Taiping Dao at the end of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 42 This disciple believes that we should destroy this powerful Li family and eliminate them all!
Outside the Tianqi Temple of Mount Tai, the mountain wind howled across the stone steps, whistling through the forest. The snow had just stopped, and pine needles rustled in the air. Icicles hung from the eaves, and frost clung to the pines and cypresses, a scene of winter's chill. Inside the temple, however, stood the Emperor of Mount Tai, his face golden and his eyes iron, his crown tassels reaching his shoulders. He looked down upon the crowd who swore oaths and bowed before him, his expression solemn, as if judging life and death.

"Heaven bears witness! On the lofty throne of Mount Tai, the True Lord of the Eastern Peak reigns above. We kneel before the incense and swear an oath to the gods: We vow not to divulge a single word of what we have heard or known. If we break this oath, may mountains crumble and the earth split, may gods and men alike forsake us! May we find no peace in life, and no place to return to in death!..."

The Great Teacher Zhang Jiao and the Heavenly Physician Zhang Bao knelt at the front, followed by a dozen or so chieftains, and seven or eight disciples. They performed the three bows and nine kowtows, then each lit a talisman and a stick of incense, inserting them into the pottery jar before the Eastern Peak Emperor.

Soon, the talisman burned out, its smoke rising to the heavens and the Emperor. The remaining ashes were then rinsed with spring water and drunk, swallowing the vows of the souls. After this ritual was completed, the village chiefs looked at each other with a rare newfound trust.

In the Way of Great Peace, such oath-taking ceremonies were always indispensable before important gatherings. Fortunately, this was not far removed from antiquity, and the Han Dynasty was a time of devout belief in shamanism and Taoism, so the binding force of these oaths remained, unlike after the Luo River.

"Everyone, sit down!"

The Great Teacher Zhang Jiao, with a solemn expression, sat at the head of the group, side by side with the Heavenly Physician Zhang Bao. Next, in a circle below, were a dozen or so Yellow Turban leaders from Qingzhou and Yanzhou, kneeling in a circle shaped like an altar, with Peng Gui of Dayeze at the very bottom. Beyond that circle were Zhang Jiao and Zhang Bao's disciples, along with the trusted talisman masters brought by the leaders.

Dozens of people took their seats in turn, with Zhang Chengfu sitting right behind the Great Teacher. He gazed at the tribal leaders opposite him, looking at their weathered, solemn, and earthy faces. The tribal leaders, in turn, looked at the person above them, their usual fierceness and arrogance transformed into reverence, obedience, and attentiveness.

"The emperor has lost his virtue, and the Five Elements are changing. The Fire Element of the Han Dynasty will decline, and the Earth Element of the Yellow Heaven will rise. We have gathered here to follow the way of Heaven, to overthrow the corrupt Han Dynasty, and to re-establish the peaceful Yellow Heaven!"

The Great Teacher Zhang Jiao began his sermon in this manner, and the Heavenly Physician Zhang Bao's brow twitched slightly. He sensed that his brother's sermon was different from before, more resolute and fearless, as if he had made some unchangeable decision. Then, he understood what Zhang Jiao's decision was.

"I observed the stars last night and first saw that the five planets were out of order, indicating chaos in the Han court and widespread plagues and disasters. Then I saw a guest star encroaching on the imperial throne, foretelling that the plagues and disasters would continue, and I fear that next year and the year after will bring another severe drought, leaving the common people with no way to survive..."

"Therefore, a year and a half from now, in the Jiazi year and Jiazi month, will be the day we begin our uprising! This day has been set, and we absolutely cannot delay any longer!"

Zhang Cheng listened intently; he rarely heard his master's voice so resounding and sharp. The dozen or so leaders of Qing and Yan provinces, upon hearing this, all showed expressions of shock and unease.

"A three-year drought?!"

"In these five years, there have been three major epidemics and four disasters! If another two years of drought follow, wouldn't that mean six disasters in seven years? There would truly be no way to survive!"

"Heavens above! A year and a half from now?! A formal uprising in the Jiazi year and Jiazi month?!"

"With so many disasters plaguing the land, and the imperial court offering no relief, are we to let the common people and believers starve to death without raising an army in rebellion?"

"This is the only road we can go all the way!"

There was much discussion in the temple. Zhang Bao, the Heavenly Physician, frowned, pondered for a moment, and then made a firm statement in front of the chieftains.

“Brother, you are skilled in divination. Since you have foreseen a three-year drought, then the only time to rise up is in the year of Jiazi! ... Fellow leaders, the Han dynasty is corrupt, and the change of the Mandate of Heaven is a predetermined fate! We are acting in accordance with the will of Heaven, raising an army to save the common people. This is to fight against the tyrannical Han in accordance with Heaven's will, not to rebel!”

"Yes! The Five Elements alternate, Yin and Yang shift, and the Han Dynasty has become dominated by Yin and is now wicked. We, wearing yellow turbans, will rise up to overthrow the tyrannical Han, just as the Yellow Emperor slew Chiyou!"

The Great Teacher Zhang Jiao spoke solemnly, glancing around at the varied expressions on the faces of the tribal leaders. He paused for a moment, then spoke slowly, his words inspiring and uplifting.

“I observed the celestial phenomena last night, and five years from now, Mars will be in conjunction with Antares, and the moon will obscure Xuanyuan… The current emperor is like an ancient tyrant; his lifespan is against the will of Heaven, and he only has five years left! When the emperor dies, the power of the court will suddenly decline. The peaceful and prosperous times we seek will eventually come!”

"?! The dog emperor only has five years left to live?"

"Ah! The Han Dynasty is doomed!..."

"The Yellow Emperor is about to rise!"

Upon hearing this prophecy, the many commanders were invigorated, their faces showing renewed hope. The spread of such a prophecy about a short lifespan would also greatly damage the emperor's prestige and weaken the foundation of his rule.

"The emperor can only live for five years?! Such important news, could it have come from within the palace?...

The Heavenly Physician Zhang Bao was quite surprised, looking at his elder brother's solemn and resolute expression. He remained silent for a moment before asking.

“Brother, those who have come to Tianqi Temple today are the most reliable leaders and chieftains of Qing and Yan, who are willing to raise righteous troops to establish the Yellow Heaven! Since you have divined so many ‘heavenly decrees,’ have you decided on a strategy for the uprising?”

"Hmm. I'll explain the strategy for the uprising later, Chengfu. Come, Chengfu, sit down here too!"

With that, Zhang Jiao turned around and patted Zhang Chengfu on the shoulder in front of everyone. Zhang Chengfu nodded solemnly, crawled two steps on his knees, and knelt down beside Zhang Jiao from behind. His seat was positioned directly below Zhang Jiao and Zhang Bao, but above all the other tribal leaders!
“?!…”

The expressions on the faces of the group of Qing and Yan chieftains, all over thirty years old, changed visibly upon seeing the young man's seat. Seating arrangements were extremely important in the Qi-Lu region, with a clear hierarchy. If the Great Teacher of Virtue hadn't personally intervened, they would never have allowed a callow youth to sit there! And the meaning behind this seating arrangement…

At this moment, for the first time, everyone carefully examined this resolute-looking, somewhat mature-looking young man. The atmosphere in the entire Tianqi Temple became subtle.

"Heaven above! Before discussing our strategies, I want to hear from you about the situation in each prefecture. How well are you spreading the word in your respective prefectures? How many believers do you have? And which powerful clans and local magnates are there in each prefecture?"

"Well, Bu Si, you are the oldest and the head of the Dongjun chieftains, so you shall start!"

"promise!"

Upon hearing the sound, Zhang Chengfu looked over and saw a burly man in his forties, who was none other than Bu Si, the chieftain of Dafang in Dongjun.

Chief Bu Si was a robust and sturdy man with a square face and thick eyebrows, exuding a sense of calm and reliability. He wore thick hemp clothing inscribed with talismans from the Way of Peace, clearly indicating he was a talisman master, and likely a former village shaman. This background, combined with his age and over a decade of practicing medicine and shamanism in the countryside, would undoubtedly have earned him high prestige among the common people, allowing him to gather a large following!

"Our Taiping Dao of Dongjun already has hundreds of thousands of Yellow Heaven believers. With a single call, thousands upon thousands of disciples and able-bodied men could rise up! Our followers are mainly located in three places: Yangping County, where I am; Linyi County, where Xiao Fang Zhangbo is; and Weiguo County, where Xiao Fang Liang Zhongning is..."

Upon hearing these three locations, Zhang Chengfu seemed to ponder. Dongjun was an extremely vast region, spanning both north and south of the Yellow River. The three Dongjun chieftains were all located in the northeastern part of Dongjun, closer to Jizhou. Two of them were north of the Yellow River, while only Linyi was south of it.

The Dong'e County, where the Cheng family was located, was between Bu Si's Yangping County and Zhang Bo's Linyi County. South of the middle was the key location for the Yellow Turbans' southward advance from Dongjun!
"By the grace of Heaven! Among the prominent families and powerful clans of Dongjun, the most famous is undoubtedly the Chen family of Dongwuyang! The Chen family of Dongwuyang has a member named Chen Gong, also known as Chen Gongtai, who is very famous and considered the most renowned scholar in Dongjun, with a great many acquaintances! And Wuyang is right next to our Yangping County. This Chen family probably owns twenty or thirty thousand mu of land, and countless bushels of grain stored in their coffers!..."

Commander Bu Si spoke in a very simple and unpretentious manner. He had spent decades in the northeast of Dongjun and had a clear understanding of the strength of the various powerful families.

"Then there's the powerful Cheng family of Dong'e, who also owns tens of thousands of acres of land! They have a ruthless and powerful patriarch named Cheng Li! Other powerful families that seize land still have to be wary of us, the followers of the Taiping Dao, who form a society for self-defense. But the Cheng family is extremely fierce. They keep many guards at home, and they not only scheme against people but also kill them! They are a vicious and ruthless family!"

"Further northeast, in Liaocheng, there's a powerful clan called the Xue family, who own thousands of acres of prime land. They could be considered a powerful clan? Many of the county officials in Liaocheng are from their family..."

"We are all preaching and carrying out our mission in the eastern part of Dongjun. Dongjun is too big; once you go west past Puyang, most people don't know much about it. Actually, the area west of Puyang, which is called Dongjun, is actually comprised of branches of powerful clans from Chenliujun..."

"Chenliu County borders Yingchuan in Yuzhou, and there are far too many powerful and ruthless clans there! The common people there have basically been devoured by these clans. We, the Way of Peace, cannot go there; even if we did, we wouldn't be able to communicate or spread our teachings..."

Upon hearing two familiar names, Zhang Chengfu lowered his eyes in thought. The entire Dongjun spanned across Yanzhou, stretching from southwest to northeast, bordering Yingchuan Commandery of Yuzhou in the southwest and Qinghe State of Jizhou in the northeast. The distribution of Yanzhou as a whole followed a similar pattern, from Chenliu State in the southwest, to Dongjun and Jiyin Commandery in the middle, and then to Taishan Commandery in the far northeast.

Currently, the commoner forces of the Taiping Dao are clearly concentrated in the Northeast, which is also where the largest number of self-cultivating farmers and poor peasants are, and the density of powerful clans is not high. As for Chenliu County in Yanzhou and Yingchuan County in Yuzhou in the Southwest, those are places where powerful clans are concentrated, the opposing forces are the strongest, and it is the most difficult to start an uprising!
After listening to the report from the chieftain Bu Si, the Great Teacher Zhang Jiao stroked his short beard. After a few breaths, he spoke.

“Bu Si, your preaching in Dongjun these past years has been very effective and you have worked very hard. Let’s leave aside the Chen family of Dongwuyang for now, but I have already made arrangements for the Cheng family of Dong’e. There are people from our Taiping Dao stationed in Dong’e County. And all these plans are being handled by Cheng Fu!”

"The Cheng family is facing an imminent upheaval, and the day they break down is not far off. You will soon witness it! Bu Si, Zhang Bo, your missionary work should now head towards Dong'e, and try to go as far south as possible! Liang Zhongning, the missionary work in Weiguo County should shift eastward; there's no need to infiltrate the Puyang River Pass in the southwest anymore..."

The Great Teacher Zhang Jiao solemnly ordered adjustments to the main force of the Taiping Dao in Yanzhou, the Yellow Turbans of Dongjun. Upon hearing that his elder brother had already taken action against the Cheng family of Dong'e, Zhang Bao's brow twitched again, and he glanced at Zhang Jiao. Such domineering behavior was certainly not his brother's style.
As for the three chieftains of Dongjun, they all turned their heads in surprise and stared at the seated youth for a while. Destroy the Cheng family of Dong'e? This boy, who hadn't even grown his first hair yet? ...

"Fan Shuo, you are the commander of Jiyin County. Tell me about the situation in Jiyin County!"

"Yes! Great and wise teacher!"

Fan Shuo, the chieftain of Jiyin, had a dark complexion and wore a hempen robe, his attire somewhat resembling that of a merchant. He cleared his throat and began to describe the situation in Jiyin County, providing more accurate figures.

"Our Jiyin Taiping Dao has approximately 20,000 followers. If we were to rise up, we could gather 3,000 able-bodied men. These are mostly farmers. As for the rest, they are mostly the elderly, women, and children; they are of little use..."

"In Jiyin County, the largest clan is naturally the Jiyin Duan family, which probably owns more than a dozen large estates and more than 100,000 mu of land! With such a powerful eunuch family in the picture, and the previous Jiyin Marquis family, which took various actions against the gentry... there are no powerful aristocratic families in Jiyin County."

"Let me think. The Dong family in Dingtao, Jiyin, can barely be considered a prominent family, as can the Wu family in Dingtao. There's also the Wei family in Shanfu County to the southeast, and the Wang family near Chenliu to the west... That's about four families. Each family probably owns five or six thousand mu of land?"

"Oh, right! There's another powerful clan, the Li clan of Chengshi County, near the Great Wilderness Marsh! They openly own five or six thousand acres of land near the Great Wilderness Marsh, but who knows how much more they've illegally cultivated? And this Li clan is incredibly fierce; they seem to have hundreds of guards. Their clan leader is called Li Qian, and he's said to be exceptionally strong!..."

Upon hearing the name "Li Qian," Zhang Chengfu's expression shifted, and he thought of the name "Li Dian." He looked at the Grand Master of Virtue and gestured with his eyes. The Grand Master of Virtue nodded slightly, looked at Peng Kui at the very bottom of the table, and smiled in front of all the tribal leaders.

“Peng Gui, as the lord of Da Ye Ze, you know the situation around Da Ye Ze best. What is the background of the powerful Li family of Cheng Shi County? How much land do they own and how many guards do they have? Is it possible that they might join my Taiping Dao?…”

"Reporting to the Great Master! The Li family of Chengshi County is an old rival of the fishermen of Da Yeze! This powerful family seems to have ancestors who traded salt, and later bought land in Chengshi County to become a powerful family, probably for three generations..."

Ōnozawa Hōki straightened his chest, looked around at the surrounding commanders, and answered loudly.

"The current head of the family, Li Qian, rose to power by buying his way into office. His clan holds many positions in Chengshi County, especially controlling the county constable responsible for apprehending thieves! It seems another member of their clan is also a county constable in Dong'e County, commanding dozens of constables..."

"And the main household of this Li family keeps four or five hundred guards and retainers, far more than the average large clan! The marshland they have privately cultivated probably amounts to four or five thousand mu, which together amount to more than ten thousand mu of land! They have connections in the county, bribing officials at all levels, and controlling various positions. The county tax collectors never collect taxes from their estates, but instead repeatedly extort money from the villages around Daye Marsh!"

"After we killed several tax collectors, the Li family took the initiative and sent their guards and county constables to retaliate in the villages, killing many villagers! We wanted to fight back against the Li family, but we were no match for their numerous guards and constables. Many of them were equipped with leather armor and crossbows..."

After saying this, Peng Gui prostrated himself and made a heartfelt request.

"The Li family is the strongest and most vicious powerful clan around Dayeze, causing havoc in the area! They have already seized tens of thousands of acres of land and are shifting taxes onto the common people. They will never side with my Taiping Dao! We beg the great physicians and leaders of Taiping Dao to take action and rid Dayeze of this scourge!"

Clearly, Peng Gui's words were spoken from the perspective of the fishermen and villagers of Onoze. However, from the government's perspective, the powerful Li family of Chengshi County was a "benevolent clan" that maintained order in the village and suppressed the "bandits" of Onoze! They were the military guarantee that allowed the government's tax collectors to successfully collect taxes from the unruly people!
"Hmm, the Li family..."

Upon hearing this, the Great Teacher Chuan Wen frowned and remained silent in thought. After a few breaths, he looked at Zhang Chengfu and said gently.

"Chengfu, what do you think of the Li family of Chengshi County?"

Zhang Cheng remained silent for a moment, his expression gradually turning cold and solemn. Before the assembled commanders, he solemnly bowed to his master Zhang Jiao, his reply resolute and forceful.

"This disciple believes... we should destroy this powerful Li family and eliminate them all!!"

(End of this chapter)