Moma Liangshan

Chapter 36 Wang Lun returns to Liangshan Marsh, Wang Hao devises a plan in Laoshan County

Ruan Xiaoqi looked at Liang Chun and said, "State your name!" Liang Chun replied, "I am Liang Chun, a steward in the household of Lord Liang, the garrison commander of Beijing." Ruan Xiaoqi said, "Can I trust you, Your Majesty?" Liang Chun said, "I only wish to save my life; I would never dare to act rashly." Ruan Xiaoqi said, "Tie your men together with a rope and lead them with me." After saying this, he led his men into the depths of the dense forest. Ruan Xiaoqi instructed his men, "You stand guard on the perimeter. If any unauthorized personnel approach, drive them away immediately!" After saying this, he hurriedly returned to Baozhu Temple.

Inside the main hall, Wang Lun sat in the main seat, with Lu Zhishen, Ruan Xiaoer, and Ruan Xiaowu in the next seats. Wang Lun began, "Liang Zhongshu has lost the 100,000 strings of cash for the birthday gifts; he will certainly not let this go easily. We need to keep an informant in Daming Prefecture. Baozhu Temple is strategically located, situated on a major north-south transportation route, and cannot be easily abandoned. I intend to leave a group of men here temporarily until my son returns, at which point we can make a final decision. What do you all think?" Lu Zhishen said, "This is a temple, and I am a monk; it is most suitable for me to stay here. However, I wonder who Daming Prefecture should send?" Wang Lun replied, "Daming Prefecture has already arranged for someone; just have him remain on standby. I will introduce him to Chief Lu later." Lu Zhishen answered, "Understood!" Wang Lun looked at Ruan Xiaoer and said, "I trouble Chief Ruan to bring Liang Chun here!" Ruan Xiaoer accepted the order, turned, and left. Half an hour later, Liang Chun arrived. Wang Lun looked at Liang Chun and asked, "Do you want to live or die?" Liang Chun could tell that Wang Lun was no ordinary person, so he quickly replied, "I want to live!"

Wang Lun smiled slightly and said, "Give him one hundred taels of gold." Ruan Xiaowu, confused, asked, "Does the chieftain mean to give this man one hundred taels of gold?" Wang Lun nodded and said, "Exactly!" Reluctantly, Ruan Xiaowu took one hundred taels of gold from the birthday tribute and handed it to Wang Lun. Wang Lun took the gold and handed it to Liang Chun, saying, "This is one hundred taels of gold from the birthday tribute, for you. Take the gold, and we're on the same side." Liang Chun trembled, knelt on the ground, and said, "I dare not!" Wang Lun glanced at Ruan Xiaowu and said, "Take the gold, and you can live; don't take the gold, and I'll kill you immediately!" With that, Ruan Xiaowu drew his sword and held it to Liang Chun's neck. Liang Chun trembled as he took the gold and said, "What are your orders, chieftain?" Wang Lun said, "I'll give you pen, ink, paper, and inkstone. Write down your life story, your nine generations of relatives and friends truthfully. If you falsify anything, I'll send someone to kill you." Liang Chun knelt on the ground, took the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and while grinding the ink, his eyes darted around. Wang Lun warned, "I will send someone to verify your pledge of allegiance. You mustn't force me to kill you!" Liang Chun knelt on the ground and loudly proclaimed, "I have pledged allegiance to Your Majesty and will be utterly loyal!" Wang Lun said, "That's for the best!" He then took the knife from Ruan Xiaowu's hand and threw it beside Liang Chun, saying, "This knife is for you. In case you deceive me and commit suicide out of fear of punishment, you'll have a handy weapon. In the martial world, dying with three cuts and six holes is far more painful than slitting your throat!" Liang Chun hurriedly knelt on the ground to write, trembling as he said, "I dare not, I dare not!" Wang Lun said, "That's for the best! Just remember, if you do well, you'll be rewarded; if you mess it up, you'll lose your life!" With that, he left the hall.

The next day, before returning to Liangshan, Wang Lun summoned everyone again. Ruan Xiaoqi asked, "What should be done with the twenty men from Daming Prefecture?" Wang Lun looked at Liang Chun and said, "What do you think is the best way to deal with your men?" Liang Chun looked at everyone and cautiously said, "In my humble opinion, the chieftain could have them seek help from Daming Prefecture and demand a ransom." Wang Lun said, "They just lost 100,000 strings of cash for the birthday tribute, and now they want Liang Zhongshu to redeem them. Will Liang Zhongshu agree?" Liang Chun said with certainty, "He won't agree!" Wang Lun frowned and said, "Since he won't agree, why bother?" Liang Chun said, "These twenty-odd men are all soldiers. If they really act desperately, they will cause the chieftain a lot of trouble. Letting them seek help from Daming Prefecture and demand a ransom gives them hope. With hope, they won't act rashly. Before Daming Prefecture responds, the chieftain only needs to reward them with some grain." There will be no trouble. As for Daming Prefecture, either pretend you don't know anything or refuse on the spot. Then I'll tell them that I have a wealthy relative who is willing to lend us some money to save our lives." Wang Lun understood Liang Chun's thoughts and interrupted, saying, "Let's proceed according to this plan, but I will appoint your wealthy relative." Liang Chun's thoughts were seen through, so he could only say, "I will obey the chief's orders!" After everything was arranged, Wang Lun said, "Ruan Xiaoqi will continue to guard the people from Daming Prefecture. After the show is over, release them and return to Liangshan. Lu Zhishen will stay at Baozhu Temple, and all his subordinates will disguise themselves as monks to monitor Daming Prefecture. Liangshan will supply them with food and money, so don't make enemies with the neighbors. The rest of you, pack your things and come back to Liangshan with me soon." After everything was arranged, Wang Lun wrote another letter and ordered someone to send it to Daming Prefecture overnight, informing Ma Decao to come and meet him. He rode at full speed, and the next night, Ma Decao arrived at Baozhu Temple.

Wang Lun summoned Lu Zhishen and Ma Decao to a side room, saying, "From now on, you two will work in Daming Prefecture, one inside and one outside, looking after each other." He then looked at Lu Zhishen, pointed at Ma Decao, and said, "Ma Decao, a fellow townsman of mine, studied under me for two years in a private school and later became my son's attendant. This time, he was sent to Daming Prefecture to monitor Liang Zhongshu for the birthday tribute. He's very quick-witted!" He then pointed at Lu Zhishen and said, "Lu Zhishen, a fierce general of the Northwest Frontier Army, was forced to become a monk after killing a local bully with three punches in Weizhou." Ma Decao chuckled and said, "Reporting to the chieftain, I saw Chief Lu several times when I was working for the young master in Dongjing City." Lu Zhishen, upon being reminded, suddenly realized what was happening and said... "You're the young man beside Young Master Wang? Why are you dressed like that? You look like a pimp soliciting customers in a brothel!" Ma Decao replied, "Chief Lu has a good eye. In Daming Prefecture, I am a pimp in a brothel." Wang Lun blushed and said, "Daming Prefecture is an important city in the north. There are many ways to make a living. Why did you choose to be a pimp?" Ma Decao answered, "In other professions, unless you're in charge, you can't get to know high-ranking officials or gather information. Only a pimp, who hangs around high-ranking officials and wealthy people every day, has the best information." Wang Lun, being a scholar, felt some disdain for this 'pimp' and said, "When a suitable position comes along, change him for me as soon as possible!" Ma Decao could only say, "I'll remember!"

At this moment, Lu Zhishen said, "Baozhu Temple is, after all, a temple, and it still needs some proper monks. Although I have listened to sutras at Wutai Mountain and Xiangguo Temple for a few days, I know very little about Buddhism. The abbot of Wutai Mountain is highly respected and has done me a great favor. I want to write a letter to him to see if he can send a few monks from Wutai Mountain to Baozhu Temple." Wang Lun pondered for a moment and said, "If my son hadn't been ordered by the emperor to go to Laoshan, I wouldn't have been able to come out of the mountain myself. This matter is not urgent; let's wait for my son to return before making a decision. What does Chief Lu think?" Lu Zhishen thought for a moment and said, "That's fine!"

After Wang Hao and his entourage arrived in Jimo, the county magistrate and his officials greeted them at the city gate. Wang Hao, preoccupied with Erlong Mountain, did not wish to cause trouble and that very night went directly to visit the Jimo magistrate with a thousand taels of silver. Wang Hao was a favorite of Emperor Huizong, and the Jimo magistrate dared not show the slightest disrespect, hastily welcoming him. Upon seeing the magistrate, Wang Hao said, "Find a secluded place; I have something to discuss with you, sir!" Seeing Wang Hao's aggressive demeanor, the magistrate immediately softened, saying, "Please, young master, come to my study!" Wang Hao nodded and said, "Lead the way." The magistrate led Wang Hao half a step ahead, but always bowed slightly, appearing half a head shorter than Wang Hao. After walking about a hundred steps, the two arrived at the study. Wang Hao gestured for the magistrate to close the door and went straight to the point: "I came to Jimo by order of the Emperor to establish Laoshan County. The purpose of establishing Laoshan County is to restore the Jiaozhou Maritime Trade Office. Therefore, Laoshan County only wants the coastal land; as for the fertile farmland, I will not touch a single acre." Hearing Wang Hao's words, the Jimo magistrate breathed a sigh of relief and said, "If you only want the coastal land, this matter will be much easier." Wang Hao nodded and said, "In the future, you will be the magistrate of Jimo County, and I will be the magistrate of Laoshan County. We still need to cooperate..." "Let's look out for each other and not undermine each other. Here's a thousand taels of silver, a small token of my appreciation. I hope you'll accept it!" The magistrate of Jimo County hurriedly replied, "Young master, you've come on imperial orders, and your rank is one level higher than mine. How could I dare accept your favor?" Wang Hao placed the silver on the table and said, "No one gets up early without a reason, but the benefit of the world lies in cooperation and mutual benefit, not in exploiting the people, much less making things difficult for colleagues!" The magistrate of Jimo County had heard of Wang Hao before and said, "Young master, you've been so frank. I shouldn't be so insincere. Please accept the silver." "Young Master!" Wang Hao said with satisfaction, "The purpose of establishing Laoshan County is to protect the vast sea area. Therefore, coastal fishermen should be brought under the jurisdiction of Laoshan County as much as possible." The magistrate pondered for a moment and said, "To be honest, Young Master, not only Jimo, but even the entire Jingdong East Circuit is quite troublesome for coastal fishermen. Fishermen have no land, no land means no stable livelihood, no stable livelihood means no stable mind, and no stable mind makes them prone to causing trouble. If Young Master wishes to accept coastal fishermen, I'm afraid every prefecture and county will remember your kindness." Wang Hao frowned and asked, "Fishermen are prone to causing trouble..." "Why the chaos? Is it because they have no land, no stable livelihood, and no stable mind?" the magistrate asked. "Fishermen have no land. They can only exchange fish, shrimp, scallops, seaweed, and laver from the sea with inland people for grain and cloth. But the sea is extremely dangerous, with frequent storms and huge waves. Returning empty-handed is one thing, but losing a boatload of lives is also common." Wang Hao understood the reason and said, "In bad years, people don't have enough to eat or wear, yet there are many who are brave and violent. Therefore, there are often conflicts with those from wealthy areas!" The magistrate replied, "Your Excellency is wise!"