Jinting Han people

Chapter 142: Chatting and Laughing with the Horse Thieves (4k)

Sun Xi had actually received news that Xiayang County had a new county chief over the past few days, but to him, this was a matter of insignificance. After all, he was a native of Xiayang and knew the character of the Xiayang County Government. He didn't believe that changing the county chief would change anything, so he didn't take it seriously.

When he learned that the new county chief had announced the suppression of bandits, he took it lightly and cursed at the person who had come to him to get the information:

"A bunch of pig intestine eaters, here to scare people again! When I was farming, the county government said every year they wanted to suppress bandits, but in the end, they just raised the rent every year, and Hu Yanchang lived a life of comfort year after year! Nothing happened! I'd be a fool to believe him. Now they're talking about suppressing bandits again, but what can they achieve? Why don't he get rid of all the corrupt officials in the county first?"

A few days later, Sun Xi heard that Liu Xian had recruited a hundred new soldiers and was training them on Gaomenyuan. His attitude straightened up a little, but he still said sarcastically:
"I didn't expect a fool to show up. Is he really planning a fight? Young master, who has never seen blood, do you know what it means to kill? You don't think swords distinguish between high and low, do you? Even if the emperor of Luoyang comes here and gets hit by my sword, it's like a white knife goes in and a red knife comes out!"

"Brothers, take good care of your horses. When this fool shows up, I'll chop off his head with one blow and hang it on the county gate for the villagers to see."

Of course, even with that being said, everyone still needed to get on with their daily lives. After all, it was already late autumn, and the temperature had dropped. In July of this year, Sun Xi, along with about thirty men, had extorted sixty dan of rice from the Tong family and robbed Wang Lin of a batch of silver, money, and silk. Currently, they had no worries about food and clothing, so they didn't feel like moving.

If no one bothered him, Sun Xi would usually go hunting in the mountains and forests, planning to wait until he had eaten all the stored food before considering what to do next spring.

Unexpectedly, on such a night, someone would come to Longmen Mountain and knock on the door.

When he first heard the commotion outside, he was startled, instinctively thinking that something was going on inside the mountain. But when the gatekeeper on the mountainside came to report, he realized that someone was knocking on the door at the foot of the mountain.

"What? Only five people with five cars? You said you were coming to visit me?"

Sun Xi was puzzled and asked the attendant who came to report:

"Who have we been friends with these days?"

The attendant replied, "No, from the sound of their voices, they seem to be strangers. They say they are visiting, but they don't necessarily have good intentions."

"Maybe it's a decoy, luring us down under the cover of darkness, and then suddenly attacking us!"

Sun Xi thought about it and felt that what he said made sense, so he said, "Those people are really brave. Five of them rushed here to lure the enemy. You call all the brothers and prepare to fight. Let's see what happens!"

With that, Sun Xi donned his armor, left the house, and leaped onto his horse, leading a group of fifty or so horse thieves down the mountain. He had spotted Liu Xian's torch and shadow from afar, but looking around, apart from the five men, everything was pitch black, which filled him with a certain amount of disbelief.

But as a horse thief, he could not stop even if he was shocked and suspicious. The most important thing was his ruthlessness, so he shouted loudly and shook the torch in his hand, intimidating the other party while giving himself courage. Some people even shot whistling arrows with bone whistles into the sky, as if there were ghosts whistling in the air.

For a moment, there was a flash of fire and dead leaves fell like heavy rain.

Liu Xian and his companions watched as the group rushed down from the mountaintop. Xue Xing and the others, seeing their rude and aggressive stance, were terrified, feeling a sense of danger. Liu Xian was also somewhat concerned, but on the surface, he remained surprisingly calm, a hint of disdainful smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

He said to the person behind him, "Don't be afraid. They are just a few bandits. Don't lose your people!" Then he took a few steps forward to show his identity as the leader.

When the torches surrounded Liu Xian and the others like a long, swimming dragon, Sun Xi glanced at someone nearby, and someone immediately stepped forward and asked, "Who are you? How dare you come to Longmen Mountain?"

Liu Xian, holding a torch, glanced at him and slowly replied, "I am the new Xiayang County Magistrate, Liu Xian, and I have come specially to pay a visit to Lord Sun. As a gesture of goodwill, I have not brought any troops with me, so please rest assured."

Is this young man the new county magistrate? Sun Xi was surprised. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Liu Xian. He asked, "You said you were the new county magistrate, but words are not enough. Do you have any evidence?"

"Yes!" Liu Xian answered loudly. He reached into his waist bag and took out the seal. He said to Sun Xi, "This is the seal of the county magistrate issued by the court. The seal is on every notice issued by the county government. You can compare them."

Upon hearing this, a bandit immediately reached out and snatched the seal. He examined it for a long time in the light of the fire, then brought it to Sun Xi and said, "Chief, the red seal on the notice seems to be exactly like this."

Sun Xi was illiterate, and even after taking the seal, he couldn't understand what was written on it. But seeing Liu Xian's composure, he became somewhat convinced. The county magistrate was probably indeed here to visit him, but he wasn't sure what exactly he was up to.

So he took the seal, dismounted, took a few steps forward, and looked at Liu Xian.

Surrounded by dozens of horse thieves, the new county lord was not only fearless, but also had a smile on his face, as if he was confident. His courage was astonishing. Even Sun Xi, who always despised the government, could not help but admire him.

Since the other party had come and was speaking in a nice way, Sun Xi couldn't afford to give him a cold shoulder. Although he resented the government and even uttered nonsense about killing the emperor, he was not a fool. He knew that while he could clash with the government, he couldn't openly trample on its dignity.

So after thinking it over for a while, he laughed out loud and said, "Ah! I never thought that our little Longmen Mountain would have the county lady come to visit. I'm so sorry for not welcoming you!"

But as he said this, Sun Xi felt very awkward. After all, logically speaking, the two sides were enemies who would never give up. Furthermore, before this, he had only been a plunderer, associating with bandits and knights, and had not come into contact with county officials in many years.

But Liu Xian acted as if it was his due. He took the seal, put it back in his waist bag, and clasped his fists like a knight-errant.
"Hey, Chief Sun, you're too polite. You're a well-known figure in Xiayang. I'm new here, so how could I not make some acquaintance with you?"

"I've brought a gift to everyone this time. It's just this little bit of food, thirty stone of corn. I hope Chief Sun won't despise it."

After learning that Liu Xian wasn't just calling him affectionately, but actually showing some genuine affection, Sun Xi's embarrassed expression finally revealed a hint of genuine joy. He first laughed heartily, then shouted to those around him, "Idiots, what are you still doing standing there? A distinguished guest has arrived, and you're still lining up here? Are you trying to make me blush?"

Then he ordered, "Hurry up and tell the village to bring out some wine and prepare a banquet for the county lord!"

Liu Xian acted as if he had known Sun Xi for a long time. He exchanged a few pleasantries with a few of his closest associates, then waved his hand, allowing Lü Quyang, Xue Xing, and the others to follow. Along the way, he and Sun Xi chatted and laughed, discussing the local customs and practices they had seen in Xiayang over the past few days. They were very cordial.

After arriving at the mountain camp, Liu Xian and his group took a seat in the lobby of the Longmen Bandits. But just as Liu Xian sat down, Sun Xi couldn't hold back his excitement. He asked, "Speaking of which, County Master, we horse bandits and the county government have always been on different sides, either fighting each other or keeping to ourselves. I'm surprised to see you today."

"I, Sun Xi, am a rough man, I have never read a book, and I cannot read, so I want to have a frank conversation with you. Why don't you tell me directly what your purpose is?"

Liu Xian simply smiled upon hearing this. He sat up straight and said, "Since Chief Sun is so forthright, I won't hide anything."

"I came to visit Chief Sun this time because I wanted to ask him a question."

"Question? County Master Liu, please ask."

"I heard that Chief Sun was originally a farmer from Xiayang. Why would he leave his good farmland behind and become a bandit instead?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the lively atmosphere suddenly turned cold. The bandits' smiles froze, and the leader, Sun Xi, had a murderous look on his face. He gripped the sword at his waist and said slowly to Liu Xian, "Your Excellency, have you come here so late at night just to make fun of me?"

"Of course not." Liu Xian's expression and tone were very serious. He said to Sun Xi word by word, "Chief Sun, although I am the mayor of Xiayang, you know that I am new here and am not familiar with the local people's livelihood. I want to do something for the people, but I don't know where to start."

"These days, everyone in the county government says that Xia Yang's current situation is caused by horse thieves."

"But horse thieves don't just appear out of thin air. There's always a reason that forces people to become horse thieves."

"When I said in the notice that we were going to wipe out all the horse thieves in the county, I didn't mean to kill all the horse thieves in the county, but to eliminate the cause of the horse thieves' rampant behavior."

"Chief Sun is a local. I heard that he was just a farmer before. So I came to visit Chief Sun specifically to listen to his views on governing the people's livelihood."

These words were beyond the expectations of everyone present.

Sun Xi was now thirty-seven years old. He had been a farmer since childhood, taught himself horsemanship, and by the time he was in his thirties, he had been recruiting people to commit thieves. Naturally, he had seen many people, some arrogant, some timid, some honest, and some hypocritical.

But they were either farmers, bandits, or those greasy and mercenary businessmen and petty officials. No one had ever been as respectful as Liu Xian, asking for advice as if he were a knowledgeable and wise man.

Sun Xi felt extremely satisfied for a moment, but he didn't know what to say. After a long while, he said, "You are really too kind. I am a simple man. If you ask me how to kill people, I can tell you some truths. But if you ask me how to govern the people, I am completely clueless, no different from a blind man."

Liu Xian smiled and said, "This isn't complicated. Chief Sun, why don't you just answer my previous question: How did you become a horse thief?"

Hearing this again, Sun Xi no longer felt offended. He felt that Liu Xian was indeed sincere, so he began to talk about his past and said, "This is not a difficult thing to talk about. It's mainly because it's not interesting. If the county lord doesn't mind, I will just say a few words."

"But it doesn't matter."

Sun Xi took a sip of his drink, opened his arms and reminisced, "I wasn't born poor. When I was young, my family owned dozens of acres of land, which was considered a well-off family in Xiayang."

"So since I was little, I didn't just farm. I also raised a few horses, learned some horsemanship, practiced some martial arts, made some friends, and even became the head of the village."

In other places, such conditions would only be considered a well-off family, but in Xiayang, it was indeed considered wealthy. Liu Xian asked, "So what happened next?"

Sun Xi sighed, "You, the county lord, should remember that during the Taikang era, droughts were common, and Xiayang was no exception. Four years ago, our village was particularly hard hit, and the harvests of our fellow villagers were meager. But they still planned to live on porridge for a year, and somehow managed to collect the rent for that year. They then asked me to transport the fields to the county for rent on behalf of the villagers."

"Unexpectedly, I was robbed by Hu Yanchang and his men on the way, and two people were beaten to death. I went to the county to report it, but no one cared. They even asked me to pay the rent for that year."

"I said the rent for my farmland was robbed by horse thieves, and the county government didn't care. Those pig-eating bastards said they hadn't paid it to the county government, so they asked me to collect the rent again."

"Isn't this a matter of life and death? When I returned to my village, I took a few fellow villagers to the county town to make a scene, saying that either the horse thieves should be investigated or the rent should be waived."

"What happened? The county government arrested us all, beat two of my fellow villagers to death, and then put me in jail for a year."

"At that time, I thought clearly. If I were to be a submissive citizen, I would not only be robbed by bandits but also by the government, and I couldn't even save my life, so why would I be a submissive citizen?"

"By comparison, if I were a thief myself, even though I'd be on the edge of a knife, at least I was robbing others. I wouldn't have to worry about being bullied, and I wouldn't be angry. I'd be truly happy. So after I got out, I led my friends and fellow villagers to become horse thieves, going through wind and rain, and I've been doing it ever since."

"In the blink of an eye, it's already been more than three years. Even thinking about it now, it's really sad."

Actually, Liu Xian had already known this story from looking up archives before coming here, but he still wanted to hear Sun Xi tell it himself to confirm what kind of person he was. Now that he heard Sun Xi tell it himself, he had a clear idea in his mind and couldn't help but applaud:
"Chief Sun did all this just to vent his anger on his fellow villagers. What a courage! How can he be called a thief? I think the thieves are clearly the county officials. Chief Sun should be the hero! Come, Chief Sun! I offer you a toast!"

After saying this, he immediately raised a glass of wine and drank it all in front of everyone. Then he asked, "I dare to ask, what are Chief Sun's future plans?"

"Are you planning to be a horse thief for the rest of your life?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the people present understood that Liu Xian had come to seek amnesty.

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(End of this chapter)