Chapter 218: 216 Sightseeing and Pleasure Jaunts (For Alliance Leader

Natural disasters and man-made calamities have always gone hand in hand.

Looking solely at the severity of last year's drought, Shanxi and Shaanxi were actually milder, yet the famine they brought was the most devastating.

Where were the hardest-hit drought areas last year?

By the administrative divisions of later eras, they covered southern Jiangsu, southern Anhui, southeastern Hubei, northeastern Jiangxi, eastern Fujian, and the whole of Zhejiang!

These places were all relatively prosperous, so in the historical records, the south in the ninth year of Chongzhen saw no large-scale famine.

But Zhejiang, which suffered a province-wide drought last year, has endured a persistent drought again this year. Although the drought is milder than last year's, the people of Zhejiang can no longer bear it, because the Provincial Administration Commission is pressing harder for taxes.

Yao Yongji, the Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Zhejiang, had no choice either. When he reported the disaster last year, the Emperor simply did not believe him, stripping him of office yet keeping him at his post — if he failed to deliver the tax revenues, he would be dismissed!

Ji'an, the Regional Commander's headquarters.

Zhao Han issued instructions at the spring plowing conference: "All local officials, propaganda officers, peasant association members, and the army — everyone is to combat the drought and provide disaster relief!"

Li Ke said weakly, "Commander, perhaps you should personally conduct a ceremony to pray for rain?"

"Pray for what rain? With that money, better to spend it on disaster relief!" Zhao Han refused outright.

Pang Chunlai said, "Praying for rain is also acceptable — not to move heaven and earth, but only to rally the people's hearts."

"The Commander may not believe, but the officials and common people do," Li Banghua seconded.

Zhao Han thought for a moment and said, "Unity of will is what rallies the people's hearts. As for praying for rain — the north has suffered drought year after year; why hasn't the court, with all its sovereign and ministers, managed to pray any rain down? Pass the order to chief officials everywhere: henceforth, anyone who prays for rain is to be dismissed immediately. Put every ounce of your minds into fighting the drought!"

"Yes!"

The assembled officials raised no further objections.

The Nanchang County Magistrate had already fled, claiming to have contracted a grave illness, and without court approval, had hung up his seal and gone home to retire.

The newly appointed County Magistrate was named Han Chengxuan. He had previously served as magistrate of Zichuan, where during his term he had done only two things: first, restored the Single Whip tax system county-wide, forbidding any further levying of harsh surtaxes and miscellaneous levies; second, built stone walls to defend against bandits.

Zichuan County was brought to great order!

The moment he entered Jiangxi territory, he heard the spring drought was severe, and Han Chengxuan's brow furrowed deeply. He was a man of Shanxi, had passed the jinshi examination three years before, and had already tasted the bitterness of drought to the full.

On this journey to Jiangxi, Han Chengxuan had no private secretary, bringing only two household servants.

After emerging from Lake Poyang, Han Chengxuan stood at the prow to observe. He discovered that on both banks of the Gan River, the rice seedlings were actually lush and verdant, nothing like the scene he had imagined.

Han Chengxuan sighed with emotion: "The land west of the river, truly rich and prosperous — moistened by rivers and lakes, even in great drought it can yield a bountiful harvest."

Arriving at the prefectural seat of Nanchang, the place was extraordinarily bustling, likewise showing no sign of being plagued by rebels.

Han Chengxuan did not linger. He changed boats and followed a small river downstream; ten li beyond lay the county seat of Nanchang.

All along the way, on both banks of the small river, he saw common folk lined up fetching water many times. The water level of this little river had already dropped considerably; waterwheels could no longer lift water into the channels, so the peasant association had organized manual water-lifting.

"Put in to shore."

Before even reaching the county seat, Han Chengxuan disembarked early.

He looked at the mud left behind after the riverbank waters had receded, then looked at the lush green rice paddies all around, and felt an indescribable strangeness.

Han Chengxuan had his servants stay on the bank to watch the luggage, and alone, carrying a sword, walked along the paddy ridges. He walked for several li; already very far from the riverbank, he still saw no withered, yellowing seedlings.

This was only spring; though no rain had fallen, Nanchang County was crisscrossed everywhere with rivers, and moreover connected to the Gan and Fu Rivers — drought-fighting work was actually very easy to carry out.

The truly difficult places were the mountain regions!

Suddenly, Han Chengxuan spotted a banner, indigo blue as its base, embroidered with an ear of rice.

"Folks, put in a bit more effort — these are the last few fields!" A plainly dressed man, raising a tin megaphone, shouted.

"Alright!"

The crowd cheered in unison, then worked with even greater vigor.

Han Chengxuan stopped a peasant carrying water and, pointing at the banner, asked, "What banner is that?"

"The peasant association's banner," the peasant answered.

One spoke in the official tongue, the other in the Jiangxi dialect, yet they could barely manage to communicate.

Peasant association?

Han Chengxuan sensed something amiss.

He observed a while longer, then strolled back to the riverbank and took his servants with him to the county seat.

Arriving at the county yamen, he reported his background, and the Assistant Magistrate, Registrar, and Constable came out with two squads of runners to welcome him.

Han Chengxuan made some inquiries and learned that the Assistant Magistrate was named Zhang Ruohai, the Registrar was named Liu Zirong, and the Constable was named Hu Dinggui.

This Constable was quite young, looking to be only in his teens.

Those black-clad yamen runners were even stranger, each one holding a long spear, rather than the usual black-and-red staves. And they obeyed orders and prohibitions strictly, arrayed in neat formation, looking more formidable than the government troops of the north.

Han Chengxuan suppressed the doubts in his heart and went to handle the handover procedures. Though the county treasury was not exactly full, it still had some money and grain left for him. This situation was extremely good; when he had first become magistrate of Zichuan, the county yamen treasury was so poor that rats could race through it.

Han Chengxuan kept the Assistant Magistrate, Registrar, and Constable behind, summoning them to a meeting in the yamen's second hall.

"I am newly arrived here and must rely heavily on you three," Han Chengxuan said, cupping his hands in salute.

Zhang Ruohai hastily cupped his hands in return: "We dare not claim such credit; we shall certainly do our utmost to assist Your Honor."

Han Chengxuan added, "The Jiangxi spring drought — I see it has been managed very well. You three gentlemen have labored long and hard."

Liu Zirong suddenly said, "Your Honor, Nanchang County's terrain is flat, its soil fertile, its rivers crisscrossing — the spring drought is nothing to worry about at all. However, in the surrounding counties, there will surely be mountain folk suffering from the disaster, and after the summer harvest they are very likely to come here begging for food to survive. Your Honor should make preparations early, and do your utmost not to let a single disaster victim starve to death."

"That goes without saying," Han Chengxuan said with a smile.

Hu Dinggui said, "If refugees come, Your Honor need not be alarmed. I will personally take men to handle it."

"I am obliged to you," Han Chengxuan said, cupping his hands.

After chatting for roughly the time it takes a stick of incense to burn, Han Chengxuan had it figured out.

In this Nanchang County, all matters were decided by Registrar Liu Zirong and Constable Hu Dinggui. As for Assistant Magistrate Zhang Ruohai, he was a complete puppet, only occasionally uttering a word or two of nonsense.

At dusk, Han Chengxuan spent his own money to invite Zhang Ruohai to a banquet in the yamen's inner residence.

After a few pleasantries, Han Chengxuan asked directly, "The Registrar and Constable of this county, along with those two squads of yamen runners — are they all rebels?"

Zhang Ruohai shuddered in fright and quickly said in a low voice, "Your Honor, do not speak of this aloud. Let us just muddle through a few years as befuddled officials and it will pass."

So they really are rebels!

Though this Nanchang county seat is not attached to the Nanchang prefectural seat, it is still in the heart of Jiangxi province. In this stately county yamen, apart from the Assistant Magistrate, every other official post has been secretly usurped by rebels.

Cold sweat broke out down Han Chengxuan's back. His expression grim, he asked, "Wasn't the Luling rebel Zhao recruited and pacified long ago?"

Zhang Ruohai groaned, "He was indeed recruited, and the fighting stopped, but I fear Jiangxi will soon bear the surname Zhao. The previous County Magistrate was frightened into fleeing — he simply hung up his seal, pleaded illness, and returned home."

"Is the whole of Jiangxi like this?" Han Chengxuan asked.

Zhang Ruohai said, "I don't know about other places, but the entire Nanchang prefecture is this way. In Fuzhou prefecture to the east and Ruizhou prefecture to the west, I hear they are also forming peasant associations. Sooner or later, they will all fall into that rebel Zhao's hands."

"What exactly is a peasant association?" Han Chengxuan recalled the banner he had seen outside the city.

Zhang Ruohai explained, "The rebel Zhao has a propaganda corps under him that goes everywhere preaching some sort of Great Unity under Heaven. The propaganda corps brings along a core of peasant association cadres. In every village or town they pass through, within two or three months a peasant association is sure to be set up. It means the peasants band together to force landlords to reduce rents and interest, and they refuse to pay harsh and miscellaneous taxes to the authorities. In their spare time, the peasant associations also help each other out."

"This... this is rebellion?" Han Chengxuan was dumbstruck.

Zhang Ruohai said with absolute certainty, "This is rebellion indeed. The gentry and landlords have long suffered bitterly from it!"

Han Chengxuan was utterly speechless. If this counted as rebellion, then he felt like rebelling himself.

When Han Chengxuan served as County Magistrate of Zichuan, he had exhausted every resource just to restore Zhang Juzheng's Single Whip tax reform. For that, he offended powerful and overbearing interests. Though the whole county was brought to excellent order, he himself was tossed over to Jiangxi to face the rebels head-on.

He had to admit it — the rebels here in Jiangxi were doing a better job than the government.

But this was not right. If this was allowed to develop unchecked, the whole of Jiangxi really would end up bearing the surname Zhao.

Han Chengxuan was inwardly torn. The education he had received taught him to be loyal to his sovereign and serve the state, and to love the common people with benevolence. Yet now, loyalty to the sovereign and service to the state seemed to clash with benevolence toward the common people. Which one should he choose?

That night, Han Chengxuan tossed and turned, unable to think his way through it no matter how hard he tried.

Several days passed in this manner, and Han Chengxuan discovered he had nothing to do. Government affairs were handled by Registrar Liu Zirong, and public order was managed by Constable Hu Dinggui. Every matter in the county was kept in perfect order.

So what had they brought him, this County Magistrate, here to do?

With no other recourse, Han Chengxuan simply went off to enjoy the mountains and rivers, taking his household servants across the river into the territory of Ruizhou prefecture.

After asking around, he learned that the County Magistrate of Shanggao was, astonishingly, his fellow jinshi of the same year, Fu Ruwei.

Han Chengxuan immediately set off to see him. Strictly speaking, such conduct was not permitted — a County Magistrate could not leave his own jurisdiction without authorization.

"Brother Kanghou, what brings you here?" Fu Ruwei was extremely surprised.

Han Chengxuan explained, "I am serving as County Magistrate in Nanchang. There is truly nothing for me to do, so I came out to wander and ease my mind."

Fu Ruwei did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Fellow sufferers at the ends of the earth."

"Has Shanggao County also been secretly seized by the rebels?" Han Chengxuan asked.

Fu Ruwei sighed, "Of the four counties in Ruizhou prefecture, two are already like this. Only Gao'an County, which is attached to the prefectural seat, and Yifeng County, deep in the mountains, remain for now in the hands of the Great Ming court. But even these two counties are developing peasant associations — falling into the rebels' hands is only a matter of time. You were transferred to Jiangxi because you offended people, weren't you?"

"I did indeed offend quite a few," Han Chengxuan said. "In Zichuan, I reasserted the Single Whip law, forbade the collection of harsh and miscellaneous taxes, and also carried out a new cadastral survey."

Fu Ruwei smiled bitterly. "I am not as capable as you, Brother Kanghou. Last year, when Zhejiang suffered a great drought, I merely forced the great clans to open their granaries and distribute grain. I offended several officials of the Donglin Faction."

The court was truly something — dumping all its good officials into Jiangxi in one heap.

Han Chengxuan suddenly asked, "Should the true situation here be reported to the court?"

"It must not be reported," Fu Ruwei shook his head. "In battle after battle, the government troops of Jiangxi have been utterly defeated. If this is reported to the court, it will surely draw down thunderous wrath, and war will break out again in Jiangxi. And when that happens, where will the court find the soldiers, money, and grain to fight? The matter here — let us drag it out one day at a time. Ah, that Zhao Yan can be counted a good rebel."

Han Chengxuan said, "I know he is a good rebel, but a good rebel is still a rebel in the end."

Fu Ruwei said, "Brother Kanghou, you should go into the mountains and see for yourself just how great that rebel Zhao's authority is. The mountain folk, organized by the peasant associations, walk several li, even over a dozen li, down the mountain paths to the river to carry water back up for irrigation. And that is not all — after carrying water, they are also digging catchment ponds, as if they mean to fill those ponds by carrying water on their backs! I went to observe once, and I was truly shaken beyond words. No government anywhere could accomplish such a thing."

Han Chengxuan had nothing to say.

Fu Ruwei smiled bitterly. "Do not overthink it. Let us go enjoy the mountains and rivers together."

(Thanks to the omnipresent Little Fatty for the alliance-leader tip, and by the way, asking for monthly tickets.)

(End of chapter)