This Is Yong'an County

Inside a stone house erected on the spot with Daoist magic, Wei Yuan sat opposite Niu Jinbao, frowning at the man bent on seeking death. Even though Niu Jinbao was remarkably tight-lipped, Wei Yuan kept plying him with questions, latching onto every detail and probing every discrepancy in his words. After patiently grinding away at him for an hour, he still managed to pry out quite a bit of information. By now, Wei Yuan understood the situation clearly: this fellow had been sent by the imperial court precisely to die. The moment Wei Yuan lost his patience and killed him, Western Jin would have an excuse to dispatch troops against the domain. Aside from Niu Jinbao, Ningxi Commandery Governor Yuan Qingyan was no easy customer either. Starting out as an imperial censor, he had once been a notorious mad dog at court, biting anyone in sight and having no friends whatsoever. Sending such a man to Ningxi as commandery governor made the court's intention glaringly obvious. The King of Jin had re-established the four commanderies with his sights set directly on the Qingming Domain. Without taking Qingming into his grasp, what point was there in re-establishing the four commanderies? Right now Wei Yuan had quite a headache. Killing Niu Jinbao was unacceptable, yet sparing him was equally troublesome. The King of Jin had virtually delivered this man to be killed; killing him would play right into the king's hands. Between the lines, Niu Jinbao had also revealed that imperial armies were pouring steadily into Ningxi. The King of Jin had even mobilized the northern border army; one could say he was determined to prevail. Western Jin shared the longest border with Northern Liao, with many stretches having no natural defenses, relying entirely on military garrisons, stockpiled troops, and mobile defense. Therefore, among all the forces across Western Jin, the northern border elites were ranked first. Wei Yuan pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you want to die?" Niu Jinbao glared. "Who would want to die if they could live well? But right now, whether I live or die isn't up to me. Just hurry up and kill me—forget about getting anything else." Wei Yuan ignored him and pushed open the door to leave. Several people immediately rushed in, among them the two female cultivators who had previously been dragged onto the carriage. They blindfolded Niu Jinbao, stuffed his mouth, and gave him a savage thrashing of fists and kicks until his vision swam in black and blue. Certain strikes were aimed specifically below the belt; had Wei Yuan not given special instructions beforehand, not a single one of Niu Jinbao's parts would have survived intact. Fortunately, the group proved obedient enough. After the vicious beating, those parts of his were still about ten percent new. Once the beating was done, they stripped Niu Jinbao stark naked. By this point, Niu Jinbao was battered half to death, devoid of the strength to resist. He had discarded any concern for dignity anyway, adopting an attitude of taking whatever they threw at him. Several people hauled Niu Jinbao out, shoved him into a wooden crate, and nailed it shut. Niu Jinbao assumed he was about to be buried alive and simply steeled his heart, shouting curses. But with his mouth still gagged, he could produce only muffled grunts. Then the crate began to sway, as if loaded onto a carriage. It jolted like this for an entire day, until his bones felt nearly shaken apart, before finally coming to a halt. Someone pried open the lid, hauled him out, dumped him on the ground, cut his bindings, and pulled off the hood. Niu Jinbao's vision blurred, only slowly adjusting to the light. It was midday. Around him lay rolling hills, with a road passing through a valley. At the mouth of the valley stood several inns and taverns—a modest little hamlet that appeared to have a few hundred residents. To his left and right on the ground lay dozens of equally naked men, Colonel Liu among them. These men were the soldiers who had escorted Niu Jinbao to his post, and right now every single one was in the state he had left his mother's womb. Colonel Liu was in far worse shape, his face bruised black and blue, one eye swollen into a slit. Niu Jinbao glanced downward at Liu's lower half, and seeing that it too was about ten percent new, he felt a measure of comfort. Several masked riders hauled the last few soldiers out of the wagons and dumped them onto the ground, then said coldly to Niu Jinbao, "We've arrived." Niu Jinbao looked around and said, "This godforsaken, desolate place is just right as Old Niu's burial ground. But could you at least tell me where this is? That way, I can appear in my son's dreams so he knows where to burn a few sticks of incense at his old man's grave." The masked riders remained silent, save for one who pointed to the side. Niu Jinbao looked over and saw a large tree with a patch of bark shaved away, inscribed with three large characters: Yong'an County. Niu Jinbao rubbed his eyes. The writing on the tree indeed read Yong'an County. Instinctively, he muttered, "So this is Yong'an County? Did I go to the wrong place earlier?" Colonel Liu said helplessly, "The writing is fresh. Ah, the calligraphy is rather decent, though." The lead rider's demeanor softened slightly as he said, "This is Yong'an County." Niu Jinbao came to his senses and shouted, "This isn't Yong'an County!" "This is Yong'an County." "This is NOT Yong'an County!!" "This is Yong'an County." Just as Niu Jinbao was about to yell again, he suddenly caught on and said, "Fine, this is Yong'an County." The rider said coolly, "Didn't you come to take up your post in Yong'an County? You have arrived." Niu Jinbao scrambled up, entirely unconcerned that he was stark naked, and asked, "Then where on earth is this Yong'an County located?" The rider produced a map and pointed at a spot. "Here." Colonel Liu leaned over as well, taking one look and sucking in a sharp breath. The location on the map was west of the domain, a full five hundred li away. Crucially, this spot was wedged right between the Shamans and the domain. If the Shamans invaded, this place would serve as the first line of defense. The rider added, "There are many horse bandits in this area. You two had best not stray more than a hundred li from this tree. If you die at the hands of horse bandits, don't blame me for not warning you." Colonel Liu offered a flattering smile. "Might I ask which bands of horse bandits roam nearby?" The masked rider pointed at himself. "Our band alone is plenty. How many more do you want?" The masked riders lingered no longer. Mounting their horses, they rode off into the distance, abandoning Niu Jinbao, Colonel Liu, and several dozen other plucked pigs right where they were. Niu Jinbao surveyed his surroundings, then walked up to a relatively elevated spot nearby and began clearing away the rocks and brush on the ground. Seeing Colonel Liu standing dazed in place, Niu Jinbao barked, "What are you standing there gawking for? Get over here and work!" "Work on what?" "Opening our yamen and establishing our county!" Colonel Liu was utterly bewildered. Did Niu Jinbao truly intend to establish an office in this perilous place? The danger was one thing, but the main issue was that this wasn't Yong'an at all! Niu Jinbao scanned the naked soldiers and suddenly remembered something. "When we set out, there were two hundred men. Why are there only this few left?" He pulled over several soldiers and questioned them closely, only to discover that many of them had defected to the rider earlier, changing professions to become horse bandits. Those remaining here were simply lacking in physical build and talent—the horse bandits had refused to take them. Niu Jinbao flew into a rage, yet there was nothing he could do. Meanwhile, in the Qingming Domain, Wei Yuan spread out a map and said to Cui Yu, who had just rushed back, "There are three more suitable locations to establish counties to the west. We can just relocate the counties of Anbian, Qiao, and Weining over there as well. It'll be hard work for you, but relocate all three counties within the next two days. No one who manages to become a county magistrate is a fool; they ought to understand what being sent here means. Even after being relocated, they can only play dumb while knowing full well what's going on." Wei Yuan pondered briefly and added, "As for their entourages, handle them according to this time's procedure. Enlist those who can be enlisted, send those who resist on their way, and leave a few hands for the magistrates. Leave about half—otherwise, they won't even be able to set up their counties." Cui Yu said, "What if these people really manage to build up the counties? Wouldn't that block our path westward?" Wei Yuan rolled his eyes at him. "You're still thinking about expanding westward? We're lucky if we can defend our home base right now. Besides, do you think the Shamans won't come?" Cui Yu caught on at once. "Once the Shaman army arrives, they'll be the first line of defense." Wei Yuan nodded. "When the Shamans come again, their offensive will surely be unprecedented. Four counties alone won't be able to stop them. But since the King of Jin wants to use my blade to kill those men, I refuse to kill them. Let them die at the hands of the Shamans instead." Wei Yuan remembered another matter and said, "While you're relocating those three counties, remember to interrogate them for intelligence—the more, the better. I want the location and garrison strength of every Western Jin seat of government. If you feel you can't pry it out of them, have Wan'er go with you." Cui Yu laughed. "Sounds good. If the King of Jin keeps acting up, maybe we'll relocate his commandery governor for him too!" Wei Yuan said, "Once the three counties are relocated, we'll see how Yuan Qingyan reacts first." "Oh, right. The elders at home just sent over a dossier on this man named Yuan. I'll have someone bring it over right away."