Sweep Yuan

Chapter 179 The people's strength is exhausted and the military system is collapsing

[Summary] This chapter and the next chapter are mostly transitional plots, depicting from the perspective of Zhou Wendao and others the measures taken by the Great Yuan Dynasty to deal with the crisis of universal rebellion, as well as the reactions of the people.

……

Yidu Road, Zhongshu Province, Anqiu County.

Snapped!
A crisp, sharp crack of a whip suddenly shattered the sultry summer afternoon. The incessant chirping of insects and birds in the surrounding mountains and forests seemed to be instantly choked by this sudden violence, and there was a moment of deathly silence.

The sound of the whip cracked, carrying a chilling aftertaste, echoed far and wide, reaching the ears of Zhou Wendao, Hua Yun, and Bian Yuanheng, who had just rounded the foot of Zuoshan Mountain. The three paused, looking in the direction of the unpleasant sound.

In the distance, the official road twisted and swayed under the blazing sun, emitting a wave of heat. Several officials in faded black robes were driving about seventy or eighty ragged people along the scorching dirt road.

"You worthless wretch!"

The officer who had just wielded the whip trembled, sweat dripping down his greasy temples, and cursed:
"Once we reach Dadu, you and your descendants will all be subjects under the emperor's rule. This is a blessing earned over many lifetimes, yet you dawdle along the way. You shameless wretch!"

The man who had been whipped was a middle-aged farmer. Beneath his torn, coarse cloth shirt, a glaring red welt from the whipping was clearly visible. He was hunched over in pain, but dared not resist in the slightest. He could only raise his weary and fear-stricken face, pleading in a tearful voice:
"Officer, please have mercy! This sun is scorching! My wife is pregnant. Please, let us find some shade to catch our breath. We'll leave as soon as the sun begins to set and it gets a little cooler."

Beside him was a woman who was already showing signs of pregnancy. Her face was sallow, her lips were chapped, and she was sweating profusely. She was wiping the sweat from her forehead with one hand and holding her slightly protruding belly with the other, panting heavily as if she was about to collapse at any moment.

"Rest? Rest your mother's legs!"

The cursing officer grew increasingly impatient, as if the farmer's pleas were a challenge to his authority, and suddenly raised his whip, as if to strike again.

"You complain that you can't walk when it's dark, and you complain that you can't walk when it's hot? Do you want me to get you a cart and push your precious wife around?!"

The whip tip drew a sharp arc in the air, and just as it was about to fall, the official caught a glimpse of Zhou Wendao and his two companions walking steadily from behind the official road. His movements suddenly froze, and his raised right hand seemed to be pulled down by an invisible thread.

A sudden, inexplicable sense of unease gripped him, and the hairs on the back of his neck seemed to stand on end. Although the three men did not approach or show any hostility, his intuition told him that they were no ordinary people and should not be trifled with.

The officer's face twitched a few times, quickly forming a complex expression that mixed wariness and obsequiousness. His voice also suddenly lowered, becoming "earnest and earnest," as if he were speaking to the people being escorted, but also as if he were trying to excuse his earlier brutality:
"Well, alright, alright! You're lucky you've made it this far, you'll rest for a bit by that grove of trees up ahead!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the numb faces of the common people, and a barely perceptible sigh escaped his lips.

"Alas, you all, don't blame us. The Great Yuan is in trouble now! There are rebels everywhere, and Shandong might fall into chaos at any time. Sending you to Dadu is like leaving your hometown, but at least you'll be under the emperor's nose, where you can live a few days of peace, right?"
Unlike us poor folks, who have to stay here guarding this wretched place, living in constant fear, not even knowing when our heads will roll! When will this misery ever end?! Sigh!

The sigh drifted through the scorching air, sounding particularly hypocritical, yet carrying a hint of impending doom.

The Yuan Dynasty was already on the verge of collapse, but these low-level lackeys, like rats on a wrecked ship, had an exceptionally keen sense of smell and began to instinctively look for a way out and leave themselves a way out.

They remain ferocious jackals to unarmed civilians, tearing them apart at will; but once they sense real danger, facing those ruthless figures they cannot afford to offend, they immediately tuck their tails between their legs, put on a different face, and pretend to be a begging, stray dog.

Zhou Wendao, Hua Yun, and Bian Yuanheng silently witnessed this scene, but had no intention of "upholding justice".

Hua Yun's thick eyebrows were furrowed, and her cheeks were slightly puffed out, clearly suppressing her anger. Bian Yuanheng, on the other hand, remained as cold and aloof as ever, a faint hint of mockery playing at the corners of his lips. Zhou Wendao's eyes were deep and unreadable; he simply shook his head slightly and sighed inwardly.

Instead of traveling by safe cargo boats and detouring through Dengzhou to reach Yidu Road, they disembarked directly at Shihechang in Jiaozhou and hurried northwest along the official road. Along the way, they had already witnessed far too much of the darkness and corruption of the government and the misery of the common people.

How to manage it? Can we even manage it all? What's worse is that rashly intervening might cause trouble and delay the important task entrusted to us by the marshal.

Zhou Wendao was still dressed like a shrewd and wealthy merchant: he wore a Dongpo turban, a silk robe, and an exquisitely made Hangzhou silk vest. A warm jade pendant hung from the silk sash at his waist, and he habitually held a string of shiny sandalwood prayer beads in his hand. He had extraordinary taste and an air of dignity.

Although Bian Yuanheng was dressed as a servant in coarse blue clothes, his upright posture, the elegant demeanor he naturally exuded as he walked, and the noble air that could not be concealed between his brows all indicated that he was no ordinary servant.

Only Hua Yun had a dark complexion, truly resembling a follower. But his physique was far more robust than that of an ordinary person, with bulging muscles. A worn-out short brown coat tightly wrapped around his body, and a thick-backed machete was casually tucked into his waistband. Just standing there, he exuded a fierce aura that kept strangers at bay.

Even if these three people are silent when they walk together, it is enough to make anyone with a discerning eye feel uneasy.

Just as the officials and the people found some shady spots in the woods to sit down, Zhou Wendao and his two companions followed them in.

The officer who had been cursing earlier suddenly felt a jolt in his heart. He hurriedly stood up, forced a fawning smile onto his face, and snatched the bundle of straw that had just been tied from one of his men. He jogged over to the officer, bowing and scraping, and said:
"Honorable guest! Honorable guest, would you like to rest your feet here? The ground is filthy and dusty, please don't mind. This is a bundle of straw that I just tied up, it's very clean. Please sit down, please sit down!"

Seeing that the official was so "sensible," saving him a lot of trouble, Zhou Wendao took the bundle of straw, his gaze sweeping over the tired people beside him before finally settling on the official. With the amiable smile typical of merchants, he naturally followed up on the official's conversation and began to inquire:
"This officer..."

"You're too kind, you're too kind!"

Before Zhou Wendao could finish speaking, the official bowed even lower, almost touching the ground.

"My humble name is Xue Chao. If you don't mind, please call me by my nickname 'Chu Liu'!"

Having traveled extensively and encountered all sorts of people over the years, Zhou Wendao didn't stand on ceremony with Xue Chao. He noticed that these people had spontaneously gathered into more than a dozen small groups, mostly with their families, clearly indicating that they were migrating as a whole, which added to his sense of heaviness.

"Brother Chu Liu, I overheard you talking about sending these people to Dadu. What's the purpose?"

Xue Chao's eyes darted around, and instead of answering immediately, he forced a smile and cautiously probed:
"Where are you headed to make your fortune, sir?" He instinctively wanted to find out more about these three people. When traveling the world, especially in these chaotic times of war, knowing where others came from gives one peace of mind.

But as soon as he finished speaking, Hua Yun and Bian Yuanheng, who had been standing behind Zhou Wendao and casually glancing around, turned around almost simultaneously. Two cold, sharp, and emotionless gazes, like solid ice picks, instantly pierced Xue Chao's face.

Hua Yun's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and Xue Chao felt as if he were being locked onto by a hungry tiger, about to be torn to shreds at any moment. Bian Yuanheng's gaze, on the other hand, was calmer, yet it carried a condescending scrutiny and indifference, as if he were looking at an insignificant ant.

Xue Chao felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, his scalp tingled, his breath caught in his throat, and cold sweat seeped out from his forehead at a visible speed, forming large beads that rolled down his back, instantly soaking his clothes.

"This petty person deserves to die! This petty person is too talkative! This petty person deserves to die!"

Xue Chao raised his hand and slapped himself twice hard across the face. He then glanced at Zhou Wendao, who was still sitting calmly on the straw bundle, looking at him with a half-smile. Xue Chao dared not test him any further and quickly blurted out:

"Yes, Your Excellency, it is an order from above. They say the situation in the south is too dire, and I heard that even the grain transport has been cut off. The Prime Minister is worried that the grain transport will not be secured in the future, so he plans to establish military farms in Dadu and the surrounding areas."

We are acting on the orders of the county magistrate to send these selected people to Changyi to board ships and travel by sea to Dadu. I've heard... I've heard that recruitment is underway in various prefectures and counties, and it's quite a commotion! As for the exact number, I... I'm just a messenger, I really don't know!"

The agricultural base of Dadu Road was actually quite good, but as the heart of the Yuan Empire, it was home to too many non-productive nobles, bureaucrats, soldiers, and a large urban population, making it as dependent on grain transported from the south as its lifeblood. In order to reduce this dependence and prevent the capital from falling into dire straits if the grain transport were to be cut off, the Yuan court had organized large-scale military and civilian land reclamation on several occasions since the reign of Emperor Shizu Kublai Khan.

Now, the Xu Song regime is wreaking havoc in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and Fang Guozhen is lurking at sea, repeatedly burning grain ships. Grain supplies from Jiangnan cannot be relied upon in the short term. The Yuan court, unwilling to sit idly by, is almost inevitably forced to restart large-scale land reclamation.

Zhou Wendao didn't care much about this matter; he just habitually inquired about any intelligence that might affect the development of the Red Flag Battalion.

Bian Yuanheng came from a powerful family that dealt in salt production. He had a wide circle of friends and a broad range of interests, and he paid close attention to the Yuan court's regulations and systems.

He clearly remembered that during the reign of Kublai Khan, nearly 20,000 troops from eight divisions—the Left Guard, Right Guard, Central Guard, Vanguard, Rear Guard, Martial Guard, Loyal Guard, and the Left Wing Military Farming Command—were stationed to cultivate tens of thousands of hectares of land in the capital region. He frowned, looking at Xue Chao with a puzzled expression.
"In the past, the imperial court's several land reclamation projects in the capital region were mainly military settlements. This time, the recruitment of so many ordinary people, on a scale far exceeding previous ones, could it be that they intend to abandon military settlements and establish civilian settlements exclusively?"

Xue Chao was merely a lowly clerk in the county government, dealing with trivial cases and grain collection duties. How could he possibly know about such confidential matters of state and military importance involving central decision-making? He was taken aback by Bian Yuanheng's question and could only stammer and give an ambiguous answer:

"Well, this, I really don't know how the higher-ups decided. Perhaps, perhaps military settlements should also be established? But, the county can't manage matters concerning military households, so I'm not sure."

"Should we also establish military settlements?"

Bian Yuanheng and Zhou Wendao exchanged glances, both seeing a sudden surge of tension in each other's eyes. If the Marshal's relatives were also transferred to the military settlements in Dadu Road, placed under the direct surveillance and control of the Yuan court, the difficulty of bringing them out safely would increase a hundredfold.

The situation was urgent, and Zhou Wendao had no more time to mince words with these officials. He rose, gave Xue Chao a slight nod of "I'm sorry to have bothered you," and strode toward the main road. Hua Yun and Bian Yuanheng followed closely behind, turning and leaving as well.

"Chief Xue, these... these three people are really strange!" Watching Zhou Wendao and the other two quickly disappear into the distance, a young officer who had been cowering in the back, barely daring to breathe, finally dared to approach Xue Chao and whisper, his face still showing lingering fear.

"Indeed!" Another slightly older officer wiped away a cold sweat, saying with lingering fear, "The accents of these two speakers are clearly from different places. That nobleman's accent sounds like that of a southern barbarian."

"Hey! Now that you mention it, I think so too!"

Another officer perked up, as if he had discovered some incredible secret.

"That attendant in blue spoke in a refined manner, but his eyes, my goodness, were sharper than knives! And that big, dark guy, oh my god, his arms were thicker than my thighs. Just now, when he glared at me, my legs went numb! The three of them together, they just looked sinister!"

Once Zhou Wendao and his two companions had completely disappeared at the end of the official road, the group of officials, who had been suppressed for half a day, immediately began to chatter amongst themselves, showing off their pitiful knowledge and speculations, as if this could dispel the suffocating fear they had just experienced.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Xue Chao turned around abruptly, glaring fiercely at his subordinates. The red and swollen finger marks on his face still throbbed with pain, and the feeling of falling into an ice cave had left him with lingering fear.

"If you want to live a few more days, sew your mouths shut! Stop gossiping! Words can cause trouble, don't you understand?!"

He shouted sternly, his fierce gaze sweeping over every face until everyone fell silent, shrinking back and lowering their heads.

"Alright! You've rested enough, get up and get going! We have to get to the next station before dark. Anyone who dares to dawdle again, my whip doesn't discriminate!"

The shouts of officials and the suppressed sobs of the people rang out again from the edge of the woods. The procession continued its slow and heavy march toward its unknown fate through the scorching dust.

……

Zhou Wendao was extremely anxious. He left Xue Chao and the others, and the three of them sped off towards Yidu County, the seat of Yidu Road, in the west.

The official road was scorching hot under the blazing sun, and the crops in the fields on both sides of the road were wilted and drooping, clearly having not been properly tended for a long time. The villages along the way also appeared dilapidated and desolate, and occasionally a few sallow-faced, emaciated farmers could be seen, their eyes filled with numbness and wariness.

After rushing along the way and making careful inquiries, the three finally found the Dongzhangying garrison headquarters where Shi Shan's family lived.

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not occur—popular uprisings broke out in various places, and the Yuan court was in a state of chaos. For the military households who were responsible for maintaining local stability and providing soldiers and provisions, the Yuan court did not dare to mobilize them on a large scale for the time being, lest it incite even greater unrest.

The military household registration system of Dongzhangying still exists, and the marshal's family should still be here.

The military settlement was, after all, a relatively closed military organization. Outsiders were not prohibited from entering, but the three of them, Zhou Wendao and his companions, were so conspicuous that their abrupt entry into the settlement would easily attract the attention and scrutiny of those with ulterior motives.

Once their identities are exposed, failing to pick up the person will only alert the enemy and could even lead to their death.

This matter was no challenge for the meticulous Zhou Wendao. The three of them first returned to Yidu City, hired a large cart, and bought more than a hundred bolts of ordinary but fairly complete colors of miscellaneous cloth.

After making all the preparations, the group headed straight for the Dongzhangying Military Farm Thousand-Household Office. Upon arriving at the gate of the Thousand-Household Office, Zhou Wendao presented his name card, explaining that he was a cloth merchant and had a large quantity of cloth he wished to trade with the Thousand-Household Office.

The tasks of military settlements were extremely arduous. The officials in charge of the settlements were not only responsible for daily military training (which is now practically defunct), but also had to undertake important responsibilities such as assigning military households to serve, collecting equipment expenses ("Fengchunqian"), managing the household registration of military households (to prevent escape), and collecting tax grain from military households that exceeded the tax exemption limit.

The requisition of equipment, in particular, was a huge burden on the officials of the thousand-household garrison.

The imperial court stipulated that military households not only had to pay "Fengchunqian" as a special fund for the maintenance of military equipment, but also had to provide raw materials for the production of various types of armor and weapons according to a fixed quota: bamboo, wood, animal hides, animal sinews, feathers, cloth, etc.

In the past two years, the Yuan Dynasty has been engulfed in war, like a bloodless giant, repeatedly draining the resources of military households in various regions. Frequent conscription and combat have already squeezed out the meager savings accumulated by military households over the years.

The civil unrest in Jiangnan and Jiangbei not only failed to subside, but intensified, and the pressure on the imperial court to wage war grew like a snowball. Naturally, the exploitation of military households became more and more cruel and indiscriminate.

But the people's strength is exhausted, and no matter how much coercion and intimidation are used, no more money can be squeezed out.

Commander Yuan of Dongzhang Camp was extremely worried about this matter, so much so that he couldn't eat. With the deadline for payment approaching day by day, he hadn't even received a third of the required cloth. He felt like he was sitting on a volcano that could erupt at any moment.

Just at this critical moment, Zhou Wendao appeared like a timely rain, bringing a whole cartload of cloth.

Yuan Qianhu was overjoyed and no longer cared about the suspicious identity of the merchant. He personally went out to greet Zhou Wendao and invited him into his slightly dilapidated signing room, which also had a rugged military air about it.

Zhou Wendao was well-versed in the art of negotiation, remaining neither humble nor arrogant, and his proposed price was quite fair.

Eager to complete the mission, Commander Yuan paid part of the cost in cash. In order to make up the price difference and secure a long-term supply, he also gritted his teeth and provided some contraband controlled by the military.

Both sides got what they wanted, and it was a perfect match.

(End of this chapter)