Chapter 266: Where the People’s Hearts Lie
Chapter 266: Where the People’s Hearts Lie
Cheng Xu assembled the troops. He boarded the small train with the militia and arrived at Bai Family Fortress not long after. Then they ventured into Huanglong Mountain, hiding themselves quietly within.
Before much time had passed, the envoy sent by Liang Shixian arrived posthaste. Charging into Bai Family Fortress, he demanded that Bai Yuan sound the bell to summon “Captain Ghost.”
Bai Yuan was, of course, happy to play along with their game. Clang! Clang! Clang! He struck the bell three times.
Outside Li Daoxuan’s box, the characters for “Bai Family Fortress” began to flicker, gleaming brightly.
And so, Cheng Xu swaggered out of the mountain with the “rebel band in Guyuan”…
All the actors in this charade were having a jolly good time; only Liang Shixian’s envoy stood there helplessly growing anxious.
Seeing that the handoff on their end was complete, Li Daoxuan shifted his view back to Chengcheng County.
By then, under Liang Shixian’s command, the county town had entered a state of war preparedness. All the laborers working on road construction outside the walls had returned inside the county seat, once again crowding the narrow streets and alleys.
Everywhere was a teeming mass of people.
The official troops under Fang Wushang’s command, Liang Shixian’s retainers, bailiffs, members of the militia, and even some local gentry who had spontaneously joined to help defend the town—all were busy preparing supplies for battle.
Witnessing this scene of soldiers and civilians united to defend their town, Li Daoxuan recalled historical accounts he’d read about various bandit gangs attacking county seats.
In the early stages of the Peasant Wars of the Late Ming Dynasty, apart from two incidents—Wang Er’s initial successful sneak attack killing Magistrate Zhang Yaocai of Chengcheng County during his uprising, and his later northward push to capture Yijun County—there were few such records of peasant uprising armies successfully taking county seats.
Most of their activity was confined to devastating the countryside!
It wasn’t until the Third Year of Chongzhen‘s reign, when large numbers of former official troops joined the ranks of the peasant uprising army, significantly boosting their combat power, that reports of capturing county seats began trickling in.
As for capturing prefectural capitals or large cities, that didn’t happen until many, many years later and only sporadically. For example, Xi’an, located right in the heart of boiling Shaanxi province where the peasant uprising exploded most fiercely, remained in the hands of the Ming court right up until the sixteenth year of Chongzhen’s reign when it finally fell to Li Zicheng.
One crucial reason for this was, of course, the formidable city walls. Another vital factor was that decent folk unwilling to rebel, finding life in the countryside unsustainable, flowed into the major cities as refugees. Once inside, they joined the defenders in resisting the peasant uprising armies.
The rebel armies often numbered in the tens of thousands, but the refugee populations sheltering inside these cities could also easily reach tens of thousands. Tens of thousands against tens of thousands? Who feared whom?
The current situation in Chengcheng County was precisely like this. Tens of thousands of refugees banded together to help defend the town. The scene was truly bustling. Rolling logs and stones quickly filled the battlements in no time. Many even volunteered to help whittle arrows…
Fang Wushang stood atop the city wall, observing this fervent hive of activity. He couldn’t help but mutter to himself, “Strange. This time, the common people are participating so actively in the defense. When Wang Zuogua and Bu Zhan Ni’s uprising army came previously, the folks from Fengyuan Town weren’t nearly this eager.”
Liang Shixian stepped to his side and sighed softly. “The reason isn’t hard to guess.”
Fang Wushang: “Oh? I’d be grateful to hear the details.”
Liang Shixian: “These commoners have just received work through the ‘road construction’ project. They had daily labor, food to eat, and three jin of flour as payment. They just began seeing a glimmer of hope for their lives. Now, the Guyuan rebels attack, forcing the road construction to halt temporarily. That is equivalent to cutting off their livelihood…”
Fang Wushang felt enlightenment. “So that’s why!”
Liang Shixian: “Food is the paramount necessity for the people. Whoever snatches the food from their mouths becomes their mortal enemy… Conversely, whoever gives them a bite to eat becomes their Heaven.”
As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily swept towards Mr. Wang standing atop the distant town walls.
Beside Mr. Wang stood Gao Yiye, wearing a bamboo hat, along with a small team of militia members. Ground Rabbit and Zheng Gouzi had positioned themselves protectively near Gao Yiye.
This little group indeed held extraordinary status within the county town. Large crowds of refugees clustered protectively around them, encircling Mr. Wang, Gao Yiye, and their guards. The posture was unmistakable: anyone daring to lay a hand on them would be instantly crushed to powder by thousands of refugees rushing forward.
Liang Shixian lowered his voice. “This official worries somewhat about this Li Family.”
Fang Wushang: “Hmm? What’s so worrying about the Li Family?”
Liang Shixian: “Right now, the hearts and minds of all Chengcheng’s people turn towards the Li Family. They probably don’t even remember who the Emperor is anymore.”
Fang Wushang: “County Magistrate Liang, are you suggesting the Li Family intends to rebel?”
Liang Shixian shook his head. “This official hasn’t said they will rebel, only that there is cause for concern…”
Fang Wushang glanced very seriously toward the “Li Family” group. At that very moment, he saw Ground Rabbit poke his head out from behind Gao Yiye. Swishing a sword playfully towards the base of the wall below, Ground Rabbit laughed heartily, “Let the Guyuan rebels just come! I, Mr. Rabbit, can slay ten foes with a single sword strike!” (兔爷 = Mr. Rabbit as per instructions)
Fang Wushang shook his head. “County Magistrate Liang, you trouble yourself with overthinking. Against Li Family lackeys like those, my single horse and I would be enough to rout and destroy them.”
Liang Shixian looked at Fang Wushang with concern, thinking: You are not a bad man, but you are a reckless fool. If this official hadn’t intervened, you would have nearly been slain by Guerrilla Li Ying without even realizing it. In the future, if this official is transferred elsewhere, who else will protect your safety left here alone? Alas! What a pity! People like you never have long lives.
Hearing their conversation from his vantage high above, Li Daoxuan thought to himself: Liang Shixian has sensed something wrong, has he? Makes sense! Only an idiot would fail to notice that Gaojia Village is peculiar. Anyone with half a wit would suspect Gaojia Village, would suspect that strange Li Family.
But…
Go ahead and suspect.
Even if you wrote a memorial right now, sent it to Provincial Governor of Shaanxi Hu Tingyan, reporting that some squire here might intend to rebel, claiming “the evidence is conclusive,” the Governor probably couldn’t be bothered. He might even have you dragged away for a beating. And that’s considering you have absolutely no evidence, only assumptions. Hehehe.
At that very moment, Provincial Governor of Shaanxi Hu Tingyan was vigorously brushing ink onto paper, adding supplementary materials to “The Yellow Tower Collection” of the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi.
When one grows old, they like to dabble in flowers and plants, compose some verse and poetry… outside troubles? What peasant uprising? What border rebellion? What rebel band capturing Guerrilla Li Ying? Rebands heading to Chengcheng County? Ah! Know nothing! See nothing! Altogether unseen and unknown!
None of those trifles could match the interest of Su Shi’s “The Yellow Tower Collection.”
“They’re coming! The rebels are coming!”
A rider on a swift horse charged through the city gate. Behind him, the gate slammed shut with a resonant boom. Soldiers and civilians within the town braced themselves anxiously.
There! On the wilderness stretching southwest, an army had emerged. A grand, imposing force of the Ming Dynasty’s official troops! From their midst flew a large banner. Upon it, hastily scrawled, was the character “狼” (Wolf). At the front of the formation rode several horses, bearing commanders in gleaming armor.
Eh? Someone tied on one of those horses was a ragged, disheveled man!
The defenders focused their eyes. Sure enough, it was none other than the Guerrilla General who had galloped through Chengcheng County not long ago trying to squeeze provisions out of them – Li Ying.