Chapter 25: Theoretical Foundation of Rebellion

  Counter-revolutionary theory foundation

  Wei Guofu spoke up, "My old Wei may be a military man, but I also know that this drought year and the war are equally terrifying. Once it starts, tens of thousands will die. Even middle-class families with substantial assets will suffer greatly. I heard that the governor has found a Taoist priest and set up an altar in Jinan Prefecture to pray for rain. But let's hope these priests have mastered their skills and can bring a big rain after entering summer. Otherwise, next year's land tax will be due again, and I'll have to lead troops to the countryside to collect it... damn it, this kind of nonsense doesn't make any profit, every time it's just chaos..."

  Yao Fan suddenly realized and understood what this drought was all about.

  He thought bleakly in his heart: "This time tens of thousands have died! The Dingwu disaster is about to begin!"

  "This four-year drought in history covered the entire North China provinces! Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Zhili, Shandong, Subei, Wanbei and Chuanbei were all affected! Everywhere crops withered, fields were desolate, starving people filled the roads, white bones filled the wilderness! The number of deaths from starvation exceeded 10 million!"

  Thinking of this, Yao Fan's whole body couldn't help but tremble, and this tall Shandong man almost shed tears: "Over 100 million people! What concept is over 100 million people? As early as 1840, Britain, which had completed the Industrial Revolution, had a total population of only 31 million in the 1870 census! France in 1870 had only 36 million people! Germany in 1870 had only 40 million people!

  Due to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement being suppressed by the Qing government in 1864, the Qing government also gradually equipped itself with powerful weapons for suppressing peasant uprisings - Western-style cannons! In this unprecedented severe drought in North China, peasants who had no hope of resistance could only silently die, first eating grass roots and tree bark, then eating children and corpses, and finally dying in despair.

  Yao Fan clearly remembered the historical records in various local chronicles: Northern Jiangsu peasants gathered like zombies, preying on people to eat, and many travelers reported missing...

  In Gansu, many farming households are afraid of being eaten by others, so they would rather take their whole family to jump off a cliff and commit suicide.

  Henan peasants were described as 'having no meat to eat and no strength to cut people', so the whole village quietly died...

  The father and son of Chuanbei abandoned each other, brothers abandoned each other, husbands and wives abandoned each other, and after crying out in grief, they all died on the road while fleeing famine...

  Shandong winter gone spring arrived, entering village no one, opening door then see whole family silently dead, entire village thus...

  In the disaster-stricken area of Shanxi, there were people eating human flesh everywhere. Some ate dead bodies, while others killed their wives and children to eat them alive. The Jin merchants, who would later be revered by many as gods of wealth, now used armed guards to protect their homes and grain stores with all their might. Although they had hidden underground a large quantity of silver that could buy enough rice to feed the entire population of Shanxi if only one-tenth of it were taken out, the Jin merchants would not do such an unprofitable thing. This group of people, who could sacrifice the Ming dynasty for their own interests, would never do something so foolish.

  As for the various Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners' iron-rank garrison farmers throughout the country, they have safely passed through these four years of severe drought. During this time, their stipends of one or two taels of silver were not reduced, nor was their grain ration of one or two pecks of rice decreased. At that time, even a blind person could see that there was no longer any remnant of the 5,000-year-old Chinese moral tradition being touted by the Qing court; all that remained was a hell on earth where people were devouring each other!

  Yao Fang clenched his fists tightly, suppressing the tremors in his body. His fingernails dug into his palms without him realizing it. His chest heaved violently as he took deep breaths, but his throat and mouth were already constricted by his anger. He asked himself: "What should I do? Should I just stand by and watch? What can I do? If I suddenly take action now without any foundation, what will happen?"

  "No! No, no, no! I cannot just watch as these compatriots of mine go down like this, cannot watch them die in this suffocating darkness! Even if I have nothing to rely on..."

  Although a million people have gone through it, this terrible disaster has taken the lead. But on the other hand, isn't this an opportunity?

  As long as... ...as long as I can solve the food problem! One day, rise up and overthrow, what's to fear about smashing this old world! When the time comes, who can withstand my edge!

  "Yao Fan! You must rebel at once!"

  After becoming a nihilist, Yao Wengao was horrified to discover that he had pushed his own future plans for getting rich and starting a family to a dead end.

  Liu Ziming saw that after the topic of drought was brought up at the banquet, everyone had little to say, so he broke the silence and said with a showy tone: "Talking about cannibalism, it's not necessary to be overly shocked. Cannibalism has existed since ancient times, it just depends on who eats whom."

  During the Five Barbarians' invasion of China, the Jie tribe's army did not bring military rations and only ate virgins. When Murong Xianbei captured Ye City, they seized 50,000 virgins, first raping them then boiling them for food, consuming them all in one winter. The bleached bones and skulls outside the city piled up like mountains.

  During the Jingkang Incident of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin army marched south and used people as food, commonly known as "two-legged sheep". The elderly were called "Rao Ba Huo", which couldn't be cooked through without a big fire. Young girls were called "Bu Xian Yang", their meat was more delicious than mutton. Children were called "He Gu Ruan", slightly cooked and the bones would become crispy, and both bones and meat could be eaten together.

  The barbarian army entered China, their eating habits were complex, they ate raw and cooked, alive and dead. Their menu was three volumes long but still not comprehensive enough to record everything. The barbarians called human flesh "xiang rou" (fragrant meat), which meant that after eating it, one would still want to eat more, it was delicious.

  Liu Ziming finished showing off and thought he was very knowledgeable, but ended up making everyone lose their appetite.

  Sun Maowen put down his chopsticks heavily, frowned and scolded: "What's the point of saying these things! And that great Jin country is also from the same ancestors as our great Qing, those Yuan people are now also a noble identity of the Mongolian Eight Banners. You speak so recklessly, if it falls into the ears of those who often chew their tongues, don't you know that sooner or later you will be impeached? From now on, don't mention these words again tonight!"

  Liu Ziming was scolded by Sun Maowen, and he shuddered all over. He also realized that he had misspoken after drinking, so he hurriedly laughed it off to cover up, repeatedly claiming that he was drunk.

  Wei Guofu drained the wine cup in front of him with a loud gulp, also frowning and saying: "Let's just drink! What you're saying is disgusting! You bookworms know too much about these filthy things!"

  Yao Feng felt extremely disgusted after listening to Liu Ziming's nonsense spoken for the sake of showing off his knowledge.

  He forced himself to calm down and suggested: "Brother Sun, I think that if the imperial court uses labor in place of relief, it can support the starving people while also repairing the water conservancy roads."

  "Brother, don't joke around," Sun Maowen sneered. "It's only been ten years since the Taiping Rebellion and the Nian Rebellion were put down, and the imperial court is still struggling to fill the huge financial deficit. Where would they get the money for relief through labor? I heard that when Left Prime Minister went to Xinjiang this time, the silver used to suppress the rebellion was actually borrowed from Hu Xueyan, the head of the Huizhou merchants. Nowadays, no matter how big a deal it is, if you expect the imperial court to come up with silver, that's just wishful thinking."

  Yao Fan's eyes lit up and he said, "I was originally planning to build a villa in Qingdao after a few years, and also build some warehouses. Now it seems that this construction project can be done sooner or later, so why not do it now? This way, I can also provide for some laborers, give them food to eat, and prevent them from starving to death. This is also a way for me to accumulate good karma and ensure a better future life."

  Sun Maowen looked at Yao Fang with a hint of surprise, then smiled and said: "This is indeed a good deed that accumulates blessings. In years of disaster, repairing roads and building houses can always save the lives of several poor people. Brother Yao, since you have this grand wish, I am willing to lend you a helping hand. When the time comes, I will definitely submit a memorial to the imperial court to request recognition from the royal family."

  Liu Ziming also smiled and said: "Brother Yao's heart is kind and generous, I'll toast you a cup."

  Wei Guofu said with some admiration: "Brother Yao, this is indeed a good deed that accumulates hidden virtues, I'll toast you a cup."

  That night, after leaving the Shi family restaurant, Yao Fang made an excuse that he was not feeling well and did not go to the Chunmian Hall with everyone else. Everyone thought he wanted to return home and get intimate with San Jie, and they teased him for a while.

  Yao Fang sat in the carriage and hurried back home, where his third sister had already made up the bed.

  "Big brother, are you drunk? I've already cooked some hangover soup, drink some and then sleep."

  Yao Feng sat on the edge of the bed and nodded, instructing He Shicheng: "Shicheng, go fetch some water for me to wash my feet."

  Third sister handed over the sobering soup and asked carefully: "Brother Yao, did you hear something unpleasant during dinner?"

  Yao Feng raised his pale face and said to San Jie, "Don't worry, I just saw that there are many beggars in the city, it's just heartbreaking."

  Third sister's eyes lit up, thinking: "Brother Yao is such a good person! There are actually such good people in the world, and I'm so lucky to have met him!"

  Although Yao Fang didn't want her to serve him washing his feet, San Jie still insisted on staying by his side and waiting for him to finish. After Yao Fang finished washing, she took the foot basin out. Then, she helped Yao Fang get into bed and sleep, only then did San Jie return to her own room to sleep. In these days when Yao Fang was not around, San Jie had Luo Guangqun set up a bed for herself in the room next to Yao Fang's, so at night she would sleep next to Yao Fang's wall, taking on the responsibility of serving Yao Fang at home, which was originally the duty of a rich family's young master's personal maid.

  Yao Feng blew out the oil lamp and lay in bed. Given his physical condition, he should have been sleepy after drinking wine, but this time he couldn't sleep, tossing and turning.

  "How should I start a rebellion? If we remove the military aspect, launching a rebellion has always been a systematic social engineering project."

  This proposition is too big, and Yao Weng can only analyze it from the structure of modern society:

  I remember reading in college when I took sociology that the basic social structure of feudal society consists of four parts:

  One is scattered in the countryside, a village, which almost includes all the population of the Qing dynasty's agricultural society.

  Secondly, roads connecting villages enable them to enter and play a role in the social system.

  Three is the market for social products, which makes society mutually complementary and coordinated.

  Four is a town where merchants, wealthy traders and landowners, as well as artisans live, which is an important hub for ruling over vast areas.

  How can I get these under control by myself?

  Military, undoubtedly, only military. Business means are too slow and time-consuming, besides the Qing government will not sit idly by while commercial capital erodes its traditional social structure.

  Should I attack and capture the provincial capital like the peasant army, using the city to control one side? Or should I abandon the city like Taizu, take the rural route to surround the city, and establish a strong base?

  The answer is almost affirmative, the main force of China's change of dynasty has always been the peasants!