The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 662 Miners' Uprising
Lin Ruhai was a pragmatic and capable official, a gentleman who was outwardly flexible but inwardly principled. His way of dealing with people was simply "flexibility". He never advocated "dying for remonstrance". If he could achieve his goal by taking a roundabout way, he would rather swallow his pride and take a roundabout way. "Cherishing one's life to do useful things" was the way of being an official that he taught Jia Huan.

Furthermore, as a time traveler, Jia Huan couldn't honestly regard the emperor as his father. He despised the feudal ideology of blind loyalty that "if the emperor commands the subject to die, the subject must die." It was impossible for him to be loyal to the emperor and the country to the death. Therefore, Jia Huan always felt that Lin Ruhai's way of being an official was very suitable for him.

This is also why Jia Huan was unwilling to directly impeach Wan An. Given his current situation, he did not want to offend Shi Dayong, a powerful eunuch, lest complications arise and his plans for the trip be disrupted.

However, Xue Baochai suggested that Jia Huan personally submit a memorial impeaching Wan An for his actions. This was because self-preservation did not mean abandoning one's reputation; for a civil official, reputation was equally important. Jia Huan had previously defied imperial orders and refused to marry the princess for the sake of his beloved, which was seen by outsiders as a display of loyalty and defiance of power. Moreover, since ancient times, stories of talented scholars and beautiful women have generally been celebrated, so the incident of defying imperial orders would have a more positive than negative impact on Jia Huan's public image.

However, if Jia Huan chooses to protect himself by not daring to impeach Wan An, a corrupt eunuch who has committed numerous evil deeds and aroused public resentment, but instead shifts the blame to others, not only will outsiders ridicule him, but even his mentor Sun Chengzong and his fellow students from the Diecui Academy will likely have reservations. This would undoubtedly be extremely detrimental to Jia Huan's personal reputation and would also affect his future career.

Conversely, if Jia Huan were to directly impeach Wan An, he might offend Shi Dayong and even displease Emperor Qiansheng. However, Jia Huan's reputation in official circles and among the people would surely soar, and his public image would rise sharply. As for Emperor Qiansheng's dissatisfaction and Shi Dayong's resentment, there was no need to worry too much, since Jia Huan already had a grudge against Shi Dayong. With so many debts to settle, why not add another one to the list?
Although Emperor Qiansheng is currently indulging in pleasure and spending money like water, he is not a foolish ruler. Naturally, he also wants to govern the country well. The accusations made by Jia Huan are reasonable and well-founded, and there is even a blood letter from the victim as evidence. Even if Emperor Qiansheng is dissatisfied with Jia Huan, he would not do anything to Jia Huan. Moreover, Jia Huan is still on his way to the wedding and is being punished. Could he possibly add to the punishment?
In conclusion, Jia Huan's decision to submit a memorial impeaching Wan An at this time would be far more beneficial than harmful. That's why Baochai gave her advice, and Jia Huan readily accepted it, immediately writing a memorial.

As a "six-talented scholar," Jia Huan's writing skills were undoubtedly excellent. Moreover, he had witnessed the incident firsthand, so he quickly wrote a eloquent and sharp impeachment.

Xue Baochai couldn't help but exclaim, "Brother Huan has won the top six imperial examinations in a row. This one memorial alone is enough to make him truly deserving of the honor. I believe that once this memorial is published, it will surely cause a sensation throughout the court."

Jia Huan laughed and said, "Sister Bao, you flatter me. I am very grateful for your reminder. You are truly my wise and helpful wife."

Upon hearing this, Xue Baochai blushed slightly and said shyly, "You're talking nonsense again. I have to go back." She turned to leave.

"Please wait a moment, Sister Bao. I found some nice things on the street today. Please take them with you."

Xue Baochai stopped and asked, "What good stuff?"

Jia Huan handed over the rouge, face powder, scented soap, and some small ornaments for young women that he had bought on the street that day to Baochai. The latter laughed and said, "How can we know who these miscellaneous things are for if they are all mixed together?"

Jia Huan smiled and said, "What's so difficult about that? With Baochai's delicate mind, it's an easy matter for her to distinguish them. If she really can't distinguish them, then whoever wants to use them can use them. Anyway, they are all things for young ladies to use."

"Brother Huan is really giving me a hard time!" Xue Baochai said helplessly as she left Jia Huan's room carrying a large bag of things.

After Baochai left, Jia Huan sealed the blood-written letter, the memorial, and the letter to Sun Chengzong into a brown paper bag, then handed it to his servant Jinbao, ordering him to send it back to the capital as fast as possible and to personally deliver it to Sun Chengzong.

After resting for two days in Luoyang, the marriage procession continued its westward journey on the third day. Surprisingly, Wan An, the Luoyang Mining Supervisor, accompanied them, saying that he was going to inspect the mines in the Mianchi County area.

Jia Huan couldn't help but curse his bad luck. Fortunately, Mianchi was not far from Luoyang, and the marriage procession arrived in a day. The procession continued westward, while Eunuch Wan led a group of henchmen to inspect the mines in a show of force.

That evening, the wedding procession arrived at a post station in Mianchi County and decided to stop and rest for the night. However, the post station had limited capacity and was suffering from a severe drought, so the wells in the station had dried up. Usually, the postmen would bring back water from a reservoir five miles away for drinking. With a procession of over a thousand people arriving, how could they possibly supply the water?
For a time, there was no water for people or animals to drink, and not even water for cooking. Everyone was hungry and thirsty. So the postmaster had to personally lead a group of postmen to pull carts to fetch water. He also asked Jia Huan to send people to help, because there were only eight postmen including the postmaster himself. Even if they worked themselves to death, it would not be enough to supply water for thousands of people. Moreover, there were also a large number of mounts and animals pulling carts in the marriage procession that needed water.

Therefore, Jia Huan ordered Han Xin to send fifty brothers, along with postmen, to a nearby reservoir to fetch water, led by a captain.

The captain, exhausted and thirsty after a day's journey, was assigned to fetch water. He was full of complaints, but he couldn't disobey orders, so he could only set off with fifty men, grumbling and cursing.

Fortunately, five miles is not far. The group drove for about half an hour and arrived. Sure enough, they saw a reservoir, but the water level had dropped drastically. It was more like a pond than a reservoir. Fortunately, the water was still clear and sparkled in the sunlight.

The entire ceremonial guard, including the flag bearer in charge, was parched with thirst. Upon seeing the clear lake, they cheered, threw away their water containers, and rushed to the water's edge, ready to drink their fill.

"Please wait a moment, sir!" the postmen shouted, trying to stop them, but the guards ignored them completely.

Just as the guards were about to rush to the water's edge, a dozen or so burly men with swords suddenly emerged from a nearby wooden house, shouting menacingly, "Halt! Where did these soldiers come from?"

The guards instinctively stopped in their tracks, and the head flag bearer asked suspiciously, "Who are you, daring to stop our brothers from fetching water?"

The leader of the spies laughed loudly: "So you're from out of town. If you want water, you can have some, but you have to pay first. One hundred coins per person, and you'll be full. If you want to take water with you, it'll be two taels of silver per cart."

The captain roared in anger, "One hundred coins per person? Why don't you just rob us?"

"Wrong, it's better to go and rob!" the leader of the spies said shamelessly, while the other spies burst into laughter, extremely arrogant.

All the guards looked angry. The captain, burning with rage, shouted, "I'm not paying you today, let's see what you can do about it!"

The barbarians immediately drew their swords, and some even raised their muskets, aiming them at the guards. The captain and the guards' expressions changed drastically. Although they outnumbered each other, they were unarmed at the moment and would be at a great disadvantage if a fight broke out.

"Heh heh, kid, weren't you pretty cocky? What's gotten into you? If you don't pay up today, you won't get a sip of water!" the leader of the thugs said smugly.

At this moment, the postmaster and his men finally arrived. Seeing the tense situation, he quickly stepped forward, bowed and said, "Chief Liang, please calm down. These soldiers are helping the post station fetch water. They are our own people. Please show some mercy!"

Liang, the headman, clearly recognized the postmaster of Mianchi Post Station. He said unhappily, "Old Zhao, I usually don't charge you a penny when you come to fetch water because of our friendship. But you old rascal, you've taken advantage of my kindness. What do you mean by bringing so many people to fetch water now? Bah, you so-called 'our own people'! If you don't pay today, don't even think about taking a drop of water!"

The postmaster hurriedly explained, "Oh dear, Chief Liang, you've misunderstood. This gentleman is Princess Kangle's ceremonial guard. Her Highness is currently staying at our post station, and we are responsible for serving her." Chief Liang sneered, "Today, even if you were the Emperor himself, you'd have to pay. Water is so precious these days. If you let your cartloads of it go for free, how will we brothers survive?"

"How dare you!" the captain roared in fury. "You don't even respect the princess? You want to rebel?"

Liang Dangtou said disdainfully, "Don't try to fool me with the name of a princess. Everyone knows that she is not a real princess, but a pitiful wretch who took the place of a princess to suffer in a marriage alliance. If she wants to drink water, that so-called princess has to pay money."

The guards were furious, their eyes bulging, while Liang, the head guard, stood with his arms crossed, looking completely unconcerned.

It turned out that these spies were the men of Wan An, the mining supervisor of Luoyang. They had seized the only water source within a radius of several miles and were only after money. With Wan An backing them up, these guys were used to acting arrogantly and didn't even care about the princess's name. This showed how arrogant they were.

“Director Liang, let’s talk!” Zhao Yicheng pulled Director Liang aside and persuaded him for a long time before the latter reluctantly agreed to take ten cartloads of water, not giving a single drop more.

Just as everyone was fetching water, a group of men came down from the mountain path not far away. They were disheveled, but most of them were very strong. The weather in early spring of February was still cold, but these men were shirtless, revealing their firm, dark muscles, and each of them was carrying two wooden buckets.

It turns out that the group of men were miners from a nearby mine, and they looked like they had come down the mountain to fetch water.

When the group of miners reached the water's edge, several foreigners immediately approached them, calmly extending their hands and saying, "Two hundred coins a bucket of water."

The lead miner angrily retorted, "Wasn't it fifty coins a barrel yesterday?"

"Hehe, yesterday is yesterday, the price has gone up today. Buy it if you want, or get lost!" the swindler said arrogantly.

The miners glared angrily, and the leader of the miners, in particular, looked fierce and shouted, "You've gone too far! We've been mining here for five or six years. In the past, we could draw water from the reservoir at the foot of this mountain without any problem. Now you've taken over and are charging us. The wages we earn in a day's work aren't even enough to buy us water!"

"Heh heh, Zhang Lao Er, you little brat, you want to rob me?" Liang Dang Tou gripped the hilt of his knife, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

The lead miner's expression shifted, and the veins on his hands, which were holding the wooden bucket, bulged. After a long while, he finally said, as if deflated, "Ah Xiu, give me the money!"

A young man with freckles on his face put down his wooden bucket, reluctantly took out his money pouch from his waist, took out a coin and threw it to the foreman. The foreman took it, weighed it in his hand, and sneered, "You guys know what's good for you. Two coins can only buy three buckets of water."

The lead miner, Zhang Lao Er, remained silent, picked up a bucket to fetch water, and as he passed Liang Dang Tou, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. He then raised the bucket and smashed it down hard.

bang...

The wooden bucket smashed onto Liang Dangtou's head and exploded on the spot, shattering into pieces. Liang Dangtou was also hit on the head, bleeding profusely and seeing stars. Before the other guards could react, Zhang Lao Er had already snatched the waist knife from Liang Dangtou's hand and stabbed him through the heart.

"Brothers, attack! Kill these bastards!" Zhang Lao Er shouted, drew his blood-stained waist knife, and rushed towards the other barbarians. With a swift stroke, he killed two more in the blink of an eye. The other miners swarmed in, and relying on their numbers, they quickly killed all the barbarians.

These miners were clearly filled with resentment. Not satisfied with killing the man, they seized a knife and dismembered the body, some even gouging out the heart and gnawing on it.

The guards and postmen were terrified. They dropped their water containers and carts and fled. The miners, clearly in a bloodthirsty frenzy, instinctively hated the guards and postmen who were still in their official uniforms. They drew their swords and gave chase.

The poor postmaster of Mianchi Post Station, old and frail, tripped and fell while fleeing. As a result, he was caught up by a miner, who swiftly chopped off his head with a knife.

At this moment, Zhang Lao Er, the leader of the miners, finally calmed down and shouted, "Everyone, stop chasing! Hurry back to the mine and tell everyone that it's important."

So the group of miners grabbed the stolen weapons and quickly fled back up the mountain.

There was a copper mine on the mountain, with a decent output. The mine manager was named Zhang Cunmeng, nicknamed "Untouchable". The second brother of Zhang Cunmeng, who had just started the killing, was Zhang Biao, Zhang Cunmeng's cousin. This guy had a fiery temper and had been bullied by the barbarians for so long. Today, he finally couldn't hold back and exploded.

Meanwhile, Zhang Biao led the miners back up the mountain and rushed into Zhang Cunmeng's shack like the wind. At that moment, Zhang Cunmeng was receiving a group of guests, none other than Li Zicheng and his brother Li Meng.

It turns out that the mine owner, Zhang Cunmeng, was originally from Luochuan, Shaanxi. He was quite chivalrous and well-known in the local underworld. Later, he came to Mianchi to contract a mountain for mining. He was lucky and found a rich mine, which made him a lot of money. However, his good fortune did not last long. Ever since the imperial court sent the mining supervisor Wan An, his life became increasingly difficult. Not only did he not make any money, but he also lost a lot of money. Even the brothers had to pay Wan An's henchmen for water.

Zhang Cunmeng was becoming increasingly impatient. Just then, Li Zicheng came to his door, inviting him to return to Mizhi County, Shaanxi Province, to join the mountain stronghold. He was hesitating whether to accept or not.

It is worth mentioning that Li Zicheng wanted to recruit Zhang Cunmeng because of the latter's fame and influence, but the main reason was that Zhang Cunmeng was a miner with connections to obtain gunpowder. Moreover, many of Zhang Cunmeng's miners were skilled demolition experts, and joining the bandit group would be a great help.

Meanwhile, Zhang Cunmeng was receiving Li Zicheng and his entourage when his cousin Zhang Biao rushed in, covered in blood. Upon inquiring about the reason, he was greatly surprised.

Li Zicheng was overjoyed, secretly exclaiming that Heaven was helping him. He immediately incited Zhang Cunmeng to rebel, saying that killing officials and not rebelling meant certain death.

Zhang Cunmeng was a decisive and ruthless man. Since things had come to this point, he decided to do it. He immediately gathered several hundred miners under his command, grabbed whatever weapons they had, and first killed all of Wan An's men who had been left to supervise the mine. Then he headed straight down the mountain.

(End of this chapter)