Free Web NovelChapter 1223: Chapter 1205: Weighing the Pros and Cons
Zhao Shi was not eager for battle; after scattering this army, he turned towards another direction.
At this moment, Wang Dun, stationed in He Fei, finally met with the spy and received the intelligence from Jiankang.
Wang Dun let out an angry roar, furiously smashing everything in the room, "Sima Rui, shameless and incompetent!"
Why, why would he rather give Jiangnan to Zhao Hanzhang, than take a step back against him and kill the deceitful Liu Kui to quell his rage?
Wang Dun felt King Langya was extremely foolish, and couldn’t help resenting Wang Dao; he clearly had the capability to help him from Jiankang, to advance the entire Wang family further, yet he acted like a sheep, willing to aid the suspicious King Langya rather than assist him.
After venting his anger, Wang Dun swiftly calmed down and asked the spy, "How many Zhao Family Army troops crossed the river?"
"When I left, the army that landed was about a hundred thousand strong, but there were still about half not across the river, estimating around two hundred thousand."
They didn’t know exactly how many there were.
Wang Dun had someone bring a map, stood in front of it, and his mind automatically replaced the territories belonging to King Langya with Zhao Hanzhang’s emblem, pondering how much chance he had to take Jiankang and gain Yangzhou according to the original plan.
Thinking over and over, he overturned one strategy after another, unable to resist punching the table in frustration, lamenting, "Zu Ti, Zu Ti, he blocked my recovery of Yangzhou."
If it was another leading the army, perhaps he had a chance against Zhao Hanzhang; Zu Ti greatly reduced his odds.
In both the original history and now, he feared Zu Ti; historically, he only dared to rebel after Zu Ti’s death, knowing that once Zu Ti was gone, no one in Great Jin could match him militarily.
But now, Zu Ti was alive and well, and his power relatively weaker; this rebellion was an unavoidable act.
Though Wang Dun burned with anger internally, he decisively declared, "Conscription and gather provisions; we head south to Guangzhou!"
The advisors were startled, quickly responding, "But Yuzhang County is currently held by Wang Xuan and Dai Yuan; we fear we can’t pass through."
"Then fight our way through," Wang Dun said, "Zu Ti’s priority is to take over the Jiankang area, absorb King Langya’s power, and won’t act swiftly; we have at least ten days to move."
He said, "In ten days, capture Yuzhang, occupy Guangzhou, and resist from the north."
Guangzhou, land of the unruly, although unlike Jiangnan with its Yangtze River as a natural barrier, its geography and cultural environment are more complex; surviving there is not easy, ruling even harder.
The advisors could already envision the challenges Wang Dun would face upon reaching Guangzhou, and the conflicts and confrontations with several factions.
Seeing their faces filled with apprehension, Wang Dun knew their reluctance, so he softened his tone to reassure them, "Though remote, Guangzhou is a good place; its towering mountains can fend off Zhao Family Army’s attacks."
"We only need to hold out for three months; Zhao Hanzhang’s national power is severely depleted while repairing the Yellow River; we anticipate she wouldn’t dare deplete civilian labor by launching an army now, but she did, surely not for long, otherwise lacking provisions," Wang Dun stated, "So we just need to last three months; spring plowing is imminent, and she’ll have to withdraw her troops; then, we only need to subjugate the Li and Liao people in Guangzhou."
At this time, Guangzhou was vast, encompassing southern Hunan, eastern Guizhou, and the regions of Guangxi and Guangdong, with numerous ethnic minorities primarily governed by tribes; the most populous minorities, the Li and Liao people, were called so by the court, collectively referred to as Li Liao.
Among them, the Liao people are the ancestors of later generations like the Zhuang and Dong ethnic groups, equivalent in language; they are very fierce, most are self-governed nowadays, not even Wang Dun, despite Dai Yuan, and King Langya’s commission, use a gentle approach in Guangzhou, otherwise they won’t submit to his rule.
The advisors, comparing Wang Dun’s temperament exposed these past two years, all felt he likely couldn’t subdue the Li Liao. Those Li Liao have tough characters, weak against weak, strong against strong; for Wang Dun to play the underdog...
If he could act the underdog, would he have escalated things with King Langya to such a degree?
But having boarded the pirate ship, it was hard to get off; they could only take one step at a time, immediately starting activities, first conscripting able-bodied men for service, then sending people to collect provisions.
The civilians in He Fei suddenly found themselves in misery; provisions were forcibly collected, they could potentially wander begging outside, as long as they held their land, enduring half a year, there would be new harvest, always able to find a way to survive; but being conscripted left them with nothing.
Thus, the cries of the civilians in He Fei shook the heavens; some hid in the mountains to avoid conscription, others simply broke their legs hoping to escape it.
Just as more and more people chose self-harm to avoid conscription, Wang Dun’s previously closed-off news finally spread among the populace, "The Zhao Family Army is here, they have already arrived in He Fei—"
Wang Dun actually knew that evening when he received the Jiankang spy’s news, that his forces sent to Zhongli County were picked off by the Zhao Family Army.
Afterwards, he lost track of the Zhao Family Army, receiving news only when they ambushed the team collecting provisions and conscripting in Dangtu County.
Provisions were stolen, the newly conscripted were freed, the veteran soldiers were beaten and released, their leaders killed, and upon hearing this, Wang Dun’s occupied Huainan County trembled in fear.
Thus, when another military force attempted to collect provisions and conscripts, they were much more gentle, not daring to be too ostentatious.
Consequently, when Zhao Shi’s mere two thousand cavalry force conducted a surprise raid, Zhao Hanzhang won the hearts of Huainan County’s people.
Though the civilians didn’t dare cheer openly, they secretly constructed altars in their homes for Zhao Hanzhang, praying for the Zhao Family Army to quickly recover Huainan County and drive Wang Dun away.
Just as incense was lit, amidst the crowing of chickens and barking of dogs, before they reached the door to check, the wooden door was kicked open, three to five soldiers holding large knives barged in, loudly shouting, "On orders to collect provisions, your household has six people, must submit one stone and two dou of grain, and a seventeen-year-old youth must enlist."
Because of winter, nothing could be done in the fields, the family huddled indoors suddenly stunned, after realizing, hurriedly explained, "We rendered military tax the other day and used money to offset conscription..."
"Last time was last time, this time is this time, this is the second conscription tax, hand it over quickly or we’ll search ourselves!"
The elder nearly collapsed crying, "No more provisions, only what’s needed for the winter, barely keeping us alive; if you take them, it’s murder."
The elder stepped forward, presenting his hands and said, "Otherwise, take me, let me offset some grain tax."
"Bah, with one foot in the grave already, are you to fight or die?" The soldiers felt they were already gentle enough; previously, not a word would’ve been wasted, just grabbing; but still ungrateful, they could only act.
A quick glance, a soldier swiftly grabbed hold of a youth, "Conscription for him, and go fetch the provisions."
