Héyang County, northwest—Yongning Village.
Sui Fengxiong stood before a trembling crowd of villagers, grinning with the kind of feral confidence only a bandit chieftain could pull off. You could tell what he was just from the name alone.
He was huge, burly, his body packed with slabs of meat. In these hard times, anyone still carrying that much fat wasn't blessed—he was simply very good at the job of "taking things from other people."
"I'm Sui Fengxiong, and I'm a good person," he announced while raising the big cleaver in his hand. "I'm just like all of you—poor folk! So I'm not killing you. I'm giving you a chance to live."
The villagers looked up in disbelief. They thought death was certain. Yet this Sui Fengxiong said he was giving them a chance?
He chuckled. "Join me. Come rob with me. And… well… when I get hungry, you'll bring me food."
Villagers: "…"
Sui Fengxiong wagged his finger. "Don't stare at me like that. I'm doing this for your own good! Once you boys conquer another village, you tell the newcomers the same thing. They'll bring you food. Isn't this the perfect way for everyone to survive?"
The villagers finally understood. It was just a simple layered tribute scheme.
Join early—get more people feeding you.
Join late—too many mouths above you to support.
Simple economics.
Thus, the villagers instantly joined and shouted, "Captain is wise!"
"Don't call me King," Sui Fengxiong said proudly. "Call me Captain Xiong. I have a boss above me—Fan Shanyue. When you see him, call him King Yue. Remember that."
Everyone silently thought: So even you have someone to feed. Makes sense.
And so, Sui Fengxiong waved his hand like a benevolent landlord distributing free porridge, and accepted over a hundred new followers, pushing his bandit army's size to over twenty-two hundred men.
He was still basking in the joy of recruitment when a force approached from the eastern slope. It was his boss Fan Shanyue, and beside him another squad leader—"Second Fool."
Sui Fengxiong hurried forward. "Big Brother, Third Brother, I've taken over Yongning Village and recruited another hundred! How about you two?"
Second Fool's face immediately twisted in resentment. "I've got a thousand now."
Sui Fengxiong blinked. "A thousand? Then why do you look like you just swallowed a dead mouse?"
Second Fool rolled up his injured arm. "Because someone chopped me up!"
He continued angrily, "Few days back, I only had three hundred men. I saw a merchant group in a small village. Leader was a woman. Big, muscular, looked rich. Naturally, I tried to rob her. Didn't expect that woman to have real skill. She had only thirty or forty men, yet beat my three hundred! She cut me twice! Luckily I slashed her once, so it wasn't a total loss. After that humiliation, I've been recruiting nonstop. I must avenge this!"
Sui Fengxiong jolted. "A muscular woman? Could it be… the infamous private salt smuggler, Xing Honglang?"
"That must be her," Fan Shanyue said. "She injured Third Brother and killed dozens of our men before fleeing west, into Chengcheng County."
"That damn woman," Sui Fengxiong snarled. "Cut our people and run? Is there no justice?"
Fan Shanyue lowered his voice. "I heard the Héyang county constable is already marching toward us with militia gathered from local gentry. Numbers are large. We can't stay in Héyang anymore. Perfect opportunity—let's push west into Chengcheng. That avoids the constable and lets us chase Xing Honglang for revenge."
Sui Fengxiong hesitated. "But the Chengcheng constable, Cheng Xu… rumor says he's vicious. The old tales said he was timid, but that was fake. Turns out the real Cheng Xu was a war demon—defeated Bai Shui Wang-Er, killed Zheng Yanfu and Zhong Guangdao, and even crushed Luochuan Buzhan-Ni and Yichuan Zuoguazi. Greenwoods heroes don't even dare step into Chengcheng! If we enter and meet him, we're—"
Fan Shanyue burst into loud laughter. "No need to worry! Cheng Xu was killed by the Embroidered Guards. Hahaha! The court is unbelievable—Chengcheng finally produced a competent constable, and the imperial goons slaughtered him for us. The emperor must really love bandits."
"Eh? Where did you hear this?"
"From a courier rider. Absolutely true."
"Then what are we waiting for? Chengcheng! Move, move!"
"Hahaha! Bai Shui Wang-Er, Luochuan Buzhan-Ni, Yichuan Zuoguazi—none can compare. Time to let Chengcheng witness the glory of Fan Shanyue!"
Chongzhen, Year One. Cheng Xu may have "left the mortal world"…
but in the Jianghu, his name still thundered like a legend.
Meanwhile…
Li Daoxuan was deeply troubled by an important matter: entertainment.
Last time Xing Honglang fought Gao Chuwu, the massive crowd that gathered proved one thing—Gaojia Village now had over a thousand people. If they didn't develop entertainment soon, idle villagers would start causing trouble and productivity would plummet.
He needed to give these well-fed, time-rich peasants something to do.
But where to start?
Books? Everyone was illiterate.
Use the few literate men as storytellers? Not sustainable.
Li Daoxuan clutched his head, trapped in painful contemplation…
At that moment, from the southwest road leading to the county town—someone arrived.
A man on horseback, wearing official robes—County Magistrate Liang Shixian. Next to him, a general in armor—the new constable replacing Cheng Xu.
Behind them: adviser, deputy constable, yamen runners, soldiers—a big, pompous official procession.
Li Daoxuan let out a delighted "Oh?" Finally, something fun was happening.
Villagers instantly entered spectator mode, the natural talent of all common folk.
Xing Honglang and her private salt crew hid inside the plastic mansion.
Cheng Xu quickly straightened his mask, then zipped back into the main fort to hide.
Shansier adjusted her robes, adopted the majestic air of a noble family's chief steward, and walked out of the fortress.
"Well, well! It's been too long, Magistrate Liang. You look radiant—truly a joy to see."
Magistrate Liang dismounted and cupped his fists. "Steward San!"
The new constable dismounted as well, eyeing the fortress with a strange, evaluating expression.
Liang Shixian introduced them. "This is Fang Wushang, the new Chengcheng constable. This is Steward San of the Li family."
Formalities done.
Shansier bowed with perfect etiquette. "What brings Magistrate Liang and General Fang here today?"
Liang Shixian sighed. "We're here to borrow weapons again."
Shansier thought silently: So the news of Héyang's bandit chaos has finally reached them.
Footnotes
Layered tribute scheme — Historically common among mountain bandits; early members enjoyed protection, latecomers got squeezed dry. A primitive pyramid system, Jianghu edition.
Xing Honglang — A notorious salt smuggler archetype; illegal salt trade was extremely lucrative and brutally suppressed in the Ming.
Constables as local warlords — In turbulent areas, constables were often more feared than bandits, sometimes stronger than county magistrates.
Entertainment problem — Rapid population growth in farming villages historically always created idle-time issues. Without distraction, trouble brewed. Li Daoxuan is basically inventing "Ming Dynasty rural leisure management."