Chapter 293: Accidental Killing

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Two women lay on the ground, wailing beside a corpse before them. Around them were others with bleeding head wounds, being helped by bystanders to stop the bleeding. Several hundred Wendeng garrison farmers crowded together, a chaotic din of cursing and shouting unceasing in the ears.

Forty paces away stood another group of seven or eight hundred local civilian households. Most were in tattered clothes, also holding farm tools, and more kept arriving in a steady stream. Some better-dressed people were loudly stirring up the crowd. Two of their men had also been beaten to death, and even more were injured. Many young civilian households were eyeing this side, eager to have a go.

Most of this batch of Wendeng garrison farmers had arrived in Wendeng in the third or fourth year of Chongzhen. They were not yet eligible for land allocation in Wendeng proper. Some had taken part in road building, and during the winter when labor was impossible, the training corps had organized them for drill. Though now holding only farm tools, they still had a certain bearing and faced opponents twice their number without yielding an inch.

Several constables from the county government office stood between the two sides, keeping them apart. All local bosses themselves, they loudly berated the civilian households opposite, blocking them from charging over. Those civilian households still retained some fear of these government men, which was the only reason no further armed brawl had broken out.

Liu Minyou arrived on horseback with the dumb monk and Mo Huaiwen. Xu Yuanhua, who had arrived first, hurried over to meet them.

"My lord Liu, you've come at last." Xu Yuanhua wiped the sweat from his face.

Liu Minyou jumped off his horse and asked Xu Yuanhua urgently, "Why did the fighting start?"

"These unruly people, stirred up by some of the local gentry, gathered early this morning to stop our land survey and transfer, and wouldn't allow our garrison farmers to put up shacks. Some of our farmers got impatient, shoving turned into blows, and then they started using farm tools. Three people died. One on our side, a man who came from Qingzhou Prefecture last year."

"Take me to see him." Liu Minyou's face was dark and grim.

"..." Xu Yuanhua knew Liu Minyou valued human life above all else. He led him through the crowd to where the body lay at the front. The garrison farmer looked about forty years old, a huge wound on his forehead, his face and body covered in blood. Beside him, an older woman and a younger one were weeping themselves hoarse. Two others, apparently the farmer's sons, were brandishing clubs and trying to rush off to fight to the death, held back desperately by several elders.

Mo Huaiwen crouched beside the older woman and said quietly, "Auntie, this is Mr. Liu of Wendeng. Please stop crying for a moment."

"Mr. Liu, give us justice!" As soon as the two women heard it was Liu Minyou, they both crawled over on their knees and grabbed the legs of his trousers. "Our man was beaten to death by them with a hoe! How is our family supposed to live from now on? We beg Mr. Liu to get us justice!"

Liu Minyou breathed heavily. These refugees had all endured countless hardships to reach Wendeng, willing to do the hardest labor just to earn a mouthful of food. What they longed for was the day they would receive land, so the whole family could survive this chaotic age. This garrison farmer had fallen here just as his wish was about to come true.

He quickly helped the two women up and consoled them kindly, "Rest assured, both of you, the Wendeng Battalion will take care of your livelihood from now on. Please restrain your grief. I will go and reason with them now and will certainly see justice done for you."

Liu Minyou then went over and calmed the two agitated young men, helping them steady their emotions somewhat. Then he said to Xu Yuanhua, "Have every Zongjia and Jiazhang keep their people in check. No one is to act rashly. I will go over and talk with them."

"My lord, this matter cannot be explained clearly. Two people died on their side as well, and they are pulling in people from the surrounding villages. Early this morning there were not even two hundred; now there are over seven hundred. If you go over, there may well be danger."

Liu Minyou frowned and said, "If we don't go and make things clear, this cycle of vengeance will only intensify the conflict between us and the locals. I must try."

"..." Mo Huaiwen also said worriedly, "If my lord wishes to talk, there is no need to go in person. It would be better to send a Zongjia to invite their clan elder to talk in the middle. The county constables are there; they will have to show some consideration."

Liu Minyou listened and found this reasonable. Xu Yuanhua ran to the middle and spoke with the constables. Before long, an old man and a man dressed as a Licentiate came out from the other side. Liu Minyou suppressed the anger in his heart and went to meet them, the bear-like dumb monk following behind him.

The moment Mo Huaiwen saw the Licentiate's manner, he recalled that Huang Gongcheng from back then — clearly the same sort of goods. He called over Xu Yuanhua's deputy and asked, "Is there another garrison fort of ours nearby?"

"There is one. We've already sent someone to summon people, but there aren't many there either, only just over two Company Commander at present."

Mo Huaiwen thought for a moment with a grim face, looked up at the ever-growing crowd opposite with a worried expression, took out his own waist token, and said to the man, "Go to the military camp and see Wang Zhangfu. Tell him the people of Wendeng are being bullied and request their support."

The man hesitated. "My lord Liu said to avoid using force in civil affairs whenever possible. Isn't he talking with them now?"

"Never mind that. Do as I say." Mo Huaiwen thrust the waist token into the man's hand. "After you go to the camp, make a trip to the county government office and tell Magistrate Tang to come as quickly as possible. Hurry. Take my horse."

Mo Huaiwen watched the man squeeze out of the crowd, then turned his head to look at Liu Minyou. He saw Liu Minyou talking continuously with the old man, while the Licentiate beside them interjected from time to time. Liu Minyou would then turn to argue with him, occasionally turning back to point at the corpse on this side.

Mo Huaiwen could not help shaking his head slightly. "If this matter could be resolved by talking, no one would have died in the first place." ...

They talked like this for half a shichen, yet still reached no conclusion. Liu Minyou grew more and more agitated, waving his hands from time to time to emphasize his tone. Around Mo Huaiwen — "Late Ming, Chapter Twenty: Accidental Killing" — the crowd noise was so chaotic he could not hear clearly what they were discussing, but from the looks of it, nothing had been settled at all.

The native civilian households opposite grew more and more numerous, now exceeding a thousand, and most were able-bodied men. On the Wendeng side, people from another garrison fort had also arrived, all bringing their own farm tools to help. Although this was not their fort's affair, they were naturally part of a system with shared interests.

Mo Huaiwen turned his head to look around. There was still no sign of the combat troops. His anxiety deepened. He knew Liu Minyou's intention: this Mr. Liu did not wish to recreate the severe antagonism between Liao refugees and natives that had existed before. The civil administration had also formulated corresponding policies — for example, the general stores could do business with nearby civilian households, would buy their grain at full weight and full silver, and would recruit them for road work and temporary labor, gradually integrating the natives through work and the commerce and industry of the garrison forts. But if even this first step of establishing the fort could not be accomplished, all subsequent steps were mere flowers in a mirror or the moon reflected in water.

He had just turned his head back when he saw the Licentiate cursing and turning to walk back to his side. Then the man shouted a few words, and a dozen or so relatives and friends of the deceased rushed out. Holding farm tools, they reached the middle and tried to surround Liu Minyou. The one in front reached directly to grab Liu Minyou by the collar.

Mo Huaiwen's heart cried out that things were about to go badly. The thought had barely formed when he heard the dumb monk bellow, and with one punch he knocked that civilian household member to the ground. The others who had rushed over froze for a moment, then immediately raised their farm tools and struck wildly at the two men.

The dumb monk immediately pulled Liu Minyou behind him and took several blows from hoes himself. Those civilian households struck with considerable viciousness. Had the monk not been so thick-skinned and tough-fleshed, he would likely have ended up a corpse on the spot as well.

The moment the Wendeng garrison farmers saw the fight break out, a few quick-reacting ones immediately rushed forward to help. People from the other side also rushed to support them at once. The Wendeng Zongjia could no longer keep control, and men from both sides began charging into the fray in scattered groups. A larger-scale mass brawl was imminent.

Mo Huaiwen ignored everything else. Seeing Liu Minyou retreating in a sorry state, he hurried over and pulled him along. At that moment, the farmers on both sides roared in unison and charged into the middle. "Late Ming" — a dense forest of hoes and clubs rose and fell, striking with deadly force at the great enemy opposite. Mo Huaiwen pulled Liu Minyou and fled desperately backward. In his ears, he could hear Liu Minyou still loudly shouting for both sides to stop, but amid the piercing shrieks around them, only Mo Huaiwen beside him could still hear. All the farmers were like frenzied wild beasts, having completely lost their reason.

The Dengzhou civilian households had the advantage in numbers, but the Wendeng garrison farmers were sturdier, and a small portion had undergone basic training. The two sides were evenly matched. They had no formation to speak of. Those in front swung farm tools wildly, while those behind could only spread out to the sides. The fighting grew more and more scattered as it went on, chasing and killing across the hills and fields. More and more people fell to the ground. Slowly, even women joined in, fighting desperately for their own land.

Mo Huaiwen shielded Liu Minyou and finally squeezed out of the crowd. They fled several dozen paces toward the outer edge to look for their horses, but the horses had run off to who knows where. In the panic just now, the dumb monk had also become separated from them. Mo Huaiwen, a frail scholar, felt danger on every side. He could only pull Liu Minyou even farther away.

Who knew that Liu Minyou would shake him off with one fling, actually pull a short gun from inside his robe and begin loading it, while saying angrily to Mo Huaiwen, "Those two were utterly unreasonable. They don't want to pay rent, and they don't want to give up the land. Do they think they can bully me just because I'm a country bumpkin from Wendeng?"

Mo Huaiwen quickly urged, "My lord, your person is worth a thousand pieces of gold. It is not worth risking your life against these people. Let us withdraw for the moment."

"Withdraw from what? The fighting's already started. We have to join in too." Liu Minyou did not hesitate. "Come with me to seize that clan elder. That old man is no good thing. It was they who incited those tenant farmers. If we capture him, we can make these people stop. Otherwise, who knows how many more will die."

By now, Liu Minyou had finished loading the short gun. He also pulled a dagger from his waist, making Mo Huaiwen stare dumbfounded. Mo Huaiwen quickly spun around in a circle but found no weapon whatsoever on the ground. Seeing Liu Minyou turn and head back toward the battlefield, he gritted his teeth, picked up a rock, and followed with it in his hand.

"Entertainment Show" — The two men searched cautiously through the crowd. Everywhere were chaotic, moving figures. How could they find that clan elder at a moment's notice? Besides, everyone was dressed in commoners' clothes, and Liu Minyou had no idea which side was which.

Liu Minyou had just pushed aside a farmer in front of him when he heard someone nearby cursing in a Dengzhou accent, "Kill you Liao refugees!"

He turned his head and saw, five or six paces to his left, a civilian household member standing. On the ground lay someone who must have been a Wendeng garrison farmer, already beaten until his head was bleeding. He was struggling to stand but could not. The Dengzhou civilian household member finished cursing and was about to swing his hoe down for the killing blow.

"Stop!" Liu Minyou shouted, pointing his short gun at the native civilian household member. The man looked over at the sound, yet showed not a trace of fear. He was just a peasant and perhaps had no idea what Liu Minyou was holding. Instead, his face full of ferocity, he roared, "You Wendeng people, you Liao people, you want to steal our land, to let my wife, children, and old folks starve to death. I'll fight you to the death!" Behind him were a woman and a small child, both holding sticks and also shrieking curses.

Liu Minyou said hurriedly, "It's not like that. Listen to me..."

The Dengzhou native finished his roar and suddenly raised his hoe, aiming to smash it down on the garrison farmer on the ground.

Countless thoughts flashed through Liu Minyou's mind in an instant. This man was most likely a tenant farmer who had been stirred up, thinking the Wendeng Battalion had come to oppress them, merely deceived by others for the moment. But the Wendeng garrison farmer on the ground was even more innocent. The hoe rose from behind the man, traced an arc, and in the blink of an eye would smash down onto the farmer on the ground. Liu Minyou's finger subconsciously pulled the trigger.

A crisp crack rang out. Amid the white smoke, the native civilian household member crashed heavily backward. This roar of gunfire startled the farmers from both sides nearby. They each retreated a few steps and looked over this way. The native civilian household member's wife and child were also stunned. Only after a moment did they react, throwing themselves onto the man's body and weeping bitterly.

Liu Minyou stood rooted to the spot, at a complete loss. In his heart were countless words, yet he did not know how to speak them. When the mother and child on the ground occasionally looked up at Liu Minyou, their eyes were filled with deep, venomous hatred. (To be continued.)