The instant Bai Mao voiced his proposal, the entire hall of military officers fell into a brief, stunned silence, followed by an unspoken chorus of amazement rising in their hearts.
Bloody hell, this man was brilliant.
Only moments earlier, everyone present had been quietly calculating how to shove this festering problem onto someone else's shoulders, preferably one of their peers, so they themselves could emerge unscathed. Yet this Battalion Commander Wang had taken a far bolder step, neatly flinging the entire burden straight onto the back of Imperial Censor Wu Shen, a civil official and a political rival at that. With that single sentence, the dilemma evaporated, and not a single military officer in the room would have to bear responsibility.
This was no ordinary scapegoating.
Among officials, there were levels to the art. The lowest tier was dumping blame on one's own subordinates. The middle tier involved dragging in unrelated outsiders. But the highest tier, the pinnacle of the craft, was to push everything onto one's political enemies.
For military men, passing the blame to the civil officials was the purest expression of this upper-tier maneuver.
Du Wenhuan did not even bother to hide his admiration. He raised his thumb high. "Excellent."
Cao Wenzhao, the deputy general from Gushan, nodded repeatedly, his expression filled with sincere approval. "Truly excellent."
Wang Guoliang, the General Soldier of Shanxi, laughed aloud and said, "Battalion Commander Wang, with talent like yours, keeping you at battalion rank is a terrible waste."
Wang Cheng'en, the General Soldier of Shaanxi, immediately shot back, "Oi, Wang Guoliang, what do you mean by that? Are you trying to steal my man right in front of me?"
Wang Guoliang waved his hands hastily. "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. I only mean that such talent should not be buried. You ought to promote him quickly. Make him a thousand-household commander."
Wang Cheng'en smiled faintly. "If he earns another merit, I will certainly do so."
The generals were all in high spirits. Du Wenhuan wasted no time, drafting an official order commanding Wu Shen to come and take charge of the families of the captured rebels. He then arranged for two thousand troops to remain behind in Hequ County to manage the situation, while the rest of the army prepared to move out immediately in pursuit of Wang Jiayin.
Hexin County, Longmen Ferry.
The Yellow River flowed broad and slow beneath the winter sky, its waters carrying a muted chill. On the sandy riverbank beside the ancient ferry crossing, Shi Jian stood with a small detachment of garrison soldiers.
In name, there were a hundred men under his command, assigned to him by Wang Cheng'en. In reality, when counted properly, there were only a little over fifty.
These men were the weakest of the weak, soldiers in name only, with neither training nor morale to speak of. They had no desire to fight bandits, no appetite for danger, and no illusions of heroism. Being left behind to guard Longmen Ferry was, in their eyes, an astonishing stroke of luck. Afraid that a single misstep might send them back to the front lines, they treated Shi Jian with exaggerated obedience.
After following him for several days, they discovered that their commander was unexpectedly easygoing. He carried none of the aloofness or arrogance they associated with officials. He ate with them, spoke casually, and often told them stories to pass the time.
At this moment, the fifty-odd men were seated by the riverbank, coats loosened, enjoying the cold breeze rolling off the water as they listened to Shi Jian spin a tale.
He spoke of a soldier who helped the common folk, earned their heartfelt gratitude, and was ultimately rewarded with the hand of a villager's daughter in marriage, living thereafter in peace and contentment.
The story was completely fabricated.
Any modern listener would have spotted countless holes in it without effort. But these were simple people of an ancient age, utterly unfamiliar with the tricks of polished rhetoric and false narratives. Give them a strange device from the future, and they would likely be deceived within moments. To them, Shi Jian's tale sounded sincere, warm, and full of hope.
They listened with shining eyes. When the story ended, several of them sighed deeply.
"That's truly wonderful," one said. "Honestly, none of us want to be bad people. If we had the chance to help others, who wouldn't want to? But look at us. We're poor, starving, with nothing to our names. We want to help, but we can't."
Shi Jian smiled gently. "Don't worry. Soon enough, you will have the ability to help others."
The soldiers exchanged confused glances, faces full of question marks.
"Look at the river," Shi Jian said, raising his hand.
They turned as one, and their murmurs died away.
A large cargo ship was slowly making its way upstream. On the bow stood a figure with arms spread wide, clad in flowing Daoist robes. The hems fluttered in the river wind, giving the figure an air both solemn and otherworldly, as if an immortal had descended to stand above the mortal waters.
Shi Jian's heart skipped a beat.
"That is…" he murmured, staring. "Is that Dao Xuan Tianzun's statue placed on the bow?"
He had given the miniature Dao Xuan Tianzun puppet he carried to Bai Mao some days ago, and since then he had been unable to make contact. Now, seeing a life-sized statue standing so boldly at the front of a ship, he felt a strange sense of disorientation, as though heaven itself had drifted down the river toward him.
He hurried to the water's edge. Before the ship had even docked, he bowed deeply. "Greetings, Dao Xuan Tianzun."
The statue's eyes moved.
"No need for formalities," came a voice. "I was just standing here, imagining what it would feel like to be on the Titanic. It is a pity, though. Posing alone feels incomplete without someone beside me."
Shi Jian froze, utterly bewildered.
He did not understand a single word of that sentence. But that was only natural. Mortals were not meant to comprehend the speech of divine beings. This, surely, was what people meant by being unable to fathom divine mysteries.
The Dao Xuan Tianzun continued, "Unload the grain from the ship. Rescue the people of Hexin County as quickly as possible."
Shi Jian cupped his fists at once. "As you command."
He turned and shouted to the garrison soldiers, "Move it. Start unloading the grain immediately. Send one man to Hexin County city and summon the refugees there. Tell them they will be fed, and paid three catties of flour per day."
The soldiers paused, stunned, and then erupted into cheers.
One of them shouted, voice trembling with hope, "Commander Shi, will we get paid as well? I haven't received my military pay in so long. My family can barely keep the pot boiling. I want to earn those three catties of flour too."
Others chimed in eagerly, their voices overlapping. "So do we. We want to earn it too."
Shi Jian laughed and scolded them lightly. "When the refugees arrive, you will be maintaining order. How could you unload grain? Don't worry. Maintaining order will earn you wages as well."
The soldiers were overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear as they hurried off to carry out the orders.
The Dao Xuan Tianzun spoke again, the voice carrying calmly over the river. "Shi Jian, Wang Jiayin's forces have already broken through the official army's encirclement at Hequ County. They are heading south, and will reach Pingyang Prefecture within a few days."
Shi Jian's expression changed. "Pingyang Prefecture? That is dangerously close to Hexin County."
Hexin County was a subordinate county of Pingyang Prefecture, much like a smaller town clinging to the side of a major commandery. If the bandits attacked Pingyang, it was all but certain they would sweep through Hexin once again.
Anxiety crept into his voice. "Hexin was only recently looted by Bu Zhan Ni. The city walls were torn down, the people scattered and broken. If the bandits come again, it would truly be disastrous."
The Dao Xuan Tianzun sighed softly. "This will be a test of your ability. Evacuate them. Whether by persuasion, by deception, or even with blades at their throats, get the people of Hexin County city out. Move them here, near Longmen Ferry, and build wooden stockades, just as was done at Gudu Ferry on the Yellow River."
Understanding dawned on Shi Jian's face. "That way, if the bandits go to Hexin County city, they will find nothing. And since I have official troops here, constructing a water fort will be justified, and face less resistance than when Xing Honglang's people built theirs."
The Dao Xuan Tianzun smiled faintly.
This young man was sharp. Reliable. The affairs here could be entrusted to him.
The statue's eyes ceased moving. The divine presence withdrew, leaving behind only a silent effigy standing with arms outstretched, robes catching the wind on the bow in a majestic, frozen pose.
Shi Jian sensed that Dao Xuan Tianzun had returned to the heavens. What remained before him was merely a statue.
I gave the miniature Dao Xuan Tianzun puppet I carried for protection to Bai Mao, he thought. Now I do not even have a statue by my side. No wonder my heart feels uneasy.
Dao Xuan Tianzun, please forgive my presumption.
He leapt onto the ship, hoisted the statue onto his back with a grunt, carried it ashore, and set it carefully atop a tall rock beside Longmen Ferry.
When it was firmly in place, Shi Jian clapped his hands together, brushing off the dust.
With Dao Xuan Tianzun's statue by his side, his heart finally felt at ease.