Dream of the Red Chamber: After being exiled, I went on a killing spree in Liaodong.

The news caused an uproar in Yangzhou's official and salt merchant circles.

I heard that Lin Ruhai and Jia Yi joined forces to uproot the Zhen family and, in the process, eliminate a bunch of powerful figures who had been entrenched in Jiangnan...

Everyone's legs were trembling.

"What do we do now?!"

"Don't forget, we were the ones who poisoned Madam Lin Ruhai back then!"

A salt merchant's voice trembled, and he was sweating profusely.

Everyone turned to look at the elderly man with a cane in the hall—

Hu Fanglin, the head of the Yangzhou salt merchants.

The old man slowly got up and tapped his cane: "The White Lotus Sect has been causing quite a stir in Jiangnan lately."

"General Manager, we're talking about Lin Ruhai threatening to chop off our heads, not about a cult!"

"You don't really want us to join the White Lotus Sect, do you? What can that rabble accomplish?"

"Exactly! A bunch of crazy monks and vagrants, they'll be wiped out sooner or later!"

There was a cacophony of voices, all opposing it.

Hu Fanglin rolled his eyes and cursed inwardly: A bunch of idiots, their brains are all in their pockets?

At this moment, a younger salt merchant suddenly spoke up: "Does the head merchant mean... to use the White Lotus Sect to muddy the waters and divert Lin Ruhai's attention?"

Hu Fanglin's lips curled into a smile, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "Smart. Jia Yi will leave eventually. Once he returns to Shenjing, Lin Ruhai will be left all alone."

"Besides..." he lowered his voice, "the slow-acting poison we gave Lin Ruhai won't last three months."

The hall fell silent immediately.

After a moment, someone swallowed hard: "So...we're going to fund the White Lotus Sect and let them cause as much trouble as possible?"

"Exactly." Hu Fanglin sneered, "Let them rebel, let them rebel, let the imperial court be in a complete mess."

"Once this storm passes, we'll still be counting our money on the shore."

So everyone started to calculate who would contribute three thousand and who would contribute five thousand, making it a round number, and the silver quietly flowed to the dilapidated temple and deserted village outside the city.

Meanwhile, Wu Gang, far away in the mountains, was busy taking in the homeless refugees forced to become homeless by the Zhen family.

He never dreamed of this—

His own "failed rebellion" stall suddenly became a hot commodity, with people offering him money.

Starving people don't care about religion or anything like that. As long as they have food to eat, it doesn't matter who they worship.

In a short period of time, the White Lotus Sect, by influencing displaced people, gained immense power and influence.

When Jia Yi's two thousand Imperial Guards delivered the intelligence to his desk—

The numbers are striking: the number of believers has exceeded 100,000.

"Tsk, Jiangnan is going to suffer again."

Jia Yi frowned, tapping his fingertips on the table.

I was just wondering whether I should immediately submit a memorial to the emperor, requesting permission to wipe them out in one fell swoop, and nip any opportunistic looting in the bud.

But at this very moment—

A secret imperial edict arrived from the capital.

Emperor Yuankang wrote in his own hand: Return immediately, do not delay.

The reason is even more chilling—

The Embroidered Uniform Guard intercepted a border report: the Mongol Yuan army in the north is assembling, warhorses are neighing, and arrows are loaded. They are very likely to launch a major invasion southward this year!

"Holy crap, that timing was impeccable!"

Jia Yi slammed his hand on the table, his face turning green.

"Yi-ge'er, what's wrong?"

Lin Ruhai rushed over upon hearing the noise and saw that he looked gloomy and puzzled.

"Something's happened, Uncle."

Jia Yi said in a deep voice, "His Majesty has urgently summoned me back to the capital—the Mongol Yuan dynasty is about to attack."

"And I've now discovered that the White Lotus Sect in Jiangnan has snowballed, with more than 100,000 members!"

Lin Ruhai's expression hardened, but he quickly waved his hand: "Then you must set off immediately."

"I will handle the White Lotus Sect's affairs. I will report to the imperial court, and with 100,000 troops stationed in the Jiangnan Grand Camp, they can't cause any trouble."

He paused, his tone solemn: "Even if the White Lotus Sect is in chaos, it's just an internal sore; but if the Mongol cavalry marches south, it will be a calamity that destroys the nation!"

"I do not wish to see the bloody history of the Five Barbarian Invasions repeat itself today!"

Jia Yi remained silent.

Come to think of it, the Jiangnan Grand Camp had at least 100,000 regular troops. They wouldn't be completely overwhelmed by a group of refugees with hoes.

"Alright." He finally nodded, his gaze solemn. "Uncle, please be careful."

The wind had not stopped, but the fire had already started.

A storm is brewing simultaneously in the north and south.

Jia Yi abruptly rose to his feet, his armor clanging and his battle flags fluttering in the north wind. With a wave of his hand, his army surged like a black tide, its iron hooves shattering the setting sun, and marched straight north.

Deep in the grasslands, the landscape stretches endlessly.

Dorgon stood on the high slope, his gaze sharp as a knife, looking towards the heart of the Great Qian Dynasty, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Agudamu just reported that the Mongol Yuan dynasty will send 500,000 cavalry south to attack the pass!

Five hundred thousand cavalrymen, their iron armor stretching to the sky, their neighing horses shaking the fields, were enough to flatten the Central Plains!

"Unfortunately..." he sighed softly, a hint of reluctance flashing in his eyes, "It will take another four months for the army to gather."

Currently, 300,000 of our main forces are on a long expedition to the Western Regions, engaged in fierce battles with those countries with white skin and blue eyes, and will not be able to return for some time.

Just as Jia Yi was leading his troops north, the situation in Jiangnan suddenly changed.

Iron Man Li Tianyi has finally arrived.

Backed by the immense wealth of salt merchants, they stormed into Jiangnan with overwhelming force. A single roar ignited a rebellion of 100,000 men, and flames of revolt spread like wildfire!

"Overthrow the Great Qian Dynasty!"

"Kill all corrupt officials!"

The roar tore through the river and rain, and the people, armed with farm tools, machetes, and rusty spears, swept through the county town like a flood. City after city fell, government offices were burned down, and tax registers were reduced to ashes.

The salt merchants who had funded the White Lotus sect were now ashen-faced.

They originally thought it was just a minor disturbance, a way to force the court to reduce taxes.

But with this kind of force... it seems like they'll be at the gates of Yangzhou in the next second!

Sun Hai, the former general of Shanhaiguan, had just taken over as the military governor of Jiangnan Grand Camp. Before he could even settle in, an army of 100,000 was already ready to go.

Banners blotted out the sun, and a murderous aura filled the air as they charged straight into the heart of the rebel army's territory.

"Tianyi, the imperial court is serious." Wu Gang frowned, his voice trembling slightly. "The Jiangnan Camp is a regular army. Are you... confident?"

He had thought that Jia Yi would investigate the Jiangnan Grand Camp for a year or two.

Little did they know that their target wasn't them at all, but the Zhen family.

After wiping out the entire family, they dusted themselves off and left, swift and decisive.

The White Lotus Sect left behind hundreds of thousands of mouths, caught in a limbo, forced to rebel whether they wanted to or not!

"Chief, don't panic." Li Tianyi sneered, his eyes flashing like lightning. "Those soldiers of the Great Qian? They're nothing but paper tigers!"

"I've seen the Prince of Nan'an's army with my own eyes. They're all skinny as dogs, their armor rusted, and they can barely hold their swords. We farmers who've just taken up arms, we're no match for them in a fight!"

"Hahaha!" Upon hearing this, Wu Gang felt a huge weight lifted from his heart. "With you saying that, I can finally get a good night's sleep tonight!"

On the other hand, Sun Hai almost ground his teeth to powder.

"Didn't they say there were only a few hundred thousand rebels? How did it suddenly jump to two hundred and fifty thousand?!" He grabbed the secret report delivered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard with an urgent message and cursed at his subordinate generals.

The secret report was marked in blood: The enemy forces have assembled and intend to engage in a decisive battle!

They dared not advance, nor could they retreat. Ahead lay a raging torrent, and behind, no reinforcements were available.

"Immediately send a message to the capital by carrier pigeon, requesting reinforcements! Hurry!" Sun Hai's face turned ashen.

In the past few days, he had already thoroughly investigated the situation of the Jiangnan Grand Camp.

Of these 100,000 soldiers, 30% were receiving salaries without working, 50% were old, weak, sick, or disabled, and fewer than 20,000 were truly capable of fighting.

What can we use to fight against 250,000 fanatical people?