Chapter 48: Wang Jin (Thanks to Alliance Leader Nameless Occupies)

Leaving aside whatever thoughts might be occupying Xianyu Yue, Zhao Huai'an headed back to the camp with Gao Renhou in tow.

Along the way, Zhao Huai'an asked for the names of the other three men: Hu Honglue, Kang Yanjun, and Dang Shousu. Like Gao Renhou, all three belonged to the Western Sichuan army.

In truth, when old Wang first mentioned that the four men were all local warriors from Western Sichuan, Zhao Huai'an had harbored doubts.

He had previously heard from Xianyu Yue that all the heroic talents of Shu were concentrated in the Chengdu Vanguard, while among the various external garrison armies, the Lizhou army was supposedly the fiercest.

Therefore, upon learning that all four hailed from Western Sichuan, Zhao Huai'an had subconsciously deemed them untrustworthy. However, after observing them and engaging in some casual chatter for a while, he realized that these four men possessed a certain uncommon bearing.

One detail stood out: despite the bitter, freezing cold, these four Western Sichuan garrison warriors wore only thin hemp garments.

It was not that Zhao Huai'an marveled at their robust physical constitutions or internal warmth; rather, he perceived that their moral character was pure and upright.

Look at the mutinous soldiers within the city—which of them did not rely on drawn blades to loot and plunder? These four refused to follow the corrupt crowd, which made them precious indeed.

In reality, Zhao Huai'an did not know that these four men were marginalized outcasts within the Western Sichuan army precisely because they refused to sink to the level of the corrupt majority.

Wang Duo had specifically searched the military rosters for men of this caliber, knowing that his new master harbored grand ambitions to accomplish great things and was in urgent need of pure-hearted warriors as assistants.

While scanning the rosters, Wang Duo's eyes had fallen upon a man named Gao Renhou, whose character truly matched his name—a truly benevolent and generous soul.

The roster recorded a minor incident involving this man: when his superior officer was "pacifying" local bandits and mountain outlaws, Gao Renhou had been given twenty military floggings specifically for defying orders and refusing to slaughter women and children.

Hu Honglue, Kang Yanjun, and Dang Shousu were much the same, each bearing similar "stains" on their records that reflected their noble characters.

Wang Duo was uncertain of their martial prowess, but he knew their moral fiber was absolutely untainted.

Later, after making repeated inquiries, he finally tracked down the four men in a squalid cluster of thatched shanties south of the city, which only further confirmed their integrity.

Armed with swords and spears though they were, the four still huddled within a wretched, dilapidated hut. Wang Duo estimated that had he not found them when he did, they would not have lasted much longer.

Zhao Huai'an liked all four of them, especially Gao Renhou, whose conversation showed remarkable insight. Just moments earlier, his observation that the straw-hatted man possessed the noble spirit of scholars from the Former Han Dynasty was something only a man of exceptional intellect would notice.

At present, as the group walked back toward the camp, the corpses lying in the roadside ditches were visibly increasing in number.

Zhao Huai'an sighed, turned his head, and asked Gao Renhou:

"Old Gao, earlier you mentioned that figures like those from the Former Han era are rare nowadays. What did you mean by that?"

Gao Renhou felt deeply grateful to Zhao Huai'an for recruiting them. Truth be told, all four had been squeezed out of the army—it was not simply a matter of losing their military identity tallies and being unable to return to camp.

Tallies could be reissued if lost; the real issue was that their peers had long detested them for refusing to conform.

In the army, that was a fatal predicament.

Everyone walked into battle with their heads on the line, and if a fellow comrade refused to conform, it implied he had no intention of fitting in with the group. Could such a man be trusted?

When committing nefarious deeds, no one wanted to constantly guard against an outsider in their midst.

Thus, the four of them had been driven out entirely, with nowhere to go, ultimately ending up huddled in the shanties south of the city.

To put it bluntly, had Wang Duo not appeared, the four of them certainly would not have survived this twelfth lunar month.

On the road, they had already heard Wang Duo introduce Zhao Huai'an, roughly learning of his bold and forthright temperament. Hearing Zhao Huai'an address him as "Old Gao" now made him feel an even greater sense of warmth, and he hurriedly cupped his fists in a bow and replied:

"I dare not presume to judge others in the presence of Commander Zhao, but I do harbor a stray thought or two. I often used to listen to storytellers speak of our Shu region's Zhaolie Emperor during the Three Kingdoms era—how his righteousness reached the heavens, and how a host of tiger-like generals supported the state together. It truly filled one with envy. But look at the present day? Rituals have collapsed, music is ruined, the realm is devoid of righteousness, and everywhere one sees ambitious, wolf-hearted traitors committing treason against their superiors. Even the Son of Heaven is nothing more than a puppet in the hands of eunuchs. Isn't it true that such men are rare?"

Zhao Huai'an nodded.

During his time in the army recently, he had also discovered the prevailing tone of this era. To put it harshly, good men were scarce.

When he had first arrived here, he encountered pure and honest Old Qin folk like Zhao Liu, and then noble elite scions burdened with anxiety for the state like Xianyu Yue, which had inevitably raised his expectations of the era's morality.

Yet ever since entering the camp in Qiong Prefecture, the people he laid eyes upon could hardly be counted as good men. Conversely, true heroes were often found among outlaws—such as Sun Chuanyxi of the Baoyi Army—yet even such a fine and stalwart man had died an unjust death at the hands of his own people.

It was this chain of events that made Zhao Huai'an realize what a despicable era this damned mid-to-late Tang Dynasty truly was.

Seeing Gao Renhou filled with righteous indignation, Zhao Huai'an patted him on the shoulder without saying more, turning instead to Wang Duo, who walked beside them:

"Old Wang, were you looking for me when you went to the county office?"

Wang Duo shook his head and told Zhao Huai'an:

"My lord, I was actually trying to find another person named Wang Jin. This man previously served as a troop commander in the Western Sichuan army and once won first-class merit in frontline combat. He is said to be exceptionally skilled in training troops."

Zhao Huai'an turned to Gao Renhou and the others:

"Do all of you know this Wang Jin?"

Gao Renhou and his companions nodded one after another, evidently holding a long-standing admiration for Wang Jin. At that moment, however, Dang Shousu, who had been walking slightly on the outer edge of the group, suddenly spoke up:

"The figure of that straw-hatted commander we just saw bore a striking resemblance to Troop Commander Wang, right down to his chivalrous temperament."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Dang Shousu realized he had spoken out of turn and immediately clamped his mouth shut, saying no more.

Fearing that Zhao Huai'an might overthink it, Gao Renhou quickly offered an explanation:

"He does look rather similar, but it may not necessarily be the same person."

Right at that moment, a chorus of dog barks suddenly echoed from a nearby alleyway, followed immediately by the heavy, pungent stench of blood.

Being seasoned warriors, the men instantly drew their blades. Gao Renhou and the others, in particular, instinctively closed ranks and shielded Zhao Huai'an in the center, even though their alliance had not yet been formally cemented.

Protected in the middle, Zhao Huai'an looked toward the alley on the right. In a narrow passage barely two paces wide, seven or eight bodies lay sprawled out, six of them with shaved heads.

The barking came from a pack of feral dogs that were tearing frantically at the corpses. Sensing the approach of Zhao Huai'an's group, the beasts let out low snarls, stubbornly trying to defend their carrion.

A single glance at the bodies on the ground was enough for Zhao Huai'an to recognize them as the monk-soldiers who had just been pursuing the straw-hatted man.

Then, he spotted the straw-hatted man himself lying flat on the ground, his life or death uncertain.

At that instant, Zhao Liu suddenly pointed at the straw-hatted man on the ground and cried out:

"That man is moving!"

Zhao Huai'an looked closer, and indeed he was.

Gao Renhou and the others beside him instinctively looked to him for direction, and without a second thought, Zhao Huai'an shouted:

"Quick, save him first!"

With those words, Gao Renhou rushed forward ahead of the rest and knelt to check on the straw-hatted man.

Though the skin across the man's face had been slashed open and peeled back by a blade, Gao Renhou recognized him at a single glance—this was none of other than Wang Jin.

Without hesitation, Gao Renhou hoisted Wang Jin onto his back, strode back to Zhao Huai'an's side, and opened his mouth to speak.

Before he could utter a word, Zhao Huai'an stripped off his own padded coat, draped it directly over Wang Jin's body, and muttered in a low voice:

"Move. Return to the camp immediately."

Knowing the trouble this could bring, the men quickened their pace and hurried toward the campsite.

Meanwhile, back at Yongzuo Temple, the monks grew suspicious when no monk-soldiers returned after a long while. They dispatched a second search party, which soon discovered the frozen, stiff bodies of their comrades strewn across the alley.

Spitting out curses, the monk-soldiers fanned out in a frenzy of searching, vowing to hunt down and slaughter the enemy of the Buddha.

***

Carrying Wang Jin on his back, Gao Renhou could feel the man's faint, rattling breaths, and he whispered urgently:

"Brother Wang, wake up! Do not fall asleep."

Observing the situation, Zhao Huai'an turned his head and instructed Zhao Liu:

"Old Liu, go to the garrison headquarters and find Medical Aide Pei. Invite him to my camp and tell him we are drinking."

Understanding the intent, Zhao Liu immediately bolted off toward another section of the encampment.

This Medical Aide Pei was a native of Mei County in Guanzhong. His hometown was very close to Zhao Liu's hometown of Qishan, making them fellow provincials.

Earlier, when several large draft animals in the Baoyi Garrison had developed severe diarrhea and no one else could cure them, Zhao Huai'an had sent Zhao Liu to the main camp to find a specialized physician.

Through mutual visits, Zhao Liu had grown acquainted with Medical Aide Pei, and the two had subsequently shared many drinks together.

Wang Duo did not know this Medical Aide Pei, but he knew that an "aide" was merely someone who did odd jobs for a physician. Concerned that such a person might lack the skill to treat these injuries, he asked with a worried frown:

"My lord, can that Medical Aide Pei treat sword and saber wounds?"

Zhao Huaiate nodded:

"Old Pei has genuine skill, but because his superior physician refuses to graduate him, he remains an aide. The saber and sword wounds in their garrison are mostly treated by Old Pei anyway."

"He and Old Liu share a bit of friendship, and he is a steady man. This matter is extremely sensitive, so we must exercise the utmost caution."

Zhao Huai'an's words caused Gao Renhou, walking at the front, to worry. Eager to share the burden, he offered:

"Commander Zhao, it might be better to bring Brother Wang to my quarters. That way, it won't attract the attention of the army."

Zhao Huai'an chuckled dryly and replied:

"Old Gao, you are practically slapping my face by saying that. Let me put it this way: though I am only a garrison commander, which of the Tuantuan militia units doesn't give Old Zhao a shred of face? Once this Wang Jin enters my camp, no one will be able to take him away."

Zhao Huai'an had good reason for such confidence. Ever since the battle of Baishu River, his reputation had been firmly established. By now, not only the Tuantuan militia camps but even the external garrison troops knew of the fierce warrior nicknamed "Righteous Protector."

Hearing Zhao Huai'an speak thus, Gao Renhou and the others said no more.

Flanking Gao Renhou tightly, the group entered the Tuantuan militia camp located in the northwest corner.

True to his word, as soon as they stepped into the camp, men continuously greeted Zhao Huai'an, and a few even cheered. Only then did Gao Renhou and his companions truly believe that the commander before them possessed genuine authority.

Shortly after their return, Zhao Huai'an had a tent cleared out and ordered Niu Li to set up a brazier using the charcoal they had previously plundered and sealed in Qiong Prefecture.

Before long, the temperature inside the tent rose, and the ashen pallor on Wang Jin's face visibly improved.

At that precise moment, Zhao Liu returned with Medical Aide Pei in tow. As luck would have it, Old Liu had run straight into him along the path and dragged him along.

Medical Aide Pei, whose given name was Pei Min, possessed genuine medical skill. The moment he laid eyes on Wang Jin sprawled across the felt sleeping mat, he knew the man's life hung by a thread.

He carefully examined the slash across Wang Jin's face, performed a highly professional wound debridement, clenched his teeth as he fished a small porcelain pouch from his pocket, sprinkled a layer of powder into the lacerations, and skillfully bandaged the injuries.

Only after completing these steps did he turn to Zhao Huai'an and say:

"Commander Zhao, whether he pulls through now depends entirely on this man's own fate."

Zhao Huai'an naturally expressed his heartfelt gratitude. Noticing the small porcelain bottle in Old Pei's hand, he asked offhandedly:

"Old Pei, is this some kind of ancestral sword-wound medicine?"

Pei Min's face flushed red, and he murmured softly:

"I managed to acquire this from the Nanzhao people. I discovered it has miraculous efficacy for stopping bleeding, so I've always carried it with me."

Zhao Huai'an froze for a moment, staring at the tiny porcelain bottle in astonishment. Could this possibly be Yunnan Baiyao?