Chapter 40: The Thief

Chapter 40 The Thieves

Zhao An had an excellent vantage point, and his eyesight, far superior to an ordinary person's, allowed him to see beads of sweat rolling down Hu Sheng’s slightly exposed chest.

Watching Hu Sheng wield a long blade, effortlessly cleaving a bowl-thick tree stump with a single-handed swing, Zhao An’s heart leaped like a lively fish. All he could think was: *My man is just too handsome.*

However, a young man, caught hiding and sleeping and now brought before Hu Sheng, trembled uncontrollably at the sight of him single-handedly splitting the stump.

After making his stance clear through action, Hu Sheng waved his hand and ordered the habitual slacker to be taken away. For the next ten days, he would be hauling manure for composting alongside the captives.

The day before, while in bed with Zhao An, Hu Sheng had tried to divert his attention to avoid him getting handsy. He mentioned, for instance, that he had captured those who had once attacked Zhao Village and put them to hard labor on the mountain stronghold—carving stones for foundations or digging out the toughest roots during land clearing.

Lately, however, there hadn’t been much work left on the mountain. Aside from group farming tasks, Hu Sheng didn’t dare spread them out too much, fearing they might find a way to escape.

Yesterday, Zhao An suddenly brought up the idea of using dry branches, fallen leaves, and some aged manure to create "fire manure." He then enthusiastically elaborated on its benefits: killing insect eggs, increasing potassium content, and preventing soil acidification, among others.

While discussing these matters, Zhao An forgot his aches and pains and stopped clinging to Hu Sheng. On one hand, Hu Sheng felt relieved; on the other, he felt a twinge of disappointment. Still, Zhao An’s idea was feasible, so he had people carry it out the next morning.

Hu Sheng had already noticed Zhao An’s gaze. As he sheathed his long blade, he recalled yesterday’s events and couldn’t help but smile to himself. *Yesterday, we were actually discussing fire manure in bed—how unromantic, yet so genuine and endearing.*

He really wanted to turn around and greet Zhao An, but he kept his head down, methodically having his men bring out forty horses. “In ten days, we’ll take the horse team to sell goods. Forty men per group; everyone must learn to ride within three days.”

These disorderly peasants, whom Hu Sheng had gathered, had followed Ma Dian to raid the government granary simply because they were starving and desperate. But they hadn't even enjoyed two full days of food before Zhao Nanyu led troops to suppress them.

Then, they followed Ma Dian’s son, Ma Chuan, and ended up confused on Great Green Mountain under a new leader. Fortunately, this leader was willing to feed them, so for the first few days, no one entertained rebellious ideas. They obeyed orders, whether it was forming ranks, reclaiming land for farming, or building houses—everything was done in an orderly manner.

A few days later, they witnessed the leader’s wedding. Though he married a man, they got to eat meat, which satisfied them.

If left idle, some would inevitably start scheming. So, on the third day after his wedding, Hu Sheng began organizing military drills for these newly incorporated followers.

That same day, Zhao An returned to Zhao Village and, true to his word, went door-to-door distributing wedding sweets.

Recently, sugar prices had tripled compared to earlier, and most villagers were delighted to receive the treats. Only Liu Huan expressed concern to Zhao An, “Grain prices haven’t dropped lately. I heard all the reserves in the prefectural granary were sent to feed the anti-banditry forces. The tax official already inspected the village yesterday and told us to pay taxes as soon as we harvest the grains. Young Master, it’s best not to venture out lately. I’d worry if you left.”

By the end, Liu Huan was almost pleading with Zhao An. He feared that if Zhao An left with Hu Sheng, the village would revert to its old, hand-to-mouth existence. While it might not mean starvation for entire families, he knew neighboring villages had already started selling people.

Such is the way of things—a small-scale natural disaster wouldn’t lead to widespread starvation, so the court paid little attention. Moreover, Changxi County was remote, unlike the prosperous Jiangnan region or the fertile Huguang area. Even if everyone here died, the court could simply resettle migrants from the densely populated central plains.

Liu Huan, who had never traveled farther than the prefectural city, couldn’t grasp the bigger picture. But he understood deeply that Changxi County was a place where the emperor is far and heaven is high. Storytellers spoke of cities with walls, gates, and curfews, yet Changxi County had none of these.

So, when the Wang Family Village suffered a massacre, even the county seat wasn’t safe. Only having grain at home and weapons in hand made him feel secure. Now, Zhao Village had both grain and weapons, all thanks to Zhao An.

Liu Huan’s words made Zhao An reflect deeply. In *Tears of the Fallen City*, a book he had recalled countless times and which grew clearer in his memory, there was never any mention of drought in Shu Prefecture or Jiao Prefecture. By the time Zhao Qingcheng’s son was born, the world seemed peaceful until the following year, when a smallpox outbreak near the capital killed hundreds. Someone secretly used smallpox scabs to try infecting Zhao Qingcheng’s son—that was the empress’s doing. The emperor eventually deposed her for endangering the royal heir and made Zhao Qingcheng empress. But the aftermath of the smallpox outbreak was never described, likely because it was a minor epidemic that ended naturally once the infected either recovered or died.

So, an emperor like Li Xiuye, who was solely focused on romance, was evidently ruling by inertia alone—much like two Ming Dynasty emperors who neglected court affairs for decades. Even if their reigns didn’t end in national collapse, the people’s lives deteriorated daily, sowing the seeds for eventual downfall.

Yet, at this moment, Li Xiuye wasn’t as idle as Zhao An imagined. Though he was delighted that his beloved woman was pregnant and no longer yearning to wander outside all day.

An urgent report arrived from the southwest: Zhao Nanyu, tasked with suppressing bandits, had gone missing in the mountains. Scouts found only broken trees and shattered rocks at the scene. Villagers nearby claimed there had been thunderous roars, suggesting the appearance of monstrous creatures.

Aside from these bizarre tales, local officials uncovered nothing, infuriating Li Xiuye to the point of wanting to tear up the report.

Zhao Nanyu did have a minor flaw—greed—but he was a sharp blade. Li Xiuye had hoped he would return with achievements to help eliminate Shang Xiqing. His unexplained disappearance made Li Xiuye suspect Shang Xiqing’s involvement. Had the Shang family colluded with local officials to kill Zhao Nanyu and make him vanish without a trace?

Growing angrier, he slammed the table and said, “Shadow One, emerge. Send someone to investigate how Zhao Nanyu died.”

Recently, he had already assigned half his shadow guards to protect Zhao Qingcheng. Now, he had to divert more to investigate Zhao Nanyu’s disappearance.

Many who had been eyeing the throne began to stir. *After all, Li Xiuye is just the son of a princely lord. Everyone has a chance, right?*

For now, the power struggles among Dawn Country’s elites hadn’t affected the Zhao Village harvest. Though the drought had reduced yields to only 60-70% of previous years, everyone still wore smiles. The village had decided to let people pay their taxes in silver this year, so all the grain could be kept for themselves.

The thought of eating refined grain for the entire year ahead, even if it meant spending silver, kept smiles on their faces.

But on the second night after the harvest, Liu Baogen, who lived on the village outskirts, banged pots and pans—the prearranged signal to summon the village guards.

Zhao An pushed Hu Sheng aside and sat up abruptly. “Bandits are in the village again. Get up.”

This time, however, it wasn’t the murderous bandits from Half-Slope Village. Instead, four skinny, half-grown kids, caught and brought to Zhao Village’s training ground, shrank back trembling like sick chickens, cowering.

They weren’t there to rob anyone and carried no weapons. They had climbed over Liu Baogen’s wall to steal his newly harvested, undried, unstored grain.

When they saw Zhao An approaching surrounded by villagers, they immediately knelt. “Young Master, please don’t kill us. We’re just too hungry. We’ll be your oxen or horses—just don’t kill us.”

Zhao Village’s recent wealth and organized drills were known in nearby villages. People also knew they had killed seven bandits who massacred Wang Family Village and captured five others sent to the county jail. Exaggerated rumors added a zero to the death count.

So, these four feared being caught and killed on the spot. Yet they risked death to steal grain, proving their desperation.

But something was off. “Even with reduced harvests and taxes, there are still sweet potatoes and field crops in the mountains. People nearby shouldn’t be starving yet. If there’s a famine, it shouldn’t hit until after winter.”

The kneeling youths began wiping tears, all talking at once. Their landlords took all the grain, yet it still wasn’t enough to cover rent. With family members ill and taxes due, they were left with nothing.

These scrawny teens lacked strength and were unappealing; no landlord would take them as bonded laborers unless they worked for free, maybe for some gruel. So, they banded together to steal.

Their crying and pleading seemed partly put on, but their plight was genuine.

Zhao An could only massage his forehead and say, “Enough, quiet. I won’t kill you. But you must work at the village's kiln without pay until this time next year.”

Liu Baogen, the victim, wanted to ask why they should work for the village and not directly for him. Fortunately, his wife knew his temper and stepped on his foot to stop him before he could speak, silencing him.

Village theft was a minor incident, but it showed Zhao An that the situation was worsening.

As he was at a loss, Hu Sheng said, “Have Magistrate Hu organize people to hunt, fish, and gather wild berries and fruits in the mountains. Things should improve after we get through this winter.”