Love Lock

Chapter 291 You Can't Control Me

The Imperial Guards disappeared into the distance along the official road, while Shen Daohong's servants and guards still gripped their swords tightly, their eyes fixed on the hillside above.

They expected to see a large army charging down, but instead, they saw only five or six men dressed in coarse cloth appear in their sight, braving the cold wind.

Shen Daohong squinted his cloudy old eyes, his gaze piercing through the swirling dust, repeatedly searching behind Da Jiu and the others. But apart from these few figures, there was no one else on the hillside.

An incredulous look appeared on his wrinkled face—the earth-shattering commotion just now was actually caused by only a handful of people.
"Master..." The old steward beside him trembled, and the long whip in his hand fell to the ground.

Da Jiu and his group walked steadily towards Shen Daohong. Their coarse clothes were still covered with dry grass, but each of them stood as straight as a pine tree.

Before they could even bow, Shen Daohong clasped his hands in greeting, his white beard fluttering in the wind: "I am Shen Daohong, and I thank you all brave warriors for saving my life!"

"Greetings, Marshal Shen!" Da Jiu and the others clasped their fists in unison, their voices booming like bells.

Shen Daohong's pupils contracted slightly, his hand, covered in age spots, hovering in mid-air: "You...recognize this old man?"

Da Jiu grinned, revealing a row of neat white teeth: "We often heard of Marshal Shen's renowned name in the Beiguan Army; it was as famous as thunder in our ears."

Hearing them mention the Northern Pass Army, Shen Daohong was even more surprised. "Who are you?"

“We are under Commander Zhao’s command,” Da Jiu said, pointing to his brothers behind him with his rough fingers. “My name is Da Jiu, and these are Da Shi, Shi Er, Shi Si, Shi Liu, and Shi Qi.”

"Oh! I see..." Shen Daohong suddenly realized, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out, and asked curiously, "You are all under the command of the King of Cangzhou? Why do you only address each other by numbers?"

"Hahaha..." Da Jiu laughed upon hearing this, his laughter echoing through the valley.

He patted a small cloth bag hanging from his waist, from which came a crisp metallic clanging sound.

"To be precise, we are now the people of the Princess of Cangzhou. Last year, in a great battle with the Turks, several of us brothers were wounded and nearly died. It was the Princess who miraculously saved us from the brink of death."

Da Jiu turned to look at his brothers behind him, his eyes shining with warmth: "The prince said that our lives were given to us by the princess, so he sent us to her as guards. The princess thought that she couldn't remember the names of more than a hundred of us, so she simply numbered us, saying that it would be more convenient that way."

Upon hearing this, Shen Daohong stroked his beard and smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes piled up like chrysanthemums: "This Princess Consort of Cangzhou is quite an interesting person."

"Brother Shen! Brother Shen!"

Just then, a hurried shout came from ahead on the official road.

A blue cloth carriage returned, and when the curtain was lifted, the anxious face of the Duke of Heng was revealed.

Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, he leaned halfway out, the tassels on his buttons swaying wildly in the wind.

Upon seeing that it was Duke Heng, Shen Daohong frowned and looked behind him, "Why are you back again? Are the women all well?"

"They're fine, they're all waiting up ahead!" Duke Heng jumped down before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, almost tripping over his own robes.

He took a few quick steps and grabbed Shen Daohong's arms, looking his old friend up and down: "That earth-shattering noise just now, I thought... I thought..."

He swallowed his words, but instead squeezed Shen Daohong's shoulder hard.

He took a breath and continued, "Then I saw the Imperial Guards fleeing in panic. I only came back to check on them after they had gone far away. Are you all alright?"

Shen Daohong pointed to Da Jiu and the others: "Don't worry, we're lucky. Thanks to the timely rescue by the Cangzhou King's men, they scared off the Imperial Guards with powerful weapons."

After speaking, Shen Daohong looked at Da Jiu and the others and saw that they had a suspender strap on their chests and a dark object vaguely showing behind them. He wondered if it was the powerful weapon.

Upon hearing the name of Zhao Zun, the King of Cangzhou, the Duke of Heng suddenly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Da Jiu and the others like lightning.

He suddenly took two steps forward, his voice trembling: "Since you are Zhao Zun's men, have you seen Hua Tianyou? Is he alright?"

Da Shiliu touched his nose and smiled憨厚ly: "Your Excellency is talking about Young Master Hua? He is now the commander of our Prince's guards, in Cangzhou, doing very well!"

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Heng's tense shoulders finally relaxed.

He looked up at the sky, exhaled a long breath of white air, and a snowflake falling from the sky landed on the corner of his moist eye, instantly turning into a water droplet.

Upon hearing this, Shen Daohong's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he quickly asked, "Do you know anything about the current situation of the Jingzhou Wang family?"

Da Jiu grinned and said, "If I remember correctly, you are the father-in-law of the King of Jingzhou, aren't you?"

"It is indeed I." Shen Daohong stroked his beard and nodded, his brows furrowed with worry.

Seeing this, Da Jiu comforted him, "Don't worry, sir. After that incident..." He paused, then continued, "The King of Jingzhou stayed in Cangzhou for a while and learned a lot of new things there. Now he's a business partner of our Queen. I heard that the Queen also gave the King of Jingzhou the cement agency rights. He's probably made a fortune by now!"

When "that matter" was mentioned, Shen Daohong's expression turned serious, but then relaxed.

After all, it was Zhao Zun's men who saved the Jingzhou King's family, so he was even more curious about the strength of Zhao Zun, the Cangzhou King.

He glanced thoughtfully at the corpses scattered on the ground beside him and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Da Jiu, what kind of weapon did you use just now? How were you able to repel two thousand Imperial Guards in one fell swoop?"

Upon hearing this, Da Jiu laughed heartily, took the M16 automatic rifle off his back, and then skillfully removed the magazine to show it off.

"Shen Shuai, look, this is called an automatic rifle. It has a magazine of thirty bullets and a range of five hundred paces. It is a hundred times more powerful than bows and crossbows."

He then pointed to several of his teammates, saying, "That terrifying commotion just now was actually the effect of several of us firing simultaneously."

Shen Daohong stared in disbelief, his trembling fingers lightly touching the cold gun barrel: "No wonder...no wonder those Imperial Guards were so scared they ran away with their tails between their legs..."

"Hahaha..." Da Shiliu laughed, "Shen Shuai is a commander. If you like, you can come to Cangzhou for a visit! Cangzhou has plenty of weapons like these."

There are plenty?
Shen Daohong's lips twitched, and just as he was about to ask something else, Da Jiu's voice rang in his ears.

“We were supposed to escort you two to Cangzhou,” Da Jiu suddenly said seriously, “but His Highness has ordered that we brothers must stay in the capital. But don’t worry, once we reach Jingzhou, someone will meet us.”

Duke Heng, leaning on the carriage shaft, sighed, "Today, we owe a great debt to all of you brave warriors..."

"You're too kind, Duke." Da Jiu waved his hand to interrupt, "You can go to Jingzhou with peace of mind! With us here to guard the area, there will be no problem."

Shen Daohong nodded in understanding and helped the Duke of Heng onto the carriage.

As the wheels rolled, he looked out the window and saw Da Jiu directing his brothers from the Big Character Team to clean up the battlefield.

On the official road, Da Jiu kicked the Imperial Guard Commander beside him, searched him and found a token on his body. He then laughed at his brothers who were burying the bodies and said, "Now we have the passes to enter the palace. Brothers, hurry up and get the bodies cleaned up before lunch."

Da Shiliu leaned over and asked, "Ninth Brother, what should we do with these warhorses?"

"Let's pick a few good ones to ride back, and the rest..." Da Jiu thought for a moment, "...let them all go!"

Once the entourage of Duke Heng and his party had passed behind the mountain ridge, the official road had returned to tranquility.

Da Jiu counted the more than twenty complete sets of armor he had captured, and whistled with satisfaction: "Let's go back to the city for a drink!"

On the official road, the brothers of the Big Character Brigade rode their warhorses towards the capital, laden with their spoils. But behind them, in a ravine, beneath the freshly turned earth, more than twenty Imperial Guards, including their commander, vanished without a trace…

...I am a lazy dividing line...

Cangzhou, outside the North Gate.

In the twelfth lunar month, when the coldest days of winter were upon us, the coal mines at the foot of Yinshan Mountain were shrouded in a blanket of white.

The biting north wind howled through the valley, whipping up the snow on the ground and making a rustling sound as it hit the miners' thick work clothes.

These miners, released from prison, are now working hard in the mine, sweating profusely, the sound of picks striking the coal seam echoing everywhere.

"Black Ox, bring that basket of coal up!" an old miner with a face covered in coal dust shouted into the tunnel.

"Coming, Uncle Zhang!" the younger miner replied, struggling to lift a full basket of shiny black coal.

Although his movements were clumsy, his eyes revealed a seriousness.

Veteran miner Zhang Shitou took the coal basket, patted the young man on the shoulder, and said, "You've done a good job, much better than last month. If you keep this up, you'll be a permanent employee in less than six months."

Black Bull wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave a shy smile: "Thanks to Uncle Zhang for teaching me. The prince said long ago that those who perform well can be promoted to commoners ahead of time, so I have to work harder."

Looking at the soldiers patrolling in the distance, Zhang Shitou sighed, "The prince is a good man. He has given us a chance to start a new life. Although life is tough, we have these thick work clothes and hot meals. We should be content."

The snow falling from the sky was light but dense, like a sky full of stars.

On the open ground east of the mine, dozens of three-wheeled vehicles were neatly lined up, and laborers were busy loading the loaded coal baskets onto the vehicles.

"Brother Mengzi, the snow is likely to get heavier later today, we need to hurry," said a young team member wrapped in a military overcoat, rubbing his hands together.

The man called Mengzi raised his head, revealing a face reddened by the cold wind.

Mengzi said, "What's there to be afraid of? What kind of weather haven't our three-wheeled vehicle team seen? Same as always, we'll set off as soon as we finish loading this vehicle, and we'll look out for each other on the road."

“Exactly!” a tall, thin man chimed in. “The wages at our mine are 30% higher than elsewhere. I’d do it even if it meant being hit by a knife!”

Everyone burst into laughter. Mengzi patted the tall, thin man on the back: "You're only thinking about money! But you're right, the prince and princess have treated us well, so we have to live up to their wages."

The convoy was quickly loaded with coal, and one truck after another drove out of the mine, heading towards Yong'an City along the winding mountain road.

Deep tire tracks were left in the snow, but they were quickly covered by fresh snow again.

The three-wheeled vehicle team members walked side by side, their military overcoats covered in snowflakes, but this did not diminish their enthusiasm in the slightest.

Mengzi led the way, occasionally turning back to shout, "Hey everyone behind, keep up! Old Liu, is your tire okay?"

"It's alright, Captain! The tires are brand new, they're sturdy!" came the reply from behind.

Hey-yo!
The hoe gnaws at the stone's surface, the back scorches from the sun.

He tries to grope for the King of Hell in the dark, but smiles brightly for the living!

Hey-yo!
The copper seedlings are nourished by blood, and the silver threads are woven from life itself.

The tall, thin man hummed a tune as he drove, which prompted the others to join in.

The earth dragon has turned over—whoosh!
Begging for food in the eighteenth floor! Hey swoosh!

The soil on top of my head is as thin as paper.
Damn bluestone slabs—ugh!
You can't control me!
The rough singing echoed through the valley, startling a few crows hiding in the trees.

"Do you think those rich people in the city know how hard it is for us coal carriers?" a young driver suddenly asked.

Mengzi laughed heartily: "Who cares if they know or not! This winter, we're using honeycomb briquettes at home too. Lying on the heated kang bed at night, that's what I call a peaceful night's sleep!"