Chapter 147: A New Mission

"Brother Wang, is this Peasant Association really that good?" a laborer asked with a sycophantic smile.

Wang Wu lifted his chin and said, "Naturally. Lord Li established the Peasant Association precisely to champion us poor folk. With the protection of the Association, no powerful gentry will dare to oppress us, and the officials will not dare to extort us at will. There are all kinds of benefits."

Under normal circumstances, everyone would still be half-in-doubt, but now that there was silver to be had, their trust in Li Yi and the Peasant Association grew even stronger.

After a moment of thought, someone raised their hand high and said, "I want to join the Peasant Association."

"I want to join too."

"Me as well."

The laborers vied with one another, all eager to join the Peasant Association.

Wang Wu chuckled and said to them, "You've come to the right place. Elder Gao happens to be in Suijin Town. I'll take you to pay your respects to him so that he can give you some lessons."

"What is a lesson?" a laborer asked curiously.

"It's to tell you what the Peasant Association is, why we need to build it, and what we should do after joining."

"Well, that's rare," a laborer said naively, scratching his head.

Wang Wu laughed and scolded, "Elder Gao said this is to open your eyes to truly live your lives, instead of living in a daze like before, knowing only how to suffer and endure hardships."

Open your eyes to truly live your lives?

Hearing this, the laborers became even more curious.

"So if we join the Peasant Association, can we become like you?" a laborer asked.

Wang Wu proudly puffed out his chest and said with full confidence, "In your dreams! I am now a manager of the Peasant Association."

"Then how do you become a manager?"

"To become a manager, you have to come listen to classes two days every ten-day period, learn to read and write, and there are all sorts of things to do anyway."

The group asked and answered questions, filled with hope and curiosity about the Peasant Association.

On the other side, Li Yi rode his horse to Mizhi County City and first went to pay his respects to Yang He.

A servant led Li Yi to the reception hall to wait, and after half an hour, escorted him to the study.

Carrying a large chest, Li Yi walked to the corridor outside the study. Guided by the servant, he finally entered the study.

"Your subordinate Li Yi pays respects to Your Excellency the Viceroy."

"Commander Li, please sit and speak."

Yang He stroked his beard, smiled warmly, and pointed to a nearby seat.

"Thank you, Your Excellency."

Li Yi stepped forward and sat down.

Yang He's eyes swept over the large chest, betraying no emotion.

Li Yi smiled and said, "During this military campaign, this subordinate was fortunate enough to acquire a few antiques. However, as I know nothing about antiques, I hoped Your Excellency the Viceroy could help me appraise them."

Yang He did not care for gold and silver, but he had a unique fondness for collecting antiques. Hearing this, he immediately grew interested.

He walked over to the desk, looked at the antiques inside the chest, and picked up a purple clay teapot to examine it.

A moment later, he praised admiringly, "This is truly a fine treasure! The shape is archaic, simple yet elegant, and it bears the inscription of a famous master. It appears to be an imperial item from the early Song Dynasty."

Smiling, Li Yi took out a mutton-fat white jade carving and said, "Your Excellency, would you care to look at this piece?"

"Oh, you must be careful with jade ware, don't chip it."

Yang He hurriedly offered a reminder, receiving it with both hands with the utmost care. He stroked and examined it closely, praising it endlessly. It was clear he was extremely fond of this jade carving.

After playing with several antiques in succession, Yang He finally put them down with reluctant sorrow and said, "They are all wonderful things. Any one of them taken out would be a precious treasure."

Li Yi closed the chest and smiled, saying, "This subordinate understands nothing of antiques, and keeping them is of no use. Since Your Excellency enjoys them, please keep them here to admire for a few days."

Yang He pondered silently for a moment.

Had it been vulgar objects like gold and silver, he certainly would not have accepted them, but he truly loved these rare treasures, so he tacitly consented.

After a few casual remarks, Yang He finally turned to today's main topic.

He smiled and said, "Li Yi, you achieved extraordinary merit in this military campaign to annihilate Wang Zuogua, and this governor will memorialize the court to reward you. But what pleases this governor the most is that you stopped Hong Chengchou from slaughtering the captives. Do you know why?"

Li Yi said in a deep voice, "The peasant rebellions in Shaanxi are growing increasingly fierce, and Your Excellency's appointment as Viceroy of the Three Frontiers this time is precisely to quell the rebellion. For the Provincial Administration Commissioner to slaughter captives will only strengthen the rebels' resolve to resist the court, which runs completely contrary to Your Excellency's objective."

Hearing Li Yi's words, a look of surprise appeared on Yang He's face.

On the surface, the execution of the captives looked like Hong Chengchou's personal doing, but it touched upon the court's policy for handling the Northwest peasant rebellions and carried profound implications behind the scenes.

Many officials in Shaanxi had failed to realize this logic; he had not expected Li Yi, a lowly military commander, to see through it so clearly.

Looking at Li Yi, who stood tall and straight with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, Yang He sighed inwardly.

Brilliant, and socially adept as well. If he were a civil official, he would certainly groom him vigorously. What a pity...

Sighing inwardly, Yang He said with a slight headache, "The reason for this is that the court is deeply divided over whether to pacify or annihilate the rebels, and this division has even affected the official circles in Shaanxi. Hong Chengchou knew full well that the court sent this governor here specifically to pacify the rebels and calm the chaos in the Northwest. Yet he insisted on slaughtering captives to provoke them. This clearly shows he holds no regard for this governor. If this continues, it will be detrimental to the overall situation."

Only then did Li Yi understand that Hong Chengchou's order to kill the captives was a deliberate attempt to undermine Yang He.

As the Viceroy of the Three Frontiers, Yang He belonged to the court faction advocating the pacification of rebels, while Hong Chengchou belonged to the faction advocating their annihilation.

The two factions fought endlessly in the court, completely indifferent to the starving masses and corpses littering the roadsides of Shaanxi, thus spreading the flames of war deeper into the province.

Li Yi raised his gaze slightly to look at Yang He and said, "The chaos in the Northwest stems entirely from natural disasters and military calamities, leaving the people without clothes or food. Blindly pursuing a policy of annihilation will only cause the endless stream of disaster victims to turn into rebels, making the situation even more perilous."

Li Yi truly supported saving the people from disaster and pacifying the rebels.

As long as the court allocated funds and grain to relieve the people on the verge of starvation, and then implemented work-relief programs to build water conservancy projects, reclaim barren fields, crack down on wealthy gentry, and halt government oppression of the people, the situation in the Northwest would undoubtedly improve within two years.

Yet, could the court of the Great Ming dynasty accomplish this?

Hearing Li Yi support his stance, Yang He's expression improved considerably.

His previous remarks had been both an outlet for his frustration and a test.

"Last year, rebels like Wang Jiaying and Gao Yingxiang stirred up chaos, and around the New Year, the Tatars invaded from the south. Disastrous famine swept across the Yansui region, and countless people joined the rebels. This governor intends to provide relief to the disaster victims in Yansui and pacify the rebels, and has already dispatched Shi Kefa to handle it. The two of you are old acquaintances; this governor wishes to assign you to assist Shi Kefa. Are you willing?"

Li Yi nodded and said, "To relieve the disaster victims and resist the rebels is this subordinate's bounden duty."

"In that case, this governor will keep you stationed in Yansui. You may discuss with Shi Kefa how to stabilize the people's livelihood in the region."

Hesitating for a moment, Li Yi said, "There is one matter this subordinate wishes to confess and ask for Your Excellency's forgiveness."

Yang He asked in surprise, "What matter?"

"During the battle at Longmen Town, this subordinate once used a stratagem to take the rebel leader Wang Zuogua hostage. However, due to various reasons, he later escaped."

"What?"

Yang He stood up abruptly.

One must know that Wang Zuogua was a major rebel leader on par with Wang Jiaying; capturing him had always been the primary objective of the court's military campaigns.

Pointing a finger at Li Yi, Yang He reproached him somewhat, "That was a merit as vast as the heavens, yet he slipped right through your hands! If the court finds out about this, you will surely be punished."

Li Yi smiled bitterly and said, "This subordinate also regrets it deeply, but I am afraid someone might exploit this matter to target me."

Yang He glanced at the chest on the desk and said, "This matter can be big or small; this governor will submit a memorial to argue your case. If anyone still targets you, they are undoubtedly aiming to target me."

Hearing these words, Li Yi finally set his mind at ease.

Yang He continued, "You and Shi Kefa must throw your full effort into relieving the disaster victims in Yansui and resisting the rebels. When the time comes, this governor will memorialize the court to grant you merit."

Li Yi hastily replied, "This subordinate understands."