Chapter 225: 223: A Thousand Surrounding Twenty Thousand

Nanchang prefectural seat.

Xiong Wencan turned pale with shock. "What? Raozhou city is lost too? Did the Prince of Huai escape?"

"I fear his chances are slim," the messenger replied.

Xiong Wencan collapsed back into his seat, a bone-deep chill seizing him as if he had plunged into an ice pit.

Civil officials had always held princes in contempt, impeaching them at every opportunity to endlessly burnish their own reputations and political records — a practice the court and sovereign were perfectly happy to see.

But a civil official impeaching a prince was one thing; a prince being killed by rebels was something else entirely!

Southern Jiangxi had a tradition of rebellion, and so did northeastern Jiangxi, for the same reasons: endless mountain ranges and an impoverished populace.

Duchang County, which the rebels had now seized, had already seen an uprising a few years ago; Mount Gujian's forces had once nominally belonged to the Duchang rebels. And Raozhou Prefecture, now also in rebel hands, had suffered an earlier uprising too — the Prince of Huai's entire family had been slaughtered then.

That Prince of Huai was truly ill-fated: after his whole family was killed, he had barely enjoyed two years of peace back in his princely estate before Raozhou's prefectural seat was breached by rebels again.

Xiong Wencan's throat went dry. "Are the rebels in Raozhou Prefecture also flying Zhao Yan's banner?" he asked.

"No," the scout replied. "The ones flying the Heavenly King Zhao banner are the Duchang rebel Ding. This Raozhou rebel Lu was originally part of Ding Jiasheng's forces, but they split midway because of his indiscriminate slaughter — Ding couldn't abide it. Ding attacked Duchang County, and Lu went for Raozhou Prefecture. The Prince of Huai..."

"Go on, don't mince words!" Xiong Wencan barked.

The scout said, "When the rebels breached the city last time, the Prince of Huai was stripped of generations of accumulated wealth. After returning to Raozhou, he bled the people ruthlessly. This year Raozhou suffered drought first, then floods, yet the prince showed no restraint, and the Provincial Administration Commission pressed hard for tax payments. The moment Lu arrived, the entire Raozhou populace rose up — within half a month he had tens of thousands under arms."

Xiong Wencan had no words. He could well imagine what life had been like for the people of Raozhou.

Drought, then flood, a prince bleeding them dry on one side and the authorities hounding them on the other. It was a vat of boiling oil — touch a spark to it and it ignites. With someone leading a revolt, how could it not explode?

Truth be told, if the Raozhou people had not risen up, countless starving refugees would have inevitably flooded into Nanchang to beg. Tens of thousands of famine refugees massing at Nanchang would have been a headache in its own right.

The present situation was even thornier. The rebel Ding held Duchang County, flew the banner of Heavenly King Zhao, and was imitating Zhao Han's methods of struggling against landlords and distributing land. The rebel Lu held Raozhou Prefecture with even more troops, but he slaughtered the innocent indiscriminately — he was just a rebel of the old, traditional sort.

And on the government side, there was simply no strength to mount a punitive expedition.

Some government troops still remained, but after repeated crushing defeats, they had long since lost the will to fight and wanted only to flee at the sight of rebels.

Xiong Wencan could only wait anxiously. He had already written to Zhao Han, hoping Zhao Han would help suppress the rebels. Never mind talk of inviting a wolf into the house — Jiangxi was already ringed by wolves. It would be enough if Zhao Han could suppress the rebels, even if only on the surface.

After several more days of waiting, the Great Unity Army finally arrived.

Gu Jianshan led the naval forces, and Li Zheng led the army troops aboard ship, docking directly outside Nanchang's prefectural seat.

Why stop here?

To demand money and grain, of course. Helping the court suppress rebels — it was only natural to secure a mobilization stipend. This year's great disaster had left the Great Unity Army with no surplus grain either; Xiong Wencan had to show some token of appreciation.

Left with no choice, Xiong Wencan scraped together what he could, even forcing the great households to contribute money.

Some of those great households had originally still been loyal to the court, but after Xiong Wencan pulled this, the gentry and powerful families lost whatever illusions they had left.

What kind of absurdity was this?

The authorities and the great households providing money and grain to subsidize the Luling rebel Zhao's territorial expansion!

Countless officials and gentry surely sent letters of accusation, but once those impeachment letters reached the capital, they vanished like clay oxen into the sea — not the slightest response came back.

Having extorted their money and grain, Gu Jianshan and Li Zheng immediately sailed from the Gan River into Lake Poyang, reaching Duchang County in two or three days.

Ding Jiasheng, upon receiving word, promptly led his forces out of the city to greet them. Holding a copy of The Great Unity Collection in his hands, he knelt and cried out, "I, Ding Jiasheng, am willing to serve and fight for Mr. Zhao!"

Gu Jianshan and Li Zheng exchanged a glance, both deeply surprised — this rebel Ding truly was willing to surrender his city and submit.

Gu Jianshan hurriedly helped him up. "Brother Ding, the Regional Commander forbids kneeling. All people under heaven are born equal."

"Great Unity under Heaven — that too is my life's aspiration," Ding Jiasheng said as he rose.

Gu Jianshan returned to the naval vessels, while Ding Jiasheng led Li Zheng into the city. Pointing to the land outside the walls, he said, "Over two thousand mu around the county seat have already been distributed. But my abilities are limited, and the land distribution was plagued by chaos. Please have the Great Unity officials come quickly to take charge."

Only now did Li Zheng believe Ding Jiasheng was truly one of their own. "I will write to the Regional Commander at once," he said. "Is that Raozhou rebel Lu a former subordinate of yours, Brother Ding?"

"Not at all," Ding Jiasheng replied. "I am a xiucai from Shimen Town. Driven by famine, I begged my way here, raised troops, seized the landlords' stores, and opened the granaries to distribute grain. This Lu Xiangyou, on the other hand, was a salt smuggler who brought his men to join forces with me midway. I restrained my troops — no burning, killing, or looting — but Lu Xiangyou slaughtered the innocent indiscriminately, and many righteous fighters defected to him. Left with no choice, I parted ways with him. I led three thousand men to take Duchang County; he led over ten thousand to take Raozhou Prefecture."

"Is he extremely brutal?" Li Zheng asked.

Ding Jiasheng answered, "He is a man of the rivers and lakes, a rough outlaw. He treats his brothers like his own limbs, and the common people like weeds. Greedy for wealth and lustful besides — in the ten li I traveled with him, he not only plundered countless money and grain but also seized six women as concubines. He even distributed looted money and women to many rebel leaders, and lured some of my own officers away with bribes. Everywhere he passed, the common folk were coerced and press-ganged. Any prominent clan he encountered was slaughtered to the last member."

"He deserves death!" Li Zheng ground his teeth.

After a day's stay in Duchang County, Ding Jiasheng remained to garrison the city while Gu Jianshan and Li Zheng advanced via the Rao River, leading their troops straight for Raozhou's prefectural seat.

Raozhou's prefectural seat was none other than Poyang County.

The water routes here were convenient — Jingdezhen's porcelain had to pass through Raozhou's prefectural seat to be shipped out. The land was also fertile, and the people should have lived in great prosperity. Unfortunately, they had to support the Prince of Huai's lineage — with all those generations of descendants, who could bear it?

Along the way, Li Zheng spread word that "Heavenly King Zhao's fifty-thousand-strong army is coming," and countless common folk looked forward to it eagerly.

Mid-journey, even imperial clan descendants of the Zhu family came to join them. The grain stipends of these clan members had been embezzled by the princes and commandery princes, yet they were forbidden from pursuing any trade or profession — their rebelliousness was no less than that of tenant farmers or military households.

Zhu Yirong, who had once voluntarily gone to Fengcheng to join the rebels, had been brought along by Li Zheng this time as well. He served as a civil clerk in the army and had brought a group of fellow clansmen with him.

Arriving outside Raozhou's prefectural seat, Zhu Yirong led the imperial clansmen everywhere, spreading the word that even descendants of the Zhu family could receive land and hold office.

After several days of besieging the city, over four hundred imperial clansmen had gathered — every one of them dressed little better than beggars, partly from the hardships of flight and partly from being poor to begin with.

"Can imperial clansmen really get land?"

"Isn't Mr. Zhao going to exterminate all the imperial clansmen? This rebel Lu is hunting down and slaughtering clansmen everywhere."

"Does this mean we'll be able to work and farm from now on?"

"..."

The clansmen chattered away, firing off question after question. To them, simply being able to work, farm, and feed themselves was happiness enough.

Zhu Yirong smiled. "Mr. Zhao stands up for the common people. Low-ranking imperial clansmen are common people too, so naturally they are treated the same. As long as they have committed no past crimes, clansmen can hold office and clansmen can receive land. Look at me — I am an imperial clansman, and I am already serving as an official under Mr. Zhao. What do you have to worry about? First, fill your bellies in the army camp, then disperse to help spread the word. Besides telling them that clansmen are treated equally, also tell the local people this: say that Mr. Zhao is benevolent and knows Raozhou Prefecture has suffered disasters, and that grain will soon be shipped in to relieve the common folk. Once Mr. Zhao takes Raozhou, this year's land tax for Raozhou will be entirely waived!"

"Long live Mr. Zhao!"

"Long live Mr. Zhao!"

Several hundred descendants of Zhu Yuanzhang stood there cheering and leaping with joy, many of them weeping from sheer happiness. At last they could live as normal human beings. Under the harsh regulations governing the imperial clan, they had not even been permitted to better their lot through hard work.

These imperial clansmen ate their fill in Li Zheng's camp, and that long-absent sensation of a full stomach filled them with boundless happiness.

They promptly became volunteer propagandists, traveling through every neighboring village and hamlet to spread the word about the new policies. The same words, when spoken by imperial clansmen, carried twice the credibility.

Why?

Because in every previous uprising, they always seized and killed members of the imperial clan.

Yet now Zhao Han not only does not kill the imperial clan, he even lets the lower-ranking clansmen serve as officials and gives them land. If the imperial clansmen, whom rebels normally hate, receive such treatment, then ordinary commoners like them must surely be treated well too.

Li Zheng personally led a thousand soldiers and surrounded Raozhou city, which was garrisoned by twenty thousand rebels.

He also divided his forces into several columns, five hundred men each, and sent them out to attack the rebels entrenched in the towns and villages. Everywhere the columns passed, the common people came forward to report, telling them how many rebels were at such-and-such a place.

Lu Xiangyou, who came from a salt-smuggling background, had been trapped inside the city, not daring to come out.

When he saw Li Zheng dividing his forces, he assumed it was a ruse to lure him out, and became even more afraid to make a move. Moreover, he lavishly rewarded his men with gold, silver, and beautiful women, terrified that the various big and small chieftains under his command might surrender.

Yet he could barely keep them in check.

The moment these chieftains heard that Heavenly King Zhao had sent troops, they were all so terrified their legs trembled, and they could summon no will to resist whatsoever.

Half a month passed, and one of the five-hundred-man columns returned after annihilating its assigned bandit target.

Li Zheng had men shoot letters into the city, declaring that only the chief villains would be punished, and that low-ranking officers and ordinary bandits would all be properly resettled.

The morale within the city immediately grew even more unstable.

Lu Xiangyou felt things could not go on like this, so he summoned the chieftains and said, "Heavenly King Zhao is only human — where would heavenly troops and generals come from? Outside the city there are only a thousand-odd enemies, while we have twenty thousand men. Ten against one and we still can't win? Follow me out of the city and let's fight a battle!"

These big and small chieftains were not within the scope of amnesty; they would either have to flee or fight. And Lu Xiangyou had bestowed so many beautiful women and treasures on them that they could not possibly take them all away, which made them reluctant to leave.

Then fight it is!

The next day, twenty thousand rebels poured out through every city gate, so many that they jammed up even as they were exiting.

Many rebels fled the moment they got out of the city, and the rebel leaders were utterly unable to stop them.

"Form ranks and advance!"

Fifteen hundred Great Unity Army soldiers, arrayed in neat battle formation, marched toward the city without haste.

"The heavenly troops are coming! Run for your lives!"

The rebels directly facing the Great Unity Army, still half a li away, suddenly scattered and fled in a swarm. Hearing these shouts from outside the city, the rebels still inside grew even more frantic, madly trying to squeeze through the gates.

At two of the city gates, the barbicans were packed solid with men; in their desperation to get out and flee, they began slaughtering one another.

Lu Xiangyou stood frozen in place, his mind full of question marks. I have over twenty thousand men, and the enemy has only a thousand-odd. How is it that the whole army collapsed before a single blow was struck?

When news of the bandits' annihilation reached Nanchang, Xiong Wencan was overjoyed and immediately drafted a memorial to report the achievement. Its general content was: the two prefectures of Raozhou and Nankang, first stricken by drought and then by flood, with the princely estates and local officials pressing hard upon the people, had thus given rise to civil unrest. Under the coordinating command of the Governor, the government troops won a great victory over the rebels; it is only regrettable that the Prince of Huai unfortunately met his death.

Before the memorial could even be dispatched, an imperial edict had already arrived.

For his merit in summoning the rebels to surrender, Xiong Wencan was promoted to Right Censor-in-Chief and transferred to serve as Supreme Commander of the Six Northern Provinces, assisting the Governor-General of the Six Provinces in exterminating the roving bandits.

Xiong Wencan held the edict and felt like weeping: Your Majesty, you are mistaken — I truly do not have such great ability!

(End of Chapter)