and travel on the Horse Road was cut off.
When the Inspection Office was first established in Huaiyuan Town thirty years ago, the effect of suppressing bandits was not very good. The main reason was that the main force of the Inspection Office at that time was mainly composed of rotating imperial guards. After arriving at the local area, they only knew how to take bribes and extort money. Whenever there was a bandit situation, they would ask wealthy families to donate money and grain to help with military funds.
At first, the big clans did not dare to cooperate fully with the Inspection Office, for fear that they would fail to suppress the bandits and end up suffering retaliation from the bandits.
Tangzhou later reformed its military and political system, allowing the Huaiyuan Inspection Office to recruit local soldiers.
Everyone's interests are closely related, so the big clans gave their all to support the suppression of bandits. They fought several tough battles and captured many bandits and sent them into exile.
Even though criminals are rampant these days, there are always a few stubborn gangs in remote areas like Tongbai Mountain, but they dare not easily seek revenge on the big clans; going out to rob and rob is a huge risk.
Gradually the two sides stopped fighting.
Of course, the price they paid for no longer going down the mountain to rob people at will was that they would have to extort food and property from nearby villages every now and then.
The Inspection Office and the big clans would turn a blind eye to this, or even blackmail them. As long as the money was not too excessive, they would accept it and regard it as an extra donation of taxes to buy peace.
After a delicate balance was formed, the horse trails in Tongbai Mountain have become peaceful in recent years.
Even if there were a few newly-arrived bandits who didn't know the rules and ran to Huaiyuan Town to cause trouble, the Inspection take action, as those mountain strongholds would likely secretly send their captives over.
It has been more than a month since Xu Huai regained consciousness. He has seen Xu Wujiang lead his team to patrol around Huaiyuan Town every day, practice martial arts, drink, and gather soldiers to gamble for money in the military camp. His impression of him is that he has a rough temperament, strong skills, and the ability to convince others.
However, what he said just now made Xu Huai realize that Xu Wujiang only seemed rough, and it was just that he had never had the opportunity to show his delicate mind in front of him before.
Deng Gui had been transferred to Huaiyuan for more than two years. Every day he either drank in the military camp or went to the streets to visit prostitutes and had fun. He didn't take care of anything. Xu Huai thought he was an incompetent and corrupt official.
Looking at today's situation, Xu Huaicai realized that Deng Gui had most likely already understood the situation in Huaiyuan Town before taking office, and he was by no means a fool.
Deng Gui would let go of everything and leave all matters to the heads of cities and the governors, which in fact meant returning power to local forces. He lived a life of drunkenness and dreaming every day, not caring about affairs, and yet he was able to safely get through his three-year term.
This guy is really a troublemaker!
