Chapter 156: Exiles from Anping

Over the course of a single morning, three separate groups of people came to the Odd Jobs House to submit their "opinions." Polite as the term "opinions" sounded, they were, in plain truth, nothing less than ultimatums.

Looking at the notices they had left behind, the occupants of the Odd Jobs House could not help but sigh.

Yanshan remarked, "Ever since the funds were handed over to the collective, Sima Ge has not stopped stirring up trouble. Is he planning to expand and take over now? Brother Xiaozhi, your master certainly doesn't lack ambition."

Xiaozhi wore a deeply peculiar expression. Ever since the incident at the horse track, he felt as though the commercial district in Chang'an had grown extraordinarily complicated. What bothered him even more was the nagging sensation that Luo Gan and the others had never truly opened up to him. These people always seemed to act evasively, as if plotting something in secret.

Xiaozhi finally decided to lay it out: "Let's just put everything on the table and talk. Brother Luo, though we haven't known each other long, I hold you in the same regard as an elder brother. I want a clear answer: what really happened at the horse track? Does it have anything to do with us?"

Liu Buwen attempted to cover for them: "No, no... don't misunderstand. The truth is..."

Luo Gan stopped him, locked eyes with Xiaozhi, and suddenly burst into a hearty laugh.

Luo Gan said, "I won't keep it from you any longer. I originally planned to tell you only after this whole affair was completely over."

The atmosphere grew tense. Yanshan and Xiaozhi were somewhat startled; after all, people living under the same roof were keeping secrets from one another.

Luo Gan continued, "The incident at the horse track was originally meant to go according to our plans, but we didn't expect it to blow up to such a scale. We had sent a few people to cause some trouble for Huang Changjun and his associates—ideally, to have Huang Changjun bumped by a startled horse, which would have given us an excuse to drive him out."

Xiaozhi responded indignantly, "Why didn't you give me a heads-up about something so major? Do you know I even brought two of my brothers to watch the spectacle at the horse track?"

Liu Buwen replied, "Naturally, we didn't know. If we had, how could we possibly have put you in harm's way?"

Yanshan slumped back in his chair, staring blankly ahead, completely at a loss as to how to react.

Yanshan muttered, "No matter what, we seem to be deeply entangled in this game, yet somehow we remain outsiders..."

Weighing these words, Luo Gan and Liu Buwen realized that although they had been reluctant to tell Xiaozhi and Yanshan too much, keeping them entirely in the dark regarding such a massive undertaking was indeed unfair.

Suddenly, a commotion echoed from outside. The door swung open to reveal Mr. Wubi, beads of sweat the size of beans streaming down his forehead, rushing in with frantic steps.

Mr. Wubi cried out, "Disaster! Absolute disaster! Early this morning, Sima Ge led a bunch of his lacklings into my shop and confiscated all my brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones!"

A chilling, oppressive atmosphere enveloped the entire room, making one's hair stand on end.

Luo Gan confronted Sima Ge face-to-face, demanding to know what on earth he was thinking.

"Our meaning is perfectly clear," Sima Ge declared. "Perhaps a scholar like Mr. Wubi cannot instantly comprehend the ideal world of my vision, but I do not blame him."

Luo Gan countered, "Plundering other people's property—what kind of ideal world is that?"

Sima Ge scoffed, "You people simply refuse to look toward the future. In the days to come, all our supplies must be brought under unified management. People's desires are simply far too bloated, and countless individuals quibble endlessly over their own petty interests. The way to solve the problem at its root, in my view, is through unified management, achieving true equality for everyone!"

Sima Ge spoke with such self-righteous eloquence that Luo Gan could not help but think the man belonged in a utopian manifesto.

Luo Gan argued, "Your intentions may be good, but execution will run into countless problems! For instance, once everyone is equal, won't some people slack off? If the reward is the same whether you work more or less, can a merchant still be called a merchant without goods to sell? Take you, Master Carpenter—without wood carvings to sell, how can you do business?"

Sima Ge sneered, "Mere ants! Your vision is short-sighted! Can the world not survive without merchants? Utterly absurd! We can help distribute goods for them, so how could poverty even exist? Furthermore, we shall establish a supervision department to inspect daily whether people have fulfilled their quotas. That way, there will be no room for slacking off!"

Luo Gan pressed on, "Then who decides who fills the supervision department? Won't their workload be far too easy? When all supplies are pooled together, won't it simply breed corruption and bribery?"

Sima Ge glared furiously. "Are you questioning me? My hands are clean, and my heart is dedicated entirely to the public good. How dare you suspect my motives?"

Luo Gan replied, "I wouldn't dare. Master Sima's sterling reputation is known far and wide. However, relying purely on human governance and the moral restraint of individuals is far too fragile. Furthermore... for commoners like us to gather supplies and wield such a formidable force of our own is bound to arouse suspicion. Doing this right under the nose of the imperial capital, is Master Sima not afraid of courting a fatal disaster?"

Sima Ge assumed a stance of lofty righteousness. "I act for the country and the people; what fault is there in that? To create a world of universal equality, free of hatred and strife—how could mere ordinary mortals ever understand such a thing!"

Universal equality... Luo Gan thought of the promise he had made to Juntao, yearning to create a world where everyone was equal. Yet, having studied modern historical development, Luo Gan firmly believed that this kind of absolute egalitarianism was unviable; it would drain society of its vitality and lead inevitably to its decline. Luo Gan could not say too much to Sima Ge, for revealing that he was a modern man might bring more harm than good.

Outside the gates of Chang'an, the imperial guards intercepted two ragged travelers—an old man and a robust fellow. Having seemingly lost their horses, the two of them appeared travel-worn and dusty from a long journey on foot.

A guard barked, "Halt, halt! Where did the two of you come from? What's the meaning of this? Has Chang'an suddenly become a blessed haven for beggars?"

The brawny man demanded, "Step aside, and let us see Luo Gan..."

The guard sneered, "Oh? I thought you were going to drop the name of some important minister, but you're just a couple of nobodies. Bah! Piss off while you're still able!"

The guards burst into loud laughter, showing no hospitality to the weary travelers from afar. By now, Chang'an had become a frequent destination for foreigners and exotic travelers, yet this brought little benefit to the native populace—only an influx of unfamiliar faces. Moreover, to maintain diplomatic stability, the treatment of Han Chinese citizens was sometimes far inferior to that of foreigners, a state of affairs that filled many with resentment.

Amidst the jeering, the old man suddenly uttered a miserable cry and collapsed to the ground. Assuming he was merely faking illness to draw sympathy, the guards' mockery grew even more unbridled.

Wei Zheng, who happened to be returning from outside, walked up just in time to see the old man fallen on the earth, gazing up with a look of poignant desperation.

Back inside the Odd Jobs House, Luo Gan furrowed his brows deeply, wondering how the situation would unfold, when a familiar set of footsteps drew closer outside the door. A lingering premonition told him that before one wave had settled, another was already rising—and it surely brought news of an extraordinary magnitude.