Chapter 197: Mutiny

In terms of area within the walls, Ganzhou city is only half the size of Nanchang.

As for the walls, Ganzhou's foundations were set with poured molten iron to prevent the river water from saturating and collapsing them. Inside the city is a Northern Song–era drainage system that can withstand a once-in-a-century flood.

It is ringed by rivers on three sides, with a moat on the fourth.

Most of Jiangxi's walled cities are built like this — facing rivers on two or three sides, all of brick and stone construction — a besieger's nightmare.

Zou Weilian sat atop the Eight-Mirror Terrace, where Su Dongpo once composed eight poems; now he had no such poetic inclination whatsoever.

Over six hundred small fire-attack boats had long been prepared, waiting only for the enemy fleet to walk into the trap.

Ganzhou city stands where three rivers converge; north of this point the river surface is fully a li wide. Unless the rebels were fools and chained their boats together like Cao Cao, those six hundred fire boats would be hard-pressed to succeed.

Only once past the confluence — whether entering the Gong River or the Zhang River — do the channels narrow considerably; that would be the moment favorable for a fire attack.

But Gujian Mountain simply would not come!

Because Gujian Mountain's fleet had only two missions this time: transport men and grain, and intercept any vessel heading north. By patrolling the northern stretch they could block the way — why risk sailing into the Zhang or Gong?

"Governor, a scholar has crossed over from the Gong River."

"Bring him here."

Before long, a scholar was led up to the Eight-Mirror Terrace and blurted out in desperation: "Governor, please send troops at once — any later and it will be too late!"

The spot where Zou Weilian stood was the finest vantage point, commanding a view of the river in all directions, even affording a faint glimpse of the rebel camp on the opposite bank. He frowned and asked, "Have the rebels made some move?"

The scholar said, "The rebels are inciting the common folk, organizing those so-called peasant associations, forcing landlords to cut rents and interest. Any loan of grain or money above thirty percent interest — the peasant associations refuse to acknowledge it and force the landlords to hand over the loan contracts. They're also abolishing the 'bucket-top' surcharge and doing away with winter gifts. It's utter lawlessness!"

The bucket-top surcharge was akin to the meltage fee collected by the government.

When a tenant delivered one dan of rent grain to the landlord, the bucket-top loss alone would take one dou, so the actual rent paid was one dan and one dou — and it was collected using an oversized dou measure at that!

In short, the landlords had countless ways to squeeze every last grain from the tenants' hands, then force them into usurious loans.

Day after day, year after year, nearly every household fell into debt, and the tenants were reduced in substance to serfs.

Hearing what this scholar said, Zou Weilian instantly felt it was all over.

Although he had done his utmost to restrain his troops from pillaging the surrounding villages and towns, and seemed by comparison to have treated the people very well — set against the rebels organizing peasant associations, cutting rents and interest, abolishing the bucket-top surcharge and winter gifts, Zou Weilian's meager benevolent governance wasn't worth a fart!

What was more, the Fujian troops had already stopped obeying orders and had slipped out twice this month to loot.

If the rebels were allowed to continue like this, in just a month or two all the surrounding countryside would fall under their control, and leading troops out of the city would be like entering enemy-occupied territory.

Zou Weilian asked, "And you simply let the rebels set up their peasant associations?"

The scholar lamented, "The rebels send a squad of fifty soldiers to escort those clerks — the peasant association cadres — and with a few words they can beguile the common folk. Any landlord who resists gets his house confiscated and faces a public trial. In my own village, a landlord led his clansmen and household slaves to suppress the peasant association; those rebel soldiers rushed over and routed them at once, and that very afternoon his house was confiscated! And moreover…"

"Moreover what?" Zou Weilian asked.

The scholar said in terror, "Moreover, in the villages and towns where the peasant associations have been set up, the rebels are also training peasant militia. They use Qi Wuyi's Mandarin Duck Formation, armed with bamboo poles, sickles, kitchen cleavers, and pot lids. Even if the rebels were to leave someday, these unruly folk could still defeat the landlords; only government troops could suppress them."

Zou Weilian was utterly speechless, with no idea how to respond; no precedent could be found in the history books.

This was sowing the seeds of rebellion. Even if the rebel troops were driven back now, the moment government forces withdrew from Ganzhou, the local peasants would likely rise up on their own.

Could it be that the only solution was to slaughter every last commoner?

Zou Weilian stood on the Eight-Mirror Terrace, gazing at the rebel camp on the opposite bank, a bitterness in his heart that he could share with no one.

He turned to look back at the Lonely Terrace on Helan Mountain and murmured Xin Qiji's verse: "Below Lonely Terrace, the clear river flows — in its midst, how many travelers' tears… Who are these travelers?"

Had Zhao Han been present, he would surely have said: "The common people, bearing their suffering."

Several more days passed, and every official, soldier, and commoner in the city had learned what the rebels were doing.

The Fujian Regional Commander and Military Zhuangyuan Chen Tingdui came to call: "Governor, you may fear that rebel Zhao, but I do not. Let me cross the river and slaughter those rebels to the last man!"

"Do not be ruled by impulse," Zou Weilian soothed him. "Supreme Commander Zhu has long since instructed us: no troops are to be dispatched on our own authority before receiving his orders. The urgent task now is to hold Ganzhou to the death and drain the rebels' provisions. Once the Jiangxi and Huguang forces are fully prepared, the three great armies from north, south, and west will strike together, and rebel Zhao will surely be unable to withstand it!"

"So ten thousand government troops just sit in the city gawking?" Chen Tingdui said sullenly.

Zou Weilian said, "Contain your impatience."

"How can I not be impatient?" Chen Tingdui grew angrier still and roared, "All the way from Fujian, we've toiled to suppress bandits in western Fujian and southern Jiangxi, and you said to restrain the troops, so we restrained them. After moving to Ganzhou, we've been here nearly a year, and still you delay marching north to exterminate the rebels. These Fujian soldiers have wives, children, and parents too — it's been two years since we marched out of Fujian. Did they leave their homes just so you, Governor Zou, could rise in rank and fortune? Even if it's about rank and fortune, you, Governor Zou, feast on the meat — we military men should at least get to drink the soup!"

Zou Weilian had no imperial sword of authority and was utterly helpless against these officers; he could only steel himself and say, "Within this year, we will certainly march north to exterminate the rebels."

"The rebels are right on the opposite bank — no need to march north, just cross the river!" Chen Tingdui said, pointing at the water.

Chen Tingdui was, after all, a Military Zhuangyuan, personally selected by the Emperor.

He came from a great Fujian clan, his ancestors hereditary military commanders. After passing the Military Zhuangyuan examination, he was directly appointed Vice Regional Commander of Guangdong, then swiftly promoted to Regional Commander of Fujian, earning merit repeatedly in campaigns against pirates. When suppressing peasant armies in southern Fujian, he was unstoppable, slaughtering rebellious peasants like butchering chickens and dogs.

That Luling rebel Zhao was nothing!

Chen Tingdui had also sent scouts across the river, and he had very keenly grasped that the rebels on the opposite bank were not numerous — five or six thousand at most.

Returning to his camp, Chen Tingdui summoned his subordinate officers and said, "That wretch Zou Weilian — his entire clan has fallen into rebel Zhao's hands, and I fear he truly has been secretly colluding with the rebels for some time. Otherwise, why does he keep delaying the northern campaign? A handful of bandits are right across the river, and yet he clings to the city and refuses to come out."

"I've long found him intolerable. Two years since we marched from Fujian, restraining us at every turn, tying our hands at every step."

"Exactly — we wiped out so many bandits in western Fujian. He said he'd report our merits to the court, but what merits did he report? We haven't even seen any reward silver!"

"The reward silver was most likely pocketed by that scoundrel!"

"Last year my nephew merely led some men to loot a village, and that damned official had him beheaded. I can endure it no longer."

"Why not just kill the brute!"

"He's a civil official — we can't kill him."

"Then tie him up and memorialize the court that the Governor has gone over to the rebels."

"..."

The powder keg that had been filling since the previous year, now faced with the rebels, was at last about to explode.

Chen Tingdui had sent gifts to Wen Tiren's faction and knew that Zou Weilian was at odds with Wen Tiren. Had it been any other civil official, he truly would not have dared make a move, but placing Zou Weilian under house arrest — that he was not afraid to do.

Once he had Zou Weilian confined, he need only submit a memorial impeaching him for colluding with the rebels, and Wen Tiren's faction would surely pile on.

That very night, a group of Fujian officers led their troops to storm Zou Weilian's temporary residence.

As Governor of Fujian, Zou Weilian had two thousand personally trained Governor's Guard soldiers, and the Guard Mobile Corps Commander and Guard Company Commanders were all men he had personally promoted.

At this moment, only a hundred or so guards were defending the residence; the rest had been dispatched to take their rotation manning the city walls.

These soldiers had charged too fast, and with a night ambush, the hundred or so Governor's guardsmen had no time to react at all before Zou Weilian was seized.

"Do you intend to rebel?" Zou Weilian roared in fury.

Chen Tingdui sneered: "You are the one who long ago went over to the rebels. Every military order you issued was for the rebels' benefit. You are a civil official — I won't kill you; the court will deal with you!"

In truth, all of that was mere pretext.

The real core conflict was that Zou Weilian, being a Jiangxi man, forbade the Fujian guest troops from plundering in Jiangxi.

Setting out from Fujian, they had first fought in western Fujian, then fought along the border of Guangdong and Jiangxi, routing the mass peasant armies there. But after earning those military merits, the court gave no large-scale promotions or rewards, leaving these soldiers seething with resentment, holding back their urge to recoup their losses in Jiangxi — and Zou Weilian just happened to forbid plundering in Jiangxi.

After more than two years away from home, if the Fujian troops could get nothing out of it, then what were they even fighting for? They had long wanted to go home!

Zou Weilian had thought that by personally distributing pay he could win the hearts of the rank-and-file soldiers.

But how could that pittance of pay compare to what they could get by looting?

After placing Zou Weilian under house arrest, Chen Tingdui announced that the Governor had already gone over to the rebels, that he had seized him to hand over to the court, and he promised to lead all the soldiers to riches. Of those guardsmen Zou Weilian had personally trained, apart from a few who refused to submit, the rest all went over to Chen Tingdui!

In just two days, Chen Tingdui had seized control of Ganzhou city.

He had, after all, read some books, and knew that with rebel troops outside he could not let things run wild inside the city, so he turned his gaze to the opposite riverbank.

Along a riverbank more than ten li long, there would always be an opportunity to strike.

Moreover, the rebel fleet dared not sail past the confluence of the three rivers; the entire upstream stretch was the government fleet's territory.

Chen Tingdui laid an ambush upstream: if the rebel fleet from Ancient Sword Mountain dared to come cruising into the Gong River section, several hundred fire ships could be launched at once. And the government fleet could also cut off the rebels' retreat from the Zhang River, leaving the rebel fleet no way to escape even if it wanted to!

Leaving only three thousand men to hold the city, Chen Tingdui first sent five thousand men to cross upstream in secret, while the remaining troops crossed the river openly and in full view from the front.

His aim was precisely to lure the rebels over — whether fleet or army, they would all fall into his trap.

That night, the five thousand men crossing in secret made their way over the river in successive waves. The operation was so large that they were discovered halfway through, because sentries posted by the peasant associations lined the entire riverbank.

To the government troops, it made no difference — the crossing point was far from the main rebel camp, and the rebel main force could not intercept them for some time.

As for the rebel fleet, if they dared come and cause trouble, they could forget about going back — over six hundred fire-attack ships were waiting for them.

The local peasant association beat gongs and drums, beginning to warn the common folk to evacuate.

Unfortunately, the peasant association had only just been formed and lacked sufficient rallying power; many peasants refused to listen and hid inside their homes, unwilling to come out.

After the five thousand government troops successfully crossed the river, they immediately raised torches and began plundering the villages and towns. They looked down on the poor common folk, only killing a few in passing as they went, then headed straight for the great houses of the wealthy households.

Guest troops from another province were even more ruthless than the rebels!

Just how ruthless? One need only look to Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang. Setting aside the looting, they also carried out massacres — massacres so excessive that even the foreigners could not bear to watch.

If Chen Tingdui wanted to gain a firm foothold in Jiangxi, he had to ensure that every single Fujian soldier under his command could earn enough silver to go home and become a landlord!

(End of chapter)