Chapter 60: A Thiefly Dao and a Thiefly Dao

"Commander Gongsun, we do not know how to craft things, we only know how to farm. Right now is precisely the time to rush the harvest..."

The Taiping Daoist priest at Shili Pavilion argued earnestly: "If Commander Gongsun wishes to fight a war, we are willing to support you, but as for constructing siege equipment and similar tasks, we truly do not know how."

"You surely know how to chop down trees! I know this land belongs to Liu Xuande; make everyone here go and fell timber, the crops in the fields can be harvested in a couple of days!"

Gongsun Zan waved his hand dismissively and requisitioned everyone present: "Work through the night, you must quickly build siege engines, otherwise when the large horde of bandits arrives, your lives will be forfeit as well!"

"Felling trees is of course possible, but we have neither axes nor blades."

The Taiping Daoist was a reasonable man: "You can hardly expect us to cut down trees with bare hands..."

"...Fetch all the blades and axes, distribute them to them, let the brothers eat and rest, and tomorrow we shall build engines and attack the city."

Gongsun Zan figured that made sense, so he ordered his subordinates to retrieve the sabers and axes from the military supplies and hand them all over to the laborers at the Shili Pavilion refugee shelter.

The army actually did not have many blades and axes suitable for logging, only about one or two hundred, while Shili Pavilion had over four hundred people.

A little less than half for felling trees, and a large majority for transport—this would allow work to be done with maximum efficiency, which was quite appropriate.

The leading 'tenant farmer' of Shili Pavilion was an elderly man wearing a bamboo rain hat and a coir raincoat. He took up a chopping blade, scraped the edge with his fingernail, and led all the men and women away toward the west.

Trees were scarce near Zhuoxian, so to fell timber they had to go to the slopes in the west.

All the flatbed carts in the shelter were also taken along.

As evening was falling, the soldiers naturally could not all follow them. Having marched nearly fifty Li, they needed a proper rest, so only a few men were sent along to supervise the work.

Seeing that everyone here was so cooperative, Gongsun Zan felt a wave of relief.

With so many laborers available, the speed of constructing the equipment would surely be somewhat faster... right?

Yet...

After a night had passed, when Gongsun Zan woke up in the morning and looked at the completely deserted Shili Pavilion shelter, he flew into a rage: "Where are the people?! Haven't those people come back?!"

Of course they had not come back.

Not only had the people of Shili Pavilion gone without returning, even the Taiping Daoist priests had all failed to return.

They had taken all the chopping blades and axes with them...

The few supervising soldiers had all been tied to the trees on the western slopes to feed the mosquitoes.

As for siege equipment, it seemed it would be rather difficult to build any time soon; the technique of shaping wood with bare hands was quite challenging.

By the side of the Juma River, Duan Jiong was already discussing business with the Taiping Daoist priests: "Do not worry about the funds and grain of the shelter; Master Liu will compensate you for everything later. Does your Taiping Dao usually have dealings with the Taihang Mountains?"

"This poor priest trusts Master Liu."

The Taiping Daoist nodded: "There are indeed some dealings with the Taihang side... But it is not that this poor priest is associating with bandits; there are also believers and benevolent people within the Taihang Mountains. Under the Yellow Sky all people are equal, and mountain folk can also follow the Dao..."

"Master Liu has instructed me to ask the Taiping Dao to help prevent the Taihang bandits from plundering grain in this region. The tenant farmers here are all destitute refugees; you should be well aware of this from your time at Shili Pavilion."

Duan Jiong pointed toward the fields about to ripen around Shili Pavilion: "They already sowed their crops late this year, and the harvest is poor. If they lose this grain that keeps them alive..."

"This is a benevolent thought."

The Taiping Daoist agreed: "Master Liu is benevolent and generous, but the Taihang bandits may not be willing to listen. This poor priest can only do his utmost."

"You need only try your best to persuade them... If any refuse to listen to persuasion, then Ji cannot be blamed for taking action."

Duan Jiong flashed the long saber in his hand.

...

On the other side, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei led their men southward. Before long, scouts reported that a large force of bandits had already approached Fanyang and was attacking the county seat of Fanyang.

"How many bandits are there? Are there any cavalry?"

Liu Bei needed to confirm the composition of the Taihang bandits.

"They cover the mountains and plains, impossible to count. No cavalry was seen... Most of the bandits are using sickles to rush the grain harvest in the fields."

These were night scouts sent out when a feigned attack was made on Zhuoxian city, and they were quite professional: "The largest gathered force is estimated to be over three thousand strong, all holding weapons, currently attacking Fanyang city."

"What is the situation inside Fanyang county seat?"

Liu Bei continued to inquire in detail.

"I did not dare get close to scout, but I fear it will not hold out much longer. There seems to be no movement inside the city, not even a banner is to be seen."

The night scout shook his head: "My lord, the Taihang bandits are simply a large horde of bandits joining forces to attack a stronghold, while other scattered bandits take the opportunity to gather grain. If they can breach the city they enter it; if not, they at least harvest the grain in the fields. It is much like what I saw in Zhongshan."

This night scout was a soldier recruited from the refugees of Zhongshan. The Taihang bandits plundered grain within Zhongshan practically every year, and the people of western Zhongshan were very familiar with this.

Such a situation was rare in Zhuojun because it was relatively far from the Taihang Mountains. There had to be a city acting as a bridgehead and transit point, allowing the plundered grain to be quickly transported back to the bridgehead, so the bandits could launch sorties repeatedly.

At the same time, the city could block the imperial troops and prevent their retreat routes from being cut off, ensuring the grain could be transported back.

Without a foothold, any plundered grain could only be carried on their persons, and the consumption on the journey back and forth would exceed what was plundered.

Naturally, once the operation was completed, and after the grain in the city was transported into the mountains, the Taihang bandits would quickly abandon the city. They would not wait for the imperial grand army to come and suppress them, as there were many old and young mouths waiting to be fed in the mountains.

The bridgehead for the Taihang bandits this time was naturally Beixincheng.

If other cities could be captured, the plunder range could be expanded further; if not, they could only operate within a radius of a hundred Li around Beixincheng.

The operational range covered by Beixincheng extended to Fanyang and Zhuoxian in the north, and Tangxian and Lunu in Zhongshan to the south.

Among them, the most prosperous place was Zhuoxian.

However, Zhuoxian was the furthest away; the Taihang bandits attacking Fanyang was actually for the sake of Zhuoxian, as Fanyang at this time was not yet prosperous, nor was its city very large.

Having understood the situation, Liu Bei nodded: "We are going to the Lu Family Fort."

Fanyang and Beixincheng were separated by only thirty Li; rescue was impossible.

The bandit force was quite large, and by the time Liu Bei arrived, the city would have long since fallen.

Moreover, upon arrival, the number of bandit combatants might well exceed three thousand.

The Lu Family Fort was located north of Fanyang city, precisely between Zhuoxian and Fanyang.

If nothing unexpected happened, the bandits would plunder all the way across.

Since the bandits had not gone to the Juma River, Liu Bei had retrieved the ox-horn rain hats from the Lu family estate. At this moment, Liu Bei wore the hat as he headed outside the Lu Family Fort.

Yet he did not approach the fort, instead waiting on an open patch of ground a few li south of the fort, camping for the night while specifically choosing a conspicuous spot, just waiting for the Taihang bandits to arrive.

This was not out of any desire to do favors, but rather to prevent the Taihang bandits from lingering at the Lu Family Fort; Liu Bei needed to urge them on toward Zhuoxian.

Early the next morning, some bandits slowly approached.

"Good fellows of Taihang, have you heard of the name Big Ears?"

Liu Bei was wearing the ox-horn rain hat upon his head and immediately stepped forward to meet the bandits.

"Our own people..."

That vanguard band of bandits looked quite polite upon seeing the ox-horn rain hat: "Big Ears... I have heard of him. Brother, are you looking to join our ranks?"

"Is the leader who came out this time Brother Zuoxi?"

Liu Bei slightly tipped his bamboo rain hat as a greeting: "I have business to discuss with Zuoxi."

"Elder Brother Zuoxi is right behind, I will take you to him... But your brothers must remain here first."

The bandit looked at Liu Bei, then glanced at Zhang Fei and the others: "All elite soldiers... Brother Big Ears, it is not that I doubt you, but that is our rule here."

"Understood. However, this household has some business dealings with me, and shortly they may also have business dealings with Brother Zuoxi. Please do not enter this pavilion estate, how about that?"

Liu Bei pointed toward the Lu family market town behind him.

"Fine, we won't enter the pavilion, but this matter still depends on what Elder Brother Zuoxi says..."

The bandit led Liu Bei along for a stretch until they reached an abandoned post station by the main highway.