Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 178 Chaos

Kuaiji County, Shangyu County.

Under the scorching sun, a large flag with the word "Sun" on it was held high.

Below them were all Taoist priests holding weapons, and people from all over the country gathered there.

Hoes, forks, and wooden poles were raised high. "If the imperial court won't give us a way out, don't blame us for rebelling!"

"Inverted!"

Hidden in the crowd were many tall men wearing armor, who were obviously local heroes.

Since Sima Yuanxian ordered the conscription of the music clan, the Three Wus were shaken. Not only did the common people oppose it, but he also offended the local nobles and powerful people.

Kuaiji County, as the western capital of the Jin Dynasty, was not only home to aristocratic families with overseas surnames, but also to local powerful people such as Zhou, Shen, Zhu, Gu, and Yu. When Wang Xin rebelled, there were people from the Gu and Yu families among his "women's army".

These local nobles have been dissatisfied with the Sima family for a long time.

The reason why they did not take action before was because Sima Yuanxian resolved the crisis in the North Palace and the West Palace, and they thought the court would be more obedient. Unexpectedly, the plan was set on them in the blink of an eye.

They actually want to conscript the poor households and servants...

This has touched their bottom line.

According to past practices, overseas Chinese nobles were always able to stay safe through various connections and rules, but these local powerful families were not so lucky, and in the end, they were almost always the ones who suffered.

Sima, Wang, and Xie, these big families were originally the imperial court, and it was impossible for them to attack them.

Therefore, this time the "music family" was recruited, it was aimed at them.

The Three Wu nobles reacted most strongly, and regardless of whether they believed in the Tianshi Dao or not, they all joined in.

With the support of the powerful people of the Three Wus, the effect was immediate, and countless people flocked to Shangyu.

"God helps me, it's really God who helps me, Sima Yuanxian and Sima Daozi are nothing but dogs and pigs! Hahahaha——" Sun En was so happy that he was beaming with joy.

I thought they would lie dormant for three to five years, but I didn't expect that the Sima family would shoot themselves in the foot in the blink of an eye.

Having just resolved the sieges of the North and West Palaces, he aroused the dissatisfaction of the people of the East Palace.

Lu Xun was also filled with excitement. "Kuaiji is the eastern capital of the imperial court. If we first defeat Shangyu and then Kuaiji, then the Three Wus will be easily within our grasp and our great cause can be accomplished!"

The only one who remained relatively normal was Xu Daofu. He always believed that now was not the best time to take action because the North Palace and the West Palace were not at war and their strength was still there.

When the Tianshi Dao launched an uprising in Kuaiji, they first had to face the counterattack of the Northern Palace Army.

This actually helped the Northern Army and forced the court to rely on the Northern Army generals.

Lu Xun might have considered what he said, but Sun En simply wouldn't listen. His mind was full of revenge and he wanted to settle the score with the Sima family.

"At this point, we have no choice but to give it a try. There is no time to lose, we must quickly capture Shangyu and then take Shanyin!" Xu Daofu reminded Sun En who was celebrating.

Shanyin County was the county seat of Kuaiji County and also a gathering place for overseas Chinese nobles. It was stationed with 5,000 troops and various military units.

As long as Shanyin is quickly captured, the imperial court's foundation in the Three Wus can be destroyed.

"Take Shangyu!" Sun En pointed in the direction of Shangyu County.

"kill!"

The Tianshi Taoist followers had been suppressed for a long time, especially after Yandu was burned. They lost their source of income and had a very hard life. Now that they had finally gotten through it, they all rushed to the county town in high spirits.

It must be said that the Sun family's Three Wus were quite influential. When a large banner with the word "Sun" was pushed down to the city gates, the gates automatically opened. The Tianshi Daoists in the city cheered and came out to greet them, carrying the county magistrate's head.

The troops, numbering nearly 30,000, gathered together and marched non-stop straight to Shanyin County.

Wang Ningzhi, the Internal History of Kuaiji, was the second son of the calligrapher Wang Xizhi, and the husband of the talented woman Xie Daojun. He also held the title of Guard General of the Central Army. His calligraphy was unrivaled in the world, but his reputation was not high. Even his wife Xie Daojun despised his incompetence: "I never expected that there would be Wang Lang in this world!"

At this moment, Wang Ningzhi locked himself in a quiet room.

Civil and military officials were all blocked outside the door, sweating profusely. "The bandits have broken into Shangyu. The guards should divide their forces to defend the pass and call on the young and strong to help defend the city!"

Shanyin means the area located north of Fusu Mountain.

There are Dongshan and Kuaiji Mountain around for protection, and many passes have been built.

Although it was not very strong, the Tianshi Dao had no engineering equipment and could easily hold them off for ten days or half a month. Shanyin, as the eastern capital of the imperial court, was also a strong city with sufficient food, fodder and military equipment. The people in the city, together with the troops of the gentry, could gather at least 10,000 troops.

Not to mention defeating the Tianshi Dao, it would be no problem to hold on for half a year.

But Wang Ningzhi's performance made the civil and military officials nervous.

He neither sent out troops nor equipped himself, nor summoned young and strong men. He spent all day in his quiet room, draped in Taoist robes, stepping on the stars and walking on the constellations, worshiping the gods and praying for heaven's protection...

After waiting for over an hour, Wang Ningzhi finally emerged, whisk in hand, with the air of an immortal, a distinguished scholar. "Don't panic, everyone! I've asked the immortals for permission to borrow tens of thousands of ghost soldiers to guard the key points. There's no need to worry about the thieves!"

The clerks were stunned, but they were all corrupt officials. Without Wang Ningzhi's order, they could not mobilize the city's defenders, let alone command the troops of the various noble families...

Some people left the city immediately.

Wang Ningzhi pretended to be a ghost, but Sun En did not drag his feet. He led 30,000 troops to the city of Shanyin without any effort.

The Tianshi Dao in the city started a rebellion, and the city was in chaos.

The defenders had not fought for many years and had become lazy. The sons of the gentry took the lead in fleeing. Wang Ningzhi hid in his mansion and dared not show up. The defenders also fled for their lives and could not even organize a defense.

The Tianshi Daoist sect easily broke into the city, burning, killing, looting, and setting fire everywhere.

It was not until then that Wang Ningzhi realized that he was afraid. He did not see the ghost soldiers, but the evil bandits had already rushed in. He was ready to escape with his son, but the city was full of chaotic soldiers and the city gate was controlled by the Tianshi Dao. He was finally captured by Sun En, who beheaded him with a single blow, and all six of his children died in the chaos.

His wife Xie Daoyuan led the maids to resist with swords, killing several people with her own hands. She refused to surrender and was captured after being exhausted.

Sun En admired his courage and released him to go home.

Since then, the Eastern Capital of Kuaiji fell, and the 40,000 to 50,000 people in the city all fell into the hands of Sun En. The Tianshi Dao expanded its army to 60,000, and also obtained the military equipment and food in the Kuaiji treasury, and the bandit power grew greatly.

The Three Wus were shaken.

Huan Qian, an internal official of Wu, Wang Chong, the prefect of Linhai, and Wei Yin, the prefect of Yixing, waited for Sun En to attack, then abandoned their counties and fled.

Within a few days, Xie Zhen of Kuaiji, Lu Gui of Wujun, Qiu Weng of Wuxing, Xu Yunzhi of Yixing, Zhou Zhou of Linhai, Zhang Yong of Yongjia, as well as the people of eight counties including Dongyang and Xin'an all rose up in response to the Tianshi Dao.

The influence of Tianshi Dao grew, sweeping across the three Wu and eight counties.

Xie Miao, the prefect of Wuxing, Sima Yi, the prefect of Yongjia, Xie Minghui, the Duke of Nankang, Xie Chong, the Huangmen Lang, Zhang Kun and other aristocratic families with overseas Chinese surnames were all killed.

Within ten days, the number of Tianshi Dao followers snowballed to hundreds of thousands.

Sima Yuanxian did not add any soldiers, but he did a great favor to the Tianshi Dao.

Afterwards, Sun En held Kuaiji, proclaimed himself General Zhengdong, and called his people "immortals." He boasted that he wanted to replace the Sima clan...

(End of this chapter)