Joining Forces

Lu Song had no reason to refuse such a proposal. Even if his personal feelings made him a little contrary, the fact remained, as he himself had said earlier, that this enormous fortified manor housed so many followers of the Way of the Celestial Masters. They needed to survive, eat, dress, raise their children communally, hold gatherings that disregarded the bounds of kinship, and even dye their crimson headscarves. Which of those things did not cost money? Which did not take effort?

Especially this winter, when many more refugees had arrived in Jingkou, bringing five pecks of rice or a bolt of cloth to join the faith. By their own rules, they could hardly turn them away. But it was winter, after all. Because of the season, these newcomers could not quickly be put to productive work in large numbers. Instead, they had to queue up to be paired as men and women for the rituals. Many simply sat there consuming resources, placing even greater strain on the fortified manor. Saying they counted every grain of rice before putting it in the pot in winter was certainly an exaggeration, but the point was sound.

That burden now rested squarely on Master Lu's shoulders. Naturally, he hoped to exchange miscellaneous supplies for such essentials as grain and cloth.

And if they could put their surplus manpower and productive capacity to use, producing something worthwhile during the winter, not only he but probably everyone in the fortified manor's middle and upper ranks would be even happier. Their labor costs could be treated as nonexistent, anyway.

As for why they did not sell the goods themselves?

Besides it being a buyer's market, with high-end customers difficult to find, there was another rather interesting point: the greatest characteristic of a fortified manor, indeed its very foundation, lay in the words "self-sufficiency." Normally, they did not participate in large-scale external trade. At most, they opened an internal market for visitors to browse. It was simply that this winter they had genuinely run into some trouble.

Thus, the two Lius really had brought them something they desperately needed.

Not to mention that this was, after all, the Chen Commandery Xie Clan. It now controlled both military authority and personnel appointments, a first-rank household within the second grade, still steadily rising. Once Grand Commander Chu Pou died, it would probably rise further still, thanks to Empress Dowager Chu's reliance on it.

If the fortified manor could establish a lasting supply relationship with the Xie residence, that would be a rare opportunity. Never mind Lu Song, who had his own calculations-even Master Du Ming would probably have agreed if he had been there.

Sure enough, although Household Officer Lu himself was somewhat surprised and inexplicably irritated, before setting out for the commandery offices he still gave clear orders for the manor's followers of the Way of the Celestial Masters to cooperate with the two Lius.

He never doubted whether the matter was genuine... In Master Lu's view, these two had refused both the comfortable refuge in Jiangcheng and the chance to join him, insisting instead on remaining with a refugee camp of eight or nine hundred people, an exceptionally high proportion of them women and children, to win themselves a reputation. They were plainly extraordinary men, and extraordinary men accomplishing extraordinary things was only reasonable. Besides, as their neighbor, he considered himself well acquainted with their circumstances. At this moment, with nowhere else to turn, the Xie Clan of Black Robe Alley probably really was their only remaining option.

Didn't that all fit together?

Leaving aside Household Officer Lu's continued service at the commandery offices, once he had departed and Liu Acheng had confirmed that the earlier Master Xu had now gone to Kuaiji, leaving Lu Song in sole charge here, he immediately took a chicken feather for a command arrow and began turning someone else's fortified manor into his own uproarious Heavenly Palace.

Before inspecting anything, they would eat!

That was right. At last, they could eat their fill. The seven or eight able-bodied men accompanying them squatted down and drank bowl after large bowl of porridge. If one bowl was not enough, there was another, until they averaged five and a half bowls apiece. Liu Acheng and Liu Jili simply went into the hall from earlier. They did not usurp the host's seat, but sat where they had before and had the manor's Daoists bring them the more expensive millet rice and salted vegetables-in other words, solid food... They even asked for a double helping of the vegetables, setting both dishes on the table and alternating between them.

By the time they were finally full, daylight had thoroughly broken. Only then did they begin taking stock.

Their first stop was the charcoal kiln. Whatever else happened, they had to inspect it. This had been their original plan and their most basic business.

There was indeed a charcoal kiln, but it was not used often, while the storehouse still held seven or eight hundred catties of charcoal. The reason could not have been simpler: it came back to the fortified manor's defining feature, those words "self-sufficiency."

After all, the manor stood out in the countryside, where firewood served most purposes. Nor did anyone nearby come to its private market specifically to buy charcoal. Only its very limited smelting operations and the few masters who stayed there in winter needed any, so they fired a kiln only occasionally, starting the next batch when the previous one was almost gone.

The stock in the storehouse was only there thanks to winter.

That would not do. Liu Acheng first noted this down, then directly demanded that they fire a kiln of good charcoal immediately, at once. The people of the Way of the Celestial Masters did not refuse. The stuff kept well, after all, so there was no question of wasting it. Liu Jili also took the opportunity to pick two of their companions to follow along and learn.

Then they went to inspect the textiles.

Just because the Xie residence possessed a practically immeasurable supply of basic cloth did not mean it had no need to buy textiles. In fact, textiles depended on quality. Ordinary cloth bestowed from government storehouses was fit only for curtains, whereas good textiles had tremendous added value. For a high-end market like the Xie residence, finding textiles with substantial artistic value would certainly make for the most worthwhile trade.

Moreover, their value was widely recognized, their prices stable, and their profit margins high-far better than peachwood firewood.

Yesterday, for example, Liu Acheng had personally seen Steward Qian buying embroidered silk at the market, then incidentally taking some bolts of cloth from the shopkeeper for his own household.

Their inspection really did uncover plenty of fine things. This was because the followers of the Way of the Celestial Masters paid particular attention to the craft of dyeing and weaving crimson fabric... Thus, there really was a great deal of crimson—that is, bright red gauze, silk, and damask. Liu Acheng even saw a crane-feather cloak dyed crimson, then followed that trail to find crane-feather fans, fly whisks, and Dust-Tail Fans dyed the same color.

For a moment, he did not know whether to be delighted or alarmed.

In any case, they recorded it all on paper.

That was right. Liu Acheng finally had paper and a brush to write with, rather than using soot on a little wooden board. This time, however, he showed his lack of confidence, pleading that he was young, had never studied properly, and wrote badly, so he left all the recording to Liu Jili.

Thus, the two Lius led several able-bodied men around from morning until noon, then from noon into the afternoon. They went from the charcoal kiln to the smithy, from the weaving room to the dyeing room. They even inspected the old grain stored in the manor, sampled its wine, studied its furniture and carpentry, and counted the cattle and sheep in the livestock pens... Had Lu Song not returned early, they might even have gone looking for the place where the weapons had been stored.

Even Lu Song's return did not prevent them from having another meal at the manor with the men they had brought, then going into the hall to give Master Lu a serious market analysis.

And, as it happened, Liu Acheng really did have several worthwhile points to make.

According to the youth's analysis, the Xie residence's main demands fell at two opposite ends of the market... It had estates of its own, but as a clan that had risen relatively recently, most of these lay far away in Kuaiji. That forced it to obtain consumables with considerable seasonal fluctuations, such as charcoal and fresh seasonal foods, from nearby sources, along with delicate goods like fine livestock that could not endure long journeys. Furthermore, such high-ranking nobles possessed immense basic wealth, and in turn welcomed any luxury goods with added cultural value.

Following precisely this line of thought, and combining it with the obvious excess productive capacity of the Way of the Celestial Masters and its chaotic inventories, Liu Jili actually drew up a list.

It included not only the main goods selected that day, such as charcoal, wine, silk, red damask, and pelts, but also a request that Lu Song, in his capacity as a master, adorn those rather unusual crane-feather cloaks, feather fans, fly whisks, and Dust-Tail Fans, along with the best examples of certain other goods, with talismans.

They also asked the fortified manor of the Way of the Celestial Masters to select its best craftsmen and try producing a batch of lacquerware, pottery, ironware, and even bronze and silverware with religious characteristics. Its people were also to organize a hunting, fishing, and gathering party to try obtaining winter delicacies, including pine nuts, large fish, and game.

Liu Jili even proposed that although the refugee camp was impoverished, it still had basic abilities in gathering, hunting, fishing, and collecting firewood. The Way of the Celestial Masters should provide some tools so everyone could work together... After all, ordinary little fish and shrimp and shriveled pine nuts could not possibly be sold, but they could keep women and children alive through the winter.

Finally, Liu Acheng openly proposed that, as the people opening up the Xie residence as a market and controlling access to that market, and given the refugee camp's circumstances, they needed a twenty-percent commission, just like the leaders of the Xie residence's key slave retainers.

Plainly, these two had the Way of the Celestial Masters firmly in their grasp.

But after listening carefully, Lu Song did not pull a long face this time. He agreed to everything, then merely offered the two Lius a solemn warning. "Gentlemen, there is nothing particularly serious about your sharing commissions with the Xie residence's servants. If this succeeds, our Way of the Celestial Masters will not only honor our promise, but offer gifts in the future as well. Even if things turn out less favorably and it lasts only this winter, without establishing a deep connection with the Xie Clan, as long as we can genuinely sell goods and ease this winter's difficulties a little, we will have no complaints. My only fear is that nothing comes of it, or that you stir up trouble for no reason. If it truly comes to that, our Way of the Celestial Masters will not lightly offer anyone protection!"

Hearing this, the two Lius looked at each other.

They had discussed precisely this beside the haystack last night. After all, this business took a crooked path, and Steward Qian was hardly clean himself. If it was exposed, trouble would inevitably follow. The Xie residence might simply pretend ignorance for the sake of its family's reputation, whereas the Way of the Celestial Masters might demand their lives for taking too large a cut.

And the consequence was merely that they would not protect anyone?

Then they really could throw themselves into this business without restraint.

"Whatever the case, Brother Song, please be sure to give us a talisman for conceiving a child first. We need to take it over tomorrow," Liu Acheng said, recovering first. "It was requested by the household of the Accountant who handles expenditure in the Xie residence's inner quarters... Such crucial servants are the very people we must not offend. They are also the key to avoiding trouble."

Lu Song thought it over and finally had nothing more to say. He had someone fetch paper and a brush on the spot, though he offered another reminder. "The term 'talismans and registers' is merely common parlance. In truth, one enters the celestial rolls through the registers, then draws talismans on the authority of that registration. Talismans mostly drive out ghosts and preserve life. I have never seen one for conceiving a child... That Accountant must have passed along a mistaken rumor, taking a talisman that expels ghosts and illness from pregnant women for one that grants children. Shall I simply draw you a talisman to expel ghosts and illness?"

"You are already a master enrolled in the celestial registers, so why restrict your talismans to curing illness and expelling ghosts?" Liu Acheng cared little for the man's professional scruples and urged him on directly. "Even if there was no conception talisman before, add one yourself. As long as Heaven recognizes your standing, it will naturally dispatch the appropriate immortals to help you... It is like becoming a commandery governor. Earlier governors did not concern themselves with refugees, but now you do. Would anyone deny that this falls within a governor's authority? I say that as long as you are a celestial official entered in the registers, you can draw any sort of talisman-not just for children, but promotion, wealth, and marriage too."

Even Liu Jili grew somewhat alarmed at these words. These were immortal talismans. Could one really do such a thing?

Lu Song, however, stared at the youth for a long while, then actually lowered his head and drew a talisman. He had someone hand it to the youth before leaving the hall to rest... The two Lius held the talisman and examined it for ages without understanding a thing. They had no idea whether it was an ordinary old talisman for expelling ghosts and illness or an innovation Master Lu had produced after taking their advice.

But that did not matter. Steward Qian and his wife certainly would not recognize it either.

That evening, the two did not stay with the Way of the Celestial Masters. Instead, they asked for two feet of crimson damask as a sample, then took their men back to the camp by torchlight, leaving only the two learning the craft at the charcoal kiln... It must not be forgotten that, even now, the refugee camp had yet to see any substantial income, and its people remained unsettled. If the two stayed outside enjoying themselves, trouble might well break out in the camp.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, the two Lius rose and checked the list once more. After confirming that everything was correct, they should have rested a little, since their appointment with Steward Qian was that afternoon, but Liu Acheng still insisted on setting out early.

At first, Liu Jili thought his companion's old habit had resurfaced and he wanted to broaden his horizons in Jiankang. After all, he had yet to see either Vermilion Bird Bridge or Stone City. Unexpectedly, once they set off, he followed his companion all the way to Jiangcheng, where they found the idle Liu Huzi.

That was not quite fair to Brother Ahu. He was doing something useful. In fact, when Liu Acheng and Liu Jili reached Liu Rengong's new residence, the fellow was practicing archery with several clansmen in Garrison Commander Gao's nearby garrison station. Only when he heard Acheng had come looking for him did he put down his bow and arrows and come out.

There was no ceremony when the three met. They simply borrowed a folding stool and a bench nearby and sat down together to talk.

"Brother Ahu." Liu Acheng clearly had something in mind and asked directly, "Have you entered Elder Gao's service?"

Liu Huzi shook his head at once. "You were there that day too, Acheng. Have you forgotten? Even all his hundred-man commands are already occupied by Gao clansmen. If I joined, I would be a hundred-man commander at most, and a relative would still have to make room for me..."

"Exactly." Camel Jili was positively radiant now, and cut in with a half-smile. "Given the standing of our Liu Clan of Pengcheng and your grandfather's history, Ahu, even if you wanted to become an 'elite soldier,' you would at least have to start as a banner chief like Garrison Commander Gao. Otherwise, Liu Agan would mock you too."

"That is how it is," Liu Huzi admitted frankly. "I was unwilling before, let alone now. If there really is no opportunity, I would rather keep drifting like this... But Liu Agan is in the same position, and unluckier than us. He spent so much money last time, and his future was already settled, only to have it snatched away. He spends all day riding around Jingkou with a dark face, fighting bandits. He has no grounds to laugh at me."

Liu Jili finally could not help laughing aloud.

Liu Acheng's attention, however, drifted as habitually as ever. "Are there many bandits now? Where did they come from? Are any of them vicious? Who told Liu Agan to fight them? Is he simply doing it because he wants to?"

"What a question, Acheng. Don't you know where they came from?" Liu Huzi looked somewhat speechless. "Didn't you conjure up the bandits we fought that day out of thin air? It is all the same! As for how many there are, with forty or fifty thousand refugees lacking food and clothing in winter, surely two or three thousand Ruffian Youths are scattered around Jingkou? But you cannot call all of them bandits... Many are only petty thieves."

"Acheng wants to know how the situation is developing, whether bandit numbers are increasing rapidly, and whether they might affect the camp," Liu Jili volunteered in explanation. "After all, it gets colder every day. Tomorrow is officially the first day of winter."

"Rest assured," Liu Huzi said, growing a little more serious. "Even if there are more bandits and they grow fiercer, there is nothing to fear. Didn't Father choose that place to settle precisely because it was close to the military garrison and under Elder Gao's care? If bandits really come, there will be no need to bother Elder Gao. Send someone to tell me, and I will take men to deal with them... You just asked who told Liu Agan to fight bandits. Nobody needs to tell him. To keep order around his own home, he has to fight them anyway. It is all the same."

Liu Jili nodded, then looked at Liu Cheng. "Acheng, Ahu is right. This is within Langya Commandery, after all, and closer to Jiankang. There is no need to worry excessively about bandits."

"My fear is that if things grow worse, bandits like Zu Shizhi will appear," Liu Cheng said seriously. "Or that you become a bandit yourself, Ahu. How would we resist you?"

Liu Huzi laughed heartily. "First you compared yourself to Zu Shizhi, and now you are comparing me to him?"

But after laughing, Liu Huzi grew solemn again. "Rest assured, Acheng. I cannot promise that I will never become a bandit, but if I do, I will certainly go elsewhere to rob... And even as a bandit, I will still protect you!"

"If it really comes to that, perhaps we will have to become bandits alongside you." Seeing the other man grow serious, Liu Acheng smiled instead. "Enough idle talk. I came to see you on proper business... Your tiger hide has been tanned by now, hasn't it? Have you sold it?"

Before Liu Ahu could answer, Liu Jili's heart jolted beside him. He immediately turned to stare at his companion, realizing at once the purpose of this visit. His feelings then grew complicated. He certainly acknowledged the loyalty of the gesture and admired his companion's gratitude, yet he also felt that Liu Huzi's family had abandoned the camp first. The two of them had toiled so hard these past few days, nearly reaching the end of every road before glimpsing a future. Surely they deserved to enjoy the fruits alone. Yet no sooner had things begun to improve than his companion turned back to lend Liu Huzi a hand. He could not help feeling a little sour.

Was it because they had known each other longer? Or had the hemp sandals on his feet worked their magic after all?

Liu Huzi, of course, knew nothing of Camel Jili's complicated feelings. At the question, he became even more serious. "The tiger hide has been finished these past few days. Acheng, have things really become that bad for you? Just say the word. If you are truly so poor you have no way out, I will steal the hide without letting my two elder brothers see, take it to Jingkou or Jiankang, sell it, and get you some rice. But you must remember what Father said. That is nearly a thousand people. However capable you are personally, anything you manage to throw in will make no more than a splash... Better to come here sooner and let me teach you archery and riding."

Liu Acheng nodded, but rather than explaining directly, he looked at Liu Jili.

Helpless, Liu Jili could only rally his spirits and recount their efforts over the past few days, finally explaining, "Acheng means that if you have not sold the hide, you can wait a little... Once we have earned some money in Black Robe Alley and become familiar faces, we can try making contact with the Xie Family. Then we can simply present the tiger hide to the head of the family before the new year. We will have grounds to speak with them by then, anyway. Perhaps it will be no different from presenting it to the Grand Commander, and we can secure you a future as an 'elite soldier' in the Western Command."

Liu Huzi brightened with delight halfway through. By the end, he simply asked, "If that is so, there is no reason to seek a future for only one man. Are you going to the Western Command too, Acheng?"

"I had not really considered the Western Command." Liu Acheng hesitated, taking the opportunity to add to and adjust the persona he had constructed. "Although I keep the Northern Expedition in mind in everything I do, only after this experience have I realized that without a base behind me from which to recruit soldiers I can trust, and without a patron to shelter me from the turmoil at court, I might be sold out before I ever see the Huai River, let alone establish myself in the north... Besides, what happened to Grand Commander Chu has genuinely made me uneasy about this Northern Expedition. I do not have much faith that they can succeed."

"Exactly." Liu Jili nodded repeatedly. "So you have to become a high official before launching a Northern Expedition..."

"You should think it through too, Ahu," Liu Cheng took the opportunity to advise him. "The Xie Family now controls the Western Command. If everything goes smoothly, joining it and taking part in the Northern Expedition is one possible path. But you are too young, and your clan's roots are in Jingkou. Better to wait a little and find a way to stay here like Elder Gao. You can look after the clan while training a force of your own. Once you have standing, wouldn't entering the Western Command simply mean approaching the Xie Family with another request?"

Liu Huzi nodded again and again, without offering a single objection.

Liu Acheng could only marvel that even someone like Liu Huzi, after experiencing upheaval and setbacks and being driven to the very depths of hardship, could gain a measure of steadiness and begin listening to reason.

That was right. Almost as soon as things took a turn for the better, Liu Acheng had drawn Liu Huzi back into his little circle. Now, seeing that the time was about right, he simply invited him along, and they headed for Jiankang together.

This time, they knew the way. The three Lius reached Changgan Lane together, then met Steward Qian and his wife, who were waiting there.

To be frank, Liu Acheng had been somewhat worried earlier. If Steward Qian proved ruthless, he could simply abandon this house and send his wife to rent a place beneath the walls of the commandery offices opposite Black Robe Alley, escaping the whole affair. They truly would have had no way to stop him.

Fortunately, that had not happened. It was only that when the three arrived, the older husband and young wife both looked rather sullen, as though they had just been angry.

Of course, after Liu Acheng presented the conception talisman supposedly drawn jointly by Master Xu and Master Lu, the couple's expressions improved almost simultaneously. When Liu Acheng then presented the list, Steward Qian finally began looking at these three young men from impoverished gentry families in a new light.

Judging by their sorry state when they hunted the tiger a month ago, who could have imagined they truly possessed such resources? That they could so easily put the manpower and goods of the Way of the Celestial Masters to use?

Did gentry status really open doors everywhere?

At that thought, Steward Qian's attitude inexplicably warmed further. He discussed matters carefully with the youth who clearly led the three, and the two sides agreed to proceed step by step. In three days, they were to bring one load of peachwood firewood and five hundred catties of charcoal, which he would buy at the agreed price. Furthermore, the crimson damask was indeed beautifully dyed, but such expensive goods required the household's approval, so they needed to bring a whole bolt for the ladies and young ladies in the inner quarters to inspect first. If it pleased them, not only would they keep it on the spot, but further orders would certainly follow, since a single bolt would not even be enough to divide among them. Finally, if the crimson damask sold, they were to follow its example and bring samples of the other goods on the list one by one, for him to inspect before proceeding.

Liu Acheng readily agreed to everything.

Two days passed quickly. Early in the morning, Liu Acheng and Liu Jili brought five or six honest, sturdy companions to the fortified manor of the Way of the Celestial Masters. Since the new batch of charcoal was still being fired, they selected five hundred catties of good charcoal from the existing stock, added the peachwood firewood they had chosen themselves, and brought a bolt of crimson damask. Then they specifically had the Daoists add another fifty catties of charcoal and four feet of damask before setting off in a borrowed donkey cart.

Clearly, the people of the Way of the Celestial Masters were uneasy too. They sent another four or five burly men and a Daoist in a long robe to accompany them.

Then, at Jiangcheng, Liu Huzi joined them with several clansmen, continuing to escort the donkey cart toward Jiankang.

When they reached Three Bridges Hedge Gate, the tax official guarding it looked increasingly puzzled-not because these people had prepared the tax in advance, but because he simply could not understand why a mere half-cart of charcoal, one load of firewood, and one bolt of red damask... Even if that damask was of the finest quality, surely it did not warrant an escort of more than a dozen sturdy men, including a master of the Way of the Celestial Masters?

Was there gold hidden in the charcoal?

In the eyes of Liu Acheng and Deng Ren, there really was gold hidden in it!

As mentioned before, one fifty-catty load of miscellaneous firewood could be exchanged for about five sheng of rice. That was the market price... But what about charcoal? Generally, producing one catty of ordinary charcoal required seven or eight catties of miscellaneous firewood. So five hundred catties of charcoal represented three or four thousand catties of firewood, or roughly three or four shi of rice?

What a joke. If that were really the case, who would go to all the trouble of digging a kiln, then tend it for seven or eight days while risking failure?

In fact, the market price of five hundred catties of charcoal was six thousand coins-five-zhu coins, not Shenlang Coins. At Jiankang's market price of three hundred coins per shi of rice, that meant twenty shi! The Xie residence used about eight hundred catties of charcoal each month. Reckoned through winter's end and the biting chill of early spring, that amounted to nearly a hundred shi of grain.

If the refugee camp could take the entire proceeds from this item alone, it would cover the grain shortfall and see them through the winter. This was also the perfect strategy Liu Acheng had once envisioned.

Of course, in reality, twenty percent had to go to Steward Qian, who himself had said he needed to share more than half of that with others in the inner quarters. Another ten percent had to be paid at the city gate. Fifty percent went to the charcoal's true owners, the Way of the Celestial Masters. The refugee camp could take only twenty percent, meaning an estimated twenty shi of grain over the winter.

But nobody was dissatisfied. Even the people of the Way of the Celestial Masters were tremendously excited, because there was still that bolt of red damask!

That bolt sold for two thousand coins. Steward Qian said that, provided they maintained the quality and quantity, the inner quarters needed another fifteen bolts.

Liu Jili and Deng Ren were all marveling at what household demand from the highest nobility really meant. Liu Acheng, however, had only one thought: he had actually pulled it off. These thousand or so people really would make it through the winter without worry!

--------A dividing line that knows how to draw talismans--------

He then said, "The registers of my Daoist arts... give rise to talismans that can naturally dispel the breath of illness, slay ghosts and demons, preserve the breath of life, open the path to official advancement, secure homes, protect the body, safeguard the road to wealth, encourage conception, and preserve the budding fetus. Thus they reach everywhere and accomplish everything."

-Extensive Records of the Taiping Era, Immortals section, Qi, "Lu Song"

At the time, the treasury was utterly depleted, and the storehouses held only several thousand lengths of fine silk, which would not sell. Wang Dao worried over this, and so he and the worthy men of the court all made unlined garments from that silk. The gentry thereupon eagerly competed to wear them, and the price of the silk soared.

-Book of Jin, "Biography of Wang Dao"

PS: Thanks to Lord mousex for becoming a league patron, and thanks to Little Flying Carpet and all the other readers for their tips.