Chapter 2259: Xie Wendong
Xie Wendong was inspecting the stockade when he suddenly heard the summons and dared not delay. He hurried to the temple.
He was an ordinary man of medium build, his temperament and appearance no different from a well-off farmer. He didn't carry the "bandit look" like many of his companions. He was of hunter origin, never schooled, illiterate, but had trained a good physique since childhood. In the bandit den of Laoshan Stockade, he had started as a small minion and climbed step by step to the position of Second Manager.
Perhaps his ability was too great, or perhaps he was too good at winning people's hearts, arousing the Big Manager's suspicion. Thus an internal strife in Laoshan Stockade had inevitably occurred. The originally isolated Xie Wendong brought in Yang Juren as support and killed the Big Manager.
Though he killed the Big Manager, he still wasn't the boss. Yang Juren became his new master. He was convinced by Yang Juren because Yang Jinghui was a Juren—in a place like Guangning, a Juren Master was someone who could sit as an equal with the magistrate, a character no one in the county dared to provoke. Not only did official powers have to show him respect, but even local tyrants dared not offend him.
Though convinced, his own situation hadn't improved much. Though Yang Jinghui appeared to value him highly—heavily rewarding him after taking Laoshan Stockade and appointing him as "Stockade Chief"—he knew Yang Juren didn't trust him. This forced Xie Wendong to be cautious, fearing to arouse the Juren Master's suspicion.
Compared to Yang Juren, he felt the newly arrived Advisor Zhan was more approachable. Though Advisor Zhan's title was impressively grand, he treated people more amiably and sincerely than Master Yang and looked after him quite a bit. Especially after the Yang clan moved into Laoshan Stockade en masse, the Yang family's suspicion of him had grown thicker. Zhan had mediated for him many times, preventing conflicts from erupting. This had also saved him from falling into a dangerous situation.
Xie Wendong was a smart man. Though a hunter who might not understand the trends of the world, he could still see the situation of a prefecture or county clearly: regardless of whether the Yang family suspected him, right now they could only overcome this difficulty by working together.
They had seized Thunder Struck Slope, and it was Zhan Zhekun who proposed letting him be the Stockade Chief of Thunder Struck Stockade. Though leaving his old nest and only being able to take half of his old brothers with him, at least he didn't have to walk on thin ice amidst the watchful eyes of the Yang clan members in Laoshan Stockade. Thus he was quite grateful to Zhan Zhekun.
"Greetings to Master! Greetings to Advisor Zhan!" Xie Wendong performed the courtesy, then stood with hands down, looking respectful and waiting for instructions.
"No need for ceremony—please sit down to discuss matters!"
"I dare not," Xie Wendong said, looking terrified. "In front of the Master, how can there be a seat for this small one?"
In the past, if Xie Wendong was polite like this, Yang Jinghui would have let it go. In his view, saying "please sit" was already giving him enough face—after all, he was just a crude man. However, today Yang Jinghui had listened to Zhan Zhekun's words and intended to win him over. So he insisted: "You are the Stockade Chief of this stockade. The safety of Thunder Struck Stockade depends on you alone. You must not slight yourself. Please sit."
Xie Wendong was somewhat surprised but not entirely unexpected. He thanked him for the seat and sat sideways on the lower chair.
Yang Jinghui exchanged a few polite words with him, then asked about the defense situation of Thunder Struck Slope.
Though Xie Wendong had never been to Thunder Struck Slope before and hadn't been Stockade Chief for many days, he had already surveyed the place. This was a habit from years of being a bandit: not only to know where the enemy would attack from but also to know where to flee when in danger.
He had walked around Thunder Struck Slope a few times and felt this was truly a good place. Though smaller than Laoshan Stockade, the conditions were several times better. Especially the abundant water source on the mountain and large area of flat land, capable of cultivating over a hundred mu of fields. Other slopes could also grow fruit trees and tea trees. Several hundred people were enough for self-sufficiency. Moreover, the terrain here was much more perilous than Laoshan Stockade. The three gaps where one could ascend the mountain could be solidly defended without investing too much manpower to repair walls—compared to Laoshan Stockade, which had required over ten li of stockade walls to be repaired. Xin Laonan had built only three stockade gates back then. Not long ago when they seized Thunder Struck Slope, if not for Advisor Zhan's plan of coordinating inside and outside, Master Yang's troops couldn't have fought their way in at all.
"...This is truly a feng shui treasure land!" Xie Wendong said. "Needless to speak of the precipitousness—this small one surveyed the whole stockade and found there are only three roads up the mountain here."
The most commonly used and easiest to walk was naturally Huangdan Gully, which Feng Haijiao had taken. The mountain terrain was relatively gentle, but once at the foot of the mountain, it was the Great West Gate.
The road from Huangdan Gully came to an abrupt end here. The originally gentle mountain terrain suddenly presented a cliff with a seven or eight zhang high mountain bend. The Great West Gate was on the cliff at the bottom of the mountain bend. To enter the gate, one had to wind up along the zigzag stone slab road on the cliff. Not only was the road perilous, but the entire journey was within range of bows, arrows, and fowling pieces on both ends of the mountain bend. Plus the rolling logs and stones from the stockade gate—the difficulty of attacking upward could be imagined.
Even if the Great West Gate could be breached, going up along the Great West Gate meant another steep mountain road of about three li, controlled by a stone gate halfway. After passing the second stone gate and going further up, one could reach the Main Gate of Thunder Struck Stockade. This was the proper path for entering and exiting the stockade.
The other two roads were much more difficult. One was the East Facing Gate on the east side of the stockade. This stone gate stood on the mountain ridge. The road wound down along the ridge. Both sides of the ridge were cliffs, and the road only allowed two people shoulder to shoulder.
The third road was in the north, not far from the East Facing Gate. People in the stockade called it the Little North Gate. It was called "Little" because this gate was rarely used. Xie Wendong had gone to see it on the spot, led by old residents of the stockade. It was a small stone slab path chiseled out on the cliff. Though only less than one li of mountain road—much shorter than the Great West Gate and East Facing Gate routes—this stone slab mountain road on the cliff was almost vertical. Whether going up or down, one had to use both hands and feet. A slight carelessness carried the risk of falling off the cliff and dying. Even without guards, as long as no one opened the door to wait, one couldn't enter even after climbing up the slope to the front of the door. Therefore, almost no one walked there on ordinary days.
"No wonder Xin Laonan hasn't raised a team for so many years, just relying on his few dozen men to defend so steadily." Yang Jinghui said. "Without Master Zhan's brilliant plan this time, we really wouldn't have been able to take it down."
"Though Xin Laonan was old and muddled, in the end he committed the sin of greed." Zhan Zhekun smiled. "If not for greed, how could he have been tricked by us using a few boxes of valuables?"
"It was also League Chief Xie fighting bravely in the lead, cutting through passes and seizing gates. Only then could we occupy such a feng shui treasure land." Yang Jinghui smiled and praised.
Xie Wendong hurriedly stood up and crossed his hands. "Master speaks too generously."
Zhan Zhekun waved his hand to signal him to sit down. "We aren't the only ones eyeing this feng shui treasure land."
Yang Jinghui naturally understood his meaning. Luring Feng Haijiao up the mountain to swallow his men and wealth—only he and Zhan Zhekun knew about this matter in the manor. Xie Wendong was not in on it.
Sure enough, Xie Wendong looked puzzled. "Could it be... could it be the Hair thieves want to attack this place?"
"The Hair thieves' female magistrate is busy dealing with large households right now and can't attend to us." Zhan Zhekun said leisurely. "It's Feng Haijiao."
"Him?!" Xie Wendong's brain spun like a windmill. He had heard Zhan Zhekun and others speak somewhat about Feng Haijiao and his ilk. This man counted as their "ally" in Yangshan, a local tyrant. Given the bad situation in Yangshan right now, Feng Haijiao going up the mountain for refuge to dodge danger should be expected.
However, Zhan Zhekun's meaningful words and Yang Juren's faint smile made him realize there was another story here. Could it be...
Xie Wendong dared not play dumb nor appear too shrewd, so he followed the thread and said, "Could it be this Feng Haijiao also wants to occupy this Thunder Struck Slope?"
"Exactly." Zhan Zhekun said seriously. "Once Sun Dabiao died, he couldn't hold Qinglian Market. He must change to another place. Where in Yangshan is most suitable for entrenchment? Naturally, it is here."
"This small one will immediately go arrange—tell the brothers to prepare more rolling logs and stones, and let them eat their fill!" Xie Wendong stood up all at once, making a gesture to go out.
"No need to rush." Zhan Zhekun smiled and waved his hand. "Why would we need that? Since he has come, not only will we open the stockade gate to welcome him in, but you will also send some brothers down the mountain to help him carry his luggage and valuables up."
Xie Wendong pretended to suddenly realize: "So both of you want to catch a turtle in a jar!"
"Well said!" Yang Jinghui clapped his hands and laughed loudly. "Unexpectedly, you, a crude fellow, can also use a few idioms."
"Master laughs at me." Xie Wendong smiled apologetically.
"League Chief Xie said it well. Feng Haijiao doesn't know the situation on the mountain yet—he's harboring the thought of the dove occupying the magpie's nest." Zhan Zhekun stroked his beard. "He also wants to swallow Xin Laonan's property. Let's use this as bait to catch a turtle in a jar!"
"Truly a clever plan."
Zhan Zhekun was quite pleased with himself. This strategy had been decided since Bi Xuansheng came to find him. In recent days, Feng Haijiao had levied grain and pay in Yangshan, rapidly expanding his strength, yet had never shown any intention of dealing with the Hair thieves. He only cared about getting rich and grabbing territory, never sending troops to attack them.
After the burning of Dalang Market, the situation in the county had once been excellent. Zhan Zhekun had run around making efforts, sending people to Qinglian Market several times to persuade Feng Haijiao to send troops and attack the county seat together with Sun Dabiao. However, Feng Haijiao had always dealt with matters perfunctorily, only sending a small team to loot around the county seat. As soon as the Hair thieves left the city, he would retreat ninety li. Sun Dabiao had been so angry he stomped his feet.
Zhan Zhekun knew Feng Haijiao was a slick scoundrel; urging him more was useless, and annoying him might make him turn hostile, so he could only swallow his anger. This time he had used a small trick to hook this local stick into throwing himself into the net.
Feng Haijiao had been a bandit for many years—his family holdings must be substantial. Swallowing his men and money, Yang Juren's strength could rise a level—and naturally, the color of the Yang Family Army would also fade a few degrees.
He looked at Xie Wendong, who was putting on a look of listening respectfully, and whispered: "The day after tomorrow at noon, Feng Haijiao should be able to reach the mountain. Go make arrangements..."
Next Update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Part 463 (End of Chapter)