Chapter 253: The Autumn Levy (Part 18)

“This arrow is not very good. It’s not the modern crossbow bolt you’re used to. Will it be alright?”

“No problem, just watch.” Dai Xie raised his beloved pulley crossbow. The crossbow was not his, but its performance was better. It was just that the crossbow bolt looked really awkward—the craftsmanship was a bit too rough.

Of course, if they used their own homemade crossbow bolts, it would be a dead giveaway.

After aiming carefully, he pulled the trigger.

With a “swoosh,” the crossbow bolt flew out. In the eerily quiet night of the 17th century, the sound was frighteningly loud. Then, a “thud” was heard in the pitch-black night. Dogs immediately began to bark wildly. From near to far, all the dogs in the west gate suburb started barking.

“Bullseye!” said the person monitoring the shot’s effect with an infrared telescope.

“Withdraw!” With an order, everyone disappeared silently into the night.

A long time later, lights finally lit up in the pitch-black west gate suburb. The house where the sound had come from was none other than Liu Dalin’s. The Liu family did not have many servants, and Lingao had not been a very peaceful place in the past, so no one dared to immediately come out to investigate after hearing the unusual noise in the courtyard.

A few servants lit torches and, holding clubs, carefully opened the door and came out to investigate the courtyard. The Liu residence was not large, with only three courtyards. After a search, they found nothing unusual. They went all the way to the side courtyard, where Liu Dalin’s study was located. At night, apart from a page boy, no one else was there.

“Look! There’s an arrow on the door!” one of the servants exclaimed.

Everyone rushed over to the study door. They saw an arrow stuck in the wooden wall, embedded deep. The servants were dumbfounded. Although Lingao was not a place where one could leave their doors unlocked at night, it was the first time they had heard of someone openly shooting an arrow in the city, let alone at the home of the county’s number one gentleman.

“Quick, quick, go and report to the master!”

Liu Dalin was already up by this time, being dressed by his wife and a maid. He had also been woken by the commotion and expected his servants to come and report. Liu Dalin was very particular about propriety in his dealings. Whether with family or servants, he always received them fully dressed.

The news from the servants that an arrow had been found in the wall of his study startled him. This was truly unprecedented—even when the Li people had rebelled and the county town was in danger, no arrows had ever been shot into the city! Recently, bandits and robbers had almost disappeared. How could such a thing suddenly happen!

He vaguely felt that this was related to the petition he had submitted yesterday. He said calmly, “Don’t panic! Take the arrow down immediately and wrap it up. Everyone go to sleep and don’t spread rumors!”

“Master, should we report it to the authorities first thing in the morning—”

“Don’t report it to the authorities!” Liu Dalin vetoed the idea. “Pretend this never happened.” He was very clear that this was most likely the work of Chen Minggang and his gang, intended to intimidate him.

“Hmph, what despicable scoundrels!” Liu Dalin said.

His wife was very frightened. “Master, we should still report it to the authorities. Magistrate Wu gets along with us very well; he will surely take care of it…”

“My lady, Magistrate Wu is indeed good, but that pack of scoundrels under him are most likely in cahoots with Chen Minggang. What’s the use of reporting it? It will just be a few yamen runners coming to investigate and then nothing will come of it. I’m afraid those lowly runners will dirty my house just by setting foot in it!”

“Master—”

“Say no more. I have my own judgment,” Liu Dalin said. After this disturbance, his sleepiness had vanished. He comforted his wife a few more times and then went to the outer room, lit a candle, and began to read.

The book was one he had asked someone to buy for him from Guangzhou recently. Since the regular ferry service of the Gaoguang Shipping Company had started, it had become much more convenient to ask people to buy things from Guangzhou. This was a collection of examination essays from the past few years’ imperial examinations during the Tianqi and Chongzhen eras, all first-rate eight-legged essays. This kind of collection was usually only of interest to scholars who were still very keen on passing the examinations. For those who had already passed the Jinshi examination, their attitude towards such books was similar to that of a student towards their exam papers after the college entrance examination. Liu Dalin was so enthusiastic about this because he really wanted to teach a few disciples and have one or two more Jinshi from the county.

But the imperial examinations were such that, as the saying goes, “in the examination hall, do not discuss literature.” Writing a flowery essay did not guarantee success. The higher one went, the more unpredictable the factors became. Not only did one have to write well, but one also had to have a certain understanding of the chief examiner’s temperament, literary style, and the court’s inclinations, in order to write an essay that best suited the chief examiner’s taste.

Liu Dalin studied this book to get a good grasp of the literary style in the examination field in the past decade, so he could provide targeted guidance when teaching.

However, he couldn’t get into the book. The words that had seemed so wonderful before now seemed dull and boring.

“Empty and without substance!” Liu Dalin slapped the table. He couldn’t help but think of the arrow again. It was clear that Chen Minggang and his gang were trying to intimidate him, but for them to do so was truly audacious. Could the Australians be behind it? He thought about it and felt it was unlikely. The Australians didn’t need to go to such lengths to deal with him. A simple “petition not approved” would be enough to render the entire county helpless. Why would they resort to this?

It seemed that this could only be the work of Chen Minggang and his gang. To think that this person would dare to commit such a rebellious act, relying on the power of the Australians! Even when the Li people had rebelled and the county town was in danger, such chaos had never occurred in the city! And it was directed at him personally! Liu Dalin’s self-esteem was greatly stimulated. He had always been a humble person, regardless of the other person’s status. The entire county also treated him with respect. Now, a mere yamen clerk dared to intimidate him so brazenly. It was simply intolerable.

“Does he think this little ghostly trick can scare me,” Liu Dalin said resentfully.

But to accuse the Australians was a baseless and headless case. He thought it over and over and decided not to make a fuss for now. He immediately instructed someone to call the steward and have him organize the able-bodied men in the household to stand guard day and night to prevent any trouble.

However, the next morning, the entire county was in a state of great alarm. It turned out that on the same night, besides the arrow shot at Liu Dalin’s house, several other gentry and large households had had knives thrown into their homes. Attached to the knives were posters with crudely written words, reminding them that “words have consequences” and telling them to “watch their heads.” A knife was even stuck in the gate of the county school’s archery field. Knives were also thrown in front of the scholars’ dormitories in the county school.

This incident immediately caused a sensation in the city. In less than half a day, everyone in the East Gate Market knew about it. Such a thing had never happened in this county before. It brought a bit of color to the county’s dull life. For a time, discussions were everywhere.

Almost everyone in the discussions unanimously believed that this was the work of Chen Minggang and his gang. Some were surprised at the audacity of Chen Minggang and his gang, while others lamented the loss of face for the gentry.

Although Liu Dalin had told his family not to spread the news about the arrow, by noon, many people in the county already knew that Liu Dalin’s house had also been targeted with an arrow warning. Many people specially came in sedan chairs to Liu’s house to express their condolences, which left Liu Dalin baffled—who had leaked this news? Since others had come with sincere intentions to offer their condolences, he couldn’t very well refuse to see them. He had to come out and deal with them, which left him exhausted.

Huang Bingkun also came to offer his condolences. He was not afraid of having a knife stuck in his door—in the past, the bandits who opposed the Huang Family Village had sent all sorts of intimidating objects to the Huang family, and he had laughed them all off. However, the fact that Chen Minggang and his gang had done such a thing greatly surprised him, especially that they dared to threaten Liu Dalin so openly!

“Uncle, you must have been frightened!”

“It’s just some scoundrels, acting like clowns. Not worth mentioning,” Liu Dalin said, not paying it much mind.

“This matter should still be reported to the authorities…”

“No need to report it.” Liu Dalin explained his thoughts.

“Uncle, we still have to report it. Whether the case can be solved or not is another matter. Now that the news of the arrow being shot at your residence has spread throughout the city, if you just endure it, won’t everyone think you’re afraid of these bandits—willing to turn a big matter into a small one, and a small one into nothing?”

Liu Dalin thought Huang Bingkun was right. If no one knew, it would be one thing. Now that it had spread, pretending to be deaf and dumb would be inappropriate. He had someone go to the county yamen to report it.

The county reacted quickly. Before long, the registrar came to Liu’s residence to investigate. As was customary, there was a procedure of inspection to be carried out. The registrar pretended to look at the arrow mark in the courtyard of the study, then at the arrow, and ordered his men to take it as evidence.

After the inspection, there were naturally some polite words, saying he would “solve the case within a time limit.” Liu Dalin also played along.

Everyone knew this matter had nothing to do with the county yamen. The key was how the Australians intended to handle it.

The answer came quickly, the day after the incident. The militia at the city gate saw a group of people coming from the direction of Bairen Beach, all in short clothes and with their hair cut short. They knew the Australians had come and quickly sent someone to report to the county magistrate.

Hearing that a large group of Australians was about to enter the city, the county residents flocked to the city gate to watch the excitement. They saw a group of more than thirty people, all in blue short jackets, with leather belts around their waists, from which various things hung. Some carried muskets on their shoulders, others had swords at their waists. They marched in neat ranks, full of vigor, and each looked very imposing. It was a world of difference from the tattered clothes and beggar-like appearance of the county’s own government troops.

“The Australian soldiers are truly elite—” someone in the crowd of onlookers commented.

“What are you looking at! These are all fake ‘Kun’…”

“Shh! Are you trying to get yourself killed? They’re Australians! Australians!”

“Right, right, these Australian soldiers are all recruited locally. Some are also recruited from other prefectures.”

“To actually serve as soldiers for the Australians, how audacious,” someone commented.

“Master Zhao, if you also had no food for the next day and couldn’t even eat your fill, you would surely be even more audacious than them.”

…