"General Zhou, as a Han Chinese, why do you aid the barbarians and become a general for the Yan Hu?"
In the stronghold of Feilong Mountain, Yuan Bolong asked Zhou Fugui.
Yuan Bolong and his father and elder brother were Han Chinese from Liaodong, their ancestral home being Hedong Commandery. Before the Xia Dynasty’s southward migration, they served as border troops for Xia in Liaodong. After Liaodong was usurped by Wei, Yuan Bolong's father and elder brother, as part of Xia's border army, refused to surrender and continued to fight against Wei forces north of the Great Wall. Later, when Wei was conquered by Yan, Yuan Bolong's father and elder brother and other Xia border soldiers still refused to live under barbarian rule. Eventually, Yuan Bolong's father and elder brother were killed by the barbarians. Yuan Bolong, inheriting his father and brother's aspirations, but finding his forces greatly inferior to Yan's, could only bide his time in Feilong Mountain, waiting for an opportunity to return to Xia.
However, Feilong Mountain was separated from the southward-migrating Xia by mountains and rivers, making a return to Xia no easy feat. Over time, Yuan Bolong and his men became outlaws of the forest. Engaging in kidnapping, extortion, and robbery became inevitable. Yet, Yuan Bolong harbored a lingering hope: that the Great Xia Dynasty would reclaim its lost territories and expel all barbarians.
*Here we go again,* Zhou Fugui thought with immense helplessness. It seemed his forced conscription into the Yan army would be a stain on his life, a sin for all time, at least in the eyes of the Han people.
Zhou Fugui was both Han and barbarian, or rather, neither entirely Han nor entirely barbarian. Moreover, the Xiongnu and Xianbei were sworn enemies. All these factors were embodied in Zhou Fugui, making his situation exceptionally complex, one that could not be simply labeled as "Han traitor."
"Is the Great Chieftain a Han?" Zhou Fugui knew these heroes of Feilong Mountain were ruthless killers, and a single misstep could lead to his death. He asked cautiously.
"Yes..." Yuan Bolong nodded. "My surname is Yuan, given name Bolong. My ancestral home is Hedong Commandery. My father and elder brother were formerly border troops for Great Xia in Liaodong..."
After briefly recounting his story, Yuan Bolong said, "The Yan Hu government has sent emissaries multiple times to persuade Feilong Mountain to surrender. We have sworn to resist them to the death, preferring to dwell in these deep mountains and old forests rather than be recruited by Yan Hu."
"Great Chieftain Yuan's loyalty and righteousness are deeply admirable!" Zhou Fugui said with a smile. "However, Great Chieftain Yuan has deep mountains and old forests to retreat into, but I am not so fortunate. Back when I was in Luoyan Village, Lu Ming Township, You Prefecture, the Yan court conscripted soldiers. They conscripted my elder brother. As my elder brother was the pillar of our family, I had to enlist in his stead. And I have been serving ever since."
As Zhou Fugui spoke, the memory of his brother's death caused him pain.
"So that's how it is..." Zhu Qing, seeing Zhou Fugui's pained expression, asked, "General Zhou, why such sorrow?"
"And who might this be...?" Zhou Fugui inquired.
"Zhu Qing, also Han Chinese," Zhu Qing replied with a smile.
"Oh..." Zhou Fugui said hatefully. "My elder brother was killed by the Xianbei Duan clan. I exterminated their entire family to avenge him, which is why we were exiled to Xuelin City as conscripts."
"They only killed one person in your family, yet you killed their entire clan. And you're still resentful?" Mei'er suddenly asked.
Zhou Fugui glared at Mei'er in anger.
"Why are you glaring at me? It's true," Mei'er said, looking at Zhou Fugui with surprise.
"Little Lady Mei..." Zhu Qing smiled. "General Zhou must have been severely oppressed by the barbarians daily, so it's not merely a matter of killing one person versus killing an entire family."
"Daughter, do not speak further..." Yuan Bolong admonished Mei'er when he saw she was about to continue. He then turned to Zhou Fugui and praised him, "To kill one of ours, we must retaliate tenfold. General Zhou is truly a man of valor!"
"Not necessarily..." Zhou Fugui shook his head. "Revenge for my elder brother and younger sister was one reason. The primary reason, as Leader Zhu stated, is that the Xianbei were too overbearing. I led troops south to fight; not to mention merit, there was effort, was there not? Yet, certain Xianbei treated us like pigs and dogs. My three thousand brothers in the White Tiger Battalion were killed by Xianbei like Albugu, and more than half were lost. Therefore..."
"General Zhou harbored deep resentment, leading him to kill over two hundred Xianbei?" Zhu Qing smiled. "General Zhou, for his family and brothers, fearlessly defied authority and punished the wicked. Even the heroes of old were no less. Truly, a righteous man!"
"Hmph, I don't see it that way," Mei'er, who had been pinned down by Zhou Fugui earlier... their skin touching, causing her great embarrassment in front of all the bandits, held a grudge.
"Leader Zhu flatters me..." Zhou Fugui ignored Mei'er, shook his head, and sighed. "The act of killing and slaughtering villages was not a good strategy, nor a good deed. Even now, I deeply regret it. The Duan father and son, Albugu, and others deserved to die. I could kill them a hundred, a thousand times over and never regret it, nor would I hesitate. But among them were some women and children... Alas, I was blinded by rage at the time and killed some innocent people."
"Haha, barbarians deserve to die. If you killed them, why regret it?" Yuan Bolong roared with laughter. "If I had been there, I would have gladly helped you."
"To understand and correct one's mistakes is the greatest virtue," Zhu Qing also praised.
Zhou Fugui looked at the two of them in confusion and thought to himself, *They are singing in unison, what is their intention? Do they wish to keep me in the stronghold? Then gather forces, rob, and extort?*
"General Zhou..." Yuan Bolong then asked, "You went south? What is the situation in the south?"
"Is the Great Chieftain asking about the Xia court?" Zhou Fugui asked.
Yuan Bolong and Zhu Qing both nodded.
"I truly do not know the specifics," Zhou Fugui said. "I only know that the new Emperor of Xia has ascended the throne, the entire nation of Xia's morale has greatly boosted, and the Xia army and civilians are united in their efforts against Yan. Consequently, the Yan army has suffered a great defeat, losing hundreds of thousands of troops."
"Wonderful!" Yuan Bolong exclaimed with joy. "There is hope for Great Xia to reclaim its lost lands! There is hope for us wanderers to return to the Heavenly Dynasty!"
"Reclaim lost lands? Return to the Heavenly Dynasty?" Zhou Fugui glanced at Yuan Bolong and said, "Great Chieftain, Leader Zhu, do you want to hear the truth?"
"Of course!" Yuan Bolong instructed his followers, "Bring meat and wine! Today, I and General Zhou will drink until we drop."
"Thank you, Great Chieftain..." Zhou Fugui smiled. "Perhaps after hearing what I have to say, you will not feel the same way."
"What does General Zhou wish to say?" Yuan Bolong asked.
"The truth!" Zhou Fugui replied. "When I left You Prefecture, I already heard that Xia's peace envoy had arrived in You Prefecture."
"Peace talks? What does that mean?" Yuan Bolong asked in surprise.
"What it means?" Zhou Fugui replied, "It means Xia has no intention of continuing to fight Yan, and no intention of reclaiming lost territories."
"This... this..." Yuan Bolong was so angered he couldn't speak.
"And..." Zhou Fugui glanced at Yuan Bolong and continued, "Even if Xia reclaims its lost lands and drives all barbarians beyond the northern frontier, it might not be a good thing for your Feilong Mountain."
"General Zhou, why do you say that?" Yuan Bolong asked again.
"All crows in the world are black!" Zhou Fugui replied.
Zhu Qing nodded silently.
...
"Military Advisor, what do you think of this man?" After Zhou Fugui was led away by the Feilong Mountain followers to rest, Yuan Bolong asked Zhu Qing.
"Although this man is young, his perspective on matters is far more shrewd than that of ordinary people," Zhu Qing replied after thinking. "All crows in the world are black, and one must be strong oneself to strike iron. His two sentences refer to our Feilong Mountain. He has courage, strategy, loyalty, and righteousness. He can be considered a young hero!"
"Oh? Hehe, Military Advisor thinks so highly of him?" Yuan Bolong chuckled. "It seems I must keep this man here?"
Yuan Bolong, inheriting the aspirations of his father and elder brother, harbored a desire to return to Xia. However, as Zhou Fugui said, all crows in the world are black. Even if Feilong Mountain could return to Xia, the Xia court might not treat them well. After using them, they would be discarded like broken shoes, and there might even be other possibilities. Therefore, only by continuously strengthening their own power, that is, by being strong oneself to strike iron, could they find a place in this world, and the people of Feilong Mountain could continue to survive.
What Zhou Fugui thought, Yuan Bolong and Zhu Qing had also considered. But they had always lacked a good strategy and could only hide in Feilong Mountain, engaging in acts of robbery, kidnapping, and extortion.
Taking in Zhou Fugui might change this situation. Even if it didn't, such a courageous and strategic person would be a great support to Yuan Bolong and his men, and a capable general for Feilong Mountain.
"Great Chieftain, if you wish to keep him, in my opinion, it will likely be impossible," Zhu Qing said, shaking his head.
"What does Military Advisor mean by that?" Yuan Bolong pondered. "Does he dare to refuse if I wish to keep him? Unless he is not afraid of death."
"Hehe..." Zhu Qing chuckled. "If the Great Chieftain wishes to force him with death, it will likely be in vain. If he were afraid of death, he wouldn't have committed such a shocking crime, nor would he have ventured alone to Feilong Mountain."
"Military Advisor speaks the truth," Yuan Bolong agreed after some thought and then asked, "A person not afraid of death makes matters difficult. Does the Military Advisor have any good plan?"
"Let's keep him here for now," Zhu Qing said after a moment of thought. "However, I believe he will not stay in Feilong Mountain no matter what. For his brother and his younger sister, he killed over two hundred Xianbei barbarians, which shows he deeply cares for his family. If he stays in Feilong Mountain, his family will inevitably be implicated."
"Military Advisor's words are reasonable," Yuan Bolong nodded. Suddenly, he remembered something and asked Zhu Qing, "Why did he come to our Feilong Mountain alone?"
Zhu Qing shook his head.
Yuan Bolong and Zhu Qing had talked with Zhou Fugui for a long time and forgot to ask his purpose for coming to Feilong Mountain alone.
"He... he is going to Zou Xiong Ling," Jin Feiyan Yuan Meiyu said.
"Zou Xiong Ling? Why is he going to Zou Xiong Ling? Mei'er, go and ask," Yuan Bolong instructed Yuan Meiyu.