Sweep Yuan

Chapter 6: What was the purpose of the rebellion?

The emphasis is on "scholar" when referring to talented individuals; "talent" is merely an embellishment. Having talent is a bonus, but even if someone lacks talent, one must still make every effort to win them over.

It's not that reading a few Confucian classics makes one superior, but rather that in this era, anyone with money and leisure to read is already extraordinary.

Talented individuals control vast grassroots social resources and management networks; if rebels can gain their support, they can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Conversely, you will encounter obstacles everywhere.

"this?"

Sesame Li glanced at the newly recruited clerk Li and butcher Hu, his face somewhat embarrassed.

Xuzhou was, after all, the capital of this circuit, and there were many wealthy families in the city, so there was no shortage of talented people. However, after several days of hard work, he only managed to recruit these two people, which was really not up to par.

Shishan understood Sesame Li's expression and secretly sighed that he had thought too simply before.

Even local powerful figures with deep roots have encountered such difficulties in raising the banner of rebellion. If an outsider like him, with no connections, were to raise the banner, he would probably die without even knowing how!
It is worth mentioning that among the high-ranking members of the Red Turban Army in various regions, there were very few who were truly from the lower rungs of society, such as Shi Shan and Li Wu.

For example, Han Shantong's status as the leader of the White Lotus Cult was inherited.

The fact that the White Lotus Sect was able to gather 3,000 followers during the White Deer Manor uprising, and that even elites like Du Zundao and Liu Futong had to rely on Han Shantong's reputation, was inseparable from the profound accumulation of the White Lotus Sect over the years.

Liu Futong was an extremely wealthy man in Henan. In terms of wealth alone, he was comparable to Lu Junyi, the Jade Kirin in the Water Margin story. However, in terms of social influence, Lu Junyi was far inferior to Liu Futong.

Liu Futong's hometown, Zhugao Town, is where the Yi River and the Huai River meet. Thousands of sails race there year-round, and merchants and tax carts are piled high. The Yuan court appointed him as an inspector, which was in fact a tacit recognition of Liu Futong's local tyrant status in Zhugao Town.

The direct cause of their rebellion was that Jia Lu, the chief river defense commissioner, had excessively extorted money from Liu Futong in order to raise funds for river repairs, which seriously infringed upon the interests of the Liu family of Yingzhou.

Du Zundao was also a core figure in the Yingzhou Red Turban Army. In his early years, he studied at the Imperial Academy and wrote to the Privy Councilor, Mazartai, requesting the opening of military examinations. Because of his profound insights and clear reasoning, he won the favor of Mazartai and was recruited as a Privy Councilor.

It was his experience serving in the Privy Council that made Du Zundao see the political corruption of the Yuan Dynasty. He resolutely resigned from his post and returned to his hometown. In the end, he chose Han Shantong to plan a rebellion, which led to the "leadership" of the Yingzhou Red Turban Army.

On the other hand, the core members of the Red Turban Army in Xuzhou were basically local powerful clans.

Sesame Li is a local rich man, Zhao Junyong is the head of the village committee, and Peng Erlang is the head of the woodcutters in the south of Xiaoxian County.

In terms of core configuration alone, the Xuzhou Red Turban Army was far inferior to the Yingzhou Red Turban Army, and the progress of both sides after raising their flags in rebellion also conformed to their respective core configurations.

The repeated victories of the Yingzhou Red Turban Army against the government forces were certainly due to Liu Futong's outstanding military talent, but it was also a result of the deep-rooted influence of its leadership in the local area, which made them able to command widespread support.

In comparison, Sesame Li and his ilk were already far less prestigious, and they had also resorted to trickery to seize the city. It would be much more difficult for them to get the scholars of Xuzhou to submit to these "Xiao County guys".

However, since the Yuan Dynasty was able to push its ruling pillars like Liu Futong and Du Zundao to the opposite side, the scholars of Xuzhou would sooner or later take the path of rebellion—provided that Sesame Li could demonstrate that he was worth cooperating with.

At this point, Shishan could not possibly have such a deep understanding of the Red Turban Army, but he could roughly guess why Sesame Li hesitated.

"Marshal, if I may be so bold, the Mongols did not have any scholars to serve them when they unified the northern deserts. That's why we raised the banner of rebellion. We should not think about recruiting these arrogant and pedantic scholars."

"The Mongols are barbarians from a nomadic land, while we are Han Chinese. How can we be compared?"

It was General Liu who spoke, and Shi Shan secretly thought him naive. "Shi Tianze, Zhang Hongfan, and Liu Bingzhong are all Han Chinese, and the Yansheng Duke's family in Qufu are even more Han Chinese!"

Shi Tianze, Zhang Hongfan, and Liu Bingzhong were all great contributors to the destruction of the Song Dynasty, but the conduct of the Duke Yansheng's family, who knelt before the Jurchens and then the Mongols, is even more questionable.

"Hey--"

Sesame Li sighed, defusing General Liu's embarrassment, seemingly accepting reality.

"To be honest, Brother Shi, we've thought about these things before, but we don't see them as clearly as you do."

Shishan came here today not to hold a grudge against everyone, so he decided to stop while he was ahead.

"Marshal, generals, you are the most renowned heroes in the world, but you are blinded by your own involvement. As an observer, I have only seen the surface and have no real insight."

"Good! Those involved are often blinded by their own perspective; well said!"

Sesame Li quickly regained his fighting spirit and sincerely asked Shi Shan for advice:

"Brother Shi must have a solution to break this deadlock. Please enlighten me!"

Ishiyama also responded seriously and asked:
"May I ask if I may ask, Marshal and all the generals come from well-off families, not peasants who go hungry, so why do you rebel?"

To foolish men and women, Zhima Li could easily fool them with phrases like "a wise king will be born and the world will be at peace," but if he wanted Shishan to tell the truth, he had to show sincerity.

"Why? It's because the imperial court is going too far!"
Let's not talk about things from a long time ago, just the last two years.

Last year, the currency system changed, with two ingots equaling one ingot (the unit of currency exchange), which directly halved the money we had painstakingly saved. This year, the river repair project has resulted in additional donations, and the grain tax has been increased by 20% for no reason. The taxes for rat damage and other miscellaneous expenses have also increased to eight liters per shi (a unit of dry measure).

After the uprising in Yingzhou, the government troops suffered a series of defeats and desperately forced us to donate money and grain. They also levied exorbitant prices on horses, claiming it was a "purchase" (collected at a price set by the government). However, they only gave us ten ingots for a good horse. What's the difference between that and robbery?

If the Mongols were still fighting, we could grit our teeth and endure for another year or two. But now the Tartar army is exhausted, and hundreds of thousands of government troops have been besieging the Yingzhou rebels for months without success, only making the rebels stronger with each suppression.

"We all have two arms and one head, yet the people of Yingzhou have made a name for themselves. Xuzhou, after all, is the birthplace of Emperor Gaozu of Han, a place that has produced heroes since ancient times. Why can't we try our luck and achieve great wealth and status?!"

These words explained both the reason for the rebellion—the Tartar court had plundered too much, and if they did not rebel, they would lose their vested interests; and the promising prospects of the rebellion—the Tartar army was already weakened, and rebellion would likely bring them even greater wealth and power.

The leaders all nodded in agreement, saying, "That's exactly right," and "The Marshal is absolutely right." Some even looked forward to the future, saying, "Once we drive out the Tartars, the Marshal will become the emperor, and we will all become dukes, sharing the prosperity of the country for generations to come. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

It's normal for people to rebel because their own interests are harmed, but if they still focus on winning over elites of the same class after rebelling, ignoring the interests of the lower classes who have been misled and exploited, then there is a big problem. No wonder the Xuzhou Red Turban Army didn't go far.

However, one's position determines one's thinking. People like Sesame Li came from local powerful families, so their positions naturally aligned with the ruling class.

Shishan wouldn't make a fool of himself by talking to Sesame Li about mobilizing the lower classes, and instead asked about the general situation of the world.

"Marshal, how many heroes like you are there in various regions who dare to rebel against the imperial court?"

(End of this chapter)