Chapter 12

Chapter 10: A Change of Profession?

Amid the crowd shuffling along, most were bald and barefoot, wearing only a simple garment and a cloak, with bruises and injuries on their faces and bodies, clearly indicating they had not had an easy time recently.

"Next one,"

I swiftly recorded the names, origins, identities, and ranks of each person, selecting those of value to be recorded separately.

Their occasional glances, filled with hope, resentment, or pleading, had long since numbed me.

This time, breaking through the encirclement by the Five States' official army resulted in a large number of captives. Just the local state soldiers and militia captured numbered around eight to nine thousand, and the number of civilian laborers and volunteers who couldn't escape was even greater.

Therefore, Liangshan dealt with these captives in roughly three categories: those with some background could be used as bargaining chips, traded through certain channels with the defeated official army, similar to political leverage; ordinary captives with some means could be exchanged for money or other resources, akin to a form of ransom; as for the ordinary captives with no means or background, they could only be left on Liangshan to perform hard labor, making the best use of their abilities.

If you were injured, I'm sorry, but Liangshan wouldn't have extra food to waste on you. A quick end would be merciful, or for convenience, you might be buried alive, unless you had a decent background or valuable connections, in which case you would be kept to recover.

This batch of captives could be considered the last. The Defense Commissioner of Mizhou, who suffered the greatest losses in the Five States' allied army, including the Defense Commissioner Gao Yao himself, was among the many officers and officials who perished in the battle to capture the mountain.

Thus, when the news of defeat spread, a rebellion broke out in the state capital. Several prominent families nominated the highest-ranking official, the Prefect, as the acting governor, then massacred the entire Gao Yao clan, and quickly sent envoys to negotiate with Liangshan.

Therefore, except for a few officers from prominent families or local wealthy households, who might be ransomed and kept, no one paid attention to these ordinary soldiers. Their ultimate fate was to be sold as commodities to overseas territories, where they would spend the rest of their lives on large estates in Yizhou or Fuzang.

This was a common practice among most overseas territories. Since the second restoration of the Li Tang dynasty during the Yongtai period, most of the outer territories lost the desire and motivation to develop deep into the interior, instead focusing on the coast or supporting local proxies, thereby continuously obtaining the necessary population and resources from the chaos in the mainland.

At least that's what my residual memories tell me.

However, in the case of our militia, there was a slight difference. Because we had been serving as auxiliary forces and hadn't seen much bloodshed, and we had surrendered a group of officials and important figures as a token of submission, we were treated differently, a classic case of "a blessing in disguise."

Although we surrendered, the famous Dengzhou army didn't need us as cannon fodder. Thus, along with the surrendered official army, we were either voluntarily or involuntarily assigned to become the forced labor of the Liangshan bandits.

Then we resumed our old profession, handling the burial of the dead and the sorting of the wounded, just in a different camp.

After the battle to capture the mountain ended, men and women of all ages, driving large carts and livestock, began to appear on the battlefield, busily working. Among them were some figures loudly haggling.

Dressed in silk robes, they stood out prominently against the backdrop of corpses and blood, directing their servants and hired workers to quickly pile up the newly acquired spoils and wealth on the carts.

These were said to be the most common and seemingly ubiquitous foreign merchants among the Liangshan bandits, who, through certain relationships and channels, almost monopolized and participated in the distribution of most of the spoils and other military trade.

Thus, I, who was a temporary and unofficial clerk, accountant, and general affairs officer in the militia, was selected to help, marking the beginning of my life among the Liangshan bandits.

After these matters were temporarily concluded, the special treatment began to show its effects. Due to the significant losses of the Liangshan bandits in this battle, the militia under Jiang An, which had some combat capability and a good reputation, caught the eye of many.

They were quickly picked and dispersed to supplement the various Liangshan units, with Jiang An himself being assigned to the central army as a deputy commander, a form of favor and future prospects, though the actual power and value of this position were another matter.

"The Liangshan bandits are one of the four major bandits that have ravaged the land after the five great bandits, far from being ordinary scattered bandits and robbers,"

At the moment of parting, although the pursuit of wealth had turned into a mirage, Jiang An, who looked full of worries, sighed to me.

"You... take care of yourself..."

In any case, it was a great fortune amidst misfortune. Because of a unanimously agreed-upon but baseless identity as a "Hai Sheng Ren" (a person born overseas), my treatment was slightly better than that of Jiang An and the others. I was treated differently and selected to continue my temporary profession, an unexpected outcome.

Of course, it was only later that I understood the meaning of "Hai Sheng Ren."

So-called "Hai Sheng Ren" refers to the descendants of Tang people born overseas. In the early days, it was a derogatory term used to describe the various low-born outer territory nobles or those who had risen through sea trade.

However, with the weakening of the imperial authority, the gradual decline of the noble families, and the increased marriage and involvement of the outer territories in the mainland, it became a neutral and unique term.

Compared to the mainland, where wars and unrest were constant, the overseas territories, though also having conflicts and continuous battles, had smaller scales of war and more limited punishments for the defeated.

This was mainly because the establishment of the outer territories was done through a multi-layered enfeoffment system. Many of the lower-level lords developed from sparsely populated and wild regions, relying more on their fellow Tang people.

On the other hand, the Tang people under their rule, including a large number of hired workers and slaves from places like Wozhou, Silla, and Tianzhu, could be exploited and oppressed, so most of the Hai Sheng Tang people lived relatively well.

Therefore, many Hai Sheng Tang people, with their families and followers, returned to the mainland to join a military town and seek a career, or wandered the battlefields as mercenaries, hired by various forces, living a life of danger and bloodshed.

It was said that some, with the support of overseas wealth and resources, became participants and drivers in the ongoing political turmoil and intrigue of the past century.

Their most distinctive feature was their peculiar "Hai Sheng" accent (Mandarin?), and their markedly different behavior and demeanor from the mainland, which clearly placed me in this category.

Of course, the scope of Hai Sheng Tang people was extremely broad, from the vast East Sea to the boundless South Sea, from the familiar and assimilated Annam and Pyu, to the still wild and unassimilated Tianzhu and Persia, and even to the more distant Southern Shanzhou and the West, they were everywhere, making it difficult to determine their exact origins.

As for why I knew all this, it was clearly the legacy left by my predecessor.

As for the Liangshan bandits I temporarily lived with, well, these Liangshan militia, with their immediate and vivid names and slogans, actually came from a banned book that had been secretly circulating among the people for hundreds of years, said to be written by the famous Liang Gong, titled "The Water Margin: A Tale of Loyalty and Righteousness."

Of course, this Liangshan is not the same as the historical Liangshan. Apart from the name, there is not much else in common. Initially, it was just a group of less than a hundred bandits on a grassy hill, who, by chance, took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains and rose to prominence at the intersection of the two major regions of Henan and Hebei, eventually establishing a foothold.

It is said that the structure, history, and roots of the Liangshan bandits can be traced back a hundred years, to the Yiwei Rebellion. The central government was embroiled in internal strife and external threats, and the local authorities were rife with corruption and neglect, with no investment in river management and flood control. The earliest sections of the Yellow River embankment, rebuilt during the Taixing period, inevitably fell into disrepair over time.

Thus, during the flood season, the Yellow River frequently changed course, creating a large number of refugees and bandits, and significantly altering the landscape of the regions it flowed through. The originally limited Liangshan marsh gradually expanded, becoming a difficult-to-attack and easy-to-defend wetland.

A large number of destitute and starving people in the chaos fled to this area, cultivating wasteland, fishing, and hunting, gradually becoming the outer forces under the protection of the Liangshan bandits. Although the cost was not light, they had to pay 50-60% of their harvest and provide labor, they were spared the numerous taxes and levies and the risk of conscription, allowing them to barely survive.

On the other hand, the Liangshan bandits also received support and assistance from overseas rebels, serving as an important pawn and force to disrupt and contain the central regions of Qing and Xu. They received help in terms of military equipment, various supplies, and personnel training.

They also had the advantage of smuggling various overseas goods into the interior through the water systems and river networks connected to Liangshan. Therefore, unlike ordinary bandits, they did not rely solely on robbery and exploitation to maintain themselves, but rather maintained a certain level of stability within their sphere of influence.

Thus,

Over time, they grew into a powerful force, claiming to control the vast lands between the Yellow River and the Huai River, from Hebei to the Huai region, and calling themselves a righteous army that upholds justice. They had five armies—front, back, left, right, and center—and twelve main commanders.

There were also seven camps inside and outside the mountain, with about 10,000 to 20,000 combat-ready soldiers, and several smaller affiliated armed groups scattered around the periphery of Liangshan.

The three camps outside the mountain were mainly responsible for the southern, northern, and western peripheral outposts and affiliated armed groups, while the four camps inside the mountain—front, back, left, and right—were responsible for the management of non-combat personnel and their families.

They were organized to engage in various agricultural and hunting activities and the maintenance of camps and facilities. In times of need, they could be mobilized as additional and supporting forces, numbering in the tens of thousands, with the majority being young and strong.

Each of the five Liangshan armies was composed of several to dozens of units of varying sizes. The "unit" was a unique formation between the battalion and regiment, originating from the historical legacy of the early Liangshan bandits. When they gathered under the banner, they came in small groups bound by kinship or local ties, which were retained and continued.

The number of units varied, with the largest being comparable to a large battalion in the official army, and the smallest being just a squad of a hundred or so, depending on their proximity and relationship, and were subordinate to various commanders.

The front army had the best mobility, with the only large-scale cavalry unit and auxiliary troops using donkeys and mules for transportation. The first three units were cavalry, and the last five were auxiliary troops, serving as the main force for raids and plunder.

The left army was a mixed formation of traditional shield and spear soldiers, and archers, as well as unarmored mixed infantry, serving as the main force for sieges and field battles, with 26 units, most of which were stationed in the periphery.

The right army was a mixed naval formation, responsible for river and sea transportation, mainly consisting of unarmored short-sword soldiers or sailors, serving as support and auxiliary forces in the river network connected to the Liangshan water system, with their territory mainly on the coastal side.

The center army was the direct subordinate force of the Liangshan leadership and the mountain's defense, consisting of the elite old camp of nine units, a special force similar to a commando unit, and a cavalry unit, all equipped and trained by the overseas territories, and even had a small artillery unit.

They also controlled all the horse messengers, scouts, and other forces such as informants and spies. The main commanders of the center army were responsible for the management and dispatch of new recruits, known as the new camp and reserve troops.

The rear army concentrated on logistics, supply, and maintenance, with the largest and most diverse personnel, also responsible for the disposal of loot and the maintenance of equipment.

The most elite unit was the direct guard of the Liangshan leader, composed of the second and third generations of the old Liangshan bandits, all armored and wearing blue head wraps, hence known as the Blue Head Army, responsible for enforcing Liangshan law, serving as a reserve and supervisory force during battles.

With such strength and structure, the Liangshan bandits were a dominant force among the various scattered and unstable bandit groups of the time.

Therefore, the leadership of Liangshan consisted of nine members, known as the Nine Stars of the Big Dipper, with the leader Lu Tianjun and his subordinates each having specific roles. Then there were the twelve main commanders, each with several deputies, and numerous unit leaders, deputy leaders, and other middle and lower-level commanders.

Among them were bankrupt merchants, famous bandits, influential local strongmen, former military officers, government officials, and serious criminals, as well as former wandering knights and monks who had broken their vows.

They were brought together by a mysterious force, becoming the most troublesome and dangerous threat to the various official armies in the Qilu region.

Therefore,

Rather than being the greatly exaggerated and artistically processed Liangshan of history, they were more like a smaller version of the Wagon Fort of the late Sui dynasty. Their activities were not limited to the marshes and surrounding villages but extended across the two regions of Henan and Hebei, and even to the Yellow River and its estuary.

They even drove out the official army and local strongmen in nearby counties, established their own administrative institutions, levied taxes and labor, and even besieged state capitals, extorting large sums before retreating.

Because of their prominent activities, they attracted the attention of a major governor from the Hebei region, who mediated with other local strongmen with long-standing grievances, leading to this joint military campaign involving the armies of Qi, Li, Qing, and Zibo from the two regions of Henan and Hebei.

To some extent, they were natural enemies of the local strongmen, who were mostly large landowners. These strongholds and estates were important targets for obtaining money, grain, and labor, and by distributing some of the loot and grain to the poor, they could recruit new members and promote their reputation, with slogans like "robbing the rich to help the poor" and "upholding justice."

However, like the historical Liangshan, their scope was limited by the knowledge and limitations of the time, the simple needs of the majority to be fed and clothed, the primitive sense of fairness among the middle class, and the personal ambitions of the upper class.

To grow further, they would face a bottleneck or a choice.

They needed to choose a direction and stance to continue expanding their cause, similar to modern private enterprises, but substituting the chaotic business of murder and plunder with the early-stage exploitation of legal loopholes and underhanded methods.

However, they needed a highly cohesive and authoritative core to suppress the differences and dissent among their diverse and complex members, and the significant influence of foreign interference could not be ignored.

This was one of the reasons why, after slightly understanding the situation, I was not very optimistic about staying here and was determined to leave.

But these things were too far from me. Was I earning the blood and sweat of the workers and worrying about the political bureau? I chuckled to myself, stretched my stiff arms, and caught a snowflake.

I sighed, realizing that I was drifting further and further from my original goal. When would I be able to return to Luoyang?

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End of Chapter 10