Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 77: Concerned about restoring the country, with the style of Emperor Gaozu

[Wang Shouyi used bluffing, claiming to lead a million-strong army to invade and take Jingzhou directly. Your foundation, which was already unstable, was immediately severely oppressed.]

[The morale of all officials in your camp has declined.]

[Wang Shouyi's counselor Zhou Che used a strategy of attacking the heart. The intimacy of officials from all over Jingzhou towards you has declined. Many people have begun to think about how to find a way out for themselves.]

[In December of the second year of Kaiyang, a scholar named Wen Yu, who came from a humble family, stood up at this time. He not only did not choose to join the uprising army that relied more on humble families, but came to Poyang and decided to work for you.]

[When the war was about to start, someone suddenly came to seek refuge. Most of the officials in Jingzhou advised you to be careful.]

[But you said without thinking: "If I lose a truly talented person because of groundless suspicion, will anyone be willing to serve me in the future?"]

【Wen Yu was very surprised. His family was very poor when he was young. In order to support his family, the young Wen Yu made a living by selling dustpans. He was from Songjiang County.】

[However, due to his family's decline, Wen Yu had to work as a farmer while studying hard. Therefore, the young man set his ambition to correct the unhealthy trends in the world and fulfill his dream.]

【From the collapse of the Great Zhou Dynasty to the chaos of wars, Wen Yu witnessed everything, so he had a good impression of Chu Shizhao, who was investigating official corruption and land donations in Songjiang County at the time. Especially after learning the original text of "An An Shu", he felt even more sorry for Chu Shizhao's death.】

[After hearing about Chu Shizhao's appearance in Jiangling, Wen Yu thought someone was cheating, so he decided to come over to take a look. ]

[For several years, Wen Yu has been quietly watching the changing situation, and has climbed up from the bottom, becoming proficient in the ways of the world and the art of war.]

[He is dignified, serious, resolute, ambitious, and extraordinary.]

[Therefore, Wen Yu saw very early that Wang Shouyi was stubborn and self-willed, and was only willing to listen to Zhou Che's words. Given the overall situation, he did not take Yingtian Prefecture as soon as possible and obtain Nanjing, the old capital of the previous dynasty, as a rear base, but instead gave up the big one for the small one and invaded Jingzhou. This was unwise.]

【Chu Shizhao has few soldiers and generals and is in a difficult situation. If he surrenders now, he will definitely be entrusted with an important task.】

【Seeing Chu Shizhao standing firm against all odds, Wen Yu suddenly felt like he had met a wise leader, and was willing to do his best to help him in order to fulfill his original ambition.】

[In January of the third year of Kaiyang, after Emperor Kaiyang was murdered by the rebel general Ma Su'an, the war in the north intensified and the political situation changed rapidly.]

[Soon after, Wang Huai, who had the largest territory in the north, declared himself king and used Fanyang as his base to launch conquests everywhere.]

【After the Great Zhou royal family was massacred by Ma Su'an, the country had long been in name only, so that various ethnic groups in Guanzhong and other places had established their own regimes.】

[There are many people in the north who claim to be kings and emperors. ]

[Only Li Jin and Huan Jie still claimed to be "ministers of the Great Zhou" in the north. Among them, Li Jin led his troops to launch a punitive war against Wang Huai, who claimed to be the King of Yan. ]

[In the same month, Wen Yu arrived in Nanyang as an envoy.]

【Ever since Emperor Kaiyang ordered Lu En and Yang Fang to lead the Central Government Army to suppress the rebels, after Chang'an was conquered by Ma Su'an, most of the nobles were killed by Ma Su'an, and Lu En's Fanyang Lu family was even exterminated by his own student and former official Ma Su'an. Only his son Lu Yi escaped.】

[From then on, Lu En never recovered and drank to drown his sorrows in Kaifeng Prefecture, eventually dying in depression.]

[Lu Yi inherited part of the military power left by Lu En and was stationed in Kaifeng Prefecture, while Yang Fang was stationed in Nanyang. The two had been at odds for a long time in order to compete for the military power of the Central Prefecture Army.]

[Wen Yu, wearing a linen short coat, went straight to Yang Fang's camp to ask for an audience.]

【Yang Fang was somewhat curious about this envoy who claimed to be sent by King Chu Shizhao of Jin, and wanted to see what he could do, so he asked Wen Yu to talk about his views on the current situation. Wen Yu smiled in public, gently waving his floating fan while talking about major events in the world, talking non-stop as if no one was around.】

【Yang Fang was filled with grief when he saw this. He was like a lost dog. He was dispatched to suppress the rebels, but because of power struggles, he had to farm in Nanyang to protect himself.】

[He was worried about the rebels coming and Lu En's son Lu Yi taking the opportunity to get rid of him in order to further control the entire Henan and Zhongfu Army.]

[Now I am in a dilemma, how can I talk about achievements! How can I talk about restoring the family lineage of my ancestors! 】【"I was ordered by the emperor to lead 30,000 elite soldiers to fight against those rebellious traitors and eliminate harm for the court and the people. Now the first lord who was kind to me has passed away, and the second lord was killed by a traitor. My ancestor was a general who founded the country, but his ancestral tomb was dug up by a horse thief. I can't go home, I can't avenge my country, I can't avenge my enemies, and I can't establish my achievements. Why is this?" Yang Fang sighed sadly. 】

【Wen Yu walked forward quickly, paced for a moment, took Yang Fang's hand, and answered bluntly: "You traveled thousands of miles to the south to fight the enemy, which is a loyalty to the emperor. Now you are trapped here, which is enough to prove that you are sincere in serving the country. If you don't care about the safety of the country, what is the difference between you and Lu Yi and Ma Su'an? It is precisely because you are loyal to the country that you are caught in a dilemma."】

[“Now the world is in turmoil. The King of Jin is respectful to the wise and humble, and has the concern to restore the country. He has the spirit of Emperor Gaozu. I came here to seek the help of the general to save the country from collapse.” Wen Yu said with a sincere look on his face. ]

[“If you want to restore the glory of your ancestors, you will miss the opportunity if you waste time here. Lu Yi is greedy for small gains and forgets the greater good. Now the King of Jin is occupying Jingzhou to fight against the rebels, with few soldiers and generals. The general’s trip will be like a timely help in the snow. It is not an empty talk to restore the family.” Wen Yu persuaded him with reason and emotion, saying: “If you fight against Lu Yi, you will be a traitor even if you secede Henan. The history books will not remember where your ancestors were famous generals, and will only remember you as a traitor in this chaotic world.”]

[“The general is currently supporting the Zhou Dynasty. His ancestor was a founding general of the Great Zhou. If I could lend a helping hand to Your Highness, wouldn’t that be a great success for the world?!”]

【Wen Yu spread his hands and stared at Yang Fang.】

【Yang Fang looked at Wen Yu with a dazed look.】

[“I was originally a minor official in Huating. Now I have the opportunity to be entrusted by the King of Jin. General, don’t you want to make a difference?” Wen Yu continued.]

[“General——”]

[“A true man should raise a three-foot sword and accomplish unparalleled feats.”]

[Yang Fang took a deep breath, "Over the years, I have been training soldiers day and night and recruiting soldiers in Nanyang in order to protect myself and fight against villains like Lu Yi."]

[“Now it seems like I’ve wasted so much time.”]

[“Sir, I, Yang Fang, was originally a minister of Zhou. I was and am still. How can the Great Zhou have a general who fears death and refuses to fight?”]

[“Please do as the King of Jin has entrusted me to do. I, Yang Fang, am willing to go through fire and water for the Zhou Dynasty, even at the cost of my life.”]

[On January 19th of the third year of Kaiyang, Wen Yu persuaded Yang Fang to do something, and that night, a far-reaching mutiny took place in Nanyang.]

[It is called in history the "Nanyang Incident".]

[That night, Yang Fang held high the "Zhou" flag, wearing the armor of his ancestors, and launched a mutiny against all the soldiers of the Central Government Army. He burned all the flags with different names and replaced them with the "Zhou" flag. Under the leadership of Wen Yu, Yang Fang persuaded the generals in the Central Government Army. Most of them missed Zhou, but they had no home to return to, and fell into an unprecedented chaos and stayed in the Nanyang area.]

[On January 20th of the third year of Kaiyang, Lu Yi was killed. Yang Fang personally led 40,000 Central Government troops and announced his willingness to serve the King of Jin to repay the country's kindness. Soon after, Yang Fang decided to launch an offensive from the Nanyang side towards the other side of the rebel army.]

[On January 21, the third year of Kaiyang, Wang Shouyi, who had learned that a mutiny had occurred in Nanyang and that Yang Fang was personally leading the Central Government Army to fight for the Great Zhou, realized that he could not continue to procrastinate and ordered a siege of Poyang. This time, he wanted to defeat Chu Shizhao in one fell swoop before Yang Fang came to help.]

[After such a fierce attack, the people of Jingzhou changed their minds. Even Chu Shizhao's prestige could not stop the army from collapsing.]

[When Chu Shizhao saw this situation, he said to everyone: "Right now our army is short of food and supplies, and Wang Shouyi is trying to attack quickly in order to force the attack. If we flee, we will be defeated and become lambs to be slaughtered."]

[“If we can concentrate our forces to fight the enemy, we still have a chance of winning.”]

[“But if we retreat now and split up our forces and go back, then none of us will be able to survive if we are chased.”]

[“General Yang Fang has been trying his best to save us, but the journey is too long and it is difficult to capture the city, so he is powerless to save us.”]

[“Once Poyang is lost, within a day, with Wang Shouyi’s brutal methods, he will undoubtedly hunt us all the way, causing great suffering to the people of Jingzhou. Now we are guarding the front line. As long as we hold on, we will be rescued.”]

[“If we don’t work together, live and die together, and achieve success together, but instead are afraid of death and only want to retreat, how can we protect our wives, children, land and status?”]

[Under Chu Shizhao's encouragement and analysis, the morale of Poyang was boosted and the two sides were caught in a fierce battle.]

(End of this chapter)