During the two days since they had become engaged, the
two had been too embarrassed to speak to each other.
Now, the first thing Zhou Qi did when she opened her
mouth was to present him with a problem of mammoth
proportions.
"It's all very well to say that, but how can we
possibly help so many refugees?" he replied.
"Why would I come and ask you if I knew of a way?"
"First thing tomorrow I will tell all the others that
they are not to call me 'Kung Fu Mastermind' anymore.
Then you won't be able to put me on the spot like
this."
"When did I ever put you on the spot?" Zhou Qi asked
quickly. "All right, I was wrong. I would be better
off if I didn't say anything." She pouted silently.
"Sister, we are all one family now. We cannot continue
to argue like this," Xu said. Zhou Qi ignored him.
"It is I who is in the wrong," he coaxed. "Forgive me
this time and give me a smile." Zhou Qi turned her
head away.
"Ah, so you won't even smile. You are so bashful in
front of your new fiance."
She burst into laughter. "You talk such nonsense," she
said, raising her horse whip.
The road was filled with refugees, dragging their sons
and carrying their daughters, crying and wailing as
they went. Suddenly a horseman appeared, galloping
towards them fast. The road was very narrow and as the
rider careered from side to side, he knocked a woman
carrying a child into the water. But he took no
notice, and continued to gallop on. The heroes was
furious, and as the rider passed by, 'Leopard' Wei
pulled him off his horse and punched him solidly in
the face. The man screamed and spat out a mouthful of
blood and three teeth.
He was a military official.
"You bunch of bandit hooligans," he shouted as he
scrambled to his feet. "I am on important official
business. I'll deal with you when I come back." He
mounted his horse but Zhang Jin pulled him off again.
"What important official business?" he roared.
"Search him," Chen ordered. Zhang Jin frisked him
quickly and found an official document which he handed
over.
Chen saw the document had a singed corner and a
chicken's feather stuck to it indicating that it was
an urgent report which the courier would be required
to travel day and night to deliver. On it's wrapper
was written the words: "Extra Urgent Dispatch for
Border Pacification General Zhao." He broke the seal
and took out the document.
The courier went white with fear. "That's a secret
military document," he shouted. "Aren't you afraid of
execution?"
"If anyone's going to be executed, it's you," replied
Xin Yan with a laugh.
Chen saw the letter was from a certain commander in
charge of provisions reporting to General Zhao that
rations for the Great Army had reached Lanfeng, but
that because of the floods, there might be a delay of
several days before they could be delivered.
Chen handed the letter to Xu. "It has nothing to do
with us," he said.
But as Xu read the document an expression of delight
filled his face. "Great Helmsman," he cried. "This is
truly a great treasure delivered to us on a plate.
With this, we can both assist Master Muzhuolun and
save the refugees."
He jumped off his horse and walked over to the
official and tore the document up in front of him.
"What are you going to do now?" he asked. "Isn't
losing a military document a capital offence? If you
want to live, it would be best to run."
The official was startled and angry, but he saw the
truth of Xu's words. He took off his military uniform,
threw it in the water, then ran off, melding into the
mass of refugees.
"Steal the provisions and hand them out as disaster
relief, and we can kill two birds with one stone,"
Chen said, nodding. "The only problem is that the
provisions for the Great Army are bound to be heavily
guarded, and we are few in number. What ideas do you
have, Brother Xu?"
Xu whispered a few words in his ear, and Chen nodded
in agreement.
"Good, we'll do it that way," he said, and ordered the
heroes to disguise themselves and disperse.
Their instructions were to spread rumours.
The next morning, tens of thousands of refugees
suddenly descended on Lanfeng. When the county
magistrate, Wang Dao, saw the extraordinary situation,
he ordered his officers to seize several refugees and
question them. They all said they had heard there
would be a distribution of relief money and provisions
in the city that day. Wang immediately ordered the
city gates to be barred, but by then, a huge crowd of
refugees had already gathered inside with many more
outside. Wang sent someone to announce to the crowd
that there would be no distribution of relief, but the
crowds continued to grow. Beginning to feel nervous,
he went personally to see the Provisions Commander
Sun, who was stationed in the Stone Buddha Temple in
the eastern part of the city. He asked if some of the
commander's troops could be assigned to help control
the situation in the city.
"I have my orders from General Zhao," Sun replied.
"Any slip-up, no matter how small, before these
provisions reach the Great Army will be a capital
offence. It is not that I am unwilling to help, but my
responsibilities are heavy. Please forgive me, Master
Wang."
Wang pleaded with him, but Sun was adament. Back on
the streets, he saw the refugees creating an uproar
everywhere.
Night fell, and fires started simultaneously in
several parts of the city. Magistrate Wang hurriedly
dispatched men to put them out, and in the confusion,
an officer ran in to report.
"Master! There's trouble," he cried. "The west gate
has been forced by the refugees and thousands more are
streaming into the city."
Wang could only rant in despair, completely at a loss
for what to do.
"Prepare a horse!" he shouted frantically, and led his
guards towards the western part of the city. But
before they had gone half a street, they found the way
completely blocked by refugees. He heard someone in
the midst of the crowd shout: "The food and money are
to be distributed at the Stone Buddha Temple! Everyone
to the Stone Buddha Temple!" The refugees surged
forward.
Wang could see the way was impassible. He decided
there was nothing for it but to go to the Stone Buddha
Temple and seek refuge there. When he arrived, the
temple gate was already tightly shut, but the guard
recognized him and let him in. Outside, the refugees
had already surrounded the temple. Someone in the
crowd shouted: "All the relief cash and food issued by
the court have been swallowed by the dog officials.
Hand out the cash and food! Hand out the cash and
food!"
The mass of the refugees took up the chant and their
roar rattled the roof tiles.
Wang shook uncontrollably. "Rebels!" he bellowed.
"Rebels!"
For a military official, Commander Sun was quite
brave. He ordered his soldiers to place a ladder next
to the wall and climbed up on top.
"Those of you who are peaceful citizens, leave the
city quickly and do not put faith in rumours," he
shouted. "If you do not leave, we will be forced to
fire on you with arrows."
The two officers led a group of archers onto the top
of the wall and a roar of defiance went up from the
crowd.
"Fire!" shouted Sun. A wave of arrows shot out and a
dozen or more refugees fell to the ground. The crowd
turned and fled in panic and the cries of women and
children could be heard as the refugees trampled each
other.
Sun laughed out loud. But before the laugh ended,
someone in the crowd threw two stones at him, one of
which hit his cheek. He felt a sharp pain and rubbed
the spot only to find his hand covered in blood.
"Fire! Fire!" he ordered in a great rage. The archers
shot out another wave of arrows and another dozen
refugees were hit.
Suddenly, two tall, thin men leapt up onto the wall,
grabbed several of the archers and threw them to the
ground. Incensed by the way they had been fired on,
the refugees surged back and began beating the archers
viciously.
The Red Flower Society heroes in the crowd were
greatly surprised by the sudden re-appearance of the
Twin Knights. More of them jumped up onto the wall and
into the temple courtyard, and a moment later, the
temple gates opened and 'Crocodile' Jiang ran out.
"Everyone come and get some food," he shouted,
beckoning to the refugees. But the soldiers were many
and the refugees did not dare to press in too close.
Commander Sun's great sword danced as he fought
desperately along the top of the wall, retreating
steadily. Suddenly, his arms went numb, and his sword
clattered to the ground at the foot of the wall.
Someone forced his hands behind his back, and he felt
an icy coldness on his neck.
"You Turtle!" the man behind him shouted. "Order the
troops to throw down their weapons and retreat inside
the temple!"
Sun hesitated for a second and he felt a sharp pain on
his neck as the man lightly moved his sword, breaking
through a layer of skin. Not daring to disobey
further, Sun shouted out the order. Seeing their
commanding officer had been captured, the soldiers did
as they were ordered and retired inside the temple as
the refugees roared their approval.
Great Helmsman Chen walked into the main hall of the
temple and saw the altar piled high with bags of food
and cash. 'Melancholy Ghost' Shi pulled County
Magistrate Wang in for Chen to dispose of.
"Are you in charge of this county?" Chen asked.
"Y-yes...your Majesty," Wang replied in a quavering
voice.
Chen laughed. "Do I look like a king?" he asked.
"I deserved to die. I spoke incorrectly. What is your
honourable name, sir?"
Chen smiled slightly and ignored the question. "Since
you are an official, you must have some scholarship in
you," he said. "I will give you the first line of a
couplet for you to match." He lightly waved his fan.
"If you are able to match it, your life will be
spared. If you cannot, then I will not be so polite."
The refugees gathered round, forming a circle of
thousands of eyes all focussed on Wang's face.
"Now listen," said Chen. "The first line is: 'How long
must we live for the Yellow River to be clear of mud?
Rather ask if officialdom can be cleared of
corruption.'"
Wang's face was covered in sweat. He was a competent
scholar, but in the midst of his fear, he could think
of nothing.
"Sir," he finally said. "Your first line is too
difficult. I...I cannot match it."
"That's all right," Chen replied. "Let me ask you
plainly. Which would be easier: to clear up the Yellow
River or officialdom?"
Wang suddenly had an idea. "I consider that if all
officialdom were clear, then the Yellow River would be
clear too," he said.
Chen laughed. "Well said. I shall spare your life.
Call together your guards and distribute the money and
food to the refugees. Oh, and Commander Sun, you can
help too."
The refugees cheered thunderously for the Red Flower
Society heroes. As they filed past to collect the food
and money, they jeered and laughed at Sun and Wang,
who pretended not to notice.
"Brothers and sisters, listen!" Chen called out. "If
the authorities should send people to investigate, you
can say it was the Commander and County Magistrate who
personally made the distribution."
The refugees shouted their approval.
The heroes supervised the operation late into the
night until all the food and cash had been
distributed.
"Brothers!" Xu then shouted to the refugees. "Take the
soldiers' weapons and hide them in your homes. If the
dog officials know what's good for them, they'll leave
you alone, but if they should come after you, you can
fight them."
Strong men came forward and collected up the swords
and spears that had been discarded by the soldiers.
Chen walked out of the temple with Commander Sun and
the other heroes as the refugees roared their thanks.
They mounted their horses and rode out of the city.
After travelling a few miles, Chen pushed Sun off his
horse.
"Commander, thank you for your help," he said. "The
next time you escort provisions, be sure to write to
me." He laughed and saluted, then galloped off in a
cloud of dust with the other heroes.
"Do you have any news of Fourth Brother?" Chen asked
the Twin Knights after they had ridden on a little
way.
"We found a message left by Brother Yu which said he
was being taken to Hangzhou," one of them replied.
Chen was greatly surprised. "Why is he being sent to
Hangzhou and not Beijing?" he asked. "I thought the
Emperor wanted to question him personally."
"We thought it strange too. But Brother Yu always
handles things very carefully. It's certain to be
reliable information."
Chen told the others to dismount, and they sat round
in a circle and discussed the situation.
"Since Brother Wen is being sent to Hangzhou, we
should head south and try to work out some way of
saving him," Xu said. "Hangzhou is our territory. The
power of the court is not as great there as in
Beijing, so it should be easier to rescue him. But we
should still send someone to Beijing to see if there
is any news, just in case."
The others agreed. Chen looked over at Shi. "I wonder
if I can trouble you to go once more, Twelfth
Brother," he said.
"All right," Shi replied. He headed off northwards
alone towards Beijing while the other heroes rode
south.
Chen enquired further of the Twin Knights about Yu's
movements, but they said they had no further
information. They had returned to report as soon as
they had seen the markings. Passing through Lanfeng,
they had come across the refugees and met up with the
other heroes.
"With the provisions gone, Sister Huo Qingtong and her
people should have no trouble beating the Great Army,"
Zhou Qi said.
"That girl's sword style wasn't bad, and she was a
nice person too," added Priest Wu Chen. "She deserves
our help. I hope she does beat them. It would be
something everyone could rejoice at." |
