Volume One, Chapter Forty-Five: A Sudden Showdown of Strengths

Li Shandao was momentarily stunned and then asked, "Second Elder, what do you mean by that?"

Xu Shiji set down the harvest ledger he had brought and said, "You left the mountain in such a hurry, setting out just the day after receiving the order. There’s something I forgot to mention to you. It concerns..." He gestured toward the ledger, "the matter of requisitioned tribute. Our stronghold has a rule: whenever someone goes down the mountain to collect tribute, the amount collected must not only be reported personally to the stronghold, but also the local informants and landholders report those figures to the stronghold as well. I simply forgot to tell you this; by the time I remembered, you had already left the mountain."

He paused, picking up his crane-feather fan, fanning himself slowly as he smiled faintly at Li Shandao, then continued, "I figured when you returned, you’d first report your haul to me. So, even though I forgot to tell you this, any discrepancies wouldn’t be known to Lord Zhai. That’s why I didn’t send anyone to follow after you."

At this, Li Shandao understood the true meaning behind Xu Shiji’s words about being an "honest man."

He smiled and said, "Second Elder, are you worried I might underreport my gains?"

"Second Brother, it’s not that I distrust you. After all, you weren’t the only one who went down the mountain — your troops went as well. I’m sure you wouldn’t cheat on your report, but your men? That’s uncertain. Though, judging from how things turned out, my worries were for nothing."

Li Shandao inwardly felt lucky he hadn’t listened to Wang Xuda. Out loud he asked, "Have Dong Gou’er and the others already reported our troop’s haul?"

"You had so many people and moved slowly. The ones sent to report your spoils actually arrived ahead of you—they reached the stronghold yesterday."

Li Shandao nodded approvingly and said earnestly, "As the saying goes, ‘The dragon’s nine sons each have their own tastes.’ Second Elder, our stronghold is full of loyal men, but there are also those who care more for wealth than loyalty. This rule you have is excellent—a good way to prevent problems before they arise."

Li Shandao modestly replied, "It’s all thanks to the reputations of Lord Zhai and you that this trip was not in vain."

"It has nothing to do with our reputations. It’s your intelligence, courage, and boldness. Just now, you told me about your ambush on Cheng Huan. This tribute mission had to be led by you; no one else could have pulled it off. You might not know, Cheng Huan was waylaid several times on his journey south from Dongping Commandery. Some attacks were from our stronghold’s men, some from the Weicheng branch, others from Zhou Wenju’s followers—none succeeded. Among Cheng Huan’s guards was a particularly fierce man wielding a broad blade. No one could match him. Even one of Zhou Wenju’s kinsmen was killed by him. Yet, you alone managed to ambush him successfully."

As previously noted, the bandits in Dong Commandery mainly consisted of two factions: one was Wagang, the other Zhou Wenju’s group. Zhou Wenju was also from Weicheng and a fellow townsman of Lord Zhai, but he did not follow Zhai and commanded his own band.

Li Shandao said, "The man with the broad blade is called Gao Xi. His skill with that weapon is truly formidable. I tricked him into falling off his horse, and when he hit the ground, he was dazed and confused. Guess what? Even then, four or five men couldn’t get close enough to him. Among my troops is a man named Zheng Zhiguo, trained as a militia soldier, skilled with blades and close combat, yet even he was chased in circles by Gao Xi—no match for him."

"Where is Gao Xi now? Did you kill him?"

Li Shandao answered, "No, I captured him because I admire his bravery." He glanced at Xu Shiji and smiled, "I intended to bring him here for you to see, but he still refuses to surrender and keeps cursing, so I didn’t bring him."

"A capable man like that won’t surrender easily. Such a valiant warrior would be a pity to kill. Second Brother, try persuading him first; if you can’t win him over, then bring him to me. I’ll help convince him."

Li Shandao relaxed slightly and said, "Alright, I’ll try again. If I really can’t persuade him, I’ll trouble you."

"You’ve gained both wealth and captured a brave man on this trip—quite a harvest. The only regret is your nighttime plan to seize the sour dates. It was a clever scheme, but because Hou Youhuai refused to cooperate, it failed," Xu Shiji said sympathetically. "Second Brother, if your plan had succeeded, just this one battle would have made your name famous within the stronghold and even across Xingyang and the other commanderies."

"Speaking of which, Second Elder, I have a question I’ve been pondering," Li Shandao said.

Xu Shiji asked, "What’s your question?"

"Second Elder, our stronghold now has over ten thousand troops. We plunder multiple commanderies, and no one dares stop us. Take my recent trip, for example. My troop numbered barely a hundred, yet we passed through several counties across two commanderies without a single county sending soldiers to block us. This shows the great reputation of our stronghold. But why is it that, up to now, we only rob merchants and never attack county seats?"

This question had actually troubled Li Shandao even before he joined Wagang.

Leaving aside the farther counties, wouldn’t it be possible to attack nearby counties like Weinán?

Especially in counties like Weinán and Weicheng, where local influential families and knights are allied with Wagang—such as Xu Shiji’s family in Weinán, Zhai Rang’s influence in Weicheng, and Liu Xuanyi’s in Zuocheng—there are internal supporters. With over ten thousand troops in the stronghold, it should be easy to take these counties if Zhai Rang decided to.

Yet, until now, Wagang has only focused on plunder—robbing merchants and kidnapping hostages—seemingly satisfied with that. This was precisely Li Shandao’s confusion.

Xu Shiji looked up at Li Shandao, put aside his fan, stroked his beard, and did not answer immediately, as if pondering something. Eventually, he stood up, sighed deeply, and walked indoors, hands behind his back.

Li Shandao asked, "Second Elder, is there some unspeakable difficulty?"

"It’s not exactly that. Your question is excellent! To be honest, at New Year’s, I proposed to Lord Zhai that we take advantage of the county temples’ minimal defenses during the festival, set up insiders, and coordinate with our troops to capture Weinán and Weicheng. Once those two counties fall, we could open the granaries, recruit warriors, and our stronghold’s prestige would soar. Using Mount Dapi as our base and Weinán and Weicheng as wings, we could then decide whether to retreat to the mountains if things go badly or continue taking the remaining counties in Dong Commandery if successful. With time, our Wagang force would rival the likes of Zhishi Lang and Lu Mingyue. But Lord Zhai refused."

Li Shandao said, "So you already had this plan. May I ask why Lord Zhai did not agree?"

"Lord Zhai’s concern is that if we don’t attack county seats, the imperial court may not concentrate troops to hunt us down. But if we do attack, they’ll likely dispatch Zhang Xutuo and other forces to encircle and crush us, so he’s unwilling."

Li Shandao smiled wryly, stroking his short beard, thinking to himself, "I was mistaken! The tens of thousands of troops and becoming the leader of the righteous armies in Shandong is a development of Wagang’s later days, not the present. I was judging the present by Wagang’s future—and that was a mistake. From what the Second Elder says, it seems Lord Zhai currently lacks grand ambitions."

This brought to mind Li Mi.

Li Shandao mused quietly, "Looking at things now, Li Mi truly was the key figure who spurred Wagang’s rise and development."

If Zhai Rang was so unambitious, content merely to be a mountain bandit king, how did Wagang grow? Though Li Shandao did not know all the details of Wagang’s rise, he could infer that Li Mi’s efforts were pivotal. This also explained why Li Mi later dared to kill Zhai Rang.

Xu Shiji had no idea how many thoughts had passed through Li Shandao’s mind in such a short time.

Seeing Li Shandao stroking his beard in silence, Xu Shiji asked, "Second Brother, what are you thinking about?"

"Second Elder, I’m thinking that Lord Zhai’s concerns are not without reason. As the saying goes, ‘The first bird shot by the arrow will be the first to fall.’ If we attack the county seats, we may indeed provoke the imperial troops. But, Second Elder, we can’t remain mountain bandits forever."

"Moreover, Second Elder, places like Mount Dapi and Phoenix Island are only so large. We have over ten thousand troops, nearly filling these areas. If our stronghold is to grow further, we must leave the mountain and take the counties."

Xu Shiji said, "Second Brother, if all our leaders shared your ambition, things would be much easier."

"Then, Second Elder, what do you think should be done?"

Xu Shiji seemed to consider telling Li Shandao the truth. After deciding, he approached Li Shandao’s table and said, "A few days ago, Lord Pushan invited Lord Zhai and me to drink. At the banquet, he said to Lord Zhai, ‘Liu and Xiang both rose from commoners to emperors. Now the ruler is foolish, the people resent him, and the elite soldiers have been lost in Liaodong. This is the opportunity for Liu and Xiang to rise.’ He advised Lord Zhai to march south, capture Luoyang, and overthrow the tyrannical Sui. Second Brother, what do you think of Lord Pushan’s proposal?"

What else could Li Shandao think of but approval?

Compared to Zhai Rang’s contentment with being a mountain bandit king, Li Mi’s vision was incomparably grander.

The contrast in their outlook and ambition was stark.

If Li Shandao were to choose between Zhai Rang and Li Mi as a leader, without knowing Li Mi’s eventual fate, he would choose Li Mi without hesitation.

But this was not something to share with Xu Shiji.

Li Shandao had already risen from his seat and replied, "Lord Pushan’s proposal is magnificent—truly a grand ambition." He asked, "May I ask, how did Lord Zhai respond? And what do you think?"

Xu Shiji gave Li Shandao a long look and suddenly smiled.