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About twenty or thirty li east of the old Pingyang city lies a valley.
Though the valley isn't very large, many farmers once secretly came here to reclaim land and grow crops.
Because this valley was originally considered ownerless land.
Ownerless land meant no taxes…
Being a farmer these days wasn't easy, especially under the dual pressures of local gentry and nomadic peoples.
Although national taxes were fixed and hadn't changed much over the years, the burden of other taxes was immense. From birth, there was the per capita tax, also called head money, and corvée service fees—these two major items alone heavily burdened ordinary farmers. Add to that various miscellaneous taxes on commerce, industry, and mountain/forest products…
To restrict farmers from migrating arbitrarily and to suppress commerce, taxes on goods circulation were extremely heavy and numerous, reaching outrageous levels. Taxes included suan min money, zhan zu, suan zi, market taxes, transit taxes, six-livestock tax, wine tax, etc. Even more intolerable was that the emperor often demanded so-called "tribute fees" from various regions—various materials and wealth provided to the central government as offerings by commandery governors and feudal lords.
Of course, all these taxes—head money, autumn levies, even those numerous taxes—ultimately wouldn't be paid by officials or local powerful families and gentry…
Therefore, many farmers might fail to pay taxes because of one less rain from heaven, or one more rain, perhaps because they couldn't resist buying new clothes on an extra trip to town, or maybe because a few days of illness prevented fieldwork, leading to slightly lower harvests. Then they couldn't scrape together the taxes, borrowed to pay, and if lucky, survived; if unlucky and couldn't repay interest…
Ultimately, a vicious cycle leading to family ruin and death.
Thus, many farmers—voluntarily or forced—came to this valley, starting to live here secretly. Until one day, perhaps the authorities discovered it, perhaps remaining Yellow Turban bandits also came here. Anyway, the White Wave Army's then-leader Guo Da eventually launched his uprising here…
"At its start, the White Wave Army claimed one hundred thousand men." Fei Qian looked at this valley and said, "It was in this valley they rose up."
His tone was calm, as if one hundred thousand was no different from ten or twenty…
But it startled Ma Yue beside him.
"Inspector Fei, is that true?"
One hundred thousand! From childhood till now, he hadn't even seen ten thousand soldiers, let alone one hundred thousand—a number completely beyond his imagination.
Huang Cheng had experienced the Yellow Turbans in Jing and Xiang, so he knew how inflated Yellow Turban numbers were. He chuckled and said, "They're just exaggerated numbers. Look how big this valley is. If there really were one hundred thousand, they'd fill the valley packed together!"
Fei Qian nodded, urging his horse slowly into the valley.
After the White Wave Army's uprising, they built the White Wave Fort here—basically a stockade piled with stones on the cliff edge…
This actually showed the inflation in the White Wave Army back then. If they really had one hundred thousand soldiers, why build a fort? They could have swept through all of Hedong.
The "one hundred thousand soldiers" figure might have been Guo Da's bluff to intimidate, or perhaps local gentry in Hedong seized the opportunity to use as a shield…
With banditry, naturally more soldiers were needed. Commandery troops increased; local powerful families' private militias and guards could also expand. For rural farmers, they could say: with Yellow Turbans around, protection fees need to increase; otherwise, how to raise troops to protect you?
Then, taxes originally owed to the state could be excused by saying: We want to pay, but there are one hundred thousand Yellow Turban bandits outside! Can't get them out!
That's one hundred thousand soldiers!
Heh.
Fei Qian walked while observing the abandoned White Wave Fort, the birthplace of the White Wave Army. It was later suppressed, but by then the White Wave Army had expanded, swept surrounding villages, and fled into the Lüliang Mountains…
The White Wave Fort was centrally located in the valley, roughly equidistant from the three valley exits. Although damaged by suppressing commandery troops, some overall ruins remained.
A small stream flowed from the eastern peak, not much water, winding down the mountainside through the valley, then flowing southwest…
"So, the White Wave bandits don't have many troops now?" Ma Yue followed and asked.
Fei Qian looked around at the reclaimed farmland in the valley, now overgrown again, and slightly shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure how many the White Wave Army has now, but roughly thirty to fifty thousand…"
"Thirty to fifty thousand?" Ma Yue frowned. Thirty to fifty thousand wasn't a small number!
Fei Qian looked at Ma Yue, guessing he might not distinguish between Yellow Turban and Hu military structures, as Ma Yue had always been in Shang Commandery and later followed Ma Yan to Hedong, possibly unaware of differences between Yellow Turban and Hu troop numbers.
So Fei Qian turned to Huang Cheng. "Shuye, explain it to him…" After all, Huang Cheng experienced the early Yellow Turban period, fought them, and thus understood more than Ma Yue.
Huang Cheng smiled and nodded, pulling Ma Yue aside. "Actually, Yellow Turban numbers differ from Hu calculations. If pressed, Hu women and children can ride and shoot arrows. But Yellow Turbans are different—they bring families. Generally, if one-third are adult men, that's considered good. Among that one-third, most have never held weapons; they fight on mere courage, knowing nothing of battlefield coordination…"
Huang Cheng seemed to recall something, his smile fading, voice lowering: "…When the Yellow Turban leaders, the three Zhang brothers, were alive, those bandits truly feared no death. Even unarmed, they'd pounce, using hands to grab, teeth to bite. Many commandery troops were defeated that way back then… But after the three Zhang brothers died, the Yellow Turbans never regained that ferocious courage. Dozens or a hundred commandery troops could chase thousands of Yellow Turban bandits everywhere…"
"…So, high Yellow Turban numbers early on aren't that significant. If fighting drags on, those remaining are mostly robust men who've survived many battles—that's the trouble… The White Wave Army has only fought one or two major battles now; compared to commandery troops, they still have some gap…"
Ma Yue went "Oh," realizing his earlier misconception, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
By now, Fei Qian had surveyed the valley thoroughly. After pondering a moment, he called Ma Yue over. "Zidu, have you seen how Hu people herd sheep?"
Ma Yue nodded. "Yes, I have. They use shouting and driving to give commands, keeping the flock together, preventing scattering."
"Good! Tomorrow, take one hundred Bingzhou cavalry plus four hundred Hu cavalry and hide here…" Fei Qian motioned Ma Yue closer and instructed: "…Perhaps then you'll be like one hundred thousand soldiers!"