The man Prince Rui had collided with was none other than Wang Er of Baishui.
For years he had worn a thick beard to obscure his features, and with his towering frame and the heavy aura of a man who had once shaken the realm as a rebel leader, he looked less like a traveler and more like a moving fortress. When Prince Rui recognized the sort of presence standing before him, his earlier arrogance shrank noticeably, as though someone had quietly taken a blade to it.
He stumbled backward several steps.
His guards reacted instantly, forming a protective ring around him while eyeing Wang Er with deep suspicion. The captain of the guard even let his hand rest openly on the hilt of his saber, as if hoping the gesture alone might discourage catastrophe.
Wang Er merely snorted, the sound low and dismissive, and turned away as though the entire royal entourage were nothing more than background noise at a marketplace.
Only after he left did the guard captain release a long breath. "That man is dangerous. If a real clash had occurred, we would not have been able to stop him. Your Highness might truly have been in peril."
Prince Rui stared in disbelief. "How dare he. I am a prince."
The captain lowered his voice. "He carries the scent of blood. One glance was enough to tell he fears no law. If you angered him, he would not stop to consider titles."
Prince Rui felt the chill of that statement settle into his bones. "Are you saying that in Hanzhong there are now people who would strike a prince openly. People who would kill a prince without hesitation. Has the realm fallen so far that royal law is merely decoration."
The captain wisely chose silence.
At that moment a peculiar laugh drifted over from nearby. "Justice has always existed. As for royal law, Your Highness, reflect carefully. Has royal law ever truly existed in the way you imagine."
Prince Rui turned sharply and saw a plump middle aged man in scholar's robes, his eyes bright with the sort of amusement that suggested he enjoyed poking hornets' nests from a safe distance.
"And who are you," Prince Rui demanded.
"My surname is San, my given name is Shier," the man replied with an easy smile. "I serve as a strategist."
Prince Rui blinked. "A strategist."
Ordinarily he would not deign to converse with such a figure, yet this strategist showed neither fear nor deference. It was as if stepping off a train had become a ritual for ignoring princes.
"What did you mean by that remark," Prince Rui pressed. "Are you mocking the Great Ming Code."
San Shier chuckled softly. "If all under Heaven obeyed the Great Ming Code, then royal law would indeed shine brightly. Yet how many truly abide by it. Has Your Highness always followed it. Have the great ministers. If not, then perhaps the law exists more in text than in practice. My questions, however, may be like asking directions from the blind."
With that he turned and walked away.
Prince Rui's face flushed red. "Impudent."
He considered ordering his guards to seize the man, yet then he saw San Shier fall into step beside Wang Er. The memory of the iron tower's silent snort cooled his impulse immediately. The guards, recalling their captain's earlier assessment, remained frozen in polite paralysis.
Prince Rui fumed. "No one treats me as a prince anymore."
The guard captain spoke carefully. "Since the uprisings at the end of the Tianqi era, the realm has grown chaotic. It is prudent to exercise caution."
"Caution," Prince Rui scoffed. "This is Hanzhong. My domain."
As if Heaven wished to contradict him at once, alarm bells began clanging from within the city walls, their harsh metallic cries slicing through the air.
Everyone at the station turned toward Hanzhong City. The station lay outside the walls, an inconvenient fact suddenly magnified.
A eunuch burst from the city gate and ran toward Prince Rui, shouting breathlessly. "Your Highness, return at once. Bandits are attacking."
Prince Rui froze. "Again."
In earlier years a rebel named Wang Daliang had stirred trouble here, and the memory of that terror had not faded. Now the word bandits struck him like a physical blow. He bolted toward the city gate, robes flapping inelegantly.
The common people followed in a panic, surging toward the narrowing entrance as the gates began to close.
The logistics soldiers from Gao Family Village did not move. Instead they formed tight ranks around the towering piles of supplies, their discipline standing in sharp contrast to the fleeing civilians. The five hundred militia from Shanxi, newly arrived with Wang Er and San Shier, spread out instinctively and secured the perimeter.
San Shier turned to Zhuge Wangchan. "Why are there bandits here as well. This is Shaanxi."
His tone carried none of his usual playful cadence.
Zhuge Wangchan frowned. "That is precisely what troubles me."
Before them the city gates halted halfway, leaving space for civilians to squeeze through. The Prefect of Hanzhong and Regional Commander Zhao Guangyuan had chosen not to abandon the populace outside.
The tide of people poured inward.
Prince Rui was swept along, yet halfway to safety he suddenly stopped and looked back at the enormous train resting on the tracks beyond the wall.
A strangled cry escaped him. "My train. They will steal my train. It cost eighty thousand taels. I hold forty percent of the shares. Thirty two thousand taels."
The guards stared at him in disbelief.
"My thirty two thousand taels," he wailed. "It earns hundreds of taels daily. My capital has not yet returned."
The guard captain exchanged a weary glance with his men, and together they dragged the lamenting prince inside the city.
On the wall above, a military official shouted toward the Gao Family Village contingent. "Why are you still outside. Enter the city immediately. The gates are closing."
Wang Er called back, his voice steady. "Where have the bandits come from."
"From the mountain forests of Sichuan," the official answered. "A detachment has crossed over and is moving toward Hanzhong."
Wang Er and San Shier exchanged a long look.
So that was the answer.
Bandits driven from Sichuan had spilled across the border like floodwater seeking a new channel. Shaanxi was not immune simply because it was Shaanxi.
San Shier folded his hands behind his back and spoke quietly. "If they have come from Sichuan, then our journey has shortened itself."
Wang Er's eyes hardened. "Five hundred men are present. Supplies are here. If they wish to test the border, they may test it against us."
Behind them the steam engine released a low hiss, as if the iron beast itself were awaiting orders.
The gates of Hanzhong creaked inward another fraction.
Outside the walls, beneath the open sky of Shaanxi, soldiers from Gao Family Village stood their ground and prepared to welcome the so called bandits who had crossed one province too far.