Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 482 Liu Duyi's Awkward Situation

Ning Anqing accepted the mission to go to Runing to pacify Liu Futong. Before leaving that day, he made a plan. Whether he could pacify Liu Futong was still uncertain, but the mission itself was significant, and even the route of the mission had to be carefully studied.

Regarding the route, Lu Jin was in the east, occupying the Huai River region, while Liu Futong was in the west, occupying Runing. Under normal circumstances, they should have gone directly to Shouchun (Shouxian County), had Han Song's subordinates inform Liu Futong, and then proceed to Anqing. After all, Shouchun was the easternmost point of Han Song's territory, and it would have been more logical to enter from there.

But Ning Anqing did not go that way. He first traveled by land to Gushi, and then went north to a town called Niugao. This place is the confluence of the Huai River and the Hong River. In later generations, there was a Huaibin County here, but it has not been established as a county yet.

From here, you can transfer to a boat and travel upstream along the Hong River to reach the city of Xincai. Xincai is also a confluence of three rivers, where the Hong River and the Ru River meet. From Xincai, you can turn into the Ru River and reach Ruyang (Runan), the capital of Runing, which is also the core city of the Han and Song dynasties.

Ning Anqing's intention in planning to take this waterway was to show the generals of Han and Song that if the Shengwu Army wanted to attack them, it would be incredibly easy. The waterways of the Central Plains were interconnected, and they could directly transport troops and supplies to attack any of their cities. Therefore, resistance was meaningless, especially since Li Chahan was also keeping them occupied in the north.

The reason Sun Quan was so eager to capture Hefei during the Three Kingdoms period was because it had a waterway that led directly to the Central Plains, facilitating logistical transport and making it the best forward base for the Northern Expedition from Eastern Wu. Unfortunately, he failed to even break through the first barrier and then completely gave up, losing confidence in the Northern Expedition.
So on the fifth day of the second month, when Ning Anqing arrived directly at the city of Xincai by boat, saying that he had come on behalf of the King of Chu, Luo Wensu, the Han Song general stationed in Xincai, was greatly surprised. He never expected that the envoy would come to Xincai first.

After Ning Anqing was placed in the city, Luo Wensu immediately asked, "Where do you come from, sir?"

Ning Anqing remained neither humble nor arrogant, saying, "I am an envoy of the King of Chu, so of course I come from Jiankang."

Luo Wensu waved her hands repeatedly, "Oh, that's not what I meant. I was asking which road you came from?"

Ning Anqing, however, looked puzzled and asked in return, "Didn't the general see me by boat? Then I must have come from downstream by water."

"Hey, you rascal!"

Luo Wensu was getting annoyed. Of course he knew that Ning Anqing had come by water, but the lower reaches of the Hong River flowed into the Huai River. Although the upper and lower reaches of the Huai River were occupied by Lu Jin, the middle reaches were still under the control of Han Song. If Ning Anqing came from the lower reaches, Mengcheng or Xia Cai should have been the first to receive the news.

Luo Wensu mentally reviewed the map before finally remembering a loophole upstream. "You came from Gushi?"

“Exactly, General, why are you so concerned about which route I took? Shouldn’t you have gone to Runing to report first?” Ning Anqing was also intentionally revealing his whereabouts as a threat, so he did not hide anything.

To everyone's surprise, Luo Wensu laughed upon hearing this, "Of course I must report, but I wonder what brings you here?"

Seeing that the man's attitude was ambiguous and his will seemed not firm, Ning Anqing had an idea and began to test him. "Of course, I'm here to pacify the rebel army under Liu Du. Last year, my lord dispatched a million troops and wiped out hundreds of thousands of troops in Jiangxi, Huguang, Nanyang, Henan and Shandong. We also subdued the rebel armies of Xu and Song."

"Even Xu Shouhui, the false emperor of the Xu Song dynasty, has relinquished his imperial title and submitted to my lord, Prince Chu. Half of the country has fallen into our hands. With the south pacified, my lord will immediately lead his troops to fight in the Central Plains. Hundreds of thousands of troops will surround Runing and Bianliang and launch a thunderous attack on Li Chahan."

"Your army is currently surrounded by heavy troops, and your tribe is also an anti-Yuan rebel army. My lord cannot bear to let you suffer as a result, which is why he sent me as an envoy. I hope that your tribe can also follow the will of Heaven, submit to my lord, and join me in the Northern Expedition to rebuild the Han dynasty."

Ning Anqing's words revealed the strength of the Shengwu Army, and at the same time, he pointed out the current predicament of Liu Du's troops. They were also surrounded. The current offer of amnesty was only because they were both righteous armies, and he was giving them face. If they surrendered with courtesy, they would still retain their noble titles. Otherwise, they would be caught in the crossfire and attacked together, both the good and the bad.

Luo Wensu could understand what was meant, but his attention was clearly not on that. Instead, he repeatedly confirmed with Ning Anqing.

"You conquered Jiangxi and Huguang in one battle last year? That Tartar Left Chancellor in Sichuan, what's his name, Dashibadulu? Did you defeat him too?"

Ning Anqing immediately replied, “That’s right. Last year, Dashibadulu fought a decisive battle with our army in Jingxiang and was defeated in one fell swoop. He himself was captured alive by our army, and his generals have also surrendered to our army. Subsequently, our army took Dashibadulu as a hostage and marched towards Xiangyang, which was defended by his son. His son, Bolotemur, seeing that the situation was hopeless, also surrendered to our army. Now, the roads from Huguang to Jingxiang, and then to Nanyang and Luoyang have all been opened up by our army. Only then did we set out north to prepare to pacify the enemy in the Central Plains in one fell swoop.”

"You actually captured that father and son alive." Luo Wensu was extremely surprised, and even swallowed. It's no wonder he was so surprised. Dashibadulu was very powerful before and had even led his army to attack the Central Plains. In other words, Liu Du's Red Turban Army had fought against them before, so of course they knew how formidable Dashibadulu was. They never expected that such a person would be defeated by the Holy Martial Army.

Then he asked, "What title was given to Xu Shouhui after he surrendered to your King of Chu?"

Ning Anqing said again, "Xu Shouhui committed a serious crime by usurping the title of emperor, but our lord considered his meritorious service in rebelling against the Yuan dynasty and his sudden realization that he had relinquished his imperial title and returned to the throne, so he enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Guiyi."

"He had so many soldiers before, and he was only granted the title of marquis. I'm afraid his generals didn't have a good ending either," Luo Wensu immediately complained.

Ning Anqing immediately understood the meaning behind these words and laughed, “Before my lord sent out his troops, he issued a proclamation acknowledging the anti-Yuan achievements of the Xu and Song tribes and promising them that even if they did not make new contributions after surrendering, my lord would still recognize their previous anti-Yuan achievements and promised to reward the Xu and Song generals according to their merits, just like our army’s generals. In this way, the Xu and Song generals can also be ennobled.”

"As soon as our lord issued the proclamation, many generals from Xu and Song came to surrender one after another. For example, Chen Youliang, who had captured Hanyang, Mianyang, Yueyang and other places, was promised a marquisate by our lord. In the future, he will be rewarded along with all the generals of our army according to their merits. General Chen was very happy when he came to surrender."

Upon hearing this, Luo Wensu's eyes lit up. "The King of Chu is so benevolent! Does that mean even merits earned under his command count?"

"Of course, our lord is in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people, raised an army to rebel against the Yuan, drove out the Tartars, and restored our land. Since Xu and Song are both members of the anti-Yuan righteous army, even if they did not previously join our army, they still have merit in the anti-Yuan cause. Our lord has always been fair in rewarding and punishing, so if someone has made a contribution, then of course they should be rewarded."

Upon hearing this, Luo Wensu immediately pressed on, "Is the same explanation given for this attempt to pacify our Central Plains rebel army?"

Seeing this, Ning Anqing smiled but did not answer directly. Instead, he asked, "If I say so, can General Luo make the decision? Please inform them quickly. Hundreds of thousands of troops are already deployed in various places. The Central Plains War is imminent. Before the decisive battle in the Central Plains, it would be better to clarify things with your troops to avoid accidentally harming friendly forces. What do you say, General?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Wensu hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed to help him pass on the message. He then had someone take Ning Anqing to rest, while he himself had a banquet prepared, wondering whether or not to invite Ning Anqing to the banquet.

In fact, Luo Wensu already had the idea of ​​surrendering, which is why she repeatedly confirmed the situation with Ning Anqing.

The reason for inquiring about last year's war was to see if Lu Jin really had the strength to become emperor. Otherwise, if we surrendered and Lu Jin lost again, wouldn't it have been a waste of our time?
Inquiring about Xu Song's conditions was to find a reference point for comparison.

As for whether he himself can decide to join the Holy Martial Army, he actually has the ability to make that decision, but he just doesn't want to fall out with Liu and Du for the time being, so he agreed to help spread the word, also wanting to take this opportunity to see Liu and Du's attitude.

The Han-Song forces are currently in a very awkward position: they have not yet established an organization. This might not have been a problem in the past, but now that Lu Jin is powerful and has come to pacify them, it has become very troublesome for Liu Du's troops.

The Red Turban Rebellion was initially made possible by Han Shantong's extensive networking efforts. Han Shantong came from a family of White Lotus sect members; his grandfather's generation was involved in the White Lotus sect and was captured and exiled by the Yuan court. Surprisingly, his father and his generation were still involved in the White Lotus sect.

Han Shantong played a significant role in launching the Red Turban Rebellion and was a core member of the uprising. Liu Futong, Luo Wensu, Sheng Wenyu, Wang Xianzong, and Han Yao'er were all minor leaders of the White Lotus Sect in various regions, each with their own independent forces. They all obeyed Han Shantong's command, meaning that Luo Wensu, Wang Xianzong, Han Yao'er, and others were on the same level as Liu Futong.

At first, when Han Shantong was alive, they were of equal rank and there was nothing wrong with that, since everyone just listened to Han Shantong. But who knew that the uprising had just begun when the unlucky Han Shantong was captured and killed by the Yuan army.

Although the group still relaunched the uprising with Liu Futong and Du Zundao at its core and captured a considerable territory, the problem of the group being of equal rank remained.

With the death of the top leader and the continued disappearance of Han Shantong's son, Han Lin'er, they have been unable to rebuild a core that everyone can trust, lacking core cohesion. In other words, you could consider this Central Plains Red Turban Army as a disorganized force.

For example, right now, they haven't established any official system, so they can't give generals like Luo Wensu a formal official position, let alone a formal noble title. If you don't even have a formal identity, and you're being courted by Lu Jin's side, how could they not be tempted?
If someone were to ask them, "What kind of force are you?" could Luo Wensu answer? "The Central Plains Righteous Army? What's the name of your righteous army?" "No."

If you ask Luo Wensu what position he held in this rebel army, he won't be able to say, because no one could give him a position.
Because Han Shantong is dead and Han Lin'er has not been found, although Liu Futong and the others have shouted the slogan of restoring the Song Dynasty, their Song Dynasty has not yet been established!

Since this 'Han-Song regime' has not been established, and Liu Futong, Du Zundao, and others are of the same rank as Luo Wensu and others, then who should be appointed to this position? Not to mention Luo Wensu, Liu Futong himself does not have any official position yet. Without finding Han Lin'er, they cannot establish a new core. Without a new core that can win over the masses, they will never be able to establish a regime and system, and this organization will inevitably be very loose.

Of course, another possibility is that Liu Futong could declare himself king or emperor, but in that case, they would have to fight amongst themselves before outsiders could even attack them. When the uprising began, everyone was of equal rank, so why should Liu Futong be allowed to declare himself king? If he declares himself king, then I can too, resulting in a whole bunch of kings. Not only would other generals with independent armies disagree, but even Du Zundao would not agree.

Becoming emperor is even more impossible. Now that our leader Han Shantong is dead and his son hasn't been found, I can temporarily acknowledge you as my elder brother and fight alongside you, but you can't expect to be my father!
This is the predicament Liu Futong and his group are in now. Without Han Lin'er, they cannot establish a formal system. Even if Han Lin'er returns only as a puppet, everyone will accept her as such. They do need such a figurehead to unite the group.

Assuming they bring Han Lin'er back and eventually conquer the world, Liu Futong might be able to use his prestige to force Han Lin'er to abdicate. However, before conquering the world, Liu Futong would never dare to openly usurp the throne, because he needs such a figurehead to control other generals of equal rank.

Just like the Xu Song dynasty in the original history, when Chen Youliang killed Xu Shouhui and usurped the throne, the Xu Song dynasty immediately split. Ming Yuzhen led his followers to break away from the organization and set up their own faction. This is the awkwardness of being on equal footing. When we first started the uprising, we were on equal footing. Why should you become emperor now?

Another predicament for Liu Futong and his group is that they cannot expand externally. To the north, there is Li Chahan, whom they cannot defeat, and to the east, west, and south, they are surrounded and blocked by Lu Jin. As a result, the group cannot continue to make profits, and naturally, the various factions of equal status within the group will start to have their own selfish ambitions.

To be honest, Luo Wensu could decide for himself right now to lead his troops to surrender to Lu Jin. The only reason he hasn't spoken up yet is because he still considers Liu Futong as his 'elder brother'. If Liu Futong and Du Zundao refuse Lu Jin's offer of amnesty this time, Luo Wensu will probably immediately turn against Lu Jin and go to join him on his own.

Anyway, his troops are all his own, and Liu Futong has no right to order him around. The reason he still listens to Liu Futong now is only because they revolted together back then and are all in the same group.

Having figured out this relationship, Luo Wensu finally made up her mind. That same day, while she was sending someone to Runing to report, she secretly hosted a banquet for Ning Anqing.

At the banquet, after dismissing the outsiders and their men, Luo Wensu tentatively asked Ning Anqing, "Mr. Ning, if I lead my troops to surrender to His Highness the Prince of Chu and offer up Xincai City as well, what title would the Prince of Chu bestow upon me?"

Ning Anqing put down his wine cup and looked at him before saying, "Chen Youliang, a general under Xu Song, led his troops to conquer Mianyang and Yueyang, a small part of the heartland of Huguang. Although they were later recaptured by the Yuan army, Your Highness still agreed to give him a marquis title. After all, he was the first Xu Song general to defect to my lord."

"Your Highness is indeed benevolent, but even if you acknowledge the past military achievements of Xu Song's generals, they still need to have earned those achievements, right? But what about your Central Plains righteous army?"

Ning Anqing shook his head, feigning regret, and said, "I'm not trying to be rude, but after three years of raising an army, you've only managed to capture half of Runing Prefecture. General Luo's title probably won't be very high."

Upon hearing this, Luo Wensu immediately became anxious and retorted, "You can't say that! We may not have conquered much territory, but that's because we were the first Red Turban Rebellion. You should know the significance of being the first Red Turban Rebellion. The Yuan court will definitely be chasing after us. If it weren't for us carrying the main force of the Yuan army all these years, other rebel armies would have had no chance to develop at all."

"Besides, if we hadn't been the first to initiate the uprising, would so many other uprisings have risen up in response? Our contribution should be greater than Xu Song's, right?"

“Oh, not at all.” Ning Anqing shook his head and said again.

"Although Xu Song lost his country last year, he still has some ability. Within a year of raising an army, he reached Hangzhou in the east, connected with Sichuan and Chongqing in the west, looked towards Jingzhou and Xiangyang in the north, and controlled Dongting Lake in the south. As for the main force of the Yuan army he dealt with, and the number of enemies he killed, he was quite capable. Wasn't he the one who always carried the Yuan army in Jiangxi, Huguang and Sichuan?"
"While your unit was the first to launch the Red Turban Rebellion and your contributions are slightly greater, if the rewards are too excessive, it might be difficult to convince the people. General Luo, don't you agree?"

"Of course not!" Luo Wensu slammed the cup down, intending to argue with Ning Anqing again, but Ning Anqing raised his hand to interrupt her, then leaned closer and whispered.

"General Luo, please don't get angry. Let me finish speaking. As the leader of the Red Turban Rebellion, your unit's achievements are naturally higher than Xu Song's, but only by a limited margin. After all, the people of the world know how much territory you have conquered and how many Yuan soldiers you have killed, even if they don't say it."

"If you ask me, if General Luo were to join us, he would at most be a count. But since it's a matter of rewarding merit, we can naturally try to earn more merit. If General Luo's merits are greater than others', then the title is not out of the question. What do you say, General Luo?"

Upon hearing Ning Anqing's implication, Luo Wensu immediately understood, narrowed her eyes, and asked again, "Then, Mr. Ning, how should I, Luo, earn merit?"

"That's something General Luo will have to figure out himself. But considering how well General Luo has treated me, I might as well have a private talk with you."

"Please speak, Mr. Ning." Upon hearing this, Luo Wensu immediately picked up the wine pot and personally poured wine for Ning Anqing.

Ning Anqing chuckled inwardly, but remained outwardly composed as he continued, "Your Highness only wants to pacify your tribe as soon as possible so that you can concentrate your forces to deal with Li Chahan in Bianliang. My mission to pacify your tribe is merely a formality. In truth, His Highness does not care whether you surrender or not. As long as your tribe can be pacified, whether by civil or military means is acceptable. Of course, if it can be done without bloodshed, that would be beneficial for both our armies."

"General Luo, do you know which unit of my Holy Martial Army is currently guarding Luzhou and Xuzhou?"

"I don't know, please enlighten me, Mr. Ning."

Ning Anqing immediately boasted, "The troops stationed in Luzhou are the Third Army Group of the First Front Army of my Holy Martial Army. Last year, this unit captured Jiujiang in one battle, taking over half of Jiangxi. In the second battle, it captured Wuchang, annihilating tens of thousands of Yuan troops from Huguang. In the third battle, it captured Jingmen, defeating the 100,000-strong army of Badulu.

"Now that this army has been transferred to Luzhou, if I fail to win them over this time, General Luo said, who will be the one to besiege Xincai City in the future?"

hiss----

Luo Wensu gasped in shock. With an army like that attacking him, what was the point of him defending himself?

Ning Anqing continued, "There are also troops stationed in Xuzhou. They are the Second Army Group of our Third Front Army, the main force that followed our commander across the Yangtze River. They later marched east to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, recapturing Hangzhou and Lin'an in one fell swoop, and then attacked Taizhou. If such elite troops were to march south from Bozhou, I wonder who in your army could stop them?"

Luo Wensu was completely stunned. Any one of the soldiers in the Holy Martial Army had an astonishing record. How could he possibly stop them? So he quickly said, "Mr. Ning, you are mistaken. I have no intention of fighting against the King of Chu's army. Aren't we talking about how to make contributions?"

Ning Anqing took a bite of food before continuing, "What I mean by all this is that Your Highness is determined to quell your tribe, whether through civil or military means. In terms of military force, you are definitely not going to be able to stop us. Moreover, your tribe is a righteous army, so there is really no need for you to shed blood and commit unnecessary killings."

"If all your generals are willing to submit like General Luo, that would be fine. But what if they are not? Then we'll have to send troops to attack again. If General Luo could find a way to get your other generals to do the same as you, wouldn't that be a great achievement?"

Luo Wensu immediately realized, "Mr. Ning means that I should go and act as an envoy for the King of Chu to persuade the other generals to surrender?"

“Hey, how could this be my idea? It should be General Luo who wants to earn merit, shouldn’t it?” Ning Anqing hinted again.

Luo Wensu pondered for a moment after hearing this, then smiled wryly and said, "But it's not very convenient for me to persuade others. After all, I am a military officer and cannot move around freely. However, if it is to help the King of Chu to recruit other generals, I can indeed lend a hand."

"How can I help?" Ning Anqing asked immediately.

Luo Wensu then started bargaining, "If I were to speak, Mr. Ning would have to put in a good word for me with the King of Chu. He should at least give me a higher reward for this achievement. Wouldn't a mere earldom be too low?"

Ning Anqing immediately laughed and said, "You can rest assured about the credit. General Luo, don't forget that I am tasked with pacification. If I fail to pacify them, I, Ning, will not have any credit. When the two armies fight, the credit will go to those generals, and I, Ning, will just have to watch."

"On the contrary, if General Luo can help me accomplish this, then I will share in the credit for this pacification effort, and naturally General Luo will also share in it. Don't you think so?"

Luo Wensu nodded, relieved, and then spoke to Ning Anqing.

"Actually, the matter of pacifying our army is quite simple. The key is not with Liu Futong and Du Zundao, but with generals like me, such as Wang Xianzong stationed in Yingzhou and Han Yao'er stationed in Bozhou. If you can persuade them first, without us as the outer commanders, with only Liu Futong and Du Zundao in Runing and Yancheng left, would they still refuse His Highness the Prince of Chu's offer of pacification?"

"I see!" Ning Anqing suddenly realized.

(End of this chapter)