Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

Before the autumn winds of western Beijing had swept away all the fallen leaves, a secret letter, delivered by express courier, arrived like a piece of ice, placed beside the warm stove in the Imperial Study of the Forbidden City.

Xiao Chen unfolded the letter; the ink was still wet, exuding the unique dampness and bloody smell of the southwestern border region.

The letter was written by none other than the newly appointed Governor of Yunnan, Shen Dong, who was also Xiao Chen's mole planted in southern Yunnan.

The contents of the letter made Xiao Chen frown.

"The Mu family? They really never seem to have a moment's peace."

The Mu family refers to the hereditary Duke of Qian, who guarded Yunnan.

However, in order to avoid the historical prototype, Xiao Chen had already issued an order to change his surname to "Mu" and his name to Mu Tianbo.

This branch of the Mu clan has been governing Yunnan since the time of Emperor Taizu. Although nominally a bulwark of the Great Xia, they have actually ruled over the region for over a hundred years, regarding Yunnan as their private property. The imperial decrees often do not extend beyond Dali.

At this moment, Mu Tianbo actually colluded with the emerging power in the south—the Mangyung Lung faction of the Toungoo Dynasty in Burma.

"What a fine Mu Tianbo."

Xiao Chen sneered and threw the letter on the table. "I've just implemented the new army and rectified officialdom, and he dares to stab me in the back?"

Mo Qi appeared silently in the shadows and whispered, "Your Majesty, Mu Tianbo appears respectful and pays tribute every year, but secretly he intercepts Yunnan copper and smuggles arms, accumulating immense wealth. This time, his collusion with the Toungoo Dynasty is probably an attempt to take advantage of our unstable reforms to completely secede Yunnan from the rest of the country."

"Yunnan copper..." Xiao Chen stroked the paperweight, his eyes cold.

Yunnan is the most important copper mining area in Daxia.

Without Yunnan copper, it would be impossible to mint large quantities of copper coins and reserve funds for the newly issued "Da Xia Bao Chao" (Great Xia Treasure Notes).

More importantly, after the Cizhou Steel Base expanded its production capacity, it urgently needed copper materials to make alloy steel and copper parts for manufacturing firearms.

Once the Yunnan Copper Road is cut off, the entire empire's industrialization and financial system will suffer a severe blow!

"How big is the commotion on the Dongyu Dynasty's side?" Xiao Chen asked.

"Very big."

Mo Qi handed over a piece of intelligence: "According to reports from spies, the Toungoo Dynasty has mobilized 20,000 elephant and infantry troops, which are approaching Tengyue Prefecture on the western border of Yunnan. Meanwhile, Mu Tianbo's son, Mu Chengzong, who is currently the commander of the Yunnan Vanguard, is secretly mobilizing the troops of the chieftains in Dali, Heqing and other places, intending to launch a pincer attack from both inside and outside and cut off the only vital passage to the interior—the Yunnan-Tongzhou Ancient Road."

Xiao Chen stood up and walked to the huge map on the wall. He pointed to the complex mountain range of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

"A clever plan."

Xiao Chen sneered, "Mu Tianbo knows that I have just reorganized the capital garrison, and that my main forces are in the north defending against the Northern Barbarians, leaving the southwest vulnerable. He wants to take advantage of this situation and, with the help of the Burmese, drive my forces out of Yunnan!"

"Your Majesty, should we send General Han Lie's Divine Martial Army south?" Mo Qi asked.

"No."

Xiao Chen shook his head. "The Divine Martial Army is the backbone of the new army and cannot be easily mobilized. Moreover, transferring troops from the capital to Yunnan is a long journey, and by the time the main force arrives, it will be too late."

Xiao Chen's gaze fell on an area on the map where Guizhou borders Hunan and Hubei.

"Do you remember those 'new post roads' that I ordered to be rebuilt?"

"Your Majesty is referring to... the 'Chenyuan Post Road' connecting Huguang and Guizhou, and the 'Sichuan-Guizhou Post Road' leading from Xuzhou Prefecture in Sichuan into northwestern Guizhou?"

"That's right."

A fierce glint flashed in Xiao Chen's eyes. "I had long anticipated that the waters of the Southwest were not clean. Therefore, I secretly trained a 'mountain elite force' in Anshun, Guizhou, led by Ma Qiancheng, the adopted son of Qin Liangyu, a general from a humble background whom I personally promoted."

"Ma Qiancheng? Is that the fierce general who skillfully uses lone wolf soldiers?"

"It was him."

Xiao Chen's lips curled into a smile. "Although Qin Liangyu is a woman, she possesses the talent of a commander. The 'White-Spear Soldiers' she trained are adept at mountain warfare. I long ago transferred them to Guizhou, ostensibly to quell the chieftain's rebellion, but in reality, to familiarize them with the terrain and prepare them for battle!"

"deliver an imperial order!"

"Order the Guizhou Regional Military Command and Ma Qiancheng's troops to assemble immediately!"

"Divide the troops into three groups and launch a surprise attack from the rear!"

"The first route, personally led by Ma Qiancheng, will depart from Anshun, rapidly advance along the newly constructed post road into Qujing, Yunnan, and directly threaten Kunming, serving as a warning and a distraction for Mu Tianbo's main force!"

"Secondly, order the Yongning Pacification Commissioner of Sichuan to send troops out of Yongning to feign an attack on Wumeng, drawing the chieftains from the Dali direction back to reinforce!"

"The third route is the most crucial!"

Xiao Chen pointed heavily at a winding, thin line on the map. "Order the garrison in Chenzhou Prefecture, Huguang, to send an elite light cavalry force along the Chenyuan Post Road, bypassing the heart of Guizhou, and heading straight for Zhaotong in northeastern Yunnan! That's the upstream hub of the ancient Yunnan-Guizhou copper route! As long as we take Zhaotong, we can sever Mu Tianbo's connection with the Toungoo Dynasty and also protect the copper mines!"

"These three armies are not the main force, but their advantage lies in their speed and stealth. We will use the newly built post roads to catch them off guard!"

"As for Mu Tianbo..."

A cold glint flashed in Xiao Chen's eyes. "Since he is so ruthless, don't blame me for being ruthless. Tell Ma Qiancheng that I want him to teach the Mu family a lesson. There's no need to conquer cities or territories; just cut off their supply lines and burn their stockpiled Yunnan copper, so that he and the Dongyu Dynasty can both taste the bitterness of being cut off from food and money!"

"Your subject obeys the decree!" A hint of excitement flashed in Mo Qi's eyes. This kind of "surgical" attack was exactly the kind of thing the Embroidered Uniform Guard liked to do.

"Furthermore," Xiao Chen added, "have Xu Guangqi equip Ma Qiancheng with a batch of the latest 'Yuanfeng Type 1' flintlock muskets, as well as my specially made 'mountain version' compressed biscuits and sealed meat cans. I want Mu Tianbo to know that he is not facing the weak army of the past, but a steel army equipped with the weapons of the industrial age!"

"Furthermore, I have secretly instructed Shen Dong to find a way to turn several Han Chinese officials under Mu Tianbo against him. Mu Tianbo dares to collude with foreign powers; he is the common enemy of all Han officials! I want him to set a trap for Mu Tianbo from within!"

Orders were issued one after another.

Beneath the tranquility of the capital, a vast net is quietly being cast to target the rebellion in the southwest.

Mu Tianbo wanted to take advantage of the instability of the empire's reforms to establish his own independent regime.

But he didn't know that Xiao Chen had already laid out his chess pieces, nor did he know that the war machine of the new era was already roaring and launching a thunderous attack on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau along the newly built post road!