Chapter 271: Two Phases of the Six Towns Rebellion
Su Ze was a military leader, and everyone had no objection to him being rewarded for his military merits.
In troubled times, the status of military generals rises, which is also the trend of the times.
There is no other way. If the military achievements people have made in the battlefield are not as good as the talk of civil officials, who will work hard for you?
Li Xian also has another meaning to Su Ze, that is, he led the local soldiers to surrender to Su Ze.
We need to pay attention to both our own team and the subordinates who have joined us.
Without his own team, or with all his team members gone, he would be like Yuwen Tai in later historical timeline, who had to come up with the aristocratic franchise system of the Eight Pillars, which led to the powerful influence of the Guanlong nobles. Once the royal family declined, they would be usurped by powerful ministers immediately.
If we only rely on training our own troops, it would be unrealistic because history is developing too fast.
Speaking of the grand Rebellion of Six Towns, it was divided into two stages in history before Su Ze traveled through time.
The first stage was the uprising launched by Po Liu Han Baling in Woye Town. In other words, the Six Towns Rebellion, which seems to be so vigorous at present, lasted only two years in history before it was suppressed by the Northern Wei court.
The second stage was when the Northern Wei court became ill again and moved the remnants of the Six Garrisons to the three states of Ying, Ji and Ding for food.
These three states were the most core Hedong region of the Northern Wei Dynasty and were considered the base camp of powerful clans. The refugees from the Six Garrisons who were assigned to live in the three states were soon oppressed by the local clans and could not survive. They were not the obedient people of Hedong, and unrest broke out again in the three states.
This second Six Prefectures Uprising lasted a total of three years.
In other words, in the history before Su Ze traveled through time, the Rebellion of the Six Towns lasted a total of five years.
In five years, even if Su Ze occupied Guanzhong, it would be impossible for him to train elite troops to conquer the world.
Even if he had the time, Su Ze couldn't afford it.
Therefore, the best choice is to learn from his sworn brother Erzhu Rong.
Using their own elite troops as their backbone and absorbing the cream of the crop from the Six Garrisons, they were able to expand rapidly and quickly gain a foothold in troubled times.
In this world influenced and changed by Su Ze, the time of the Six Garrisons Uprising was brought forward, but Su Ze still believed that the uprising of Po Liu Han Baling was just a lot of noise but little action, and its symbolic significance in history was greater than its practical significance, and would be quickly suppressed by the Northern Wei court.
The reason is very simple. In this Six Garrisons Uprising, those who supported the uprising were ordinary townspeople at the bottom of the Six Garrisons. The uprising of Po Liu Han Baling lacked a strong program, and they couldn't even come up with a slogan like the Yellow Turban Uprising.
Regarding the First Six Garrisons Uprising, looking through the historical records, there were very few figures in the rebel army who could be recorded in history books.
The Heba father and son, the Yuwen father and son, Gao Huan, Sima Ziru, Dou Tai, Dugu Xin, Houmochen Chong and other influential figures in later generations all stood on the side of the court during the first Six Garrisons Rebellion. Even if they were forced to join the bandits, they would find opportunities to defect to the government army.
All this shows that during the first Six Garrisons Uprising, the Northern Wei court had not yet completely lost its centripetal force.
It was not until the second Six Garrisons Uprising that the Northern Wei court completely disappointed the people of the world.
That's why Su Ze decided to build a city in Xiazhou and gather the heroes of the six towns here.
Even so, there is not much time left for Su Ze.
-
It was exactly as Su Ze expected.
August, the second year of Zhengguang.
Heba Duba brought his sons and followers, Yuwen Gong also brought his sons and followers, plus Dugu Ruyuan who had come to Huaishuo for help last time, all rushed to Huaishuo from Wuchuan.
Gao Huan, who was defending the city, saw the reinforcements and immediately encouraged his soldiers. Then he saw the Wuchuan army defeat the rebels who were besieging the city. Gao Huan immediately opened the city gates to welcome them into the city.
"He Liuhun, we are back!"
When he saw Gao Huan, Sima Ziru immediately shouted.
"Zi Ru! Thank you for your hard work!"
With the arrival of reinforcements from Wuchuan, Gao Huan's pressure in defending the city was greatly reduced. He looked at Sima Ziru and Dou Tai, who were exhausted, and tears flashed in his eyes.
These days, guarding Huaishuo is really hard.
Wei Kegu was not good at commanding troops, but there were too many rebels around Huaishuo.
Every morning when the sun shone down and Gao Huan felt despair looking at the densely packed rebels outside the city.
If Yang Jun had not attached great importance to city defense and constantly repaired the city walls after taking office, while also cracking down on corruption in the town granary and ensuring that the Huaishuo town granary was full, Huaishuo City would have been breached long ago.
Yang Jun, who was seriously ill, personally welcomed Heba Yuwen and his son, and let their cavalry cross the street in front of the soldiers and civilians of the entire town to boost the morale of the city.
However, Gao Huan secretly counted the number of people and found that the Wuchuan reinforcements had only more than 2,000 people in total, which was a drop in the bucket compared to the 100,000 people outside the city.
The glimmer of hope that had just ignited was immediately covered by pessimism.
Gao Huan still tried hard to pretend to be excited. Now that he was the leader of the city defense, he couldn't let the soldiers see that he had no confidence.
-
Yang Jun set up another banquet in the town commander's mansion. Seeing the arrival of reinforcements from Wuchuan today, Wei Kegu also ordered the rebels to retreat temporarily. Gao Huan finally had the opportunity to go down the city wall to attend the banquet. When the banquet was over, the drunk Gao Huan was sent back home by Sima Ziru.
After Sima Ziru entrusted Gao Huan to Lou Zhaojun, Gao Huan sobered up all of a sudden.
He pulled Sima Ziru into the house.
Northern women are basically responsible for taking care of both internal and external affairs. Lou Zhaojun brought the mare's milk to help with hangovers, and then she sat aside and listened to the men's conversation.
"Zi Ru, do you think Huaishuo can hold on?"
Sima Ziru went out of the city and knew the current situation of the Six Garrisons better than Gao Huan.
After Sima Ziru left the city, wherever he went, people rebelled.
In addition to the rebels, there were refugees fleeing everywhere, and even a group of refugees from the Six Garrisons headed north to the Rouran.
Sima Ziru inquired and found out that it was Princess Shouyang of the Northern Wei Dynasty who had married into the Rouran Kingdom last time and was now in charge of the Rouran royal court.
This Rouran Kehadun opened up pastures to accommodate refugees from the six towns, attracting many refugees to the north.
What is this all about!
In the past, the Rouran tribes were all affiliated with the Wei Dynasty. When did the Wei Dynasty's tribes start to be affiliated with the Rouran?
It's the opposite of Tiangang.
But all this also explains the current situation of the Six Towns.
Sima Ziru said firmly:
"If the imperial court doesn't support the six towns quickly, Huaishuo won't be able to hold on."
Hearing Sima Ziru say this, Gao Huan also nodded.
He has been in charge of the defense of Huaishuo City these days and has a clear understanding of the situation.
If the reinforcements from Wuchuan had not arrived, the morale of the defenders in Huaishuo City would have only lasted for a month at most.
People are not machines, and they will become tired and numb after guarding a city for a long time.
Gao Huan continued:
"When will the court's reinforcements arrive?"
Sima Ziru said:
"I heard on the way that the court is sending General Li Chong to fight again this time, and I heard that the general has already arrived in Jinyang."
Hearing Li Chong, Gao Huan's eyes lit up, and then he said worriedly:
"Li Huqi is already so old, why does the court still allow him to go to war?"
Sima Ziru said:
"I heard that when General Li returned from the Six Garrisons last time, he repeatedly suggested changing the Garrisons into Prefectures. This time the Six Garrisons rebelled, and King Jiangyang was unhappy about it, so he sent General Li to the north to fight."
Gao Huan was also speechless. The rebellion of the Six Garrisons was caused by both natural disasters and man-made disasters. Gao Huan did not think that simply changing the towns into states could solve the problems of the Six Garrisons, nor would it necessarily prevent the Six Garrisons from rebelling.
However, the attitude of the court made the people of the Six Towns even more disheartened. The bigwigs in the court were unwilling to even issue an order to improve the current situation of the Six Towns, and even found the problems of the Six Towns irritating.
Even Li Chong, who raised the issue of the Six Garrisons, was kicked out of the court to lead troops to quell the rebellion.
This attitude is really disheartening.
In Gao Huan's heart, the little loyalty he had left towards the Northern Wei court had almost disappeared.
"Zi Ru, do you remember the day when I came back from Luoyang and talked to you about the Yulin Rebellion?" Sima Ziru nodded.
Gao Huan said:
"The troubled times have arrived, and we have done our best to serve the Wei Dynasty."
Gao Huan made great contributions in the last fight against the Rouran people, and this time he defended Huaishuo to the death.
Sima Ziru also fought desperately when fighting the Rouran people, and this time he risked his life to break out and seek help.
Gao Huan said:
"From today on, we have to plan for ourselves."
Sima Ziru was stunned when he heard Gao Huan say this.
But he immediately felt that it was reasonable. He had indeed been loyal to the Wei Dynasty. The Wei Dynasty treated the Six Garrisons in this way, and from today on it had to make plans for itself.
Although Sima Ziru had a better family background and knowledge than Gao Huan, when Gao Huan was just a messenger traveling between Luoyang and the Six Garrisons, Sima Ziru was a secretary in the Garrison.
However, Gao Huan was good at planning and had broad knowledge, so Gao Huan still held the dominant position among the two.
Gao Huan said:
"It is impossible to surrender to the enemy. Although the rebels are powerful, they have no rules. The six towns can be in chaos, but the court will not allow Hengzhou, Jizhou, Dingzhou, and Bingzhou to be in chaos. Therefore, the rebels can only sweep the six towns at most, and Pingcheng will definitely not be taken down."
Sima Ziru also nodded. It has always been the rebel army that has surrendered, but there has never been any government army that has surrendered to the rebels.
Although Gao Huan said he wanted to plan for himself, by that time the Wei court would be much stronger than the rebel army.
After finally becoming a military leader, I can't possibly become a bandit myself.
Gao Huan and others felt that there was no future in following the rebels.
"We still have to join the government army."
Gao Huan said in a decisive tone.
"The best choice, of course, is to join General Lee. I once fought under General Lee."
Sima Ziru nodded.
"If they are a little bit more powerful, they will also surrender to the government troops of Jizhou and Hengzhou."
Gao Huan sighed again and said:
"If it doesn't work, we can still vote for Brother Su."
"Brother Su? Is that General Su Ze?"
Gao Huan said:
"Brother Su and I have been in constant correspondence. He is now the General of Pingxi in the imperial court, stationed in Longyou."
Sima Ziru was also a little surprised. He didn't expect that in the midst of war, Gao Huan could still keep in touch with Su Ze.
"Brother Su said that he has led his troops into Xiazhou and built a city on the bank of the Yellow River."
"If the war situation is really unfavorable, we can go south along the Yellow River to Xiazhou and seek refuge with Brother Su."
Hearing Gao Huan's suggestion, Sima Ziru also nodded heavily.
When Li Chong went north to conquer the Rouran and finally left the northern border, Su Ze also tried to recruit Gao Huan and Sima Ziru.
Later, Su Ze left a messenger and kept in touch with Gao Huan.
Neither of them had any psychological burden about joining Su Ze.
After seeing Sima Ziru off, Lou Zhaojun closed the door and said to Gao Huan:
"He Liuhun, is it the best choice to vote for this Brother Su?"
Gao Huan looked at his wife in confusion. He had told her many stories about Su Ze since he came back from Luoyang.
The last time Su Ze came to the northern border to fight, he also gained a lot of reputation in the hearts of the people in the six towns.
Lou Zhaojun said:
"I'm not doubting Brother Su's ability, but since you and General Su have been exchanging letters, and he is now fully grown, will there be a place for you, He Liuhun, to go there?"
Gao Huan was stunned for a moment, and Lou Zhaojun continued:
"I know your ambitions. You once rejected General Su's invitation. I wonder if General Su has any thoughts on this?"
Gao Huan shook his head and said:
"Brother Su is very generous. He won't have any prejudice against me just because I rejected him before."
Lou Zhaojun said:
"You believe in General Su's character, but when General Su recruited you, you were just a captain in the Yulin Army."
"Now he is the General of Pingxi and has his own team of generals under his command. Can He Liuhun still be used if he goes there?"
Gao Huan was touched by his wife's words and remained silent for a long time.
Lou Zhaojun continued:
"Put your mind in another position. If you were General Pingxi, He Liuhun, and Brother Su came to join you, and you had your own followers, would you promote Brother Su all at once?"
Gao Huan shook his head. He was no longer a messenger. After becoming a military leader, he also understood the difficulty of managing his subordinates.
If an outsider is promoted suddenly, the meritorious soldiers under his command will be dissatisfied.
I have a good personal relationship with Su Ze, but if I join him, I have to make achievements in order to be promoted.
When he thought of this, Gao Huan felt a little discouraged again.
Lou Zhaojun continued to pour him some mare's milk to sober him up and said:
"My intention is not to stop He Liuhun from joining General Su, but to persuade you that no matter who you want to join, you must have the capital."
Gao Huan immediately understood what his wife meant.
No matter who you plan to join, you must build a reputation or make achievements, or gather enough troops, so that you can be reused.
If you have nothing and turn to Su Ze like a prodigal son, even if Su Ze has a good personal relationship with you, you can only be promoted slowly under him.
After realizing this, Gao Huan hugged his wife and said:
"Zhaojun! You are really my good wife!"
At the same time, in the camp arranged by Yang Jun, Dugu Ruyuan and Yuwen Tai were also having a similar conversation.
Along the way, even Yuwen Tai, who believed most in human power, saw the situation in the Six Garrisons.
When in Wuchuan, Yuwen Tai had an argument with Dugu Ruyuan. Yuwen Tai wanted to take control of his own destiny after the chaos came.
But when he saw the rebellion in the Six Garrisons, the entire route from Wuchuan to Huaishuo was filled with refugees and rebels. The more than 2,000 people that he had brought from Wuchuan with his father and brothers were like duckweed in the turbulent river.
Not to mention Yuwen Tai, a young man of only fifteen years old, even his father and brother could not be said to be in control of their own destiny in the chaotic times.
Dugu Ruyuan said:
"Without the support of the imperial court, Huaishuo will not last long."
Yuwen Tai also nodded, but the imperial army was still in Bingzhou, and it was unknown when they would be able to rush to Huaishuo for assistance.
Dugu Ruyuan said:
"The rebels are powerful, but their groups are not well-organized. There is only one way to hold out until the imperial reinforcements arrive."
(End of this chapter)