Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 330

Chapter 414 Lu Wei's Rebellion

Fifteen years have passed since the Qin-Zhao War, and the Zhao state has been extinct for fifteen years. Although Zhao Yi still misses his homeland, he now only wants to survive.

Towards the end of the Qin-Zhao War, Zhao Yi earned the title of famous general because he secretly protected Sima Shang and let Sima Shang take charge. However, after so much time had passed, he had forgotten even the most basic military formations. But Luo Wang valued Zhao Yi's status as a famous general, and he dared not reveal the truth.

However, Luo Wang didn't really care about Zhao Yi's true abilities. Although Zhao Gao hadn't personally interrogated Zhao Yi during his fifteen years of imprisonment, the jailers had already reported Zhao Yi's character multiple times, and the internal intelligence database didn't rate Zhao Yi's abilities highly.

But he was, after all, the son of Lord Pingyuan, and had the title of the strongest general in the Zhao state after Li Mu; these titles were enough for him.

Besides Wang Li, Luo Wang now has a second opportunity to extend its reach to foreign armies.

Hangu Pass is a vital strategic point for Guanzhong. During the Spring and Autumn Period, it was in the hands of the State of Jin, which used it to firmly block the eastward expansion of the State of Qin. However, when it fell into the hands of the State of Qin during the Warring States Period, several allied forces that attacked Qin failed at this pass.

Famous generals such as Pang Juan, King Wuling of Zhao, Lord Mengchang, Lian Po, Zhao She, and Lord Xinling could only sigh in despair at the pass.

Hangu Pass was the greatest source of confidence for the Qin people. With this pass in place, they could freely venture eastward, and even if they failed, they could retreat back to defend the formidable pass.

Such a strategic location naturally needed a sufficiently important general in charge. Zhao Gao could not completely trust Zhao Yi, who had just surrendered, but firstly, Zhao Yi's status was high enough, and secondly, Zhao Yi's personality was easy to manipulate.

With him as a puppet, this crucial pass will be controlled by the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) instead of the Qin state.

Oh, and there's a third reason. It could be that he was, after all, from the Zhao clan. In this era, most people with the same clan could be traced back to each other, so Zhao Gao trusted him more than his other subordinates.

They're all subordinates, and people from the same clan at least sound more reliable.

Zhao Yi, who had been imprisoned for fifteen years, still hadn't figured this out. He was still worried about how to play the role of a 'famous general' on his own.

"Hangu Pass is impregnable, and Qin has no enemies. Even if I am useless, I can still ask the deputy general to do some hard work." After secretly deciding to befriend the deputy general, Zhao Yi, who was completely spineless and lacked ambition, respectfully accepted the order and withdrew.

As Zhao Gao watched his departing figure, his keen observation allowed him to form his own judgment about Zhao Yi, which gave him more confidence in Luo Wang's control over the empire's military power.

In a war-making organization like the Qin state, controlling the army meant controlling all power.

Hu Hai has done many absurd things, but the vast majority of people in the imperial court still support him. Don't be fooled by your current high status; you are only doing so because you are riding on Hu Hai's coattails.

Even Wang Li, his partner, would definitely choose Hu Hai, who was no more than sixteen years old, over Hu Hai.

Therefore, if Zhao Gao wanted to continue to fulfill his ambitions, he had to change this situation.

For the Qin Dynasty to truly erode the status of the Ying surname in the hearts of the Qin people, it needed to descend into even greater chaos...

...

The Lishan Mausoleum has not yet been fully repaired. According to the original historical plan, it will take at least another five years to complete. However, the body of the First Emperor cannot wait another five years. Fortunately, the internal structure of the mausoleum has been basically completed, so the burial of the black jade coffin will not be delayed.

On the day of his burial, the First Emperor had numerous children and even more concubines, including many women from the former six states who had never even seen his emperor in their lives. All of these concubines without children were buried alive with him in the mausoleum. Furthermore, none of the craftsmen who built the core of the Lishan Mausoleum were released because they knew too much...

The laborers and craftsmen on the outer layer survived because they had to continue working on the tomb, but they were also filled with anxiety, unsure whether what they knew was considered too much by the Second Emperor.

Faced with these panicked laborers, the Qin army chose to use whips and spears to solve the problem.

This high-pressure environment led Tian Guang, who had returned to the Lishan Mausoleum, to see an opportunity. He then secretly formed an organization among the Lishan convicts...

The convicts of Lishan now only lack one person to raise their voice and shout...

While the morale in Guanzhong was fluctuating, war broke out between the north and the south!

After the construction of the Great Wall in the north was completed at all costs, Wang Li led the Great Wall Legion out of the Great Wall to actively seek battle with the Wolf Clan. On the vast grassland, this was originally the behavior of headless flies, but with the help of the inside network, the main position of the Wolf Clan was marked by the Qin army, and the Wolf Clan's strategy was an open operation for the Qin army.

The Qin army, with its elite forces deployed, would win with ease against such an opponent.

Ren Xiao of the South only began his army's advance after stockpiling sufficient supplies and ships in Ziyang City. His combat experience in Yue told him that unobstructed supply lines and abundant provisions were far more important here than in the Central Plains.

However, he did not come away empty-handed during this long period of waiting and preparation. From the intelligence gathered by the scouts he sent out, Ren Xiao learned that the rebels were not hiding in the two counties, but instead had gone against the tide and pushed their offensive into the Yishan mountain area.

From a military perspective, fighting at Yishan would indeed limit the Qin army's numerical advantage, but the extended supply lines and the relentless advance also created the biggest weakness for the rebels: once the Qin army broke through Yishan, the rebels would have no chance to reorganize any resistance on the flat plains that lay ahead.

In other words, the rebels placed all their hopes on the possibility of winning in the mountain battle, which gave Ren Xiao a basic assessment of the enemy general: he knew a little about military strategy, but not much, and could only be considered a second-rate scoundrel who had casually read some military books.

An enemy that leaves you no way out is an opponent that any general would like.

Indeed, since the Qin army marched south to the Baiyue, its performance against the Yue people in mountain warfare was... rather poor. However, this was due to the Yue people's constant guerrilla warfare and harassment, coupled with the frequent occurrence of miasma in the Lingnan mountains. The Qin army's losses were more due to diseases caused by these factors.

The mountains and forests of Yishan are also very complex, but the area has been developed by the State of Chu, so the environment is not as extremely harsh as that of Lingnan. Moreover, according to the reports from the scouts, these rebels have hastily built several earthen cities in Yishan, attempting to resist head-on, and their path to certain death has already been set!

Upon seeing the rebels' defense map, Ren Xiao instantly conceived multiple ways to win.

Ren Xiao divided his troops into three forces: the Jiangbei Army, the Navy, and the Jiangnan Army, and launched his offensive to quell the rebellion.

Just three days later, the vanguard general encountered the rebels' first hastily built stronghold, which they attacked and captured, beheading hundreds.

When the news reached the rear, Ren Xiao was satisfied, but he also specifically instructed the vanguard to be extra cautious and not to let the arrogant soldiers rush too fast and fall into a mutiny ambush.

Compared to the Great Wall Army Corps, the Southern Army Corps achieved early victories due to the enemy's flawed command...

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"...And this Qin scoundrel, who wielded divine weapons with unbridled cruelty, has brought utter devastation to the people. His wolfish heart and dog-like behavior are beyond description; his serpentine intestines are insufficient to appease him. With such wolfish nature, how can we possibly deal with him? He has even carved a path for birds, betraying all conscience. His sins are overflowing, arousing the wrath of both gods and men."

When news of the outbreak of war between the North and South reached Daze Mountain, Lu Wei felt that the time was ripe. He deliberately arranged a scene depicting the brutality of Qin officials as a pretext, and then openly killed people on the ridges of the fields during spring planting, reciting a proclamation against the traitors to the people at the foot of Daze Mountain:

"I have heard that Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, was tyrannical and cruel. He imposed heavy taxes to evade his responsibilities, used harsh laws to suppress the people, slaughtered hundreds of families to keep them ignorant, and caused widespread suffering and death among the common people."

"The current second emperor, Huhai, is insatiably greedy and tyrannical. He built the Great Wall to satisfy his desires and implemented a brutal regime to demonstrate his power. The people suffer greatly under his rule, enduring hardship day and night, and their resentment is widespread!"

"We farmers toil day and night, hoeing the fields. Yet the tyrannical rule of Qin Shi Huang, with its heavy taxes and burdens, has led to the abandonment of farmland and the suffering of the people. We have no choice but to suffer the consequences, swallowing the bitter fruit and enduring the harsh winds."

"In the past, the descendants of Yan and Huang were known for their integrity and outstanding talents. Today, I, Lu Wei, though unworthy, am willing to raise the banner of righteousness as the leader of the peasant chivalrous family, to punish the wicked, overthrow the tyrannical Qin, and restore the land to the people!"

While hundreds of thousands of Qin's elite troops were bogged down in battle, Lu Wei finally rebelled openly!

The peasant army swiftly occupied the entire Qi region, shaking the world...

Chapter 415 His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi

The actual first rebellion in the land was in two counties, but only the peasant family made a public proclamation to the world and issued a public manifesto that clearly stated their purpose as "to punish the wicked and destroy the tyrannical Qin".

Lu Wei righteously placed the peasants and the Qin state on opposite sides of life and death. The day after the proclamation was issued, the eight counties of Qi and Lu defected and surrendered. Eight prefects who originally belonged to the Qin state took the initiative to submit a memorial requesting that Lu Wei ascend to the throne of Qi.

Lu Wei humbly declined, but volunteered to search for a descendant of the former Qi royal family to be established as the King of Qi. However, no such lineage was found in Qi and Lu.

The original royal family of Qi, the Tian clan, was not completely wiped out after the fall of Qi. A considerable portion of them dispersed among the common people and became local landlord militias.

However, these noble royal bloodlines all died obediently not long ago. They were indeed incapable of competing with Lu Wei, but they were afraid that some ambitious people would use them as an excuse. Therefore, the Tian family bloodline publicly eliminated themselves.

If any more individuals claiming to be members of the Tian royal family appear in the future, they will definitely be imposters!

For many days, no one of the Tian family bloodline could be found, and the uprising could not be delayed any longer. After the eight prefectural governors made their requests, the 100,000 disciples of the Farmer's School once again collectively requested that the leader of the Heroic Sect become the King of Qi. Only after the Confucian representatives of Qi and Lu—Fu Nian, the head of Xiaoshengxianzhuang, Xunzi, a Confucian sage, and Kong Fu, an eighth-generation descendant of Confucius—all expressed their support for the Farmer's School, did Lu Wei sigh and accept the will of the people.

"I hope you will not refuse the great responsibility that belongs to the nation."

Kong Fu bowed deeply to the Prince of Qi in front of everyone. If Xiaoshengxianzhuang could not fully represent Confucianism, then the appearance of this descendant of Confucius would completely shift the stance of Confucian scholars across the land toward Lu Wei.

Kong Fu, now fifty years old, is a staunch anti-Qin figure. He once lived in the Wei region and was on good terms with Zhang Er and Chen Yu. After the Wei region was destroyed, he fled to the Qi region.

Unlike Confucius's descendants hundreds of years later, Kong Fu, as a Confucian scholar, was not lacking in fierce spirit. In the original timeline, a few years later, this Confucian master would have joined the uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang at the first opportunity, and eventually died in battle against Zhang Han's rebel army.

The peasants were the first to rebel against Qin, so Kong Fu came on his own initiative without Zhang Er and Chen Yu, who had already joined the peasants, having already invited him.

Xiaoshengxianzhuang and Lu Wei had a prior agreement, so their arrival was a foregone conclusion and there was no need for any special surprise.

“Alas, it is the request of a gentleman and the request of the people, and I dare not refuse again.” Lu Wei helped Kong Fu up and sighed. Upon hearing this, Ji Yan immediately gestured to his disciple to bring up the Qi King’s robe that someone had tried on last night.

With the support of many who are virtuous, His Highness the King of Qi officially ascended the throne and immediately issued a military order: Han Xin and Yan Bing were appointed as the main and deputy generals, respectively, leading a detachment of troops northward to attack the Yan region, while His Highness the King of Qi personally led the main force of the peasant army westward to attack the Three Jin regions!

At the same time, the rebel armies of the two southern counties were "recruited" and Ziwu led his troops to establish contact with the Chu region.

Three armies marched forth, vowing to sweep across the Central Plains...

When news of bandits appearing in Guandong reached Xianyang, Li Si was the first to feel worried: the 100,000 disciples of the Farmer's School had completely conquered Qi and restored the state of Qi in just a few days. This was no ordinary rebellion. It was imperative to strike hard and crush the enemy completely to prevent any possible imitation.

However, the Qin Dynasty simply had no more field armies that it could freely mobilize.

The Great Wall Legion's 300,000-strong army has already set off for the grasslands and cannot be recalled halfway.

Meanwhile, the Southern Army has 100,000 troops guarding the Lingnan region that they finally captured, and 200,000 troops suppressing rebellions in two counties. The latest battle report is that they have won one battle after another, breaking through more than ten enemy camps in the Yishan Mountains, which stretch for hundreds of miles, and beheading thousands.

Ren Xiao was just one step away from breaking through Yishan and entering Changsha County, where he would find a flat, undefended plain.

At this point, it's impossible to stop and attack Qi, leaving the Chu bandits a chance to regroup.

The amount of grain consumed by the armies from the north and south was astronomical. In addition, with the loss of half of Chu and the entire Qi region, Qin's grain harvest this year will be significantly reduced. And if the rebels in Qi break out of Qi, the empire's losses will be even greater.

Fortunately, the empire's largest granary, Xingyang, remained safe, and its reserves could hold out for quite some time.

Apart from these two armies, the 50,000 Imperial Guards in Xianyang City are a formidable elite force, but they cannot be easily mobilized; they are the last foundation of the empire.

There are still tens of thousands of troops guarding Hangu Pass, and we cannot act rashly against them. If the attack fails, Hangu Pass will become an empty city.

Even the most magnificent fortress can be breached with a single blow if it lacks sufficient troops for defense.

Without the support of field armies, it would be very difficult for the county troops near Qi to defend their own territory.

Now, all hope rests on the Southern Army. As long as Ren Xiao pacifies the two counties as soon as possible, he can move south along the Yangtze River and then north to attack the newly established Qi state.

As for the issue of re-conscripting legions, Li Si would not resort to this tactic unless absolutely necessary: ​​with millions of people serving corvée labor throughout the empire, recruiting soldiers would be difficult, and the distribution of weapons and the provision of food would also be major problems.

After writing a letter urging Ren Xiao to hurry up, Li Si immediately went to the palace.

Hu Hai has a tendency to meddle in affairs, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for Li Si, but he still needs to report important military and national matters to His Majesty the Emperor.

However, upon arriving outside the palace, Li Si learned from the guards that His Majesty the Emperor had gone on a road trip and would not be seeing his ministers for the next few days.

With a furrowed brow, Li Si looked up at the towering palace walls and had no choice but to return to his residence to devise a solution on his own.

As soon as he left, assassins from the Luo Wang organization relayed the news to Zhao Gao in the palace.

Hu Hai did indeed go out to play, that's for sure, but he was persuaded to go out by Hu Hai.

The accumulated memorials in the palace were then handled by the Luo Wang (a government agency) on behalf of His Majesty the Second Emperor.

Zhao Gao was certainly aware of the seriousness of the peasant uprising in Qi, but he didn't need to let Hu Hai know about it. Therefore, even if Hu Hai knew, there would be no solution, and it might even lower Zhao Gao's standing in his eyes.

After all, Zhao Gao had said that the holy emperor could rule by simply sitting back and doing nothing, and that His Majesty could enjoy himself to the fullest, as there would be no problems with the affairs of the court handled by a group of loyal and capable ministers.

"Let Lu Wei be smug for a few days. After Ren Xiao and Wang Li win, they will launch an attack on the peasant family with an army of 500,000. What will he be able to use to resist them!"

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Wang Li, who was being targeted by Li Si and Zhao Gao, was still on his way north, while Ren Xiao, who was winning every time, inevitably developed some arrogance and underestimated his opponents.

Achieving victory in war is the best guarantee of morale for an army. After winning many battles and even setting up ambushes against the rebels several times, Ren Xiao felt that the opposing generals had run out of tricks. Even though Ren Xiao himself did not want to be arrogant, the soldiers in the army inevitably became arrogant.

This is a general trend that Ren Xiao not only cannot solve, but is also affected by the atmosphere in the military.

Soon we will reach the last rebel camp in the Yishan Mountains, which our scouts have discovered. Once we break through there, we will enter the flat Changsha County!