Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 296 Rescue Fei Chuangu

The area surrounding Chuzhou is all mountains.

This is the opening sentence of a very famous travelogue written in later generations.

On the afternoon of July 6th of the first year of Guangming, Fei Chuangu, the former governor of Chuzhou, was looking at the Huainan soldiers climbing up the slope of Langya Mountain with a worried expression.

The reason why Fei Chuangu's title has the word "former" is because his current identity is no longer that of a high-ranking official in the Tang Dynasty, but a rebel who has taken over a mountain.

Fei Chuangu was the twenty-first Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the thirteenth year of the Dazhong era. He was only twenty-four years old that year.

The difficulty of passing the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty is often underestimated by later generations. During the nearly three hundred years of the Tang Dynasty, only seven thousand people were admitted to the imperial examination, averaging twenty-four people per year. Compared with the total number of candidates, the admission rate was less than one percent.

This number of places was certainly not enough to meet the needs of the empire for officials, so in addition to the Jinshi examination, there was also the Mingjing examination.

The Jinshi examination consisted of poetry composition, policy essays on current affairs, and memorization of classical texts. The Mingjing examination, however, relied solely on the "Tiejing Moyi" (帖经墨义) section. "Tiejing" involved selecting sentences from classical texts in the exam questions, requiring candidates to accurately fill in the blanks before and after the sentences. "Moyi" involved interpreting and explaining the meaning of the classics. On the surface, it seemed like all that was required was rote memorization.

Those who passed the Mingjing examination faced difficulties in promotion and were looked down upon in the Tang Dynasty's officialdom. There was a saying: "Thirty is old for a Mingjing graduate, fifty is young for a Jinshi graduate," meaning that passing the Mingjing examination at thirty was considered very late, while passing the Jinshi examination at fifty was considered early success.

Therefore, for Fei Chuangu, passing the imperial examination at the age of twenty-four, even if he ranked twenty-first at the bottom of the list, was already quite prestigious.

It should be noted that the Fei family of Jiangxia, from which he came, was not a top-tier clan. In the past, when Fei Chuangu presented his scrolls, the gifts he brought to nobles were not particularly large.

Fei Chuangu is 45 years old this year and has already become the governor of a prefecture. In his own eyes, he has a bright future ahead of him, and it is not impossible for him to become a prime minister in his later years.

But the harsh reality finally made Fei Chuangu realize how vulnerable he, a prefectural official with a literary background, was in front of soldiers.

The saying "a scholar encountering a soldier is like trying to reason with someone" perfectly illustrates this point.

After Gao Pian took office as the military governor of Huainan, he believed that Huainan had been a key area for revenue but had a small number of soldiers. He wanted to expand the army to guard against bandits and rebel groups, and urged all prefectures to pay off the back taxes.

Paying back taxes is a perfectly legitimate thing to do.

However, Chuzhou is mountainous and has very little farmland. Fei Chuangu, who was also a newly appointed official, saw that after the locust plague and drought, the fields were barren, the people were displaced, and countless people were selling their children or not raising their babies. So he wrote to Gao Pian, hoping to reduce the tax burden so that the people could catch their breath.

Fei Chuangu wasn't someone who couldn't tolerate injustice; in his past official career, he would also try to gain some personal benefits. But everyone has moments of weakness.

Recalling the "Ten Thousand People's Umbrella" that the people presented to him when he left his previous post, Fei Chuangu was filled with mixed emotions. Suddenly, he decided to stand up to the formidable General Lei Gao Pian.

Faced with Gao Pian's stern reprimand, Fei Chuangu replied, "If taxes are to be collected, the people will not be able to live!"

Gao Pian responded, "If the soldiers are not paid, neither you nor I will survive."

Then they sent a bunch of soldiers to attack Chuzhou.

The leading officer grabbed Fei Chuangu by the collar of his official robe and lifted him up like a chicken in the main hall, shouting reprimands him loudly. He then summoned several of Fei Chuangu's subordinates and clerks, and on the ground of poor tax collection, beheaded them on the street outside the government office, leaving blood flowing everywhere.

Then they wreaked havoc in and around Chuzhou, leaving a scene of utter chaos. They extorted money from gentry and merchants, obtaining about three times the amount of unpaid rent, and left laden with their spoils.

The vehicle also carried some young women who wailed incessantly throughout the journey. Some even jumped off the vehicle and died by striking their heads against a rock.

Before leaving, the leading general angrily rebuked Fei Chuangu, saying that he "claimed to love the people, but in reality dared not offend the powerful families."

Even with Fei Chuangu's excellent upbringing, he couldn't help but want to curse.

I am the local official, how could I possibly resort to such barbarian methods?

Do these soldiers really only prey on the rich? Although it's quick money to take advantage of the rich, when they're committing crimes, they also prey on the beautiful wives and daughters of the poor.

When the landlords were asked to hand over grain, they could only pass the burden onto the tenant farmers, leaving the tenants destitute and unable to make a living.

What's even more ridiculous is that some local tyrants and bullies, quick to seize the opportunity, forged connections with these soldiers, helping them with directions and providing them with intelligence, and using this opportunity to make a fortune. Those who suffered were mostly the honest and upright gentry and merchants who regularly provided disaster relief and road repairs.

Some poor people naively believe that robbing the rich is the same as helping the poor. But if there is no effective system to regulate wealth disparity, resorting to violence and robbery will only result in everyone suffering, leaving behind a mess.

Afterwards, everyone in Chuzhou, from officials and gentry to commoners, was filled with rage.

One day, Fei Chuangu went to his office as usual, only to find out that he had been elected as the leader of the rebellion of officials and people in Chuzhou.

"If a ruler loves the people, he should act as their chief minister."

The people kowtowed and wept, pleading with Fei Chuangu.

This is a serious matter that could lead to the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire clan!

But with the arrow already on the bowstring, there was no choice but to release it. Fei Chuangu had no choice but to accept the support of the officials and the people and call himself the Duke of Xinchang.

Fei Chuangu thought to himself, as an official appointed by the imperial court, he couldn't very well call himself a bandit chief or anything like that. But rashly declaring himself king would only bring trouble upon himself, so he decided to call himself a duke instead.

However, the rebellion of a prefectural governor was still too conspicuous. Fei Chuangu quickly attracted Gao Pian's punitive expeditionary force.

Chuzhou City was quickly captured, and Fei Chuangu could only lead his loyal soldiers to retreat to the hillside of Langya Mountain west of the city, where they built a fortified camp to defend themselves against the fierce attacks of the government troops.

Although Gao Pian did not personally lead the attack, his offensive was still exceptionally fierce. Within ten days, he broke through several strongholds and advanced to the front of Fei Chuangu's main stronghold.

The soldiers surrounded the elderly, women, and children in a large cart full of firewood, preparing to set it ablaze should the stronghold fall. They would rather their families perish in the flames than fall into the hands of Commander Lei's army and suffer humiliation.

But Fei Chuangu knew that a more likely outcome was that someone would cut off their own head and offer it to Gao Pian before reaching that point, thus giving some people a way to survive.

Thinking of this, Fei Chuangu felt a complex mix of emotions.

In this world, why is it so damn hard to be a good official?

The common people suffer, and being an official is not easy either. They cannot survive without rebelling, but even if they do rebel, they often still cannot survive.

For Fei Chuangu, the only hope lay in the reinforcements of Huang Chao, the Salt Commander.

Fei Chuangu was not only a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), but also a high-ranking official of the Tang Dynasty. His leadership of a rebellion served as a significant example. For Huang Chao, bringing Fei Chuangu's army under his command would greatly benefit his cause.

But reinforcements must arrive before Fei Chuangu's head is chopped off.

While Fei Chuangu was eagerly awaiting news, Zhu Wen and Meng Kai were leading their troops on a rapid march towards Chuzhou.

Meng Kai pointed to a small group of Japanese and Zhenla people in the group who were speaking fluent Japanese and asked Zhu Wen, "Junior brother, what use are these people?"

Li Tiao commanded the largest number of foreigners. When Huang Chao marched north, most of the surrendered Guangzhou navy was no longer useful and was disbanded on the spot, but a group was still retained. This group of short Japanese and Zhenla people came from among them.

Meng Kai couldn't understand why Zhu Wen would bring this group of people with him when he went to rescue Fei Chuangu.

Zhu Wen simply gave a mysterious smile: "I have my own brilliant plan."

(End of this chapter)