Jinting Han people

The third year of the reign of Emperor Qiming of Han was not a year of favorable weather, but it was not a year of major disasters either.

In February, rainfall was less than usual, causing some drought in the fields, requiring farmers to carry more water to alleviate the problem. In March, the moths arrived as expected, and the farmers stayed in the fields to turn the soil and catch the insects. In April, heavy rains began to fall intermittently, and the farmers had to clear the irrigation ditches in advance. Although it was hard work, this was the typical year. Although things weren't always perfect, as long as they worked hard, they could still reap a harvest.

Actually, this is quite good. The leisurely life that scholars pursue means being oblivious to the outside world and focusing solely on studying the classics. The life of farmers is much the same. If one only needs to concentrate on the work in the fields, there will be a reward for every effort, and a little labor is nothing. This is the peaceful scene in the eyes of Laozi and Zhuangzi.

But the tragedy of human life lies in this: it's not just farmers who are affected; as human beings, we are always faced with unexpected accidents. These include not only natural disasters but also various conflicts between people, which are equally unpredictable and leave us in a dilemma, caught between a rock and a hard place.

Recently, Du Tao, the magistrate of Liling, has felt this deeply.

Du Tao was a native of Chengdu, just twenty-eight years old. His great-grandfather was Du Qiong, the Grand Master of Ceremonies of the Former Shu Han dynasty; his grandfather was Du Zhen, the Prefectural Attendant; and his father was Du Zhi, the Protector of the Army of Lueyang. His family was a prominent one in Sichuan. With such a family background, he was diligent and studious, and quite talented. For more than ten years, he studied both literature and martial arts, and his talent became famous throughout the prefecture. He was recommended by Zhao Xin, the Governor of Yizhou at the time, to be a scholar, and after passing the examination in Luoyang, he ranked first.

There weren't many scholars in Shu, and Du Tao was exceptionally talented. Logically, even if he couldn't be promoted to the second rank, he should have risen rapidly through the ranks. However, Du Tao was unlucky. When he went to Luoyang, Sun Xiu was in power, and the rebellion against Zhao was raging. Sun Xiu intended to promote him to the position of Shangshu Lang (a high-ranking official), but Du Tao saw that Sun Xiu's rule was unjust and unpopular, and that it wouldn't last long. Coincidentally, his father, Du Zi, passed away, so he immediately returned to Shu under the pretext of mourning to avoid trouble.

It is unknown whether Sun Xiu cast a curse on Du Tao at this time, but from then on Du Tao rarely had a good time.

He had only been retired and returned to his hometown for less than half a year when he first encountered the Zhao Xin Rebellion, followed by the Li Xiang and Li Te Rebellions. Several factions tried to win over Du Tao, but even Sun Xiu couldn't retain him; how could Du Tao choose these treacherous officials? Therefore, he firmly declined. When Luo Shang went to serve as the governor of Yizhou, he wanted to join him, but Luo Shang was jealous of his talent and refused to employ him.

Left with no other choice, Du Tao led his followers away from this turbulent place to Jingzhou to avoid trouble. There, he was caught up in the rebellion of Li Chen and Liu Ni. At that time, the Restoration Army swept across the north and south of the Yangtze River, and he was once caught up in the chaos, with no way to escape. It wasn't until a year later, when Tao Kan led his troops to pursue and suppress the rebellion in Xiangzhou, that he regained his freedom. However, from then on, Du Tao was branded as a traitor, making it increasingly difficult for him to be given important responsibilities.

Fortunately, Du Tao was indeed talented. After a year of socializing in Jingzhou, Ying Zhan, the prefect of Nanping, appreciated him and recommended him to Liu Hong, the governor of Jingzhou. Liu Hong then temporarily appointed him as the magistrate of Liling, thus giving him a proper official position.

Given Du Tao's talent and local reputation, a mere county magistrate position was certainly a lowly post. Moreover, he lacked connections in Jingzhou, making further advancement in his official career impossible. However, Du Tao was quite philosophical about it. He didn't have much ambition; in such chaotic times, many people lost their lives, and he not only survived but also retained an official position—what was there to complain about?
For the next few years, Du Tao neither resigned from his post nor engaged in any other activities, focusing instead on governing Liling. Because of his origins in Sichuan and his exceptional talent, he enjoyed high prestige in the area, attracting many refugees from Sichuan and Chongqing to seek refuge with him. With Liu Hong's support, Du Tao's efforts there were very successful; of the nearly 160,000 refugees in Xiangzhou, 30,000 gathered in Liling County.

Du Tao's achievements are truly remarkable.

As an outsider, he lacked the support of the local powerful clans. However, in order to ensure the survival of the refugees, he had to negotiate with the respected elders of Liling one by one, enduring countless cold shoulders, before finally managing to secure a thousand acres of land, which was clearly a drop in the ocean. So he took out all his own salary and land to provide emergency relief to the refugees, and then personally went to the fields to lead the people of Shu in clearing irrigation canals and reclaiming wasteland in the deep mountains and forests.

Fortunately, Liling was remote and never lacked wasteland. Du Tao settled in Weishan and Zhonggushan, living a frugal life for two years. He wore simple hemp clothing every day, and his diet consisted of nothing more than beans, green onions, and bamboo shoots. He worked tirelessly, clearing irrigation ditches and building embankments to cultivate fields. The calluses on his hands and feet would fall off and then scab over again, until finally he had cultivated tens of thousands of acres of land. By this time, although Du Tao was still very young, he looked quite mature, like a man in his thirties or forties.

Land reclamation was not the only challenge. The refugees in Liling were a minority, and most of them could not survive under the threat of hunger. Unwilling to cultivate the land diligently, they often broke into the estates of local powerful families to steal, attacked the local Yi people with swords, and sometimes even ransacked remote villages.

In response, Tao Kan frequently led his troops to search for and arrest people in various counties of Xiangzhou. However, this was to no avail. Gangs of bandits sprang up like mushrooms after rain, and the starving people were bloodthirsty and cruel. In order to seize the last bit of food and clothing from the local villagers, they dared to kill and accumulated a great deal of resentment.

In the third year of the Tai'an era (304 AD), these bandits were at their most rampant. Surprisingly, however, they never offended Liling County in either words or deeds. In fact, they frequently passed through Liling County, either on horseback or by boat. When the local refugees saw them carrying swords, bows, and arrows, they quickly protected their remaining possessions, fearing that these people would come to rob them.

At such times, Du Tao would don his armor and negotiate with the bandit leaders alone. He would speak to them about loyalty and filial piety, saying that plundering was unsustainable, that even if they survived today, they wouldn't live past next year, and that they would eventually be wiped out by government troops. Du Tao was adept at sensing emotions; he didn't engage in empty talk, but rather used understandable language to persuade the bandits. He told them stories of Guan Yu's righteous resignation from Cao Cao's high-ranking position and his return to Han after a thousand miles, and of Lei Xu's journey from Lujiang to Jingnan in response to Liu Bei's call.

As people of Shu, these were all things familiar to them, but many had forgotten them after leaving their homes. Du Tao, with his deep yet infectious words, reawakened their memories. After quiet reflection, some left Liling County, some surrendered to Liu Hong through Du Tao's introduction, and others stayed to join Du Tao's land reclamation team. Among them were the tall and strong Du Hong, the agile Zhang Yan, and even the ruthless Gao Bao, all of whom followed Du Tao.

Over the course of several years, Liling miraculously avoided any military disasters, which was almost unbelievable. Consequently, the suppression and pacification efforts in the entire Xiangzhou region also progressed smoothly. Liu Hong thus praised Du Tao highly, and the local powerful clans changed their views significantly, generously providing Du Tao with financial and material support.

Du Tao truly deserved these praises. After resolving the banditry and establishing agricultural settlements, he even led the people to eradicate poisonous snakes and tigers from the mountains. Because the newly reclaimed farmland was relatively remote, dozens or even hundreds of poisonous snakes frequently appeared in the fields, a truly astonishing sight. They wriggled their long bodies and shook their triangular heads, easily injuring and poisoning people if they weren't careful. Similarly, there was a large tiger around Liling. Accustomed to its freedom, the tiger was naturally agitated by the disturbance caused by the farmers and frequently descended the mountain to provoke them, killing several people in the process.

Du Tao led the county soldiers in a two-month campaign, catching thousands of snakes and personally shooting the large tiger. The tiger skin was hung on the wall of the county government building, and everyone who saw it praised him highly, calling him "Father Du," meaning that in the eyes of the local people, Du Tao was a true father figure. Liling enjoyed several years of good fortune as a result, but this ended last year with the death of Liu Hong. First, Wang Dun and Xun Tiao took over Jingzhou, and due to their conflict with Zhang Fang, they doubled taxes, causing much resentment among the people of Xiangzhou. While Liling County could still manage, many of the other displaced people could not afford it, and some returned to their old ways. The hard-won order began to crumble again.

But this chaos was different from the previous ones. At some point, people began to talk about the True Lord of Peace.

This is perfectly normal, as the people of Shu (Sichuan) have long been believers in the Celestial Masters sect. Moreover, the main base of the Celestial Masters sect, Longhu Mountain, is located in Jiangzhou, and Xiangzhou, sandwiched between Jiangzhou and Yizhou, naturally also has a strong Taoist atmosphere. While it may not reach the level of Bashu (Sichuan and Sichuan), at least everyone has heard of it to some extent, and they genuinely yearn for such a Taiping Zhenjun (True Lord of Peace).

While one may have heard of him, the mere mention of the name "True Lord of Peace" doesn't actually have much of an impact. After all, the Jiazi year has ended; the sky hasn't collapsed, the earth hasn't caved in, and people still need to eat and drink, still need to farm, and still need to pay taxes. At least on the surface, everything seems the same.

But as news from Shu (Sichuan) arrived one by one, people began to notice something was amiss and started discussing it frequently. Du Tao had also heard that the renowned Duke of Anle had finally returned to his homeland and reunified Sichuan. He was now recognized as the True Lord of Peace by Qingcheng Mountain, supported by many former officials, and had once again become the King of Han. Moreover, he possessed the qualities that all previous Kings of Han should have: a broad mind, benevolence, and love for the people, and he only collected half the taxes of the Western Jin Dynasty.

Other things may not matter, but everyone understands the significance of half the taxes. Especially now, Xiangzhou's taxes have already doubled. This near fourfold disparity easily ignites discontent. Some displaced people gathered to discuss the matter; confused, fearful, and angry, they loudly exchanged their feelings, eventually creating a buzzing sound that, when combined, easily formed a single voice:
The refugees had had enough of living under someone else's roof; they wanted to return to their hometowns, to seek refuge with the King of Han, and to seek refuge with the true Lord of Peace!
Even Du Tao couldn't stop the noise. By the time he realized it, the whole of Liling was filled with such comments. He was frustrated to find that even though he had devoted himself to Liling for almost six years, he still couldn't satisfy everyone's yearning for the True Lord of Peace.

However, did Du Tao not yearn for it? Of course he did. But during the years the Han King's family settled in Luoyang, his ancestors never once inquired about their former master. Du Tao felt it was neither right nor reasonable to submit to the Han King. After careful consideration, he decided he didn't want to change allegiance again, so he adopted a passive and accepting attitude.

However, Xun Tiao, the governor of Xiangzhou, and his advisors were not so apprehensive; they were deeply fearful of such voices. After Zhang Fang crossed the river and infiltrated Xiangzhou, they were already worried about the displaced people causing unrest, but they were even less likely to accept the displaced people returning to Bashu. They understood that Zhang Fang's rebellion was like water without roots; if it were to flow into Bashu, it would become a raging torrent.

Moreover, as remnants of the Donghai King's faction who nearly killed the Han King, the conflict between the two was undoubtedly irreconcilable. Therefore, after discovering the connection between Shu and Xiangzhou, Xun Tiao strictly monitored the movements of the refugees, even neglecting Zhang Fang. He conducted a massive search for all the refugee leaders, and if he heard of any connection with Bashu, he would immediately arrest the troublemakers as rebels. If there was evidence, he would behead them and display their heads in public, along with their wives, children, and three generations of their families.

Xun Tiao was especially wary of Du Tao, who was popular among the displaced people. He not only reprimanded him severely but also stationed 20,000 troops in Xiangnan County, west of Liling County. In his excessive worry, he was no longer doubting but almost certain that Du Tao would rebel, and that he was already plotting a rebellion. He wanted to find a way to force Du Tao to show any signs of rebellion.

One afternoon in mid-June, Xun Tiao finally found a reason. While touring the counties, he saw many followers of the Celestial Masters sect worshipping the Heavenly Emperor. He thought of the Han King's title, Taiping Zhenjun, and couldn't help but feel disgusted. So he ordered all counties to shut down all Celestial Masters activities within Xiangzhou.

Upon hearing this, Du Tao was greatly alarmed and immediately submitted a memorial to Xun Tiao, expressing that it was absolutely unacceptable. Xun Tiao's military advisor, Feng Su, upon seeing the letter, immediately told Xun Tiao, "This is a sign of Du Tao's rebellion! Even someone like Du Tao is loyal to the Shu bandits; it shows that all refugees are worthy of being killed. An edict to exterminate refugees should be issued, and all refugees in Xiangzhou should be slaughtered!"
Xun Tiao was convinced of this without a doubt. He immediately dispatched the Changsha Inspector with 3,000 elite soldiers to Liling to arrest Du Tao and announced the matter to the counties and prefectures of Xiangzhou.

Du Tao was caught off guard. He was easily bound like a dumpling and dragged out of the county government like a dead dog. Then the inspector triumphantly stepped on Du Tao's head and recited Du Tao's crimes to the gathered crowd, and openly posted an order to exile him in front of the city gate.

At this moment, Du Tao heard a familiar buzzing sound again. Men, women, and children gathered together, their voices rising and falling, like a swarm of wasps. This buzzing sound soared from the county town into the sky, a prelude to a symphony of war. This was the sound of the refugees from Sichuan and Chongqing.

When County Commandant Wang Zhen tried to reason with the county soldiers and the inspector, the inspector gave an order, and the county soldiers fearlessly drew their swords. They believed that the mere sight of their swords would stop these men in their tracks and force them to kneel and wait for death.

But the refugees were different; they looked serious, gazing into the distance, seemingly oblivious to the swords and knives before them.

After an incense stick had burned for a while, bursts of anger shot from the eyes of men, women, and children. The buzzing sound had gradually disappeared, and the first sound in the silence was a hissing sound. It was the sound of burning flames. After a burnt smell, the notice posted by the inspector had been lit. Moreover, some people were setting off firecrackers as if it were a festival to celebrate.

The flames dispelled the fear in the hearts of the refugees. Wang Zhen was the first to draw his sword and rush forward. Then came the second person, the third person... After the vast crowd surged forward, the inspector and his soldiers collapsed even earlier. After the inspector was captured by Wang Zhen, the rest of them threw down their weapons and surrendered.

Then, Du Tao was untied by the refugees and surrounded by them in the center of the county government. He looked around and saw the similar desires in the refugees' eyes. He naturally understood his mission, and this time, he no longer resisted.

Three days after Xun Tiao issued the order to exile refugees, Du Tao, the magistrate of Liling, rebelled. He proclaimed himself the governor of Xiangzhou under the Han dynasty and gathered over 20,000 refugees from Liling. They suddenly marched westward to Hengyang Commandery. Xun Tiao's army was caught off guard and suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Du Tao's forces. Governor Xun Tiao abandoned the city and fled south to Guangzhou. Du Tao then occupied Hengyang Commandery, recruiting tens of thousands of refugees from the surrounding areas. He then sent Wang Zhen as an envoy to Chengdu, citing the story of Ma Chao's surrender to the Han dynasty, to request that Du Tao return to Shu Han. (End of Chapter)