Chapter Forty-One: The Bandit Army Belonging to Liu Heng

"Leader Yang, a huge fire has broken out north of Yangyuan County city."

Following the direction indicated, Yang Yuan looked over. Toward the county seat of Yangyuan, flames shot into the sky, illuminating more than half of the horizon.

A rebel soldier holding a longspear nearby muttered, "Leader Yang, do you think the Chief brought men to raid one of the villages near the county city?"

"Bullshit!" Yang Yuan glared at him irritably and snapped, "Ever since we followed the Chief, when have you ever seen him raid a nearby village? What was that term the Chief used again? A base, right, a base. He said all of this will be our base in the future."

The scolded rebel shrank his neck.

Yang Yuan continued, "The Chief has said that we are going to put down roots here, and no one is allowed to harm the impoverished commoners. If anyone dares to act recklessly, don't blame me for enforcing military law."

The rebel smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Rest assured, Leader Yang. The Chief's orders are like imperial decrees; no one dares to disobey."

"Good that you know. I don't want to see our brothers survive battles against government troops only to die at the hands of our own people for violating the rules set by the Chief," Yang Yuan reminded him solemnly.

The rebel nodded heavily, leaned in closer, and asked, "Leader Yang, why is it that with a fire this big, no one is putting it out? They just let it burn bigger and bigger, and it's already the middle of the night without showing any signs of dying down."

"How the hell should I know?" Yang Yuan retorted crossly.

Lying on the grassy ground nearby was a scout from the rebel camp.

The horseman sneered, "What's so hard to guess? Naturally, those officials from Tiancheng Garrison sent troops to raid the surrounding villages. Otherwise, villagers would have gone out to fight the fire long ago; they wouldn't let the fire grow this large."

Compared to Liu Heng's side, which merely suspected that government troops would dispatch forces to pursue them, Yang Yuan's group had already discovered the tracks of the government forces and witnessed them reaching the vicinity of Yangyuan County city.

Their resting spot was only about twenty *li* away from the government army camp. Because of their small numbers, they had not attracted the enemy's attention. Moreover, their dozen-or-so-man unit was equipped with scouts who received intelligence early and avoided the government troops well before any encounter.

"Brother Xu means to say that this massive fire was set by those government soldiers?" Yang Yuan asked, his mouth agape in astonishment.

Several other rebels nearby also wore looks of shock.

"You lack experience," said the horseman, who was addressed as Brother Xu. "Bandits pass like a comb, but soldiers pass like a fine-tooth comb. Mountain bandits might just rob some gold, silver, and grain and then leave. But government soldiers pillage by completely destroying villages and slaughtering settlements. Furthermore, since those government troops couldn't find us, massacring a village allows them to use the villagers' heads as military merits—killing two birds with one stone."

"Isn't that, damn it, killing innocents to claim military merit?" Yang Yuan couldn't help cursing.

Xu Xuewu sneered, "Otherwise, where would those officials get so many heads to be promoted and get rich? Relying on the few heads of the Tatars wouldn't be enough anyway. Besides, killing Tatars gets people killed, whereas killing commoners is so simple, and pillaging their wealth brings in a small fortune besides."

"Those damned corrupt officials!" Yang Yuan slammed his fist into the grass beneath him.

"Alright, everyone go to sleep. Such matters are nothing new in the border garrison towns; they've happened in every dynasty." Xu Xuewu placed his hands behind the back of his head and closed his eyes. Before long, a faint sound of snoring arose.

The distant glow of the fire did not disturb their rest in the slightest.

It wasn't that they didn't hate the government troops who plundered the commoners, but rather that they knew they were merely wandering rebels and could do nothing about it. If anyone was to blame, it was those officials who treated the lives of the commoners as mere grass, and the imperial court that did the same.

The fire burned until nearly dawn before subsiding, leaving behind trails of thick black smoke.

At the hour of *Mao*, Yang Yuan and the dozens of men he brought were woken up. Each took out the dry rations they carried and began to eat. Once finished, they set off to rejoin the main rebel army.

By the time they departed, the second quarter of the *Mao* hour had already passed, and the area around the government army camp remained quiet.

Having gone on a rampage throughout the night, the soldiers in the government camp were still resting. The patrolling guards yawned continuously, and some sentries simply leaned against objects and fell asleep on the spot.

Yang Yuan had brought a total of two squads of new refugee recruits, numbering sixty men in all, along with a few scouts, making a total of just over sixty people.

With a small group, their traveling speed was fast. Furthermore, these new refugee recruits were among the earliest trained batch and executed orders with utmost precision. Along the way, they remained silent and simply pushed forward, finally catching up with the main rebel force led by Liu Heng before nightfall.

By this time, the rebel army had arrived at the foot of Kongkou Mountain, located at the border between Yangyuan County and Weizhou.

By the time the news reached Yangyuan County city, Liu Heng had already led his main army away.

Upon hearing the report brought back by Yang Yuan, Zhao Yutu couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.

Had Liu Heng not continuously urged everyone to press forward, and had he not dispatched Yang Yuan's men halfway to decoy the government troops, they most likely would have been surrounded and annihilated by the government forces by now.

Through this incident, Zhao Yutu felt an even deeper sense of awe and respect toward Liu Heng.

Due to the prolonged marches, tasks within the rebel camp had long been reasonably allocated, preventing situations where some were idle while others were overwhelmed.

The sensible arrangement of chores not only improved the efficiency of the entire rebel camp but also saved precious time.

Whenever the camp halted for a rest, the refugees among the rebels would voluntarily take charge of starting fires for cooking, tending to livestock, and handling other miscellaneous duties. The new refugee recruits and archers were primarily responsible for patrols, night guard duty, and guarding the grain supplies.

Everyone in the entire camp ate and drank the exact same fare with no special privileges. Even Liu Heng, the nominal Chief, ate the exact same food as ordinary refugees.

The worry is not poverty, but inequality.

The refugees in the camp could fill their stomachs, unlike the days when Shi Yunhu was the leader, when getting even half-full was a distant dream.

The refugees throughout the entire camp held the Chief, Liu Heng, in high reverence because they had enough to eat and were not treated differently. Under Liu Heng's command, the new refugee recruits and archers had won battles, making them profoundly loyal to him. Through the intelligence brought back by Yang Yuan, the various rebel leaders also held Liu Heng in high esteem.

Now, the entire rebel camp was entirely free of the fragmentation and hidden agendas that had characterized the era of Shi Yunhu.

Liu Heng's authority in the camp was supreme, and no one could shake his position—even the archers who had once served under Li Shuheng had become utterly devoted solely to Chief Liu.

The rebel camp rested for a night at the foot of Kongkou Mountain and set off again at daybreak.

This time, Liu Heng did not have the main rebel force continue toward Weizhou; instead, he turned toward Guangling.

The Tiancheng Garrison troops stationed in Yangyuan County city had already broken camp and returned.

For the government forces, this trip to Yangyuan County had been a complete success with a full load of spoils.

Although the raided villages were mostly home to impoverished commoners, there were still a few wealthy households. From these few affluent families alone, Huang An, the commanding officer who had remained behind the scenes, reaped nearly a thousand taels of silver.

The "rebel" heads had also been gathered from several villages. Since the subordinate officers and soldiers had obtained tangible benefits, they had no desire to linger any longer in Yangyuan County.

Without the main army, the Magistrate of Yangyuan County, Zhu Jiuchang, naturally dared not tackle a rebel force of over a thousand men on his own. Even upon receiving intelligence about the rebel army, he feigned ignorance, allowing the rebels to roam freely within his jurisdiction.

When Zhu Jiuchang finally received word that the rebel army had headed toward Guangling County, it made him let out a secret sigh of relief.

Better you than me; as long as the rebels weren't wreaking havoc within the county borders under his administration, all was well.