Huangming

Chapter 330 Promotion and Reward, Restoring Order

As Li Hongji raised the head of the bandit leader Xu Hongru high, the clamor of the battlefield fell silent for a moment.

Most of the rioters stared at the head rolling on the ground, their last glimmer of hope vanishing. The hoes and sticks in their hands clattered to the ground, and they slumped down, their faces ashen.

They were originally farmers who had been coerced, and now that their leader had died, where was the will to fight?

However, not everyone was willing to surrender.

From the crowd, several leaders with menacing expressions suddenly roared. They were covered in blood and held blood-stained knives and guns, clearly ruthless bandits who had taken many lives since the rebellion began.

Don't believe their nonsense!

A one-eyed leader brandished a ghost-headed saber, spitting as he shouted, "We are guilty of rebellion! How can the imperial court tolerate us? Lay down your weapons and you will only face death!"

"Yes! Only by breaking out can we survive!"

Another scarred man shouted, "We still have over 100,000 men, while they only have 20,000 government troops. They can't kill them all! Even if they had 200,000 pigs, it would take them ten days and ten nights to catch them. Let's give it our all, maybe we can escape!"

These words were like a shot of adrenaline, striking the soft spot of those thieves who knew their sins were grave.

Yes, they have burned, killed, and looted, and their hands are already stained with the blood of innocent people. Even if they surrender, the imperial court will never let them off easily.

Rather than kneeling and accepting death, it's better to fight to the death!
Many of the rioters who had just laid down their weapons picked them up again, a glint of madness flashing in their eyes, and a wave of unease surged through the crowd once more.

From a high slope in the distance, Yuan Keli could see all of this clearly.

He frowned, immediately drew his sword from his waist, pointed the tip at the chaotic army, and shouted in a booming voice: "All those who surrender, lie down immediately! Hands over your heads! I hereby swear that I will not kill a single person in vain! Those who resist will be killed without mercy!"

As soon as Yuan Keli said this, the government troops behind him shouted in unison: "All those who surrender, lie down immediately! Hands over your heads! Those who resist will be killed without mercy!"

Thousands roared in unison, their voices echoing across the entire battlefield.

A commotion suddenly broke out in the chaos of the army.

Those ordinary people who were already hesitant, upon hearing the words "exemption from death," grasped at a lifeline and immediately dropped to the ground with a "thud," clutching the back of their heads tightly with both hands, not daring to lift their heads.

In the blink of an eye, a dark mass of people lay prone on the open field.

Those who remained standing naturally became the most obvious targets in the eyes of the Ming army.

"kill!"

At Yuan Keli's command, the Ming soldiers, who had been waiting in ambush, charged towards the stubborn resistance fighters like tigers among sheep.

Swords flashed and screams rang out one after another.

Although those bandits were fierce, they were no match for the well-trained Ming army.

Moreover, they were surrounded by surrendered soldiers lying on the ground, leaving them nowhere to hide. They were quickly divided and surrounded, falling one by one into pools of blood.

Not long after, the last stubborn leader was shot down by Yang Zhaoji, and the battlefield finally fell completely silent.

All that remained were corpses, weapons, and surrendered soldiers lying on the ground, trembling in fear.

Yuan Keli reined in his horse and stood on the high slope, looking at the devastated battlefield before him, and let out a soft sigh.

At this moment, Li Hongji was led by two bodyguards to Yuan Keli on the high slope.

He still held Xu Hongru's head steadily in his right hand, his hair still stained with undried blood, but his face showed no panic, instead exuding a calmness that comes from years of experience.

Yuan Keli sat upright on his horse, his eyes sharp as he looked the young man up and down.

After a moment, he asked, "Are you the traitor's inside man?"

Li Hongji looked up at Yuan Keli and saw that he was dressed in light armor and had an extraordinary demeanor, so he knew that this was the commander of the government army.

He immediately put down the head in his hand, clasped his hands in salute, and replied loudly, "I am Li Hongji, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

Yuan Keli nodded slightly, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes.

This was not the first time he had heard the name Li Hongji.

There were scattered records about this person in the files of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

What impressed him even more was that the emperor specifically mentioned this person in a secret letter, saying that he was a good rebel and had the potential to be a commander-in-chief.

Previously, Yuan Keli thought the emperor's words might be an exaggeration, but after seeing Li Hongji with his own eyes, he believed it to some extent.

The young man before me was tall and thin with a slightly yellowish complexion, yet he possessed an extraordinary appearance. He exuded an air of authority and seemed to have inexhaustible strength. He was no ordinary person and was clearly not someone to be underestimated.

"You infiltrated the enemy army and personally killed their leader, making a great contribution."

Yuan Keli said calmly, "I will report your achievements to the court truthfully and will certainly not treat you unfairly."

Upon hearing this, Li Hongji's face lit up with joy, and he cupped his hands again, saying, "Thank you, Commander!"

After this battle, he finally gained some standing in the imperial court.

At least he'd be qualified to be an official.

All the patience and planning these past few days have finally paid off.

Yuan Keli looked at him and said, "You have made great contributions in quelling the Wenxiang Sect's rebellion. However, there are still many things to deal with after the battle. You should go and rest first. There are important matters to discuss with you later."

Li Hongji did not turn away immediately, but stepped forward and said with a hint of earnestness on his face, "General, the rebel army's treasury in the city has been seized by my troops in advance. There are millions of taels of silver and countless gold and silver treasures inside, all of which were specially reserved for you, General."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Keli's eyes suddenly lit up, and his originally calm expression became somewhat surprised.

He knew better than anyone the court's financial woes.

The soldiers of the Beijing Garrison under his command relied mostly on the emperor's private treasury for their pay and provisions. The Ministry of Revenue was already stretched thin and could not even pay their regular military salaries.

If these millions of taels of silver could be deposited into the national treasury, His Majesty would be less concerned about the finances of the capital garrison, and would have more confidence in the subsequent reorganization of Shandong.

He looked at Li Hongji with more approval: "You did a great job, this is another great achievement."

Li Hongji scratched his head, a simple and honest smile on his face: "It was all for His Majesty's loyalty, and I dare not take credit for it."

He then changed the subject, his tone becoming somewhat probing: "However, in suppressing the Wenxiang Sect rebellion, I recruited quite a few people from the rebel army. These people have risked their lives alongside me, and we have some bond with them. I wonder if it would be possible to let them stay and serve the court?"

Yuan Keli's heart skipped a beat, but he asked calmly, "How many men do you have under your command now?"

Li Hongji, however, was thick-skinned and showed no sign of panic. He calmly replied, "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, I have approximately twenty to thirty thousand men under my command."

"puff!"

Yuan Keli almost spat the water he had just drunk onto Li Hongji's face. He stared at Li Hongji with surprise in his eyes, and after a long while, he joked, "You, the inside man, almost became the leader of the bandits."

His Majesty was absolutely right when he said that this person had a talent for rebellion.

A hidden mole was able to raise 20,000 to 30,000 men in the enemy army; this ability is not something an ordinary person can possess.

Li Hongji, still smiling, asked again, "I wonder if these people could stay?"

Yuan Keli shook his head, his tone firm: "Twenty or thirty thousand men is far too many. Moreover, most of these people are from riotous backgrounds, a mixed bag, and difficult to manage. I'll give you a quota of three thousand men; you can recruit elites yourself and incorporate them into the army. As for the rest, don't dismiss them; I still have a use for them."

He had his own plans. Since he wanted to clean up Shandong's internal affairs, having a white glove like Li Hongji was not enough; he also needed some black gloves who could do the dirty work.

Those rioters who were not incorporated into Li Hongji's organization were familiar with the local situation and were not afraid of causing trouble, making them ideal targets.

Upon hearing this, Li Hongji felt a weight lifted from his heart.

Although not all of his men could be retained, having a force of three thousand is still a decent result.

He knew that Yuan Keli's arrangement must have a deeper meaning, so he didn't ask any more questions and bowed, replying, "Your subordinate obeys!"

Yuan Keli nodded: "Go ahead, first settle the affairs of the treasury, then select the personnel. Keep the rest in check for now, and await orders."

"Yes, handsome!"

Li Hongji bowed to accept the order and turned to leave.

Watching his retreating figure, Yuan Keli's lips curled into a meaningful smile.

Li Hongji is indeed a capable person, but how to manage him in the future remains to be seen.

The remaining rebels might become a powerful tool for him to clean up the long-standing problems in Shandong.

In the following days, a long wooden fence was erected in the open fields outside Qufu, where tens of thousands of surrendered rebels were enclosed, forming a temporary screening camp.

Before the morning mist had completely dissipated, the judges, dressed in blue robes, had already entered the crowd with their registers. Yuan Keli had specially transferred a hundred experienced judges from various parts of Shandong, and also selected village heads and elders familiar with local affairs to form a special screening team.

At the entrance to the camp stood three tall wooden plaques, inscribed in vermilion with the words "coerced," "accomplices," and "vicious and stubborn," each character large enough to gleam with a blinding red light in the sunlight.

The judges questioned each person row by row, sometimes bowing their heads to take notes, sometimes shouting questions sternly. Those who gave vague answers were taken aside by soldiers for separate interrogation.

Some men, their trouser legs still stained with mud from their hometown, trembled as they said they had been robbed by the rebel army.

Some people had calluses on their hands from holding knives, but claimed that they were only coerced into carrying grain and fodder.

Five days later, the results of the investigation were compiled and presented to Yuan Keli: of the nearly 200,000 rioters, 150,000 were “coerced.”

Of these people, 70% were landless farmers from the surrounding areas of Yanzhou Prefecture, 20% were artisans from workshops that had been burned down, and the rest were mostly the elderly, women, and children, who were used as "human shields" by the rebel army and forced to move forward.

Many of them couldn't even explain the doctrines of the Fragrance Sect; they were simply forced to charge forward with the crowd under the threat of weapons.

"These people cannot be dealt with simply."

Yuan Keli spoke to his staff.

“Return them to their hometowns? Their houses in their hometowns have long been demolished by the rebel army and used as firewood. Their fields are either barren or divided up by bandits. If they go back, they will starve to death.”

He paused, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"More importantly, a group of starving people wandering around might be exploited by people with ulterior motives and repeat the same mistakes."

The staff members nodded in agreement, and one of the military advisors cupped his hands and said, "Your Excellency is wise. Why not assign him to the corvée labor camp? That way, he'll have food to eat and the wounds from the war can be repaired."

Yuan Keli stroked his beard and chuckled, "Just what I wanted."

That afternoon, horns sounded in the camp.

The soldiers divided the 150,000 people who had been abducted into three groups:
Some of the men were incorporated into the "Road Battalion," carrying shovels and stone rammers to the official road from Qufu to Yanzhou. Their task was not only to fill the craters left by the war, but also to widen the road to three zhang (approximately 10 meters) to facilitate the transport of grain and fodder in the future.

Some people were also incorporated into the "Canal Camp" to dig branch canals along the Sishui River. Wooden signs along the banks read "Dig five feet deep and wide ten zhang (approximately 33 meters)," and nearby, a minor official who was originally a farmer would measure the depth with a bamboo pole.

The remaining people were incorporated into the "mining camp" and escorted by soldiers to the iron mine in Zoucheng. Although they were only transporting ore, they could exchange it for two liters of coarse rice every day.

"tell them."

Yuan Keli specifically ordered his soldiers to shout messages along the streets.

"During the work period, you will be provided with enough food and an extra two coins per day, enough to buy a steamed bun. After a year, each person will receive three taels of travel expenses and two dou of good seeds. Thirty thousand hectares of unclaimed wasteland have been cleared in Yanzhou Prefecture. At that time, the land will be distributed to each household so that you can live a peaceful life."

These words immediately sparked a buzz of discussion in the previously lifeless camp, and a light rekindled in the eyes of many.

Many people thought they would work until they died.

Now that they know there is hope for survival, they have given up their rebellious thoughts.

after all
If they weren't desperate to survive, who would want to rebel?
While settling these people, Yuan Keli also set his sights on another list.

He ordered the captains of the Beijing garrison to personally select those who were over six feet five inches tall and could draw a three-stone bow. They were all taken separately to the drill ground on the other side.

Shandong men are naturally large-framed, and years of hard work have given them immense strength; some are even strong enough to lift a hundred-pound stone weight.

The captains, wielding whips, drove them into formation, sometimes ordering one to step forward and chop down wooden stakes, sometimes having another demonstrate archery. Finally, they selected five thousand strong men to be incorporated into the Beijing Garrison, who were on average a head taller than the original Beijing Garrison soldiers.

"Practice hard."

Yuan Keli personally went to the training ground to give a speech. Looking at these dark-skinned and sturdy men, he said loudly, "There will be an assessment in three months. Those who pass will be rewarded with five taels of silver and their families will be allocated good land."

The men responded with a thunderous roar, their voices echoing across the fields, even causing a few leaves to fall from the old locust tree beside the drill ground.

Compared to the "good fortune" of those who were coerced, those rioters who were categorized as "accomplices" and "victims" were left with only despair.

Five hundred and seventy-two bandit leaders who were found to have served as commanders or vanguards were chained and taken to the execution ground outside Qufu.

Wooden poles were erected around the execution ground, covered with signs listing the crimes committed.
"Burning down the government office," "Robbing merchant caravans," "Slaughtering Dongping Village"...

Each name was followed by a long list of bloody crimes.

Yuan Keli specially invited the people to witness the execution. As those former tyrannical leaders were pressed onto the execution platform and the sword fell, a deafening cheer erupted from the crowd.

Even worse were the twelve thousand accomplices.

They were bound with ropes, forming a procession ten miles long, and escorted north by soldiers.

The official document from the Liaodong Military Command has arrived. These people will be exiled to the border areas to cultivate land. During the day, they will dig for ginseng and collect pine nuts, and at night they will guard the border wall. They will never be allowed to set foot in Shanhaiguan until their death.

After arranging all the post-war matters and seeing the screening camp gradually getting back on track and the corvée labor teams working methodically on the official road, Yuan Keli returned to his study in the government office.

The night is deep.

The candlelight on the desk flickered, making the white hair at his temples even more striking.

He personally ground the ink and brought out specially made paper for secret messages.

This paper is tough and not easily damaged even when wet. It also has subtle patterns on it and is used exclusively for transmitting confidential information.

As Yuan Keli dipped his brush in ink, his wrist paused slightly.

The events of these past few days flooded his mind like a tide, and he needed to present every detail clearly, without omitting anything crucial while also maintaining a proper balance.

In the opening of the secret letter, he first detailed the handling of the mutinous troops:
"I have completed the screening of the 150,000 surrendered bandits in Qufu. Among them, 150,000 were coerced civilians and divided into road camps, canal camps, and mining camps. They were ordered to perform corvée labor for one year. After the term, they were given land to cultivate, so as to appease their minds."

Five thousand able-bodied men have been selected to serve as supplementary troops in the capital garrison; the five hundred and seventy-two ringleaders have been executed outside the city, and twelve thousand accomplices have been exiled to Liaodong, never to return.

Then, he changed the subject and talked about his plans: "Shandong has suffered from war and everything is in need of rebuilding. I plan to first repair the Yanqu official road to facilitate grain transport, then dredge the Sishui River canal to prevent drought and flood, and at the same time reclaim land and plant bean seeds to support the people. Next spring, we will implement the equal land distribution system, allocate the unclaimed wasteland according to the number of people, and set up agricultural officials to supervise the cultivation."

Each plan was detailed and specific, revealing his deep consideration for revitalizing Shandong.

At this point, Yuan Keli paused for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly.

There's one more thing that we can't avoid no matter what.

That was the upheaval at the Duke of Yansheng's residence.

He dipped his brush in ink and solemnly wrote: "The Duke Yansheng's mansion was looted by the rebel army, and his stepson, Kong Yinzhi, was burned to death in the chaos. All his relatives and family members were slaughtered by Xu Hongru, and the bloodline of the sage is temporarily cut off. There is no one to preside over the sacrifices at the Confucius Temple, which may upset the hearts of scholars all over the world. I earnestly request Your Majesty to quickly select a virtuous person from a collateral branch of the Kong family to take over the responsibility of presiding over the sacrifices and continue the incense offerings of the sage."

When this matter was mentioned, his writing became particularly heavy, after all, it concerned the inheritance of thousands of years of cultural heritage, and could not tolerate the slightest carelessness.

Finally, the list of those who will be rewarded for their contributions will be presented.

Yuan Keli spread out the list of achievements he had compiled over the past few days, his gaze lingering on the three characters "Li Hongji" for a long time.

This commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, from infiltrating the enemy camp to beheading Xu Hongru, made contributions that were truly unparalleled.

He picked up his pen and wrote: "Li Hongji, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, has been infiltrating the enemy's lair for several months, has seen through their treachery, and has killed the enemy leader Xu Hongru in battle. His merit is the greatest. I earnestly request Your Majesty to promote him exceptionally to encourage loyalty and bravery."

Only then were the achievements of generals such as Deng Shaoyu and Yang Zhaoji listed in order, with each person's merits clearly written and verifiable.

The entire piece, now nearly three thousand words long, has been completed.

Yuan Keli carefully reviewed the letter word by word, and only after confirming that there were no errors did he fold the letter neatly, put it into a specially made copper tube, seal it with sealing wax, and affix his personal seal.

He summoned his most trusted bodyguard and solemnly handed him the copper tube: "This is an urgent message, delivered personally to His Majesty. There must be no mistakes."

The guards received their orders and left, and the study returned to silence.

Yuan Keli, however, showed no signs of relief. He walked to the window, gazing at the deep night outside, his brows still furrowed.

Although Xu Hongru's Wenxiang Sect had been suppressed, this rebellion was like a sharp knife, cutting open the festering sore of Shandong's long-standing problems.

Corruption in officialdom has long been deeply ingrained, with local officials colluding with gentry to exploit the people.

Land consolidation became increasingly serious, and a large number of farmers lost their land and became displaced people.

The garrison system was practically defunct, with more than half of the soldiers deserting, and those who remained were mostly old, weak, sick, or disabled, with no fighting capacity whatsoever.

In postwar Shandong, it was necessary to stabilize the people's hearts so that they could settle down to farm and work, and also to rectify official corruption and eliminate corrupt officials one by one.

We must reform the land system to alleviate the contradictions of land annexation, and we must also reorganize the military to restore the fighting capacity of the garrisons.

Each and every one of these things felt like a heavy burden on my shoulders.

He still has a lot to do.

(End of this chapter)