Inside the Forbidden City, at Wenhua Hall.
Zhu Youjian stood there looking at the man before him, and the more he looked, the more pleased he became.
Sun Chuanting stood straight and calm. His bearing carried both the refinement of a scholar and the imposing aura of a seasoned general. Anyone who saw him would instinctively feel admiration.
Zhu Youjian spoke first.
"Sun Aiqing, the calamity caused by the bandit Chuang Wang, how do you believe it should be resolved?"
Sun Chuanting bowed slightly.
"Your Majesty, the reason Chuang Wang has grown so powerful is because corrupt officials have harmed the people for years. The court has lost the hearts of the common folk. In Shandong, the White Lotus sect has been active for a long time already, and resentment has been brewing among the populace."
He continued calmly.
"When Chuang Wang appeared and spread the children's rhyme 'When Chuang Wang arrives, no more taxes,' the people naturally flocked to him the moment they heard it."
Zhu Youjian sighed softly.
Sun Chuanting then said, "To defeat Chuang Wang, we must first break that rhyme."
Zhu Youjian looked puzzled.
"And how exactly do we break it?"
Sun Chuanting answered with confidence.
"Use public opinion to counter public opinion. Let the common people think carefully about those three words: 'no taxes.' Is such a thing truly possible?"
Zhu Youjian paused.
Then suddenly his eyes lit up.
"This plan... is brilliant!"
Sun Chuanting nodded.
"As long as the people understand that 'no taxes' is nothing more than a hypocritical lie, then I need only five thousand troops to crush the bandits completely."
Zhu Youjian was overjoyed.
"Excellent! Sun Aiqing, this matter will be entrusted entirely to you."
He raised his hand.
"I grant you the Imperial Sword. You may act with full authority."
---
Outside Jinan Prefecture.
Chuang Wang stood with his army stationed outside the towering city walls of Jinan.
His strength had recovered surprisingly quickly.
When he had fled Sichuan earlier, he had barely escaped with only the old Eight Units still under his command. But after adopting Li Yan's strategy, the number of followers had grown at a terrifying speed.
Peasants from all over the region joined as soon as they heard the news.
In a short time, his forces had swelled to eighty thousand men.
This time there were no Shanxi merchants supporting him, and no other bandit armies coordinating with him.
But it turned out that the support of the common people was far stronger than any merchants or fellow rebels.
Chuang Wang turned to Li Yan beside him.
"How much longer before we can take Jinan?"
Li Yan smiled calmly.
"Not long at all. Our children's rhyme has already spread throughout the city. The people are waiting for us to enter so they will no longer need to pay taxes."
He pointed toward the distant walls.
"We only need to wait for the emotions of the people to erupt. When that moment comes, they will open the city gates for us themselves."
"Jinan will fall without a fight."
Chuang Wang looked at him with deep admiration.
"Mr. Li, you are truly remarkable."
Just as the two were speaking, Liu Zongmin came running over at full speed.
"Brother Chuang Wang! Strategist Li! Big trouble!"
Chuang Wang frowned.
"What happened?"
Liu Zongmin said hurriedly,
"Our spies disguised as beggars inside Jinan have reported something strange. A group of scholars has appeared inside the city. They are giving lectures in the streets and markets, telling the people things that are harmful to us."
Li Yan raised an eyebrow.
"Harmful to us? What exactly are they saying?"
"They are saying the 'no taxes' promise is a lie."
Li Yan looked genuinely confused.
"A lie?"
He shook his head firmly.
"We have never intended to deceive anyone. When we say no taxes, we mean no taxes. There is no trick behind it."
His voice grew more passionate.
"What I want is a world where no one bullies the common people, where everyone can live happily."
Then he asked quickly,
"The people surely do not believe such nonsense, do they?"
Liu Zongmin looked slightly embarrassed.
"The people… seem to be wavering."
Li Yan froze.
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
They had already promised no taxes. Why would the people hesitate?
Could it be that the people actually enjoyed paying taxes?
Li Yan asked seriously,
"What exactly did those scholars say?"
Liu Zongmin scratched his head.
"Our spy is illiterate. He did not understand most of it. The report he brought back is a complete mess. I cannot figure out their argument."
Li Yan sighed.
"Then I must go into the city myself and find out."
Chuang Wang was startled.
"Mr. Li, that is too dangerous. If something happens to you, I would lose my right arm."
Li Yan shook his head.
"This matter must be understood clearly. Otherwise we cannot succeed."
He paused.
"No matter the risk, I must go."
Seeing his determination, Chuang Wang knew he could not stop him.
So his men prepared a respectable scholar's outfit for Li Yan.
Once dressed, he looked exactly like a young scholar traveling to the capital for the imperial examination.
Very much like Ning Caichen from A Chinese Ghost Story.
---
Early the next morning, Li Yan arrived at the gates of Jinan.
After paying the entrance tax, he quietly slipped into the city.
The moment he entered, he noticed a large crowd gathered at a street corner.
In the middle of the crowd stood a young scholar who looked no more than twenty years old. He held a folding fan and spoke confidently to the surrounding commoners.
"Everyone, please listen to me," the young man said loudly. "The bandits outside the city are deceiving you."
Li Yan listened carefully.
"When Chuang Wang arrives, no taxes. That rhyme is the greatest lie in the world."
The scholar continued.
"They say they will not collect taxes from you, but once they take power they will double and triple the taxes instead. Your lives will become even worse than they are now."
Only then did Li Yan learn the young man's name.
Liu Maopao.
He looked like someone who was very good with words.
Li Yan snorted inwardly.
Being eloquent meant nothing if the argument itself was nonsense.
Every false argument had weaknesses.
Breaking it would be easy.
He raised his hand and spoke like an ordinary citizen asking a question.
"Brother Liu, I have a question. May I ask it?"
Liu Maopao turned his gaze toward him.
"Of course. Please go ahead."
Li Yan asked calmly,
"How do you know Chuang Wang is lying? From what I can see, his army truly intends not to collect taxes from the people. The tens of thousands who have already joined him do not seem to be paying taxes at all."
He spread his hands.
"They are already doing it, yet you call it deception. Is that not simply baseless slander?"
The surrounding people immediately nodded.
"Yes!"
"That's right!"
"Chuang Wang's army has not taken even a grain from the people."
"They promised no taxes in the future too."
"Why do you say they are lying?"
Liu Maopao laughed.
He imitated Bai Yuan's usual style and pretentiously waved his fan.
"Since this brother has raised the question, then let us debate it properly."
He pointed his fan at Li Yan.
"I have a question in return."
"If the people do not pay taxes to Chuang Wang, then where will the army's pay come from?"
Li Yan smiled.
"That is simple. Take it from the rich landlords and gentry who exploit the people. Take it from the corrupt officials' treasuries."
He spoke with conviction.
"Use the wealth of the rich to support the poor. That is how the world can improve."
The common people immediately cheered.
"Exactly!"
"The landlords are all rich!"
"The rich people are bad anyway!"
"They got rich by oppressing us!"
"Just take their money to support the army. Why take taxes from us?"
Liu Maopao burst into laughter.
"That method works in the beginning."
He paused for effect.
"But the rich people in the world are not endless."
"Today you kill one landlord."
"Tomorrow you kill another."
"The day after that you kill another."
He leaned forward slightly.
"What happens when every landlord and wealthy family has been killed?"
Then he asked the question that made the crowd fall silent.
"When that day comes…"
"Who will feed your army?"