The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 98 Certificate of Surrender

After receiving Jiang Han's approval, Zhao Sheng patiently settled down in the camp, familiarizing himself with military affairs every day and chatting with several officers, which was quite peaceful.

Within five days, good news arrived.

Li Laowai led two divisions of men and, after scouting the terrain of Shilou Mountain, wiped out the Shanxi bandits who were entrenched on the mountain in less than two days!

Li Laowai also brought back Shangshanhu's head and handed it over to Zhao Sheng.

Zhao Sheng found some lime, carefully pickled the head of the tiger climbing the mountain, wrapped it in cloth, and put it into a box filled with lime.

With everything prepared, Zhao Sheng dared not delay. He selected ten capable and valiant guards and prepared a carriage, heading directly to their first destination: Kulong Pass!

The reason he went to Kulong Pass first, rather than the closer Guangwu Village, was because Kulong Pass was located at an extremely important position.

Kulong Pass is located at the junction of Shilou, Jiaokou and Xiaoyi counties, guarding an important pass on an official road.

According to the "Shilou County Annals," "Huangyun Mountain is located sixty li east of the county seat. A natural cave has been carved into the mountain, forming a natural pass that is essential for all travel. It is steep and precipitous, with a biting wind, and even in the sweltering summer, it still offers shade. After a snowfall, traversing the mountain is like ascending to a fairyland; it was one of the eight scenic spots of the county."

That place with the stone cave is called Kulong Pass.

During the Hongwu era, the imperial court established a patrol station not far from this place and stationed troops to guard it.

Below Kulong Pass, there is an official road called Kulong Ancient Road.

This ancient road, known as Kulong Road, is a vital passage connecting Shilou County to Xiaoyi and Fenyang in the east, Jiaokou and Xixian in the south, and Zhongyang and Lishi in the north.

It was early February of the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign. The depths of winter were not yet over, the spring chill was still in the air, and a light drizzle of snow was falling from the sky.

Zhao Sheng and his group climbed the narrow and rugged official road, braving the cold wind, their steps uneven as they made their way towards the pass on Huangyun Mountain.

When they reached the middle of the mountain, Zhao Sheng reined in his horse and paused there for a moment.

He noticed a cliff face in front of him with a stone inscription bearing the powerful characters: "Huang Yun Song Xiu - Calligraphy by Shen Jun of Kuaiji".

The calligraphy is vigorous and powerful, perfectly complementing the desolate and rugged mountain scenery.

Just as Zhao Sheng paused to admire the beautiful scenery, a sharp shout suddenly came from the official road not far away:
"Who goes there?! Sneaking around like that, what are you up to?!"

Before he finished speaking, two soldiers dressed in tattered coats emerged from behind a large rock beside the road, holding two short spears. They quickly stepped forward and blocked Zhao Sheng and his group.

The two were shivering, their faces red and bruised from the cold. They were wearing a tattered cotton-padded jacket and even a pair of worn-out straw sandals that let in the wind.

Zhao Sheng immediately guessed that these must be soldiers patrolling and keeping watch from Kulong Pass.

"Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen."

Zhao Sheng immediately put on a smile, jumped off his horse, and cupped his hands in greeting to the two men.

The two soldiers looked Zhao Sheng and his group up and down warily.

Although Zhao Sheng and his group were few in number, they were all sturdy and had sharp eyes.

This contrasted sharply with the two men, making the two soldiers even more vigilant.

One of the older officers shouted:
"Stop trying to get on my good side! What are you doing here? What are you doing here?"

Zhao Sheng remained calm, took out a small piece of silver from his pocket, and stuffed it into the soldier's hand, while lowering his voice to say:

"Sir, we're on the same side!"

"We are from Shangshanhu, and we've come specifically to deliver our February monthly allowance."

The soldier weighed the silver in his hand, and the wariness on his face eased slightly.

But he still had some doubts:

"Sending monthly allowance? I've never seen you before. I recognize all the people Shangshanhu sent!"

Zhao Sheng laughed:

"Sir, you have a good eye! I am new here, having only recently joined the King's ranks."

"His Majesty trusts me and specially sent me to take this trip and familiarize myself with the route."

The officers and soldiers nodded and stopped making things difficult for Zhao Sheng.

After all, outsiders are unlikely to know that there is such a relationship between the garrison of Kulong Pass and the bandits of Shilou Mountain.

The older officer tucked the silver into his pocket and winked at another soldier:

"So you're one of us! Come with me."

After saying that, he led Zhao Sheng and his group toward the fortress on the mountain.

The military fort at Kulong Pass was not large, and the rammed earth walls appeared somewhat dilapidated.

The garrison commander was named Deng Yang, a burly, dark-skinned man from Shanxi, who was about forty years old.

Upon hearing that Shangshanhu had sent someone to deliver the monthly allowance, Deng Yang was extremely enthusiastic, personally coming out from the low-lying fort to greet him with a broad smile.
He grabbed Zhao Sheng's hand:
"Oh dear! Did Brother Mountain Tiger send them?"

"Quickly! Please come inside! It's freezing cold outside!"

Zhao Sheng calmly withdrew his hand, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, and smiled:

"General Deng, you're too kind."

After saying that, he gestured to the guards behind him to lift the two heavy boxes off the carriage and followed Deng Yang into the house.

A charcoal fire was burning in the room, which finally dispelled some of the chill.

Deng Yang's eyes shone brightly, his gaze remaining fixed on the two large boxes, never wavering for even a moment.

"My name is Zhao Sheng. Greetings, General Deng!"

Only when Zhao Sheng spoke did he reluctantly turn his gaze away.

He rubbed his hands together, looking at Zhao Sheng with excitement and anticipation:

"I wonder how my brother, Tiger on the Mountain, has had his harvest lately? How much did he send me this time?"

Zhao Sheng smiled slightly and shook his head:

"General Deng, to be honest, I am not one of Shangshanhu's men."

Deng Yang's smile froze, somewhat puzzled:

"Ok?"

Zhao Sheng's smile gradually faded, and his tone became flat:

“I said, I have nothing to do with Shangshanhu.”

Deng Yang's confusion deepened, a vague sense that something was amiss, and his hand instinctively reached for the hilt of the knife at his waist:
"What's the meaning?!"

Zhao Sheng did not answer immediately, but instead walked slowly to one of the boxes and opened the lid.

He bent down and dug the preserved head out from the thick layer of lime in the box, then casually tossed it on the ground.

Boom!
The head rolled to the ground, its unseeing eyes staring directly at Deng Yang. Startled by the head, Deng Yang took two steps back.

When he saw clearly that it was the head of the mountain tiger, he roared in fury:

"Be bold!"

Deng Yang suddenly drew his sword, pointed it at Zhao Sheng, and shouted sharply:

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Not only did you kill my brother, Shangshanhu, but you also dare to bring his head to see me?!"

The atmosphere inside the room instantly became extremely tense!
At the same time, the guards behind Zhao Sheng also drew their waist knives and glared angrily at Deng Yang and the guards who rushed in from outside the door after hearing the noise. The tension was palpable!
Faced with the enraged Deng Yang and the gleaming steel knife, Zhao Sheng remained unfazed, even managing a slight smile.

"General Deng, please calm down. It's just killing a bandit leader. Why get so worked up?"

"General, you might want to take a look at the other box."

Deng Yang was about to order the arrest of Zhao Sheng and the others when he was taken aback by Zhao Sheng's feigned composure.

While Deng Yang was still in a daze, Zhao Sheng had already walked to another box and opened the lid with a "snap"!
In an instant, the entire room was filled with astonishment!

Inside the box, two layers of gleaming white official silver were neatly stacked!

They were all finely crafted, substantial silver ingots, each weighing fifty taels! They gleamed with a dazzling silver light!
Deng Yang's eyes widened, and his breathing became heavy!
He had never seen so much silver in his life! A quick glance revealed that this entire box contained at least seven or eight hundred taels!

In the past, all that was delivered were copper coins and silver scraps, nothing compared to this round, large silver ingot.

Deng Yang swallowed hard, his anger vanishing in the blink of an eye, leaving only greed.

He almost instinctively lunged at the large box filled with silver ingots.

But Zhao Sheng suddenly blocked his way, looking at him with a half-smile:
"General, do not be anxious."

Deng Yang suddenly snapped out of his daze and reluctantly turned his gaze back to Zhao Sheng in front of him.

He narrowed his eyes and carefully examined Zhao Sheng:

"Who are you?"

"They killed my brother, Shangshanhu, and then brought over so much silver. What exactly do they mean by that?"

Zhao Sheng smiled slightly and said frankly:
"To be honest, General Deng, we came from Shaanxi."

"The brothers are exhausted from fighting one battle after another, and they want to rest at Shilou Mountain."

He pointed to the human head on the ground.

"Unfortunately, this tiger who climbed the mountain was not aware of the times. Not only did he refuse to give up the land, he also wanted to use his knife against us."

"There was no other way, so we had to act on behalf of Heaven and wipe him out."

"but,"

Zhao Sheng changed the subject, a sincere smile appearing on his face.
"I heard that this Tiger of the Mountain has a past relationship with General Deng, so I have come here with some silver to pay him a visit."

"I hope General Deng will not take offense and allow us to rest and recuperate at Shilou Mountain for a while."

"From Shaanxi?" Deng Yang frowned upon hearing this.

A few days ago, both Fenyang Guard and Fenzhou Prefecture sent people to deliver orders, instructing them to be on high alert against bandits roaming from the direction of Shaanxi, and to keep a close eye on the direction of Shilou County.

I heard that a band of fierce bandits has come from northern Shaanxi, and the imperial court is sending people to appease them.

"Could it be them?"

Deng Yang was startled, but he discreetly observed Zhao Sheng and the guards behind him.

These men were wearing brand-new, thick cotton armor, with ruddy complexions and upright postures; they were clearly a well-trained and elite force.

Looking at his men, they were all emaciated and dressed in tattered cotton-padded jackets, with most of them still wearing straw sandals.

People are more mad than people.

He dared not be careless and asked in a deep voice:

"I'm afraid your visit here is not just for a simple visit, is it?"

"Just tell me!"

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng stopped beating around the bush and lowered his voice:
“I heard from that Tiger from the Mountain that he has a long-standing friendship with General Deng and He Lei from Guangwu Village.”

"He, Shanhu, led his men to rob and plunder outside, harming the people. He must have shared a lot of the money and grain he stole with the two generals, right?"

Zhao Sheng shook his head, his tone tinged with mockery.

"Tsk tsk, such a big matter, what if the Fenzhou government finds out?"

Upon hearing this, Deng Yang's expression changed drastically, and he sternly stopped him:
"Shut up!"

"What exactly do you want?"

Zhao Sheng smiled slightly:
"I want nothing. I want to replace Shangshanhu and continue to cooperate with the two generals!"

"What?!" Deng Yang was stunned.

Zhao Sheng leaned forward and tempted him:

"To be honest, how much profit can you make by robbing those penniless ordinary people?"

"General Deng, think about it carefully. The Fenzhou Prefecture and Pingyang Prefecture area has always been a prosperous place, with countless wealthy families owning estates."

"Why don't we cooperate? You provide the intelligence, and we'll take care of the action, specifically robbing the estates of those officials and gentry!"

"If we manage to snag just one or two, it'll be enough for several years, let alone a year's worth of food!"

"Isn't this a hundred times better than painstakingly scavenging those poor bastards?!"

Deng Yang was terrified, yet secretly tempted.

Robbing officials and gentry? That's incredibly audacious! But what if they actually succeeded?
He swallowed hard, still somewhat hesitant.

"These people are all influential figures. If they report this to the higher-ups, how am I supposed to explain myself?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng smiled knowingly, as if he had expected him to ask this question:
"What's so difficult about this?"

He lowered his voice,
"When the time comes, if someone really files a complaint, General Deng and General He only need to mobilize their troops and come to 'suppress the bandits' in a grand manner."

"As for us, we will naturally know better than to abandon our armor and weapons and flee at the first sign of trouble."

"Let the two generals win several glorious victories and take some heads back to report."

"In this way, the generals will have the merit of suppressing bandits and quelling rebellions, which is enough to explain to their superiors and appease the officials and gentry; we can also remain safe and sound and continue to make money."

"Wouldn't this be the best of both worlds, a win-win situation for everyone?"

(End of this chapter)