The Sorceress' Revolt
Author: Toriumi Jinzō
Translator: Ainikki the Archivist
Ko Biji's Story
Part Nine: Reincarnation
Tens of thousands of people passed through Bianliang every day, including government officials, soldiers, travelers, drifters and criminals. The city was filled with people of all classes and professions; there was even a significant population of homeless people. Carriages and horses passed constantly through the crowded streets, and ships of all sizes plied the canals. Bianliang was the largest city in the world at the time.
The open market was perhaps the busiest place. It was held within the vast grounds of Daxiangguo Temple, which was always crawling with street performers and Buddhist pilgrims. In the surrounding area, many-storied taverns and brothels rubbed shoulders with restaurants and shops of all sizes. The sound of all the people walking down the streets simultaneously was a tumult of noise like the precursor to an earthquake.
***
The summer sun was setting in the west. A vacant lot behind an alley gathered shadows as three men dragged a boy before them and shoved him against a wall. The men carried clubs and made threats of blackmail to the boy, who was well-dressed and polite. The men had scruffy beards and stern faces. They looked like criminals.
It was obvious at a glance what the men wanted. The boy ducked between them and ran into the alley. The men chased after him, yelling all the while.
In the alley, a young street merchant wearing a dirty bamboo hat sat and ate a sweet cake stuffed with red bean paste. The boy ran to him and called out, “I’m being chased by ruffians! Please help me!”
The street merchant looked up at the boy. The necklace around the boy’s neck shimmered in the low light. He must have come from a very wealthy family. There was no one else around, so the boy was desperate and begged the street merchant for assistance.
The men rushed over to the boy and glared at him. They ignored the street merchant. “You’re not going to run away, boy. I was just asking to borrow a few things.”
“I don’t have so much as a single coin to give you.”
“In that case, the necklace will do.”
The man’s friends must have found this funny; they burst out laughing.
“Are we sure about this? We’ll be punished by our elders,” one of the men said.
“It doesn’t matter. I want the necklace.”
The three men grabbed the boy’s arms from either side and tugged on his necklace.
“Stop it, you rude people! Let me go! You’re hurting me!” the boy yelled.
“Shut up,” one of the men said harshly. They gave him no mercy.
The street merchant stood up and shoved the men away from the boy without making a sound. The boy ran behind him.
“You bastard!” The three men’s faces turned red with rage as they raised their clubs. “We’ll kill you!”
The street merchant moved away from the boy and lifted a staff that he had concealed behind a basket of goods.
“Interesting… are you serious, you bastard?”
The street merchant didn’t reply.
The three men all aimed their attacks at the merchant, but he side-stepped them all and knocked them down with his staff as easy as breathing.
The boy was stunned by the merchant’s unexpected strength. “Take that, you ruffians!” he said, taunting the three men who were now groaning in pain on the ground.
Slowly, the three men staggered to their feet and wandered away, using their clubs as walking sticks.
The boy bowed politely to the street merchant who had come to his rescue. “Thank you! You are very strong. Do you come from the Imperial Palace?”
“The Imperial Palace?” the merchant asked. He blinked. “That is to say… I’m here on business for the Emperor, but I didn’t come from the palace. And where are you from?” He guessed that the boy was the son of a government official. Since children of high-ranking officials weren’t allowed to roam the streets, the merchant guessed that he’d either slipped his leash or been kidnapped.
When the boy didn’t answer his question, the merchant said, “It’s more dangerous in the city at night. You should go home now.”
“I won’t go home unless you tell me your name,” the boy said in an arrogant tone.
The merchant tried not to take the boy’s tone personally. All high-ranking nobles spoke that way. “I am but a humble street merchant, and that is all you need know, young master,” the merchant said with utmost politeness.
“It is disrespectful not to share your name. You are my benefactor,” the boy said.
“I see you take this very seriously. Call me the Egg Monk, if you must.”
“Egg Monk? But you don’t look like a monk,” the boy said.
“You see my shaved head? A lot of monks are like that.”
The boy pointed to a shaved part of his head and said, “Everyone has that now! It’s just the style.”
The street merchant laughed, and the boy laughed with him.
“That red bean cake looks delicious,” the boy said.
“If you’d like one, help yourself,” the street merchant said, offering a cake to him.
“Thank you!” He took a bite, then said, “This tastes great, Egg Monk!”
The street merchant was Tanshi in disguise, of course. “May we meet again in better circumstances, young master,” he said, bowing his head.
“We will, if fate allows,” the boy said. “I’ll try to come here again when I can.” Then he ran off.
Tanshi regretted not asking the boy’s name, but he hadn’t given his own, so the boy probably wouldn’t have told him even if he’d asked.
Several men in uniform black robes hurried past, whispering something. They seemed to be government officials—probably looking for the boy.
A young man dressed like a traveler approached from the direction the officials had come from. Tanshi recognized him and called out.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Ri Chū.”
Ri Chū didn’t look at Tanshi. He cast a stern look in the direction the officials who were searching for the boy.
“Do you know that kid?” Tanshi asked.
“Yes. Few people have met him, but everyone in China, and even foreigners halfway around the world, know his name.”
Tanshi blinked.
“That was the Emperor, you dolt.”
“What?”
That kid… that was Emperor Renzong?
“The eunuchs are looking for him. I heard them talking,” Ri Chū said.
Tanshi glanced in the direction that the boy had gone.
***
It was not uncommon for the reigning emperor to make incognito appearances among the common people. The Imperial Palace was a beautiful cage, and emperors longed, as all people do, for the free air. Renzong’s father, Zhenzong, also went out into the city often. The eighth emperor of the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE), Huizong, was so infatuated with the courtesan Li Shishi that he even had an underground passage dug between the Imperial Palace and the brothel where she worked.1
Tanshi and Ryū Gen infiltrated Bianliang and hid in the residence of a high-ranking official. It was safe there, since the official supported the salt smugglers. There was a barracks nearby for the Imperial Guards. It would be manned in times of emergency or war, but now it was mostly empty. Guards and soldiers patrolled the streets in force, so Ryū Gen was cautious in how he implemented his plan. If the soldiers and guards had time to muster and plan before he launched his attack, things would not go well. The attack must be swift and decisive, followed by a speedy retreat.
Tanshi had heard that Ryū Gen had faced off against Chō Ran, and that they’d been interrupted, which was disappointing to everyone.
Fifteen years before, when the forged sacred scroll incident occurred, Ryū Gen had been fifteen years old. He had heard rumors of Chō Ran’s escape. He had also speculated about what would happen when Chō Ran returned. Ryū Gen knew that Chō Ran had no loyalty to the Imperial Court and that he was knowledgeable about gunpowder and explosives.
Ryū Gen thought to make an ally of Chō Ran, but as long as Chō Ran was protecting Rai Ingyō, he was in the way and had to die. Ryū Gen regretted not killing him while he’d had the chance… but continuing their battle that night would have attracted unwanted attention and spoiled his other plans. Still, he wanted Chō Ran dead, not least because he’d caused so many problems for Tanshi.
***
“Ri Chū has information about Rai Ingyō. Disguise yourself as a street merchant and go.” That was the order that Tanshi had received from Ryū Gen that morning.
Although Ryū Gen had heard some general information about Rai Ingyō, he wanted to put Tanshi in a position where he could learn about Ko Biji’s whereabouts as soon as possible.
Tanshi and Ri Chū went into a room at a restaurant. There were more than seventy famous restaurants in the city, but it was best to avoid these places because they were frequented by high-ranking officials from the Imperial Court. Tanshi looked nothing like a monk in his disguise. He hadn’t had time to grow out all of his hair, but he was no longer bald and what hair he had was neatly trimmed.
Tanshi was told to wait on the street outside the restaurant. While waiting at the appointed place, Tanshi had met Emperor Renzong.
“The Emperor seemed strangely innocent,” Tanshi said, smiling as he remembered the young emperor eating his red bean cake.
Ryū Gen thought the emperor was the enemy of the people. In reality, Empress Dowager Liu was in charge of government affairs, although Emperor Renzong was legally responsible for everything. Empress Dowager Liu was not Renzong’s mother. She was a woman who had risen to power from her position as consort of the previous Emperor. Court gossip claimed that she didn’t much care for young emperor Renzong.
To the salt smugglers, Rai Ingyō was public enemy number one. Even though the emperor was a likable young man, Rai Ingyō was his subordinate and working under his orders. Tanshi thought that he was too young and naïve to be behind any of Rai Ingyō’s plots.
While Tanshi had waited on the street, Ri Chū blended in with the merchants in the city and sneaked into Rai Ingyō’s estate to get information. Perhaps this was reckless, but Ri Chū was capable of infiltration of this kind. Ri Chū was a natural chameleon who always looked like he belonged where he was.
Ri Chū’s information filled Tanshi with righteous anger and bitter sorrow. Ko Biji was under house arrest in the Inner Palace and was ill. Chō Ran watched her like a hawk and Rai Ingyō visited her in the evenings. Tanshi didn’t rush Ri Chū’s report, though he was impatient to get moving. He and Ri Chū returned to their rendezvous point with Ryū Gen, and Ri Chū handed over all the logistical knowledge he’d gained of Rai Ingyō’s estate.
“Well… it’s too large for a successful surprise attack. We’ll have to attack key areas in a scattered fashion. We’ll keep our distance from Chō Ran as best we can,” Ryū Gen said. He didn’t want any of his men killed by Chō Ran’s explosives.
As he spoke, Tanshi realized that the attack was coming. He might have to kill people. He gripped his pewter staff harder.
Translator's Note
1 Emperor Huizong's affair with Li Shishi has historical basis, but is better known as part of Chinese popular culture. Part of this story is told in the Chinese classical novel The Water Margin.. ↩
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