Chapter 2498: Burning the Tower (11)

A phlegmy cough echoed as a fat, dark-skinned man slowly walked to the front of the incense table. This man had a protruding belly, jowly cheeks, and a full beard. He was none other than Xue Tu, Marshal of the Heaven Gate Daoist Spirit Society. Xue Tu wore a suit of cloth armor painted with gold and colorful designs. The fabric hung limply on his body. The rattan-bound, paper-pasted gold helmet was bright and light, making Xue Tu look somewhat comical.

Xu Tong secretly ridiculed him: Is it really that hard to get a set of armor? After the defeat and dispersal of Guangdong government troops, armor and clothing had scattered across the countryside, and many township braves had equipped themselves. Later, during public security rectification, thousands of sets of prohibited armor had been confiscated. Why bother wearing such a nondescript counterfeit?

He didn't know this "armor" had been handed down by the patriarch of the sect, and only the sect leader could wear it. Because the Great Ming prohibited villagers and commoners from possessing armor and shields, in the early years they could only make it from cloth and rattan.

Xue Tu tried hard to maintain a solemn and dignified manner, making everything appear awkward and forced. He first made a circular bow to the crowd, then walked behind the chair, offered a stick of incense to the shrine, performed kneel-and-bow obeisance, smoothed the two headbands beside the gold helmet to cover his ears, and then waddled to the round-backed armchair and sat down.

The minion chanted again: "Guests take your seats." With a rustling of clothes, everyone sat down.

Xue Tu looked around, silently counting the rows. Guan He of Green Stone Stronghold, Song Dougian of the Buddha Fragrance Society, and Pockmarked Chen of the One Universe Primordial Chaos Dao—these three major societies and strongholds were all vassals and branches of the Heaven Gate Daoist Spirit Society, accounting for half of the major families present. Before the meeting, they'd already been secretly bought, coerced, and recruited. Everything had been discussed properly; absolutely no mistakes would occur. The other three families were either timid or weak. As long as the six major sect leaders were settled, the remaining small leaders of villages and households would have absolutely no power to resist. His purpose in gathering the alliance was to annex the various sects and coerce the villages under the guise of resisting the Kun, thereby dominating the shadowy roads of the Guangzhou area alone. He only needed to guard against someone forcing their way out to stand apart.

Xue Tu coughed and began: "I, Xue, am a rough man. Since childhood, I failed to study books and learn Confucianism—truly a regret of my life. Though I'm a wild man of the countryside, having watched plays and listened to storytelling, having heard masters speak of ancient times, though I don't understand great principles, I do know loyalty and righteousness. That's why I took over this Heaven Gate Daoist Spirit Society from the old Marshal. Over the years, killing bandits, striking refugees, expelling water pirates, experiencing more than ten battles, protecting territory and comforting the people—I can claim some meager merit. I intended to wait for the world to settle, then disarm and return to the countryside. Whether doing business or farming, I'd support my family. Who would have expected that a few years ago, the Kun thieves would rampage, bringing disaster to Guangzhou Prefecture—killing, burning, looting wealth and robbing people, doing all manner of evil. Today, brothers present here either have blood feuds with the Kun thieves or hatred for broken homes. You must feel this pain personally. I won't say more. Some time ago, Second Brother Yun introduced a high expert to me, known as Daoist Wooden Stone. The Daoist bears the Imperial Court's mandate to recruit heroes from all directions. His fame is illustrious in Guangdong and Guangxi; presumably many brothers present know him. Receiving the high regard of Daoist Wooden Stone and Second Brother Yun, they repeatedly invited me, Xue, to come out of the mountains. Lacking talent but unable to decline, I had to come out to preside over this situation. Only before, each family acted on its own, and sooner or later would be defeated one by one by the Kun thieves. As the saying goes: a handful of thatch twisted into rope, a bundle of firewood won't break. Only by brothers of each family working together, relying on each other, unified and united..."

Pausing briefly, Xue Tu added: "Please welcome Daoist Wooden Stone."

Wooden Stone Daoist wore a purple sun Daoist cap, with two sword-tip ribbons hanging from the back of his head. He wore a green kudzu cloth Daoist robe and stepped on cloud-walking shoes. His right hand held a horsetail whisk, and three strands of wind-blown long beard hung over his chest. A gust of wind blew, causing his robe sleeves to dance and ribbons to flutter. He truly had the solitary elegance and demeanor of an immortal. The Daoist drifted in slowly from the side, drawing gasps of wonder from the crowd below. Those familiar with him raised their hands in respectful greeting from afar.

Wooden Stone Daoist stood still, performed a Daoist greeting, and spoke in a clear voice: "This poor Daoist offers greetings. Today, not having been discarded by Marshal Xue and treated as an honored guest, meeting all you heroes at the alliance assembly is truly the fortune of three lifetimes. Today, the Kun thieves seem to point their sword wherever they wish, sweeping away everything. But in reality, they're already an arrow at the end of its flight—their momentum cannot penetrate Lu silk. They're just like the Japanese pirates knocking on the sea back then; sooner or later they'll inevitably flee back to Australia and certainly won't govern the Yue lands for long. Governor Xiong fought the Kun thieves first at Zhaoqing, then at Lingyang Gorge, and again at Wuzhou. Relying on worthy generals and brave soldiers, he resisted step by step. The Kun thieves left corpses filling the fields and fought for a long time without success. They used treacherous spies and moved people with wealth and profit, enticing unrighteous unruly people to sell themselves and rebel, colluding with foreign enemies as internal spies. First they disrupted the army's morale themselves, followed by arson and tricking the city. I only hate that chaos always comes from within. Though Governor Xiong won all three battles and slaughtered over ten thousand Kun, he fell short of success and had to retreat. This isn't because the soldiers and generals were mediocre—the Kun thieves are especially cunning. He cannot be blamed for the warfare. Now Governor Xiong has established a foothold in Bagui, and his will to exterminate the Kun has never fallen. He gathers troops and accumulates grain, waiting for the opportunity to act. Morning and evening, he sleeps on spears awaiting the dawn, plotting recovery."

Speaking to this point, Wooden Stone Daoist transferred the whisk to his left hand, rested the tail on his right arm, and lightly stroked his beard. "Now Governor Xiong controls the right of the Ling in the west, standing in a standoff with the Kun thieves from afar. He strengthens the walls and clears the fields, guards the passes and holds the strategic points, causing the Kun thieves to halt at Wuzhou, unable to advance an inch. This poor Daoist observes that the Kun thieves act perversely and go against the tide, and public resentment is boiling. Given time, they'll inevitably fall into chaos themselves. At that time, the Imperial Court's grand army will gather, combining wolf troops and border armies, marching out from Western Yue. We will respond, attacking from both inside and outside to punish the Kun thieves together. The great cause of exterminating the Kun will surely be achieved."

He took a roll of silk from his bosom, shook it open, and continued: "Now the Imperial Court has already gathered an army of one hundred thousand. Any day now, they'll descend west into Liangguang. In as little as three months, or at most half a year, grand armies will arrive in succession. The ugly kind of Kun thieves will certainly not withstand the thunderous strike. High and low alike will surely be turned to powder. The Civil Thief and Ma the Rebel will either bind their hands and surrender to be presented as captives beneath the palace steps to sacrifice to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, or they'll be publicly executed, their heads passed around Guangdong and Guangxi to warn the world. Currently, the civil and military officials of Liangguang, from the Generals-in-Chief and Governors down, are all controlled by Governor Xiong. Governor Xiong is reorganizing the military, recruiting worthy and virtuous men far and wide, accumulating the momentum of wind and thunder to plan for action. Everyone, please look. This is Governor Xiong's handwritten order, fully commissioning this poor Daoist to recruit loyal and righteous heroes. If you all submit and serve, you'll become pillars of the Imperial Court. In the future, you may become garrison commanders or commanders. Conferring titles and worshipping nobility will happen then. Changing your fate and transforming your life is a rare opportunity in a hundred years. You must not mistake your own future. Marshal Xue is loyal and bold, his righteousness reaching to the clouds; he can be entrusted with great matters. Governor Xiong has already recommended Marshal Xue as a substantive guerrilla general. The decree will arrive within ten days. Thus, this place should honor Marshal Xue. This poor Daoist suggests that all families discard past grievances and join hands with one heart. Seven Daoist sects unite into one..."

Hearing these words, the crowd couldn't help but whisper to each other. The backbone of the Daoist sect bandits was mostly local rascals—more than half illiterate with little knowledge. Those who'd come to respond this time mostly had old grudges against the Kun people, and many were die-hard anti-Kun individuals. Moreover, feudal imperial consciousness had always been deep-rooted; they recognized the Ming Dynasty as orthodox. Hearing the promise of official status, they were all somewhat moved. Seeing Wooden Stone Daoist take out the silk, everyone craned their necks and widened their eyes. But separated by the distance, they stared until their eyes cramped without seeing a single word. They only vaguely saw a large seal at the bottom corner. They couldn't see clearly or distinguish its authenticity. Then hearing the call to unite the Daoist sects, discussion became even more rife—as if a ladle of cold water had been poured into a pot of hot oil, exploding with a hiss.

Though everyone coveted wealth and worshiped imperial power, and Wooden Stone Daoist's words had stirred them into a restless state, they could still distinguish between someone else's herd of cattle and their own single cow. In the end, being able to call oneself "Master" in the countryside relied entirely on this one-acre-three-cents of land. If merged by others, wouldn't they end up empty-handed?

Just then, a person at the head table sneered: "How exactly to unite? Isn't it just uniting under the name of your Daoist Spirit Society? Even a three-year-old child will cry and fuss if someone robs his porridge cake. You make it sound as if it's already decided—just notifying us. Good men have always accepted respect but not bullying. This matter of unification still needs to be debated."

Before his voice hit the ground, Xue Tu and Wooden Stone Daoist both looked at this person. They recognized him as Liao Yongcheng, Daoist Head of the Red Sun Way. This Way had been established separately by a senior disciple branch of the Heavenly Soldier Daoist Spirit Society in the early years. Passed down for three generations, it had considerable momentum. Though it honored the Daoist Spirit Society as master, it listened to transfers but not announcements—obeying orders while maintaining independence. It had always been discordant with Xue Tu; they simply hadn't torn their faces. Liao Yongcheng didn't shrink back; he met their gaze directly, staring provocatively at Xue Tu.

Xue Tu narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly stood from the armchair. The black, hard fat on his face squeezed his eyes into a thin line. A ray of noon backlight hit his back, painting a pale silhouette around him. His dark physique was pulled by the sunlight, slowly shrouding Liao Yongcheng in a huge shadow.

The sun blazed; the temperature grew increasingly hot and fierce.

The atmosphere in the venue also gradually stagnated. The sect leaders were highly resistant to this "alliance," but awed by Xue Tu's intimidating power and the "tiger skin" behind him, none dared stick their head out. Now that Liao Yongcheng had questioned it, though no one dared echo him, the atmosphere became subtle.

Wooden Stone Daoist closed his eyes slightly, putting on an air of "immortal wind and Daoist bones." He'd anticipated this scene—it was a good opportunity to weigh Xue Tu's worth. If he couldn't handle even this small scene, there was no need to waste more thought here; better to find another plan immediately.

Xue Tu walked slowly to Liao Yongcheng, a smile piling up on his face. He cupped his hands slightly. "Junior Brother, greetings. You and I come from the same sect. Since ancient times, the iron tree does not blossom, and brothers do not divide the family. Though Junior Brother has some roots, a single log is hard to support. Now the Kun people are busy expanding territory and have no mind to manage you and me. When they have free hands, how will they allow us to disturb the locality like this? Where does our food and clothing come from? Don't we rely entirely on running militia training, sending out troops to hunt for 'wild food'? But now the Kun people have dispatched many work teams escorted by large troops to stay in villages and settlements, winning over hearts. Have you not noticed the number of people withdrawing from groups and rebelling against the Way increasing daily? If we don't plan ahead, in the future you and I will hardly have a place to stand. Since ancient times, there has only been one Liangshan; where can there be two water marshes? I still hope Junior Brother can be of one heart with Brother Xue, joining forces into one. If I've offended Junior Brother in the past, I beg your magnanimity and forgiveness." He bowed down.

(End of Chapter)