Chapter 127: Propagating the Great Unity (For Alliance Leader

The boat was about to reach Yongyang Town. Everyone gathered their belongings and drifted up to the bow in twos and threes.

Once they passed the confluence of the He River and the Lu River, Fei Chun pointed ahead and said, "Both banks of the He River—this is all our territory!"

Liu Ziren gazed at the lush, green rice seedlings on both banks and exclaimed in wonder, "Coming all the way by boat, the seedlings here are growing the best."

Fei Yuanjian was a bit puzzled. "Why can't I see it?"

Liu Ziren explained, "Don't just look right next to the river—look farther out. See those paddies in the distance? The seedlings are all a vivid, deep green. In every other county we passed along the way, wherever the fields were farther from a water source, the drought has already turned them somewhat yellow."

"There's no spring drought here?" Fei Yuanjian asked, confused.

"There's a drought here too. Look at the river channel on both sides." Xu Ying pointed toward the bank.

The water level had clearly dropped a great deal. On the riverbank, left exposed after the water receded, dried mud was still visible.

Very soon, they witnessed a bustling scene.

Because the river's water level had fallen so much, the waterwheels could no longer lift water properly. So over a dozen people stood by the river, passing buckets of water hand-to-hand all the way up the bank, then poured the water into a diversion channel to irrigate the paddies nearby.

Where the channel ended, they had also dug a temporary storage pit. Villagers from farther away could carry water from the pit instead of making the long trip all the way to the river.

Liu Ziren grinned. "I like it here."

"Officials and common people, one heart," Xu Ying remarked.

This method looked simple, but it required someone with real authority to organize it. Otherwise, who knows how many disputes would break out along the channel, possibly even escalating into mass brawls over water.

Coming all the way from Yanshan by boat, Yongyang Town was the only place that had managed to pull it off.

"Shift change, shift change!"

Another group of people arrived at the riverbank. Those who had been hauling water earlier came ashore grinning, chatting and laughing with one another.

A half-baked propagandist by the river was saying, "You see? This is what the peasant association is good for. Isn't it a hundred times more convenient than each of you carrying water to your own fields? This peasant association—the Great Unity Society helped us peasants set it up... um," the propagandist suddenly got stuck, lowered his head to flip through a little notebook, and continued, "The peasant association is our peasants' own society. A peasants' society exists to do things for peasants..."

"Brother Xiao, stop your chanting—you sound just like a monk reciting sutras," a villager teased.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Everyone burst out laughing, treating the propagandist like a storyteller.

This Brother Xiao was a child student from the Xiao clan of Yongyang, clearly not yet very skilled at his work. He kept flipping through his little notebook and said, "What is Great Unity under Heaven..."

"Land for every man to till, food for every man to eat, clothes for every man to wear!" One villager had already learned to answer ahead of him. "You recite it every day, every day—I've got it memorized."

Another wave of laughter.

The propagandist, surnamed Xiao, finally got angry. "Stop interrupting—I'm not finished yet!"

"Go ahead, Brother Xiao," the villagers said, laughing.

The propagandist straightened his back and paced back and forth along the riverbank, speaking as he walked. "What does 'land for every man to till' mean? The land under heaven has been seized by imperial relatives and state in-laws, seized by civil and military officials, seized by titled nobles and gentry. One man seizes tens of thousands of mu, another seizes thousands of mu—so we common folk have no land to till, and can only be tenant farmers working the landlords' fields. Tell me, isn't that the truth of it?"

"Yes!"

The villagers shouted in unison, no longer joking or causing trouble.

The propagandist no longer looked at his little notebook. He paced with his hands behind his back. "When the landlord holds the land, he can bully the tenant farmer. The rent is whatever he says it is. When disaster strikes and the harvest is poor, he uses a big measure when taking grain in and a small measure when lending it out. He also lends money at usury—five percent monthly interest is considered low; seven or eight percent a month is common. The tenant farmer toils from the start of the year to the end, and the entire harvest goes to the landlord—he can't even eat his fill himself. Isn't that the truth of it?"

"Yes!"

The villagers shouted, hauling water while finding the breath to yell.

The propagandist went on. "The tenant farmers have it so wretched—but do those who own their own land have it any better? Unless you're a big landlord, no one has good days."

"This court adds levies year after year, and the County Magistrate finds every way to impose extra quotas. And then there's the Single Whip Law—it only takes payment in silver, not in grain. Tenant farmers don't have to pay the land tax, but small landlords do. A small landlord with only a few dozen mu of land—what if sometimes he has no silver to pay the whip tax? He can only take his grain to the money-and-grain shop to exchange for silver, and then the big landlords seize the chance to fleece him again."

"This Single Whip Law—its original intent was good. It folded the land tax and miscellaneous levies all together. Once you'd paid the whip tax, you weren't supposed to pay any other miscellaneous taxes. But now, after the whip tax is paid, there are still miscellaneous taxes—which means the miscellaneous taxes are being collected twice. And many of these miscellaneous taxes don't even take silver; they make the peasants deliver the grain to the county yamen themselves. Ha—the runners give the measure a kick with their foot and can spill several jin for you. Then they claim your grain isn't full and force you to top it up. Utterly rotten!"

This propagandist was probably from a small-landlord family himself. Speaking of his own experience, he was gnashing his teeth, full of fury.

The propagandist continued. "You are tenant farmers; I am a small landlord. We are all people of bitter fate. Take my own family—just over thirty mu of land. Not counting the children, we still have eight mouths to feed. Spread it out, that's only four mu per person. Four mu—after paying taxes and handing over grain, how much is left? I also have to study; sometimes I have no money even to buy paper. Two years ago, I went to the prefectural seat to take the circuit exam and could only stay in those big communal dormitories. Dozens of men in one room, all manual laborers—the stench of sweat, the stink of feet nearly knocked me out. By the time I walked into the examination hall, my head was completely foggy!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The villagers burst into laughter again.

The propagandist went on. "I had only a few flatcakes on me. While writing my essay, I wasn't paying attention and knocked them all over. I picked them up one by one, brushed off the dust, and ate them just like that. To take the circuit exam, you have to ask a stipend student to vouch for you—the guarantor's silver was another expense. On the journey back, I didn't even have enough money for the boat fare and had to walk all the way home. Midway, I still had to cross a river, and I didn't have enough for the ferry either. I just sat there stupidly at the crossing for an entire afternoon. The boatman saw how pitiful I was and said he'd take me across for half price... It's true that I'm a scholar, but do you think my life is easy? Even the ferry boatman thought I was pitiful. Wuu wuu wuu..."

As he spoke, the propagandist felt more and more wronged, and actually crouched down by the river and began to cry.

The villagers finally stopped laughing. They shut their mouths and earnestly hauled water.

After weeping for a while, the propagandist stood up again, wiped away his tears, and said, "This 'land for every man to till'—it doesn't just mean a tenant farmer tilling for a landlord is enough, nor does it mean a small landlord tilling for his own family is enough. We must not only till our own land, but also not have to pay harsh and miscellaneous taxes to the officials. We must have fields to plant, and after planting we must be able to eat our fill, and still have money to buy cloth and sew clothes to wear. Only this is 'land for every man to till, food for every man to eat, clothes for every man to wear'!"

"Well said!"

The villagers began to cheer.

The propagandist spoke again. "Mr. Zhao has come—to give land to the tenant farmers, and to lighten the taxes on the small landlords. The officials are certainly not happy about it, because they can no longer embezzle the fruit of our blood and sweat. So, you see, every family ought to send its able-bodied men to fight alongside Mr. Zhao. So, you see, Mr. Zhao has formed the peasant association, to let the peasants grow more grain so everyone can live better. Everyone pays grain to Mr. Zhao, and only then can Mr. Zhao support an army, and only then can he protect our land. Only that way can there be land for every man to till, food for every man to eat, clothes for every man to wear. When we achieve that—that is Great Unity under Heaven! Long live Great Unity under Heaven!"

"Long live Great Unity under Heaven!"

"Long live Great Unity under Heaven!"

"Long live Great Unity under Heaven!"

The villagers shouted along with him, then threw themselves into the work with even greater vigor.

The propagandist had talked until his throat was parched. He sat down on the spot to drink water, then went back to flipping through his little notebook.

Fei Chun led the group ashore. Some villagers were at the town market.

Inside the market, there was also a propagandist giving a speech. Many peasants, in no hurry to buy things, had gathered around to listen, and bursts of cheering erupted from the crowd from time to time.

The families of Xu Ying and Liu Ziren, both half tenant farmers and half owner-cultivators, only listened for a moment as they passed by, but their faces already showed boundless yearning.

Fei Chun said, "The Yongyang Town office is in town, but the Regional Commander's residence is in a village nearby—it used to be a big landlord's house. The front courtyard serves as the Regional Commander's administrative yamen; the rear courtyard is only occupied by Brother Han and Mr. Pang, and many of the rooms in the back are still empty. Today we'll all stay there; tomorrow we'll arrange other lodgings for everyone."

Zhao Han was handling official business in the Regional Commander's yamen. Fei Chun did not disturb him and brought everyone directly to the rear courtyard.

Fei Rulan and her maid Xiyue went to the courtyard where Zhao Han lived.

"Why is it so desolate and quiet here?" Fei Rulan said reproachfully, feeling that Zhao Han was not being properly looked after.

Fei Chun explained, "Brother Han doesn't want people serving him. In the courtyard there's only one maid and one old woman. The maid isn't even called a maid—she's called a female servant. Brother Han forbids anyone from keeping household slaves. Sister Xiyue..."

Fei Rulan was stunned. After a moment she said, "Explain this to me in detail."

Fei Chun then gave a brief account of the Great Unity ideology, and also explained Zhao Han's various policies.

Fei Rulan was silent for a long while. She called Xiyue back into the room and said, "Your personal indenture is with my mother, and it would be inconvenient to get it back. Since Brother Han has his rules, we'll just treat the indenture as if it doesn't exist. I'll draw up a new labor contract for you. From now on you're not a maid, you'll be one of those... what are they called, female hirelings..."

"Miss!" Xiyue dropped to her knees with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly. "This slave belongs to Miss in life, and will be Miss's ghost in death!"

Fei Rulan couldn't help laughing. "What would I want with a female ghost? Don't be like that. Brother Han doesn't even permit kneeling. Get up quickly and speak."

Xiyue rose carefully to her feet.

"Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. Marry a rebel, and I become a rebel's wife," Fei Rulan said, and laughed at her own words. "I've lived nearly twenty years, always imagining my husband would be a scholar brimming with learning. I truly never imagined he'd be a rebel with audacity to shake the heavens. This rebel's rules are exceedingly strange, yet when you think them through carefully, they make sense. The rules he has set down — I can hardly be the first to break them, can I?"

Xiyue fidgeted, ill at ease, yet also felt a trace of yearning. From now on, she would not have to kneel to anyone, and what's more, she would be a free person without a deed of sale.

The two female hirelings, one old and one young, had learned of the mistress's arrival and set down their work to come pay their respects.

"Madam!"

The two offered a curtsy of greeting, unable to resist stealing glances at the mistress. Truly, she was handsome and dignified, a fitting match for our Mr. Zhao.

Fei Rulan smiled and asked, "What are your names? How long have you been with Mr. Zhao?"

The young hireling said, "My name is Huang Zhaodi. I'm from Wuxing Town. I've been following the master for over half a year now."

The old woman said, "My name is Huang née Li. It's been over half a year for me too."

"Both surnamed Huang," Fei Rulan said, and had Xiyue fetch some copper coins. "Since this is our first meeting, take these and have some tea."

"Thank you, Madam."

The two hirelings were quite delighted, thinking that this Madam before them was more generous with her hand than Mr. Zhao.

Xiyue, however, was somewhat angry and nearly blurted out a rebuke, because they had not knelt to express their gratitude when receiving the reward money. Perhaps that would be acceptable once they were familiar, but at a first meeting, when receiving a gift from the master, one must kneel in thanks!

The smile remained on Fei Rulan's face. She asked a few more questions about the situation, then led them in tidying up the courtyard.

Even the arrangement of furnishings inside the house was handled with considerable refinement.

The two hirelings were full of admiration, thinking the Madam was truly remarkable. The same objects, merely shifted in position, suddenly looked so much more pleasing to the eye.

By the time Zhao Han returned home from work, the house had been completely transformed. Even the nooks and crannies had been scrubbed spotlessly clean.

Although Zhao Han had never demanded such things, the feeling was still deeply comforting. The exhaustion of a long day's labor vanished in an instant.

(Thanks to Little Meow Meow Charging Forward and Genius945 for the alliance-leader support, and thanks to all fellow readers for your tips and backing. While I'm at it, asking for monthly tickets.)

(End of chapter)