After confirming Lu Xiu's identity, the Menghu Mountain bandits locked the entire group inside a large house. As the days passed, L...
After confirming Lu Xiu's identity, the Menghu Mountain bandits locked the entire group inside a large house.
As the days passed, Lu Xiu grew increasingly afraid. She asked Luo Shuigui, "Uncle Luo, what should we do if Yuxi refuses to help us?"
Luo Shuigui, however, was not at all worried. He said, "Madam Yun is not stingy with money. Besides, the Old Lady is still alive—out of respect for her, they won't abandon us."
Lu Han, his face full of shame, said, "Gugu1, I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
In the northwest, there was a great harvest in the seventh month. Aside from paying half of the harvest as land tax and performing the necessary corvée labour, there were no other oppressive levies or miscellaneous taxes. When this news reached Shanxi, many people who could no longer make ends meet set out northwest in search of a living. However, to reach that region, one not only had to avoid the authorities but also pay 'a road toll' to the bandits of Menghu Mountain.
They had originally arranged everything properly: they would rest for one night in Longtian Town, then cross Menghu Mountain the next day to enter the northwest territory. However, that very evening, Lu Han saw a young girl being bullied and, unable to bear it, stepped in to help. Since the group had disguised themselves as people heading west to find work, Lu Han's intervention immediately aroused suspicion.
It would be impossible to say that Lu Xiu felt no resentment at all, but she knew that blaming Lu Han was useless. "In the future, don't act so impulsively. You must act within your abilities in everything." When one could barely take care of oneself, how could one have the right to pity others?
Lu Han lowered his head.
Hearing a burst of footsteps outside, Luo Shuigui told Lu Xiu, "Someone's coming." Since the Menghu Mountain bandits knew their identities, they did not mistreat them and sent them food and drink every day. Though the food was unpleasant, it was still filling.
When the door opened, sunlight poured in, temporarily blinding Lu Xiu and the others. Han Hao immediately spotted Lu Xiu as he entered the room and called out, "Second Lady!"
The moment Lu Xiu saw Han Hao, tears welled up in her eyes. "Han Hao, are Dage2 and Mom all right?" Han Hao's arrival at the stronghold meant that they were saved.
Han Hao nodded. "The Old Lady and the Eldest Lord are both doing well. Second Lady need not worry." The matter of Qiu Shi falling ill must not be revealed to the bandits—otherwise, they would raise their price.
The bandit who had brought Han Hao over said, "Alright, the identity has been confirmed. You may leave." This was Hong Feihu's proposal: to verify the hostages first, then negotiate the terms.
Although Han Hao said nothing, his presence alone made it clear that negotiations with the bandits were underway. Lu Xiu wiped her tears and said to Luo Shuigui, "Uncle Luo, we're saved."
Luo Shuigui trusted Yuxi's character. "I told you long ago that Madam Yun would never abandon you."
At this point, Lu Xiu spoke honestly. "Uncle Luo, you also know what my husband did to her, don't you?" Her husband had nearly caused Yuxi to lose her life back then, and she feared that Yuxi might harbour resentment and refuse to help them.
Luo Shuigui shook his head. "Madam Yun is not so narrow-minded." If Han Yuxi were that petty, she would never have been able to govern the vast northwest so effectively.
Once Hong Feihu confirmed that the hostage was unharmed, he began bargaining with Boss Yi. Boss Yi opened by demanding a ransom of one million taels of silver.
Upon hearing this amount, Hong Feihu let out a dry laugh. "Boss Yi, if you had captured the son of our Great General, then a ransom of one million taels might still be possible. Unfortunately, the person you seized is merely my Madam's nephew."
When Boss Yi lowered the price to six hundred thousand taels, Hong Feihu responded, "My Madam is only willing to pay out of moral obligation to redeem these people. But if your appetite is this large, then just forget about it. With that kind of money, our Master Er Jiu3 could marry any heavenly beauty he wants." Once one had a wife, why worry about not having a son?
Boss Yi was no fool; he was merely asking for an outrageously high price to leave room for negotiation. "Five hundred thousand taels — not a single tael less."
Hong Feihu said, "Boss, let's stop dragging this out—one final price: fifty thousand taels. If you agree, I'll go back and have them prepare the silver. If not, then forget it."
Boss Yi clenched his teeth. "Two hundred thousand taels — that's the lowest I can go. If you won't agree, then forget it."
Hong Feihu stood up and said, "One hundred thousand taels. If you won't accept that, then do whatever you want with the hostages."
Boss Yi bit down and wouldn't let go of his offer of two hundred thousand taels, refusing to go any lower. "Two hundred thousand. Once the money arrives, I release the hostages.”
Seeing this, Hong Feihu stopped bargaining. "I'll give you an answer in four days." This matter required Madam's approval — if she didn't agree, all his efforts would be for nothing.
After Hong Feihu left, the second person in charge muttered, "What a pity we didn't catch Han Jianming and that Qiu Shi." If they had captured those two, they could have demanded at least five hundred thousand taels.
Hei Zi said, "Ten thousand taels would already be pretty good." In the past, when life became unbearable, they could still raid around Suiyuan County. Now, going there was a one-way trip4. The common folk in Shanxi were so poor they could barely survive themselves — there was nothing left for them to rob. As for Lüliang City, they couldn't even get in.
After sending the second-in-charge and Hei Zi out, Li Liniang whispered, "Boss, once we get this money, we should leave this place." They had already offended Han Shi four years ago, and now they were demanding such a huge ransom. If Han Shi flew into a rage and sent troops, they would all be finished.
Boss Yi sighed. "If we're going to leave, we must first make proper arrangements for the brothers." These men had followed him for so many years — he couldn't just leave without settling them properly. Otherwise, he would never have peace of mind for the rest of his life.
When Qiu Shi learned that the bandits were asking for two hundred thousand taels, she gave the order without hesitation: "Redeem them. Go tomorrow and bring them back."
Hong Feihu muttered to himself that it was fortunate he was no longer a bandit of Mount Maluo — otherwise, encountering someone this wealthy and generous, he would surely have kidnapped them for a huge ransom. He then exclaimed, "Old Lady, two hundred thousand taels is no small sum. We must ask Madam first before deciding."
Han Jianming held Qiu Shi's hand and advised her, "Mom, we absolutely must not send the silver tomorrow. Otherwise, those bandits will surely raise the price on the spot." If the other side reneged and demanded an astronomical sum after seeing how generous they were, Yuxi would still be the one being put in a difficult position.
Qiu Shi was just anxious, not unreasonable. After hearing Han Jianming out, she nodded and said to Hong Feihu, "Please make sure to bring my daughter-in-law and grandsons back." After escorting Qiu Shi to Suiyuan, Shang Da proceeded to Quanzhou City to fetch Ye Shi.
Hong Feihu promised, "Rest assured, Old Lady. I will definitely bring them back." Bandits sought wealth above all else. As long as Madam was willing to pay the ransom, the hostages would certainly be unharmed.
Two days later, Yuxi received the news. Upon hearing that the Menghu Mountain bandits had demanded a ransom of two hundred thousand taels of silver, she laughed coldly. "They're really opening their mouth wide like a lion5."
Xu Wu also felt that two hundred thousand taels of silver was far too much. "Madam, then should we still pay the ransom?"
Yuxi nodded. "The people must be ransomed, of course. It's just that I don't have that much money on hand right now." Including the money Yun Qing had given her, she only had eighty thousand taels of silver available.
Xu Wu asked in disbelief, "Madam, are you planning to use your own private savings to ransom them?"
Yuxi replied, somewhat surprised, "Rescuing those people is my own responsibility. How could I use public funds?" She had no intention of touching money from the common treasury. If she did so, it would mean mixing public and private interests, setting a very bad precedent.
Xu Wu truly hadn't expected that Yuxi was planning to use her private funds. "Madam, if the money isn't enough, you could borrow from the public treasury and repay it later."
Yuxi shook her head. "We can't start this precedent. If in the future subordinate officials run short of money and follow the same example by borrowing from the public treasury, wouldn't everything fall into chaos?" As someone in a position of authority, she had to lead by example. It was the same principle she had explained at length back when Yun Qing jokingly said he would send her fish from Xihai.
Xu Wu felt that what Yuxi said made a lot of sense, but those people still had to be ransomed. "Madam, I only have fifteen thousand taels of silver on hand…"
Yuxi waved her hand. "No need. Take fifty thousand taels of silver, and also select a chest containing gold, silver, and jewellery. If they refuse to release the hostages, then we'll send troops to flatten Menghu Mountain." However, the latter remark was merely a threat, given the many factors to consider when deploying troops.
When Hong Feihu saw the chest of gold and jewellery, he got a headache. "What they want is silver, not these valuables." Such jewellery was extremely valuable in times of peace, but in an age of chaos, it was worthless.
The person delivering the items was Xu Daniu. "Madam only has fifty thousand taels of silver available, so this chest of jewellery is being used to make up the difference."
Hong Feihu felt as though there was something wrong with his ears. "Are you saying Madam has no money?" How was that possible? Forget two hundred thousand taels—even two million would be easy for Madam to produce!
Xu Daniu replied irritably, "All the money and valuables that the General seized have already been transferred to the public treasury. Madam said that saving those people is her own affair, so she couldn't use public funds."
Hong Feihu didn't quite understand. "Whether it's public funds or not, wouldn't it just be a matter of saying the word?" If Han Shi wanted to use money, who would dare refuse her?
Xu Daniu responded cheerfully, "That's where you don't understand. My Madam has very strong principles about how she handles matters. She says the public treasury belongs to everyone, and no one is allowed to take from it for personal use—including herself." After saying this, Xu Daniu even hung up his book bag6. "What was that saying again? Right—'taken from the people, used for the people7.'" His Madam's moral character was so lofty that one could only look up to it.
'Taken from the people, used for the people' was easy enough to understand. Hong Feihu said, "Madam is truly righteous." Such words were easy to say, but very few people could truly live by them.
Xu Daniu responded with a grunt. "Tomorrow I'll accompany you to Menghu Mountain to ransom them. If they refuse to release the captives, we'll immediately send troops and k!ll them until not a single piece of armour is left8."
Although Boss Yi was dissatisfied, having something was better than having nothing. After receiving the ransom, he released Lu Xiu and the others.
As soon as Lu Xiu arrived in Suiyuan, she collapsed. After examining her, the physician said that she had fallen ill due to excessive fright combined with exhaustion from the long journey.
Lu Xiu was young after all, and once she reached the northwest, she no longer lived in constant fear. After taking medicine, her condition began to improve.
Han Jianming told Qiu Shi, "Mom, Dimei is fine now. I want to go to Haocheng. Once you've recovered in a few days, I'll come back to escort you." Even riding at full speed, the journey would take only three days.
Qiu Shi did not stop him. "There's no need for you to come back for us. By the time your wife arrives, we should both have recovered. We'll go to Haocheng on our own then."
Footnotes Full List
- 姑姑 (gūgu): father's sister; (paternal) aunt
- 大哥 (dágē): eldest brother
- 二 (èr) = second, 舅 (jiù) = wife's brother
- 有去无回 (yǒu qù wú huí) – literally "go and never return"; an idiom meaning certain death or disaster.
- 狮子大开口 (shīzi dà kāi kǒu): Figurative meaning: To demand an outrageously high price; to be excessively greedy.
- 吊起书袋 (diào qǐ shū dài): Figurative meaning: To flaunt one's learning by quoting classical phrases, often humorously or pretentiously.
- 取之于民,用之于民 (qǔ zhī yú mín, yòng zhī yú mín): Figurative meaning: Public resources should come from the people and be spent for their benefit.
- 片甲不留 (piàn jiǎ bù liú): Figurative meaning: Total annihilation; leaving no survivors.
COMMENTS