Chapter 459: The whole world rises up to attack
Xinzheng!
Since the ancient Zheng State built the city here, there has never been such a prosperous moment, and never have so many princes come here to hold alliances.
Duke Lü Lu of Qi, Marquis Luo of Ying, Marquis Lü Chan of Lü, Marquis Han Lin of Anyang, Marquis Han Feng of Huaiyin, Marquis Xiao Chi of Lanling and Marquis Zhang Chen of Xinzheng were all families of marquisates that had been famous hundreds of years ago.
There are also princes of the Liu family and county governors with the salary of two thousand stones. The last time the princes of Shandong gathered together was when Qin was destroyed.
"The Emperor's sins are grave and his morals are corrupt. Heaven has begun to dislike him. We must follow the guidance of the Supreme Emperor Su Wang and the will of the people of the world and punish him."
Los took out a document, held it high, and said loudly to everyone: "Dear princes and kings from all over the world, soldiers from all over the world, righteous men who are fighting against tyranny, people who are unwilling to be enslaved by petty tricks, and people who are unwilling to obey tyrants.
We gather here, raise your swords, put on your armor, and we will swear an oath together.
This is the Emperor's crime and oath. Please allow me to read it out in front of you and spread it throughout the world."
Los's words reminded people of the Mengjin League held by King Wu of Zhou in the past. The words were almost identical. The brain began to heat up and the blood in the body began to flow violently. This was a major event that had never happened since the founding of the Han Dynasty. Everyone who participated was proud of it. The brilliance of ideals bloomed on everyone's face. They all said in unison: "Please!"
Los then walked up to the platform and said in a voice that everyone could hear: "How grave is Liu Dan's sin.
He did not heed the advice of wise men and important ministers, but instead appointed treacherous villains, entrusted them with important government affairs, granted them power and authority, and allowed them to wreak havoc on the country and bring disaster to the people, resulting in refugees everywhere.
well.
This is wrong!
He indulged cunning clerks, appointed harsh officials, increased the penalties of Han law, and relaxed the punishment for unjust cases, causing injustice to become widespread, with those who did not steal being sent to prison and those who did not kill dying in prison. The nobles of the rank of marquis were unable to meet the emperor and could only praise the jailers as noble. How could this be tolerated?
He had no mercy on the people and treated them cruelly. He constantly levied forced labor on them and forcibly took their money and property to satisfy his own selfish desires.
It caused merchants all over the world to go bankrupt, old people lost their sons and had to struggle to survive in the cold, young children lost their fathers and died crying for food, women lost their husbands and their tears dried up, and common people dragged their exhausted bodies and died on the roadside, and even their corpses could not be collected.
His platform is ninety-nine stories high, and his palace has tens of millions of rooms. Alas, even King Zhou of Shang did not have such things.
What a tragic scene this is.
Now we obey the instructions of Heaven and carry out Heaven's punishment on Liu Dan, telling him the dissatisfaction and anger of the people of the world.
We fought together, crossed Luoyang, entered Hangu Pass, crossed Nanyang, entered Wuguan Pass, crossed Jinzhong, and crossed the river.
Finally, he entered Guanzhong and carried out the mission of exterminating the enemy.
Gentlemen, you must all work hard.
If we don't work hard, the world will not be stable. What should we say when we offer sacrifices to our ancestors?
If we don’t work hard, we will be killed and our descendants will be punished by God.
Tell all the people of the world to rise up, resist the tyranny of the dictator, defend the country of the Han Dynasty, and recreate the prosperous era of our ancestors. "
Los's voice stopped, but the voice that spread to the distance did not stop. Until the people farthest away heard these words, countless voices rang out: "Follow the teachings of God and strive forward!"
…
Chang'an.
When the news of the alliance among the princes of Guandong reached here, the entire capital was paused in an instant. Countless people could not imagine and could not believe that this event had happened.
Rebel against the emperor!
Kill the tyrant!
Fengtian quells the rebellion!
These words reached Chang'an, and made countless people exclaim that Tang released Jie and King Wu defeated Zhou, those were all things that happened too long ago, so long ago that they seemed like myths.
The destruction of the tyrannical Qin was more like a revenge.
This time, it was the real top nobles of the Han Dynasty who openly confronted the emperor!
But the nobles in Chang'an did not understand why the princes from Guandong dared to do this.
Because of the court's continuous granting of favors, now is no longer the same as it was a hundred years ago, and there are no great princes who control counties across prefectures.
The marquisates of the marquises were no more than the size of a county at best, and the smallest did not even have a county at all. They had no ability to resist the imperial court at all!
No matter how loud the slogans are, or how just the actions are, it will ultimately come down to strength.
In the court.
Liu Dan was not panicked at all, and even sneered at his ministers, saying: "They are just some clowns. What I am least afraid of is war. Besides, the strength of the court is beyond their imagination.
With just one imperial edict from me, I can have the governors of various counties quell the rebellion of these marquises."
The court officials generally agreed with this statement. Normally, there was a three-party check and balance in the counties and kingdoms. Unless the county governors followed the marquises and princes in rebellion, it would be difficult to accomplish anything.
Then a message came.
"Your Majesty, nearly 70% of the marquises, princes, and county governors in the five major prefectures of Qingzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Xuzhou, and Jizhou have rebelled. They have gathered under the command of the eight princes, killed those loyal ministers, and taken refugees with them. They have formed an army of 500,000 and are marching towards Guanzhong with great momentum."
"boom!"
There was a moment of silence at first, and then there was a roar that almost blew off the entire roof of the hall. It was normal for the founding fathers and princes to rebel, but why did the county governors get involved?
"Five hundred thousand!"
Liu Dan's brain circuit was directly focused on the number of soldiers, and he shouted angrily: "Where did they get so many soldiers from?"
When Liu Dan came to his senses, he felt a black screen in front of his eyes. When it came to military affairs, his IQ returned.
A quick calculation would reveal that the situation in Guandong was probably extremely bad, otherwise the princes of Guandong would not have been able to take with them so many refugees. With an army of 500,000, the number of refugees in Guandong would probably be more than one million.
The ministers in the hall also thought of this. The fact that the county governors of Guandong stood together with the princes and marquises must be because the situation in Guandong was out of control.
A deep chill rose up in everyone's back as they thought of the imperial edicts issued by the emperor. What would be the consequences under such a situation?
Liu Dan forced himself to suppress the chill in his heart and said in a deep voice: "Why are you panicking?
In the past, Emperor Gao fought Xiang Yu for several years in Xingyang, and Xiang Yu's bravery was still blocked. As long as I can defend the important towns of Hulao and Xingyang, I can completely block the rebels in Guandong.
I am still separated from the mountains and rivers of Luoyang, and behind Luoyang is the fortress of Qiao and Han. There are countless relatives of the Han Dynasty in Nanyang, and the natural dangers of the rivers are also insurmountable.
There are millions of people in Guanzhong, tens of thousands of armored soldiers and tens of thousands of cavalry. Give me time to mobilize the troops. I want to let the rebels in Guandong know what cruelty is!
What does it mean that the imperial majesty is inviolable?
He immediately issued an order to recruit good families from Guanzhong, Hexi, Bashu and other places, and to recall the border troops.
Grand Minister of Agriculture, I need a large amount of military supplies, and you are responsible for preparing them.
My dear ministers, the rebellion of the princes in Guandong is an unprecedented evil since the founding of our country.
I believe that you are all loyal to me. After quelling the rebellion of the princes, I will execute them all and divide their marquisates and kingdoms among my loyal subjects.
Do you understand, my dear ministers?"
These were typical general tactics, but they were very effective. Liu Dan's actions were indeed those of a dictator, but he had not yet completely gone all the way to the point where he was deserted by his friends and relatives. The heroes and marquises could no longer tolerate such an emperor.
This also led to the fact that Liu Dan still had the power to resist on the surface, and the people in the court were still relatively united.
…
“Report!
Your Majesty, the Protector General of the Western Regions, Wusun Marquis Luo Shi, the King of Wusun Liu Ba, and the Queen Mother of Dayuan Mi Shan led the army of the Protectorate of the Western Regions into Hexi to respond to the rebellion of the rebels in Guandong!
The Western Regions coalition issued a manifesto, asking Your Majesty..."
Liu Dan said coldly: "How about letting me?"
“Let your majesty…surrender!
Wushuang Hou said that as long as Your Majesty surrenders, I will save Your Majesty's life even if it costs me my life!"
Liu Dan shook his body and roared in a low voice: "I gave him unlimited support in expanding the Western Regions. I relieved him of all worries. I gave him the greatest conveniences in the Western Regions Protectorate and Wushuang Marquisate. I listened to his advice and did not replace the King of Wusun and the King of Dayuan. I also married my most beloved sister to him. Is this how he repays me?"
"A tyrant should be killed by everyone!"
Luo Shi recalled the pitiful look on his wife's face when she cried, but he still said firmly: "I am a citizen of Zhuxia first, and then a subject of the Han Dynasty.
Your Majesty has been very kind to me, and I should repay him with my own death.
But Your Majesty is no longer the same Majesty he once was. He has become a great scourge to the world. If we allow him to continue like this, it would be irresponsible to the country and the ancestral temple of the Han Dynasty.
My dear, Your Majesty will never be able to defeat the coalition forces of the princes. Going there is the only possibility to save Your Majesty's life.
This time, if Your Majesty is willing to surrender, give up the title of Emperor, and come to the Western Regions to become a king or marquis, I can still do it if I risk everything for my husband."
Shaking off these thoughts, Luo Shi led his army and continued eastward. Along the way, the armies of the four counties in Hexi joined him and he did not encounter much resistance at all.
The four counties in Hexi have undertaken a lot of military service in recent years. If the number of people were not small, the conflicts would not have been so intense. They would have become as intense as those in Guandong long ago.
Moreover, the connection between the four Hexi counties and the Wushuang Marquisate is very close.
"Your Majesty, there are traitors in the Liaodong Protectorate, and civil war has broken out. We are unable to come to the king's defense!"
“…”
"Your Majesty, civil unrest has broken out in Nanyang County, and clan members are confronting each other!"
As pieces of bad news reached Chang'an, everyone felt that the situation was changing dramatically. How could the world be filled with rebels in such a short period of time?
"Tiger Prison surrenders without a fight!"
Heavy news has arrived!
————
The outbreak of the Jingnan Campaign was so sudden, yet so reasonable, that within just a few months, the whole country changed its flag. This sudden and short war dealt a cruel blow to the economy of the Han Dynasty, and the economy, which was already on the brink of collapse, completely collapsed.
However, the author must give a very high evaluation of this war. Under the rule of Emperor Li of Han, the economy of the Han Dynasty would collapse in ten years at most. Although the war launched by the Jingnan princes destroyed the economy of the Han Dynasty, the trauma suffered by the Han Dynasty was not fatal enough. The population of the world was still within the safety line and could quickly resume production.
The Jingnan princes are rare in history. After a hundred years of development, the dynasty has not fallen and still maintains a strong vitality. This is an extremely rare phenomenon in the practice of feudal system in the world and has always been one of the focuses of historical research. - "History of the Rise and Fall of the Han Dynasty"
(End of this chapter)
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