Wang Zongchu's army advanced on the front line and suppressed the rebellion unexpectedly smoothly.
After all, the rebellion wasn't caused by tyranny, and Wang Zongchu followed Zhao Huan's instructions to deal leniently. Zhao Huan personally issued an edict declaring that the Lai County Magistrate, Abe, had brought disaster to the country and the people, and that his death was worthy of regret. The prefect of Mizhou, to which Lai County belonged, was imprisoned for his poor selection of personnel. Furthermore, any rebels who voluntarily surrendered should not be held accountable.
Furthermore, grain from the south of the Yangtze River was continuously transported north to Shandong. County after county opened soup kitchens to provide relief to the victims, and the government distributed food and spring planting to all registered refugees. Suddenly, people from all over Shandong surrendered.
When Zhao Huan learned that the Shandong rebel Wang Xiaohu had ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, he was furious and ordered Wang Zongchu to quickly capture Lai County and capture Wang Xiaohu alive.
The rebels suffered a series of defeats. Zhang Tiezhu was killed in battle and Li Sanpang was captured and executed.
Wang Zongchu's army approached Lai County, and Wang Xiaohu no longer dreamed of becoming emperor. He planned to abandon Lai County and go to Dengzhou to meet with Pan Fengzi.
At this time, Wang Xiaohu had less than a thousand men with him, and he was preparing to return north with these defeated soldiers. Liu Guisheng had always been at odds with Pan Fengzi, so he naturally opposed it.
"Your Majesty, we can no longer stay in Shandong. We should head east and go out to sea via Huangdao County. We must not go to Dengzhou by sea to Japan."
Wang Xiaohu was stunned: "Where to go, Japan? I'm not going."
Liu Guisheng was very anxious: "Your Majesty, if we don't go to Japan, we will never be able to resist the soldiers once they arrive."
Wang Xiaohu wasn't stupid; he knew Liu Guisheng's intentions. He angrily said, "Stop nagging me. If you go to Dengzhou, the Second King won't forgive you. Humph, you're trying to persuade me to go to that godforsaken Japan? I'll never..."
Suddenly Wang Xiaohu shut up, stunned. After a second, he looked down and saw a dagger stuck in his stomach. The end of the dagger was in Liu Guisheng's hand.
"You, you..." Wang Xiaohu raised his hand with great effort and pointed at Liu Guisheng, still unable to believe it.
Liu Guisheng's face was ferocious: "I'm sorry, my king, I don't want to die with you!" After saying that, Liu Guisheng pulled out the dagger in his hand.
Wang Xiaohu fell headfirst, and the soldiers behind him were stunned with fear.
Liu Guisheng held the dagger, his eyes gleaming with murderous intent: "Listen carefully, all of you! The Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty pardons soldiers who surrender. But your hands are stained with blood. Even if you want to surrender, that dog emperor will not let you go in the future. If you go to Dengzhou, you will die. If you want to live, follow me east to Fusang and go to Japan! In Japan, the sky is high and the birds fly freely. The dog emperor of the Great Song Dynasty will no longer be able to control us! If any of you dare to escape, you will be killed without mercy!"
After Wang Zongchu's army conquered Lai County, they discovered it was nearly uninhabited, thanks to Wang Xiaohu's actions. While it was called a "conquest of Lai County," it was more of a bloodless occupation. Wang Zongchu hadn't expected the capture of Lai County to be so easy, encountering virtually no resistance.
After a brief stop in Lai County, Wang Zongchu's army began to head north to Dengzhou. After taking Dengzhou, the entire Shandong Province was basically recovered.
Dengzhou was still viable under the leadership of Crazy Pan, although Crazy Pan only had more than 800 men.
It took Wang Zongchu just over three months to capture Shandong, and during those three months he had gained some understanding of the rebels. Seven to eight thousand soldiers had surrendered, and these soldiers showed great respect for Crazy Pan, demonstrating his considerable military prowess.
When Wang Zongchu's troops arrived at the city of Dengzhou, he was not in a hurry to attack the city. Dengzhou was a small city with less than 800 people, and it could not even withstand Wang Zongchu's first wave of attacks.
The Imperial Guards were so effective, not only because they had fought in the decisive battles against the Jin, but more importantly, because of their weapons and equipment. The rebels were a motley crew, and while they could handle the elderly, weak, and sick local troops, they were only defeated when faced with regular troops.
First up were the archers. The rebels had a wide variety of weapons. Hoes, pickaxes, and even bricks could be used as weapons, but the only thing they lacked was crossbows. Because the rebels had been relying on looting, they simply didn't have an armory to manufacture them.
In the era of cold weapons, archers often determined the outcome of a battle. The lack of archers was a major weakness of the rebel army.
Furthermore, the mobility of cavalry is unquestionable. However, Wang Xiaohu and his men, firstly, lacked military horses, and secondly, were too short-sighted to consider developing cavalry.
A man and a horse came to the gate of Dengzhou City. Standing on the low city wall was Crazy Pan.
Crazy Pan looked at the man dressed like a general below and was surprised that he was so bold.
The man on the horse said, "You are Crazy Pan? Wang Xiaohu's second in command!"
"Who are you?" Crazy Pan asked at the top of his voice.
"I am Wang Zongfu, the deputy commander of the imperial guards."
Crazy Pan was shocked: "Are you Wang Zongchu, the commander of the troops?"
Wang Zongchu nodded: "It's me! I have heard about General Pan's heroic deeds and admire him. I have come here specially to express my respect to General Pan!" He said with a fist salute.
Crazy Pan responded: "Well, I'm just a rebel in your eyes, how can I be called a hero?"
Wang Zongchu laughed heartily. "General Pan, you're wrong. Killing the corrupt officials will bring peace to the people. Our Emperor admires General Pan's deeds greatly. The Emperor has decreed that those who surrender will be spared. If General Pan can abandon his evil ways and join the good, it will be a story that will be passed down through the ages."
Crazy Pan laughed heartily: "I have also heard that the emperor said that the chief culprit must be executed without mercy, and I, Pan, am that chief culprit!"
Wang Zongchu didn't laugh, but said sternly, "That's right! But if I personally guarantee that General Pan will surrender, His Majesty will certainly use you."
Crazy Pan placed his sword across his neck and said, "Thank you, General Wang, for your kindness! I appreciate it! But when I started my army, I swore to rebel against the heavens and restore peace to the world! Unfortunately, fate has not granted my wish. I am powerless to change the situation. I only pray for death. I only ask that General Wang release these soldiers."
"Hahaha." Wang Zongchu laughed heartily, then his expression changed. "I've always heard that General Pan is reckless and ignorant, and his reputation is well-deserved! I ask you, what's the point of your death? Is it because you're powerless to change the situation, or is it to make you famous? You keep talking about a peaceful world, but you rebels have caused widespread resentment in Shandong, leaving the people homeless and suffering. Is this the peaceful world you're talking about?"
Crazy Pan was silent and slowly put down the sword in his hand.
Wang Zongchu continued, "The current emperor has shown no regard for the evil deeds of you rebels and has shown mercy. You refuse to repent and surrender to serve your country, and instead wish to die. Do you deserve the people of Shandong? The emperor has allocated tens of thousands of dan of grain to aid the people of Shandong, returning refugees to their land. The government has distributed grain and seedlings, and issued an order exempting Shandong from taxes to help the people live. This is what it means to restore peace to the world! This is not you rebelling and harming the people for your own selfish interests!"
These words left Crazy Pan speechless, and he stood there speechless. With a clang, his sword fell to the ground, and Crazy Pan opened the city and surrendered.
Wang Zongchu's army entered Dengzhou, and the Shandong uprising was completely suppressed.
PS: The suppression of the rebellion was written in an overly trite way. I really don’t want to write about war anymore. I think readers are aesthetically fatigued and want a change of plot.
During the Song Dynasty, Dongying was already called Japan. Liu Guisheng sailed to Japan, which also laid the groundwork for the rampant pirates along the coast later. There will be similar anti-Japanese plots in the future.
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