Recovering Bandits
The doctors of Da Shun originally did not have this sort of treatment method, nor were there such strange tools. Later on, Imperial Daughter Ji An appeared. Apparently, she had received the teachings of a Persian master and learned a type of very strange medicine. Some people said that Imperial Daughter Ji An could use something like an embroidery needle to directly inject the medicine into the body. People that had no hope of surviving could be brought back to life. There were also people that said that Imperial Daughter Ji An had some mysterious medical pills of all sorts of colors. They were very small, and the majority were no larger than the size of a fingernail. But a small pill like that was more effective than many bowls of bitter medical soup.
Everyone knew that Imperial Daughter Ji An had opened a Hundred Herb Hall in the capital, and she had taught her wonderful medical techniques to her disciples and the doctors of Hundred Herb Hall. But he had never been to the capital, and he did not dare to enter the capital because of his identity. That was why he had only heard bits and pieces about Imperial Daughter Ji An.
But now…
The leader exchanged a glance with his wife then opened his mouth to ask Feng Yu Heng with a trembling voice: “Is the female doctor… are you Imperial Daughter Ji An?”
Feng Yu Heng was tidying up her medicine kit and was in no rush to leave. After all, no matter how much of a rush she was in, she needed to wait for the infusion be taken care of. She turned around and looked at the leader and did not respond; however, she asked: “You’re clearly one of Da Shun’s soldiers. Why did you become a bandit?” She did not ask whether or not he was a soldier. Instead, she used a very resolute tone.
The leader was stunned then dropped to his knees, saying: “It really is Imperial Daughter Ji An! Only Imperial Daughter Ji An could see through our identity with just a glance!” After saying this, he began kowtowing to Feng Yu Heng: “Imperial Daughter! We comrades have finally found you!” A tall and dignified man suddenly began tearing up and had practically begun wailing.
Feng Yu Heng frowned upon seeing this. When the crying finally began to die down, she asked: “What do you mean you finally found me? You were waiting for me?”
The leader nodded fervently: “That’s right, we were waiting for Imperial Daughter. Not long ago, a comrade heard the news that Imperial Daughter Ji An would be leaving the capital for her fief, Ji An Prefecture. After receiving this news, we counted each passing day on our fingers, hoping for you to pass by this road. But since it had already been numerous days since you should have passed by this road, we thought that you had chosen a different path. Who knew that Imperial Daughter would suddenly arrive at this time. If the comrades knew, they would definitely go wild!” He was very moved, and his words were lacking in logic. In any case, it expressed that they were eagerly awaiting Imperial Daughter Ji An.
Feng Yu Heng laughed: “Looking forward to my arrival like this, was it for the sake of treating your madam’s illness? You still have not answered my question. Why did you not act as good soldiers and become bandits?”
The person quickly said: “Imperial Daughter! Waiting for you was not for the sake of treating my wife. Instead, we wanted to follow Imperial Daughter. We wanted to stay near Imperial Daughter! As for why we became bandits, not to hide it from Imperial Daughter, but we comrades were formerly proper soldiers of Da Shun, and we had a banner. Unfortunately, we were under the Southern Army’s banner and under the eighth prince’s command.” When he mentioned the eighth prince, his expression became angry, and it was also filled with unhappiness. He said: “The eighth prince was a tyrant, but this was something that we subordinates could endure, but the only thing that we could not tolerate was him having a relationship with Gu Shu and the small desert countries. He even plotted with those small countries against Da Shun. This subordinate once personally heard him say to a ruler from the desert that if they could work together with the other small countries to help him obtain Da Shun’s throne, he would provide at least three provinces from the South for them. We comrades disdained the action of selling the country. There was a time when His Highness the eighth prince sent us as envoys into the desert. Along the way, we chose a different path and escaped. Arriving in Yun Province, we became outlaws.”
He recounted the entire process and origin. After he finished speaking, he wiped away some tears and said: “It’s not that we didn’t want to join the army. Instead, it’s that we don’t want to join the eighth prince’s army. Even if he eventually becomes the emperor, we would not want to pay respects to this sort of emperor. For the sake of becoming the emperor, he actually sold out his country! Shit! What sort of situation is that!” The more he said, the more emotional he became. He even raised his hands and guaranteed to Feng Yu Heng: “Everything that this subordinate has said was the truth. If Imperial Daughter does not believe it, you can ask around. This subordinate trusts that as long as Imperial Daughter wishes to find out the truth. Even if it has been two years, with so many of us suddenly disappearing, some information can be found.”
The woman on the bed also nodded, saying to Feng Yu Heng: “Imperial Daughter, everything that Li Zhu said was true.”
Of course, Feng Yu Heng knew that he was telling the truth because the eighth prince trying to sell the country was a very secretive matter. If they had not personally experienced it, how could some bandits have found out about it? It was just that she was a bit confused: “How could you be certain that I am Imperial Daughter Ji An? Are you not afraid of a fake?”
Li Zhu shook his head and said resolutely: “You can’t be a fake. In the world, there are no other people that know such medical techniques aside from Imperial Daughter Ji An.”
“The female doctors at Hundred Herb Hall also know them.” She spoke the truth, “They were all taught by me.”
“Learning later on and those that already knew about it are different.” Li Zhu trusted his eyes and asked Feng Yu Heng: “Is Imperial Daughter going to your fief? Can you bring along us comrades? We have our own horses and food. We also have money saved up. We will not hold back Imperial Daughter. Arriving in the fief, we will only work for imperial daughter. We just ask imperial daughter to lead us comrades down a proper path. We are all good men and don’t want to be bandits, nor do we want to continue living without a proper standing. Would Imperial Daughter give us a direction!”
After Li Zhu finished speaking, he began to kowtow. Aside from this, he really did not know how else he could move the noble person that he had been waiting for.
Feng Yu Heng did not stop him. She watched him kowtow for a while before standing up and pushing open a window. She immediately saw a yard filled with “bandits.” She knew that these people had already come over to this side when she had been treating Li Zhu’s wife. She also knew that Li Zhu was speaking loudly, and bamboo did not keep sounds in. The people outside would definitely be able to hear almost all of it. In addition, these people had also asked Huang Quan and Wang Chuan. Now, her identity was no longer a secret in the mountains. Since these people had chosen to believe it, she had no need to deliberately hide it.
To Feng Yu Heng, after she had heard that Li Zhu’s group was considered deserters of the Southern Army, she was feeling a bit of delight. She was not familiar with the South, and the army had been led by the eighth prince. Now that Xuan Tian Ming suddenly received them, the vast majority would be unhappy with it. It was even possible that they might receive orders from the eighth prince and go against Xuan Tian Ming. Although the army that Xuan Tian Ming would be taking from the capital would not be small, it was still weak when compared to the 300 thousand border troops. In addition to having a rumored 10 small desert countries as opponents and Gu Shu, the mission of the battle would be extremely difficult.
On her side, aside from preparing supplies, if she could obtain some deserters from the Southern Army, she could gain a greater understanding of the situation over there. She would also have more people that could be used. She did not get a look at everyone in this residence, but she had seen quite a few on her way to this yard from the entrance. Although they were no longer in a military camp, it seemed that they had not relaxed their training, nor did they relax their own requirements. This was something that could be seen through their actions and appearance. The habits that could only be formed by soldiers had been followed rigorously and made her feel satisfied.
She faced the people in the yard and asked Li Zhu: “Li Zhu, give up this mountain residence and come with me to my fief. Can you make that decision for everyone in this mountain residence?”
“I can!” Li Zhu stood up and replied in a booming voice: “Imperial Daughter, don’t worry. We are a total of 100 comrades, and we made up our mind before coming up this mountain. Coming up this mountain did not mean that we would be happy with being bandits forever. As long as someone was willing to lead us, our lives would always belong to our master! Not to hide it from Imperial Daughter, but in the beginning, the person that we had chosen was His Highness the ninth prince, but His Highness the ninth prince is in the capital. With our status as deserters, we did not even dare to get close to the capital. Later on, we heard that you had conquered Qian Zhou and had captured one hundred thousand troops. We comrades were extremely moved! We were hoping that there would come a day when we could be taken in by His Highness the ninth prince. Now, before His Highness the ninth prince could come, we saw the arrival of you, Imperial Daughter. This is the same. We all know that you and His Highness the ninth prince are of the same mind. If we work for Imperial Daughter, that would be the same as working for His Highness the ninth prince and for Da Shun!”
“Right! Working for Imperial Daughter! Working for His Highness the ninth prince! Working for Da Shun!” These shouts came from the yard and echoed around the entire mountain residence. It could be considered extensive, and even the mountain pass seemed to be able to hear the echos. People in the yard began to speak to Feng Yu Heng: “Imperial Daughter, don’t look down on us. Although we are bandits, we have never stolen from citizens. Leader said that we should only steal from officials and merchants. Also, they need to be corrupt officials and unscrupulous merchants.”
“Right! We have stolen from the Lu family, that would be the current left prime minister. We hijacked a number of their carriages of items.” The person spoke with great pride, “Leader said that the people that are left prime ministers are all bad. We planned ahead of time around how much business they would do and how many of their businesses would need to pass through this area. We have never missed out!”
“Tsk!” Huang Quan was very disdainful of these words, “You still dare to say that you have never stolen from the citizens? Do you know why our Imperial Daughter personally came up the mountain? Do you really think that it was to treat your madam’s illness? It was because that old third and the other five went down the mountain to steal a woman to be your leader’s wife! Not only did they try to steal a woman, but they also kicked an old woman in her 60s, causing her to cough up blood. If it was not for our Imperial Daughter stopping him, even the three-year-old child would not have been pardoned! With things like this, you still say that you’re good people?”
Wang Chuan nodded and continued: “That’s right. Although you did not clearly steal things from the citizens, since you have been settled in the mountains for long periods of time, the citizens became afraid of bandits and no longer dared to enter the mountains. Mountain villages rely on the mountains for food. In the past, they could come into the mountains for vegetables and firewood; however, their families now need to go to a distant city for work. In a month, they can only earn 200 copper coins. Their days are extremely bitter.”
The two spoke about the situation at the bottom of the mountain and caused everyone to feel extremely shocked, especially when they heard about old third going to steal a woman. This caused everyone to feel extremely embarrassed!