Chapter Sixty-Seven: To Stay or to Leave

Inside the room, the quarrel raged on. Those in favor and those against the proposal argued so fiercely that their faces flushed red with anger. The leaders, Song Bangde and Lin Xiaoqi, did not support Lu Qing, but out of deference to Eunuch Guo, neither dared to openly oppose him, nor to accuse Lu Qing of foolish compassion, dragging everyone into danger. Yet their silence spoke of a tacit approval; at the very least, while they kept quiet, the group of Ming soldiers opposed to bringing women along grew even more boisterous.

In the midst of the uproar, Zhou Wu, a ringleader among the defeated soldiers of Wanquan’s Left Garrison, lost his temper and shouted at Lu Qing, cursing, “Lu, you’re so soft-hearted—why didn’t you bring the people from Junzi Fort along at the front, instead of forcing them across the border? Are these women’s lives worth more than the old, weak, and young back there? If you’d stuck with the people from Junzi Fort all the way, none of us would object. But you sweet-talked them into following us south, then turned on them and cast them aside as burdens. What the hell is that supposed to be?”

“That’s right! Are the people from Junzi Fort worth less than these women?”

“Either treat everyone the same, or leave them all behind—there’s no reason to keep one and discard another!”

“Lu’s just pretending to be righteous! Brothers, don’t listen to him!”

“So women’s lives matter, but ours don’t?”

Zhou Wu’s words struck a chord with some, and soon the room was filled with jeers and mocking comments, some even ridiculing Lu Qing with sly, sarcastic jabs.

“Lu, have you set your sights on one of these women? Otherwise, why risk everyone’s lives just to take them along?”

“I’ve barely made it here alive, hoping to join Lord Guo’s personal guard in the south—hell, if anyone gets in my way, I’ll fight them to the death!”

“Barely struck it rich, and now we’re stuck with this mess. We’re not Zhao Zilong of Changshan—who here is man enough to bring this lot of women along?”

“Don’t think you can boss us around just because you’re an Embroidered Uniform Guard. We respect you for Lord Guo’s sake, not for yours!”

“At the end of the day, you’re just another soldier—don’t think you’re the commander or a thousand-man chief. Let’s make it plain: we won’t take these women. We’ll follow your lead if you leave them behind, but if you insist on bringing them, don’t blame us if things turn ugly—we won’t hold back!”

The words grew uglier; some even began to threaten Lu Qing. Zhou Wu nearly spat in his face.

Without the formidable presence of Eunuch Guo to keep order, Lu Qing, with his meager standing, had no way to intimidate these broken soldiers. Song Bangde, the commanding banner officer, refused to step forward, while Lin Xiaoqi and Ji Xiaoqi seemed eager for trouble. With no one to restrain them, these defeated men grew increasingly brazen, their raucous shouts making it clear: if Lu Qing insisted on bringing the women, they would turn on him then and there.

Confronted by such aggressive hostility, Lu Qing felt a chill in his heart. He had no desire to justify the matter of Junzi Fort to these men—it was a pain he carried within himself. At the very least, he had not fought for those old, weak, and young people; after Eunuch Guo made his decision, Lu Qing had accepted it instead of arguing with all his might.

Why, indeed, did he refuse to take those before, yet insist on taking these ones now?

A bitter taste filled Lu Qing’s mouth. The matter of Junzi Fort was his own sore spot, one he could not defend against their accusations, nor could he muster any grand, righteous words to persuade them. All he could do was remain silent, knowing that the more he said now, the more inflamed their anger would become.

As Lu Qing fell silent, Song Bangde and Lin Xiaoqi exchanged a glance, secretly pleased. Unless Lu Qing was a fool, he could never go against the will of the crowd; popular anger was hard to withstand, and these defeated soldiers, unbound by discipline, could not be controlled by any military law.

Seeing Lu Qing rendered speechless, Zhou Wu and his cohorts grew even bolder. Amidst the shouting, a defeated Ming soldier strode forward and shoved Lu Qing, calling out to the others, “Brothers, don’t waste words with this brat—come dawn, we leave. To hell with those women! If he tries to stop us, we’ll cut him down where he stands!”

At these words, Lu Qing’s anger flared. Even a clay idol has some temper, let alone a man with the blood of eighty men on his hands. These bastards really thought him a pushover just because he kept silent!

His right hand instinctively fell to his sword hilt, ready to curse the man, when suddenly bearded Zheng Xiu drew his blade and stepped in front of him, barking at the offender, “I dare any of you to lay a hand on Brother Lu!”

“Who dares?”

Zhang Qing and Jiang Tong hefted their crossbows, while Zhou Yunyi placed his hand quietly on his sword, ready to draw at the first sign of trouble.

Several temporary banner officers, all Night Raiders by background, moved to flank their comrades, standing off against the Ming soldiers.

Hearing the commotion, more men burst in from outside—over a dozen Night Raiders from the Right Garrison of Wanquan. Seeing the men of Ximalin Fort squaring off with those from Kaiping Garrison, they drew their swords and charged without hesitation.

“Damn it, you dare threaten one of our own from the Right Garrison? You must be tired of living!”

The Night Raiders, blades in right hands and crossbows in left, surged forward. At their head was Fan Ruo. He glanced at Lu Qing, then turned to bellow at the opposing group, “I’ve been listening outside for ages—are you men or not? You’d really throw those women to the Tartars? Bah! We Night Raiders would never do such a thing. Here’s our word: come hell or high water, we’ll take those women with us. Anyone who disagrees can see if my crossbow bolt has any regard for faces!”

As he spoke, he leveled his crossbow straight at Zhou Wu.

With the bolt aimed at him, Zhou Wu felt a chill down his spine, but he was no coward. Puffing out his chest, he cursed, “Go ahead, try it! Even if you bring dozens more, I’m not afraid!”

By Zhou Wu’s side stood his sworn brother, another desperado, who drew his sword and pointed it at the Night Raider. “You Night Raiders think you’re so tough? We have hundreds of brothers outside. If it comes to a fight, you won’t get the better of us!”

“What happens outside isn’t my concern. Inside, let’s see who fares better!” Fan Ruo was unfazed; his eyes glared as he moved his finger to the trigger, ready to loose the bolt at any moment. A bloody clash seemed unavoidable, when suddenly Lu Qing shouted, “Enough! All of you, stand down!” He strode to Fan Ruo’s side and said quietly, “Lower your crossbow.”

Fan Ruo, seeing Lu Qing insist, grew anxious. “Brother Lu, but they—”

Lu Qing shook his head. “If you take me as your brother, put it down.”

Helpless, Fan Ruo lowered his crossbow, and the other Night Raiders followed suit.

Seeing bloodshed averted, Song Bangde breathed a secret sigh of relief and was about to step forward to mediate when Lu Qing, face cold, walked up to Zhou Wu. He swept his gaze around the crowd and spoke, “Since none of you want to take these women with us, I won’t force you. Let them stay here, then.” He paused, then added, “I’ll stay behind.”

Lu Qing’s declaration stunned Song Bangde, who quickly tried to dissuade him. “Brother Lu, I know you want to protect these women, but think carefully—once you stay in Jin Family Village, there’s no way out. If the Tartars discover this place, none of them will escape, and neither will you.”

“I’ve thought it through. This began because of me; I will see it through to the end. I made a promise to these women, and I will not abandon them.”

Lu Qing had made up his mind. To Song Bangde, who still wished to persuade him, he said, “That’s settled. At dawn, lead the others and escort Lord Guo south. I’ll stay to protect these women. Ask around outside—anyone willing to stay can remain, the rest should go with you. Just leave me some horses when you leave.”

“This...” Song Bangde looked awkwardly at Lin Xiaoqi, who nodded eagerly; Ji Xiaoqi readily agreed as well.

Zhou Wu and his followers had no objection. If Lu Qing wanted to throw his life away, that was his problem, not theirs.

Zhou Yunyi and the others, however, were caught off guard by Lu Qing’s decision and stood there in stunned silence.

Seeing no one object, Song Bangde went along, “Since Brother Lu has made up his mind, I won’t say more. But you’ll have to tell Lord Guo yourself. If I do it, he might get the wrong idea...”

“I understand,” Lu Qing nodded, then asked Song Bangde to tally those willing to stay, while he went to inform Eunuch Guo himself.