novelAbuy Chapter 108 The Causes of the War and the Beginning of Mismanagement
Chapter 108 The Causes of the War and the Beginning of Mismanagement
February 17th, the third year of the Tongguang reign (1464), Gengchen day.
Li Siyuan, the military governor of Xuanwu Army, was reassigned as the military governor of Chengde Army.
At the end of last year, Li Siyuan led 37,000 imperial guards to Youzhou, where they defeated the Khitans southeast of Zhuozhou and captured 30 of their leaders alive.
Li Cunxu appointed Zhao Dejun, who was given the name Li Shaobin, to guard Youzhou. Because Zhao's reputation was not high, he appointed his relative by marriage, Li Siyuan, as the military governor of Zhenzhou, and also to support him.
A year ago, Fu Cunshen passed away. Li Siyuan, who held the titles of Grand General of the Palace, Grand Commandant, and Grand Chancellor, was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Han and non-Han Armies, becoming the de facto top general in the court.
His sons and nephews, Li Congwen, Li Congzhang, Li Congrong, Li Conghou, and Li Congcan, were all granted the title of Grand Master of the Palace and concurrently Right Attendant Gentleman of the Palace and Grand Censor. Li Congzhen was granted the title of Grand Master of the Imperial Academy and concurrently Vice Censor-in-Chief. They were all deeply favored by the emperor.
Because his family was from Taiyuan, Li Siyuan recommended his eldest son, Li Congke, to be appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Beijing Yamen. However, this action angered Li Cunxu.
When Li Cunxu recalled the incident where Li Siyuan passed through Ye City and took 500 sets of imperial armor from the treasury when he launched his campaign, he flew into a rage.
"Military and political power rests with me; how can I petition on your behalf! My fine armor was forcibly seized without imperial decree; what is the meaning of this?"
Li Cunxu rose to fame at a young age and was known as the God of War. When the emperor was angry, his power was unstoppable.
Li Siyuan was filled with anxiety and fear, so he submitted a memorial to explain his position, which calmed his anger.
As punishment, Li Cunxu was reassigned as Commander of the Cavalry under Li Congke and exiled to Shimen.
Shimen is located north of Datong Prefecture. In the second year of the Huichang era of the Tang Dynasty, Hedong reported that the Uyghurs had entered Yun and Shuo and plundered Hengshui. At that time, a garrison was set up to defend against the Uyghurs. In this dynasty, Hengshui Garrison was renamed Shimen Town, which is more than 600 li away from Taiyuan.
Li Siyuan, didn't you want Li Congke to stay close to his family? I deliberately sent him to guard the border. This is the willfulness of Li Cunxu.
That year, the whole country was hit by floods.
The Shanzhou River rose by 22 feet, damaging the pontoon bridge and entering the city gate, where some residents drowned.
The Bian River overflowed, causing great flooding in Ye City and the Imperial Canal to overflow.
He Yang reported that the Yellow River had risen by fifteen feet.
The prefects of Zhenzhou and Weizhou reported that the water had entered the city and destroyed houses.
A report came from Xiangzhou: the Han River had overflowed, and houses were being swept away and drowned.
Other areas, such as Ze, Lu, Xu, and Hua, reported prolonged rains and floods. Due to the floods, prices soared, famine struck everywhere, soldiers were in short supply, and some even sold their children to support their wives.
Even in the capital city of Luoyang, it rained for two and a half months, from July 3rd to September 18th, until the sun finally came out. The Luo River overflowed, damaging the Tianjin Bridge, and people could only cross by boat, with many drowning daily.
In military terms, a major victory was achieved: Privy Councilor Guo Chongtao swiftly pacified Bashu in less than three months, capturing the false ruler Wang Yan and his son in one fell swoop.
The Liang, Jin, Shu, and Wu kingdoms were divided among themselves. Li Cunxu conquered two of them, gaining control of three-quarters of the land. At that time, everyone believed that as long as the war ended and the people could recuperate for a few years, and the people's livelihood recovered, the unification of the country would be just around the corner with his battle-hardened elite army.
At the end of the year, Li Siyuan paid homage in Luoyang.
What was supposed to be a normal audience turned into a nightmare on the first day of the first lunar month. Li Cunxu defied convention by refusing to accept the congratulations of the officials and then, as if possessed, did a series of inexplicable things.
The sixth day of the first month of the fourth year of the Tongguang reign (1443), the day of Guihai.
Crown Prince Li Jiji, the Prince of Wei, following Empress Liu's orders, assassinated Guo Chongtao, the de facto commander-in-chief of the campaign against Shu and the Privy Councilor.
Of his five sons, two died with their father in Xichuan, one was executed in Luoyang, one in Weizhou, and one in Taiyuan, and their family property was confiscated.
The 23rd day of the first lunar month, Gengchen day.
Li Cunxu executed his half-brother, Li Cunyi, the military governor of Fuzhou. Because Li Cunyi was the son-in-law of Guo Chongtao, and the eunuchs claimed that he had spoken out against his father-in-law's innocence, harboring resentment, he was also implicated in the disaster.
On that day, Li Jilin, the military governor of Hezhong, Grand Tutor, concurrently Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and Prince of Xiping, entered the court alone in his carriage to clarify that he had not conspired with Guo Chongtao to rebel, and was transferred to the position of military governor of Huazhou.
Unexpectedly, that very night, Zhu Shouyin, a trusted servant of Li Cunxu who had lost the southern city of Desheng years before, surrounded Li Jilin's residence with his troops, drove Li Jilin out of Huian Gate, and killed him.
Li Cunxu issued an edict stripping Zhu Youqian of his bestowed surname, restoring his original name to Zhu Youqian, and ordering the execution of his entire family in Hezhong Prefecture.
The one who was ordered to confiscate their property and exterminate their clan was Xia Luqi, the military governor of Heyang and a fierce general.
Xia Luqi was straightforward and had a good relationship with Li Congke and others, but he felt that Shi Jingtang, as a military general, was too scheming and was not willing to deal with him.
After returning from the river, he was depressed and went to drink with Gao Xingzhou, who was with Li Siyuan in Beijing, and told him about the death of Zhu Youqian's family.
At that time, his wife, Zhang, led more than two hundred members of the clan and spoke eloquently: "The Zhu clan should die, but I hope that ordinary people will not be implicated."
They then separated a hundred servants and maids, and only a hundred members of their clan were punished.
Before his execution, Zhang entered the room, retrieved the iron certificate, and displayed it to Xia Luqi.
"This was a gift from the emperor. The woman is illiterate and does not know what it means."
"Xia was fearless in the face of thousands of troops and being surrounded, yet he had no face to look directly at a dying woman."
That night, Gao Xingzhou drank with Xia Luqi until they were completely drunk.
When he left home, his wife was already pregnant. He had hoped to return to Zhenzhou soon, but Li Cunxu refused to send him away. Gao Xingzhou was trapped in the capital with his lord, and he had no choice but to suffer in silence.
"If Li Siyuan were to meet the same fate..."
Gao Xingzhou already had this concern, and after hearing what Xia Luqi said, he couldn't help but think of Hua Jianxiu and couldn't help but shudder.
The wine in the glass tasted bitter as it went down my throat, and the more I drank, the colder I felt.
The thirtieth day of the first lunar month, Dinghai year.
Seven former subordinates of Zhu Youqian—Shi Wu, Xue Jingrong, Zhou Tangyin, Yang Shitai, Wang Jing, Lai Ren, and Bai Fengguo—were executed along with their entire families, even though they were innocent.
Rumors were rampant in the capital, and the ministers were all filled with anxiety and fear. Generals like Gao Xingzhou suddenly felt a sense of shared sorrow.
Li Cunxu, the hero I once admired, was he possessed by an evil spirit?
February 9th, Bing Shen year.
The Martial Envoy Shi Yanqiong rushed from Yedu to report: "On the sixth day of this month, soldiers stationed in Beizhou suddenly entered the capital and looted the markets."
Weibo Mutiny.
Those rogue soldiers have rebelled again. On the surface, it was because a soldier lost a gambling game, but the real reason behind it is something else entirely.
This group of Weibo soldiers, led by Commander Yang Renzheng, had been guarding Waqiao Pass for over a year. When it was time for their rotation to end, they were filled with the joy of returning home.
However, upon reaching Beizhou, orders came from above to set up camp and remain there without advancing further.
Beizhou is only two hundred li away from Weizhou. Yet, upon arriving home, one is unable to reunite with long-separated relatives. Anyone would feel resentful in such a situation, especially since the authorities refuse to provide a reasonable explanation.
Yang Renzheng also had his own grievances but could not express them. The powerful figures in the court were worried that Yedu was undefended and that the arrival of troops might cause trouble. Therefore, they advised Li Cunxu to order the troops to be stationed in Beizhou.
Why did a mutiny occur when everyone was simply returning home?
Because of this, Jing Jin, a former entertainer, was granted the titles of Grand Master of the Palace, Right Attendant Gentleman of the Palace, and Grand Censor. Li Cunxu entrusted Jing Jin with the overall management of finances and grain in Weizhou, as well as the recruitment of soldiers and horses.
When the emperor visited Ye, he selected a thousand beautiful women to fill his harem, not choosing those from respectable families or humble alleys. As a result, thousands of soldiers' wives and daughters fled. On his return to Luoyang, a thousand women from Ye accompanied him. There were not enough carriages, so they were loaded onto oxcarts, which lined the road.
Li Cunxu then appointed Shi Yanqiong, a court musician who had gained favor, as the Military Commissioner to oversee Yedu.
The head of the Wude Division was only a seventh-rank official. However, because Shi Yanqiong was directly under the emperor, he made all the decisions regarding the six prefectures of Weibo, and wielded absolute power within the capital. From the prefect down, everyone in Xingtang Prefecture bowed their heads and scraped before him.
While he guarded the border, his family suffered exploitation and hardship, and his wife and daughters were even abducted to the palace. How could a warrior like him tolerate the arrogance of these bird-feathering actors?
Coupled with the fact that his hometown was so close yet he could not return home, a long-suppressed resentment gradually grew and spread.
At this very moment, Shi Yanqiong received a secret imperial edict to kill Zhu Youqian's son, Zhu Jianhui, the prefect of Chanzhou. Since he was acting on a secret order, and the Wude Division was the emperor's eyes and ears, specializing in clandestine activities, he chose to leave the city at midnight without revealing his destination.
At dawn, a gatekeeper reported that Shi Yanqiong had ridden away on horseback in the middle of the night, and no one knew where he had gone.
The emperor's trusted confidant has disappeared, causing widespread shock and chaos in Yedu.
A month ago, one of Guo Chongtao's sons was executed in the prefecture. Rumors circulated that it was because he had killed Prince Li Jiji and wanted to establish a separatist regime in Xichuan.
As the rumors spread, they gradually became distorted, eventually evolving into: "Empress Liu went mad after her son's death, murdered the emperor, and the emperor died, hence the urgent summons of Shi Yanqiong back to the capital to salvage the situation." (Note 1)
The news reached the garrison in Beizhou.
The emperor is dead, he has a home but cannot return, and he has lost money gambling. Why not go all out and do something big?
What appear to be illogical and chaotic events, upon closer examination, are intricately linked and contain hidden causes and effects.
Wei Bojun had a long-standing tradition of forming a rebellion and had no psychological barriers to it. Led by Sergeant Huangfu Hui, he rallied the troops and elected Yang Renzheng as their leader.
Yang Renzheng was a man who respected the rules, and at first he tried to persuade them to stop before it was too late.
"What wrong have you done! Now that a wise ruler is on the throne, the world is one family, and his army numberes no less than a million. He has pacified Ba and Shu in the west, and his might has shaken the Chinese and barbarians. You each have your own families, so why do you act like this!"
The mutinous soldiers had no patience to listen to his reasoning. They drew their weapons and threatened, "The entire army is filled with resentment and desires to rebel. If you do not obey, we will resort to rudeness."
Seeing that the situation was not good, Yang Renzheng softened his tone: "I am not unaware of this, but a man should plan for the best before he undertakes any undertaking."
He misjudged the situation.
The matter was urgent and there was no time for hesitation. The soldiers immediately beheaded Yang Renzheng, took another junior officer hostage, and killed him if he refused.
The mutinous soldiers, carrying two severed heads, then went to coerce Zhao Zaili, the Silver Spear Commander.
Upon hearing of the chaos, Zhao Zaili, without even putting on his clothes, leaped over a wall to escape. He was caught by the mutinous soldiers, who surrounded him, drew their swords, and demanded, "Can you be our leader? Otherwise, your head will fall with this blade!"
With Yang Renzheng and the junior officer's unseeing heads swaying before his eyes, Zhao Zaili, being much more sensible, immediately agreed.
The mutinous soldiers, now led, cheered and shouted, set fires in the middle of the night, and looted Beizhou.
They set off for Linqing early in the morning, plundering Yongji and Guantao counties. They then doubled their pace and arrived at Yecheng at midnight the next day to attack the north gate. Shi Yanqiong, whose troops were at the north gate tower at the time, heard the bandits' shouts and immediately panicked and fled to the capital alone on horseback.
At dawn, the chaotic army entered the city, and the defending troops fought them in street battles but were defeated.
In the evening, Zhao Zaili led his troops to occupy the palace city, appointing Huangfu Hui, Zhao Jin, and others as commanders and executioners, and the troops looted extensively.
On that day, the crowd elected Zhao Zaili as the military commander and drafted a memorial to report to the emperor.
To Li Cunxu, the emperor who rose to power on horseback, this mere military disturbance was not a big deal, and he was about to select a general to lead an expedition upon hearing the news.
Empress Liu, the one who started it all, interjected, "This is a small matter, no need for the general to trouble himself. Let Shao Rong take command."
Li Shaorong, also known as Yuan Xingqin, was a trusted and beloved general of the emperor. Li Cunxu followed him and was appointed as the Pacification Commissioner of Yedu Campaign, leading two thousand cavalry. He was ordered to gather troops from various regions to launch a campaign against the enemy.
February 14th, Xin Chou.
When Yuan Xingqin arrived in Yedu, he first tried to win over the troops with an imperial edict. Zhao Zaili then rewarded the troops with sheep and wine and bowed on the city wall, indicating that there was still room for negotiation.
Before they could exchange more than a few words, Shi Yanqiong jumped out, brandishing his halberd and shouting, "You bunch of damned traitors! May the city be torn to pieces!"
Huangfu Hui believed that this was the emperor's true thought, based on the attitude of his close confidants. He gathered a crowd to curse and destroy the imperial edict.
Upon receiving the report, Li Cunxu was furious and uttered the same words as Shi Yanqiong: "On the day the city falls, leave no survivors!"
There is no possibility of reconciliation between the two sides; war is the only option.
Even though Yuan Xingqin was brave and invincible, Ye City, defended by the Wei Bo soldiers, could not be taken by a mere two thousand cavalry.
He temporarily withdrew his troops to defend Chanzhou, and waited for the various armies to gather. He then divided his troops into five routes, destroyed the cartwheels, doors, and roof beams of the people to make rafts, crossed the Changqing River, and attacked the Guan family's gate, but failed to capture it.
Since the rebel soldiers of Weibo had broken the imperial edict, they knew there was no mercy, so they prepared day and night and fought desperately to resist.
Li Cunxu thought that the hundreds of rebel soldiers should be easy to capture, but he was surprised to find that he still hadn't been able to take them down after more than ten days.
While the Weibo army was in rebellion, Zhao Tai and four hundred other soldiers of the Anguo Army occupied Xingzhou, and Wang Jingkan, a junior officer of the Henghai Army, occupied Cangzhou, both of whom declared themselves acting governors.
When Kang Yanxiao, the vanguard general who pacified Shu, heard that Guo Chongtao and Zhu Youqian had both been executed along with their entire families without cause, he thought that after returning to the capital, he would be next!
He then led his troops westward from Jianzhou, proclaiming himself the Military Governor of Xichuan and the Military Commissioner of Sanchuan, and issued an edict to the people of Shu. Within three days, his army had grown to 50,000.
Bai Yanchen, the prefect of Yanzhou, also reported that soldiers from Sui and Yin provinces were plundering the city and plotting a rebellion.
Hebei, Sichuan, and the Northwest are all becoming restless, and it looks like a major upheaval is about to break out.
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Place Name Comparison
Beizhou: present-day Qinghe County, Xingtai City, Hebei Province
Weizhou: present-day Daming County, Handan City, Hebei Province