Zhu Yu – Chapter 48

In the dense forest on the outskirts of Qingping County, several scouts trampled through the withering grass where patches of snow still lingered, rushing towards the troops concealed among the pine trees.

“General! A contingent of imperial troops is heading towards Qingping County!” one scout reported.

The young commander from Chongzhou, who had been waiting for orders, was delighted to hear this news. “Are they flying the Wei banner?” he asked eagerly.

The scout replied, “No Wei banner was seen. They’re flying the Jizhou flag.”

The young commander’s expression became uncertain. He probed further, “Who’s leading the troops?”

“An elderly general and a young commander,” the scout answered.

The young commander muttered to himself, “Could it be Wei Xuan and He Jingyuan together?”

One of his subordinates asked, “General, should we still ambush the rebels surrounding Qingping County?”

The young commander shook his head. “With Jizhou troops arriving, let our men continue to incite the rebels. It would be best if they stormed the county town. This way, regardless of who’s coming from Jizhou, their troops will have no choice but to engage the rebels.”

He knew that once the rebellious villagers entered the town, the more casualties among the townspeople, the more crimes could be pinned on the Wei faction.

Their Young Master’s original plan was to withhold the military provisions from Qingping County. Given Wei Xuan’s temperament, he would surely fly into a rage and personally lead troops to collect the provisions. When he encountered the rebellious villagers at the peak of their anger, the two powder kegs would inevitably explode.

If news spread that the imperial court’s forceful grain collection had driven an entire county to rebellion and that troops had massacred unarmed villagers, it would certainly cause an uproar.

The situation at the town gate was far from optimistic.

Qingping County was just a small town where military defenses had never been a priority. Even the rammed earth walls were excessively low. Apart from a bare gatehouse, there were no barbicans, arrow towers, or flanking walls.

Constable Wang, having received prior intelligence, had closed the town gates with his team of yamen runners. They had managed to set up a few bows at the gate’s observation holes, but it looked pitifully sparse, with not even enough men to line the walls.

It was absurd enough to have a group of constables manning the town gates. This was due to Qingping County having no stationed troops and not having experienced warfare for decades, save for the occasional bandit raid.

The farmers blocked outside the town gate formed a dark mass. Each held hoes and rakes, their faces no longer showing their usual simplicity but rather ferocious anger as if they wanted to devour the constables standing in the gatehouse.

Even Constable Wang felt a chill looking at them. If these thousands of gathered farmers truly wanted to enter the town, how could this small gatehouse stop them?

At present, Constable Wang could only hope that Jizhou Prefecture had caught wind of the situation and would quickly dispatch troops.

Remembering Fan Changyu’s message, he tried to reason with the people below from the observation hole: “Fellow villagers, what are you doing? Don’t be foolish and commit a crime that would lead to the execution of your entire clan!”

Most of the farmers who had followed the crowd this far were still wary of the bows on the gatehouse. Although they had strength in numbers, no one wanted to be the first to die.

Everyone knew the gravity of the crime of rebellion. It was one thing to understand it privately, but another to hear someone else admonish them about it.

Most of them had spent their entire lives tending to their fields, never even leaving Qingping County. They only knew that the greatest authorities in the world were officials and the emperor, and in Qingping County, the highest official was the county magistrate.

Offending the county magistrate would result in beatings and imprisonment; offending the emperor would send all relatives within nine clans to the executioner’s block.

Even seeing these constables in normal times filled them with fear. Now, hearing Constable Wang’s words, they couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Seeing this, the leader’s eyes flashed with anger. He shouted at Constable Wang on the wall, “When you dog officials were throwing your weight around, we peasants were just lowly people you could order about. Now that we’re driven to desperation, suddenly we’re your ‘fellow villagers’? Pah! I don’t deserve to be called a fellow villager by a lapdog of the county magistrate! Execution of nine clans? We don’t even have seeds left to plant; we’ll starve to death before the emperor can execute our nine clans! Since we’re dead either way, we might as well storm the town, grab some money, and seek refuge with the rebel king in Chongzhou. At least that’s a chance to survive!”

The farmers who had been wavering now steeled their resolve upon hearing these words. They shouted, “The officials give us no way to live! We’ll make our way!”

The leader raised his farm tool high, “Let the dog magistrate come out and die!”

The farmers behind him echoed, “Let the dog magistrate come out and face death!”

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Constable Wang hurriedly said, “Fellow villagers, please calm down. The seeds… they will be returned to everyone. Just go back to your homes, and the authorities won’t pursue this matter of rebellion any further.”

The leader sneered, “Did you all hear that? When we weren’t rebelling, these dog officials didn’t care about our lives, even killing people to seize our seeds. Now that we’re rebelling, they suddenly want to return the seeds! All the suffering and injustice we’ve endured over the years was just because they thought we were easy to bully!”

These words further inflamed the farmers’ anger.

The leader seized the moment, “We can’t back down! If we retreat now, these dog officials will just throw their weight around again! Those rich households in town, which one of them doesn’t look down on us? Whenever we came to town for the market, they looked at us like we were filth! Let’s storm the town! Kill the dog officials, loot their gold and silver, and pay back all the humiliation we’ve suffered!”

He gave a meaningful look to several men behind him, who understood and started shouting:

“That’s right! We weren’t born as lowly people, we just weren’t lucky enough to be reborn into town families!”

“Brothers, don’t be fooled by this lackey of the county magistrate! If he coaxes us to go home, what awaits us will be the same fate as Ma Family Village!”

“We’ve come this far, what’s the point in retreating? Even if I die, I want to die as a romantic ghost! I’ve heard the women in town have skin so delicate you could squeeze water from it! Their skin is as white as flour. Brothers who haven’t found wives yet, don’t you want to be the one-night groom of those rich men’s daughters?”

With the tragedy of Ma Family Village fresh in their minds, no one dared to retreat. The prospect of entering the town held so many temptations that the farmers’ eyes were almost red with excitement. They stamped the muddy ground, panting heavily and shouting, “Storm the town!”

Constable Wang had only learned about the reasons for the peasants’ rebellion when he arrived at the town gate. Firstly, the officials and soldiers sent to collect grain had been brutal and tyrannical, treating the farmers as less than human. Secondly, when the people of Ma Family Village tried to go to Jizhou Prefecture to make a fuss about this, they were all massacred on the way.

Now, without even his position as constable, he lacked the authority to promise the return of seeds to these people. Seeing the rebellious farmers with faces as fierce as wild beasts, he could only plead earnestly, “Fellow villagers, don’t be foolish! How big is Qingping County? Even if you rebel here, do you think you can escape to Chongzhou? And even if you could escape, what about your wives, children, and elderly parents?”

The most vociferous among the crowd were those who had neither elderly parents nor young children to care for.

Constable Wang’s words had an impact, and the rioting farmers showed various expressions.

Some who had purely been driven to desperation and joined the riot asked, “Your earlier words about returning the seeds to us, do they hold?”

Constable Wang wasn’t sure if the officials would return the seeds, but after a moment’s hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, “Of course they do!”

Those who had relatives in Ma Family Village said hatefully, “Hand over the dog officials and soldiers who massacred the entire Ma Family Village for execution, or this matter won’t be over!”

Constable Wang quickly responded, “The authorities will thoroughly investigate the tragedy of Ma Family Village and give you all an explanation.”

Seeing that Constable Wang’s few sentences had divided the rebellious forces, the leaders exchanged glances.

The one who had been shouting the loudest continued to stir up trouble, “Thoroughly investigate? How you investigate is still up to you dog officials! What if you turn around and say it was mountain bandits who killed them? What can we do then?”

This was indeed a possibility, and the crowd that had just calmed down began to stir again.

“That’s right! Hand over those sons of bitches right now!”

As they spoke, the group began to advance towards the town gate.

Constable Wang shouted, “Do not come any closer! We’ll shoot if you advance further!”

The constables at his side had their bows drawn, but their hands trembled slightly.

The crowd below hurled even fiercer insults: “This Wang is the county constable. The ones who killed the villagers of Ma Family Village were likely his men. How could he possibly hand them over?”

Incited by these provocative words, the rebel farmers’ anger grew hotter, and their glares at Constable Wang became more hostile.

As Constable Wang was at his wit’s end, a commotion arose behind him. The newly appointed yamen runners, wearing grim expressions, climbed onto the city wall. They roughly pushed aside Wang and his men, their brutish faces dark as they sneered, “A bunch of dismissed nobodies still daring to wear these uniforms!”

Constable Wang and his subordinates flushed with anger and embarrassment.

Below, a ringleader noticed the new yamen runners and a triumphant look flashed in his eyes. He shouted, “When have these dog officials ever treated our lives as human lives? Go ahead and shoot! If you kill me, my fellow villagers, don’t forget to avenge me!”

After this outburst, he strode forward. The “yamen runners” who had seized the bows on the city wall immediately loosed a volley of arrows at the crowd below.

The loudest shouters weren’t hit at all. Instead, ordinary farmers who had been provoked into advancing were struck down.

With lives lost, the clamor below the city wall grew even louder.

Someone who recognized a victim wailed, “Erdan!”

The instigators continued, “Everyone saw it! These government dogs never intended to give us a way out! Let’s charge in and fight them to the death!”

The man cradling the shot farmer, likely his brother, snarled, “I’ll fight your dogs to the death!”

Just as the enraged farmers, having lost all reason, were about to storm the city wall, a loud “thud” resounded, and blood splattered at the base of the wall.

The farmers stared at the yamen runner who had fallen to his death, looked at each other in confusion, and halted their advance. They raised their eyes once more to the top of the wall.

A man wearing a blue demon mask stood atop the wall and said coldly, “Whoever shot the arrows, that’s who you should seek vengeance against.”

The mask, commonly seen during the Yuan New Year’s Lantern Festival, now emanated an inexplicable chill and eeriness on his face.

The ringleaders felt an inexplicable panic and demanded, “Who are you?”

Xie Zheng replied, “The one who kills corrupt officials.”

The real and fake yamen runners on the wall finally came to their senses. Constable Wang and his men were completely bewildered by the situation, while the imposters drew their swords and slashed at Xie Zheng.

Xie Zheng didn’t even bother to counterattack. The cold wind filled his wide sleeves as he stood on the city wall, his robe fluttering. As he dodged the incoming swords, he grabbed the collars of the fake runners and flung them off the wall, killing another with the fall.

While Constable Wang stood dumbfounded, Xie Zheng tossed another imposter off the wall and said to him, “The County Magistrate has been detained. These are all fake yamen runners. Let your men deal with them.”

Constable Wang snapped back to reality. Though he didn’t know who this masked man was, considering the recent oddities at the county yamen, he quickly grasped the situation and ordered his men, “Arrest these imposters!”

The confused constables, seeing their leader charge forward, hesitated no longer and engaged the fake runners with their swords.

The farmers below craned their necks as if watching a spectacle, asking in bewilderment, “Why are the officials fighting among themselves?”

Another farmer answered, “It seems Constable Wang’s men are fighting the runners who shot the arrows.”

“The County Magistrate and his lot might not be good people, but Constable Wang is decent. When my cow ran off to the neighboring village and that mangy Chen tried to keep it, it was Constable Wang who got it back for me.”

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, the instigators continued to fan the flames: “Can Constable Wang outrank the County Magistrate? These dogs are turning on their former comrades to save themselves. Our lives are worth even less in their eyes! If you want revenge, we must break through the city gate and kill the County Magistrate!”

Many farmers were hesitating, unsure whether to force their way into the city or wait for an official explanation.

In a short while, Xie Zheng and his men had thrown all the fake runners off the wall. The farmers who had never killed before looked at the corpses piled in front of the city gate with trepidation.

Xie Zheng stood on the wall with his hands behind his back and announced, “Those who are willing to take the grain and go home, let this matter end here. The government will not pursue it further. For the obstinate ones, know that the Jizhou army is on its way to Qingping County. If you break through this gate today and take even one life, there will be no turning back. Whether you want to continue farming and living with your wives, children, and parents, or drag your entire family to their deaths, the choice is yours.”

At the mention of the Jizhou army, the lifelong farmers felt a grip of fear.

The combination of threats and concessions proved effective. After all, compared to returning to their normal, peaceful lives, the prospect of looting the city only to have their entire families executed by government troops was a choice only a fool would make.

The instigators challenged, “Words are cheap. Where’s the grain?”

As Constable Wang was about to speak, a voice from inside the city wall called out, “The grain is here!”

It was the workers from Yixiang Lou, carrying sacks of grain up to the city wall.

Given the current situation, the city gate absolutely could not be opened. Some of the grain was lowered down in baskets from the top of the wall.

Several farmers stepped forward to inspect the sacks. Their faces broke into grins, and they couldn’t help wiping their eyes with their sleeves. “Grain, it is our grain!”

Hearing that the grain had been returned, most of the rioting farmers felt a weight lift from their hearts.

Constable Wang approached Xie Zheng and said quietly, “Brave sir, thank you for saving Qingping County from disaster. But if we return the military grain collected from taxes to the farmers like this, how will the county yamen explain it to the Jizhou army officials?”

Xie Zheng replied, “The County Magistrate will handle that explanation.”

The order to abolish grain taxes had already been sent to Jizhou Prefecture along with his command for Wei Xuan to return to Huizhou and fortify it. Jizhou wouldn’t be collecting grain taxes anymore, but there was no need to explain all this to a mere constable.

Constable Wang, who had been at his wit’s end earlier, steeled his resolve upon hearing Xie Zheng’s words.

Indeed, calming these rebels and preventing them from entering the county seat was all he could do. His old bones couldn’t bear any more responsibility; the County Magistrate would have to shoulder the rest.

He said, “It was clever of you, sir, to use the Jizhou army to frighten these rebels. At least we’ve spared the townspeople from disaster.”

Xie Zheng remained silent. His mention of the Jizhou army wasn’t just to scare the rebellious farmers below. With such a major incident in Qingping County, it was impossible for Jizhou Prefecture not to have caught wind of it.

As long as it wasn’t Wei Xuan leading them, the army wouldn’t fight these misled farmers.

Seeing that the rebelling farmers had been pacified, the instigators, realizing their dreams of high office and generous salaries were slipping away, continued to cause trouble with gloomy faces: “What about the dozens of lives lost in Ma Family Village?”

Constable Wang looked to Xie Zheng for help.

The blue demon mask concealed his entire face, making his expression unreadable. He simply said, “Buy time.”

Constable Wang was momentarily stunned, but then understood that the brutal incident at Ma Family Village couldn’t be investigated immediately, nor could they give these people a satisfactory answer on the spot.

They could only wait for the Jizhou troops to arrive and stabilize the situation before addressing it.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and tried his best to placate the troublemakers below.

Xie Zheng’s gaze discreetly fell on the few individuals who kept speaking up to incite trouble.

They weren’t seeking justice; they only wanted to stir up hatred among all the farmers, to make the situation as chaotic as possible.

But what benefit would they gain from escalating the chaos?

The true farmers, those who toiled in the fields, were not eloquent speakers. They were being led by the nose with hatred, incited by these people to commit evil acts. The farmers couldn’t escape, but these instigators seemed to have no fear. Their confidence was intriguing.

As the troublemakers continued to cause unrest, seizing on the government’s inability to provide an immediate explanation for the Ma Family Village tragedy and reigniting the farmers’ hatred towards the officials, Xie Zheng was about to secretly deal with these instigators when a voice rang out from the city wall: “The County Magistrate arrives!”

The crowd below fell silent, their faces filled with hostility as they looked towards the wall.

Xie Zheng’s eyes narrowed. He thought the mastermind behind all this had forced the County Magistrate to make an appearance. But when he turned to look, he saw the portly Magistrate striding confidently at the front, followed by a group of servants restraining some bound soldiers.

Fan Changyu, wearing ill-fitting maid’s clothes, was also holding someone at knifepoint, a boning knife pressed against the captive’s throat. Her sleeves were too short, exposing half of her frost-white wrist.

The person she held had several shallow cuts on their neck, clearly having been uncooperative along the way.

Xie Zheng’s gaze fell on the captive’s face. He was first startled, and then his expression beneath the blue demon mask became incredibly complex.