Chapter 125: Ignorant Fools Know No Fear

Wei Niang had been observing Ye Chang’s actions in secret.

In times of crisis, a person’s true capabilities—and how effectively they can apply them—are laid bare. There are countless people who, in ordinary times, boast of their ability to govern and proclaim that they could bring order to the world, yet in reality, they cannot even manage a single village.

The more she watched, the more astonished she became.

The most striking characteristic of this young man was his foresight; it was as if he had anticipated every possible scenario and made thorough preparations for each.

That was why, before arriving, he had already scouted a place to take refuge, prepared pots and pans, and brought along sufficient machetes, hoes, and shovels. Anyone else, while fleeing for their lives in a panic, would never have thought of such things.

Moreover, he had ensured that the old and the weak were brought out as well.

By now, the villagers’ attitude toward Ye Chang had shifted completely; their initial fear had transformed into profound respect. Although villagers were inevitably prone to selfishness, at least, for the moment, no one had fallen into despair.

Once the drainage ditches were dug, Ye Chang felt that the temporary refuge camp could finally suffice. Hot porridge and soup were served, and though the crowd became chaotic as they rushed to eat—nearly overturning a pot and breaking into arguments—it did not even require Ye Chang to intervene. Old Man Kuang’s sons stepped in with a few stern shouts, and order was restored.

After everyone had eaten and warmed up, Ye Chang sighed. "Now is not the time to rest."

With over two hundred people gathered, if they remained idle, disputes were bound to arise. At a time like this, he had to keep them constantly occupied, tiring them out so thoroughly that they would have no time to think.

"Old Man Kuang, please gather the heads of the families. We must confer once more," Ye Chang said to the old man with a serious expression.

The five sons of Old Man Kuang ran to gather the people. Before long, dozens of family heads were congregated. They chattered and bickered in a cacophony; whereas before, a single glance from Ye Chang was enough to silence them, now that they felt safe, they were far less respectful.

Only Old Man Kuang’s family had witnessed the true terror of the barbarians. In the heat of the danger, everyone had lacked a leader and looked to this young outsider to make decisions. But now, seeing that the water no longer posed an immediate threat, they naturally wanted to push Ye Chang aside.

"Heh." Ye Chang pressed his palms down several times. Seeing that they were still busy chatting among themselves, he let out a sharp laugh. "You are at death’s door, yet you chat so spiritedly. Very well, enjoy it—if you don't talk more now, it won't be long before you have no one to talk to but ghosts in the underworld."

At these words, the crowd went quiet.

Such blunt words were never pleasant to hear. After a moment, one of the older men managed a forced smile. "Young Master, we are grateful for your help earlier; without you, we could not have retreated so smoothly. But we have also provided food for you and your companions. To speak in such a way is surely too discourteous, is it not?"

"Being discourteous is better than losing one's life," Ye Chang replied, pointing to the surrounding floodwaters. "We are currently in a precarious situation. I asked you here to discuss what we must do next, yet you are all noisy and unconcerned about your own lives and the lives of others. I am an outsider; at worst, I can just walk away. But what about you? Are you prepared to abandon your homes?"

He added, "And even if you abandon your homes, you might not survive."

"What do you mean? Can the water even reach this high?"

"Just because the water can't reach us, do you think you can sit back and relax?" Ye Chang sneered.

The Beimang mountain range where they were currently located was a spur of the Qinling Mountains and a branch of the Xiao Mountains, with an elevation of two or three hundred meters. Although the hill they occupied was surrounded by water on all sides, the peak was thirty zhang above the water level, so there was no fear of being submerged.

"If the water can't reach us, what is there to fear?"

"Do you know when the water will recede? Do you know if a plague will follow the flood? Even if the water recedes, the crops are destroyed and your family assets are gone. How will you survive until next year?"

These three questions left the villagers, who had just begun to feel at ease, solemn once more.

The villagers looked at one another in silence until Old Man Kuang coughed. "Young Master, please continue. Whoever makes noise and refuses to listen to you, just throw them into the water; it will save us some grain."

"Exactly, exactly! The Young Master was able to bring us to the mountain safely; he can surely teach us how to preserve ourselves..."

Some of the more sensible villagers began to flatter Ye Chang again. Ye Chang, however, remained cold and made a gesture for silence. This time, they obeyed immediately.

"I do indeed have a plan, but why should I help you?" Ye Chang’s single question left them speechless.

"Well, Young Master, let's talk this over..."

"If not for me, Old Man Kuang, could you have brought so many villagers out? Yet, the moment you felt safe, some people stopped taking my words to heart and even complained about the food my people consumed... When you were fleeing for your lives, how many of you remembered to bring grain or flour? If I hadn't reminded you, half of you would be starving by now."

Everyone looked ashamed.

"Young Master... oh, we have received a great kindness from you, yet we haven't even asked your name. It is truly inexcusable." Old Man Kuang, being more worldly, realized that while others were unable to speak, he had to take the lead. However, when he tried to address Ye Chang, he realized he didn't even know the young man's name.

"My surname is Ye. You may call me Ye Eleven."

"Young Master Ye, we are just ignorant country folk, unversed in etiquette. Young Master Ye is clearly a man of such great learning that you must have... six, seven, or eight cartloads of books in your belly..."

Old Man Kuang had heard it said that a man of great learning was "as rich in knowledge as five cartloads of books," but he figured that simply calling Ye Chang "five cartloads" might not satisfy him, so he bumped it up to six, seven, or eight.

Ye Chang couldn't help but chuckle; Old Man Kuang’s transparent attempt at flattery could not escape his notice.

Seeing Ye Chang’s tense face relax, Old Man Kuang felt a surge of secret joy: he had guessed correctly—this was the way to please this young master.

He coughed again. "A man like Young Master Ye is destined to be a Prime Minister in the Imperial Court; naturally, you wouldn't take offense at the behavior of ignorant folk like us... Young Master Ye, please tell us your plan. Whatever you need us to do, just command it."

The villagers began to flatter him in turn. They lacked eloquence, so they repeated the same things—praising Ye Chang for being "as handsome as a celestial being" or "smarter than eight or ten scholars combined." It was clumsy, but it gave Ye Chang a graceful way to step down.

"As I said earlier, there are three urgent matters. First, we do not know when the water will recede. Looking at the weather, it won't clear up anytime soon; I fear it will last for several days. During this time, water and food must be rationed. When I arrived, I ordered these barbarians to carry grain from your homes. It is enough for three days, but what happens after that? You all brought some food with you, and my first suggestion is that everyone contributes their grain to a communal store."

A clamor erupted at these words.

Everyone understood that even if the water receded tonight, food would remain the critical issue for a long time. Every family wanted to keep as much as possible for emergencies; no one wanted to hand it over.

"Quiet!" Ye Chang shouted. Recalling his earlier words, the crowd quieted down, though their eyes remained filled with resentment.

"Don't be unconvinced. Everyone has some grain now, but soon, some families will run out. Will you just watch your neighbors and kin starve to death?" Ye Chang said coldly. "Even if you are willing to watch them starve, do you think they will just wait to die? During the time we are trapped here, there will inevitably be theft, fighting, and killing. Perhaps before we even starve, half of us will be dead—and the first to die will be your own old and young."

He described a scenario so chilling that the villagers couldn't help but look around, as if the people next to them might draw a blade at any moment for the sake of food.

"But if we hand over the grain... who will manage it?"

"I am an outsider, so naturally, I should not be the one in charge. Choose three people from among the heads of the families to manage the distribution, and the grain we seized will be included as well." Ye Chang held up a hand. "I and four others will supervise these three to ensure there is no embezzlement. These are chaotic times, and chaotic times require strict laws. Anyone caught stealing will be removed from their position, and their entire family will be denied food for two days. If they dare to resist, they will be cast into the water to fend for themselves."

"This..." The villagers were stunned.

This was the heartland of the Great Tang, and after long years of peace, the people, while not wealthy, had enjoyed decades of stability. Ye Chang’s brutal proposal left them trembling.

"Wei Niang." Ye Chang nodded toward her.

Wei Niang waved her hand, and the barbarians behind her drew their blades in unison. The cold, lethal sheen of the barbarian blades left the villagers frozen.

"Young Master Ye is right; it is very fair and must be done this way," Old Man Kuang decided on the spot.

Only then did the villagers realize that Ye Chang was not just some young outsider; he had this group of ferocious, devilish-looking barbarians at his side.

"But... but what if there still isn't enough food?" someone asked timidly.

"That is the second urgent matter. I see there is plenty of firewood on this mountain. We will cut it to build rafts. They can be used to seek help, search for food, or find relief. In such a disaster, the Imperial Court must provide aid. If all else fails, we can head for Luoyang."

The villagers’ eyes lit up. Previously, they had only thought of waiting for the water to recede, but now they realized they could use rafts to seek rescue.

"The third urgent matter is that for these few days, whether it is water or food, everything must be boiled. I am a disciple of the Medicine King, Sun Simiao. The Medicine King once said that raw water and raw food contain invisible poisonous insects; if not boiled, they will grow in your bellies and cause pestilence, which then spreads from person to person..."

Although the villagers did not know who this Medicine King Sun Simiao was, the idea of "insects in raw water" was simple enough for them to understand, and they nodded. Ye Chang emphasized hygiene in every aspect of life, from eating and drinking to living, and especially the isolation of the sick. He was meticulous, assigning a person to be responsible for every single task and repeatedly instructing them on their duties.

The people assigned were mostly older, honest individuals. As for the villagers who looked cunning or treacherous, Ye Chang did not let them idle; he ordered them to cut wood for rafts, and once the rafts were built, he sent them out to scavenge for supplies.

Everything was in order, just as Ye Chang liked it. Yet, even in such order, there were discordant notes.

On the day the rafts were launched, Ye Chang heard a commotion below. He took two barbarians and went over to find that almost everyone had stopped working.

"What is going on?" Ye Chang asked.

"Young Master Ye is here! Make way, Young Master Ye is here!"

The crowd parted, and soon Ye Chang saw a man standing with his arms crossed, his head held high, looking furious.

Beside him, another older man looked miserable. Seeing Ye Chang, he called out, "Young Master Ye, it is truly... truly my incompetence."

Ye Chang recognized this older man as Zhong Baiwen, the person in charge of logging.

Before the logging supervisor could speak, the people around him began to chatter. It turned out that the man with his arms crossed went by the nickname "Second Barbarian" and was a well-known rogue in the village. He had been eating much and doing little, and the logging tasks assigned to him were always neglected, forcing his team members to do his share.

Today, when the first raft was finished, he was eager to take it out alone, claiming he wanted to join the salvage team. The salvage team, knowing he was a troublemaker, refused to take him. They had brought in Zhong Baiwen, the logging supervisor, to deal with him, but instead of backing down, he had caused a scene.

"Everyone has their duties. Since you are in the logging team, do your work there. Why must you join the salvage team?" Ye Chang asked with a frown, feeling annoyed.

Second Barbarian was a loner with no family or household head, so he had not been part of the initial group divisions. Hearing Ye Chang speak this way and seeing that he only had two barbarians with him, he sneered, "It was a mistake to let an outsider like you dictate matters in our village. They might be afraid to speak up, but I am not. We have provided you with food and drink these past two days; that is already more than enough kindness from our village..."

Ye Chang was stunned by his words.

He hadn't expected such a fool to exist in the village. It seemed this man was so unpopular that no one had bothered to tell him about the threat of the barbarians' blades.

Second Barbarian patted his chest. "Why shouldn't I be allowed to ride the raft? Why should I be the one cutting wood? I am taking this raft today. You outsider, if you have the guts, have your barbarians hit me!"

"You want to take the raft out to loot the property of others while they are trapped by the flood, don't you?" Ye Chang asked after a moment of contemplation.

This fellow was not a diligent worker, and Ye Chang had some impressions of him from the past two days. His sudden enthusiasm could only be explained by the prospect of profiting from the disaster.

Caught in his true intent, Second Barbarian grew angry and shouted, "And what if I am?"