"Darling, you died so tragically! I'm so sorry to you..."
"Zǐ Yīng, you should grieve for your loss and adapt to it!"
"Yes, your wife upheld her virtue and died in accordance with the principles of Confucianism, truly she died in the right place. In the future, this official will definitely raise a memorial arch commemorating her virtues!"
In a grand mansion in the Shuangpai Town of Dazhou, in the Yangming Mountains, Mr. Huang Shijie, the Yellow master, was weeping bitterly on the hall, with two high-ranking officials beside him consoling him. One of them was a military official of the first grade, a tall and formidable old man who had been the former Governor-General of Hunan and came from a family of military academicians, the "master" Yu Wanqing. He had returned to his hometown to mourn his mother's death as a filial son not long ago, but later, because of the Taiping Rebellion, he was recalled to duty and took on the title of Governor-General, leading 2,000 troops to fight against the Taiping Army. At this time, his army was stationed within the territory of Dazhou.
The other was an official of the fifth grade, a young man in his forties with fair skin, who was a native of Dazhou and came from a family of scholars. He was none other than the prefect of Dazhou, Wang Kuizhi, who had passed the imperial examinations.
Now these two are trying to console Huang Shijie Huang laofu together, which shows how big the face of Huang laofu is.
Huang Shijie was still there wiping away tears: "Military Minister Yu, Prefect Wang may not know, my wife and I were childhood sweethearts, inseparable from an early age..."
As he wept, he suddenly grabbed Yu Wanqing's robe: "Military Minister Yu, you must definitely avenge my wife! I heard that the attack on two towns, Liangtang and Roatang, was led by a group of female bandits, which were no match for your elite troops!"
"Female bandits?" Yu Wanqing, who was just friendly with Huang Shijie, now looked embarrassed. "Surely there is some mistake? How can women be on the battlefield?"
Wang Kuiyi interjected, "Military Minister Yu, there are indeed female soldiers among the rebels. The reports from Guangxi said so. Now, the main force of the rebels is besieging Lingling, and they have sent some female soldiers to harass the surrounding villages, seizing grain supplies without any fixed plan!"
Huang Shijie nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, that must be it! Military Minister Yu, this is an opportunity for you to establish your merits! This female bandit... is also a long-haired one!"
Yu Wanqing certainly doesn't want to risk his troops by sending them into battle.
He was a military exam passer in the 23rd year of the Jiajing reign, and a military academicians in the 2nd year of the Daoguang reign. It took him over thirty years to climb to the rank of Governor-General. How difficult could that have been? How could he not treasure it? Moreover, as a Han man and a military officer, reaching the rank of Governor-General is about as high as it gets for a Han military officer.
And even higher... YANG Yucun did become the Governor-General of Gansu and Shensi, but what great merits did he have? Could YU Wanqing have such abilities? He has no such abilities! He has self-awareness, and his military skills in leading troops to fight are far inferior to those of YANG Yucun, let alone XU Rong.
And XU Rong, who died working hard and taking risks of being killed by the bandits, got what in the end? A demotion to serve in the military at the front in Xinjiang!
So, it's only sensible to make the most of being a Governor-General. Let others worry about those situations where there's no profit in winning but punishment in defeat!
However, he cannot claim to be afraid of the female bandits - if that got exposed to the Empress Dowager Xianfeng, he would be charged with being afraid of the enemy like a tiger!
By then, the same result of demotion and exile would occur.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Yu Wanqing shook his head repeatedly, "The rebels have several tens of thousands of people. How could they possibly send a group of female rebels to Roatang to seize grain? It must be a misunderstanding!"
"How can it be a misunderstanding?" Huang Shijie said, "The Zhang Bǎozhǒng of Xingtang Pass fought against these female bandits."
"Does he, a Baozong, know anything?" Yu Wanqing certainly couldn't let go. "My troops are the key to defending Dazhou and supporting the northern advance of the high-ranking minister Shang Zhongsheng. Any negligence is unacceptable!"
The success of the grand plan by Shang Zhongshang to annihilate the rebels in Lingling depends on whether I, as the Governor-General, can hold onto Dazhou!"
Since he has already mentioned Sao Changsha, Huang Shijie and Wang Kuizhi couldn't say anything else. Huang Shijie was shedding tears, and Wang Kuizhi had no choice but to sigh.
At this moment, when the scene was full of sorrow, Huang Shijie's steward Huangfu suddenly ran in as fast as a bolt of lightning, shouting on the run, "Master, Master! Good news! Master, Master! Trouble!"
Huang Shijie was so confused that he started wiping his tears and scolded irritably, "Huangfu, what are you shouting about? Is it good news or bad news?"
Huangfu had already walked in quickly, lifting his robe to kneel down. He first kowtowed twice to the officials YU Wanqing and WANG Kuizhi, then turned to answer Huang Shijie, "Good news and bad news are both here! Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Then...... let's hear the bad news first!" Huang Shijie said with a sad face.
"Master, our family's mansion in Roatang Town was broken into by a group of female rebels and the poor ruffians from Roatang Town... One of the rebel leaders even burned all the IOUs found in the mansion. He said he would distribute our family's ten thousand mu of fertile land and the wealth seized from the mansion to the poor ruffians in Roatang, Liangtang, and several nearby villages! He wants to carry out something called 'equal distribution of land and wealth'..."
"This......"
Huang Shijie was so stunned that he couldn't move.
This piece of bad news is quite significant!
Huang Shijie had mentally prepared for the rebels to loot his family's wealth and burn their IOUs, but being asked to distribute his family's land was quite unexpected.
Although the slogan "evenly distribute land and wealth" has often been used by bandits to manipulate people throughout history, it seems that no one has really done this!
After all, rebellion is for "taking the place of the previous ruler." If the leader of the rebellion succeeds and becomes an emperor, and the high-ranking rebels become marquises or earls, why wouldn't the middle and low-ranking rebels and underlings get some land to pass on to their descendants? If you divide up the land equally among the common people, how are those middle and low-ranking rebels supposed to seize land?
"This cannot be true?" said Wang Kuizhi, the prefect of Dazhou. "The rebels in Guangxi never distributed land to the poor people there. How can they change their rule in Hunan? Are they not planning to continue as bandits, but instead want to settle down in Yongzhou Prefecture? That would mean that Dazhou... "
If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were to establish a base in Yongzhou Prefecture, then Yongzhou's subordinate prefecture Dazhou would be a must-take place for the Taiping Army!
And Wang Kuizhi is the guardian of Dazhou's territory.
Huang Shijie also paled, muttering, "This must be true... these damned bandits are making Yongzhou Prefecture their home! What should we do?"
If the Taiping Army settles down in Yongzhou Prefecture, then his family's land will all be distributed to the poor ruffians by the Taiping Army?
Then wouldn't he be destitute?
And Yu Wanqing was starting to feel anxious. His original plan was to first station his troops in Shuangpai to "protect" Dazhou, wait for the Taiping Army to break into Yongzhou City and loot it, and then he would lead his troops to recapture it. The current Governor-General of Hunan, Bao Qipeng, is stationed in Yongzhou. If he died or lost his position, the Governor-General of Hunan would certainly be impossible for him to hold onto. In this way, Yu Wanqing could reuse his merits in recapturing Yongzhou City.
But what if the Taiping Army doesn't leave Yongzhou Prefecture? Then wouldn't he have to fight against the Taiping Army in Yongzhou Prefecture?
This is not acceptable!
Just as Yu Wanqing was feeling overwhelmed, Huang Shijie asked with a sad expression, "And what's the good news?"
"Long-haired bandits have released your wife, Madame the second, Madame the third, and more than ten concubines, as well as your sons and daughters."
"What?" Huang Shijie was taken aback, and he froze in place immediately.
Losing one's chastity is a big matter!
The Huang family of Roatang is a distinguished family in Dazhou, with a tradition of literary learning... Having more than ten women relatives all losing their chastity together would become a laughingstock in the literati circles!
Yu Wanqing and Wang Kuizhi also hesitated for a moment, then even glanced towards Huang Shijie's head...
Huangfu, the Huang family's steward, of course knew what these three lords were thinking? He quickly explained for the women in the Huang family: "Master, you can be at ease. Neither of your wives nor the more than ten concubines have lost their chastity. Because yesterday, all who stormed into Roatang Town were female bandits. The leader was named Su Sanniang, who is the deputy commander of the female bandit camp... Moreover, there was not a single male bandit in the entire army."
In fact, there were two male bandits, one was Luo Yao Guo, and the other was Hong Ren Fa.
However, all the female relatives and family members who ran back from Roatang Town swore that no male bandits had been in their home!
Without male bandits, the female relatives of the Huang family would not have been able to lose their chastity......
Huang Shijie still seemed unwilling to believe: "Really? Huangfu, are you sure you've asked around and confirmed this?"
"I've confirmed it!" Huangfu nodded. "All the servant girls who came back from Roatang Town said the same thing... Since they were not allowed to have small feet in the female camp of the Taiping Army, Su Sanniang released both your wives and more than ten concubines... If you don't believe me, you can call your two wives here and ask them directly."
"Alright, call everyone over immediately!" Huang Shijie didn't hesitate, and ordered Huangfu to bring the people.
He no longer cared about the taboo of intimate relations between men and women — he needed Yu Wanqing and Wang Kuizhi to witness and prove that his wife, Huang Shijie, had not been defiled by the bandits.
Soon, Huangfu led in several weeping women with small feet, and at the head was a woman who looked very "blessed" - at least 180 catties in weight, "Da Fufu," who was Huang Shijie's childhood sweetheart and wife. From her appearance, it was clear that she had not been defiled by the Taiping Army......
Huang Shijie noticed that his wife, the Madam Huang, was holding a few bound books and couldn't tell what they were. Were they family antiques? He asked, "Madam, what are you holding?"
Probably also in a state of confusion, the Madam Huang unconsciously replied, "Master, Su Sanniang, the leader of the female bandits, asked me to bring these to you... religious texts."
"What?" Huang Shijie was taken aback, "Su Sanniang sending me religious texts? I, I don't know her!"
Yu Wanqing and Wang Kuizhi both looked at Huang Shijie with suspicious gazes.
Huang Shijie quickly asked, "Madam, what religious text did the female bandit ask you to send me?"
"Rebellious Canon..."
"Rebellious Canon..."
"What is the Rebellious Canon?"
Both Yu Wanqing and Wang Kuizhi, two highly alert officials of the Qing Dynasty, stared at Huang Shijie's "Da Afu" wife with bright eyes, demanding an explanation.
"That's right, it's the 'Rebellious Canon'... making a rebellion!"
The moment Huang Shijie's wife spoke, Huang Shijie's eyes went black, and he even had the thought of filing for divorce.
Is this woman trying to swindle her husband?
Su Sanniang, a highly influential female bandit and female rebel, is sending him religious texts and the 'Rebellious Canon'... How can he explain this? Does he already know her, Huang Shijie?
Su Sanniang is from Guangdong. Although Huang Shijie is not from Guangdong, his family has had businesses there since his great-grandfather. His great-grandfather, grandfather, father and even he himself have been to Guangzhou.
In Guangzhou, the Triad Society is everywhere... Who among the workers and managers at the Thirteen Lanes isn't a member of the Hongmen?
Su Sanniang is the master of Guangyi Hall, and has a high status in the Guangdong-wide Heavenly Union. It's not strange for Huang Shijie to know her...
