The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 240 The Real Rebel

Wangwushan.

"We have come here specifically to seek refuge with Grand Tutor Guo!! General Wang!"

In the simple house, Guo Ze sat in the upper seat, looking at the strong man kneeling in front of him, wanting to say something but stopping himself. He looked blankly at Wang Yuan who was standing beside him.

The same is true for Wang Yuan. He is very conflicted at the moment.

Looking at the strong men kneeling down, Wang Yuan hurried forward to help them up.

"Hahaha, good, good, many brave men come and surrender!"

"We are very pleased!"

"After we have cleared the imperial court and saved the country, you will all be important ministers who will assist the state!"

The strong men were helped up, their faces full of anger.

"That Sima Shi is a wicked man. He collected taxes based on the standard for five people, but withheld grain based on the standard for three. And now he won't plant seeds, forbidding us from farming. Out of anger, we rebelled against him, and now we're being hunted by the soldiers. Knowing you're here to support the country, we've come to join you!"

The man spoke with a Hebei accent, which sounded very familiar to Guo Ze.

Wang Yuan looked at Guo Ze and asked him to speak to comfort him.

Guo Ze said, "Great! I heard that many loyal and righteous people come from Yan and Zhao. It's true!"

"That Sima Shi deceives the emperor and oppresses the people. Sooner or later, I will lead my men to kill him and save Your Majesty from danger!"

"How many people did you bring this time?!"

"Not many! Only about two thousand!"

"two"

Guo Ze's smile paused for a moment, then quickly calmed down. He said seriously, "I will now submit a memorial to His Majesty, appointing you as General Po Lu!"

The man was stunned and asked hurriedly, "Master Taifu, what rank is this general? How does he compare to a county magistrate?"

"Well, this is a fifth-rank military position, but there will be more opportunities to make meritorious contributions in the future! A county magistrate is far less qualified than this!"

"Thank you, Grand Master!!"

The man was overjoyed and quickly saluted again.

Guo Ze asked some more questions before letting the Wei general Po Lu leave the inner room.

"Lord Wang! What's going on?!"

As soon as those people left, Guo Ze became restless. He said sternly, "This is the eighth person to come and seek refuge this month! You can't continue to recruit people so recklessly!"

"Our food supply can't even support so many people. It's only been a short while, and we already have over ten thousand people under our command!"

"How dare you let them starve?!"

"Why are you so greedy?!"

Wang Yuan felt helpless when he heard Guo Ze's questioning.

He did not expect that a large-scale rebellion would suddenly break out in Hebei. At the beginning, Wang Yuan was thinking about taking people there to rob, but he quickly gave up the idea.

Because a large number of refugees and rebels began to run to him, all seeking refuge with him.

From these people, he learned that the temple army had begun to suppress the rebellion. Wang Yuan did not think that the people under his command could defeat the army of Wei.

He chose to use this opportunity to accept the rebels and expand his own power.

But Wang Yuan had not expected that there would be so many people coming to join him, and it was obvious that these people had fought in battles and shed blood. Some of them were holding powerful crossbows, and some even had stolen armor. Their strength was completely out of control.

Just like that, the number of rebels under Wang Yuan's command directly exceeded 10,000, not counting the elderly, the weak, women and children!
The entire Wangwu Mountain became bustling. The original small village could no longer accommodate these people. They had begun to build cities and fortresses and to cultivate farmland.

Wang Yuan was both sad and happy.

"Mr. Guo, how could I not know what you are talking about?"

"It's not just about food and fodder. With so many people, all kinds of conflicts will ensue. Moreover, our size will definitely arouse the vigilance of the imperial court. Once they quell the rebellion outside, they will deal with us next."

"With our size, it's not easy to hide, and these are vicious people, all with ambitions of advancement!"

"I'm having a harder time than you right now. I have more things to consider than you do!"

Hearing Wang Yuan's complaints, Guo Ze couldn't help but ask, "Since you know everything, why did you recruit these people?"

"Are we supposed to turn them away?"

"What advantage do we have now over those treacherous officials? Even over those bandits, what advantage do we have? Isn't it that we were the first to raise the banner of resistance?"

"Now these people have come from thousands of miles away to seek refuge with us. If we don't accept them, we will lose even this last advantage!"

"If we don't have food, we can rob or grow it. If the enemy attacks, we can use the favorable terrain to fight back. But if we lose this reputation, we will really die in this deep mountain forest, and not a single bone will be left!"

Wang Yuan said seriously.

Guo Ze found that he seemed unable to refute Wang Yuan's words.

He sighed deeply, and his eyes became more complicated.

He never thought that one day he would become the real leader of the rebellion.
It has been a long time since I last saw Your Majesty.

I wonder how his martial arts skills are being honed, and whether he has any new ideas about the classics?
Did Sima Shi humiliate him, and was he lonely and helpless?
Seeing Guo Ze suddenly fall silent, Wang Yuan quickly put away his previous sharpness and whispered, "Mr. Guo, I still rely on you for these matters. I only led a dozen people in the past and have never commanded so many people. I know nothing about food distribution."

"Now we are here, not far from Luoyang. If we manage it properly, we will definitely have a chance to save Your Majesty from danger in the future." Listening to Wang Yuan's words, the confusion in Guo Ze's eyes gradually dissipated.

"Okay, I'll do my best, but be careful. The temple's army will definitely come to attack us, and these people are definitely no match for them."

Only after comforting Guo Ze did Wang Yuan walk out of the inner room.

Several of his subordinates came hurriedly. Each of them was a general, and each one had a higher rank than the other.

The entire mountain includes almost all the generals in the world. Wang Yuan feels that if a few more groups of people come, the general positions may not be enough and they will have to be made up temporarily.

"General, what should we do now?"

"There's absolutely not enough food. The amount we have won't even last us this month."

Several people looked nervous, "Hunting is far from enough."

Wang Yuan listened to their words, looked around, motioned them to follow him, took them back to his courtyard, had the door closed, and then let them sit in front of him.

"Under the current circumstances, we can only take the initiative to go down the mountain."

"There are too many people coming, and we don't bring much food. If we can't feed them, they will kill us."

"Now Hebei is in rebellion and the army is all in Hebei. We have to go down the mountain."

"General, how about going to Yongliang?"

someone asked.

Wang Yuan looked at him in astonishment. "Nothing! Do you want to be hunted down by the Yongliang army? Those people fight with the Shu Kingdom every year. If you run into them, you won't be able to escape!"

"Then go to Hebei?"

"Go to Hebei and confront He Zeng's army head-on? If we can really defeat them, will these people come to us?"

"What should we do? We can't just go to Henan again, right?"

Everyone was helpless.

Wang Yuan narrowed his eyes. "They said that they captured the mansions of the great clans in Hebei and obtained a large amount of food. Are the great clans in Hedong and Henei still not captured?"

There was greed in everyone's eyes.

"Isn't it too risky to do this? I heard that those Wu castles are extremely difficult to break through. Each of them has tens of thousands of servants, as well as powerful crossbows and armor. They look more like rebels than us. Tens of thousands of people from Hebei attacked those Wu castles, but they almost failed to take them down."

"So, we have to plan carefully. If we attack by force, it will definitely not go smoothly, but if we use a surprise attack."

Wang Yuan immediately started discussing with everyone.

Inside the Tai Chi Hall.

"Good news has arrived from all over the country. The rebellions were quickly quelled, especially in Yangzhou, Qingzhou, and other places. Even the major clans in Qingzhou suffered heavy losses. The ministers in the court are very dissatisfied with Hu Zun."

"There are still rebels in Hebei now, but under the joint attack of He Zeng and Chen Ben, they won't be able to hold out for long. They are being defeated everywhere, and I heard that they are all fleeing to the mountains."

Cheng Ji informed Cao Mao of the news he had obtained.

Hearing these words, Cao Mao suddenly thought of Guo Ze who was hiding in the mountains.

Rebellions broke out in various places. After being defeated, these rebels could only flee to the mountains, and they would most likely go to Guo Ze and his men for refuge. After all, these people were the most famous among all the rebels.

I heard that Guo Ze also appointed himself as a Taifu, which now became a powerful weapon for the ministers to use against the empress dowager.

Sima Shi suppressed the matter, not wanting it to cause too much impact.

But the ministers didn't care at all. After Sima Shi's death, they directly defined Guo Ze as a traitor. He was no longer an innocent person who was being framed. He was already the leader of the rebels recognized by the Wei Dynasty.

The official recognition of the Wei Dynasty made their influence even greater.

This made Cao Mao a little worried. They had only been in the mountains for a short time. Were they capable of taking on so many people?

Are you capable of facing Sima Zhao’s attack next?
If you can get in touch with these people, it can actually be a great help to you.

These bandits will become the most useful army in his hands. After all, there are no aristocratic families among them. If they are asked to kill those aristocratic families, they will not even blink an eye.

However, Cao Mao currently does not have any good candidates.

If Liu Lu could come back, he could be asked to inform the enemy and establish contact with Guo Ze, so that they could serve as his backup. If necessary, he could also imitate Sima Shi.

After the rebellion is over, I can also formally contact the foreign generals, especially my General Zhendong.

Cao Mao's eyes were very bright.

At this moment, Cheng Ji suddenly said, "There is another important matter."

"Oh?"

"General Guo Huai has passed away due to illness."

"what?!"

Cao Mao looked at him in astonishment, "Why don't I know about this? How did you know?"

"My brother sent someone to tell me. It's said that General Wei forbade it to be spread outside. Didn't His Majesty say that he wanted me to go to Yongliang?"

"Guo Huai is dead, so shouldn't we send someone over?"

(End of this chapter)