Chapter 106: Sharpening One’s Wits

July 18th.

The hour of You (5-7 PM).

Dust flew on the official road from Central Heaven to City.

Ding Suian, leading the vanguard of the Vermilion Bird Army, reined in his horse, and the Mythical Beast beneath him let out a neigh.

Ahead, a large number of common folk could be seen carrying their belongings, helping the elderly and children, moving away from City.

City had been sealed off the day before at dusk, but with the capabilities of the Lanyang Prefecture Yamen, it was certainly impossible to blockade the area outside the City.

It seemed the news of the plague within the City had already spread.

As the vanguard of the army, the Elite Cavalry’s top priority was to enter the City first; these common folk would be intercepted and settled by the main force behind them.

‘Puff~’

Ding Suian took down the waterskin of strong liquor from his waist, took a mouthful, sprayed it onto a square cloth, covered his mouth and nose, and tied it behind his head.

The knights behind him all made the same gesture.

He didn’t know how effective it would be, but that’s what the medical officer taught them before they set off.

City was already visible in the distance.

The usually densely populated area outside the City was eerily silent; no farmers toiled in the fields, and no smoke curled from village houses.

Only one or two wild dogs stood far off on the field ridges, vigilantly watching the group of knights.

Under the setting sun, the eastern, shaded side of Lanyang Prefecture was dark and gloomy, and the straight official road seemed to lead to a ghost realm.

After continuing for a moment,

A figure finally appeared on the deserted official road.

But surprisingly, this figure was not moving away from City, but rather walking towards the prefecture City.

In the twilight, the solitary figure walked unhurriedly, as if possessing an innate calmness, neither afraid nor fearful.

Hearing the rapid hoofbeats behind him, he voluntarily yielded the road, stood aside, clasped his hands together, and slightly bowed his head.

His dirty monk’s robe had rips, and his bright bald head was covered with a layer of dust.

“Whoa~”

Seeing the knight rein in his horse in front of him, the monk looked up in confusion, his small eyes clear, and his apple cheeks large and round.

“Hey, AZhi~”

Ding Suian pulled off his face covering. The latter, upon seeing him, didn’t show much surprise, only clasped his hands in greeting and said, “Amitabha, so it is Benefactor Ding.”

“Why are you running around here in good health?”

“This poor monk was traveling nearby and heard that City was struck by a plague, so I rushed over.”

“What can you do by coming here? Can you cure diseases?”

“This poor monk cannot.”

Zhisheng looked at City in the dim twilight, not showing any look of pity for the world, but calmly said, “This poor monk can chant scriptures to soothe the sick and alleviate their suffering, can cook, and can move and bury corpses. A plague has suddenly descended, and all beings are suffering; This poor monk must do something, right?”

Some use faith to accumulate wealth, others to gather power.

Yet there are also those who hold a compassionate heart and perform fearless deeds.

“AZhi, get on the horse!”

At the first quarter of the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), the Vermilion Bird Army vanguard entered the City.

Li Fengrao, whose mouth was full of canker sores from internal heat, truly cried when he saw Ding Suian.

Maintaining order in a large City with a population of nearly 100,000, relying solely on a hundred or so constables and yamen runners, was incredibly difficult.

Chaos had already emerged in the City.

Those stealing and robbing amidst the chaos were too numerous for the few people in the Lanyang Prefecture Yamen to handle, so they simply let it be.

More people wandered aimlessly like headless flies.

Some of them even wore bird-head masks, resembling a group of panicked monsters on the dim, long streets.

“Someone discovered that birds are not infected by the plague, and who knows who said it, but wearing a bird-head mask can ward off the plague’s invasion.”

Li Fengrao explained this.

Ding Suian followed Li Fengrao to the Lanyang Prefecture Yamen. Local officials were gathered, but upon learning that Ding Suian only led seventy men, some immediately broke down, shouting, “What can so few people do!”

“Commander Li’s main force, carrying a large amount of supplies, will arrive by tomorrow morning at the earliest~”

Ding Suian first reassured everyone, then asked, “Prefect Li, have the grain stores and pharmacies in the City been brought under control?”

“.”

Li Fengrao glanced at his many colleagues and awkwardly said, “Not yet.”

“Prefect Li, please have Head Constable Jiao lead the way and take my men to take over the grain stores and shops in the City.”

As soon as Ding Suian finished speaking, Vice Prefect Hou of Lanyang immediately stepped forward and said, “Nonsense! Grain stores and pharmacies are run by law-abiding merchants; how can you seize their shops without reason! How is that different from bandits?”

“We’ll use them first, and when the main force arrives, the consumed supplies will be reimbursed.”

Ding Suian explained, but the opposition grew stronger. Vice Prefect Hou said, “Where is the imperial decree? Can you, a mere Dutou, guarantee this?”

“I can.”

“Hahaha~”

A burst of laughter erupted in the hall.

Li Fengrao gave Ding Suian a helpless look. As a prefect, he understood the importance of grain and medicine for stability during a severe plague.

However, which of the somewhat sizable shops in Lanyang Prefecture didn’t have an ‘adult’ backing them?

These ‘adults’ were precisely the officials in the hall right now.

The reason for their opposition was too simple: grain and medicine had become the most sought-after commodities. From the first case of the plague in Lanyang Prefecture to the locking of all four gates, in just over a day, prices for grain and medicine had surged by more than seventy percent.

If handed over to the imperial court for unified allocation, even if reimbursed later, it would at most be the original price.

Who would compensate for the lost exorbitant profits?

Earning less meant a loss.

‘Sizzle~~’

The K’unwu saber was slowly drawn, and the sound of it rubbing against its sheath gradually quieted the second hall.

“What do you intend to do! Everyone here is an imperial official!”

Vice Prefect Hou didn’t believe Ding Suian would dare to kill, but the latter fiercely swung his saber, aiming directly at Vice Prefect Hou’s face.

“Ah!”

A collective gasp echoed in the second hall.

Vice Prefect Hou, in great alarm, quickly leaned back to dodge.

The K’unwu saber narrowly grazed past his head. He felt a chill on his head, raised a hand to touch it, and his head was still there. His official’s cap, however, had been sliced in half, falling to the ground and spinning.

Vice Prefect Hou plopped onto the ground, instantly drenched in cold sweat.

He had truly walked a tightrope with death. Judging by the saber’s momentum, if he had reacted even a little slower, half his head would have been lopped off!

He himself was too scared to speak, but a colleague behind him, feigning bravery, said, “Dutou Ding, aren’t you afraid we’ll impeach you!”

Ding Suian ‘ripped’ open his robe, revealing the imperial-bestowed brocade with golden embroidered flying fish beneath, “Go ahead and impeach!”

If he had truly wanted to kill earlier, Vice Prefect Hou, even if he exerted all the strength he used to ‘torment his ninth concubine,’ wouldn’t have been able to dodge.

He merely wanted the officials of Lanyang to believe he dared to kill.

This indeed had an effect. The Lanyang officials looked at each other, all with encouraging eyes, hoping the other would step forward and try again.

Unfortunately, everyone thought the same way.

A wise man doesn’t fight when the odds are against him. If they were to be cut down on the spot by this young Dutou, wouldn’t the power and wealth they had worked half their lives for be wasted?

We won’t stoop to the level of a military man!

The officials rationalized to themselves.

“Wang Xigui, you take three squads of brothers to take over the grain stores and pharmacies.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Chest Hair, you take two squads with Head Constable Jiao to patrol the streets. If you encounter robbers or rapists, kill them on the spot.”

“Yes, sir!”

After quickly issuing orders, Ding Suian looked again at the Lanyang officials and said, “I also ask all of you to send people home to retrieve clothes and bedding. For your safety, everyone will live together in the Lanyang Prefecture Yamen for now!”

“You, you dare to detain us!”

“Your Lordship is mistaken! Before I came, I received Commander Li’s order to ensure the safety of Lanyang officials. My mere dozens of men cannot be stationed at your Lordships’ residences, so we can only eat and sleep together and be protected uniformly!”

Keeping them all in the Lanyang Prefecture Yamen was to prevent multiple conflicting orders.

Otherwise, given their current state, still scheming and conniving in the face of disaster, even if Li Fengrao issued a decree, it would be hard to guarantee that no one would drag their feet.

The half-sliced official’s cap on the ground, with its smooth cut edge, seemed to still remind everyone that just half an hour ago, Vice Prefect Hou almost’sharpened his head’.

There’s no reasoning with this hothead!

Hmph!

It won’t be too late to complain when Li Baicheng arrives!