Chapter 152 Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain

Xu Wenshan kept a tight grip on the Marquis of Wuan the entire way, with Yu Dingyuan closely trailing behind him. They had already passed out of the county yamen and exited the city, walking along the post road outside for a long time without any intention from Xu Wenshan of letting his captive go.

For every step Yu Dingyuan walked, he wiped away a fresh layer of sweat. He desperately wanted to tell Xu Wenshan that he was neither a man of the Marquis of Wuan nor a man of the Heir Apparent.

He was his own man, belonging to no one. All he wanted was to govern Sha County peacefully and securely until old age.

Before he was assigned to this city, he used to believe that a real man should carve out his own territory and receive a noble fief. Though he held the rank of a viscount, his fief existed only in name as a tiny plot of land, and he still had to pay every tax due each year.

Sha County, however, was entirely different. Once he truly took charge of Sha County, he realized just how much wealth could be skimmed here. He could pocket a cut of every seasonal military grain provision, take a share of the transit losses on military pay passing through, and collect regular tributes from subordinate officials. Having managed Sha County for less than a month, he had already earned more money than he had in the first half of his life, and he was thoroughly satisfied.

He did not crave the glory of elevating lords, nor did he pursue the favor of the Duke; he merely wished to serve steadily as a minor city lord and live out the rest of his days in comfort.

The cooperation he had discussed with the Marquis of Wuan was superficial at best, insignificant matters that even if the Marquis became a duke, would not earn his gratitude, and even if the Marquis were defeated by the Heir Apparent, would not bring about any retrospective punishment.

Yet how could he possibly let the Marquis of Wuan die in his territory? If the Marquis truly perished here, no amount of explanation would clear his name; even before the Heir Apparent could reward him, the Duke would have him killed first.

He could afford to remain neutral in the struggle between the Marquis of Wuan and the Heir Apparent, but he had no choice to be neutral regarding the Duke, for the Duke was his ultimate patron.

"Hero Zhu, please release the Marquis of Wuan. I guarantee I will not pursue any liability against you..." Yu Dingyuan followed Xu Wenshan, pleading with lowered status and offering smooth persuasion all the way, yet Xu Wenshan remained entirely unmoved.

"I said thirty li, and not a single step less than thirty li," Xu Wenshan replied.

Yu Dingyuan gave a bitter laugh and said, "Hero Zhu, you are far too cautious. Given your martial prowess, even if an army of thousands came after you, they could never capture you!"

Xu Wenshan smiled. Although Yu Dingyuan appeared honest and straightforward on the surface, he had long since ordered the garrison troops to pour out of the city in full force, spreading out to form a massive circle beyond their line of sight. At the same time, Xu Wenshan's path back to his stronghold had been cut off, with over two thousand soldiers arrayed to block the path of the so-called Spider Hero at all costs.

When Yu Dingyuan allowed Xu Wenshan to enter the city, he had already made up his mind to eliminate him. Now, he was even more determined not to let Xu Wenshan leave alive, and he harbored a fierce desire to tear him apart with his own hands.

Yet Xu Wenshan had not entered the city simply to walk into a trap.

"Look, something seems wrong in the city!"

Starting from somewhere among the ranks, murmurs rippled through the garrison troops, and soon those whispers fermented into an atmosphere of creeping terror hovering over the soldiers.

"It's a fire!" "A fire has truly broken out!"

The sky above Sha County still retained a forgotten streak of sunset's afterglow, grey and dim, while the county town itself blazed as brightly as if illuminated by countless lamps. Even from a distance, the interior of the city walls shone with a glaring brightness, and upon closer inspection, that brightness appeared utterly abnormal.

A fire had truly broken out within the county town.

Xu Wenshan smiled with satisfaction. He had not brought the one hundred soldiers of Li Dachang and Tiger Lei simply for an autumn outing.

His original plan had been to take a dozen men for a serious negotiation, scatter his forces during the talk to set fires, and then find a way to take Yu Dingyuan hostage. However, he had not anticipated that the deputy general would play a crafty trick and disrupt his plan. Even so, it seemed his subordinates were not incompetent and knew very well how to seize an opportunity.

With Yu Dingyuan's troops constantly moving in and out of Sha County, the bulk of his forces had been dispatched elsewhere, leaving the city's defenses hollow. This was what gave the troops of Deer Crane Ravine their opening. Operating under the banner of revenge, this small detachment set a fire inside the city that reduced the county yamen and the estates of several former county officials to ashes, nearly burning General Wu to death while he was in a drunken stupor.

In this era, there were no fire brigades; battling a blaze relied entirely on splashing water from storage vats. Once the fire grew to such proportions, however, splashing water was a mere drop in the bucket. The entire garrison stationed inside the city panicked completely, rumors flew wildly, and in the end, they were defeated one by one by the Deer Crane guard units.

Amid this sudden raid, only Yu Dingyuan maintained his composure. He restrained his troops and patiently worn Xu Wenshan down, persisting until the Marquis of Wuan's physical strength was nearly exhausted and his calves trembled, at which point Xu Wenshan finally released the Marquis and made his escape.

After letting Xu Wenshan go, Yu Dingyuan heaved a long sigh, completely extinguishing any remaining thoughts of peacefully serving as the lord of Sha County. He reorganized his troops, scavenged enough grain from the supply stations in surrounding villages to sustain his forces for three days, and prepared to launch a desperate, all-or-nothing assault on Sha County.

It was at this juncture that Pang Xing arrived once more in Yu Dingyuan's camp, bringing forth Xu Wenshan's demand: a renewed proposal for peace talks.

With the two thousand men under his command lacking heavy weaponry, capturing the city would prove difficult. Conversely, with the hundred or so men under Xu Wenshan's command, holding the city would also be a struggle.

Undoubtedly, negotiating peace was now the best way out.

Facing Pang Xing's slightly plump and tense face, Yu Dingyuan let out a heavy sigh and dispatched an official document directly to the Duke of Cai.

Two days later, upon reviewing the urgent report sent from Sha County, the Duke of Cai fell silent.

When the Duke of Cai fell silent, the entire court of Cai fell silent as well.

"A mere civilian bandit, a petty affliction like scabies, has actually captured a vital strategic border town of our nation. Who would ever believe such a tale if spoken aloud?"

The Duke of Cai lifted the official document in his hand, waving it through the air, while the civil officials standing below each harbored their own hidden calculations.

Marquis Yun Yun Yiyang was also present in the court. Though his beard was somewhat frosted with grey, his spirit remained robust. He straightened his back and cast a glance at a civil official standing below him, who immediately grasped his intent, cupped his hands, and stepped forward to report:

"This official submits that all official posts held by Yu Dingyuan should be stripped away, his peerage revoked, and he should be escorted back to the capital to face judgment."

Since Yu Dingyuan had been unwilling to join Marquis Yun's faction, now that he had fallen into trouble, he naturally deserved to be struck while he was down. That was the civil official's line of reasoning.

The Duke of Cai cast a sidelong glance at the official and remarked, "How coincidental—Yu Dingyuan feels the exact same way. He has already attached a petition for resignation to the back of this document, and his deputy is currently performing the duties of the captaincy!"

The civil official's mouth parted slightly. Unable to fathom the Duke's true intention, he found himself momentarily speechless.

Marquis Yun felt a surge of disappointment. This official was his man, but after all, his vision was far too narrow. While Yu Dingyuan was certainly not his partisan, neither was he entirely a man of the Marquis of Wuan. Beating a drowning dog served no benefit to himself.

The Duke of Cai stated, "How to deal with Yu Dingyuan can be set aside for the moment. The real question is... how on earth are we to deal with this... this Spider Hero?"

The hall immediately erupted into a chaotic murmur, with every official whispering among themselves: "The Spider Hero."

"What Spider Hero? Why did I hear it was Hero Zhu?"

"I heard it was Hero Zhu as well."

"It is not Hero Zhu; he has never once admitted to being Hero Zhu."

"Then why is he called the Spider Hero?"

Amid the swirling chatter in the hall, the Duke of Cai cut them off, saying, "Enough."

"Whether it is Hero Zhu or the Spider Hero, he is now arguably the greatest scourge within our borders. Look at this official dispatch."

The Duke of Cai snatched up a piece of silk fabric and declared, "This is an urgent report from Minister Wei, and he is still pressing Us to issue his military pay!"

The court officials broke into immediate clamor: "Was the military pay not already intercepted by the Spider Hero?"

"Could Marquis Wei possibly be unaware of this matter?"

In truth, the court of Cai had only learned of the intercepted military pay within the past few days. News of the plundered provisions had arrived in the capital simultaneously with the disappearance of Marquis Yun's young daughter.

Xu Wenshan had intercepted both Yun Shang and the military pay, yet he only informed Yu Dingyuan about the military pay, while only informing Wei Xianyong about Yun Shang. Neither of them knew that Yun Shang and the provisions had been seized at the same time, leading them to severely underestimate the severity of the situation. Only Marquis Yun knew the truth; the moment the Heir Apparent informed him that Yun Shang had not arrived on schedule, a sharp pain had gripped his chest.

The person in charge of military provisions and grain funds was the Heir Apparent. The Heir Apparent must certainly have known about the interception of the military pay. Yet Wei Xianyong was currently unaware of it... Thus, where the problem lay needed no further elaboration.

"To think that this fool would still play petty factional games when faced with a matter of such magnitude," the Duke of Cai cursed bitterly. "He is an absolute, unmitigated buffoon."

As to whom the Duke of Cai was cursing, every minister present knew the answer in their hearts.