Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 878 Turbulent Times
Yang Yuan fell ill and was unable to attend to his duties, which removed a major obstacle.

Did the young emperor and his ministers really believe that Yang Yuan was suffering from a serious illness and was bedridden?
not necessarily.

They believe that Yang Yuan intentionally abandoned his post.

Weren't you all stubborn and determined to send troops before?
Okay, now that you've suffered a crushing defeat, do you expect me to clean up your mess?

I, Yang Yuan, am happy to stand by and watch you make a fool of yourselves.

To put it mildly, this is just being emotional.

However, it didn't matter. They firmly believed that the rebellion of the local barbarians in Liangshan Prefecture could be easily suppressed as long as the imperial court dealt with it seriously.

Do you, Yang Yuan, want to see us make a fool of ourselves?

What a joke!
Without you holding us back, watch as we quell the Tuman rebellion with a few words and rid ourselves of this scourge in the blink of an eye!
Yang Xuan, Pacification Commissioner of Bozhou.

Yang Xuan set up an incense table and solemnly knelt to receive the imperial edict.

"Your subject, Yang Xuan, receives the imperial decree!"

Yang Xuan accepted the imperial edict with both hands, respectfully placed it on the incense table, and when he turned around, he was all smiles.

"The angel has come from afar and has had a long and arduous journey. He must rest here with me for two days before he can leave."

"Guards, prepare wine and a banquet!"

Before long, the sounds of string and wind instruments and singing and dancing began, and they had a distinct ethnic minority flavor.

The girls singing and dancing during the event were also dressed in the traditional costumes of the Liao and Miao ethnic minorities.

Shiny silver jewelry, a brightly colored batik mini-skirt, shapely calves, a fleeting glimpse of her perfectly rounded, jade-like thighs, and that radiant smile like sunshine, eyes as clear as a stream…

Xue He, the deputy director of the Privy Council's Imperial Decree Office who was delivering the imperial decree, immediately narrowed his eyes.

Such charm is rarely seen in Lin'an.

Yang Xuan sat in the main seat, soliciting drinks with great enthusiasm. After several songs and dances, he even had the Miao girl in the short skirt flanking Vice Dean Xue, urging him to drink as well.

Yang Xuan smiled and said, "Bozhou has not used troops for a long time. The last time, under the command of Minister Yang, who was then the Pacification Commissioner of Tongchuan Road, we went to Dali to test our skills."

"I am filled with trepidation at being ordered to deploy troops in Bozhou this time. I wonder if Minister Yang has any more specific arrangements for Bozhou?"

Vice Dean Xue held a cup in one hand and, with the other hand under the table, leisurely stroked the girl's pink and smooth thigh, replying with a smile: "Minister Yang has recently contracted an abdominal ailment and is temporarily unable to attend to affairs. The strategy for this military expedition is indeed a plan discussed by the court officials."

Yang Xuan smiled and nodded: "I see, I understand..."

So, when Vice President Xue was preparing to return to Lin'an to report back, he saw that the Bozhou soldiers that Yang Xuan had ordered to gather were coming to Bozhou one after another from various villages, towns, prefectures and states.

However, Vice President Xue had already returned to Lin'an, and Yang Xuan's troops had not yet been fully assembled, let alone deployed.

……

Within the city of Xuzhou, over a thousand wounded soldiers were scattered in various government warehouses, inns, and other temporary shelters used as temporary accommodations for them.

More than twenty days had passed when Shen Xuzhong personally arrived in Xuzhou.

However, things were not as peaceful as people imagined. The wounded soldiers were well taken care of, and everything seemed to be in good order.

On the contrary, the city was in chaos.

The weather is already hot, and mosquitoes are rampant in the area.

The wounded soldiers not only lacked medical care and medicine, but also suffered from mosquito bites, making their wounds more prone to festering and suppuration.

When Shen Xuzhong arrived in Xuzhou, many of the wounded soldiers were in even worse condition than when they had just fled there.

The incoherent wails of some wounded soldiers suffering from malaria sent chills down Shen Xuzhong's spine.

The imperial court had military doctors and pharmacies for the army, but those were all located in large cities and towns.

The basic infrastructure in Xuzhou is quite rudimentary.

And what no one dared to tell Shen Xuzhong was—
The imperial court's war against Liangshan Prefecture also cut off the livelihood of the people of Xuzhou.

Yang Yuan wiped out one of the three barbarian tribes in Xuzhou and ordered the other two to leave the mountains and settle along the official roads.

Farmers are only a tiny minority, because there are many mountains and little arable land here, and it is impossible to accommodate so many people.

The rest of the local people, whether they run shops or transportation businesses, all rely heavily on this gold and copper mine in Liangshan Prefecture.

The current actions of the imperial court towards Liangshan Prefecture are aimed at cutting off their livelihoods.

How could they possibly welcome these government officials and soldiers? It would be a waste if they didn't deliberately hinder them or carry out assassinations.

Therefore, the local government of Xuzhou could not rely on these local tribes and people at all.

When Yang Yuan waged war, he was never stingy with rewards, and he paid special attention to logistics and supplies.

Even when his army marched into the ancient mountain roads of Tianshui, his supplies were never interrupted.

Whether it's food, medicine, or armor, not only is the supply sufficient, but the quality of the supply is also improved as much as possible.

But what kind of troops did this army that marched south have?
Even after moving into Xuzhou City, their conditions did not improve, and naturally, they complained a lot.

As for the two elite armies that Yang Yuan had built up, one was the firearms battalion, which originated from local militias and has now been disbanded and sent back to various places.

The other was the Mad Army, composed of bandits, outlaws, and death row inmates.

This army is now the Xiang Army stationed in Xuzhou.

Even when these people have kind faces, it's still unsettling to look at them.

Looking at them at this moment, they all seemed like lone wolves lurking around, which was truly terrifying.

Is there really anyone who can command these killing gods?

Shen Xuzhong couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. He felt that only an even more ferocious wolf king could control this pack of wolves.

Shen Xuzhong's personal visit to Xuzhou to see the wounded soldiers was an act intended to win over the morale of the army.

Unfortunately, the amount of medicine he brought was far from sufficient. Moreover, he had not conducted adequate research beforehand, and many of the medications were not the right treatments for his immediate condition.

As a result, even if he didn't come, the officers and soldiers still had something to look forward to.

When he arrived, the officers and soldiers looked at him and thought, "Is that all?"

Instead, they felt even more disappointed and resentful.

The prefect of Xuzhou repeatedly urged the pacification commissioner to return to Tongchuan Prefecture three times a day.

He worried that a mutiny might occur among the soldiers, and if that affected Shen Xuzhong, it would likely implicate him as well.

Little did Shen Xuzhong know what the prefect was planning; the more the prefect tried to persuade him, the less he wanted to leave.

Just then, an imperial edict arrived in Xuzhou.

The imperial court ordered Shen Xuzhong to redeem himself through meritorious service, and to gather troops for another campaign against Liangshan Prefecture.

Shen Xuzhong breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he had not been dismissed from his post on the spot.

But if he were to attack Liangshan Prefecture again, he would not have any troops that he could use effectively.

There were quite a few troops in Tongchuan Road, but he wasn't very familiar with most of the generals stationed in various places, and they had no dealings with him.

There's no time to worry about that now, since the emperor has already ordered Kuizhou Road to send troops directly to provide support.

The soldiers of Bozhou are most familiar with the local people's combat methods and are always brave. With their assistance, we believe we can achieve victory this time.

As for the fact that they were not very familiar with the other garrisons in Tongchuan Road, they were all paid by the imperial court, and they could not possibly want to lose the battle, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and make the transfers.

Before the troops move, supplies must be prepared. Shen Xuzhong, in his capacity as Grand Marshal of the Expeditionary Army, sent an official letter to the Chengdu Prefecture.

This time, he was much more experienced and not only needed grain, but also a large amount of medicine from Chengdu Prefecture.

In Chengdu Prefecture, Qiao Zhen was in the process of handing over the reins to the newly appointed Pacification Commissioner, Tan Tian'an.

When Shen Xuzhong's official letter arrived at Tongchuan Road, Qiao Zhen smoothly handed it over to Tan Ping'an.

"Lord Tan, I am about to return to Lin'an. I will be entrusting all the affairs in Chengdu to you."

After saying this, Qiao Zhen waved her sleeve and drifted away.

He wasn't disappointed, really, not at all.

When Tongchuan Road attacked Liangshan Prefecture, it was actually Chengdu Prefecture that fell into chaos first—can you believe it?
Old Qiao didn't care at all about losing his power as a regional governor, and happily returned to the capital.

When Tan Tianan took office in Chengdu Prefecture, the chief ministers repeatedly urged him to fully cooperate with the military operations of Tongchuan Prefecture.

It can be said that he took office because of this, and Qiao Zhen was removed from office because of her poor cooperation in this matter.

Commander Tan naturally spared no effort and did everything he could to procure food and medicine.

He imposed strict assessment standards, ordering all prefectures and counties in Chengdu Prefecture to complete the fundraising task within the time limit he set, without any compromise.

However, due to a shortage of money, the people of Chengdu were already living in misery.

The people were already full of complaints, and it was only thanks to Qiao Zhen's efforts to scrape together money and put out fires everywhere that things were barely kept afloat.

Now that Master Qiao has left, the newly arrived Governor Tan is a cruel official who ruthlessly exploits local officials.

Local officials naturally had to pass on the heavy pressure from the governor.

Meanwhile, the officials and servants became even more ruthless, exploiting the people in every way.

Finally, the powder keg exploded.

A group of refugees, destitute and without means of livelihood, robbed a grain convoy that was being transported to Liangshan Prefecture and then simply became bandits in the mountains.

This spark quickly ignited the entire Fulu Road in Chengdu.

Bandits rose up everywhere, taking advantage of the rugged terrain and insurmountable obstacles that government troops could not suppress, and began various forms of looting and plundering.

During Yang Yuan's reign, he vigorously promoted local militias.

Although everything has returned to the old system since Shen Xuzhong took office, and the local militias have been suppressed, their foundations remain.

So overnight, local strongholds and local militias sprang up like mushrooms after rain, forming strongholds to protect themselves and reorganizing.

The veterans of the firearms battalion were all treated as honored guests by local militias and hired at high salaries.

These people not only knew the new methods of training soldiers, but also had some basic knowledge of gunpowder.

They couldn't manufacture those standard military weapons, or weapons with greater power.

However, they figured out how to make and use homemade gunpowder and homemade guns.

This gun is crude and simple, making it difficult to kill people.

However, once fired, a burst of iron pellets erupts, which is extremely effective at injuring people.

Especially when used in the jungle, it was a nightmare for any government or military force that tried to encircle them.

Tan Tianan panicked. At first, he tried to cover it up, after all...

A petty bandit who rules the mountains cannot compare to a band of tens of thousands who can raid cities and plunder strongholds.

However, this trend quickly emerged after encountering a counterattack from the local militia.

At this time, Li Dao, the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards stationed in Jinghu North Road, also received an imperial edict from Empress Dowager Xie.

The Empress Dowager's idea was quite good. Since this time the emperor wasn't choosing his concubines through a talent show, she could simply communicate with Li Fengniang's father directly.

As long as Li Fengniang's father agrees, and she, as the imperial sister-in-law, then goes to her brother-in-law Zhao Qu to put in a good word for her, since his own father has agreed, the imperial uncle has no reason to interfere, and the matter will be settled.

Therefore, she arrived in Ezhou immediately upon receiving an imperial decree and directly discussed the matter of marriage between the two families with Li Dao.

(End of this chapter)