Chapter 289: Meeting at Duzhucun
Chapter 285 of "The Great Ming in the Box" commences with: Five hundred military horsesâthat was a large number. Xing Honglang stood before Cheng Xu: âI... Donât miss the next part!
Five hundred military horsesâthat was a large number. Xing Honglang stood before Cheng Xu: âI only have thirty-eight men, and thereâs no way I can safely transport so many military horses back. Instructor He, I need your help this time.âCheng Xu, upon hearing it was the Deityâs command, immediately agreed without hesitation: âNo problem, Iâll personally lead the militia to escort these military horses back.â
This time, Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu did not repeat their foolish talk about carrying the horses back. Instead, they raised their hands with proud smiles: âWe know how to lead horses!â
Xing Honglang flared up in anger: âShut up, you fools! Whatâs so great about knowing how to lead horses? Tell me, who in this world doesnât know how to lead a horse?â
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu: ââŚâ
Cheng Xu chuckled: âIf we can get these horses back, we can form a cavalry unit in Gaojia Village.â
Xing Honglang nodded: âThe Deity must have that in mind too.â
Cheng Xu said: âGood, we must do this well. Have you discussed the delivery location with the seller?â
Xing Honglang replied: âIâm thinking about it. The delivery location canât be too close, lest it bring trouble to Gaojia Village, but it canât be too far either, or the journey back with the horses wonât be safe.â
The two unfolded the mapâŚ
Li Daoxuan also looked at the map and instantly picked out a good spot.
Huanglong Mountain southeast, Duzhucun.
This place was right at the edge of Li Daoxuanâs field of vision, a place he could âkeep an eye on.â It was about forty li straight-line distance from Gaojia Village, a small mountain village that had long been uninhabited.
He was about to print the name âDuzhucunâ and put it into the box when he saw Cheng Xu and Xing Honglang almost simultaneously point to it: âDuzhucun!â
Xing Honglang said: âThis place is within Huanglong Mountain territory. Trading with Wu Zimian here, afterwards we can say that some bandit hiding in the mountains bought the horses, so they wonât suspect Gaojia Village.â
Cheng Xu nodded: âThe surrounding terrain is complex, making it easy to secretly lead the warhorses back to Gaojia Village.â
Xing Honglang said: âGood, itâs settled then.â
Cheng Xu said: âIâll first take people over to scout ahead, get familiar with the detailed terrain around, and hide the militia nearby. You send someone to contact Wu Zimian.â
As for Li Daoxuan, he tapped the three characters âDuzhucunâ outside his box, and his view shifted over instantlyâŚ
This was the outermost edge of his field of vision, a declining small mountain village. There were only about a dozen houses in the village, and it seemed it had only contained a few dozen people. After the severe drought outbreak, Duzhucun had become an empty village.
The view didnât extend much north of the village, only about two li, but to the south, Li Daoxuan could see all the terrainâseveral mountain paths winding through valleys and over slopes, leading towards Chengcheng County and Hancheng directionsâŚ
It was late in the evening. Yansui General Wu Zimian was preparing to sleep.
A close confidant servant came in from outside and whispered: âGeneral, weâve finally found a buyer.â
Wu Zimian was overjoyed: âFive hundred first-rate warhorsesâthe silver required isnât a small sum. Have you carefully verified the buyerâs capability?â
In good times, a warhorse cost about twenty taels of silver, but now times were badânot only were bandits rampant, but Jurchens beyond the passes were frequently invading, so the price of warhorses had risen to between fifty and seventy taels of silver each.
Five hundred warhorses would require between twenty-five thousand and thirty-five thousand taelsâreally not a small sum. A buyer without resources wouldnât dare take the goods.
The servant whispered: âThe buyer refused to reveal his true identity, but from his accent and build, I suspect heâs a salt smuggler from Shanxi.â
Wu Zimian frowned and thought for a moment: âA salt smuggler from Shanxi? Heh! Could it be Yongji Xing Honglang? If itâs really her, well, she has the resources to handle this. Fine, letâs sell to her.â
The servant added: âThe other party said they want to make the delivery at Duzhucun on the southeast slope of Huanglong Mountain.â
Wu Zimian brought out his military map, looked, and said: âItâs not far from here, either. Alright, ship the goods to Duzhucun.â
âThen we need to pass through Huanglong Mountain,â the hired guard whispered, âWang Zuogua of Yichuan is stationed there.â
Wu Zimian laughed heartily: âIf I donât go looking for trouble with Wang Zuogua, he should count himself lucky. Does he dare to provoke me? Iâd advise him to hide well; otherwise, I might just eliminate him and report to the court for some rewards.â
The hired guard laughed: âWhat the general says is true.â
Wu Zimian continued, âSend someone to report to Provincial Governor Zhang Mengjing. Tell him this general is dedicated and tireless, determined to eliminate Wang Zuogua of Yichuan, and I will personally lead the way into Huanglong Mountain. Hehe⌠At the same time, order the entire army to gather tomorrow and cross Huanglong Mountain, aiming for Duzhucun.â
The hired guard replied: âThe generalâs wisdom is unmatched.â
Meanwhile, on the eastern slope of Huanglong Mountain, in Hancheng.
More than a hundred disheveled riders, looking like thieves, were fleeing in panic.
Behind them, a group of hired guards was desperately chasing after them.
Leading the escape was the famous female horse thief of Yichuan County, Zao Ying (a historical figure).
Chasing after them were the hired guards of Shaanxi Grain Transport Supervisor Hong Chengchou.
Zao Ying was a fierce female horse thief, and her appearance was, well⌠quite similar to Xing Honglang.
As she ran at full speed with her subordinates, she yelled angrily: âDamn that Hong Chengchou! I just wanted to steal his grain, and he sends troops to chase me for over ten miles!â
Zao Ying prided herself on being a righteous thief, only robbing the wealthy and powerful, never the common folk. She was known for her exceptional riding skills, disappearing without a trace, often raiding official transport teams. Items like the birthday tribute and the official silver convoy were her prime targets.
This time, she had come out to raid an official grain transport team, which happened to be under the charge of Hong Chengchou.
It was a wrong move.
Zao Ying and her subordinates were beaten severely by Hongâs hired guards, causing them to lose their helmets and armor, becoming scattered and disorganized, and they had no choice but to flee. Had it not been for their superb riding skills, they likely would have been captured by now.
After running for over ten miles, they finally reached the eastern slope of Huanglong Mountain.
Seeing Huanglong Mountain, Hongâs hired guards stopped chasing them.
Military strategy states that when faced with a forest, do not pursue; the same goes for mountains.
The hired guards shouted after them, âYou damn horse thieves! Weâll let you go this time. If you ever see our Hong family banner again, get as far away as you can. If you dare to disturb us again, weâll chop you into pieces!â
Zao Ying was furious, but this anger meant âpowerless rageâ; expressing it would only lead to mockery. She couldnât afford to lose focus, so she kept her head down and fled into Huanglong Mountain, needing to run deeper into the mountains to avoid being chased again by Hongâs men.
As Zao Ying and her group ran, they spotted a dilapidated little mountain village ahead. Finally, they could stop and rest. She turned to her subordinates and asked, âWhere are we now?â
One subordinate replied quietly, âHuanglong Mountain, Duzhucun.â
Like Xing Honglang, Zao Ying was one of the leaders of the Yiyang Meetingâs thirteen households and seventy-two camps of the righteous army. Historical records only left names without any deeds, and it was uncertain if they were male or female, so in the novel for storytelling purposes, Zao Ying was portrayed as female.
Here are the names of six of the armed forcesâ leaders:
He Shuangquan, New Tiger, Nine Dragons
King of Disruption (Gao Yingxiang), Leading Mountain, Brave General
Mantianfei, A Dragon, One Zhengqing
Hong Tianxing (Huntianxing)
Three Hands, One Character King, Chuang Jiang (Li Zicheng)
Scorpion Block, Mantianxing, Seven Dragons
Guan Suo (Guan Suo), Eight Kings
Zao Ying, Zhang Miaoshou, Eight Kings of Xiying (Zhang Xianzhong)
Old Zhang Fei, Zha Shou, Xing Honglang
Chuang Taitian (Liu Guoneng), Horse Hawk
Southern Campâs Eight Heavenly Kings, Hu Claw, Hong Shi Wang (Hun Shi Wang)
One Cloud, Lawless King, Great General
Guo Tianxing (Hui Dengxiang), Second General
Hong Tianwang (Hun Tianwang)
Meng Hu, Alone Tiger, Old Huihui (Ma Guangyu)
Gao Xiaoxi, Sweeping King, Neat King
Five Dragons, Five Kings of Hell, Xing King of Disruption
Cao Cao (Luo Rucai), Rice Straw, Forcing on the Road
Four Tigers, Huanglong, Great Heavenly King, Pizhizhen
Zhang Fei, Stone Taitian (She Taitian Li Wanquing)
Xue Rengui, Golden Winged Roc, Eight Golden Dragons
Shoe Sole Shine, Roof Tile, Liu Bei
Drilling Sky Hawk, Sky Dragon
From their names, it is clear that many in this group have read âRomance of the Three Kingdomsâ and âWater Margin.â