Volume 1, Chapter 42: Hou Youhuai Timidly Calls the Gate Guards

Reaching the small grove, hidden sentries were posted far outside. Li Shandao ordered someone to fetch Dong Gouer.

Accompanying Dong Gouer was another man in his forties, one of the local residents whom Wagang had planted in Suanzao.

Sometimes, when people from the stronghold like Li Shandao and his men set out, they did not return to the mountain right after exacting a single tribute. In such cases, they needed a temporary place to store the loot and wealth they had plundered, and locals of this sort handled precisely that kind of business.

This man had been engaging in this trade for over a year, having helped store stolen goods dozens of times. Yet, in terms of sheer volume, none of the previous occasions compared to this one. When he saw the vast quantity of goods Li Shandao and his men had seized, his eyes widened broader than those of the donkey he rode in on. Fortunately, this man was a minor local influential figure with a small estate of his own; despite the abundance of goods, he was still able to take charge of storing them. Thus, waiting until nightfall, Luo Zhong led a group driving over a dozen cargo carts and followed the man to his estate. That need not be dwelt upon further.

Not long after Luo Zhong and the others departed, the crisp sound of horse hooves striking the ground echoed from afar beyond the small grove.

The hidden sentries had long since reported back: Qin Jingsi and Chen Jing'er were returning.

Arriving outside the grove, after waiting only a short while, Qin Jingsi rode back into the embrace of the night.

The men reined in their horses and dismounted one after another.

Across three of the horses, county soldiers were laid horizontally; these three captives were dragged down from their mounts by Qin Jingsi and his men.

Escorting the three county soldiers close to Li Shandao and the others, Chen Jing'er laughed and said, "My lord, we were unable to run them all down. We only managed to capture these three."

"Three is a bit few, but it will barely suffice." Li Shandao glanced briefly at the three county soldiers and ordered them to be taken into the grove, instructing Chen Jing'er and Qin Jingsi to follow him inside as well. Wang Xuda, who had come along to welcome them, also trailed at the side.

Finding a quiet spot, Li Shandao told the men to sit on the ground, seated himself, and said, "Didn't you ask me why I wanted to chase after those county soldiers? Now I can give you my answer. But before I answer, I must ask you a question first."

Wang Xuda said respectfully, "What would the lord like to ask?"

"What I want to ask is, do you brothers have the guts to pull off a big job with me?"

Wang Xuda laughed and said, "My lord, today we robbed Cheng Huan and gained immensely. Isn't that considered a big job?"

"Compared to the job I have in mind, Cheng Huan's job is nothing."

Wang Xuda's spirit surged instantly, and he said, "It's even bigger than the one with Cheng Huan? My lord, please tell us, what is it? Could it be that a major merchant caravan is about to pass through our borders?"

"What I am talking about is not a merchant caravan, but the Suanzao County Temple."

Wang Xuda cleared his ears and said, "What did the lord say?"

"The Suanzao County Temple. Gentlemen, Cheng Huan is merely a retired commandery vice-administrator. No matter how much wealth he brought with him in his retinue, how could it compare to the reserves of a county temple?" Li Shandao looked around at the men and said, "I propose, why don't our next venture be to exact a tribute from the Suanzao County Temple?"

Wang Xuda, Chen Jing'er, and Qin Jingsi looked at one another in blank dismay.

Qin Jingsi said, "Second Brother, rob the Suanzao County Temple? This... the county temple is within the walls of Suanzao. We only have a hundred-odd men, how can we launch an assault on it?"

Li Shandao said, "If we attack head-on, our force is certainly not enough to capture Suanzao city. But what if we take it by strategy?"

Qin Jingsi asked, "Second Brother, what strategy?"

"The crucial point lies at the city gates. As long as we can seize the gates, the Suanzao County Temple will be ours for the taking."

Chen Jing'er said, "How do we do this specifically? I beg the lord to explain in detail."

"Specifically, it can be divided into four steps. Step one: seize the city gates. Step two: once the gates are taken, our main force will immediately charge into the city. The officials and soldiers inside will be momentarily confused, unable to tell real from false or know how many men we have, and will inevitably fall into panic. Seizing this opportunity, we proceed to step three: march straight into the county temple and carry out our pillaging. Following that is step four, the final step—before the officials and soldiers inside recover their senses, we take the county magistrate hostage and make a timely retreat." Having laid out his vision, Li Shandao swept his gaze across the men once more, stroked the short mustache beneath his chin, and calmly said, "That is the general plan. What do you brothers think?"

Wang Xuda stammered, "M-My lord, this... with our mere hundred-odd men charging into the city, w-wouldn't it be too dangerous? Once we fail to r-retreat, we will all be t-trapped inside the city."

"As long as we can capture the magistrate and withdraw in good time, I estimate we should be able to pull out safely."

Chen Jing'er pondered for a moment and asked, "What the lord just said is correct. According to your plan, the primary and crucial point indeed lies at the city gates. My lord, how are the city gates to be seized?"

Li Shandao pointed toward Hou Youhuai, who was tied to a tree a dozen paces away, and said, "How the city gates are seized depends entirely on this Chief Clerk Hou and those two county soldier officers."

Chen Jing'er said, "Does the lord intend to use these three to trick open the city gates?"

"Precisely."

Wang Xuda stammered, "M-My lord, how can we use the three of them to trick open the gates? Even though they are our captives now, the guards at the city gates are not blind. I'm afraid it will be d-difficult to use them to get close to the gates."

"It might be difficult during the day, but what about at night?"

Chen Jing'er said, "At night?"

"The reason I ordered Fifth Brother and Jingsi to recapture those county soldiers we let go earlier is precisely for this purpose. If all the county soldiers had escaped back into the city, it would be hard for us to pick our own men to disguise as county soldiers and accompany this Chief Clerk Hou to trick the gates. My plan is to select a few brave warriors, dress them in county soldier attire—including substituting our own men in disguise for those two soldier officers—and march this Chief Clerk Hou under the cover of night, pretending to be survivors who have fled back, to call upon the gate guards to open the city. Then, the selected brave warriors will rush forward and seize the city gates! Our main force will be hidden nearby; the moment the city gates fall, we will charge into the city! Choosing to act at night not only helps us trick open the gates, but also facilitates our plundering of the county temple once inside. What do you brothers think?"

Chen Jing'er mulled it over for a while, flashed a grin, and said, "It's not overly perilous!"

Li Shandao asked Qin Jingsi and Wang Xuda, "Jingsi, Third Brother, what do you two think?"

Like Wang Xuda, when Qin Jingsi first heard that Li Shandao intended to plunder the Suanzao County Temple, he was extremely shocked. But having now heard Li Shandao's complete plan and turning it over in his mind, he felt that there seemed to be no flaws and a genuine chance of success. Hardening his heart, he said, "Second Brother is right. 'Wealth and honor are sought through danger.' Damn it all, we'll follow Second Brother's lead!"

Wang Xuda hesitated for a long while. Under the gaze of Li Shandao, Chen Jing'er, and Qin Jingsi, he slapped his thigh and said, "Damn it, fine! We'll listen to the lord! This job, we elders are going to do it!" He then added, "There is just one thing, my lord: we must first ensure that this Hou Youhuai is willing to cooperate with us. Otherwise, tricking the city gates will likely be difficult."

"We'll go together."

The group stood up and walked over to Hou Youhuai, who was tied to the tree.

Qin Jingsi drew his dagger, flicked it across Hou Youhuai's face, and said, "You thieving bastard, let me ask you: do you want to die or live?"

"We won't even require your family to send a ransom. Not only that, as long as you behave, we will give you a reward afterwards and not shortchange you."

Hou Youhuai replied, "Y-Yes, yes." Coming to his senses, he asked timidly, "I wonder what the good men want this humble person to obey?"

Hou Youhuai froze, looking in disbelief at Li Shandao, then at Wang Xuda, and said, "You're going to raid the city?"

Qin Jingsi frowned and said, "What we are going to do is none of your concern. I'm just asking you, can you do it?"

Anyone could see that Hou Youhuai was truly terrified of death. If his body weren't bound to the tree, he probably would have already collapsed to the ground in prostration. Yet despite his fear, he hesitated at that moment, avoiding Qin Jingsi's gaze, mumbling indistinctly and offering no answer.

Wang Xuda stepped close to Li Shandao and said, "My lord, merely trying to scare him with words won't do much good. I have experience with this; we have to play for keeps."

Li Shandao casually remarked, "Since Third Brother has experience, you go talk to him."

Wang Xuda acknowledged the command, but instead of going to Hou Youhuai's side, he walked up to one of the county soldier officers tied to a neighboring tree. Coughing lightly, he called out to Hou Youhuai, "Chief Clerk Hou, look over this way."

Hou Youhuai turned his head to look.

Wang Xuda pulled open the officer's robe, drew his dagger, and stabbed it into the officer's abdomen. He thrust it two or three times in succession, then raised his arm and stabbed the officer's chest twice more, twisting the blade. Fresh blood splattered over half his body.

The officer let out a few miserable screams before his breath cut off, his head drooping as he died.

Wang Xuda's idea of "playing for keeps" was to execute a soldier officer! Li Shandao's heart leaped, but since the officer was already dead, it was far too late to stop him.

There was still one soldier officer left. With those words, Wang Xuda strode toward that remaining officer.

Before he even reached him, the officer screamed, "This humble person is willing! This humble person is willing!"

Qin Jingsi glared viciously at Hou Youhuai and asked, "And you? Are you willing or not?"

Hou Youhuai shook from head to toe, his voice trembling as he answered, "W-Willing, this humble person is willing!"

A pungent stench of urine wafted into the air. Qin Jingsi hurriedly retreated two or three steps, looked closely, and saw that Hou Youhuai's lower garments were soaked—he had lost control of his bladder out of sheer terror.

Qin Jingsi cursed with a laugh, "Son of a bitch, what a spineless coward!"

Thus it was settled: according to Li Shandao's plan, they would storm into Suanzao city the next night and plunder the county temple.

The following day, they rested.

When night fell, Li Shandao led the men out of the small grove, took the back roads, and stealthily advanced toward the Suanzao County city a dozen or soli away.

Reaching the outskirts of the city as the third watch approached, the night was deep and quiet. Looking out in the distance, the torches atop the city walls were sparse. Listening intently, absolute silence reigned within the city.

It was precisely the time suited for killing and setting fires!

Wang Xuda led Jiao Yanlang, Zheng Zhiguo, Luo Longju, and a few other brave warriors selected from the hundred-odd members of the entire troop. Escorting Hou Youhuai along the main road, they put on the appearance of stumbling and fleeing in panic. Under the watchful eyes of Li Shandao and the others lurking in the farmland and wild fields nearby, they rushed toward the moat outside the city.

Hou Youhuai's voice rang out immediately.

His voice was still trembling, revealing the terror deep within his heart. Yet the words he screamed caused the expressions of Li Shandao and the others to shift drastically.

What the group clearly heard Hou Youhuai shout was: "Do not open the city gates! Wagang bandits are coming to sack the city!"