Sweep Yuan

Chapter 158 Leaving Luzhou, the World Opens Up

In modern terms, "Peng Zu's family" would be known as "Peng Family Army".

The reason why the Luzhou Red Turban Army took this name is because its main leaders at the beginning of the uprising were Peng Yingyu, a high-ranking monk of the Southern White Lotus Sect (the White Lotus Sect is a branch of Buddhism), and his disciples Li Pusheng, Zhao Pusheng, and others.

Peng Yingyu was from Yuanzhou, Jiangxi Province. He became a monk at Cihua Temple in Yuanzhou when he was ten years old.

Because he was determined to oppose the Yuan dynasty throughout his life, he organized uprisings many times but failed. He was repeatedly wanted and pursued by the court, so he had to hide his identity and abandoned his real name and religious name, and traveled around the world under the name "Peng Yingyu".

His real name has long been lost to history and no one knows it.

Shi Shan was initially misled by later literary and film works, believing that Peng Yingyu was a founding figure of the Southern White Lotus Sect, and even that the entire Xu Song regime was composed of her devout followers.

It wasn't until he had secured his position in Haozhou and gathered and verified information from various sources that he realized this was actually a later misrepresentation.

The White Lotus Sect was originally a legal religion recognized by the Yuan Dynasty, but it was repeatedly banned by the Yuan Dynasty because its followers used the guise of spreading the religion to gather crowds and plot rebellion.

After that, the White Lotus Sect gradually went underground, scattered and spread, with numerous internal factions, gradually forming a situation of "different sects within the same sect, different factions within the same sect, and different masters within the same faction".

It is not surprising that several people preached and spread different sects of the White Lotus Religion within the same area.

Peng Yingyu's main contribution was that she tirelessly campaigned and advocated against the Yuan dynasty for decades, greatly enhancing the prestige of the White Lotus sect among anti-Yuan righteous people and making the White Lotus a synonym for resisting injustice.

However, Peng Yingyu did not have many disciples, mainly because his repeated uprisings failed and his carefully cultivated core members were almost all lost, leaving only a few people such as Li Pusheng to follow him.

There were many White Lotus followers within the Xu Song regime, and Peng Yingyu's faction was only one of them. Furthermore, because they did not participate in Xu Shouhui's uprising in Qizhou, Peng Yingyu was not on the list of those who received rewards when Xu Shouhui established his state and bestowed titles upon his meritorious officials.

At that time, Peng Yingyu was secretly preaching in Luzhou and actively preparing for an uprising.

Soon after, he and his disciples launched uprisings in Lujiang, Wuwei, Hanshan and other places. The Red Turban Army of Luzhou Road then adopted Peng Yingyu's surname as its name and called itself "Peng Zu Family". The relationship between him and the Xu Song regime in Qizhou was actually quite subtle.

For example, although the Xu Song regime also believed in the White Lotus, it raised the banner of "destroying the rich and benefiting the poor" and its political line was extremely radical. Wherever it went, it burned and looted the homes of powerful families and slaughtered the wealthy clans, leaving blood and fire everywhere.

The "Peng Zu family" is even more religiously idealistic, not only advocating the "descent of Maitreya," but also strictly adhering to the "three prohibitions"—not killing the innocent, not committing adultery with women, and not plundering the people's property.

Compared to the Xu-Song Red Turban Army, which indulged the fanatical revenge of the lower classes, the behavior of the "Peng Zu family" in Luzhou Road can be described as two extremes.

Due to the obstruction of mountains and rivers, the two forces could only respond to each other from afar, and there was no way to have unified command.

Before the two merged, the "Peng Zu family" was to the Xu Song regime what the Xuzhou Red Turban Army was to the Yingzhou Red Turban Army. The two forces could not be said to be completely unrelated, but they were completely independent entities.

All internal and external affairs of the "Peng Zu family" were decided by Peng Yingyu or his confidants with a single word.

Both Xu Song and the "Peng Zu family" had very different political lines from the Red Flag Camp. Shi Shan initially kept his distance from these two potential allies, but as the situation continued to change, he had no choice but to make contact with the "Peng Zu family".

Previously, Shishan had decisively defeated Dong Tuanxiao at the Luqian River, greatly relieving the western pressure on the "Pengzu family".

Peng Yingyu's failure to send envoys to Haozhou and Shishan to seek cooperation already demonstrates his rigidity and sluggishness in diplomacy.

After Zuo Junbi "surrendered the city," to prevent Peng Yingyu from misjudging the situation and causing friction with the Red Flag Battalion, Shi Shan specially sent someone to Hanshan to solemnly declare that Hefei had fallen under the control of the Red Flag Battalion. However, after waiting for a long time, the other party dragged their feet, and Peng Yingyu finally sent an envoy to "formally respond."

The core interests of the Red Flag Camp are still in Haozhou and Chuzhou. Although Shishan has long-term plans for Luzhou Road, he is not in a hurry. Since the "Pengzu family", whose territory is entirely within Luzhou, is not in a hurry, Shishan is naturally happy to let him wait and see.

Therefore, he only arranged for Guo Zongli, the magistrate of the Ministry of Rites, to make a perfunctory appearance, while he himself remained calm and did not meet with the other party for the time being.

After being left to linger for three whole days, it was only after Qiu Cheng, the envoy from the "Peng Zu family," repeatedly pressed Guo Zongli that Shishan finally summoned him.

Qiu Cheng was of medium height, but possessed a wiry and heroic appearance. Upon entering the hall, he clasped his hands in greeting and spoke in a loud voice:
"Qiu Cheng, Commander of the Thousand-Household Command of the Luzhou Road Marshal's Office of the Great Song Dynasty, pays respects to Marshal Shi of the Red Flag Battalion!"

How perceptive was Shi Shan? He instantly noticed the words "Great Song" before Qiu Cheng's self-description of his official title.

"Da Song?"

Shi Shan raised an eyebrow slightly, and said with a playful tone:
"I only know that you call yourselves the 'Peng Zu family,' when did you surrender to Xu and Song?"

Qiu Cheng stood ramrod straight, neither humble nor arrogant, and spoke eloquently in the hall:

"All white lotuses under heaven originate from the same source. 'Peng Zu' (Peng Yingyu) and Grand Tutor Zou (Zou Pusheng) have a long-standing relationship. Now that Emperor Xu is in accordance with Heaven and the people, heroes from all directions are vying to submit to him. It is only natural that our 'Peng Zu family' and the Great Song Dynasty worship Maitreya together, jointly carry out the great cause of overthrowing the Yuan Dynasty, and jointly undertake this great undertaking."

Having said that, Qiu Cheng, seeing that Shi Shan's expression remained unchanged, boldly spoke up, saying:

"Marshal Shi has achieved numerous military exploits and is truly a rare hero of our time! Why not join hands with our 'Great Song' to jointly defeat the Tartars?"

Shi Shan thought to himself that Qiu Cheng was quite a talent, actually knowing how to organize a "united front," and laughed loudly:

"Joining forces to resist the Yuan? No problem! Any team that is truly committed to resisting the Yuan should work together!"

Seeing that Shi Shan was so "easy to talk to," Qiu Cheng was secretly pleased and pressed his advantage, saying:

"Marshal Shi, you are wise. Our army has been fighting the defenders of Hefei for years, with casualties on both sides, which has greatly depleted the Yuan army in the city. Zuo Junbi is a villain who has only surrendered to you because he is desperate. His heart is wicked and he intends to sow discord between your two forces and ours in our fight against the Yuan."

His tone then turned stern, and he raised his voice:

"Zuo Wu and his son Zuo Junbi are cruel and bloodthirsty, their hands stained with the blood of my 'Peng Zu family' comrades! Marshal, you are a hero of our time, how can you protect such wicked Tartar lackeys?"

The Peng family caused trouble in Luzhou Road for half a year, and even attacked Hefei City at one point, which indeed depleted the Yuan army's strength.

As a result, the Red Flag Battalion, riding high on its victory over Chelibuhua, captured Liang County without losing a single soldier. Furthermore, due to Zuo Junbi's "surrender of the city," they gained the right to claim Hefei City.

From the perspective of "Peng Zu's family," the Red Flag Battalion's actions seem to be a case of "reaping the rewards."

Since Shi Shan dared to accept Zuo Junbi's "surrender of the city," he had naturally already devised a countermeasure. His face suddenly darkened, and his voice, cold as a knife, said:

"The world has no inherent ruler; it belongs to the virtuous and capable. Hefei is right there. Before the Red Flag Battalion's forces reached Luzhou Road, in the six months you spent there, did you manage to shake the walls of Hefei even slightly?"

His gaze was like lightning, piercing straight at Qiu Cheng, and he continued:
"Now, it's still the same. Zuo Junbi is in Hefei. If you want to take his life and avenge yourself, you can bring your troops to take him at any time. The Red Flag Battalion will not interfere!"

Qiu Cheng never expected Shi Shan to be so straightforward, and was speechless for a moment.

If the Red Flag Battalion hadn't intervened, the "Peng Zu family" might have actually been able to force Zuo Junbi, who had no popular support and no external reinforcements, to surrender—even if they only had the right to claim it and couldn't actually enter the city to control him.

A direct assault is absolutely out of the question. If the "Peng Zu family" had the strength to take Hefei by force, why would they have dragged it out until now?
Moreover, although Shi Shan said he would not interfere, thousands of Red Flag Battalion soldiers in Liang County were watching with predatory eyes. Who would dare to attack Hefei right under their noses?
Seeing that Qiu Cheng was rendered speechless by his words, Shi Shan knew that the "Peng Zu family" actually had no clear strategy on how to handle their relationship with the Red Flag Battalion. Unwilling to waste time rambling on, he set the tone directly, saying:

"Nonsense is useless. Let's do this: Our two armies shall each recognize the territory actually controlled by the other; we shall exchange information regularly, and if one side is invaded by the Tartars, the other side must be notified immediately. Only in this way can we help each other."

Before his mission, Qiu Cheng consulted Peng Yingyu about the strategy for the trip. Peng Yingyu gave only a vague instruction: "Stabilize Shishan."

He had thought the mission would be very difficult, so he used the ownership of Hefei and the handling of Zuo Junbi as bargaining chips to make exorbitant demands, waiting for Shishan to settle the matter and pay him back. Unexpectedly, Marshal Shi was decisive and put forward a solution that was acceptable to both parties!

Qiu Cheng felt a huge weight lifted from his heart and quickly offered his compliments:

"Marshal Shi is a man of great wisdom and righteousness! Our two divisions will surely unite as one to vanquish the barbarians!" The negotiations had reached this point and could essentially conclude. Qiu Cheng was about to take his leave when Shi Shan asked, seemingly casually:
"Commander Qiu, you are not one of Marshal Peng's disciples, are you?"

Qiu Cheng looked slightly embarrassed. He was indeed not Peng Yingyu's personal disciple. Although he had made contributions in breaking through the city and fighting bloody battles, his status was still not as high as that of Li Pusheng, Zhao Pusheng and other direct disciples. In his opinion, Peng Yingyu's sending him to Haozhou was also a way of "getting rid of" him.

After hesitating for a moment, Qiu Chengcai whispered:

"I joined Peng Zu's service relatively late and have not yet formally become his disciple."

"Ah."

Shi Shan nodded slightly, a meaningful smile flashing across his face, and said:

"You... don't seem to have high hopes for the future of the 'Peng Zu family'?"

Qiu Cheng's expression changed drastically, and he was about to organize his thoughts in defense when Shi Shan waved his hand to stop him, saying:
"Don't rush to say anything definitive. We're both in Huaixi, and things will change. We'll have plenty of opportunities to interact in the future. Go ahead."

Watching Qiu Cheng leave the hall with a heavy heart, the Taoist priest Pu, who had been standing to the side, stretched his stiff neck and said in a deep voice:

"Marshal, the way the 'Peng Zu family' is handling this situation is rather strange."

Shi Shan stood up, looked at his trusted advisor with great interest, and said:
"Oh? What did you see, sir?"

Master Pu stroked his long beard, his gaze deep, and said:
"Judging from this envoy's words and actions, it seems that Peng Yingyu truly doesn't care at all about the ownership of Hefei?"

Based on the intelligence gathered during this period and his memories from later generations, Shi Shan already understood that Peng Yingyu probably couldn't even take care of the entire Luzhou Road, let alone have the mind to think about a mere Hefei.
A knowing smile played on his lips as he said:
"Our neighbor to the south started his uprising only slightly later than Xu Shouhui. However, he was firmly suppressed by the likes of Zuo Wu and Dong Tuanxiao in the small places of Wuwei and Hanshan, and could not move an inch."

Now that the Xu and Song armies are advancing triumphantly and unstoppably in Jiangnan, Master Peng's Zen mind must have already flown to the south bank of the Yangtze River, right?

A glint flashed in Pu Daoren's eyes. Thinking of the potential power vacuum in Luzhou Road, his spirits lifted, and he said:
"Marshal, should we..."

Shishan knew what Pu Daoren wanted to say, and shook his head, saying:

"The deployment of troops along Luzhou Road, especially the training of the naval forces around Chaohu Lake, can indeed be accelerated, but for now, the focus should be on training troops. In terms of speed of conquering cities and seizing territory, no matter how fast we are, can we outrun the Xu and Song dynasties who can sweep across a region in three days? What's the use of conquering territory if we can't hold it firmly?"

Hanshan County, North City Wall.

A warm breeze swept across the city walls, stirring up wisps of dust.

Even though he had long since adopted a secular name and renounced his monastic status, Peng Yingyu still maintained his shiny bald head.

At this moment, he was wearing a faded yet meticulously starched earth-yellow robe (a monk's everyday garment), and stood silently atop the city wall like a meditating stone Buddha, his gaze piercing through the northern dust, remaining silent for a long time.

In that gaze, there was unfinished regret, the weight of sacrifice, and even more so, a steadfastness that transcended the mundane world, almost like that of a martyr.

"Master."

Behind him came the voice of Zhao Pusheng, the last disciple, tinged with resentment.

"Are we really just going to give up on Hefei like this?"

Peng Yingyu slowly turned around, and a strange, comforting smile instantly bloomed on his weathered face, like sunlight piercing through dark clouds. He looked at his young disciple, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable power:
"Pusheng, tell your master, can we continue fighting?"

Zhao Pusheng opened his mouth, his throat bobbed, but it ultimately turned into a heavy sigh.

For that fortified city, countless fellow disciples and comrades who had spent half a year together poured their blood onto the cold city bricks, only to give up, a heart-wrenching pain.

But his master's words were like icy river water, instantly waking him up—Zuo Junbi had already surrendered to Shishan, Hefei was already a high city with deep moats, and the Red Flag Battalion of Liang County was also eyeing the city covetously. How could they fight this battle again?
"A single step behind means being behind at every step..."

Peng Yingyu looked up at the sky and sighed, his voice filled with a sense of desolation and self-reproach after seeing through the ways of the world. He shook his head, his bald head reflecting the faint light of the setting sun.

"For the past six months, we have been obsessed with the city of Hefei, exhausting our energy, shedding our blood, and wasting precious time that should have been spent on Maitreya's descent into the world. Even if... without that stone mountain, even if we had managed to force Zuo Junbi to surrender, what difference would it have made?"

This only secured a temporary truce within Luzhou Road. Currently, the east, north, and west sides are all within the territory of Shishan and Liu Futong; this area is still too small to contain our grand ambitions!

After many years as master and disciple, their hearts were already in sync.

Zhao Pusheng instantly caught the resolute shift in his master's words, immediately straightened his back, and rekindled his flame, saying:
"Master, please tell me! I would gladly face any danger, even death! Where shall we go next?"

Peng Yingyu's gaze suddenly sharpened, like tempered steel, all traces of confusion and sighs vanishing, leaving only unwavering faith and a do-or-die determination. She raised her hand and pointed southwest, her voice echoing like a resounding bell atop the city wall:
"Luzhou Road is no longer a place to stay. Cross the river! Attack Chizhou!"

"Chizhou?!"

Zhao Pusheng's heart skipped a beat. Chizhou Road was far to the southwest of Wuwei Prefecture, across the Yangtze River. Once they crossed the river and captured Chizhou, it would mean completely abandoning independent development and joining forces with Xiang Pulue, who was conquering Jiangzhou, to truly integrate into the banner of the "Great Song".

This was one of the ambitious directions that had been discussed when the decision was made to switch allegiance and pledge allegiance to Emperor Xu. Weighing the pros and cons, for the great cause of Maitreya's descent into the world, personal gains and losses, and regional separatism, could all be put aside!

But he was different from his senior brother Li Pusheng, who had followed their master for many years. Zhao Pusheng was born and raised here and was a native of Lujiang County. This land under his feet carried his memories of the past twenty years and was soaked with the blood of his fellow disciples and comrades. In the end, he could not bear to part with it.

“Master, if we all leave... this Luzhou Road, this Wuwei, Hanshan... the place where so much blood was shed to gain a foothold, are we... are we just going to leave it all to that stone mountain for nothing?”

Peng Yingyu turned around, her gentle gaze falling on her disciple's conflicted face. Her eyes were as deep as an ancient well, filled with compassion and a detached understanding of worldly affairs.

"Leave it to Qiu Cheng and the others."

Peng Yingyu's voice was calm and composed, yet it contained the wisdom to see into the future and the magnanimity to disregard immediate gains and losses.

“Pusheng, remember this. If the Song Dynasty falls, even if you and I still occupy the small lands of Wuwei and Hanshan, we are like eggs in a collapsed nest, and will be crushed in an instant.”

He looked up again, gazing at the southwest horizon, as if he could see the burning flame of hope on the other side of the Yangtze River, and his tone became incredibly firm and fervent.

"If we can cross this turbulent river and open up a new world for Maitreya's Pure Land in Jiangnan, what is the loss of the two cities of Luzhou? This is like abandoning a small boat to board a giant ship, discarding rubble to seek a bright pearl."

When the light of Maitreya Buddha shines upon the earth, and a new world arrives, there will be no more chaos and suffering on earth. All the sacrifices and relinquishes we have made today will ultimately turn into the dust of dawn before the light breaks!

……

P.S.: When Mao Ziyuan, the founder of the White Lotus Sect, established the sect, he set the four characters "Pu, Jue, Miao, Dao" as the sect's Dharma name.

Among them, "Pu" symbolizes universal salvation and is a common seniority for novice disciples; "Jue" represents enlightenment of Buddhism and is mostly used for advanced believers; "Miao" implies the true meaning of the wonderful Dharma and belongs to the senior members of the sect; "Dao" is the ultimate realm and is only granted to a very small number of core leaders.

By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the doctrines of the various factions of the White Lotus Sect had been altered beyond recognition. For example, the Northern White Lotus Sect of Han Shantong's lineage no longer respected the Dharma names; the Southern faction still used the Dharma names, but those found in modern documents are basically all of the "Pu" generation.

In the Xu Song regime, there were a total of eighteen generals whose names contained the character "Pu," such as Zou Pusheng, Xiang Pulue, and Chen Puwen. They were most likely members of the White Lotus sect, or they might have been ordinary people whose names simply contained the character "Pu."

Peng Yingyu's disciples included Li Pusheng and Zhao Pusheng. Others, such as Kuang Putian, Yang Puxiong, Ou Puxiang, and Ding Pulang, had no direct evidence to show that they had a master-disciple relationship with Peng Yingyu, whether in terms of their place of origin, early activity areas, or details of their later interactions.

(End of this chapter)