Chapter 290: Thirty Years, and We Shall Reach the Han and Tang

Hukou.

The merchant boat had just tied up at the dock, and Xu Nianzu and the others emerged from the cabin for some fresh air, when suddenly a burst of crackling and popping sounds came from the pier.

Then gongs and drums struck up, and suona horns played a merry tune.

Truly, gongs and drums roaring to the heavens, firecrackers ringing out in unison!

They saw a Confucian scholar disembark, and at once eight men carried a blue-canopied sedan chair over, setting it down steadily right beside him.

A crowd of gentry and great clans had come to welcome him, and a master of ceremonies shouted, "Master Lu, please mount the sedan chair!"

The scholar, surnamed Lu, did not know whether to laugh or cry, and waved his hands repeatedly. "There is no need for this, no need at all. I am merely here to be a teacher."

One of the gentry stepped forward and said, "Without Master Lu, the Hukou County middle school could never have been established. Master Lu is the great benefactor of our Hukou County. Please do not decline — take the sedan chair to the school."

The scholar was about to decline again, but a crowd of gentry surged forward, clustering around him and pushing him into the sedan chair.

Xu Fengcai stood on the boat, bewildered. "What great scholar is this, to enter the city in an eight-bearer blue-canopied sedan chair?"

"Hahaha," Li Fenglai could not help laughing. "Look at the badge on his chest, and you will know he is from the Mathematics Society. The Garrison Commander has vigorously promoted culture and education — all children, boys and girls alike, must attend three years of primary school. Above primary school there is middle school, which many prefectures and counties have yet to establish. A teacher of mathematics and geometry is required before a new middle school can be set up. This gentleman before us has surely been invited to teach mathematics and geometry."

"Jiangxi values mathematics and geometry so highly?" Xu Fengcai was utterly astonished.

Li Fenglai said, "The Garrison Commander values them, so the gentry naturally value them. In the future, when examinations are held to select officials, these subjects will likely be tested as well. Every prefecture and county is quietly competing. By opening a middle school a year earlier, they can produce many more students, and gain the upper hand in future examinations and official appointments."

Xu Nianzu asked, "How many middle schools does Jiangxi have now?"

"Ten or so — perhaps over twenty. Many new ones are added every year," Li Fenglai answered.

Liu Rushi suddenly asked, "If a county establishes a middle school, is the old county school abolished?"

"Of course not," Li Fenglai explained. "The county school is simply converted into the county middle school. The Four Books and Five Classics are still studied, with additional courses in mathematics, geometry, Great Unity, and so on."

"So that is how it is. Mr. Zhao truly advocates practical learning," Xu Fengcai said happily.

The merchant boat took on a few supplies, then entered Lake Poyang, carrying them toward Ji'an Prefecture.

That Confucian scholar surnamed Lu was also borne into the city by the eight-bearer grand sedan chair.

Outside the city, at an inn.

Xu Du, Xu Jiaying, Zhou Gui, Wang He, Ding Ruzhang, and a dozen or so other scholars silently watched the sedan chair enter the city.

Suddenly, they shut the window.

Xu Du said, "Let us decide. Who is unwilling to rise up?"

No one made a sound.

Xu Du asked again, "Who is willing to rise up?"

All of them stood.

Ding Ruzhang said, "The Emperor is fatuous, the court without the Way. Zhejiang has suffered great disasters for years, and now they have added the training levy. This year and next, there will surely again be the ghastly sight of people eating one another. This Mr. Zhao delays and delays in coming to Zhejiang — then we shall seize Zhejiang ourselves and deliver the territory to him!"

"We have already observed Jiangxi's governance for three months," Wang He said. "If Jiangxi's policies could be carried out in Zhejiang, they would surely save hundreds of thousands of starving people!"

Xu Jiaying laughed. "Your family has quite a lot of land, though."

"Once we return home, divide my family's land first!"

Wang He clenched his fists. "The clan elders in my family are all cold-hearted and unrighteous. When the time comes, I will need everyone's help. Whoever in my family dares obstruct the land division, seize them and place them under house arrest."

"Good!"

Xu Du slammed the table. "I will lead troops to divide your family's land, and you will lead troops to divide my family's land!"

Zhou Gui also stood. "My family has barely a few mu of land — dividing it or not makes no difference. Whoever else cannot bring themselves to do it, I will lead troops to help divide their family's land."

Ding Ruzhang said, "No need to rush the land division. We will fight our way from Dongyang, Yiwu, and Jinhua all the way to Jiangshan County. Once our territory borders Jiangxi, we will immediately ask Mr. Zhao to send people into Zhejiang. The attack must be swift, so swift the officials cannot react in time!"

"That works too," Xu Du nodded.

Wang He said, "Let us swear a blood oath!"

The dozen or so Zhejiang scholars brought out an image of Lord Guan, cut their palms, and smeared the blood to seal their oath.

Lord Guan, god of the civil examinations.

This practice originated in the Wanli years. When new jinshi were assigned posts, the corruption and favoritism were so severe that the Ministry of Personnel switched to drawing lots instead.

The Ministry of Personnel specially produced a kind of "Lord Guan lot," marked with location, size, complexity, and other details. After drawing a lot, the new jinshi would be assigned to serve as County Magistrate in whatever place the lot indicated.

Absurd as it was, it was fair.

Unfortunately, it stayed fair for only a few years before open cheating began.

The Lord Guan lots were made with varying lengths and thicknesses. As long as one gave the Ministry of Personnel officials enough bribes, one could know in advance which lot in the cylinder was the best plush assignment.

Because Lord Guan lots were used to assign officials, Lord Guan gradually became the god of the civil examinations, and scholars would often visit Lord Guan temples to pray before taking the exams.

So many duties — Lord Guan was very busy.

Xu Du and the others took a boat to Nanjing to meet with the sword-bearing scholars there. Then they went on to Hangzhou to meet with Xu Ying, explaining that they were about to rise up and asking Jiangxi to prepare to support them.

After that, they canvassed the various branches of the Restoration Society in Zhejiang.

Xu Du had a vast network of friends and acquaintances. In the space of a month, he actually persuaded over a hundred scholars to join. Even sons of great clans, though they feared Zhao Han, dared not recklessly report them — and some scholars from great landowning families were even willing to join.

One could only say, Zhejiang was too wretched.

In the great drought two years before, white bones lay exposed in the wilds. Fathers and sons, brothers, husbands and wives ate one another. Anyone who ventured out alone might be eaten.

And this year there would be another levy. Where the court added one part, the officials dared add five parts, ten parts!

In history, Xu Du was the leader of the Righteous Society (a branch of the Restoration Society). He dispersed his wealth to recruit soldiers and summoned brave men. While liaising with scholars everywhere, he also made contact with rebel peasants. He raised a hundred thousand troops, maintained strict discipline, and successively captured Dongyang, Yiwu, Zhuji, Pujiang, Yongkang, Wuyi, Tangxi, Lanxi, and other cities.

In the end, he was forced to accept amnesty. Xu Du and sixty-three others were killed by the authorities after surrendering. This enraged the remnants into rebelling again, and they captured several more county seats. Defeated, they shifted toward Fujian and joined forces with the Fujian rebel army.

A xiucai's rebellion, ten years and still no success.

Xu Du's White Head Army uprising was precisely a rebellion of xiucai, and the scholars of Jiangnan all regarded it with sympathy.

Xu Du's death even caused Xu Fuyuan and Chen Zilong to sever their friendship.

……

Now, when the group reached the borders of Jiangxi, they did not even need to enter a city to see a scene of thriving prosperity.

This year, the Southern Metropolitan Region suffered severe drought, while in Jiangxi only the northeastern part was stricken. Moreover, around half of the Dongting Lake plain has been hit by drought this year.

Arriving at Lake Poyang, the shores were lined with fertile fields.

There were also many fishermen, likewise freed from harsh taxes and levies, rowing their boats and casting nets while singing loudly as they sculled.

It's just that Heavenly King Zhao governs rather broadly, stipulating that fishing nets must not be too fine-meshed, and banning net-casting during fish breeding seasons.

As they passed Wu-cheng Town, they suddenly heard people cheering.

It turned out that official clerks had come to post a notice: due to the severe drought, this year's summer grain tax was entirely waived for the four counties of Pengze, Hukou, Fuliang, and Leping, and halved for the three counties of Jing'an, Wuning, and Ningzhou.

"Arriving in Jiangxi, there are pleasant surprises everywhere," Lin Xue said with a smile.

Li Fenglai said with considerable pride: "Even the mountain folk of Jiangxi can now eat their fill. Though the food is not fine — they live on sweet potatoes as their staple."

Jiangxi is full of mountains, and many places have never been cleared for farming.

Because reclaiming wasteland is extremely grueling and requires continuous composting. In the first few years after clearing, the harvest likely won't even cover the cost of the seed; it takes two or three generations to turn wasteland into fertile fields.

It is very likely that just when the wasteland has become good farmland, some gentry will emerge to seize the fields, so peasants have little enthusiasm for land reclamation.

But sweet potatoes are not picky about soil. On newly cleared wasteland, though the yield is still low, the harvest absolutely exceeds the cost of the seed. Now in the mountains of Jiangxi, sweet potatoes are planted everywhere, and over a hundred thousand mu of hillside land have been reclaimed.

The brothers Xu Nianzu and Xu Fengcai exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat astonished.

A great merchant like Li Fenglai, speaking of mountain folk getting enough to eat, actually carried an emotion of deep pride.

"Heh heh," Li Fenglai laughed as he explained. "When Mr. Zhao first rose up, the counties of Ji'an Prefecture had no sweet potatoes. Both sweet potatoes and corn were purchased and introduced by my humble self. And now, the spread of sweet potatoes and corn across the entire province — I, too, have a share of the hard toil in that."

"We have been remiss! Our respects!" The group cupped their hands and bowed.

Li Fenglai said smugly: "A mere trifle, really. To be able to save so many common folk — that is a great deed of accumulating hidden virtue."

The boat traveled on to Nanchang.

On the docks, a crowd of foppish dressers had actually appeared.

Unlike the foppish dressers of Suzhou and Hangzhou, these Nanchang ones did not wear gaudy colors or sumptuous fabrics, but rather clothes and hats of utterly preposterous styles.

Some even openly wore python robes!

And these were not traditional python robes either — they were decorated with all sorts of patterns, the wide sleeves altered to arrow sleeves, the sashes cinched tight, looking very spirited.

"Those python robes can be worn out on the streets?" Xu Nianzu asked in shock.

In Jiangnan, some people also wore python robes, but only at home, at most for private amusement and exchange with friends.

Li Fenglai laughed and explained: "Haha, Mr. Zhao does not regulate sumptuary violations in dress or residences. As long as you don't go out naked, you can wear whatever you like. Of course, you cannot wear official robes, military uniforms, or clerk uniforms — if caught, you'll be beaten with the plank at once."

Liu Rushi observed the Nanchang docks and saw quite a few women, clearly from wealthy households.

They must have been leaving the city to worship at a Buddhist temple. The skirts and jackets on them were unseemly — just recklessly altered — but on the whole, they were still rather pleasing to the eye.

Li Fenglai introduced: "Those are styles improved by the young master of the Fei family. They were first worn in Ji'an Prefecture and quickly spread here to Nanchang. The hair ornaments have also been much improved. The noble ladies adore them, and commoner women have begun to emulate them too."

Wang Wei sighed: "Truly, the scene of a flourishing age!"

The group gazed at novelties all along the way, following the river to Ji'an Prefecture.

It happened to be exactly noon. A group of laborers sat down to rest, and a peddler came carrying his shoulder pole, setting up a stove to boil soup and cook noodles.

"Old Li, pour me two ounces of wine!" one laborer said.

"Yo, Fifth Brother, drinking again today? Don't go dropping your loads this afternoon."

"What's two ounces of wine to fear?"

"I'll have two ounces too!"

"..."

A group of laborers sat on the dock eating noodles, and every single one of them bought wine to drink. What's more, the noodle soup was rich with fat, even floating with a layer of chili oil.

Xu Nianzu stood there dumbly, watching the laborers drink wine and eat noodles, and suddenly his eyes grew moist.

"Brother, what is the matter?" Xu Fengcai asked.

Xu Nianzu murmured to himself: "I should have come to Jiangxi long ago. Staying in Jiangnan, I idled away several years in vain. Shengqi, I can see it — the golden age of Han and Tang, within thirty years it shall surely arrive!"

(Recommend Da Luoluo's "Burying the Great Qing Alive" — a great master of historical fiction, quality is assured, and the content is clear from the title.)

(End of Chapter)