1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 294 Seizing the Tenancy in Hanyang
Stepping over the high threshold of the Prince's Mansion's main gate and entering the Northern Prince's Mansion, one can indeed see a stage set up in the first courtyard for opera performances.

Peng Gang not only watched plays and listened to operas by himself, but many high-ranking military and political officials of the Northern Palace, especially members of the Farmers' Association, gathered around him, some sitting and some standing, to watch plays and listen to operas.

This scene still surprised Zuo Zongtang quite a bit. Zuo Zongtang was slightly taken aback and said, "Your Highness has such refined taste."

"Mr. Zuo and Magistrate Guo have arrived at the perfect time. Please join me in listening to the opera." Peng Gang gestured to his men to place two armchairs beside him and invited Zuo Zongtang and Guo Kuntao to sit down.

"Thank you for the seat, Your Highness." Zuo Zongtang thanked Peng Gang for the seat and sat down readily to Peng Gang's left.

Guo Kuntao, looking worried, hesitated for a moment, thanked Peng Gang for offering him a seat, and reluctantly sat down in the armchair to Peng Gang's right.

Not long after they sat down, Guo Kuntao, who had been hesitant, finally mustered up the courage to advise Peng Gang: "Your Highness, the Qing army still has powerful soldiers in Hunan eyeing the three towns of Wuhan. There is a lot of opposition to Your Highness's 'Land to the Tiller' decree in Hanyang, and people are thinking of changing the situation. Right now, we are still facing internal and external troubles. Your Highness should listen to less opera and focus on military and political affairs."

“I know what’s going on in Hanyang. These plays I wrote are specifically for the farmers in Hanyang,” Peng Gang said to Wang Dalei beside him.

"Da Lei, tell Mr. Zuo and Magistrate Guo about what you've found out during your investigation in Hanyang these past few days."

Knowing yourself and the enemy is the only way to survive a hundred battles.

In the days leading up to the end of the land redistribution in Jiangxia, Peng Gang sent Wang Dalei to lead a land redistribution team to Hanyang on the other side of the river to conduct research and investigation in preparation for the subsequent land redistribution in Hanyang.

Of course, considering the personal safety of the members of the research team in Qingtian, Wang Dalei and his team mainly conducted their research in the relatively safe villages around the city of Hanyang Prefecture.

However, that was enough. During this period, Chinese landlords used similar methods to annex land and control villagers.

The situation in other areas of Hanyang was much the same as in the surrounding villages of the prefectural city.

Wang Dalei responded, briefly organized his thoughts, and summarized, "The gentry's methods of taming the villagers are mainly fourfold: First, they advocate the will of Heaven, having the elders speak daily about how wealth and status are predetermined by Heaven, and poverty and lowliness are self-evident, instilling a sense of gratitude. Even if the tenants and farmhands are hungry all year round, they will only say that their fate is lowly and dare not complain about the landlord."

Secondly, he would bestow small favors, lending out old grains during lean times and charging double the interest upon harvest. He would also instruct the villagers to kowtow in gratitude, claiming that the host or landlord had been merciful and saved their entire family's lives, thus gaining both fame and fortune.

Thirdly, they exploit clan rules, and anyone who becomes restless is reprimanded for violating clan regulations. They open the ancestral hall, inform the ancestors, and have all their relatives scorn them. Furthermore, they make all the children in the village school recite the proverb "When you drink water, remember its source" and "You should repay rented land." Over the years, this pervasive influence leads tenants to regard their landlords as the sun and moon, and even if they starve to death, they will still say that they are lazy!

Fourthly, they sow discord and divide among the tenant farmers, specifically targeting those who are quick-witted and resourceful. They might give them an extra two taels of grain or allow their children to work in the yard. By bestowing such small favors, they make the tenants feel superior to others and compete to inform on each other and show their loyalty.

Even if some people want to cause trouble, they will first fight amongst themselves. In this way, even if outsiders come to stir up trouble, they will be a disorganized mess and will not amount to anything.

Nowadays, the tenant farmers and laborers in Hanyang are more anxious than their employers when they hear words like "rent reduction" and "land redistribution." They worry that their employers will not rent land to them next year, leaving them with no means of livelihood.

They dared not approach us for in-depth conversations, fearing they would be suspected and scorned by their clansmen and fellow villagers.

Wang Dalei, a member of a collateral branch of the Wang family who once served as a lackey for Wang Dazuo, one of the three Wang brothers, in Zijing Mountain, had a lot of experience with how local gentry manipulated poor villagers.

There's nothing new under the sun. The methods the local gentry used to control the area were not much different from Wang Zuoxin's methods of controlling Zijing Mountain.

They simply use methods such as exorbitant land rents and usurious loans to create personal dependence and debt shackles, thereby achieving economic control.

They promoted fatalism, cultivated an image of benefactors, and obscured their exploitative nature. They made the tenant farmers and laborers believe that they were able to eat because the landlord was providing for them, and that they could not survive without the landlord, thus achieving ideological paralysis.

Finally, the patriarchal concept of "being of the same clan and lineage" was used to reconcile and cover up class contradictions, and clan sanctions were imposed on disobedient peasants, making it difficult for them to gain a foothold in the small society of the countryside where they lived their whole lives.

Wang Zuoxin initially used these methods to control the poor and collateral branches of the clan in Zijing Mountain.

Wang Dalei still clearly remembers that the seventh rule of their Wang family was that those who deceive their master and betray their faith would have their toes cut off and be removed from the family register, and would not be allowed to be buried in the ancestral grave after death.

Without the variable of God, Wang Zuoxin would most likely still be the local tyrant of Zijing Mountain.

"Does Your Highness intend to use drama to enlighten the poor villagers of Hanyang and help them understand the benefits of the 'Land to the Tiller' law?"

After hearing what Wang Dazuo said and watching a short segment of the play, Zuo Zongtang quickly understood Peng Gang's intention in arranging these dramas.

If the benefits of the "Land to the Tillers Act" were explained to the poor villagers of Hanyang in the usual way, it would indeed be difficult for them to listen.

Sending opera troupes to the countryside to perform and spread propaganda is indeed more effective than simply lecturing.

From this perspective, Peng Gang's activities of composing and listening to plays at the Prince's Mansion these past few days were not a sign of debauchery or indulgence.

"Your Highness, I misunderstood you," Guo Kuntao said to Peng Gang with a look of shame.

"It's alright. If there's something wrong, we'll correct it; if not, we'll take it as encouragement," Peng Gang said casually.

"I have heard these past few days that the gentry of Hanyang are harboring rebellious intentions and have committed treacherous acts. How does Your Highness intend to deal with them?" Guo Kuntao asked.

“Not all Hanyang gentry are bad gentry. There are many gentry who are caught up in the situation and oppose our land ownership law. Your Highness is opening an administrative school, which is exactly the time to need people. It is not appropriate to condemn them all.”

Guo Kuntao's attitude towards the local gentry in Hanyang was rather complex.

If this isn't addressed, the law that grants land to the tiller will be difficult to enforce.

If they dealt with everything, they worried that the schools they would open later wouldn't have enough students. After all, raising an illiterate person from scratch to a level of basic literacy and literacy would be too time-consuming. The Qing government wouldn't give them that much time.

“Even if I’m short-handed, I’d rather leave the positions vacant than use someone with a bad reputation to expose the wicked gentry. The villagers of Hanyang are not of one mind and can be easily sown apart and defeated one by one. The gentry of Hanyang are not necessarily of one mind either, and can also be divided and defeated one by one,” Peng Gang said in a deep voice.

"I have already spread the news that the imperial examinations will be held next year. What will happen if the gentry of Hanyang who support the principle of 'land to the tiller' are allowed to keep one qing (approximately 0.8 hectares) of medium-sized land per household?"

The major landlords in Hanyang had been largely eliminated during Peng Gang's garrisoning of Hanyang. The gentry now capable of organizing local militias to cause trouble were mainly small and medium-sized landlords.

The interests of middle landlords, small landlords, and rich peasants are not entirely aligned.

By drawing a boundary of one hectare, at least wealthy farmers would not oppose the policy of allowing farmers to own land in the Northern Palace.

Some small landowners with less land would also weigh whether it was worthwhile to follow the middle landowners and oppose the Northern Palace.

"The gentry of Hanyang will also tear each other apart." Zuo Zongtang quickly realized, "Does Your Highness intend to eliminate the middle-class households and preserve the lower-class households?"

“If the middle-class households are pragmatic and do not object to us implementing the land-to-farmers law in Hanyang and handing over their surplus land, I am willing to spare them a way to survive. It all depends on whether they know what's good for them or not,” Peng Gang said coldly.

In mid-December 1851, in Caidian, Hanyang.

The landlords of Caidian, led by Wang Shukun, successively seized their tenants and stopped renting land.

The tenant farmers of Caidian, whose land had been taken away, looked distressed and anxious.

Landlords and wealthy families had stored grain, and even if their fields were left uncultivated, they could still survive for several years, ensuring their families had enough to eat and wear. Even if things went badly, they could still spend money to buy grain to get by.

But these tenant farmers had almost no other source of income besides farming and receiving the surplus grain after paying rent.

If there's no land to farm for a year, the whole family will starve.

Having exhausted all other options, the tenant farmers and laborers of the Wang family in Caidian gathered in front of Wang Shukun, the landlord from Caidian who had led the seizure of their land, and demanded an explanation from him.

They faced about three hundred tenants and farmhands, either from the Wang family or other landlords in Caidian, who came to the Wang family mansion to demand an explanation.

Wang Shukun, who had about four hundred local militiamen protecting him, was not flustered at all.

With a confident mind, Wang Shukun opened the courtyard gate, and before the tenant farmers of Caidian could even ask why the Wang family had taken the lead in seizing their land and denying them, the long-term laborers of Caidian tenants, a way to make a living.

Wang Shukun was already in tears, pouring out his grievances to the Caidian tenant farmers in front of him, playing the emotional card: "If you were to ask around the area around Caidian, who would be as soft-hearted as our Wang family?"
"Wang Ergou, last year your son was seriously ill. Tell me honestly, didn't my Wang family lend you eight bushels of rice to help you through that difficult time? Even though interest is the rule, it was still an emergency, wasn't it? If it were any other family, they would have mortgaged your dilapidated house long ago!"

Wang Ergou quickly chimed in, "That's right! Master Wang is truly a living bodhisattva! Two years ago, Zhang Laosi from our village owed rent to the Liu family, and the Liu family broke his leg!"
Wang Shukun nodded slightly, quite satisfied with Wang Ergou's performance: "Put yourself in my shoes. You tenants farm my land, so naturally I have to be considerate. To put it bluntly, without us landlords leasing land to you, what would you do? This is the rule ordained by Heaven: master and servant get along well, and each accepts their fate."

Wang Ergou asked hesitantly, "We remember your kindness, sir. In previous years, we farmed your land well and never shortchanged you on rent. Why don't you let us farm your land this year?"

Wang Shukun waved his hand in anguish and said, "This has nothing to do with rent. Have you heard about the land clearing in Beiwang Jiangxia County?"

"I've heard some rumors, but what does this have to do with our Hanyang County?" Wang Ergou asked, feigning ignorance.

“It’s very important,” Wang Shukun explained.

"The Northern King is about to send a land-clearing team to clear the land in Hanyang! He'll turn the land in Hanyang into his royal land. All the land that our Wang family originally owned will be the Northern King's royal land. The Northern King wants to distribute his royal land to those Guangxi and Hunan people. How dare I take it upon myself to rent out the Northern King's land?"

If the Northern King were to hold us accountable, our Wang family would be unable to bear the consequences. We hope our fellow villagers will understand our predicament.

"After wreaking havoc on Jiangxia, the Northern King is now wreaking havoc on our Hanyang!"

"He talks about equal distribution of land, but he just gave all the land to the Guangxi and Hunan people who helped him conquer the country."

"That's right! Why should our Hubei land be divided between the Guangxi and Hunan people!"

"The Northern King is not giving us farmers a way to make a living; he's driving us Hanyang people to the brink of despair!"

“Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor! We have no land to cultivate, and it’s all the Northern King’s fault, not Master Wang’s. Since the Northern King refuses to give us a way out, we’re going to die anyway. Rather than waiting to die, why don’t we go to Wuchang and cause a ruckus? Maybe we can fight our way out and make him retract his order,” Wang Ergou urged.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wang Shukun expressed his willingness to go to Wuchang to request the Northern King to rescind his order and not implement the "land to the tiller" law in Hanyang. He promised that the Wang family would not only provide them with a dou and a half of grain to help them through their difficulties, but also hire a boat to take them to Wuchang, with all travel expenses borne by the Wang family.

After some hesitation, more than half of the tenants finally made up their minds and went to Wuchang to plead with the Northern King.

Once the trend of seizing tenants in Caidian was established, landlords in other parts of Hanyang followed suit, and the trend of seizing tenants quickly swept through the Hanyang area.

More and more tenant farmers and hired laborers, incited and led by the lackeys of landlords everywhere, raised slogans against the clearing of land and against the land-to-the-farmers law.

They either traveled by boat down the Han River or walked, attempting to reach Wuchang.

(End of this chapter)