Raising an Army (2)
King of Chen Liu Chong confined Bo Fu, the Governor of Jiujiang, who had refused to join the usurpation. With that, the rebellious intent and usurpation that had begun with the Imperial Jade Seal became an established fact.
Liu Chong and Liu Seong-hwi declared they were Raising an Army.
In other words, they had launched a rebellion.
Not content with inciting rebellion, they had gone so far as to detain a local official appointed by the Imperial House and the Imperial Court. Once the rumor spread, the entirety of the Central Plains as well as the southern regions began to seethe.
"For a Vassal King, who above all others should be loyal to the nation, to raise a rebellion!"
"It seems he has been seduced by the Imperial Jade Seal and degenerated into utter insolence! King of Chen Liu Chong is now a traitor!!"
Confucian scholars and eminent figures blindly loyal to the Imperial House and the Imperial Court, like Bo Fu the Governor of Jiujiang, fiercely opposed and condemned the Raising of the Army.
Even rescuing the young emperor held captive by an eternal traitor with every ounce of strength could never be enough—yet they heaped denunciation and contempt upon the filthy ambition to usurp the throne by exploiting the moment when a turbulent age had arrived.
"The King of Chen has declared he is Raising an Army!"
"I shall follow His Highness the King of Chen...! I refuse to offer loyalty to the rotten Imperial House and its court bastards!"
Conversely,
the common people of the south supported Liu Chong's Raising an Army.
The prefectures and counties south of the Huai River, including Lujiang and Jiujiang Prefectures, had long harbored public opinion hostile to the Imperial House and the Imperial Court that had brought about this turbulent age. It was only natural that they would support Liu Chong, who had been defeating countless border rebels and barbarians on behalf of the incompetent Imperial House and court.
"Long Live!"
"Long Live His Highness the King of Chen!!"
Long Live (萬歲)
The moment he declared the Raising of the Army, the officers raised both hands and shouted "Long Live" three times.
Their reaction was as if they had been waiting for a break with the rotten Imperial House and a declaration of rebellion in the south. The officers who had silently endured every hardship together under Liu Chong's command all joined the Raising of the Army.
"I have already instructed the workshop artisans to prepare the emperor's Imperial Robes and Imperial Regalia. That is not to say you should ascend the throne immediately, of course. It is still premature. Ascending the throne after you have subjugated the south and secured the support of the local gentry and commoners would not be late."
I had ordered Imperial Robes and Imperial Regalia to be prepared.
I had also summoned notable southern scholars to devise an Era Name.
"How shall we dispose of the Governor of Jiujiang? Although we have now become adversaries... he is a man who devoted himself to his duties for Jiujiang Prefecture day and night without rest. I do not wish to kill him."
"That is correct. Many of the south's notable men hold him in esteem. If you execute the Governor of Jiujiang, there will be commoners who rise in opposition."
In the original history, the Governor of Jiujiang, Bo Fu, was stripped of his post and disappeared from the historical record when Yuan Shu's army invaded. Detailed records were not passed down, but it was highly probable that Yuan Shu had killed him.
He was not a person we particularly needed to guard against.
It would be fine to release him after we had fully swept through and secured the south.
"We have come at your summons."
"We have been awaiting a decision all this time. Your humble subjects shall carry it out without a flicker of hesitation."
Middle-aged men in official robes prostrated themselves and paid their respects the moment they entered the royal presence.
The Two Zhangs of Jiangdong.
They were Zhang Hong and Zhang Zhao.
Unlike Bo Fu the Governor of Jiujiang, who had fiercely opposed the usurpation, the notable men of Jiangdong were in favor. They were figures who in the original history had also assented to the founding of Wu and Sun Quan's assumption of the imperial title, so they accepted the Raising of the Army without resistance.
"Elders, please accelerate the implementation of the Tuntian System as much as possible. I intend to move the refugees who have streamed in from the Central Plains into the Huai River zone of Lujiang and Jiujiang Prefectures and encourage agriculture there."
"A wise judgment. However, if you relocate hundreds of thousands of people all at once... will fierce resistance and protest not follow?"
"We cannot continue to support the Central Plains refugees simply by handing out Relief Grain. Even if we must absorb the burden of resistance and protest, we must have them reclaim farmland."
"Understood. We shall establish a framework for the Tuntian System and select the officials who will be responsible for carrying it out."
The Edict to Seek Worthies, which selected men of talent based on ability and achievement, and the Tuntian System, which mobilized countless people to cultivate farmland—these were the representative achievements that allowed Cao Cao to subjugate the Central Plains and found the state of Wei.
To handle an enormous population, food supplies must be secured.
Chen Kingdom, which had somehow resolved its state of saturation, was beginning to suffer labor pangs once again.
Countless refugees from Sili Province, who had lost their livelihoods due to Dong Zhuo's army's brutal Scorched Earth Tactics, were flooding in like the tide. This was because they held a belief and expectation that the territory of the Alliance Leader who had commanded the Coalition Army would guarantee them both livelihood and safety.
"Thanks to the active cooperation of the Governor of Lujiang, relocating the Central Plains refugees to Lujiang Prefecture will not be difficult... but the problem is Jiujiang Prefecture. We have heard that the officers subordinate to the Governor of Jiujiang have mobilized troops and are engaged in constant shows of force."
"You need not worry about that part. I will resolve it."
The Governor of Jiujiang, who had attended by invitation of the King of Chen, was detained in a single moment. Upon hearing the news, the officers of Jiujiang Prefecture rose up in resistance, centered around Shouchun City.
We must suppress those bastards early.
If we sit back and watch, public opinion opposing the usurpation will coalesce around Shouchun City.
* * *
Sun Jian arrived at the royal castle, bringing his entire family. The scholar-official families and local gentry who had relocated together from Jiangdong were also included.
It was to offer thanks and build familiarity.
As a reader who enjoyed the Three Kingdoms, I felt an elevated thrill at the fact that I was meeting the founding rulers of Wu, Sun Ce and Sun Quan, face to face. Thus, I treated the members of the Jiangdong group with courteous formality as honored guests and used the occasion to get to know each one personally.
"On behalf of the Wu Prefecture Sun Clan, I present our greetings to the Crown Prince with tears of profound gratitude."
Led by Sun Jian's wife, Lady Wu, the family members bowed their heads.
First daughter. Second daughter. Third daughter.
The Tiger's daughters all boasted beautiful red hair.
Sun Ce was seventeen.
Sun Quan was nine, similar to Lu Xun.
And the third daughter, Sun Shangxiang, was five.
"Ah-uh, euh...! H-Hello! I'm... I'm Sun Ce, the eldest daughter of General Who Defeats the Barbarians Sun Jian! I will... offer my body and soul for my whole life... to loyally serve the one whose grace employed my father!"
"...Hm? All right, thank you."
Offer body and soul for life, she said...
That's quite a fighting spirit.
Exactly what you would expect from the successor to Sun Jian's army, a force forged in ardent Naval Spirit.
I had heard well of the Black Panther's fame, the one who made the pirates of the Yangtze River tremble in terror. Though she was barely seventeen, I thought highly of this eldest daughter of the Wu Prefecture Sun Clan who stirred up such valor.
'You could indeed call her the Little Conqueror. As befits a conquering ruler who unified Jiangdong with a few thousand troops, she has already begun to distinguish herself. Once she turns twenty, she will, like her father, win military fame as a peerless warrior of the age. Having the Little Conqueror under my command would be like gaining the strength of a thousand troops and ten thousand horses.'
Sun Ce was a beautiful woman transitioning from a girl to a young lady. Just as Liu Bei and Cao Cao boasted looks and charm of nation-toppling beauty, Sun Ce possessed a gallant, valiant, and elegant quality.
Her hair looked as if it contained a fierce wildfire.
Her golden eyes shone bright yellow like a beast of prey.
And her slender frame was tautly conditioned from years of training in martial arts.
It evoked the image of a treasured sword that exudes its inherent beauty without any ornamentation whatsoever.
"I heard you were commissioned as an officer alongside your father. Welcome."
"Y-yes...!"
Sun Ce reacted violently, trembling all over.
She was clearly extremely tense. It is understandable.
I extended a hand to the girl and offered a greeting as her superior.
"From now on, I will give my all in loyalty to the Crown Prince..."
—plop.
With a voice thick with shyness, she placed her hand on top of my palm.
It was a motion like a fluffy puppy in a yard gently waving its tail while placing a paw on its owner's palm. I involuntarily twitched the corner of my mouth at Sun Ce's utterly unexpected action.
"That wasn't it. I was asking for a handshake."
"Ah...! Ah-ah! I-is that so?! Of course! Pardon me for that moment!"
A wave of extreme embarrassment crashed over her.
As if to prove it, Sun Ce's face instantly went red, as if dye had been spilled over it.
"I am called Zhou Yu, the firstborn son of the Lujiang Zhou Clan. Our Lujiang Zhou Clan, along with the Wu Prefecture Sun Clan, will give our full loyalty to His Highness the King of Chen and to you, my lord, as stalwart men of Jiangnan."
"Welcome to the service. I'll be expecting great things from you, then."
Zhou Yu.
A top-tier talent representing the state of Wu had entered the fold.
The Grand Commander who set Red Cliffs ablaze.
An unparalleled masterful commander who stopped Cao Cao's army's southern advance and gave birth to the Three Kingdoms geopolitical order.
Zhou Yu, being the same age as Sun Ce, boasted an androgynous appearance. Even though I had just heard him introduce himself as the firstborn son of his clan, I had inadvertently mistaken him for a beautiful woman.
Hm.
He emphasized "stalwart man," likely worried people would mistake him for a woman.
Indeed, it was fitting of Handsome Zhou, famed among the characters who appear in the Three Kingdoms for his particularly striking looks.
"General Who Defeats the Barbarians."
After looking at Sun Ce and Zhou Yu—
the best talents—I spoke to Sun Jian.
"The officers subordinate to the Governor of Jiujiang have raised the flag of revolt. They are staging a show of force, centered on Shouchun City. I intend to set out on a campaign to suppress the Jiujiang Prefecture rebellion... May I take these new promising talents as Deputy Generals?"
If I capture Shouchun City in a swift battle, the Governor of Jiujiang's followers will panic and scatter.
I decided to organize a punitive expeditionary army at once.