Chapter 324: Rebellion in the North
Zhang Wanjun and Xu Huijia selected 5,000 soldiers and ambushed them on the road between Fengxiang Prefecture and Hezhong Prefecture. After waiting for two days, they finally arrived with the imperial vanguard of 10,000 troops.
It goes without saying that they took advantage of the geographical advantage of being high above and engaged in a fierce battle with these ten thousand people in the valley.
Fengxiang Prefecture was successfully taken over by people from Jinzhou Prefecture, but the northern border was not so peaceful.
Although it was the turn of summer and autumn, the grass and water were still lush, and the Tartars were hiding outside the Great Wall to recuperate and would not attack inside the Great Wall for the time being, but Zhou Heng's imperial edict completely broke the temporary tranquility in the north.
There were only a dozen or so confidants in Zhao Yi's tent. As soon as the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict left, the dozen or so confidants couldn't wait to read the imperial edict over and over again.
"What exactly does this mean? Summoning the general back to Bianjing? And also saying they want to escort the late emperor's spirit? According to etiquette, it should be either His Royal Highness the Crown Prince or a capable member of the imperial family. In any case, it cannot be the general, an outsider."
"Don't you understand? This funeral procession is fake. The real purpose is to trick our general back! It's only been a short time since the late emperor passed away, and the retired emperor is already using the excuse of internal and external troubles to keep everything simple, even wanting to hastily bury the late emperor. This shows how narrow-minded he is. Even at this time, he's still thinking of removing the general from this position?"
"I don't think so. The situation in Bianjing City is probably more complicated than we imagined."
All the generals in the room looked at Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi frowned slightly, his face turning pale. "Yesterday, I received a tip-off that Zhou Heng and Zhou Ying were both dead, and Xu Zhenying was almost completely conquering the Eastern Territory. Now that something major has happened in Bianjing City, this is a rare opportunity. I'm sure the people from Jinzhou Prefecture will be heading towards Bianjing City soon."
"Zhou Heng is dead?"
Everyone in the room was shocked, "How did he die?"
"They say he was burned alive."
The whole room was filled with shock, and no one dared to speak for a moment.
Bai Ci'en said, "According to this calculation, Xu Zhenying has already occupied at least two-thirds of the Great Zhou Dynasty's territory. No wonder His Majesty issued a decree for the general to return to the court."
"No, absolutely not! If that's the case, then we can't go back! Who knows if the old emperor wants to call the general back to resist the soldiers of Jinzhou Prefecture, or if he wants to seize power and kill people. If the general leaves, he will fall into a den of wolves!"
These words immediately drew agreement. "That's right! These are turbulent times. His Majesty has been inserting people into our midst over the past few years, and has even attempted to take the General's life more than once. If the General goes there, he will surely face great danger!"
But someone else asked, "If the General doesn't go, what if the people from Jinzhou Prefecture really attack?"
"How do we get there? Although the Northern Border is relatively peaceful right now, if the Tartars learn that Bianjing is facing internal and external troubles, can you guarantee they won't attack us beforehand? What will happen to the millions of people in the Northern Border?"
Zhao Yi was caught in a dilemma. He then turned his gaze to Bai Ci'en, who frowned and said earnestly, "General, have you ever thought about why His Majesty didn't just summon you back to the capital on the pretext of defending Bianjing, but instead insisted on using the excuse of escorting the late emperor's spirit?"
Everyone was silent, thinking.
Zhao Yi was stunned for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty doubts me. This imperial edict... is also a test of me."
"That's right." Bai Ci'en's expression became even more serious. "General, if we advance now, we will die. If we retreat now, we will die too."
The other soldiers immediately said, "General Bai, if we advance, we will die. If we retreat, we will die. Alas, you educated people speak in the most difficult way. What is going on here?"
Bai Ci'en remained silent.
How could he say that the imperial edict issued today did not give General Zhao Yi any chance to survive? It was clearly asking General Zhao Yi to bring his men back for support.
But the current emperor was afraid that General Zhao Yi would not be willing to go back, so he specifically said that he was going to send the late emperor's spirit.
This is a test, a deception, and even a murderous intention.
"I understand. Anyway, if we go back, we will die, right?"
Zhao Yi pursed his lips, his jawline was tight, and his face was pale. The general who used to be a brave warrior on the battlefield now looked so helpless.
"General Zhao, you can't go back! You can't go back! The emperor has long disliked you and has repeatedly wanted you dead. If you go back and can't save Bianjing City, it's fine. But if you do, it will be the emperor's turn to get rid of you!"
"Who cares about the Great Zhou? This Great Zhou belongs to his Zhou family, not your Zhao family! General Zhao, we soldiers should be loyal, but we can't be blindly loyal! You absolutely cannot go back today. If you go back, you will fall into the trap of that old emperor. Then he will definitely strip you of your military power. What hope will we have?!"
“Bold!”
Suddenly, the curtain was lifted, and the cold night wind blew in mercilessly. The lamp in front of Zhao Yi's desk flickered, and then five or six young generals strode in.
The leader was even more extraordinary. He had the surname "Zhou" and was the son of a prince. It was said that Zhou Mian loved him very much, so he was sent to the northern border. One reason was to seek fame and the other was to serve as Zhou Mian's spy.
At this moment, the young man's face was gloomy, and he pointed his sword at Zhao Yi. "General Zhao, since His Majesty has issued an order, why don't you lead your men back to the capital to rescue? Do you still respect His Majesty? Do you still respect the law? Do you want to follow Xu Zhenying's example and rebel and establish your own country?!"
The faces of the people in the room changed.
These people are all spies planted by Zhou Mian in the northern border. Not only do they all come from prominent families, but they are also all loyal to Zhou Mian.
When they held this meeting, they deliberately did not invite this group of people, and they did not expect that this group of people would dare to break into the commander's camp without permission.
"General Zhou, stop flattering our general! Don't you think about the current situation in our northern border? Believe it or not, as soon as General Zhao leaves today, the Tartars will smell the enemy and attack us! If Bianjing City is in danger, how can our northern border be safe?"
"That's right. Even if His Majesty wants the general to return to the capital, shouldn't the general at least discuss the arrangements before leaving with us?"
"Really?" General Zhou's expression relaxed slightly, but he was still skeptical. He looked around with a pair of fierce eyes, "Since you are arranging a war, why not call us? You don't take His Majesty seriously? Humph, when I return, I will definitely report you all. Let you know that this northern border is still the land of my Great Zhou, and you are all my subjects! Anyone who dares to have other intentions will be executed by His Majesty!"
Everyone in the room clenched their fists and stared at General Zhou.
General Zhou, however, did not take them seriously at all. He was a royal nobleman and could not be compared with these common people. In this room, he only looked up to Zhao Yi and Bai Ci'en.
Seeing Zhao Yi still holding the imperial edict, General Zhou smiled slightly, but there was a hint of coldness in his smile. "General Zhao, have you arranged all the military affairs in the northern border? If so, don't think of delaying. Bianjing City is extremely urgent. His Majesty has instructed you to depart immediately after receiving the imperial edict! If you delay, you will be charged with delaying the opportunity to fight!"
Zhao Yi glanced at him and said coldly, "I have my own arrangements for this, so General Zhou, please don't worry about it."
Although General Zhou's attitude was gentle, he was very meticulous in his work. "In that case, why don't I let Li Gui and Wushuang stay here? If you need anything, you can let these two people lend a hand. More people means more arms. This way, we can set off for Bianjing City tomorrow—"
At this, an older general under Zhao Yi was immediately furious. "Who the hell do you think you are?! You're just a fourth-rank officer, and you dare to be rude to our general? While I was out fighting, you were still peeing your pants! What are you trying to do here?! Our general said he would make arrangements. Why are you sending people to monitor our general now?"
General Zhou drew his sword and said, "Old man, watch your words! I am the son of King Ping. Although I didn't inherit the title, I am still a member of the Zhou family!"
All the people in the room immediately drew their swords and rushed forward. In an instant, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became explosive.
Amidst the lights, Zhao Yi also stood up.
General Zhou flew into a rage. "How dare you, Zhao Yi! I knew you'd always wanted to be independent! Just think about it, your wife and children are all in Bianjing!"
Zhao Yi was so angry that his chest heaved and he clenched his fists.
General Zhou continued to challenge, "If you have no intention of rebelling, prove it to me! Have these people put down their weapons first, and follow me to Bianjing City tomorrow!"
Zhao Yi's face turned pale and he waved his hand.
"General!" The others looked angry and reluctant.
Zhao Yi roared, "Put away the weapons!"
General Zhou saw that everyone in the room had put away their weapons and was staring at him fiercely, as if they couldn't wait to pounce on him.
He sneered, "General Zhao, if you don't have the guts to rebel, don't be like the guy from Jinzhou. Just be a good dog of the Great Zhou!"
General Zhou turned and left.
However, something unexpected happened in the next second!
The young general standing closest to him suddenly drew out his sword and thrust it forward.
General Zhou was completely caught off guard. He felt a chill in his body, and then he saw a very young and innocent face.
He searched in his gradually emptying thoughts.
Before he died, he suddenly remembered that this person was loyal to Zhao Yi.
But this person also has a close relationship with Jinzhou Prefecture.
Four years ago, he and Bai Ci'en were the ones who promoted the cowpox vaccine in the military.
Then, Zhou Ping's body fell down with a loud bang.
"Zhang Chao, what are you doing?!" The people in the house were startled.
However, before anyone could react, the young generals General Zhou had brought with him saw him dead and immediately realized the situation was bad. They turned around and ran out, shouting, "Zhao Yi is rebelling!"
Time waits for no one. Seeing these men about to rush out of the tent, everyone was afraid of causing a mutiny in the army. Almost at the same time, the soldiers on Zhao Yi's left and right sides coordinated tacitly. A cold light flashed in the room, and one by one, they killed one by one, and blood splattered everywhere.
These people were dealt with before they even reached the tent door.
This sudden change shocked everyone.
Especially the subsequent chain reactions.
When everyone reacted, they realized that they had actually killed these important spies that Zhou Mian had placed in the northern border.
Bai Ci'en also stood up in shock.
The young general who killed the first person still had blood on his face. He seemed a little confused and held the sword in his hand, at a loss.
The one who hadn't killed anyone was more clear-headed. Seeing this, he immediately knelt down and said, "General, we killed Zhou Mian's men. Now he won't let us go! Now that we're in a corner, we should fight tooth and nail!"
The young general dropped his sword and knelt before Zhao Yi. "General, I was the one who killed them. It has nothing to do with you, General! My parents, Zhang Chao, were killed by the Tartars. If you hadn't picked me up, I would have died long ago! General, everyone has their own responsibility. Just push me out to take the blame!"
Bai Ci'en frowned, "This isn't about finding a scapegoat! What you did is no different from what the general did! Even if you insist on claiming you did it, His Majesty is suspicious and will definitely think that General Zhao ordered you to do it."
Bai Ci'en knew.
It's over now.
This is the real hopeless situation.
The other generals said, "These guys insulted us so much, I wanted to stab them to death a long time ago. Now that they're dead, it's better. We don't have to go back to Bianjing City!"
"Right! Hasn't Zhou Mian always been wary of General Zhao declaring himself king? Well, let's just go for it! We now have two hundred thousand soldiers and horses, and the situation in Bianjing is extremely urgent, yet we won't help! What's wrong with being a carefree king in the north?"
"Nonsense!" Bai Ci'en shouted angrily, "Bianjing City is in danger, do you think it has nothing to do with us? The Northern Territory and Bianjing City are interdependent. Do you think Jinzhou Prefecture will not attack us after taking Bianjing City? The Northern Territory is not a paradise. The Northern Territory will only be Xu Zhenying's last piece of territory! We have nowhere to escape!"
"Oh, so what? General Bai, I'd like to ask, if our Northern Territory truly has no power to stand on its own, then how do Zhou Mian and Xu Zhenying compare?"
Bai Ci'en was speechless!
Because he suddenly understood the real reason why this group of people did not want to rescue Bianjing City!
"Zhou Mian is immoral and deeply suspicious. He withheld military pay, manipulated power, installed his cronies, imposed heavy taxes, and indulged in beautiful women, angering both heaven and man. Meanwhile, His Royal Highness Prince Zhao is kind-hearted and benevolent, gifted with extraordinary talent, and has improved people's livelihoods without any restrictions. Even though we were enemies back then, he was willing to provide us with cowpox vaccine free of charge. Don't you know that the cotton-padded clothes we wear were all purchased at a low price! Not to mention the great famine two years ago. If it weren't for the food sent by the people of Jinzhou Prefecture, our northern border would have ceased to exist long ago! General, is this the northern border of the Great Zhou or the northern border of Jinzhou Prefecture? Are you really not clear in your mind? We eat their food, drink their drinks, wear their clothes, and even all the military training we have today was learned from them! And now we have to go to war with them. Isn't this the behavior of a gentleman—"
Zhao Yi's body was shaking and he almost couldn't sit still.
And Bai Ci'en's face changed drastically!
Only at this moment did he realize that he was wrong, extremely wrong!
He always thought that he was implementing reforms in the Northern Frontier Army. He followed Xu Zhenying's approach, hiring teachers to teach officers and soldiers how to read and write, promoting a harmonious and friendly atmosphere between superiors and subordinates, frequently organizing military-civilian integration activities, and even learning the management model of Jinzhou Prefecture to set up propagandists to brainwash the officers and soldiers. However, he never imagined that the result of all this would be to make wedding clothes for others!
Now, these people can’t tell whether they are soldiers of the Great Zhou or soldiers of Jinzhou Prefecture!
The blood and mutiny just now did not cause any change in Bai Ci'en's emotions.
Instead, it’s at this moment!
When the general said this, Bai Ci'en felt that he was extremely wrong. He even felt that it was because of the reforms he vigorously promoted in the army that the soldiers adapted to Jinzhou Prefecture more quickly, and even developed feelings and yearning for everything in Jinzhou Prefecture.
This is terrible!
He actually made such a big mistake unintentionally!
yes.
They were wearing cotton clothes purchased at a low price from Jinzhou Prefecture.
Everything in their army is based on the template of Jinzhou Prefecture.
Even Bai Ci'en himself couldn't tell who he belonged to!
Zhao Yi's face also turned pale. He gripped the chair and asked slowly, "So what do you think... should we surrender to Jinzhou Prefecture?"
The people in the room remained silent, but gradually they all had the answer in their hearts.
Zhao Yi glared at the two people kneeling on the ground, "Zhang Chao, you say!"
Zhang Chao said, "The General wants me to tell you, so I'll tell you! Since we'll die whether we advance or retreat, why not choose Jinzhou Prefecture? His Majesty has been suspicious of us for a long time, and he's repeatedly tried to take back your military power. This is the best opportunity. As General Luo just said, if you go to Bianjing City, there are only two outcomes: one is death at the hands of the people of Jinzhou Prefecture, and the other is death at the hands of the old emperor. But if you don't go to Bianjing City, you will also die on the charge of treason. General, can't you see that this old emperor just wants to use us to fight for him and then abandon us afterwards? We're going to die anyway, so why not choose Jinzhou Prefecture? Unless you really plan to make yourself king!"
Zhao Yi let out a wry smile. "Proclaiming yourself king? Sounds easy? Do you really think being an emperor means putting on a dragon robe and sitting on the throne, and you're the emperor? There are 200,000 soldiers in the northern border, and the annual military expenses alone are hundreds of thousands of taels. In the past, we relied on the imperial court, but we still had to endure hunger and insufficient pay. Now that we're setting up our own faction, who can afford these hundreds of thousands of taels of silver? Or are we going to let the soldiers go into battle on empty stomachs? If it were you, would you go? Not to mention that I've been used to fighting on the battlefield all my life and know nothing about government affairs. I'll have to shoulder not only 200,000 soldiers, but also the livelihoods of nearly a million people. Do you think I'm a god?"
These words also stunned Bai Ci'en.
It turns out that Zhao Yi really considered making himself king.
Zhang Chao was stunned. "Then what the general means is..."
But Zhao Yi turned his head and looked at Bai Ci'en, "General Bai, can you also tell me where the way out is for the people in this room?"
Bai Ci'en was a little dazed. His family had been loyal for generations, but now they were going to betray the Great Zhou. This made him feel mixed emotions.
But deeper down, I felt a sense of relief that was hard to describe.
It seemed as if he had a premonition.
If we say that the balance in his heart had already tilted when he was studying in Qianzhou Prefecture, then after arriving in the northern border, he was even more committed to military reform, and his fate seemed to be tied to Jinzhou Prefecture.
It seemed that the more he saw and heard, the more he communicated with the people in Jinzhou Prefecture, and the more he understood the situation there, something began to sprout in his heart.
It turns out that the four words "loyalty to the emperor and patriotism" can be so easily shaken.
Bai Ci'en was unwilling to admit that he was a weak-willed person.
But reason was tearing him apart, telling him that following Jinzhou Prefecture was obviously a better choice.
Bai Ci'en couldn't hide his bitter smile. "General, what am I saying? The generals have said enough today. The facts are before us. Besides Jinzhou Prefecture, do we have any other choice?"
Zhao Yi pursed his lips and said nothing, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Soon, someone came outside the account to report that there was a man who claimed to be from Xingyuan Prefecture and wanted to meet with General Zhao Yi.
The corpses in the house were still lying all over the place, and blood was flowing on the ground. The atmosphere in the house was sad and depressing, but obviously, the three words "Xingyuan Mansion" still attracted everyone's attention.
Xingyuan Prefecture, isn’t that Xu Zhenying’s territory?
Why are people from Xingyuan Prefecture coming here during such a troubled time?
Everyone in the room had their own thoughts and looked at Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi said, "Bring him to see me in a quarter of an hour."
The man outside the door took the order and left.
The people in the house immediately started to clean up the mess. It was difficult to hide the bodies of these people, so they had to find a few mats to wrap them up and throw them into a box. They would wait until the patrols were less tense at night to deal with the bodies.
However, Bai Ci'en reminded Zhao Yi, "General, this is a turbulent time, and tensions are rising between Bianjing and Jinzhou. If we meet with people from Jinzhou in private, we won't be able to explain it later."
Zhao Yi said, "At this point, Ci'en, haven't you figured it out yet?"
"What did you see?"
"Do you really think that Jinzhou Prefecture has been so kind to us in the Northern Territory without asking for anything in return? Do you really think Xu Zhenying is a saint? Helping us without asking for anything in return?"
Bai Ci'en frowned.
"I can now see that this female rebel is quite extraordinary, and she's been calculating every step of the way. Zhou Mian might be a hypocrite, but she's certainly a villain. Her unconditional kindness to us has doomed us to this day. She's using covert tactics to undermine our ranks. Her scheming is truly rare in this world. No wonder the Zhou family has fallen to her. Just wait and see. The man who came to us today must have been sent by her to persuade us to surrender."
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