Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 187 Xianxia Pass

The cool river water was carried up from the mountain stream and poured onto the scorching hot rocks heated by firewood.

Accompanied by a sizzling sound, the fiery red giant rock quickly returned to its grayish-white color in the misty heat.

After repeating this process several times, the huge rock burst open with a crackling sound.

If it's not completely broken yet, give it another good whack with the hammer.

Piling up firewood and burning stones, then pouring water on them to burst open, was an old method used in the Qin Dynasty to build five-foot roads on steep cliffs. Although slow, it was quite effective.

Fan Niangzi, the leader of the Unloading Ridge Sect, was entrusted with an important task in this mountain clearing operation as an expert.

Barbarians alone could not accomplish such a difficult task. A group of strongmen from the Unloading Ridge faction were also needed to oversee the technical aspects.

Zhu Wen had to admit that the role of skilled craftsmen in the trade was irreplaceable.

Lei Shuai Gao Pian once used gunpowder to carve the "Tianwei Path," a mountain canal connecting Lingnan and Jiaozhi, claiming that he had asked the gods of thunder and lightning for help in breaking the stone. It was this event that earned Gao Pian the title "Thunder of the Vast Sea."

Therefore, Zhu Wen also suggested using gunpowder to open up mountains.

The soldiers of the rebel army tried many times, consuming a large amount of gunpowder, but with little success.

Judging from the choices made regarding the detonation point and the amount of gunpowder used, these are all technical tasks that cannot be mastered by a group of laymen in a short period of time.

Gao Pian kept the specific methods he used to excavate the Tianwei Path Canal a secret. The common army, lacking the necessary craftsmen, naturally couldn't learn the ropes.

"I did my best," Zhu Wen said, using a strip of cloth to blindfold Lan Suting inside the carriage, so that Tian Jun could keep an eye on her.

There is too much suffering in the world, and for those who are too soft-hearted, it is better to see and hear less of it.

Zhu Wen was accustomed to dividing killing into necessary killing and senseless killing.

Heaven cherishes life. If gunpowder can be used to solve the problem, it can not only improve the efficiency of the rebel army, but also reduce the loss of life.

After numerous failed experiments, we had no choice but to rely on the wisdom of our ancestors.

Urged on by the barbed whips of the righteous soldiers, the barbarian tribesmen moved back and forth along the mountain path in an endless stream, digging soil, felling trees, and carrying water.

Their food consisted of millet porridge, which they had seized from the mountain strongholds of the barbarians.

The mountainous land where the Manliao lived was barren, and most of the fields could only grow barnyard grass. This plant, which was often removed by farmers as a weed in the rice fields, had a rough texture like gravel, but it was the staple food of the Manliao.

Eating such food makes it impossible to endure heavy physical labor. Every day, a considerable number of barbarians, hunched over and trembling as they dug in the soil, would suddenly foam at the mouth, collapse, and die quickly.

For the rebel army, cattle and horses were far more precious than the lives of these barbarians.

The rebel army's mobility advantage relies on oxen and horses. To exhaust the barbarians as much as possible, it's crucial to conserve the oxen and horses' energy, ensuring they are well-fed and watered.

Such actions inevitably lead to riots.

One day, more than a hundred barbarians banded together and used shovels to kill the Xieling Sect disciple who was overseeing the work. They shouted and yelled, their eyes filled with rage, intending to incite more of their people.

Some warriors understood the Man Liao language and knew they were saying: "You damned Han dogs! The imperial court has come, burning and killing our villages, and taking us as slaves. You bandits who claim to be acting on behalf of Heaven also use us for hard labor, and the roads are littered with the corpses of Liao children."

“O God Panhu, when will you bestow your divine grace and protect your people?”
The rebel forces were not unprepared for this. The rioting barbarians were quickly suppressed by the righteous army and their bodies were torn apart.

A military officer, holding a severed barbarian head on his spear, spat angrily, "Those who are not of our kind are sure to have different hearts! Why didn't these barbarians say such things when they were robbing and killing Han merchants!"

These words resonated with the soldiers, who joined in with endless cursing.

"That's right, those barbarians are human in appearance but beast in heart, fearing power but not virtue!"

“These barbarians are like beasts; they shouldn’t be treated as human beings.”

"The lives of barbarians are as worthless as ants, but the path we've carved out will bring blessings to future generations. All the gods and Buddhas see this clearly and will only remember our merits!"

Everyone chimed in, speaking with increasing conviction and righteous indignation.

Although the soldiers of the Grass Army had a much lower workload than the barbarians, they still did some work in order to meet the deadline. This gave the generals and soldiers even more confidence.

Wang Shenzhi, who sought refuge with the herdsmen to avoid being plundered by the barbarians, did not participate in the discussion.

He watched quietly as Fan Niangzi, the leader of the Xieling faction with a face full of scars, led a group of burly men to snatch children, even nursing infants, from the arms of emaciated barbarian women and throw them into the bottomless mountain ravine in front of a large group of barbarians.

Some of the women knelt and begged, some kowtowed until they bled, some cried out to heaven and earth, and some even jumped into the ravine. The strongmen of the Unloading Ridge remained unmoved, their hearts as hard as iron.

To manage these barbarians, Huang Chao established a system of collective punishment. If someone revolted, their entire family would be implicated.

At the same time, Huang Chao promoted a small group of people who were particularly hardworking and willing to help his army employ their own clansmen. He not only immediately rewarded them with gold and silk, but also promised to recruit them as righteous soldiers with the same treatment as the Han people. After conquering Lingnan, they would be given fertile land like all the other soldiers.

Faced with the rebel army's combination of kindness and coercion, the resentment in the barbarians' eyes turned into fear and submission, and their expressions became increasingly timid.

These once fierce mountain people completely lost their spirit when they were enslaved by violence.

Wang Shenzhi knew that the barbarian tribes would plunder Han people and also fight for them. He himself had even done business with the barbarian tribes.

However, differences in language, culture, and customs made trust between the Man and the Han people particularly fragile.

Humans need to categorize their fellow human beings into "us" and "them" to find a sense of security and belonging. The saying "Those who are not of our kind are bound to have different hearts" becomes quite accurate once it becomes a consensus among all parties.

Although the enemy of the Grass Army was mostly government troops who were also Han Chinese, the psychological burden of capturing barbarian tribesmen was much less than that of slaughtering and plundering Han Chinese civilians.

The various barbarian tribes usually fought each other, but when faced with the capture and forced labor of the herdsmen, they would unite in hatred against the enemy.

This is just a basic law governing the world. As an extremely intelligent young man, Wang Shenzhi felt there was no need for him to have any emotional fluctuations because of it.

"What insightful opinion does General Zhu have on this matter?"

Wang Shenzhi saw Zhu Wen walking over and asked him a question.

Zhu Wen pondered for a moment: "I'm wondering if future generations will say that we oppressed and harmed the barbarians, committing heinous crimes?"

“I have read the books of the Hundred Schools of Thought, and I have never seen any school that speaks such foolish words. Even Mr. Dongguo probably wouldn’t have said something so stupid.” Wang Shenzhi laughed and said, “However, the world is so big that anything is possible. Thousands of years from now, when human and material resources have greatly developed and everyone can eat their fill, it is not impossible that this kind of hypocritical and pedantic school of thought will become popular in the world.”

……

This road was originally based on a narrow path; widening some of the narrowest sections was enough for a large army to pass through.

Crossing towering mountains, the soldiers of the Grass Army left behind countless barbarian corpses. The land of Fujian unfolded like a scroll painting, and the city of Jianzhou came into view.

The soldiers had traveled over mountains and valleys, their clothes covered in dust and their exhaustion barely concealed, yet their eyes shone with excitement and exhilaration.

They were now very close to their destination in Lingnan. After resupplying in Fujian, where the government forces were weak, the righteous army would be able to march south and establish a truly stable base in a place beyond the reach of the imperial court.

The land there was abundant with fruits and vegetables, bustling with maritime trade, and magnificent cities. It was a promised land that Huang Chao had given to his soldiers who had been displaced for many years.

In Lingnan, people can establish homes and businesses, and this land will become the earliest paradise for the righteous army.

After stabilizing the situation for a period of time and accumulating strength, Huang Chao will use this as a base to launch a northern expedition, overthrow the corrupt court, and pacify the world!
Whether it was the short-term vision of starting a family and building a career, or the grand ambitions described by Huang Chao, both stirred the soldiers' blood.

Human joys and sorrows are not shared. Along the way, nearly half of the barbarian laborers and servants perished, their cries of grief echoing the roads. Yet the soldiers of the three armies were full of confidence and high morale.

“Master, the remaining barbarians are also resentful. Why don’t we?” Meng Kai made a throat-cutting gesture from the side.

"There's no need for that," Huang Chao said with his hands behind his back. He knew that his disciple was not a vicious person, but rather straightforward and did not care about the lives of these alien races.

Mencius once said, "The world is unified by those who do not delight in killing. Even if the soldiers kill too many barbarians, the old, weak, women and children, their bloodlust will increase towards the Han people."

Huang Chao was not a soft-hearted man, but with his rebel army about to march into Lingnan, it was precisely the time to win over the hearts and minds of the people. Slaughtering the remaining tens of thousands of barbarians would be time-consuming and laborious, and would not vent the anger of the Han people. Such a massacre would be unnecessary and might even embolden the soldiers' ferocity, ruining the military discipline that had been painstakingly established.

Meng Kai suddenly realized and nodded, saying, "Master is right."

He added, "Now that we've carved out this road, we need to give it a name."

Huang Chao stroked his beard, which had turned white due to Wang Xianzhi's death. He had dyed it black again with lotus seed ointment to show that he would not remain in grief forever.

According to Huang Chao, on the day he conquers Chang'an, he will show his white hair to the world, arrest all the officials and ministers, and hold a sacrifice for Wang Xianzhi in the Daming Palace.

Looking up, Huang Chao saw the sky ablaze with the colors of dawn, a scene of ethereal beauty. The rising sun, however, stirred within him a sense of grand ambition.

Although Cao Jun's expedition into Fujian was aimed at seizing their own living space, it did indeed benefit future generations.

"Let's call it Xianxia Pass!"

Huang Chao smiled slightly, his simple words revealing boundless heroism.

(End of this chapter)