Playing Xiao Ru currently, and he had the seduction focus before I played him, so I couldn't switch it...
And hey, still easier to understand than Mo Jie!
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And hey, still easier to understand than Mo Jie!
Mo Jie quotes the Coasters "Why's everybody always picking on me"Playing Xiao Ru currently, and he had the seduction focus before I played him, so I couldn't switch it...
And hey, still easier to understand than Mo Jie!
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Are you saying that I should not use Jerry Lee Lewis for dating advice? At least, she was not an eight year old COUSIN!
196-198: Those Damn Wangs
196-198: THOSE DAMN WANGS
Very much against his initial will, Niu Fu found himself as the new Chancellor of the Han Dynasty following Duan Wei’s disastrous campaign against Ban Ding. He didn’t really want the job, but was convinced after Cao Quan and Shisun Rui had insisted, pushing for him to take the position of Chancellor. And now here he was, the Chancellor of the Han and a loyal servant of the Emperor (although the Emperor now expressed disdain for the man who blocked his return to full power). He was a virtuous, hardworking and unambitious man who found himself the most powerful official of the Dynasty. But one thing he sadly wasn’t was a good politician, something others would be quick to try to exploit at his expanse.
At least he was aware that some saw him as just another military general taking over the capital. But he didn’t want to be such tyrant, so while he accepted the position of Chancellor, he made sure to avoid appointing too many military men to powerful offices, especially former generals of Dong Zhuo like Xu Rong, who were left in command of troops but little more. One exception to that rule was Cao Quan, the old man who had helped keep the capital at peace in the absence of Duan Wei. His dedication to his job and his refusal to be dragged into factional disputes impressed Niu Fu, who appointed him as Excellency of Works, one of the highest offices in the Han government. The old man, who had played such a key role in the rise of Niu Fu to the Chancellorship, wanted his time at the top to be a success, and so stubbornly performed his duties as best he could.
As a Han loyalist, he also tried to recruit as many loyal men as possible within his new government. This obviously meant Liu Si (Liu Siyuan’s father), who was appointed Minister of the Guard, so to ensure the security of the Emperor. While the old scion of the Han still held some resentment against Niu Fu for stopping a full-on Han restauration, he still held the belief that the general was their best shot at achieving this goal. At least he was the most honorable choice around.
But more than the old man, Niu Fu recalled to office the last surviving assassins of the tyrant Dong Zhuo: Shisun Rui and Jiang Xian. Shisun Rui had an excellent relationship with the new Chancellor and had supported his appointment wholeheartedly, a sentiment reciprocated by Niu Fu. For this, he was not only given back his position as Minister of Justice (a job everyone agreed he was great at), but he was also appointed Assistant to the Chancellorship. As for Jiang Xian, he was appointed Chief of the Censorate Bureau and Minister of the Imperial Household. The issue here was that Niu Fu had mostly factored Jiang Xian’s early career as a Han loyalist and honorable man, either not aware or choosing to ignore his recently more sneaky and despicable tendencies. And then there was the scholar Chen Xia, the director of the imperial academy. He was the last hold out of Duan Wei’s administration, but he seemed too competent to simply remove from his post.
So as Niu Fu took over, it seemed like the imperial government would be a stable and efficient one, and one truly loyal to the Han Dynasty. He had barely settled in his duties inside the capital that he received two letters from outside Luoyang, though. The first of them came from the respect Colonel Sun Jian. Hearing of the debacle that had resulted in the death of Duan Wei, Sun Jian asked for to be allowed to continue the imperial campaign against Ban Ding. This was a controversial request in the capital. Most feared that Sun Jian, already the father-in-law of the Emperor, would grow too powerful should he be allowed to become the capital’s neighbor by taking Ban Ding’s territories. Niu Fu personally feared that this would be interpreted by Ban Ding as deceitful, as he had signed a peace with the warlord. In the end, he consulted with his advisors. Only Jiang Xian opposed out of fear of Sun Jian’s growing power, while the rest believed this to be a good idea to let the colonel do the dirty work. It also helped that the Emperor was favorable to the idea, thanks to his wife’s whispers. Niu Fu thus promoted Sun Juan as General who Protect the Empire and sanctioned his campaign.
The second letter was even more surprising than the first one, as it came from magistrate Yao Xu, who pledged himself to the new regime and once more offered his services. This was a surprise, as many had believed the barbarian had stopped recognizing the Han authority following his master’s death. The former Grand Commandant of the Imperial Armies under Dong Huang, Yao Xu had actually remained loyal to the capital following the revolt of 194-195. Duan Wei had ignored him, as the barbarian was one of the main criticisms of Dong Huang’s regime. But Yao Xu still continued to pledge himself to the Han. This was not out of some grand sense of loyalty though. Oh no. This was simply about survival. The county he was given a few years back now sat right in the middle of Bing Province, surrounded by Lü Bu from all sides. He could never dream of fighting him, which meant that he needed the protection of Luoyang. Surprisingly, most advised Niu Fu to recognize Yao Xu’s loyalty and dependency to the imperial government instead of abandoning him. Some argued that this was the right thing to do, but the most often cited reasoning was that it showed strength and put pressure on Lü Bu. This was a signal that imperial authority extended beyond Sili Province.
But not everyone was happy with the new status quo. Jiang Xian in particular felt like he had been robbed of the Chancellorship. When Duan Wei had died, he had hoped to be able to manoeuvre the Emperor and become Chancellor. That was until Niu Fu was hailed as Duan Wei’s successor, first by the old Cao Quand and then (to Jiang Xian’s dismay) by Shisun Rui. Seeing no other choice, Jiang Xian had been forced to retreat, which convinced Niu Fu that he was a loyal and virtuous official. This allowed the giant to be promoted to Chief Censor and Minister of the Imperial Household. That last one was especially important as it gave him easy access to the Emperor, which would be useful in time. He already had a good relationship with the Emperor, as the Son of Heaven still remembered him as the man who had helped him remove Dong Zhuo, and so trusted Jiang Xian. Jiang Xian hoped to possibly use this trust to eventually turn the Emperor against Niu Fu.
Niu Fu suspected nothing of this whole affair of course, and this was just as Jiang Xian wanted. His two positions in the new imperial government certainly gave him a lot of power, although he often found himself alone when it came to decision making. This was proof enough that no matter how much he tried, he could not act alone against Niu Fu. No, what he needed was a little clique of officials, like in the good old days. And it was due to his fond memories of those good old days that he approached Shisun Rui with his plans for dissention. The two were the last remaining assassins of Dong Zhuo, so of course Shisun Rui would join him! He explained how they should be the ones in charge, not Niu Fu. He was a loyal general, yes, but he should never have been anywhere close to the position he was currently holding. No, careered officials like the two of them should be running court. But Shisun Rui quickly killed any dream of working together. He was fully behind Niu Fu, and warned Jiang Xian to “never entertain such devious and treasonous thoughts against our dear Chancellor.” But Jiang Xian was not deterred. With Shisun Rui out, he found himself with no choice but to gravitate toward his in-laws: The Wang Clan.
The Wang Clan had first started to rise to prominence in the 180’s, with the old Wang Yun occupying a series of important political offices in the capital. Following his death in 190, the Wang Clan’s influence continued through his brother Wang Hong and his son-in-law Jiang Xian, both of who served active roles under Dong Huang. As with many other factions, the rise of Duan Wei put a stop to their power, and the Wangs found themselves on the outside as most of them were identified as Han loyalists. But with Niu Fu now in charge, they had an opportunity. As it turned out, Wang Yun still had two living brothers, with one still active at the imperial court. Wang Mao was an old man, even if he was the youngest of the four Wang brothers. During his long life, he had climbed the ranks through the classic channels and exams (and possibly also his connection to his brothers). By now, he stood as an important politician within the imperial entourage. But unlike Liu Si, whose sole focus was to serve the Emperor, Wang Mao had grown arrogant and ambitious, seeking more power for his clan and himself. While Liu Si held him in check, Wang Mao would certainly gain much power should, let’s say, the old Liu clansman was to die.
But while Wang Mao was influential at court, he was not the more powerful member of the Wang Clan. No, that honor was reserved to Wang Hong. The younger Wang Hong was in fact the nephew of the older one, being the son of the second brother Wang Wei. Wang Hong was ambitious, stubborn and a decent talker. His ascension through the imperial bureaucracy certainly allowed him to be appointed as Administrator of Hedong Commandery, a position he had received in 189 (from Dong Zhuo) and which he had held ever since. But his main claim to prominence was not his career or his clan, but his marriage. Wang Hong had somehow managed to be wed to Princess Xiu, the youngest daughter of Emperor Huan (146-168). This personal connection to the Imperial Clan gave him much influence at court and outside of it, something he was all too willing to use.
So when Diaochan began to approach her adoptive family about Jiang Xian’s desire to undermine Niu Fu, they were all too receptive. Wang Hong had a personal beef with Niu Fu after he had been refused some territories he considered part of his commandery, and Wang Mao wanted to get out of Liu Si’s shadow. The Wang Clan thus started to form a small faction to oppose the Chancellor. They certainly didn’t waste time, as in July they were able to push for the replacement of many small-time officials, who Wang Hong and Jiang Xian pointed out had been appointed by Dong Zhuo, Dong Huang or Duan Wei. The two presented a petition to the Emperor, asking him to remove these traitorous officials. While Niu Fu was able to mitigate some of the purge, as he didn’t want competent politicians to be wasted, many did lose their jobs, only to be replaced by more “acceptable” candidates. Thankfully for Niu Fu, most of those that remained were high ranking officials and officers, like Xu Rong, who was allowed to retain a generalship. The former general of Dong Zhuo was quick to point that this would probably only be the beginning. Xu Rong insisted that they needed to act and purge their lesser enemies while they still had the advantage. Niu Fu refused to even entertain the idea.
The death of Liu Si in August 196 certainly helped the growing power of the Wang Clan. The old scion of the Han died at the age of 72, leaving a vacuum within the imperial entourage, a vacuum that was quickly filled by Wang Mao. At the insistence of many at court, Niu Fu agreed to let Wang Mao be a co-regent of the teenage Emperor. He hoped that the Wang Clan’s previous reputation as loyal and filial to the throne would motivate Wang Mao to work for the Han instead of himself. But while he was suspicious of the Wang Clan’s growing power, the Chancellor never entertained the idea that they were working against him, or at least not at the time. But with Cao Quan growing ill due to a cancer, the old statesmen who had supported him were growing weaker. The scholar Chen Xia, who liked the Chancellor, tried to advise him. “Your Excellency needs to cultivate loyal young talents to replace the old ones, young men loyal to you and you alone.” But this idea didn’t sit well with Niu Fu. Political parties and factions were illegal, and he wasn’t going to break imperial laws, especially for something as petty as personal ambition. No, he would not start building a faction loyal to himself. This would be unproper.
This decision did nothing to help him once Cao Quan died in October 196, his cancer taking him at the age of 66. This meant that there was a need for a new Administrator of Zuopingyi Commandery and for a new Excellency of Works. As it turned out, the Wang Clan would have one answer for both jobs. For the position of administrator, pushing one of their owns was easy. The commandery had previously been held by the older Wang Hong before Cao Quan replaced him in 194. Most of the local officials still held some respect for the Wang Clan. For this reason, Wang Chen (son of the older Wang Hong) was pushed as the new administrator. Known as a hardworking and patient man who didn’t like to fight, he seemed like a decent enough choice. Not wanting to make a fuss, Niu Fu went along with the appointment.
But the Wang Clan didn’t stop there. As the end of 196 approached, they pushed to get promoted, with some of their supporters presenting petitions to the court. While Niu Fu at first refused them, suspecting that there was something more to these petitions, he was eventually forced to relent. After all, continuing to refuse would be sure to frustrate many, and he wanted cohesion and harmony at court so they could all better serve the Emperor. Wang Chen became the new Excellency of Works and Wang Hong became the new Grand Commandant of the Imperial Armies. While Wang Chen would prove decent enough in his new duties, Wang Hong lacked any military talent or experience, having only played a military role in the revolt against Dong Huang (and even then he had been a small player compared to Niu Fu and Shisun Rui). With Jiang Xian still in charge of the Censorate, the Wangs had just managed to stack the highest office with their relatives.
But this move finally awoke Niu Fu to the dangerous ambitions of the Wang Clan. Shisun Rui was quick to show the Chancellor all the corruption that was growing thanks to their influence. They didn’t want to do what was best for the Han or for the Emperor. No, what they wanted was to serve their own interests. Now seeing it for what it was, Niu Fu realized the danger of allowing them to control the Emperor. Thankfully, Shisun Rui had a plan. In early 197, when the Son of Heaven finally reached the age of 16, some were wondering if he should not be given the full reigns of the Dynasty. But Shisun Rui and Niu Fu feared that this would mean a Wang takeover. To avoid this, Shisun Rui presented a petition requesting that the Chancellor retain his power and authority. With Wang Hong and Wang Chen out of the Imperial Capital at the time, it was a perfect moment to strike. To the surprise of everyone, Jiang Xian also supported the petition, forcing many pro-Wangs to side with it. He would later claim that this was because he found himself trapped in Shisun Rui’s ploy, but it was probably because he feared the effect of a complete Han restauration on his career. While he wanted to refuse, the Emperor had no choice but to accept. As for Niu Fu, who had not been consulted on the whole affair, he did agree to continue to be the true power in Luoyang, if only because he was convinced that the Emperor lacked the skills to manage the Dynasty without the proper advisors.
Needless to say, Wang Hong was pissed when he returned to Luoyang. The Wang Clan had lost a perfect opportunity to weaken the Emperor, and they blamed Shisun Rui for it. So Wang Mao and his nephews started to work on their revenge, hoping to have the problematic official removed. But when approached, Jiang Xian showed quite a bit of hesitation at the idea of acting against his former ally. Yes, they no longer worked for the same goal, but he still had massive respect for the man. He wasn’t sure if he was up for it. But the Wangs needed him for this due to his control of the Censorate. Diaochan quickly realized that fact, which she pointed out to her husband. If they needed him that much, he could use this to become one of the main players of their little group. This was indeed an enticing idea for the tall official. After much reflection, he decided that his old friendship was not worth removing an obstacle to his rise. He did impose one condition to his support though, that Shisun Rui came out of this alive and well. He might betray him, but he didn’t want to hurt him.
So they began to work on their plan, with the Chief Censor assembling proofs of corruption and rule breaking supposedly committed by Shisun Rui and his staff. While the man himself proved quite clean, it turned out that his followers had been doing a lot of shifty things for him. Yes, they did so to ensure stability and good governance in the capital, but it didn’t change the fact that they were circumventing some of the rules. In April 197, they moved into action. Wang Hong presented accusations at court against Shisun Rui, accusing him of holding too much power and of having a bad influence on the Chancellor and the Emperor. To this, Jiang Xian brought all his investigation and his proofs, some fake and others real. Niu Fu was shocked, but the charges had the intended effect. It made Niu Fu doubt Shisun Rui. Maybe he did give the man too much power, after all. So against his ally’s pleas, Niu Fu removed him as Assistant to the Chancellor, just as the Wangs wanted. However, he did insist that Shisun Rui remain as Minister of Justice, as he still did an excellent job.
The removal of Shisun Rui left the question of who to appoint as his replacement. Niu Fu was a military man, which meant that he needed someone to assist him in managing state affairs. He consulted the scholar Chen Xia for advice. The old scholar, who believed that Niu Fu had the potential to become a great and powerful man, advised him to pick a man loyal to him. The removal of Shisun Rui should not mean the weakening of Niu Fu to the Wangs. But Niu Fu replied that Shisun Rui’s affiliation to him was exactly what had started this whole mess. No, what he needed was someone unrelated to the current tensions at court. So he turned to a man with good pedigree named Chang Xia. At the time, Chang Xia had the honor of serving as the Intendant of Jingzhao, thus making him the guardian of Chang’an, the former capital of the Han during the Western Han period (-206 to 9). A man holding such responsibility, and who stayed away from Luoyang, seemed like a perfect choice.
This would not be the case, though. First of all, Niu Fu seemed to either have ignored or not be aware that many officials had risen thanks to the corruption at court. And considering that Chang Xia’s only talent was in backroom dealings, there was a good chance that he rose in such manner. As it would turn out, Chang Xia also lacked any etiquette, making him a liability at court. Still, he took the office without flinching, ready to come help the Chancellor. His choice, which was supposed to be a neutral one, was actually highly criticized by the Wangs. They claimed that the appointment of the Intendant of Jingzhao was the first step of a plan to move the capital to Chang’an, where Niu Fu’s influence would be far greater. This, however, was quickly dismissed as idiotic, considering that Niu Fu was himself the Intendant of Henan (the region of the Imperial Capital), meaning he would actually lose power if he was to move the capital.
But if the Wangs mostly used the rise of Chang Xia to criticize Niu Fu, they were highly scared by the successes of Liu Siyuan. It was known that the Chancellor had a correspondence with the scion of the Han, the two holding much respect for one another, with Niu Fu even referring to Liu Siyuan as a friend. Following news of his successful annexation of Shansang County, Liu Siyuan was contacted once against by Niu Fu. The Chancellor expressed the possibility of making Liu Siyuan a Duke, something that had actually almost happened all the way before the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Niu Fu expressed a desire that Liu Siyuan officially submit to the Han court, an idea the warlord seriously entertained. There were even talks at court that he would make a fine Grand Commandant of the Imperial Armies, someone who could bring back order to the Dynasty.
The Wangs wanted none of this, with Jiang Xian especially afraid of the way Liu Si’s son would treat them if he was given power. So the tall official, using his access as Minister of the Imperial Household, began to whisper to the Emperor’s ear that Liu Siyuan actually had designs on the imperial throne. This rumor spread quickly, and while Niu Fu refused to believe them, it stopped any traction to reward or promote Liu Siyuan in the imperial system. Angered by this refusal, the Liu clansman in turn refused to surrender his current autonomy again, especially considering how bad it went under Tao Shang. Instead, he wrote a letter to Niu Fu. “If his Excellency needs my help to clean the den of snakes, then his Excellency shall have it. Otherwise, I can do far more good on my own.” As always, Niu Fu balked at the idea, and so talk of the issue dropped.
The incompetence of Chang Xia was brought to the forefront in the last months of 197. His mismanagement of The Jingzhao region had led to a peasant revolt against imperial authority in Baling County. As the Grand Commandant, Wang Hong was quick to volunteer to go defeat this rebellion, which he liked to present as a proof of Niu Fu’s incompetence. But Niu Fu insisted that he go himself. He was a military man, after all, and so he was unwilling to let an incompetent commander lead troops against the rebels. He instead chose to lead the troops himself, bringing with him Xu Rong, who was probably the only former follower of Dong Zhuo who still held a generalship, thanks to his good relationship with the Chancellor. Since he couldn’t go lead troops against the revolt, Wang Hong elected to smear Niu Fu’s reputation in his absence. This was harder to do than planned however, as Jiang Xian refused to join them. Not that he didn’t want to, but he was playing the long game, which meant that he couldn’t just throw stupid insult each time Niu Fu had his back turned.
Niu Fu and Xu Rong arrived in Baling County in January 198 and faced the rebels in an uneven fight. Not wanting to let this embarrassing revolt to chance, Niu Fu had brought almost 8000 soldiers with him, which was more than enough to crush the peasants. The victory was quick and swift, and a good boost to the troops’ morale. Xu Rong certainly felt energized, as he boasted “Now let us march to Luoyang and remove the knives pointed at our backs!” The soldiers cheered, all too happy to help Niu Fu march on the capital. But the Chancellor then stood in front of them, his sword raised. “If you wish to attack the great capital, then I shall be the first man to die in its defense!” he screamed in outrage. But while he didn’t want them to march on Luoyang, he understood their frustration. For the last decade, they had been continuously fighting, and mostly winning. But now it had been two years since Duan Wei’s embarrassing debacle, with little for them to do. He knew the men wanted to fight, and so in order to satiate them, he made them a promise that the Emperor would declare a new campaign this year. The soldiers cheered at this announcement, even if all Niu Fu could think about was how he was going to convince court that such campaign was needed…
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Me, mostly, as I don't see the events in the Han since I don't play them. I wasn't even aware of the Wang until a few days ago when I went back in the saves and checked the changes in Niu Fu's council over the months. That's how I notived who was in and who was out, and who died when. But yeah, other than that it's mostly me.
Half of these schemes mostly serve to explain stuffs that are forced by the game, like why Shisun Rui was removed from the Council. The AI just removed him for a powerful vassal, aka Chang Xia, but I had to explain why on earth Niu Fu would replace such a competent advisor for an incompetent one in the story.
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How was Niu Fu chosen? He reminds me of a HRE Emperor, competent but not a threat to fellow lords.
In story? Right guy at the right time. It's explained at the end of the chapter "195-196: A Quick War Next Door", if you want more details. In game it was Elective and he had the most vote when Duan Wei died.
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Elective was my question. Like HRE, they want a non threat not best candidate.
197-198: Mistakes Were Made
197-198: MISTAKES WERE MADE
The death of Chen Wen was a hard pill to swallow, especially for Yang Weili. Only a few weeks before, he was enjoying his life as a simple servant of his lord. Now he found himself as the most powerful warlord in China. While some might have seen this as a dream come true, the humble Yang Weili didn’t want this responsibility at first, although he was shrewd enough to understand that refusing would have endangered his lord’s dream. So he took the reins of power, showing this first and foremost when he took charge of the funerary rites and offered his protection to Chen Wen’s widow and daughters. This move, which was well received all around, was followed by another good decision on his part. Yang Weili certainly wanted to ensure that the transition of power would be done without incident, something that could always go more smoothly with marriage ties. In order to achieve this, he had his son Yang Boran betroth to Chen Jiner, the eldest daughter of Chen Wen. He hoped that this would make it clear that he was Chen Wen’s successor and that he was continuing his work.
But if Yang Weili wished to do as if Chen Wen was never gone, then he had a weird way of showing it. It was expected that the new Inspector of Yang Province would move to the provincial capital of Hefei, Chen Wen’s former seat of power. But Yang Weili surprised everyone by saying that he much preferred to stay in Xipingru. His reason for this decision proved especially lacking. The new Inspector had always been lazy when it came to his personal affairs, and that included his domain. The idea of having to handle all the transport and details needed to move his things and family to Hefei was simply too daunting for his tastes. It was too much trouble for nothing, so better stay home. This was, of course, ignoring all the hustle this would cause to the provincial administration, which had to move all its things to Xipingru. This made many officials grunt in frustration. Instead of moving to Hefei, Yang Weili appointed one such official named Lun Shi as Hefei’s magistrate to administrate the former provincial capital in his name. Yang Weili also invited Chen Wen’s family to come stay with him in Xipingru, but they kindly refused, preferring to stay in Hefei.
If this was seen as a bit strange, Yang Weili’s next move was perceived as outright disrespectful toward Chen Wen’s memory. Before his death, their late lord had ordered a campaign against the barbarians of Nanhai, a campaign that had been requested due to their raids on the southern border. Yang Weili’s first official announce was to annul these plans, as he felt it would be too costly. This was poorly received, especially among the southern officials who had been the victims of the raids. Chen Gengguo, who had travelled all the way to Hefei, was especially angered by the cancellation. He actually received news of it as he was on his way to his commandery in order to ready his troops for the campaign. Seeing it as an insult to Chen Wen’s legacy, Cheng Gengguo took a momentous decision: he chose to ignore his new lord, taking the campaign into his own hands.
As it turned out, Chen Gengguo would only be the first one to continue the campaign. Many southern officials, just as dissatisfied with the end of the campaign as he was, decided to follow his example and attack Nanhai. The ensuing conflict would take ten months and see some grueling fighting, but at the end of the day Chen Gengguo was able to take half the Nanhai for himself, a great victory that was only heightened by the fact that it gave Yang Province a port in the southern sea. This certainly helped elevate Chen Gengguo in the eyes of others, just as it diminished their opinion of Yang Weili. Chen Gengguo, in a victory speech to his troops, dedicated his victory to Chen Wen, and for the first time hinted at his possible family link with their former lord.
As it turned out, Yang Weili had not just cancelled this campaign for nothing. Instead, he first wished to start smaller, with a simpler campaign against weaker opponents. No, his current goal was to attack the barbarians currently the barbarians in Fuchun, led by the chieftain Yan Matun, one of the many of his clans to hold power in the region. But this campaign would be the opportunity to alienate another important player in the province. Hu Zan had been present for the mourning and the change in leadership. Now that Yang Weili was the ruler of Yang, the position of Commandant found itself vacant, and Hu Zan fully expected to fill that vacancy. He had literally won the province its independence from Tao Shang and had showed that he was the greatest military leader on hand. The only other possible contender would have been Huang Zu, but the grumpy general was clearly preparing for a personal war on his own, so he was easily out of the picture.
No, Hu Zan was the only sensible choice. Which is why he was infuriated when Yang Weili offered the position to Su Dai, the commander of Hufei’s garrison during the war. Su Dai was known for being quite incompetent at his job, having only done well due to the efforts of his subordinate Bu Baoxun. But thanks to that, the commander had gained the respect of his men, who always had praises for him. Besides, Yang Weili liked Su Dai. He was a righteous, humble and unambitious man, someone with who he could get along, someone he could easily work with. Su Dai was hesitant to accept the promotion though, and it was only the insistent push from Bu Baoxun that convinced him to accept. Meanwhile, Hu Zan could only watch, infuriated that he had been passed over by a man of far lesser talent.
The campaign was an affair of a couple of months, starting in February and wrapping up by late July. Of course, Yang Weili had hoped that Yan Matun would have surrendered when he learned of the coming Yang force, which was sure to outmatch whatever army he could put on the field. But Yan Matun was brave and didn’t care for his people. Better for them to die than for him to lose power. The barbarian chieftain actually inflicted a humiliating defeat to a small Yang force in March, forcing Yang Weili to go take command of the troops personally, with a larger army this time. He met the forces of Yan Matun at Jianmen in June, where he easily defeated the barbarian commanders. When he learned of this, the chieftain proved a lot more willing to discuss. He offered to submit to Yang Weili as a tributary, an offer that the Inspector accepted. Having won the war, he was now hopeful that this little campaign would be enough to be forgiven for abandoning Chen Wen’s last campaign.
In August, just after he had returned home, Yang Weili was informed that Huang Zu had died of his wounds following a battle with none other than Liu Siyuan. This was surprising news, but not unwelcome ones. Huang Zu had always been hard to deal with, so having the angry man no longer around was actually a positive thing, even if Yang Weili was smart enough not to say it out loud. To replace him, he quickly promoted a young and talented man named Xiang Lang. A local official of Jing Province, Xiang Lang had become famous for his administrative capacities. This was the kind of man that Yang Weili wanted at his service, and so it made sense to promote him. But the older officials of the province were a bit dubious at this, feeling like the young man got a free pass to a high-ranking position.
But Yang Weili was also demoting people and removing them from office. In fact, he started to do this a lot once he returned from his little campaign. A few magistrates and two administrators got bumped down the provincial ladder. A man named Zhou Xin had the worst of it, soon becoming the poster boy of these changes. Zhou Yin was an honorable and humble man who had served as administrator of Danyang Commandery since the Yellow Turban Rebellion. He wasn’t the best, nor was he the worst, but he was well respected by his peers. And in late October Yang Weili had him removed from all his posts without warning. Incensed at this treatment, Zhou Yin left for Ji Province, hoping to find more respect under Gongsun Zan. It is unclear why Yang Weili started removing officials like Zhou Yin. Some claimed that he was simply exerting his right to appoint and remove officials, while others believed he was trying to make the administration in the province more efficient by replacing the older officials by younger and better ones. Whatever his reasons, many perceived this as nothing less than the actions of a tyrant.
Many officials quickly lodged complaints to Lu Jun in the hope that he would do something to stop Yang Weili. However, the old official didn’t really care about their problems. While he was still bitter that he didn’t get to be the new Inspector, he had actually fared well under his new lord. He still held an important position at his court, and recently had even been given jurisdiction over Hefei, as Lun Shi proved unable to manage it adequately. So he had no reason to risk his neck for others. That changed in February 198, when Yang Weili hinted that he wished to replace Lu Jun. He suggested that after such a long career, the old official should probably retire with all honors. He had done enough for the province, let younger men take over. In particular, Yang Weili had an eye on the young Xiang Lang, who he was quickly grooming for a higher position at court. In a blunt and angry response, Lu Jun made it clear that he would never, ever, accept retirement. Yang Weili wisely chose to drop the issue, but it was enough to put fear in Lu Jun’s mind. Enough so that he began to envision a Yang Province without Yang Weili…
See, the problem with Yang Weili’s administration was due to his personal flaws. He was a skilled and learned man, who knew how to command troops in conventional and unconventional ways. He was also quite honest when speaking his mind and was humble in victory, all things appreciated by his former lord Chen Wen. The issue was that he was quite stingy with money in his personal life, and was quite bored when it came to doing things that didn’t stimulate him, like bureaucratic duties and paperwork. As a servant of Chen Wen, this was mitigated by his lord, who knew how to properly motivate him and mostly kept him in military affairs, which suited him just fine. Now that he was in charge though, his flaws found themselves dripping into all aspects of his administration. Spending was curtailed, especially for military campaigns. Daily administrative affairs often found themselves pushed aside out of laziness. His honest and direct attitude had the effect of alienating many of his officials. Chen Wen had little talents, but one of the few he had was the ability to cultivate loyalty among his subordinates. Yang Weili did not share that talent.
Even his most recent success, his small campaign against Yan Matun, turned into a joke when Yan Matun’s territories were annexed by a cousin of his, rendering the whole affair a waste of time. He seemed to have eventually realized his growing unpopularity, as in April 197 he started to talk about restarting that campaign against Nanhai that Chen Wen had declared. Most saw it as another attempt on his part to link himself to Chen Wen, but still, they were excited to finally finish this and destroy the barbarians once and for all. Yang Weili hoped for a quick and successful campaign when he declared war against the southern barbarians in May. In a way, he would get a better result than he ever imagined. Having failed to push back Chen Gengguo, High Chief Quaid Quach was smart enough to know that he couldn’t face the forces of Yang Weili. So he instead offered to become a subject of the Inspector of Yang, allowing his tribe to be annexed into Yang Province if he was allowed to continue to lead it. Yang Weili agreed, ending the war in two weeks without even fighting a single battle.
To Yang Weili, this was perfect. He had managed to win Nanhai without a fight. What a success! Most did not see it that way, though. They had been promised the demise of the barbarians that had raided their lands for so long. Instead, these same barbarians had been accepted by their lord. Many did not look well on this. Lu Jun certainly saw it as the last straw. Yang Weili had allowed such a threat to the province to be allowed in. This was unacceptable, and the final proof that the strategist was an unfit successor to Chen Wen. In June 198, Lu Jun rose in revolt against Yang Weili. He proclaimed that Yang Province needed an Inspector who would care for the province and the province only, not one who would act like a tyrant for himself. Some provincial officials rushed to join his banner, although neither Hu Zan nor Chen Gengguo chose to do so. Chen Wen had died eighteen months ago, leaving his territories strong and united. It was now going to fall into utter chaos.
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197-198: A Future for Liang
197-198: A FUTURE FOR LIANG
Yao Shuren had finally found a way to get some recognition from the Imperial Court. Han Sui and his rebels had been a torn in their side for a decade now. So surely Niu Fu and his ilk would be all too happy to see them destroyed. And the Chancellor certainly took the bait. Whatever his opinion of Yao Shuren was, at least he paid lip service to the Capital, while the rebels were in outright opposition to the Emperor. Niu Fu gave his support to Yao Shuren’s attack on the rebels, even if the Wang Clan was highly opposed to this. This turned a personal campaign into a fully sanctioned one. Yao Shuren was all too happy with this news. It seemed that the lip service he had given to court was paying off, and now he had far more leeway in his authority. In March 197, Yao Shuren declared his first independent campaign, ready to enter the history books as the one who finally ended the Liang Rebellion. He left his trusted wife Guo Yuyi to handle his domain, as he trusted her more than any officials at his service, despite their recent disputes over succession. Convinced that Liang would be well managed in his absence, he took his generals and marched into the mountains.
Han Sui only learned of this a month later, as he was still fighting the Qinghaixi Khaganate at the time. He and Ma Teng were forced to sign a quick peace with Cheliji Khagan, taking some territories and using them to raise a quick army to respond. They had little time to handle such matter though, as the threat of Yao Shuren’s fast moving army could be upon them at any time. So Ma Teng suggested that he stayed behind to raise new troops. He was technically a Qiang, just like the local population, even if he had been raised under the Han Dynasty. Han Sui agreed, trusting his old companion to handle the recruitment while he went to deal with the problem of the invasion. And who knew? With some luck, they might not even need these extra recruits to defeat Yao Shuren.
At that time, the Governor of Yang Province was advancing on the rebel territories, leading his army through the difficult mountains of the province. Even so, he advanced so fast that by the time of the treaty between Han Sui and Cheliji Khagan, he was already within reach of a city. Surprised by this quick pace, Chenggong Ying wished to leave the rebels’ home base to go oversee the defense himself, but Mo Jie volunteered to go in his stead. He explained that Chenggong Ying was needed to manage the territories until Han Sui’s return. At least that’s what Chenggong Ying understood, as Mo Jie was actually meekly suggesting that as a siege expert and architect, he could probably defend the city from a siege. Mo Jie then wrote one last panicked letter to Han Sui to tell him to come back already before leaving. He was so determined to arrive fast that he only stopped to let the horse rest, eating and (more dangerously) sleeping on horseback.
He arrived just in time, entering the city a few hours before Yao Shuren’s arrival. The timing was so close that the Governor’s scouts spotted him entering the city and reported his presence. Whoever this Mo Jie was (Yao Shuren had actually forgotten all about their previous encounter), Yao Shuren was confident he could force him to surrender. As it turned out, Mo Jie was surprisingly stubborn when it came to holding out, even if he lacked the troops to keep the provincial army out forever. As it turned out, even under a gruesome siege, Mo Jie proved to care for his men, often refusing to eat so they had more, and never even stepping a foot within the official mansion so to stay closer to the people. He certainly gained a lot of sympathy and support from the locals for his caring management of the siege. Within a week, he proved so liked that any hope of finding someone to cooperate with the besiegers turned to dust. But popularity didn’t win a siege, and by mid-May Mo Jie was forced to flee the city, although not before he sent Yao Shuren a demand that the citizen be allowed to evacuate freely (something Yao Shuren refused).
But Mo Jie had gained just enough time for Han Sui to return. He passed through his home base to grab Wang Bi and Ma Chao to assist him on this campaign before moving toward Yao Shuren’s position. For some reason, Yao Shuren had divided his troops, and with some of his army still assembling back home, he now found himself with less troops than the rebels. Adding to this was the advantage of the terrain, which was far more familiar to Han Sui and his followers, while the Governor of Liang Province had to use local barbarian guides to help his army through some of the more mountainous areas. When the troops fought outside of Linqiang, things seemed to be in Han Sui’s advantage. Never the less, Yao Shuren proved that he was no slouch when it came to strategy. Even with a numerical disadvantage of almost 1000 men and a bad position, he was able to fight back with ease. He actually inflicted just as much damages to the rebel forces as what he received. But even so, he realized that if things continued like that for a few days, this brutal fighting would leave him at a disadvantage. So after a gruesome day of fighting, he retreated back to the city he had just claimed.
Besides, Yao Shuren had a plan B in motion. The reason why he had detached some of his troops was so he could send them through another route directly to the rebel base. That detachment of seven hundred men was led personally by Hu Zhen, the older general who had been so loyal to Yao Shuren when he rose to power. This seemed like an excellent choice for a commander to lead this side expedition, except for one factor he had not been made aware of. It seemed like Hu Zhen had started to have violent episodes, where he was like a raged beast or spoke nonsense. Whatever insanity was starting to afflict him, he was still able to hide it most of the times. But when these urges came, it was proving to be quite problematic to his daily life. One such episode happened when the expedition actually spotted Han Sui’s returning army. While a clearer head would have wisely retreated, Hu Zhen suddenly started screaming weird sounds and charged like a madman. His men, taking this as an order to attack, followed suit. While Han Sui and the rebels were initially surprised, they quickly overran their attackers, inflicting a devastating defeat on Hu Zhen’s force and destroying his detachment entirely.
With these two successes, the rebels felt pretty good about themselves. In June, Han Sui returned to his seat of power and met with his followers, who were all too happy to celebrate the recent victories. The Imperial Government had sanctioned a campaign against them, and yet they were winning. This was good news. When news of Ma Teng’s recruitment going well reached them, Ma Chao even boasted that if things continued like this, the dream of freeing the whole province would be achieved before the turn of the century. While the other rebels weren’t as confident as he was, they certainly started to dream of a brighter future. Han Sui strategized that with the recent defeats of the provincial forces, there wouldn’t be a need to send as much troops this time. After a month of celebration and planning, he decided to send an expedition of two thousand men to go retake the conquered city while he waited for Ma Teng’s reinforcements. Ma Chao, Wang Bi and even Mo Jie all volunteered to lead the expedition. Only Ma Chao’s request was understood though, so the other two were left behind.
But the rebels had made a grave mistake. They thought Yao Shuren would have been pushed back, or would have replied to reorganize. Instead, the young warlord had simply continued to push forward. When he was defeated, he simply retreated to the lands he had conquered instead of his own. While the rebels were regrouping and preparing for a counter attack, he simply went on the move. When Ma Chao arrived in the occupied lands in August expecting to fight the provincial army, he soon discovered that they had already left. He was then doubly shocked when he received news from Han Sui that Yao Shuren was actually right at their doorstep with a rejuvenated army. With most of the troops stuck with Ma Chao, Han Sui had little to offer against Yao Shuren. But the morale of everyone was still high, with the rebel commanders like Wang Bi or Chenggong Ying charging head first against the enemy forces. Han Sui and his forced were pushed out, but they inflicted more damage to Yao Shuren than they received.
Han Sui and his allies were forced to evacuate their home base to regroup with Ma Chao and his forces. Mo Jie didn’t want to abandon the city, so he had to be forcefully removed by the men. While Han Sui admired his courage, the administrator was simply too important to their cause to be left behind. Sadly, they arrived to find that Ma Chao had made little advances when it came to retaking territories. It seemed that Yao Shuren had reinforced the garrisons before advancing. They thus had to decide if they were going to go back to attempt to relieve the siege or continue with the reconquest of territories. Of course, Ma Chao advocated to stay, as he didn’t want his work to go to waste. Most of the other officers advised Han Sui to retake their home base though, so the rebel leader finally decided in early October to march back to their home… only to learn on the way that it had already fallen.
But Yao Shuren hadn’t stopped there. He continuously received reinforcements, his army now almost four thousand men strong. He had even hired Qiang barbarians as mercenaries, a dire blow to the morale of the rebels, who fancied themselves as their protectors. In fact, he felt so confident about the course of the current campaign that he invited his wife Guo Yuyi to come join him in the army camps. He missed her advices and her company, and the two would spend some lovely time together. Unbeknown to the couple, this “happy time” would result in another pregnancy, one that Yao Shuren firmly believed would result in a son this time. As they were enjoying their time late 197, they learned of Han Sui’s movements. Unable to return home or pierce the defenses he left behind, the rebels had decided to move to Lianju, an area they had conquered a few years back. Yao Shuren laughed at this. Yes, the barbarians would probably help them, but it also meant that they were surrounded now. Soon enough, victory would be his. He was sure of it.
Heaven clearly had a thing against the Liang rebels. As if things weren’t already going badly for them, their holdout territories in the west were attacked in December by none other than Cheliji Khagan. It hadn’t even been a year since he had been forced to surrender territories to the rebels, but he had been planning to avenge this humiliating defeat ever since. Ma Teng had actually approached the Khagan, hoping he would now see the menace Yao Shuren represented. Cheliji Khagan rebuked him with a laugh. He didn’t care about Yao Shuren! In fact, news of his successes would finally convince him to attack those damn rebels who took some of his territories. The Khagan unleashed his horde on the border, violently assaulting the defenses throughout the end of 197 and the beginning of 198, slowly but surely occupying his former territories.
The successes of Yao Shuren and the advance of Cheliji Khagan weighted heavily on the mind of Qu Yan. The fall of the rebel home base convinced him that Han Sui’s cause was doomed. He never liked the old man, so he was not going to get dragged down with him. All that mattered to Qu Yan was that he retained control of his county. But he also wanted to protect the people under his care. While he didn’t want to admit it, the rebel cause had swayed him to be better and more generous, and he feared what would happen to the people should his territories be left to the mercy of the horde. So in February 198, he entered in a secret correspondence with Yao Shuren, offering him his loyalty and pledging himself to the Governor of Liang. Yao Shuren saw this as an opportunity and agreed. If anything, Qu Yan was a good commander, meaning that he was the perfect man to protect the border with the Qinghaixi Khaganate.
Ma Teng, who was residing with Qu Yan, soon became aware of the treacherous correspondence. As he feared, Yao Shuren was quick to send a letter to Qu Yan asking him to execute the rebel general. But Qu Yan, out of some weird sense of camaraderie, surprised Ma Teng by allowing him to flee and save his life. Ma Teng was thankful, and promised to repay this debt when they eventually won, which made Qu Yan laugh. Ma Teng thus rode away with some of his recruits to join Han Sui, trying his very best to get through Yao Shuren’s territories, he was often forced to fight his way through checkpoints and refused to abandon a single man behind, even if it meant risking his life. In the end, he managed to reach the other rebels, although he only had thirteen men remaining by his side. Everyone was happy to see him, as they were preparing an attack against Yao Shuren in the hope of retaking their former base.
This desperate attempt at a rebel counterattack took place around the town of Yuanjie. The rebels were clearly outnumbered by Yao Shuren, who decided a simple defensive strategy would be enough to finally break them. But the rebels felt like this was their last chance, and they weren’t going to waste it. They fought with such determination that the provincial forces were taken by surprised. Weren’t these people supposed to be on the verge of surrendering? So why were they charging at them screaming? Panicked by this, the army of Yao Shuren quickly broke, although their leader managed to reorganize the vast majority of them in a coherent retreat. Those that didn’t were pursued by Wang Bi, which led to many of them falling of cliffs as they fled. Yao Shuren, who was leading from the frontline, even lost an eye in the fighting. But wanting to keep face, he would start telling a different tale of the loss of his eyes, claiming a dragon came to him, offering him a great destiny in exchange of his left eye. Whatever was the case, it was undeniable that he lost his eye during his retreat from the rebel force.
But that victory proved to be pyrrhic. This fast advance had stretched their supply line to its limit. Even if Mo Jie did an excellent job managing the supply, he lacked the manpower to protect it. Yao Shuren was quick to capitalize on this, launching a series of raids in early June that destroyed the line, causing many civilian victims in the process. Among the victims was the young son of Han Sui. The news of his death, adding to the realization that they once again had to retreat, broke the old leader. Chenggong Ying and Ma Teng tried to convince him to continue the fight, but he didn’t have it in him anymore. He was watching his dream of a free Liang die in front of his eyes, fourteen years of fighting for nothing, and this was proving too much. Refusing to live in a Liang Province dominated by Yao Shuren, Han Sui committed suicide in late June 198, just as the young governor was officially declaring victory over the rebels.
The death of Han Sui finally broke the rebel cause. Realizing that there was little chance of continuing the fight, the Ma Clan decided to leave the region altogether instead of risking falling in Yao Shuren’s hands. Wang Bi, who respected them greatly, chose to follow them in their exile, hoping to find a just cause to fight for elsewhere. They would all travel throughout China before eventually settling in the court of Governor Tao Shang of Xu Province, all the way east on the coast. Only two rebel leaders refused to join them. Chenggong Ying had never particularly liked Ma Teng assumption of leadership, and so refused to follow him anywhere. He instead decided to continue the fight on his own through guerrilla warfare in the mountains. His struggle would be short lived however, as he would die a few weeks later due to a smallpox epidemic that spread throughout the province (although fatefully his wife would survive him). Both Ma Teng and Chenggong Ying tried to convince Mo Jie to join them, but the architect refused. He was a son of Liang, and never would he abandon his home province. If this meant facing death, then so be it.
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The victory had been far harder to achieve than he had ever anticipated. He thought these rebels had been at the end of their rope, yet they defeated him more time than otherwise, which Yao Shuren found rightfully annoying. He had been raised all these years by his father to be the best general possible, only to be repeatedly defeated by a bunch of disorganized rebels. Well, it didn’t really matter in the end. He had still won. Now all he needed to do was to make sure that history only recorded the right version of this campaign.
“Is it here?” he asked the lieutenant accompanying him.
“Yes my lord!” the man answered. “General Hu found a rebel leader hiding in this village.”
“And he made sure to send for me before making any decision.” Yao Shuren completed.
Once again, Hu Zhen made the right call. It was good to have such a loyal and understanding subordinate. The older man had been a lot of help back when Guo Si was still alive, and now he was proving ever the more reliable. And even better, he didn’t take important decisions without approval from his lord first. Yes, a perfect subordinate, Yao Shuren thought, at least if it wasn’t for those weird rumors about his mental state…
Once he had received news from Hu Zhen that he had found a rebel leader, he made haste with an escort, curious about the man they had found. He would have actually liked for his wife to accompany him, as her advices were always appreciated. He had grown quite fond of her, on an intellectual and maybe even personal level. She really knew what his goals were and was able to support him in achieving them. Sadly, she was feeling quite sick these days and was in no state to travel long distances that fast. Probably something related to her pregnancy. She had been sick at times during the previous ones, after all. And if getting deprived of her was the cost for her to safely give birth to a son, then it was a small one. Finally, he was going to have an heir, and their whole dispute over her bastard could be pushed aside.
As he entered the village, he could see the local savages assembled outside of their homes. He had expected rustic homes for those Qiang barbarians to live in, but those were actually quite well built for the houses of savages. Surely it had been built by the rebels, who used their Chinese techniques to improve the Qiangs’ situation. The villagers had all been assembled in groups in the streets, watched over by his provincial forces. It seemed like Hu Zhen didn’t want them to try anything. Good. Yao Shuren would have been greatly disappointed if his right-hand man had been overpowered by barbarians trying to save the rebel officer. The soldiers were quick to salute their lord as he passed by on his horse, while his presence scared the locals. He was happy to see that the soldiers knew how to act in his presence. The last thing he needed was a bunch of unruly troops.
He was quickly greeted by a older man in armor, who quickly fell to his knees as Yao Shuren approached on horseback. He looked up at his lord, his slender but aging face clearly awaiting an order. Yao Shuren waved at him, telling him to get up. Still, the general waited, only getting up when his lord had dismounted. Hu Zhen was a bit taller than him, although he did not have the same presence as Yao Shuren.
“My lord.” Hu Zhen welcomed him with bow.
“You did well to call upon me, general.” Yao Shuren said. “Now where is this rebel?”
“Inside this house, lord.” Hu Zhen explained, pointing at the building behind him. “I placed soldiers to watch over him, just in case he tried anything.”
“We can never be too prudent.” Yao Shuren agreed. “Was he hard to find?”
“Not really. He wore his finest clothes, so he stood out quite easily among the poor populace. He did not even try to flee when he caught to him, simply surrendering as if it was expected.”
“Did he?” Yao Shuren responded; his curiosity now piqued.
He quickly entered the house behind Hu Zhen, followed closely by his guards and his second-in-command. The home, while looking fine from the outside, was quite in bad shape inside. Either his men had ransacked it (a high possibility, he had to admit), or the people owning this house had done a terrible job of taking care of it. At the center of it was a man pushing forty, patiently waiting on his knees. Hu Zhen didn’t lie when he said that the man was easy to notice, wearing a right green dress that was more appropriate for the Imperial Court than the country side. No wonder he had been caught. He also had a dark bushy beard and calm eyes, as if he was resigned about his fate. Soldiers surrounded both him and a pregnant young woman by his side, which Yao Shuren guessed must be the man’s daughter, considering the age difference.
“You are in front of the Governor of Liang Province.” Hu Zhen told the man. “Pay proper respect.”
The man’s eyes shifted to Hu Zhen for a moment before turning back to Yao Shuren.
“It is I, Mo Jie, is my name.” he said with a meek voice.
Wha-What was that? Was that supposed to be a proper introduction? Yao Shuren was a bit taken aback, both by the nonsensical words of the man and his weak voice. He expected him to be more boastful or challenging.
“Mo Jie… Where have I heard that name?” he asked out loud, as much to others than to himself.
“He was the man put in charge of the rebel defense of Linqiang, lord.”
Ah yes, that siege. The first obstacle they met during the campaign. This was supposed to be an easy affair, yet the man in charge of it refused to surrender and held for far too long. The rebels also had mentions of a man named Mo Jie in their papers, a great administrator or something. The more he looked at the man, the more he felt like he had seen him before, though… But that was irrelevant. What matter was that if that man was as good as he read, then it would be a waste to kill him here. Too bad he chose the wrong si…
“I serve Liang!” Mo Jie shouted.
Everyone looked at each other, unsure how to take this declaration. Yao Shuren had a pensive look on his face. There was certainly a lot of ways to interpret the sentence “I serve Liang”. Maybe he professed his support for the cause of the Liang rebels, even while facing imminent doom. Maybe he felt some stupid loyalty to the geographic notion of Liang, or maybe a sense of duty to its people. But there was also the possibility that he was offering his services to Liang Province, and thus to its governor. It wouldn’t be a first case of rebels asking to serve him, as Qu Yan had already demonstrated a few months ago.
“Do you now?” was his only response as he approached the rebel.
“I am a son of Liang and lived for it.” Mo Jie replied. “I am ready.”
Again, this was ambiguous at best, incomprehensible at worst. Thankfully for Yao Shuren, this could also be left to interpretation, and he felt generous today. If Mo Jie could prove useful to his ambitions, then so be it.
“I’ll find use for you.” he said with a smile.
“My lord?” Hu Zhen asked, just as confused as Mo Jie.
“He’s coming back with us.” Yao Shuren declared as he turned around.
“But…” Mo Jie tried, before he was interrupted.
“I am Liang, and you will serve your people by serving me.” Yao Shuren interrupted before pointing at some of the soldiers. “You, you and you. Escort Mo Jie and his daughter back to the provincial capital. Now.”
The men didn’t respond, simply grabbing the rebel and the teenage girl and carrying them outside the house.
“Find him a post, maybe as a small clerk to start with. I want to see the worth of the life I just saved.”
“Yes lord.” Hu Zhen answered, no longer questioning the decision.
“And general?”
“Yes lord?”
“Massacrer this whole village. If they were trying to hide a rebel, who know what they might try to hide from us in the future?”
“It will be done before sunset.” Hu Zhen promised.
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PS: Well, that’s it for the whole rebel storyline! Eight years of following that cast, and we had good times with them. But now, after what I think is my longest chapter so far, we reach the end of their story. Mo Jie is now part of Yao Shuren’s storyline, and while the Ma Clan will eventually reappear, they now serve Tao Shang, which is far closer to Yang Weili or Xiao Ru than Mo Jie.
PPS: I know we dunked a bit on Mo Jie for marrying a girl that is way younger to him, but I realized recently he’s not the only one with an icky marriage. Hu Zan’s (@patpekala ) second wife is actually… the stepmom of his first wife. So the second wife was married to her stepson’s grandfather. Kinda awkward. Never mentioned it cause it’s not really relevant to the plot, but still weird.
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Forshadowing...
ooooof. I guess that might be the reason Mo Ji wants to make it out alive. Or was he trying to be defiant and Yao Shuren just misinterprited him.
Yaaay warcrimes! I'm guessing that won't go over well with kindhearted "I serve Liang" Mo Jie
Mo Jie, Man of Liang. By CK2 standards, the Mo Jie marriage is very ordinary. I have inherited a character that was married to his step-daughter. I have also marriage my stepson when we both were of the same dynasty. Is this my first child and is this my end or will I appear again? I find it ironic that the Han family were rebels against the Han dynasty.
The wife of Chenggong Ying does play a role once we continue the story of Liang, although I'll keep it at that.
Mo Jie was probably either defiant or just resigned and e3xpressing his love for Liang again. He probably didn't expect to get out of this alive, although he would probably have attempted to bargain for his wife's life (if he was understood enough to be able to bargain, that is).
Yeah, not the greatest start to a relationship, massacrering the people who helped the guy you just recruited.
Mo Daiyu, his first child, although she's pretty irrelevant overall. Her main achievement is marrying a guy named Xu who manage to be unrelated to Xu Shao, Xu Rong, Xu Chu or the many other Xu who will appear in the story. She later marries another guy named Jiang, and it turned out the Jiang Clan has the exact same coat-of-arms as the Mo Clan (which I found to be a funny coincidence).
As for Mo Jie, he's not out of the story. But now he is part of Yao Shuren's court, so if he appears it will be during the chapters related to Yao Shuren.
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198: Me and my Big Head
198: ME AND MY BIG HEAD
Everything seemed to be going right for Xiao Ru and his Chen Commandery. He had managed to first annex Runan Commandery, which was then held by his now subordinate Liu Yi, and then the following year he had managed to take the provincial capital of Chengguo after its magistrate surrendered it to him. Victories after victories. Throughout all that, he had been able to acquire a lot of competent subordinates, from the great general Chang Lin, who chose to serve him after his talents were wasted in Sili Province, to the recent addition of the scholar Chunyu Shenxi, who had defected to him when he came to take the provincial capital. Half a decade ago, Xiao Ru was on the run, having killed his hated rival Zhuge Gui. Now he stood as the most powerful warlord along of the region. And if you were to ask him about it, he would have answered that he deserved it. All of this. All this success was rightfully his.
But there were proving to be growing issues under that façade of success, issues that had been a problem for a while. While he was quick to reward his subordinates for their support, with some like Chang Lin having risen far higher than they ever dreamed before joining him, it was clear that this was all getting to his head. A little too fast and far too much, if you asked some of his followers. They were a big fish in a small pond, but Xiao Ru had started acting as if he was on the verge of reunifying China tomorrow. He certainly acted as if he had that kind of authority, at least. For a few years now, Xiao Ru had promoted and demoted individuals from his inner council based on what seemed to be his whims. It was actually more based on what the Administrator felt like he needed for a specific situation, but that hardly changed the problem. Many among his court, chief of which was Xu Shao, felt like this wishy-washy attitude to office appointments was tyrannic and undeserving of a righteous lord.
Xiao Ru’s growing pride and arrogance were in full display when he decided that it would be a great idea to demand the submission of the warlord Liu Siyuan, whose territories bordered Chen Commandery to the south. Both Xu Shao and Liu Yi opposed. Xu Shao pleaded his lord: “Liu Siyuan is a great warrior fighting for the even greater cause of saving the Dynasty. If we were to try to stop him from achieving this goal, would we not be the villains under Heaven?” Liu Yi was also quick to come forward, opposing any move against his distant cousin’s autonomy. Xiao Ru was greatly displeased by their opposition, so he suspended them from his privy council, telling them to return to their counties and prove their worth by administrating the territories. With the two complainers out of the way, Xiao Ru sent a letter to Liu Siyuan, offering him the honor of serving him. The scion of the Han was actually amused by the man’s arrogance, so he wrote back a passionate answer that could be boiled down to “No, and don’t ever contact me for such stupid reason.” Xiao Ru, who had heard of Liu Siyuan’s prowess on the battlefield, decided to drop the issue.
Xu Shao continued to try to persuade his lord to change his ways, although Xiao Ru mostly perceived it as unwarranted bickering from a man who was once again losing favors. But while Xu Shao still believed that he could convince him, others like Liu Yi had started to believe that more concrete actions had to be taken. Liu Yi never really liked his new lord, having lost his territories to him and having been humiliated once he surrendered. Yes, he now held a powerful position at court, but even there he felt like things were wrong. The wrong people occupied the wrong functions, and it was clear that while Xiao Ru expected his realm to be held by strict laws, his court was only under the sway of his personal whims. If he wanted things to change and improve, talking to Xiao Ru wouldn’t result in a solution. No, what they needed was to force his hand.
Liu Yi had great respect for Xu Shao, which is why he was the first who was approached with the idea of a rebellion. Xu Shao was at first turned off at the idea of taking arms against his lord, but neither did he leak this information to Xu Shao. In the end, two things pushed back toward Liu Yi. First was the news that he was permanently removed from his post on Xiao Ru’s council. He had hoped that his previous opposition over the Liu Siyuan issue would have been quickly forgotten. Sadly, his continuous complains had pushed Xiao Ru to reconsider keeping Xu Shao among his close advisors. Then there was Lady Xia, that damn woman. In his absence, she had managed to regain some autonomy at court and once again ambitioned gaining power. Still, she overplayed her hand, and soon enough Xiao Ru had her pushed to the side once again. While this was a quick affair, it made Xu Shao worried that his lord might allow his wife to actually regain power, or some other evil advisors to get close to him. Something had to be done, and if Liu Yi’s plan was the solution to this, then so be it.
In March, the two men approached another high-ranking official of Xiao Ru’s territories, offering Chunyu Shenxi to join them. The magistrate in charge of the provincial capital, Chunyu Shenxi had defected to join Xiao Ru when the warlord declared a war to reclaim the city from the Prince of Liang. Since then, he had done everything in his power to stay in the good graces of Xiao Ru, knowing full well how easy it would be to suspect the turncoat of being a potential traitor. It seemed to have worked too, as Xiao Ru had appointed him Censor of the Commandery earlier this year, even if he was pretty terrible at it. So, when Xu Shao and Liu Yi approached him with the idea of joining their plot, he panicked. Fearing what would happen if he sided with them, he quickly sent news of this potential betrayal to his lord. Xiao Ru was shocked by this. He might have expected Liu Yi to try something one day, considering how he took his territories. But Xu Shao? That, he never saw coming. He immediately ordered their arrest, only to find that they were nowhere to be found.
When they heard that Chunyu Shenxi had betrayed them, the two coconspirators quickly raced to their territories and assembled the troops at their disposals. However, not wanting to look like ambitious traitors who only wanted more power, they sent one last letter to Xiao Ru, demanding him to reform his entourage and make sure that he would respect his advisors and appoint them lawfully. Xiao Ru, who still felt like he could do no wrong, quickly refused their demands. He was not going to cave to a bunch of rebels, not when he was on his way to reunify Yu Province! He had gone so far thanks to his quick ability to appoint the people he needed and then replace them when they had outlived that use. No, these two had no idea what they were talking about. Xiao Ru refused their terms, leaving them with only one option: revolt. Liu Yi and Xu Shao officially declared themselves against the tyranny of their lord, with the goal to ensure that good and loyal advisors had their power and influence respected and honored.
Xiao Ru’s response to the rebellion was quick as he dispatched Chang Lin to go deal with it. Yes, the rebels were strong and had a lot of men, but they lacked a great advisor like Chang Lin. The general himself wasn’t that happy to have to leave though, as he was actually having a lot of “adult fun” with a woman these days. Then again, better get away before someone figured out that said woman was actually one of his lord’s concubine. That would not only be embarrassing, but extremely dangerous for his personal life, considering the circumstances. A more humble and reasonable man might have simply not gotten in that situation in the first place, but just like his lord, Chang Lin was convinced that he could do no wrong. He felt like he could do all that and get out of it just fine. After all, wasn’t he Xiao Ru’s best general? So after leaving his lover, he took over the loyal troops and went fight those damn rebels.
But Xiao Ru had greatly underestimated the strength of the rebellion. It turned out that Liu Yi and Xu Shao actually had four time more soldiers than he had. Never the less, Xiao Ru was confident that victory would be his, as it had always been since he arrived in Yu Province. He first hoped to hire some mercenaries, but all those he could think of were already hired in other wars throughout China. So instead, he decided to go help the troops by leading them himself. He wasn’t exactly a great commander, but he was certain that his presence would help boost the troops’ morale. It was a good idea, but a useless one. The rebels simply had too much territories, too much support. Liu Yi had no difficulty assembling his former supporters under his banner. Although they had pushed him to surrender to Xiao Ru, it didn’t mean that they liked the way their new lord was ignoring them. As for Xu Shao, his talent had allowed him to gain the respect of many, with more joining the rebels as they held him in higher esteem than their lord. This resulted in a series of defeats for Xiao Ru had his supporters.
By September, it was starting to seem hopeless. Their armies had been destroyed by the rebels, and soon his seat of power would find itself under siege. In a last-ditch effort, Xiao Ru sent for Chunyu Shenxi, demanding that the magistrate come to his aid. But Chunyu Shenxi had been depressed over the fact that his actions had led to a civil war. This had taken such a toll on him that he had fallen sick, to the point that he was unable to leave Chengguo. With the realization that there would be no help coming, Xiao Ru became realistic. He had to end this now before his authority took a bigger hit.
In October 198, the Administrator of Chen Commandery contacted his former subordinates. He agreed to their demands and asked them to end this revolt. While Xu Shao was happy with this outcome, Liu Yi wanted a more public proof that Xiao Ru wouldn’t go down the path of tyranny again. So they agreed to meet in the town of Gucheng. There, Xiao Ru agreed that he would never remove righteous officials, that he would respect their inputs and that the government of the commandery would be run justly, including at court. This official speech from their lord became known as the Gucheng Declaration, a weight that Xiao Ru would have to drag for the rest of his life. But while everyone saw this as a victory, the two sides differed on the meaning of the declaration. The righteous officials like Xu Shao and Liu Yi believed that this was something that would hold their lord for the rest of his life, something he would have to follow from now on. Xiao Ru had a different idea. To him, this was a deal with Xu Shao and Liu Yi. Meaning that if, let’s say, the two men were to die, he would be free of those obligations and could go back to his old ways, right? Right?
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Is this a cover for changing up the council when you got back in control of Xiao Ru?
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I love that everybody seems to want a piece of Liu Siyuan. Either they want to murder him or get him to work for them.
That clearly means he is going to be dead soon. Lol
That clearly means he is going to be dead soon. Lol
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