Chapter 846: Willing to Risk Everything to Overthrow the Emperor

Zhangjiawan Wharf in Tongzhou was the endpoint of the river transport route. 365 days a year, except during the frozen period of the canal, it was always bustling with traffic and crowds. There were laborers carrying grain sacks at the wharf, boatmen pulling boats on the canal, shopkeepers running car and horse rental businesses near Zhangjiawan Wharf, and small stalls selling various kinds of buns and snacks… Although it couldn’t compare to the bustling commercial scene in Tongzhou city itself, it was still a well-known prosperous area in the vicinity. Yet now, with the canal firmly frozen, the place appeared desolate and quiet.

But yesterday, those laborers who made a living by their strength received good news: the Tongji Granary in Zhangjiawan was to transport grain to the capital and needed people to load it onto carts. Although the payment from the government was less than that of merchants who usually traveled to the capital, in this cold winter when funds were running low, having money was better than having none. So, dozens of people arrived early at the Tongji Granary and waited there until the sun was high in the sky.

It wasn’t until the deputy administrators of the granary came out that the crowd of laborers rushed forward, causing some chaos. The two plump deputy administrators instinctively stepped back, ordered their subordinates to scold them loudly, then agreed to pay 15 wen per day for the work and began assigning tasks.

15 wen was naturally a meager wage, but with few jobs available in winter, even though everyone knew most of it would likely be deducted by those in authority, no one dared object. After murmuring in agreement, they got to work.

This was the last shipment before the New Year. Unlike the Wei Granary, this grain was transported here from various granaries in Nanjing and was to be sent to the capital to distribute as rations to most officials of the court. After all, only a very small number of people, like Duke Zhang Fu, could receive rice directly from the Beijing granaries; most people had to get their rice from Nanjing granaries. If they wanted to use it in Beijing, they had to pay extra fees for transportation—though, as usual, there were no inspections along the way. At that moment, laborers loaded heavy sacks onto carts, while others tried to find work driving carts to the capital. Only after learning that enough people were already available did they sigh in disappointment. After all, this job would take at least three days, and 45 wen would allow them to buy a few more pounds of flour for the New Year.

It was just that these were all old laborers in this line of work. When carrying those large sacks of grain, some noticed something was amiss. These sacks, which were already extremely heavy on normal days, seemed even heavier today. Those with weaker strength could hardly keep their feet from trembling as they walked. After carrying just a few sacks, some couldn’t take it anymore and went to argue with the supervisors, only to be dismissed with a scornful glance and a casual remark.
“This is the daily wage. If you’re selling your labor, why care about the weight?”
Hearing this, no one dared speak up. They simply continued working in silence, and soon a hundred carts were filled. While the workers busied themselves tying on mules, a few acquaintances whispered among themselves during breaks. If cargo could be smuggled on river boats and sea ships, why not on land routes to the capital? Many of these sacks were bulging, likely containing various goods from the south, stored up in advance to be sold at a good price before the New Year.
“These bastards deduct our money but still know how to make money from others. Beware, they’ll suffer divine punishment!”
Fire was the greatest fear in grain warehouses, so they could only mutter these words in hushed tones, never daring to show even the slightest hint in front of the supervisors and servants. After finally finishing the morning’s work, though hungry, they had to wait until dusk to get their wages. So they left with heavy steps, planning to visit a bun shop on the west side.
At the bun shop, the three men who had been whispering earlier each ordered three buns and then found a sheltered spot to sit down and eat heartily. As usual, after just one bite, the green and white layers beneath the thin white crust became visible, looking particularly pitiful under the cold winter sun with little heat.
Everyone knew those white buns were only good-looking—filled with cabbage stalks beneath the thin crust—but who cared when they were so cheap? A real white bun would cost at least two coins, not to mention three for two coins.
“Damn it, that heartless old bastard! It’s almost New Year’s—can’t he put more flour in them?”
“Stop complaining. Even if it’s cabbage stalks, it’s still better than stuffed rat meat in meat buns… Anyway, that morning’s work was exhausting. How much did they actually smuggle in? That sack of grain must weigh more than one dan—at least 20% more!”

The laborer who had been speaking stretched out two fingers to illustrate his point, while the shorter one took a big bite of the bland cabbage-filled filling and mumbled, “I deliberately used my fingers to dig around when no one was looking. Aside from rice, I didn’t see anything else. Maybe we’ve been resting too much these days and don’t have the strength…”

As soon as he finished speaking, the other man spat on the ground, tossing out a piece of grass root mixed in with the cabbage, and then sneered, “Nothing but rice? That’s because you didn’t look in the right place! I’m far braver than you. Taking advantage of the chaos near the end of work, I cut open a bag to take a look. Guess what I found inside? Hey, it seems to be cotton armor!”

Seeing his two companions first shocked and then turn pale, he shook his head self-mockingly and sighed, “I was terrified back then. Luckily, I don’t have a wife at home—I have to mend clothes for the kids. I always carry my sewing kit with me, so it took some effort to stitch it up. No one noticed it when I put it back on the cart, and that’s how I got by. I’m not saying I’ve never seen contraband before, but what’s the point of smuggling such stuff?”

The timid one quickly said, “How can we do that? What if something goes wrong and it affects us? Maybe we should report it to the authorities?”

The other burly man slapped him across the face. “Report it? Bullshit! The officials in Tongji Granary and the Dingbian Garrison are all in cahoots. Can you guarantee they won’t find some excuse to kill us? Just pretend you don’t know anything.”

“Pretend I don’t know? Are you joking? Whenever there’s trouble upstairs, it’s always the lower-ranking folks who suffer. We definitely can’t go to the authorities—they protect each other. The Dingbian Garrison is only responsible for escorting, and they might not even have good intentions. If they catch us, we might get beaten to death. Hmph, I’m already a dead man anyway. I don’t care about these things. I’ll send the kids far away and go to the capital to expose this scheme through a high-ranking official. Wealth requires taking risks. If it works, the kids and I won’t have to work so hard for the rest of our lives. If not, I’ll just lose my life!”

Seeing the fanatical glint in his companion’s eyes, the other two laborers quickly lowered their heads to chew on their steamed buns, their hearts pounding. Reporting might bring some reward, but who knew if it would cost them their lives? After much thought, one of them cautiously said, “Elder Fifth, are you really determined? This isn’t a joke. What if it gets us into trouble…”

“What’s there to fear? As long as the two of you don’t leak anything! Here’s what to do: fight with me this afternoon, then curse me mercilessly later—that’ll count as things going wrong, and no one can blame you. Death from poverty, hunger, or violence is the same anyway—what’s there to fear? We may not have the guts to overthrow the emperor, but we surely have the courage to fight those dogs!”
Knowing that the man nicknamed “Lao Wu” was tough as nails, the other two exchanged a glance and fell silent. After eating the three steamed buns, they went back to work in the afternoon, preoccupied by this matter, which made them somewhat slack in their work. They then actually fought, ending up with swollen noses and faces, which earned them another round of scolding and abuse—almost to the point of being whipped. When work ended in the evening, the two of them unloaded the last bag of grain and looked around. Unconsciously, they both sighed—both for Lao Wu, who had been driven away, and for themselves.
Having suffered poverty their whole lives, they finally had a chance to turn things around, so it wasn’t surprising that Lao Wu was determined. But if it were them, would they dare? They exchanged a glance, their eyes flickering, with neither speaking.
Lao Wu had acted on a whim. After being driven out of the Tongji Granary, he rushed home, gave instructions to his young children, packed away all the family’s remaining valuables, sent them off on a cart back to the countryside, and set off with the last bit of money he had. It wasn’t enough to hire a cart to the capital, and not knowing how long the journey would take, he didn’t dare spend recklessly. He spent just a little money to catch a firewood cart and hurried toward the capital.
Who would have thought that just as he could barely make out the towering city walls in the dim light, he was one step short and could only watch helplessly as the city gates closed firmly in front of him. That night, the firewood cart owner cursed angrily but refused to wait any longer and said he wanted to go back. Hearing that it would cost another ten coins to take him back, Lao Wu resolved to wait all night in the gate arch.

Yet, being stubborn only brings suffering. It is said that heavy snow predicts a good harvest, but for the poor, it’s better to endure the summer than face winter. On those nights in the twelfth lunar month, if one is in a house without firewood and with drafts everywhere, the cold makes one’s hands and feet stiff—let alone when snow begins to fall after dark, turning into a blanket of white fluff. Standing outside in tattered clothes in such heavy snow, the cold must be unimaginable. At first, he paced back and forth with his arms wrapped around himself; later, he ran in the snow to warm up. Eventually, unable to bear the cold of the snowflakes on his head and body, he returned to the doorway and curled up.

From the early part of the night to the latter half, he could still feel the cold at first, but gradually he lost sensation, feeling as though his hands and feet no longer belonged to him. If it weren’t for a glimmer of determination in his heart and a thread of thought in his mind, he would have fallen into a deep sleep several times. He didn’t know how long passed; in a daze, he heard the sound of mechanisms moving. When he forced himself to open his eyes, he saw that the gate had opened. He tried to get up, but his limbs wouldn’t obey him at all—he couldn’t move a muscle.

“Damn it, what bad luck—seeing a dead body so early in the morning!”
“Cough, stop complaining. If the authorities see this, we’ll get scolded again. Just send him to the cremation ground in the western suburbs, that’s it.”
“Send him to the cremation ground? In this cold weather, we’d have to travel all the way from Chongwen Gate to Shuntian Prefecture. I don’t have the time! Just drag him outside and leave him in a pile of grass—why go through the trouble…”

It was early in the cold weather, and fewer people were waiting at the city gates to enter, but not none at all. Some had already noticed the frozen man in the doorway and avoided that area. Now, seeing two soldiers carrying someone over, those waiting to enter quickly made way. At that moment, the person being carried let out a weak moan, startling everyone. The two soldiers lost their balance and dropped him onto the snow.

“He’s not dead?” One of them stepped forward and kicked him irritably, cursing, “If he’s not dead, get up on your own! Stop causing trouble here!”
“Save me… I’m from the Tongji Granary…”
Hearing these mumbled words, the soldier grew even more impatient: “What Tongji Granary or whatever—get lost!”

Just then, a few riders passing by suddenly reined in their horses. The leader glanced at Lao Wu, who was half-dead from the cold, and without a word, dismounted. Skillfully placing his hand on Lao Wu’s neck, he took out a leather pouch from his saddle bag and took a sip. While the two soldiers beside him were puzzled, the man who had been lying motionless on the ground suddenly coughed violently twice before groaning again.

“It’s freezing cold—take him with us.”

Hearing this, two more people dismounted and, one in front and one behind, lifted the stiff Lao Wu onto the horse before mounting themselves as well. Since someone was willing to meddle, the two sergeants had no objection, merely muttering a few words. By the time they returned to the city gate, the four or five people from earlier had already entered the city.

“In such cold weather, there are still such well-meaning people. How many poor folks don’t die of cold every year?”

“Well-meaning? He has a pass issued by the Ministry of War. Judging by his appearance, he might even be an official.”

Unaware of the sergeants’ astonishment at the city gate, the group rushed into Chongwen Gate. Hu Qi, the leader, paused briefly. He had just returned from Tongzhou and was deciding whether to head back to his own area or go straight to the Ministry of War via DongjiangRice Alley Alley when one of his subordinates called out, “Boss, this guy is delirious from the cold. He keeps repeating ‘Tongji Warehouse’.”

Hu Qi had rescued him out of compassion for his past hardships, but also because what the man kept mentioning matched the direction he was heading to in Tongzhou. Hearing that the man was still muttering about Tongji Warehouse even in his delirium, he immediately became intrigued.

This mission wasn’t originally assigned by his superiors; it was his attempt to make amends for past mistakes, so he had rushed out of the capital at the slightest clue. Though he had gained some information now, the evidence was still insufficient, so he planned to think carefully before reporting to Zhang Yue. After repeating “Tongji Warehouse” several times, he suddenly turned his horse around, glanced at the man again, and made up his mind.

“Send someone to call a doctor. We’re heading back to Yangzhou Hutong.”

By the time they returned to their base, the doctor hadn’t arrived yet, but Lao Wu, already delirious from fever, was talking nonsense. Though his words made no sense, Hu Qi, who had come from Zhangjiawan Wharf early in the morning, understood most of them. His already stern expression became even more grim.

“Stay here and keep an eye on him. If the doctor comes, tell him to do whatever it takes to save his life!”

Could it really be that someone was willing to risk everything to overthrow the emperor?