Chapter Sixty-One: The Mountain God and the Earth Dragon (Part One)
The sand table—what a powerful tool! How could a master of crossing worlds like myself not make use of it? Simple to employ, requiring no advanced skill, it never fails to astonish the masses and make young ladies squeal. The best part is, all I need do is move my lips; making the sand table is always someone else’s task.
Placed in the hall, I, Little Treasure Feng, waited a full five minutes, relishing the expressions of surprise on everyone’s faces as they busied themselves locating familiar sites on the sand table: “Here’s the village,” “That’s West Mountain,” “This is the hot spring tea plantation”—the tea plantation established only after my arrival— “The soap factory is over there!”
“This is the topographical map of the region. Take a close look,” I said, then instructed Ding Eleven Maiden to begin. “West Mountain has a river, and the hot spring tea plantation’s waters flow down to form a lake, so water is plentiful to the west. The center is all mountains and forests. To the east, there are over three thousand mu of land, two thousand five hundred of which have been newly sold to us. The poor harvests, caused by lack of water, prompted the sale, but the water shortage remains unresolved.”
She pointed out each feature with a teaching stick; the situation was immediately clear to everyone.
“Sir, that is the situation,” Ding Eleven Maiden reported.
“Did you all hear clearly?” I asked.
“Yes!”
“Ding Eleven Maiden, share your thoughts with everyone,” I commanded, aware she wanted to use my authority to sway them, but I wouldn't make it so easy for her.
If Ding Eleven Maiden spoke her plan herself, success would be credited to me, but failure would be her fault. She understood this well, but had no choice but to muster her courage and explain, “We dig a canal from the West Mountain lake, passing through East Mountain Pass to the east. Then, another canal through the center, using waterwheels to lift water. This is a major undertaking; every household must contribute labor.”
Waterwheels had already existed by then, said to have been invented in the Han period by Hua Lan, perfected by Kong Ming during the Three Kingdoms, and widely used for agricultural irrigation in Sui and Tang times.
She traced the route on the sand table, making it clear to all.
“So, what do you think?” I asked.
If no one objected, the plan would be approved. If anyone complained behind my back after agreeing in person, that would be grounds for punishment.
Everyone exchanged glances; Ding Eleven Maiden watched anxiously, her fingers twisted together, drained of color.
The difference between having the head of the household’s support and not is vast. If she had proposed this in a regular meeting (without the head present), she would likely have been drowned out by the chorus of voices.
At last, someone stood up: “This plan cannot be done!”
He was a somewhat refined middle-aged man, dressed more elegantly than the others, his face fuller and more prosperous, loudly objecting.
“Who are you?” I asked, feigning scholarly airs.
“He is the husband of the Princess’s wet nurse, called Jian Third Brother,” Ding Eleven Maiden whispered, her eyes reddening.
Enemies, when met, stir deep resentment!
Jian Third Brother had studied for a few years, possessed some learning (though he never passed the civil exam), and enjoyed a privileged position. The Princess, out of respect for her wet nurse, gave him land to collect rent, and he drew a salary at the soap factory, living quite comfortably.
Idleness breeds mischief; he loved to meddle in everything, though his ideas were impractical. The Princess was shrewd enough to see he was neither a scholar nor a warrior, so kept him on the payroll but never let him manage affairs. Still, he lacked self-awareness and wanted to control everything, and when he couldn’t, he talked nonsense—especially about Ding Eleven Maiden. He often cited the proverb about hens crowing at dawn, claiming women should not run such grand enterprises; it ought to be men’s domain.
Some with ulterior motives flattered him, making him their banner, and his self-importance grew, driving Ding Eleven Maiden nearly to tears in private.
“Oh, so you’re the ‘milk lord’!” I said, inventing a new title, asking with a sardonic smile, “Milk lord, what advice do you have?”
Jian Third Brother launched into a grandiose speech: “East Mountain Pass has a mountain spirit, and the central ridges house earth dragons. Disturbing the land will offend the spirits and ruin the feng shui. We must not proceed!”
Once he opened his mouth, the hall erupted; everyone clamored in agreement, insisting the mountain spirit must not be angered, nor the earth dragon disturbed, lest it turn and ruin the feng shui, affecting everyone.
“So!” I said, “The mountain spirit? Is there really a mountain spirit?”
My words were irreverent; some elders muttered, “A sin, a sin.”
“There is a mountain spirit!” A clear-speaking youth was pushed forward to recount its deeds: the mountain spirit of East Mountain Pass was a giant wild boar!
A wild boar? More boar hunting? I thought, half amused, that I’d become a professional pig killer.
Yes, a wild boar! The youth recounted numerous tales: it had killed five hunters, was impervious to weapons, arrows couldn’t pierce it!
It ravaged fields; hunters organized to kill it, but failed, losing five men, three injured, two horses killed, several hunting dogs dead!
It avoided traps and snares laid on the ground; jumped over meter-high nets; dug through deer boulders blocking its path. Was it not a spirit?
People prayed to it, always with results, and some even dreamt the boar appeared to them, declaring itself the mountain spirit (all rumor and hearsay).
Little Treasure Feng listened with a smile, while the beautiful maiden laughed so brightly she outshone the flowers.
They didn’t take the mountain spirit seriously, but the tenant farmers were anxious and fearful, worried about angering the spirit, knowing any consequences would fall on them, not the lords.
As fate would have it, I declared, “We’ll go investigate this ‘mountain spirit’ right away. As for the earth dragon of the central ridges, I’ll invite Master Xuanqing from Lao Jun Temple in Luoyang to inspect the feng shui, ensuring the earth dragon isn’t disturbed. That’s settled.”
“Absolutely not!” Jian Third Brother waved his hands emphatically.
He declared passionately, “The mountain spirit can only be revered, never offended. Even thinking about it, the spirit will know, and disaster will befall us—how could we survive?”
“The earth dragon lies beneath the ground; disturb the earth and it will know. When it turns, the ridges shift, and catastrophe follows!”
“Yes, yes!” The ignorant masses in the hall echoed his sentiments.
Their momentum was overwhelming. Ding Eleven Maiden and her supporters dared not make a sound, their faces near tears.
Impossible to reason with!
Little Treasure Feng rolled his eyes to the heavens, thinking, “Now I understand why those who cross worlds insist on compulsory education!”
“What?” This time Tang Tian heard clearly. She caught the word “they”—who were they? And what is “compulsory education?”
“Uh, it means the authorities want the people to learn to read, as if the emperor orders the establishment of schools everywhere so the common folk can study,” I explained evasively.
In principle, keeping the people ignorant makes rule easier, but when they’re too ignorant, nothing can get done.
If the peasants here won’t build irrigation, there will be no harvests, and that would trouble the Princess and myself!
Trouble had already arrived: land taxes must be paid in grain, and when peasants fail to pay, landlords must purchase grain to submit to the state. The Princess had already spent much, buying land and grain. Ding Eleven Maiden said the Princess was short on funds, so I ordered two thousand strings of cash from my New Capital Mountain earnings to support her.
But in doing so, I had two thousand less to spend myself—all because of the peasants’ ignorance.
Tang Tian watched coolly, quietly saying to me, “Food must be eaten one bite at a time, battles fought one at a time. Let’s deal with the ‘mountain spirit’ first.”
“As you wish! Listening to one’s wife brings prosperity!” I joked, earning a punch from Tang Tian that made my face twitch.