Chapter Seven: The Hut of Two

  Lu Zi listened to Chen Xin's fabricated story, his eyes shining brightly, and looked at Chen Xin with a hint of admiration: "Brother Chen, you said I can take down three or four Tartars, then going to Liaodong to be a soldier with Brother Dai might really bring us fortune?"

  Dai Zheng glared at him and cursed: "If you really want to make a career, why would Brother Chen need to come to Tianjin? He should have joined the army at Shanhai Pass long ago."

  Chen Xin burst out laughing and gave Dai Zheng a thumbs up, still muttering to himself: "Brother Dai is right, even the so-called elite troops of the nine borders are also pampered and lazy, corrupt and lawless, treating soldiers as slaves, and soldiers viewing their commanders as enemies. Although the Jianzhou army isn't invincible, they have strict military discipline, strong armor and sharp blades, clear rewards and punishments, and officers and soldiers who risk their lives. On the battlefield, no matter how powerful you are, Brother Lu, you can't defeat an army of thousands or tens of thousands. Wanting to rely on the Liao army to defeat the Jianzhou is almost impossible, but losing your life is very possible. I advise Brother Lu to keep his good life and find a better way out."

  Dai Zheng was impressed and patted his leg, saying: "It's rare for Brother Chen to make things clear with just a few words. I've always felt that joining the army isn't quite right, but I couldn't put my finger on why. Otherwise, I wouldn't have ended up as a foot soldier, suffering under Luo Zu's tyranny."

  Chen Xin asked somewhat strangely: "What kind of sect is this Luo Zu Sect after all? Why does the Fu Gang still fear it?"

  Dai Zheng smiled and said, "Brother Chen is from Liaodong, I didn't know that Luo Jiao was reasonable." He then told Chen Xing about the Luo Jiao and Cao Bang.

  The original Luo Zu teaching was created by Luo Menghong during the Chenghua period, also known as Wu Wei Jiao or Luo Jiao. It emphasized clarity and inaction, with simple and clear teachings. The five-volume, six-book scriptures were all written in vernacular language, making it widely spread among the people. Later, the Qing Bang was derived from Luo Jiao. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, its influence was strong in the southern section of the Grand Canal, with many boatmen joining the sect, earning the nickname "100,000 soldiers hidden in the Grand Canal". During the Wanli period, it was designated as a heretical teaching by the Nanjing Ministry of Punishment and its scriptures were burned.

  At that time, the Huo Bang was not a unified organization, it was simply a group of people who made a living by transporting goods on the canal, forming gangs and opposing local officials and local tyrants. Each place had its own Huo Bang, and members participated in various sects such as the White Lotus Sect, the Incense Sect, and the Luo Sect, with each other having mutual connections.

  The formation of a unified gang was not until the Yongzheng era of "my great Qing", at that time, the gang had become unstoppable and the Qing court could only use official recognition to contain it. Later, during the Qianlong period, Zhao Yazi, the leader of the gang, came forward with a foolish expression on his face, calling out "Fourth Master!", while Cai Xiangyuan sang "The mountains and rivers cannot hold too much sorrow...". It was during this time that the gang developed into a true giant. There were rumors among the people that Qianlong had joined the gang, which shows how powerful it had become. However, at present, it is still just a loose group of individuals.

  Dai Zheng had just finished speaking, and then continued: "We have offended Luo Jiao, now we can't even eat the rice from Yunhe, as Brother Chen said, joining the army is not a good option, I really don't know what to do."

  Liu Min couldn't help but ask: "You must have some land at home, didn't Qi Dage also tell you to go back and farm?"

  Next to him, a thin man said with some resentment: "We used to dig in the soil and have no days off all year round. As soon as we harvested the grain, we had to find a grain merchant to exchange it for silver to pay taxes. He would use 'entry title' to buy it at a price of two hundred taels per stone, which is seven or eight tens more than the official title. After paying the regular tax and Liaoning surtax, we still have to repay our debts. The remaining amount also has to be used to pay for labor services. Except for me, my father is over sixty years old and still has to pay one stone of grain per year to avoid labor service. We work hard all year round, and after paying all these, there's almost nothing left. When we run out of food, we have to borrow money again and go to the grain store to buy grain. That damned grain merchant uses 'exit title' to sell rice at a price of only eighty or ninety taels per stone. Except for Chinese New Year, we can't even eat one full meal."

  Lying down, Er Tun also chimed in: "We're still okay, the Huang Yuan family is a tenant farmer. Today they collect grain, tomorrow they cut off grain supplies. Last year they were forced to sell their youngest sister just to exchange for a few stones of grain. The year before that, there was another household that didn't even harvest enough to repay the high-interest loan, and one night all seven members of the family hanged themselves. It's like this every year, Chen Ge, how can we still farm on this land?"

  Chen Xin and Liu Min were disheartened by what they heard, these peasants suffered from heavy oppression, unheard of, in Chen Xin's view, the life he had fabricated was already miserable enough, but the lives of these people added another kind of unspeakable darkness and helplessness, just wandering back and forth between survival and non-survival.

  "Otherwise, who would be willing to leave their hometown and become a boatman? The North Canal is a four-day journey, and the shipowner won't stop until you're bleeding from your shoulders. And yet, there are still people who don't let us do this work. Is it really true that in this vast world, there's no place for poor people like us?"

  The words were filled with deep loss, and the crowd of farm workers all lowered their heads. The one called Huang Yuan was quietly sobbing, and Liu Min's eyes were moistening. His parents were also farmers, and he loved these simple people. China's farmers are the most hardworking and resilient group in the world. As long as they have a glimmer of hope, a thread of life, they can endure the most ruthless exploitation without dignity. They live on, cultivating and multiplying on this land, providing endless nourishment for Chinese civilization.

  At the end of the Ming dynasty, land annexation was severe. The princes, gentry, civil and military officials all took occupying official fields and military fields as their ability. Cunningly taking over private fields was also a common sight for them. They basically did not pay land taxes, and most of the land taxes were borne by self-cultivating farmers. Local government offices also cleverly set up names to collect miscellaneous taxes, colluding with grain merchants and usury businessmen, using large pecks to take in and small pecks to give out, forcing a large number of self-cultivating farmers to either rely on others or go bankrupt. In many places in the north, peasants who could not afford it fled in droves, leaving large tracts of land barren. Local government offices, in order to complete their performance evaluations, had no choice but to distribute the land taxes they owed onto the remaining people's heads, making it even more impossible for them to bear, forming a vicious cycle. There were even cases where someone with hundreds of acres of arable land still had to owe debts after paying land taxes, resulting in a situation where there were countless people selling land but very few buyers, and the lowest price of land fell to two taels per acre.

  Another slave uprising broke out, and the collection of Liao taxes was increased, making the situation even worse. Selling sons and daughters had become a very common thing, and at worst, selling one daughter could only buy one stone of grain. So, although Lu Lu Zi and others did not know the reason, they felt that farming was getting harder and harder, no matter how hard they worked, they could not feed their families. As various powers and violence slowly took away their dignity, loved ones, property, or lives, hatred was brewing rapidly.

  By the time of the Revelation, the entire North had reached a critical point. The last vestiges of hope were still holding up the remaining people, maintaining a precarious balance, waiting to see when the last straw would fall.

  Chen Xin saw the atmosphere was heavy, and quickly changed the subject to comfort him: "Don't worry too much, brother. I and this Liu brother used to not even have enough clothes to wear, we've been through tougher days. A living person won't die from being unable to urinate. Just now, you and Lu brother were talking about medical expenses, I heard it all. Although I'm not rich, I can help out a bit."

  Chen Xin then took out two silver ingots from his bosom, each weighing five taels, and handed them to Dai Zhenggang.

  Dai Zheng hastily pushed back and said, "Brother Chen, you mustn't do this. You've already helped us so much, and now you're giving such a heavy gift again. I don't know when we can repay it. Although I consider you an old friend at first sight, I really can't accept your kindness again."

  Chen Xin's face turned red with anger, and he shouted: "Since we're old friends, why put on such an act? If you want to give it to me, just give it to me! Are you waiting for your brother to become a cripple?! If you want to be friends with me, don't say another word. Take the money and hurry up to invite a doctor, that's the proper thing to do!"

  Dai Zheng's eyes turned red as he listened, and he promptly put away the silver. With a serious bow to the two men, he said: "Dai Tiezi thanks you both here today. In the future, if you need anything, just give me a shout, and I, Dai Tiezi, will not frown even in water or fire." The other boatmen also thanked them profusely, for ten taels of silver was no small sum in this era.

  Chen Xin smiled again and said, "That's right, I still have to stay in Tianjin for a few more days. When I'm free, I'll come visit you again. You shouldn't delay either, hurry up and get a doctor to treat your injuries, especially the one with the broken hand, if it's delayed, it won't heal properly."

  Someone immediately went to ask the doctor, Liu Minyou specially instructed Dai Zhenggang to use boiled water to scald the wound and bandage it with cloth. After finishing speaking, he bid farewell with Chen Xin and left, bringing four followers with him.

  After Chen Xin and the others had walked far away, Lu Zi finally sighed to Dai Zhenggang: "This Chen Gongzi is really something, not only is he generous and wealthy, but also a scholar. He takes out 10 taels of silver at once. It's rare to have such a good opportunity. Do you think I should follow Chen Gongzi? Will he accept me?"

  Dai Zheng just caught his head and replied, "This Chen Gongzi is indeed enthusiastic, but also has a bad temper. We don't know what he's doing either. Why didn't you ask?"

  Lu Zi suddenly slapped his forehead: "Right! How come we didn't even ask him what he was doing?"

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  The two walked for a while before Liu Min asked Chen Xin, "Are you thinking of taking in another younger brother? Is it worth spending so much money?"

  "They are suitable, the boatmen and trackers on the canal have to cooperate and divide their work, they naturally have a collective spirit, and they exercise every day, endure hardships and labor, have strong physiques, and are also relatively brave, should be one of the best soldiers in this era. In addition, these Yanggu people are not long-winded, and haven't joined those miscellaneous sects."

  Liu Min looked at Chen Xin in surprise, "You really want to fight for dominance? Why not just go to Jiangnan and live a carefree life?"

  Chen Xin smiled and said, "Don't you think it's unrealistic for two vagrants like us to talk about contending for the world? Being a landlord also means protecting one's estate and courtyard. In chaotic times, military power is more reliable than gold. With just this condition, we can't even consider recruiting them as underlings, let's just leave some goodwill behind. Let's take things one step at a time."

  Liu Minyou also knew that talking about contending for the world now was nonsense, and the sadness in his heart had not dissipated yet. He couldn't help but say: "The people are suffering like this, what's good about tomorrow? They deserve to be overthrown."

  Chen Xin smiled and continued, "That's not right either, letting a bunch of slave owners rule the world. If that day really comes, I won't be a slave anyway. If all else fails, we can buy a boat and go to a peaceful island in the Pacific."

  "I won't be a slave either, freedom in my heart is more important than life, if I don't go to the island then I can only be a savage."

  Chen Xin winked and said, "We'll drift from island to island, using the frog-jumping tactic. We'll jump and jump until we reach America. Look, there's no Coast Guard or Customs, we don't need a visa to get in. And then we got lazy and just stayed on the West Coast, each of us occupying a piece of land. I took Los Angeles, you took San Francisco. You've always wanted to go to America, right? God, we're finally Americans! I even gave you an American name, Liu Shengton, after the first President of the United States, Amen."

  Liu Min was silent for a moment, then suddenly said to Chen Xin: "I should have brought a pair of stockings when I crossed over."

  "What's the point of wearing stockings? To sell them?"

  "Next time you hang yourself, use this, it's more convenient than using your pants, and you won't die."

  "Big brother, you're really cruel, but these stockings are so thin they'll definitely still break."

  "No, I bought the same brand as San Mao."

  Chen Xin: ".................................."