Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 463: The World is in Turmoil
The fifth year of Daye, midsummer.

The endlessly hot and restless summer made the world even more restless, and the rebellion in Jiangnan shocked everyone in the world.

They couldn't figure out why Jiangnan wanted to rebel.

However, some people understood this very well. The officialdom in Jiangnan was too dark. If the emperor found out about the things they had embezzled, then according to the current temper, everyone would die.

If you plot treason, you will die. If you don't plot treason, you will die. So why not plot treason?

Didn’t Yang Jian succeed in his rebellion back then?
The Yang family is the one who rules the world, so can't they do anything?

Thus, the Jiangnan noble families who claimed to be "speaking for the people" plotted a rebellion. They did not revolt on their own, but instead elected two "front-stage leaders." After all, when rats in the gutter have been rats for too long, they will habitually hide behind the scenes and dare not stand in front of the stage.

Shen Faxing of Suzhou called himself "King of Liang" and first wrote a manifesto to express his condemnation of the Emperor of Sui. One of the biggest charges was that Yang Jian had murdered the then Emperor Wansui, thus committing treason.

He said that the Sui Dynasty and Yang Jian "came to power illegitimately" and attempted to "kill the emperor and force the emperor to abdicate."

Regardless of whether the regicide was true or not, forcing the emperor to abdicate was indeed true.

Shen Faxing also found the descendants of "Zhang Chun" and "Zhang Qiao" and asked them to endorse him, explaining the "injustice" of their ancestors, and then recorded the real crime in the "history books".

The Grand Historian who was imprisoned for many years by Yang Jian and died was actually passed down by later generations. On that bloody night, the Grand Historian had already anticipated his own fate, so he let his daughter escape with the true history.

The daughter lived in seclusion in Suzhou with the history book written in blood by the Grand Historian, always waiting for the day when she could make the crimes of Yang Jian and others public and clear her father's name.

Shen Faxing found her.

And that history book is in Shen Faxing's hands.

There are several large characters written on it.

"In the fourteenth year of Wansui, Yang Jian and his men murdered the emperor and forced him to abdicate. Their actions were considered treason."

It's written in black and white, with witnesses and evidence, and it's irrefutable.

Those who were loyal to Dayu in the past stood up again at this time, with anger in their eyes, and thus the Great Sui Dynasty ushered in its greatest period of chaos.

A more turbulent time than the end of Dayu.

In the Jinluan Palace
Yang Guang pressed his forehead. His headaches had been coming more and more frequently in recent days, preventing him from sleeping all night long. Without sleep, he felt even more miserable and irritable.

Even the imperial physician couldn't comfort him.

The report in the audience is still going on.

"Your Majesty, we know of thirty-six people who have claimed to be kings and seventy-two uprisings in various places."

"Among them, the most powerful should be Zhongsun Xie of Liaozhou, Shen Faxing of Suzhou, Dou Jiande of Yangzhou, and Wang Shichong of Liangzhou."

"Zhongsun Xie of Liaozhou called himself the 'King of Yan'. He said that he was an attendant of the late emperor and that he had launched the Bloody Night Incident with the late emperor. On that night, they saw with their own eyes that the Wansui Emperor died at the hands of the late emperor. They were all deceived by the late emperor and then hunted down by him. Now they are plotting rebellion just to seek justice for themselves and the Wansui Emperor."

"Shen Faxing of Suzhou calls himself the 'King of Chu'. He has in his hands the blood letter written by the Grand Historian, as well as the Grand Historian's orphan. Now most of the noble families in Suzhou and the surrounding Jiangnan regions believe that the Wansui Emperor was killed by the late emperor."

"As for Yangzhou's Dou Jiande, he called himself the King of Wei, and Liangzhou's Wang Shichong called himself the "King of Western Liang". They were all simply plotting rebellion, and their slogan was just to say that you were extravagant and indulged in pleasure."

Yang Guang pressed his forehead and looked at the many ministers standing below the stage. These ministers seemed to have appeared as countless phantoms in his eyes. His head was so dizzy that he could hardly control himself.

"Yuwen--Yuwen--"

Yu Wenzhi quickly stood up, with a respectful look on his face: "Your Majesty, I am here."

Yang Guang pressed his forehead and said, "They are just some petty thieves, nothing to worry about."

"First, concentrate your forces to strangle Shen Faxing, Dou Jiande and others."

"Pass on my order. Order Youzhou Governor, Youzhou Grand Commander, and Deposed Envoy Chen Lin'an to immediately send troops to attack Liaozhou Zhongsun Xie. For his treason, he should be executed on the spot. Order the Black Guards to investigate his relatives and kill all nine clans! Bring all his clansmen to him. As long as he is willing to surrender, I can only execute him!"

"In addition, mobilize the soldiers of Liaozhou and make Li Shimin, the governor of Liaozhou West County and the deposed envoy, cooperate with the actions of Lin'an Hou."

"We must not let them go south!"

After pondering for a moment, Yang Guang endured the severe pain and continued: "Don't just send one! Send them to me continuously, one imperial edict every day, until Liaozhou and Youzhou take action!"

Even pain could not hinder Yang Guang's thinking.

His mind was very clear. He knew that without his imperial edict, or until his imperial edict reached Chen Linan's hands, these two little foxes would never move.

He knew this, and Zhongsun Xie must have known it too.

Zhongsun Xie will try his best to prevent his imperial edict from reaching Youzhou, and this is the game between the two of them!
After that, Yang Guang looked at Yu Wenzhi and said, "I will immediately appoint you as General Pingnan and order you to lead the army to attack Dou Jiande! In addition, you must contain Shen Faxing and never let him go north!"

"Remember! All forces should prioritize killing Dou Jiande!"

Yu Wenzhi bowed and saluted: "I accept your order."

After Yu Wenzhi left in a hurry, Yang Guang looked at "Pei Ju" who was standing there: "Pei Ju!"

Pei Ju stood up with a determined look.

"Your Majesty, here is my minister."

Yang Guang exhaled, and said while enduring the pain: "You, take the army to suppress Wang Shichong! And go to Guandu with my imperial edict! Ask Mr. Chen, Xiliang is my Chinese land, but now Wang Shichong is entangled with barbarians to attack the nine states of China and rebel against the orthodoxy of China! Ask Mr. Chen whether he will intervene or not!"

Although he was talking to Pei Ju, his eyes were always on Chen Ruohan who was standing there without saying a word.

Chen Ruohan sighed, and couldn't help but feel a little admiration for Yang Guang.

This was indeed the best way to break the impasse. In dealing with several different forces, Yang Guang adopted different methods. Moreover, he was still able to react quickly at this time. He wanted to use the name of Chinese orthodoxy to rely on the power of the Chen family to wipe out Xiliang.

He stood up.

If anyone is to blame, blame Wang Shichong for not choosing a good place for the uprising.

Xiliang is connected to the Western Regions, there must be no chaos!

"Your Majesty, there is no need to ask my father."

Chen Ruohan looked solemn, with a hint of arrogance in his eyes. At this moment, he didn't look like a civil official at all, but rather like a military general who could kill the enemy as soon as he got on a horse! Chen's sons have always been like this!

"I can make the decision for my father and the Chen family." He looked around and said, "Your Majesty, you don't need to give me too many soldiers. Just give me 10,000 soldiers."

"For the rest, I will call on the world to kill the enemy."

Chen Ruohan said word by word: "Xiliang and the Western Regions must not be in chaos. Whoever dares to cause chaos in the Western Regions and attack the Sui Dynasty with barbarians, the Chen family will never tolerate it! We will definitely command the whole world to fight against the thieves and kill the enemies!"

Yang Guang burst into laughter: "Okay, I will make you the first-rank general of Zhenxi!"

Then he looked at Pei Ju and said, "Since Cheng Tao has gone to Wang Shichong's place, then Pei Ju, you go and suppress those scattered uprisings in the south! Remember! Innocent people cannot be killed! Tell them that as long as they lay down their weapons and return to the farmland, I can forgive their past and will not pursue their crimes of treason!"

At this time, Yang Guang really looked like a wise and enlightened monarch.

He said in a deep voice, word by word: "I know that some people were forced to do this. Some people did not want to rebel, but they had no choice, so they could only be coerced by the rebels. Now, as long as they lay down their weapons and return to the farmland, I will strangle the rebels and protect my people!"

"I am the emperor, the father of the world, this is my responsibility!"

Many ministers immediately bowed down: "Your Majesty is wise--"

In the sixth year of Daye, the whole country was in chaos. Princes from all over the country rose up in rebellion, and countless people were dragged into it.

Most of the noble families smelled some "opportunities", so they began to "invest". They were also very particular about the investment targets they chose. After all, only if they finally obtained the throne would their investment receive a return.

Among them, there were only a few noble families who did not make any move at all.

For example, the Qin family of Guanzhong, the Zhao family of Shangdang, the Three Lius, and the Zhang family of Tianshi.

And the Guandu Chen family.

Of course, the Guandu Chen family is too detached and does not need to invest in anyone. The final winner will have to give the biggest piece of cake to the Chen family - this is the rule, a rule that no one can break.

This has been the case for thousands of years.

An ancient and outdated finality.

The sixth year of Daye.

Chen Ruohan, the son of the Chen family, the next head of the Chen family and the person with the highest official position in the court, issued a decree to the world that King Shichong of Xiliang occupied the land of Xiliang, blocked the exchanges between the Central Plains and the Western Regions, and wanted to conquer the world as a barbarian and subvert the orthodoxy of the nine states of China. This was unacceptable to the world.

In the name of Guandu Chen, he issued orders to the whole world and Liangzhou to strangle Wang Shichong immediately!
After Chen Ruohan's "order" was issued, people all over the world responded.

The Zhao family of Shangdang, the Qin family of Guanzhong, the Li family of Longxi, the Wang family of Taiyuan, the Three Lius, the Zhang family of Tianshi, and the Dong family of Xiliang reacted immediately, and everyone started to strangle Wang Shichong!
Even the generals under Wang Shichong himself had some "little thoughts".

That's Chen!
Wang Shichong was not the only one who was rebelling in this world. They could also join others in rebellion. With their status, whoever they followed would be committing treason. Wouldn't they not be able to get a share of the profits in the future if they followed someone?

Being defined as a traitor by the emperor is nothing, it is just a small matter. After the new emperor ascends the throne, they will still be heroes.

Didn’t you see that after Yang Jian’s rebellion succeeded, all those who had followed him in the rebellion were rehabilitated?

Each and every one of them is a loyal minister who saves the land of China. Each and every one of them is a loyal minister who saves the land of China!

A group of jackals became heroes.

But being defined as a traitor by Chen is different.

If Chen says you are a traitor, then you are indeed a traitor; if Chen says you are a traitor to China and the "Han people", then you are a traitor to China and the Han people.

There is no way to wash away the stigma - not even for the emperor.

Why was Yang Jian so excited when he saw "Chen Lin'an" join the army, and even conferred him the title of "Marquis of Lin'an" after he made contributions? Because this meant that the Chen family recognized the legitimacy of his rule!

Never mind why you admitted it.

Anyway, if you serve as an official under me, that means you acknowledge that I am the legitimate emperor. Although the stigma on me cannot be washed away, at least I won't be scolded by people all over the world.

For a while, Wang Shichong's men even began to escape quietly and join others.

There are thirty-six rebel kings and seventy-two princes in the world. Even if you are at the level of Wang Shichong, there are still three of them in the world. Why should I hang myself on this tree of yours?
It's a joke.

Xiliang
Wang Shichong sat in his mansion with a hint of anger and helplessness on his brow. He did not expect that the emperor would react so quickly and directly use the fact that he blocked the communication with the Western Regions in Xiliang and colluded with the barbarians to make a fuss, so that Chen directly defined him as a traitor and personally led troops to attack him.

Does he dare to go against Chen?

Sorry, he doesn't dare.

He didn't dare to resist even if he would die.

why?
Because if you resist, your entire clan will probably be wiped out, and even if you are lucky enough to have descendants to inherit the family, they will still be cursed.

But if he did not resist, but instead told his own difficulties and said that he had been cheated, then there would still be room for the situation to be turned around, and perhaps only he would die, without the death of his entire clan.

This is the difference.

A servant came in hurriedly with a respectful look on his face.

"General, we have captured those people from the Western Regions. According to them, they came from faraway Europe. Their ancestors were the Xiongnu who were driven to the West by the Marquis of Lin'an, the Marquis of Guanjun, and the Marquis of Changping. Now they have persuaded you to cooperate with us so that the Xiongnu can return to this land that they love so much in the future."

Although the servant's tone of voice was still steady, his voice was trembling.

Because he sadly discovered a fact - they had indeed colluded with the Huns and the barbarians in the Western Regions, even if they were really deceived.

Wang Shichong closed his eyes.

He originally wanted to prove that he did not do those things, and even prepared a sophistry - for example, Xiliang is also Chinese land, and the people on this land are also orthodox Han Chinese, so how can they be considered barbarians?
But now it seems that Emperor Daye must have found out something, so he was so sure to find Chen, and Chen must also know something, so he took direct action.

"That's all."

Wang Shichong waved his hand tiredly: "Go and invite the head of the Dong family and the governor of Liangzhou to come over."

The sixth year of Daye.

The whole country was in chaos, and Emperor Daye sent troops to block the flow of the world.

He appointed Yu Wenzhi as the general to attack Dou Jiande and Shen Faxing, appointed Chen Ruohan as the general to attack the barbarian King Shichong of Xiliang, and appointed Pei Ju as the general with the intention of suppressing the rest of the rebels in the world.

The war breaks out again.

(End of this chapter)