Shandong bred mounted bandits...

Six years after the founding of the Great Ming, the rivers and seas were far from tranquil, and peace had yet to settle over the land.

In the third year of Hongwu, the people of Yangshan County in Guangxi gathered in rebellion, the people of Hui'an County in Fujian rose in armed revolt, and the mountain folk of Yi and Pi in Shandong seized the opportunity presented by the court's northern campaign to rebel.

In the fifth year of Hongwu, the Nanning Guard provoked the local people into rebellion, and more than three thousand raised their poles as banners and rose up...

The establishment of the Great Ming did not mean that everyone under heaven had submitted. Every region had its own hardships. Wars required the people to transport provisions, city walls required their labor, and irrigation works still demanded their corvée service. Just when they finally had nothing to do and could catch their breath, the nobles and officials began tormenting them again.

That was the reality of the early Ming.

Of course, the vast majority of the people had emerged from the chaos of war and begun to live and work in peace, restoring production. That, too, was an indisputable achievement of Old Zhu's. Yet some still remained beyond the government's reach, staking their lives on a little "business."

In later generations, the elders often said, "Shandong breeds mounted bandits; Henan breeds roving brigands." Gu Zhengchen knew the saying. His own Shandong had produced plenty of bold heroes, but strip away their heroic swagger and take a good look at who they were-well, they were just bandits.

Take Old Chao holding up his little iron pagoda, Little Song whose timely rain was not so timely, or the Black Whirlwind with his pair of broad axes...

Some bandits valued loyalty, were upright and generous, and cherished their friends. Those were called heroes, their resounding reputations spreading far and wide. Meet them, climb a mountain, eat some grilled skewers, have a drink, and you need not worry about failing to make it home.

But with some bandits, speak of loyalty and they would try a move on you; speak of the law and they would give you a slash; speak of the authorities and they would slice off your head.

The mounted bandits of the early Hongwu years were a pack of bandits with no sense of loyalty. Fear of the authorities forced them to roam places where government control was weak, such as the Grand Canal. Their methods were said to be brutal, and the common people loathed them.

Sun Shiba looked gravely at Gu Zhengchen and asked in a low voice, "Should we tell the master of the Liang Family?"

Gu Zhengchen shook his head slightly. "Not yet. If they panic, they might give something away and attract the Horse Thieves' attention. Guard the cabin doors and keep an eye on our luggage. We cannot afford to lose what's inside."

Sun Shiba assented, then turned and went back into the hold.

Gu Zhengchen looked at the two boatmen at the bow and went over to strike up a friendly conversation. Seeing that he was a scholar, the boatmen were happy to chat and relieve their boredom.

"Brother Sanliang, where will the boat moor for the night?"

"Tuoligou."

"Tuoligou? Is there any fine scenery there?"

"Heh, if you're looking for scenery, young sir, you'll be disappointed."

"Brother Yang, why do you say that?"

"Tuoligou is just a small ferry landing, somewhere to rest your feet for a bit. There are only a few merchants' warehouses and inns. Walk a little way and you're in farmland, with nothing blocking the view. You can take it all in at a glance..."

"I see. What about Taizhuang, then?"

"Taizhuang has some scenery. There's Pillar Mountain to the north. The elders used to say its sheer cliffs towered ten thousand fathoms high, looking like a pillar from afar. But it's another twenty or thirty li from Taizhuang, so we can't go there..."

Gu Zhengchen chatted with them until he had asked about every day's stopping place, then descended the ladder and entered the hold.

The people in the hold turned to look at Gu Zhengchen, then went back to their own conversations.

There were twelve cabins. Apart from the three used by the boatmen and the boat owner's family, the other nine were used to store cargo and lodge passengers, for an additional charge.

The Liang Family had rented two adjoining cabins. One held their luggage, with Gu Cheng and Liang Wujin taking turns guarding it inside and Sun Shiba standing guard outside. The other was for Liang Family Jiajun and Gu Zhengchen to rest in.

Long benches stood outside the cabins, where those who had not rented a cabin could rest and spend the night.

These people usually traveled light, carrying only a shoulder bag or bundle, either because they were poor and short of money or because they were frugal.

Gu Zhengchen sat beside Liang Family Jiajun, talking while sweeping his gaze over the people in the hold.

Some had already gone into their cabins, but seventeen or eighteen people remained here. A middle-aged man traveling with his wife and daughter huddled uneasily in a corner, even speaking in hushed tones. There was also a prosperous-looking merchant dressed in silk, with two assistants beside him, discussing the purchase of a batch of salt permits. He was probably heading to Yangzhou. There was a monk as well, his head shaved and his gray robes tattered, fingering Buddhist Prayer Beads. A wooden stick beside him served as his Ritual Staff.

Gu Zhengchen rose, took a few eggs, and headed toward the stern, greeting the boat owner and boatmen.

He got a clear look. Behind him were three middle-aged men. The eldest was forty-five or forty-six, with a two-inch scar on his left cheek. The two beside the scar-faced man appeared to be under forty. One was missing a little finger, and the other was missing two fingers, all from their left hands.

Those strangely severed fingers were probably why Sun Shiba had identified them as Horse Thieves.

As Gu Zhengchen returned to the hold, his arm accidentally bumped against the two chests beside the three men. A chest shifted at once, and the scar-faced man stood up and glared at him.

"Sorry, I'm terribly sorry. This is my first time aboard a boat, and I'm a little unsteady on my feet. Please accept these eggs as an apology."

Gu Zhengchen apologized repeatedly and held out the eggs.

The scar-faced man glanced at them and said coldly, "Watch where you're going!"

Gu Zhengchen apologized again and returned to Liang Family Jiajun's side. Meeting Liang Family Jiajun's worried gaze, he gave a calm nod, then picked up a book and quietly began to read, though his mind was nowhere near its pages.

The three men had brought empty chests aboard. Who would bring empty chests onto a boat?

Whether traveling north or south, merchants carried goods; they did not make empty trips. Ordinary people certainly would not carry an empty chest as dead weight. Besides, those chests were not even made of good wood. Bringing them aboard made it obvious that they intended to fill them with goods.

Two chests!

A weight settled on Gu Zhengchen's heart. Two chests meant at least four people. Yet he had only seen three.

Who was the other one?

Was he hiding in the hold, or was someone else waiting outside to help them?

From what the boatmen had said, he could determine that Tuoligou, Hanzhuang, and Taizhuang were all unsuitable places for the Horse Thieves to strike.

Tuoligou and Hanzhuang were flat and open. If the bandits encountered patrolling government troops, it would be difficult to escape quickly with their loot. Taizhuang was a good spot, with clear waterways, plenty of cover nearby, and mountains to the north where they could hide, but these Horse Thieves probably would not strike there either.

There were too many merchants and warehouses in Taizhuang. If these men really wanted to pull off a robbery, they need not set their sights on a small boat. Would it not be easier to target a warehouse or a wealthy household directly?

Robbery was robbery. Why not rob someone with more money, when the risk was relatively low as well?

With those three places ruled out, only two remained: Pi County and Suqian in Huai'an Prefecture!

According to the boat owner, Luoma Lake lay between Pi County and Suqian. Horse Thieves had frequently appeared there in previous years, but their numbers had dwindled considerably over the past two years as more of the court's grain-transport vessels passed through.

Yet Gu Zhengchen reckoned that if they truly intended to strike, they would most likely choose Luoma Lake!

They would be hard to handle.

Sun Shiba had some skill, but on this boat, where he had no room to use it, how many desperate outlaws could he take on? As for himself, forget it. He could fight Wang Youcheng, but fighting these burly men would only be courting death.

Could he really not beat them?

Gu Zhengchen sank into thought.