In the third month of the third year of Chengtian, there was a massacre in Wuwei County.
In the middle of the drying field, a military official with an upright face and a powerful look stood on the top of a pile of weeds, raising his arms and shouting to the nearly a hundred farmers below:
"That man surnamed Xin came to us and didn't stand up for us. He also colluded with those big surnames. Those big surnames want our fields, and that surnamed Xin wants our lives. He usually drives us like oxen and horses. But even oxen and horses want it.
Give him a mouthful of food, but what about him? If he doesn’t allocate any money or food, he says that we can live on our own if we have a share of the land. Yes, in the past we had a share of the land, but what about now? Can we still survive?”
The person who said this was Zhang Heng, a clerk at the Xiutu Reclamation Station.
The settlement office is an institution under the dual leadership of the central and local governments. The settlement office in each county has a peasant captain, who is administratively led by the local county prefect, while the settlement affairs are led by the chief agricultural officer in Kyoto.
Therefore, there was the post of official, who specialized in delivering official documents from Wuwei to Luoyang.
During this period, the journey was three thousand miles, not only hard and tiring, but also always violated by thieves along the way. It can be said that it was a bad job of the first class. And such a bad job that everyone avoided, Zhang Heng did it, and he did it for six times.
Year.
Moreover, because of his frequent travels, Zhang Heng was from all over the world and had many friends in the three thousand miles from Hexi to Kyoto. He himself was also a prestigious person in the Xiutu Tuntian Department. Not only did he have a broad vision, he could also help those who were isolated in the Tunbu.
Let's bring something together.
So when Zhang Heng started agitating from above, hundreds of people gathered around him in a short time. And the number of people was increasing.
At this time, as Zhang Heng spoke from above, the villagers below became more and more impatient.
They yelled and cursed the man named Xin. This man was the Nongdu Lieutenant of Xiutu. The Xin family came from Didao, Longxi. He was a general with two thousand stones.
Originally, according to the provisions of the Three Mutual Laws, the Nongdu Lieutenants appointed as Hexi were generally from the Guandong area.
But then the two capitals were separated, and the Nongdu Lieutenant who had been slaughtered was replaced by a son of the Xin family in Guanxi. At first, everyone thought that someone could make the decision for them, but who would have thought that this son of the Xin family was even more greedy and violent than his predecessor
.
No matter how greedy my predecessor was, after all, he was still an official from Guandong. He was unfamiliar with the place and had no contacts with the local wealthy families. Therefore, even if he wanted to be greedy and ruthless, he was unable to do so.
But the Xin family is different. Behind him is a wealthy family in Longxi, and his family has old relationships by marriage with the Duan family, Yin family, and Suo family in Wuwei County.
Even twenty years ago, more than one of the Xin family's descendants served under the old Taiwei Duan. Now, although the old Taiwei is dead, his younger brother Duan Yan is now with the Xin family's Shaojun.
As ministers in the same palace in Chang'an, there is no need to say anything more about this kind of relationship.
With the support of local noble families and the tribe of servants brought from his hometown in Longxi, Captain Xinnong no longer had any scruples and acted more and more cruelly.
He often does violent things that harm other people's families just to occupy a little bit of their land.
But although this kind of thing aroused the dissatisfaction of many farmers, no one took the initiative to resist.
People are selfish, or love has limits. No one will sacrifice his life for the happiness of others. When Captain Xin did those things that harmed the people, others would secretly scold him.
, it is absolutely impossible for them to come out and confront the person named Xin.
In fact, the person named Xin is a tribe of 200 people, and the Xiutu Reclamation Department is the largest settlement in Wuwei County, with 3,000 households, accounting for one-third of the county's household registrations.
If so many people could unite, how could the person named Xin be able to dominate? But it's a pity that this person can't unite without killing him.
But now, I finally have an opportunity to put this knife on my own head.
That is, the valley water stopped flowing.
The valley water is the river of life that the entire Xiutu Reclamation relies on for survival and irrigation. Once the valley water stops, it will be a problem for the three thousand households in the settlement to have food.
But Valley Water is inland water formed from the melted snow water in the Qilian Mountains. It has never stopped flowing. How come it stopped flowing so suddenly?
Therefore, several prestigious settlers from the Xiutu Reclamation Station took their companions and friends to the south, that is, upstream of the Valley River, to check the situation.
And this investigation really revealed the problem. It turned out that upstream of the Xiutu Reclamation Department was Weiwu City, the county seat of Wuwei. When these settlers arrived at Weiwu City, they discovered that the powerful people in the city had actually set up a dam upstream of the Gushui River.
, build pavilions, pavilions and water rafters.
This was so good that the angry settlers immediately went to argue with these right-wingers.
But those powerful people were also confused. They told these farmers that these waterside pavilions and water channels have been built for decades. What does the current lack of water downstream of you have to do with me?
Isn’t it your fault? Is it because you are immoral?
The angry settlers naturally couldn't listen to this explanation and started to make trouble again. In the end, the powerful rightists didn't bother to explain and just let the powerful slaves beat them up.
In the end, the injured farmers were sent back to the Reclamation Department by their fellow villagers in the city.
Knowing that they could not defeat the powerful people, the settlers wanted to find someone named Xin to provide grain, at least to get through this spring first, and then think of a solution later.
But the man named Xin refused to release the grain at all. He only said one sentence to everyone:
"These grains are sent to Wuwei. Are you worthy of eating the public grains?"
The farmers were helpless and went back sulking. The more they thought about it, the angrier they became, and the angrier they became, the more they wanted to find someone to take advantage of.
At this time, the Xiutu Reclamation Department was like a pile of dry firewood, just waiting for a spark to ignite a raging fire.
And this Mars is Zhang Heng.
Before Zhang Heng came to Kyoto, he was often bullied by the cunning officials in Kyoto. Because he was from the Hexi Farming Station, he was a humble person.
Once, he was just eating cakes outside Da Sinong's temple, and he accidentally soiled the road outside the temple. Then he was whipped three times by the people inside. To this day, the whip marks are still imprinted on Zhang Heng's body.
and soul.
After that, the country rushed westward, the two capitals were separated, and the people of Kansai stood up.
At that time, although Zhang Heng was sad about the civil strife in the Han Dynasty, he was still happy that the Kansai people were gaining power. After all, he was a Kansai person.
So when he went to Xijing Chang'an as a messenger, Zhang Heng still felt a bit like a turned serf.
But reality defeated his naivety.
Yes, the Kansai people have stood up, but what does it have to do with you, the settlers in Hexi? You are just humble pigs and dogs like serfs. Kanto and Kansai are disputes between scholars, so what does it have to do with you.
As a result, Zhang Heng finally understood the world.
If he was still depressed outside, then with the arrival of Xin, Zhang Heng became even more depressed.
I don’t know why, but the man named Xin targeted Zhang Heng as soon as he came, and blamed Zhang Heng for all the hardships, tiring things, and misfortunes. Later, Zhang Heng and a member of the Xin family drank together and found out the reason.
It turned out that the man named Xin hated the man named Zhang, and he said that the leader of the bandits who brought trouble to the world was named Zhang.
Kill all the members of this family, and everyone in the world will be at peace.
Zhang Heng just felt that all this was so funny. I don't even know who the leader of the chaos you mentioned is. Who would have thought that he would suffer for this?
But because of this, Zhang Heng took the initiative to inquire about this person, and finally found out that his name was Zhang Chong. He was a great hero who was born in Licheng, Jinan, gathered in Mount Tai, and finally brought chaos to the world.
Because of this, Zhang Heng learned about what Zhang Chong had done and what their Taishan Army stood for.
Those four words "do justice for heaven" directly made Zhang Heng's soul tremble.
Yes, the world has been unfair for a long time. Since the Han Dynasty cannot provide justice for us, and the Guandong people cannot benefit us, then we should use the plow and sickle in our own hands to find justice ourselves.
Just like Zhang Chong, he used the rake in his hand to plow away the silverfish that harmed the people.
Therefore, Zhang Heng began to unite his friends as relatives and formed a secret society, saying:
"Today, injustice has been going on for a long time. We have been busy all day long without having anything to eat to survive, while the country's beetles are drinking and singing every day. I want to imitate the Taishan bandits, do justice for heaven, and seek justice for our Hexi farmers."
So the secret society with Zhang Heng as its core took root in the Xiutu Reclamation Department and gradually expanded its manpower.
Everyone advised Zhang Heng to kill Xin Chaqi, but Zhang Heng always said there was not enough time.
Until this time, the valley water had stopped flowing, and the man named Xin did not release grain. Zhang Heng knew that the time had come.
Under the instigation of Zhang Heng and other social residents, more and more farmers gathered in the drying field.
They were excited and shouted:
"Since Xin won't let us go, let's go and rob him. There are so many of us working together, what can he do to us?"
Until this time, most of the settlers still had the mentality that the law should not be punished and did not really want to rebel.
After hearing what everyone said, Zhang Heng knew that he had to do something powerful.
He winked at a person in the crowd below, and then began to continue his grievances.
Zhang Heng himself was a Xiitu man, so he certainly knew what everyone hated. Therefore, every word he spoke spoke to everyone's hearts, raising their anger to a new climax.
At this time, seven or eight slave-like members of the Xin family came over angrily.
They held big sticks in their hands and beat the gathered crowd. The settlers ran away with their heads in their hands, not daring to speak out in anger.
The leading official looked at Zhang Heng standing at a high place and cursed:
"Well, Zhang Heng, it turns out you're the one who's acting like a monster. Seeing as I've had wine with you, you come down and restrain yourself. I'll plead with Mr. Lang on your behalf."
The leader also knew that Zhang Heng would have to be stabilized.
But he didn't know that he could come here because Zhang Heng wanted to lend him a hand.
Just as the man finished speaking, Zhang Heng jumped down from the haystack like a bird.
With this jump, the official was pinned to his knees. The man was stunned to death. Before he could resist, Zhang Heng stabbed him to death with a knife.
When Zhang Heng killed the officials of the tribe, his companions and relatives emerged from the crowd and thrust their daggers into the heart of the frightened Xin tribe.
Looking at Xin's tribe lying on the ground, all the field officials were stunned for a moment, but soon, under the stimulation of blood and the encouragement of others, they raised their arms and shouted.
At this time, Zhang Heng had already cut off the head of the official. He asked a familiar one to find a bamboo pole and lift it up.
Then, Zhang Heng raised the knife in his hand and shouted to everyone:
"Knife in hand, come with me, let's kill Xin Gou!"
The companions in the crowd shouted:
"Open the granary and store grain."
Then all the farmers shouted enthusiastically:
"Open the granary and store grain."
For a time, the entire Xiutu Reclamation Department was emitting endless heat like fireworks, and all insects were turned into powder in this heat.
…
The riot in the Xiutu Reclamation Department soon had a chain reaction.
First, the nearby Jincheng County's Lingju Tuntian Department responded to the uprising by killing the peasant captain, then the Fanhe Tuntian Department of Zhangye County to the west also killed its chiefs in response, and then Juyan and Jiuquan also raised anti-flag.
Only the Dunhuang Reclamation Department was the furthest away from Xiutu. By the time the news reached there, the local officials and powerful men had already reacted and killed all the prestigious people in the department.
Originally, there were three main Tuntian districts in Dunhuang. One was Dajianduhou outside Yumen Pass, which fell in the east of Yulinquan Basin; the other was Yihe and Yuzehouguan District under the jurisdiction of Yihe Duwei, which fell between Anxi and Dunhuang.
The other is the west bank of Wowa River under the jurisdiction of Yangguan Duwei, just south of Dunhuang County.
These areas are fertile oases with flat terrain, sufficient water sources, and are suitable for farming, with extremely high grain yields. However, the settlers, like those in the Xiutu Settlement Department, do not have enough to eat.
The grain produced either fell into the hands of powerful men in the county, or was transported to Hecang City beside the ancient Shule River Road.
This city is a military granary for Dunhuang County to store grain. It is mainly used to supply the lives and battle needs of the beacon guards at Yumen Pass, Yang Pass and along the Great Wall.
But Dunhuang's defense had long since rotted away. How could these grains really reach the hands of the beacon-sui officials on the front line? They were all corrupted by the guards at Yumen Pass.
However, even though the leading figures were killed, the remaining settlers in the three districts of Dunhuang still raised their flags to rebel. This shows the extent of the resentment in these people's hearts.
They gathered together and headed towards Hecang City, hoping to obtain more food.
But in the end, these people were still defeated by the joint strangulation of Dunhuang powerful people, and were defeated in Hecang City. In the end, except for some who fled eastward to Zhangye, the rest were hanged along the Silk Road.
It is said that the hemp rope used to hang the man was not enough, so he had to be buried in the end.
Although the settlement in Dunhuang was suppressed, the settlers in the other three counties achieved great development.
Especially the Shouyi rebels Xiu Tuzhong, led by Zhang Heng, killed all the way to the southeast.
The first important city they captured was Wuwei County, which was governed by Wuwei County.
Zhang Heng's timing of the uprising was particularly good. In fact, the Liangzhou Rebellion had already been going on for two years.
Three years ago, Bei Gong Boyu, Li Wenhou and other Qiang powerful chiefs led the Huangzhong Yi Cong to revolt. They successively killed Ling Zheng, the captain who protected the Qiang, and defeated Jincheng, and their power increased greatly.
Especially after receiving the help of Han literati Bian Zhang and Han Sui, they began to invade the Longxi and Hanyang areas.
Historically, these Qiang rebels would soon reach the Sanfu area. But now, because Liu Hong moved west to Chang'an, the Kansai generals took full power.
They no longer need to rely on the Qiang rebels to gain political status as in history. Therefore, with the alliance of the Kansai generals, the Qiang rebels with backward weapons could only stop in Longxi.
In order to restrain the Qiang people from rebelling, Wuwei's powerful men almost devoted most of their troops to the Jincheng area in the southwest.
So when Zhang Hengshen took the lead and defeated hundreds of old Duan soldiers outside the city, Wuwei finally fell.
After entering the city, Xiu massacred the city for three days. After killing all the powerful party members, he set fire to all the waterside pavilions on the valley river.
Afterwards, Zhang Heng led the Xiutuzhong straight to Jincheng, and joined forces with the local settlers at Lingju Field.
At this time, their number had reached 30,000, and with the help of Han Sui, they formed an alliance with the Qiang people.
Things have developed so far that the entire Liangzhou has been in chaos, with smoke and burning and looting everywhere.
The Yu Xi who went straight to Chang'an, Xijing, flew all the way along the Anding Road. It only took eight days to send the military report of the chaos in Hexi to the desk of Duke Yanyan of Chang'an.
At this time, Chang'an was praying for their emperor Liu Hong.
I hope that the Lord of the West can live for a few more days.
In fact, I understand what everyone is saying and ask me to write more about Zhang Chong. It’s not that I don’t listen to advice, but I have a dream in mind when writing this book, which is to write about the real world. Please bear with me and support me.
Due to Chen's willfulness, all these branches will soon be explained. When that time comes and you come back to write about Zhang Chong, you will find how this world is so vivid.