Chapter 450: The Villain With a History of Ruffianism

Zhu Youjian listened carefully and understood. Yang He’s point was: spending money to suppress the bandits meant the money was gone for good, and it also meant killing many people, which was inconsistent with the natural harmony. If they spent money pacifying the bandits, although the money was spent, the people remained alive. Taxes could continue to be levied, and the money could be recovered.

That actually made some sense!

Just as he thought this, he heard the civil and military officials unanimously declare, “Now is precisely the time for pacification!”

Zhu Youjian saw that all civil and military officials actually supported pacification. It seemed that appeasement was indeed the best method, bar none.

He cleared his throat and said, “The bandits are also my children; they should be pacified. But Sir Yang also wrote in his letter that pacification requires giving them farmland and oxen seed, enabling them to return to farming and resume their livelihoods. This requires a large sum of money… Where is this money to come from?”

As these words left his mouth, he suddenly sensed danger.

Disaster! He’d fallen into a trap!

Sure enough, one civil official immediately stepped forward: “Your Majesty, the national treasury is empty. The only solution now is to use your private funds.”

Then a second civil official stepped forward: “We ask Your Majesty to use your private funds.”

“Private funds! Private funds! Private funds!”

The two words seemed to transform, playing as if Chopin’s nocturnes, echoing throughout the great hall.

Zhu Youjian’s face darkened. But now he was in a bind. He had just declared “the bandits are also my children; they should be pacified.” He couldn’t immediately backtrack and say those worthless commoners weren’t his children, could he?

There was no choice. He had to tough it out. He still had emergency money saved away.

Zhu Youjian swept his imperial brush: “Shaanxi has repeatedly reported famines. The lesser people lose their livelihoods, some even driven to becoming bandits, inviting the sharp edge of the blade. Are they not our children, fallen into such desperate straits? His great concern for the people’s welfare evokes deep compassion. We now specially issue one hundred thousand taels of gold. Command Inspector Wu Shen to travel there, apportion aid according to the severity of the disaster sites in sequence and distribute relief. Furthermore, make it known to the simple folk that even those who have been coerced into joining, or mistakenly entered the bandit gangs— if they are willing to return to righteousness, they become good civilians again. The court will favor them with a fresh start, forgiving them for their crimes, accepting and caring for them all equally.”

Inspector Wu Shen took on this honorable and challenging task. Carrying Zhu Youjian’s emergency reserve of one hundred thousand taels of silver, he set off for Qin-Jin to pacify the bandits…

By the way, while other bandits could be appeased, there was one exception: Wang Jiayin, who had already proclaimed himself king. Zhu Youjian personally decreed: Pursue him to the death!

Several days later.

Outside Yan’an Prefecture, within a forest.

Miao Mei and her dozen fierce bandits hid among the trees, gazing at the dilapidated prefectural city ahead.

Ever since the battle at Huanglong Mountain, where Wang Zuogua was routed by Cheng Xu leading the Gaojia Village Militia, Miao Mei had been wandering with the few dozen fierce bandits who escaped. They rampaged around Yan’an Prefecture, committing every crime imaginable.

The force was small, the numbers few. They could no longer attack prefectural cities, provincial cities, county towns, nor even dare provoke larger manor strongholds of local gentry.

But a small group had its advantages: flexibility, variability, and ease of escape.

Back when Wang Zuogua led thousands, they hadn’t dared enter Yichuan County because every time they did, Hong Chengchou would catch and give them a good beating. But now Miao Mei had only a few dozen. This small number made them bold enough to enter. A smaller team meant a smaller target. They could hop around right under the nose of Hong Chengchou, the Superintendent of Grain Transport. Hong Chengchou could defeat large armies but couldn’t catch small bands of drifting bandits.

Miao Mei had been active around Yichuan County and Yan’an Prefecture for several months when she heard major news: Hong Chengchou had been promoted from a mere Superintendent of Grain Transport to Provincial Governor of Yansui!

The shock was immense!

This man was once just a Superintendent of Grain Transport, without authority to command regular official troops. Yet, relying solely on his few hundred personal retainers and militia, he made every passing rebel army flee in disarray. Not just Wang Zuogua’s ten thousand, even Wang Jiayin’s fifty thousand-strong army was easily handled by Hong Chengchou.

Now he was the governor of an entire province? How could that be okay?

Her feeling was right.

As soon as Hong Chengchou became the Provincial Governor of Yansui, he immediately swept that utterly useless Yansui General Wu Zimian, who secretly sold military horses, into the garbage heap. He appointed Du Wenhuan as the new Yansui General. Simultaneously, he called upon the two fierce warriors, Cao Wenzhao and He Renlong.

Du Wenhuan, Cao Wenzhao, and He Renlong led the officials to begin a frantic bandit suppression, routing the fleeing bandits near Yansui into utter humiliation and constant terror.

Fortunately, those three were only men, not gods, truly unable to catch the scattered small groups of bandits. Over the past few months, Miao Mei had been trembling with fear but hadn’t been captured; she was chased many times by the bandit suppression forces and narrowly escaped each time by the skin of her teeth.

Because of this, she hadn’t plundered any food for a long time. All her subordinates were worn out and starving, almost unable to hold on any longer.

Right then, a fierce bandit named Miao Dengyun ran in from outside the woods and whispered to Miaomei, “Big Brother, I have good news.”

Miao Mei: “?”

Miao Dengyun: “Yang He, the Three Boundary Governor, has issued an amnesty decree. As long as one is willing to surrender, all past offenses will be immediately pardoned, and they will give out food, farmland, and Oxen Seed.”

Miao Mei: “Is it true?”

Miao Dengyun nodded: “Absolutely! The Provincial Governor of Yansui posted the announcement—how could it be fake? It’s said there’s an imperial edict backing it up; the emperor’s words aren’t a joke, and this isn’t child’s play.”

Miao Mei thought it over carefully and grinned: “Good, we surrender! We’ll trick the court out of the food and Oxen Seed, first have a few good meals, rest and recover, and once everyone is restored and full of energy, we’ll rebel again, damn it all.”

Miao Dengyun chuckled: “Then I’ll make a trip to Yan’an Prefecture to meet Hong Chengchou and say we’re willing to surrender.”

Soon, Miao Dengyun arrived at Yan’an Prefecture. After stating his purpose, Hong Chengchou, known for being “ruthlessly fierce,” promptly became courteous: “So, Miao hero has turned over a new leaf and started afresh? That’s truly commendable. I, this official, will arrange a banquet at once to welcome the Miao hero and wash away his journey’s dust.”

Seeing that this once-dreaded tough guy was now so polite, Miao Dengyun couldn’t help feeling secretly pleased: Heh! No matter how powerful you are, you’re just a provincial governor, still having to obey Yang He, the Three Boundary Governor. If Yang He says amnesty, you can only listen. What could you do about us in the future? Hahaha!

A few days later!

Hong Chengchou’s banquet was arranged, and the Surrender Wine was poured.

Miao Mei and Miao Dengyun, leading his last 320 fierce bandits, marched into Yan’an Prefecture with heads high and chests out, strutted onto the banquet scene, lifted their cups, and drained the Surrender Wine in one gulp.

Just when they were proudly looking around…

Suddenly!

He Renlong stormed the banquet, swung his blade, and with a single chop, severed Miao Mei’s head with a sickening crunch. For all her martial skill, against He Renlong, Miao Mei couldn’t withstand even one move.

At the same instant, ambushers burst out from every side!

Officials rushed from all directions, chopping every one of Miao Mei’s followers at the feast to mincemeat.

Once everything fell silent, Hong Chengchou peeked out from behind the distant woods, glanced at the slaughter scene strewn with gore, but didn’t go closer—he couldn’t risk staining his clothes with all that blood.

He cast a fleeting glance from afar: “Hmph! A pack of villains mired in infamy, even their surrender was fake, trying to trick the court into food and Oxen Seed just to sate themselves before rebooting, right? Such clumsy acting might fool Yang He, but it’ll never fool me, Hong Chengchou.”

Historical records noted: Wang Zuogua surrendered to the Ming court and garrisoned at Suide. Later planning to rise again, the plot leaked, and he was killed by Hong Chengchou, Provincial Governor of Yansui.

In this book, Wang Zuogua had already been eliminated by Gaojia Village due to the butterfly effect, so the one surrendering to Hong Chengchou turned into Miao Mei.

Naturally, the outcome stayed the same—Hong Chengchou didn’t accept this surrender anyway. In the original timeline, Hong Chengchou had He Renlong lie in ambush to kill Wang Zuogua; in this book, it became Miao Mei.