MLMD -Chapter 115 Stubborn Resistance

Half an hour later, the marching bugle once again echoed melodiously through the mountains. The soldiers, now fully equipped, formed up in neat ranks. One banner after another was raised, and flags fluttered throughout the formation. In no time at all, a lean, battle-ready army appeared before everyone’s eyes. At Yue Yang’s command, three thousand troops advanced in strict formation toward the central mountain range of Lüzikou.

The three thousand men Yue Yang brought this time were not all infantry. Among them were five hundred cavalry, personally led by Wu Chengfeng. Two thousand infantry were commanded by Hu Laosan, while the remaining five hundred infantry served as Yue Yang’s personal guard.

Thanks to the marriage alliance between Yue Yang and the Khorchin tribe, caravans now traveled almost every month between Wuli Village and the Khorchin grasslands. In addition to grain, cloth, salt, and tea bricks, a steady stream of cattle, sheep, and horses from the Khorchin tribe was brought to Wuli Village. As a result, Wuli Village’s army had already fully achieved mounted logistics with mules and horses. Thus, besides the three thousand soldiers, Yue Yang also brought along more than twenty small hu dun cannons. Over the past two days, dragging these cannons—each weighing several hundred jin—had made the artillerymen suffer no small amount.

Watching the fully armed troops march out again in such high spirits, Li Yuan and the merchants following behind felt even more confident about this operation.

Ten li was not a long distance. After about an hour of marching, the troops arrived at Lin Yuanteng’s stronghold in Lüzikou—the entrance to the ring-shaped mountain range.

Yue Yang’s large and conspicuous advance into Lüzikou naturally could not escape Lin Yuanteng’s notice. By now, how could he not understand that the people Leopard Head had killed a few days earlier must have had close ties with Yue Yang?

Knowing there was no way to avoid this, Lin Yuanteng acted decisively. He immediately brought Leopard Head, all his hired thugs, and more than a thousand miners under the Lin family to the main gate at the mountain pass. Gazing at the rows upon rows of neatly arrayed soldiers outside, all clad in armor, and the dozen or so hu dun cannons at the front with their dark, gaping muzzles, Lin Yuanteng’s face turned pale, his mouth dry.

After a moment, he said to those beside him, “Open the gate. I want to see what this Commandant Yue intends to do.”

“Master, you mustn’t!” Leopard Head immediately stopped him as soon as the words left his mouth.
“Master, we can’t open the gate. If we do, those troops outside will rush in and slaughter us!”

By now, if Leopard Head still didn’t realize that these troops had come to avenge the people he had killed a few days earlier, then he would have lived in vain. Somehow summoning his courage, he grabbed Lin Yuanteng’s arm and shouted, “Master, the troops are too strong. If we hold the gate, we might still have a slim chance of survival. But if we open it, then it’s all over!”

Smack!
A loud slap rang out.

At this moment, Lin Yuanteng, as the master, saw things far more clearly than Leopard Head. He shouted harshly, “You fool! Do you really think these two doors can protect us? Or do you think those dozen cannons out there are just for show? Go—right now—and bring those mud-legged miners here. Tell them this, this, and this…”

Before long, Leopard Head, having received his orders, ran back inside…

Soon after, the tightly shut gate slowly opened. Surrounded by a group of household guards, Lin Yuanteng walked out and came before the army. Stepping forward a few paces, he called out loudly, “Where is Commandant Yue? Lin Yuanteng has come to pay his respects!”

Slowly, Yue Yang—fully armored and accompanied by dozens of guards—also stepped forward. He stopped about seven or eight paces from Lin Yuanteng.

Yue Yang lifted his visor, revealing his face, clasped his hands toward Lin Yuanteng, and said calmly, “Master Lin, we meet again. I never imagined we would meet under such circumstances. Truly regrettable.”

“Indeed, it is regrettable,” Lin Yuanteng replied through clenched teeth. “Lord Yue, may I ask what business brings you, leading such an army, to this little Lüzikou?”

“What business?” Yue Yang’s face immediately darkened. He said coldly, “Lin Yuanteng, you indulged your subordinates in killing my miners and seizing my property, and you still have the nerve to ask me what business I have here? Have you no shame at all?”

“Lord Yue, you can’t just say whatever you like. You claim I killed your people—where is your evidence? Without evidence, I can accuse you of slander!” Since all pretenses had already been torn away, Lin Yuanteng no longer spoke politely. Moreover, he knew very well that as long as he refused to admit it, Yue Yang could do nothing. The testimony of that one man who escaped alone was not enough to convict him.

“Good… very good! You still want evidence from me!” Though Yue Yang had long known how treacherous people could be, Lin Yuanteng’s outright denial still filled him with uncontrollable anger.

“Fine. Since you want evidence, I’ll give you evidence.” Yue Yang pulled a small booklet from his robe and threw it at Lin Yuanteng’s feet, saying coldly, “The Great Ming Code states clearly: all mineral resources within the Great Ming belong to the imperial court. Any mining must be approved by the court and the local authorities. Otherwise, it is a grave crime, and all illegally obtained proceeds shall be confiscated by the state! I ask you, Master Lin—your family has been mining here for decades. Do you have official authorization? If not, then don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

As soon as Yue Yang finished speaking, Lin Yuanteng’s face turned pitch-black. Across the entire Ming realm, how many people mining actually had official permits? Everyone mined—he mined, you mined, everyone mined. It had been this way for years, and no one had ever come to check permits. This had always been a matter of whose fist was bigger. At that moment, Lin Yuanteng wished he could spit in Yue Yang’s face and curse loudly, “Permit? Permit my ass!”

“Lord Yue, it seems you are determined to push me, Lin, to the end today, aren’t you?” Lin Yuanteng’s face was darker than the bottom of a pot.

“Heh… heh…” Yue Yang laughed loudly toward the sky. After a long while, he stopped and sneered, “Master Lin, if you don’t have a permit, then I’m afraid there’s nothing to discuss. Acting on the court’s orders, I am to arrest all criminals who steal imperial mineral resources without authorization and hand them over to the Prefect for judgment. All illegal gains will be confiscated as well. Master Lin, did you hear that clearly?”

“You… you…” Lin Yuanteng pointed at Yue Yang, so enraged he couldn’t speak.

Originally, Lin Yuanteng had thought that no matter how bold Yue Yang was, he would merely bring troops to intimidate him—at most forcing him to share a slice of the profits with those merchants. After all, he had killed over a hundred of Yue Yang’s men, and such demands would have been reasonable. Only now did he finally see the truth: Yue Yang wasn’t here to share the spoils—he was here to swallow Lüzikou whole and eat it all by himself!

As the saying goes, cutting off someone’s source of livelihood is like killing their parents. Lin Yuanteng naturally could not sit still and wait for death. These mines were the Lin family’s foundation. Without them, the Lin family would collapse by more than half.

Just then, a large crowd of ragged people poured out from behind the gate. There were old and young, men and women; some women even carried children on their backs. Many held hoes, sticks, and other tools. Behind them was a group of burly men wielding knives and spears, herding more people forward from inside. In an instant, the scene descended into chaos.

Lin Yuanteng burst into wild laughter. Pointing at the people behind him, he shouted at Yue Yang, “Lord Yue, do you see this? These are all poor souls scraping by in the mountains. If you seal our mines, will all these people just starve to death?”

“That’s right, folks!” a shrill voice suddenly rang out from the back of the crowd.
“The troops want to shut down our mines and smash our rice bowls. Can we agree to that?”

“No!”
“If they smash our rice bowls, we’ll fight them to the death!”
“Right—fight them! We’re worthless lives anyway. If it comes to it, we’ll just give them up!”
“Kill these dog officials!”

With deliberate instigation, the crowd’s emotions quickly flared. They began pressing slowly toward the soldiers’ formation. Seeing this, Yue Yang’s guards feared for his safety and immediately moved to escort him back. Yue Yang stopped them, stared coldly at Lin Yuanteng, and asked, “Lin Yuanteng, I’ll ask you one last time—are you really determined to resist to the very end?”

“Hahahaha…” Seeing the thousands of miners and their families surging behind him, Lin Yuanteng laughed maniacally. He shouted, “Lord Yue, it’s not that I refuse—it’s that these thousands of villagers behind me refuse! You want to cut off their way of life; naturally, they’ll demand an explanation from you. Don’t you think so?”

“Fine. Then we’ll settle this with real force!” Yue Yang shot Lin Yuanteng a cold glance, silently sentencing him to death once more. Then, under his guards’ protection, he retreated to the main formation.

As soon as Yue Yang returned, the square formation that had opened up immediately closed again. At the same time, a booming voice rang out from behind the ranks:

“People in front, listen up! By order of Lord Yue, anyone who attacks the troops will be deemed a rebel bandit and executed on the spot! I repeat—by order of Lord Yue…”

Hearing this, the advancing crowd hesitated slightly; some began to waver. But soon, someone shouted again, “Fellow villagers, don’t believe these dog officials! They’re wolves who eat people without spitting out bones. If we really believe them, we’ll starve to death within days. Besides, the law can’t punish everyone—they don’t dare do anything to us. Everyone, charge!”

Watching the crowd begin to press forward once more, Yue Yang, standing behind the formation, issued an order through clenched teeth:

“Pass down my command—
all troops, load your weapons.
Anyone who disobeys… kill.”