Ningyang County is located in the west-central part of Shandong. The eastern part of the terrain is mostly low mountains and hills, while the western part is mostly plains. Yuhuang Mountain is a typical small hill in the plain area. It has neither steep peaks and ridges to serve as natural barriers nor surrounding lakes to rely on, not even a decent cave.
To put it bluntly, Yuhuang Mountain is just an ordinary and undefensible small hill. From Pangu to the Three Sovereigns, and then to the Jurchen invasion, this is the first time anyone has come to Yuhuang Mountain to become an outlaw.
What made Zhu Xiaosong even more frustrated was that Liu Huaiwen and the others who had gone up the mountain earlier seemed to have no awareness of being outlaws.
At the very least, shouldn't there be two people stationed at the foot of the mountain as sentries? Even if not, shouldn't there be two people stationed halfway up the mountain?
Well, Zhu Xiaosong, leading the twenty-odd young men he had just conned, swaggered directly up Yuhuang Mountain. At this moment, Liu Huaiwen and the other young men who had gone up earlier were setting up makeshift shelters.
It wasn't until Zhu Xiaosong clapped his hands in extreme frustration that Liu Huaiwen was startled awake. He trotted over to Zhu Xiaosong and called out, "Zhu... Chief, you're back?"
Zhu Xiaosong hummed and looked at the bewildered young men. He said loudly, "Stop what you're doing for now, everyone, come over here. I have a few words to say!"
Zhu Xiaosong planned to unify the thinking of these young men first.
Although the founding emperor had said that within the party there is no party, there is imperial thought, and within the party there are no factions, there are myriad strange things. However, this kind of inclusive thought is applicable to governing the world, and it is under the premise of "the party commands the gun." It is not applicable to the stage where Zhu Xiaosong is preparing to conquer the world.
If the thinking of these young men cannot be unified, as the team grows larger in the future, it is inevitable that the situation will arise where the "secret telegram in the grasslands" during the Long March directly led to the open split between the First and Fourth Front Armies.
Moreover, historically, there have been many powerful and formidable armies, but units that can withstand days and nights of fierce fighting without retreating, or even units that are completely annihilated, and units that can earn the unconditional trust of their own people, there has only been one such unit in the entire history of this blue planet.
This is the power of thought and faith.
And the fastest way to unify the thinking of these young men in the shortest possible time is not repeated brainwashing, nor is it coercion or inducement. The former takes too much time, and the latter is too unstable.
To make these young men internally recognize the great cause of opposing the Qing Dynasty, the fastest and most effective method is to make them recall the days of oppression and ignite their hatred for the Manchu Qing.
Based on this premise, what method could be more effective than a symposium combined with a session of recounting grievances?
Therefore, after the young men on the mountain and those who had just followed them up gathered around, Zhu Xiaosong smiled and pressed his hands down, saying, "Brothers behind, put the boxes aside first. Everyone sit down and listen to me for a moment."
After speaking, Zhu Xiaosong took the lead in sitting down, then looked at the young men in front of him and said, "From today onwards, we are considered outlaws on the mountain. But I still want to ask everyone, what are we seeking? Are we seeking to drink heartily and eat meat heartily? Or are we seeking carefree happiness?"
When Zhu Xiaosong asked this, the young men's expressions became somewhat bewildered.
Yes, in a fit of passion, they killed the landlord and then followed him up the mountain to become outlaws. From now on, not only would they be unable to return home, but they would also face the encirclement and suppression by the government. What exactly were they seeking?
Seeking to drink heartily and eat meat heartily? This is utter nonsense! Who says that becoming an outlaw guarantees hearty drinking and eating of meat? Anyone with a brain knows this is impossible, otherwise, who would still be honestly farming?
Seeking carefree happiness? Who says that becoming an outlaw guarantees carefree happiness? Bandits and horse thieves not only have strict hierarchies within their ranks but also have to face government encirclement and suppression. So where does carefree happiness come into play?
Seeing the bewildered expressions on the young men's faces, Zhu Xiaosong gave them some time to digest. Then he continued, "If we could live a life with wives, children, and a warm hearth by farming honestly, I don't think you would have followed me up the mountain, right?"
"But life is not easy. Let alone most of us don't even own our own land. Even if we did, would life necessarily be better?"
"The harvest from farming not only depends on the weather but also requires paying rent. The government also collects taxes and levies corvée labor. The landlords and gentry always want to turn our land into theirs. We also have to endure the arrogance of the stewards on the manors. You tell me, what hope is there in such a life?"
Man stewards...
These three words were like a mountain pressing down on everyone's hearts.
Man stewards, related information could originally be found on Baidu in later generations, but after a certain novel was taken down, the related information for these three words could no longer be found.
In fact, on any slightly larger manor under the rule of the Manchu Qing, there was basically a Man steward, and arbitrarily oppressing the common people was a normal occurrence.
Of course, the Manchu Qing emperors were all proficient in literary inquisition and were skilled at destroying books and altering history. Coupled with the fact that they had plenty of sycophants and lackeys, it was too easy to cover up certain things, such as the three words "first night right."
The "first night right" was originally recorded in "Remnants of Ashes," a book that described how brutal the Yuan Dynasty regime was. However, it should be noted that this was a book that was not printed in the Ming Dynasty but suddenly appeared in the Qing Dynasty.
A book describing how dark and brutal the Yuan Dynasty was, yet it was not widely printed in the Ming Dynasty, but appeared in the Qing Dynasty. What does this imply?
Think about the literary inquisition under the Manchu Qing, and the nature of the "Complete Library in the Four Branches of Literature" – whether it was compiling books or destroying them. The truth about "Remnants of Ashes" will become clear.
Those who know, know.
Therefore, when Zhu Xiaosong mentioned the three words "Man stewards," the mood of everyone present became so heavy.
Zhu Xiaosong continued, "So, we are not seeking to drink heartily and eat meat heartily, nor are we seeking carefree happiness. We just want to live with dignity, without being oppressed."
"But, is it enough that we have gone up the mountain? The Man stewards in the remaining manors are still acting arrogantly!"
Liu Niu, with red eyes, shouted, "Chief, ever since I said I would follow you, I have entrusted my life to you. Whatever you say, we'll do. Which manor shall we sweep next?"
Other young men also shouted in agreement, "Yes! We listen to the Chief!"
"Whichever manor the Chief says to sweep, we will sweep!"
Zhu Xiaosong chuckled and raised his hands to signal the young men to quiet down. He said with a smile, "Don't always talk about sweeping manors. You make us sound like bandits and horse thieves. We are going to do great things."
"Bandits and horse thieves only care about their own enjoyment. We are going to stand up for the common people of the world, striving to ensure that in the future, all the common people in the world will have land to farm, food to eat, and clothes to wear."
As soon as Zhu Xiaosong finished speaking, the young men who were initially clamoring became silent.
Standing up for the common people of the world? This is not becoming an outlaw on the mountain, this is clearly rebellion!
But becoming an outlaw on the mountain and rebellion are two completely different things! The former might only lead to one's own death, while the latter would implicate the entire family, including the elderly and children!
Zhu Xiaosong continued to watch these young men with a smile, without expressing his opinion. However, Liu Niu couldn't help it. He suddenly spat and said, "Those from Liu Miao Village should all know me, Liu Niu. Those from other villages may have heard of me, or they may not have."
"When I just got married, my new bride was snatched by that dog Liu Juren and given to Man Steward Ge Jika two days after she arrived. When she returned, she hanged herself."
"Back then, I was cowardly and didn't dare to avenge my wife. It was the Chief who killed Man Steward Ge Jika and avenged my wife!"
"And you! All of you, who among you hasn't been bullied by landlords? Who hasn't been bullied by Man stewards? Are you going to be cowards now?"
"Fine, you're cowards, but I'm not! Didn't the Chief make arrangements before we went up the mountain? You forgot, but I didn't!"
"I don't care what you guys will do in the future. I have only one thing to say: if the Chief says we want to rebel, then I will follow the Chief and rebel. Anyway, I've had enough of living a life of oppression!"
As Zhu Xiaosong had expected, following Liu Niu's declaration, the other young men were also reminded of their past painful memories.
It was slightly better for the self-sufficient farmers who had their own land. At least they could eat and barely survive. But every single one of the young men present was a tenant farmer of the landlords!
After working hard all year, facing the earth and the sky, with sweat dripping like beans, the meager grain they earned, after deducting the public grain for the government, also had to be paid as rent to the landlords. The result was that if they encountered a bad harvest year, the remaining grain was not enough for their own consumption!
What to do if there isn't enough grain? The officials wouldn't care if your grain was enough to eat or not. In any case, your corvée labor could not be reduced by a single day. You could only work odd jobs in your spare time to earn money to buy grain.
And this was only when the harvest year was not too bad. If there was a disaster year, then selling one's children, or even cannibalism, would become their only way out.
What about the land? The land was all taken by those landlords during the disaster years!
In other words, these young men were pushed to the brink, and it just so happened that Zhu Xiaosong started to fight the local tyrants, which is why they followed Zhu Xiaosong up the mountain!
Therefore, when Liu Niu's words evoked sad memories, and considering the Chief's arrangements before going up the mountain, these young men became resolute once again.
Rebellion it is. Anyway, becoming an outlaw on the mountain is death, and rebellion is also death. What if they succeeded? With the Chief's arrangements, at least they wouldn't have to worry about their families. Sacrificing their lives for future generations to gain wealth is not a loss!
Seeing the young men's expressions gradually becoming resolute, Zhu Xiaosong smiled and said, "Don't worry. We have just started our uprising on the mountain, and our strength is still very weak. Therefore, we will only act under the guise of bandits and horse thieves. The government will not take us too seriously for a while."
"Of course, since we have already gone up the mountain and become outlaws, and our hands are already stained with the blood of those landlords and Man stewards, the government will definitely not let us go."
"Therefore, we must be prepared for both eventualities. On one hand, we must be prepared to deal with the government's encirclement and suppression. On the other hand, we must be prepared to continue fighting local tyrants and distributing land."
"However, as the old saying goes, a household with a thousand mouths has one person in charge. Since you are all willing to follow me up the mountain, we must first establish some rules."
Speaking of this, Zhu Xiaosong took a deep breath, stood up from the ground, and paced slowly, saying, "I won't bore you with complicated rules like the 'Seven Prohibitions and Fifty-four Executions.' You won't be able to remember them all at once."
"Therefore, our rules are very simple. First, all actions must follow orders. As the saying goes, military orders are like mountains. Once commanded, you must go through even a mountain of knives and a sea of fire."
"Second, do not take a needle or a thread from the common people. Remember this well, you all come from poor backgrounds. No one is allowed to harm the common people! If this rule is violated, don't blame me for turning my back on you!"
"Third, all captured goods must be handed over to the public, because we are not here to become mountain kings. We are here to rebel and rise up!"
"Besides these three points, we must also speak kindly, conduct fair trade, return borrowed items, compensate for damaged items, not scold or beat common people, not damage crops, and not harass women."
"These are all our rules. To put it simply, we must not bully the common people!"
Zhu Xiaosong knew his own capabilities.
Zhu Xiaosong's only advantage was that he had read the five volumes of the Dragon Slaying Secret Arts, as well as divine books like "Home-made Production of Everything," "Friend of Military and Civilian Talents," and "Militia Handbook."
Therefore, Zhu Xiaosong directly copied the three major disciplines set by the founding emperor, and even the eight points of attention only omitted one, "not to mistreat prisoners of war." The rest were copied.
Talk about human rights with certain things? They are not worthy!