Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 375, The Pacification of the South

Liu Xiang ultimately did not die.

The accuracy of firearms in that era was limited, and the marksmanship of the Huaiyin Army was also inaccurate.

The Huaiyin Army mostly trained with flintlock rifles, and this more sophisticated revolver was not available in the army. He Ai applied for a batch of firearms from Fang Yong separately for this operation.

In the chaos, the Huaiyin soldiers hit Liu Xiang four times: one in the shoulder, one in the arm, and two in the back.

Of the two shots that hit his back, one was close to his shoulder and was relatively safe, but the other shot entered his chest and abdomen, which was extremely dangerous.

The physician from Sichuan gave Liu Xiang emergency treatment. This physician was highly skilled and used an unknown powder to pour into Liu Xiang's wounds, which quickly stopped the bleeding.

Liu Xiang's condition was thus relieved.

But this cannot cure his injuries.

The bullet lodged in the chest and abdomen could not be removed; fragments of internal organs and damaged tissue mixed together, forming a large patch of blood and pus that could take a life.

Liu Xiang felt short of breath and had a tight pain in her chest, as if there was an iron nail in her chest. She also spat out bloody saliva from time to time.

Although the doctors were afraid to speak openly about his injuries, Liu Xiang could sense that he wouldn't live for more than a few days.

My health is deteriorating, I have difficulty moving around, I can hardly swallow food, and I feel a sharp pain in my chest when I breathe even slightly.

This constant, excruciating pain nearly drove Liu Xiang to a mental breakdown.

In just a few days, his eyes became sunken and he lost all his energy.

Lying on her sickbed, Liu Xiang was filled with resentment.

"No, I cannot die! I still have unfulfilled ambitions to become emperor, and I still have unfulfilled desires to conquer the Central Plains!"

Beside her, young Fitch, with her slightly protruding belly, sobbed softly.

Liu Xiang stretched out her hand and murmured:
"Bring me my dragon robe, and my imperial seal!"

Fergie was at a loss.

Liu Xiang mumbled incoherently.

"My dragon robe, my imperial seal, my empire..."

Suddenly, Liu Xiang's injury flared up, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, vomited a mouthful of blood, and lost consciousness.

Liu Xiang's serious injury caused great chaos in Sichuan.

The balance in Sichuan has been broken.

Various forces are eager to make their move.

All the Huaiyin soldiers who had fought bravely sacrificed their lives, while Peng An was shot to death by Shu soldiers in the chaos.

Fang Yonghui will take good care of the wives and children of these martyrs and give them the best possible treatment.

September 8th.

The autumn harvest had just ended a few days ago, and this year was another bumper year. The people celebrated, the powerful families were shocked, and Fang Yong's position was no longer shaken, and he was even directly deified.

Meanwhile, another piece of good news arrived.

With the entire territory of Hunan recovered, the Guangdong and Guangxi regions followed suit and chose to submit. Wei Xing stationed his troops in Quzhou, and the governors of Jiangxi and Fujian, seeing that the situation was settled, chose to obey the will of Heaven and announced that they would lead their people to submit to King Wu.

Zhang Yingshun, the contemporary Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, a family with a thousand-year history, announced that he will travel to Beijing with his son and a group of monks to request the King of Wu to confer ordination and revise the doctrines.

The situation in the south opened up with unstoppable momentum. After the Huaiyin Army recovered Hunan, the remaining prefectures and provinces had no power to resist and surrendered one after another.

In fact, throughout history, the decisive factors in the fate of the nation have mostly been in the north. After unifying the northern regimes, the armies would cross the Yangtze River and head south, where the resistance was minimal.

Basically, there were only a few cities, such as Yangzhou, Hangzhou, Hefei, and Xiangyang, and these major cities have now fallen into Fang Yong's hands. The remaining areas will naturally be settled by the emperor. It was only in the last hundred years that the coastal areas such as Guangdong and Guangxi developed rapidly due to the emerging industry of maritime trade, which led some powerful families in the south to have thoughts of independence, thus delaying the unification process.

However, as Fang Yong's power grew step by step, he sent troops to recover the Hubei and Hunan regions, and the naval forces of Guangdong and Guangxi were quickly captured by Fang Yong, and the other people's little schemes were extinguished.

In the capital, Wu Yuan rushed to see Fang Yong.

Since taking control of the capital, Fang Yong established the Grand Council, Wu Yuan was in charge of political affairs, Jia Yucun was in charge of the appointment and allocation of former Da Xi officials, and Xue Ao was in charge of finances and provisions. The three worked together very efficiently, handling all the affairs of the court in an orderly manner. Fang Yong only needed to issue approvals, and rarely did he need to come to him personally.

Upon meeting, Fang Yong and Wu Yuan exchanged pleasantries for a while.

As Fang Yong's power grew, he gradually became estranged from his subordinates.

"Yuan Hao, what brings you here?"

Fang Yong asked.

Wu Yuan bowed deeply and said with utmost solemnity:
"Your Majesty, since you raised your army, you have fought in the south and the north, sweeping away the Tartars to restore the Central Plains, and pacifying the false kings to secure the country. Now you have opened up the northern regions and pacified the southern frontier. Your virtue surpasses that of the Three Sovereigns and your achievements exceed those of the Five Emperors. You are unparalleled throughout the ages. Why not follow the will of the people and ascend the throne as Emperor?"

Fang Yong listened, shook his head, smiled, and waved his hand, saying:

"Why are you copying those people? Don't you know what I'm thinking?"

Fang Yong's casual attitude warmed Wu Yuan's heart.

Although he had become incredibly powerful, Fang Yong did not distance himself from them or change his attitude towards them because of his new status. Throughout history, very few rulers have been able to do this.

Moved, Wu Yuan no longer held back and resumed his previous tone, saying:
"I think, General, you intend to unify the nine provinces before ascending the throne, don't you?"

Fang Yong nodded.

With his current strength, he could become emperor at any time, but it would be more in line with the tradition of China for thousands of years to declare himself emperor after unification, and it would be more recognized by the people, both legally and in terms of public opinion.

That represents the legitimate dynasty.

Wu Yuan did not refute Fang Yong's decision.

Although Fang Yong could advance faster if he declared himself emperor sooner, Wu Yuan was by no means short-sighted. He believed that the benefits of declaring himself emperor after completing the unification of the empire would be far greater.

However, besides urging him to take the throne, Wu Yuan had other matters to attend to on this trip.

"General, now that the south is pacified, the unification of the world is not far off. Although you are unwilling to declare yourself emperor now, you can first establish a royal court, which will help you win over loyal officials in the court and eliminate dissidents and treacherous ministers."

Fang Yong nodded, agreeing that Wu Yuan's words made sense.

The royal court that Wu Yuan referred to was not the palace, but a kingdom, or a small court independent of the imperial court.

During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, various vassal states existed under the rule of the emperor. These vassal states were independent of the emperor's administrative system, with their own fiefdoms and administrative systems, such as prime ministers and generals. They were essentially states within states, and some were even stronger than the emperor.

For example, Duke Zhuang of Zheng once defeated the Zhou emperor, and one of his generals shot the Zhou emperor in the shoulder with an arrow, thus crushing the emperor's royal power.

However, with the development of imperial power in later generations, dynasties with such immense power rarely appeared again.

Once such a dynasty emerges, it signifies a plot to seize power.

Fang Yong thought about it for a moment, and realized that he was now plotting to seize power.

However, it's not fair to say that. After all, he earned his fiefdom through his own hard work and battles. The Longqing Emperor's bestowal was merely a formality. This is fundamentally different from the Sima family's usurpation of the throne, and it is his greatest source of confidence.

"Alright, I'll leave this to Yuan Hao."

Wu Yuan bowed and accepted the assignment.

However, he did not leave. Instead, he looked at Fang Yong and hesitated before saying:
"General, the heir is the foundation of the nation; you should have made arrangements sooner..."

Fang Yong glared at him and interrupted:
"Don't mention this matter; I will make my own decision!"

(End of this chapter)