by Shi Nai-An
"Sir," said one of the men, "now that it is all finished let us discuss a plan."
"What is your idea?" asked the steward Hsieh.
"We are certainly to blame," said the man. "The ancients had a saying, 'When the fire is scorching our bodies we try to put it out, or when a wasp gets in our bosom we quickly unfasten our clothes.' If major Yang Chih were here now we could not say anything, but as he has now gone away
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why should we not return to His Excellency Liang, and lay all the blame for this on Yang Chih? We could say that on the way Yang Chih insulted us by continual curses and beat us so bitterly that we could hardly walk. He was in league with some bandits, and gave us some drugged wine so that we became unconscious; when he bound our hands and feet he went off with the golden articles and jewels."
The steward replied, "What you say is all right. At daybreak we will go to the local officials and report the matter as you say. We can leave the two servants at the yamen to guide the officials here and assist in arresting the bandits. The following night we can start for the Northern Capital where we can report the matter, and get a dispatch sent to the royal tutor so that he can give orders for the arrest of the bandits." The following morning steward Hsieh led the men to the local officials at Chi Chou Fu to report the matter, but we need not go into the detail.
As he left the Yellow Mud Ridge Yang Chih was in a very melancholy spirit. He traveled during half the night in a southerly direction, and then lay down in a forest to rest. He asked himself, "I have no money to cover the traveling expenses and I cannot meet anyone on this road whom I know so what shall I do?" As soon as it was dawn he however took the advantage of the cool breeze and started. He felt quite miserable, after walking about seven miles. Upon coming to an inn he thought, "If I don't get some wine here I shall soon be unable to proceed any further." Entering the inn he sat down on a stool which was made of, as same as the table, the wood of the mulberry tree. He placed his sword leaning against the stool by his side. In the kitchen he saw a woman who asked him, "Do you want to dine, sir?"
"Bring me a small horn cup of wine," said Yang Chih. "Also boil a little rice for me, and serve it with some meat. When I have dined I will pay you." The woman called a youth who poured out the wine and took it to Yang Chih. She duly prepared the rice and meat and it was also brought in. When he had finished his meal he picked up his sword, and was walking towards the door when the woman called out, "You have not yet paid me for the food and drink,"
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"Place it to my account, and I will pay you when I come back," said Yang Chih. So saying he walked off.
The youth who had served the wine ran after him, and took hold of his clothes, but Yang Chih knocked the youth down by a blow of his fist. The woman seeing this cried out for help. Yang Chih paid no attention to this, and went on his way. He heard a man behind him calling out, "Where are you going to?" Turning his head he saw that the man was only half dressed, and was running after him trailing a cudgel. He thought the man was unwise in attacking him as he could easily kill him. He stood still, awaiting the attack, and saw that the youth had got a pitchfork, and was also running towards him. There were also three farm laborers armed with cudgels who were also hastening forward. Yang Chih thought, "If I knock this first man down the others probably will not dare to come any further." So he held his sword in front of him ready to strike the man. The man came up whirling his cudgel, and then both men fought for about twenty bouts; but the man did not overcome Yang Chih. He was only able to parry and dodge Yang Chih's blows. The youth and the farm laborers were on the point of rushing upon Yang Chih when that half-dressed man suddenly sprang back clear of Yang Chih's sword, and said, "No more fighting! What is the name of this man with the sword?"
"Whether I am traveling or staying at home I do not change my name," said Yang Chih, "I am Yang Chih, the Sallow Faced Brute."
"Are you not the Yang Chih who looked after the emperor's pavilion at Eastern Capital?" asked the man.
"How do you know that I am that official?" said Yang Chih.
The man threw his cudgel away, saluted with folded hands, and said, "I did not recognize Mount Tai."
Yang Chih. raised him up, and asked, "Who are you?"
The man said, "I previously lived at Kaifeng. I was a pupil of drill inspector Lin Ch'ung of the imperial bodyguard. I am Ts'ao Ch'eng, and my father and also my grandfather were butchers. I was very skilled in drawing the sinews, breaking the bones, and scraping the skins. And because of this people gave me the nickname Sword Grasping Devil. A wealthy man at Kaifeng gave me five thousand
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strings of cash to trade with in Shantung, but I was unfortunate and lost all the money so that I dare not go back. Instead I married the daughter of a farmer near here, and live in their home. The woman whom you saw in the kitchen is my wife, and the man with the pitchfork is my brother-in-law. I saw that your skill with the sword was almost equal to that of my inspector Lin Ch'ung, and that I had no chance of defeating you."
"You say you were the pupil of drill inspector Lin Ch'ung," said Yang Chih. "You will therefore know that Kao, the minister for war, insulted the wife of Lin Ch'ung, and that was why the latter became a brigand. He is now at Liang Shan Po."
"I have heard people say so," said Ts'ao Ch'eng, "but I have no means of knowing whether it is true or not. Will you please come to my home and rest a while there?"
The two men then went back to the inn, and Ts'ao Ch'eng asked Yang Chih to be seated. He also asked his wife and his brother-inlaw to salute Yang Chih. They then dined together. During the meal Ts'ao Ch'eng asked Yang Chih what business had brought him to that place. Yang Chih told him all about the matter of losing the convoy of marble, and How he had now also lost all the birthday gifts of the grand secretary Liang.
"In that case," said Ts'ao Ch'eng, "I trust that you will stay at my house, and we can talk matters over."
"It is very kind of you to make such an offer," said Yang Chih. "But I cannot stay here as I am afraid that the officials will come to search and arrest me."
"Then where aRe you thinking of seeking refuge?" asked Ts'ao Ch'eng.
"I am thinking of going to Liang Shan Po to find drill inspector Lin Ch'ung," said Yang Chih. "Sometime before when I was passing near Liang Shan Po I had a fight with him, but Wang Lun saw that we were both expert with the sword, and took us both up the hill to his stronghold where Lin Ch'ung and I became friends. Wang Lun tried very hard to get me to stay at Liang Shan Po, but I had no desire to become a bandit. Now, if I go to seek refuge there for fear of being branded as a criminal it would be
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too unmanly, so I have not yet decided whether to do that or not."
"What you say is quite true," said Ts'ao Ch'eng. "I have also heard that Wang Lun is jealous of other men and that when drill inspector Lin Ch'ung went there he suffered much at his hand. But would it not be better to go to the Precious Gem Temple on the Two Dragons Mountain in Ching Chou which is not far from here. The place is a natural stronghold, and there is only one road to it. Just now the chief priest, and also a number of priests have given up their priesthood, and have allowed their hair to grow again. They say he has now about four or five hundred men who loot in the surrounding villages. His name is Teng Lung, and his nickname is 'Golden Eyed Tiger.' 'If you are thinking of becoming a bandit you had better go and join that gang, and enjoy your life."
"As there is such a place," said Yang Chih, "why should I not go there, and capture it for the benefit of myself,"
So he stayed with Ts'ao Ch'eng for the night, and next morning set out for the Two Dragons Mountain. Towards the evening of the following day he saw a high mountain in the distance so he decided to rest for the night in the forest, and proceed on his way the next day. Upon entering the forest to find a safe place to sleep he was surprised to see there at the foot of a pine tree a very fat priest who had stripped off all his clothes to enjoy the cool. He saw
some tattoo marks on his bare back. When the priest saw Yang Chih he jumped up, seized his priest staff, and shouted out, "You rascal! Where are you from?"
Yang Chih recognized his voice, and thought that the priest came from the same village as himself. So he said, "Where are you from?" But instead of replying, the priest raised his staff to strike Yang Chih.
"This bald-headed donkey is not polite," said Yang Chih; "I will revenge my wrong on him." So saying he ran forward with his sword towards the priest. The two men fought maneuvering backwards and forwards, but after about fifty bouts neither of them had gained any advantage. The priest saw a fault on his opponent's part so he jumped aside clear of his sword, and shouted out, "Let us have a rest."
Yang Chih appreciated the priest's skill very much, and
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asked himself, "Where does this priest come from? He is certainly very skillful with his staff, and we are just well matched."
"Who are you," asked the priest, "with such a sallow face? "
"I am Yang Chih who looked after the emperor's hall at the Eastern Capital," replied Yang Chih.
"Are you the man who tried to sell a sword at the Eastern Capital, and killed a man named Niu Erb?" asked the priest.
"Do you not see the brand on my face?" asked Yang Chih.
"So now we meet here for the first time," said the priest laughingly.
"May I venture to ask who you are," said Yang Chih, "and how did you know that I once wanted to sell a sword!"
"I am no other," said the priest, "than major Lu Ta of the headquarters of governor Old Chung at Yen An Fu. Because I killed a man nicknamed Chen Kwan-hsi I sought refuge at Wu Tai Shan where I became a priest. I have a flower tattooed on my back, and therefore people call me Priest Hwa."
Yang Chih laughed and said, "We are evidently from the same village. I have heard of your fame everywhere. I did hear also that you were a priest at the Ta Hsiang Kwo Temple so what are you doing here?"
Lu Ta said, "That would entail a long explanation. While I was in charge of the vegetable garden of the Ta Hsiang Kwo Temple I met Lin Ch'ung, Leopard's head, whose life was in danger through the hatred of the minister for war, Kao Chiu. I saw his danger on the way to Tsangchou so I rescued him. The two constables who were escorting Lin Ch'ung, returned and reported to Kao Chiu that I had rescued Lin Ch'ung from them in the Wild Boar Forest, and then escorted him to Tsangchou so that they had no opportunity of killing him as Kao Chin ordered. That robber of women (Kao Chiu) was so angry that he wanted to kill me. He informed the abbot at the temple that he must not allow me to stay there. He also sent men to arrest me, but some ruffians came and informed me of that fact, so I could escape being arrested. So to give
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them a wrong impression I burned down the hut where I lived at the vegetable garden, and then ran away, but in whatever direction I went I never felt safe. I arrived at last at Shih Tzu Po in Meng Chou where I was almost killed by a woman of an inn who gave me some drugged wine so that I became unconscious. But her husband just then arriving was very much surprised at seeing my heavy priest's staff and sword, and he therefore gave me another drug which quickly brought me to my senses again. After he had ascertained my name he asked me to stay there a few days, and adopted me as his brother. The man and his wife were well known to the bandits as "Vegetable Garden Chang Ch'ing" and his wife, Mrs. Sun, nicknamed "Night Ogres." They axe very generous. After staying there for four days I heard that the Precious Gem Temple on the Two Dragons Mountain was a safe place to establish oneself so I decided to go there and join the bandits under Teng Lung. But that man was unwilling to let me join them on the mountain, and attacked me before I got there, but as he failed to defeat me he retreated to the stronghold, and barred the three doors against me. As there was only one way up the mountain, and they would not come out again to fight with me in spite of my cursing them, and as I had no other prospect, I came to this forest, and did not expect to meet you here."
Yang Chih was much pleased at hearing this, and after saluting each other the two men sat down on the ground. Then Yang Chih gave his new friend all the details of selling of the sword which resulted in the death of Niu Erh; also how he had lost all the birthday presents from Grand Secretary Liang; and how Ts'ao Ch'eng had advised him to come to that place. He then asked, "As the bandits at the Two Dragons Mountain have barred the gates in the defile how would it be if we had a ruse to bring them here? Let us go to Ts'ao Ch'eng's home and discuss the matter there."
They immediately left the forest, and soon reached Ts'ao Ch'eng's inn. Yang Chih duly introduced Lu Ta and Ts'ao Ch'eng quickly brought them wine and food. They then discussed the position at the Two Dragons Mountain, and Ts'ao Ch'eng said, "As they have definitely barred the gates,
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not only you two, but even ten thousand cavalry could not get to the top of the mountain. As it would be useless to use force to get them to open the gates we must think of some other plan."
Lu Ta said, "When I went there he met me outside the gate, and as he did not allow me to stay there we fought, and I gave Teng Lung a kick in the stomach and knocked him down. But a great many of his men rescued him, and retreated up the stronghold barring those beastly gates. I cursed them, but they would not come outside again to resume the fighting."
"Since it is a delectable place," said Yang Chih, "how can we afford not to attack by strategy?"
"We cannot get there," said Lu Ta, "and that makes his position intact."
"I have a plan," said Ts'ao Ch'eng, "but I do not know whether you two gentlemen would approve of it."
"Let us hear your plan," said Yang Chih.
"You cannot do in those clothes," said Ts'ao Ch'eng, and you, will have to dress in the same clothes as our farm laborers. I will take the priest staff and sword and go with my brother-inlaw and a number of other men to the mountain. We take Lu Ta with us as a prisoner, bound with ropes, but tied in such a way that I can release him with a single pull on the rope. Upon arriving there I shout out: "I am an innkeeper at a village near here. This priest came to my inn, and drank so much wine that he became drunk. He would not pay me, but instead said that he was going to take some men to fight you in your mountain stronghold. Upon hearing this I had him bound while he was still drunk, and have brought him here to present to the bandit chief. Upon hearing this Teng Lung will at once allow us to go up the mountain. Upon arriving at the stronghold, and meeting Teng Lung I will pull the rope, and release Lu Ta and hand him his priest's staff. Then you two can rush forward, and Teng Lung will not be able to run away. If we succeed in killing Teng Lung his followers will submit to us without any further trouble. What do you think of that scheme?"
Lu Ta and Yang Chih both said that the scheme was excellent.
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That evening all the men, dined, and prepared the food to take with them the next day. The following morning they were up at five o'clock, and ate a hearty breakfast. Lu Ta's things were packed up, and stored away. Lu Ta, Yang Chih, Ts'ao Ch'eng and his brother-in-law, and about seven farm laborers departed on the road to the Two Dragons Mountain.
In the afternoon they stopped in a forest, and stripped the clothes off Lu Ta, then bound him with ropes, and handed him over to two laborers to lead him. Yang Chih wore a straw hat, a cloth shirt, and carried a sword in his hand. Ts'ao Ch'eng carried the priest's staff. The other men had cudgels, and they formed an escort round Lu Ta both in front and behind. Upon coming in view of the gates at the foot of the defile they noticed crossbows, bows, bottles of powder, and supplies of stone. balls, were stacked ready for defense. As soon as the brigands on guard at the gate saw that the priest had arrived as a prisoner they flew up the mountain, to report the matter. In a short time two junior officers came to the gate, and asked, "Where do you come from, and what do you come here for? Why have you brought that priest here?
Ts'ao Ch'eng replied, "We come from a small. village in the vicinity of this mountain, and I hav
e an inn at that place. This fat priest often camp to my inn to drink wine. One time he got drunk, and would not pay for the wine. He said that he would go to Liang Shan Po, and get many hundreds of men to come here with him to attack your stronghold. He would also lay waste all the villages about here. So we made him still more drunk by giving him plenty of wine, and then tied him up with ropes to bring him here as a prisoner for your chief. We think this would prove our submission to you, and so save us from calamity in the future."
When the two petty officers heard this they were extremely happy, and said, "Good! But just wait a minute here." They then went up the mountain, and reported to Teng Lung that the fat priest had been captured, and brought there as a prisoner.
Teng Lung was also pleased at this and told them to bring the priest there. So he could have his heart and eat it with wine, and his feeling of resentment would thus be appeased.
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The brigands hearing these orders opened the gates, and told the men outside to enter. Yang Chih and Ts'ao Ch'eng closely guarding Lu Ta advanced up the mountain, and as they passed up the narrow defile, and through the barriers they realized how impregnable the place was. The temple itself was encircled by high mountains, and the peaks were unscalable. The narrow road led to the final barriers in front of the temple. There were three stout barriers, and neatly arranged logs of wood for rolling down on the road, huge stones for discharging upon the enemy, crossbows, ordinary bows, and darts made of bamboo. After passing the three barriers they came to the Precious Gem Temple which had three large doors. In front was an open space as flat and smooth as a mirror, and around it were railings.
Standing near the gate in front of the temple were seven or eight brigands who, upon seeing that Lu Ta was bound, pointed at him with their fingers and cursed him, "You bald-headed donkey assaulted our chief and have now been arrested. You shall soon be chopped into small pieces."
