MLMD -Chapter 307 A Misunderstanding Arises

Before Yue Yang could stop her, he saw Li Xiangjun down the entire cup of wine in one gulp. Yue Yang could only shake his head helplessly and, picking up the wine jug, refilled her cup. But this scene not only made Li Xiangjun blush, it also sparked a strange glint in the eyes of Dong Xiaowan, Fang Yizhi, and Mao Xiang. For a moment, the atmosphere in the room turned unusually quiet and tense.

To ease the awkwardness, Dong Xiaowan spoke up to break the silence. She looked at Yue Yang curiously and asked, “Young Master Yue, there have been so many rumors about you in Jinling these past few days. Some say you’re ten feet tall, wielding a Green Dragon Crescent Blade weighing eight hundred pounds, charging into the barbarian ranks, striking seven times without pause, beheading countless enemies. They say the Emperor, impressed by your valor, broke the century-old tradition and granted you the title of Marquis of Loyalty and Courage. Is that true?”

“Oh, people say that?” Yue Yang was momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing. Mao Xiang and Fang Yizhi, standing nearby, couldn’t help but smile as well. They had been following Yue Yang for a while; although they hadn’t personally fought on the battlefield, they had been around him and knew how war actually worked. Naturally, such exaggerated tales were amusing to them.

“People love to spread rumors,” Yue Yang said with a chuckle, shaking his head. “And you actually believe this? You’ve all read books, haven’t you? Don’t you know that in a real battle, the formation is everything? In a war with thousands of soldiers, the contribution of a single person is extremely limited. Tales of someone storming the enemy camp alone, leaving it in ruins—those are entertaining stories, but don’t take them seriously. Otherwise, you’ll just make yourselves look foolish.”

“Please, Young Master, tell us about it! Let us see for ourselves!” Dong Xiaowan’s curiosity was piqued. She unconsciously dragged her chair closer to Yue Yang and sat beside him, eyes wide, like a little cat waiting for its owner to tell a story. Li Xiangjun also moved closer, her gaze fixed intently on him, full of anticipation. These two women had only ever interacted with literati and officials along the Qinhuai River. They were used to hearing poetry, discussions of court corruption, and debates over policy mistakes. Now, with an actual frontline general before them, naturally they wanted to hear what real battlefield experience was like.

“Very well, then I shall tell you what happened five years ago when I was ordered to relieve the siege of Yingzhou Prefecture,” Yue Yang said with a deep sigh, beginning to recount the events in detail.

“At that time, I was just a minor commander of a local militia in Yingzhou Prefecture. On the eighth day of the ninth month in the fifth year of Chongzhen, I suddenly received a letter from Governor Zheng Fakui of Yingzhou. By then, rebels like Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Luo Rucai, and Zhang Xianzhong had gathered over a hundred thousand men, entering Shanxi from Shaanxi. They first seized Daning City by surprise, then captured Xizhou, Zezhou, and other regions. At that moment, the rebel leader Gao Yingxiang sent Zhang Xianzhong to surround Yingzhou Prefecture. The city was in grave danger!”

Yue Yang continued slowly, recalling the events: “I only had a force of five hundred newly trained militia, each with less than three months of experience. Everyone said it was impossible to relieve Yingzhou; to do so would be a death sentence. But I believed that if we did not rescue Yingzhou, Wulizhai would fall too once the city was taken. So I defied the consensus, leading five hundred men from Wulizhai straight to Yingzhou, thirty li away. At that time, over ten thousand rebels had surrounded the city. Rebel leader Zhang Xianzhong commanded constant assaults, and the morale inside the city was low. Seeing the city on the verge of falling, I led the five hundred militia to attack. We first launched volleys of crossbow fire, scattering the rebels…”

The two women, having grown up along the Qinhuai River, had never witnessed real battle. As they listened, they learned that those tattered, desperate rebels had only days before been honest farmers. Out of hunger, they risked their lives attacking the militia with sticks and hoes. The women felt a pang of sorrow. When they heard that rebel leaders burned houses, stole grain, and forced ordinary people to join their ranks, they became furious, cursing the leaders. Yet their eyes remained fixed on Yue Yang, unwilling to blink.

Yue Yang recounted the story of how five hundred militia defeated tens of thousands of rebels and lifted the siege of Yingzhou Prefecture. He spoke until the sun began to set, finally ending with a heavy tone.

At the conclusion, Dong Xiaowan wiped her tears and said, “In the past, when scholars spoke of rebels in our land, some said these rebels were also our people and should be treated with care. Others said they were a plague and should be executed immediately. I could never tell who was right. Now, hearing Young Master Yue’s account, I am even more confused. May I ask you, how should these rebels truly be treated?”

Yue Yang sighed deeply. “Rebels are also our people. The debate over whether to suppress them or pacify them has long existed in our court. In my view, those who are pitiable usually have something despicable in them. Ordinary rebels are unfortunate commoners, but the rebel leaders are worse than beasts. For selfish gain, they drive honest people into desperation, forcing them to rebel. Once they capture a city, they act like the most savage beasts—burning, looting, murdering. Such people must be executed to satisfy public justice and uphold law. Those under them can be treated according to their deeds: granted land to cultivate, imprisoned for reform, or executed. There are many methods. It is a long and arduous task, not something done overnight.”

Li Xiangjun also sighed, “Young Master, I have long wondered: for over a decade, our court has been suppressing rebels, yet they only grow in number. All the resources spent—was it all in vain? Or, as the scholars say, is it because the court appoints officials poorly?”

“Hehehe…” Yue Yang laughed at her remark, his expression tinged with ridicule. “Poor appointments? How absurd! If they say it’s all the court’s fault, have they proposed competent candidates or effective strategies?”

Seeing both Li Xiangjun and Dong Xiaowan shake their heads, Yue Yang mocked them, “It’s laughable. These scholars think that a few years of book learning grants mastery over all worldly affairs. They imagine they can, with a wave of a folding fan, reduce enemy fleets to ash like Zhuge Liang. They oversimplify everything!”

At this, Yue Yang realized the two literati beside him and turned apologetically to Mao Xiang and Fang Yizhi: “Yizhi, Bi Jiang, I am not referring to you; don’t take it personally!”

Mao Xiang shook his head with a wry smile. “Young Master, you are not wrong. Before following you, we thought our two years of study made us capable of managing the world. Only after meeting you did we understand the importance of agriculture and caring for the people. Previously, we were like frogs at the bottom of a well, seeing only a small circle of sky above.”

Dong Xiaowan eagerly asked, “Oh? Young Master Yue, where do you think our great Ming suffers most? Why are thieves rampant and the country beset with internal and external troubles?”

Yue Yang smiled faintly and said seriously, “I believe the current woes of Ming stem from those who spend all day proclaiming themselves righteous and concerned for the people—the Donglin faction, the gentry, landlords, and merchants. They are the root cause of our empire’s corruption.”

“This… how can that be?”

Yue Yang’s words stunned Dong Xiaowan, Li Xiangjun, Mao Xiang, and Fang Yizhi. They had been educated to believe that scholars and landlords were the backbone of the state. Without them, the Ming would not exist. Yet Yue Yang claimed these people caused the empire’s decay.

Dong Xiaowan protested, “I cannot agree, Young Master. The Taizu Emperor said: ‘Scholars are the pillars of a nation; one must treat them with respect.’ How can you say the scholars and gentry are responsible for the empire’s corruption?”

Yue Yang laughed. “Times change. Taizu treated scholars with courtesy only because he had just begun his rise and had no one under him. After consolidating power, how did he treat scholars? Surely you know the history. In his later years, he executed scholars ruthlessly, claiming their minds were deceitful and crafty.”

Everyone fell silent, recalling the brutal suppression of scholars. Yue Yang continued, “I do not speak merely of Taizu. Over the years, the actions of scholars and gentry have made them unworthy pillars of the state. Worse, they have become the grave-diggers of Ming!”

He raised his voice: “Let me ask, do you know the taxes the court collected at the beginning of our dynasty? And now?”

No one answered. Dong Xiaowan and Li Xiangjun shook their heads, and so did Mao Xiang and Fang Yizhi, uninterested in mundane financial matters.

Yue Yang sighed and held up two fingers. “A stable government does not depend on wise sayings, moral principles, or scholar support. It needs two things: grain and silver!”

Everyone felt as if struck by thunder. If the speaker weren’t a famous general and current marquis, they might have doubted him.

Seeing their skeptical faces, Yue Yang smiled, knowing scholars of this era scorned money, calling it vulgar. He was not surprised by their reactions.

He asked, “You have all studied, so answer me: what is necessary to run a court, pay officials, provide disaster relief, and fight wars?”

All shook their heads.

Yue Yang sighed and raised three fingers. “During the Hongwu era, Ming had over forty million people. Taxes collected were thirty million dan of grain and twenty million taels of silver. These revenues allowed the empire to drive Mongols into the desert, raise a hundred thousand cavalry, and establish Ming’s power. Today, Ming’s population exceeds one hundred million, yet grain and taxes are only a fraction. Why? Have our fields disappeared?”

The group exchanged stunned looks, speechless.

Yue Yang sneered. “You see the problem, don’t you? More people, more farmland, yet taxes and grain revenue decreased. The answer is simple: wealthy gentry and officials hid land and avoided taxes. The court lacked silver. Do you agree?”

“Seems that way!” they admitted, seeing the logic.

“Without silver, how can the army fight? To fund the military and suppress rebels, the court raised taxes, but the rich were exempt. The burden fell on the poor. The rich grew richer, the poor destitute, the number of refugees increased, and despite over a decade of suppression, rebels multiplied. Who caused this? The court? The Emperor? Or those wealthy scholars and merchants?”

Everyone fell silent. Yue Yang’s explanation was clear and thorough. Mao Xiang and Fang Yizhi, having observed the northern Shanxi region, realized he was correct. Li Xiangjun and Dong Xiaowan’s jaws dropped in shock. Could the refined, wealthy merchants they admired be the grave-diggers of Ming?

After a long pause, Li Xiangjun said, “Young Master, I’ve never heard such words before. Have we all been mistaken?”

Yue Yang smiled faintly. “Do you think so? You’ve seen scholars pontificate along the Qinhuai River, so eloquent and full of flair. But judging a person is not by what they say—it’s by what they do. Those who drink and scold the court without action, that is all they accomplish!”

Li Xiangjun and Dong Xiaowan were stunned. Yue Yang had given them so much information, their minds nearly froze.

At that moment, a brilliant lightning bolt split the sky like a monstrous silver serpent. A rolling thunder followed, and soon, heavy rain began to pelt the earth. In an instant, the weather turned violent.

The storm snapped everyone from their daze. Yue Yang looked outside and sighed wryly: “Great… we can’t go back now.”

“If we can’t go back, Young Master could stay here tonight. This painting boat is large—it can surely hold you,” Dong Xiaowan said, blinking playfully.

“Stay here?” Yue Yang asked, curious. “Does that mean you, Miss Xiaowan, are staying here too?”

“Ah! Young Master, how rude of you!” Dong Xiaowan scolded, puffing out her cheeks, while Li Xiangjun blushed as well.

“Cough… pardon me… I didn’t mean it,” Yue Yang said, slightly embarrassed. His earlier words had indeed been easily misinterpreted.