Chapter 8: Instant Success

The way he projected his voice to announce his identity was no accident; he had borrowed years of stage experience from opera performing, and combined it with the excellent physical foundation of this body, he shouted it out in one breath with immense momentum. The young ladies above had originally been so terrified by this sudden slaughter that they had lost all strength, slumped there unable to move. However, seeing his dramatic pose, his grand stance, and the way he announced his name, their eyes all fell upon this young Centurion. They secretly lamented what a pity it was—how could such a handsome young man not know the benefits of a brothel? If he were willing to come often, they would be willing to accompany him for a whole night without even charging him.

Aside from the well-staged performance, Yang Chengzu’s shout had its own purpose. He was no greenhorn; back when he was in the Peking Opera troupe, he had dealt with all sorts of people and was well-acquainted with the ways of the world. For Zhang Jiayin to be kidnapped in a place like this was, regardless of the circumstances, an embarrassing matter. Saving his life would only make Yang a half-benefactor; only if he could save Zhang's future could he truly be considered his benefactor.

By shouting like this, he effectively turned the Jin Yi Wei's rescue operation into "cooperating with Zhang Jiayin's work." Thus, Zhang's kidnapping could be framed entirely as "venturing into the tiger's den, braving danger to eliminate a scourge for the people." It was not a blunder, but rather a great service.

If he had merely shouted to save a person, Zhang Jiayin might not have been willing to acknowledge it. After all, Zhang was a man of high scholarly standing, and he valued his reputation above all else. To be rescued from a brothel by a Jin Yi Wei "eagle dog"—how could he ever face the people he governed or educate the commoners in the future? But hearing Yang Chengzu's shout, he felt immensely relieved. This Jin Yi Wei was indeed a sharp-witted and silver-tongued fellow; with a single sentence, he had changed the very nature of the problem. He was truly a rare talent.

Zhang Jiayin hurriedly interjected, "Centurion Yang, I am here! Do not rush to save me; it is better to capture the bandits first! These are all members of the White Lotus Sect; not a single one must escape!" Seeing several bandits charging up the stairs with blades, he feared that if Yang Chengzu focused solely on saving him, he would be struck down by a black blade, and he would once again fall victim to becoming a hostage.

The White Lotus Sect? Yang Chengzu felt a secret joy in his heart. As the saying goes, "the sedan chair is carried by the people"—one person lifts the other. With one sentence from Master Zhang, they were branded as the White Lotus Sect, providing a perfect pretext for deploying troops. Throughout the Ming Dynasty, the White Lotus Sect had always been a deep-seated malady within the empire. Persisting in the belief that the Dragon and Phoenix Emperors, Han Lin'er, were the legitimate rulers of the dynasty, they had been engaged in subversive, nation-destroying activities since the generation of the Buddha Mother, Tang Sai'er, and had done so with tireless enthusiasm.

In fact, the influence of the White Lotus Sect extended all the way into the Qing Dynasty. During the Qianlong era, large-scale White Lotus uprisings broke out, battering the Green Standard Army and the Eight Banners until they were in total disarray, only being suppressed through the organization of local militias. For the Ming, the most significant military merits currently came from the Northern Barbarians (the Jurchens being first class) and the Southern Wokou (being second class). However, none of these three had much to do with the Jin Yi Wei stationed in Henan; for them, a White Lotus head was the most valuable prize.

Yet, no matter how arrogant they were, they could not simply label a passerby as a member of the White Lotus Sect and seize them. In reality, because White Lotus members were often mixed in with other legal or semi-legal folk religious sects of the Ming, even if you knew someone was a White Lotus member, you might not be able to touch them, as they could simultaneously be members of other legal sects that could not be arrested.

In this situation, Zhang Jiayin's endorsement was crucial. He was a distinguished scholar of the imperial examinations, a Jinshi, with his official status standing right there. If he said someone was White Lotus, would the Imperial Court really bother to verify it with him? To do so would be to express dissent against him and his mentor, which would change the nature of the issue entirely.

By insisting these people were White Lotus, when it came time to report merits, they would be rewarded as such. These dozen or so men would be a dozen walking ingots of gold; how could they let such an opportunity pass?

Magistrate Zhang's cry of "Capture the bandits first, save me later!" fully displayed the glorious image of a Ming official: undaunted by life or death, unafraid of blades and axes, with loyalty as bright as the sun and moon and courage as firm as steel. For many years to come, Magistrate Zhang would be a model in the hearts of the people of Hua County. Whenever the elderly spoke of the past, they would say, "Back then, Magistrate Zhang was a true hero! He didn't even blink in the midst of ten thousand soldiers; even when surrounded by hundreds of White Lotus bandits, he still demanded they kill the thieves before saving him. A fine man indeed!"

In later historical records, the setting of this battle had shifted from the Xiangman Restaurant to the White Horse Slope outside Hua County, and Yang Chengzu had become a fierce figure, much like Guan Yunchang slaying Yan Liang and Wen Chou. However, the current Yang Chengzu was relying entirely on the topographical advantage of the stairs to firmly hold this defensive line.

While this era might produce heroes capable of fighting a hundred men alone, Yang Chengzu was clearly not one of them. At most, he was at the level of a skilled brawler, still a long way from being an incomparable general. Fortunately, the stairs were only wide enough for two or three people to walk abreast; if used for combat, two people side-by-side was his limit. Any more, and he would have to worry about accidental friendly fire.

The bandits were not all choosing to rush up the stairs to take hostages; some wanted to break through the encirclement, while others had already begun fighting the Jin Yi Wei and the local constables. Not many were actually charging up the stairs. Yang Chengzu was fighting two-on-one: one opponent was Ma San, and the other was a dark-faced man. Both were skilled fighters, proficient with their curved blades, and were not easy opponents.

Having secured the high ground, Yang Chengzu maintained the upper hand, and the two sides were locked in a stalemate. If he were to let people up, he might have a chance to fight them off using his footwork. But on today's stage, he could not retreat, nor could he avoid the fight. He had to let Zhang Jiayin see that he was holding the stairwell firmly for his sake, preventing any villain from rushing up to assassinate him. Therefore, even though he knew this kind of close-quarters combat was disadvantageous to his saber techniques, he had to hold his ground stubbornly.

At this moment, the Lady Xian played the role of a surprise attacker, continuously throwing fruit plates, snacks, teapots, and vases down at the men below. The two skilled fighters had to contend with both Yang Chengzu's saber and these omnipresent projectiles, leaving them in a wretched state and cursing like low-life harlots. Ma San yelled, "You wench! You dare help this kid against me? When I fight my way up, I'll ruin you! Argh!"

Caught up in his cursing, he was caught off guard and took a slash from Yang Chengzu across the shoulder. Although his iron blade also struck Yang Chengzu, it only tore the outer shirt and could not cut through the armor beneath. By now, even Jiu Niang could see the pattern; she ordered the Xiangman Restaurant's hired thugs to coordinate with the county magistrate's men to launch a combined attack.

Among the Xiangman Restaurant's guards, there were indeed several skilled fighters, and even famous figures from the martial arts world like the "White Horse Duo" drew their monthly salaries here. Martial arts masters could not eat their skills to survive, and since they couldn't hold official positions, they either became bandits or worked as guards in places like this. Originally, they had been worried that the newcomers were Jin Yi Wei and had not dared to use force. Now that they saw the magistrate's men had already engaged and lives had been lost, they had nothing left to fear.

With these men joining the fray, the dozen or so bandits could no longer hold their ground; they were either cut down or dropped their weapons in surrender. Ma San and the dark-faced man had fought for a long time without success. Although they had managed to land several blows on Yang Chengzu, they were all blocked by his armor and failed to wound him, while their own bodies had sustained real cuts. Seeing the situation turning against them, they let out a roar and charged downward.

Yang Chengzu shouted loudly, "Don't let them escape!" and was about to give chase, but Song Liansheng said, "No need to rush, none of them will get away. Use the projectiles!"

Suddenly, a dozen bags of lime were thrown from all directions, instantly creating a rising cloud of smoke. Caught off guard, the two men had lime all over their faces and could not open their eyes, their combat effectiveness halved instantly. Others then used long-handled lassos to scoop them up, binding them tightly.

Once the thieves were dealt with, the constables naturally disregarded life and death, rushing through fire and water to rescue the masters. The narrow staircase was instantly crowded; the three ranks of constables scrambled and fought amongst themselves, nearly coming to blows. Meanwhile, Yang Chengzu, who had just been fighting heroically alone, rushed headlong into the bedroom behind him, grabbed a spittoon, and began to vomit uncontrollably.