Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 191 Rumors
"They're bandits!"

"Run away!"

"Huang Chao has killed eight million people; there's no escaping his fate. What should we do?"

"Our only chance of survival is to assist the government and hold our ground. No matter how ruthless these bandits are, they are still flesh and blood. Fujian is mountainous; surely these evil spirits can burn and kill all the cities and fortresses?"

When Zhu Wen led his troops along the mountain road from Jianzhou to Tingzhou, he saw the people fleeing in panic and discussing the situation.

In the eyes of these people, there was not only fear, but also intense hatred.

Some people, while fleeing, turned around and used their hunting bows to shoot arrows at the grass army, venting their anger.

Huang Chao killed eight million people; he was doomed. This rumor was short, fluent, and easy to spread.

Zhu Wen had received intelligence that Gao Yan, for his meritorious service in the Battle of Huxun against the rebel army, was promoted to Commander of the Zhenhai Army and given full authority to lead troops south to pursue and annihilate the rebel army.

Qian Liu, the military commander of Shijing Town, was recruited by Gao Yan to serve as the infantry commander under his command.

Zhu Wen immediately recognized who was behind this scheme of spreading rumors.

After Qian Liu's successful surprise attack on Shang Rang, he fabricated a story about "stationing troops for eight hundred li to scare away Huang Chao's army" to boost his own morale.

"We're not only having trouble buying food, but we can't even find anyone to ask for directions!" Huo Cun complained. "The government troops are clearly much more ruthless in plundering the people than we are, so how come this is happening?"

“Fujian doesn’t maintain a large army; it mainly relies on local militia for defense. These militia have deep ties with the local community and generally don’t cause trouble in the countryside like regular troops,” Zhu Wen said. “The people of Fujian are also fierce and aggressive. After being robbed of their cattle and grain several times, they quickly accumulated a great deal of resentment.”

The construction of the Xianxia Road into Fujian depleted the vast grain reserves that the Cao Army had collected in Quzhou and Wuzhou. Although the labor was mainly assigned to the local tribesmen, the Cao Army soldiers often had to do some work as well. The fatigue and stress accumulated after the project was completed, along with the lack of food, inevitably led to a decline in military discipline.

"So, these Fujianese haven't been harmed much by the government troops, so they're easily provoked." Huo Cun asked doubtfully, "If that's the case, why doesn't Qian Poliu fabricate strange sayings like 'Jupiter is in Wu, the advantage lies in defeating the bandits,' to incite the Fujianese to fight us to the death?"

"No matter how fierce the militia are, without organization and discipline, how can they be our match?" Zhu Wen said. "If Qian Liu incites them to fight us, he will only help the rebels. So, in addition to resentment, we must also instill some fear in them so that they will obediently stay in the fortress."

Huo Cun nodded in sudden realization.

Along the way, he also saw a large number of earthen buildings constructed from raw earth, sand, and bamboo strips amidst the towering mountains. A typical earthen building often has three or four floors and two or three hundred rooms, where families live together.

This is actually a remnant of the fortified village culture from the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties period. In the Central Plains, powerful families had abandoned the practice of building fortified villages in order to express their cooperation with the imperial court. However, in the isolated Fujian region, clans of all sizes would build sturdy houses, earthen buildings, and wooden fortresses, often choosing strategic locations that were easy to defend and difficult to attack.

If the people adopt a non-cooperative attitude, the peasant army will have to attack each fortified village one by one, which is extremely inefficient and results in heavy casualties in order to obtain limited food supplies.

Qian Liu's strategy, though seemingly simple, cleverly exploited Fujian's natural advantage of a scorched-earth policy. If this strategy couldn't be countered, it would undoubtedly cause the rebel army immense trouble!
"I am willing to lead my brothers to spread the word among the people that the Salt Commissioner loves the people and only kills corrupt officials, without harming good people!" Wang Shenzhi stepped forward and said.

Wang Shenzhi's ancestral home was in Fujian, and he could speak the Min dialect.

Zhu Wen, however, rejected his opinion: "With so few people in your caravan, how much influence can you possibly have? This kind of publicity is just a drop in the ocean."

"Besides, our army did kill some people in Jianzhou and other places before."

To force the barbarians into grueling labor, it's necessary to promote a group of proactive collaborators. Afterwards, incorporating them into the army is a necessary reward. However, these barbarians are untamed and difficult to control; once in the city, they inevitably become unruly.

The new recruits that Huang Chao brought to southern Zhejiang also found it difficult to quickly establish proper military discipline.

As was customary, Huang Chao would execute some people to appease the populace. However, having just endured the hardships of constructing the Xianxia Road, he couldn't punish too many, so he could only make an example of a few. Furthermore, the dead cannot be brought back to life, making such a decision unlikely to satisfy the people of Fujian, who had little experience of war.

Upon hearing this, the generals all wore expressions of distress.

Only Duan Hongyan remained calm and chuckled, "Junior Brother, are you saying you've already made your decision?"

Zhu Wen was a man of careful planning before acting; his rejection of Wang Shenzhi's opinion likely stemmed from having a better strategy.

Upon hearing this, the generals' worries turned to joy, and they said, "What brilliant plans do you all have? Tell us quickly."

“Qian Poliu has already gained the upper hand, and the rumors will surely spread quickly throughout Fujian. Instead of going against the rumors, we should go with the flow.”

"Go with the flow?" Tian Jun looked puzzled. "Does that mean we should confess to killing eight million people?"

Zhu Wen's eyes suddenly brightened: "Jun-mei, you're right."

Huo Cun exclaimed in surprise, "How can this be acknowledged? Even Bai Qi and Cao Cao couldn't possibly kill eight million people. This is a stain on their reputation for all time..."

"What if the people believe that those killed were people they hate?" Zhu Wen interrupted Huo Cun.

"When Buddha's disciple Maudgalyayana was trying to save his mother from hell, he inadvertently released eight million evil spirits. These evil spirits were reincarnated as noble families, corrupt officials, arrogant soldiers, and tyrannical generals, who harmed the people, causing them to suffer poverty and misery."

"Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, out of compassion for the suffering of all living beings, commanded the divine beast Di Ting to enter the world and take back the lives of eight million evil spirits. This is the origin of the saying, 'Eight million people have been killed, and they cannot escape the calamity.'"

Huo Cun asked, "Boss, your plan is to portray Salt Marshal as the reincarnation of the mythical beast Di Ting?"

Duan Hongyan covered her mouth and giggled: "Junior brother, you're really bold to talk about Master like that."

“Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is compassionate and would not kill people personally. Di Ting can distinguish all things in the world, discern good from evil, understand people’s hearts, and administer punishments.” Zhu Wen explained the more reasonable reason for the setting of Di Ting: “Now that we are fighting separately from our master, it will take time to send messages, so we can only act first and report later.”

Huang Chao is now leading the main force of his rebel army to attack Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian. Zhu Wen and Duan Hongyan's detachment is tasked with conquering Tingzhou and Zhangzhou.

Zhu Zhen quickly showed an expression of admiration: "What a brilliant plan! In this way, we've turned the tables and become the masters."

He paused for a moment, then said, "However, the people of Fujian don't seem to have much hatred for the government, so I'm worried that this plan might not be effective..."

“As long as there is resentment and hostility in their hearts, they will definitely take the bait.” Zhu Wen smiled and said, “Have the people of Fujian really never suffered from war? If so, who are those earthen buildings for? And where did their fierce and unruly nature come from?”

“Those militiamen came from various villages, and the villages were already killing each other. Although the people of Fujian were not harmed by the regular army, they also suffered greatly from armed conflicts and killings.”

“They will definitely think that the enemy villages are full of evil spirits and that they deserve to be killed. All those who were killed after the rebel army entered Fujian will be found to have a reason to die.”

“If this hatred is amplified, they will feel that all noble families, officials of all ranks, deserve to be killed.”

This practice was later known as awakening the apathetic masses.

But Zhu Wen knew that he was merely exploiting the inherent evil in human nature to create and amplify conflicts in order to undermine the other side's sense of shared hatred.

Human beings happen to need some of this evil, because kind people are easily bullied!
Zhu Wen turned to Cui Qiu, the former governor of eastern Zhejiang, who was standing to the side: "This time when we enter Fujian, we need to kill more members of the gentry. I hope you won't mind, Lord Cui?"

(End of this chapter)