Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 170 The Army Advances to Quzhou
After bypassing Hangzhou, the rebel army crossed the Qiantang River and entered eastern Zhejiang.

Cui Qiu, the military governor of eastern Zhejiang, had become a prisoner of the rebel army, which advanced unimpeded. Heading southwest from Yuezhou, the two prefectures of Quzhou and Wuzhou, located on a river valley plain between mountains, were sparsely populated and lacked natural defenses, making them easy to attack but difficult to defend. They were quickly captured.

Rice cultivation in Jiangdong yields two harvests a year, with a higher yield per mu than wheat or millet. After capturing the government granary, the rebel army seized a considerable amount of supplies, greatly alleviating the food shortage problem.

After winter set in, heavy snow blocked the mountains, making it difficult for the government troops to send out troops. Even Gao Pian, who had just been transferred to Zhenhai as military governor and succeeded Pei Qu, could only appease the generals in western Zhejiang and rebuild the military equipment in western Zhejiang. He could not continue to pursue and kill the bandit groups.

Cao Jun rarely gets a winter where he can rest properly.

The former governor of Quzhou had been executed by order of Huang Chao for his greed and tyranny. Junior Sister Duan Hongyan sat down in the governor's hall with great interest to hear the case, as if the bandit army intended to govern the area for a long time.

She wasn't very knowledgeable about criminal law, so she invited Cui Qiu, the military governor, to temporarily serve as her advisor. Originally, Cui Qiu was already a VIP of the rebel army after his surrender, but Huang Chao had always favored Duan Hongyan, so he let her do as she pleased.

A beautiful young woman dressed in the robes and hat of a prefect, sitting upright atop the yamen gate, was enough to stir up gossip among the people of Quzhou. The fact that Cui Jiedu, who once held great power in eastern Zhejiang, had humbled himself to serve as a lowly advisor under the young woman's command caused all the officials and public servants in the prefecture to tremble with fear and diligently uphold the law.

Duan Hongyan was exceptionally intelligent. Whenever she encountered something she didn't understand, she would carefully consult with Military Governor Cui Qiu. As a defeated and captured general, Cui Qiu dared not be as lazy and incompetent as he usually was. Of course, he answered all her questions without reservation.

In just over ten days, "Prefect Duan" had completely resolved all the backlog of cases in Quzhou that had accumulated over the past year. His judgments were all based on the principle of "suppressing the powerful and helping the poor and weak," which made the people extremely happy.

Duan Hongyan, with excess energy, had the clerk retrieve the old case files and meticulously examined them one by one. Upon review, they discovered numerous wrongful convictions and uncovered many instances of favoritism and corruption among officials in Quzhou.

The fierce and ruthless soldiers of Qingyu City were far more efficient at enforcing the law than the officials of the yamen. No matter if you were from a high-ranking family or a powerful gentry, once you were caught committing illegal acts, you were dragged to the main hall and subjected to the three strokes of the cane, and all you wanted was a quick death.

In an instant, Quzhou City was filled with carnage, and severed heads were hung high on the city walls. The people's support for the rebel army grew stronger day by day, and they called Duan Hongyan "the female righteous judge".

Only Lan Suting looked slightly worried: "Sister Duan executes all gentry and nobles who break the law, regardless of the severity of the crime, but tries to reduce the punishment of poor people. Isn't this the same as the cruel officials in history books?"

Zhu Wen gently stroked her nose with his finger and said affectionately, "Silly girl, do you really think we're going to stay here forever? We'll be leaving after this winter."

Lan Suting understood immediately, and a look of sudden realization appeared on her face.

Zhu Wen continued, “That’s just how the people are. They love to see those who were once high and mighty fall into the mud and be smashed to pieces. Today we killed Pei Qu and the officials and gentry of Quzhou, and they cheered. If I, Zhu Wen, am caught and killed by the government in the future, they will cheer just the same.”

"So-called cruel officials are merely a sword of judgment in the hands of the monarch. Power is greater than law, and law has no weight, which will inevitably lead to favoritism. However, the power of cruel officials is given by the monarch. They are used when they win the hearts of the people and abandoned when they lose the hearts of the people. It is nothing more than the mind of the emperor."

Lan Suting sighed softly, "The art of ruling an emperor belongs to the Legalist school of Shen Buhai, which I really dislike."

“Junior Sister’s approach is not a sustainable strategy,” Zhu Wen said. “In the short term, it may bring us a good reputation, and by killing officials and wealthy gentry, we can also confiscate a large sum of money. Master sees through this perfectly, which is why he allows her to do so.”

"What if it's a long-term solution?" Lan Suting asked, blinking her delicate eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.

"For long-term governance, such decisive measures are necessary from the outset. After that, it's just a matter of acting in accordance with the law and doing what needs to be done." In any case, Duan Hongyan's ruthless methods were aimed at suppressing the strong and helping the weak, which was much better than the corrupt officialdom in most parts of the Tang Dynasty at present.

Liu Yunzhang, a rare and virtuous minister in the court, had submitted a memorial during the reign of Emperor Yizong of Tang, pointing out nine potential crises in the country.

"Does Your Majesty know of the nine ways a nation can be destroyed? First, a nation is destroyed by constantly gathering troops. Second, a nation is destroyed by the rise of barbarians. Third, a nation is destroyed by the extravagance and usurpation of power. Fourth, a nation is destroyed by generals not attending court. Fifth, a nation is destroyed by the widespread construction of Buddhist temples. Sixth, a nation is destroyed by the open practice of bribery. Seventh, a nation is destroyed by the cruelty of local officials. Eighth, a nation is destroyed by unequal taxes and corvée labor. Ninth, a nation is destroyed by the large number of people receiving stipends while the number of people paying taxes is small."

When Emperor Yizong received the letter, he was not angry, but sighed for a long time. He praised the loyal advice, but could not do anything to remedy the situation.

After two hundred years of trials and tribulations, the Tang Dynasty was rotten to the core. The imperial machine was nothing more than an old, magnificent ship with a rusty and dilapidated interior, but before it truly sank, the people on board could sing, dance, and live a life of leisure.

The four generals of the Tang Dynasty fought in the south and north, but they were merely patching up the empire. To save this world, there was no other way than to break the old order and start anew.

Zhu Wen initially went to the Quzhou government office to help Duan Hongyan, but unlike her, he was not energetic and got bored after a few days, so he made an excuse to escape and return.

As winter deepens, the snow falls heavier and heavier, accumulating to waist-deep in the fields. Outdoors, the white breath exhaled from people's mouths quickly condenses into cold mist in the air.

Within the city, large amounts of snow had to be swept away every day before people could travel. The people who went out on the streets were wrapped in thick clothes, yet their faces were still red from the cold, and they shivered from time to time. Only a very few people wearing fur coats seemed less afraid of the cold.

But they all had joyful expressions on their faces.

After the rebel army arrived, they reduced taxes and executed a number of powerful families, local tyrants, and evil gentry. The lives of ordinary people visibly improved.

Some have privately raised concerns: Quzhou and Wuzhou cannot sustain an army of tens of thousands in the long term. The current benevolent policies of the common army rely on confiscating the treasury and the wealth of gentry. Once the rich are completely exploited, won't their taxes become heavier than those of the imperial court?

Immediately someone said that the rebel army was stationed here only for this winter, and they would naturally leave after the snow melted.

The man in front then said, "What if the court comes back and demands payment for the taxes we owe, or even accuses us of being traitors?"

Upon hearing this, everyone could only laugh helplessly.

Jiangdong was already a land of plenty, but in this desolate era, endless taxes and levies made life extremely difficult for the people, and the selling of children was a common occurrence.

In addition to the two taxes, various exorbitant levies and miscellaneous taxes amounted to several times the regular taxes. Coupled with the extortion by the state monopoly on salt and iron, the prices of salt and agricultural tools for ordinary people were extremely high.

For ordinary people, the Tang Dynasty at that time was a vast sea of ​​suffering. In short, it was a time of immense hardship for the common people!
The fact that the bandit army, which the court called thieves, occupied this place actually gave the people a breather.

As for the future, who has the mind to think about the future? If I can laugh today, I'll laugh!

(End of this chapter)