Inside the Governor's Estate of Xiangrong Commandery, Commandery Governor Zhuang Zhong was drinking wine and admiring plum blossoms alongside several friendly officials and fellow poets. Naturally, composing poetry to enliven the mood was indispensable on such occasions. Today, however, everyone's spirits were subdued. After barely three rounds of poems, many had already run dry of inspiration.
An elderly local notable could not keep his patience and spoke up first: "Governor Zhuang, just what is the background of this Grand Minister of Southern Military Affairs? How has he come to levy taxes from our very heads? A few days ago, his people came knocking on my door. I shut the gates and gave them the cold shoulder, but as they left, they made quite a few harsh threats. This... this doesn't look like conduct befitting the officialdom at all; it's more like bandits and barbarians!"
Stroking his beard, Zhuang Zhong said slowly, "Brother Zhang, there is no need to worry. This Wei Yuan is nothing more than a powerful minister driven by greed and lust. When the King of Jin appointed him Grand Minister of Southern Military Affairs, it was merely to reward him for presenting the elixir of agelessness—just tossing him a sweet bone.
"Ever since Lord Li Weisheng proposed 'a court filled with upright men,' the imperial court has vigorously promoted scholars. Now, from top to bottom, the court is filled with our clean-stream faction. Wei Yuan is just a crude military barbarian—what is there to fear of him? I reckon he only wants to scrape together some wealth from the land. Hmph! Requisitioning military funds, indeed—isn't he just trying to line his own pockets?!"
Another official chimed in, "If all he wants is money, then... shouldn't we give him a little something just to send him away? I've heard this Lord Wei doesn't abide by the rules at all and is capable of doing anything. Giving him no face whatsoever might not be wise."
Zhuang Zhong pondered for a moment before speaking. "I hear none of the families gave him any face. By now, he should know that such tricks won't work in our Xiangrong Commandery. It is just as well to let him bump his nose against a wall first. Then we can scrape together a million taels for him and release those men held in the gaol. That should settle the matter and send him off to plunder elsewhere."
Yet another official objected, "A million taels! That's letting him off far too cheaply! In my view, five hundred thousand taels at most."
A scholar hastily said, "My family has meager holdings. If we must contribute, I can offer five thousand taels."
The officials chimed in one after another: "This humble official has clean sleeves and eats pickled vegetables at home every day; I truly cannot produce more. How about I donate three thousand taels?"
"This humble official can give a bit more—seven thousand taels!"
There were nine people in the heated pavilion, yet in the end, they pledged a grand total of thirty thousand taels. The result left even Zhuang Zhong speechless. Offering thirty thousand taels was worse than offering nothing at all.
Just as the atmosphere turned awkward, the housekeeper hurried in and whispered a few words into Zhuang Zhong's ear.
Startled and furious, Zhuang Zhong bolted to his feet. "Such a thing has truly happened?!"
The housekeeper said, "Not only the Second Young Master, but Lord Liu, Master Wang, Master Yu... all of them were taken away."
Among these people were Zhuang Zhong's son, nephews on both his side and his sister's, his father-in-law, his wife's brother and his sister's husband, and two illegitimate sons—eight or nine in total, every one of them related to Zhuang Zhong by blood or marriage.
The officials exchanged glances. For the deeply calculating Zhuang Zhong to lose his composure to such an extent, something monumental must have occurred. These individuals all possessed considerable local clout, but from the housekeeper's tone, they had all been seized?
Suppressing his fury, Zhuang Zhong addressed the crowd: "This Wei Yuan truly acts without restraint! A servant just reported that Wei Yuan sent men to every wealthy household to levy military funds. At the slightest disagreement, they resorted to violence. My relatives were all seized by him, and they are reportedly being detained in the Southern Military Camp."
"Southern Military Camp?" The officials had never heard of such a place.
"Wei Yuan personally brought an army and stationed it at the border with Huangping Commandery, establishing the Southern Military Camp."
An official hurriedly asked, "Then how many troops did he bring this time?"
Zhuang Zhong hesitated, then synthesizing the various reports he had received, said, "Roughly a hundred thousand."
The officials all turned pale.
Right then, an officer came sprinting in, crying out, "Lord Zhuang, disaster! After the Second Young Master was taken away, the manor was left defenseless. Suddenly, a band of mountain bandits rushed in, claiming to be from Black Wind Stronghold. They looted the estate down to the bare walls—nothing was left!"
Shocked and enraged, Zhuang Zhong asked, "Were there any casualties?"
"I haven't heard of any; only a few servants suffered minor injuries. The Second Young Master and his family had been arrested beforehand, so they didn't run into the bandits."
Zhuang Zhong's brows furrowed, and he said coldly, "A sudden bandit raid, yet only a few servants suffered minor injuries? No resistance at all? The masters meet with misfortune while the servants come out unscathed—utterly preposterous! Take men over there right now, arrest all those servants, and interrogate them under torture to see who colluded with the bandits!"
The officer took his orders and departed. Before long, however, more officers arrived one after another, all bearing news of estates being pillaged by bandits and outlaws. Without exception, the moment the masters were arrested by Wei Yuan, outlaws of every stripe had materialized and cleaned out their households.
The bandits operated under various names: the Hehuan Sect, the Yin-Yang Sect, the Joyous Sect, the Five Venoms Cult, the Wind and Rain Tower... the list went on.
Seeing Zhuang Zhong's face turn livid, an official said, "Lord Zhuang, under the present circumstances, we must have General Wang dispatch troops to protect the households. Private guards and retainers are no match for Wei Yuan's forces. We have to secure everyone's safety first."
This General Wang was a guerrilla general who commanded the government troops of Xiangrong Commandery and was naturally Zhuang Zhong's trusted confidant.
Zhuang Zhong had just nodded when a commandant rushed in. The moment he entered the heated pavilion, he blurted, "Lord Zhuang, disaster! General Wang has also been seized by Wei Yuan! They claim he failed in his governance and condoned soldiers disguising themselves as mountain bandits to loot!"
Unable to hold back any longer, Zhuang Zhong demanded, "How could General Wang be seized? Where were his guards? Where were his personal troops?"
"At the time, General of the Rear Cui Yu paid a visit in person. General Wang suspected nothing and went out of the camp to welcome him. Who could have known that Cui Yu would strike on the spot? General Wang was overpowered and captured. Then Cui Yu set up cannons and bombarded the camp, and the entire garrison of government troops... surrendered."
With a loud crack, Zhuang Zhong smashed his wine cup onto the floor, shattering it to pieces. He roared, "Does this Wei Yuan intend to rebel? Openly attacking a military camp and abducting its commanding officer?!"
Yet Zhuang Zhong was no fool. Once his rage subsided, the more he thought about it, the more alarmed he grew. In just a single day, Wei Yuan had struck everywhere. Every single family that had seized Wei Yuan's emissaries and thrown them into prison had met with disaster, without exception. This was blatant retaliation!
Zhuang Zhong narrowed his eyes and said, "Submit a memorial to the imperial court impeaching Wei Yuan!"
Immediately afterward, he entered his study, penned individual letters to the Left Prime Minister and several Grand Secretaries, and dispatched couriers to rush them to the Jin capital at top speed. At dawn the next day, Zhuang Zhong packed and set out. Forgoing carriage or horse, he brought along only a few capable aides and rushed toward the Southern Military Camp at full speed to confront Wei Yuan.
By the time he arrived at the Southern Military Camp, it was nearing noon. Zhuang Zhong announced his identity. The sentry looked him up and down, then said, "So you're the commandery governor? You look civilized enough, but you sure don't act like a decent human!"
The aides flew into a rage and barked, "Daring to speak to Lord Zhuang like that is a capital offense! Men, seize him!"
Yet after calling for men, the aides looked around and only then remembered that they had brought neither constables nor soldiers.
The soldier folded his arms, glaring sidelong at them with a look that said: *Let's see you try and take me down.*
Zhuang Zhong's face was naturally dark as thunder. He had come in haste with only a handful of aides. Moreover, this was right outside the enemy's camp, which housed a hundred thousand troops; if a fight broke out, they wouldn't stand a chance of surviving.
Fortunately, an officer appeared just then. Feeling they had finally found someone in authority, the aides stepped forward one after another to lodge their complaints.
Hearing what had transpired, the officer snapped at the soldier, "How dare you speak to Lord Zhuang like that? How many times have I taught you, yet you still haven't learned proper manners? Scram, and have someone else take your post."
The soldier walked away with a cheeky grin.
Beaming from ear to ear, the officer said to Zhuang Zhong, "Lord Zhuang, please follow me. Lord Wei has not yet risen from bed, so I must ask your party to wait for a moment."
Zhuang Zhong nodded and followed the officer to a tent, taking a seat inside to wait.
And wait he did, straight until evening, without even a single cup of water served in between.
Chapter 747