On the second day after the unrest ended, the people of Kaifeng Prefecture all noticed that the atmosphere in the streets had grown much more tense.
Heavily armed soldiers were everywhere, and all of Kaifeng City had been placed under tight restrictions: people could enter, but no one could leave.
Everyone speculated about what had happened. Some who were well informed had a rough idea, but they were all warned not to speak carelessly.
Squads of soldiers entered the homes of once-powerful officials and prominent families, arresting people and confiscating their property. Without even an interrogation, the captives were then divided into two groups and dealt with.
The males, young and old alike, were taken straight to the marketplace and beheaded for public display. The females were all sent to the Imperial Music Bureau.
Such ruthless methods left every official in Kaifeng Prefecture fearing for his own safety, and even ordinary citizens were deeply frightened.
There were not enough executioners in all of Kaifeng Prefecture to handle the aftermath. It took three full days to finish the executions.
Meanwhile, another piece of news spread throughout the land.
The imperial court had established the lofty position of Military Command Commissioner and opened an office to oversee all martial affairs under heaven.
One week later...
"I hear this Military Command Commissioner is the Great Emperor Zhenwu descended from heaven, come especially for our Great Song!"
"They say the Military Command Commissioner can hold off a thousand soldiers single-handedly, and that his fists and kicks can split mountains and rivers. He's even stronger than the very greatest experts in the martial world."
"Old Liu, your stories are getting more and more far-fetched. Why not tell us something believable? We came to this teahouse for a bit of entertainment, but you've turned it into a tale of ghosts and monsters."
A listener grumbled in dissatisfaction. These storytellers always made things sound outrageous.
One man fighting a thousand soldiers, a single move splitting mountains and rivers-wasn't that a joke?
This was a teahouse somewhere in Hebei, and teahouses had always been places where all kinds of rumors flew about in this era.
Aside from peddlers and laborers, most of the people who came here to drink tea and hear the news were members of the martial world.
Hearing someone challenge him, the storyteller showed no annoyance. Instead, he smiled faintly and spoke calmly.
"You must be joking, sir. Every word this old man has said is true."
"All this news came out of Kaifeng Prefecture two days ago. Even the authorities came forward and confirmed that the Military Command Commissioner can match a thousand soldiers by himself."
"And the esteemed commissioner also declared that he would put every martial sect in Great Song in order within a month. It's a major affair, announced on notices posted throughout the land. Why would I make it up?"
The man who had objected was momentarily at a loss. Before he could say anything, someone nearby slammed a hand down on a table.
"Hmph! Pah! What bullshit Military Command Commissioner? He thinks he can put the martial world in order in a month? Does he take all its heroes for figures molded out of clay?"
The speaker was dressed like a beggar, though he was reasonably clean.
Seeing everyone turn to look at him, the beggar, who appeared to be in his twenties, chuckled and spoke again.
"Besides, the martial world and the imperial court have kept out of each other's affairs for hundreds of years. What gives him the right?"
"Please watch your words, sir!"
The teahouse owner hurried over and offered apology after apology before finally persuading the beggar to leave.
If he let someone so loose-lipped stay, and someone else let slip what had been said, the consequences would be more than his little teahouse could bear.
This beggar was none other than Zhang Quanxiang, a Beggar Clan disciple and an utterly inconspicuous extra in the original story.
The reason he dared complain about the Great Song court's decision in public was that the Beggar Clan opposed it and wanted to rally popular support.
The Beggar Clan had been around for more than two hundred years since its first clan leader founded it. It had lived in peace through every dynasty, only for someone to suddenly appear today and announce that he was going to put them in order. (In Jin Yong's historical timeline, the Beggar Clan was founded in 877.)
What gave him the right?
They weren't some evil, heterodox sect. On the contrary, they helped the authorities resist foreign enemies and took in the impoverished people at the bottom of society, keeping them from rising in rebellion.
They were clearly a reputable and righteous sect. Didn't they just have a few more disciples and a few more eyes and ears than others?
In any case, several elders and branch leaders in the clan disagreed, so Beggar Clan disciples had been sent everywhere to gather information. Some of the more radical ones took the opportunity to spread certain remarks.
But Zhang Quanxiang was not so lucky today. Not long after he left the teahouse, someone blocked his path.
The people blocking him wore black martial training clothes embroidered with fierce tigers, long sabers at their waists, and powerful military crossbows on their backs. One look told him they were not to be trifled with.
Zhang Quanxiang stopped and spoke warily.
"Who are you? Why are you blocking my way? Don't you know I'm a Beggar Clan disciple? If you know what's good for you, step aside, or else..."
"Or else what?"
Figures dressed in the same manner appeared from all sides, blocking every escape route Zhang Quanxiang had.
A burly man in black stepped forward and looked Zhang Quanxiang up and down. Then he took a black waist token from inside his robes. The character "武" gleamed brightly on it, its gold lettering against the black token making it look quite extraordinary.
"The Martial Command Office is conducting business. Never mind your Beggar Clan-even Shaolin would have to obey. What, do you object?"
As the man spoke, he approached Zhang Quanxiang step by step. When he was still two paces away-
Thump.
"Spare me, sir! I shouldn't have spewed shit from my mouth or insulted the Martial Command Office!"
Zhang Quanxiang had a good eye. From the black-clad man's gait alone, he could tell that the other man was an expert accomplished in external martial arts. He was certainly no match for him, to say nothing of the group watching him like tigers eyeing their prey.
Without the slightest thought of resisting, Zhang Quanxiang dropped straight to his knees, kowtowing and confessing as he knelt.
He had grown used to kneeling and kowtowing as a beggar anyway. As long as he could keep his little life, he didn't care.
"Hmph! Filthy thing. If we didn't still have a use for you, you'd deserve to be torn to pieces for slandering the Military Command Commissioner just now."
The man cursed in disgust, then waved a hand. "Take him away."
Soon, the Beggar Clan disciple was taken to an elegant estate outside the city, and the man in black went into an inner courtyard to report.
"My lord, we caught a Beggar Clan disciple slandering you. Just as you expected, these fellows are spreading news everywhere, slandering you and stirring up sentiment."
"Mm. Wu 1, did you find out what the Beggar Clan has been up to lately?"
Xu Xiao sat in the main seat and spoke calmly.
He had come to Hebei precisely because he wanted to take the Beggar Clan as his first target and see the so-called Northern Qiao Feng along the way. The Beggar Clan's headquarters also happened to be in Hebei.
"I asked him on the way. They've recently been plotting against their current clan leader, but Qiao Feng hasn't returned to headquarters yet, so they haven't made their move."
"All right, you may withdraw. Keep watching them, and notify me when Qiao Feng appears."
"Yes." The man in black called Wu 1 backed away slowly, then carefully closed the door and left.
It seems the events at Apricot Grove haven't happened yet. My intervention must have thrown the timeline of the entire plot into disarray.
A full nine days had passed since Xu Xiao went to the imperial palace to force the emperor's hand and his arrival here in Hebei.
During those nine days, he had not only helped the emperor settle accounts with the ministers and aristocratic clans at court, but had also barely managed to put together the staff of the Martial Command Office.
He had not had time to deal with the army because of all the complications, and had only made arrangements concerning the martial world.
Drawing on the Ming dynasty's Brocade Guard system, Xu Xiao had brought in nine acting administrators, Wu 1 through Wu 9, all highly skilled in martial arts and of unblemished background.
All nine were granted the official post of Deputy Commander. They answered only to Xu Xiao's orders and needed to heed no one else.
They were responsible for leading the Martial Guards, selected from among the army's best, to monitor and investigate everything in the martial world. They needed only await Xu Xiao's orders to bring the army and carry out a complete reshuffling.
With nothing else to do, Xu Xiao had taken Wang Yuyan's virginity and then brought the women out with him, fulfilling his promise to take them across the land, while also meeting the so-called Northern Qiao Feng and Southern Murong.