Chapter 230: Thunder from the Heavens as My Aid

The people fear officials—a truth that has persisted in China since ancient times. Officials take great pride in this. Yet few of them remember that when officials oppress the people, the oppressed will rebel; the barefoot need not fear those in shoes. Although Shandong is the birthplace of Confucius, it has always had many defiant people, leading to the saying: “Fear not heaven, fear not earth, but fear the barefoot man who seeks rebellion.”

Rebellion is, in essence, a technical task. Those who lead by raising their arms are usually ambitious and clever, while their followers are mostly those who failed to rise to prominence and possess some cunning. As for those who charge ahead and reap the benefits later, they are often reckless and foolish true barefoot men. Yet gathering such people to carry out a major uprising is not easy.

Just as in the crowd at present, though they became agitated all at once, they only formed a loose circle. After all, the authority of the government is deeply rooted, and Lord Zhang, the deputy magistrate of Qingzhou, enjoys a good reputation among the people.

“You all call me a corrupt official. Have I ever stolen even a single grain from you or abused my power to unjustly sentence someone?”

At this moment, the fury in Zhang Yue’s heart finally overpowered his fear of nearly losing his life and his shock at the unpredictable situation. With a cold smile, he slowly stepped forward, scanning the faces of the people at the front: “I came here to mediate between you. You refuse my good intentions and even throw a sickle at me—whose fault is this?”

The two village elders, both over fifty with gray hair, were frantic, jumping around in anger. Why had a simple dispute over a water channel suddenly turned into surrounding a government official? Wasn’t this deadly? Hearing Zhang Yue’s words, their faces turned red with shame, and one of them shouted angrily,

“What are you all doing? Disperse! What kind of pure land is this? Do you want to bring trouble to your own families? Who threw the sickle? Step forward immediately, or don’t blame me if I become ruthless!”

Though the old man shouted loudly, no one in the crowd stepped forward. They only looked around and discussed among themselves, and soon the noise grew louder. Listening carefully, Zhang Yue’s brows furrowed deeply—under everyone’s eyes, those people were blaming each other, making it hard to determine who started it.

Realizing something was amiss, he took a deep breath and decided to set aside the matter for now. Glancing around, he spoke again, “It’s been over ten days without rain—nature itself seems against us. You’re fighting over a canal just to survive, which is understandable. As men, it’s not a big deal to fight with fists and weapons to keep your wives, children, and families alive. But think about it: if there’s water this year to save your hard-earned crops, what about next year? The year after that? If you lose your lives here, what will happen to your families?”
“There’s an old saying: ‘Don’t burn incense on ordinary days; only turn to Buddha in emergencies.’ Since this canal was built twenty years ago, and twenty years have passed, this isn’t even the worst drought yet. Do you really have to fight to the death? I just came along this canal and saw countless blocked sections. If you had the strength to fight and shed blood here, you could clear it out properly—water flow would at least double. Wouldn’t that help you get through this crisis? Look at this canal: it’s useless during droughts and causes flooding during floods. Am I wrong?”
The two village elders didn’t expect Zhang Yue to ignore the recent attack and instead focus on the canal. Gradually, their faces turned embarrassed, filled with sorrow. The two villages had been fighting over this canal for years. The severe droughts in previous years were ten times worse than this one, and seven lives were lost in battles over it between Xiaohézhuang and Gāoshāntún. Even now, several skilled farmers were in prison. Yet, the previous fights had already made both sides so enraged that no one cared about the canal’s actual condition or how long it could last.
At that moment, a murmur came from the crowd—not the inciting voices from before: “The government imposes too many corvées. Last year, they conscripted people to build the Huítōng River. How can they afford to care about this canal?”
Zhang Yue knew he couldn’t get entangled in the issue of corvées, so he snorted again. “Last year they conscripted people, but what about the year before last? The year before that? This canal has been in use for twenty years! If you have the strength to fight, why don’t you have the strength to maintain it? Clearing the canal not only preserves water sources but also makes the silt more useful than ordinary fertilizer—winning two birds with one stone. In a few years, if this canal gets completely blocked, what will you do? Abandon these lands?”

His words finally brought silence to the surroundings. Xiaohézhuang and Gāoshāntún had both migrated from Shanxi. It had taken them over twenty years of hard work to turn these lands into arable fields—how could anyone bear to let them lie fallow? Due to poverty, there were few educated people in either village, let alone those who could read. Even the village elders didn’t understand profound principles—how could they withstand Zhang Yue’s words? Even the young men at the front, clutching their hoes and farming tools tightly, grew confused and involuntarily loosened their grip.

“According to the laws of the Great Ming, you nearly harmed an official of the imperial court. In the worst case, it could lead to the confiscation of property and the extermination of the family; in the least severe case, imprisonment and flogging are inevitable. Considering that you acted out of ignorance for the sake of your crops, and since it’s the peak farming season now, I’ll pretend this incident never happened! But one thing is clear—this canal must be cleared immediately! Put yourselves in others’ shoes—would it feel good to see others starve to death while you have a chance to survive? There are gods watching over us. Whether it rains or not is up to heaven, and whether we strive to please them is up to us! If we do our duty, blessings will surely come!”

Hearing that Zhang Yue would not pursue this matter, both village elders breathed a sigh of relief. They were about to agree and brush it off for now, but just as Zhang Yue finished speaking, a thunderclap suddenly rang out in the air, followed by continuous thunder and lightning. Zhang Yue instinctively narrowed his eyes and looked up, only to see that the sky, usually clear for days, had become overcast, as if preparing for a spring rain.

At that moment, even someone as composed as him felt an indescribable emotion—this was clearly divine intervention, a timely rain no one could have anticipated! This thunder, like a blessing from heaven, was even more powerful than any display of dominance. It was worth mentioning the phrase “there are gods watching over us.”

No one expected such rain to come. Faced with the power of nature, the two elders, who had just been at odds and eager to tear each other apart, knelt down in the rain, spreading their arms and shouting something to the heavens. Seeing these respected elders kneel, the middle-aged and young people around them also prostrated themselves on the ground, ignoring the heavy rain that soaked their clothes and hair. Many looked at Zhang Yue, standing there with his hands behind his back in the rain, and felt a sense of awe.

This young lord, Zhang, had just spoken of blessings, and indeed, it started to rain—how miraculous!

Countless raindrops fell from the dark clouds, and in no time the world was covered in a white haze. The spring rain in the north was not as persistent and misty as that in the south; it came down swiftly and decisively. After fifteen minutes of intense, fine rain, only sporadic drops remained, but the initial downpour had already soaked people thoroughly.

Zhang Yue, who hadn’t brought any rain gear, was drenched from head to toe. Fortunately, it wasn’t cold at this time of year, and his strong physique meant he didn’t mind the inconvenience. Once the rain stopped, he inevitably gave another lecture to the two village elders. Remembering that water management was part of his responsibilities as an official, he asked the two elders how the canal had been built originally.

“That was twenty years ago. Back then, we had just moved here from Shanxi. We managed to cultivate some wasteland, but it was either flooded or drought-stricken. By chance, there was a man from outside who knew how to dig canals to divert water. Our two villages took him in, and he led everyone to work hard for months to build this canal. Since then, both villages have shared it. It was fine in previous years, but these days there’s increasingly less water. Alas!”

When Zhang Yue had come along this canal earlier, he noticed that it drew water from the lower-lying Juyang River to both villages. There were even dikes built on the Juyang River, but they were in poor condition. Hearing that it wasn’t built by the government but by the locals, he asked where the man from outside was now. To his surprise, the elders were hesitant to answer.

The beaked-nosed elder from Gaoshan Tun couldn’t stand the evasiveness of the elder from Xiaohexiang and retorted bluntly, “Tch! How dare you people from Xiaohexiang speak like that! You said your village would take him in, but then he broke his leg while climbing the mountain. A few families in your village simply stole his land at a low price and drove him out! If not for Gaoshan Tun taking him in, Master Liu would have been forced to die! Sir, Master Liu is currently living at the foot of the stone mountain in our Gaoshan Tun.”

Seeing Zhang Yue frown in frustration, the beaked-nosed elder felt pleased and eagerly suggested, “Sir, your clothes are completely wet. There are people watching here, so it’s not the right time to cause trouble. How about you go to my house to change into dry clothes? I’ll ask my wife to dry them for you, and then you can go talk to Master Liu. Would that work?”

Zhang Yue also found it uncomfortable with wet clothes sticking to his body, so he agreed with a smile. The beaked-nosed elder was overjoyed. He glared at his rival defiantly and proudly led the way for Zhang Yue.

The man from Gaoshan Tun, with his hooked nose, was surnamed Zhang. He had four sons and two daughters. Being somewhat literate and due to his age and seniority, he had been elected as the village elder. Standing now in front of the tightly woven fence at his doorstep, he pushed open the gate with a broad smile and called out to a girl feeding chickens inside, “Xi’er, go tell your grandmother to prepare ginger soup—our guests need to rest at our house! Also, check if the neighbors are around and ask them to help bring Master Liu over!”
The girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old and wearing a patterned cloth dress, turned curiously at the sound of guests. Seeing that Zhang Yue and the others were in a disheveled state, like drowned rats, she couldn’t help but laugh. After responding, she went inside first and then came back out. She bowed and even dared to stare at Zhang Yue’s face for a while with a bold, intense gaze before scurrying away.
Seeing his granddaughter’s reaction, Elder Zhang’s eyes flickered. Noticing that Zhang Yue seemed unaware and was looking around at the rural houses, he quickly dismissed that unrealistic thought from his mind.