My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 319 Unbounded Song of Death in Liaodong

A cold wind was blowing, and snow was falling.

By the time the army was pouring into Zhuojun, it was already the end of the year.

With an army of millions entering the counties, Zhuojun was struggling to cope. Outside the city, countless training grounds were built to accommodate troops from all over the country, as well as supplies transported there.

All the surrounding roads were blocked, and no one could pass through.

The emperor mobilized the entire population of Hebei to build camps here to house the large army.

Soldiers from all over the country were stationed here, and even such a large prefecture became incredibly crowded. The camps of a million soldiers were connected to each other, and their scale was larger than the surrounding cities. Worst of all, the concentration of the army caused a very serious problem with excrement.

A stench filled the surrounding training grounds, and with snow and ice falling, digging was not an easy task.

The soldiers were almost all huddled in their own camp, which reeked of a terrible stench. They had traveled a long way to get here, only to be met with such a blizzard.

The soldiers in the north were doing relatively well; although many had fallen, most were still able to hold on.

But the soldiers from further south, upon seeing the endless snow and ice, were somewhat disheartened.

Frequent deaths of soldiers occurred in training grounds across various regions. With military medics traveling around and soldiers from all over the country coming together, countless problems arose.

Before the battle even began, the smiles on the soldiers' faces had completely vanished.

Li Xuanba and his men were quite good. After all, the emperor also had a palace here. As imperial guards, they settled around the palace. The environment here was much better than where the foreign troops were located. The drill ground was also built to be tall and could shield them from wind and snow. All kinds of supplies could be delivered to them first.

Even under such circumstances, the soldiers of the Xiaoguo Army sat sullenly in various places, clutching their weapons, their faces blank and their eyes lifeless.

They had traveled a very long way, suffering greatly both physically and mentally, and then encountered such bad weather upon arriving here.

Li Xuanba could hardly see the excitement and exhilaration they had when they first set out on the expedition.

More and more troops arrived here, and the number of generals also increased.

Every day, Yang Guang would brave the wind and snow to go out and stand at the highest point to overlook his training ground and his army.

Yuwen Shu stood beside him. Yang Guang looked at the densely packed camp, his face flushed as if he were drunk. "Duke Xu! Has such a magnificent army ever appeared in the world?!"

Yuwen Shu was panting, and steam kept coming out of his mouth.

The emperor might feel a surge of pride as he looked at the massive army before him, but Yuwen Shu, looking at the distant camps, felt only fear. He had been exhausted from tending to the more than 100,000 troops for days, and the growing number of soldiers only increased his unease.

Just as Yang Guang was excitedly about writing some poetry, Yu Shiji walked up to the emperor and handed him a memorial.

After reading the memorial, Yang Guang felt somewhat worried.

He put away the memorial and turned to look at Yuwen Shu.

"Minister Duan is seriously ill and unable to get up."

Yuwen Shu looked worried. "Your Majesty, this assignment from the Ministry of War..."

"Who do you think should be temporarily in charge of this task at the Ministry of War?"

Yuwen Shu thought for a moment and quickly replied, "Pei Yun."

"Ok??"

The emperor was indeed somewhat surprised.

Yang Guang thought Yuwen Shu would recommend some old nobleman or someone he knew, but to his surprise, he recommended Pei Yun, with whom he had just had some friction. Yang Guang asked suspiciously, "Imperial Censor Pei is ignorant of military affairs, how can he be put in charge?"

"Although he is not knowledgeable about military affairs, people like him are needed to be in charge of things like the allocation of supplies. Pei Yun is quite capable and can be temporarily put in charge."

Yuwen Shu wasn't lying; Pei Yun was indeed talented. Even though he didn't get along with him, he could at least get things done, which was better than people like Husi Zheng. Under the current circumstances, no matter how much Pei Yun disliked him, he wouldn't dare to delay important matters.

Yang Guang hesitated for a moment, then said, "Hmm, that makes some sense."

Yuwen Shu sensed something was wrong. Based on his understanding of the emperor, the emperor's expression just now clearly showed that he did not approve of him. Just as he was about to speak again, Yang Guang waved his hand and said, "Go back first. I still need to see Minister Duan."

Qi Commandery.

"Go quickly!!"

"go!"

The officer raised his whip and angrily reprimanded him.

Ragged laborers pushed their carts, struggling along the official road. The wind and snow were fierce, and the weather was exceptionally cold.

The laborers trembled all over, and the pace of pushing the cart slowed down more and more.

"Don't delay! Get out of here!"

The county magistrate in charge of escorting the man raised his whip again and lashed it hard at the man in front of him.

Several local militiamen nearby were also shouting and intimidating the crowd.

They were still moving very slowly, and the county magistrate was sweating profusely with anxiety. At their current pace, they were afraid they wouldn't be able to reach Zhuojun before the spring, which would cause a major problem!
Just then, the laborer who had been silently pushing the cart suddenly raised his head.

The man was quite strong and had an unremarkable appearance. He looked at the county magistrate and said, "My lord, given the current situation, we have no way of reaching Liaodong. Even if we could, we might not be able to come back alive."

"Going there means death, not going there also means death. Why can't you, my lord, emulate the heroes of old?"

Upon hearing this man's words, the county magistrate's eyes widened. He stared in astonishment at the laborer before him, trembling with rage. "You scoundrel! You want to rebel? You want to rebel?!"

"Do you know this is a capital offense?"

The laborer suddenly stopped in his tracks.

After he stopped, the laborers behind him refused to move.

Upon witnessing this, the soldiers drew their weapons in fear.

The leader then said, "County Magistrate, going to Liaodong will surely mean certain death, so why should I be afraid of you chopping off my head?"

"You?! You lowly commoner! You've rebelled! You've rebelled! Guards!"

"Bros!!"

"Kill this corrupt official first! Then kill that damned tyrant!!"

The man suddenly shouted, and a dagger appeared in his hand. He jumped up and pounced on the official on horseback, stabbing him in the body. The official let out a pig-like scream.

After he made his move, the remaining laborers roared and charged at the government soldiers. These local militiamen were no match for so many laborers. Some fled, some begged for mercy, but the laborers spared no one. In a short time, they were all killed, their clothes were taken away, and their ears and arms were cut off. The laborers vented all their boundless hatred on them.

After everyone had finished doing all this, they were all panting heavily and looked at the man who had led the group.

The man walked up to the high place and raised the sword he had snatched from the official.

His face was flushed, and his eyes were filled with unspeakable hatred.

"Bros!!"

"Going to Liaodong means certain death, not going means certain death too! Today we rebel! We'll never again give a damn about those corrupt officials and incompetent rulers!"

"All the armies in the country are in Liaodong; these are nothing but useless local militia!"

"If this great undertaking succeeds, I will teach you all to never suffer like this again!!"

"kill!!!!"

The man threw his head back and roared; his voice was hoarse, yet extremely loud.

The laborers shouted loudly, as if to vent the anger in their hearts, their roars echoing across the sky.

They cleaned up the place and then quickly left. The man led his men all the way to Changbai Mountain and occupied the place as their camp.

This man, named Wang Bo, was an ordinary blacksmith. After taking over the mountain, he called himself Zhi Shi Lang and recruited people who had fled because they could not bear the corvée labor. In a short period of time, tens of thousands of people came to join him. They attacked counties and cities everywhere and resisted the government.

Poems as proof:

"A young man from Changbai Mountain, dressed in pure red silk brocade with his crotch facing outwards!"

"A long spear reaches halfway to the sky, and a wheel of blades gleams in the sunlight."

"Go up the mountain to eat deer and roe deer, and come down the mountain to eat cattle and sheep."

Suddenly hearing that government troops were arriving, he drew his sword and charged forward.

"For example, if someone dies in Liaodong, what harm is there in beheading them?!"

(End of this chapter)