“Offer the sacrifices.”
Zhu Ping’an waved his hand before the Qidao Temple, signaling for the prepared three-animal sacrifices to be brought forward and offered to the temple. Soon, the heads of a cow, a sheep, and a pig, each adorned with large red flowers, were carried to the altar.
Among the crowd watching the oath-taking ceremony, besides Xu Hai’s spies, there were also pirates sent by Wang Zhi. For instance, two men dressed as tavern waiters were Wang Zhi’s informants embedded in Shaoxing City. Their entire tavern—from the manager and chef to the waitstaff—was staffed by pirates. The tavern, operated by Wang Zhi’s faction, wasn’t for profit but for gathering intelligence. Especially after Zhejiang implemented the ten-household registration and mutual guarantee system, such a fully pirate-staffed stronghold, where members could cover for each other, was invaluable.
One waiter, chewing a straw, and the other, holding a rag, leaned against a wall, pointing and blending seamlessly with the crowd.
“Looks like Zhu Ping’an is serious. He’s really coming for us, not just putting on a show,” the straw-chewing pirate said quietly, warily glancing around.
“Hmph, I don’t know who gave him the guts. But this works in our favor. If we crush him, his precious ten-household system will collapse on its own. With the momentum of a great victory, let’s see who in Zhejiang dares follow his system!” the other pirate snorted, sneering.
“Good point. He’s plastering notices all over the city. When we beat him, we’ll post our own: ‘Follow the ten-household system, and you’re asking for death!’ Add a bloody handprint for effect. Heh, no one will dare comply then,” the straw-chewing pirate nodded enthusiastically.
“I don’t get it. Why’s Zhu Ping’an making such a big show of declaring war on us? If he’d struck quietly, he might’ve scored some early wins. But this fanfare? Unless we’re all deaf and blind, we’d know. Now that we do, we’ll be ready. He thinks he can win? That’s delusional!” the other pirate said, puzzled.
“Maybe he knows he can’t win, so he’s making a spectacle. At least he’s the first court official bold enough to attack us head-on. The symbolic value is huge. When he reports to his superiors, it’ll look good. There’s a term for it… oh, right, ‘glorious in defeat,’” the straw-chewing pirate mused.
“That makes sense. Damn these officials, caring only about their careers, not human lives. I heard in stories, ‘One general’s success is built on ten thousand corpses.’ Didn’t expect reality to be this rotten,” the other pirate spat, cursing.
“Whatever. Officials have always been like this. We can’t change that. Let’s just look out for ourselves, follow Lord Wang Zhi, eat well, drink fine, and enjoy women. That’s enough,” the straw-chewing pirate smirked.
“Heh, you’re right. Let’s go. No need to watch anymore. We’ll report this to Lihai Port. Yesterday, we snagged a notice and got ten taels of silver. This news should earn us another reward. Tonight, we can hit Luohong Brothel and have some fun,” the other pirate urged.
“Let’s move.”
The straw-chewing pirate nodded, and the two slipped away from the crowd unnoticed.
“Sacrifice the flag!”
Zhu Ping’an continued the ceremony.
He personally retrieved the Zhejiang army’s banner from the Qidao Temple. A temple priest presented a bowl of fresh blood. Zhu Ping’an dipped his fingers into it, smearing the blood on the banner as the priest chanted, “With blood we sacrifice the flag, invincible in battle.”
This was the flag-sacrificing ritual.
The blood wasn’t from the three animals but from a pirate prisoner, a heinous criminal pulled from the prison, publicly executed, and his blood used for the sacrifice. This pirate’s crimes were monstrous, confessed during interrogation and corroborated by others. Even death by a thousand cuts wouldn’t suffice. He’d killed over ten civilians, raped wives in front of their husbands, tortured husbands before their wives, impaled infants on his blade, and violated women to death, including a woman over seventy. His depravity was beyond conscience.
Such a vile criminal had to be killed to quell public outrage.
Seizing the moment, Zhu Ping’an had the pirate’s crimes publicly declared before the Qidao Temple, followed by his beheading.
“Good kill! All pirates should be beheaded. These beasts don’t deserve to live!”
“This vile pirate finally paid for his sins.”
“Folks, you’ve seen the pirate’s fate. Don’t collaborate with them or become traitors, or this will be your end! Everyone, follow the ten-household system—don’t test the law!”
The public execution and flag sacrifice pushed the oath-taking ceremony to its climax. As the executioner sprayed wine on the ghost-head blade and raised it with a shout, adults covered children’s eyes, and the timid covered their own, peeking through fingers. When the pirate’s head fell, prolonged applause erupted, with cheers and bailiffs seizing the moment to reinforce the importance of the ten-household system.
War was never civilized.
Legend held that when the Yellow Emperor defeated Chiyou, he did four things with Chiyou’s body: used his skin as an archery target, stuffed his stomach with grass to make a ball for kicking, minced his flesh into sauce for the people to taste, and tied his hair to the top of a banner, creating the “Chiyou Banner.”
If the ancestor of Chinese civilization acted thus, what of others? War was always bloody.
Compassion doesn’t command armies, and righteousness doesn’t manage wealth.
Zhu Ping’an was never a naive idealist.
As the flag sacrifice proceeded at the Qidao Temple, the Jinhua Prefecture yamen in Zhejiang welcomed 800 fully armed Zhejiang soldiers, led by Liu Mu and Ruo Feng.
“On urgent orders from Zhejiang Governor Zhu Ping’an, we have critical business. Please inform the Prefect immediately,” Liu Mu said, presenting his token to the yamen bailiff.
