The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 024 Uprising

The simplest option was to kill Magistrate Fan Zhengren and his men with a single blow, venting their anger and avenging their clan elders and fellow villagers. Then, they would lead the rescued people to abandon the city, retreat back to the Grand Canyon, and hide there.

This is the easiest way to do it, and it's pretty much in line with their original plan.

Not only could they take revenge, but they could also take advantage of the chaos to plunder all the county's stored grain, silver, and supplies. With these things, they could easily survive in the Grand Canyon. Even if the drought was severe later, as long as they were careful with their food and supplies, they could last for quite some time.

But Zhou Lun felt that this was not enough.

He earnestly urged Li Wanqing: "Brother, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we must make the most of it. What we are doing today is a true rebellion."

Upon hearing this, Li Wanqing's expression hardened.

Zhou Lun continued, "Once you embark on this path, there's no turning back. If we only think about saving our lives and hiding incognito, that won't work. Even if we hide in the Grand Canyon, the consequences will be endless once the authorities react. The imperial court is not a pushover, especially the Ming government. They never hesitate to take action against rebellions."

He paused, his gaze darkening.

This is completely different from the prison break and rescue. Now the entire county is in their hands, and so many people have escaped; the news will spread quickly. Once the prefectural government hears about it, they will surely mobilize regular troops to encircle and suppress them.

But frankly, they were just a bunch of rabble.

The nineteen able-bodied men under his command had only undergone a few minor training sessions and were barely capable of following orders. As for the young men from Liwang Village and other able-bodied men rescued from prison, they had just been incorporated into the team. Although they had a certain spirit, they were, after all, farmers who had just put down their hoes. It was still a long way off before they could be put to good use.

All told, Li Wanqing and Zhou Lun only had about fifty people at their disposal, including themselves.

These people are alright at dealing with constables and yamen runners, but what about going head-to-head with a regular army? Zhou Lun had no idea.

If they retreat from the county town and hide in the Grand Canyon, no matter how well they hide, they will eventually be found by the government troops. Then, facing a fierce and ruthless search by the government forces, what can they, with their small numbers, possibly use to defend themselves?

If given more time, Zhou Lun might be able to train a capable team. But right now, there's simply no time for that.

It took him more than half a month to train those nineteen young men, and he had only just taught them to distinguish left from right and to barely understand how to line up and obey commands. It would take at least three months to truly take shape. And even after three months, in Zhou Lun's eyes, they would still be nothing more than a shell.

Training soldiers is no easy task. This isn't a video game where you can simply click the mouse to summon qualified soldiers. Especially those greenhorns who have never seen blood or been on the battlefield—even Zhou Lun himself wasn't sure how useful they would be.

Once a rebellion has been started, there is no turning back.

With limited manpower and insufficient time, Zhou Lun reasoned that since the quality was lacking, he could compensate with quantity, which was also a viable option.

Now that the county seat is in their hands, why not take this opportunity to recruit soldiers and build up their forces in the county as quickly as possible?

As long as they have enough men, even if these men are just peasants who have just taken up arms, there's an old saying: "Many ants can kill an elephant." With enough men, ordinary small groups of government troops can't do anything to them. Then they can band together, unite as one, temporarily hold off the government's encirclement and suppression, and slowly figure out how to grow stronger.

"Big brother!"

Zhou Lun looked up at Li Wanqing, his tone earnest: "You gave yourself the name 'Shooting Down the Sky,' do you still remember the meaning behind it? Now that you've already accomplished so much, why not take another step forward? In my humble opinion, given the current situation, not moving forward is not an option. As the saying goes, advance means life, retreat means death!"

Li Wanqing looked solemn, his brows furrowed into a knot.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly raised his hand and slammed it heavily on the chair back with a crisp "smack".

"Second Brother is right!" Li Wanqing stood up, his eyes blazing. "Advance means life, retreat means death! Since I call myself 'Shooting Down the Heavens,' then I deserve that title!"

Zhou Lun let out a long sigh of relief, a smile spreading across his face.

Li Wanqing's decision was correct. Zhou Lun's biggest fear was his indecisiveness; if he was only focused on saving his own life, things would become difficult. Now it seemed that his elder brother did possess some courage and decisiveness, which was excellent!

Having decided on their strategy, the two didn't waste any time and immediately split up to take action.

According to Zhou Lun's assessment, although news of their capture of the county town had already spread among those who had escaped, it wouldn't be long before the government could react.

The journey from Bao'an County to Yan'an Prefecture takes a full three days and two nights, and that's by horse-drawn carriage. If you were to walk, it would take at least four or five days to get there.

If you calculate it that way, the round trip alone would take almost ten days.

Moreover, even if Yan'an Prefecture received the news, it wouldn't be able to react quickly enough.

Zhou Lun was all too familiar with the ways of officialdom. Others might not care, but he knew it all too well. Besides, this wasn't the future; information traveled much more slowly. Even if the prefectural capital heard that Bao'an County had fallen, it would take time to confirm the news.

In addition, the Ming Dynasty implemented a three-bureau system in its local administration—the Provincial Administration Commission, the Provincial Judicial Commission, and the Provincial Military Commission—each in charge of civil affairs, justice, and military affairs, respectively. These three commissions were independent of each other, each managing its own area. While this system had the advantage of checks and balances, it also resulted in sluggish responses to emergencies.

Take the current situation as an example. After the news reached the prefectural city, the prefect, upon learning that the county seat had been occupied, would first verify its authenticity, a step that alone would take several days. Even after confirming it was true, the prefect could only mobilize about a hundred yamen runners and constables from the prefectural city, not a proper army. This is because the army was under the control of the local commander, and above the commander was the regional military command.

Therefore, the prefect could not mobilize troops to rescue the county and annihilate them on his own. He could not command the military command, so he had to seek help from the provincial capital, Xi'an, and report the matter to the provincial administration commissioner first.

After learning of the situation, the Provincial Administration Commission communicated with the Regional Military Commission, which then ordered the local commander to mobilize the garrison troops to quell the rebellion.

This whole process takes at least half a month, and sometimes... it could even take a month.

Unless the imperial court issues a special decree via an urgent courier service, dispatching a governor to Shaanxi to coordinate with various departments and oversee the suppression of the rebellion, how could the Ming government possibly act so quickly?

Of course, there is another exception: bypassing local authorities and directly mobilizing border troops to quell the rebellion.

Shaanxi is close to the Nine Garrisons, with Ningxia Garrison and Yulin Garrison to the north of Bao'an County. However, the Nine Garrisons of the Ming Dynasty were for defending against foreign enemies, specifically the Mongols on the grasslands. Without imperial decree, the border troops did not interfere in local affairs, and the local authorities could not command them.

The mobilization of the border troops can only be ordered by Emperor Chongzhen and the cabinet in the capital. As long as Zhou Lun and Li Wanqing do not provoke the border troops, even if they cause a huge disturbance in Bao'an County, the border troops will not interfere even if they hear about it.

Based on this calculation, Bao'an County is currently safe, at least in the short term.

The two began preparations in earnest.

On that day, notices to reassure the people were posted throughout the county.

The notice was written by Zhou Lun himself. It wasn't particularly elegant; it was written entirely in plain language, yet it clearly and plainly explained the ins and outs of the uprising.

The notice specifically stated that the imperial court, instead of providing disaster relief in Shaanxi, imposed additional taxes and levies, clearly depriving the people of a way to survive!

In addition, Fan Zhengren, the magistrate of Bao'an County, in order to curry favor with the imperial court, disregarded the lives of the people and recklessly demanded taxes and levies. He even slandered ordinary people as "thieves" and "criminals," beat a respected elder to death, and imprisoned a large number of innocent people.

County Magistrate Zhang Xiuguo and Clerk Shi Teng were no better. They colluded with Fan Zhengren, manipulating the entire Bao'an County and causing chaos and misery among the people.

The notice also stated: "She Tatian, who led the men to capture the county seat, was originally a local resident. He couldn't bear to see his fellow villagers suffering so much, and out of indignation, he risked everything to rescue them. He captured Bao'an County not for personal gain, nor for any wealth or glory, but simply to demand justice from the government! Since the government refuses to provide justice, he will use this method to get an explanation!"

Li Wanqing assured the entire county that this action was only aimed at Fan Zhengren and his cronies of corrupt officials, and would not implicate anyone else, let alone harm ordinary people.

"We're all from the same village; even if we're broken, our bones are still connected. A true hero like the one who shot down Heaven wouldn't do such a despicable thing."

The notice concluded by instructing everyone not to panic, assuring the townspeople that they would continue with their daily lives as usual, and that no disturbance would be made. It also specifically stated that the day after tomorrow, a public trial of Fan Zhengren and several other corrupt officials would be held in front of the county government office, and that all villagers were welcome to attend.

Another important event is that after the public trial, She Tatian will open the granaries and distribute grain to relieve the local area.

"Please spread the word: She Tatian is a man of his word, and we ask our fellow villagers to wait and see."

Once the notice was posted, the news spread like wildfire throughout the entire county. Under Zhou Lun's deliberate arrangement, the news also rapidly spread to all directions outside the county.

Upon learning the contents of the notice, the people in the city quickly felt relieved. In particular, the phrase "opening the granaries to distribute grain" mentioned in the notice sparked much discussion among the people.

Some people felt uneasy, thinking that the grain might not be so easy to obtain. But most people couldn't hide their excitement and anticipation.

After all, everyone's life is tough.

The drought has been severe this past year, and not only has the imperial court failed to provide disaster relief, but it has also increased taxes and levies, causing widespread resentment. Now that She Tatian has caused such a disturbance, many people are secretly venting their anger and applauding it in private. At the same time, they also hope to get back the grain they have handed over.

Of all things, eating is the most important!

Without food, how would they survive? As for the consequences, no one cared to think about it. After all, the granary was opened by Shetatian, and he distributed the food. Everyone went to collect their share; surely the court wouldn't kill everyone as traitors?

The law does not punish the masses.

What's there to be afraid of!