Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 665 Daliang Dynasty, Emperor Tianwu

In mid-April of the fifth year of Jianxing, Chen Hengchang took over Jiangnan in less than two months.

The speed was beyond everyone's expectations and no one had expected it.

Jiangnan is the most prosperous region in Dayong and also the place with the most warriors.

But he was taken down so easily by Chen Hengchang.

It was really taken, not conquered.

There was almost no fighting during the entire process. Wherever the rebels went, neither the government nor the wealthy families offered any resistance.

The rebels entered the city without causing any harm, as if they were government soldiers, not rebels.

No, even soldiers would have to go through a lot of trouble to enter the city, but they did not have any trouble at all.

While Chen Hengchang took over Jiangnan, King Daliang was also not idle, swallowing up the entire Longnan one county at a time.

Not only that, King Daliang's power is also rapidly expanding in Shanhe Province.

If Chen Hengchang relied on his royal status, then King Daliang relied on his reputation as a traitor.

As the power of King Daliang continued to grow, many bandits who had been roaming around in Shanhe Province came to join him.

In just two months, eight gangs of bandits defected to King Daliang, and took over two provincial capitals and more than a dozen county towns.

As time went by, King Daliang had more and more troops. Nominally, King Daliang's rebel army had reached 500,000. Of course, this was only nominal strength. How many rebels King Daliang could actually control was a question for them to answer.

As time went by, the situation in Darong became more and more unstable.

In early June, another shocking news spread throughout Dayong.

The city of Shuzhou was broken and the Taiping Army captured Shuzhou, which meant that the court lost all control over Bashu, and the entire Bashu was completely divided up by the four rebel forces.

However, this news was not earth-shattering, because everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before Shuzhou City fell.

The truly shocking news was that the Taiping Army actually defected to King Daliang.

That’s right, the Taiping leader Yang Zhao surrendered to King Daliang and was appointed General Zhennan by King Daliang, in charge of all military and political affairs in Bashu.

With the Taiping Army's allegiance, King Daliang was like a tiger with wings.

At this time, King Daliang had occupied the entire Longnan Province, half of Bashu Province and half of Shanhe Province. He had an army of nearly 600,000 under his command, and his momentum was even greater than that of Chen Hengchang.

Chen Hengchang only occupied Jiangnan and half of Yungui, and had an army of less than 300,000 under his command.

Although Chen Hengchang owns the wealthy land of Jiangnan, he is far inferior to King Daliang in terms of military strength.

Chen Hengchang had the support of the Shen Yang Sect, but he started his rebellion relatively late.

When Chen Hengchang started his rebellion, King Daliang was already famous in the three provinces of Longyuan.

And now, King Daliang has almost become the leader of all the bandits.

As for why the Taiping Army surrendered to King Daliang, the reason was very simple. Yang Chengye and Yang Mingzhao wanted to add fuel to the chaos and help King Daliang.

In name, Yang Zhao surrendered to King Daliang, but in reality, Yang Zhao's Taiping Army was still an independent rebel force.

The territory occupied by the Taiping Army was still under the management of Yang Zhao, also known as Yang Mingzhao.

After the Taiping Army surrendered to King Daliang, King Daliang's prestige became even greater than before, and more bandits flocked to surrender to him.

In August, many bandits in Longxi Province surrendered to King Daliang, who occupied more than half of the prefectures and counties in Longxi.

In September, the Nine Heavenly Kings of Bashu and the Black Tiger King announced that they would change their flags and join the King of Daliang, and were named generals guarding the country.

The Nine Heavenly Kings of Bashu and the Black Tiger King had no choice but to surrender to the King of Daliang. The Taiping Army surrendered to the King of Daliang, forcing them to surrender as well, otherwise they would be dealt with by the Taiping Army.

Now that we are all in the same camp, let’s stop attacking each other and just live our lives behind closed doors.

As December approached, Yang Zhao took the initiative to contact the Nine Heavenly Kings and the Black Tiger King. Soon the three parties reached an agreement to send troops together to attack the Shunan Xingdusi.

In name, the Shunan Xingdusi was still the Dusi of the Darong court. Although Ma He also wanted to gain power by commanding his own troops, he did not raise the flag of rebellion.

The three rebel armies besieged Ma He, but needless to say, Ma He was quickly defeated and fled. He not only lost the territory in southern Bashu, but also the territory of the Southern Shu Xingdusi. He fled to Anxi Town with only a few hundred personal soldiers and took refuge with Sun Yunbo, the Marquis of Suining.

Then the situation in the southwest of Dayong became fragmented.

Bashu was divided up by Yang Zhao, Jiu Tian Wang and Hei Hu Wang. Although there were no rebels in Zangyuan and Nanyun provinces or they were controlled by border towns, they had actually been divided up by many martial arts sects.

Nanjiang Town is controlled by the Qu family, Yunling Town is controlled by the Guo family, and Anxi Town is controlled by the Sun family.

In name, Nanjiang Town, Yunling Town, and Anxi Town were still border towns of the imperial court, but in reality, all three of them were commanding their own troops and watching the turmoil in the world.

Even Qu Changkong was the same. Qu Changkong had no choice. On the one hand, he had to guard against the Jinlong Dynasty in the south, and on the other hand, he could not send troops into Yungui. He could only stay in Nanjiang Town and guard this small piece of land.

In order to avoid chaos within Nanjiang Town, he had to sideline the governor and the eunuchs guarding the town.

At this time, he didn't dare to trust these people at all and could only take all the military power into his own hands.

The southwest is not stable, and the southeast is not peaceful either.

After Chen Hengchang occupied Jiangnan, he did not stop expanding, but instead expanded towards Fuhai Province.

His expansion plan was very good. He did not expand in Yungui because there were too many enemies around Yungui. To the south of Yungui was Nanjiang Town, and to the west was Bashu. If he expanded in these two directions, it would likely attract attacks from the Bashu rebels and Nanjiang Town.

However, the expansion to Fuhai Province is different. There are seas to the east and south of Fuhai Province, so we only need to guard against Nanjiang Town to the west.

At the same time, he did not expand in the direction of Kyoto, wanting to hand over the tough nut of Kyoto to King Daliang, also to avoid fighting with King Daliang in advance and let the Darong court take advantage.

The sixth year of Jianxing was the nineteenth year of Shenmu.

The situation in Darong became increasingly chaotic, and the Darong court seemed increasingly powerless.

Faced with the increasingly powerful King Daliang, the armies of Suzhou Town and Longbei Town had to retreat.

During these three years, the border troops of the two towns encircled and suppressed bandits in the three provinces of Longyuan and won victory after victory. However, they did not prevent the situation in the three provinces of Longyuan from deteriorating. Instead, they contributed to the rise of King Daliang.

It is precisely because of the unscrupulous encirclement and suppression by the border troops of the two towns that the people cannot live in peace.

The passing of bandits is like a comb, and the passing of soldiers is like a grate.

The increasing number of bandits in the three provinces of Longyuan is due to the efforts of Suzhou Town and Longbei Town.

It was also their credit that the bandits entered Shanhe Province.

Now the bandits have all surrendered to King Daliang, and it is all thanks to them.

They robbed more than the bandits. Among the bandits there were some righteous heroes, but the officers and soldiers of the two towns only had two words in mind: kill and rob.

Kill the bandits and rob them of their food and grass. It doesn't matter whether the people they killed were ordinary people or real bandits. It also doesn't matter whose food and grass they robbed.

Therefore, Suzhou Town and Longbei Town have made great contributions to the three provinces of Longyuan becoming what they are today.

Faced with the increasingly powerful King Daliang, Zhou Lan had no choice but to shrink his defenses and consolidate his territory.

She did not continue to capture territory, not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't.

It’s still the same problem, she has no food.

Since Yang Chengye returned from Shenmu Island, he has reduced the supply of food and fodder to Zhou Lan.

Yang Chengye needed to store up food and fodder and wait for the right time to start an army. It was impossible for him to continue to support Zhou Lan without restraint.

Moreover, Yang Chengye was still waiting for the King of Daliang to become more powerful and to capture the capital, so he had to curb Zhou Lan's attack.

Yang Zhengshan did not go to see Zhou Lan, and Yang Chengye did not tell Zhou Lan clearly. Now Zhou Lan is still in the dark and only thinks that there is not enough food and grass in Chongshan Town.

In fact, it’s not just Zhou Lan. Not many people really know the Yang family’s plan.

For example, Song Dashan, Yang Chengze, Yang Chengxu and others are currently unknown, not to mention Niu Zhuang and others.

It’s not that I don’t trust them, it’s just that the more people know about it, the greater the possibility of it being leaked.

Once the Yang family's plan is leaked, it will inevitably attract the attention of all parties.

Yang Zhengshan did not get the legitimacy he wanted, and at the same time, various forces became wary of the Yang family.

Especially the King of Daliang, the Yang family wanted to use him as a knife, so naturally they couldn't arouse his guard.

It's March again.

Chongshan Pass was still peaceful, with pedestrians and carriages busy inside the city. Spring plowing was approaching, and many military households and civilians came to Chongshan Pass to buy farm tools or livestock.

Although food has been a bit scarce in Chongshan Town in recent years, there is no shortage of livestock. Whether it is cows, donkeys or mules, they are much cheaper than other places in Dayong.

As long as an ordinary farmer is healthy and has no disasters, he can buy a livestock by saving for three to five years.

Just look at the ordinary people entering the city and you will know how many livestock there are in Chongshan Town now. Every family drives ox carts, donkey carts, and mule carts into the city.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi were walking on the street, looking at the street blocked by various cars, with helpless expressions.

Too many cars is not a good thing either, as it easily causes traffic jams. This is also the result of restrictions on livestock entering the city. In fact, there are special stables outside the city. People outside the city can leave their donkeys, mules, and cows outside the city, and it only costs a few cents to keep them there for a day.

There was also a fee for animal-drawn carts to enter the city. It was not because the governor's office and the general's office were interested in the money, but because the city was too congested.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way~~"

"You donkey driver, move aside. Can't you see that it's blocked?"

"Hey, whose cow is that? Where's the dung bag? Pick up the dung for me!"

A few yamen runners noticed that the road was blocked and immediately ran over and started shouting.

When there are too many animals, accidents are prone to happen. It goes without saying that animals may urinate or defecate. There are also cases where animals get frightened and go crazy and hurt people. There are also cases where animals quarrel because they block the road. Your cow rubs against me, and my donkey kicks his, etc. In short, the yamen runners are busy dealing with such matters every day.

After a round of unfriendly scolding from the yamen runners, the blocked street was finally cleared.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi could also follow the flow of people.

March in Chongshan Town is considered early spring. As the saying goes, a year's plan begins in spring. At this time, the military households and civilians in Chongshan Town will run to the city to purchase various supplies, such as farm tools, cloth, salt, etc., in preparation for the upcoming spring plowing.

Therefore, the city is particularly crowded during this period.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi came to a teahouse, went up to the private room by the window on the second floor, and drank tea leisurely.

Drinking tea is secondary, they mainly come out to get some fresh air.

Over the past year, they have spent most of their time in the space, coming out to take a look every three to five days.

They didn't do much, just eat and drink in teahouses or restaurants.

"I don't know what's going on in the south. Why don't you go and ask around?" Yu Qingyi asked.

During this period of time, they turned a deaf ear to the outside world and focused on planting trees in the space.

They were not very clear about many things, and did not know the situation of the Darong court and the various forces.

"What are you asking about? That's Chengye's own business. We don't need to care about it!" Yang Zhengshan said.

It is enough for him to stay in Chongshan Town. As for other things, it is not his concern.

Now Yang Chengye is the master of Chongshan Town. The Yang family will support Yang Chengye, but the matter must be decided by Yang Chengye himself.

Not only Yang Zhengshan, but even the three Yang Mingcheng brothers will not show up in Chongshan Town.

"Aren't you afraid of something going wrong?" Yu Qingyi asked.

Yang Zhengshan shook his head slightly, "We must have confidence in Chengye, he will definitely be able to do it!"

"If he can't even do these things, then he shouldn't be the emperor. It's better for him to stay at home!"

This was also a test for Yang Chengye. With the support of the Yang family, it would undoubtedly be much easier for Yang Chengye to establish a country and a dynasty.

Just as the two were talking, there was a sudden noise on the street.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way, urgent military information!"

"Emergency military situation!"

A group of four riders were galloping quickly on the noisy street, causing chaos on the already crowded street.

Yang Zhengshan sat by the window, looking at the four soldiers running towards the general's mansion on the street, his expression slightly changed.

"I guess something big happened!"

Yu Qingyi looked around curiously, "What could be the big deal?"

"Maybe the King of Daliang has already reached the city of Kyoto!" Yang Zhengshan guessed.

He guessed wrong. It was not that the King of Daliang had reached the capital, but that the King of Daliang had proclaimed himself emperor.

On February 18th of the sixth year of Jianxing, King Daliang proclaimed himself emperor in Hanzhong Prefecture. He named his country Daliang and the reign title Tianwu. He posthumously honored his great-grandfather and his mother, Lu, as the empress dowager, and canonized his eldest son as the crown prince.

On the second day after he proclaimed himself emperor, the King of Daliang, no, it should be Emperor Tianwu of Daliang, issued a proclamation to attack Darong.

Emperor Tianwu of Daliang raised an army of 300,000 and intended to march east to destroy Rong.

(End of this chapter)