Taiheiki

Chapter 115: General Zhonglang

"Forget it, there's no point in saying these angry words. Captain Zhao hasn't had an easy time these days. Actually, Feng Cheqi is not a bad guy. He is such a high-ranking official, so it's naturally impossible for him to lead the troops into battle personally. It's just that these soldiers from all over the place have their own thoughts. If a fight breaks out, they will be no match for each other. He can only keep the Bantun Man at the end to obey him. Otherwise, if these few soldiers under his command are wiped out in the front, no one will listen to him later. But that guy surnamed Ying is full of evil intentions. He has always refused to confirm the rebellious captain Zhao. He wants to use this to strangle us and force us to work for him. If we have the chance, we must kill this guy surnamed Ying to relieve the hatred in our hearts!"

"We old revolutionaries are good at using knives, but when it comes to scheming, none of us, let alone the eldest brother, can match that Ying. In my opinion, if we want to deal with that Ying, our young master has to take action!"

"You're talking nonsense, aren't you?" Li He sneered. He looked around and lowered his voice, "By the way, have you guys heard anything about my husband recently? How's he doing in Yuzhang? Did he find the copper mine?"

"We've found it!" Wen Sheng said with a smile, "But the copper mine is in the mountains. If we want to mine it, we have to build a road first, which won't be easy. I heard that my husband has already wiped out a group of mountain barbarians. His reputation has spread so much that dozens of neighboring villages have sent envoys to request allegiance. There are nearly 10,000 people in total!"

"I knew our young master would carve out a niche wherever he went!" Li He grinned and said, "I think if we can't stand it here anymore, we can just take our troops and join him!"

"I'm afraid that won't work!" Wen Sheng shook his head. "My dear, he must have a purpose for wanting us to stay here. If we just leave like this, it will ruin his plan. It's better to endure it for now!"

"That's all we can do!" Li He sighed. "Forget it, let's build the fort first! When Old Zhao comes back, we'll see where this shitty general wants us to clean up his mess again!"

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"The bandits have already captured Jingling, Zhu County, and Xiazhi County, and are now besieging Xiakou!" Ying Feng slid his feather fan across the map, leaving a zigzag line. "If you take into account the time it took for the news to travel, it's very likely that Xiakou has already fallen!"

"Even Xiazhi County fell?" Zhao Yannian opened his mouth in surprise: "Doesn't that mean even—"

"That's right, General. You're right, Captain Zhao! You're a man of vision!" Ying Feng said with a smile, "Those miners have also started a rebellion. They've also joined the moth bandits. The total number of bandits should be no less than 30,000, perhaps 50,000, or even more!"

"So, the entire Jiangxia County is finished?" Zhao Yannian's voice was a little dull, which was the result of fatigue. His behavior was not surprising. He had worked so hard to patch up the holes in the four counties of southern Jing, but when he turned around, tens of thousands of enemies appeared behind him. This kind of thing was indeed difficult to accept.

"The rebellion isn't limited to Jiangxia. Nanjun, Nanyang, and even Yuzhang, Jiujiang, and Lujiang in Yangzhou are also unstable!" Ying Feng said, "Prefect Han has already sent a letter demanding Feng's cavalry return, claiming that Jiangxia is in jeopardy and Jiangling is in danger. If Jiangling is lost, the army's retreat will be cut off!"

"General, you want to send me back?" Zhao Yannian was not a fool. How could he not know Feng Gun's intention after hearing this?

"That's right!" Feng Gun finally spoke. "Of course, turning back is impossible. Once the army is on the march, it can only advance and not retreat. If we just turn back like this, not only will all our previous efforts be wasted, but the morale of the army will surely be greatly disrupted, and suppressing the rebellion will be impossible. So I intend to have you lead the troops back to help quell the rebellion. What do you think?"

"The chariots and cavalry have given orders, and I shall obey them! But—" Zhao Yannian hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "But I am only a captain of the rebel suppression team, with only a few thousand soldiers under my command. With such a small force, I cannot defeat tens of thousands of bandits!"

Faced with Zhao Yannian's blunt words, Feng Gun remained calm. "The official position is easy to negotiate. I will immediately promote you to General of the Central Guards and assign you two thousand Danyang soldiers. Furthermore, after you return to Jiangling, you will be able to command the troops of various counties as General of the Central Guards to fight the bandits! How do you say that?"

Hearing Feng Gu's words, Zhao Yannian's heart was stirred. Feng Gu's words actually had two meanings. The first was to increase the troops, giving him 2,000 Danyang soldiers; the second was a promotion. Unlike the miscellaneous titles like the Rebellion Suppressing Lieutenant, the General of the Central Guards was a formal high-ranking military rank in the Han army, and even after the battle, he could not be dismissed casually. To put it bluntly, although Feng Gu still gave him a clean-up job, he was giving him both troops and an official position, entrusting him with a regional responsibility. It was definitely not a free ride.

"Captain Zhao!" Ying Feng said with a smile, "I've heard of your past. You came from a humble background. Although you possessed strategic vision, you wasted half your life and achieved nothing. It was only after meeting Wei Cong that you were able to advance your career. You've worked hard to get to where you are today. The rank of General of the Central Guards is a rank of 1,000 stones. If you only give your approval, future generations won't have to suffer the same fate as you. Even with your talent, you can only watch others rise to the top while you languish as a subordinate. You should know better than I do that opportunities like this are rare!"

"A cavalry captain and two thousand Danyang soldiers are not enough!" Zhao Yannian raised his head, his eyes flashing with a sharp light. "With just this little force, it's not enough to deal with tens of thousands of moth bandits. In the past, the government army was able to defeat the larger force with fewer troops, mainly because the bandits had no weapons or armor. But this time is different. With so many miners following the bandits, the bandits will definitely have no shortage of weapons. I currently have less than a thousand men under my command, and with the two thousand Danyang soldiers, there are only three thousand of us. Using a mere three thousand soldiers to conquer tens of thousands of moth bandits, there is no chance of victory!"

"Feng Cheqi has promoted you to General of the Central Army. The soldiers of Nanjun, Nanyang and Jiangxia counties can be commanded by you. How can you say that there are not enough soldiers?" Ying Feng said with a smile.

"The Nanjun army has already been withdrawn, leaving only the troops of the powerful and noble families. Nanyang is even more of an imperial city. As you just said, I come from a humble background and have no support from the court. How could the powerful families in these places obey my orders?"

"Forget it!" Feng Gun raised his right hand to stop Ying Feng from speaking. "Tell me, what conditions do you want in exchange for your willingness to resist the moth thieves?"

"If Feng Cheqi gives me the right to recruit soldiers myself, I am willing to give it a try!" Zhao Yannian said in a deep voice.

"Recruit your own soldiers?" Ying Feng sneered, "Where will the money, food, and armor come from? Your family is humble, so you don't have any private wealth to use!"

"We can ask the wealthy in the county for donations, and ask the county governor to allocate weapons and armor from the arsenal. We can also forge our own weapons!" Zhao Yannian said, "The rebellion in southern Jing has been going on for over a year now, leaving hundreds of thousands of refugees and civilians struggling to make a living in Nanyang, Nanjun, and Jiangxia. These are kindhearted people, forced to leave their homes by the war. But people still need to eat, and now that the bandits are rebellious, they'll undoubtedly join the bandits out of desperation. Every extra soldier the court recruits is a way to keep out bandits. I hope you two will understand this principle!"

Faced with Zhao Yannian's words, Ying Feng, despite his wisdom and eloquence, was speechless. What Zhao Yannian said was actually a very simple addition and subtraction: Nanjun, Jiangxia, and Nanyang were already homeless with hundreds of thousands of refugees. They had just encountered the rebellion of the moth bandits. If the court did not give them an explanation, then they would give the court an explanation.

Rather than waiting for these refugees to join the bandits and then expending money and supplies to send troops to kill them, it would be better to recruit soldiers from the refugees right from the start to suppress the bandits. Under this premise, the problems of how to raise money for the recruitment, where to obtain weapons, and the problem of the General of the Central Army recruiting soldiers without authorization could be put aside for the time being. After all, if these hundreds of thousands of refugees joined the bandits, it was uncertain whether the Han Dynasty would be destroyed. Feng Gun would definitely be escorted to Luoyang to face the jailers and make clear his situation. "Very well, General, I will agree to your terms. When can you return to Jiangling?" Feng Gun asked.

"That depends on when the 2,000 Danyang soldiers are allocated to me!" Zhao Yannian replied, "If they are allocated today, I can board the ship the next day!"

"That's great!" Feng Gun's dead face finally showed a smile: "Come here, get the military token!"

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Xiangyang.

After returning to Xiangyang from Jiangling, Cai Mao did not go to Luoyang to continue his studies as he had done in previous years. His father, Cai Feng, asked him to stay. Cai Mao was not happy about his father's decision, but he did not dare to object. Compared with the colorful life in Luoyang, Xiangyang was much more boring.

During his first few months at home, he heard rumors from old friends in Luoyang regarding the treatment of the rebels. According to these rumors, the emperor's declining health had led him to soften his stance toward the rebels, particularly since the father of the new Empress Dou was a leader. The eunuchs in the palace, adept at currying favor and discerning the direction of the situation, particularly Wang Fu, the eunuch who had tried Li Ying, Chen Shi, and Fan Pang, had refrained from torturing the rebels. There were even rumors that the emperor was about to change the reign title and grant amnesty, releasing the rebels. Hearing this news, and thinking of his old friends Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu, who were witnessing and even participating in such events in Luoyang, while he himself was left to languish in Xiangyang, he grew increasingly frustrated.

Early that morning, Cai Mao was going to the inner house to visit his parents as per custom. He had just said a few words of greeting and was about to leave when he heard Cai Feng ask, "Mao'er, you've been home for over two months now. What have you been doing in those two months?"

Hearing his father's question, Cai Mao's heart skipped a beat and he answered carefully, "I didn't do anything. I just reviewed the Book of Rites and Zuo Zhuan!"

"The Book of Rites and Zuo Zhuan?" Cai Feng smiled. "I'm afraid it's Shooting Fox and Playing Lu?"

"I deserve to die!" Cai Mao was shocked when he heard this. He knew his father knew everything about his situation. He quickly knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "A few days ago, an old friend from the city came to look for me and dragged me out to play. I had no choice but to follow him. I beg for forgiveness, father. From now on, I will study hard and stop playing those games!"

"Forget it!" Cai Feng snorted coldly, "No one knows a son better than his father. Did someone come looking for you, or did you want to go on your own? Don't you know? If I can't even tell that, I'd rather have my eyes gouged out. Stand up! Some things require sincerity and respect; kneeling or not is not that important!"

"Thank you, father!" Cai Mao stood up. He carefully looked at Cai Feng's face, but did not see any anger on his face. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"Have you heard something about what's happening in Luoyang these days?" Cai Feng suddenly asked.

"I have heard a thing or two!" Cai Mao answered carefully.

"Are you blaming me for not letting you go to Luoyang? Otherwise, you could have joined in like your friends?"

"I dare not!" Cai Mao hurriedly lowered his head.

"So you have it? You just don't dare to say it out loud?" Cai Feng snorted coldly. "Young people always want to rise to the top overnight, overthinking things. They forget the foundation of their lives! Let me ask you, in the past few months since you returned to Xiangyang, how many elderly and poor people in your clan have you visited? How many weddings have you attended for the poor families in your clan? And, Cai Buyi of Xinye died in the king's service. Did you go to offer your condolences?"

"This..." Cai Mao was speechless when asked by his father. He was unable to speak for a while and finally had to lower his head dejectedly.

"Do you think these things are insignificant?" Cai Feng sighed, "Forget it. You followed your uncle to Luoyang to study when you were very young, but you forgot what the foundation of our Cai family's survival is. Let me ask you, why does the emperor choose filial and honest people when recruiting scholars?" He did not wait for Cai Mao to answer, and said directly, "Because only filial and honest people can get pure customs, be of the same clan, and have everyone in their place. Only with such people can the emperor govern a region, and the emperor can rule with ease! The reason why our Cai family can have the status we have today in Jingxiang is because of... "It's not about learning the classics well, but about the prosperity of the clan and the unity of the people. As a father, I've been through a lot, so I understand the joys of fox hunting and playing Lu, but these are turbulent times. You only see the turmoil in Luoyang, a golden opportunity for young people to rise to fame and prominence, but you fail to see that Jingxiang is plagued by wars outside and refugees are everywhere within. The poor are toiling away all day, struggling to make ends meet. If any lawless person raises his hand, disaster is imminent! What should we do? Shouldn't I need to tell you, father?"

"I understand!" Cai Mao whispered, "Then I'll immediately go and reorganize the troops, repair Wu Fort, and check the granary to prepare for any eventuality."

"Ah!" Cai Feng sighed. "Of course these things need to be done, but you don't have to. There are people at home who can do it. What you should do is collect the debts!"

"Collecting debts?" Cai Mao thought he had misheard.

"The accumulated back rent and debt at home probably amounts to seven or eight thousand dan of millet and seven or eight hundred thousand coins. Tomorrow, take the pledge and go around collecting the debts. If anyone has the money to pay, I'll take half and return the other half. If there's really no money to pay, I'll burn the debt deeds!"

"Father, are you imitating Feng Xuan to win some people's hearts?" Cai Mao had also studied hard and reacted immediately.

(End of this chapter)