Sweep Yuan

Chapter 70 It's Easy to Break a City, But Difficult to Win People's Hearts

Looking in the direction the young boy was pointing, dozens of commoners were gathered in a semi-circle, listening to a minor official read a notice from the wall.

The city fell at 9:00 AM yesterday, but by noon it had returned to calm. There was no disturbance in the evening, and this morning so many civilians came out of their homes. How did the bandits manage to calm the hearts of the people in the city in such a short time?

Liu Xingge begged the bandit soldiers escorting him, and, puzzled, squeezed into the crowd to see the contents of the notice.

Notice to the People
I. Hongxian County has been liberated, and the fighting has ceased.

The county magistrate Gao Jingyi, who led the resistance against the rebel army, was killed at the west city wall. This is hereby announced to all soldiers defending the city:

Those who surrender their weapons and return home will not be held accountable for any previous killings or injuries to the righteous army. A surrender point has been set up in the West Market. Those who surrender their weapons within two days will receive an additional half a bushel of coarse rice. Those who fail to surrender their weapons within the specified time and are caught will be punished with one month of hard labor.

2. Twelve people who took advantage of the chaos to loot were captured and killed, and their heads have been hung at the four gates.

From this day forward, any private feuds, false accusations, or cases of property seizure committed by soldiers or civilians may be brought to the City God Temple with evidence to beat the "Petition Drum." Commander Shi and the elders of Hong County will jointly try the three cases. Those found guilty of looting, regardless of their military or civilian status, will be beheaded and their heads displayed publicly.

Third, all the backlog of criminal cases in the county government were burned in the flames of war.

When the yamen reopens three days later, anyone who has been wronged may bring their petition and strike the drum. No fee will be charged for retrials of old cases, and only one coin will be charged for each petition for writing and ink in new cases.

4. The shop signs shall be posted and the shop shall be open for business immediately.

For three months, the rebel army will not levy taxes on gates or tolls, and will be paid for military supplies such as salt, grain, and cloth at market prices.

A special "fair scale" was set up in the East and West markets. Anyone who engaged in forced buying or selling, regardless of whether they were military or civilian, would be punished and fined 30% of the value of the goods to compensate the victim.

Fifth, recruit able-bodied men to repair city defenses and clear silt and filth.

Each person receives twelve cash and one liter and two measures of rice daily.
Those who repair the city defenses will receive an additional six qian of vegetable oil (which can be exchanged for grain), and those skilled in construction will be compensated separately.

Every day at dawn, each neighborhood settles accounts in cash and grain in front of the local temple. The elderly, weak, women, and children are also paid by the basketful for picking up rubble.

6. At 3:45 a.m. on the 13th of October, Darughachi Linchihudu and six of his followers were executed by dismemberment outside the West Gate.

All the property of Mongol and Semu gentry will be confiscated. Anyone who reports and exposes the concealment of Hu barbarian wealth will be rewarded with elevenths of the value of the stolen goods. Anyone who knows about such matters but fails to report them will be treated as an accomplice.

The notice on the right was issued to all people of all kinds.
October 9th, the eleventh year of the Zhizheng era

After reading the public notice, Liu Xingge was secretly alarmed.

No wonder the bandit chief didn't harm his own family after kidnapping them, and even after capturing Hong County, he was able to strictly control his soldiers to prevent them from harming civilians. This bandit is indeed no ordinary person, and his plans are far-reaching!

Despite his initial regret, Liu Xingge quickly came to terms with it.

So what if they are extraordinary people? Bandits are still bandits. Their stubborn resistance against the imperial court was doomed from the start.

Besides, I have been out of office for many years and have finally escaped the den of thieves. There is no need for me to wade into this murky water again.

He shook his head self-deprecatingly, left the crowd, and prepared to leave the city with his family.

Hong County had only recently been captured and was on the front line of the battle between the government and the rebels. Facing the possibility of a counterattack by the government troops at any time, the rebels were still very strict in checking people and goods entering and leaving the city.

Although Liu Xingge was escorted by bandits when he left the city, they still checked his credentials.

During this time, several vegetable vendors were stopped by the bandits outside the city. At first, they were a little uneasy, but after receiving full payment for their vegetables, they immediately beamed with joy, left the vegetables, and left happily.

Liu Xingge led his family out of the city, and turning around, he saw three bloody heads hanging on the city gate. One of them, a man wearing a red turban, was a bandit soldier, seemingly a minor leader; Liu Xingge vaguely remembered him. After walking about half a mile and confirming that there were no pursuers behind them, had the bandits really let his family go? Liu Xingge felt a strange sense of loss.

Looking back at the city walls of Hong County, Liu Xingge had a strange thought for no reason, which he could no longer suppress.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm heading back to the city! I want to see the bandit chieftain!"

……

"You are Shishan?"

Strangely enough, although Liu Xingge had been captured for so long, Shishan had no intention of recruiting him and was busy with military affairs, so he never saw him once from beginning to end.

As a result, Liu Xingge still didn't know what the bandit leader who had captured him looked like. So when he saw Shishan, who was reviewing documents in the government office and whose demeanor showed no signs of banditry, he blurted out the question.

Shishan hadn't expected their first meeting to start like this. He put down his brush, stood up, and said with amusement:
"What's the point of impersonating a traitor whose life is hanging by a thread?"

Liu Xingge was a well-known figure in Lingbi County. It was not difficult to find out his basic information. He passed the imperial examination in the first year of the Zhishun era. Although he did not serve as an official for long, he had a good reputation and was said to have done a lot of practical things.

Shi Shan had no fondness for scholars who served the Yuan Dynasty, but in this era, to achieve great things, one had to rely on their strength. Seeing that Liu Xingge's attitude was relatively good, he tentatively asked:

"Master Liu has returned. Could it be that he has seen through the general trend of the world and wants to join this traitorous leader?"

Liu Xingge raised his head, cupped his hands, and bowed to the north, saying with a disdainful expression:
"I have received the emperor's favor for generations; how could I possibly stoop to serve a traitor!"

I give you face!

Shishan got angry when he saw the old man's righteous and awe-inspiring appearance, and retorted:
"Whose favor have we received from this country?"

"Dayuan!"

Shishan almost laughed out of anger, and said sarcastically:
"As a Han Chinese, serving a foreign emperor is not a disgrace but an honor. Master Liu is well-versed in Confucian classics. Does he understand the distinction between Chinese and barbarians?"

Liu Xingge, however, showed no sign of being embarrassed. He straightened his back and responded confidently:
"My ancestors lived in Yanjing for generations and had fought and bled for our clan's emperor. However, since the An Lushan Rebellion, our family has been in a state of displacement for more than two hundred years, all thanks to our clan's emperor."

It wasn't until Emperor Gaozu of the Later Jin Dynasty ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun to Liao that the Liu family finally enjoyed some peace. For nearly four hundred years thereafter, the Liu family never ate a single grain of Han millet, only hearing of the bloodshed and violence brought by their own people, and instead had to seek protection from foreign tribes.

The distinction between the civilized and the barbarian lies in virtue, not in bloodshed! I, an old man, have achieved much in my studies, and have governed the country with a clear conscience!

Old Liu spoke with great enthusiasm, and his words, spoken without the slightest hint of apprehension, quickly calmed Shi Shan down.

The Red Turban Army's mission was to expel the invaders and restore the Han dynasty. This banner could not be changed for the time being; the cause of national righteousness had to be upheld.

But before trying to preach about righteousness to the ignorant masses, one must ensure they are well-fed and well-paid. And one should not use "national righteousness" that does not conform to current values ​​to pressure scholars like Liu Xingge who are full of twisted ideas.

After all, apart from the "Southern People" (Han people under the original Southern Song Dynasty) who only served as "Yuan People" for less than a hundred years, the people in other places had been ruled by foreign ethnic groups for at least ten generations. Wouldn't it be pointless to talk to them about the distinction between Chinese and barbarians?

If you really want to count, many generations of Shi San's ancestors were not Han officials.

Shishan realized that his emotions had been affected by his memories from the future, and he was actually getting entangled in this issue with people from his own time. He was speechless for a moment.

Seeing that the bandit leader seemed to be intimidated by his righteous aura, Liu Xingge immediately perked up and said:
"As a traitor, you held my family captive for several days without harming them, and even sent a physician to treat my young son. You clearly have ulterior motives. Why, after breaking through Hong County, when you are in need of manpower, do you want to let me go?"

(End of this chapter)