Snow was falling thickly, and the capital city was all abustle and astir with residents celebrating the New Year. Thanks to the provisions made by the imperial court for Cangzhou and Jiangzhou, the situation in the two prefectures was not too bad. People there were waiting for the arrival of the next spring to bring them the opportunities they needed to have a fresh start.
Time zipped by like a fast-running river…
In the following three years, all prefectures of the Great Wen showed growing momentum in a process of rejuvenation. The two prefectures in the south-west, which had always been regarded as hidden peril, had witnessed a radical change of economic and political situation within merely a couple of months, which had marked the beginning of a new era when the overall domestic situation of the Great Wen was stable, and when the imperial court was heaving with men of talent.
After another two years, the Great Wen thoroughly extricated itself from the scarred and battered state it had been in five years before. All people were living in prosperity and contentment, and the imperial court was functioning in a stable and orderly fashion. The Great Wen had recovered from the war and begun to progress towards a bright future sure-footedly.
In the spring of this year.
In the Luohai Kingdom.
A tea stand in a suburb of the capital.
It was early spring and the wind was still chill. Peddlers and menial servants passing by, when feeling tired, would go to the booth to have some rest. A pot of tea didn’t cost much and was the perfect choice for a couple of men willing to share a table.
Not far away from the tea stand was a big tree under which was a large open space where some horse-drawn carriages were parked, and where some large bamboo baskets were placed.
On the two sides of the tea stand were some curtains made of reed, which provided shelter from the wind. The front of the stand was wide open. Inside it were seven or eight neatly positioned tables.
Almost all the customers inside were acquainted with the owner of the tea stand. Some of them were porters traveling along this national road all the year around, and some others were members of small caravans. All of them fell into spirited discussion immediately after taking their seats. A pot of tea and a tray of snack on the table could keep their conversations going for quite a while.
“Lao Zhang, we’d like another pot of tea, and another tray of snack too!”
A customer yelled at the owner of the tea stand, who answered “Right away, Sir!” and then told a strong man who was both his son and his waiter to bring the customer what he’d just ordered.
“Oh, Mr. Wang! Why did you wait until this day to enter the city?” An acquaintance of the customer who’d just yelled walked up to him.
“Oh, Headman Li, come here and take a seat! I made some purchases during a stopover, which is why I’m two days late. Why are you two days late this year as well? I seem to remember you heading west at the end of last year. How’s everything going there?”
The Luohai Kingdom was to the north-east of the other two countries. When saying “west”, Luohai people were normally referring to the areas where the Luohai Kingdom bordered on the Wan Kingdom.
“Not very well. The guy who made an oral contract with me at the beginning of last year came to grief at the end of the year. I heard that it was near the border between our country and the Wan Kingdom that the misfortune happened. He lost both his goods and his life.”
Headman Li dropped his voice to a whisper and made a reply as soon as he sat down. The face of everybody else at the table grew somewhat grave at these words. Mr. Wang asked him, “That’s so sad. It’s been over three years, but such things are still happening there?”
“Yeah, of course they are. Such things would never stop happening unless the relations between our country and the Wan Kingdom thaw. You guys are not going to believe this – last winter, apart from the guy who had an oral contract with me, a couple of others also fell victim in succession. Some of them were from the Wan Kingdom, and the others were our fellow countrymen. Everybody in the border city is in panic. These days a caravan have to gather at least fifty men before they dare head for the Wan Kingdom. Some caravans would do everything they could to seek help from the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce, pleading with them for permission to go with their caravans, because they’d be risking death if they travel on their own. Rumor has it that caravans of the Wan Kingdom are faced with the same situation. A lot of people failed to purchase the goods they needed in the border city, and their journeys were wasted. I negotiated with the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce and some large caravans for quite some time before they agreed to sell me a tiny part of their goods. Alas, if the two countries continue to be on such bad terms this year, I think the number of people going to the border city would drop by at least seventy percent.”
Headman Li appeared quite despondent while talking. The others, naturally, felt sorry for him and offered him some words of comfort.
“Headman Li, you have some men at your service as well. Wouldn’t it be a much better choice for you to go south with us this year after selling this batch of goods than it is to go west?”
“Tell me about it. The south is in peace, and there are not such risks involved. You won’t have to worry about wasting your journey.”
After the others finished consoling Headman Li, Mr. Wang inquired of him, “Lao Li, did the authorities of the border city not say anything? I mean, those people lost both their goods and their lives.”
The others also quieted down, looking at Headman Li.
“They said that it was some bandits who robbed and murdered those people, but nobody knows whether or not that’s the truth. However…” Headman Li lowered his voice and continued, “Many people in the border city heard through the grapevine that it was the armies of the two countries who did those things, that the army of the Wan Kingdom started it, and then our army acted in retaliation. Last winter was extremely cold, and the Wan Kingdom was greatly affected. Our country had been at loggerheads with the Wan Kingdom since that incident three years ago; in order to spend the winter more comfortably, they hooked their claws into those caravans crossing the borders.”
“That’s outrageous!” bawled Mr. Wang. “Those bastards of the Wan Kingdom are going too far!”
Mr. Wang’s abruptly raised voice arrested the attention of other customers, all of whom looked in his direction. The owner of the tea stand poked his head around the stove and glanced at him.
Headman Li hastily pressed his hand over Mr. Wang’s shoulder. “Shh. Don’t be so loud. You’re scaring people.”
But after hearing their words, other customers soon started discussing topics about the Wan Kingdom as well, and all their tones were disgruntled.
Three years before, a dozen members of the garrison stationed in the border city, after getting drunk, had killed a Luohai envoy sent to the Wan Kingdom and dumped his body at the city gates, which the Luohai Kingdom had seen as an unbearable humiliation, and which at that time had caused quite a stink. For a time the Luohai Kingdom had been on the verge of waging a war against the Wan Kingdom. Still, though it had eventually shown restraint, there had been fierce clashes between the two countries. The Luohai Kingdom had demanded the Wan Kingdom execute the principal in the crime, but as the prime culprit had been the son of the commander of the border city garrison, the Wan Kingdom had rejected the demand. The reason was that the then commander of the border city garrison had been none other than the father of the queen consort of the Wan Kingdom, and the one who’d got drunk and created a disturbance which had led to the envoy’s death had been the queen consort’s brother, Chen Feng, who’d also been the one that had been defeated by Yuwen Tong outside Shengzhou before fleeing helter-skelter back to the capital city of the Wan Kingdom.
As the Wan Kingdom refused to bring the culprit to justice, the Luohai Kingdom was very discontented. Although the monarch of the Wan Kingdom had had the dozen of soldiers who had “aided and abetted” the crime executed and also paid compensation to the Luohai Kingdom, there was still indignation among Luohai people. Ever since that incident, cities near the border had been witnessing frictions from time to time. At the end of the year before last, there had been a skirmish during which both sides suffered casualties. Tension had been building up, and frictions had been getting increasingly frequent. Also, the two peoples had been quite disgruntled at each other in the past three years. It could be said that they conducted personal vendetta against each other.
Ever since some itinerant traders had been robbed and murdered last winter, trade between the two countries had been maintained by large caravans only. Small caravans had had to either team up with each other or switched to other routes.
“The Wan Kingdom’s cavalry is quite powerful, so over the past two years they’ve not only made an enemy of our country but also taken provocative actions towards the Great Wen. When I was in the border city, I heard that the Wan Kingdom was putting out feelers once again,” breathed Headman Li to the others at the table. “You guys are right. I’ve also been thinking maybe I should give up the western route for the time being and switch to the south instead.”
The owner of the tea stand was still slaving over the stove, appearing not to have heard any words of the conversations between his customers who were so engaged in their discussion they seemed to be almost unaffected by the icy wind blowing in from outside. The stand owner loudly gave his son a prod, telling him to hurry up and serve the customers the tea and snack they’d just ordered.
At this time, a sudden commotion was heard outside.
The clatter of horses’ hoofs accompanied by yells and cracks of whips issued from the national road in the distance. It was a group of horsemen. There seemed to be a dozen of them.
The group of horsemen traveled very fast. They galloped over from the distance like the wind and generated strong airflow mixed with dust and sand when passing the tea stand. Those horsemen’s faces were all cold and sullen. They flicked a glance at the tea stand but showed no inclination whatsoever to pause, heading straight for the capital.
Headman Li cast them a look and knitted his brows, appraising the group of horsemen receding into the distance. “Did you see that? Those horsemen…”
“What about them?” someone asked.
“They seem to be from the Wan Kingdom. Only Wan people have cloth wrapped around their hands when riding. Also, their horses look very much like Wan horses, and they appear quite ferocious – all Wan soldiers do, don’t they?” replied Headman Li.
His words immediately sent a ripple of indignation through the customers in the tea stand. The thickset waiter bellowed, “What business could these Wan bastards possibly have in our country?!”
“Shut up! You think you’re the only one capable of yelling or something? It is not for you to make comments on this kind of stuff. You hear me? Now go and serve the tea!” the stand owner reached out a hand and hit his sturdy son hard on the head.
After being dressed down by the stand owner, the brawny man didn’t dare utter another word. With an injured look on his face, he gave his father a dirty look and then spun around to do what he was supposed to do.
The stand owner’s words served as a note of caution for the customers, all of whom restrained themselves somewhat. Mr. Wang observed, “You’re as discreet as always, Lao Zhang.”
“Alas, you flatter me, Mr. Wang,” said the stand owner immediately, his face creasing into a smile. “As you all know, my son is all brawn and no brain, and he’s always making a fuss about things that don’t concern him. If I don’t teach him a lesson from time to time, this tea stand of mine would sooner or later be turned upside down by him. Ha-ha, I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Mr. Wang. You may continue. My son is a ne’er-do-well. There’s no need to bother with him.”
Mr. Wang gave a smile and said no more, but the next moment he twisted his head around and told the others at the table in a low voice, “This man is as careful with his words as always.”
Headman Li tossed the stand owner a glance and then said in a voice just as low, “This tea stand of his is pretty profitable, for there are a lot of people passing by on a daily basis. He’s been here for five years and the business is quite steady. The reason we prefer to come here to have some rest is that this place is quiet, isn’t it? The stand owner always minds his own business and never does anything that might get any of his customers into trouble.
Pity he has a brainless son, whose sturdy build isn’t much good. Even his daughter-in-law thinks little of his son, and she would probably abandon him were this tea stand not lucrative.”
As the conversation went on, they gradually switched to the topic of the stand owner, who had been running this tea stand for five years, and almost all his regulars were well acquainted with him and the situation his family was in.
The stand owner was still bustling behind the stove, his son still occupied with the tasks of serving tea and snack, sweeping the floor and cleaning the tables. He didn’t seem to have heard a single word of his customers’ and was focusing on making tea and preparing steamed snack. He was in his forties and his appearance was typical of sincere and kindly people. He did strike others as a man of absolute honesty.
However, in the blink of an eye, he quietly disappeared behind the stove and sneaked into a corner beside the piles of firewood behind the tea stand. Before long, he set free a bird which flew up, detoured around the tea stand, entered the capital of the Luohai Kingdom and eventually landed on the turf of the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce.
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