In the latter part of the twelfth lunar month, the weather was bitterly dry and cold. Thanks to someone's unflagging efforts, and the unexpected effect of a golden awl, the bandits of Mount Mangdang finally mobilized ahead of schedule-all the leaders agreed to march, every last scrap of grain remaining was distributed, and everyone elected Boss Zhou Yi to lead them, following Master Zhang San's reliable intelligence, to make a fortune in gold and silk worth a million strings of cash.
Once the restless hearts of men were unleashed, there was no stopping them.
On Master Zhang San's advice, to ensure an orderly deployment and a swift march, only half of Mount Mangdang's ten thousand or more bandits-the so-called "elite"-were sent out.
Yet even with only half their numbers, a mere four or five thousand men, once they had eaten their fill and heard they were off to make their fortunes and seize grain, they hurriedly assembled in the gorge running through Mount Mangdang. The moment their banners rose, their momentum seemed mighty beyond resistance... As for Zhang Xing and the other chief leaders, they gathered atop Mount Dang's cliff, only a few dozen zhang high, each mounted on a tall horse and wearing a red cloak. The enormous Righteousness Banner flew high, while a dozen great banners bearing the surnames of the respective leaders fluttered in the wind, with two or three hundred genuine cultivators and hardened bandits behind them.
It was an impressive display indeed.
For this, Zhang Xing could only thank Boss Zhang... First, for leaving behind this foundation, and second, for having such a good surname: he did not even have to change the banner.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen!"
The chief leader everyone had elected was Headman Zhou Yi. Although he had long known he was only serving