Chapter 3: Setting Out on a Journey Author: Bright Moon ?? txt ?? Traditional Chinese

  In the eleventh year of Zhizheng (AD 1351), the last straw that heaven gave to the Yuan Dynasty finally came down, and the end of the Yuan Dynasty arrived.

  The mystery has been solved, and now it seems that Tuo's firm desire to control the Yellow River was a good one. However, he did not understand the bitter intentions of those who opposed him, nor did he comprehend the corrupt officials of the Yuan Dynasty who had reached the extreme point of decay. Now he will finally taste the bitter fruit.

  When the Yuan Dynasty ordered 1.7 million laborers along the coast to repair the river embankment, officials at all levels were also extremely excited. First, the funds allocated by the emperor for river repairs could be embezzled, and the workers' food rations could also be embezzled. Anyway, they didn't eat or drink, it had nothing to do with them. This was a huge income, and the engineering costs could also be embezzled. Anyway, the Yellow River's flooding wouldn't drown these officials themselves.

  This is the one who manages the river affairs, so how does the one who doesn't manage the river affairs make money? It's actually simple. Since it's such a big project, there must be a labor quota. Find dozens of people and go to various villages. When you see men, take them away. Why? To repair the river embankment. Don't want to go? Give me money.

  No money? Take everything of value!

  Poor Tootoo, a good theorist but not a practitioner.

  The old trick has come on stage, when the migrant workers dug to Shandong, they excavated a stone man with one eye from under the riverbed, with the words "stone man with one eye, stirring up the Yellow River and overthrowing the world" carved on its back. The workers suddenly realized that this was exactly the lyrics of the song they had been singing at the construction site for several years.

  This is really an old trick, it can be compiled into a computer program. Before the uprising, they always have to make some feudal superstition, but there's no way around it, others just eat this set.

  What happened next seemed to be a matter of course. A few days later, in Yanzhou (now Fuyang, Anhui), where Zhu Di had dined, Han Shantong and Liu Futong launched an uprising. Their rebellion was no different from previous ones, and as usual, they set up a religious organization - this time it was the White Lotus Sect. Since they dared to rebel, their identities should also be different. As a result, Han Shantong, who might have been a poor farmer for eight lifetimes, suddenly became a member of the Zhao royal family of the Song Dynasty, while Liu Futong became a descendant of General Liu Guangshi.

  Their fate was similar to that of the peasant leaders of the first uprising, rising up, being suppressed, and later generations surpassing them, which seemed to be the destiny of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.

  Although the form of their uprising was not novel, this did not prevent their greatness and position in history. In historical records, it will be forever recorded that in 1351 AD, Han Shantong and Liu Futong were the first to raise the great banner of resistance against the feudal rule of the Yuan Dynasty.

  Since ancient times, it has been difficult to establish a dynasty, but relatively easy to destroy one. As the saying goes, "when the wall collapses, everyone pushes it", and "when the drum is broken, thousands of people beat it". This is not without reason.

  In the Yuan Dynasty, which divided people into four levels, the highest-level Mongolians killed the lowest-level Southerners, and the only punishment was to compensate for a donkey. If they encountered an idle laborer, they might not even need to pay for a donkey. The thinking of the Mongolian nobles seemed strange; even after occupying China, they still seemed to regard themselves as guests. They would take whatever they wanted from the host's house, and it was none of their concern. In their minds, these Southerners could only endure their suffering.

  But they were wrong, these slaves will rise up in revolt, when anger and discontent exceed the limit, when even survival like a dog becomes a luxury, resistance is the only way out. Resistance is for survival.

  The fire has finally started, and it's spreading rapidly.

  In just one year, the seemingly powerful Yuan Empire experienced dozens of uprisings, with tens of millions of people joining the rebel army. Even the Mongolian cavalry, which was once invincible and swept across the land, had lost its former bravery and was unable to save the crisis. The Yuan Empire was like a crumbling wall that would collapse with just one more kick.

  At this time, Zhu Chongba was still striking the bell in the temple, and from various signs, he did not seem to have any intention of joining the rebel army. Although he had an irreconcilable hatred for the Yuan dynasty, for an ordinary person like Zhu Chongba, rebelling would be risky, and if caught, it would mean certain death, which made him think carefully.

  In many books, Zhu Chongba is portrayed as a born hero. In such a script, the born hero Zhu Chongba immediately joined the rebel army after hearing about the uprising and showed his thorough revolutionary nature.

  I think this is not the real Zhu Di.

  As a normal person, when making a decision that could cost one's head, one would never be so rash. If Zhu Di was truly such an impulsive person, he wouldn't be a true hero.

  The real Zhu Di was a man with a fearful psychology, he had suffered extreme pain and had a deep-seated hatred for the Yuan, but he also knew the preciousness of life, once he chose to rebel, there would be no turning back.

  Knowing the possible difficulties and sufferings, struggling in the fear of death, yet still being able to conquer oneself and choose this path is true courage.

  I think this Zhu Di is a real hero, a hero who conquers himself and is not afraid of death.

  Zhu Chongba's life in the temple was dull and monotonous, but this dull and monotonous life was disrupted by the raging flames of the uprising. Ironically, it was not the rebels who specifically disrupted all this, but rather the officials of the Yuan dynasty.

  In the battle to suppress the rebel army, if a defeat is suffered, punishment from superiors will be meted out. However, the task of suppressing the rebellion must still be completed. Therefore, the Yuan dynasty officials resolutely decided to take it out on ordinary people. Since they couldn't defeat the rebel army, they would just arrest and kill some innocent civilians who were easy to bully and present them as the rebels.

  From this perspective, the corrupt officials of the Yuan Dynasty have made great efforts to overthrow the rule of the Yuan Dynasty.

  At this time, the situation facing Zhu Chongba was serious. If he didn't join the rebellion, it's very likely that he would be caught by some official and killed as a rebel, then named Zhang San or Li Si. But joining the rebel army also had great risks, once defeated by the Yuan army, his life would also be in danger.

  It was at this time that a letter completely changed his fate.

  His childhood friend Tang He wrote a letter to him, the content of which was that he had become a thousand households in the rebel army and hoped that Zhu Chongba would also join the rebel army to seek wealth and honor together. After reading it, Zhu Chongba burned the letter without making any noise.

  However, at night, his senior fellow told him that someone had already known about his reading of the righteous army's letter and was going to report him.

  Zhu Di was finally forced into a desperate situation.

  Next is painful thinking and choice Zhu Chongba has three roads in front of him: one, stay in the temple; two, escape; three, rebel.

  Zhu Di was also indecisive, so he found someone and asked for his opinion. This person's name was Zhou Dexing, whom we will mention frequently later on.

  Zhou Dexing also seemed to have no good ideas. His suggestion to Zhu Di was to calculate the auspicious day (what kind of idea is this) and see which road was suitable.

  The result of divination is "Bǔ escape, Bǔ guard then not auspicious, will be ominous but no harm", meaning that escaping or staying here are both inauspicious, going to rebel may still be okay.

  Zhu Chongba understood that he had no way out, all he wanted was to live a simple life, cultivate two acres of land, and be filial to his parents, but it was impossible. His parents were burdened with heavy taxes and labor, working hard every day, yet they ended up with a broken family. Hiding in the temple just to get by, now someone had reported him, and he might lose his head.

  Cannot bear it anymore.

  Damn it! Damn his mother!

  This is a true version of "Forced to Mount Liangshan", and also the only choice for poor farmers in feudal era. Who does not cherish his own life? Who wants to fight? When they can't survive, those farmers were forced to push forward the development of feudal society with their own blood and lives until its demise.

  This is their fate.

  So I think that peasant uprisings in Chinese history are indeed worthy of affirmation, they may not be so selfless, they may have their own various considerations, but they really had no other choice.

  Tang He thus became Zhu Di's first comrade-in-arms. In the days to come, he would accompany Zhu Di on this arduous journey.

  However, Tang He would never have thought that he was the only one who accompanied him all the way.