by Shi Nai-An
in the shadow of a willow tree, and took rest. A breeze came from the fir trees just opposite. He was enjoying the cool breeze, when all at once he saw a man stealthily spying. He shouted, "What are you doing, and who is there looking round this place!" As he said he rose and went to behind a tree to get a better view. He recognized that that man was the hunter, Li Chi, nicknamed Piaotu, Shih Chin called, "Li Chi, what are you looking for in my village? Have you come as a spy?"
Li Chi stepped forward and said "Yes, sir, I want to find a man named Chiu I-lang to drink wine with him, but seeing you taking a siesta I dared not intrude."
"Did you not previously come here selling game -- and did I not pay you liberally? So why have you not been here lately with your game. You might think that I had no money." Li Chi replied, "That's not the case. Just now there is no game and therefore I did not come."
"Stupid talk," said Shih Chin. "Shao Hwa Shan mountain is of vast expanse and I do not believe that neither deer nor hare can be found there." Li Chi answered, "You do not know that there is a band of robbers on the mountain, where they have erected a stronghold. They have collected about seven hundred armed men and over a hundred horses. The chief is a man named Chu Wu, nicknamed "Skillful Strategist,"' and the second in command is Ch'en Ta, nicknamed "Leaping Tiger," the third in command is Yang Chun, nicknamed "White-speckled Snake." These three leaders take to robbing houses; they have been officially denounced in Hwa Yin Hsien, and a reward of three thousand strings of cash has been offered for their capture. But who dare go to arrest them? Even we hunters dare not go to the mountain to shoot game, so how could I come here to sell it."
"I have heard of those robbers," said Shih Chin, "but did not know that they have made so much trouble. This being the case the people certainly dislike them. Li Chi, if you have any game in the future bring it here."
Shih Chin thought this matter over. These men will certainly come here to plunder. He then told the farm laborers to select two fat buffaloes and kill them; and bring
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the best brew of the village. He sent invitations to all the Shih clan and upon arrival they seated themselves in order of seniority. Wine was served and Shih Chin then spoke to the audience, saying, "I have heard there are three robbers on Shao Hwa Shan, who have altogether about seven hundred followers, and they rob the people with violence. Sooner or later they will come and pillage our village. I now invite you here to discuss this matter -- so that we may be prepared when they come. I will have a rattle sounded at my house when they arrive; and upon hearing this you must bring your arms to defend the village. If your families are attacked we will defend you." All of them are agreed to what Shih Chin said. They then returned home and prepared their weapons. Shih Chin repaired the defenses of the village.
At Shao Hwa Shan, the three bandit chiefs were now holding a conference. The leader, Chu Wu (Skillful Strategist) was a Ting Yuan Hsien man and could fight with a sword in each hand. He was clever in arranging plans for an attack. The second chief Ch'en Ta was a Yeh Ch'eng Hsien man, and was skillful in the use of a steel lance while the third Yang Chun was a Kai Liang Hsien man and used a long sword.
When they were discussing Chu Wu said, "I have heard that there is a reward offered for anyone who can capture us, and I am really afraid that when the soldiers come we shall have a severe struggle with them; but we are short of food so we must take some for use here. We must collect a large stock of food on the mountain ready for the time when the soldiers attack us."
Ch'en Ta (Leaping Tiger) agreed. "Let us go to Hwa Yin Hsien, and ask the people there to lend us some grain and we can see what they say."
Yang Chun (White-speckled Snake) remarked, "There is no need to go there; it would be better to go to Pu Ch'eng Hsien. The chances are ten thousand to one, we shall not fail there." Ch'en Ta said, "There are very few people in Pu Ch'eng Hsien and very little money or grain there. It will be better to attack Hwa Yin Hsien. The folk there are wealthy and have abundance of grain."
Yang Chun replied, "Elder brother, you do not know that if we attack Hwa Yin Hsien we must pass the village of the Shih clan where that dangerous fellow Shih Chin with nine
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dragons lives, and we must not provoke him. He will not let us pass."
Ch'en Ta said, "Younger brother, what a coward you are, you are even afraid to pass a village, so what can you do when you are opposed by soldiers?"
"Elder brother, you should not despise Shih Chin. He is hard to deal with."
"I have already heard that he is very brave and is extremely capable," said Chu Wu. "Younger brother, do not go."
Ch'en Ta would not change his mind, and said, "You two, shut up! Do not increase the other man's determination and reduce our own courage. He is only one man and has not three heads or six arms." He then called to his armed followers, "Get my horse ready! I will attack the Shih village, and afterwards seize Hwa Yin Hsien."
Chu Wu remonstrated with him but Ch'en Ta did not listen. He put on his armor and mounted his horse: he then mustered about one hundred fifty armed brigands down the mountain and went with gongs and drums sounding.
The brigands' approach was duly reported to Shih Chin, who instantly had the rattles sounded and quickly all the men assembled in arms. Shih Chin wore a towel round his head and was equipped with red mail over an embroidered black wadded coat. On his feet were embroidered green boots and round his waist a leather belt. In front and behind were round metal plates. He carried a bow with quiver full of arrows. In his hand be held a double-edged sword with three-sharp spikes at the end and four holes with eight rings attached. He was mounted on a roan horse. Before him were forty of his retainers while behind were ninety of the farm laborers. With a combined shout they all moved toward the north of the village. The brigands halted. Shih Chin saw that Ch'en Ta was in front of his men, wearing a red cap with a concave top, and with iron-mail armor covered with gilt, wadded red clothing, thick army boots and a plaited waistbelt. He rode a white horse and carried a three-pronged halberd which was about ten feet long. As the two leaders met, the men raised a loud shout. Ch'en Ta paid his respect to Shih Chin by rising in his stirrups.
Shih Chin spoke in a loud voice, "You kill people, set places on fire, rob with violence; your crimes fill the heavens, and
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you are all deserving of death. You ought to have ears; how dare you come to pouch the tiger's litter!"
Ch'en Ta replied from his horse, "We are short of grain at our mountain fortress and are going to borrow some grain at Hwa Yin Hsien. We have taken a short cut by passing your honorable village -- but we will not disturb even a blade of grass here. Let us pass and on our return we will thank you." "Nonsense," replied Shih Chin, "I am the head of this village and I must arrest you. If I don't do so, I shall be implicated and the magistrate will blame me." "Within the four seas all are brothers, so let us use your road," said Ch'en Ta.
"What meaningless talk!" said Shih Chin. "Even if I am willing, but there is one who is not, so you must have his consent before you pass."
"You are a hero. Tell me whom I must ask?" replied Ch'en Ta
"You can ask the sword in my hand and if it is willing then you can pass," said Shih Chin.
Ch'en Ta spoke angrily, "You are trying to deceive me, but you should not be presumptuous." Shih Chin was also angry, and brandishing his sword, he rode forward to fight.
Ch'en Ta whipped his horse, thrust forward his three-pronged halberd, and advanced to meet Shih Chin. They fought for some time. Then Shih Chin thought of a plan, and purposely allowed Ch'en Ta to thrust in his halberd he parried the blow by moving to one side, as Ch'en Ta lunged forward. With a dexterous turn of the arm he caught Ch'en Ta and pulled him out of his saddle, then he took hold of his plaited waistbelt and threw him to the ground. The horse galloped away like a gust of wind. Shih Chin told his servants to bind Ch'en Ta, and the band of robbers scattered. Shih Chin returned to his house and bound Ch'en Ta to a pillar
in the hall to wait until he captured the other robber chiefs so as to send them together to the official's yamen to be dealt with. He gave wine to all the villagers and then dismissed them. Everyone applauded him and said, "You, sir, are a hero."
We will not say anything more about the feast at the Shih village, but let us consider the anxiety of Chu Wu and Yang Chun in their mountain stronghold. They had sent
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many soldiers to make inquiries, and on the way they met the men returning with the riderless horse. The defeated men said, "Bad luck! Our elder brother's life is in danger."
Upon reaching the stronghold they gave details of the fight, saying, "Shih Chin was a great hero."
"Shall we risk our lives in rescuing him? " asked Yang Chun.
"We cannot do that," replied Chu Wu. "The disaster is of his own making. How can we defeat Shih Chin? I have a desperate plan but if we fail to rescue Ch'en Ta, that will be the end of all of us." Chu Wu whispered his plan. Yang Chun said, "Good! Let us go without delay."
Now in the village Shih Chin's anger had not abated when a laborer rushed in and reported that the other robber chiefs had come. Shih Chin said, "I will send them both to the mandarin. Bring me my horse."
The rattle was sounded and the same crowd of armed men assembled. He was just on the point of leaving when he isaw the two robber chiefs walking to the gate. They both knelt down and cried. Shih Chin dismounted and shouted, “What have you to say?" Chu Wu crying, answered, "We shall be arrested and tried, and cannot live as bandits on the mountains. Once we took a vow that we would die on the same day. Although we have not the heroism of Kwan Kung, Chang Fei, and Liu Pei, yet we have the same objects in mind. To-day our brother Ch'en Ta did not listen to our advice, but he unintentionally offended your dignity. You hero have already arrested him at your noble village. As we have no alternative we come only to beseech you to put us to death together. We hope that you hero will send us three men to the official, and ask for a reward. We swear that we shall not feel sorrow at that; we are entirely in your hands and wish to die."
Shih Chin heard this, and thought that they were brave. If he sent them to the officials and requested a reward, then all heroes would be ashamed of him for not being a brave man. The ancients said, "The tiger does not eat the flesh of a tiger." So he said to these men, "Come inside." They were not afraid and followed Shih Chin into the hall, where they knelt and asked him to bind them. Shih Chin told them several times to rise but they declined to do so. He thought, "Intelligent people like intelligence in others,
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and so good folk recognize the good in others." He said, "As your bravery is so great, I cannot send you to the mandarins. How will it be if I release Ch'en Ta?"
"We do not wish to implicate you ,” said Chu Wu. "It will be better for you to ask for the reward." "How can I do that?" said Shih Chin. "Are you willing to eat my food and drink wine?"
"We are not even afraid of death so how can we be afraid of meat and drink?"
Shih Chin was much pleased at this, and released Ch'en Ta. He invited all three to dine with him and they expressed their thanks for his great benevolence. After drinking several cups of wine they departed. As a token of thankfulness the three brigand chiefs got together thirty ounces of gold in ingots, which was sent in a dark moonless night by two of their men to Shih Chin. When the bandits arrived at the farm Shih Chin came to the gate to inquire what they wanted, and they presented the gold and asked him to accept the same. At first Shih Chin refused to accept the gift but he saw that the intention was good so he accepted the gold, and then ordered a servant to give the men refreshments. When they departed he gave them some small pieces of silver for themselves. A fortnight afterwards the bandit leaders took a big jewel which they had looted sometime before, and sent it to Shih Chin who accepted it. He saw that they were grateful for his mercy so he had three gowns made with red embroidered silk and sent these with some wine and three fat roasted sheep to the brigands, and his steward Wang Ssu was asked in charge of this matter. Shih Chin and the brigands became very friendly, and were frequently giving each other presents.
On the fifteenth day of the eighth moon Shih Chin sent Wang Ssu with an invitation for a banquet and the bandit chiefs wrote a reply, accepting the invitation. After a few cups of wine Wang Ssu left, but on his way down the mountain he met some brigands who took him to an inn where he drank more wine. When he left, he was slightly drank, and staggered along. After going about three miles he came to a forest which he entered and lay down in the long grass to sleep. The hunter, Li Chi came to that spot to look for hares, and recognizing Wang Ssu he attempted to raise him up, but he could not do so. In
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doing this some silver fell out from Wang Ssu's girdle which made Li Chi meditate, "This man is drunk, but where did the money come from? Why should I not take some?" It was now the opportunity for the baneful forces to come together, so unexpected events ensued naturally. He unloosened Wang Ssu's girdle, and upon shaking it, the sealed reply from the bandits fell out. He opened that, and recognized the names of the brigand chiefs. "Here is my luck. A fortune teller told me that I should have great fortune and here it is. A reward is offered for their arrest, and perhaps I can get something for this letter also." So he took the silver, and the letter, and went to report the matter to the officials at Hwa Yin Hsien.
When Wang Ssu awoke that evening, the moon was shining through the trees. He found his girdle in the grass, but the silver and the letter were missing. He felt greatly annoyed and thought the matter over. He thought if he said that he had lost the letter Shih Chin would probably dismiss him, so at last he decided to say that the invitation had been accepted, but there was no written reply. He told this to Shih Chin who asked why he had been so long in returning, and he explained that the bandits had pressed him to stay, drinking wine for half the night.
On the day appointed Shih Chin had a banquet prepared, and the three bandit leaders duly arrived with about five armed men. They took their seats. But when they had drunk much wine there was a loud noise and much torchlight outside the gate. Shih Chin was startled, and jumping up told the brigands to keep their seats while he went to see what had happened. He told the servants not to open the gate, and putting a ladder against the wall he looked over. He saw that the district sheriff was on a horse, and about four hundred soldiers surrounded the farm. He returned and told the bandits that the soldiers had come evidently to arrest them.
Men concealed in the deep of reeds,
Prepared their boats among the lotus leaves.
Soldiers sent to capture them,
Did only make them intimate.
We will now relate how the brigands made their escape.
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CHAPTER 2
SHIH CHIN LEAVES DURING THE NIGHT; MAJOR
LU TA ASSAULTS BUTCHER CHENG
THE bandit chiefs knelt down, saying: "Elder brother, you are guiltless and we do not wish to involve you. You can take a rope and bind us, and ask for the reward."
"That will not do," said Shih Chin. "I invited you to come here, and if I seize you for the reward everybody will jeer at me. If this is your time for death, I will die with you; if to live, then I will live with you. Please get up, be at your ease, and let us think of another plan. Wait until I have asked the soldiers why they come here." Shih Chin climbed the ladder and called out "Why do you men come here in the third watch of the night?" The sheriff replied, "Sir, you need not say that you are not guilty as we have the accuser Li Chi here." Shih Chin shouted, "Li Chi! Why do you falsely accuse an innocent person.
"I really do not know," replied Li Chi. "In a forest I got a letter from Wang Ssu, and the same day I read it before the yamen, and this is the result."
Shih Chin addressed Wang Ssu, "You said there was no reply, so how is this?" "I forgot the letter because I was drunk," answered Wang Ssu. Shih Chin shouted, "You brute."
The sheriff outside was afraid of Shih Ch
in, and dared not enter the farm to arrest the men. The three bandit chiefs pointed their fingers and said to Shih Chin, "Speak only to those outside." Shih Chin understood and said, "You two sheriffs need not use force. I will give them over and you can escort them to the yamen where you can ask for the reward." The two sheriffs replied, "We have no business here. We are waiting for you to come out, and go with us to get the reward." Shih Chin descended the ladder, and catching Wang Ssu took him into the garden and killed him with a sword. He then ordered the servants to pack up all the valuables, and light about forty torches: he and the
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three bandit chiefs armed themselves -- one sword in the hand and a smaller one in their waist. They set fire to the huts at the back of the farmstead and the soldiers immediately rushed there. Shih Chin set fire to the building in the center of the inclosure. He opened the gates and called to his men to kill any one they met. He was in the front, Chu Wu and Yang Chun were in the middle, and Chen Ta was at the rear. They went out, killing men on both sides. Shih Chin was like a tiger, and nobody could stop him. They hacked their way through the cordon of soldiers. Afterwards they came across the two sheriffs and Li Chi. When enemies meet they recognize each other clearly. The sheriffs seeing that Shih Chin was angry ran away. Li Chi also turned to run, but Shih Chin caught him, and with a slash, he out him in half with his sword. The bandit chiefs pursued the sheriffs and dispatched them. The troops scattered in every direction. Shih Chin led his men straight to Shao Hwa Shan where there was a feast to celebrate the occasion. I
After staying a few days Shih Chin considered the position. He had saved the lives of three men and some valuables; but his homestead and his property had all been destroyed. Evidently, he could not stay there, so he told the bandit chiefs that he wished to go to find his old drill instructor Wang Chin. The bandits urged him to stay and promised to erect new buildings for him, but Shih Chin would not agree to this. Then Chu Wu said they would make him their chief and quite happy.
