He Would Sooner Lose His Life Than His Money
Shen Jingchuan didn't get involved at all, just stood at a distance by the edge of the forest watching. As dawn broke, the first wave of the moving team set off back. More than 5,000 people had come down from the mountain, emptying out Lesser Pan Household Manor and then moving on to this large village. Everyone was full of energy and high spirits, and they didn't even bother to eat breakfast.
Hu Tieniu ordered all the tenants in the village to be organized to help move things, and the elderly, weak, women and children who could not move were gathered together in an empty house and were not allowed to be mistreated.
He acted with discretion, never touching a single penny of the poor family's private property. He moved only the grain storage, treasury, steward's belongings, and valuables from the side courtyards of the Pan Household's public estate. He also kept the accounts and land deeds separately.
They worked until dawn, but the things in the manor were still not all moved. Hu Tieniu wiped the sweat from his face and ran to Shen Jingchuan for instructions:
"Young master, it's already dawn, look..."
"No need to ask me." Shen Jingchuan leaned against the tree trunk with his arms crossed, his tone indifferent. "You decide these things yourself. I'm just here to watch the fun."
Hu Tieniu thought to himself, "Is this what you call watching a show? You've blasted their perfectly good gate to smithereens." But he also understood that Young Master Shen was intentionally letting him go and training him to be able to handle things on his own.
"Alright, young master, I understand." Hu Tieniu gritted his teeth and turned to make the arrangements.
He immediately ordered all soldiers to assemble—the troops from the Lesser Pan Household Manor had already withdrawn, and all one thousand soldiers were present. He led the troops to the official road leading to the village from Yuxi Prefecture, arranged them into formations according to the crossbowmen and spearmen, and firmly guarded the key road.
They also found some women in the village who knew how to cook, and set up stoves on the spot to steam dry rations and boil water, so that the soldiers could have a hearty meal. They sent out a few scouts to scout ahead, while the rest of them ate, slept, and rested.
He was the kind of person who would risk his life for wealth, and having finally acquired such a large estate, with its granaries still full of grain and money, he was unwilling to abandon it.
He decided to openly confront the government. If the Government Army dared to come out of the city to suppress them, he would fight them head-on with his thousand well-equipped soldiers and make sure the people in the village could move all their belongings.
In the middle of the night, two trusted servants sent by Zhao Kui to deliver the message arrived at the gates of Yuxi Prefecture at top speed.
Upon hearing the sound of horses' hooves, the soldiers on the city wall immediately tensed their bows and crouched by the crenellations, shouting sternly, "Who goes there?! Take another step closer and we'll fire!"
"Officer! It's us! We're from the Pan Residence, and we urgently need to enter the city. Please do us a favor!" the servants shouted.
A curse immediately came from the city wall:
"Bullshit! No matter how powerful your Pan Household is, you can't open the city gates in the middle of the night! If something happens, who will take responsibility? Get out!"
"Officer, please don't be in such a hurry!"
The servant quickly shouted again:
"We won't go in, but we'll trouble you to make the trip and deliver a message to our master! If you deliver the message, a reward of one hundred taels of silver will be given without hesitation!"
Upon hearing that it would cost one hundred taels of silver, the soldiers guarding the city wall were immediately tempted. The foreman, his eyes darting around, gave a signal to the men beside him and muttered in a low voice:
"This deal is worthwhile. The Pan Household family is big and powerful; they shouldn't renege on their debt. Sun Laosan, you're the clever one. You go over there in a bit, and the rest of us will keep watch here. We'll split the money when it comes back."
The soldier Sun Laosan curled his lip. "Why should I run errands? Fine, I'll go, but I'll get a bigger share."
"Okay, okay," the foreman counted on his fingers:
"There are nine of us here. You and I will each take fifteen taels, and the rest of us will each take ten taels. Is that alright?"
Sun Laosan then grinned and said, "Alright! It's settled then."
The foreman poked his head out and shouted down, "Speak! What's the message?"
"Tell my master that Pan Household Manor in the east of the city has been breached by bandits! Tell him to make a decision quickly!"
Upon hearing this, the people on the city wall were stunned. They all knew the scale of the Pan Household's estate outside the city; it was guarded by a hundred or so guards and had a brick wall. How could it be breached so easily? How capable must these bandits be?
The junior leader's heart skipped a beat. Not daring to be careless, he gestured with his chin towards Sun Laosan:
"Hurry up! Don't delay us!"
After Sun Laosan had run far away, he turned to a soldier beside him and said:
"Ergouzi, you go too and report to the Hundred Commander that some bandits have broken through the Pan Household Manor outside the city. Tell him to prepare in time and prevent the bandits from storming the city. Don't worry, you'll get your share of the rewards."
"Okay!" Ergouzi replied, then turned and ran into the city.
Sun Laosan, and soon he arrived at the gate of the Pan Residence. He raised his hand and banged on the door, making the door knocker rattle loudly.
The gatekeeper, sound asleep, was woken up and was seething with anger. He peeked through the crack in the door and saw a city guard in uniform, but didn't take him seriously at all. He said irritably through the door:
"What are you yelling about in the middle of the night? Do you know where you are? Are you tired of living?"
Sun Laosan wasn't going to let it go and retorted at the top of his lungs:
"You think I'm just killing time and coming here in the middle of the night? Let me tell you, your Pan Household family servants went to the city gate to report a message, but they couldn't get in, so they asked me to deliver it! What good news could come from this late hour?"
This is a matter of life and death, can you handle it? I'm telling you right now, you go and report this immediately, or I'm going back to the city. Anyway, it's your Pan Household that will suffer, it has nothing to do with me!
The gatekeeper, after being rebuked, began to have doubts. Did the soldiers guarding the city not know the Pan Household? They would never dare joke about something like this; if something serious were delayed, even ten lives wouldn't be enough to pay for it.
He dared not act arrogantly anymore. He left with a "You wait," turned around, and ran into the courtyard to report to the steward.
The butler, wearing an overcoat, came out and walked to the door, saying in a deep voice, "I am the butler of this manor. Just tell me what you need to say."
Sun Laosan glanced sideways through the crack in the door. "You think you can make that decision?"
"Of course I can make the decision."
"Alright," said Sun Laosan, "Give me the agreed-upon one hundred taels of silver, and I'll tell you what it is."
The butler immediately flew into a rage. "Are you tired of living? You dare to haggle with the Pan Household?"
What's wrong with bargaining?
Sun Laosan wasn't intimidated at all (otherwise, they wouldn't have sent him), acting like a tough nut to crack:
"Fine, don't say anything if you won't give it to me. Anyway, this is a major issue for your Pan Household. If things get delayed, you'd better consider whose fault is greater."
The butler was so angry that his chest heaved, but it was the middle of the night, and the other party spoke with such certainty, so he didn't dare to argue.
After pondering for a moment, he told the servant beside him to open the side door, took out a one-hundred-tael silver note from his pocket, and handed it over.
"Here you go. You'd better be serious, or you're not leaving this street today."
Without saying a word, Sun Laosan took the silver note, went to the torch held by the servant next to him, examined it carefully to confirm that it was really one hundred taels, and then quickly put it into his pocket.
"Your family's estate in the east of the city has been breached by bandits. If you don't believe me, go to the north gate of the city wall and ask. Your Pan Household's messenger is still at the city gate."
He threw down those words, turned and ran like a duck, faster than a rabbit, disappearing into the alley in the blink of an eye.