Late Han Dynasty: Did the Yellow Emperor truly descend?

Chapter 78 Establishing an Army for Peace

He paused, then made his point even clearer.

"So...we've already chosen who the leader is, but how will the brothers be ranked? What banner will they fly? Who will they take orders from? How will the spoils be divided? There's still no answer to any of these questions."

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned, and then began to discuss it amongst themselves.

Yes, what's the use of just electing a leader? The situation below is still a mess.

Li Sheng smiled slightly, but instead of answering directly, he said...

"This brother makes a good point. Since everyone has brought up the charter, let's all express our opinions and share our thoughts. Let's pool our wisdom."

Seeing that Li Sheng was not putting on airs, the atmosphere immediately became lively.

"Let me speak!"

A burly man stood up and said in a deep, booming voice.

"In my opinion, it's not that complicated! Our village and township teams will continue as before, each fighting their own battles. If something happens, the alliance leader will give the order, and everyone will come together to fight. As for the spoils, whoever gets them keeps them, isn't that settled?"

This is what it means to aspire to become a powerful figure.

Someone nearby immediately shook their head.

"No, no, that would be chaos! Last time when we were robbing someone, we almost killed someone, don't you remember?"

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"I say, we need to arrange the seating order. The village with the most people and the strongest militia should be placed at the front, and they'll get a bigger share when things are distributed. That way, no one will complain."

These are the small landlords, or rather, the prototypes of powerful figures, who were mixed in with Li Sheng's group.

"fart!"

Someone slammed their fist on the table and stood up.

"More people means more rewards? What's the point of having an alliance leader then? Everyone should just recruit men, and whoever recruits the most becomes the leader!"

"Watch your tone!"

"How am I being impolite? Aren't I stating the truth?"

They were arguing and shouting, neither willing to give in.

Then someone else stood up and said...

"I think, since we've rebelled, let's learn from the imperial court. We can appoint a general, then several colonels and military commanders, and give all the village leaders official titles. Wouldn't that make things much smoother?"

"Learn from the imperial court?"

Someone sneered.

"That's like taking off your pants to fart!"

Another argument ensued, with each side sticking to their own version of events, and neither able to convince the other.

Li Sheng stood on the stage, listening quietly without saying a word.

He saw these people arguing heatedly, proposing all sorts of solutions. Some were too simple and crude, some copied the old system of the imperial court, some wanted to promote egalitarianism, and some simply said "the leader of the alliance has the final say"... but no one had a truly convincing and complete solution.

This is the effect he wanted.

It wasn't that he didn't want to set the rules from the beginning, but he knew that this group, composed of farmers, tenants, and low-ranking soldiers, had limited vision and experience. Let them argue, let them fight, let them realize "we're not up to par," and then he could step in to straighten things out—that was the best way to consolidate his position.

They argued for about half an hour, and neither could convince the other.

Finally, someone remembered something and shouted towards the stage.

"Leader Li, please stop making us argue! You make the decision!"

"Yes! Leader Li, whatever you say, we'll do!"

"The alliance leader should make the decision!"

Everyone echoed his sentiments, and all eyes turned to Li Sheng.

Li Sheng then spoke slowly, his tone calm.

"I have listened to everything you all said. Each of you has your own reasons, and each of you has your own shortcomings."

He paused.

"Since you all trust me, I will share my thoughts. If I am wrong, we can discuss it further."

He held up one finger.

"Firstly, our alliance needs a name. Without a name, it's not proper, and it won't carry weight when speaking to outsiders. I propose we call it the 'Taiping Army'."

"The Taiping Army?"

As the crowd pondered these three words, some nodded in agreement.

"Peace is good! Who doesn't want to live a peaceful life?"

"This name sounds pleasant."

Some people were puzzled and asked cautiously.

"Leader Li, Taiping... does this have anything to do with the Way of Peace?"

Li Sheng glanced at the man, knowing that this question couldn't be avoided.

He answered frankly.

"To be honest, I believe in the Yellow Heaven. When the Great Teacher preached, he said things like, 'The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise,' and 'In the year of Jiazi, great fortune will come to the world.' I believe all of these. Because what he said is the truth, and the world really does need a change in how it is lived."

He then changed the subject.

"However, our Taiping Army is different from the Yellow Turban Army."

Everyone pricked up their ears.

"The Yellow Turban Rebellion has been causing trouble for so long, but what have they accomplished? They plunder wherever they go, taking a city and then leaving, leaving the people to escape one danger only to fall into another. How can the people truly follow such people?"

He was setting the tone for this fledgling force, which could also be seen as a way of severing ties with the Yellow Turban Army.

Li Sheng looked around, his tone sincere.

"What do we, the Taiping Army, seek? We seek peace. What do the people want? They also want peace. We don't rob or harm the people; we want them to be able to cultivate the land, eat, and survive. That's what makes us different from the Yellow Turban Army."

His words convinced everyone, and they all nodded in agreement.

"Leader Li is right!"

"We won't become bandits!"

"Yes! What we want is peaceful days!"

This group, composed of farmers from various villages, naturally accepted Li Sheng's idea.

Seeing that everyone had accepted the name "Taiping Army," Li Sheng continued.

"Secondly, there's the charter. My idea is simple: we'll organize the villages and hamlets into units, with each village electing two representatives and each hamlet electing one. These representatives will come together to form a council. All matters, big and small, will be discussed and handled in the council."

He paused.

"The leader of the alliance is elected by the council and serves a five-year term. If he or she performs poorly, the council may remove him or elect a more capable person. The troops of each village and hamlet are still under the jurisdiction of their respective villages and hamlets, but they must obey the unified command of the leader of the alliance when fighting. As for the spoils of war, they will be distributed according to merit, fairly and reasonably."

"In addition, we must establish a few rules. No looting of civilians, no raping of women, and no indiscriminate killing of innocent people. Anyone who violates any of these rules will be dealt with according to military law."

He looked at the crowd.

"This is my idea. What do you all think?"

Seeing how logically Li Sheng spoke, they knew perfectly well that their leader had long harbored these ideas.

There was a moment of silence in the audience, followed by a burst of enthusiastic response.

"good!"

"This charter is fair!"

"Let's do as Leader Li says!"

"From now on, we, the Taiping Army, will have rules!"

No one raised any objections.

Li Sheng looked at the excited faces below the stage and nodded slightly.

He knew that this so-called "council" system, while dispersing power to some extent, making it disadvantageous in the face of powerful enemies and inconvenient for later centralization of power, was, at the current stage, the most effective way to unite people and make everyone feel that it was "fair."

As for the future...

He has his own methods.

"In that case..."

Li Sheng's voice echoed through the night sky.

"I hereby declare the Taiping Army officially established today!"

"Taiping Army! Taiping Army! Taiping Army!"

The roar of thousands of people merged into a torrent, echoing in the night sky for a long time.