Chapter 253: Thirty Men Seize a City

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Yao uprisings followed a pattern.

When "cooked" Yao rebelled, it was usually because official oppression had grown too heavy — no different from a peasant rebellion.

When "raw" Yao rebelled, it was usually to come down from the mountains and plunder. Just like nomads raiding the frontier, when their living conditions worsened they would swoop in to seize grain, money, and supplies; once they gathered in force, the destruction was immense.

The Eight Rows Yao who rose up this time were all "cooked" Yao — that is, Yao who had already been registered as common households and were required to pay taxes every year.

Liu Xinyu brought the Yao people of Qianjiadong to make contact with the Eight Rows Yao rebel army, and the Eight Rows Yao immediately led their troops over to join forces.

"Brother... General Zhang," Liu Xinyu introduced, "these three are the headmen of Youling Row: Headman Tang Fayin, Headman Pan Chengyun, Headman Fang Zhiren. These three are the headmen of Nangang Row: Headman Li Liangyong, Headman Pan Enhao..."

A whole crowd of headmen left Zhang Tieniu a bit dizzy, though luckily the names were all fairly normal.

Zhang Tieniu had no idea what a headman actually did, and after asking around in detail, he felt the Yao people's management model was very peculiar.

The Eight Rows Yao comprised eight large settlements, plus more than twenty smaller settlements.

If you liken a "Row" to a large village, then a "Chong" was a small village, and a "Long" was a hamlet within the village.

The Yao first had to elect their Yao elders, which was equivalent to electing members of a village self-governance committee.

From among these Yao elders, they then elected their officers. There was the Tianchang Elder (the great chief), the Headman (the lesser chief), the Water-Release Elder (who managed water resources), the Temple-Keeper Elder (who oversaw sacrifices and education), the Incense-Burning Elder (who tended the incense offerings), and the Battle Chief (who directed combat).

The Tianchang Elder rotated every two years, with the Yao elders taking turns in the post.

It was equivalent to village committee members taking turns as village chief, changing every two years.

The Headman also rotated every two years, one old and one new.

It was equivalent to each village hamlet having to have two hamlet chiefs. They held elections every two years, with one old chief serving as the principal and one new chief as the deputy.

These Yao people not only practiced an electoral system, they also practiced monogamy.

Moreover, they had to live in small family units: within one year of marriage, the young couple had to split off and establish their own household.

When these thirty-odd Yao villages rose up, the Tianchang Elders (the great chiefs), being too advanced in age, all remained in the mountains and did not come out. But they dispatched many Headmen (lesser chiefs), who by common consent elected Tang Fayin as provisional Grand Headman to lead over twenty thousand Yao soldiers and come to parley with Zhang Tieniu.

Everyone took their seats, and the council began.

Tang Fayin asked directly: "We Yao are rebelling because the officials broke their promises, and the land tax levied each year keeps growing heavier. May I ask, General, if Heavenly King Zhao becomes Emperor, how will the taxes here be collected?"

Zhang Tieniu laughed: "You wouldn't believe me if I just told you. Send someone to Jiangxi to ask around. Heavenly King Zhao's land tax is very light. Last year Jiangxi suffered a great drought; he not only remitted the taxes but also distributed grain to the disaster victims."

"Does Heavenly King Zhao have a son?" Tang Fayin asked next.

Zhang Tieniu said: "He has one."

Tang Fayin asked: "Is he already betrothed?"

"No," Zhang Tieniu said.

"That's good," Tang Fayin said. "The Eight Rows and Twenty-four Chongs of Yao have resolved to select the most beautiful Yao maiden and wed her to Heavenly King Zhao's son as his wife. Once the two families are bound by marriage, the Eight Rows Yao will forever be loyal to Heavenly King Zhao!"

Zhang Tieniu said with a smile: "A marriage alliance might be a bit difficult. Heavenly King Zhao's son — I'm not even sure if he's been weaned yet."

At these words, the assembled Yao chieftains looked at each other in astonishment.

The Yao do not forbid marriage to outsiders — at least, the Eight Rows Yao do not.

From the ballads passed down orally among the Eight Rows Yao, one can roughly guess their origins —

At the end of the Qin dynasty, Zhao Tuo led troops on the southern expedition. To consolidate his territory, he encouraged his soldiers to intermarry with the local people.

Fang Shiliu, the commander of the Huainan Three Miao Army Corps, married the Yao Pangu King (a female chieftain) and had three sons by her; he became the founding ancestor of the Yao Fang clan. Fang Shiliu also took a son-in-law named Tang Huangbai, who became the founding ancestor of the Yao Tang clan.

Moreover, before the Qin soldiers intermarried with the natives, the Eight Rows Yao were very likely in a matrilineal clan era of group marriage.

The Eight Rows Yao headmen began whispering among themselves, apparently discussing what to do.

Suddenly, Tang Fayin asked: "What is Heavenly King Zhao's age, and how many wives does he have?"

Zhang Tieniu answered: "Not old. One wife."

Tang Fayin actually performed the cupped-hand salute: "General Zhang, the Yao people wish to form a marriage alliance with Heavenly King Zhao himself."

"That I cannot decide. Send someone to Jiangxi," Zhang Tieniu said with a smile.

Tang Fayin nodded: "Very well, we will send someone to Jiangxi."

Taking a detour from Huguang to Jiangxi was too far; to save distance, everyone decided to force a direct route through.

These mountain Yao had already mastered terrace-farming techniques; the Water-Release Elder's main duty was to oversee the irrigation and water storage of the terraces. Had the court's exactions not been so crushing, the Eight Rows Yao actually lived fairly well, and even collecting land tax from them was relatively easy.

Their weapons were their farming tools, and they also had some low-power native bows.

Zhang Tieniu, bringing Liu Xinyu and Tang Fayin, along with the logistics troops, besieged the prefectural city of Shaozhou with a full thirty thousand men. Liu Zhu led a detached force to attack Renhua County.

"Shoot the arrows in!"

Several dozen letters were shot in. The content was simple: the Eight Rows Yao of Lianzhou had risen up, and the western counties and departments had already been taken. Heavenly King Zhao had seized all of Huguang, and Grand General Zhang was leading troops from Huguang to strike here, ordering the Shaozhou garrison to surrender immediately.

After surrender, only the high-ranking officers would be executed; mid- and low-ranking officers and ordinary soldiers would all be given travel money and sent home.

The man responsible for garrisoning Shaozhou Prefecture was an Assistant Regional Commander named Li Yingsheng.

When he saw the letters shot in, and then looked out at the tens of thousands of troops beyond the walls, he turned ashen with terror, truly believing that Zhao Han had taken all of Huguang.

Li Yingsheng put the letters away and sent men out of the city that night to scout. Sure enough, the Yao of northern Guangdong had all risen in revolt.

What the hell was the point of fighting then?

Shen Youlong's military defense line was arranged to guard against the Jiangxi direction. Zhang Tieniu suddenly striking out from Huguang was like circling around from the flank to stab the Shaozhou garrison in the rear.

And with tens of thousands of Yao in revolt on top of that, the government troops had no chance of winning.

Li Yingsheng, agitated and restless, took a sedan chair to the prefectural yamen and went to see the Prefect, Xiong Shikui, who was under house arrest.

Why was the Prefect under house arrest?

Because Xiong Shikui was a native of Xinchang, Jiangxi (Yifeng County), and most of his clansmen and relatives lived under Zhao Han's rule. What if the Prefect led men to surrender the city?

"Prefect, I have given much offense of late," Li Yingsheng said with an apologetic smile and a cupped-hand salute.

"Heh." Xiong Shikui answered with a cold laugh.

Li Yingsheng stated his purpose: "Heavenly King Zhao has already taken Huguang and has detached troops from Huguang to attack northern Guangdong. Tens of thousands of Yao in northern Guangdong have risen and already joined forces with Heavenly King Zhao. Why don't we both go over to the rebels together?"

"What?"

Xiong Shikui said in shock, "The rebel Zhao has already taken Huguang?"

"Absolutely true," Li Yingsheng said.

The Xiong clan was a major lineage in Jiangxi. Xiong Shikui's branch was relatively weak, but it had still produced several jinshi. Two years earlier, he had been transferred to serve as Prefect of Shaozhou. He immediately brought his family over, and he also took a great deal of wealth and goods with him, using them to forcibly purchase landed property right there in Shaozhou.

As for the clan relatives he had left behind in Jiangxi, Xiong Shikui could do nothing to help them. He could only look after his own family.

"It's over. It's over."

Xiong Shikui was utterly despondent. With the rebel Zhao holding Jiangxi and Huguang, it was only a matter of time before he took Guangdong.

If he had known this would happen, why had he brought his family to Shaozhou in the first place?

Li Yingsheng said, "Prefect, surrender."

Xiong Shikui said irritably, "You're the one with troops. Surrender if you want. Why drag me into it?"

Li Yingsheng said bitterly, "I am a commanding general. The surrender demand letter from outside the city only promises to let ordinary officers and soldiers go home. Prefect, you are a scholar. Could you go outside the city and help negotiate? Tell them I am willing to offer up the city and surrender, and hand over all the army's wealth and goods. I ask only to keep my wretched life and return home."

"Ah, let's go," Xiong Shikui sighed.

Xiong Shikui was lowered over the wall in a basket. He went straight to the army camp, where he was bound and taken to see Zhang Tieniu.

"You've come out to surrender?" Zhang Tieniu asked.

Xiong Shikui clasped his hands and said, "I am Xiong Shikui, Prefect of Shaozhou, ancestral home Xinchang in Jiangxi."

Zhang Tieniu laughed. "A fellow countryman, then."

Xiong Shikui said, "The defending general inside the city intends to surrender and begs that his life be spared."

"Go back and tell him this: surrender and you can earn merit; earn merit and you can live," Zhang Tieniu said.

Li Yingsheng received the promise but still could not quite believe it. He told Zhang Tieniu to bring only thirty men into the city to accept the surrender.

Zhang Tieniu did exactly that, bringing only thirty men. He swaggered up to the city wall and shouted, "Open the gates!"

Li Yingsheng, uncertain and suspicious, stood atop the gate tower and yelled, "Why are there still tens of thousands of troops beyond the moat?"

Zhang Tieniu shouted back, "I'm entering the city to accept surrender — of course I need to take precautions. If anything happens to me within three quarter-hours, those tens of thousands outside will storm the city at once! Open the barbican, open the main gate, and don't even think about burning me to death inside the barbican!"

Seeing that Zhang Tieniu had brought only thirty men and that the rest of his troops were all beyond the moat, Li Yingsheng now believed in Zhang Tieniu's sincerity. But he was still afraid. He said, "Please, General, order your army to withdraw another half-li!"

"Ball-less coward," Zhang Tieniu said, then ordered, "Signal with the flags!"

The signal flags waved, and the great army pulled back.

Li Yingsheng finally set his mind at ease and ordered the barbican gate and the main gate opened.

One soldier entered the barbican to check and came back out to tell Zhang Tieniu, "The main gate inside is open."

"Move!"

Zhang Tieniu walked in with a smile. Li Yingsheng also immediately came down, preparing to go and surrender the city.

Zhang Tieniu led his men through the barbican and inside the main gate. Li Yingsheng, at the head of his subordinate officers, all knelt and shouted, "We welcome the General into the city!"

"Good!"

Zhang Tieniu walked over with a smile, as if he were about to help Li Yingsheng to his feet. Li Yingsheng waited for Zhang Tieniu to help him up.

Suddenly, Zhang Tieniu drew his blade and swung. "Kill!"

Accepting a surrender was a very complicated affair, one that would take at least several days of trouble.

Moreover, Li Yingsheng had been far too cautious, actually telling Zhang Tieniu to bring only thirty men into the city to accept the surrender.

What would Zhang Tieniu be thinking in his heart?

He was surely on edge. What if the surrender was not yet complete and Li Yingsheng suddenly changed his mind?

Better to trust the blade in his own hand than to trust Li Yingsheng. Though he had only thirty men with him, Zhang Tieniu dared to seize the city on the spot!

Li Yingsheng was still kneeling on the ground. Zhang Tieniu hacked down with one stroke, and Li Yingsheng lost his life in utter confusion.

"Kill!"

Wu Yong also drew his blade and cut down another officer in passing.

Including Zhang Tieniu, thirty-one of Zhao Han's personal guard soldiers fell upon the kneeling surrender officers in a frenzied slaughter.

Those standing killed those kneeling, cutting down a great heap of them in an instant. The remaining officers and generals fled in terror.

Xiong Shikui stood dumbstruck to the side, his mind completely blank.

There were several thousand government troops inside the city, and a few dozen rebels dared to kill men and seize the city?

Zhang Tieniu truly dared to kill, and the government troops truly dared to flee.

Seeing the great army outside the city closing in again, and seeing their own commanders being cut down and scattering in chaos, the government troops on the nearby city wall simply collapsed and fled.

(End of chapter)