Chapter 161 Digging up the Sima Family's Ancestral Grave

Yecheng was operated for a total of 94 years during the Cao Wei and Sima Jin dynasties. Its urban population and town size were second only to Luoyang, Xuchang and Chang'an. What's more rare is that Yecheng's official handicraft workshops and commercial markets were quite large.

After entering the city, most of the rebel army gathered the defeated soldiers, wiped out the private soldiers of the gentry in the city, and took over important places such as the armory, government warehouses, county government, and the governor's office. The remaining soldiers followed the captains, five hundred masters and other military officials to search for the village heads and neighborhood heads in the East Market and South Port according to the yellow books, publicized the rebel army's policy of not touching civilians, and posted notices to reassure the people, encouraging them to live a normal life.

Yecheng Military Governor's Office.

"The general is overjoyed, overjoyed!"

Fei Li stumbled in and handed the yellow book in his hand to the rebel general Li Hao who was reviewing the various accounts.

This was a tall and gaunt official from Shu.

His father Fei Shi was the magistrate of Mianzhu under Liu Zhang. When Liu Bei attacked Mianzhu, Fei Shi led the entire city to surrender, thus avoiding a fierce battle. He then served in the Shu Han, Cao Wei, and Sima Jin dynasties, and became the governor of Baxi with an annual salary of 2,000 stones under Sima Yan.

When the rebel army attacked Xindu, after the first ten teams of hundreds of people reached the top of the city, Fei Li led his soldiers to surrender to the rebel army, and at the same time suggested that General Li bypass Handan and go straight to Yecheng.

Although Li Hao felt that this man had no backbone, he saw that he was still a talented person and an official in Shu who was known for his integrity, so he gave him an official position of chief, responsible for managing the yellow-registered households in the new area occupied by the rebel army.

"What's so good about it?"

The general was in a very good mood. In just over half a day, the rebel army had seized more than 274,000 strings of five-zhu coins and more than 150,000 pieces of linen and ramie cloth from government warehouses and the mansions of wealthy families. In a few days, the amount would increase significantly.

Fei Li mentioned Huang Ji again, "There are more than 5,200 registered craftsmen in Yecheng, and there are about 4,500 people in the city right now. Sima Ying only brought more than 700 craftsmen to Luoyang."

The official handicraft workshops in Yecheng relied on these craftsmen for support. This was one of the two reasons why Fei Li advised the general to move south as quickly as possible to take over Yecheng.

Another reason was to control the military households and families of soldiers near Yecheng.

Li Hao picked up the yellow book handed to him by Master Fei, flipped through it for a few times, and then put it aside and talked about another thing.

"Lu Zhi has surrendered. I heard that he is quite sentimental. Officer Fei has worked with him for more than a year. Can you find a way to persuade him to join the rebel army?"

The Lu family of Fanyang, Zhuo County, was a family of Confucian classics. Lu Zhi's great-grandfather Lu Zhi, grandfather Lu Yu, and father Lu Ting were all people of good character. Lu Yu and Lu Zhi, the grandfather and grandson, were even more famous for their love for the people.

General Li adheres to the attitude of using anyone who can be used. At the very least, Lu Zhi can manage a county or a state in an orderly manner. At the most, he can be in charge of the rebel army's schools and official fields.

"The general's men have never harmed the people, and they have even distributed the food and clothing from the nobles' mansions to the refugees in the city. I believe that after seeing this, Lu Zhi will definitely serve the new master."

Fei Li himself once compared the general of the rebel army with Sima Ying, the King of Chengdu. Putting aside the gap in strength between the rebel army and the Jin court, General Li was far more worthy of following than Sima Ying, the King of Chengdu.

Not to mention the shortcoming that Sima Ying was almost illiterate, the only strength of this King of Chengdu was that he controlled a large number of troops in Yecheng and had some military talent.

But this bit of military talent is nothing compared to the general who is invincible.

The rebel army continued to crack down on the aristocratic families who invaded the land and occupied the households. With just this one move, in the eyes of wise people, General Li defeated all the vassal kings of the Sima family.

No matter which prince was in power, it was impossible for him to implement the policy of registering all citizens and returning land to the people, and the rebel army was founded on this basis.

"I will persuade him in the next few days. I will gather the wives and children of the soldiers outside the city and bring them into the city."

The purpose of attacking Yecheng was not just to rob money, cloth, silk and linen. Only by taking in the huge number of military households and families of soldiers in the surrounding area could Yecheng play its greatest role.

The dispute among the vassal kings near Luoyang has reached the point where the outcome will be decided. After the Yecheng army's hometown is lost, the tens of thousands of troops of the Chengdu King's faction have become rootless. Even if Sima Ying is not defeated, it will be difficult for him to control the government in Luoyang alone.

Fei Li took the order and left, and then Wu Zhi and others picked up the previous topic and continued talking.

"Not counting the surrendered soldiers, there are 34,000 soldiers and civilians attacking the city, and everyone can get a few hundred yuan."

"There are also a lot of silk, hemp and ramie. Each soldier can get more than five pieces."

Ramie and linen were the bulk of the seized cloth. Under the Jin court's household tax system, each household had to pay three kilograms of silk and cotton to the government.

This cotton is not cotton, but linen cloth, mainly linen cloth made from flax and kudzu cloth made from kudzu vine. These two types of cloth are the main cloth that the regular households pay to the Jin court.

According to past experience, the 2.46 million households under the rule of the Jin court could pay two to three million pieces of cloth to the government, so what the rebel army gained in Yecheng was actually not much.

There were still a few rebel army officers waiting for a reply in front of the general, and they also supported distributing the money to the soldiers.

"Except for the surrendered soldiers, each soldier of the rebel army will receive four strings of silver and two pieces of cloth. Soldiers who stayed behind in Changshan, Zhongshan, Leping in the north, Taiyuan, Pingyang in the west and other places will also receive a share. This is the reward given to the brothers before the New Year. The merits of being the first to reach the top, beheading the generals, and capturing the enemy will be counted separately."

The general made the decision.

The main food collected from the rebels' territory was winter wheat and other grains. The monthly allowance for the soldiers was also distributed based on grain, and there were very few opportunities to distribute money and cloth.

Many officials and military officers spoke out to flatter the general, and Li Hao laughed at this.

Some of the people in front of him had already changed into quite exquisite boots. If we counted only the tip of the iceberg, who knows how many good things some officials and military officers had kept in their pockets when they searched the homes of the gentry.

The discipline of the rebel army was not too bad, because most of its main members were former soldiers of the Jin court, military officials, private soldiers of the gentry, and able-bodied civilians. There were very few bandits and thieves. Compared with the troops under the command of the Jin court's military governor's office, the rebel army was well-deserved of the word "righteousness".

However, as the territory expanded and the military strength increased, many people who were opportunistic and had evil intentions joined the rebel army. Li Hao did not have the time or energy to roughly identify them, and it was urgent to form armed soldiers to inspect and arrest them.

He planned to emulate the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei and set up a red armor battalion or silk-clothed soldiers.

Of course, this must be done in a low profile, and the leader must be carefully selected, fair and impartial, honest and loyal to the general.

A blacksmith must be strong himself.

……

The ninth day of the twelfth month, Mengjin, Luoyang.

Sima Lun, the Prince of Zhao, sent only a little over 20,000 soldiers to fight against the army of Yecheng, led by Zhang Hong, the General of Conquering the Enemy, Lü He, the General of the Front, and Xu Jian, the General of the Central Army. It was not because Sima Lun was arrogant, but because he did not dare to send more troops. Outside Hulao Pass in the east, the soldiers and civilians of Xuchang Army were waiting covetously for 60,000 to 70,000 people. In the west, the Prince of Hejian also sent General Zhang Fang, the Chief Clerk Fang Yang and others to lead more than 10,000 troops to approach from the east. The three parties attacked together, and Sima Lun had to leave troops to guard Luoyang to prevent the soldiers loyal to him from being sent out and someone taking the opportunity to seize Luoyang and offer it to the other three kings.

King Sima Ying of Chengdu was young and brave. He had fought bravely in every battle to attack Luoyang, which boosted the morale of the Yecheng army.

The Yamen Army under Zhang Hong fought with the Yecheng Army at Mengjin Pass for three days and finally reached a stalemate with the Yecheng Army.

The Luoyang Central Army has fewer troops and has the advantage of geographical location, while the Yecheng Army has come from afar and their food supplies are still being transported from the rear. The stalemate is greatly beneficial to the Luoyang Central Army.

However, Xu Jian and other members of the Zhonglang Army became disorganized at night, and the soldiers fled out of the pass to Luoyang one after another. The Yecheng Army seized the opportunity and launched another fierce battle. Zhang Hong's troops were unable to withstand the attack alone, so they had to abandon Mengjin Pass and retreat to the rear.

It was under this situation that the news of the fall of Yecheng reached the Jin army camp.

Mengjin Pass Government Office.

He Yan, Dong Hong, Zhao Xiang, Zheng Qiu and other confidants of King Chengdu were called to discuss the current mess with Sima Ying.

"It is a merit bestowed upon Your Majesty by Heaven to return the capital to Luoyang in obedience to the Emperor. All the unfavorable circumstances at this time are a test for Your Majesty. The troops of the King of Qi are still east of Hulao Pass. As long as Your Majesty quickly sends troops to capture Luoyang, you can command the troops of the world to suppress the bandits and put down the rebellion. Why worry about a mere city of Ye?"

He Yan advocated a quick march southwards and a direct attack on Luoyang, which was seventy or eighty miles away.

Another confidant, Zhao Xiang, disagreed with this view.

"The families of the generals and soldiers under your command are all in Yecheng. The news of Yecheng's fall has spread. If your king does not send troops to support them, I'm afraid the generals will not want to attack Luoyang. If they go south at this time, they will fail and the credit will be given to King Sima Jiong of Qi."

What he said made sense. It was difficult to control the morale of the army. If the soldiers of Yecheng were to march south and then collapse under the city of Luoyang, it would be better for them to stay at Mengjin Pass.

Judging from the performance of the military households and soldiers, staying still can stabilize the morale of the army.

Zheng Qiu gave Sima Ying a compromise idea, "Your Majesty, you can first send an army back to support Yecheng, but not to really take Yecheng back, but to show it to the rest of the army. After the morale of the army is temporarily stabilized, quickly march south to capture Luoyang."

This is indeed the only possible solution.

Sima Lun, the King of Zhao, originally planned to have Li's bandits kill the emperor and then forge an imperial edict to succeed to the throne himself. However, he had lost the emperor in the north, and there were still many leading officials in Luoyang who opposed Sima Lun. Before Sima Lun could usurp the throne, the armies of Yecheng and Xuchang came to attack him one after another.

At this time, the King of Chengdu only needs to lead his troops to set up camp outside the city of Luoyang, and chaos will break out in the capital. Sima Lun, Sun Xiu and others have done a lot of evil in the past year and have long aroused the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. By then, many people will turn to the King of Chengdu.

The young and handsome Sima Ying blinked a few times and felt that Zheng Qiu's plan was the safest.

"But my mother's life or death is unknown, which is what I am most concerned about. If my mother falls into the hands of the bandits, I will not be able to sleep or eat peacefully even if I am named the crown prince."

King Chengdu expressed his concerns, hoping to get solutions from his staff.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. You can order the Commandant Wang Cui to lead troops to Yecheng. Ostensibly to help the soldiers recapture the city and their homes, but in reality to find Concubine Cheng and keep her company. It is said that the troops of the Governor of Yanzhou, Wang Yan, are still in Handan. You can order Governor Wang to leave troops to defend Handan, and he will lead a group across the river back to Yanzhou, and send the righteous people of Yanzhou and Xuzhou to fight against the bandits in Yecheng, Zhao State, Zhongshan and other places."

The King of Chengdu was very filial, so Zhao Xiang could only come up with this idea.

Sima Ying nodded, and then sent someone to summon the commander Wang Cui. Given the current situation, this was the only thing he could do.

The troops in Qing and Xu states are still there, but on the one hand, distant water cannot quench immediate thirst, and on the other hand, the governors of Qing and Xu states may not necessarily obey the orders of King Chengdu.

After discussion among the staff, they decided on the troops to send back for reinforcement. At this time, the Yecheng army still had to focus on reaching Luoyang first, so they could only send 5,000 soldiers back to make a show. Of course, this army of reinforcements would not engage in a head-on confrontation with the enemy troops. The staff believed that it would be enough for Wang Cui to lead his troops to garrison in Chaoge, and the main task of this captain was to search for Concubine Cheng.

……

On the fifteenth day of December, heavy snow fell from the sky, covering the earth with a layer of white.

In the Yecheng Governor's Mansion, Wang Mi, who had been promoted to General of the Central Army, was paying a visit to the general alone.

"It's quite cold these days, and the enemy soldiers don't want to march to attack the rebel army. There's still half a month before the end of the year. I want to lead my troops to Wen County in Henei County and burn down Sima's ancestral property. I ask for permission, General." Wang Mi requested.

Sima Yi's hometown was Wen County, Henei County. This old thief buried himself in Shouyang Mountain near Luoyang, but his ancestral tomb is still in Wen County.

"Henei County?" Li Hao thought about this large county in the north of Luoyang. "It's about 400 to 500 miles away from Yecheng. I also want to dig up the Sima family's ancestral tomb, but the New Year is approaching, so I'd better hold off for now. After the New Year, I will lead my troops to fight the Sima family in Henei, Chenliu and other places."

Some rebel soldiers wanted to return to Zhaojun, Changshanjun and other places in the north to celebrate the New Year. The Tuoba Xianbei in the further north, seeing that the Han people were fighting among themselves, actually went south to plunder the population. Li Hao had no choice but to send many rebel soldiers back north.

Prior to this, the general had led his men to capture the city of Handan in the north, roughly connecting the rebel army's territory into one.

Yecheng is a very prime location. Although it is surrounded by plains and has only the Zhang River running across the south, as long as it is well managed, it can become an important frontline city to resist the attacks of the Jin army. If the people of the rebel army want to grow crops safely next year, Yecheng must be in their hands.

In Yanzhou and Xuzhou, there were many nobles, their private soldiers, and dependents who escaped from the rebel territories, and conflicts between the natives and the immigrants had already emerged.

If the rebel army continues to send troops to attack the forts in Yanzhou and other places, forcing the gentry to continue fleeing eastward and southward, chaos will soon break out in the Huai and Si areas, and the Jin court will then have to deal with more unrest.

It was the consensus of the rebel leaders to defend Yecheng and attack Yan and Xu. Li Ju was sent to guard and manage Pingyang and Taiyuan counties. Li Ju had a high prestige in Pingyang County. If the Jin court did not use the Chang'an army inside the pass, the rebels' territory would not be taken over by the troops of Hedong County alone.

"Wen County is exactly 500 miles away from Ye City. The New Year is coming to an end. I failed to make great contributions to the righteous army in the battle to attack Ye. Please allow me to go to Wen County to burn the ancestral property and ancestral temple of the Sima family, and to investigate the people of Henei County and the enemy situation in Luoyang."

Wang Mi insisted on taking a trip to the vicinity of Wen County.

Li Hao roughly understood what he was thinking. This man came to surrender with his followers and servants. Although he had made many military achievements, most of his subordinates were defeated soldiers from various places, and the quota was not full.

The surrendered generals from all over the country actively participated in the reorganization of the surrendered soldiers. He could not get involved in this matter and could only look for another opportunity to make military achievements to avoid being overtaken by the surrendered generals.

"You can go if you want. Dig up the ancestral tombs of the Sima family in Wen County, collect the skulls from each tomb, and bring them to Yecheng."

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(End of this chapter)