The Ming Dynasty: Starting with bandits, it swept across the land.

Rebellions by salt smugglers have a long history in ancient China.

To take a recent example, Zhang Shicheng, who competed with Zhu Yuanzhang for the throne at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, was originally a salt smuggler.

These people must have had the power to carry out the salt smuggling, and they must have traveled far and wide, with a good understanding of social conditions, collusion among officials, and even local forces.

Therefore, once they start causing trouble, the probability of them succeeding is very high.

The man who rebelled in Pucheng was a salt merchant named Hong Jiliang.

He was a local tycoon who had been in the salt trade for two generations, always following the path of official-merchant connections.

But in June of this year, his path of official business suddenly became blocked, and he turned into a private businessman.

The reason is simple: his powerful backer collapsed.

When the imperial court cracked down on smuggled salt, it only arrested the salt dealers along the transportation route, but never investigated the source—where did the salt actually come from?

Because the salt merchants also obtained their salt from the official salt fields with receipts.

The reason why salt from the official salt fields became smuggled salt was simply because the salt tax was never paid to the imperial court.

During the Ming Dynasty, a salt certificate system was implemented, with one certificate for transporting one certificate of salt.

Normally, with the protection of his superiors, he traveled on official roads when selling salt, and stayed at post stations along the way.

But once the person in charge falls, what was originally a compliant and legal business instantly becomes an illegal and disorderly affair.

Hong Jiliang originally wanted to find connections to smooth things over again, but he was too lucrative, and someone in higher positions had already set their sights on him.

Having spent years living on the edge, Hong Jiliang saw the situation clearly and decided to take the risk.

He pretended to spread rumors that he would spend a lot of money to pull strings and invited the county magistrate and the registrar to his home.

Only Magistrate Liu Zhaokui, who had only been in office for a short time, looked down on the way the county magistrate bribed officials to do business, and did not go.

It was this decision that saved the magistrate's life.

Having killed the county magistrate and the registrar, Hong Jiliang felt that things had escalated too much, so he decided to go all the way and seize the county seat as well, and deal with all the families he had grudges against.

But Magistrate Liu Zhaokui was a formidable figure; he led a group of constables and inspectors and drove him out of the city.

Driven out of the city, Hong Jiliang, along with his men, raised the banner of "the government forcing the people to rebel" and, with the help of the newly gathered people, began to wreak havoc on various villages and towns outside the city.

"I see." Li Chengye seemed to have thought of something and continued to ask, "Then, did the government troops in Yijun City head towards Pucheng?"

When Li Chengye was scouting in Yijun, he discovered that the main force of the government troops was gone from the city, and only some old and weak people were left to maintain order.

"Where did they go?" Suhe shook his head and said, "The government troops? They went back to Huazhou."

"Hmm? Why is that?"

"Prefect Fan Zhimao submitted a memorial to Governor Hu Tingyan of Shaanxi, stating that the garrison had deliberately neglected their duties during the pursuit of Wang Er, leading to the collapse of Wang Er's troops and their harm to the local people. Commander Han Chengju of Tongguan Garrison was furious upon hearing this, saying that Yijun was originally a matter for Yan'an Garrison, and now that Wang Er had been defeated, he no longer cared. He then led his troops back to Huazhou on his own. Commander Zhang Shixiong also left with his men."

"Is it that big of a deal? No wonder..." Li Chengye couldn't find any government troops in Yijun City, and he couldn't find any news either. He thought they had all gone out to chase after Wang Er.

Having figured everything out, Li Chengye ignored Su He and turned to Huo Tu, saying, "Brother Huo, what are your plans for the future? Will you come with us?"

Unexpectedly, Huo Tu said, "I want to go back to Huo Family Village."

"This..." Li Chengye hesitated, "You've already been arrested once in the village, why do you still say you want to go back?"

"I made an agreement with the young men in the team that if we got separated, we would go back to our homes to regroup. Last time I was unlucky and didn't notice that there were government officials in the village. This time I'll be more careful and I shouldn't get caught again."

No matter how many descendants survive, I will definitely go back to see them and wait for them.

Hearing this, Li Chengye knew that there was no use in trying to persuade him.

Suhe's horse had a glossy coat and was easy to spot on the road.

He asked Old Sun to fetch an old saddle and put it on the old horse pulling the prison cart, and also packed some dry rations for him.

Liu Ye then stripped off the clothes of a yamen runner of similar build and handed them to Huo Tu to change into.

And so, Li Chengye and the others watched as Huo Tu rode alone on that old horse, wearing a somewhat awkward uniform, swaying and staggering towards Huo Family Village—his hometown.

After packing his things, Li Chengye said to Liu Ye and Han Sanhu, "We have to go too."

After leaving Old Sun's liquor store, Li Chengye and his men took off their armor and put it in their bundles.

Suhe gave that fine horse to Old Man Tao's son.

Li Chengye led him on a bicycle ride to the fork in the road between Yijun and Huangling, gave him directions, and then they parted ways.

Huangling is located in Zhongbu County, whose county seat is located at the foot of Qiaoshan Mountain.

In this year of severe drought in northern Shaanxi, this central county has received two rain showers, which locals believe is a blessing from their ancestors.

Moreover, unlike other counties such as Baishui and Yijun, Huangling, located in the central part of the country, is exempt from taxes.

In the thirty-fifth year of the Wanli reign, an earthquake struck Huangling.

At the time, there was discussion among the government and the public that "the world is in danger."

The Wanli Emperor sent an envoy specifically to offer sacrifices.

A few years later, the Liaodong Incident occurred, and the Later Jin dynasty rose to power, making people even more convinced of this claim.

The temple land of the Yellow Emperor Temple is exempt from taxes, and the gentry in the surrounding area are wealthier than those in other places.

The road that Li Chengye and his group took was the Xianyu Road. To reach Huangling, they had to cross Qiaoshan Mountain and pass through Luochuan Plain.

He and Yang Chongwang were originally scheduled to meet at Pianqiaokou, south of Liqiaoshan, four days later, but it took them two days to get there after finishing their business.

As dusk fell, they were still on the mountain path of Qiaoshan. Although it was a mountain path, it was an official road with many people coming and going, so it was not difficult to walk.

Since it was mid-month and the moonlight was bright, the group decided to simply carry torches and walk through the night, resting after crossing Qiaoshan.

So Li Chengye and his men left the Qiaoshan Ancient Road in the middle of the night and set up camp to rest in a grove of trees.

Although they went to bed late, they all woke up very early.

A caravan of merchants set off early, and the bells hanging from the necks of their horses woke them up.

Since they were already up, the group decided to continue their journey.

Then they discovered that the people of Huangling were indeed much better than those of Yijun and Ganquan, whom they had passed through.

Although one could occasionally see ragged refugees fleeing famine on the road, most of them were single individuals, and it hadn't yet reached the point where entire villages were fleeing together.

As agreed beforehand, Li Chengye waited for half a day at Pianqiaokou and met Zhu Yao, who was serving as the advance scout.

Before long, Yang Chongwang and the others also came out of the mountains.

Seeing that there were no changes in the team, Li Chengye breathed a sigh of relief.

"Chengye! We made the right choice coming to Huangling!"