Li Chengpeng: I am not a Brahmin

Li Chenpeng: I am not a Brahmin

First,

In that life, my name was Chen Sheng. I still remember that afternoon in 209 BC when it was pouring rain: I looked at the sky, as if it were leaking, and gray rain columns poured down, blurring the future; I looked at the ground, and with every step, it was as if countless hands were reaching out from the mud to grab my ankles. People cried out, "We're dead, we're going to die," and some soldiers fell into the mountain stream.

We 900 soldiers could not reach Yuyang on time. Even if we walked through this muddy mountain road, we would eventually face the executioner's blade. According to the Qin law, "those who miss the deadline will be executed"... I looked at the continuous heavy rain, but remembered that scorching hot noon when we were dizzy and our skin cracked. I said, "If we become rich, let's not forget each other." My companions laughed: We are hired farmers, we don't own an inch of land, what are we talking about wealth? Are you dizzy from the sun? I looked at these uninspired guys and blurted out: How can sparrows understand the ambition of swans.

In that life, I didn't know the term Brahmin yet. I only knew that in the Great Qin, we were the lowest class. Ten households formed a "lin" in the Great Qin, and five "lin" formed a "li". There was a "lümen" in the middle, and the poor people of low status and oppressed lived to the left of the gate. "Sending the poor from the lü to guard Yuyang" meant sending the lowest class to the battlefield as human shields.

That night, we sat around the campfire, drying our soaked clothes and roasting the fish we bought from the market. Someone exclaimed, and found a strip of silk with blurry words inside the fish's belly... At this moment, a fox cry came from the dense forest, and the sound became clearer and clearer, as if it were human speech. Everyone heard it clearly, it was the same as the words on the cloth strip: "Great Chu will rise, Chen Sheng will be king."

The officer cursed, "Heretical words to confuse the masses," and whipped us. Wu Guang beheaded him with a single stroke. From planning the copy, stuffing the silk strip into the fish's belly, to having someone hide in the forest and imitate fox calls, it only took me a few hours. Opportunity knocks, I held up my shining sword, jumped onto a large rock, and shouted the words that have echoed for two thousand years: Are kings and generals born to be so?

Missing the deadline means death, and rising in rebellion also means death. Following me, perhaps we can truly strive for a lifetime of wealth and honor. Those low-class people, no, my class brothers, raised various shining weapons and shouted: Are kings and generals born to be so!

We captured Chen County, and the world responded. Historical records say: The uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang was the first large-scale organized peasant uprising in Chinese history, attempting to break through the class barrier, but internal conflicts led to infighting... One day, Wu Guang was killed. I was shocked when I suddenly felt a chill on my back. I turned around and saw Zhuang Jia drawing his short sword and saying: Brother, I've figured it out. There's not only rebellion to achieve class advancement, but also betrayal.

Class brothers cannot be relied upon. He beheaded me and presented my head to the Qin army. My head, with its eyes open, stared coldly at the world. Qin lost its deer, and the world chased it... In the end, it was Xiang Yu and Liu Bang who fought for supremacy. One was a nobleman, the other a grassroots official, and we pure low-class people failed.

I am not convinced. I have another life. Are kings and generals born to be so?

Second,

In this life, my name was Wang Kuang.

My parents are unknown, and my life is obscure. I was hungry from birth and looked like a stray dog. I looked at the chaotic world, waiting for an opportunity. Finally, during a great famine, I raised my banner and revolted. People followed me and gathered in Mount Lülin, becoming the "Lülin Army," and I was their leader.

There was also a rebel army in the east. Its leader, Fan Chong, to distinguish between friend and foe, had his soldiers dye their eyebrows red, calling them the "Red Eyebrows Army." But I knew he actually wanted to highlight the difference between the image of the poor and the nobles. Naive! Can a rebel army of the lowest class succeed on its own? I learned from my previous life's lesson: I cannot rely only on class brothers, I must also have a backer. So, Wang Feng and I supported the imperial relative Liu Xuan as Emperor Gengshi, restoring the dynastic name "Han." Liu Xiu's brother, Liu Yan, tried to resist, and I decisively killed him. Liu Xiu did not dare to resist.

I was very lucky. In less than seven years, I led a large army into Chang'an. That day, from a distance, I saw Wang Mang standing on the high platform of Weiyang Palace, performing rituals to change the feng shui. With a glance from me, the colonel rushed up and beheaded this foolish man. People kicked his head around like a ball... The Wang family had nine marquises and five grand marshals, enjoying immense prestige. I wanted to overthrow them; Wang Mang's new policies harmed the people, and I wanted to kill him!

That was the peak of my life. Liu Xuan enfeoffed me as the "King of Biyang." I finally broke through the rigid class structure. I won.

I soon realized something was wrong. Liu Xuan began to reuse old nobles and squeezed out the Lülin and Red Eyebrows armies. He even found excuses to kill meritorious officials from the peasant army. Fan Chong became dissatisfied and enthroned a member of the imperial clan, Liu Penzi, leading the Red Eyebrows Army to besiege Chang'an. At this time, Liu Xuan became suspicious of me and killed several of my brothers... I was disheartened and, to protect myself, defected to Fan Chong.

On the day the Red Eyebrows Army broke through Chang'an, Liu Xuan surrendered barefoot. He was no longer arrogant, nor did he have the chance to be. The Red Eyebrows general Xie Lu took his bow and strangled him. A sense of satisfaction arose in my heart, but then I heard that Fan Chong also wanted to get rid of me. I had nowhere to go and defected to Liu Xiu.

In Anyi, Liu Xiu's general Zong Guang smiled at me on horseback and beheaded me with a single stroke. My head rolled on the ground. At that moment, I understood that the imperial relative Liu Xiu was avenging his brother against me.

My rolling head saw Liu Xiu's troops annihilating the Red Eyebrows Army in the distance. Fan Chong surrendered with 100,000 men; I saw Liu Xiu capture Luoyang, and the nobles all returned to their original positions; I also saw scholars in their studies praising Liu Xiu as the true Son of Heaven, who had restored the Han dynasty, while the Lülin and Red Eyebrows were considered rebels who harmed the people; finally, I saw the common people for whom I had fought so hard kneeling on the clean roads, cheering for Liu Xiu like a god, "Long live our Emperor, long live!" At that moment, I understood that even if I found a backer and had a just cause, the lowest class remained the lowest class. In the struggle for dynastic change, the lowest class must die.

My head sighed and closed its eyes. But I am still not convinced. I have another life.

Third,

I thought about it. Brothers can't be relied upon, and backers can't be relied upon either. So, I decided to heal the world and win the hearts of the people. Thus, I founded the "Way of Great Peace." Yes, in this life, I was Zhang Jiao.

I came from a poor background and had traveled to seek the Way. I often treated the common people with herbs and charmed water. Plagues were rampant, and many patients recovered immediately after drinking the charmed water, regarding me as a god. But I made them kneel and repent, which was merely psychological counseling. The herbs might have been effective, but humans, as animals, need spiritual comfort the most. Therefore, I called myself a divine being with the "Book of Great Peace," possessing great divine powers. Joining the "Way of Great Peace" would allow one to save oneself and the world. I invented a slogan: "The Azure Sky has died, the Yellow Sky shall rise." People danced as if at a rock concert, shedding tears and shouting, "The year is Jiazi, the world will be auspicious."

My disciples were all over the country, spreading my divine miracles. I had over 500,000 followers. Even county officials did not see through my intentions. Instead, they thought I was good at education and that the people were flocking to me.

In fact, I was planning the "Yellow Turban Rebellion." I divided my followers into thirty-six fang, with the large fangs having over 10,000 people and the small fangs having six to seven thousand. I had people secretly mark "Jiazi" on the walls of government offices as targets for attack, and I sent people to the palace to contact the eunuchs as insiders, agreeing to coordinate from the inside and outside on March 5th. On that day, I would become a superior being...

However, a disciple reported me, and the plan was exposed. I started the uprising in advance, sacrificed to the heavens by killing people, led 360,000 followers with yellow scarves on their heads, burned government offices, killed local tyrants, and robbed the King of Anping. This was known as the "Yellow Turban Rebellion." The world responded, and the capital was shaken. Lu Zhi came, Liu Bei came, Dong Zhuo came... But I kept winning.

Until Lingdi sent the Left General of the Guards, Huangfu Song. He was a formidable fighter. I, who had always been known for healing people, caught a cold and died one morning as the sun was rising, coughing up blood. That night, Huangfu Song led his troops in a surprise attack, beheaded 30,000 Yellow Turban soldiers, exhumed my body, and sent my head to Luoyang.

I lost again. Like a shadow puppet show, I reincarnated and saw smoke and flames rising everywhere. I saw Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei scheming against each other, killing countless people. I saw the exciting Battle of Red Cliffs, and the world entered the Three Kingdoms era... But this had nothing to do with me. I was a failed low-class person. I concluded: I had fanatical followers, a system design, and could even get close to Lingdi's bedside as a spy. I thought I would surely achieve class breakthrough this time, but I underestimated the power of the aristocratic families. The world did not belong only to the emperor, but also to the Yang family of Hongnong, the Xun family of Yingchuan, the Wang family of Taiyuan... The one who laughed last was the Sima family of Henei.

I reincarnated for four hundred years and seemed to have discovered a pattern: we, who were born humble, were responsible for throwing the world into chaos, while the aristocratic families were responsible for cleaning up the mess.

I continued to reincarnate, passing through various peasant uprisings: the uprising of Zhao Guang, the uprising of Gai Wu, the uprising of the Six Garrisons... The lowest class never succeeded, but they allowed aristocratic families to take turns in power. The current dynasty is called Sui. Yang Guang, who held the imperial seal, was tall, handsome, eloquent, but also lewd and cruel, forcing the world to rebel. Dou Jiande, Liu Wudao, Du Fuwei, Wagangzhai... But in the end, the victory belonged to the aristocratic families Li Yuan and Li Shimin.

By the way, Yang Guang and Li Yuan were both grandsons of Dugu Xin, one of the Eight Pillars of the Western Wei. They were cousins. We stirred up great chaos in the world, only to drive that deer from the Yang family's garden to the Li family's garden.

I hate the aristocratic families, I hate the Seven Great Clans of Longxi, Qinghe Cui, Fanyang Lu, Taiyuan Wang... They control this place called China, subtly and unstoppable. As long as the aristocratic families exist, the children of the lowest class will never rise.

I am still not convinced. I want to reincarnate again...

Fourth,

Looking at the white salt, my heart stirred... I heard an old man urging my father to compose a couplet for the chrysanthemums, but my father couldn't think of one. I couldn't help but reply: "It can be the head of all flowers, naturally wearing a vermilion and yellow robe bestowed by heaven." Vermilion and yellow are royal colors, and my father blamed me for being presumptuous. The old man said, "He can write poetry, but he doesn't know the gravity of the situation. Let him write another one." I replied: "The west wind rustles through the courtyard, the cold fragrance of the buds makes it difficult for butterflies to come. If I were the God of Spring in the future, I would let the peach blossoms bloom together." My soaring ambition burst forth.

The old man and my father stared at me blankly.

I was only five years old that year.

My name is Huang Chao. In this life, I am no longer a lowly commoner, but was fortunate enough to be born into a merchant family. But when I saw the officials searching for smuggled salt, my father always escaped by climbing over the wall, looking like a dog. Another time, he was paraded through the streets with his hands tied, and the yamen runners slapped him across the face. My father's cheeks were swollen and red, and he wept bitterly...

Even the enlightened Tang Dynasty looked down on merchants. Salt and iron were royal monopolies. Those who competed in the private sector were, at best, paraded through the streets, and at worst, beheaded. I had no glory of being a rich second-generation, only the fear of a smuggler. So I want to participate in the imperial examinations and become an official! To slap others in the face!

I studied until I was 55 years old to realize that Li Shimin, standing on the high city wall and pointing at the candidates entering in an orderly fashion, laughing and saying,

Evil dragon.

Nowadays there are no revolutions, no uprisings. The battlefield is the examination hall, the college entrance examination is the imperial examination. Studying late into the night, tying one's hair to a beam to stay awake, but a diploma will never compare to a certificate of blood relations. Look at the officialdom, the proportion of children of officials far exceeds that of the poor. There are no poor people in the upper class, and no aristocratic families in the lower class. Aristocratic families have tax exemptions, officials have special supplies, a dual-track system, and high-level wards. Their children wear priceless earrings and study at Harvard University. This is a new system of aristocratic families.

Aristocratic families never wither. You can never become a Brahmin.