Chapter 266: Where the People's Hearts Lie
Cheng Xu rallied his troops, and with the militia, boarded the small train. They soon arrived at Bai Family Fortress, then slipped into Huanglong Mountain, quietly taking cover within its depths.
Not long after, Liang Shixian's envoys arrived at a gallop, rushing into Bai Family Fortress and demanding Bai Yuan ring the bell to summon the "Ghost Centurion."
Bai Yuan was, of course, delighted to play along, ringing the bell vigorously a few times.
The ringing made the three characters "Bai Family Fortress" twinkle brightly outside Li Daoxuan's diorama box.
And so, Cheng Xu swaggered out of the mountain, leading the "Guyuan rebels" into view.
Everyone involved was happily playing their part in the charade; only Liang Shixian's people remained genuinely anxious.
Seeing that the handover was complete, Li Daoxuan switched his view back to the county town.
Under Liang Shixian's command, the county town had now entered a state of war preparedness. All the laborers who had been working on the roads outside the city had returned, once again crowding its narrow streets and alleys.
People thronged everywhere.
Seeing this scene of military and civilians united in defending the city, Li Daoxuan recalled what he had read in historical records about various rebel bands attacking county towns.
In the early stages of the late Ming peasant wars, with the sole exceptions of Wang Er's successful surprise attack when he first rebelled, killing Chengcheng County Magistrate Zhang Yaocai, and his later advance north to breach Yijun County, other peasant rebel armies rarely succeeded in taking county towns.
They could mostly only devastate the countryside.
It wasn't until the third year of Chongzhen, when a significant number of government soldiers joined the peasant rebel armies, dramatically boosting their fighting strength, that they gradually began to record instances of breaching county towns.
As for breaching major cities like prefectural or provincial capitals, that only occurred sporadically many years later. For example, Xi'an, despite being in Shaanxi—the heartland of the most fervent peasant uprisings—was not breached by Li Zicheng until the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, remaining firmly in the Ming court's hands until then.
The reasons for this were, of course, the sturdy city walls. But another crucial factor was that law-abiding common folk, unable to survive in the ravaged countryside, streamed into the major cities as "refugees," then joined the city's defenders against the peasant rebel armies.
Huh?
The rebel armies often numbered tens of thousands, but these urban refugees also swelled to tens of thousands. Tens of thousands against tens of thousands—who was truly afraid?
Chengcheng County town was exactly like this now, with tens of thousands of refugees helping to defend it. The scene was truly a whirlwind of activity; rolling logs and boulders quickly filled the city walls, and many even volunteered to help fletch arrows.
Fang Wushang stood on the city wall, watching the fervent scene unfold, and couldn't help but mutter, "How strange. These common folk are so actively participating in the defense this time. When Wang Zuogua and Bu Zhan Ni's rebels came before, the people of Fengyuan Town weren't nearly this enthusiastic."
Liang Shixian stood beside him and sighed softly, "The reason isn't hard to guess."
Fang Wushang prompted, "Oh? I'm keen to hear the details."
Liang Shixian explained, "These common folk only recently got the 'road-building' work, which gives them daily tasks, food to eat, and three catties of flour as wages. They were just beginning to see a glimmer of hope in their lives. Now, these Guyuan rebels arrive at this very moment—"
—"Their road-building work has been temporarily suspended, which is equivalent to cutting off their livelihood.'"
Fang Wushang understood with a jolt. "So that's how it is!"
Liang Shixian continued, "To the common people, food is paramount. Whoever takes the food from their mouths is their sworn, irreconcilable enemy. Conversely, whoever gives them a mouthful to eat is their heaven."
As he spoke, his gaze swept across Mr. Wang, who stood on the distant town wall.
Beside Mr. Wang stood Gao Yiye, wearing a bamboo hat, and a small squad of militia members, including Padi Tu and Zheng Gouzi, all guarding Gao Yiye closely.
The status of this small group was truly extraordinary in the county town. Large crowds of refugees surrounded them, shielding Mr. Wang and Gao Yiye. Judging by their fierce protectiveness, if anyone dared to harm them, thousands of refugees would rush forward and grind them to dust.
Liang Shixian lowered his voice. "I'm a little worried about this Li family."
Fang Wushang frowned. "What's there to worry about with the Li family?"
Liang Shixian replied, "Currently, the hearts of Chengcheng's people are entirely with the Li family. I'm afraid they don't even know who the Son of Heaven is anymore."
Fang Wushang's eyes narrowed. "Are you suggesting the Li family plans to rebel, Magistrate Liang?"
Liang Shixian shook his head. "I didn't say they intend to rebel, I'm just worried..."
Fang Wushang cast a serious glance at the "Li family" group. Just then, he saw Padi Tu emerge from behind Gao Yiye, brandishing his sword and making two practice slashes below the city wall. Padi Tu then declared with a loud laugh, "Let the Guyuan rebels come! This Rabbit Lord will slay ten with one sword stroke!"
Fang Wushang shook his head. "Magistrate Liang, you worry too much. As for people like the Li family's retainers, I alone, with a single horse, would be enough to wipe them out."
Liang Shixian gave Fang Wushang a worried look, thinking to himself: "You're not a bad man, but you're a hothead. If I hadn't saved you, you would have been killed by Commander Li Ying without even realizing it. If I'm transferred in the future, leaving you here alone, who will be able to fully protect you? Alas! What a pity! A man like you won't live long."
Li Daoxuan, listening from above, mused to himself: "Liang Shixian has already noticed something is amiss? Well, of course! Only an idiot wouldn't find Gao Family Village strange. Anyone with even a little intelligence would suspect them, and that peculiar Li family."
Still...
Go ahead and suspect all you want.
Even if you were to write a memorial on the spot right now and send it to Hu Tingyan, the Governor of Shaanxi, claiming there's a local gentry possibly plotting rebellion with irrefutable evidence, the governor wouldn't even bother with you, and might even have you flogged dozens of times. Let alone that you have no evidence, only conjecture. Hehehe.
At this very moment, the Governor of Shaanxi, Hu Tingyan, was busily writing, meticulously filling in the missing parts of the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi's 'Huanglou Collection.'
When people get old, they tend to fuss over flowers and plants, dabbling in poetry and prose. Peasant uprisings outside? Border army unrest? Commander Li Ying captured by rebels? Rebels running to Chengcheng County? "Oh, I don't know, I don't know, can't see, can't see, can't see anything at all," he'd essentially say. These mundane concerns were beneath him.
How could any of that be as interesting as Su Shi's 'Huanglou Collection'?
"They're here, they're here! The rebels are here!" came a frantic shout.
A lone rider on a swift horse galloped into the city gate. Behind him, the city gate quickly slammed shut with a resounding boom, and the soldiers and civilians within the city tensed.
In the southwestern wilderness, an army appeared: a grand and impressive Ming dynasty government force. They held aloft a large banner emblazoned with a scrawled "Wolf" character. At the very front of the formation, several vividly armored generals rode on horseback.
Huh? On one of the horses, a disheveled and filthy person was bound!
Everyone looked closely and saw it was none other than Commander Li Ying, who had recently made a brief, opportunistic visit to Chengcheng County.
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