Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 371, Troops Deployed from Shu

After the news that Chu Renfeng spoke of spread, it instantly triggered a violent earthquake in the entire Liaodong region.

Liaodong has always been known for its vastness, and its overall geographical area is in no way inferior to that of some medium-sized countries.

Chu Yuqi had a large number of troops under his command, distributed throughout various regions of Liaodong, maintaining his rule.

However, Chu Yuqi's rule in Liaodong was short-lived and his foundation was weak. With his death and the internal strife within the Zu clan, the Chu family's vast empire crumbled instantly.

The generals commanding troops in various regions had different thoughts, and after confirming the news of Chu Yuqi's death, their ambitions gradually became apparent.

Some people are recruiting soldiers and horses, full of ambition, preparing to cede territory and establish their own independent state.

Some people gathered an army and marched towards Fengtian, intending to kill the Zu family to avenge the commander.

Some people also chose to seek refuge with Chu Renfeng and submit to the imperial court.

In a short time, the situation changed dramatically, and Liaodong underwent a dramatic transformation.

This was the perfect opportunity for the Huaiyin Army to intervene in Liaodong.

Previously, Liaodong was a unified entity under Chu Yuqi's rule, making it difficult to destroy. Now that it is fragmented, it can be easily defeated.

Taking advantage of the chaos in Liaodong, the Huaiyin army quickly dispatched troops, marched out of Jiuliancheng at an extremely fast pace, crossed Zhuanghe, and captured Jinzhou.

At the same time, Zhang Yuan personally led a portion of the fleet by land and sea to land at Jinzhou Port.

Jinzhou is located south of Liaodong and is an important coastal defense stronghold in Liaodong. It is situated between the inland sea and the Yellow Sea and controls the coastal defense territory of Liaodong.

When the Great Emperor Taizu of the Great Xi conquered Liaodong, he once used troops from Jinzhou.

During the early Ming Dynasty, Jinzhou Garrison was established to defend Jinzhou.

After the establishment of the Da Xi regime, the Jinzhou Military Governor's Office was set up in Jinzhou to be responsible for defense.

Later, the power of the Great Xi Dynasty waned, and the country was in turmoil. In particular, the imperial army was in arrears with its food and pay. Chu Yuqi seized the opportunity and, using his position as the governor of Liaodong, united with local powerful families to consolidate military power in various regions, thus gaining control of Liaodong.

In a sense, Chu Yuqi, despite proclaiming himself Grand Marshal, remained within the court's political system and was not entirely independent.

This is fundamentally different from Liu Xiang's claim to the throne.

Now that news of Chu Yuqi's death has arrived, everyone in Jinzhou, from generals to soldiers, has lost the will to fight.

The Huaiyin army arrived under the guise of Chu Renfeng, which greatly diminished Jinzhou's will to resist. In the end, when the army and navy were at the city gates, they chose to surrender directly.

Meanwhile, the other generals in Liaodong were busy fighting amongst themselves and had no time to attend to their own affairs, so no one paid attention to what was happening in Jinzhou. Even if they did, they were too busy to manage it.

Things will be much easier after we take Jinzhou.

Jinzhou Port is much better than the shallow talk under Jiuliancheng.

Previously, due to the lack of ports, the Huaiyin Army had limited manpower for transport. Now, with the port of Jinzhou, a large number of troops and supplies are being transported from Weihai to Jinzhou, gradually gaining the momentum to devour its enemies.

Chu Renfeng originally had some other thoughts, but as the number of Huaiyin soldiers around him increased and the supplies of food and armor became more abundant, his desire to resist gradually faded away.

In terms of boldness, Chu Renfeng is far inferior to Chu Yuqi.

After being poisoned by his stepmother and chased for miles, Chu Renfeng longed for peace and tranquility.

The Huaiyin Army treated him very well. Fang Yong wrote a letter promising that as long as Chu Renfeng openly switched sides and actively persuaded other generals in Liaodong to surrender when necessary, he would be granted the title of Marquis of Anfeng. Although he would not have any real power, at least his family's wealth and honor for several generations would be guaranteed.

After considering it for a while, Chu Renfeng felt that given his current situation, the possibility of successfully resisting was extremely small, or even nonexistent. In the end, he had no choice but to accept his fate and agree to Fang Yong's request.

It would take some time to fully recover Liaodong. Back in Hunan, Li Jia ventured into the mountains and forests, enduring countless hardships, and finally encountered the army of Liu Xiang, the King of Shu.

These were the private soldiers of the local chieftain, dressed in short black tunics with cloth wrapped around their legs, some with strange tattoos on their faces and eyes. In the land of etiquette in Central China, such decorations were usually used as punishment for criminals who committed serious crimes. For example, when Gan Ba ​​first joined the bandits, he had a tattoo on his chest to integrate into the bandit camp and make it easier for them to manage, indicating that he had no connection with the government troops.

With tattoos and piercings on his face, who knows what heinous crime he has committed?
Li Jia was so frightened that his legs trembled.

The soldiers spoke to themselves, which sounded like human speech, but upon closer listening, they were completely incomprehensible. They were truly like uncivilized southern barbarians!
Li Jia, trembling with fear, was escorted by these people to the residence of the local clan chief.

Once they arrived here, they actually resembled Han Chinese.

The courtyard was built in a way that resembled a palace in Central China, but it also had its own local style. There were young maids, servants, and servants in the courtyard. They spoke in a language close to Han Chinese. After carefully listening to their speech, Li Jia could basically guess what they were talking about.

A man stepped forward and exchanged a few words with the soldiers. Li Jia could roughly understand what he was saying; it seemed to be something like the local king was not present and they should go and report to him.

When Li Jia heard the title "Earth King," his eyebrows twitched involuntarily.

In the past, the Great Ancestor of the Great Xi Dynasty quelled the chaos in the North and South and laid the foundation for the Great Xi Dynasty. However, even such a powerful man had many problems that he could not solve.

For example, the ethnic groups living in this remote southern region.

The area is densely forested and shrouded in miasma, making it difficult to wage war.

The local clans were extremely xenophobic, the people did not understand Chinese, were ignorant of etiquette, and were impossible to govern.

Even if we manage to conquer this place with great difficulty, not to mention the loss of soldiers and generals, the gains will be far less than the losses.

There is almost no arable land in the mountains. The only things of value, besides some mushrooms, are the five poisonous creatures: snakes, scorpions, clams, centipedes, and lizards.

At the end of the year, officials gained no benefits, the imperial court could not collect taxes, and instead had to spend money to pay them.

Therefore, Emperor Taizu of the Great Xi Dynasty finally established the Tusi policy, which was different from the official system. Local powerful clans managed the area in place of the imperial court, and the system was passed down through generations. These clans were called Tusi.

This eliminated the need to send troops to attack, accelerated the unification process, and avoided management costs. On the contrary, the chieftains had to pay some taxes to the court under the guise of tribute, which actually brought them income.

The only ones who suffer are probably the local people. The chieftains have been in power for generations and are like emperors in their eyes. And above the chieftains is the emperor, so the people suffer double oppression.

However, these people may never have left the mountains in their entire lives. They probably don't even know the characters "Da Xi". Since everyone is like this, they don't feel the hardship on their shoulders.

Li Jia was led into the chieftain's room to wait. After some time, a middle-aged man dressed in golden silk and wearing a square hat arrived, surrounded by a crowd.

Upon seeing this, Li Jia quickly bowed and said, "Li Jia greets the Earth King!"

The local king laughed heartily, took Li Jia's arm, and said:
“Mr. Li, you are so ashamed of me. Why should I address you like these barbarians? My name is Peng An, courtesy name Jinghe. My ancestor was Peng Jian of the Tang Dynasty. I have received ancestral teachings and would never dare to use such a disrespectful title.”

Li Jia clicked his tongue in amazement. This Tu Wang, as the local chieftain, was no different from a Han Chinese. In fact, one could say that he was a Han Chinese. It was truly hard to describe.

After meeting Peng An, Li Jia quickly met with Liu Xiang and presented Gong Qizhi's letter and tokens, which delighted Liu Xiang.

Li Jia further advised, "Opportunity knocks but once; if we delay, things may change!"

Liu Xiang agreed wholeheartedly and immediately expressed his willingness to send troops.

Upon seeing this, Peng An immediately volunteered to lead his people into battle.

Because the Mu family, the chieftains of Yunnan, and the An family, the chieftains of Guizhou, had already declared themselves kings, Peng An also wanted to become a king, but he lacked the power. When he encountered such an opportunity, Peng An wanted to take the chance to send troops to make contributions and expand his power.

Moreover, Changsha is already under attack from both inside and outside, making its capture a piece of cake. Naturally, Peng An hoped to obtain such an easy victory.

Others under Liu Xiang also volunteered for the battle, eager to seize this opportunity.

Ultimately, Liu Xiang chose to send Peng An to lead the troops, because Peng An's forces were located in western Hunan, which was closest to Changsha, allowing him to take Changsha as quickly as possible and avoid any unforeseen circumstances.

With this matter settled, Peng An immediately returned to his clan, gathered troops, and marched to Changsha.

(End of this chapter)