Sweep Yuan

Chapter 14 The Calamity of Clans in a Chaotic World

With just a few words, Shi Shan turned his back to Sun Xun, whom he had just met. Sun Xun gripped the hilt of his sword tighter and stared intently at the gatekeeper, afraid of betraying the trust that Deputy Commander Shi had placed in him.

The thieves handed over their weapons as requested, but only one person. The gatekeeper didn't know what to do and could only turn his gaze to his village head.

"Big Eyes, step back!"

The old man frowned slightly, dismissed the gatekeeper Chen Daye, and bowed to Shishan, saying:
"Young general, your courage is truly admirable!"

The old man leaning on the red lacquered horse-head cane should be Chen Cheng's father—the head of Chengezhuang Village, but Shishan still asked him deliberately.

"Are you the head of Chengezhuang Village?"

"I am Chen Yingqi, and I am the head of this village!"

Shishan casually glanced at everyone, but what he said was terrifying.

"Do you know that you have committed a heinous crime that could lead to the extermination of your entire clan?"

"what!"

Zhuang Ding, being short-sighted, was immediately startled by Shi Shan's words and let out a scream.

Chief Chen, a shrewd and experienced man, knew that his clansmen had fallen for the petty thief's rhetoric. He immediately raised his crutch and shouted:

"What kind of alarming and disorderly behavior is this!"

Enraged, the servants turned their anger towards Shishan and Sun Xun to show that they were not intimidated by their words. Shishan, however, remained calm and composed, looking at Chen Yingqi and his son with ease.

The thieves remained calm and composed, which only made the clansmen seem less respectable. Chen Yingqi felt somewhat embarrassed. It was clear that relying on numbers to intimidate the thieves was useless, so he had no choice but to back down.

"This is not the place to talk. Would the young general like to come inside with me for a more detailed discussion?"

Shi Shan deliberately spoke threatening words to intimidate the villagers in order to send them away so he could speak with Chief Chen face to face. He immediately raised his hand and said:

"I'd like to trouble the old president to lead the way."

Chen Yingqi's house was located on the west side of the village. The courtyard was not large, with white walls and blue tiles. It was not luxurious, but the layout of the outer courtyard and inner hall, with locust trees in front and pomegranate trees in the back, was quite sophisticated.

Shi Shan turned his head and instructed Sun Xun:

"The old president is a refined man. If you're carrying a knife, don't come in, lest you frighten his family."

"Ok!"

Sun Xun silently agreed and stood outside the courtyard gate, leaning on his sword.

Chen Yingqi silently observed Shi Shan's words and actions, becoming increasingly curious about this extraordinary bandit leader.

The group entered the house, took their seats according to their status as host and guests, and were served tea and snacks. Chen Yingqi, as the host, then started the conversation.

"The Chen family has always been law-abiding and has never offended any heroes in the martial arts world. The other day, when King Li of the city sent troops to collect grain, I readily agreed. May I ask, young general, what makes you think of the calamity of your family's extermination?"

Shishan was examining the landscape and figure screen in the hall when he casually asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"The old head of the cooperative is a man who values ​​both farming and scholarship, destined for great things. Why would he place such a mind-numbing contraption in the main room?"

Confucianism is a worldly philosophy; Confucian scholars diligently study poetry and books in order to "sell their wares to the emperor."

As a last resort, writing books and establishing theories is the only option.

Only then comes teaching and nurturing students.

Only scholars who have suffered various setbacks and achieved nothing would turn to nature to express their "noble character" of not being bound by worldly gains and losses. Shi Shan's question was a slap in the face. Chen Yingqi couldn't very well tell the truth that the Chen family had tried very hard, but only because no one in three generations had become an official to serve the court, they were forced to live in this small village and suffer the humiliation of a petty thief like him, could he?

"Alas, the imperial court has repeatedly changed the imperial examination system, making it really difficult for us Confucian scholars."

Shishan, however, showed no regard for the old man's feelings and continued to reopen old wounds.

"Old leader, there's no need to hide anything from me, a traitor. Just tell me straight, the court is corrupt. Even if a Han Chinese becomes an official through their own abilities, they still have to suffer the humiliation of the Tartars. Do you think I can go and complain to the authorities?"

"you--"

Chen Cheng's face flushed red instantly, and he was about to argue with Shi Shan when his father stopped him.

"Young general, your speech is extraordinary; you are no ordinary person. You must know the general trend of the world. Why did you join the rebels?"

"The state of the world? To be honest, old president, I once served the court and joined the army in Xuzhou. It was through this journey that I realized the Yuan Dynasty was terminally ill and beyond saving."

The Yuan Dynasty did not have a good reputation in later generations, but at that time it was the only entity worthy of loyalty for scholars.

Unfortunately, the object of his loyalty began its decline far too early.

Starting from the Nanpo Incident in the third year of the Zhizhi reign (1333 AD), the Yuan Dynasty changed six emperors in a short period of ten years due to political upheavals and various unexpected events.

Beneath a series of coups and conspiracies lay numerous irreconcilable contradictions, one of which was the struggle between the "Sinicization" and "Mongolization" approaches.

The result of the struggle was that a large number of Mongol and Han officials lost their heads due to the coup, and many Confucian scholars also grew old and gray amidst the aftershocks of the upper-level struggles of the court repeatedly opening and closing the imperial examinations.

The frequent coups in the imperial court severely damaged its prestige and gradually caused it to lose its already weak control over local areas.

As the population of various regions increased year by year, the tax revenue sent to the capital decreased, forcing the court to find ways to increase taxes, even resorting to methods such as currency reform and river repair levies to directly plunder the people's wealth.

In fact, increasing taxes did not harm large and powerful households much, as they had many ways to pass the burden on to smaller households and take the opportunity to expand their empires by acquiring large tracts of land.

Chen Yingqi lacked strategic vision to understand the world situation, but his years of studying had not been in vain.

In the past, the imperial court increased taxes and imposed corvée labor mainly to exploit the lower-class people.

However, as the imperial treasury dwindled, the meager profits from the common people had been completely squeezed dry, no longer enough to fill the ever-growing financial hole, leaving no choice but to expand the scope of exploitation.

In recent years, they have been changing currency, forcing donations for river repairs, and confiscating horses and grain. They have been blatantly exploiting the wealthy and powerful. Isn't this digging their own grave?
Take, for example, Liu Futong, a wealthy man from Yingzhou, who rebelled because he was indignant at the excessive extortion of Jia Lu, the governor of the Yellow River. And take, for example, Li Er from Xiao County. If the court hadn't plundered his family fortune so much, how could he have made up his mind to rebel?

With the court acting so recklessly, is the Great Yuan Dynasty really about to descend into chaos?

Although Chen Yingqi was insignificant in Xuzhou, he was a local tyrant in Chengezhuang. He was naturally afraid of any social unrest, but the chaos in the world was something that his family and clan could not prevent.

Caught in the turmoil, what should Chen do?

"Father!"

Seeing that his father was bewildered by Shi Shan's words, Chen Cheng quickly called out to him.

Chen Yingqi came to his senses and cursed himself for being senile. What was the point of talking about the big picture with this scoundrel? He immediately put on a stern face and ordered him to leave.

"I'm just an old man with my neck buried in the yellow earth. I won't live to see the rise and fall of dynasties. I only want to protect the Chen family. If all you can do is try to disturb my peace of mind with your words, please leave."

Shishan got up and left, but just as he was about to walk out of the lobby, he said something seemingly casually.

"You two didn't even know how to cherish the opportunity that was delivered to your door. I hope that when the Chen family is destroyed, you won't regret it!"

"Wait! You all—get out."

(End of this chapter)