lcionline Chapter 70 Plot
Chapter 70 Plot
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Master Bailian and Ling Xi'er stood far away, not wanting to disturb their conversation. After all, they had been at each other's throats before, and now they were on the same side. The change was too drastic and a bit awkward.
Seeing that the two women couldn't hear him, Liu Ye said, "I've managed to fool this master and disciple with my silver tongue, and they're out of danger. But you should go back now, call Shi Ying, and bring a few dozen men with you, along with some silver for backup."
"My lord, aren't you coming back to Lingao with me? The fast ship has already returned to Lingao. It will be quite a few days before I can get back here. It's too dangerous here, with war and chaos!"
"I have other plans. Fortune favors the bold! Besides, it was dangerous before, but it's not so dangerous now. By following them, we can successfully infiltrate the rebel army. I want to take advantage of this mutiny to fish in troubled waters and do some things so that I can extend my reach to Shandong in the future!"
After giving his instructions, Liu Ye walked over to the master and apprentice and said casually, "Alright, let's just wait for the money to arrive. Fairy, you leave your spies here while we go out and meet the rebels!"
Bai Lian was quite surprised: "Aren't you going back with us?" In her opinion, it was only natural for Liu Ye to take the opportunity to go home after such a fright.
Liu Ye said righteously, "What are you saying, Fairy? I said I would stay by your side to listen to your teachings and learn to care for the people and have a compassionate heart. How could I just leave?"
Flattery will never fail you, and these words struck a chord with Bai Lian. She smiled with satisfaction, "Although we've only known each other for a few days, I believe that given time, you will eventually join the White Lotus Sect and bring glory to our sect!"
Liu Ye smiled obligingly, but his thoughts were completely different. Religious sects, no matter who's in power, must be eradicated; keeping them around is like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment and unleash a bloodbath.
After this incident, Bai Lian trusted Liu Ye even more. Actions speak louder than words. What was he, a rich young man, willing to give up a stable environment and risk his life to follow her deep into the rebel army? What did Bai Lian have that he could possibly want?
She was naturally unaware that Liu Ye truly had ulterior motives, and that his ambitions were far beyond her comprehension.
Liu Ye planned to infiltrate the rebel army through the White Lotus Sect, control the course of the mutiny, prevent the Later Jin from acquiring the casting technology and craftsmen for the Hongyi cannons, and thus alter the original historical outcome. Furthermore, if feasible, he wanted to paralyze the bureaucracy of Dengzhou, and even the entire Shandong province, minimizing the court's control over the region. More importantly, he wanted to use the rebels to eliminate the large landowning class in Shandong, facilitating his expansion into the province and using Shandong as a springboard to extend his influence inland.
Although Guangdong is closer to Lingao, it is too far from the central government and not in the heart of the Central Plains, making its strategic value far inferior to Shandong. Shandong borders Beizhili and is very close to the capital. Controlling this territory allows one to influence the direction of the court's politics, absorb refugees to increase the population, and retreat easily by sea should the situation turn against them.
The only risk he had to take was to personally infiltrate the rebel ranks and get involved in the mutiny. But no one could do that for him; he had no choice but to roll up his sleeves and get to work.
Inside the Dengzhou Governor's Office.
Those coming and going all had solemn expressions. Ever since the news of Kong Youde's mutiny and the turmoil on Pi Island came, everyone was pessimistic about Sun Junmen's future and was looking for a way out with different thoughts.
Sun Yuanhua sat dejectedly in the inner hall, with only his old friend Wang Zheng beside him. Wang Zheng was originally the military supervisor of Liaohai, a powerful official in Dengzhou and Laizhou. Like Sun Yuanhua, he had converted to Catholicism, was well-versed in Western learning and technology, and shared the same ambition to love the people and serve the country. Later, at Sun Yuanhua's invitation, he gave up his official position and became his advisor.
When Yu Dacheng's urgent report first arrived, Sun Yuanhua, out of self-preservation, resolutely denied that it was Liaodong soldiers who were causing the disturbance. He insisted that deserters from other places who had come to Liaodong's aid were using this as a pretext to cause trouble. He even wrote a letter to Yu Dacheng explaining that the Liaodong soldiers had always obeyed his orders and would never do such a thing. However, more news kept coming in, especially from Qingzhou Prefecture. They were too far from Jinan and worried that the Shandong governor would not be able to send troops to their aid in time. They repeatedly asked Dengzhou for help, and their requests confirmed that it was Kong Youde's troops who were causing the disturbance.
After confirming the matter, Sun Yuanhua seemed to have aged ten years in just a few days. Even though he still pretended to be confident in front of others, his fatigue was evident when no one was around. If it were just Kong Youde's rebellion, he wouldn't have much to fear. The difficulty lay in the fact that Kong Youde had chosen the wrong time. The siege of Dalinghe had not been lifted, and now Dengzhou and Laizhou were in turmoil. He could imagine the emperor's anger.
In September, the bandits in Shaanxi became even more rampant, inciting starving people to attack cities everywhere. Under pressure from both internal and external forces, Emperor Chongzhen's temper began to flare. He could no longer tolerate Yang He, the governor-general in charge of suppressing the bandits, and had him arrested, imprisoned, and executed. Instead, he appointed Hong Chengchou as the Right Vice Minister of War and Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, to oversee military affairs in Shaanxi. Fortunately, Yang He had a promising son, Yang Sichang, the Shandong Provincial Governor, who petitioned to take his father's place. The emperor, appreciating this rising star in politics, leniently changed Yang He's sentence to exile, thus saving his life.
Even the dignified Governor-General of the Three Border Regions met such an end; Sun Yuanhua's mess seemed no less than Yang He's. The rebellion of Kong Youde and others took place in Jinan Prefecture, near the Grand Canal and not far from Beizhili, a historically prosperous region of Shandong. The rebels began their attack on Wuqiao, seizing cities and territories, burning, killing, and looting. News from various places indicated the damage must have been severe, directly impacting the court's overall strategy to rescue Dalinghe. With the situation so dire, beset by internal and external troubles, Sun Yuanhua, the Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou directly responsible, was at a loss as to how to resolve the current crisis.
Sun Yuanhua saw the faces of Zhou Yanru, Xu Guangqi, Sun Chengzong, and others who were full of expectations for him. These people had all been kind to him by promoting and guiding him, but now they might be implicated by him.
Wang Zheng suggested: "Chuyang, the situation has deteriorated to this point, why not resign from your official post and make a clean exit?"
Sun Yuanhua smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid even if I could escape unscathed, it might not be possible. Lord Yang He also requested to resign in May, but the Emperor did not grant it and arrested him in the blink of an eye. If it weren't for his son Yang Sichang being quite favored by the Emperor, Lord Yang would probably not have escaped the execution ground. Now that Kong Youde's rebellion has succeeded, how could the Emperor allow me to resign? In the year of Ji Si, the Shanxi troops collapsed, and both the governor Geng Ruqi and the general were beheaded. How similar I am to him."