Seventy-seven days after submitting to the imperial court, the rebel army rebelled again.
Emperor Zhaowu was furious. Although he was always indecisive in his administration and was criticized by later generations for being too soft-hearted, he immediately ordered the execution of Yang Yue.
This time he did not need anyone to advise him. He ordered the Luoyang rebel suppression army, which had already been fully organized and ready to go, to rush to Shu to wipe out Bao Yunyong.
How could Bao Yunyong wait to die there? They had already plundered almost all of Shu. As Yan Sikong had expected, they sailed down the Yangtze River and captured two small cities in seven days. They expanded their rebel forces along the way and by the time they reached Kuizhou, they had already numbered 50,000.
Kuizhou is strategically located upstream of Jingzhou. If one must conquer Jingzhou before conquering the world, then one must conquer Kuizhou first. Once the rebels capture Kuizhou, the upstream river channels for transporting grain to Jingzhou and the official roads behind it will be in danger. Then, this group of bandits will no longer be a mob, but a real king.
Kuizhou is by no means an easy place to attack, but Bao Yunyong has no better choice. If this road is blocked, they will be surrounded from the front and back when the Luoyang rebellion suppression troops arrive, and they will surely die. Now the only way to survive is to occupy Kuizhou City and defend it. Naturally, heroes from all walks of life will come to surrender.
In the past, 50,000 militiamen would never have been able to capture the well-fortified and well-stocked Kuizhou. However, Kuizhou was also hit by a snowstorm, and food and grass were in short supply, and people were worried. Bao Yunyong was not in a hurry to attack the city, but asked the soldiers who had relatives in Kuizhou to shout at the foot of the city every day, urging them to surrender, join the rebel army, and work together for the great cause.
The Kuizhou garrison remained resolute and unmoved.
While the two armies were in a stalemate, a small incident occurred in the capital, thousands of miles away.
When Zhou Mixing was seeking pleasure in Tinglan Pavilion, he got into a fight with a man over jealousy in order to leave at night. The man was drunk and spoke wildly, saying that when the King of Liang united the rebels and marched into the capital, he would kill your father, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, first.
The man escaped on the way to the government office and his whereabouts are unknown, but his remarks caused quite a stir. The descendants of the royal family, who had enjoyed more than 200 years of glory, dared not speak out because of the cancellation of New Year ceremonies, reduction of salaries, and strict investigation of the occupation of people's land. There were rumors that Emperor Zhaowu wanted to use the opportunity of snowing the disaster to reduce the power of the princes, and the princes were all in danger. Among them, the most powerful one, Prince Liang, was secretly recruiting soldiers and buying horses.
The place of tobacco and willows is a place where all kinds of people gather, so it is normal for people with secrets to come and go. This man is drunk, which makes people think that he is speaking the truth after drinking, making him more credible.
The news spread quickly and within a few days it had spread throughout the court and the country. It finally evolved into a rumor that King Liang was planning a rebellion and wanted to raise troops from Jingzhou to encircle Kuizhou together with Bao Yunyong.
Taking the two cities meant completely opening the waterway to the south of the Yangtze River. Nanjing would be within reach. If Nanjing was lost, Dasheng would be split in two. People all over the world had long been resentful of Emperor Zhaowu's decades of laziness. If Prince Liang proclaimed himself emperor in Nanjing, he would not worry about no one turning against him.
This matter was much more serious than a rebellion by the people. According to Yan Zilian, Emperor Zhaowu summoned his important ministers to his bedroom in the middle of the night to discuss countermeasures, and they all lost a lot of weight.
Yan Zilian knew when to stop talking about such an important matter. Yan Sikong wanted to ask more questions, but he could not get any information out of him. He just said with a sad face that Da Sheng's national fortune had been rough in recent years. If this was God's will, there was nothing human could do about it.
Yan Sikong, however, sang a different tune in his heart. He did not believe in God. If God had eyes, why would the world be so cruel? He only believed in himself.
He felt extremely happy when he thought about how Emperor Zhaowu couldn't sleep at night, Xie Zhongren couldn't eat or sleep, and Ge Zhong would be caught in a dilemma. When he was a child, he couldn't control his own destiny, and watched his loved ones die one after another. Now that he has grown up, he wants to control the destiny of others, the destiny of more people, and even the destiny of all people in the world!
A few days after the rumors spread, Jiang Ling, one of the six officials who had the privilege of "reporting matters upon hearing rumors" and whose duties were to impeach and criticize the emperor, his ministers and the people, submitted a memorial to the emperor, saying that Prince Liang was plotting a rebellion and advised Emperor Zhaowu to reduce the power of the princes.
After so many days of silence, the emperor and his court officials were probably all waiting for someone like this to stand up and say the word "cut down the feudal lords".
There is no need to elaborate on how heavy and dangerous these two words are. The emperor cannot take the initiative to propose the reduction of the power of the princes, as that would go against the will of his ancestors. Ministers also dare not take the initiative to propose the reduction of the power of the princes, as whoever does so could become the second Chao Cuo.
Chao Cuo was the one who advocated reducing the power of the princes, which led to the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms. In the end, the emperor abolished him in order to quell the anger of the princes.
However, no matter how corrupt the imperial court was, there would always be people who were not afraid of life or death and dared to speak out. Although Chao Cuo died, his name was recorded in history. For knowledgeable people in the world, leaving a name for eternity is their highest ideal, let alone death.
Emperor Zhaowu pretended to be angry and fought Jiang Ling ten times in court.
This beating was not a big deal. The censors were deeply encouraged and took turns to suggest that if an official could be awarded a court beating, whether he was beaten to death or disabled, it would be a matter of honor for his family, because it was proof of his courage to defy the emperor's authority and his loyalty.
In just a few days, the word "cutting down the feudal lords", which was originally a taboo, has become very popular.
In the end, no one could tell whether Emperor Zhaowu wanted to reduce the power of the princes because he heard that Prince Liang was planning to rebel, or Prince Liang wanted to rebel because he heard that Emperor Zhaowu wanted to reduce the power of the princes. Originally, one of them had no intention of reducing the power, and the other had no intention of rebelling, but now they were in a difficult situation.
Yan Sikong quietly lurked in the dark, watching the situation moving towards his plan. Whenever he thought of the torture Ge Zhong was going through, he felt extremely happy. If he just wanted to kill these bastards, a few assassins would be enough, but he wanted more than just their lives, he wanted them to be ruined and die miserably.
——
Before the spring snow melted, urgent news came from Kuizhou that the garrison of Kuizhou was assassinated by a traitor, and then the city gate was opened. Bao Yunyong captured Kuizhou without losing a single soldier. When the 20,000 rebellion-suppressing troops sent by Luoyang arrived in Kuizhou, the situation was already changing.
Although the King of Liang did not join forces with Bao Yunyong to besiege Kuizhou as the legend said, the fall of Kuizhou was a fact. With only 20,000 soldiers and horses, it was impossible to capture a high city guarded by tens of thousands of people.
People in the court and the country were in panic. They all knew that this crisis was unusual. If they were not careful, Nanjing might have two emperors. It would be better if Prince Liang became emperor, but if some lowly bandit came to power, the whole world would have to change its surname.
Emperor Zhaowu issued an edict, ordering General Di Feng to lead the army, gather troops from Luoyang and Huguang areas, and join forces with the Luoyang rebel suppression troops to fight the rebels together and not return until they are defeated.
The troops requested from the Huguang region in the name of suppressing bandits mainly came from Jingzhou.
If he handed over his troops, he would be stripped of his power; if he did not, it would be a clear sign of rebellion. This strategy killed two birds with one stone; it could expose the true face of King Liang and also give an explanation to the other vassal kings who were watching the situation.
King Liang was finally forced to the edge of a cliff.