Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 124 Dream in the Clouds
"Fire!" Shi Pu looked at the towering flames in the distance and covered his forehead with his right hand. "It's probably not a fire attack by bandits, just a wildfire that's common in hot weather."

At this point, Shi Pu couldn't help but lick his lips: "I really miss those days. When I was a kid, after a wildfire, we could find a lot of wild animals that had burned to death. We'd sprinkle some coarse salt on them, stuff them half-cooked into our mouths, and eat them with gusto. The taste was damn sweet..."

Shi Pu's family was well-off, but Wang Jian could tell from the other man's eyes that Shi Pu had probably gone hungry more times than he had when he was a child.

Compared to powerful clans, it is not easy for mid-level military officer families to maintain their family influence.

Wang Jian finally confirmed that the rumors about the Shi family in Xuzhou were true.

I heard that in order to survive and leave the mountains, the members of their family even had to fight each other, including their own brothers.

As for eating raw meat and drinking raw blood, these are merely basic forms of training.

Shi Pu added, "With Marshal Yan dead, even Marshal Xue's army cannot shake the bandits' control over the mountains of southern Shandong."

Wang Jian said, "But Huang Jutian's army needs a huge amount of food to feed them. The soil in places like Mount Tai and Mount Yimeng is barren and arable land is scarce. Even if the trade in mountain products and sea salt can earn a considerable amount of money, the losses in transporting the food here are quite staggering."

Shi Pu sighed: "If it weren't for this, why would I have advised Military Governor Zhi Xiang to send troops to support Commander Yan? Now that the bandits have won a great victory and are in high spirits, they are moving south, and our Xu Town will be the first to bear the brunt..."

"When I return, I will plan the defense arrangements for the military governor and do my best to minimize the losses caused by the bandits who marched south to Xuzhou."

Wang Jian said in a self-deprecating tone, "Brother Shi Pu is relied upon by Military Governor Zhi Xiang as a confidant, and his future is truly limitless. Unlike us, we have to go back immediately to accept our punishment."

At this point, Wang Jian glanced in the direction of Ba Wuji.

This guy is still alive; I wonder what kind of snitch he'll report to me when he gets back.

Wang Jian could only laugh it off; at least he had made a new friend, Shi Pu.

As Liu Bei, the Emperor Zhaolie of Shu Han, once said, "There is always a way out."

Shi Pu was a ruthless person, or rather, most people who grew up like him would become like him.

But Shi Pu was not stupid at all, so he wouldn't be as foolish and wicked as someone who would ruin everything.

Wang Jian had seen far too many stupid and wicked people, both before and after joining the army.

He had, of course, already guessed what Shi Pu was planning to do next.

If the troops were not dispatched in time, that was Zhi Xiang's responsibility. Shi Pu had already done everything he could, but it was too late to reverse the situation.

However, the military expedition cost the people their money, yet bandits were still allowed to march south and plunder the Xu region. Zhi Xiang, the military governor of Ganhua Army, as a high-ranking official in charge of this region, is entirely guilty!

Zhi Xiang was not a bad person; he was a renowned Confucian scholar, skilled in poetry and prose, and known for his integrity in his previous official posts. However, even such a person, upon assuming the position of military governor of Ganhua Army, was incited by a group of gloating and unruly subordinates and soldiers, and developed ambitions for separatism.

The result of having ambition but lacking strength was that last year, when Qi Kerang participated in the Songzhou War, he accused Zhi Xiang of not contributing to the court in a timely manner and of having disloyal intentions when passing through Xuzhou. He then forcibly sent troops to open the treasury and took away a large amount of grain and gold.

If Huang Chao were to launch another campaign to ravage Xuzhou, Zhi Xiang's reputation would decline further. Meanwhile, Shi Pu would draw ever closer to the gleaming throne of the military governor…

Shi Pu was a new friend who had saved Wang Jian's life, and Wang Jian would never warn Zhi Xiang, the military governor, about doing something that would harm others without benefiting himself. Moreover, in Zhi Xiang's view, saying such things to him would only alienate him from his friends.

Shi Pu led his troops back to Xuzhou and held a banquet to reward Wang Jian and others. On the way, Ba Wuji feigned a stomachache and rode away, clearly afraid that if he went with Wang Jian, Wang Jian would kill him.

Upon hearing this, Shi Pu sneered, "Such insignificant fish and shrimp dare to imitate Emperor Gaozu of Han's escape from the Feast at Hongmen? What a petty mind."

Wang Jian smiled in return. After the banquet, the two exchanged waist knives as a gift, swore brotherhood, and bowed to each other in farewell. With three or five surviving personal guards, Wang Jian returned to Xuzhou, the capital of the Zhongwu Army, to apologize to Cui Anqian, the military governor.

Although it's not absolutely a matter of only escaping with one's life, there's not much difference.

……

In his dream, Zhu Wen recalled how his father used a ruler to hit his palms when he was a child.

At that time, he was very young. His father would always look furious, his beard bristling and eyes wide with anger, but in reality, he would hit him very gently. "San'er, your father shouldn't have hit you in the past."

“You are your father’s pride. Your father is scolding you because you are too smart and too sharp. I am afraid that you will be envied by others. I hope you can understand the principle of the divine being concealing itself.”

"But Father often thinks, if you hide your sharpness, are you still yourself?"

"I, Zhu Cheng, am just a frustrated schoolteacher. I never imagined that I could have such a smart and beautiful child as you, a prince from a legend."

“You shouldn’t have been born into our Zhu family and lived this poor life. You should have been born into a family with five surnames and seven clans, a family where you could freely express your individuality.”

"After I'm gone, live your life according to your own wishes! With your personality, once you decide which path to take, not even the King of Heaven can stop you."

These were his father's last words to him.

The villagers said he was so unruly that he angered his father to death, and that he was a cold-hearted child who didn't even cry when his father died.

They didn't know that he had cried so hard in places unseen by outsiders that his eyes were swollen and he couldn't shed another tear.

Do not let your eyes dry up, for you must hold back your tears. When your eyes are dry, you will see only bones, and heaven and earth will ultimately be heartless.

He simply didn't want outsiders to see his weakness.

In a daze, Zhu Wen saw a vast expanse of white sky.

Within the celestial palace, melodious music filled the air, the fragrance of rare herbs and flowers wafted through the air, and phoenixes and luan birds soared and danced in the sky.

"Am I dead? Someone like me can go to heaven after death and avoid hell?"

Zhu Wen's thoughts drifted with the wind as he entered a thatched hut on the edge of the Heavenly Palace.

This dilapidated thatched hut, placed beside the magnificent palace in the Heavenly Palace, seemed so out of place. Yet, it was exactly as Zhu Wen remembered it.

Inside the room, on the bed, he saw again that gaunt figure holding a ruler.

No matter how poor or miserable he was, my father would always wash that patched shirt until it was spotless, to show that he was, after all, a scholar.

"Grandpa!" Zhu Wen cried out, his voice trembling, as the figure pulled him into its arms.

"Sanlang, you've grown taller than your grandfather! You've really become a handsome young man, even more so than princes and noblemen."

His father, Zhu Cheng, stroked his head gently, making Zhu Wen feel as if he had returned to his childhood.

When he couldn't even walk, his grandfather must have held him like this so gently, but he doesn't remember it anymore.

"Yes, Sanlang has come back to see his grandfather... Is his grandfather doing well here?" Zhu Wen felt tears welling up in his eyes.

"The courtyard is free of dust and clutter, and the empty room offers ample leisure." Zhu Cheng smiled, his gaze sweeping over the room, which was indeed spotless, without a speck of dust: "Of course it's good, just what your grandfather likes for peace and quiet."

"Then Sanlang should stay here too, and keep Grandpa company." Zhu Wen said, nuzzling his shoulder against his father like a child, his gentle movements like those of a big cat.

“No.” Zhu Cheng’s voice suddenly turned serious: “I’m telling you to go your own way. No matter how well you do, you haven’t finished yet.”

"This is not a place for you. If you stay here now, you will have too many regrets."

"Go, my child. No matter how the world sees you, you must follow your heart and walk your own path."

Zhu Cheng murmured, his eyes filled with reluctance, but his hand pressed against Zhu Wen's chest without hesitation, and he pushed him away with force.

Zhu Wen felt the ground beneath his feet suddenly transform into floating clouds, and he plummeted from the white clouds with a deafening crash, falling thousands of feet into the sky below...

(End of this chapter)