A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 917: Puyang Manifesto sets the tone, the rebel army's way out is to go to Jianghuai

"General, I think Commander Huang is right. The rebel army is unstoppable right now. The reason they won is that the imperial court did not react and the local governors took care of themselves."

"If we wait until the imperial court reacts and mobilizes the Chang'an Imperial Guards and the various vassal garrisons to besiege us, we may end up following the same fate as Pang Xun."

"Back then, when Pang Xun swept across Jianghuai, his army numbered more than a million. Wasn't he defeated by the combined efforts of the imperial court and the local governors? The general must be on guard."

The person who was speaking was sitting on the right side of Wang Xianzhi, above Huang Chao. His name was Shang Junchang. He was a veteran who had revolted with Wang Xianzhi in Puyang, and was also Wang Xianzhi's think tank and right-hand man.

The "Puyang Manifesto" was written by Shang Junchang.

The reason why Huang Chao ranks third is that he brings the most people and is the commander with the most men under his command except Wang Xianzhi.

"Yeah." After all, Wang Xianzhi was the leader of the rebel army, and the uprising had only been going on for a short time, so he had not yet fallen into incompetence.

"Commander Huang and Lord Shang are right. We must not look down on the government troops. The government troops in Puzhou and Caozhou are nothing but local tyrants. The real government troops have not come out yet."

"You're talking about expanding outwards. Where should we go?"

Wang Xianzhi set the tone for the attack, and everyone started talking at once, saying all kinds of things.

Some said that Bianzhou was rich, so they attacked Bianzhou from the south.

Some say that they would go straight west into Luoyang, occupy the Eastern Capital, and cut off the passage between Guanzhong and Guandong.

There is also talk of attacking Shandong.

Some even said to cross the Yellow River to the north and attack Hebei and Hanoi.

Looking at the generals who each held their own opinions, Wang Xianzhi's head was buzzing with noise.

Then he turned his gaze to Huang Chao and Shang Junchang. He knew that they were the only two people who could discuss important matters.

The rest have some talent, but not much.

He decided that if he had anything to discuss in the future, he would not hold such a meeting, but just find a few trusted and smart people to discuss it.

"What do you think, Commander Huang?"

Huang Chao clasped his fists and said, "General, I think we should go east."

"Oh?" Wang Xianzhi leaned forward slightly, pretending to listen.

"General, although the imperial court has not sent out troops, there are still several vassal states nearby. They are well-equipped and their soldiers practice martial arts all year round. They are not comparable to farmers like us who have just gone to the battlefield."

"To the west is Bianzhou, and to the south is Songzhou, both of which are where the Xuanwu Army is located. I heard that their army is the most powerful among all the towns in Guandong, and even the Central Imperial Army cannot control it."

"What's more, even if we tried our best to defeat the Xuanwu Army, how could we break through a strong city like Bianzhou?"

"Even if we manage to capture Bianzhou City, we will suffer heavy losses. The imperial court should have reacted by now."

"Further west is Luoyang, an important city of the imperial court, and also a strategic pass. How many of your brothers' lives are you prepared to sacrifice to get there?"

"By the time the remaining vassal troops arrive in Henan, we won't be able to escape."

"Go on." Wang Xianzhi knocked on the table and asked Huang Chao to continue.

"To the north is the Yellow River. After crossing the river, we will enter Chanzhou and Weizhou. That is the territory of the Weizhou Army. Its military strength is not weaker than that of Xuanwu."

"Besides, Hebei has lost its former prosperity after the An-Shi Rebellion. Instead, there are many vassal states. Even if we conquer it, there will be no benefits to be gained."

Wang Xianzhi nodded and continued, "So you mean to attack eastward?"

Huang Chao nodded, then shook his head: "Yes and no."

"General, I think that although Shandong's military is not strong, there is nothing to gain. On the contrary, the terrain is complex and it is very easy to be locked in by the government troops."

"Therefore, I think we should bypass the Xuanwu Army and go south from Yanzhou to Jianghuai, and then go south to Suzhou and Hangzhou with the wealth of Jianghuai."

"Suzhou and Hangzhou have always been places of heavy taxation for the imperial court. If Suzhou and Hangzhou are taken, even if the imperial court survives, it will be half dead. Without money and food, can the emperor in Chang'an still suppress the group of arrogant soldiers and brave generals under his command?"

Wang Xianzhi turned his head slightly to look at Shang Junchang. After getting his consent, he stopped hesitating and stood up and announced loudly: "Okay, let's follow Commander Huang's wishes. Pass on my order. The army will immediately prepare to set out. The target is Yunzhou."

October
After resting in Caozhou for a month, the rebel army pounced on Yunzhou like a tiger.

Yunzhou belonged to the Tianping Army Jiedushi and originally belonged to Ziqing Town.

However, since the imperial court abolished Zibo and divided it into three towns: Tianping, Zibo and Pinglu, the Zibo Town that originally spanned the north and south of the Yellow River came to an end.

It was precisely because of the disrepair of Tianping's military that the two states of Pu and Cao under its jurisdiction were captured by the rebels so quickly.

October 13

Tens of thousands of rebel troops arrived at the city of Yunzhou. Yunzhou governor Bi Ding'an, an official of the Neo-Confucian school, vowed to never surrender and summoned the soldiers and civilians in the city to resist.

However, when Tianping Jiedushi Song Zhongde saw the massive rebel army outside the city, he was so frightened that he abandoned his army that night and fled from Yunzhou City with his servants and all his savings.

It was not until the next day when the rebel army attacked the city that the generals of the Tianping Army received the news that the governor had escaped.

Without the main general, morale plummeted and many city defense measures became useless. The rebels quickly climbed up the city walls and the situation became urgent.

When Bi Ding'an heard that Song Zhongde had escaped from the provincial government, he started cursing and, not caring that he was a civil servant, he took the government runners and clerks to the city wall to assist in the defense.

But Bi Ding'an was not familiar with military affairs after all, nor was he a man of both civil and military talents. It would be appropriate for him to govern Yunzhou, but it would be really difficult for him to command the army.

If there had been no rebel army, thanks to his governance in Yunzhou in the past two years, although the people could not escape the taxes of the imperial court, they would not have been left without a way to survive, nor would they have suffered such a disaster.

"Kill the rebels!!!" Bi Ding'an, wearing a round-necked official robe and holding a sword, commanded the soldiers and yamen runners on his left and right to kill the rebels who were clinging to the city wall.

Huang Kuicai, who was in charge of this section of the siege, stepped onto the city wall and saw Bi Ding'an in a bright red official uniform waving a sword in the distance.

In an instant, he narrowed his eyes, bent his bow and drew his arrow, and shot Bi Ding'an down.

Soon, a shout was heard from afar, "The envoy is dead."

The already shaky defenders suddenly scattered and crowded around to return to the city.

Upon seeing this, Huang Kui ordered his men to attack and the city of Yunzhou was thus breached.

Huang Chao, who was in charge of the general siege, listened to the description of the bloodstained Huang Kui and looked at Bi Ding'an, who was lying on the steps and died of an arrow wound. He sighed and ordered:
"Let's give him a good burial."

Before Huang Chao could rest, someone came to tell him, "Commander, the general wants you to go to the state government office to discuss matters."

Upon hearing the order, Huang Chao simply ordered his soldiers to clean up the battlefield and collect supplies, and then hurried to the administrative center of Yunzhou, the Governor's Mansion, where the blood was still wet.

October 21

It was originally thought that the rebel army was going to attack Yanzhou and had already surrounded the city of Yanzhou.

Unexpectedly, news came that Yizhou behind him had been breached and the Yanhai army was defeated.

Officials in Yanzhou were terrified, so they left the city to surrender. The Yanhai army guarding the place had to retreat to Mizhou further north.

It turned out that when attacking Yunzhou, Wang Xianzhi adopted Shang Junchang's advice that speed is of the essence in war.

Wang Xianzhi personally led the army to besiege Yanzhou, and used Huang Chao's 10,000-man army, which was the most elite among the rebels, to attack and capture Yizhou.

Within a few months, the rebel army conquered Yunzhou, Yizhou and Yanzhou, and was able to enter the Jianghuai area.

November

After entering the Jianghuai area, the rebel army became more and more powerful. In just one month, they conquered several states, many of which were helped by Pang Xun's former subordinates. The army strength reached more than 200,000.

As for why the court has not taken any action yet.

That was because the imperial court in Chang'an, under the cover-up of the prefectures and counties at all levels, still believed that Wang Xianzhi's uprising was just a group of bandits, not a big threat, and not as great as Li Keyong in the north.

The military governors who had troops in various parts of Guandong sat back and watched in order to protect themselves. They just held on to their own territories and watched the rebel army march away from their borders and capture neighboring counties.

(End of this chapter)