Chapter 17: Yan Yun's Eighteen Riders

  (Update 2 is out, vote for me!)

  Liuhé Town was named after the mountain, and it was anciently called Táng Yì. In the first year of King Ling of Zhou (571 BC), a county was established here, making it one of China's earliest walled cities. With a long history, prosperous economy, and simple folk customs, Liuhé belonged to Jiujiang Commandery during the Qin dynasty, Linhuai during the Western Han, Guangling during the Eastern Han, and Qinguo during the Jin. When the Northern Zhou marched south, they changed Qinguo to Fangzhou and established Liuhé Commandery. In the first year of the Kaihuang era (581 AD), Liuhé Commandery was abolished, with its counties belonging to Fangzhou. In the fourth year of the Kaihuang era (584 AD), Yúshì, Tángyì, and Fāngshān were abolished and merged into Liuhé County, which belonged to Fangzhou.

  By the time of the Sui reunification, the war had subsided and Liuhe, adjacent to the Yangtze River, also developed rapidly. The accumulation of population and the prosperity of the market made Liuhe an important land transportation hub in southern China.

  During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was also an important place for the capital of Jiankang. It has been called "the screen barrier of the capital", "the thoroughfare of Ji and Lu", "the military strategic location" and "the giant town north of the Yangtze River". Although after Sui destroyed Chen, it destroyed the central city of Jiangnan, Jiankang, making the important military function of the six combined screen barriers no longer exist, but the new center of Jiangnan, Yangzhou City, is just to its east, and its military, transportation and commercial status quickly recovered.

  Fangshan has six peaks, Hanshan Peak, Dengzi Peak, Shiren Peak, Furong Peak, Miao Gao Peak and Shuangji Peak. According to legend, Emperor Xiaowu of the Liu Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties climbed the mountain and saw that the six peaks surrounded a river, so he changed its name to Liuhe. A big mountain has three names: Dingshan, Fangshan and Liuhe Mountain.

  In the valley of Lion Peak under Six Harmonies Mountain, there is a mountain temple facing north. From afar, it looks like a grand entrance to the mountains. The temple is named Ding Shan Temple and is very famous in Jiangnan. The temple is surrounded by mountains on all sides, with its southern gate resembling a door. Cypress trees line the path leading up to the temple, which has been thriving since its establishment. According to legend, it was built by Emperor Wu of Liang during the Northern and Southern Dynasties for a high-ranking monk named Fa Ding who had traveled extensively throughout the land. The mountain where the temple is located was originally called Six Harmonies Mountain but was later renamed Ding Shan Mountain after the temple. Since its establishment, Ding Shan Temple has been an important institution of Chan Buddhism, earning the reputation as "the first dojo of Bodhidharma" and considered one of the ancestral temples of Chan Buddhism.

  Historically, the famous Bodhidharma was an Indian monk and the third prince of the kingdom of Southern Tianzhu. At that time, he was spreading Buddhist teachings in China and was invited by Emperor Wu of Liang to Jiankang to inquire about Buddhism. Later, due to disagreements over doctrine, Bodhidharma left Jiankang and headed north. According to legend, he crossed the Yangtze River on a reed and arrived at Changlu Temple, then went to Ding Mountain Temple. This is what is meant by "crossing the river on a reed". Later, Bodhidharma went to Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, where he founded Chan Buddhism and became known as the Bodhidharma Patriarch.

  Due to this reason, Ding Shan Temple is known as "Dharma's First Practice Place", becoming a famous temple in Jiangbei and the Lion Peak of Ding Shan also becomes the first peak among the six peaks of Liuhe Mountain.

  In late March, Ding Shan Temple is even more crowded with incense and tourists. The prosperity of Ding Shan Temple's incense also makes it a famous mountain, attracting large numbers of incense and tourists, making the business here prosperous. Over the years, countless shops, inns, tea houses, and restaurants have been established at the foot of the mountain.

  In one of them, called the Welcome Inn, a few people sat listening to a man in northern officer's uniform speaking quietly to his companions.

  After the rebellion in Jiangnan was pacified in the tenth year of Kaihuang, the emperor abolished the newly established military commands in Guandong, Henan and the northern border areas, and demobilized a large number of garrison troops. The remaining garrison troops, although still registered as soldiers and under the command of the military command, were also subordinate to the prefecture and county where they were located, just like local farmers, allocated land according to the equal field system, registered their households, established household accounts, and from then on integrated soldiering and farming.

  Since then, although the imperial court also frequently clashed with the Turks on the northern border, major battles were rare. Many of the Fubing soldiers only needed to take turns going to Chang'an to serve as guards, and only needed to assemble for training for a short period each year. The rest of the time, they were just ordinary farming households like everyone else. However, unlike ordinary farming households, the land cultivated by the Fubing was exempt from rent and labor taxes. These Fubing soldiers were collectively referred to as Shi Guan, mostly selected from middle-class families.

  This attendant was a standard northerner in appearance, with a full beard and mustache, but not very old, about thirty years old. He had broad shoulders, a tall and large build, but was somewhat lean, wearing a幞头 on his head, a缺骻衫 with high side slits, and a大口裤 tied with a缚裤带子. Around his waist was a蹀躞 made of yellow copper and leather, which was a multi-functional belt. The buckle and strap were made of yellow copper, the belt itself was made of yellow cowhide, and there were eleven yellow copper rivets on it, with eleven small straps tied below, adorned with copper decorations. This蹀躞 had extremely strong storage capabilities, able to hang items such as water bottles, purses, fans, perfume pouches, knives, swords, musical instruments, quivers, and even writing utensils.

  At this time, the waist of the official in the mansion had a water bottle, an incense bag, a money bag, and a short knife. The men sitting with him at the same long table were also dressed similarly, wearing rough shirts, large trousers, and beautiful belts around their waists, with swords hanging from them, and even the bulging money bags were hung on them in a dignified manner. Moreover, each of them had a robust physique, looking strong and powerful.

  Nowadays, the world is at peace, and the government has banned martial arts. Civilians are not allowed to privately own swords or weapons. Even the bodyguards of high-ranking officials mostly carry sticks and swords, while large knives and long spears are strictly prohibited. Only those attendants from military households can openly wear swords and swagger around, and they all have the appearance of northerners.

  The shop was packed with customers, and everyone tried their best not to stare at that table of waiters.

  The shop owner was a local from Jiangnan, wearing a faded blue robe. He was holding a jar of good wine, which the table of northern guests had ordered. The others were ordering one or two cups, but they were directly ordering a jar, and this was already their third jar. He was worried that if these people got drunk and made trouble in his shop, what would he do?

  It has been nine years since the Chen Dynasty was destroyed, and eight years have passed since the great chaos in Jiangnan. The hatred between people from the south and north during the Northern and Southern Dynasties era, which was like fire and water, has not completely disappeared, but it has indeed decreased a lot. At least, they can coexist now. The people of Jiangnan no longer view northerners as barbarians, and northerners no longer see southerners as weak and contemptible. It must be said that the swords of the Sui Dynasty have made the people of Jiangnan understand what it means to be strong, and the wise king who has been stationed in Yangzhou for many years has made many people in Jiangnan feel that having a northerner as emperor is actually better than having a southerner as emperor. The common people do not really care who is the emperor; they just hope to live a slightly better life. Now that the Sui Dynasty has ruled Jiangnan for many years, the massacres and enslavement that were initially feared have not occurred, so naturally, they no longer view northerners with such hostility.

  Those officials from the north, those garrison officers who came to Jiangnan from the north, no longer have to worry about being hit with a black brick. Sometimes, even some merchants and landlords in Jiangnan would voluntarily pay their bills for them.

  However, the group of northerners in the store today had a kind of ferocity on their bodies that was rarely seen on ordinary garrison soldiers. It was a fierce and intimidating aura, so everyone was careful to eat, drink, and chat, trying not to look over at them, let alone have someone come over to ask the northern attendants to talk about their past battles, or even come over to drink and chat with them.

  Those northerners just sat there, in the midst of the store, yet completely out of place with the atmosphere, but still so at ease, not caring about the feelings of others in the store.

  "How is Leopold now?"

  "Nothing major is wrong, but I'm still not feeling great, a bit down."

  "Are you still blaming yourself for losing Second Brother?"

  "Hmm!"

  "It's not his fault, actually." One of the men in his thirties said, a scar above his left cheekbone making him look even more menacing. "If he had stuck with Second Brother that day, they wouldn't have been able to shake off those henchmen."

  A thin man sighed: "So many days have passed, and Big Sister has been searching frantically like a madman, but still hasn't found any clues. No one has seen him alive, no one has seen his body!"

  "Don't talk about bad luck on Cow Day. What kind of person is Second Brother, what kind of danger can't he overcome? Maybe he's just hiding somewhere to recover from his injuries. Didn't Wei Bao say that Second Brother was seriously injured that day?" Liu Ying interrupted.

  Although it had been many days, everyone in their hearts already felt that something was not right, but they still couldn't accept this result. After so many days and still unable to find him, there were only three possibilities: one, after Wei Bao left that day, Second Brother woke up and left on his own, and now might be hiding in a safe place to recover from his injuries. Or, Second Brother was captured by those black-clothed men. The third possibility was that Second Brother was already dead, it's just that no one had found his body yet.

  "Has there been any news about Ji Ya?" the scar-faced man asked. Everything started from this, if they could find Ji Ya, maybe many problems would be solved easily, at least they would know who ambushed and attacked Er Ge.

  "There is no news yet." Wang Xiong replied with a scowl.

  "Any news? You've fought against those Eagle Dogs twice, haven't you found any clues at all? What about the captives?" Liu Ying asked.

  "No captives!" Wang Xiong replied, "Actually, we've already clashed with them three times." The first time, Wei Bao was being pursued and killed, they encountered a group of black-clad men, intercepted and ambushed them. He quickly defeated the opponent, but all the captives immediately committed suicide, not even leaving behind a single clue, let alone a living mouth. The second time, they found some clues with great difficulty, but when they arrived at the location, they only saw a group of black-clad men's corpses. Later, they encountered another group of guards who claimed to be from the Jin Wang Fu, but soon the opponent's reinforcements arrived, and they had to withdraw. The next day, their hiding place was attacked, fortunately, they were vigilant, and both sides engaged in a fierce battle in the dark night before dawn, barely managing to retreat, they almost got captured, let alone capture any captives. In the end, it was unknown who attacked them.

  "Jin Wang Fu? Yangzhou General Manager Jin Wang Yang Guang?" Scar King Wang Ba's eyebrows raised unexpectedly.

  Wang Xiong said bitterly, "Since we arrived in Jiangnan, I feel like this place is a swamp shrouded in fog, full of deadly traps everywhere, and we can't even see the situation clearly. According to Big Sister's analysis, it's possible that we're facing more than one opponent. The ones who ambushed Second Brother and the ones who chased after Leopard and were killed by us might be the same group of people. In addition, the black-clad corpses we saw later might also be from this group. Later, when we were attacked near the corpses and when we were attacked at our hideout, it's possible that they were the same group of people again. Furthermore, those who claimed to be guards of the Jin Wang Fu in the forest, whom we ambushed and were later rescued by their reinforcements, might be from another faction. Things haven't been completely confirmed yet, but it's highly likely. Moreover, those who claimed to be guards of the Jin Wang Fu, whom we followed later, indeed returned to the Yangzhou General Administration."

  This matter is too complicated, Liu Ying thought it was a bit of a headache.

  Firstly, the men in black captured Ji Yao, lured them south, and asked about the jade pendant and Yang Lin's news, as well as trying to capture Second Brother alive.

  Then, another group of mysterious people appeared. They killed the black-clothed men who ambushed Da Jie and Er Ge, but also attacked Da Jie and her companions.

  Finally, the guards of the Jin Wang Fu also appeared.

  What kind of relationship is this, and who is Yang Lin?

  It's a complete mess.

  "Now that you're here, it's all good. What Big Sister meant was that no matter which faction is involved, we must find and rescue Qiyao and Second Brother." Wang Xiong said.

  "But now things are so complicated, we haven't even figured out who our enemy is." Liu Ying said.

  Wang Xiong looked at Dao Henchman Wang Bao and said, "It's not entirely unclear who the enemy is. At least we know that there is a group of people from the Jinwang Fu."

  "Should we start with Yang Guang first? He is the second son of Emperor Yang, the Grand Governor of Yangzhou, in charge of forty-four states along the Jianghuai region, and has countless troops at his disposal." A Han man said worriedly.

  "What's the big deal, who cares about the Emperor, since he dares to ride over our heads, can we be afraid of him? We are in the North, we have dealt with the Turks, the Kumo Xi people, the Khitan people, the Shiwei people, the Tiele people, and even the Goguryeo, Mohe people, Baekje, Silla, and Eastern Yi people. Are we still afraid of a prince from the Sui Dynasty? The eighteen riders of Yan Yun have never been afraid of anyone, whoever dares to provoke us, we will fight them to the end."

  "Alright, Third Brother's words are to the point. We've already received news that Yang Guang will be coming to hunt at the foot of Liuhe Mountain tomorrow, which is a great opportunity! The other brothers have all arrived, and Third Brother is the latest to arrive. I originally thought you wouldn't make it in time, but now it's just right." Wang Xiong said.

  "What are we waiting for? Take me to see Big Sister now!" Wang Bao downed the wine in his cup in one gulp.

  "Go!"

  PS: Six harmony, six, sound Lu.