Chapter 1723: There Is Nothing More Real Than Being Well-Fed and Warm

The development of events always leaves traces, and the matter of Yulin was no exception. Under the court's strict blockade, information was sealed off, but through various clues, one could still simply judge that things there were not peaceful.

The Guannei Circuit had conscripted soldiers and laborers more than a hundred thousand times in total. Thousands upon thousands of carts and camel caravans, loaded with countless grain and military equipment, were transported to Yulin. The most conspicuous sign was that after Prince Zhao, Liu Fang, led his army north to Yulin, in the following two months, more than fifty thousand imperial troops from various routes had also followed in succession into Yulin.

As for those couriers with military flags on their backs, riding sturdy horses and galloping along the post roads between Yulin and the Eastern Capital, they did not rest throughout the entire winter—delivering orders, reporting upward, or sending notices. All the post stations, especially the military ones, remained in constant operation.

The news blockade was aimed only at ordinary people of insufficient rank. For the upper echelons of the Great Han's powerful and noble, what the situation in Yulin truly was—even if they could not know everything—they had at least heard something.

Of course, aside from the front lines of the suppression campaign, the clearest understanding belonged to the Hall of State Affairs. Even Emperor Liu did not necessarily have a comprehensive grasp; he merely inquired from time to time. The one who truly paid attention and bore the burden for him was the Crown Prince, Liu Yang, and Liu Yang had always been quite attentive to this matter.

However, regarding the suppression of the rebellion in Yulin, Liu Yang as Crown Prince was also extremely resolute—no indecisiveness, no soft-heartedness. Being able to rescue those tens of thousands of Yulin refugees was already the result of his efforts, and he had a clear conscience. As for others, they were beyond his reach, so naturally there was no need to demand more of himself.

Carrying out a thorough purge of Yulin—this was Emperor Liu's attitude and thinking, but he did not care about the specific methods. As for this blockade policy proposed by Zhao Pu, it had to be said, it was extremely vicious, striking precisely at the snake's vital spot.

Back then, after Prince Zhao, Liu Fang, went north to Yulin, aside from driving out and killing some rebel troops and Tangut people around Dingbian, he made no major moves, then directly advanced eastward and stationed himself in Xiazhou.

Thereafter, Liu Fang focused his energy on building the command system for the suppression, establishing guiding principles, and making military preparations. If Guannei, under silent management, had only bred some malpractices, produced some aftereffects, and stirred some popular resentment and unease, then in Yulin, it was an entirely different situation.

The suppression began with the blockade of Yulin, and with Liu Fang's arrival, it fully unfolded within Yulin's borders. Liu Fang stationed troops in various prefectures, counties, towns, and cities to strengthen defensive capabilities, while also digging large blockade trenches to isolate towns, strongholds, and the vast countryside from one another. The army's focus was also placed on resisting rebel harassment and safeguarding the logistics supply lines.

By the depths of winter in the twenty-first year, the Great Han's rule over Yulin was limited to the major towns of Xia, Sui, Yin, Yan, and Ling. Beyond the towns, things were basically left to drift, as if completely abandoned, left to the rebel bandits.

In the orders issued by the field headquarters for bandit suppression to the various government offices and the entire army, one sentence was written plainly: not a single grain of rice or a bolt of cloth shall flow into the rebels' hands. Of course, what it ultimately evolved into was that all the various resources Yulin had previously needed to import from outside were completely cut off—especially grain.

Yulin's living conditions were already harsh to begin with, and it had never undergone particularly fine development. The contradictions between Han and barbarians had also dragged down its development. All along, it had relied on furs, licorice, and green-white salt to support the local economy. The development of its own agriculture and animal husbandry was not sufficient to meet the survival needs of all of Yulin.

Once the chaos erupted, the fragile economic system was completely shattered. The rebels burned, killed, and looted, dragging crowds into rebellion; the official army defended strictly and drove them back with restrictions. After one winter passed, all of Yulin declined at a speed beyond imagination.

When Liu Fang first entered Yulin, whether it was Yuan Ke of Yanzhou, Li Jiqian of Xiazhou, or the other rebels great and small, they were all extremely vigilant, some even prepared to fully respond to a grand suppression campaign.

Yuan Ke, for instance, because his main base at Minghu Township was too close to Dingbian, simply abandoned it and shifted north, hoping to lure the official army into the Tangut activity zones to deal with them.

In the end, they had thrown out plenty of flirtatious glances, but the official army was utterly unmoved. Liu Fang's gaze was not even placed on those rebels. As time passed, as the weather grew increasingly harsh, as the official army carried out a series of adjustments—even the most dull-witted person would have realized what was happening.

The official army's methods were truly too vicious. Advancing to suppress the rebellion meant killing only the rebels who had risen up, but this kind of blockade targeted the entire population within Yulin's borders, regardless of whether they were barbarian or Han.

Previously, the government offices of each city could still take in some Han civilians who voluntarily surrendered, granting them a measure of protection and relief. But once the blockade trenches around each city were completed, this path to survival was cut off. As for fleeing south as refugees—those who saw the signs early and moved quickly still had a chance to live; those who were a step slow found there was nowhere left to flee.

After entering the twelfth month of the twenty-first year, in the eyes of most of the official army, aside from the refugees attached to the towns and some miscellaneous barbarians, everyone else was a rebel. In fact, not all of Yulin had rebelled, but the official army had already defined it as such.

The consequences brought about were severe and terrible. People need to eat to survive, need clothes to wear, but under such chaotic circumstances and such resolute prohibitions, their basic right to survival had already been effectively stripped away.

The barbarians and Han trapped in Yulin did not have many choices. After the government cut off their path to survival, they could either wait to die or join the rebellion and oppose the government. If they were wiped out, that was still a dead end.

Of course, for those who had been slow to realize and were suspected of joining the rebels, the government did not completely refuse to give them a chance. Earlier, Emperor Liu had already said that anyone who brought a rebel leader's head to the authorities could be spared death.

And this policy would run through the entire suppression process.

Ordinary Han and barbarian commoners were utterly powerless amid such a tide. After one winter passed, how many people in Yulin had frozen to death, starved to death, or been killed—no one knew. But those abandoned villages and the corpses lying strewn about said it all.

Of course, under such a suppression policy from the court, those rebels were also extremely miserable. Rebels were human too; they needed to eat and drink, and their grain, fodder, and weapons also needed to be consumed and replenished.

Even though they had obtained great wealth, livestock, and grain through massive looting in the early days of the rebellion, that was a one-time deal. The consumption of tens of thousands of rebels was equally enormous—sitting idle and eating through their stores, there would eventually come a day when it was all used up.

With Yulin in great chaos and all productive activities abandoned, there was not even anywhere left to loot. Yulin was only so big, had only so many people, only so many resources. The rebels' sources of military supplies grew even narrower. And as time went on, the situation became even more severe.

By the twelfth month, the various rebel forces in Yulin could no longer hold themselves back. They truly felt as if they had fallen into a cage constructed by the court. At this point, so-called Tangut revival, the great cause of resisting Han—all those extravagant hopes for glory and wealth slowly melted away. Nothing was more important or more real than eating one's fill and staying warm.

In the freezing cold and snowy weather, the various rebel forces, like headless flies, charged wildly back and forth across Yulin, scurrying everywhere in desperate counterattacks. Some struck at the prefectural cities, some attacked the Han army's supply lines—but these two targets were also what the official army defended with all its might, so the rebels naturally smashed themselves bloody.

The relatively easier targets were the transport convoys. However, besides dispatching elite troops to escort them, the field headquarters had also issued an order: if matters came to the worst, burn everything immediately; if it fell into rebel hands, military law would be applied. Therefore, among the baggage trains traveling between Guannei and Yulin, there were always certain people whose duty was not to escort and protect, but to be ready at any moment to torch the grain and military supplies.

Trying to snatch food from the official army was indeed difficult and dangerous. So very quickly, the "righteous armies" of Yulin began attacking each other to seize grain and supplies, fighting merely for a sliver of hope to survive. Many times, after a bloody battle, they would find that the other side had nothing left but a worthless life.

The grand and tumultuous Yulin rebellion, before it could even survive the twenty-first year, had fallen into a state of disintegration and mutual slaughter. Regarding this, whether it was Yuan Ke or Li Jiqian, both felt utterly helpless. Of course, at a time like this, they could hardly even take care of themselves, so how could they possibly restrain those rebels—even if those people had accepted their titles and rewards.

If there was anyone among the Yulin rebels worthy of Liu Fang's attention, it was probably only these two men—Yuan Ke and Li Jiqian. They had methods, they had strategy, and of course, they also had the strongest strength, each commanding tens of thousands of followers. Naturally, they also bore the greatest survival pressure.

These two men likewise did not sit waiting for death; they chose to strike out proactively. On the Xiazhou side, with Liu Fang personally stationed there, Li Jiqian dared not go south, so he chose to go north—he was going to attack the Hetao region.

Yuan Ke of Yanzhou was also unwilling to remain idle. After several attempts and repeated failures—the Hengshan Mountains were hard to cross, Guannei was hard to enter—he chose to raise all his rebel forces and march west to Lingzhou, joining with the rebels there, intending to cross the Yellow River and seek provisions in Hexi.