Dragon Canon

In the commandery office’s study, Yuan Qingyan was staring blankly at a piece of official document, his hands trembling more and more with each passing second. He eventually slammed his palm down on the desk with such force that the fragrant rosewood[1] shattered into pieces on the floor.

“That scoundrel Wei Yuan has gone too far!” Yuan Qingyan’s teeth ground so hard that sparks were flying. He stormed out of the study and rushed to the yamen in the front courtyard, bellowing, “Summon the general and all the commandants! I will see them all in an incense stick!”

Moments later, everyone had assembled in the reception hall. Standing at the helm was still the general surnamed Hsu.

Yuan Qingyan handed the official document to the officers for reading and declared, “Wei Yuan has colluded with villains to kidnap my family from the royal capital! This is a grudge so deep we cannot share the same sky! You will immediately muster your troops to attack Qingming as the vanguard. In the meantime, I will set out for the commandery seat at once to demand Inspector-General Chen and Commander Yue to mobilize the troops. Rest assured that the main force will arrive shortly, with Commander Yue at the helm! I ask that you give me your all to avenge me!”

After reading the document, General Hsu remarked, “With the commandery’s current military strength, I’m afraid it will be difficult to capture Qingming. We would need to regroup the forces scattered across various strongholds. Furthermore, we absolutely must have reinforcements. Without Commander Yue’s troops from the northern frontier, we alone will likely not be enough.”

“The main force will be here in the blink of an eye!” Yuan Qingyan declared before rising to his feet and walking out of the door just like that. He had not lingered for a single moment.

General Hsu sat for a while before rising and ordering, “Muster the troops!”

A commandant whispered, “It’s just a mask—how can we be sure it was the Heaven Fighting Gang? Besides, why would the Heaven Fighting Gang go all the way to the royal capital?”

General Hsu snorted. “There are countless officials’ families living in the capital. They could have kidnapped anyone, yet they chose to abduct Lord Yuan’s family specifically and left a mask behind. Isn’t it to make sure we know that the Heaven Fighting Gang is definitely behind this?”

The commandant sucked in a sharp breath. “Have they grown powerful enough to kidnap someone from the heart of the state? They must be eradicated!”

General Hsu glanced at him with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Do you think they wouldn’t be prepared for us? They’re probably counting down the hours right now, wondering what’s keeping us so long.”

“What do we do then? Do we attack or not?”

General Hsu said calmly, “Of course we do! How can we know how we should interact with them in the future without testing their mettle ourselves? Commander Yue likely shares this view.”

Seat of Anzhao Commandery.

Chen Dao sat at the head of the table, flanked by officials of all ranks from the commandery. Sun Chao’en and Lee Weisheng had also rushed over from their garrisons. As all the officials possessed cultivation, the thousand-li journey took them less than a day.

Yuan Qingyan sat among the civil officials, positioned behind Lee Weisheng but ahead of another commandery administrator. Chen Dao was currently serving as the acting commandery administrator of Anzhao Commandery.

Chen Dao said slowly, “The villains are running rampant, and Grand Scholar Lee of the Hanlin Academy is furious. He has written specifically to us demanding that we restore order in this region and eradicate the bandit menace. What are your thoughts on this? Please share your views.”

Yuan Qingyan shot to his feet and said sternly, “If my wives and concubines are lost, I can take new ones; if my children are lost, I can have more! The bandits think they can threaten me with my family, but that is sheer folly on their part! As everyone knows, the Heaven Fighting Gang’s lair lies within the realm of Qingming. We must now gather our forces and strike at the heart of their stronghold with thunderous force! I ask that you slay every last one of these curs and restore justice to me!”

Sun Chao’en rose to his feet next and asked, “Lord Chen, has this matter been reported to His Majesty yet?”

Chen Dao replied, “Not yet. Grand Scholar Lee has written the letter to me as a private request.”

Sun Chao’en’s question held a hidden meaning. As every official here was a seasoned veteran, they understood immediately that the matter had not yet reached the level where they must send a memorial to the king. However, mobilizing an army was a major event: without His Majesty’s decree, mobilizing the troops without authorization was tantamount to rebellion.

The officials’ enthusiasm immediately waned significantly. They had never had much regard for Yuan Qingyan in the first place. Their earlier sympathy had merely been a case of, “When the rabbit dies, the fox grieves.”

Sun Chao’en continued, “Although the Heaven Fighting Gang is extremely rampant, to date, there is no direct evidence proving that they originate from the realm of Qingming.”

Yuan Qingyan flew into a rage. “Isn’t that a glaringly obvious fact! Anyone who isn’t blind can see it clearly!”

Sun Chao’en kept his head bowed and said unhurriedly, “What I mean to say is that aside from a few masks—which can be found anywhere—we have no other physical evidence in our possession. Furthermore, not a single member of the Heaven Fighting Gang has been captured so far.”

The officials all tensed inwardly. The reason not a single criminal had been caught so far was because the Heaven Fighting Gang was invincible in battle.They were the ones doing the kidnapping, never the other way around!

Yuan Qingyan’s eyebrows shot up in fury as he snapped, “Sun Chao’en! You’re emboldening the bandits and undermining the court’s authority—what on earth are your intentions? Could it be that you’re an accomplice of the Heaven Fighting Gang yourself?”

Sun Chao’en quickly waved his hands. “This humble official holds a lowly position and carries little weight. I have spoken a few words in the heat of the moment, but I cannot possibly bear an accusation as grave as being an accomplice to the bandits. Since Lord Yuan disapproves, this humble official will simply keep quiet.”

It was at this moment Lee Weisheng snorted and said slowly, “How imposing, Lord Yuan! You speak as if you have the authority to pin a charge as grave ‘accomplice to bandits’ on anyone. It’s truly a waste of your talent that you aren’t in charge of the Ministry of Punishments.”

Yuan Qingyan hadn’t expected Lee Weisheng to speak up for Sun Chao’en, and so bluntly at that. Unlike Sun Chao’en, the man both possessed deep-rooted influence and was backed by the living Buddha known as the Left Counselor. Although his face turned ashen, he sat back down without another word.

But just because he had backed down didn’t mean that Lee Weisheng was going to let the matter rest. He continued, “Horse bandits have been running rampant within this official’s jurisdiction and throwing the region into chaos. Of the various horse bandit groups, the Heaven Fighting Gang is the most difficult to deal with. But despite this, no one at this table has submitted a memorial to impeach me. I have long wondered where such a formidable horse bandit group could have come from—surely they didn’t just fall out of the sky? Today, after hearing Lord Yuan’s words, I finally understand that they actually came from the realm of Qingming. It seems that you have known about this for quite some time, Lord Yuan.”

The officials wore a variety of expressions, seemingly lost in thought. Out of everyone present, only one person would take the initiative to file an impeachment against Lee Weisheng out of sheer idleness.

Besides that, Lee Weisheng’s words also held a hidden meaning: why would the horse bandits ignore the fresh grass right under their nose[2] and travel over a thousand li to stir up trouble in Bianning Commandery? Why was Yuan Qingyan’s territory peaceful and orderly while his was plagued by rampant banditry?

Some officials were even wondering to themselves: Could it be that the kidnapping happened because there was a dispute over the distribution of the loot?

Finally, Chen Dao cleared his throat and said in a solemn tone, “Regardless of the relationship between the Heaven Fighting Gang and Qingming, the fact remains that Qingming is currently a lawless territory. I have already discussed this with Commander Yue. At the very least, we need to make the Realm Lord understand that all under heaven is His Majesty’s domain.”

With that, the matter was settled. The officials dispersed.

Chen Dao walked slowly back to his study, accompanied by a young scholar. He was both Chen Dao’s student and advisor. He had traveled all the way from Inner Jin to serve his teacher and gain experience.

There was no one around on the way back to the study, so the young scholar said in an indignant tone, “That Sun Chao’en really has no sense of the situation. You already told him that Grand Scholar Lee had personally written you a letter, and still he had to stand up and say all that.”

Chen Dao sighed. “You’re still too young. That Sun Chao’en is a formidable figure and not nearly as simple-headed as you imagine. There are two ways today’s event could have gone. One path goes without saying, with all the groundwork already laid out for me. However, the other path has none. If I wanted to walk the paved path, I could have simply ignored Sun Chao’en. But if I wanted to walk the untrodden path, then he was the only one who gave me a means to save face.”

The young scholar thought it over carefully until he finally understood.

“It’s just too bad he has no background whatsoever. A shame.” Chen Dao shook his head and entered his study.

In the realm of Qingming, Wei Yuan watched as a row of youngsters donned his newly forged plate armor in front of him. Although their movements were somewhat awkward, there were many cultivators on hand to guide them. The armor itself was easy to put on, so it wasn’t long before they were all fully equipped. Just like that, the several thousand youngsters before Wei Yuan had transformed into an elite force clad in heavy armor.

Next, the cultivators distributed everyone a steel-barrel gun. However, none of them were loaded with gunpowder or bullets.

Moments later, the youngsters split into dozens of groups of a hundred each. Each group had a cultivator instructing them on the use and principles of a steel-barrel gun.

In the distance, faint rumblings could be heard from time to time. It was the sound of gunfire coming from the newly established firing range. The youngsters had been divided into four groups of rotating shifts: one group cleared land and planted crops, another donned armor for training, a third practiced martial arts and marksmanship, and the fourth cultivated their physical bodies.

Thanks to the seeds delivered by Hsu Su, Wei Yuan was able to clear out an additional 20,000 mu of fertile land. But after careful consideration, he decided to use them all for growing grain. Although there was no shortage of food within the domain at the moment, they had come far too close to having to resort to cannibalizing the corpses of their enemies. Therefore, Wei Yuan firmly believed that the more grain they had, the better. Until they had so much grain that they had no choice but to spend them on brewing alcohol, he would never feel that they had enough.

Wei Yuan was training this particular batch of youngsters with particular urgency. He had brought forward the equipment and the marksmanship training way ahead of the planned schedule.

Just then, Cui Yu hurried over and said, “I’ve finished distributing the equipment to my clansmen. They’ve been relatively well-behaved in their training so far, and I’ve already hung up and flogged the few who couldn’t mind their language. However, the bows you gave them were meant for Dao Foundation stage cultivators. They’ll run out of strength after shooting three arrows at most.”

Wei Yuan replied, “It wasn’t a mistake. With Life is a Flash and Outlawed by Heaven and Earth, they’ll have no problems using those bows. Didn’t the Old Lady say we should go slightly easy on them and not let too many die? Having them serve as archers is perfect. They can exchange shots with the enemy.”

Cui Yu objected, “What kind of archers wear red armor? It’s way too conspicuous!”

Wei Yuan chuckled. “We want the enemy to know they’re archers. Why else will they engage us in a shootout?”

Cui Yu had long considered this question, but after calculating the casualty rate of a shootout, he found it to be entirely acceptable and said no more.

But as he watched the youngsters training with incredible fervor, he frowned and asked, “Isn’t it a bit early to be training them? They haven’t even had much time to cultivate yet—are we really sending them into battle?”

Wei Yuan replied, “It’s not early at all. A major battle is coming soon. If it weren’t for the fact that they need to sleep and rest, I’d have them training twenty four hours a day.”

At the mention of war, Cui Yu perked up. “Another major battle? Who are we going up against this time?”

Wei Yuan replied, “This time, we’ll likely face Yue Jinshan’s northern frontier army and clash with his famed northern frontier iron cavalry. When the time comes, these youngsters will be our best option to take them on.”

“Are we really going to fight against Western Jin? Isn’t it a bit premature?”

Wei Yuan shook his head. “It was never a matter of whether we wanted to fight them or not. To Western Jin, we’re a thorn in their side; a bone stuck in their throat. They were always going to come after us; it’s just that the Shamans haven’t been idle until recently. Only after we’ve fought a battle can we sit down and talk; know how to negotiate.”

Cui Yu sucked in a deep breath. “Yue Jinshan, huh? Looks like I’ll have to go back and really drill the brats in my clan!”

Wei Yuan smiled and said, “Go ahead. Once this battle is over, we’ll finally be able to negotiate with them from a position of strength.”

1. Dalbergia odorifera, fragrant rosewood or Chinese rosewood, is a species of true rosewood in the genus Dalbergia. It is a small or medium-sized tree, 10–15 metres tall. It is endemic to China and occurs in Fujian, Hainan, Zhejiang, and Guangdong. ☜

2. You know, cuz they’re horse bandits. Heh. ☜

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