Late Ming Dynasty: Starting with the overthrow of the county magistrate, a rebellion was launched to

"Oh no! Oh no! Another wave of unruly people has broken out among the poor; the Hubei and Hunan regions truly produce troublemakers!"

Just as Zhang Da was engrossed in his pleasures, in the signing room of the Huguang Governor's Office, the flickering candlelight illuminated the piles of reports and documents on the desk, creating an atmosphere of extreme oppression and unease.

The one who spoke these words with great concern was Song Yihe, the governor of Huguang. He clutched a dispatch sent by express courier, seemingly unable to believe it was true. He read it over and over again before finally summoning Huang Shu, the imperial inspector of Huguang, to complain in shock.

"The traitor Zhang Xian has rebelled! Now there's another traitor in Huguang named Zhang Da. Sigh, just from that name you can tell he's a lowly commoner. Shouldn't he just go back to farming? Damn it!"

Like Song Yihe, Huang Shu was also cursing in his heart, except that he was cursing Song Yihe.

After all, he was supposed to be getting intimate with his new concubine, but he was suddenly summoned here by Song Yihe. How could he not be annoyed?

Very well! The dignified Governor of Huguang has actually resorted to such vulgar and rude language, like a commoner. I'll remember this; you'd better not fall from grace in the future.

"Lord Song, there's no need to worry. What dynasty hasn't had people like this? He's just a petty thief; it's not worth worrying about and harming your health."

Huang Shu suppressed his dissatisfaction and spoke in an extremely perfunctory tone, intending to offer Song Yihe a few words of comfort before returning to his own residence to continue what he hadn't finished with his concubine.

In Huang Shu's view, this was all too common. After the military pay was implemented in June of this year, within a month, there were two or three incidents of mobs killing grain officials and burning down government offices in various prefectures and counties of Huguang.

But so what?

It's nothing more than local officials being excessively demanding, driving the people to desperation, leading to a protest—this is all too common. More often, however, it's the local gentry who deliberately escalate minor incidents, falsely accusing tenants who can't even afford food of profiting from the situation.

"A petty thief?" Song Yihe slammed the newspaper onto the table, pages fluttering as his voice suddenly rose. "That petty thief has taken Shaoyang!"

Huang Shu frowned suddenly, quickly picked up the newspaper and examined it closely, his eyes falling on the most striking line.

"Shaoyang County of Baoqing Prefecture was captured, Prefect Tao Gong and County Magistrate Wu Yingshao were taken prisoner, and the rebel Zhang Da occupied the city and defended it."

After reading it, Huang Shu seemed to think that the candlelight was affecting his eyesight, so he followed Song Yihe's example and read it several more times from the beginning.

At this moment, what he probably hoped for most was that the officials below him were simply saying this because they couldn't pay the grain tax...

"It's over...it's over. This big city of Shaoyang has actually fallen into the hands of the bandit leader."

Shaoyang County was small and remote, but crucially, it was an attached county of Baoqing Prefecture, with the prefectural and county governments sharing the same city! Taking Shaoyang County meant that all the silver and grain of Baoqing Prefecture would fall into the hands of thieves…

The consequences caused by Zhang Da were far more serious than those caused by Zhang Xianzhong's rebellion in Gucheng!

Moreover, if Zhang Da were to join forces with the bandits in the future, Baoqing Prefecture, being a crucial location in central Hunan, connecting Wuchang to the north and Sichuan to the west, would truly become their ancestral home.

Huang Shu's face turned ashen, and he launched into a tirade of profanities, filling the small room with vulgarities.

"Lord Huang, please calm down. If you want to keep our official hats, the most important thing is to quickly mobilize troops and quell this matter before the bandits gain a foothold!"

"It's easier said than done. Right now, Governor Yang has mobilized all the elite troops from Huguang to suppress the rebels in Yunyang and Fangxian. Wuchang and Changsha are left with only the old and weak from the garrisons and the soldiers from the prefectural and county camps. How can we quell the rebellion?"

Upon hearing this, Song Yihe slumped back into his chair, staring at the dim, flickering candlelight, as if he could already see the end of his official career.

"Alas, does that mean we have no choice but to urgently report this to Premier Xiong and Minister Yang and have them handle this matter?"

The two men looked at each other in silence. After years of being colleagues, this was the first time they felt like fellow sufferers in the same boat.

Just as they summoned their clerk to draft an urgent report and were deliberating over the wording, a low voice from the central army suddenly came from outside the yamen.

"Your Excellency, a grain tax convoy has arrived from the direction of Baoqing Prefecture. The escorts claim to be on orders from the magistrate of Shaoyang County to deliver the August grain tax to the governor's office. Accompanying them are family members who claim to be Prefect Tao of Baoqing Prefecture and Magistrate Wu of Shaoyang County. They request an audience with Your Excellency to report on the situation in Shaoyang County."

Song Yihe and Huang Shu exchanged another glance, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes, which quickly turned into a self-deprecating sneer.

It's fake, so fake it couldn't be more fake.

With Shaoyang County already occupied by bandits, what need is there to say what would become of Tao Gong and Wu Yingshao? And how could their families possibly survive?

Moreover, Shaoyang County is mountainous with little arable land. This uprising must have been caused by starving people flocking to the area. The men of Tao and Wu's families were likely killed or even eaten by the rioters, and the women's fate was even more tragic. In a few months, they might even be pregnant...

But... what is the point of these rebels sending people here?

Although the two said they didn't believe it, they still stopped writing and left the government office.

Before long, outside the governor's office, several grain carts lined up to be counted. Behind the convoy were several horse-drawn carriages, with people claiming to be the families of Tao Gong and Wu Yingshao, supporting the old and bringing the young, standing beside the carriages. Some shouted for revenge, while others wept bitterly, their clothes disheveled and in a sorry state.

Song Yihe and Huang Shu stood under the porch of the ceremonial gate, marveling at the sight.

It turned out she really was Tao Gong's legal wife! Through her confirmation, Wu Yingshao's family identity and the events that had occurred in the county were also confirmed, and judging from their appearance, they didn't seem to have suffered any serious harm.

At this moment, Song Yihe and Huang Shu exchanged another glance, this time their eyes simultaneously revealing the relief of having survived a near-death experience.

There's room for negotiation! There's definitely still a chance to salvage the situation!

"Let's draft another urgent report and talk to Zhang Da again; we can try to resolve this matter amicably."

If we can successfully appease Zhang Da, not only will we be able to keep our official positions, but it will even be a commendable achievement!

The two immediately led the Tao and Wu families into the government office. When they heard them say that Zhang Da had plotted rebellion, killed officials, occupied the city, and fabricated charges to frame others, Song Yihe and Huang Shu simply offered some reassurance and said nothing more.

If Zhang Dazhen is really as bad as you all say, how are you all still alive?

Just as they heard the family members getting emotional, the granary official, looking flustered, hurriedly went inside.

"My lords, the August grain tax of Baoqing Prefecture has been inspected. The total amount of autumn grain is 1,450 shi (a unit of dry measure), equivalent to 500 taels of silver, and has been deposited into the granary."

The two men wore expressions of disbelief, as if they were hearing for the first time that Zhang Da had rebelled.

"What? Say that again?"

"My lord! That rebel only handed over 1,450 shi of autumn grain and 500 taels of silver..."

boom!

With a loud crash, the inkstone on the table was slammed down on the warehouse official, spilling ink all over the room—on the report, the table, the chairs…

Paying such a small amount of grain is no different from Zhang Da personally writing a letter to denounce the Huguang Governor's Office as a beggar's hut.

Moreover, the granaries of Baoqing Prefecture and Shaoyang County contain more than tens of thousands of shi of grain and more than a thousand taels of silver. If they keep so much grain and silver, what else could they be doing but recruiting soldiers and plotting something wicked?

Damn traitors!

"No need for appeasement. Immediately write a letter and send it by fast horse to the Grand Commandant's headquarters, requesting Minister Yang to quickly dispatch troops back to suppress the rebels!"

Just as Song Yihe was about to respond, the warehouse clerk beside him, clutching his bleeding head, produced another bundle of cloth. Inside, he found a person's hair, a criminal record, and a petition.

"Please calm down, sir. The grain convoy also brought these items belonging to the rebel Zhang Da, saying they are meant to be presented to you."

Song Yihe snatched the report and unfolded it for a closer look. Huang Shu also came forward. After they finished reading it, they picked up the hair next to them, exchanged a glance, and finally picked up the book containing the incriminating document personally signed by Tao Gong and Wu Yingshao to read.

After a long while, the two pointed to the signature on the document of guilt and asked the families of Tao and Wu whether the contents were true.

The families of the two officials didn't even glance at the evidence, immediately denying it and insisting that all the allegations were fabricated by Zhang Da. They also tearfully accused Zhang Da of being ruthless, murdering officials, and seizing cities, resorting to any means necessary.

Song Yihe and Huang Shu both remained silent upon hearing this.

In the early Ming Dynasty, there were honest officials, and they believed in them;

In the mid-Ming Dynasty, there were upright officials like Hai Rui, whom they trusted.

But this was during the Chongzhen era... If they were truly honest officials, they wouldn't even be able to pay their annual grain taxes in full... Moreover, Tao Gong and Wu Yingshao were subordinates of the two officials, so they would never believe that Tao Gong and Wu Yingshao were completely incorruptible.

The important question isn't whether Tao and Wu embezzled, but how much they embezzled, whether it was so much that it forced Zhang Da to rebel, and whether Zhang Da felt fear and regret after the rebellion.

If it is, we can appease it temporarily to relieve the urgent needs of Hubei and Hunan; if it is the latter, we must eliminate it immediately and never allow it to grow stronger!

The two men examined Zhang Da's official letter several times, and finally, Song Yihe, unwilling to lose his official position so easily, spoke first.

"This large document shows the return of officials' families, payment of grain taxes, and the presentation of a pledge of allegiance with sincere words... It doesn't seem like the kind of person who would conspire with the rebels to commit treason."

"Judging from Lord Song's words, he seems to want to go with the flow and simply report it to him, offering him a temporary position as a county magistrate as a form of appeasement?"

"Absolutely not!" Song Yihe immediately shook his head in denial, his tone becoming resolute. "The imperial court has its own laws. If we do this, won't everyone in the prefectures and counties of Huguang dare to follow suit?"

Huang Shu nodded in agreement.

"He really shouldn't be the county magistrate. How about giving him some kind of county lieutenant? Once the new magistrate takes office, we can strip him of his military power and then seize the opportunity to take him down!"

"This... is not advisable either. Someone who can take over a county must be no ordinary person. Doing this might only force them to rebel."

"This won't work, that won't work, could it be that Lord Song really intends to report to the Commander-in-Chief to quell the rebellion?"

Huang Shu's face instantly darkened. This meant that if the matter didn't take any further turns, with such a major incident occurring within his jurisdiction, it was possible that before Zhang Da had even fully quelled the rebellion, Song and Huang's official careers would be over.

Silence fell again in the signing room. The candlelight flickered, and faces were solemn. After a long while, Huang Shu spoke for the last time.

"How about this, first send a military officer as an envoy with a proclamation from the governor's office to Shaoyang County to appease them, saying that the court has learned of the suffering of the people of Shaoyang County and will temporarily exempt them from part of their grain tax. Order Zhang Da to immediately disperse the rioters and surrender to the court so that past transgressions can be forgiven."

Song Yihe's eyes flashed, and he instantly understood, replying...

"We can use this opportunity to probe Zhang Da's true strength and keep an eye on him so that he doesn't recklessly use the grain tax from his mansion to expand his army. After we report this matter, whether the court decides to attack or appease, we have delayed the situation, which can be considered a meritorious service."

After all this, Song and Huang suffered no losses whatsoever; at most, an envoy would die...

It's good that he's dead, at least it makes the fight against the bandits more legitimate!