Chapter 33: Encounter with Bandits (Part One)

  "Fourth brother, don't say any more, listen to what Lord Wen has to say." Zhou Ping stopped Xue Liangyu and turned to ask the old official: "We are indeed ordinary farmer's sons, but we like archery and hunting every day, and have learned a little martial arts. We want to win a title with one sword and one spear. Just now I heard that Lord Wen's words had hidden meanings, please tell us in detail."

  "It doesn't matter if I tell you!" Wen Cheng sneered: "In this land of Youyan, Hu and Han are mixed together. Even if they are Han people, they have learned to follow the customs of the Hu people, bullying the weak and submitting to the strong. Although Liao's internal affairs are not well-managed and chaos is beginning to emerge, it doesn't necessarily mean that the one who will take over this land is the Great Song. If someone else gets it, won't it be a case of 'one wolf leaves and another tiger comes'? The big shots in the court all think that as long as the flags are pointed northward, the Han people in Yan will follow suit, which is really laughable."

  After listening to the old lict's words, Zhou Ping lowered his head in contemplation, but Xue Liangyu was young and hot-blooded, and forcibly argued: "We are Han people, and Yan land is also Han land, how can there be a reason for Han people to help barbarians fight against Han people?"

  "What about the Han people? The tax burden of our dynasty is heavier than any previous one. The Liao people have established a system of officials for both the north and south, with hardly any redundant officials or soldiers. They use annual tributes to replace head taxes, and just the salt tax alone is much lower than that of our great Song dynasty. Would you rather pay less taxes under a non-Han emperor or pay more taxes under a Han emperor?"

  "This——" Xue Liangyu was suddenly speechless, he was just a seventeen-year-old boy, how could he argue with the old official in front of him. Zhou Ping patted Xue Liangyu's shoulder and bowed deeply to the old official, saying in a low voice: "Thank you, Lord Wen, for your teachings!"

  Wen Cheng didn't respond, and closed his eyes again, as if the previous words weren't spoken by him. Zhou Ping also fell into deep thought, thinking that what the old official said was mostly true. The Song Dynasty was known for its good treatment of scholars and officials; it adopted the most expensive system of recruiting soldiers; historical records repeatedly mentioned the harm caused by "excessive officials and excessive soldiers", and the number of officials far exceeded that of previous dynasties, but whether they were officials or soldiers, they could only consume wealth. It seems that the heavy tax burden on the people during the Song Dynasty is not in doubt. However, the tax burden on the people of Liao Guo is not very clear, but it is said that there are people who smuggle salt from Liao Guo to Song Guo for profit at the border. It's likely that what he said was true, otherwise such a situation wouldn't exist.

  At this time, a sudden shout and the sound of war horses neighing came from outside the carriage. Before Zhou Ping and others could react to what was happening, Li Bao's head poked in from outside, shouting loudly: "It's bad! We've encountered bandits!"

  Zhou Ping and Xue Liangyu hastily got out of the carriage, only to see that the carriage where the envoy was had slowly come to a stop. The Liao army cavalry who were escorting them were forming a battle line under the command of the leading officer on a small hill hundreds of meters away from the gathering of carriages. There were about 400-500 people, all with their heads shaved and wearing tattered clothes, waving weapons in their hands and shouting loudly towards this side, looking quite intimidating at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, it could be seen that most of them were ordinary civilians, not to mention lacking armor, even the weapons in their hands were mostly just wooden clubs and farm tools, posing a minimal threat to the envoy.

  "Ah Ping, let's make a dash for it. We've been cooped up in this carriage for days and are almost suffocating." Xue Liangyu looked eager to try.

  "Don't be foolish, our mission is to protect Lord Han, the killing of bandits is for the Liao soldiers! Zhou Ping turned back to Li Bao and said: "Quickly get the bows, crossbows, and armor from the rear carriage, let's gear up quickly!"

  "Yes!" Li Bao responded with a single word, then ran towards the rear carriage. As guards of the diplomatic mission, they also carried bows and armor, but it was not advisable to take them out within the borders of Liao State, unless in an emergency situation like encountering bandits.

  Here is the translation of the text to English:

  "There are fat horses in the stables, and fat people among the commoners. The fields have crops, but the wilderness has starving refugees. This is a case of beasts preying on humans!" Zhou Ping observed the situation on both sides, and suddenly heard a sigh from behind him. He turned around to see an old official with a sorrowful expression on his face. Zhou Ping's heart skipped a beat as he asked, "Sir, you just said that the people of Yan have been influenced by the Hu barbarians. Why are you sighing now?" The old official replied, "Even if they are Hu people, they are still human beings born to parents after ten months of pregnancy. They have the same likes and dislikes as us. Is it because of a small river that we divide people into two kinds?" Zhou Ping was taken aback by the old official's words. He thought to himself, "This old official has traveled between Song and Liao for decades and has analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. He is a wise man." The old official continued, "If we don't take care of our own people, how can we expect them to be loyal to us?" Zhou Ping nodded in agreement. Suddenly, a horn sounded from among the refugees, and they pulled out a row of wooden stakes that had been hidden behind a screen. The stakes were sharpened at one end and pointed towards the approaching Liao cavalry. The front row of Liao soldiers was caught off guard and crashed into the stakes, screaming in pain as they fell to the ground. Some of them were impaled on the stakes, while others were trampled by their own horses. Only the commander of the Liao army managed to jump over the stakes with his horse, but he was soon struck down by a blacksmith wielding a large axe. "Kill the Khitan dogs!" the blacksmith shouted, and the crowd erupted in cheers as they attacked the fallen Liao soldiers. The second row of Liao cavalry tried to charge forward, but their horses were frightened by the screams of their comrades and refused to move. They were soon surrounded by the refugees, who pulled them off their horses and killed them one by one. In a short time, all the Liao soldiers had been slaughtered, except for a few who managed to escape on horseback. "Come back! Come back!" Han Shou shouted at the fleeing Liao soldiers, but they ignored him and kept running. The refugees began to close in on the official's carriage, and Han Shou knew that all was lost. He had only a dozen or so guards with him, and most of them were not even skilled archers. The refugees outnumbered them by at least four to one, and they had already obtained several dozen horses from the Liao army. "Sir, please get on horseback! I and Zhou Ping will protect you!" Xue Liangyu urged Han Shou. But Han Shou hesitated, clearly unsure of his own horsemanship.