Zhao Bushi was a native of Guangling whose ancestral home was in Xu Province.

Zhao Bushi’s ancestors had followed the Emperor Gaozu to conquer the world and were later enfeoffed as the Marquises of Guangling for their meritorious service. The Zhao clan had managed their affairs in Xu Province for centuries, making them one of the most prominent aristocratic families in the local area. Zhao Bushi’s clan nephew, Zhao Gui, was the current Grand Administrator of Guangling Commandery.

During this flood in Xu Province, the common people of Jiangnan could no longer endure the exorbitant taxes and reckless levies imposed by the local powerful clans, rising up in rebellion out of sheer rage. They burned down government offices, slaughtered officials, and engaged in arson, murder, and looting everywhere. Zhao Gui, the Grand Administrator of Guangling, was precisely one of those who died at the hands of the rioting mobs. The Zhao clan, as powerful elites of Xu Province, were just like all the other local wealthy households, besieged inside their fortified manors by the rebelling mobs who had risen up in arms, leaving the lives of the entire clan in imminent danger.

In a desperate panic, the leader of the Zhao clan, who was trapped in Xu Province, had his house guests use carrier pigeons to send a message to Jixian pleading for help. He hoped that his cousin, Zhao Bushi, who served as the Grand Imperial Censor in the imperial court, could persuade the court to dispatch troops south to rescue Xu Province from its deep distress. This was also the key reason why Zhao Bushi was able to learn the news at the very first instance when the people of Jiangnan rose up in rebellion.

The carrier pigeons of the Zhao family were indeed fast, even a bit faster than the court’s eight hundred mile urgent couriers and the secret reports transmitted back by the Night Owl scouts. It could truly be described as a case of speed being the most precious asset in military affairs.

Looking at the grim faced Zhao Bushi, Yin Shuhuai could not help but wonder with curiosity in his heart; could this be the true efficiency of an aristocratic clan after its home base was completely targeted? Thinking about it this way, he had really underestimated this bunch of old fogies in the past.

“I look to Your Majesty to save the people from their deep distress and deliver them from extreme suffering,” Zhao Bushi said with tears in his eyes, truly on the verge of crying out of sheer anxiety.

Seeing that Zhao Bushi was burning with anxiety over his kinsmen, Yin Shuhuai immediately summoned Shentu Yang, Huo Quan, and others into the palace to discuss suppressing the civil rebellion in Jiangnan and providing relief to the disaster victims.

Following the autumn harvest, it was time for the Jixian military academy to recruit new students.

Shentu Yang and his trusted aide, Yao Wenruo, were in the study drawing up the list of soldiers for the second batch to enter the military academy for studies when a servant suddenly came rushing in to report, stating only that the Emperor had dispatched someone to summon his lord and the State Chancellor into the palace to discuss vital matters.

Shentu Yang and Yao Wenruo looked at each other, immediately set down the work at hand, and hurried into the palace.

The two encountered Huo Quan at the palace gates, who had likewise rushed over in a hurry. The three looked at one another and, having no time to converse, were invited into the hall by a young eunuch.

The Grand Imperial Censor, Zhao Bushi, had already been waiting inside the Hall of Sublime Virtue for a long time. Catching sight of the three figures, he did not even wait for the Emperor to speak before stepping forward ahead of everyone to grasp Shentu Yang’s hand, “The Duke of Yan must save me.”

Shentu Yang thought, what on earth? Brother, what are you trying to do?

With a mind full of fog, Shentu Yang looked toward the Emperor. Yin Shuhuai signaled Zhuang Wuwei to hand the plea letter from the Zhao clan leader over to Shentu Yang and the others, summarizing in few yet concise words, “Xu Province is flooded, and Jiangnan has rebelled. The Grand Imperial Censor’s nephew has been killed, the Xu Province Zhao clan is surrounded by the rebel army, and the lives of the entire clan are in imminent danger.”

Hearing the Yin Emperor refer to the vagrant bandits who had risen up in arms as a rebel army, Zhao Bushi cast a glance at Yin Shuhuai, unable to hide his astonishment.

Yin Shuhuai paid no heed to Zhao Bushi’s petty emotions, getting straight to the point, “The court needs the Duke of Yan to go to Jiangnan to suppress the rebellion.”

Hearing that something had happened in Jiangnan, Shentu Yang and Yin Shuhuai shared a tacit look.

Evidently, both intended to seize this opportunity to dispatch troops to reclaim control over Jiangnan, and subsequently replace all the Grand Administrators and Chancellors of various provinces and commanderies in Jiangnan with their own people.

Yin Shuhuai remembered that in the history of later generations, Jiangnan was referred to for a very long period as a land of fish and rice. Although Jiangnan during this period was still considered a wild, barren region and was not particularly wealthy, Yin Shuhuai had already formulated a whole set of planning schemes in his mind on how to develop the Jiangnan region.

Now, everything was ready except for Jiangnan itself.

At the thought that the misty, rainy Jiangnan praised repeatedly by countless romantic scholars and writers of later generations would emerge from his own hands, Yin Shuhuai could not help but feel a bit thrilled. The infrastructure genes engraved in his bones began to boil.

Yao Wenruo cast a peculiar glance at the Yin Emperor, who was thrilled over god knows what, and said in a deep voice, “To go to Jiangnan to suppress the rebellion this time, the main army and the logistics supplies can depart from the sea aboard the naval fleet.”

The State Chancellor of Yan subconsciously calculated the expenses of the court dispatching a massive army to Jiangnan to suppress the rebellion. As the saying goes, before the troops and horses move, food and fodder must go first. Going to Jiangnan to suppress the rebellion this time could certainly rely on the clear sea routes to transport both men and grain supplies together. Yet exactly how many men did the court intend to send for the suppression? If there were too many troops, the consumption of food and fodder along the way would not be a small sum. What was more, the court’s trip to Jiangnan this time was not merely to suppress the rebellion, but also to provide relief to the disaster victims.

With such immense expenditures, Yao Wenruo needed to compute a precise figure.

“We must bring at least one hundred thousand troops,” Shentu Yang said, being a battle-hardened old veteran himself. With just a brief calculation in his mind, he provided the precise data, “Thirty thousand cavalry, fifty thousand infantry, and twenty thousand naval forces.”

Relying solely on these troops to completely take down the six commanderies of Jiangdong and the nine commanderies of Jingxiang was far from enough. Shentu Yang planned to recruit local citizens into the military on the spot after the main army arrived in Xu Province. This would both weaken the strength of the rebel army and stabilize the thoroughly ruined local situation in the shortest time possible.

As for whether the soldiers recruited locally would turn their coats on the battlefield, Shentu Yang was not worried at all. When he first marched south to the Central Plains to rescue the Emperor, he had gone so far as to directly press-gang the armies of the regional lords he had just defeated, and even dared to lead eighteen regional lords to the outskirts of Luoyang to force a palace confrontation to save the sovereign. He was not worried about the various lords turning their coats back then, so why would he worry now about a bunch of vagrant refugees who were driven into a corner before rising up in arms?

The common people of the Yin dynasty had always been exceedingly gentle. If it were not for the fact that they truly could not survive, who would be willing to risk their heads to rebel?

Shentu Yang’s primary objective in going to Jiangnan this time was to reclaim the various commanderies of Jiangnan. As long as those rebels had not committed heinous crimes against humanity, he could let bygones be bygones. Of course, if the hands of those rebels were truly stained with the blood of innocent civilians, Shentu Yang would also make those bandits pay for their crimes in blood.

The citizens of the Yin dynasty were, after all, the subjects of His Majesty, and likewise the subjects of him, Shentu Yang. Anyone who dared to harm his people would have to pay the price.

Hearing Shentu Yang’s words, Yao Wenruo immediately said, “Then, counting the logistics personnel, the court will have to mobilize three hundred thousand people for this expedition.”

In other words, the court would need to recruit at least two hundred thousand conscripted laborers to transport the food, fodder, and other military baggage required by this hundred-thousand-strong army to the naval camp at Qinhuangdao, and then the naval fleet would transport these supplies along with the hundred thousand troops together to Guangling. From Guangling they would enter Xu Province, and subsequently take down the various commanderies of Jiangnan.

Hearing up to this point, Yin Shuhuai subconsciously glanced at the map of the Yin dynasty hanging on the wall, suddenly realizing that the army could also traverse Jiangnan via water routes and go straight into Shuzhong.

Shuzhong, indeed. In a flash of lightning, Yin Shuhuai automatically listed the products, resources, and strategic value of Yi Province in his mind.

Ba and Shu were also praised as the land of abundance, boasting thousands of miles of fertile fields and fortified lands, which showed the fertility and wealth of Ba and Shu. During the Three Kingdoms period, Shu Han was able to rely on the territory of a single province to contest the empire alongside Cao Wei and Jiangdong, depending entirely on the sustenance provided by the land of Yi Province.

Since relocating the capital, the court had firmly grasped Longyou, Guanzhong, Henan, Youzhou, Bingzhou, Jizhou, Jizhou, Yanzhou, and certain commanderies and counties of Xu Province. If they could seize this opportunity to take down the six commanderies of Jiangdong, the nine commanderies of Jingxiang, and the Shuzhong region in one fell swoop, Yin Shuhuai’s eyes shifted slightly, suppressing the eagerness in his heart for the moment. Then again, it would be wonderful if Shentu Yang could bring him back a panda along with suppressing the rebellion.

Yin Shuhuai’s thoughts drifted wildly, yet his face remained completely expressionless, and he even had the Ministry of the Imperial Household deliver eight hundred Modao sabers and one thousand mechanical crossbows; this was the latest model of weapons and equipment accumulated by the Imperial Workshops over several months, and the entire inventory was right here. For this expedition to Jiangnan, Yin Shuhuai intended to hand all these weapons over to Shentu Yang.

Make the best use of everything and everyone.

Hearing the Yin Emperor’s words, Huo Quan’s eyes turned red with envy. Yet he also knew that he lacked the capability to lead troops on an expedition to suppress a rebellion; even his father, the Chancellor who was brilliant all his life, had died on the path of suppressing a rebellion. Huo Quan considered his own military strategy and mounted archery to be inferior to his father’s, so he would refrain from adding to the chaos.

However, as the Grand Commandant, Huo Quan could not do absolutely nothing. Confronted with the absolute determination of Shentu Yang, Yao Wenruo, and the other generals of the Yan faction, Huo Quan still racked his brains to stuff the Northern Army into the suppression forces; at the very least, he had to let the generals of the Huo faction claim a share of the credit.

Last time, Jiang Yang had led ten thousand Northern Army soldiers to follow Shentu Yang on the expedition against Goguryeo, earning the title of a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households due to his merit in destroying a state. The returning soldiers of the Northern Army had also reaped a bountiful harvest of military merits. This time, he would let Dong Wan follow Shentu Yang to Jiangnan to suppress the rebellion.

Huo Quan calculated secretly that even if this trip did not yield a merit as massive as destroying a state or expanding territory, the six commanderies of Jiangdong and the nine commanderies of Jingxiang added up to quite a lot, so they should at least be able to get an enfeoffment of three thousand households, right?

Huo Quan was eager to try, subsequently speaking up to request a command for Dong Wan.

Yin Shuhuai held the same intention, immediately looking toward Shentu Yang inquisitively.

Shentu Yang did not care whom he took along to suppress the rebellion. For this trip down to Jiangnan, he had originally intended to lead one hundred thousand troops; the reason for bringing so many men was primarily considering that Jiangnan was too far from the land of Yan, but by taking the sea route, the food and logistics supply lines would actually save more time and consumption than land routes, and it greatly reduced the risk of the army’s logistics being cut off from behind.

Moreover, the court’s trip to suppress the rebellion this time carried not only the duty of suppressing the rebellion and providing relief to the disaster victims, but also the heavy responsibility of reclaiming the various commanderies of Jiangnan. Even if only five thousand troops were left in each commandery to garrison the cities, the six commanderies of Jiangdong and the nine commanderies of Jingxiang added up to fifteen commanderies, which already carved out seventy-five thousand troops. Not to mention that Ba and Shu still contained forty-one commanderies; although those commandery seats were roughly the size of county towns, if there was an opportunity, Shentu Yang still wished to reclaim them all under the court’s governance in one fell swoop.

He had heard that in the Ba and Shu region, there was also an auspicious beast named the iron-eating beast, and it was said that their ancestors served as the mounts of Chiyou. If there was an opportunity, Shentu Yang also wished to capture an iron-eating beast and bring it back to make the Emperor happy.

Therefore, when Yin Shuhuai intended to have Dong Wan lead ten thousand Northern Army soldiers to follow Shentu Yang down to Jiangnan to suppress the rebellion, Shentu Yang had no objection at all, cheerfully accepting the Yin Emperor’s edict. It was just that a harsh truth had to be stated upfront, which was that Dong Wan and his ten thousand Northern Army soldiers must execute orders without fail and respect prohibitions strictly, otherwise Shentu Yang would still handle them according to military law.

The precedent of Jiang Yang being enfeoffed as a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households due to his merit in destroying a state was right before his eyes, so how could Dong Wan, who was a fellow colonel of the Northern Army alongside Jiang Yang, not have his eyes turn red with envy? Therefore, without needing others to say more, Dong Wan, who received the edict, scrambled to agree. After entering the palace to pay respects and thank the Emperor, he immediately departed the palace to return to camp, marshaling his ten thousand troops, and sharpening his weapons to follow Shentu Yang to build meritorious service.

On the other side, Shentu Yang also selected seventy thousand Yan soldiers from within the military.

Because Zhao Bushi was anxious over the riots in Xu Province and feared his kinsmen might lose their lives, Shentu Yang immediately led the eighty-thousand-strong army to rush toward the Youzhou naval camp after marshaling the troops. Yin Shuhuai worried that the soldiers would suffer from acclimatization issues upon reaching Jiangnan, so he urgently transferred one thousand medical soldiers from Liaoyang County along with the medical supplies required by the hundred-thousand-strong army to accompany the army down to Jiangnan together.

At the same time, the Naval General remaining garrisoned at Qinhuangdao also received the court’s eight hundred mile urgent troop mobilization edict. He marshaled various vessels overnight, waiting solely for the main army to arrive.

That night, Yin Shuhuai stood by the window, gazing at the bright moon in the sky. He knew that Shentu Yang’s trip down to Jiangnan would take at least half a year or a year before he could return. He knew even better that on this trip to Jiangnan, there would certainly be soldiers who would never return.

There were no wars where people did not die. Yet for the sake of allowing more people to live better lives in the future, some people would always have to be sacrificed. In the past, Yin Shuhuai could not quite grasp the true meaning of the saying “a compassionate person cannot command troops.” At this very moment, however, he missed Huo Yan a little.

In any case, this civil rebellion in Jiangnan served as an excellent opportunity for the court to reclaim various commanderies. Therefore, Yin Shuhuai meticulously instructed Yao Wenruo to ensure the logistics of the main army, and Zhao Bushi also promised that the Xu Province Zhao clan would assist the court in stabilizing the local situation.

Yin Shuhuai hoped that the army could suppress the rebellion with the fastest speed possible, and hoped even more that pleasant days of peace could arrive a bit sooner.

He would work hard to be a qualified Emperor, ensuring that his subjects could live in a stable, peaceful, and prosperous era within his lifetime.