Chapter 192: Northern Expedition
The common people of the Capital City also did not have easy days.
After King Qiao’s rebel army occupied the Capital City, they burned, killed, and looted incessantly, committing endless atrocities. As many as two-tenths of the common people died in the turmoil.
This was an extremely terrifying and astonishing number. Out of ten households, two were wiped out entirely. At first, no one buried the corpses, and the stench of rotting corpses nearly enveloped the entire Capital City. Later, with the hot weather, a plague broke out in the Capital City. Even King Qiao’s rebel army was affected, and many people died.
To eradicate the plague, King Qiao ordered all those infected with the plague to be driven to one place and burned alive. Countless common people were burned to death alive.
As the plague gradually subsided, only about half of the survivors remained.
The officials who surrendered to the new dynasty were also helpless. To survive, they had to bow their heads. Speaking more broadly, the Jing Dynasty was already rotten to the core, with nothing truly worth reminiscing about.
Who sits on the Dragon Throne makes little difference to the officials. King Qiao personally conquered the Capital City, which indeed showed some imperial destiny. Surrendering early could still secure a good official position.
King Qiao’s base was in Jiangnan. After taking the Capital City, he also had many troubles. Maintaining an army of 200,000 men was no easy task. As a rebel from grassroots origins, he did not understand governing the court. He had no choice but to gather a large number of the original Jing Dynasty officials.
These officialdom veterans had served the fickle Emperor Jianwen and the tyrannical short-lived Prince Wei. Now flattering an arrogant and conceited rebel came naturally to them very quickly.
The officials vied to send their family’s beautiful daughters and granddaughters into the palace, along with large amounts of gold, silver, and wealth. Surrounded by plump and slender beauties, King Qiao indulged in fine clothes, jade food, wine, women, and wealth. Amid the officials’ praise and eulogy, he quickly lost himself. His ambition also grew day by day.
The Jing Dynasty had not completely perished yet. There was still Prince Zhangwu Xie Li! He had actually established a court in Bohai Commandery and claimed to be the legitimate one!
The empire belongs to the capable.
The officials successively submitted memorials, passionately urging King Qiao to send troops on the Northern Expedition. King Qiao soon made up his mind and dispatched the second-in-command of the rebel army, leading 100,000 troops to attack Bohai Commandery.
This second-in-command was surnamed Tao, with the original name Ergou. When King Qiao was starting out, only a few dozen poor men followed him. Tao Ergou and King Qiao were sworn brothers. After rising to power, King Qiao styled himself King, and Tao Ergou specially changed his name to the majestic Tao Wudi.
In the Golden Palace, Tao Wudi slapped his chest hard: “King, rest assured. I will lead troops to Jizhou right now, kill the Zhang father and son, and chop off the head of the brat Xie Li to present to you.”
King Qiao, dressed in the Dragon Robe, looked like a murderous star and grinned: “Good! I appoint you Invincible Great General! When you succeed in the Northern Expedition and take Jizhou, I will appoint you King of Jizhou. The entire Jizhou will be yours!”
Tao Wudi’s eyes lit up, and he did not decline: “Big Brother’s words, I have noted them all. Big Brother must not go back on them then.”
King Qiao, from grassroots origins, and his sworn brother looked at each other and laughed heartily.
The civil officials standing nearby inwardly complained and grumbled wildly in their hearts: the Capital City had actually been drenched in blood by such reckless brutes. But the blade edge was much sharper than their necks, so they did not dare show the slightest disdain and instead had to praise lavishly: “That General Zhang boasted powerfully. In the end, didn’t he kneel before the King!”
“With the Invincible Great General leading troops, the Zhang father and son will surely not be opponents!”
“We ministers await the Great General’s great victory upon return!”
Tao Wudi’s mansion had also received quite a few beauties. When setting out on expedition, he took them all along. Dozens of delicate beauties were all locked in carriages. Only at night during camp were they released for amusement.
There were also considerate subordinates who searched for rural beauties along the way to present to the Invincible Great General for amusement.
Tao Wudi was also very generous to his confidant subordinates, casually rewarding them with beauties he had tired of. Almost every day, female corpses were discarded by the roadside.
The rebel army robbed women, able-bodied men, grain, gold and silver—robbing almost everything. The army’s marching speed was slow, and wherever they went, it was like locusts passing through, leaving the people unable to live.
Common people who originally had modest wealth turned destitute in an instant and had to abandon their homes and flee. The refugees snowballed, growing more and more.
The news of the rebel army’s Northern Expedition quickly reached Bohai Commandery.
Emperor Jian’an was both shocked and angry: “We have not yet launched the Southern Expedition, and these rebels dare to come for the Northern Expedition.”
Meng Liulang was full of hot blood and immediately stepped forward: “Your subordinate is willing to lead troops to block the rebels. Please grant approval, Your Majesty!”
Emperor Jian’an was about to nod when General Zhang said gravely: “The rebels come from afar. We wait at ease while they exhaust themselves, preparing well for battle. There is no need to proactively attack!”
The young and fearless Meng Liulang immediately retorted: “The rebel army marches while looting along the way, leaving the common people enduring unspeakable suffering. How can we stand idly by!”
General Zhang said coldly: “Precisely because of this, we must wait even more. The rebel army’s atrocities anger the people and incite public resentment, making them turn toward the legitimate ruler and yearn for Your Majesty to recover the empire.”
Meng Liulang was so furious his seven orifices smoked, and he sneered back: “In the Great General’s eyes, are the lives of the common people so cheap and worthless? Or is the Great General afraid of the rebel army and dares not proactively attack?”
These words were both piercing to the heart and harsh to the ear.
General Zhang’s face darkened, and he glared fiercely at Meng Liulang.
Meng Dalang forcefully nudged Meng Liulang’s arm, stopping his torrent of offensive words: “Sixth Brother is straightforward by nature and speaks without thinking. He absolutely has no intention of offending the Great General. Please quell your anger, Great General.”
Chancellor Pang coughed: “Young General Meng is young and vigorous, but ultimately loyal and sincere. The Great General is broad-minded and need not quarrel with a young general.”
Zhang Yun smiled falsely and picked up the thread: “I have only seen the old bullying the young. Today I have broadened my horizons—a young general is arrogant and unreasonable, and Chancellor Pang does not reprimand him but instead asks my father to be magnanimous.”
Chancellor Pang was indeed an old fox who had mixed in the imperial court for decades, with the poise to swallow his own spit: “If Young Master Zhang is displeased, this old minister will bear it. Now is not the time for bickering; discussing major matters is what matters.”
As the Zhang father and son clashed with the Pang-Meng in-laws, the other civil officials and military generals could not interject at all, and no one wanted to wade into this muddy water. Everyone kept their mouths tightly shut.
General Zhang snorted, his gaze sweeping over Chancellor Pang and Meng Dalang, glancing at the foul-mouthed Meng Liulang, and finally looking toward Emperor Jian’an on the Dragon Throne: “Proactive attack or waiting calmly for the enemy—please make the decision, Your Majesty!”
Emperor Jian’an was restless and could not make up his mind at all.
The rebel army taking the Capital City, burning Prince Wei to death in a big fire, and destroying the Imperial Palace had also shattered Emperor Jian’an’s inner confidence and pride.
He often mentioned the Southern Expedition in words, but in reality, he had no confidence at all. He even faintly harbored an unspoken desire to escape, unwilling to face it.
Meng Liulang volunteered for battle, while General Zhang insisted on waiting at ease.
Whose advice should be followed in the end?
