The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 28 Closing the City
At dawn, the snow had just stopped and the weather was unexpectedly fine.

"very hungry."

Guo Xin was clearly not fully aware of the seriousness of the situation. He straddled his horse, raised his hands, stretched, yawned, and muttered something to himself.

He turned around and looked at Guo Wuniang, saying, "I'm hungry and sleepy. What about you? You've been playing backgammon all night."

"kind of."

"Since the city gates aren't open yet, let's go to Waixiejiezi for some fried dough sticks? And a bowl of crispy pork soup with it would be so delicious."

Guo Zongyi's eyes widened as he listened, his mouth practically watering. He turned to Xiao Yi and whispered, "My benefactor, shall we go eat?"

“That’s right, Mother wants you to lead the team, go for it.” Guo Xin patted his chest and said, “My treat.”

Xiao Yi sensed that they didn't have much of a sense of crisis. After all, they were young and arrogant, and had always been protected by their families, so they didn't know the immensity of the world.

He took out some dry rations from his bag and tossed them to them, saying, "Eat this if you're hungry."

"Huh? This is cold and hard." Guo Xin said, "My stomach isn't very good, and I still have a whole day's journey ahead. I'd like to eat something warm. It's on the way to Fengqiu Gate, so it won't delay me at all."

"So you're assuming we're going through Fengqiu Gate?"

"Of course, that's the North Gate, and it's closest to Baimajin."

"Tell me about the situation at the city gate."

"Huh? You're leading the team but don't know anything about it? Okay, Kaifeng has seven land gates and two water gates. To the north are Fengqiu Gate and Suanzao Gate, and to the east are Song Gate and Cao Gate. Hmm, I'm referring to the names from the Tang Dynasty. The Liang, Jin, and Han Dynasties gave it many new names. For example, Cao Gate, Grandpa said it used to be called 'Jianyang Gate,' but now it's called 'Yingchun Gate.' It's located in the northern part of the eastern city, so it's very convenient to get there."

Xiao Yi pondered for a moment. Although going through other city gates would be safer, he could try to gain a time advantage and fight with speed.

"Go to Fengqiu Gate first, and after we cross the Yellow River, we can eat whatever we want."

"Xiao Yi..."

Xiao Yi raised his hand to stop him, saying, "If you call me 'my lord' on the road, we might encounter a checkpoint later. This is for safety reasons."

"what?"

"My lord," Guo Zongyi obediently called out.

Guo Xin looked helpless and said, "Alright, as long as I'm well-fed, I'll call you 'my lord' in the sweetest way."

“My name is Xiao Yi, Xiao as in Xiao He, and Yi as in playing chess. I am from Kaifeng and a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) this year. I have just been appointed as a proofreader and am on the orders of my mentor, Su Fengji, to deliver a private letter to Fengqiu. You are the servants and guards I just hired. You know nothing else about me. Do you understand?”

"understood."

"You are a guard named Zhan Zhao."

"A good name!" Guo Xin said with satisfaction, "The 'zhao' in 'to attract cats and dogs'?"

“The bright sun and moon... Brother Yi, you are my page, Mingyan.”

"Yes, son."

“Miss Guo Wu, you are a maid, Qingwen.”

"Oh."

Xiao Yi asked, "Do you have any items in your luggage that could reveal your identities? Give me the jade pendants and tokens."

Guo Xin and Guo Zongyi both shook their heads. Guo Wuniang hesitated for a moment and said, "My sister-in-law asked me to bring a... birth certificate."

As she spoke, her voice became barely audible, like a mosquito's buzz.

Xiao Yi, unaware of what the marriage certificate represented, reached out and said, "Give it to me."

It was a red invitation card, unfolded, with elegant small characters.

"The birth year of my daughter is listed below: her great-grandfather was named Yun, her grandfather was named Jian, her father was named Wei, her given name was Xin, her nickname was An'er, she was the fifth child in her family, born in the year of Bing Shen, the month of Xin Chou, the day of Geng Chen, and the hour of Yi You."

Her name was Guo Xin.

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Yi took out a flint from his horse, turned to the side with his back to the wind, and lit the marriage contract.

The flames swept through until only a corner of the red invitation remained, at which point he casually tossed the ashes into the wind.

"you!"

Guo Xin was a little angry. She spurred her horse forward, pointed at Xiao Yi, but couldn't blame him. She could only swallow her words and stubbornly said, "I could have burned it myself."

Xiao Yi raised his hand and pulled the small red-gold hairpin off her head.

"I'll keep it for now, Qingwen."

"Yes...my love!"

Guo Xin was a little angry, and she deliberately emphasized the last two words, as if she wanted to bite him.

Xiao Yi didn't play along with her nonsense and said, "Zhan Zhao."

Guo Xin was yawning, completely unaware of what was happening.

"Third Uncle." Guo Zongyi waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, it's Guard Zhan, the young master is calling you."

Guo Xin then clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "Zhan Zhao is here!"

"Does anyone in Kaifeng recognize you?"

"Don't worry, my friends are all wandering knights, and they've only just gone to sleep at this hour."

"Mingyan".

"Here I am."

"take it easy."

Guo Zongyi smiled shyly, seemingly finding the act of being a page quite amusing...

Just as we arrived at Fengqiu Gate, the morning bell rang.

Pedestrians who were leaving the city early were just beginning to line up.

The four men urged their horses to join the queue. Guo Xin took a bite of a flatbread and mumbled, "That's right, the sooner we queue, the sooner we can get out of the city. I know there's a soup noodle shop in Chenliu Town that's damn delicious."

Xiao Yi looked around and whispered, "The city gate probably won't open." "How do you know? Maybe it will open soon."

Xiao Yi raised his hand and pointed to a group of imperial guards by the city gate, who were surrounding a clerk who was engrossed in copying a notice.

Before long, the clerk had copied a notice, and an imperial guard took it and posted it directly on the notice board.

It was a wanted poster, depicting a burly man with a bushy beard, his mouth wide open, as if he were about to snatch someone to eat. With just a few strokes, it was quite lifelike.

"Zhang Mantun, a serious criminal, has rebelled and caused chaos. He resisted arrest and injured his officers. He is thirty-two years old, nearly nine feet tall, with a broad back and a burly waist. His face is rough and dark, with a thick beard, round eyes, a flat nose, and many fangs in his mouth, with a missing incisor. Anyone who captures him and presents him to the authorities will be rewarded with one thousand strings of cash. Anyone who provides information leading to his capture will be rewarded with three hundred strings of cash. Anyone who harbors or assists him will be executed, their property confiscated, and their neighbors and guarantors implicated! This order is to be posted at all city gates immediately. Make strict arrests without delay!"

After reading it, Xiao Yi was surprised that Zhang Mantun had still managed to escape.

On second thought, this matter is very strange. Why would a mere soldier be worth such a grand search?

Unless, Zhang Mantun took away the Imperial Guard's military tally.

But if the Shi family father and son, along with their generals, are all taken down, the military tally will likely be of little use.

The morning bell rang, but the city gates remained closed.

Xiao Yi's eyes darkened slightly as he sized up the city guards, looking for someone suitable to use or bribe.

After observing for a while, he was still not satisfied, so he simply spurred his horse forward and asked, "Why are the city gates not open today?"

The soldiers guarding the city were arrogant. They glanced at his green official robe, casually cupped their hands, and said, "Didn't you see? Searching for wanted criminals."

Xiao Yi also adopted an official demeanor, saying, "What kind of criminal is he? He won't even open the city gates, delaying my important business. Can you bear the responsibility?"

“I can’t take that responsibility. You should go and ask the prefect for an explanation, sir! By the way, he was wearing a purple robe.”

Unable to find an opportunity, Xiao Yi immediately turned his horse around and returned.

"Let's go take a look at the East City."

"Are they searching for us? How did Mother and the others get out of the city?"

"Don't panic, the Guo family hasn't been investigated yet."

In the early morning, only a few vendors pushing their carts were seen on the streets of Kaifeng heading to the morning market.

It was a distance of six li from Fengqiu Gate to Cao Gate. Xiao Yi and the others urged their horses to trot, and after about a quarter of an hour, they saw the city gate in the distance.

Here, the queue to leave the city was even longer, and the four of them still joined the last part of the queue.

All that could be heard was people whispering and complaining about the city lockdown today.

Some people whispered that something had happened in the city last night: several mansions had been ransacked, and the Imperial Guards had chased down a fleeing criminal on horseback, causing quite a commotion.

Xiao Yi looked around warily and noticed that the soldiers on the city wall were staring intently at the queue of people, while some burly men dressed as ordinary civilians were walking back and forth, searching.

One person in the crowd caught his attention.

The man was nearly two meters tall, wearing a scholar's robe that looked like it was about to burst at any moment, and a turban on his head. He was trying to curl up his body.

Just by looking at his back, Xiao Yi recognized him. He shook his head inwardly, thinking that his attire was a mess and his role was out of place. It was too naive of him to think he could sneak out of the city like this.

By chance, Zhang Mantun glanced back and saw that his beard had been shaved off and his skin was whiter, indicating that he had applied makeup. The technique was surprisingly good, but it looked strangely out of place.

In the distance, an imperial guard picked up the notice, looked at it, turned to the city wall, and nodded. The guards on the city wall then gestured in response.

Seeing that Zhang Mantun seemed oblivious, Xiao Yi lowered his head and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to him, suddenly shouted in a low voice.

"Take it!"

This startled Zhang Mantun, who turned and ran.

"Straight bitch!"

"stop!"

"Eh-"

Suddenly, chaos broke out, the horses were startled, and Xiao Yi and his companions quickly pulled on the reins and retreated to the side.

He dismounted, took the reins, and turned around to find the long street in complete disarray.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

Zhang Mantun knocked down countless people, and entire squads of imperial guards were shoved to the ground by him.

But he eventually ran out of strength and was in dire straits. A dozen or so batons struck his lower body, tripping his towering frame and causing him to fall to the ground.

"You bastard! Hold him down!"

“Fuck!”

Before he could get up, the Imperial Guards swarmed him like hungry wolves, swords and spears clashing, pressing him down hard and binding his hands and feet tightly with thick hemp ropes.

Zhang Mantun continued to resist fiercely, letting out beast-like roars. He nearly overturned the person on top of him several times until the hilt of a knife struck him hard on the back of the head, at which point his violent struggles gradually subsided.

The sound of horses' hooves came from the long street, and several riders galloped over.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yi quickly crouched down and hid in the crowd.

The leader was Liu Zhu, who wore a fine-scaled iron armor over his official robe, giving him a menacing look. He rushed up to Zhang Mantun and impatiently shouted, "Search!"

The soldiers rummaged around Zhang Mantun for a while, scattering his rations, silver, and other miscellaneous items all over the ground.

Liu Zhu dismounted to inspect the goods, and finally, angrily kicked Zhang Mantun in the stomach, shouting, "Where is the stuff?"

"Haha...I've already used it to mobilize troops and wipe you all out!"

"Search the streets carefully for his horse and armor! Bring him to the government office for questioning by myself."

"Yes!"

Zhang Mantun was dragged away like a dead dog.

On the street, Xiao Yi silently observed all of this, and a guess formed in his mind.

(End of this chapter)