Chapter 7, Guiding the Way (Part 1)

Indeed, young master, you have mentioned that if we follow you to Qujing, we can earn at most forty to fifty taels of silver throughout the year from collecting entrance fees and firewood expenses. If we go to a wealthy county, we could at least obtain one or two hundred taels of silver. Young master, you must work hard to get promoted, as we are all looking forward to enjoying a good life alongside you

"Young Master Feng, have you really cured the illness of Prince Pingxi?" Erlang, with a flushed face, excitedly pressed on to Feng Xiang. Seeing Feng Xiang nod, Erlang, without a second thought and disregarding that they were on the way back to Kunming City from Wuhua Mountain, grabbed Feng Xiang's sleeve and asked even more eagerly, "Young Master Feng, did you take the opportunity to ask the prince to grant you a county to be the county magistrate? Did the prince agree?"

"Lord Lu, you are quite clever, but you are still a bit too inexperienced, so you cannot deceive me," Liu Xuanchu said calmly. "When we first met at Wuhua Mountain today, I found it somewhat strange. On such a hot day, you were sweating profusely, yet you still wore a melon-shaped hat. When we arrived at Wuhua Mountain and were about to enter the Wang residence, the guards checked you for concealed weapons. When they searched you, they took off your outer garment and hat. After the search, the first thing you did was put your hat back on, and only then did you put your clothes back on. At that moment, I understood—you were afraid that people would see the braid on your head, the ugly braid imposed on you by the Manchu Tartars!"

The younger generation was unaware of Mr. Liu's arrival, and not only failed to welcome him from afar, but also made him wait for such a long time, a grave offense, a grave offense. Feng Xiang quickly knelt down to apologize, while feeling anxious and uncertain in his heart, not knowing what the sudden appearance of Liu Xuanchu, who had blocked his path to progress during the day, was all about.

"Hahaha, Lord Lu need not be anxious, I am merely making a small joke." Liu Xuanchu laughed heartily, helped Feng Xiang up, and pulled him to the table, sitting down opposite him across the lamp. He then personally filled two bowls of tea for both Feng Xiang and himself, before gazing into Feng Xiang's eyes and asking, "Lord Lu, do you know why I have come to visit you late at night?"

The sound of snoring was like thunder, and it was unclear how much time had passed. When Feng Xiang woke up again, the sound of the midnight gong was already ringing outside the window. Seeing the flickering candlelight in the room and feeling an unbearable thirst, he groaned, "Erlang, water, water." The sound of a chair creaking followed, and someone brought a bowl of tea over, holding it to Feng Xiang's lips. He drank deeply until his thirst was somewhat quenched. However, it was at this moment that Feng Xiang finally realized something was amiss—how could the hand holding the tea bowl be so withered, dry, and full of wrinkles? He groaned again, "Erlang, water, water." The sound of a chair creaking followed, and someone brought a bowl of tea over, holding it to Feng Xiang's lips. He drank deeply until his thirst was somewhat quenched. However, it was at this moment that Feng Xiang finally realized something was amiss—how could the hand holding the tea bowl be so withered, dry, and full of wrinkles? Startled, Feng Xiang looked up at the person feeding him water and immediately jumped out of bed in shock, "Mr. Liu, how is it you?"

If I remember correctly, Liu Xuanchu has a good reputation in history, even the Manchus and traitors acknowledge this. If Wu Sangui had adopted Liu Xuanchu's strategic choices during the Three Feudatories Rebellion, he might not have missed the opportunity for success. Feng Xiang felt increasingly troubled and thought to himself: "Could it be that this Liu Xuanchu, despite being a person of great strategy, is also a narrow-minded and despicable person who cannot tolerate anyone being better than him? If that is the case, coupled with the offense I have caused to Wang Shirong, it would be very difficult for me to establish myself in Yunnan and Guizhou. It would be best to find a way to make other plans." With this thought in mind, Feng Xiang urged his horse and shouted: "Er Lang, let’s go, take our people back to drink."

Because, like me, you are someone who hates the Manchus to the bone!" Liu Xuanchu said word by word: "At the same time, you are not someone who is rigid and only thinks about restoring the Ming dynasty and rebuilding the Zhu Ming world. Like me, you only think about expelling the Tartars and do not care whether it is a Han person with the surname Wu or the surname Zhu who sits in power!

"Yes, yes, let's not talk about it anymore, please spare me, young master." More than twenty servants were thrown into chaos by Feng Xiang, running around in all directions. However, Feng Xiang was still not satisfied; he urged his horse to chase after them, intending to continue whipping this group of unscrupulous servants who lacked proper conduct. He beat them until the lackeys led by Xiao Erlang were howling like ghosts, jumping up and down. Only then did Feng Xiang angrily throw the horsewhip to the ground, his expression extremely grim. On the other side, Xiao Erlang, who had received two lashes from the whip, noticed that Feng Xiang seemed to be in a bad mood. He cautiously covered his face and asked, "Young master, what is wrong? You look quite unhappy. Is it because our nonsense was overheard by the prince, and you were scolded?"

"Mr. Liu, what do you mean by that?" Feng Xiang exclaimed, standing up in shock, nervously glancing around, fearing that there might be ears on the other side of the wall. Although Feng Xiang was known for his boldness, he still dared not speak freely about expelling the Tartars on land controlled by the Qing Dynasty. Liu Xuanchu replied calmly, "There is no need to worry. The guests in the two adjacent rooms have already been sent away by my people, and my men are guarding the front door and windows, so no one can approach."

Indeed! One hundred taels of silver is enough for two people to sleep in the brothels of Dali for a year! The other servants also expressed their regret. Feng Xiang, already in a bad mood, could no longer listen. He raised his riding whip and began to lash out indiscriminately, cursing: "A bunch of bastards, what on earth are you thinking? Even if you really want to follow me to my post to be corrupt, at the very least, you shouldn't say it out loud, right? Are you intentionally trying to ruin my reputation, young master?"

"The younger generation did not mean it that way." Feng Xiang felt a bit relieved, yet he nervously explained, "I am just curious as to why Mr. Liu would give such an evaluation of me."

Young Master, it was you who informed us that Qujing was merely a nominal second-class county during the Qing Dynasty, and in reality, it was as impoverished as a third-class county. Throughout the year, they struggle to scrape by and extort money, and if they manage to gather four to five thousand taels of silver, it would be a blessing! If they were to be placed in a wealthy county, they could easily earn ten to twenty thousand taels of silver in a year, and when leaving, those unruly locals would surely present you with a grand umbrella as a send-off!

"Er Lang, do you think I still have so much time?" Feng Xiang replied gloomily. Er Lang was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Young Master Feng, you don't have that much time? What do you mean?" Feng Xiang did not answer, merely burying himself in drinking. Er Lang did not dare to ask further. However, as the alcohol entered his sorrowful heart, the more he drank, the more sorrowful he became. After several jars of strong liquor, Feng Xiang, in an extremely bad mood, was already drunk and had to be supported by Er Lang back to the guest room to rest. Once inside, Feng Xiang was too lazy to take off his clothes or shoes, and he collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

After riding back to the inn, the dejected Feng Xiang called for two tables of food and drink, pulling along Erlang and other servants from the Lu family to keep him company in drinking away his sorrows. During the feast, the carefree servants from the Lu family seized the opportunity to indulge in food and drink, while Feng Xiang, who had suffered a setback, continued to drink cup after cup in silence, feeling gloomy. Fortunately, Feng Xiang's chief servant, Xiao Erlang, still had some conscience; noticing Feng Xiang's poor mood, he spoke up to advise him: "Young Master Feng, if you really can't be transferred to another county, then so be it. Although Qujing is a bit poor, having something to gain is better than having nothing at all. You also mentioned that Qujing is the essential route from Yunnan to Guizhou, Sichuan, and the Central Plains. Even if you can't earn much silver locally, you can still collect some compensation at the checkpoints. Once you finish your term as the magistrate of Qujing, you can spend some money to smooth things over, or get transferred to a wealthier county to continue reaping benefits, or even get promoted a level or two, making it easier to gather resources."

Feng Xiang shook his head in confusion, and Liu Xuanchu asked again: "Then, Lord Lu, today the Second Prince Wu Yingqi intends to reuse you. Why did I, as an old man, speak out to stop it? Do you know the reason?"

"No way? Young Master, you cured the Prince's illness, and the Prince didn't reward you at all?" Erlang exclaimed. Seeing Feng Xiang nod, Erlang immediately began to pound his chest and stamp his feet, "How can the Prince be so stingy? Young Master, you spent over a hundred taels just in courtesy gifts to treat him. As a result, after you cured the Prince's illness, he didn't reward you with anything? One hundred taels of silver! How much land do we have to scrape in Qujing to earn that back? Young Master, you spent over a hundred taels just in courtesy gifts to treat him. As a result, after you cured the Prince's illness, he didn't reward you with anything? One hundred taels of silver! How much land do we have to scrape in Qujing to earn that back?"

"The younger generation speaks disrespectfully; Mr. Liu, please do not take offense upon hearing this." Feng Xiang replied with a mournful expression, "Originally, I thought that you, Mr. Liu, were envious of the talented or perhaps were blaming me for not helping you criticize Mr. Wang Shirong. But now it seems I was completely mistaken; with Mr. Liu's broad-mindedness and demeanor, how could you possibly be that kind of person?"

Young Master Feng, you often say that your greatest wish in this life is to become a governor in Yangzhou, and then you can buy ten or eight slender horses from Yangzhou to enjoy at home! In the past, you would recite this at least eight times a day, so why have you forgotten it now

The servants of the Lu residence, including Erlang, spoke with such fervor, their eyes gleaming, as if they could already see heaps of shiny silver laid out before them. Meanwhile, Feng Xiang could only roll his eyes in exasperation, cursing himself for his misfortune in being stuck with such a group of unscrupulous servants. If he were to become an official in the future, he feared that within a month, his reputation would be worse than that of a stone in a latrine. After rolling his eyes for a while, Feng Xiang finally waved his hand to interrupt the servants' wild dreams of a prosperous life as sycophants to corrupt officials. He scolded, "Stop daydreaming here. It is true that I cured the prince's illness, but the prince did not say anything about me being transferred to a county position. You should all honestly wait to accompany me to Qujing to endure a hard life."

Feng Xiang opened his mouth wide, feeling utterly impressed by Liu Xuanchu, who could discern his political stance from such a small detail. How cunning and astute must one be? Liu Xuanchu glanced at Feng Xiang again and smiled, saying: "Lord Lu, you have an even greater flaw! In the west wing of the Leci Pavilion, I deliberately referred to the Tatar Emperor Kangxi as 'Kangxi the Little Pockmarked One.' What a treasonous statement that is! As a court official, you not only did not show any shock, but you didn't even blink—Lord Lu, is this the behavior expected of a lackey of the Tatar court?" In the west wing of the Leci Pavilion, I deliberately referred to the Tatar Emperor Kangxi as 'Kangxi the Little Pockmarked One.' What a treasonous statement that is! As a court official, you not only did not show any shock, but you didn't even blink—Lord Lu, is this the behavior expected of a lackey of the Tatar court?"

It is I. Liu Xuanchu smiled and nodded at Feng Xiang, then said with a smile: I have been here for more than an hour, and your house servant, Xiao Erlang, could not wake you up. There was no other way, so I had to wait here for you to awaken. After saying this, Liu Xuanchu made a joke, saying: Lord Lu, your airs are quite considerable. To be honest, even when I go to pay my respects to Governor Bian Sanyuan of Yunnan-Guizhou, he would not dare to keep me waiting for so long. In the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, the only ones who can make me wait this long, apart from the prince, are you.

"So, do you want to know the reasons behind this?" Liu Xuanchu asked with a smile. Feng Xiang quickly replied, "I, as a junior, am eager to listen to your guidance, esteemed elder."

"What is the point of becoming a county magistrate in another county?" Feng Xiang asked in confusion. On the other side, Erlang and the unscrupulous servants immediately chimed in, "What is the point of being a magistrate in another place? Of course, it is to switch to a wealthier county to make more money!"

"It has nothing to do with you." Feng Xiang waved his hand impatiently, yet he could not help but recall what had happened earlier. Just a moment ago on Wuhua Mountain, Feng Xiang, risking his life, pointed out the heartache of Wu Sangui, intending to showcase his own talents and sharp insight in front of Wu Sangui, striving to gain his recognition and thus an opportunity to approach the core leadership of Wu Sangui's army. He planned to leverage the army, which was destined to rise against the Qing, to realize his own ambitions and ideals. Unfortunately, just as Feng Xiang's plan was about to succeed, Liu Xuanchu, Wu Sangui's most trusted strategist, intervened and forcefully thwarted Wu Sangui's second son, Wu Yingqi, from bringing him into the fold, thereby disrupting Feng Xiang's opportunity to get close to the core leadership of Wu Sangui's army. Liu Xuanchu even compelled Feng Xiang to continue serving as a minor county magistrate, completely derailing Feng Xiang's well-laid plans. It would indeed be strange if Feng Xiang were in a good mood.

Alright. However, Young Master Feng, please take it slow and be careful not to fall again. I heard the doctor say that if you fall again, you might forget things from the past!