leader. According to the rebels, Liu Hei collected taxes for a long time, being in the retinue of Xuan Ming, the head of Xian in Shaanxi province.
At the same time, Liu never went too far in dealing with ordinary people, and he was a strict but fair human being.
But over the years, collecting taxes has become increasingly difficult. The rulers demanded more and more, while time after time, nature threw new challenges o to the common man. Over time, when collecting tax became merely impossible, Xuan Ming was forced to resort to the help of the troops since several times his tax collectors were driven out of the villages by locals and even beaten up with sticks a couple of times.
Liu Hei found himself in an ambiguous position when he had to choose whether to continue serving faithfully to his master, the Emperor's henchman or to give up everything and go on the run.
Raised in a military settlement, Hei was the fifth son of his father, and therefore he was not drafted into the army. He was ready to be faithful to his vassal oath, but one day the village where he arrived with a small support detachment made up of governor's warriors was burnt down after one of the guards was hit by a stone thrown by a child.
Liu Hei witnessed the unarmed man being beaten, houses burned, woman raped, and children enslaved. Those who remained alive were tied up and driven into slavery, and the corpses of the rest were ordered by the commander to be burned along with the entire village.
Mindful of who would be the next victim of the imperial soldiers, Liu went to the nearest village and rose. He spoke to common men and begged them to leave. He told the truth of what will they face. He did not lack inspiration. The cries of the beaten people and the flames of burning houses were still fresh in his memory. People believed him, as this was said by Liu Hei. He had a spiritual aura around him, which made people follow him and listen to him. Even Li, has noticed it.
Having a great knowledge of military operations – Liu Hei began to gather his army from former herders and ploughmen, blacksmiths and potters. He took them to the training yard, forcing them to learn to resist the princely squads, trying to introduce the tactics of ambush war, knowing well that in an open field, his "army" would be nothing more than prey.
They might not be the best soldiers, but they were warriors. They were fighting for their lives, for their future. And freedom was their reward. Walking past dozens of tents and huts, where motley-dressed people were sitting around fires, cooking dinner, the travellers found themselves in front of a larger tent. Tang signalled to wait and disappeared inside.
Li glanced around and saw that everyone was staring at them.
He was not offended: his armour was supposed to have an irritating effect on the inhabitants of the camp. The guards were not treated very well here. At that moment, the curtain fell back, and Tang invited them inside. Li bent down and entered the low passage, habitually closing his eyes so as not to become blind from the bright outer light. Liu Hei greeted the guests. A pair of oil lamps burned on the sides. Even in the wild forest, the former tax collector could not give up his secular habits: ordinary men did not use interior lighting, as lamp oil was an unaffordable luxury.
At the sight of those who entered, the Chief of the rebels rose and bowed, casting a tenacious glance at the intruders. He pointed to the opposite seats while agile Liang hastily put bowls of rice and cups of rice wine in front of them. Li took a second to get accustomed to their surroundings.
Liu himself wore a faded robe, his hair militarily tied in a tight knot. He looked like a man in his thirties. Old Luo Yang didn't seem to pay attention to anything until silent Liu Hei said:
"I'm glad that fate has brought famous Luo Yang to my home."
"That's because we are now waling on the same paths," the old master smiled thinly. Liu also smiled.
"Yet we are here, and I have a lot of questions for you if you don't mind…"
"There is only one, and the main question: will I have so many answers? After all, I myself travel in search of the truth."
Liu nodded.
"We came across many burned-down villages along the way. Death is in the valleys, Chief. How are you going to fight it? With these several dozen unfortunates?"
Liu Hei frowned, then a clear sadness appeared on his face. "I don't know, wise man. I think about it every day and night. These people entrusted their destinies to me, and we don't care what happens to us; we only live for our children. Today our task is to save them. We'll think about the rest tomorrow if the sun rises."
"That's reasonable," Luo Yang muttered, overwhelmed by the inner strength that sounded in this simple phrase.
"What choice did they have?" The Chief of the rebels finished his thought, nodding towards the tent exit. Yang nodded.
"Of course, they had none. But you had. What prompted a former successful tax collector, a respected person, to leave a sedate existence and run through the forests?"
Liu Hei paused, rubbing his clean-shaven chin, stroking his thin moustache. Then he said in a simple tone:
"Probably, otherwise, my conscience would not allow me to live."
The old man nodded gravely.
"You will be given a tent; rest now. Tomorrow we will continue."
"Thank you, Master Liu, that's what we'll do," Li Zicheng stood up. Luo Yang followed him. The owner of the tent jumped to his feet with the obvious intention of accompanying them, but the wise man stopped him with a gesture.
"It is unworthy of a Chief to engage in the life of lonely travellers. Let young Liang accompany us. We became friends on the way."
"So be it," Liu Hei agreed and invited Liang, who happily accompanied the guests to their tent.
The next morning, they met again in the Chief's tent.
"Heaven sent you to me," the owner of the tent began with the traditional form of polite address. "In my case, this is not that much of an exaggeration. Yesterday you had a chance to note the tragedy of the situation. People entrusted their lives to me, I am responsible for them, but I am afraid they are not ready. I need your guidance?"
Leaving his empty cup aside, Luo Yang started smoking his pipe made from juniper wood. The smoke rose in circles, playing in the streaks of sunlight, penetrating through the holes in the tent canvas. It was impossible to see what exactly the old man was thinking about. Li, nor Liu dared to interfere with the thoughts of an old man.
Zicheng took a deep breath and said:
"At other times, I would say what you already know yourself very well: your "army" is doomed to defeat. But, in addition to simple arithmetic, which takes into account large numbers, equality and inequality, there is also fate and the talent of a commander… And luck… of course, if you believe in one."
"I do believe," Liu replied with a grin. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."
"Then everything gets easier. You will not be able to withstand an open battle against the imperial army. But you can deliver short, pinpoint strikes to individual units, merely the same as governor sends people like you to collect taxes from the weakest villages. Catching a squad on a narrow path and destroying it will not be that difficult. Besides, there are mainly soldiers who are on foot, which means that the cavalry will not chase you. The governor will not notice the loss of one or even several units immediately. Commanders tend to ignore the weakest detachments.
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