Chapter 7: A Beauty Like You, Why Be a Thief
Chapter 7: A Beauty Like You, Why Be a Thief
“Luckily, I have no nine clans!”
Yang Xin said with an expression of immense relief.
“I forgot you are a fugitive slave. With such skills, why not serve the country? Now that the Jiannu are causing chaos in Liaodong, the court is in need of men. I am on my way to the capital for an audience with the Emperor, and it is highly likely I will be appointed as the grand coordinator of Liaodong. If you are willing, you can come with me. As for your previous crimes, if you achieve merits on the battlefield, I can guarantee they will be erased. Isn’t that better than you wandering among the bandits?”
Xiong Tingbi said.
He could indeed do this.
If Yang Xin went with him to Liaodong, then the Tianjin Military Defense Circuit would naturally stop pursuing him. Once he achieved military merits, Xiong Tingbi could use that to clear his crimes.
After all, his rank was high enough.
Earlier, Yang Xin had also asked Huang Zhen about the identity of the man whose face was stomped and disfigured. He was from the Fu family of Dongchang. But the highest-ranking member of the Dongchang Fu family, Fu Guangzhai, had only been a deputy surveillance commissioner and had been dead for many years. Currently, the Fu family had no Jinshi degree holders, only a few who were Provincial Scholars serving as minor officials elsewhere. They were merely a business family, considered a top local clan in Dongchang, but nothing significant outside of Dongchang. Such a family would not dare to openly oppose a high-ranking official like Xiong Tingbi. Although Xiong Tingbi was currently a vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review, after entering the capital, he would directly become the grand coordinator of Liaodong with the title of vice minister of the Ministry of War. This was the level of a frontier governor.
However…
He would end up with his head displayed at the Nine Garrisons!
Besides, Yang Xin did not know if Xiong Tingbi was tricking him into lowering his sword, only to then give an order to capture him. After all, they were not familiar with each other.
“I won’t go!”
Yang Xin said cheerfully.
“A beauty like you, why be a thief?”
Xiong Tingbi said.
“Even being a thief is better than being a branded soldier. Is being a soldier in our Great Ming something to bring glory to one’s ancestors? Even someone like Qi Jiguang had to bow and scrape before a third-rank civil official! Besides, even if you go to Liaodong, you won’t be able to defeat Wild Boar Skin. Maybe one day, a defeat will anger the Emperor, and then your head will be displayed at the Nine Garrisons, dragging me to the execution ground with you!”
Yang Xin said maliciously.
The soldiers around them shouted in anger. Even Huang Zhen and the Elder Steward couldn’t help but wipe their faces in unison.
“How do you know I am useless?”
Xiong Tingbi said.
“Can you ensure that all the military households in Liaodong are free from hunger and cold, and can eat their fill like in the time of Taizu? Can you make sure all soldiers receive their full pay? Can you stop the Liaodong generals from preserving their own strength? You cannot do any of these things. So how can you turn the tide? At most, you’ll turtle up. Do you dare to command the armies to go out and fight in the field? Then you’ll watch as Wild Boar Skin captures one fortress after another outside, until only Liaoyang and Shenyang remain, standing alone in a land stripped of everything, facing a crowd of refugees who have lost everything.
Be careful.
There are many spies among the refugees.
One day, when Wild Boar Skin’s troops are at the city walls, they will collaborate from within and without. Then you won’t even have Liaoyang and Shenyang left.
By the way, Wild Boar Skin is no savage.
When he was serving under Li Chengliang, he already learned all the details about the Great Ming. There might even be his agents within the army. Do you believe that one day, those Liaodong generals who have been in contact with him for years will open the gates of Guangning for him from the inside at a critical moment?
Then, how far do you think you are from having your head displayed at the Nine Garrisons?
So why should I go with you?”
Yang Xin said.
“Nonsense! In the end, you’re just a coward!”
Xiong Tingbi sneered.
By now, under Yang Xin’s control, they had gradually reached the bank of the Grand Canal. The soldiers did not dare to approach and could only pretend to advance. The Elder Steward and Huang Zhen gave Yang Xin a meaningful look and quietly left. A few soldiers initially tried to stop them, but after the Elder Steward revealed his identity, they wisely let them pass. After all, this matter had nothing to do with them.
“A coward?”
Yang Xin smiled.
“Say what you will. You are still a respectable official. I’ll give you one more piece of advice: when you arrive, purging the internal spies is more important than anything else.”
He said.
After saying this, he threw down his sword, shoved Xiong Tingbi forward, and leaped off the horse in a backward motion. The moment he landed, he turned and sprinted at full speed, diving into the waters of the Grand Canal in the blink of an eye and swimming forward underwater with all his might. When he surfaced again, he was already dozens of meters away from the shore. However, Xiong Tingbi remained on horseback at the canal bank. Yang Xin waved his hand in a friendly manner and continued swimming forward, soon reaching the opposite bank.
Xiong Tingbi turned and left.
But now, Yang Xin had nowhere to go again.
Huang Zhen, at least for now, did not dare to take him along. Xiong Tingbi would certainly notify the checkpoints ahead to capture him. Yang Xin might not be easily recognizable, but Huang Zhen’s boat was very distinctive.
Ahead was the Hexiwu Customs Checkpoint!
This was the only toll station on the Northern Canal, heavily guarded with no less than thirteen government offices. Moreover, it used a Pontoon Bridge to block the canal, leaving only a single passage in the middle. As long as Yang Xin was on the boat, Huang Zhen would not be able to pass through Hexiwu. And the unhealed wound on Yang Xin’s face was like a calling card. As for the Elder Steward, he would not get involved in this mess. If Xiong Tingbi truly became the grand coordinator of Liaodong, he would be only slightly lower in rank than the Elder Steward’s master. A mere steward would not dare to cause such trouble for his master. Huang Zhen also could not abandon this business trip for Yang Xin’s sake. The cargo on that boat was worth far more than he was. And staying here was not an option either. The Yangcun patrol would soon mobilize…
Well, they were already mobilizing.
A large number of soldiers appeared on the opposite side, scrambling onto two rowing boats.
Yang Xin hurriedly ran away.
But he did not go far.
He was unfamiliar with this area and could not think of any place to go. He hid in a nearby grove for a while, watching the soldiers searching for him go through the motions before leaving. Then he returned to the canal bank.
He lay in the reeds, a blade of grass in his mouth, watching the Grand Canal ahead.
Actually, he was somewhat conflicted.
After all, traveling back to the Ming Dynasty to fight the Jiannu was as natural as traveling back to the War of Resistance to fight the Japanese invaders. And if he really went to Liaodong, he might be able to carve out a future. Xiong Tingbi still had a few years before his downfall. Serving as an officer under him, and seizing the opportunity to become someone like Mao Wenlong, would not be bad. But the problem was that he would have to endure the arrogance of civil officials. The Great Ming’s principle of civil officials controlling the military would not change. The thought of possibly having to fawn over those oddballs in the future made it utterly unacceptable to him. Moreover, perhaps one day there would be someone like Yuan Dudu. The civil officials of the Great Ming were far more wary of military generals than of the Jiannu. Serving in the military within the system offered no future. Whatever he wanted to do, he would have to face a bunch of people dragging him down. On the other hand, wandering freely among the bandits suited his temperament better. As for the future, he would take it as it came. After all, the Great Ming Dynasty could still hold on for another ten years before descending into chaos. Ten years was enough time for him to do many things.
After all, if he wanted to fight the Japanese…
Well, fight the Jiannu.
There would be plenty of opportunities in the future. Even if he just sat here without moving, the Jiannu would come to him in ten years.
And that was assuming nothing changed.
Who knew if his butterfly effect could cause some changes? Ultimately, for the Hua Xia nation in this era, any change was better than repeating the original course of events.
“Time to go!”
He stood up, patted his butt, and said.
On the river ahead, Huang Ying was rowing the sampan around, searching.
Five minutes later.
“I knew you wouldn’t abandon me!”
Yang Xin lay on the side of the boat like a mermaid from the Pirates of the Caribbean, looking up with a serious expression.
This angle was great.
From this angle, he could see some sights not normally visible. Unfortunately, Huang Ying immediately realized it. She pulled her clothes tightly around her and quickly took two steps back, then jabbed him hard in the ribs with the long pole. Yang Xin let out an exaggerated cry of pain and quickly tumbled into the sampan…
“Where to?”
He said, lying there.
“Where else? Everyone ahead is waiting to capture you. We definitely cannot pass Hexiwu. We’ll head downstream back to Sanjiaodian.”
Huang Ying said grumpily.
“Aren’t we going to the capital?”
Yang Xin said.
“Do you really want to go?”
Huang Ying said.
“Just tell me if there’s a way!”
Yang Xin nodded firmly.
“There is. Return to Sanjiaodian, then head north along the Feng River, bypassing Wuqing to the east. This water route can take us all the way to Majuqiao. Large boats can’t go this way, but this sampan can. The catch is, you’ll have to row the whole way.”
Huang Ying said with a smile.
“How many days will it take them to reach Tongzhou?”
Yang Xin asked.
“At least five or six days. At the Hexiwu Customs Checkpoint, they have to queue to pass. It can’t be rushed. Even with the Wang family’s boat, it’s useless. There are hundreds or thousands of boats stuck there!”
Huang Ying said.
Yang Xin stood up without hesitation and took off the old jacket he was wearing, which originally belonged to Huang Zhen.
“What are you doing?”
Huang Ying asked, astonished.
“Let me show you what a real man is!”
Yang Xin struck a bodybuilder pose, displaying his still not very muscular arms, and said with full confidence.
With that, he reached into the cabin and took out an oar.
The Northern Canal was only 186 kilometers from Tianjin to Tongzhou, and the Feng River ran almost parallel to it. At most, the distance would be similar, maybe a little longer, but not by much. For long-distance solo rowing, a speed of about 50 kilometers per day could be maintained. In four days, he could row this sampan to Majuqiao. People who rowed solo across the Pacific could maintain such a speed for seven months, covering 12,000 kilometers. So why couldn’t he row to Majuqiao in four days?
Even if he allowed for five days, it would be enough.
Moreover, he would be rowing, and Huang Ying would be poling, which was surely faster than solo rowing…
Actually, poling was faster than rowing.
It just couldn’t be used in deep water, but in shallow water, poling was much faster.
Huang Ying looked at him, bewildered…
“What are you staring at? Let’s go!”
Yang Xin said.
Huang Ying rolled her eyes at him speechlessly, then turned her back to him and used the long pole to steer the sampan around. Yang Xin admired her slightly raised rear as he powerfully pulled the oar. The sampan, aided by the current, immediately began to accelerate forward through the muddy river water.
“Let us row the oars, the little boat pushes aside the waves…”
Yang Xin’s howling song once again rang out over the Grand Canal.