Meeting Li Yun

Gusu, the county yamen.

Today was the day Wang Gui was to be sent into exile. Standing in the crowd, Wang Gang watched him cling to his wife and children as they wept together. None of the defiance he had shown in prison that day remained.

A jumble of feelings filled Wang Gang's heart. As a child, Wang Gui had been generous and loyal, and had treated Wang Gang extremely well, granting almost anything he asked. He had climbed trees to catch birds and driven off bees to gather honey.

Wang Gui had taken plenty of beatings for it, too, but after every beating, he would bare his teeth, sucking in sharp breaths, and tell Wang Gang, "Those servants have no strength. It doesn't hurt a bit!"

Later, Wang Gui went to work as a shop assistant in town, and they saw less of each other. But whenever he returned, he brought plenty of tasty treats and fun things, and they remained as close as ever.

People seemed to change all of a sudden one day!

Wang Gang did not know when Wang Gui had changed, but afterward, he grew busier and busier, and they met less and less.

Even on the rare occasions they met, the warmth of their childhood was gone, replaced by politeness and distance!

Perhaps that was the price of growing up!

But he had never imagined that Wang Gui would try to assassinate him, or that the two of them would come to this.

In the end, all those feelings could only turn into a sigh!

Wang Zhong stepped forward and handed over a bundle, sighing. "I watched you grow up, after all. Let this settle the affection of all these years!"

"Uncle Zhong... I..." Wang Gui's voice was still choked with sobs.

Wang Zhong raised a hand to stop him. "From the moment you tried to assassinate the young master, you ceased to be one of the Wang Family!"

With that, he slipped some silver to the two escorting runners. "I hope you gentlemen will look after him on the road and keep him alive!"

"Rest assured, old sir. We'll deliver him safely!" The two runners accepted the silver with beaming smiles.

Wang Zhong cupped his hands in thanks and turned to leave, but added, "If your wife and children aren't doing well with her family, they can come find me. At least they'll have a bowl of rice to eat!"

"Uncle Zhong, thank you!" Encumbered by his cangue and chains, Wang Gui could not bow properly and could only nod.

Wang Zhong said nothing more and turned away.

Wang Gui watched him walk into the crowd. Catching sight of Wang Gang, he stretched his mouth into a smile.

"All right, time to go! Move aside, move aside!" Shouting, the runners pushed and shoved Wang Gui's wife and children away, setting off another round of wailing.

Wang Gang shook his head and prepared to leave as well. He had only taken two steps when Wang Gui called, "Brother Gang!" Wang Gang paused, then turned around!

"Brother Gang, a man needs a hard heart to do great things! You're too kind!" Wang Gui grinned. "You need to get hard!"

"You're the one who can't get fucking hard!" Wang Gang shot back.

Wang Gui was actually right. To do great things, one needed a hard heart and ruthless methods! But that was merely how people of their stratum understood struggles!

Among the true scions of great families, who did not have a cold-hearted nature? However viciously they fought, they still cupped their hands and laughed when they met.

Cupping their hands let you see they carried no weapons; their smiles expressed goodwill!

Even while swallowing someone alive and stripping off their skin, they would look harmless to man and beast!

Ruthlessness was never something to display. Make it obvious, and you would scare people away, or even drive them to join forces against you!

Wang Gang shook his head and walked toward the county yamen.

He had not come today solely to see Wang Gui off. His main purpose was to ask County Magistrate Li Yun about the bandit-suppression operation.

Entering the second hall, he found Li Yun berating County Commandant Yang. "How long has it been?! You haven't caught even a single ringleader of the Fish-Dragon Gang! How can we face the court? How can we face the people under our governance?!"

"This subordinate acknowledges his fault. It's just that the Fish-Dragon Gang is far too cunning. Please grant me more time, Magistrate. I will not disappoint you!"

"Fine, then I'll give you another three days! If there's still no progress, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

"Yes, sir!" County Commandant Yang bowed and withdrew, running straight into Wang Gang. He hurriedly cupped his hands. "Brother Yukun!"

"Brother Yang, why do you look so dreadful?" Wang Gang asked, though he knew perfectly well.

"Alas, it's all because of that Fish-Dragon Gang..."

County Commandant Yang was just about to air his grievances when Li Yun's voice came from behind him. "Is that Yukun? Come in, quickly."

County Commandant Yang cupped his hands with a wry smile. "You'd better see the magistrate first, Yukun! We can discuss this afterward!"

Wang Gang nodded and entered the inner hall. Seeing Li Yun's indignant expression, he smiled. "Why so unhappy, Magistrate? It's only a gang of the jianghu!"

"This gang of the jianghu is no simple matter!" As he spoke, Li Yun fetched some tea and brewed it, then handed a cup to Wang Gang. "Try it. This tea is exceptionally fragrant. It has a name: Fragrance to Frighten One to Death!"

Looking at the beadlike tea leaves in the cup, Wang Gang thought, Isn't this just Biluochun? He sniffed it, and an extraordinary fragrance indeed filled his nose. Taking a small sip, he praised it. "Excellent tea. The fragrance lingers on the tongue!"

"It came from the foot of Lion Peak. If you like it, Yukun, take some back with you later!"

"Then thank you, Magistrate!" Wang Gang replied with a smile, but inwardly grew wary. When someone humbles himself with gifts, he must want something!

Li Yun nodded with a smile. "Speaking of the Fish-Dragon Gang, they were originally a group of hardworking, downtrodden people. Later, to avoid being bullied, they banded together and formed this Fish-Dragon Gang, helping one another and protecting their members."

"As more and more people joined, the Fish-Dragon Gang became the largest gang in Gusu. But with more people came more conflicting intentions, and some began committing crimes under the Fish-Dragon Gang's name!"

"Then they betrayed their original purpose?" Wang Gang guessed how the story ended. The Green Gang and Hong Gang of later ages had mostly followed the same course.

"How many people can keep their original purpose unchanged, in the end?" Li Yun nodded and sighed. "At first, their leader punished these people severely. But as the profits grew, more and more gang members supported them. In the end, these people who had sought only to protect themselves became the very people they had once hated most!"

"Another story of a dragon-slaying hero becoming an evil dragon!" Wang Gang sighed inwardly in dejection as well. After a long pause, he smiled again. "You're about to be promoted, Magistrate. Why trouble yourself over it?"

"Indeed, I could leave it alone!" Li Yun smiled. "When you came in, Yukun, did you see the admonition stone outside the yamen?"

"Of course!"

"What was inscribed on it?"

Wang Gang straightened, his expression solemn. "Your salary and your stipend are the people's fat and marrow. The common people are easily oppressed, but Heaven is hard to deceive."

These were two lines Emperor Taizong of Song had taken from the "Admonition on Issuing Orders" and had engraved outside prefectural and county yamens throughout the land as a warning.

Li Yun stroked his beard and smiled. "Since I consume the people's fat and marrow, I ought to do something for those under my governance!"

"Your righteousness is admirable, Magistrate. You cherish the people as your own children!" Wang Gang rose and bowed.

Li Yun waved a hand. "It's merely my duty!"

"With such compassion for the people, Magistrate, you will surely bring blessings to all under Heaven one day!" Even as Wang Gang offered this flattery, he felt puzzled. With Li Yun conducting himself this way as an official, could my sister's and my guesses have been wrong?

"Enough flattery!" Li Yun smiled. "You've come today about suppressing the bandits, I presume?"

"Yes. Though I'm merely a scholar, I'm willing to rid the people of Jiangnan of a scourge!"

Li Yun said, "Then I suppose you've guessed why I've repeatedly asked you to suppress the bandits?"

"Uh..." Wang Gang froze. He's actually throwing a straight pitch! He immediately stopped concealing it. "My elder sister told me about past events, and I have a guess or two!"

"Alas! I don't want to do this either! But the road of performance reviews is too bitter!" Li Yun sighed. "Back then, I passed in the second class, proud and ambitious. Those I most despised were the people who pulled strings. But the road for lower-ranking officials, with six evaluations in three years, is truly arduous! It took me over a decade just to become a county magistrate. I truly cannot bear to squander any more years!"

"I ought to help with this, but I don't know that Master Zhang either, and my words carry little weight..."

Li Yun waved a hand. "There's no need to be so deliberate. Just go and do it. I've already made arrangements for the rest!"

Wang Gang looked at Li Yun. Seeing that he had no intention of explaining, he felt displeased and cursed inwardly. You want me to do the job, but won't tell me the plan! How am I supposed to know whether you'll harm me?!

Seemingly discerning Wang Gang's thoughts, Li Yun said, "The counties of Gusu have already levied a thousand archers, all strong, able-bodied men. During battle, you need only command from the rear. You will certainly receive a share of the credit afterward!"

Wang Gang nodded. This meant letting him fish in muddy waters and coast along for credit, but how would that help Li Yun?!

Would Zhang Dun value him because he was so good at coasting along?!