One month later,
At Jinshanwei, noon.
Yin Xiaohu was leading the released slaves from the Tunken Guard in reclamation work when a fellow villager suddenly called out:
"Brother Xiaohu! Isn't that Brother Run?"
Yin Xiaohu looked over and saw a man running towards them like a madman, as if pursued by specters. He was almost tumbling and crawling, staggering along the ridges of the fields.
Yin Xiaohu, having experienced many battles, having led the Yi Yong in the Battle of Huating and the Siege of Zhoushan, and later campaigning south to Fujian and Lingnan to suppress bandits, was naturally very vigilant. He immediately saw that the situation was strange and rushed over. Upon closer inspection, the person was Lu Run, from his own village, but he couldn't figure out how Lu Run had come to Jinshan from Nanxun.
At this moment,
Lu Run, seeing it was Yin Xiaohu, suddenly burst into tears, beating the ground with his hands and feet, weeping bitterly, "Brother Xiaohu! It's tragic, too tragic... Brother Xiaohu, save us quickly... wuwuwu..."
Yin Xiaohu saw that his complexion was extremely haggard and that he had a look of utter shock, giving him a dark and gaunt appearance. Considering the current precarious situation, he guessed that something major had happened in their hometown. He immediately helped him up and said anxiously:
"What happened? Tell me!"
Lu Run cried,
"Brother Xiaohu, the Reform Commandant is beating people in our village! They say it's to collect back taxes! They hang people up and beat them! Everyone has their legs broken, I, I ran fast, they didn't catch me! I remembered you are a Yi Yong Qian Zong, so I came to find you... It's tragic, too tragic, too tragic... They beat the old and the young..."
Back taxes?
Reform Commandant?
Yin Xiaohu saw that he was already out of his mind and couldn't explain anything clearly. Thinking of "back taxes" and "Reform Commandant," he suspected that a great disaster had occurred.
It should be known that
After he returned from Lingnan, he was assigned to Jinshanwei by Liu Yingjie and led a thousand households of captured slaves to reclaim land in the hilly terrain. Although he was a talented general and had been specifically mentioned by Zhu Mo multiple times, he was still unfamiliar with officialdom and was gradually being ostracized.
This man was extremely alert. Although he had not studied, his mind was exceptionally intelligent. Recalling some recent changes, he had already guessed the general situation—
Zhu Mo had disappeared for nearly three months, and Zhang Juzheng had returned to the capital. The reforms in Jiangnan were currently being presided over by two court officials. It had also been heard in the past ten days or so that things were very chaotic outside the military garrisons, but Liu Cunyi and Ouyang Bijing had both said that no matter how chaotic it got, it wouldn't affect the Tunken Guard...
With his intuition, this matter was likely related to the Crown Prince supervising the state. Zhu Mo must have gone into hiding, and Zhang Juzheng had also followed the wind and returned to the capital. The two people who had arrived were most likely confidantes of the Yan family, and with this change, they probably intended to completely overturn Zhu Mo's reforms.
If this were the case, how could the Tunken Guard be unaffected? These were all slaves released by Zhu Mo's decree. Wouldn't they have to return to their masters then? They might even have to pay compensation!
"Reform Commandant... Reform Commandant... I haven't heard of that..."
After a moment of panic, he asked again:
"Brother Run, don't rush! Speak slowly..."
But Lu Run had clearly been scared out of his wits. His eyes were still wide open, staring at something, shouting and yelling, then cowering in fear, and he couldn't explain anything at all.
Yin Xiaohu was, after all, a general personally selected by Zhu Mo. After a moment of panic, he slowly calmed down and thought: Now that the two important figures of the Yan family had taken over Jiangnan, he could not go to the government. That so-called Reform Commandant was likely created by them, and it must be those villains taking revenge by abusing their power.
He had, after all, experienced battles and had already made up his mind—
He would still take a few Yi Yong to go and see, under the guise of inspecting coastal defenses in Zhoushan. At that time, it was hard to say whether Liu Cunyi and Ouyang Bijing would change their minds.
He immediately gathered fifty men, most of whom were sworn brothers he had made during his military service in the past six months. He then went to the armory to get firearms and swords, instructed the deputy Qian Zong to report to the guard, and set off for Huzhou with fifty men as night fell.
...
Leaving the territory of the Tunken Guard,
Yin Xiaohu discovered that the situation was indeed extremely strange.
The villages they passed were all dark and silent, with every household closed up. As soon as the villagers saw the team with "Yong" embroidered on their uniforms, they scattered and fled as if they had seen ghosts. In such circumstances, it was impossible to gather information.
Yin Xiaohu knew that something immense had happened, and Zhu Mo's whereabouts were unknown. What could be done? And why were these villagers so terrified upon seeing the Yi Yong? It should be known that these Tunken Yi Yong were not allowed to go out, so how could they have made enemies with villagers they didn't know?
At this moment,
The team stopped at a small bridge. Lu Run looked at the calm water surface under the moonlight and suddenly became quiet. He murmured to himself for a while, then turned back to Yin Xiaohu and said:
"Brother Xiaohu, look, it's so much like our home... But, do you know? The people in our home have all been terribly wronged by them..."
Yin Xiaohu saw that he had become a little clearer and quickly asked:
"What were those people wearing? Where did they come from?"
Lu Run said:
"The same as you... Hahaha, the same! Hahahaha..."
As he spoke, he seemed to recall some terrible scene and became delirious again.
Yin Xiaohu and the others also felt their hair stand on end. Among these people, three or four were also fellow villagers from Nanxun, and they were all extremely anxious at this time. However, they knew that Yin Xiaohu was very strict and did not dare to speak out.
"Wearing the same clothes..."
The group was stopped by a team. Yin Xiaohu lied, claiming they were escorting military supplies.
Only then did everyone see clearly—
These people were indeed wearing Yi Yong uniforms!
Yin Xiaohu was a local. Although he was an orphan, he was very familiar with everyone. At first glance, he recognized the leader as He Changgen, the second son of Dong Fen's family's retainer!
This means,
The retainers had indeed come out again.
Had Duke Zhu Mo's reforms been reversed?
Arriving at the county yamen,
Everyone was shocked!
They saw a large group of young men kneeling on the ground, at least forty or fifty of them, several wearing cangues, crying out their grievances. The passers-by, however, all looked as if they had seen ghosts and did not dare to look, and were about to leave when they were stopped by yamen runners and Yi Yong. Everyone was crowded together, told that Magistrate Wan wanted to give a speech. Before long, thousands of people had gathered.
Yin Xiaohu immediately ordered his men to disperse, telling them to circle around and then watch the excitement as villagers, and to await his orders.
After making arrangements, before long, the villagers had gathered two to three thousand strong, and those kneeling on the ground crying grievances had their mouths stuffed with rags by the yamen runners.
At the same time,
Magistrate Wan, surrounded by yamen runners, walked out, accompanied by a scholar and a Bazong.
"Fellow villagers..."
Magistrate Wan ascended a three-step platform and said loudly:
"Now that the Crown Prince is supervising the state, Elder Chen strongly advocates for the return of reforms to the way of the sages! This is a major event, and all four provinces of Jiangnan must implement it!
A month ago, this county received an order from the Jiangnan Four Provinces Reform Supervision Office, requiring all small workshops in all villages to pay back taxes... Since ancient times, who dares to be negligent about imperial grain and national taxes? Therefore, this county magistrate sent yamen runners to the villages to collect them, but regrettably, the stubborn people defied the law and publicly resisted the reforms!"
Having said this,
His tone became very stern, and he pointed to the people kneeling on the ground, saying again:
"These individuals dared to violate the Crown Prince's imperial decree and openly insulted the yamen runners! Not only did they refuse to pay the overdue taxes, but they also incited the villagers to resist the reforms! How can such wicked people not be severely punished? Therefore, this county, by order of the Reform Commandant, has gathered the villagers here to announce the national law..."
He paused and then said loudly:
"Please, Reform Commandant, announce the imperial decree!"
The villagers' faces immediately turned pale with alarm, and those kneeling on the ground looked as if they had seen ghosts. Several tried to crawl away on their knees but were beaten back by the yamen runners.
Yin Xiaohu, mingling with the villagers, also broke out in a cold sweat. He could also hear the villagers complaining in low voices.
"Alas, it's all Zhu Mo's fault for reforming things so well..."