Youzhou Rebellion
The north wind swept across the boundless grassland, carrying fine snow particles and hitting the golden-roofed tent of the royal court. Inside the tent, a blazing charcoal fire dispelled the biting cold.
Beishuo Khan Tuoba Hong, the heroic ruler of the grassland, was sitting cross-legged on a huge low couch covered with a whole snow wolf skin, his thick brows furrowed, listening to the report of his scouts.
"Khan, it has been nearly a month since the fall of Zhenzhou and Weizhou in the Southern Dynasty. The Western Qiang people are busy killing the remaining resistance and looting the cities. What is strange is that the Southern Dynasty court has not made any move so far. There has been no reinforcements sent north, and no words to appease the border troops." The voice of the scout leader was low and clear.
"Youzhou is isolated and trapped."
Tuoba Hong picked up the silver bowl in front of him and took a sip of the boiling hot milk wine. He put the bowl down and slowly rubbed his knuckles along the smooth edge of the silver bowl.
"No movement?" he repeated, a hint of coldness on his lips.
"The southerners always spend more time fighting among themselves than defending themselves against external enemies. They are a bunch of spineless sheep."
The Left Wise King, standing by, interjected, "Khan, the Southern Dynasty's court has become so corrupt. The breach of the Heshuo barrier is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Although the Western Qiang have a voracious appetite, I'm afraid they'll burst their stomachs."
Tuoba Hong nodded slightly and said, "Yes, although we have an alliance with the Southern Dynasty, if the Western Qiang occupy the land, it will no longer belong to the Southern Dynasty."
His voice was low, but it carried an unquestionable determination. "The rule on the grassland is that the dew on the grass tip belongs to whoever licks it first."
A gleam flashed in Zuo Xian Wang's eyes: "What does the Khan mean?"
"Send troops!" Tuoba Hong said firmly.
"The Western Qiang people have suddenly gained control, and their foothold is still unstable. The Southern Dynasty court is preoccupied with its own affairs. This is a perfect opportunity for our Beishuo cavalry to march south and snatch this piece of fat meat from the Western Qiang people!"
"Khan, this is a brilliant idea!" Zuo Xian Wang clapped his hands.
"Zhenzhou and Weizhou are strategically located at the crossroads between the north and the south, boasting abundant water and grass. If we can seize them, we can use them as a base to intimidate the various tribes on the grasslands to the north, and to covet the fertile lands of the Southern Dynasty to the south. When the time is right, we can crush the Jiangnan region with our iron hooves!"
Tuoba Hong's eyes lit up with the fiery light of a heroic leader expanding his territory: "Good! Gather my 30,000 elite cavalry and march south immediately!"
"I will obey the Khan's orders!" Zuo Xian Wang bowed and accepted the order, then strode out of the tent.
Soon, the desolate sound of ox horns penetrated the wind and snow and resounded throughout the royal court. The silent tribe instantly became excited, the sound of horse hooves rolled like thunder, and the Beishuo cavalry was ready to go.
*
Zhenzhou and Weizhou, the prosperity of the once important cities in Heshuo, has long since disappeared.
The charred marks among the ruins were shocking, the air was filled with the thick smell of blood and the stench of rotting corpses, and the iron hooves of the Western Qiang cavalry shattered all order.
They pounced on their prey like hungry wolves, fearing that the fat meat in their mouths would be snatched away, and even more afraid of being attacked from both sides, so they began a frantic cleanup.
Anyone who dared to take up arms to resist, whether military or civilian, would be killed without mercy. Any village suspected of resistance would be burned down in an instant.
The people who had no time to escape were driven away, slaughtered and looted like lambs to be slaughtered. The men's heads were chopped off and piled up into memorials, and the women were abducted as slaves. In just one month, the two towns were littered with corpses, and nine out of ten houses were empty. The number of people slaughtered reached as high as 100,000!
Those who managed to survive were like frightened birds, huddled in the corners of the ruins. There was no smoke from cooking fires, and there was almost no hope of life. Despair filled the air in this fallen land.
*
Youzhou City.
The cold wind howled miserably between the battlements, blowing up the frost and snow on the ground and hitting the frozen blue faces of the soldiers defending the city. Inside the Youzhou Governor's Mansion, the atmosphere was even more solemn than the weather outside.
Xue Cheng, the governor of Youzhou, a resolute-looking man in his forties, wearing half-worn armor, was staring at the mountain of emergency documents on the desk.
Several of his trusted generals, including Deputy General Zhao Kun, Lieutenant General Li Mao, and Captain Wang Zhen, all had ashen faces and sunken eye sockets. The days of suffering made them like bowstrings stretched to the limit.
"Where are the imperial reinforcements? Where are the food supplies?" Zhao Kun slammed his fist on the table, causing the teacup to jump and spill tea.
"It's been almost a month since Zhenzhou and Weizhou fell! How many messengers have we sent out for help? Dozens, hundreds of them, but none of them have come to fruition."
Li Mao said, "Commander-in-Chief, the food reserves in the city can only last for ten days at most. We have lost a lot of arrows, and we are almost out of logs and rocks. My brothers can no longer hold on..."
He couldn't continue. The two towns had already fallen. How could his Youzhou be safe?
Wang Zhen's eyes were red. "Is the imperial court going to watch Youzhou fall and all of us die? Commander-in-Chief, we..."
Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps interrupted Wang Zhen's words.
A messenger, covered in snow, rushed in, supported by his personal guards. His lips trembled as he pulled a small bamboo tube tightly wrapped in oilcloth from the lining of his fur coat. With trembling hands, he presented it: "Governor, from the capital, an urgent message from eight hundred miles away... a secret decree..."
"Secret order?" Xue Cheng stood up suddenly, and his eyes instantly burst into an astonishing light, as if a drowning man had grabbed the last straw.
He grabbed the bamboo tube. Everyone in the hall stared at the small tube, their hearts beating like drums.
Is it reinforcements? Is it food and money? Or is it finally a strategy for counterattack?
Xue Cheng took a deep breath and used his frozen fingers to carefully peel off the layers of oilcloth and wax seals, pulling out a thin roll of bright yellow silk.
He unfolded the secret decree and read it impatiently.
However, with just one glance, the eager anticipation on his face froze, replaced by an incredible astonishment, and then turned into rage!
He threw the secret decree to the ground and looked around at his expectant subordinates. "Great! Great court! Great imperial decree!"
"Governor?" Zhao Kun's heart sank, with an ominous premonition.
He pointed at the scroll and said, "Look at this! Look at what a rubbish decree our Emperor has issued at this critical moment of life and death!"
Zhao Kun, who was closest, rushed forward and grabbed the secret decree.
Li Mao and Wang Zhen also gathered around immediately, several heads gathered together, and their eyes scanned the secret decree:
"Imperial decree: Any officers and soldiers currently standing in the Heshuo garrisons who can capture and kill the traitor Ning Lingyi will be granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households and a reward of ten thousand pounds of gold. All his subordinates must be killed without mercy. This is the highest priority! If you encounter such a person, you must execute him on the spot without asking for permission. No mistakes will be made!"
There was a brief moment of dead silence.
"Ning Lingyi?" Wang Zhen looked up blankly, his eyes empty. "Who is that? Princess Mingzhu? Isn't she in Mingzhou?"
Li Mao reacted, "It's her! She led the troops north? The imperial court didn't give us a single soldier, a single grain of food, and yet they want us to kill someone who led her own troops north? And this is the top priority?"
"Kill the princess? Make her a marquis and get a reward?" Zhao Kun asked back.
"Hahahaha, what a bounty for a title! Two of the three towns of Heshuo were lost, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians died tragically, and the court turned a blind eye! Now a princess is leading that pitiful number of troops north, and the court is treating us like they're facing a formidable enemy, wanting us to kill each other?"
He ripped off his helmet and slammed it to the ground with a loud clang, cursing, "What kind of a crap court is this! What kind of a crap emperor is this!"
"Commander-in-Chief, we are fighting on the front lines, and countless of our brothers have shed their blood on the battlefield."
"Zhang Yu of Zhenzhou fought against us for half his life, slamming the table and cursing his mother over food and wages. But when Zhenzhou City fell, he led his personal soldiers into the enemy camp and didn't even leave a complete body! When he died, I'm afraid he was still thinking about the imperial court's reinforcements?"
Zhao Kun continued, "Commander-in-Chief, we've been struggling here, waiting day and night, but what we've received isn't reinforcements or food, nor orders to kill the enemy! Are we being told to kill a princess?"
He suddenly raised the secret decree high up, and in front of everyone's horrified gazes, he tore it apart with all his strength!
“Swish!”
The bright yellow silk that symbolized the supreme imperial power was torn in two! Still not satisfied, he tore the two pieces of silk apart frantically, finally throwing them to the ground and stepping heavily on them.
"Commander-in-Chief, why are we still following him in this court? This emperor is useless!"
"Fuck the imperial edict! Fuck the emperor!" Wang Zhen's eyes were red. "They don't want this country anymore. They don't care. They just want to watch us die, watch Youzhou fall! Watch Heshuo fall completely! Watch the Western Qiang's iron hooves crush the Southern Dynasty!"
"Commander-in-chief, we can't go to our deaths!" Wang Zhen took a few steps forward and said to Xue Cheng urgently.
"Yes, yes, Governor!" Several people followed closely behind and said in succession.
Xue Cheng didn't say a word at first, he was thinking a lot.
He thought of his family, wife, and children, his clansmen and descendants far away in the capital, the glory of his Xue family, and the tablets enshrined in his family temple.
But when he closed his eyes, he thought more about the more than 100,000 people in Youzhou City and the tens of thousands of soldiers he led. He also thought about the heartland of the Southern Dynasty, which would no longer have any narrow passes after Youzhou was broken through, and the millions of people there.
He didn't dare to think about it, but he had to think about it.
What should I do?
How to choose? Who can tell him? No one.
Xue Cheng opened his eyes and the look in his eyes changed.
He drew the sword from his waist, and with a flash of cold light, the tip of the sword pointed directly at the shredded silk on the ground, as if pointing at the emperor in the distant palace of the capital: "They don't want this Youzhou, but I do! They don't care about the people and soldiers of Youzhou, I, Xue Cheng, will take care of them! They don't care whether the Southern Dynasty will perish or not, I, Xue Cheng, will protect it!"
He looked around at all his subordinates and said, "Today, I, Xue Cheng, am rebelling!"
"This isn't for fame and fortune, it's for the people and our brothers to find a way to survive! It's so that the Han flag can still fly over the top of Youzhou City! Will you follow me?!"
Next second!
"Fuck!" Zhao Kun was the first to draw his sword.
"I've had enough of this bullshit! I'm joining the governor in rebellion!"
"Rebellion! Fight our way out!" Li Mao's eyes were filled with tears and he drew his sword.
"Rebellion! Defend the land and protect the people!"
The other generals did not hesitate any longer and drew their swords one after another. The sword light reflected their resolute and tragic faces.
"Okay!" Xue Cheng's eyes were filled with blood and madness.
"Since that's the case, let's take action tonight! We'll kill all those corrupt officials in the city who only know how to exploit and withhold wealth, are afraid of death, and are even trying to tip off the court! Only our own people will be spared!"
"Zhao Kun! Take your troops and seal off the four gates. Not even a fly is allowed to escape without my order!"
"Li Mao! You are responsible for cleaning out those emperor's lackeys in the government office and the city defense department! Move quickly and thoroughly!"
"Wang Zhen! Take control of the granary and arsenal! Anyone who dares to stop us will be killed!"
A series of murderous orders were quickly issued.
The night became the best cover and also the curtain of killing. In Youzhou City, a bloody and thorough purge was quietly carried out in the darkness. Officials loyal to the court were dragged from their beds without any preparation. The cold blades wiped across their throats, and the warm blood dyed the stone steps of the government office red.
The smell of blood drifted into the Governor's Mansion and lingered at Xue Cheng's nose.
He stood in front of the window with no expression on his face. The knife in his hand was not unsheathed, but the handle seemed to be stained with the blood of his colleagues.
When the first ray of bleak morning light pierced the top of Youzhou City, the killing inside the city had subsided. A notice signed by Xue Cheng himself was quickly posted everywhere:
"A letter to the soldiers and civilians of Youzhou:
The imperial court is foolish, abandoning our northern borders! They treated the fall of Hebei as nothing, disregarding the deaths of 100,000 soldiers and civilians! They even sent secret decrees, attempting to incite loyal and brave soldiers to slaughter each other, grieving their loved ones and delighting their enemies! Heaven is wrathful, people resentful, and gods and spirits are outraged!
Today, Youzhou Governor Xue Cheng and his loyal and righteous officers and men cannot bear to see our ancestral lands reduced to utter depravity, cannot bear to see our fellow countrymen slaughtered again, and cannot bear to see our loyal souls suffer in vengeance! We are determined to establish our own independence and swear to defend Youzhou to the death! We will protect our territory and our people and resist foreign aggression!
From this day forward, the soldiers and civilians of Youzhou are one, living and dying together! Anyone who helps me defend the city is my comrade! Anyone who collaborates with the enemy, betrays the country, and disrupts the morale of the army will be killed without mercy!
This is a warning! "
As soon as the notice came out, the whole city was in an uproar!
Shocked, terrified, and confused.
The court has abandoned them, and now they can only rely on themselves!
Xue Cheng acted decisively.
As soon as the notice was posted, teams of soldiers, led by their generals, rushed towards several wealthy families in the city who usually hoarded goods.
The gate was violently forced open, cries and pleas for mercy were heard everywhere. The soldiers ruthlessly searched through the chests and boxes, pulling out carts of gold, silver, and mountains of grain hidden deep in the cellar.
"Follow the order of the governor! Collect grain and wages! Defend the city against the enemy! Anyone who dares to hide and disobey orders will be punished as a traitor!" The stern shout of the leading officer echoed in the streets in the early morning.
Food and cloth were distributed quickly.
On the city wall, the soldiers whose hands and feet were numb from the cold finally received hot meals and changed into thick and warm cotton clothes.
They held the coarse porcelain bowls and greedily swallowed the long-awaited full meal, feeling the warmth rising in their bodies again, looking at their brand new cotton-padded clothes, and then looking at the big flag with the word "Xue" on the top of the city wall, their eyes were complicated.
Youzhou City, this dangerous city standing on the brink of blood and fire, declared its "independence" in a resolute and tragic manner.
Youzhou is like a lone wolf forced into a desperate situation, with hungry wolves in front and ferocious tigers behind.
The sky in Heshuo has completely changed.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
