Chinese Generals Summoning System

Chapter 11: The Zheng Family Caravan

As an external steward who had served the Zheng family in Yongzhou for nearly ten years, Zhang Baohong had traveled far and wide and seen quite a bit of the world. However, when he saw a frail teenager clad in tattered clothes, flanked by two burly men clad in full iron armor and exuding an overwhelming aura, with a young girl in equally tattered clothes leading a horse beside them, the scene struck him as utterly incongruous no matter how he looked at it. The caravan had just entered the village when one of the burly, armored men stepped forward. Drawing on his years of martial arts training, Zhang Baohong could tell at a glance that this man possessed exceptional fighting skills—skills he himself might not be able to match. Zhang Baohong immediately stepped forward to strike up a conversation. Upon learning that the burly man’s master was staying in the village, Zhang Baohong assumed the master must be a person of high standing and promptly offered to pay him a visit. To his surprise, however, the master turned out to be a teenager—one dressed in a shabby, tattered cotton outfit—which was far from what Zhang Baohong had imagined. Nevertheless, Zhang Baohong did not dare to be disrespectful. Perhaps he was a young master from a distinguished family who had fallen on hard times—otherwise, he wouldn’t have two bodyguards whose martial arts skills were clearly quite good. After all, the region of Wan Prefecture was currently in a state of turmoil, with bandits and marauders plaguing nearly the entire prefecture. Moreover, the neighboring Qian Prefecture had been ravaged by nomadic tribes of Hu cavalry,so it was only natural that a young master from a distinguished family might find himself in such a predicament. “Young Master… it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Zhang Baohong, the external steward of the Zheng family of Yongzhou. I am leading the Zheng family’s merchant caravan through this desolate village, and I never expected to encounter you here. May I ask where you are from? Also, I noticed bloodstains all over the village—has some misfortune befallen this village?” Upon hearing that it was a merchant caravan from the Zheng family of Yongzhou, Liu Ji realized that the Zheng family of Yongzhou was a prominent clan with a history spanning several centuries. In fact, the Zheng family had existed even before the founding of the Great Jin Dynasty; several of the trusted civilian and military advisors under Liu Hui, the founding emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty, hailed from the Zheng family of Yongzhou. The head of the Zheng family still held the title of hereditary marquis. The ranks of nobility in the Great Jin Dynasty, from lowest to highest, are Baron, Viscount, Earl, Marquis, and Duke; above the rank of Duke lies the title of King. However, in the Great Jin Dynasty, only descendants of the imperial Liu family are eligible for the title of King. In the more than 400 years since the dynasty’s founding, not a single king from outside the imperial lineage has ever been appointed. After more than 400 years of influence in the Great Jin Dynasty, the Zheng family of Yongzhou has extended its power throughout both the court and the country, becoming one of the thirteen most prominent aristocratic families in the realm. Liu Ji used the system to scan Zhang Baohong’s three-dimensional stats and found that Zhang Baohong’s martial prowess was quite good, reaching 41 points; his intelligence was 47 points; and his leadership was 52 points—making for very solid overall abilities. “Greetings, Manager Zhang,I am Liu Ji from Pingyuan County, Dongchang Commandery, Wan Province. We passed through this village yesterday and found that over 100 people—everyone in the village—had been slaughtered. However, there were no young women among the dead. It’s highly likely that the village was massacred by bandits or marauding rebels. It took us a full day and night to bury all the bodies in the village!” Zhang Baohong thought for a moment; he couldn’t recall any prominent Liu families in Pingyuan County, Dongchang Commandery, Wan Prefecture. But upon hearing Liu Ji speak with such poise and self-assurance, Zhang Baohong became even more convinced that this frail young man must be the son of a prominent family—after all, how could a youth from an ordinary household possess such composure! Consequently, Zhang Baohong spoke with even greater courtesy. Although he was backed by the colossal Zheng family of Yongzhou, there were at least dozens of external stewards at his level within the Zheng household. If he offended the son of any prominent family, a single word from that young master could land him in deep trouble—after all, the relationships between these families were incredibly complex, woven together by years of intermarriage! “No wonder there are so many new graves outside the village—those damned bandits and outlaws! But those villagers are lucky to have encountered the compassionate Young Master Liu. They must have accumulated merit in a past life; otherwise, their corpses might well have been devoured by wild dogs!” Liu Ji chuckled. He found it somewhat amusing that the steward of the Zheng family from Yongzhou, standing before him, had addressed him as “young master”—what kind of ‘young master’ was he, anyway? Still, Liu Ji could guess that the steward must have gotten the wrong idea upon seeing his two personal guards, Liu Pi and Gong Du. However, Liu Ji wasn’t about to waste his time setting the record straight. “Since we’ve crossed paths, it must be fate. Burying these villagers with dignity is a way to accumulate merit for the afterlife! Manager Zhang, why did you bring your caravan to this village in the dead of night?” Zhang Baohong gave a wry smile and said, “Young Master Liu, don’t even ask. Originally, our caravan had traveled safely all the way from Qinhuai City, the prefectural seat of Suzhou, escorting our goods. But just as we were nearing the gates of Yongzhou, that scoundrel Yun Yibiao blocked our path. Fortunately, the scouts we’d sent out spotted Yi Yingbiao’s trail, and the entire caravan retreated along the same route in time. To ensure our safety, we traveled through most of the night and are only now preparing to rest in this village.” “Yin Biao, known as ‘One Cloud’? What does he do? Could he actually dare to lay a hand on the Zheng family’s caravan from Yongzhou?” “Have you never heard of ‘One Cloud,’ Young Master Liu? ‘One Cloud’ Yin Biao is one of the many leaders of the bandits in Wan Prefecture. He commands over 3,000 fierce soldiers, including more than 400 cavalrymen—the cream of the crop, even more valiant than the imperial border troops’ cavalry. The prestige of the Zheng family of Yongzhou holds no sway with ‘One Cloud.’ Even though this caravan of mine is accompanied by over 200 guards, we can only keep a safe distance from bandits like ‘One Cloud.’ ” Hearing Zhang Baohong’s description of “One Cloud,” Liu Ji was certain that the bandits he and his father, Liu Hao, had encountered must have been underlings of Yin Biao, the leader of “One Cloud.” Liu Ji then asked Zhang Baohong, “Manager Zhang, I plan to visit relatives in Qi County, Changping Commandery, in Yongzhou. I’m wondering if there are any other routes into Yongzhou besides the one currently occupied by ‘One Cloud’?” Zhang Baohong replied, ““Young Master Liu, if you travel westward from here for about three days’ journey and bypass those towering mountains ahead, you can also reach Yongzhou. Our caravan is planning to take this route. If you don’t mind, you’re welcome to travel with us—we can look out for one another. Aside from ‘One Cloud,’ the various bandit groups in the mountainous regions between Yongzhou and Wan Zhou all show some deference to our Zheng family.” “It would certainly be best to travel with Manager Zhang’s caravan, but I’m not sure if it might cause any trouble for Manager Zhang?” “No trouble at all! Young Master Liu, we’ll all rest in this village tonight, and we’ll set out early tomorrow morning. Is that all right with you, Young Master Liu?” “Thank you very much, Manager Zhang. We’ll be sure to get up early tomorrow and won’t delay the caravan’s departure.” After Zhang Baohong left, Liu Ji paused for a moment before saying to Liu Pi and Gong Du, “Although the Zheng family of Yongzhou is renowned, we must remain vigilant. Everyone, please stay on guard during the latter half of the night.” Liu Pi and Gong Du nodded, deciding to continue taking turns keeping watch through the rest of the night to guard against any unexpected incidents. After Zhang Baohong returned to the caravan, his deputy, Li Yuan, asked, “Master Zhang, who is the master of that burly man from earlier? How did he end up here?” Zhang Baohong replied, “He’s a young master from a distinguished family who has fallen on hard times. His name is Liu Ji. As for which family he belongs to, I haven’t been able to find out yet. Besides that burly man, Young Master Liu also has one personal bodyguard who appears to be quite skilled in martial arts. He’ll be traveling with us first thing tomorrow morning, taking a detour to Yongzhou.” Li Yuan frowned and said, “Master Zhang, aside from escorting a shipment of cloth, the most important part of this journey is those two women. They’re quite special—the Third Master spent a fortune to buy them from Qinhuai City for a major undertaking. Absolutely nothing can go wrong. But that Young Master Liu’s identity is unknown, and he’s just joined our caravan like this. Isn’t that a bit unwise?” Zhang Baohong let out a wry laugh and said, “Old Li, don’t you find it rather strange that Yin Biao of the ‘One Cloud’ band has taken control of the mountain passes leading to Yongzhou? ‘One Cloud’ is a band of roving bandits, not local outlaws who’ve established themselves as mountain lords. What does he hope to achieve by controlling the mountain passes to Yongzhou? It looks like this mission is going to run into some complications. As for the two warriors under Young Master Liu’s command—their martial arts are exceptional. Having them travel with our caravan is like adding two highly skilled bodyguards to our ranks.”