Chapter 65: Arrogance Before, Deference After

“Why did no one tell me?” Magistrate Wang was in a panic.

Though there are many cases of heroic fathers with timid sons, Shen Shi had recently led a hundred local militia to repel the Liao invaders. With such martial prowess, coupled with the prestige of his scholarly lineage, he was not someone a mere county magistrate could afford to offend.

Please, someone, come and persuade me! Just one more word and I would yield.

Yet the more Magistrate Wang hoped for someone to dissuade him, the less anyone spoke up. He was so anxious that he scratched his head in distress.

“Damn it! If I must lose my dignity, so be it!”

Unable to wait for anyone else, Magistrate Wang stepped forward himself.

“So you are a descendant of the venerable sage. My apologies for the disrespect.”

He deliberately said “venerable sage” to remind Shen Shi of his family’s legacy. His forebear, Shen Qing, had served as one of the regents during the previous deposed emperor’s reign, holding high office as Imperial Secretary and Grand Commandant. For repeatedly offering forthright counsel, he angered the former emperor and was ordered to die.

At this moment, Magistrate Wang was profoundly grateful that the Shen family had such an ancestor. When the emperor commands your death, you accept it without rebellion.

Of course, with such an ancestor, Magistrate Wang was even less inclined to let Shen Shi act recklessly.

Think about it! The descendant of a loyal minister, a model set up by emperors through the ages—bestowed the posthumous title “Loyal and Martial” during the previous dynasty, elevated to Minister of Works and renamed “Illustrious” under the current emperor, whose family was summoned into the imperial guard as a gesture of favor.

Such a loyal subject, favored by successive dynasties, and trouble would arise only in your tenure as magistrate? Would you still have a hope of prospering?

Yes, the Song dynasty does not execute its civil officials, but that doesn’t mean there are no punishments at all. Many a minister has been exiled to desolate outposts—not a fate Magistrate Wang desired. His only ambition was to reach the capital. Now that promotion was within reach, he could not afford a misstep.

“Master Shen, you are too impetuous. I said the garrison troops would be compensated half in cash, half in land,” Magistrate Wang declared, speaking as if this had always been his intent.

He was now a different man from the one who had first appeared. Granting land was far better than handing out coin.

Naturally, Magistrate Wang needed a way to save face; one condition was that if the Liao besieged the city again, Shen Shi must come to the rescue.

“Rest assured, sir. Should the Liao return, I will surely come,” Shen Shi replied.

Having made such a concession, Magistrate Wang had fulfilled Shen Shi’s aims. Shen Shi had no desire to rebel; on the contrary, he was duty-bound to accept this condition. If the Liao imitated the Western Xia and lingered outside Guobei, even Jinhua would not be at peace.

“Excellent, excellent! Truly a man of responsibility—a worthy scion of a military house.” Magistrate Wang was overjoyed at Shen Shi’s answer.

“My dear nephew,” he even addressed him, “but for something like this, for their sake, is it really worth it?”

This was what Magistrate Wang most wished to ask and know.

“My lord, they are the true heroes. Without them, nothing would have been possible,” Shen Shi replied.

Such words made perfect sense in the twenty-first century, but here...

Magistrate Wang’s lips curled in disbelief. You don’t want to speak plainly, so be it—what nonsense! If not for you, do you think I’d be distributing land to them?

Seeing Shen Shi’s refusal to speak the “truth,” Magistrate Wang dropped the matter, exchanged a few formulaic pleasantries, and went off to reassure the militiamen.

Upon learning they would receive land, the militia were overjoyed.

As Shen Shi and his companions departed, the men flocked to see them off.

“Thank you, sir! You are like a parent to us!”

“If there is another battle, we would gladly serve under your command again!”

Their voices rose together, and a faint aura of fortune drifted toward Shen Shi.

He saw the subtitle: Fortune—public esteem. Gaining it, the people follow willingly.

This fortune, though of limited practical use, was still something Shen Shi accepted. Generally, he avoided taking in such diffuse energy, believing cultivation should be as pure as possible. But this was a gesture of goodwill; he could not simply disperse it. And so, he received it.

With these matters settled, Shen Shi and his company were free to depart.

As for the flower-viewing gathering, Kong Xueli could attend, but not Shen Shi. He had to escort Bao Zheng and his party back to Jinhua and drive the warhorses home as well.

A hundred sound horses and dozens more wounded—this was also military merit in the Song. Since they had agreed to split the spoils, half must be taken back to Jinhua.

“My lord, here we part ways,” Shen Shi said as they reached the borders of Jinhua.

“Shen Shi, do you truly want only the wounded horses?” Bao Zheng asked, still in disbelief.

Warhorses were a perpetual sore spot for the Song’s civil and military officials. Lacking horses, their infantry bore heavy armor like tortoises, slow and easy prey for enemies...

To ride freely on the battlefield, one could not do without fine steeds.

That Shen Shi, scion of a military family, would refuse the healthy horses and take only the wounded was beyond Bao Zheng’s understanding.

“I truly want only the wounded ones, sir, you have my word,” Shen Shi affirmed repeatedly.

“Well then... Master Shen, you have my deepest thanks!” Bao Zheng bowed in great ceremony. “With these horses, our county can finally form a mounted archery corps.”

What?

Shen Shi was momentarily stunned. Bao Zheng’s ambition was impressive—but ultimately futile.

Given the Song’s hunger for warhorses, how could they keep the healthy ones? If Bao Zheng followed Shen Shi’s example and took only the wounded, perhaps he could keep them, but the good ones—never.

Even so, wounded horses were not easy to preserve. In these times, wounded soldiers were rarely expected to survive, let alone animals.

Only because Shen Shi spared no spiritual power or expense on medicines had these horses survived.

Without Shen Shi, more than half would have died—either from blood loss or infection.

For this reason, none contested Shen Shi’s claim to the wounded horses.

After bidding farewell to Bao Zheng, Shen Shi mounted his horse, with dozens following—some healthy, some limping, some missing a leg entirely.

Yet even beasts have spirit. Each horse followed Shen Shi in perfect order, as if knowing he was their savior.

Bao Zheng watched Shen Shi’s departure, full of deep emotion, silent for a long while. Only when the herd vanished behind Jinhua’s walls did he finally order, “Let’s return.”

“Yes, my lord!” Wang Chao and the others replied, spirits high.

No wonder—they had gained both military merit and fine horses at Guobei. How could their spirits not soar?

They even dreamed of forming a mounted archery corps and riding to battle.

...

In the capital, the diplomatic mission.

The defeated palace troops returned to the mission.

“Useless, the lot of you! The rations were already arranged, yet you failed to collect them. What use are you?”

A young man, red-faced with anger upon receiving the news, glared fiercely at his subordinates.

“Your Highness, we underestimated the Song. Who would have thought that in Zhejiang, a descendant of Shen Qing would be present? Our men suffered a heavy defeat.”

The Liao’s intelligence was swift—they had already uncovered the truth.

“Alas! How many great talents are born from China’s soil!”