Chapter 60: Dividing the Land

  （0060）

  On the 19th of April in the seventh year of Chongzhen, Hou Shanping and others arrived at Yangjiatun and formally met with Zhang Zhun. The meeting place was in the newly completed Welcoming Guest House, which was actually a newly built thatched hut, but with more tables, chairs and benches, enough for twenty or thirty people to sit at the same time.

  At the same time as Hou Shanping arrived at Yangjiatun, there were three other young backbone members from different villages. One was named Liu Hang, from Zhaojiatun. One was named Wang Mingyu, from Zhangjiatun. One was named Peng Bo, from Maojiatun. The anti-Japanese sentiment in these three villages was the strongest, and the three men stood out as a result.

  Liu Hang and Wang Mingyu are both hardworking young people, their skin looks darker. In comparison, Hou Shanping's skin looks whiter, apparently not working too hard, he is actually a scholar, having read the Four Books and Five Classics. Peng Fei's nickname is Fei, actually just a bit chubby. These days, as long as you have a little meat on your body, you can be called Fei.

  After some simple pleasantries, the five of them sat down separately.

  Actually, before this, the five people already had some basic understanding of each other. The bridge to this understanding was Huo Zi's intelligence network and also the salt business of Yang Rui Feng. Each of their families participated in Yang Rui Feng's salt business. As for rebelling, the attitudes of the five were very firm, without any question. In fact, their desire to rebel might be even stronger than Zhang Zhun's. After all, they had been oppressed for almost twenty years and urgently wanted to change their fate.

  Among the four, Hou Shanping had the highest cultural level. He had attended school and read the Four Books and Five Classics, and could write beautiful calligraphy with a brush. As a scholar, he also had a courtesy name, San Yuan, which naturally meant that he had passed three imperial exams in a row. Unfortunately, he had participated in the imperial examination three times, but all ended in failure, not even passing the county-level exam. Unbeknownst to him, he was already over thirty years old.

  Under the cruel blow of reality, Hou Shanping finally realized that the road to imperial examination was ruthless. As a son of a military household, it was impossible for him to make a name for himself through imperial examination. Therefore, after Zhan Yingwei's assassination, he wholeheartedly returned to the life track of the military households. In the days following Zhan Yingwei's assassination, Hou Shanping felt stifled for a while.

  After inviting everyone to sit down, Zhang Zhun said straightforwardly: "Since you all have taken the time to come to Yangjiatun in person, I don't have anything else to say. Let's just talk openly about whatever we need to discuss. The main reason I invited everyone here is that there are a few issues that need to be discussed with you all. The first issue is related to the attack on Fushan City."

  Hou Shanping was most eager to attack Fushan City. Zhang Heng died inexplicably at the hands of Wang Shixin, and he had been thinking of avenging him all along, but unfortunately, there had never been an opportunity. In terms of violence, planning, and strategy, he and Zhang Heng were not on the same level. After Zhang Heng's death, the pressure Hou Shanping bore was unprecedented. Upon hearing this, Hou Shanping immediately asked expectantly: "Yulin, are you confident in attacking Fushan City? When will we start?"

  Wang Mingyu was also one of Zhan Yingwei's subordinates. He and Hou Shanping could be said to be Zhan Yingwei's left and right arms. Regarding Zhan Yingwei's death, they were equally resentful and eager to avenge him. Upon hearing this, he immediately followed behind Hou Shanping and said: "Yulin, as long as you give the order, the three villages of Houbetun, Hounantun, and Zhanjia can mobilize 300 people! Not one more or less!"

  Liu Hang also made a statement on the spot: "We Zhaojiatun can send at least sixty people!"

  Peng Fei said: "Our Ma Jia Tun can send out a hundred men!"

  Liu Hang glanced at Peng Fei and changed his words: "Our Zhaojiatun can also send out a hundred people!"

  Wang Mingyu calculated and said, "Yulin, five hundred people, is it enough? If not, we can mobilize more, and there are still two or three hundred people who can be called out! As long as we can get rid of that son of a bitch Wang Shixin, we'd be willing to sell our pots and pans!"

  Liu Hang nodded and said: "Right! That's what I mean!"

  Peng Bo became excited and shouted loudly: "We will send 200 people from our village! No, we will send 250 people! We must get rid of that bastard Wang Shixin!"

  Look at their reaction, and you'll know how deep the hatred is between them and Wang Shixin. The anger that was buried in their hearts before has all erupted now. The source of this eruption is Zhang Quan himself. It was he who cleanly took down Hei Bao, letting everyone see a glimmer of hope for victory. Without Yang Kun and without Hei Bao, Wang Shixin's strength has been weakened by at least half.

  Zhang Zhun waved his hand, letting everyone calm down and discuss calmly. He said slowly: "Attacking Fushan City doesn't require so many people. In fact, attacking Fushan City is no longer a problem. The key issue lies in how to face the counterattack of the government army after capturing Fushan City. Taking Fushan City does not mean we can occupy it for long, and the government troops will definitely try to take it back."

  Liu Hang nodded in agreement with Zhang Zhun's words.

  There were no more black panthers or sharp claws, and Wang Shixin had only two or three hundred people who could use them, among whom the elite were only about fifty. Wanting to defend the vast Fushan City was still very difficult. Moreover, as time passed, Wang Shixin's family members may not have such strong psychological qualities, and whether they would betray in battle was uncertain. In fact, the key to capturing Fushan City did not lie in how strong Wang Shixin's defensive capabilities were, but rather in how strong the rebels' offensive capabilities were.

  As long as the city gate can be broken, there is no need to worry about the rest. To put it bluntly, the entire Fushan City's military households add up to several thousand people, and one person's saliva is enough to drown Fushan City, let alone the guards led by Zhang Zhun. The four of them believe that even if the guards and Wang Shixing's family servants fight one-on-one, they will still win steadily.

  Liu Hang suddenly asked: "Yulin, I heard you have firearms equipped?"

  Zhang nodded and said affirmatively: "Yes, a total of thirteen rifles, and two falconet cannons. There are enough shells and gunpowder!"

  The four of them were overjoyed and couldn't help but applaud spontaneously.

  With firearms and artillery, taking down Fushan City would be a piece of cake.

  Hou Shanping asked urgently: "Then... are we attacking the city tomorrow?"

  Liu Hang and Peng Fei Zai are also very much looking forward to it.

  In their view, as long as they mobilize the big guns and fire a few rounds at the Floating Mountain City, Wang Shixin will be so scared that he'll wet his pants. As soon as they blast open the city gate, they can charge in and swallow him whole. Without the protection of the city walls, how many more days can Wang Shixin continue to act wildly?

  Zhang Zhun shook his head slightly and said slowly: "What about after the city is broken? After we capture Fushan City, what do we need to do? Has everyone thought about it?"

  The four of them were slightly stunned, looking at each other in dismay.

  After breaching the city?

  After breaching the city, they didn't really think about what to do next. They were single-mindedly focused on killing Wang Shixin to avenge Wei Ying and retrieve their own money and grain. This goal had not been achieved yet, so their vision wouldn't look too far ahead.

  Wang Mingyu said uncertainly: "Will the imperial court's arrears of money and grain be distributed to everyone?"

  Zhang Zhun shook his head and said slowly: "This is still not enough."

  Liu Hang impatiently said: "Yu Lin, don't keep us in suspense anymore! If you have any suggestions, hurry up and say them out loud! I'm about to die from anxiety!"

  Wang Mingyu said: "Exactly!"

  Zhang Zhun said calmly, "I estimate that after we capture Fushan City, the counterattack by the government troops will be quite fierce. Relying solely on us may not be enough to withstand it. Therefore, we must mobilize every military household in Fushan to fight to the death with the government troops. So, I suggest reassigning land! Let each military household in Fushan have its own land!"

  As soon as this was said, everyone present was stunned and speechless.

  Wang Mingyu was so excited that his throat kept making noise, but he couldn't say a word. Hou Shanping, Liu Hang and Peng Fei's expressions were not much different from Wang Mingyu's, the only difference being that all three of them had their mouths open, but no sound came out. The eyes of the four people were exceptionally excited, shining brightly and sparkling with energy.

  Zhang Zhun actually wants to reassign land!

  No one understands what land means to the military households better than they do.

  As long as each military household can get its own land, they will definitely go all out, even if it's a mountain of knives and a sea of fire in front of them, they will charge forward without hesitation. Don't mention the government soldiers, even if the Tartars come to kill them, they won't retreat half a step!

  After a long while, Hou Shanping finally reacted slowly. He tried his best to control the wild joy in his heart and said cautiously: "Yu Lin, isn't this a bit rash?"

  Zhang Zhun said calmly: "Rash? What's rash about it?"

  Hou Shanping took a light breath, letting his emotions calm down as much as possible, and said slowly: "The land of Fushan Village is not just owned by the Wang Shixin family. The counties of Mo, Lai, Deng, and even the governors of Shandong all have lands here. It's said that Prince Heng also has lands in Lai Prefecture. If we divide it incorrectly, wouldn't it be..."

  Zhang Zhun said disapprovingly: "Even if we don't redistribute the land, do you think they will let us off?"

  "Wang Mingyu shouted loudly: 'Divide! Why not divide? Their land, originally belonged to us! It was only later that they cleverly took it by force and occupied it! We are just taking back the land that originally belonged to us! Whoever disagrees, we'll kill the dog's day! We all have two shoulders carrying one head, who fears whom?'"

  Liu Hang said firmly: "The rebel army in Shaanxi has already entered Henan, and its momentum is getting bigger and bigger. It's said that there are already millions of people! The Tartars outside the pass are also getting stronger with each battle. I think the imperial court is going to be finished soon. Zhu Youjian, this dog emperor, won't last long. What do we have to fear? I don't have anything else to say. Give me five mu of land and I'll dare to fight anyone to the death!"

  Peng Bo shouted in the same vein: "That's right! Give me five acres of land, and when the emperor comes, I'll kill him too! What about the governor of Dengzhou, the governor of Shandong? Let them all die!"