Chapter 481: Well Talk Sense Into Him
Chapter 476 of "The Great Ming in the Box" starts with dramatic events: Since the Deity had spoken, others naturally had no objections. âVery well. Let Master Zhan... Discover what happens!
Since the Deity had spoken, others naturally had no objections. âVery well. Let Master Zhan Sheng try reasoning with him first. Weâll stand ready outside. Should Master Zhan Sheng fail to persuade him, weâll finish him off.âSeeing everyone agreed to try reason first, Zhan Sheng rejoiced greatly. âI just knew the Deity and all present are merciful souls.â
Iron Bird Flies spoke up. âMaster, you are a revered monk, while I am a salt smuggler. Travelling together may tarnish your reputation. Itâs better we enter Hedong Road city separately.â
Master Zhan Sheng nodded.
There was no need for enemies to know he and Iron Bird Flies worked together. Separate entry was wiser. As a renowned monk from Pujiao Temple, he could swagger right into Hedong Road. Hoisting his staff, he set out immediately.
Iron Bird Flies produced a black sack. âMy apologies,â he murmured, placing the puppet deity inside before carrying it into the city. Though nearly half-height, the puppet weighed littleâits limbs mere slender sticks. Slung easily over a shoulder, it felt no heavier than a bag of smuggled salt.
Trapped inside the sack, unable to see out, Li Daoxuan found it suffocating. Poking with a wooden finger, he punctured the loosely woven burlap, creating a peephole. Through it, he glimpsed their approach.
Iron Bird Flies and his crew reached the city gates. Though a smuggler, the guards greeted him like a wealth-bringing god, waving him inside without collecting entry taxesâluxuries not afforded to common citizens.
Hidden in the sack, the puppet deity entered Hedong Road. Through the hole, it surveyed this famed cityâlater known as Yuncheng, Shanxi. Its very name, âYunâ (transport), revealed its mercantile heart. Merchants thronged its streets, especially Shanxi merchants ferrying salt, tea, grain, and military horses to supply border armies garrisoning the northern frontier.
Most were honorable traders whose resource supply ensured the Ming Dynastyâs centuries of frontier peace. Yet among them lurked treasonous scum like the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants.
Passing through commercial districts into side alleys, the scene turned grim. Salt craftsmen, driven into the city by the Chuang army, huddled in corners and shadows, their faces etched with fear.
Li Daoxuan sighed heavily. Iron Bird Flies understood instantly. Scooping out pieces of silver, he navigated the alleys, pressing a small ingot into each craftsmanâs palm. Leaning close, he whispered, âSeek life? Flee Hedong Road. Head west. Aid awaits.â
The craftsmen jolted, staring at the silver. Lifting their heads, they saw Iron Bird Flies already vanishing into the crowd.
Assessing their plightâsalt villages unsafe, Hedong Road vulnerable, Chuang Rebels likely to returnâsome desperate souls dared consider escape.
Westward? If rescue awaited, why not? That merchant seemed trustworthy anyway.
Chaos reigned outside, masking successful escapes. The salt tax office would assume them slain by rebels, sparing pursuit. This was their chanceâto cast off the shackles of artisan registration forever.
Bolder craftsmen swallowed their fear and slipped away.
Iron Bird Flies returned to the salt tax office headquarters. A familiar faceâa bringer of wealth, actually. His calling card gained swift entry; servants ushered his men to a side courtyard.
His salt smugglers swiftly gathered intelligence. âHuang Yunfa resides right next door!â one reported. âMaster Zhan Sheng arrived before us. Heâs quartered in another side courtyard nearby.â
Iron Bird Flies chuckled dryly. âPrivilege of the clergy. Parades into Hedong Road, guests of the salt tax office. We grease palms just to enter.â
Scarcely had he complained before a figure vaulted the courtyard wallâMaster Zhan Sheng. Landing neatly, he pressed his palms together. âAmitabha! Kindly manage the situation! If monkhood offers such convenience, why not abandon smuggling and learn the Dharma?â
Iron Bird Flies gestured toward the sack slung on a subordinateâs back. âIf ever I renounce the world, itâll be under the Deityâs bannerâDaoism, not Buddhism.â
Master Zhan Sheng countered, âAmitabha! You undervalue his grace. He cares not for Buddha or Dao. Witness his utter lack of disdain for this poor monk.â
Iron Bird Flies dismissed the argument. âEnough. Weâre inside. Who approaches Huang Yunfa firstâyou or me?â
âLet this poor monk speak to him first. Try reasoning him towards virtue,â Zhan Sheng insisted. âShould I fail, your turn comes.â
No objections arose. All knew Huang would reject him, but what harm could talking do? Even Huang knew attacking a monk inside official premises was beyond even his audacity.
Half an hour later, Zhan Sheng returned dejected. âI urged him to cease dealings with the Jurchens. He outright denied any such trade, refusing even to hear my counsel.â
Iron Bird Flies grinned slyly. âOr perhaps heâs too ashamed to admit treason publicly? Wait until heâs beyond the city walls, where fewer ears listen. Try again then. Should his stubbornness persist⌠well, weâll finish him.â
âAmitabha! Kindly manage the situation!â Zhan Sheng concurred.
Iron Bird Flies continued, âSince the master failed his first attempt, my turn. Iâll determine his exit timing and route. Only then can we stage an ambush. If his Jurchen cavalry escort gallops northward unchallenged, interception becomes doubtful.â
Zhan Sheng looked baffled. âHow do you discover such details?â
Iron Bird Flies chuckled darkly. âQuite simple, actually. Discuss business with him.â
Master Zhan Sheng gaped.
Iron Bird Flies brushed nonexistent dust from his sleeves. âWatch my strategy, Master.â
Adjusting his attire to project mercantile confidence, he strolled towards the neighboring courtyard. Inside the sack, a vexed Li Daoxuan realized heâd miss the spectacle. Unacceptable! He wriggled out promptly.
Scrambling to the ivy-smothered stone wall dividing the courtyardsâan ancient barrier scarred with cracks and holesâhe paused. The puppet body posed limitations, but perhaps his âShared Sensesâ granted its movements potential.
Stretching wooden hands, he seized thick vines. The puppetâs meticulously crafted fingers actually gripped! Little wooden feet found purchase in crevices. Steadiness! Progress! He realized these wooden limbs mirrored his own movements in diminished, rigid replicationâtruly âShared Senses,â albeit with artificial stiffness.
Emitting a constant Clattering Sound, the wooden puppet swayed its way mechanically up the wall, vanishing onto the ridge above.