The Real Rebels Are the Ones Who Owe My Army Its Pay
"Report to His Majesty! Wonderful news! Wonderful news!"
A young eunuch stumbled into the imperial study, nearly tripping over his own robes. He wailed excitedly as he rushed toward the desk.
"Minister of War Sun Chuanting has defeated the rebel Chuang Wang at Zibo. One hundred thousand rebel troops have been completely annihilated!"
The man sitting behind the desk, Zhu Youjian, shot to his feet.
"Is this true?"
At that moment his mood rose like a rocket blasting toward the heavens.
"Absolutely true!" the eunuch replied breathlessly. "A secret report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrived at the same time as Sun Chuanting's official dispatch. There is no mistake."
Zhu Youjian felt so delighted that for a moment he did not even know what to say.
Chuang Wang's forces were the last major bandit army in the realm.
With them destroyed, the interior of the empire was finally peaceful.
Only the external threat remained, the Jianzhou tribes in the northeast still stirring trouble.
He laughed loudly.
"Excellent! Excellent! As expected, I am the emperor destined to revive the Great Ming. A ruler of a prosperous age!"
Just then another eunuch slipped into the room.
It was Gao Qiqian.
His face looked full of grievance.
"Your Majesty," he said pitifully, "please do not let your joy make you forget what Sun Chuanting's men did to this old servant. They beat me and showed no respect for Your Majesty's authority."
Zhu Youjian nodded slowly.
"Do not worry."
"The humiliation you suffered will be avenged."
---
Outside Jinan City, nearly one hundred thousand captured rebels were being held under guard.
When Chuang Wang's army collapsed, the rebels scattered in every direction.
Li Yan relied on his personal reputation and shouted desperately on the battlefield. His voice convinced several tens of thousands to remain behind and surrender on the spot.
Meanwhile Sun Chuanting dispatched troops to intercept and pursue the rest.
The situation of the realm had changed in recent years. Bandit armies no longer roamed everywhere as they once had.
So the fleeing rebels quickly discovered that there was nowhere left to run.
North led directly toward the capital.
They did not dare go that way.
South meant entering the rich lands of the southern provinces.
They did not dare go there either.
To the east lay only the sea.
What were they supposed to do, jump into the ocean?
The fleeing rebels wandered in panic for days until Sun Chuanting's soldiers caught up with them.
In the end they had no choice but to surrender and gather outside Jinan.
Now the full hundred thousand stood there, anxious and confused.
None of them knew what fate awaited them.
Worse still, they had run out of food.
Chuang Wang had attacked Zibo because the army was already starving.
After their defeat and days of chaotic flight, the rebels had eaten the last scraps of grain they carried.
One hundred thousand mouths.
All gathered outside Jinan.
The local authorities could never feed so many people.
Their eventual fate looked grim.
---
Just as panic spread through the crowd, two figures appeared before them.
Li Yan.
And Liu Maopao.
Li Yan glanced at Liu Maopao as if asking permission.
Liu Maopao gave a small nod.
Only then did Li Yan climb onto the city wall.
From that height he could see the sea of captured soldiers stretching across the plain.
He raised a metal speaking trumpet and called out.
"Everyone, do not be afraid."
"Most of you are not like the bandits of the past who burned villages and slaughtered people."
"You are ordinary citizens who were misled by my mistaken idea of 'no taxes.' Your hands are not stained with blood."
The massive crowd froze in surprise.
They had expected Li Yan, now apparently working with the government, to condemn them.
Instead he spoke like this.
Li Yan continued calmly.
"The bandits of the past robbed and killed in order to satisfy their own greed."
"But most of you are different."
"You only wanted to resist harsh rule. You only hoped life might become a little easier."
"You did not harm poor commoners."
"At most you robbed government granaries."
The rebels exchanged uneasy glances.
Robbing the government sounded like a serious crime.
Surely the officials hated them for it.
Li Yan suddenly changed tone.
"I was wrong about the policy of no taxes."
"But I was not wrong about one thing."
"Resisting tyranny."
"If a government becomes corrupt and cruel, ignoring the people's livelihood while exploiting and oppressing them, then rising up to overthrow such a government is not wrong."
A loud uproar exploded across the crowd.
The hundred thousand prisoners could hardly believe their ears.
Li Yan was defending them.
But this was happening right in front of the city of Jinan.
Officials were listening.
Common citizens were listening.
Was this not dangerously rebellious talk?
Naturally, trouble arrived immediately.
The Prefect of Jinan rushed out in fury, followed by clerks, constables, and a group of Embroidered Uniform Guards.
One of the guards pointed at Li Yan.
"You scholar! What treasonous nonsense are you speaking?"
"We allowed you to address the prisoners out of respect for Governor Sun, believing you to be his advisor."
"But these are rebellious words."
"You will be arrested immediately. Come down from the wall!"
Li Yan laughed softly.
"I have not finished speaking."
"I cannot come down yet."
He turned back toward the prisoners.
"Most of you will not be punished."
"Only a small number among you are guilty."
"We will identify those guilty individuals and deal with them according to the law."
"As for the innocent, I will arrange proper settlements for you."
"Rest assured."
"You will not be handed over to the imperial court for punishment."
The Prefect of Jinan shouted angrily.
"Seize that scholar!"
His constables rushed toward the stairs leading up the wall.
The prisoners outside the city began shouting in agitation.
Some even tried to surge forward to help Li Yan.
But their weapons had long been confiscated, and Sun Chuanting's soldiers surrounded them.
They could only shout their support.
Then something astonishing happened.
The government troops blocked the stairway.
They physically stopped the prefect's men and the Embroidered Uniform Guards.
The prefect stared in shock.
"Governor Sun… what is the meaning of this?"
Sun Chuanting shrugged.
"It means nothing special."
"He has not finished speaking yet."
"It seems rude to arrest a man before he finishes."
"At least let him say his piece."
The prefect nearly choked with anger.
"These are dangerous words spoken before one hundred thousand prisoners and countless citizens of Jinan!"
"The consequences could be terrible!"
"How can you allow him to continue?"
"Governor Sun, you…"
Sun Chuanting waved his hand impatiently.
"Enough chatter."
"Men, detain the Prefect of Jinan and his companions."
"Would it not be better if everyone quietly listened to Mr. Li?"
Instantly more than a hundred matchlock guns were raised and aimed at the prefect.
A certain Chen Qianhu stepped forward through the soldiers.
He tried to look friendly and spoke in a gentle tone.
"Your Excellency, please come with us for a moment…"
Before he could finish the sentence, the prefect looked at Chen Qianhu's terrifying face and sinister aura.
He screamed in panic.
"Ah!"
"Do not kill me!"
Chen Qianhu froze awkwardly.
Then he turned toward the Embroidered Uniform Guards.
They immediately lowered their weapons and raised their hands.
Inside their hearts they were thinking the same thing.
This was bad.
Sun Chuanting had unleashed his terrifying household troops on them.
Could it be that he had joined forces with the rebels?
---
Li Yan glanced back.
Seeing the situation under control, he felt relieved.
He raised his voice again.
"Remember this spirit."
"If tyranny ever appears above your heads again, never forget to resist."
"That is all I wished to say."
"Now, please bring forward the former core troops of Chuang Wang, the veterans known as the Old Eight Companies."
"As for the rest of you…"
"You are all free of guilt."
"You may go."