Sweep Yuan

Chapter 7 Leading the Northern Expedition

Sesame Li looked at Zhao Junyong, who understood and answered the question.

“In Henan and Jiangbei provinces alone, countless people have been driven to bankruptcy by the imperial court in recent years. I dare not say how many, but there are always one or two large households willing to join the rebellion.”

The provinces south of the Yangtze River are all former territories of the Southern Song Dynasty, where the imperial court has always been the most ruthless in its exploitation of the people. Their population is also far greater than that of the north. If the people of the south were to rebel, the situation would only be more severe than in the north.

The participation of one or two adults in a rebellion may seem small, but it is actually quite terrifying.

After all, in any era, the majority of people live a peaceful and stable life.

Shi Shan knew that the great uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty in the original historical plane was roughly like this, and secretly praised Zhao Jun for his sharp insight.

"In that case, why doesn't the Marshal issue a proclamation to the masses, enumerating the barbaric acts of the Tartars against the people, and sincerely inviting heroes from all over the world to join in the fight against the tyrannical Yuan?"

Sesame Li, having started the uprising under the name of the White Lotus Sect, naturally knew about the "glorious history" of the White Lotus Sect's rebellion.

Leaving aside the distant past, let's just talk about the two most recent ones.

In the fourth year of the Zhiyuan era (1338), Zhou Ziwang and Peng Yingyu, members of the White Lotus sect in Yuanzhou Road, Jiangxi Province, gathered more than 5,000 followers to rebel. Although the uprising was quickly suppressed, it caused quite a stir because Zhou Ziwang declared himself King of Zhou and changed the era name.

In the eighth year of the Zhizheng era (1348), Peng Guoyu, a member of the White Lotus sect in Wanzai County, Yuanzhou Road, launched an uprising that failed. He fled to Macheng County, Huangzhou Road, where he joined forces with Zou Pusheng, a member of the White Lotus sect in the area, to launch another uprising.

Peng and Zou's forces, numbering tens of thousands, used red turbans as their symbol, and this was the earliest Red Turban Army.

Although his troops were besieged by government forces and had to retreat into the Dabie Mountains, they always held high the banner of anti-Yuan, and their reputation gradually spread.

The straight-line distance between Macheng and Yingzhou is only 600 li, so it is no coincidence that Han Shantong chose a red scarf as a symbol when he raised an army.

Sesame Li started his uprising by riding the coattails of the White Lotus Rebellion and the Red Turban Rebellion, simply because he knew he lacked sufficient prestige.

When the leader of the Northern White Lotus Cult started his uprising, he always tried to use the reputation of the Southern sect, which was his rival. How could a pseudo-believer like him dare to show off and only invite ridicule from the world?

"To be honest, Brother Shi, we've been working on this since we raised our army, but we've kept a low profile, only inviting heroes from a few nearby prefectures and counties. Do you think we need to go further afield?"

Sesame Li's words were rather euphemistic, while Peng Erlang's were much more direct.

"Brother Xiao Shi, as the old saying goes, distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. We are in dire need of capable people. Sending people to other prefectures to incite heroes to rebel will not help us even if they succeed, and it will be a waste of effort if they fail."

Apart from Zhao Junyong, who was stroking his beard in deep thought, the other leaders all looked puzzled, clearly not agreeing with Shishan's statement.

Shi Shan knew that if he didn't help them broaden their horizons, he himself would also be unable to escape the quagmire of Xuzhou.

"I heard that the rebel army in Yingzhou has already reached Nanyang Prefecture, which is several hundred miles away from Xuzhou. But didn't our uprising still tie down the government troops and prevent the court from fully suppressing the rebel army in Yingzhou?"

The logic was simple, and Peng Erlang quickly figured out the key to it.

"Brother Shi means that the more heroes who raise the flag of rebellion, the more scattered the government troops will be, and the easier it will be for us to break out?"

Shishan nodded, affirming Peng Erlang's words, and added:

"Although the Yuan Dynasty is vast, the number of soldiers that the court can issue in a short period of time is limited. For every able-bodied man who is recruited by heroes from various regions to rebel, the court will have to issue one less soldier."

Furthermore, as General Zhao said, the world has long been a pile of dry tinder that can be ignited at the slightest spark. Even though the Marshal did not receive the proclamation from Yingzhou, he still started an uprising.

However, a group of heroes cannot be without a leader. If the local rebel armies fight independently, they will be defeated one by one by the imperial court sooner or later.

Our urgent issuance of this proclamation is not merely to incite heroes across the land to overthrow the tyrannical Yuan dynasty, but more importantly, to unify the anti-Yuan righteous army with a clear banner—this is what we call 'righteousness'!

Sesame Li silently pondered the words "unification" and "righteousness," keenly realizing that there was profit to be made by rushing to issue the manifesto. His gaze towards Zhao Junyong then became more inquisitive. Zhao Junyong, upon speaking, grasped the crux of the matter.

"The cause is good, but the uprising in Yingzhou started first, and we followed later. We have fewer troops and haven't won many battles. We lack prestige, so how can we rally the heroes? Are we going to fabricate a nobleman from the previous dynasty to fool people?"

When Han Shantong started his rebellion, he falsely claimed to be an eighth-generation descendant of Emperor Huizong of Song. However, because he died young, this news did not spread widely, and Zhao Junyong had never heard of it.

Han and Zhao shared the same idea, which was a tactic commonly used by rebels.

Peng Erlang glanced at Sesame Li, whose face was somewhat gloomy, and then his gaze toward Zhao Junyong suddenly became playful.

"The previous dynasty was the Jin, but the Jurchens' reputation is utterly ruined, even worse than the Mongol Tartars. Could the previous dynasty Old Zhao is referring to be the Song? Hehe, could Old Zhao's ancestors really be members of the Song imperial family?"

Zhao Junyong also noticed that Sesame Li's face looked terrible, and his face twitched as he quickly changed the subject.

"Old Peng, stop teasing me. Let's hear what Brother Shi has to say."

Shi Shan, having used "righteousness" as bait to attract the leaders, naturally had a countermeasure, immediately uttering two words:
"Northern Expedition!"

"Northern Expedition?"

Sesame Li was a little confused. If he had the strength to divide his troops for a northern expedition, why would he worry about the imperial army coming to suppress him?

Seeing that the atmosphere was sufficiently set, Shishan stood up and delivered a passionate speech.

"Although Liu Futong repeatedly defeated the government troops, he lost his stronghold in Yingzhou and fled westward with each battle. The imperial court had the support of the nation's wealth, grain, and able-bodied men, so it could make a comeback no matter how many times it was defeated, while Liu Futong could be severely weakened by a single defeat."

"Xuzhou's geography is even worse than Ying and Ru; if we don't take the initiative, we'll surely be trapped and killed by the government troops."

The high-ranking officials of the Xuzhou Red Turban Army have reached a consensus on this point.

The leaders were preoccupied with how to break the deadlock, so they focused their attention and waited for Shishan to explain the strategy for the Northern Expedition.

“The Central Secretariat (Zhongshu Sheng) is home to a large number of powerful figures who seize government property and farmland and commit all sorts of evil deeds, making the people suffer even more oppression.”

Because the imperial army was heavily concentrated here, although there were many rebellions by heroes, none of them were able to gain significant power before being suppressed by the government troops.

However, extremes beget their opposites. Although the heavy pressure from the court maintained temporary peace in the country, it only deepened the resentment among the people. The people had suffered for a long time and what they lacked was an external force to break the deadlock.

The Northern Expedition was a powerful external aid for the loyal heroes who were dissatisfied with the court's exploitation, helping to break the deadlock.

For us, it is the key to turning the tide by attacking the enemy's defenses and disrupting the court's plans;
For the heroes of the world who are observing the situation, this is the quickest way to expose the fact that the Tartars are strong on the outside but weak on the inside!

As long as we break into the heart of the country and threaten Dadu, the imperial court will inevitably be thrown into chaos and urgently mobilize troops from all over the country to defend the emperor. Once the troops are dispatched, heroes will rise up in the process, the Yuan Dynasty will be in complete chaos, and the Tartars will have no money, food and able-bodied men to conscript, thus reversing the situation.

By then, the name of the Marshal will have spread throughout the land due to the Northern Expedition. When the Yuan Dynasty is successfully overthrown, the greatest credit will undoubtedly go to the righteous army of Xuzhou. At that time, talented people from all over the country will flock to join him, and righteous armies in various places can be pacified by issuing proclamations.

"In that case, great things can be accomplished!"

……

P.S.: I haven't published a book in three years, so I'm a bit rusty.

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(End of this chapter)