Chapter 106: Two Left Xiucai

Ji'an Prefecture.

Xie Xuelong set down a secret letter, struggled to contain himself but failed, and burst out cursing, "Those eunuch scoundrels are despicable!"

His private secretary Li Zongxue could not help asking, "Why is Your Excellency the Governor so angered?"

Xie Xuelong handed over the secret letter and explained, "The tax eunuch in Yanshan has been extorting excessively. Some demonic men founded the Secret Secret Sect, and multitudes of foolish men and women have come to believe in it. The Secret Secret Sect has already spread to Fuzhou. The Prefect of Fuzhou has written to report that the sect's followers in Nanfeng County may be plotting an uprising!"

Zhao Han had left the Fei household too early, and had no idea that a major incident had erupted in Yanshan County.

Two demonic priests, Zhang Puwei and Ma Liaoyang, secretly founded the Secret Secret Sect in Yanshan, and landless peasants and tenant farmers kept joining.

The eunuch was collecting taxes rampantly in Yanshan County, and the losses were passed on to the peasants and artisans, causing the Secret Secret Sect's followers to suddenly surge. Moreover, it had already broken out and spread to other prefectures and counties, and was even carried by several disciples into Fuzhou.

Jiang Yi and Zhou Ba were spreading the teachings in Nanfeng County, and not long ago they gathered a righteous assembly at the foot of Junfeng Mountain.

The rural villages near the mountain had already been occupied by the Secret Secret Sect followers. The two were now making contact with Qiu Chun, who was also a demonic priest and had seized the villages and towns around Yunshihu.

They killed landlords and refused to pay taxes to the imperial court, stopping just short of open rebellion — the situation was much the same as over on Zhao Han's side.

"Your Excellency, the demonic men are a grave matter and must not be underestimated. They should be exterminated at once!" Li Zongxue advised.

Xie Xuelong had a splitting headache and sighed, "Pingxiang County has also erupted in civil unrest."

"Pingxiang is in chaos too?" Li Zongxue was utterly shocked.

Xie Xuelong said, "The Prefect of Yuanzhou, Tian Younian, is a man who knows something of military matters. Without obtaining court approval, he set up a fortified camp at Yellow Flower Bridge and dispatched troops to block the strategic pass to the west. Tian Younian has written asking me to quickly transfer troops to suppress them. If the rebels break through Yellow Flower Bridge, clearing them out later will be difficult — the rebels could flee into Huguang at any time."

Li Zongxue fell silent, not knowing what to say.

Although they had defeated the Ruijin rioters, one band had fled deep into the mountains and would likely emerge to cause trouble again come winter.

Halfway along the journey, Luling County had erupted in large-scale civil unrest.

Xie Xuelong hurried back to garrison Ji'an, and just as he was preparing plans to pacify the unrest, demonic priests plotting rebellion appeared in Yanshan and Nanfeng.

Word of a peasant uprising also came from Pingxiang — that place was a true strategic choke point, a vital military and commercial route linking central Jiangxi with Hunan!

Civil unrest was breaking out everywhere — which front should he suppress first?

Xie Xuelong was in fact a formidable man. Historically, with no regular army under his command, he wiped out every righteous army in Jiangxi. And there was more than just the above — later, civil unrest also erupted around Lake Poyang, and it was likewise Xie Xuelong who stepped forward to pacify it.

What a pity, then, that he encountered the Southern Ming court and was dragged into its endless factional struggles.

Dismissed from office and left idle, he sold off his family property to contribute military funds.

When the city of Nanjing fell, he threw himself into the river and died for his country.

Xie Xuelong had spent a year slowly restoring the Pavilion of Prince Teng in Nanchang. Leaving his name in the annals of history was only one reason; his deeper intent was to sort out the network of gentry connections.

Otherwise, where would he have gotten the silver to suppress the bandits?

"Master, there is a Left xiucai outside seeking an audience."

"Bring him in!"

A xiucai dressed in finery entered, a sword scabbard hanging at his waist — the blade itself had been confiscated. He cupped his hands and bowed, "This junior, Zuo Xiaocheng, pays his respects to Master Shifan."

The Zuo clan was a major lineage in Jiangxi, so Xie Xuelong dared not be negligent. He greeted him with a smile, "A man of striking presence, truly a pillar of the state — worthy indeed of a disciple of the Zuo clan."

Zuo Xiaocheng came straight to the point, "This junior made a trip to Huang Family Town, which the rebels have now renamed Wuxing Town."

"Oh, quickly, sit and tell me." Xie Xuelong immediately took the matter seriously.

Zuo Xiaocheng sat upright and said, "The rioters have spread across half of Luling County, killing landlords and forcibly dividing up land and property. But those in the various townships are nothing to fear — mere clownish buffoons. Only that Zhao Yan of Xuanhua Township must be exterminated at once, or he will surely become a calamity at the very heart of the realm!"

Xie Xuelong asked, "What is so peculiar about this Zhao Yan?"

Zuo Xiaocheng explained, "It is said that this scoundrel was originally a xiucai. He founded the Great Unity Society in Xuanhua Township, taking its meaning from 'Great Unity under Heaven.' He kills landlords, equalizes landholdings, frees servants, lightens corvée and taxes, trains local militia, and has even changed the 'township-tithing system' to a 'town-village system.'"

"Though this scoundrel is a bandit, he does not take wealth for his own use. The land he seizes, he donates to Wuxing Town as public property; the silver and coin he seizes, he donates to the Great Unity Society as society property."

"When equalizing the land, he is also fair and shows no favoritism, so foolish men and women are all willing to die for him. The tenant farmers in the surrounding tithings, after killing their landlords, also voluntarily invite him to come and divide the land. Now, the rebels across half of Luling County all revere this so-called 'Mr. Zhao' as their master."

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Having heard this account, Xie Xuelong immediately understood that the situation was dire — this was no ordinary rebel!

Zuo Xiaocheng then produced several sheets of paper, "These are the charter of the Great Unity Society and the script of 'The White-Haired Girl.'"

The charter Zuo Xiaocheng had obtained was incomplete, all copied down from hearsay — nothing more than the set of ideas Chen Maosheng had propagandized to the peasants.

Xie Xuelong hastily took them and looked them over. The more he read, the more his heart raced with alarm. He sighed, "This man is truly a lost talent of the countryside — a pity he cannot be employed by the imperial court."

Zuo Xiaocheng further advised, "Troops must be dispatched swiftly. At present, although the rebels of half of Luling County all revere that 'Mr. Zhao' as their master, the rebel Zhao actually controls only five tithings of territory. The rest of the rebels all act independently and do not obey the rebel Zhao's orders. If we give the rebel Zhao another half year, he will surely be able to swallow up all the surrounding rebels. By then, I fear we will have to call in troops from other provinces!"

The private secretary Li Zongxue had by now also finished reading the charter and the script. He cupped his hands in agreement, "Your Excellency, this rebel is adept at beguiling the hearts of the people. He must be swiftly exterminated!"

"I am of the same mind." Xie Xuelong deeply concurred.

And so, the Governor of Jiangxi set aside the rebels of Pingxiang, ignored the demonic priests of Yanshan and Nanfeng, and began devising plans to exterminate Zhao Han.

He did not dispatch troops immediately, but instead contacted the gentry of Luling County, having the gentry contribute money and effort to recruit local braves.

The gentry of Luling County were overjoyed — they had long wanted to raise troops.

Unfortunately, the court did not permit the organization of local militia. For the rural gentry to raise troops was tantamount to rebellion, so it had to be done under the name of the government.

Now that the Governor had graciously permitted them to recruit local braves, these would all be men from their home districts, and there would be no fear of being plundered by outside government troops when it came time to fight.

Xie Xuelong soon obtained three thousand local braves. His previous "thirty-thousand-strong army" was simply too worthless, and was directly demoted from main-force troops to auxiliary troops for the local braves.

After drilling for over a month, the local braves could form ranks, and Xie Xuelong immediately led the army out on campaign.

He dared not continue training them any longer, because Zhao Han was developing too quickly, and his speed of raising troops was likely just as terrifying.

Zhao Han was in fact nursing a severe headache — peasant uprisings were erupting one after another.

Jiangxi had many mountains and little arable land, and with countless officials and gentry besides, the degree of land consolidation there was arguably among the worst in the entire Great Ming.

This place had long been a powder keg. His successful uprising in Wuxing Town, with the government still slow to come and suppress it, immediately drew the surrounding villages and towns to follow suit.

An uprising in one village could infect several villages, and within a month it had infected half of Luling County.

The villages that were close by were willing to invite Zhao Han to preside over land division and were willing to submit to Zhao Han's rule.

But those farther away, while flying Zhao Han's banner, paid Zhao Han no heed whatsoever, and the political work cadres he sent were all driven back.

After a flurry of activity, Zhao Han's territory expanded to twelve villages, with a governed population of roughly 7,800 (excluding children), four of which were impoverished mountain hamlets.

He organized and trained eight hundred household troops, formed into eight large companies.

Seventeen literate men came to offer their service, but all were schoolchildren and child students; for the moment, he had yet to recruit a single xiucai.

"Society Chief, the merchant traffic has been completely cut off. Not a single merchant boat has come through in days. Unless the unrest is put down, the goods we ordered simply cannot be shipped here," Huang Shunfu came to report.

Zhao Han nodded and said, "No need to be impatient. Just do what needs to be done."

The merchant boats were not being stopped by government troops, but by the rioters downstream, who, after killing landlords and dividing up the land, had actually taken to small boats to rob the merchants.

The corn and sweet potatoes Zhao Han had ordered were all frightened back by these river bandits!

After handling a batch of military and administrative affairs, someone suddenly came to report: "Town Chief, a xiucai by the name of Zuo requests an audience."

"A xiucai?" Zhao Han was overjoyed. "Quickly, invite him in… I shall welcome him personally!"

Zhao Han hurried out at a run, only to see a poor xiucai standing at the gate waiting, hands tucked into his sleeves.

In the chill of early autumn, this man was still wearing a single-layer robe, with a pair of straw sandals on his feet.

"Would you be Xiucai Zuo?" Zhao Han said with a smile. "I am Zhao Yan. Please, come in quickly!"

The gesture of welcoming a guest with shoes reversed pleased the xiucai greatly. He cupped his hands and said, "Zuo Xiaoliang, courtesy name Dashan, pays his respects to Mr. Zhao."

Zhao Han took Zuo Xiaoliang by the hand and led him inside, saying, "In this place of mine, child students are not few, and xiucai exist as well, but they all hide away and refuse to see me."

Zuo Xiaoliang said pointedly, "If my family had much land, I would not have come to see you either, sir."

"Ha ha, you make me laugh, Dashan," Zhao Han said, not addressing the remark directly.

Zuo Xiaoliang said, "I will not hide it from you, sir. My clansman cousin and I have been observing in Wuxing Town for many days, and have gained a rough understanding of your methods."

"And where is that cousin of yours?" Zhao Han asked.

Zuo Xiaoliang answered, "He has gone to offer his service to the Governor. His family has much land."

Zhao Han shook his head with a wry smile. "That is only to be expected."

Passing through the winding corridor, Zuo Xiaoliang did not enter the room, but stopped at the doorway and said, "I offer a single stratagem. If you, sir, can adopt it, then Xiaoliang is willing to serve you. If you do not adopt it, Xiaoliang will leave at once. Men of different principles do not work together."

"Speak freely, then. I like a man who speaks his mind," Zhao Han said, finding this person quite interesting.

Zuo Xiaoliang offered his assessment: "Your fundamental purpose, sir, is excellent in itself. I, too, have long yearned for the Great Unity under Heaven. But your methods of action are far too crude, and cannot serve as a long-term strategy."

"You mean we cannot simply kill the landlords and divide the land directly?" Zhao Han understood.

Zuo Xiaoliang explained, "The land must certainly be divided, but there is no need to kill the landlords outright. Among the landlords, there are those who are charitable and generous; not all of them are bad men."

Zhao Han nodded and said, "That is indeed true. What do you think should be done?"

Zuo Xiaoliang suddenly lowered his voice and said, "I have observed that your Great Unity Society is quite capable of mobilizing the common people. Wherever you go, first station troops, then have the people resist rent and interest payments. When the landlords reach a point where they can bear it no longer, then the authorities can step in and buy back the land at a low price to distribute to the people."

Zhao Han countered, "Where would we get so much money to buy land?"

Zuo Xiaoliang cupped his hands and said, "There is no need for the authorities to put up money for the purchase. You need only reassign the tenant farmers the surface rights to the fields, and have them pay a certain amount of grain to the landlords each year, which would count as installment payments for the land purchase. After ten or eight years of tenant farming, they will have bought the land."

To put this method bluntly, it was holding a real blade to the landlord's neck, then using a soft blade to slowly slice the flesh and let the blood flow.

Zhao Han thought it over carefully, then said, "We can give it a try, and correct it if the results are poor. However, the utterly vicious and evil landlords must be killed to satisfy the people's hatred! In every du (a group of several villages), at least one of the worst landlords must be killed, or the common folk will not be willing to follow me."

Zuo Xiaoliang had feared a one-size-fits-all approach. Now he suddenly broke into a smile, bowed with cupped hands, and said, "I am willing to serve my lord!"

(End of Chapter)