Chapter 222: A Bodhisattva's Heart, a Thunderbolt's Hand

Of the four counties in Nan'an Prefecture, for the moment only Chongyi County remained untaken.

Chongyi County was poor, remote, and hard to traverse. It had virtually no native Jiangxi population; most of its people were Hakka from Guangdong, with a smaller number of Yao commoners also from Guangdong. And they had migrated to Jiangxi long ago — before Wang Yangming's bandit-suppression campaigns, at least a hundred and thirty years earlier!

Shangyou County, meanwhile, lay right next to Chongyi County. In the southwestern part of Shangyou, conflict between natives and Hakka was extremely severe, and the majority of the Hakka there had multiplied outward from Chongyi County.

Zhao Han had invited over forty representatives from the surrounding counties. Naturally he could not attend to every detail in person; he needed these representatives to go back and spread the word.

Zhao Han had scarcely left Ganzhou when trouble erupted right behind him in Shangyou County.

This was the season when the rice was heading and flowering, and the high temperatures caused heavy evaporation. Any shortage of water would easily wither the pollen and the stigmas of the pistils, making heading difficult, preventing normal pollination, and leaving the rice grains hollow and shriveled.

Nor could one simply flood the fields all at once. It was best to keep a shallow layer of water in the paddies, adding water once every two or three days.

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In short, they needed water constantly.

Shangyou County, Jilong Village.

A small stream here flowed into the Shangyou River. After half a year without rain, the stream was nearly dry, with only a thread of water still trickling down its center.

The Hakka, whose ancestral homes were in Guangdong, lived in the upper reaches near the mountains. Apart from the land along the river, their soil was on the whole rather barren. The native Jiangxi people lived in the lower reaches, where the land was on the whole more fertile and the flat terrain far more extensive.

But when drought came and they fought over water, the Hakka always had the advantage — because they lived upstream!

"Tong-tong-tong-tong!"

"The Hakka bandits have blocked the river! The Hakka bandits have blocked the river!"

Downstream, the natives beat gongs and drums. In no time, every household sent out its men; even boys of twelve or thirteen grabbed hoes and clubs and began to muster.

The peasant association cadres, terrified, rushed over to dissuade them: "Don't do anything rash, don't do anything rash! I'll report to the town chief — the town chief will see justice done for us!"

"Shut your noise! Tie him up!"

Several peasant association cadres were all bound. Although many villagers had also joined the peasant association, when it came to fighting over water, they would not listen to a word the cadres said.

In half a day, over three hundred men gathered — all males from the downstream villages.

They surged toward the upper reaches in a mighty, seething mass, and soon found the place where the river had been blocked. A makeshift dam had been thrown across the channel there, holding back all of what little river water there was upstream.

"Tear it down!"

Just as the Jiangxi natives were demolishing the dam, the Hakka too began spreading the alarm, and came charging over, eyes blazing, carrying every sort of farm tool.

The two sides, over seven hundred people in all, clashed in the parched, shallow riverbed.

This time the fighting was even fiercer, because it had not rained for half a year and the crucial heading stage had arrived.

Judged by casualties, the intensity already surpassed Fei Ruhe's assault on the city in southern Jiangxi…

The struggle lasted a quarter of an hour. Over a hundred were killed or wounded on both sides; more than twenty people were beaten to death on the spot.

The Jiangxi natives, outnumbered, could not win. Abandoning even the corpses, they dragged their wounded and fled. Once back, they immediately released the peasant association cadres, then ran to the town chief to lodge a complaint. The town chief had been transferred from Wan'an County and was not a Shangyou native. He at once dispatched a man to Ganzhou city to report.

"It is time to kill," Liu Huan advised. "One cannot rely on benevolence alone."

Liu Anfeng added, "Only half a month ago the Regional Commander set down the rules. If they lived far away, it might be excusable — perhaps the mountain folk simply did not know. But Jilong Village in Shangyou County is very close. To carry on like this is to show no regard for the Regional Commander whatsoever, nor for the government and peasant association of Ganzhou!"

"Ah!"

Chen Maosheng sighed. "I will go muster the troops."

Only three hundred regular soldiers were garrisoned in Ganzhou city. When Zhao Han left, he had authorized Chen Maosheng to deploy them at will.

Two days later, Chen Maosheng assembled over a hundred propagandists and peasant association cadres and set out for Shangyou County with the three hundred regulars. Though the Shangyou River was low and shallow, it could still carry small military craft. They traveled by boat to the county seat, then followed the little stream on foot toward Jilong Village.

"Master Chen, you must see justice done for us — those Hakka bandits are utterly unreasonable!"

No sooner had they entered the village than peasants came running to kneel on the ground and beg Chen Maosheng for help.

Expressionless, Chen Maosheng asked, "Who took the lead in tying up the peasant association personnel?"

No one spoke.

Chen Maosheng turned at once. "Back to Ganzhou. We will not trouble ourselves with the affairs of this place."

"It was Liu Baocheng who told them to do the tying! I tried to talk him out of it, but I couldn't!" one peasant shouted.

"That's right, it was Liu Baocheng!" another peasant said. "He joined the peasant association late and didn't get to be a headman, so he kept telling us not to listen to the association!"

Chen Maosheng barked, "Who is Liu Baocheng?"

"Him!"

The peasants pointed as one at a man, who was already trembling with fright.

"Seize him!"

The three hundred Great Unity soldiers were superbly equipped and in strict formation; how would the local peasants dare resist?

They took the man into separate custody for interrogation, and also selected thirty villagers to be questioned in isolation. Very quickly they ferreted out the ones who had organized the conspiracy.

At the same time, according to Liu Baocheng's confession, this whole affair of bypassing the peasant association had been instigated by the village's former big landlord. Liu Baocheng had also taken a bribe of one dou of rice.

That big landlord, because his misdeeds had not been flagrant, had not been subjected to a reckoning. He had merely been allowed to keep a small amount of land and been forced to divide up his household.

The land the landlord's family kept was relatively fertile and fairly extensive, and it all lay along the river, making him the greatest beneficiary of the water fight. The scoundrel did not show his own face, but used his lingering prestige to goad the peasants into causing trouble, and had all along been secretly obstructing the peasant association's work.

Chen Maosheng made the arrests that very day, seizing the landlord's entire family.

The next day, Chen Maosheng left behind some propaganda officers and peasant association cadres to reorganize the local association's work. Then he personally led troops to the upper reaches and demolished the dam in the river channel. He waited half a day, but no Hakka came to stop him.

Chen Maosheng had no choice but to lead his troops into the village. He interrogated over twenty households in succession; not one was willing to give up the ringleaders.

These Hakka were truly united!

As for the Hakka peasant association here, it had not yet been established.

After discussing the matter with the local town chief, Chen Maosheng soon had two Hakka brought in. Both were men who, during the economic sanctions the year before, had been the first willing to register their households, and they had been issued special licenses to buy salt and sell goods. Once all the Hakka had agreed to register, these two men's special licenses had become useless.

"Who led it this time?" Chen Maosheng asked.

"Don't know." Both men shook their heads at once.

"Fine, fine. You really do take me for a soft-hearted man," Chen Maosheng said, laughing in his fury. "Torture them separately. First cut off the left little finger! If they still won't confess, cut off the left ring finger. When all ten fingers are gone, start on the toes!"

The two men were taken to different rooms. Soon, shrieks of agony rang out one after another.

They had no idea whether the other had confessed. By the time the chopping reached the ring finger, one man, out of sheer terror, gave up the ringleader.

Chen Maosheng walked over to the other man and said with a smile, "That one over there has already confessed. Will you confess? If you won't, I'll arrest people based on his statement. If you do, I'll cross-check the confessions."

"I'll confess, I'll confess," the man wept.

The two confessions matched — it seemed they hadn't lied. Chen Maosheng immediately ordered, "Arrest everyone on the list. If anyone resists arrest, kill them on the spot."

Chen Maosheng then brought the two men together and said coldly, "Both of you speak the Jiangxi dialect, and you're both early settlers here. If a peasant association were formed, you'd certainly be chosen as backbone members, and might even become officials someday. Why help cover this up?"

The two men said nothing, only cried out in pain.

"I can probably guess," Chen Maosheng said, smiling. "You were hoping to blow the matter up, so the authorities would seal off trade again. Then, with only the two of you holding special trading permits, you could go into town to buy salt and resell it, and also sell goods from the mountains. Isn't that right?"

The two men stopped crying out in pain and simply clutched their wounds where the fingers had been severed — clearly Chen Maosheng had hit the mark entirely.

"Creatures who can't see beyond their own noses," Chen Maosheng roared. "Mr. Zhao is about to seize all of Jiangxi, and will go on to take the whole realm. If you had sincerely thrown in your lot with him, you'd be counted among the dragon-following meritorious ministers — and you let your eyes be blinded by a few coins from peddling goods!"

The two men listened, stunned. Suddenly they realized how truly foolish they had been. They promptly kowtowed and begged Chen Maosheng for mercy.

Half a day later, an officer returned to report: "Steward Chen, two got away. They've likely fled into the mountains."

Chen Maosheng ordered, "Seize their entire families and spread the word. If they do not return and surrender within three days, confiscate all their family land, and consign every man, woman, and child in the household to hard labor!"

Over the past half year and more, Chen Maosheng had shown ample goodwill. It was time to use thunderous measures!

Three days passed. Of the two who had fled, only one returned to surrender.

Chen Maosheng summoned the people from both upstream and downstream, right at the spot where they had brawled. Over a dozen ringleaders were bound, including the gentry who had secretly incited them. Three hundred fully armed soldiers stood ready at a moment's notice.

"From now on, if any dispute arises, let the village chief and the peasant association mediate," Chen Maosheng declared loudly. "If the village chief and peasant association cannot mediate, go to the town chief. If the town chief is no use, take your case to the county yamen. Should anyone engage in private feuding, the ringleaders will be severely punished. Let today's events serve as a warning!"

One by one, the charges were read aloud. Once the charges were read, the man was killed. Several heads were lopped off in succession.

When it came time to behead the Hakka men, the Hakka villagers began to stir restlessly. The three hundred Great Unity soldiers immediately raised their weapons.

"Swish!"

Another head hit the ground.

After all dozen-plus heads had been cut off, Chen Maosheng said, "Treat them with lime, then send them around to the counties, villages, and towns. Let everyone see the fate of those who incite rebellion and break the law!"

Over the next half month and more, Chen Maosheng stationed himself right there and forcibly established the peasant association and carried out land redistribution.

Since grain was already planted in the fields, the results of this land redistribution would take effect only after the harvest. The Hakka leaders who held too much land were struck down without mercy!

Ordinary Hakka peasants thus gained real benefits, receiving more land. Though they could not be said to be sincerely devoted, they were at least now at odds with the Hakka leaders, and would certainly be unwilling to heed those leaders' words in the future.

Next came drought relief. The river channel was nearly dry; all they could do was dig wells and try their luck.

Two hundred of the three hundred regular soldiers were detached to help the upstream and downstream villagers dig wells, gradually drawing closer to the common people through shared labor.

Just as the rice ears finished forming, a torrential rain suddenly fell from the sky.

Both native and Hakka commoners alike cheered in celebration.

At the Regional Commander's headquarters, however, alarm set in. From southern Jiangxi to central Jiangxi, every prefecture and county was experiencing continuous heavy downpours.

After half a year of drought, a great flood was very likely to follow!

For a place like Nanchang County, a spring drought meant only a slightly poor harvest, but a great flood could mean a total crop failure for the rice!

And the strange thing was, while central and southern Jiangxi suffered continuous torrential rain, northern Jiangxi remained in the grip of severe drought. To be precise, the eastern part of Jiujiang Prefecture, the northeastern part of Nankang Prefecture, and the northern part of Raozhou Prefecture — these areas had been in drought since last year, and this year the drought persisted into summer with still no rainfall.

Flood and drought disasters arriving at the same time — Heaven truly gave people no path to survive.

(End of chapter)