Chapter One: Night Raid

  Two years later.

  In the 8th year of Zhenghe (1118 AD), September, in the Dayu Pavilion of Anyang County, Xiangzhou, Great Song.

  "In July, the fire flows, in September, clothes are bestowed. On the first day of the month, the trigger is pulled, on the second day, the fierce battle begins. Without clothes or fur coats, how can one get through the year?"

  On the third day, I plow with a millet-planting tool. On the fourth day, I hold up my feet. Together with my wife and children, we go to the southern field, and the harvest is abundant! On the second day, I break the ice and it crackles. On the third day, I store it in the shade of the Ling tree. On the fourth day, its flavor is ripe, and I offer a sacrifice to the spring onions. In September, the frost is severe, and in October, the fields are cleared. Friends gather for a feast, saying "Let's slaughter a lamb." We ascend to the public hall, and toast with a horn-shaped cup: "May your life be boundless!"

  Han Xiaoqu pressed his hand on the guqin, and the melodious sound came to an abrupt halt. His wife smiled softly beside him: "What a wonderful 'Wan Shou Wu Jiang'! This piece of 'Feng' is so serene and harmonious, it matches perfectly with this 'Day Brocade Hall', the season, and our status. It's truly exquisite!"

  "Madam, you're overpraising me. Just now I was just following my heart's desire, and didn't think so much of it!" Han Xiaoqu smiled slightly, holding a rhinoceros horn comb to comb the few strands of long whiskers under his chin, but on his face revealed a hint of self-satisfaction. It turned out that this Han Xiaoqu was the great-grandson of Han Qi, the famous prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty. That Han Qi had served as prime minister for three dynasties: Renzong, Yingzong, and Shenzong, and had the merit of helping two emperors ascend to the throne, with a profound reputation. This Han Qi was originally from An Yang, Xiangzhou, and according to the laws of the Northern Song Dynasty, in order to prevent officials from abusing their power for personal gain, it was generally not allowed for officials to serve in their hometown. But when Han Qi requested to return home due to illness in the second year of the Zhihe era (1068), Emperor Shenzong surprisingly appointed him as the Minister of Works and concurrently as the Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat, governing Xiangzhou. At that time, Han Qi built this tower pavilion in the city as a place for rest and recuperation, naming it "Day Brocade Hall", with the intention of "wealth and honor not returning home, like wearing brocade at night". Later, although no one from the An Yang Han family could compare to this ancestor who had served three dynasties and helped two emperors ascend to the throne, they were still a first-class famous family in the Song Dynasty. Many people came to pay their respects, and those who became officials were countless. Han Xiaoqu himself was only in his thirties, but already wore a golden fish pendant around his waist and held an important position, showing a glimpse of the Han family's nobility.

  "The best is yet to come, but I don't know if you've had enough excitement for tonight, sir. Would you like me to play another tune?"

  Han Xiaoqiu smiled slightly, placing his right hand gently on the strings of the zither. He was deep in thought, trying to decide which piece to play next. Just then, a commotion broke out from the front courtyard, causing Han Xiaoqiu's brow to furrow. With a light flick of his sleeve, he sighed and said, "The mood is gone for tonight, let's stop here!"

  "These cheap slaves!" Han's wife snorted, she was able to marry into the Anyang Han family, and her own family was also a noble and prestigious clan. Since childhood, she had been used to giving orders and being obeyed, but now that her excitement had been disrupted, how could she tolerate it? She coldly shouted: "Guards, go and see which slaves are making a ruckus and punish them severely!"

  "Alright!" Han Xiaohe waved his hand, signaling the servant who had come forward to receive orders to withdraw. He smiled at his wife and said, "The people outside are all our own tenant farmers. They work hard from dawn till dusk every year, so let them enjoy themselves for a few days. Don't scold them. If you want to listen, I'll play it for you again tomorrow!"

  "Master is indeed magnanimous!" Han's wife turned her eyes and a smile spread across her face: "That's also true, Master will be leaving for Liao State in a few days. If we were to punish them, it wouldn't be a good omen. Let's let them off today!"

  "Madam is indeed magnanimous!"

  Outside the Dayu Hall was a large courtyard of over 100 square meters, which was used to park carriages and sedan chairs for visiting guests on ordinary days. At this time, it was already September, and the summer heat had not yet dissipated. More than 100 men in short brown clothes were sitting around in a circle, watching an acrobatic performance with great enthusiasm, from time to time bursting into thunderous applause.

  At this time, the performer was a five-foot-tall dwarf. He only saw him standing on the ground with a bamboo pole as thick as a bowl mouth, and he climbed up in three or two strokes. On the bamboo pole, he made various comical movements, but there was no support under the bamboo pole. The dwarf relied solely on his own sense of balance, and at the top of the bamboo pole, he walked steadily, causing the crowd below to burst into laughter and applause.

  That dwarf was playing two sets of tricks on the top of the bamboo pole, and was just about to say some auspicious words to the crowd as usual, in order to get some reward money. Suddenly he saw that the street outside the courtyard was already filled with hundreds of men holding torches. The leader of those men gave a command, and his subordinates drew their swords and bows, with arrows pointing directly at himself who was in a high position.

  "Oh no!"

  As a miserable cry escaped, the dwarf tumbled down from the bamboo pole. The acrobatic troupe leader, who was about to ask for tips from the surrounding crowd, involuntarily cursed loudly in his belly: "He must have sneaked a drink before going on stage, that's why he's so clumsy!" But on his face, he could only squeeze out a smile, and made a bow to the audience: "Ladies and gentlemen, this guy just made a mistake, let's punish him by making him perform a few more rounds, as an apology to you all, okay?"

  "Boss! Run quickly! There's a strong man! A strong man is outside!" The dwarf shouted in a shrill voice.

  The master of the house was furious upon hearing this, and kicked the dwarf away with one foot, scolding: "Have you gone mad? This is the daytime pavilion of the Han family, where would there be any strong men?"

  Just as they were speaking, a sudden gust of wind swept through the air, and the leader's chest suddenly convulsed. He looked down to see a white-feathered arrow lodged in his chest, its tail feathers still quivering slightly. He muttered a few words, then fell backwards with an expression of disbelief.

  "My goodness!"

  A burst of screams erupted from the crowd, and almost simultaneously, another shower of arrows fell from the sky. People in the crowd continued to fall with arrows lodged in them, while some who were trying to escape by running outward collided with strong men who had climbed over the wall and were immediately beheaded. The cries of agony wove together into a chaotic tapestry, transforming the spot where laughter had filled the air just moments before into a scene from hell. The dwarf looked around at the carnage, then finally fell prostrate on the ground, clasped his hands together in prayer, and began to chant Buddhist scriptures without cease.

  Nor did he know how much time had passed, when the dwarf suddenly felt a tightness on his back and was picked up by someone. He then saw a bearded man grinning at him, and instinctively let out a cry of "Ah ya!"

  "Hey, that fellow, isn't the Dayue Hall of the Han family just here?" The red-faced man tossed the dwarf to the ground and swung his steel knife in the wind, splashing the blood on the blade onto the dwarf's face. The dwarf let out another mournful cry, it was unclear whether from fear or from being thrown.

  "What's wrong with you, not speaking?" The bandit leader saw that the dwarf was covered in dust all over his body, but didn't say a word. He couldn't help but feel impatient, and swung his knife to make a fake slash, shouting: "Look at you, less than five feet tall, I'm too lazy to kill you, but if you don't speak up, then so be it! It's just a matter of stretching out my arm to make you even shorter. What's wrong, are you going to speak or not?"

  "Speak, speak, little man, speak!" The dwarf was like a toy released from its spring, agilely falling to the ground in front of his opponent, knocking his head repeatedly while answering: "Just now those who watched me perform acrobatics were the tenant farmers of the Han family, and opening this door is the daytime hall of the Han family, please spare my life, spare my life!"

  "Ah, so that's how it is! This time we haven't mistaken the target!" The leader of the thieves sneered and shouted to his subordinates who were searching for valuables on the corpses: "Stop looking, they're all just poor tenants. Inside is the daytime pavilion of the Han family, let's go in and take everything! The accumulated wealth of several generations of the An Yang Han family will be ours!" Turning his head to the dwarf, he said: "I am Zhang Chao, have you heard of my family's name? Gather all those who are still alive, we'll make them our teachers later. Each person will have to pay us a few taels of silver as tuition! If anyone dares to run, I'll cut this five-foot-tall man into two pieces! Do you understand?"

  That short and ugly man saw that all around were fierce and evil bandits, so he didn't dare have any other ideas in his mind, and could only nod repeatedly. Zhang Chao burst out laughing and shouted loudly: "Everyone, put in more effort, let's get rich this year!"

  Inside the Dayu Hall, it was already in a state of chaos. More than half of the Han family's children were serving as officials outside, and at this time, only one person who could take charge remained at home: Han Xiaocong, who had just returned to visit his relatives. Although he had been an official for many years, he came from a noble background and relied on his ancestors' reputation, so he was considered a high-ranking official by virtue of his birth. He had never worked in the provinces and had little practical experience. Moreover, the Song Dynasty had been at peace for over a hundred years, and several generations had not seen war, so when this happened suddenly, they were frightened out of their wits, like a shrimp without legs.

  "Hurry up and send someone to the government office to ask for rescue troops, hurry up!" The steward shouted loudly.

  "Master! Master! The thieves have opened the outer gate and are now looting the warehouses outside!" a servant rushed in, shouting frantically.

  "Don't bother with the outer warehouse! Block the main gate of the inner courtyard, it must be blocked!" The butler shouted loudly while turning his head to Han Xiaoquan: "Master, the outer room is just some grain, cloth and copper coins, the valuable treasures are all in the inner house, let the thieves have them, as long as you and the women in the family are safe, that's all that matters!"

  "Alright, alright!" Han Xiaoju now only had the strength to nod his head. He grasped his wife's hand, his eyes fixed intently on the distant flames, his whole body shaking like a sieve.

  Inside and outside the wall, it was already a sea of flames. Several warehouses had been opened, revealing stacks of cloth and sacks of grain inside. The bandits were shouting at the newly captured civilians to move the cloth and grain onto the collected livestock and carts. One of the bandits flattered Zhang Chao with a smile: "Still, Big Brother has guts, daring to come up with the idea of hitting the Han family's daytime brocade hall. So much grain and cloth, and not a little copper money, this one time is better than ten times on an ordinary day."

  Zhang Chao's face was filled with disdain: "Hmph! These are just food and cloth, not a single valuable item. Can't you get grain from the recent harvest? Is it worth traveling to An Yang City just for these things? You're all short-sighted, put down what you're holding, open up the inner courtyard, and each of you take a few hundred taels of silver, that's the real deal!"

  The thieves, hearing this, were stirred up by the leader's words and eagerly responded, rushing towards the inner courtyard gate. The Han family servants on the wall of the inner courtyard saw the thieves rushing towards them and couldn't help but let out a miserable cry.