Fu Shanhe

Chapter 504 The Fall of the Capital
"Brother Le is right. We have no other choice but to gamble on the Liaodong troops entering the city as soon as possible!"

Lu Lingfeng said with a gloomy expression.

If he hadn't been ostracized, he wouldn't have wanted to be associated with Liaodong Town.

Using the name of the retired emperor cannot change the fact that they are rebelling.

If one were truly loyal to the emperor and loves the country, one would not have supported the restoration of Emperor Yongning.

The current deterioration of the situation is essentially a consequence of Emperor Yongning's failed personal campaign.

If that battle hadn't damaged the empire's vitality, there wouldn't have been the subsequent tax resistance movement, and there wouldn't have been a shortage of money and food.

The war funds saved could be used as disaster relief funds to salvage the situation in the North.

If you can't solve the problem, then get rid of the person who created it.

With the Annam Protectorate receiving immigrants, the imperial court could alleviate the food crisis in the north by reducing the population.

As long as immigration proceeds quickly enough, natural disasters will not be able to catch up.

Without the pressure of overpopulation, once the Little Ice Age is over, the Great Yu Dynasty will be able to rise from the ashes.

What seemed like a brilliant move by Liaodong Town was actually a desperate endgame with a slim chance of survival.

Emperor Yongning's reputation was ruined throughout the court and the country; everyone knew that following this leader was unreliable.

Even if the coup succeeds, none of the parties will be truly convinced.

Putting aside everything else, taxation alone is a difficult problem.

Even if we include the "pure stream party," it won't make any difference.

Their strength lies in strengthening ideological and moral theory; expecting them to solve problems is asking too much.

"The people in the inner city were already in a state of panic, and it would not be difficult for the Liaodong troops to break in."

The lack of action suggests an attempt to divide the garrison and weaken their strength through political means.

The nobility also have a large military presence in the provinces, and the Shi family probably doesn't want to completely break with them.

Once their hands are stained with the blood of nobles, neither the northern border troops nor the Marquis of Hanshui in the south will let it go.

Moreover, Southern Zhili is currently under the military pressure of the nobility.

"If we tear off the mask of civility, the money and grain from the south will never come again!"

Le Xiangsong calmly analyzed.

The hint of envy in his eyes betrayed his true feelings.

Only when living in chaotic times do we realize the importance of military force.

When it comes to political skills, most nobles are not qualified, but they have troops under their command.

Many times, when there was a clear opportunity to politically defeat the aristocratic faction, the civil service was still forced to give up at the last moment.

It's not difficult to defeat the aristocratic faction in the court; the real challenge is how to handle the aftermath once they've been ousted.

Leaving aside the local armies, the armed forces in the capital alone made them hesitant to act rashly.

If pushed too far, no one can guarantee that those nobles won't overturn the table.

The civil service group feared the army under the control of the nobles, and the Liaodong garrison was equally wary.

Even though the noble faction has shown signs of accelerated decline in the last two or three years, it still controls the strongest armed force in the Great Yu Dynasty.

Strength is the best asset. Even in such an unfavorable situation, we still have the leverage to negotiate with the Shi family.

If nothing unexpected happens, after the Liaodong troops enter the city, they will only use Emperor Yongning's name to intimidate civil officials and establish their authority.

As for the noble families in the city, they were bargaining chips in negotiations between the Liaodong Garrison and the noble generals, and could not be easily touched.

"They have no choice in this!"

"In any case, we must make Liaodong Town and the noble faction fight each other."

If these two groups collude, and warlords rule the country, where will we find a place to stand?

Fei Xinyuan said with a ferocious expression.

The pie of the Great Yu Dynasty has been shrinking year by year, and there isn't enough for these vested interests to go around.

The White Lotus Rebellion of a few years ago allowed the aristocratic faction, which was sitting on the periphery, to seize the main position and take a large share of the pie, resulting in heavy losses for the Qingliu Party.

If there were another Liaodong Town, they would be out of the game.

"Brother Fei is right, it's indeed time to take action."

In the capital region, although our strength is not as great as that of the noble families, we can still contribute.

Let these warriors in first, and before they have a chance to reach an agreement with the noble faction, we can incite them to fight each other.

Shi Jingfeng is obsessed with becoming Cao Cao, but we'll make him become Dong Zhuo!

Lu Lingfeng said menacingly.

He originally wanted to be a loyal subject of the Great Yu Dynasty, but he hadn't lived enough and couldn't bear to die so soon.

If a direct confrontation with the rebels doesn't work, then we'll resort to a roundabout approach.

Whether it can save the Great Yu Dynasty is unknown, but at least there needs to be a plausible explanation to provide political justification for surrender.

If Liaodong Town falls into disrepair in the future, these political endorsements will be their only way to survive.

……

Time flies, and ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.

The situation in the capital became increasingly complicated, and food shortages became the final straw that broke the camel's back for the people in the city.

In order to survive, they have never stopped committing crimes such as theft and robbery.

The Shuntian Prefecture and the Five City Garrison, responsible for maintaining order in the capital, were all just going through the motions, and the officials had no intention of doing their jobs.

In some corners of the city, even instances of people exchanging children to eat have emerged.

The trade of "vegetable people," a practice so taboo that even historical records dared not delve into it, frequently appeared on the black market, and the imperial court was overwhelmed by its sheer volume of activity.

The ugliness of human nature continues to unfold in the city.

The rebels besieged the city without attacking, causing the defending officers and soldiers great suffering and their morale to plummet.

The Zhenyuan Marquis's Residence.

After seeing off the visiting guests, Li Sen was secretly worried.

The phenomenon of "the bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow" has once again come to the fore.

Friends and relatives in the city all expressed their desire to break out with them after the city fell.

Having no other option, Li Sen could only pretend to be ignorant and give perfunctory replies, refusing to agree to any of the offers.

Having a large number of people is definitely not a good idea for breaking through.

Carrying a bunch of burdens, they probably got blocked by the rebels as soon as they left the capital.

The reason people chose to band together at this time is not simply to escape for their lives, but more to provide insurance for their families.

Following the Li family means forming a group.

With the Marquis of Hanshui keeping a watchful eye on them from the outside, the Shi family was deterred from taking any drastic measures against them.

As for the core members of the clan, they are mostly sent away secretly to prevent them from falling into the hands of the rebels.

"Brother, when will this dawdling end?"

Li Lai couldn't help but complain.

They all knew each other's plans.

Because of our close relationship, I couldn't openly refuse.

With so many people watching the Marquis's residence, it's likely that as soon as they make a move, the family will immediately follow.

"Let's just fool them for now!"

They're either relatives or family friends, what else could it be?

After we break through, I'm afraid we'll never see each other again in this lifetime!

Li Sen sighed and said.

The evacuation was a top secret of the Li clan, known to fewer than ten people.

They wouldn't even keep it from their own family, let alone tell outsiders.

Most of the clansmen in the capital will be abandoned; who will care about outsiders?

Simply staying in the capital isn't too risky; the problem is that the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion has now taken a stand against the Liaodong Garrison.

No one can guarantee that an enemy, once provoked, won't go on a killing spree.

"Brother, it's not that serious."

Each household has its own servants, so if the capital were to fall, they would certainly make arrangements for their escape.

Even if one is prepared to die for one's country, one must still leave behind a bloodline for the family.

Li Long said in a deep voice.

With this step taken, the Xun Gui Group will become history.

As a member of a noble family, witnessing this group's rise and fall firsthand evoked a complex mix of emotions within me.

But there was no other way; some things had to be done. In the final years of the dynasty, continuing to maintain the alliance of the noble groups was a path to certain death.

Whether it was the Great Yu Dynasty rising from the ashes or someone establishing a new dynasty, neither could tolerate this product of the old era.

"Ok!"

"The situation in the city has already collapsed, and the city will probably fall in the next few days."

If we have to break out separately, we can only accept our fate and start preparing in advance!

Li Sen said with a serious expression.

You can't put all your eggs in one basket, and there's no single team that can break through the encirclement.

These core members of the clan each led their trusted followers to break through the encirclement.

The remaining members of the collateral branches were used as bait, and they also split into multiple teams to evacuate, but each team had a much larger number of people.

A large number of family members and servants were leaving the group, easily numbering in the thousands.

If you include the companions you attract, it's normal for the number to exceed ten thousand.

Unless the rebels are fools, they can spot these groups, making their chances of successfully breaking through much lower.

……

Rumble…

The continuous sound of artillery fire signaled the official start of the battle for the capital.

The cannonballs that the imperial court had painstakingly prepared to defend against the invasion of the northern barbarians ultimately fell on their own heads.

For the first time, the corruption of the bureaucratic class played a positive role.

The inferior artillery produced by the Ministry of Works' Ordnance Bureau and Armory Bureau weakened the enemy's siege firepower and alleviated the pressure on the defending troops to some extent.

Unfortunately, the defending troops had lost all morale, and no matter how the generals tried to boost morale, it was all in vain with bowls of bran and chaff.

The imperial court called on wealthy households in the city to donate grain more than once, but each time the efforts had little effect.

It wasn't about hoarding and speculation; the main problem was that even the landlords didn't have any surplus grain.

All the grain stores in the city were closed, and the rebels besieged the capital. No one knew how long this would last.

With limited grain reserves, no one dared to hand them over.

To protect their own property, the wealthy and powerful families in the city have increased the number of their servants.

Many soldiers take off their uniforms and transform into home guards.

The bugle call to charge sounded, and the defeated soldiers of the Beijing garrison, who had just been incorporated into the army, became the vanguard in the attack on the city.

Seeing their former comrades-in-arms turn into enemies, the morale of the defending troops plummeted.

Relying on the city's defenses, the defending army repelled the rebels' repeated attacks with great difficulty.

Blood stained the city walls, the earth, and even the moat turned red.

The light of dusk fell upon the earth, illuminating the corpses scattered everywhere, creating an exceptionally oppressive atmosphere.

Upon hearing the enemy's gong, countless soldiers defending the city secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, the day is over!"

While countless officers and soldiers sighed with relief, high-ranking generals were secretly lamenting their situation.

Judging from the smoke rising from the chimneys in the distance, it won't be long before the aroma of meat wafts up to the city walls again.

Compared to the rebel siege, this "magical attack" was far more lethal to the defending forces.

Despite the generals' repeated insistence that the livestock in the north had long been slaughtered and that the rebels were cooking human flesh, they still failed to unite everyone in their hatred of the enemy.

This was a consequence of the loss of credibility; the soldiers simply didn't believe their generals.

……

Gazing at the clouds outside the window, a glimmer of hope flashed in Emperor Yongning's eyes, but it quickly faded.

The atmosphere in the palace changed after the rebel army besieged the city.

The eunuchs and palace maids who used to monitor him were all eager to impress him, as if the emperor from back then had returned.

But Emperor Yongning knew that everything was irreversible.

In the eyes of the ministers, even the retired emperor was someone who could be sacrificed in order to save the emperor.

The reason they haven't taken action against him yet is that no one wants to bear the infamy of murdering the emperor.

Nobody knows how long this mutual buck-passing can last.

Even if he were to hold out until the Liaodong army entered the city and he were to reclaim the throne, it would be difficult for him to regain control of the government.

Over the past three years, all of his carefully cultivated confidants have been wiped out.

They were either implicated in this major case or involved in another major case, and were all purged.

He knew all too well how difficult it was for a lone emperor to rule the country when he had no one of his own.

"You may all leave. I need to rest!"

Emperor Yongning immediately issued an order.

After spending three years in "prison," aside from his initial outburst of rage, he gradually learned to adapt.

He would naturally not give up the opportunity to regain power.

However, having learned his lesson from the last time, he no longer naively believed that as long as one was the emperor, one could control everything.

The "Imperial Edict in the Belt" was exclusive to Emperor Xian. With this precedent as a warning, subsequent powerful ministers were wary and could no longer pull off this trick.

Besides, given his popularity, apart from his close confidants, no one else would be willing to risk helping him with this favor.

Without any imperial edict, Liaodong Town still produced the imperial decree for his surgery, clearly indicating that he was not a docile ruler.

The officials ousted him from office, and with everyone checking and balancing each other, he managed to avoid doing anything too outrageous.

If the Shi family were to take charge of the government, who knows whether they would become the Duke of Zhou or Cao Cao?

……

"They eat fish and meat like royalty, while we eat pig swill every day. This is inhuman!"

"that is!"

"Those bastards in the court are enjoying themselves in the city, why should we, who are freezing and starving, work for them?"

Someone started it, and soon small murmurs of complaint rose among the defenders.

When resentment can no longer be suppressed and erupts, the truth no longer matters.

As more and more soldiers joined in the complaints, their words became increasingly explicit.

"Bastard!"

"How dare you, my lords, sirs of the court..."

The reprimand was only halfway through when the middle-aged general had his neck snapped.

"Brothers, those corrupt officials don't treat us like human beings."

"Rather than starve to death on the battlefield, we might as well rebel!"

"That's outrageous!"

"That's outrageous!"

……

In the past, people would have immediately realized that these people were deliberately stirring up trouble.

But now, all the soldiers in the Beijing garrison are seething with anger.

Don't worry about scarcity, but worry about inequality.

If the military generals and court officials all ate chaff and lived like them, everyone would be able to accept it.

But the reality is quite the opposite. Resources are scarce now. Military officers don't have big meals of meat and fish, but they can still get enough white flour buns.

Needless to say, the officials in the government generally enjoyed a higher or lower quality of life than this person.

Many of the officials who came to inspect the city's defenses smelled of alcohol.

After comparing the two, everyone's resentment grew stronger day by day.

In a fit of anger, he shouted the slogans of rebellion.

In everything else, there's a way back, but in rebellion, there is no way back.

Having been tricked onto this pirate ship, everyone had no choice but to follow along.

The deafening sound spread in all directions, and the generals of Yu's army, realizing that the situation was not good, stepped forward to reassure their troops.

Unfortunately it was too late.

Upon discovering that the defending soldiers had mutinied, the rebel army outside the city launched another attack.

The once impregnable defenses of the capital suddenly developed a fatal flaw.

……

(End of this chapter)