During the Qing Dynasty, a great famine occurred in Shandong Province. Thieving bandits were prevalent, especially in the Jiaodong area; even the well-to-do families couldn’t protect themselves. In the Changyi area, currently, the northwestern part of the Shandong Peninsula, lived an armed escort named Sun Liang, who was highly skilled, brave, and fierce. Zhuang Gu, Sun Liang’s daughter, was as equally gifted in martial arts as her father.
Sun Liang lived at home teaching his disciples, since the roads were impassable for escorted trips. The local rich people were worried about the robbers attacking them, so they wanted to hire Sun Liang, offering him a sizable sum of protection money to guard them.
Sun Liang accepted their offers. He divided his disciples into more than 10 teams and sent a team to each wealthy family to protect them. Sun Liang took turns patrolling these clients to ensure that the thieves had no way to steal from these families wantonly, and they hated him for it.
A thief accuses Sun Liang
Qian, the Magistrate of Changyi County, was a native of Wu Di, south of the Yangtze River in today’s modern-day Jiangsu Province. Sun Liang caught one of the thieves, who was presented to Magistrate Qian. The thief falsely accused Sun Liang of being the leader of his gang. Magistrate Qian had no choice but to arrest Sun Liang.
Liang desperately tried to prove his innocence and protested strongly, saying: “I am the one who caught the thief. How did I become a thief?” The Magistrate asked: “Why did the thieves set you up?” Sun Liang replied: “The rich families in the county are these thieves’ targets. They secretly watch and wait for the best time to rob these families. Due to my protection, they have been unable to succeed, so they try to trap me to go after the rich!”
The Magistrate believed his words and eventually executed the robber and set free Sun Liang. Overwhelmed by gratitude, Sun Liang was willing to offer his daughter as a concubine to the Magistrate. Magistrate Qian smiled, saying: “I must eliminate deliberate fraud and wrongful accusations.
There is no need for words of gratitude. The law does not allow taking a female citizen, under the jurisdiction of this county, as a concubine. You can go home now!” Sun Liang left with tears in his eyes.
Zhuang Gu escorts Magistrate Qian
Shortly afterward, Magistrate Qian was impeached by others and was stripped of his official duties; he prepared to return to his hometown, Wu Di. He had been an official for many years and had saved and gained a lot of wealth. This attracted the attention of the thieving bandits preparing to rob him.
When Sun Liang learned of this, he told Qian: “In the year of great evil, the roads are difficult to travel, and thieves are rampant. I am too old to follow you and give you protection. Although my daughter Zhuang Gu is lowly, she is wise and brave. Just in case anything happens, please let her follow you?”
The Magistrate felt that he spoke sincerely, so he accepted his advice. Sun Liang’s daughter was not yet 20 years old, but she looked brave and heroic. The Magistrate and his party headed south with a large caravan and an entourage of many servants and attendants. The thieves didn’t dare to make any rash moves.
The thieves plot their next move
The thieves had their scheme for outwitting a large traveling group that outnumbered them. They would notify robbers at the next destination so they could band together and plot as partners to overcome the sizeable wealthy group.
They would then divide the stolen goods equally among themselves afterward. This is why they allowed wealthy travelers to cover a considerable distance before they would strike, since more thieves were rounded up to help overcome their victims.
At this time, Magistrate Qian had already traveled five to six hundred miles to the town of Lang Yue at the border of Shandong Province, where they would look for a place to spend the night. They found an inn with three rooms in the back with high walls, and the building had only one door for access.
The wrong place
The Magistrate was satisfied with its sturdiness and decided to stay there. Zhuang Gu took a look and knew this was the wrong place, but seeing that the party had already unloaded their luggage, she reluctantly agreed.
She said to Magistrate Qian and his wife: “This house, as I see it, seems to be a place used to conspire and to imprison guest merchants. There may be strange happenings at night, so please watch any unusual movements after you and your wife go to bed. Do not make any noise. I have my ways of dealing with these people.”
Upon hearing Gu’s advice, the Magistrate apprehensively nodded in agreement, but because he didn’t know how capable Zhuang Gu was, he felt terrified inside and couldn’t help but tremble.
Zhuang Gu arranged for Magistrate Qian and his wife to stay in the East room. She told two maid-servants to remain in the West room, informing them: “Come out only when I call you!” She then took out a large lamp with a glazed cover and put it on the windowsill, illuminating the courtyard like a full moon.
Waiting for the bandits
She wore a short coat of leather pants to disguise herself, slipped on iron-tipped shoes, and hid a sharp knife at her waist. Extinguishing the candle, she leaped onto the top of the middle door, crouched on the doorframe, and waited.
It was deathly quiet in the inn after midnight. The inn’s owner was Ma Tietou, the actual head leader of the bandits. Having gathered a large gang of thieves, he selected a few capable men and armed them with sharp knives. He ordered them to crawl onto the roof from the back wall.
Ma Tietou’s bandits disappear
The remaining thieves were motioned to hide in the four corners to prevent anyone from escaping. Then he ordered one man to go down and act as a scout. An extended period passed, and the man failed to come back. Ma Tietou said: “There are probably many women inside. He must be enjoying himself there.”
Next, he ordered three more people to go down. They equally failed to return. Ma said: “How incompetent they are! They can’t even settle a few old and weak people. I’d better do it myself. If this were a tough enemy, you weaklings wouldn’t be able to survive!”
Ma jumped into the compound himself. There was no visible movement. Seeing the room’s door closed, he was about to draw his knife and go in when suddenly he felt his forehead being struck as if the weight of a mountain was crushing it. Instantly, he fell more than 10 feet away onto his back. Instantaneously, someone flew down and sat on his chest.
Ma Tietou tried to raise his knife to attack the assailant, but his shoulders were firmly pressed to the ground. This weakened his arms, and the knife fell out of his hand. Next, he was grabbed by the crotch, and that made his legs feel like jelly. He was not able to move his body at all. Only then did he hear a delicate voice calling for the maid-servants to come. Two women came over holding candles. Ma Tietou saw that his attacker was only a young woman.
Ma Tietou’s life was spared as an example to others
Ma Tietou begged her to let him go. Zhuang Gu said with a contemptuous smile: “Seeing how you came so fiercely, I know you play no ordinary role here — you are a bad minion! As the owner of this inn, you must have murdered many travelers. I wanted to kill you, but a useless lackey like you would only soil my knife. Rather, I will leave your life as an example and a warning to other evildoers.”
After saying that, Zhuang Gu ordered a maid to bring some medicine. She used the knife to cut the flesh of Ma Tietou’s face into slices and rubbed them with the treatment, causing the bleeding to stop immediately.
At daybreak, the servants knocked on the door to pay their respects. Zhuang Gu kicked Ma Tietou’s buttocks, opened the door, and angrily scolded: “Go and collect the bodies of your bandits. They are under the woodpile near the east wall!”
Then unhurriedly, she let the Magistrate and his wife board their carriage and leave to complete their journey. Upon being kicked, Ma Tietou’s arms and legs soon regained consciousness. He hastily fled in shame. The wounds on his face never healed and hung loosely on his face, just like a lion’s mane.
