Chapter 230: Hong Chengchou's Thoughts
His conversational spirit piqued, Hong Chengchou began to elaborate.
It turned out that Wang Er hadn't been idle during this period.
After leaving Chengcheng County, he first entered Yijun County, where he assembled an army of six thousand, breached the county seat, and decapitated the magistrate. Everyone present was aware of these events.
Next, Wang Er continued his northward advance.
He knew that the closer he got to Xi'an, the more easily the government forces could pursue and suppress him. For safety, he had to keep moving north. So, he passed through Yijun County and entered Luochuan County, where he joined forces with Bu Zhan Ni.
After a brief alliance, Wang Er took a dislike to Bu Zhan Ni's character and decided not to continue working with him. He resumed his northward journey and soon reached the outskirts of Yan'an Prefecture.
Hong Chengchou said, "When Wang Er arrived at Yan'an Prefecture, he coincidentally encountered Gao Yingxiang, the Chuǎng Wang from Ansai, also rising in rebellion."
Li Daoxuan paused slightly at the words "Chuǎng Wang," but immediately understood. It was still too early in the timeline; this Chuǎng Wang was not Li Zicheng, but the first-generation Chuǎng Wang, Gao Yingxiang from Ansai.
In these early stages of the peasant uprising, Gao Yingxiang avoided disclosing his true name to spare his relatives. Instead, he carved out his domain under the nickname "Chuǎng Wang." It would be two more years before he revealed his identity, so at this moment, no one apart from Li Daoxuan knew his real name.
San Shier whispered, "Surely the Yulin region isn't also gripped by rebellion?"
Hong Chengchou chuckled, "You've guessed correctly. The Yulin region is in the thick of it. Wang Ziyong, the Zijing Liang from Suide, and Wang Jiayin from Fugu, have also risen in revolt. Wang Er, the Chuǎng Wang, Wang Jiayin, and Zijing Liang converged, gathering four bandit chiefs together. Their forces swelled to tens of thousands, creating a formidable presence."
Upon hearing this, everyone present couldn't help but look aghast.
Unbeknownst to them, had the bandit armies outside already grown to the scale of tens of thousands?
Hong Chengchou explained, "That Wang Jiayin originated from the border armies. He's skilled in archery and horsemanship, and he knows how to train soldiers and forge weapons. Wang Er, on the other hand, is renowned as the foremost rebel in the land. When these two combined, one could attract a large number of 'Greenwood heroes' with his reputation alone, while the other trained the rebels using border army tactics..."
At this point, Hong Chengchou actually started to laugh, " 'They'll pacify themselves by spring!' Heh! 'They'll pacify themselves by spring!' It truly makes this official split his sides! Just last year, if anyone dared report banditry, His Excellency the Governor would indiscriminately—
—have them flogged and forbid any mention of bandits existing in this world! Hahahaha! Well, look at us now! You don't say it, I don't say it, nobody says it, and then suddenly the bandits number in the tens of thousands. Now, whether he wants to say it or not, he *has* to. I wonder if his head aches now, or if it doesn't."
A collective silence fell over the group.
After a long moment, San Shier finally sighed. "All this unrest, in the end, it's the common people who suffer. Ah. Master Hong, I'm a man of limited vision and insight, but I wonder, how exactly should this bandit problem be resolved?"
Hong Chengchou had long harbored a multitude of thoughts, but with no one to confide in. Now, asked directly, and realizing there was no harm in speaking his mind here, he continued to elaborate with conviction: "The scourge of these roving bandits began with natural disasters. And as there's no short-term solution to these disasters, any attempt at pacification is futile. Even if they are appeased for a time, without food, they will inevitably rise in revolt again. To quell this rebellion, the only true path is to wipe out every single bandit."
San Shier responded, "Killing them all would be too contrary to divine harmony. Could we not consider the inverse? If there were enough food to eat,
...there would be no need to wipe them out completely?"
"Precisely! If there were indeed enough food to placate them, then certainly, there would be no need for mass slaughter," Hong Chengchou conceded. "However, the entire land is gripped by a great drought, and there's no sign of it ending anytime soon. Where would one procure such abundant food? Unless Heaven itself intervenes..."
He shook his head. "Therefore, in the end, we simply must eliminate them entirely."
From his perspective, there appeared to be no other solution beyond annihilation.
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but sigh. While he wasn't aligned with the Ming court and had no intention of aiding them, from the Ming's standpoint, suppressing the roving bandits was, without question, the best—indeed, the only—solution.
In the late Ming Dynasty, several governors and supreme commanders, such as Yang He and Xiong Wencan, had attempted pacification policies toward the roving bandits. Yet, without exception, all had failed.
Why?
The reason was simple: if you brought people back through pacification, you had to provide them with food, arable land, and the means to survive. If you couldn't do that, how could you truly placate them?
But the Ming court's finances were in shambles; it couldn't provide enough food.
With natural disasters rampant, the Ming court also couldn't provide conditions suitable for growing grain.
Repeated attempts at pacification invariably failed. Worse, they inadvertently offered the roving bandits a chance to recuperate. The bandits would feign acceptance, eat a few meals provided by the court, rest for a few days, then immediately rebel again, stirring up more trouble. They coerced more innocent civilians into banditry, further devastating productivity and plummeting grain yields.
With productivity shattered, grain output plummeted even further, ultimately leading to a food deficit for tens of millions of people.
Such a massive shortfall meant that an equally massive number of people had to die, so that the survivors would have enough food to weather the famine years.
Therefore, the court's only correct course of action at the time should have been to abandon the naive idea of pacification early in the rebellion. Instead, they should have vigorously suppressed the rebels, protected the loyal populace, and preserved productivity. Only then could they prevent the food deficit from widening further and ultimately reduce casualties.
However, launching a bloody extermination campaign from the outset would be too contrary to divine harmony—a measure few could undertake, apart from the Manchu, Zhang Xianzhong, and a handful of ruthless web novel authors crafting wish-fulfillment narratives.
This is why the Ming court could only oscillate between pacification and suppression, never fully committing to either approach.
Fortunately, Li Daoxuan possessed the means to combat natural disasters.
He wasn't beholden to the Ming court, giving him the confidence to avoid the "slaughter them all" path. He had an abundance of food; his only current deficiency was talented individuals capable of managing various affairs...
Li Daoxuan spoke, "Ask Hong Chengchou: if someone could truly solve the food problem, what would he do?"
Gao Yiye quickly whispered the message into San Shier's ear.
San Shier composed himself, then stated gravely, "Master Hong, forgive my impertinence in speaking so frankly despite our brief acquaintance... but I dare to ask: if someone *were* able to provide you with enough food..."
Hong Chengchou let out a sardonic chuckle. "If there truly were enough food, then it would be simple indeed. We would eliminate those few truly vicious bandits who lack all measure and endlessly flip-flop, then pacify the good citizens who were forced into banditry, providing them with ample food. This bandit plague would naturally be quelled."
He sighed then. "But alas, this can only ever be a pleasant fantasy. Firstly, this official cannot procure such vast quantities of food. Secondly, I am merely a humble fourth-rank Grain Intendant, a minor official in charge of transporting provisions. How could such a momentous task fall to me to decide? Entrusting this to those aged, dim-witted fools would only lead to utter chaos."
The method he described was, in fact, precisely what Li Daoxuan was currently implementing. *This man is highly capable and hasn't yet committed any egregious errors*, Li Daoxuan thought. *If I could bring him into Gao Family Village before he falls from grace, denying him the chance to become corrupt, his abilities might prove quite useful.*
*Alas...*
*Turning a high-ranking official like a fourth-ranker into "one of our own" isn't easy. A mere divine miracle wouldn't be enough to make him prostrate himself in absolute submission.*
*The higher the official's rank, the greater their lust for power, and the more cunning and manipulative they become.*
*If I were to "manifest" before him and display the Infinite Gauntlet, he would likely prostrate himself on the spot, feign submission, and act perfectly compliant. But the moment he left my line of sight, he would flee far away, never setting foot in Gao Family Village again for the rest of his life.*
*Such individuals are simply too shrewd and opportunistic.*
*For now, I can only let it be.*
*Let fate decide.*
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