Chapter Ten: Grain Secured

"Gentlemen outside the manor, I am Steward She, serving Master Zheng," Steward She called out loudly while leaning against the manor wall. "Our master has sent me to negotiate the terms of your withdrawal."

Seeing that the Zheng family was ready to talk, Liu Heng, standing before the three hundred refugees, curled his lips slightly and shouted, "Bring us food and silver, and we will retreat. Otherwise... do you see the men behind me and those in the woods? With one command from me, they will storm the Zheng manor and leave no living soul behind."

Steward She glanced cautiously toward the woods. Under the illumination of a long line of torches, countless shadowy figures flickered, causing him to shrink his neck in terror.

After a moment, he carefully poked his head back over the wall and shouted, "Please, do not be angry, sir. Everything is negotiable. May I ask how much silver you require to withdraw?"

"Three thousand taels."

Steward She gasped upon hearing the figure. His master was only willing to part with two hundred taels—not even a fraction of what was demanded.

Helplessly, the steward called out from behind the wall, "Sir, we truly cannot produce that much silver. Could we offer something else in its stead?"

Although Master Zheng was a wealthy man with influence spanning a dozen miles, he was, after all, just a landlord. His total silver reserves amounted to only four or five thousand taels—the accumulation of two generations—and with the value of his land deeds, his entire estate was worth at most ten to twenty thousand taels.

"What do you propose to use instead?" Liu Heng asked.

"Grain," Steward She replied. "We simply cannot come up with that much silver. Could we convert it all into grain?"

Liu Heng hesitated for a moment before saying, "Fine, we shall accept grain."

His primary goal in coming to the Zheng manor was food; silver was secondary. Especially given his status as a rebel leader, having silver didn't guarantee the ability to buy grain, and even if he could, it would be at inflated prices. It was much easier to secure the grain directly.

"Please wait a moment, sir. I will arrange to have the grain sent outside the manor immediately," Steward She said, adding with a hint of anxiety, "Sir, if we provide the grain, will you truly withdraw your troops?"

"That goes without saying," Liu Heng readily agreed.

His main objective was the grain. He had brought only four hundred men, and the three hundred refugees behind him were raw recruits with only ten days of training—a mere facade. He had no confidence in actually storming the manor, so it was better to quit while he was ahead and the Zheng family was still intimidated.

Steward She was helped down from the table he had been standing on against the wall. Xiao Hu, who was standing nearby, asked, "Are we really giving them grain worth three thousand taels?"

"The manor doesn't have that much grain to give them," Steward She replied. "We still have plenty of sorghum and soybeans; we will use those to pad the amount of wheat and millet. As for the rest, every tenant family in the manor will have to contribute a portion. Giving up some grain to make these bandits leave is, after all, a way to save their lives."

Xiao Hu said worriedly, "What if we give them the grain and they break their word and refuse to leave?"

"We can only hope that once they have the grain, they will leave on their own," Steward She sighed. "If they don't, not only will we lose the grain, but our lives will belong to them as well."

With that, the steward turned and left to organize the servants in preparing the grain.

Over an hour later, carts filled with grain were rolled out of the Zheng manor. Because of the volume, all the carts were pulled by livestock, with drivers sitting in front, the vehicles laden with sacks of grain.

Yang Yuan and a few others went over to inspect them. Confirming they were indeed grain, he nodded to Liu Heng.

Liu Heng calculated that once over a thousand shi of grain had been moved out, he suddenly said, "Leave the carts and the livestock. The drivers and those who transported the grain are to return to the manor."

The steward's servant, who was in charge of the transport, was with the convoy. Seeing Liu Heng demand the carts and livestock, he hurried over, bowing and scraping with a sycophantic smile. "This... General, the grain hasn't been fully delivered yet. We need the carts and livestock to go back and fetch the rest."

Liu Heng’s eyes narrowed, and he gripped his sword hilt, saying coldly, "Either go back to the manor now, or you won't be going back at all."

"I'm going, I'm going right now!" The servant immediately understood Liu Heng's intent; if he stayed, he would lose his life. He hurried off, leading the drivers and laborers back toward the manor.

Once the last person had entered the gates, Liu Heng turned to his three hundred refugee recruits and ordered, "Three squads to transport the grain. The rest, guard the carts and return to camp."

The column of several hundred men moved slowly, escorting the grain carts. As they passed the woods to the west, another group joined them, and eventually, they vanished from the sight of the Zheng manor.

Steward She and Xiao Hu leaned over the wall, watching the bandits retreat, and both let out a sigh of relief.

After a while, Steward She frowned. "This isn't right. The grain was worth three thousand taels; why did they leave after taking only a thousand shi?"

Xiao Hu shrugged it off. "Isn't it better they took less? Our brothers can keep more for themselves."

"It's still not right," Steward She said, pointing to the woods to the west. "The bandits outside are gone, but look at those woods—the torches are still lit. It seems there are still people there."

"Could it be that they haven't actually withdrawn?" Xiao Hu frowned. He called a man over and ordered, "Laizi, take a few men and sneak into the western woods under the cover of darkness. See if there is anyone there, and if so, how many."

"But what if the bandits haven't..."

Before Laizi could finish, Steward She interrupted: "I will give you fifty taels of silver. There is only one requirement: you must confirm whether there is anyone in the woods. Do not come back just because you saw a few shadows moving. You must hear them talking or see them with your own eyes. Remember, do not return until you have seen real people."

Laizi’s eyes lit up, and he grinned, "Don't worry, Steward. I'm going now. But the silver..." He rubbed his fingers together meaningfully.

"Here is twenty taels; you will get the remaining thirty when you return," Steward She said, tossing him two ten-tael silver ingots.

Laizi carefully tucked the silver into his sleeve and left the manor with two others.

Less than half an hour later, Laizi came running back, gasping for air. "No, no, no one! They've all gone. Only the torches are left in the woods."

"Damn it, we’ve been tricked," Steward She slapped his thigh. "Steward Xiao, take your men and chase them! We must get the grain back."

Xiao Hu shook his head. "We can't chase them. It's better to just pretend there were over a thousand bandits. Don't forget, there is a force of two thousand rebels lurking in our county. Who knows if these men are connected to them?"

Steward She quickly realized his meaning and nodded. "These must be the rebels terrorizing the region; this force attacking the manor must have been two thousand strong."

Xiao Hu turned to those around him. "Listen carefully: everything Laizi said must stay buried in your hearts. Each of you will receive ten taels of silver for your silence. Do you understand?"

"Yes!" the men shouted in unison, excited by the prospect of free silver.

Steward She whispered to Xiao Hu, "You go guard the remaining grain. I will arrange to have it sold off as soon as possible. Even if I don't say much, there will be hundreds of taels for each of us."

Liu Heng knew nothing of what transpired at the Zheng manor after his departure. However, on his way back to the rebel camp, another battle—this one at the camp itself—had already come to an end.