Chapter 459: Far From Enough to Spend
Chapter 454 of "The Great Ming in the Box" unveils: Wu Shen did not continue forward. He directly retraced his steps and went to Bai... Continue the story!
Wu Shen did not continue forward. He directly retraced his steps and went to Bai Shui County.He had left some grain there for the Bai Shui county magistrate to save the people by distributing congee. But now, that congee did not need to be distributed anymore. He directly arranged for those common citizens who could not survive: “All of you go to the neighboring Chengcheng County.”
Of course, these common citizens were not the key point.
The real key point… was the bandits!
Wu Shen had already figured it out in his mind. The best place to settle the bandits should be Chengcheng County. Only there could the returning bandits have food to eat and land to farm. Then they would not rebel again in the future.
Yan’an Prefecture.
Hong Chengchou was killing.
He had just killed another bandit, Liu Liu, as well as over two hundred of Liu Liu’s trusted followers. The ground at the “Surrender Feast” was full of blood. Liu Liu’s eyeballs were still wide open in death, somewhat unwilling to close.
He Renlong flipped the corpse over with a kick of his foot. It rolled once, face down, so his large eyeballs could no longer be seen. The scene became slightly less jarring.
Hong Chengchou still stood far away. He did not want blood to stain his official garments.
He Renlong strode forward and whispered: “Provincial Governor, the bandit chief has been beheaded. What about the three thousand bandits outside?”
Hong Chengchou hesitated.
He was a decisive person. He could execute bandit chiefs without hesitation as “evil must be cut,” but against the remaining bandits, even he could not be ruthless.
Because this killing would not be a matter of several hundred people, but of three thousand men.
“If I kill these people, it would disrupt the harmony of nature. If I do not kill them, I cannot settle them.”
Hong Chengchou raised his head and gazed at the sky. He sank into deep thought.
In a daze, he remembered several years earlier, when he was still the Shaanxi Grain Transport Supervisor. He had passed through Chengcheng County and its wealthy Gaojia Village. Back then, someone had asked him a question: What exactly should be done with the bandits?
At that time, he had given a simple answer: kill them.
Now, he had not hesitated in killing bandit chiefs, but what about the remaining bandits? Who could teach him?
Just as he felt lost, a trusted subordinate came to report: “Censor Wu Shen has arrived.”
Hong Chengchou was rushing with pride: “That is excellent. Wu Shen has money.”
The two met. They skipped a hundred million words of polite chatter and moved to the main topic.
Hong Chengchou said: “I have just executed bandit chief Liu Liu, but his three thousand bandits are still outside awaiting punishment. I cannot kill any more of these people. Censor Wu, please take twenty thousand silver taels from the private funds given by the emperor to settle these three thousand bandits.”
Upon hearing this, Wu Shen felt frightened: “Only three thousand people, and you want twenty thousand silver taels to settle them? Is that extortion?”
Hong Chengchou: “A lot? No! Farmland, farm tools, seeds, oxen, and rations to feed them for months until the next harvest—all that combined, twenty thousand taels is even too little.”
Wu Shen: “…”
Wu Shen felt a chill. Luckily, Chengcheng County supported him from behind, otherwise Hong Chengchou’s demand alone could have dealt him a heavy blow.
“I cannot give you the silver, but I can settle these three thousand bandits.”
Hong Chengchou: “Oh? How can you settle them?”
Wu Shen felt a bit proud: “Chengcheng County has not suffered from drought. It can share my burden and settle some refugees and remaining bandits.”
“Chengcheng County!” Hong Chengchou had just been thinking of Chengcheng County—Gaojia Village, that patch of green amidst the great drought, and the amusing “Deity Hot Pot Festival.” Hearing the name mentioned again, he could not help but feel slightly startled. “Can Chengcheng County handle this many?”
Wu Shen replied, “Handle it or not, it must! If local officials do not share His Majesty’s burdens, how can this world ever be governed peacefully?”
Hong Chengchou narrowed his eyes slightly. “He Renlong.”
He Renlong stepped forward. “At your command, General!”
Hong Chengchou said, “Personally lead troops to escort those three thousand surrendered bandits to Chengcheng County. Hand them over to the magistrate of Chengcheng County. I want to see exactly what methods Chengcheng County has to manage three thousand bandits.”
He Renlong’s face showed an awkward expression. “The troops I lead are from Yansui, General. We cannot enter Shaanxi.”
Wu Shen interjected, “It matters not. With my presence here, you may cross the provincial boundary without issue.”
He Renlong clasped his hands in a salute. “Then this general shall depart at once.”
He selected one thousand soldiers and escorted three thousand disarmed bandits southeastward, entering Huanglong Mountain. They wound their way along the rugged mountain paths towards Chengcheng County.
Wu Shen also prepared to leave. The moment he lifted his foot to step away, Hong Chengchou spoke up. “Lord Wu, do not hurry off just yet.”
Wu Shen: “?”
Hong Chengchou stated, “This official also requires twenty thousand taels of silver.”
Wu Shen’s voice instantly rose several octaves. “What? Did I not just solve your problem with the bandits? What do you need twenty thousand taels of silver for now?”
Hong Chengchou sighed. “The soldiers of Yansui have had their grain and pay arrears delayed for several years. If they are not given some soon, they too will rebel. And if these men rebel, they will be far more formidable than mere vagabond bandits. If Lord Wu begrudges this silver, within a few days upon your return, you will find this place in even greater chaos than before you arrived.”
Wu Shen: “…”
A distinguished jinshi, one of the Great Ming’s top scholars, felt an overwhelming urge to curse right then. The words “damn it all” almost escaped his lips, but with immense effort, he managed to choke them back, preserving at least a semblance of dignity.
“I… will provide the silver,” Wu Shen finally said.
He let out a long, deep sigh. “One hundred thousand taels indeed proved insufficient. It was never nearly enough.”
He Renlong led his one thousand soldiers, advancing slowly through Huanglong Mountain.
He was a martial scholar (wujinshi) from the Wanli era. Unlike the typical military commander who surrounded himself with bodyguards and remained safely ensconced in the center of his army column, He Renlong, as a martial scholar, preferred riding his horse at the very head of the forces.
Of course, he was unlike that fellow Fang Wushang who liked to abandon his troops; He Renlong still waited for his men to keep up. He simply positioned himself much further forward.
In battle, he didn’t hide behind the lines directing things. He liked to charge ahead, leading from the front, slashing into the enemy himself.
Hence, he had earned another nickname: Crazy He.
Crazy He was growing impatient. “How much longer until Chengcheng County?”
“Soon, General!” a subordinate answered. “Just two more ridges, and we’ll be at Bai Family Fortress, Chengcheng County.”
Crazy He: “Humph!”
The subordinate advised, “General, marching through mountains makes us vulnerable to enemy ambush. Would it not be safer for you to withdraw toward the center? The middle guard is the most secure position.”
Crazy He snorted derisively. “Ambush? Hah! An ambush would actually be fine! By being at the front, I can charge straight into their trap first and deliver them a total defeat!”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than an army sprang forth from the forest ahead, emerging directly before them. Their eyes met instantly. This force was clearly not imperial officers; they wore no standardized Ming army armor, only simple cotton clothes.
Crazy He roared, “Bandits! Ha! Time to send them running!”
Gu Cheng, in his book “Peasant Wars of the Late Ming Dynasty,” mentions Hong Chengchou’s killings of surrendered rebels.
When Wang Zuogua surrendered, Hong Chengchou executed ninety-eight key rebel figures, including Wang Zuogua and Miao Dengyun.
In Year Four of Chongzhen, he laid the “Surrender Wine” trap and executed three hundred and twenty rebel chieftains who had come to surrender.
However, historical records do not document him killing larger numbers of rank-and-file surrendered bandits. Some online claims that he executed over ten thousand surrendered rebels are baseless.
It’s possible ten thousand were killed in battle, but executing over ten thousand prisoners? Even your toenail should realize that was impossible. Had such a thing occurred, civil officials would have impeached the culprit with accusations of “violating natural harmony” until the accused could barely live with the disgrace.
Hong Chengchou’s greatest stain is undoubtedly defecting to the Qing and becoming a guide for the invaders; bearing the label of traitor is entirely justified. However, one must not attribute deeds he did not commit simply because he was a traitor.